Beer, Football, and Traveling

A few weeks ago, there was an extended family party in Richmond. Afterward, some of us met for dinner at Bilbo Baggins in Alexandria. They always have a good beer menu. I was looking for something lighter, being that I was tired from sitting in traffic all day, it was hot (I laugh at that now...it's going to top 100 today), and I was dehydrated.

Eggenberg Pilsner: I thought this beer was light, smooth, and refreshing. Unlike a macro light beer, it had a lot more flavor to it. It was slightly above average on alcohol content. To me, it was a great summer beer. It had a bit of a champagne body to it, which was surprising. Let's face it, you don't want a porter when you're overheated and dehydrated. Ok, maybe you do if you're Colleen...but that's not my thing.

Later that week, my beer adventures continued with a trip to Crystal City Sports Pub to watch the USA vs Algeria world cup game (yes, this was two weeks ago...it's been a lot of repeats recently). I have some flexibility with my work schedule, so this enabled me to watch the game there. It was a fantastic time. There's something about having two hundred people in a sports pub, drinking beer, and eating eggs while watching football. My beer of choice? Guinness, of course. Clearly, the beer gods smiled upon me that day.

The following weekend I traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan for a friend's wedding. I saw this as an excellent opportunity to meet some great people, see my friend get married, hit the open bar (hard), and try some new beers. I was fortunate enough to be hosted by Laura's brother and his family the night before the wedding. Their hospitality was much appreciated. I really like that section of the country, and honsetly wished I could have tried more beers in the land of microbrews.

Grizzly Peak Bearpaw Porter: The groom recommended Grizzly Peak Brewing in downtown Ann Arbor. When I arrived in Ann Arbor, I was searching sustenance as the airports had no selection of micro-brews. I thought this was an excellent porter. I wish I could have brought a growler home. Unfortunately, I am told this is only distributed locally, so it's difficult to find in a bottle.

Grizzly Peak Liberty Lager: This was a seasonal by Grizzly Peak, so I am not surprised ratebeer.com has yet to have a page on it. I liked the porter a lot more, but this wasn't bad either. There can be a lot of variation in lagers, and this erred on the hoppy side. However, the hop choice was interesting, since the aftertaste had a bittersweet to it.

Labatt Blue Light: I brought this over for Laura's brother, as he requested a Canadian beer. It was your average light beer.

I helped my friend Andy move his sailboat on 4th of July weekend. It took 7 hours to move it through the Chesapeake Bay, about 3 hours longer than it should have. While it was hot that day, the wind allowed for it to not feel as bad. However, when we finished I was pretty exhausted and dehydrated. They graciously fed us, and the dinner was excellent.

Pabst Blue Ribbon: Andy's mom offered me this beer, and I housed it due to the conditions described above. The beer was fine, probably because it was cold, and I needed a beer more than I needed a good beer.

I haven't had many new ones lately, so I am squandering my chance to retake the lead. I think I will be heading to make a custom six pack soon. Also, Laura and I will be roadtripping in the next three weeks, so perhaps I can stop at some brewpubs or microbreweries soon.

During my travels, I also had two retreads of note:

Legend Brown Ale: If you like Brown Ales, this is probably a beer for you to try. I wasn't a huge fan of this, again. I thought it was a little too full bodied for a Brown Ale. However, I admit that there would be plenty of people that would like this.

Bell's Oberon: I had this a couple month's ago at the Brickskeller. While in Ann Arbor, I had the chance to have a few of these on tap. I think this is an excellent summer wheat ale. Bell's is perhaps one of the best microbrewers in the country, and this only proves that statement further.

The Scorecard:
Colleen - 267
Paul - 254

Cheers,
Paul