On Thursday, I met with my college buddy Robert and his friend Matt at Capitol City Brewing. We met there for happy hour, and while I have had their four standard beers before, I had not tried at least one of their seasonal brews. The dilemma as I later found out: the seasonal brews were not the happy hour price of $2 a pint! Nonetheless, I did settle down with a cheap, familiar pint after tasting something new. The service was a little slow, but Thursday night tends to be the busy night for Happy Hour.
Capitol City Brown Ale: This was the seasonal brew that I tried. I thought it was a rather par for the course Amber Ale. For those who are unfamiliar with Brown Ales, I would say that the standard to go from is Newcastle Brown Ale. I thought CapCity did a quality job with this, and I surely enjoyed my pint.
Capitol City Prohibition Porter: This beer is already on my list, but I thought I would mention it. I tend to like porters (understatement). I think this porter is fairly well done. It's got the roasted/burnt malt flavor that one looks for with a porter. I thought it washed away my work day quite easily.
The scorecard:
Colleen: 205
Paul: 201
Cheers,
Paul
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
What? I'd never had them before!
The only thing exciting about this update is the fact that these two new beers resulted from a snowed in slumber party with my good friend Cheryl. She called me well into the winter weather's arrival but nothing had stuck yet. We decided to go out to dinner with her man and my also good friend Gurzo yesterday evening. The idea started with Baja Fresh but ended with the much better idea of Jose Tejas, an excellent restaurant that is usually super duper busy, but we got a table without a problem due to the fact that the snow began to stick by then.
I enjoyed my black bean and corn empanadas with a Lone Star. Why? Because it was the only one on the menu that I hadn't had before. And while the people of the internet have expressed nothing but dislike for this beer, I didn't mind it. It was a very straightforward, unexciting lager, which goes very well with the delicious Tex Mex cuisine. Not too bubbly, not too dull, just right and refreshing. This falls under the heading of "American Adjunct Lager" as all of the things I labelled Mexican Lager do, but this didn't taste like all of the beers I had in Mexico. I suppose you could put a lime in it if you wanted to, but I don't think it's really worth it. It's boring, but I think that was fine under the circumstances. I might even order it again under similar circumstances, although the restaurant also had Modelo Negra, one of my favorite beers I tried in Mexico (also one of the darkest, which is a very, very relative description)... so maybe not. We'll see.
After dinner, we went back to their house to watch the Olympics because we love them. I had a Fosters. Why? Because it was left over from our Olympics Opening Ceremony party and I hadn't had it before. We watched women's figure skating and some men's freestyle ski jumping while I enjoyed another pretty boring American Adjunct Lager, which Beer Advocate describes as focusing less on flavor and more on mass production. True story, but another not so bad straightforward "whatever lager". I could see it being more refreshing after a long day of hard work in hot weather, as I found most of the other American Adjunct Lagers that I've tried, but since it was snowing quite a lot and we were just sitting under blankets watching women's figure skating finals, it was not overwhelmingly memorable or impressive.
The women's figure skating finals, however, totally were.
Another lovely evening with lovely friends, another couple of beers on my list.
Colleen: 205
Paul: 200
I enjoyed my black bean and corn empanadas with a Lone Star. Why? Because it was the only one on the menu that I hadn't had before. And while the people of the internet have expressed nothing but dislike for this beer, I didn't mind it. It was a very straightforward, unexciting lager, which goes very well with the delicious Tex Mex cuisine. Not too bubbly, not too dull, just right and refreshing. This falls under the heading of "American Adjunct Lager" as all of the things I labelled Mexican Lager do, but this didn't taste like all of the beers I had in Mexico. I suppose you could put a lime in it if you wanted to, but I don't think it's really worth it. It's boring, but I think that was fine under the circumstances. I might even order it again under similar circumstances, although the restaurant also had Modelo Negra, one of my favorite beers I tried in Mexico (also one of the darkest, which is a very, very relative description)... so maybe not. We'll see.
After dinner, we went back to their house to watch the Olympics because we love them. I had a Fosters. Why? Because it was left over from our Olympics Opening Ceremony party and I hadn't had it before. We watched women's figure skating and some men's freestyle ski jumping while I enjoyed another pretty boring American Adjunct Lager, which Beer Advocate describes as focusing less on flavor and more on mass production. True story, but another not so bad straightforward "whatever lager". I could see it being more refreshing after a long day of hard work in hot weather, as I found most of the other American Adjunct Lagers that I've tried, but since it was snowing quite a lot and we were just sitting under blankets watching women's figure skating finals, it was not overwhelmingly memorable or impressive.
