Beer is fun! Beer drinkers are usually chill and when you put them all together at a festival, it almost always equates to a gay ole time. Miami Beer fests are great ways to break away from the uppity restaurant and club scene and get trashed with legit, down-to-earth, jovial people. Grovetoberfest returned to Coconut Grove for its third year in a row hosting over 200 great beers from across the world and over 7,000 attendees . In addition to kick ass beers and patrons, there was also the Kitchen Lab where attendees learned from award-winning chefs how to cook with beer and a Beer Tasting 101 hosted by FIU’s vaunted Beer Academy. The VIP section had a scrumptious rotation of food and special VIP beers.

While we were not fortunate (or degenerate) enough to taste every beer at Grovetoberfest we will share our Top 11 (because top 10 is sooo played out), from order of “utter adulation” to “we like it.”

(Note to readers: we do not like bitter IPAs but prefer unique, exotic and flavorful beer):

1) Funky Buddha Brewery Blueberry Cobbler  Delicious and fucking creative, Funky Buddha is one of our fave brewers EVER.  You can find spots that host their exquisite beer on their website. The Blueberry Cobbler Ale is a copiously, blueberried glass of goodness, generously dosed with real vanilla beans, quality imported cinnamon, and — of course — whole fruit. Could not agree with their description more “A sip is akin to a bite of fresh baked blueberry pie.”

2)  Funky Buddha Brewery More Moro Blood Orange IPA These guys took the fabled and adored IPA and made it so much better. A moro is an American varietal of blood orange that has deep, crimson red flesh and a mellow citrus flavor. Their More Moro IPA piles on the “moro” for an overload of ripe, fresh blood orange flavor. Deeply citrusy and fruity, with a hop-forward nose, sticky malt body, and long grapefruit hop finish. Thank You, Funky Buddha.

3) Schofferhofer Grapefruit Hefeweizen– This beer is just utterly superb, Schofferhofer grapefruit is a unique combination of sparkling wheat beer and refreshing tangy fruit juice. Mix of 50% Schofferhofer wheat beer and 50%  grapefruit juice. So damn good.

4) Cisco Brewers The Grey Lady This wheat beer is fermented with Belgian yeast and brewed with fresh fruit and spices. It is a unique ale that emits a complex, earthy nose and a soft, mid-palate maltiness with hints of tropical fruit. Dry and spicy, truly a great beer.

5) Terrapin Rye Pale Ale– Made with five varieties of hops and a generous amount of specialty malts, it offers a complex flavor and aroma that is both aggressive and well balanced – a rare find among beers that contains a great and unique taste.

6) Holy Mackerel Panic Attack–  So flavorful, A Belgian style ale with a subtle hint of spice clocking in at 10%. Eye popping flavor from a blend of Canadian malted barley, Goldings hops, and a unique flavorful Belgian yeast strain. Unfiltered, unpastuerized and with just a hint of spice this beer is meant to be savored slowly so as to enjoy the aroma as well as the taste. Vintage dated, excellent now but even finer with 2 years age.

7) Wild Blue Blueberry Lager–  Not quite a beer but soooo smooth and delicious. Wild Blue is brewed with a complex blend of two- and six-row barley malt, classic Aroma Hops from the Willamette Valley in the Pacific Northwest and German hops from the Hallertau region in Bavaria. It is blended with all-natural blueberry syrup made from real blueberries, giving the beer a balanced blueberry flavor and pleasant aroma.

8) Harpoon Brewery Pumpkin UFO–  We do love our pumpkins, beers, soup, coffee, ice cream….This beer is a blend of spices that really hits the palate. A malt combination provides a smooth body and slightly sweet flavor, which balances perfectly with the earthy notes derived from the pure pumpkin.

9) Old Chub Scottish Ale–  Brewed with loads of Scottish barley and malted grains and a tad of beech-wood smoked malt. Has a smokey flavor with hints of cocoa and coffee. Pretty damn good.

10) Ommegang Belgian Pale Ale– This libation is a smooth pale ale with notes of citrus and tropical fruit that is refreshing without blowing you away.

11) Inlet Brewing Co. Monk IPA–  More Belgian then Indian, this was a solid and smooth tasty concoction.

Grovetoberfest is always so much fun and we can not wait until The Sprung Spring Beer Festival in March.

See you there Beeroholics 😉

Check out the high quality pics on this clickable link