Philly beers and silly beers

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." -Benjamin Franklin

He may or may not have actually said that, but it's still pretty amusing, and an appropriate way to open this entry since I spent a chunk of my weekend in and around Philadelphia, and tried a few new beers while I was at it (two thirds of them were even brewed in Philly!). It was nice to see some of the historic sites that I last saw on elementary school field trips, and just to walk around a different city. Nice change of pace. After visiting the Liberty Bell and Ben Franklin's grave, we wandered over to Yards Brewing Company to taste the local brews, sharing pints of the following:

Love Stout: Good stuff. This was nice and lightweight, like Guinness (I know some people find that statement to be completely ludicrous but it's true). Straightforward and smooth.

IPA: Good. Straightforward. No complaints here, and the IPA fan (the other half of this mysterious "we" I keep referring to) who I was sharing this with gave it his seal of approval too. That means it's pretty legit.

Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce Ale: Speaking of Ben Franklin... this was a very interesting beer. I can't say if it was good or bad so much as interesting because it tasted exactly like a spruce tree smells. I love trees and all but I'm not entirely sure a beer should taste like liquid tree. The verdict is still out. Definitely a strong flavor though, so if you have any sort of spruce-sensitivity, don't go near this.

General Washington's Tavern Porter: This was a good porter. Nothing so strong tasting that it knocked me over or startled me, but definitely not a boring beer, either. Count me a fan.


After faffing about for a while in the city, we went to a Halloween party, to which I brought a variety twelve pack of Butternuts brews. I'd previously tried the Moo Thunder (great) and Pork Slap Pale Ale (also very good), and I figured Halloween is all about fun, silly, weird things, so why not get beers in goofy looking cans with ridiculous names? I would be driving to the D.C. area later that night, so I just stuck to trying the two I hadn't already had.

Heinnieweisse: What's not to love about a beer called named heinnie? Well, I guess that's an exaggeration. I liked this beer, don't get me wrong, but I didn't love it. It's a decent hefeweizen but nothing particularly remarkable about it (though as we've been discussing lately, sometimes that's ok).

Snapperhead IPA: This was not good, and it wasn't even the hops that bothered me. In fact, it wasn't that hoppy at all, it was just super sweet and weird tasting. I liked their other beers, especially the first two I tried, but not really this one. And all of the other IPA fans in the room didn't like it either, so it's not just me and my immature taste for the style.


Some winners, some losers, some in-betweeners, but as always, excellent adventures in beer and in life.
Paul: 300
Colleen: 317

drafting with bottles (not drafts)

Hello friends. I'm currently on a self-declared 12ish hour break from thesisland. After I turned in that draft last week, I received a speedy response letting me know of its inadequacies. A little over an hour ago, I turned in a decent portion of draft version 1.5 (it'd be a lie to call it 2.0, since it's not really a new draft so much as a more complete version of the last draft). And now I'm not looking at that stuff or thinking about it until I wake up without the assistance of an alarm clock tomorrow morning. Instead, I get to write for fun in my blogs!... and probably clean my room, and put away laundry, and go for a run...

but first, beer-related things to write fun-ly about!

1. When you Google "thesis depression", the first result is this gem of a blog. I have read through quite a few entries, in chronological order. It's pretty stellar. I'd probably write a blog about writing my thesis, but why create a new venue when I can complain about my thesis in conjunction with beer reviews or my tendency to wander? I could, of course, take this to the next level and try writing in bars...

2. The last beer of my motivational mixed six pack was not a winner, at least not for me. Weyerbacher Simcoe IPA. I bought this in honor of my trip to Lake Simcoe a couple of years ago, and my possible familial ties that inspired said trip. (Look! Thesis, beer and travel all in one paragraph!) My ancestors came to the US via Canada, and lived in that area for a few generations before doing so. There is a provincial park on that lake called Sibbald Point-- my grandmother's maiden name is Sibbald, but she doubts we're actually related to those Sibbalds. Whatever, I reclaimed the family land and then a few years later bought a beer made with hops that share a name with the lake. And I didn't like the beer because of said hops. Just too sharp and bitter a flavor for me. Since there have been a few IPA's that I've enjoyed lately, I'm going to say this one just isn't the greatest. Go after it if you're into that, I guess.


Colleen the explorer reclaiming ancestral lands

3. I have barely left the house since I got home from school on Tuesday. I've been to Staples and to church. No bars, no liquor stores. And yet, I still managed to get another beer on my list that I was actually surprised wasn't already there. For this, I have my awesome older brother and sister-in-law to thank. They were in town for a wedding this weekend and brought with them some Miller Lite (the Earp standard issue-- totally already in the blog) and Beck's. I think it's interesting how poor of a rating it has on Beer Advocate. They recommend avoiding it. I suspect it's because they're super snobby and looking for crazy flavors and unique stuff. However, if you're going for something that's just plain old straight up beer, I think this is totally appropriate. While this is not my favorite style of beer (see-through), I thought this explained German Purity quite nicely-- it was very straightforward, clear, no weird tastes floating around, it tasted the same beginning to end and after. I appreciated this. And I appreciated big brother sharing this with me.