The women's figure skating finals, however, totally were.
Another lovely evening with lovely friends, another couple of beers on my list.
Colleen: 205
Paul: 200
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The Public House
On Saturday, Laura and I met my friends Tim and Heather for dinner and some beers at a Public House (Pub) in Columbia, Maryland. Victoria Gastro Pub specializes in a unique beer menu, and they make the usual American classics with a slight twist. We had a really good time. Fine beers, fine food, and fine people are always an excellent combination. As I've mentioned before, when being indecisive about beer, I succumb to marketing and pick a name that catches my eye.
Flying Dog Raging Bitch IPA: Despite the name, I thought this beer was quite subdued for an IPA. I expected something, shall we say, aggressive. I got the complete opposite. Irony aside, I enjoyed this brew.
Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale (IPA): Let's face it, Stone brewing makes excellent ales across the board. They are not for the faint at heart or the newbie, but they are well crafted beers. This was no exception. It reminded me of an IPA, but it had the look and body of a stout. I want another one of these, soon.
On Sunday afternoon, I went for a casual time with my cousin Brendan (the inspiration for this project). We went to Fireflies, and sat at the bar for an hour or two watching Curling and other Olympic sports on TV. I had two new beers, as Fireflies is typically clutch for this. We also spent some time talking to the bar manager there. She said due to the epic snow falls recently, a lot of micro-brews have not been able to get there beers delivered. Thus, they were light on selection, but I certainly understood.
Victory Helios Ale: This had the color and body of a Belgian Ale, but there was a twist. True to the style, it was a very summer beer with a slightly fruity after taste and a light body. However, it also had a distinct hop characteristic that Brendan picked up on before me. This is a beer you drink after mowing the lawn. I think this beer helps Victory's reputation.
Left Hand Fade to Black: The bar manager mentioned that this beer would become the seasonal for Left Hand brewing. I've had one of their beers before, and this beer seems to redeem their reputation (I consulted my notes). This beer was quite good. It was a heavy, dark stout - as stouts should be. The roasted malts seemed to be dark chocolate and coffee.
The scorecard:
Colleen: 203
Paul: 200
I hope to make another trip to Bilbo Baggins soon. If I do, I'll obviously make a post here. I also need to include some pictures to make these posts less boring. Enjoy the beer, friends.
Cheers,
Paul
Flying Dog Raging Bitch IPA: Despite the name, I thought this beer was quite subdued for an IPA. I expected something, shall we say, aggressive. I got the complete opposite. Irony aside, I enjoyed this brew.
Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale (IPA): Let's face it, Stone brewing makes excellent ales across the board. They are not for the faint at heart or the newbie, but they are well crafted beers. This was no exception. It reminded me of an IPA, but it had the look and body of a stout. I want another one of these, soon.
On Sunday afternoon, I went for a casual time with my cousin Brendan (the inspiration for this project). We went to Fireflies, and sat at the bar for an hour or two watching Curling and other Olympic sports on TV. I had two new beers, as Fireflies is typically clutch for this. We also spent some time talking to the bar manager there. She said due to the epic snow falls recently, a lot of micro-brews have not been able to get there beers delivered. Thus, they were light on selection, but I certainly understood.
Victory Helios Ale: This had the color and body of a Belgian Ale, but there was a twist. True to the style, it was a very summer beer with a slightly fruity after taste and a light body. However, it also had a distinct hop characteristic that Brendan picked up on before me. This is a beer you drink after mowing the lawn. I think this beer helps Victory's reputation.
Left Hand Fade to Black: The bar manager mentioned that this beer would become the seasonal for Left Hand brewing. I've had one of their beers before, and this beer seems to redeem their reputation (I consulted my notes). This beer was quite good. It was a heavy, dark stout - as stouts should be. The roasted malts seemed to be dark chocolate and coffee.
The scorecard:
Colleen: 203
Paul: 200
I hope to make another trip to Bilbo Baggins soon. If I do, I'll obviously make a post here. I also need to include some pictures to make these posts less boring. Enjoy the beer, friends.
Cheers,
Paul
Monday, February 15, 2010
There and Back Again
On Friday night I went to Bilbo Baggins in Old Town with my college friend Robert, and work buddy Jeremy. The place is known for its beer menu and food, so I thought it would be a good place to at least expand my beer horizons. The roads were still treacherous from the snowpocalypse, but we all managed to arrive and leave safely. I enjoyed catching up with them and trying a couple new brews.
Clipper City Bilbo Baggins: This is their house lager, which is brewed by Clipper City. In the interest of having their house brew, and that Clipper City usually does a good job across the board, I decided to give it a shot. I really liked it. The beer reminded me of Samuel Adams Boston Lager.
