This weekend, I attended the BeerAdvocate Belgian Beer Festival, a 2-day festival honoring Belgian-style brews. Some beers were imported directly from Belgium, while others were American-made clones of famous styles. Throughout the weekend, I had the opportunity to sample more than my fair share of beers, and because of this, such I would have a hard time reviewing any of them in great depth. Once again, I will highlight some of the best of the beers I sampled.The 2-day festival was divided into Friday's well-attended Night of the Funk and Saturday's regular sessions. Night of the Funk was an evening dedicated to sour beers. Sour beers utilize Brettanomyces (often shortened to Brett, it's a wild forming strain of yeast that, with age, produces a sour taste) and other types of bacteria to produce a tart flavor that causes one's mouth to pucker. This type of beer is exceedingly rare and expensive, as it takes a lengthy process to produce and years and years of practice to get right.

The highlight of the Funk was Lawson's Finest Liquids, an incredibly small Vermont brewery that has taken off in the last year. It served up a Maple on Brett that mixed sweet maple syrup with some sour Brett notes. It was a great blend of sour and sweet with a thickness to the beer derived from the maple.

The real highlight, however, was the brewery's Liquid Sunshine. This brew paired Brett with a hoppy IPA. This beer was unbelievable, mixing bitter, sour and sweet in a thick, creamy beverage. Everything blended perfectly in this beer. Unfortunately, you don't often see hoppy, sour beers because it's difficult to get the combination just right, and often the bitter citrus hops just don't react, but here it was created with perfection. I would rate this beer as the best that I've ever had. It got everything right.

Another great one at the Night of the Funk was Bretty Yeti. This was a Dark Stout mixed with Brett that had chocolate notes, finishing with a pucker that gave a thick, uncompromising mouthfeel.

The most popular booth at the Festival, Lost Abbey, failed to deliver with its Saints' Devotion 2010. This beer's sourness was off and astringent, and didn't blend well in the mouth. Further, it left a poor aftertaste that didn't settle well. This is an unfortunate part of sour beers-a lot of times, you don't know how the bacteria will react in the drink, so it can go wrong easily. This helps explain why the Brett brews are so rare and expensive.

Belgian beer fest was highlighted by Cambridge Brewing Company's Audacity of Hops. This beer was an award-winning Belgian IPA that was made in 2008. This keg has been maturing since 2009 and blended a supremely hopped brew with a yeasty funk. This was a great beer, as it matured really well (I was lucky to have some fresh Audacity this summer: it was still insanely delicious).

Another great one was Rodenbach Grand Cru. This beer had very sour characteristics that mixed with a dark fruit and licorice blend accentuated by a full mouthfeel. This was a delicious and insanely drinkable brew, also in the running for my top beers ever.

Finally, Unibroue (from Quebec, Canada) had "Fin de la Monde." This beer blended citrus, herbal bitterness and light but well-balanced texture broadened by the carbonation. I've always seen this beer around and wanted to try it, and I finally got my chance at the Festival.

Overall, I can't think of too many beers that were even just mediocre. Everything I tried was fantastic. I highly recommend BeerAdvocate's festivals; they are a great way to try a bunch of new beers. You pay about 40 dollars and get 3 1/2 hours with as many 2-ounce samples as you want. I hope to see some of you at the next one, the Extreme Beer Fest in March.