4. "What's going on here? You got a tattoo like him, and now you're drinking like him." -Kerin's commentary on my choice of Miller Lite when hanging out with them on Friday night... yes, I prefer beers that you can't see through, but I enjoy the occasional Earp Standard Issue, especially in the good company of my big brother and sister-in-law (:


Colleen: 311
Paul: 300

BUFFing out the pain of the thesis, and other good beers

The first draft of my thesis was due last week. Ugh.

To help motivate myself to meet that deadline, I made myself a mixed six pack at the store near Cheryl and Gurzo's house, with the stipulation that I wasn't allowed to have any unless I called them and checked in with my progress on that paper. They are good friends, aren't they? At first I was just going to pick up two or three individual bottles, but then I found six that I was interested in.

The first one I was particularly interested in, given the somewhat recent discussion about our favorite microbrewers. You may recall I recently picked Dogfish Head, while Paul stands by Stone. You may also recall that a shared favorite of ours is a Victory brew (even if I haven't liked most of theirs that I've tried aside from Storm King, that shared favorite). Well. It turns out the three companies got together to create BUFF: Brewers United for Freedom of Flavor, and created Saison du Buff, a farmhouse beer made with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. I bought it under the Dogfish Head label though I did later see it under the Victory label on the same shelf. Was it epic? Indeed it was. My notes say, "brilliant herby slightly hoppy light tangy farmhouse love." It was just really fresh and crisp tasting. Very, very good. I would absolutely recommend this. I am impressed with their work and sincerely hope the BUFF efforts continue.

What else have I tried lately?

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale: Also part of my six pack, as per the recommendation of one of my good friend Noah. He described it as exquisite. While I respect his opinions, especially when it comes to beer, I may need to disagree on this one. The spices were great in this one, but it was too sweet for me, one of those pumpkin beers that tastes more like pie than vegetable. It was very smooth, but not my favorite pumpkin brew.

Sam Adams Latitude 48 IPA: Another addition to the mixed six, based on two criteria: I'm trying to get into IPAs, and it had a geographic theme. I ended up having this one in the midst of the writing process (which was about latitude 19, but that's beside the point, I suppose), figuring that I'd be able to try a new beer but wasn't totally indulging, since it was unlikely that I'd really like this beer anyway. False! This is a nice IPA. It was really hoppy, but it was smooth and had this sort of fresh citrusy thing going on. I approve. And if I approve of an IPA, you know it's worth your time.

Harpoon IPA: Another one that I give my seal of approval! I had this while out for dinner with JACK (the acronym for the girls I went across Canada with) while we were completing the NJ Lighthouse Challenge this past weekend. They didn't have anything else I wanted, so I figured, try another IPA. This one is just like a smooth, nice ale with a slightly hoppy-- not overwhelming-- aftertaste. A pleasant surprise for me.

Flying Fish Exit 4: This was another member of my mixed six, that I'd been looking for for a while, but had trouble finding since it was an earlier part of the Flying Fish Exit Series. I was excited to try it because I love New Jersey and had just finished a two day roadtrip around the coastline thereof, but I knew in my heart that I typically don't care for the style and probably wouldn't totally love it. However, another pleasant surprise: good stuff. This is a tripel, which tend to be too sweet for me, and this was still a little sweeter than I'd prefer, but it was very nicely balanced with the hops and I kinda liked it. Good luck trying to find this, but if you do, it was pretty good.

I have a few more in my thesis motivator pack and as to be expected, I have a few more things to do for said thesis, so those will come soon, I'm sure. In the meantime, Paul: 300 (congrats and welcome to the club, buddy) and Colleen: 309.

Road trip with a side of beer

So this post reviews my recent vacation, where Laura and I drove from southwest Colorado to Virginia. Our route took us to Mesa Verde, a small town called Dolores, CO, the south rim of the Grand Canyon, Santa Fe, Dallas, New Orleans, and Atlanta. Admittedly, this was not the most direct route, but it was a blast. We drove 3,200 miles in eight days, and that includes one day of no driving at all! For Laura's thoughts on this trip, see her blog.

Upon my arrival in Colorado (we drove out a couple months ago and I flew back to DC), Laura and I went to Durango, CO for Mass (since it was Sunday), which was preceded by a cup of coffee at a local shop. Once we were done with Mass, she took me to an awesome brewpub in the town called Steamworks. If you know your beer history (or if you saw the movie I lasted posted about), you would know there was a time in this country when each town had its own brewery. At some point, we lost that trend. However, I am glad to report than in Colorado, it seems that the local brewpub is on the rise once again.