Rogue Yellow Snow Ale: Confession - I got this beer because of the name. I thought it was pretty good. The waitress pointed out that the juniper after taste reminded her of gin. I somewhat agreed with this assessment. I don't really like gin, but this beer was fine in my book. I thought this was a smooth pale ale.
On Saturday, I ventured to Williamsburg, VA to visit the girlfriend. It is Valentine's Day weekend. There wasn't enough time to make Guiness cupcakes, but it will happen. We hung out with some of her friends Saturday night. The drinking game of the night was Jenga, or some variant thereof, and each piece had a drinking instruction on it. Things got interesting fast, and fun was had by all. I also managed to try two new brews. I was limited to tasting two (alliteration anyone?), because the first was a 22 oz bottle and had an ABV of 10.5%l. Drinking that in less than an hour started to put me in a happy place - thank God for leaving notes on your cell phone.
Stone Double Bastard Ale: This beer is the next evolution of Stone's Arrogant Bastard Ale. This beer was incredibly complex and aggressive. There were multiple different effects during the after taste. It certainly was a clean beer, but not for the faint of heart. I can probably name the people on one hand who could appreciate, let alone finish, this beer (Colleen included, of course). If nothing else, the back of the bottle is worth reading (click the image for zoom). You can also read the back of the bottle for Arrogant Bastard here.
Samuel Adams Noble Pils: This is the latest seasonal by Samuel Adams. Colleen recently tried this beer. I was surprised by its very light color and citrus taste. I expected more bitternes, or bite, since the company promotes the beer based on the hops. Perhaps this is a characteristic of Noble Hops? I thought this was ok, but they do a much better job on their other seasonals.
I also got a custom six pack for Valentine's Day, which means I have a few more beers to try at some point. I'm hoping I can manage another trip the Brickskeller this week, but we shall see. Enjoy the Olympics friends, hopefully with a nice beer (especially you Colleen)!
The scorecard:
Colleen: 203
Paul: 196
Cheers,
Paul
Clipper City Bilbo Baggins: This is their house lager, which is brewed by Clipper City. In the interest of having their house brew, and that Clipper City usually does a good job across the board, I decided to give it a shot. I really liked it. The beer reminded me of Samuel Adams Boston Lager.
Rogue Yellow Snow Ale: Confession - I got this beer because of the name. I thought it was pretty good. The waitress pointed out that the juniper after taste reminded her of gin. I somewhat agreed with this assessment. I don't really like gin, but this beer was fine in my book. I thought this was a smooth pale ale.
On Saturday, I ventured to Williamsburg, VA to visit the girlfriend. It is Valentine's Day weekend. There wasn't enough time to make Guiness cupcakes, but it will happen. We hung out with some of her friends Saturday night. The drinking game of the night was Jenga, or some variant thereof, and each piece had a drinking instruction on it. Things got interesting fast, and fun was had by all. I also managed to try two new brews. I was limited to tasting two (alliteration anyone?), because the first was a 22 oz bottle and had an ABV of 10.5%l. Drinking that in less than an hour started to put me in a happy place - thank God for leaving notes on your cell phone.
Stone Double Bastard Ale: This beer is the next evolution of Stone's Arrogant Bastard Ale. This beer was incredibly complex and aggressive. There were multiple different effects during the after taste. It certainly was a clean beer, but not for the faint of heart. I can probably name the people on one hand who could appreciate, let alone finish, this beer (Colleen included, of course). If nothing else, the back of the bottle is worth reading (click the image for zoom). You can also read the back of the bottle for Arrogant Bastard here.
Samuel Adams Noble Pils: This is the latest seasonal by Samuel Adams. Colleen recently tried this beer. I was surprised by its very light color and citrus taste. I expected more bitternes, or bite, since the company promotes the beer based on the hops. Perhaps this is a characteristic of Noble Hops? I thought this was ok, but they do a much better job on their other seasonals.
I also got a custom six pack for Valentine's Day, which means I have a few more beers to try at some point. I'm hoping I can manage another trip the Brickskeller this week, but we shall see. Enjoy the Olympics friends, hopefully with a nice beer (especially you Colleen)!
The scorecard:
Colleen: 203
Paul: 196
Cheers,
Paul
Saturday, February 13, 2010
toasting the Olympics
I love the Olympics!
There are so many many reasons why. The sports. The geography. The people. (Visa has been sharing some classic stories in their current ad campaign, which you can see here. I don't work for them, I just really like the stories!) I love that so many countries can ignore their differences and just play together nicely for a few weeks. And, in the case of these Olympics, I LOVE CANADA!
