BAD Brewing Company’s 3rd Annual Bourrrbon Winterfest (2019)

BAD Brewing Company was the place to be this past Saturday, January 26 for craft beer enthusiasts, especially those who enjoy barrel aged beer. The 3rd Annual Bourrrbon Winterfest offered attendees with a plethora of beers. The two and a half barrel system brewery in Mason, MI flexed it’s muscles to showcase its strength and knowledge of craft beer on the Michigan Craft Beer map. A ton of friends have suggested I check out BAD Brewing Company, so with a BBA beer festival on the docket, it was time.

Those who wished to attend the festival had two options for entry – early and general admission. Early admission was $25 per person and gave you early admission (1 hour), a drink ticket, and a bottle of your choice from the five available for sale – 3 BBA’s and 2 sours. It was reported that over 100 people took advantage of this deal and packed the brewery, outdoor patio, and tent sent up in the alley on the side of the building. Igloos were also available for rent and all had been claimed days before the festival.

General admission began at 2:00 pm with a $6 cover and that’s when the floodgates opened.

Bottles were still available for purchase, along with $5 drink tickets. Once inside of the brewery, the upstairs and downstairs bars had plenty of beer ready to be poured.

With 40+ beer available, there was no way one would have been able to tackle all of the beer selections available at the Bourrrbon Winterfest. After reviewing the ticket potential, I realized that I would have to split up my ticket for the samples to try the BBA spread.

In order to have a spread and a bourbon barrel aged festival, Brian Rasdale, owner and head brewer, knew he would have to start a barrel aged program right off the bat when he opened BAD Brewing Company in the summer of 2012. He did just that and now the barrel aged program now has 15-20 barrels aging at a time in the cellar of the brewery.

Brian and his brewing team, K.J. and Derek, were on the front lines in the beer tent outside serving up their amazing creations. I was able to talk with each of them and they all said they were blown away and thankful for everyone who came out to the festival. They all said that the Winterfest is usually the “laidback” event of their four annual festivals. This was packed and they were ecstatic!

When it came to trying out the variety of beers available, I wanted to get my hands on the most unique beers I could get my hands on. I sampled a solid handful, but I really enjoyed the following three:

• 2017 BBA Belgian Quad with Plums
• 2016 Wheat Whiskey BA Imperial Stout
• 2015 Cellar Aged Imperial Stout

I’m also looking forward to trying the two bottles I picked up as well – 2015 BBA Barleywine and The Other Side series Sour Farmhouse Ale with rose hips.

In 2014, BAD Brewing purchased and renovated the building next door to it’s current space. This gave the brewery a solid expansion for patron seating and brewing space. It also allowed BAD Brewing to kick off their sour program in 2015, “The Other Side” series because it was on the now “other side” of the brewery. Ever since the sour program has started, it has been a goal to always have a sour on tap.

In addition to the beer, Mark Warner was providing the soundtrack of the afternoon with his acoustic guitar and voice. His set list included popular songs from the ’90s to now with a few classics thrown in. Alex Mendenall had the evening set and provided a variety of indie-soul tracks. The Good Bites Food Truck team was also crafting up delectable dishes of food that steamed off of the server’s tray.

Overall, BAD Brewing Company’s Bourrrbon Winterfest was an excellent time to check out a new-to-me brewery and enjoy a handful new BBA beers. BAD Brewing Company is a brewery everyone should check out because their beers are consistent and on par with much larger breweries across the state, especially with the BBA and sour programs on site.

Cheers!