At the 18th Annual Vermont Brewers Festival in Burlington

Brew fest brings beer makers and beer lovers together

Leviathan Big Bohemian. Turbodog. The Hef. No, these are not superheroes from the summer’s latest blockbuster – they’re names of beers.

Gone are the days of the simple pilsner or pale ale. This much was clear – or amber colored – at the 18^th Annual Vermont Brewers Festival in Burlington this weekend, where more than thirty regional craft breweries tapped kegs of their finest fermented concoctions.

The brewers looked like rosy-cheeked mad scientists. They pulled samples of beers made with coffee, chocolate, hibiscus, rye peppercorn, maple syrup, raisins, honey and pine needles. Reading through the beers’ descriptions, I encountered terms like “nitrogen pour” and “steam-extracted fruit juice” and “naturally carbonated in the firkin.

Now, I’m no beer connoisseur. When I buy the stuff, I use the same tactic as when I buy wine: the label has to be pretty and the price just right. So when I stepped up to the counter of Lawson’s Finest Liquids from Warren, Vermont, I worried that I was out of my league. I decided to order the Bourbon-Barrel aged Fayston Maple Imperial Stout, because the name is fun to say, and because who ever thought of aging beer in Maker’s Mark barrels?

But when I took my first sip of the thick, dark brew, I understood why artisan beer has the cult following that it does. I felt like I was drinking an ice cream sundae and maple syrup and a nightcap all at once – in a good way. Flavors passed over my palette one by one, and before I knew it my 3 ounces of heaven was gone.

People say that any alcohol industry is recession-proof. When it comes to beer, craft brew may be the only thing keeping that adage true. In 2009, U.S. beer sales were down 5 million barrels. Craft beer sales, on the other hand, were up by 8.5 million barrels, according to the Brewer’s Association.

It’s no surprise, then, that more than 10,000 people shelled out for the fizzy tour-de-force. They were seasoned tasters and home brewers – but they were also newcomers like me. But by now I think we all have one thing in common: We think craft brewers are superheroes.