My friend Amanda took this lovely picture in Sunset Beach Park in Vancouver at the end of our roadtrip across Canada in summer 2008. This excitement has been a long time coming!
A few weeks ago, my friend Cheryl and I realized our mutual excitement for the Winter Games, and decided to have a party to celebrate the opening ceremonies. It was great! We had multicultural foods-- rice and beans, spanakopita, cous cous, harira, Tim Tams, maple cookies, spring rolls, cheese blintzes, Irish creme puffs, etc. etc. We also served a somewhat multi-cultural themed punch discovered by Gurzo (including vodka, Cointreau, Galliano, Midori and champagne, with other fruit juices and fruits... yeah, I didn't know what most of those were, either. Which brings me to the beer that this post is leading to...)
I got myself a Dogfish Head World Wide Stout to sip at while helping set up and prepare the party. I had really built this up in my mind. This really seemed like a beer made for me. I mean, the title is geography-themed (making it perfect for an Olympics opening ceremony party). The word "ridiculous" is in its description (really)! Did it live up to my expectations?
Yes. A thousand times yes. This stout is really, really, ridiculously strong. I bought a 2008, which was 18% ABV. (I'm willing to bet I wouldn't be able to tell apart the 2008 from any other year, but aparently the alcohol content varies from year to year.) Definitely got some coffee aftertaste, definitely drank this one slowly. Cannot see through it at all. It really wasn't sweet, just strong. And awesome. This is a good beer if you're just planning on sipping one slowly all night.
Of course, I was over at Cheryl and Gurzo's house for quite a while enjoying the opening ceremonies and the good company, and started that one early and took a big break afterward. Several hours later, I tried another beer we had bought for the occasion, Tyskie, a Polish lager. Gurzo has a theory about having somewhat standard, crowd-pleasing beers at a party, but from brewers that no one's heard of. Tyskie is owned by SABMiller, the same group who brews Pilsner Urquell and Miller beers. More importantly, it matched our multicultural theme. This was a nice lager, very straightforward, very drinkable. I'd serve this to others again.
Toward the end of the night, I tried Otter Creek Spring Ale, a Kölsch style beer. This was a little bit hoppy, but in a strangely sweet and fresh kind of way. I liked it. It was very crisp, without a strong aftertaste. It tasted light and springy. I thought it was funny that I transitioned to increasingly light beers all evening.
Colleen 203, Paul 192. Happy Olympics, everyone!
There are so many many reasons why. The sports. The geography. The people. (Visa has been sharing some classic stories in their current ad campaign, which you can see here. I don't work for them, I just really like the stories!) I love that so many countries can ignore their differences and just play together nicely for a few weeks. And, in the case of these Olympics, I LOVE CANADA!
My friend Amanda took this lovely picture in Sunset Beach Park in Vancouver at the end of our roadtrip across Canada in summer 2008. This excitement has been a long time coming!
A few weeks ago, my friend Cheryl and I realized our mutual excitement for the Winter Games, and decided to have a party to celebrate the opening ceremonies. It was great! We had multicultural foods-- rice and beans, spanakopita, cous cous, harira, Tim Tams, maple cookies, spring rolls, cheese blintzes, Irish creme puffs, etc. etc. We also served a somewhat multi-cultural themed punch discovered by Gurzo (including vodka, Cointreau, Galliano, Midori and champagne, with other fruit juices and fruits... yeah, I didn't know what most of those were, either. Which brings me to the beer that this post is leading to...)
I got myself a Dogfish Head World Wide Stout to sip at while helping set up and prepare the party. I had really built this up in my mind. This really seemed like a beer made for me. I mean, the title is geography-themed (making it perfect for an Olympics opening ceremony party). The word "ridiculous" is in its description (really)! Did it live up to my expectations?
Yes. A thousand times yes. This stout is really, really, ridiculously strong. I bought a 2008, which was 18% ABV. (I'm willing to bet I wouldn't be able to tell apart the 2008 from any other year, but aparently the alcohol content varies from year to year.) Definitely got some coffee aftertaste, definitely drank this one slowly. Cannot see through it at all. It really wasn't sweet, just strong. And awesome. This is a good beer if you're just planning on sipping one slowly all night.
Of course, I was over at Cheryl and Gurzo's house for quite a while enjoying the opening ceremonies and the good company, and started that one early and took a big break afterward. Several hours later, I tried another beer we had bought for the occasion, Tyskie, a Polish lager. Gurzo has a theory about having somewhat standard, crowd-pleasing beers at a party, but from brewers that no one's heard of. Tyskie is owned by SABMiller, the same group who brews Pilsner Urquell and Miller beers. More importantly, it matched our multicultural theme. This was a nice lager, very straightforward, very drinkable. I'd serve this to others again.
