six great new beers that won't make the list

I had a really wonderful Friday night with some really wonderful friends. While I have six new beers to report as a result, none of them count toward my list as they were all part of an awesome sampler at Long Valley Brew Pub-- two ounces each. We finally have our list of rules on the blog, which Paul had referenced recently but we hadn't thought to post yet. However, Long Valley Brew Pub was so awesome that I have no qualms sacrificing those six points. So worth it, forget my score in this "contest"!

When I visited my friends Cheryl, Gurzo and Cristina last week, it came up that all would like to do a bit of hiking, so I invited them to visit me this week, adding the idea of visiting of the nearby brew pubs. Long Valley got our vote for having a well rounded menu that included veggie options for myself, Cristina and Cheryl. My friend Noah, a fellow nature and beer enthusiast who will also be under contract beginning this coming Friday, joined us for the evening.

Here's the thing about Long Valley Brew Pub: it's amazing. Just entering the place gave a great impression. It's in a beautifully restored 200 year old stone barn, in a lovely historic town, at the top of a windy road that goes up a pretty mountain that we got to watch the sun set behind as we anxiously awaited our awesome samplers of their brews.

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

This is actually a photo from the drive to the brewery, but you get the idea-- such an incredible part of the state!

Hookerman's Light: While I don't generally pursue light beers, this was really excellent. Smooth and to the point, extremely drinkable. We were all really impressed with how not lame it was for being a light beer.

American Pale Ale: This was slightly hoppy, and yet I loved it. It's beers like this that will get me to like stronger hops flavors someday. It was very crisp and refreshing with just a hint of really tasty hops. One of my uncles once told me that a good pale ale is totally worth the trouble of looking for. This brew absolutely made me agree with that statement.

German Valley Amber: This was also slighty hoppy but very smooth and tasty, somewhat akin to some sort of nice Irish Red but not quite. I don't think I described that very well, but whatever-- this is also a great beer.

Lazy Jake Porter: SO GOOD. I love my dark beers, and this was really great. When I go through samplers, I tend to take a sip of each and then finish them in the order from least favorite to most favorite. This was the one I saved for last. Definitely a strong coffee flavor but such a smooth, tasty beer. Oh man.

Dusseldorf Altbier: This one I was less crazy about, it being kind of heavy on the malts for being so light in feeling. That's a combination I tend not to totally embrace, such as in the case of bocks. That being said, this was still a solid beer and it wasn't so strong or sweet that I didn't enjoy it.

English Pale Ale: This one didn't have too much exciting about it, but was their current feature beer-- "great beer for no particular reason" it says on the menu. I definitely preferred the American Pale Ale, but this was pretty straightforward and not offensive in any way. I imagine most people would like it.

In addition to great beers, the service was good and we all really enjoyed our meals. The five of us split two orders of some really excellent nachos (the chips themselves were great, with a good mix of fresh veggies and a really good salsa). I had a homemade vegetable burger with fries, phenomenal. This place was awesome and I'd totally recommend it to anyone, the only drawback being it's not particularly close to anything or on the way to anywhere. Well worth the visit if you ever find yourself even remotely in the neighborhood!