Capital Region Beer & Wing Festival – Albany New York – September 25, 2009
It’s a match made in heaven…beer and wings!

Sample over 50 different types of beer along with wings from area bars and restaurants!

Hop Talk was at the event and live blogging to give our opinion on the best beer and wings of the show.

I am at the festival and live blogging this evening. Hey! There is a whole other side!

So far my first, Chicos, had the best wings. They were smoked and no sauce! More to come!

The competition is not about the best Buffalo wings, there are actually very few samples in the traditional style. Most restaurants have brought several of their styles and the judging will be on the best overall.

• Thai
• Honey
• Ginger BBQ
• Habañero (HOT!)
• Parmesan
• Jerk
• Garlic butter
• Buffalo – mild, medium & hot

You name it! and, now my taste buds are dead! It will truly be difficult to determine the best beer after putting my taste buds through this.

We decided many/most beers were “not objectionable” which means marginal, but not great. Goose Island Honkers is runner up to Ithica Caskazilka right now. And, Chicos smoked wings are still in the lead.

Hop-Talk.com LOVES beer too! (That’s my buddy in the background)

Chicos smoked wings wins in my opinion! They are peppery and smokey, no sauce. Kind of like baby back ribs but wings.

You can find them at: 2490 Western Ave, Guilderland, New York – (518) 456-0940

Super Hot Habañero!

Official winner for wings is The Recovery Room which we thought were pretty good. They were cooked crispy and their Buffalo style hit the mark.

The official winner on beer … The “Top Hops” award goes to Switchback out of Vermont! I like that a small brewery won instead of, say, Blue Moon, but we thought Switchback was quite plain tasting. Caskazilka is our fave from Ithica! Other favorites of ours were: Boulder’s Hazed and Infuzed, Goose Island’s Honker’s Ale, & Lake Placid’s IPA & UBU. (Brooklyn’s Oktoberfest just doesn’t match well with hot wings.)

The story is that from last year I couldn’t even make it in to the event because by the time I got there they were over capacity (3,000 people) and running out of wings and beer. This year they fixed the issues and halved the crowd and doubled the wings and floor space.