Toward the end of the night, I tried Otter Creek Spring Ale, a Kölsch style beer. This was a little bit hoppy, but in a strangely sweet and fresh kind of way. I liked it. It was very crisp, without a strong aftertaste. It tasted light and springy. I thought it was funny that I transitioned to increasingly light beers all evening.
Colleen 203, Paul 192. Happy Olympics, everyone!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
OMG SNOWPACALYPSE # 342837!!!!!!!
It's winter. It's ok if it snows.
However, tomorrow is my first snow day, although this semester I don't have class or work on Wednesday. Snow days have proven to be good days for trying new beers (see here and here), but I didn't manage to pick up anything new before the snow started. However, I do have something else to report:
I hit 200 beers last night! By accident.
Number 199 was actually during the Superbowl. My friend Jeremy hooked me up with a Flying Dog In Heat Wheat. Actually, he told me there were miscellaneous Flying-Somethings in the refrigerator upstairs in his sister's house, where a few of our friends had gathered to watch the game, and that I could help myself to them. I chose the In Heat Wheat on my own, for two reasons: the awkward name amused me, and I like wheat beers. (Why is it even called "in heat"?!)
The In Heat Wheat was a good unfiltered hefeweizen, though I wouldn't call it my favorite. Very pleasant and drinkable, that nice crisp clean wheat beer flavor. It was kind of foamy but nice and light to drink. I like it.
Number 200 was not as epic as I'd hoped. I went to Stuff Yer Face as I do most Mondays, though this week we were celebrating our friend Cristina's birthday. Stuffies is pretty empty on Monday nights and we're friends with the regular Monday bartender, so we do ridiculous things like bring cupcakes and homemade guacamole and take over the back corner. Upon our arrival, Jill, our awesome bartender friend extraordinaire, brought over two pints of Stone IPA. Apparently, two guys came in and ordered them and then refused to pay when informed that it did, in fact, cost more than things like Coors Light or Yuengling. No one else was interested, so I had at it, despite not being a fan of IPA's.
India Pale Ales are too bitter and hoppy for me. I just don't enjoy the flavor or the bite. This was no exception. Stone IPA received rave reviews from a lot of beer aficionados, so I guess if you're into that sharp, bitter flavor that IPAs offer, this is a good one to go after. The kick in the face from the hops is just not for me. But here I am, 200 beers, to Paul's 192.
And now, here I am, relaxing at home as the snow falls quietly here at the Jersey shore... goodnight!
However, tomorrow is my first snow day, although this semester I don't have class or work on Wednesday. Snow days have proven to be good days for trying new beers (see here and here), but I didn't manage to pick up anything new before the snow started. However, I do have something else to report:
I hit 200 beers last night! By accident.
Number 199 was actually during the Superbowl. My friend Jeremy hooked me up with a Flying Dog In Heat Wheat. Actually, he told me there were miscellaneous Flying-Somethings in the refrigerator upstairs in his sister's house, where a few of our friends had gathered to watch the game, and that I could help myself to them. I chose the In Heat Wheat on my own, for two reasons: the awkward name amused me, and I like wheat beers. (Why is it even called "in heat"?!)
The In Heat Wheat was a good unfiltered hefeweizen, though I wouldn't call it my favorite. Very pleasant and drinkable, that nice crisp clean wheat beer flavor. It was kind of foamy but nice and light to drink. I like it.
Number 200 was not as epic as I'd hoped. I went to Stuff Yer Face as I do most Mondays, though this week we were celebrating our friend Cristina's birthday. Stuffies is pretty empty on Monday nights and we're friends with the regular Monday bartender, so we do ridiculous things like bring cupcakes and homemade guacamole and take over the back corner. Upon our arrival, Jill, our awesome bartender friend extraordinaire, brought over two pints of Stone IPA. Apparently, two guys came in and ordered them and then refused to pay when informed that it did, in fact, cost more than things like Coors Light or Yuengling. No one else was interested, so I had at it, despite not being a fan of IPA's.
India Pale Ales are too bitter and hoppy for me. I just don't enjoy the flavor or the bite. This was no exception. Stone IPA received rave reviews from a lot of beer aficionados, so I guess if you're into that sharp, bitter flavor that IPAs offer, this is a good one to go after. The kick in the face from the hops is just not for me. But here I am, 200 beers, to Paul's 192.
And now, here I am, relaxing at home as the snow falls quietly here at the Jersey shore... goodnight!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Outrunning a Blizzard
Last Thursday, I went out with a few people to celebrate my friend Jeremy's promotion at work. We met at a place called Overwood. I thought it was a good time. A few good people, and couple of good beers tried on my part. The food was pretty good too, but that's clearly not the point of this blog. The beers I had were:
Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale: This beer was exactly what you would expect, clean finish that was slightly hoppy. Now, hops cause the bitter, or bite, in the after taste. Pale Ales are generally more balanced and subdued - this beer being no exception. IPAs, by contrast, are much heavier on the hops - and thus more bitter.
Avery IPA: Using the description for the previous beer as a guide, we'd know that this beer has more bite. I thought this beer was a good IPA, categorically speaking. I can get tired of IPAs after a while, but this beer was solid nonetheless.
Immediately after the celebration, I drove down to Williamsburg, VA to visit my girlfriend, Laura. The timetable of my departure was moved up due to the snowpocalypse. They got 3-4 inches of snow there, as opposed to the 3+ feet in some parts of the DC-Baltimore Metro area. With another storm on the way, this could get fun. Today, I returned gingerly to my place, careful not total my car and kill/injure myself/someone else. I'd say the drive was a little long, but a succcess.
Over the course of the weekend, I tried several beers. I bought my girlfriend and her roommates a Samuel Adams mix pack, and tried a new beer from it. I went to the Green Leafe twice on Sunday, once to wait out a meeting and once to watch the Super Bowl with the girlfriend. She and I also went to The Cheese Shop, which has a selection of micro-brews in the basement.
Teaser: I bought a new beer, and will taste and review Stone Double Bastard Ale next week. Enough with my rambling, and on with the reviews:
Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat: So I have a confession to make, this is my 17th beer from the Samuel Adams brewery. That means about about 1/11 beers I've tried have been from them. Across the board, they make some very good brews. There are some very noticeable exceptions: Cherry Wheat, Cranberry Lambic, and Old Fezziwig Ale. This beer was very smooth for a wheat beer. There was a lemon-y after taste to it, that reminded me of their Summer Ale. It was a beer that could easily be enjoyed without food, but would get repetitive after a few.
Dominion Oak Barrel Stout: For most people, stouts are not the most accessible beer. They are thick liquids to drink, and typically are fairly complex in taste. This beer was that description on 'roids. It was highly complex, and very aggressive in flavor.
Legend Brown Ale: I've had a lot of brown ales in my life (ok, maybe 10-15). This was a mediocre-sub par Brown Ale. The typical smoothness of a Brown Ale was sort of there, but not really. I wasn't completely impressed with this one.
St. George IPA: This beer was from the bottom of the keg. Upside, a few ounces of free beer. Downside, the quality of any beer is less than ideal. Nonetheless, this was a fairly typical IPA. The hop aroma and flavors were there, which is to be expected.
Legend Chocolate Porter: Ok, I like porters. This beer, however, sucked. A porter should have a roasted malt (usually chocolate) after taste. It's more a subtlety than anything. This was like drinking a blend between beer and chocolate milk. This was my mug night beer, so it was a 32 oz beer (for six bucks!). Needless to say, it was torture from the first sip but the price was right.
Next weekend, I expect to add a few more to my list. The hope is to keep pace with Colleen and, dare I say, retake the lead at some point. Right now though, I'm just praying that I don't get snowed in for the next week.
The scorecard:
Colleen: 198
Paul: 192
Cheers,
Paul
Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale: This beer was exactly what you would expect, clean finish that was slightly hoppy. Now, hops cause the bitter, or bite, in the after taste. Pale Ales are generally more balanced and subdued - this beer being no exception. IPAs, by contrast, are much heavier on the hops - and thus more bitter.
Avery IPA: Using the description for the previous beer as a guide, we'd know that this beer has more bite. I thought this beer was a good IPA, categorically speaking. I can get tired of IPAs after a while, but this beer was solid nonetheless.
Immediately after the celebration, I drove down to Williamsburg, VA to visit my girlfriend, Laura. The timetable of my departure was moved up due to the snowpocalypse. They got 3-4 inches of snow there, as opposed to the 3+ feet in some parts of the DC-Baltimore Metro area. With another storm on the way, this could get fun. Today, I returned gingerly to my place, careful not total my car and kill/injure myself/someone else. I'd say the drive was a little long, but a succcess.
Over the course of the weekend, I tried several beers. I bought my girlfriend and her roommates a Samuel Adams mix pack, and tried a new beer from it. I went to the Green Leafe twice on Sunday, once to wait out a meeting and once to watch the Super Bowl with the girlfriend. She and I also went to The Cheese Shop, which has a selection of micro-brews in the basement.
Teaser: I bought a new beer, and will taste and review Stone Double Bastard Ale next week. Enough with my rambling, and on with the reviews:
Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat: So I have a confession to make, this is my 17th beer from the Samuel Adams brewery. That means about about 1/11 beers I've tried have been from them. Across the board, they make some very good brews. There are some very noticeable exceptions: Cherry Wheat, Cranberry Lambic, and Old Fezziwig Ale. This beer was very smooth for a wheat beer. There was a lemon-y after taste to it, that reminded me of their Summer Ale. It was a beer that could easily be enjoyed without food, but would get repetitive after a few.
Dominion Oak Barrel Stout: For most people, stouts are not the most accessible beer. They are thick liquids to drink, and typically are fairly complex in taste. This beer was that description on 'roids. It was highly complex, and very aggressive in flavor.
Legend Brown Ale: I've had a lot of brown ales in my life (ok, maybe 10-15). This was a mediocre-sub par Brown Ale. The typical smoothness of a Brown Ale was sort of there, but not really. I wasn't completely impressed with this one.
St. George IPA: This beer was from the bottom of the keg. Upside, a few ounces of free beer. Downside, the quality of any beer is less than ideal. Nonetheless, this was a fairly typical IPA. The hop aroma and flavors were there, which is to be expected.
Legend Chocolate Porter: Ok, I like porters. This beer, however, sucked. A porter should have a roasted malt (usually chocolate) after taste. It's more a subtlety than anything. This was like drinking a blend between beer and chocolate milk. This was my mug night beer, so it was a 32 oz beer (for six bucks!). Needless to say, it was torture from the first sip but the price was right.
Next weekend, I expect to add a few more to my list. The hope is to keep pace with Colleen and, dare I say, retake the lead at some point. Right now though, I'm just praying that I don't get snowed in for the next week.
The scorecard:
Colleen: 198
Paul: 192
Cheers,
Paul
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
A-very good beer, added posthumously
Today, while doing heaps and heaps of homework, I was searching through my computer for something I wrote for a class I took in college, hoping for inspiration. Instead, I eventually ended up in a folder called "random desktop files"... until just over a year ago, yes, I had a desktop. Anyway, amidst things like the itinerary for my trip to the U.K. (created fall of 2006), my work schedules from October 2004-May 2008 from the auditorium at Mary Washington, and a lot of pictures of trees used in an independent study in Biogeography my senior year of college, I found an excel file called "beer". Apparently I had tried to keep track of this once before but totally forgot about it, because there were only four beers on the list-- Guinness, Anchor Porter, Victory Storm King... and one that never made it to my master list that is now up to 198: Avery's Czar Imperial Russian Stout.
Now, I don't just add things to my list all willy-nilly any time I remember something; for example Stella Artois, which I know is what I drank at Newark Airport with my big brother when he dropped me off for the aforementioned United Kingdom adventure (it didn't make the list until very recently when I tried it and actually made a note of what I thought of it). However, this beer was sitting in that spreadsheet with a good description, and I recall the whole story very clearly. I think this counts.
It was during Dead Week at Mary Washington, the week between the end of final exams and graduation when the administration hurries to make sure everyone is actually graduating (they're super serious about this... the girl in front of me at graduation actually got pulled from the line, in full regalia, as she walked up to the stage). A few friends and I traveled to Richmond for Capital Ale House's Steal the Glass night, when a microbrewery sponsors the bar with their own glassware and patrons are encouraged to drink said microbrew and keep said glass. When we got there, they had already run out of the glasses that were meant for stealing, but we might have overlooked that little rule...
Anyway, I was there with Noah and Jon, with Sarah as our DD (the photo above has me, Sarah and Noah in it). Noah, while a person of fine taste when it comes to alcohol, has very low tolerance for it, so while he went to the bathroom after the first two rounds, Jon and I scanned the menu for a beer with a higher alcohol content. We chose Avery Russian Imperial Stout, about 11% ABV. Noah came back just as our kind server brought us three pints of the stuff. He held it up to the light and exclaimed, "What, did you guys order black paint?!"*
He made a good point. You couldn't see through it AT ALL. This was a really good stout. Very strong, both in alcohol content and flavor, very thick, pretty malty. Definitely not for the faint of heart. And despite trying it a few years ago, I think I remember the occasion clearly enough to include it here, putting me two shy of 200 beers. I should probably choose something pretty awesome for the big 2-0-0, shouldn't I? Suggestions? I've had my eye on Dogfish Head's World Wide Stout, but have been putting it off because it's pricey. I may have to splurge though.
*I'd just like to say, I generally don't go out of my way to intoxicate friends. Noah definitely was a bit silly that night, but we never would have intentionally put him in harms way, no matter how delicious the beer.
Now, I don't just add things to my list all willy-nilly any time I remember something; for example Stella Artois, which I know is what I drank at Newark Airport with my big brother when he dropped me off for the aforementioned United Kingdom adventure (it didn't make the list until very recently when I tried it and actually made a note of what I thought of it). However, this beer was sitting in that spreadsheet with a good description, and I recall the whole story very clearly. I think this counts.
It was during Dead Week at Mary Washington, the week between the end of final exams and graduation when the administration hurries to make sure everyone is actually graduating (they're super serious about this... the girl in front of me at graduation actually got pulled from the line, in full regalia, as she walked up to the stage). A few friends and I traveled to Richmond for Capital Ale House's Steal the Glass night, when a microbrewery sponsors the bar with their own glassware and patrons are encouraged to drink said microbrew and keep said glass. When we got there, they had already run out of the glasses that were meant for stealing, but we might have overlooked that little rule...
Anyway, I was there with Noah and Jon, with Sarah as our DD (the photo above has me, Sarah and Noah in it). Noah, while a person of fine taste when it comes to alcohol, has very low tolerance for it, so while he went to the bathroom after the first two rounds, Jon and I scanned the menu for a beer with a higher alcohol content. We chose Avery Russian Imperial Stout, about 11% ABV. Noah came back just as our kind server brought us three pints of the stuff. He held it up to the light and exclaimed, "What, did you guys order black paint?!"*
He made a good point. You couldn't see through it AT ALL. This was a really good stout. Very strong, both in alcohol content and flavor, very thick, pretty malty. Definitely not for the faint of heart. And despite trying it a few years ago, I think I remember the occasion clearly enough to include it here, putting me two shy of 200 beers. I should probably choose something pretty awesome for the big 2-0-0, shouldn't I? Suggestions? I've had my eye on Dogfish Head's World Wide Stout, but have been putting it off because it's pricey. I may have to splurge though.
*I'd just like to say, I generally don't go out of my way to intoxicate friends. Noah definitely was a bit silly that night, but we never would have intentionally put him in harms way, no matter how delicious the beer.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Nothing very exciting to report these days, unless you find remote sensing, the electromagnetic spectrum, land change science and Bracken fern interesting... but I have tried three new brews.
Sam Adams Noble Pils: a new spring seasonal?! This was pretty good. Currently on tap at Stuffies, as discovered when I went there for dinner with Tom on Sunday. It's a little hoppier than I'd prefer, but not offensive, more in the same vein as Victory's Prima Pils, which I also recently tried. I got a slightly citrus taste out of Sam's; I think Victory had a little more lemon going on. This was decent, but I don't need to go out of my way for it again soon.
Dundee Honey Brown Lager: As my friend Jeremy said, this beer is inoffensive in every way. It seems the people in the internet were even more indifferent, according to that link at beer advocate. I liked it. Not too sweet, not too bitter, not too sharp, not too tasteless, just fine.
Tröeg's Nugget Nectar: I have liked other things by Tröeg's-- the Mad Elf, Dreamweaver Wheat, and Nut Brown Ale, but this was like a smack in the face with hops, which it's been well established that I don't care for. If you like hops, have at it. I don't need to drink this again.
Colleen: 197
Paul: 185
Sam Adams Noble Pils: a new spring seasonal?! This was pretty good. Currently on tap at Stuffies, as discovered when I went there for dinner with Tom on Sunday. It's a little hoppier than I'd prefer, but not offensive, more in the same vein as Victory's Prima Pils, which I also recently tried. I got a slightly citrus taste out of Sam's; I think Victory had a little more lemon going on. This was decent, but I don't need to go out of my way for it again soon.
Dundee Honey Brown Lager: As my friend Jeremy said, this beer is inoffensive in every way. It seems the people in the internet were even more indifferent, according to that link at beer advocate. I liked it. Not too sweet, not too bitter, not too sharp, not too tasteless, just fine.
Tröeg's Nugget Nectar: I have liked other things by Tröeg's-- the Mad Elf, Dreamweaver Wheat, and Nut Brown Ale, but this was like a smack in the face with hops, which it's been well established that I don't care for. If you like hops, have at it. I don't need to drink this again.
Colleen: 197
Paul: 185
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