Steamworks Backside Stout: This beer won a gold medal and a silver medal at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival. As an aside, I must go to the Great American Beer Festival one year. Despite the mediocre ratebeer ratings, I agree with the medal distinction. I thought this stout was amazing, well balanced, and full of flavor. It also was not that heavy. Tenured stout drinkers know that, believe it or not, Guinness comes across as light as water sometimes. This beer had a similar characteristic.

Steamworks Night Train: This was a dark lager than can be described as Yuengling on steroids. By that I mean, it was darker in color and heavier on flavor. It was a little hoppy, but I could otherwise drink a beer like this all night without getting tired of it.

We went to Mesa Verde National Park, which was beautiful. They are known for their 13th century cliff dwellings, some of which still stand today. We didn't stay for more than about 3 hours because the lack of sleep from an early morning flight and the altitude were getting to me. We stayed the night in the Rio Grande Southern Hotel. It's a pretty sweet, and might I add reasonably priced, bed and breakfast that is over 100 years old. Our room came with an awesome breakfast the next morning, and was cheaper than every macro chain hotel we stayed at the rest of the week. The best part about Dolores? They too had a local brewpub. The Dolores River Brewery was 1 block from the hotel, and was a sweet local place to eat. Their specialty is brick oven pizza, but they add pesto sauce which gives the pizza an interesting kick.

Dolores River Dry Stout: This beer was dry, yet well balanced. Experienced alcohol drinkers know the descriptor "dry." In a sense, it's that dryness that appears in your mouth after sipping a dry red wine. In no way was this similar to wine, but the same effect was there. This came across as well balanced and, despite the dry taste, as very drinkable.

Dolores River ESB: Their ESB (or pale ale) was hoppy, but not overwhelmingly. In other words, it fit its style very well. The hop (or bitter) flavor initially escalated during the sip, but trailed off into a malty flavor after the glass was pulled away. It went well with a slice of pizza.

Our next day took us to the Grand Canyon. While we stayed there, we found out that the grocery store at the south rim sells beer. There is a Grand Canyon brew. The part where Colleen pounds her fist into the desk? They let you buy individual bottles, so you can make your own six pack. Never fear dear beer friend, they only had three brews I could try anyway. The Grand Canyon was awesome. It rained while we were there, but it provided some really unique views of the canyon - we saw clouds/fog roll in and out as the weather changed, and the rain brought out a lot of color from the canyon walls.

Grand Canyon Pilsner: I thought this was a crisp, gold colored beer. For the most part, it fit the mold as an average pilsner. The unique part being the slight creamy flavor from the beer head. It didn't significantly improve the beer, but certainly made an impression.

Grand Canyon Horseshoe Bend Pale Ale: Pale Ales have more hops than malts, which give them a bitter flavor most of the time. It's important to note though, that hops are actually flowers. Therefore, hops can give a variety of different flavors to a beer. In this case, the floral aroma came across in the smell and taste.

Grand Canyon Sunset Amber Ale: The beer was below average. The amber did meet its style in the sense that it was mostly malty. Caramel malts were certainly used and they were present in the taste. Unfortunately, I thought the beer was too light in body for me to consider an above average amber ale.

On our way from the Grand Canyon to Santa Fe, we ran into some interesting weather outside of Flagstaff, AZ. While on I-40, we experienced hail (which accumulated), heavy winds, and sat in traffic due to many accidents. A tornado touched down and crossed the highway about 40 minutes before we got there. The storm system wasn't moving, so needless to say, we drove out of there as quickly and safely as possible. Upon our arrival in Santa Fe, we explored the city plaza and the Cathedral. For dinner we went to a place where I ate when I was there about 10 years ago, the Blue Corn Cafe. They had great food and their own beer. I highly recommend it if you are in that neck of the woods.

Blue Corn Cafe Oatmeal Stout: This was a gold medal winner at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival. With oatmeal stouts, you can definitely pick up the difference in flavor and body compared to a traditional stout. Both chocolate and coffee malts were used - with the coffee malt taking control as the majority influence on the taste. I liked this oatmeal stout.

Between Santa Fe and New Orleans, we drove through the long, dark of Texas. We stayed outside of Dallas, but about 11 hours of driving with maybe 20 minutes of stopping took its toll. We used the night to recharge for the next day's drive and the following night in New Orleans.

Our arrival in New Orleans was nice, we stayed in the French Quarter. This allowed us to see Bourbon Street, Jackson Square, and Cafe Du Monde. We got drinks at a brewpub in New Orleans called Crescent City Brewing; I thought the beer was mediocre for the price. We ate at a really local hole in the wall called Coops. We got the tip to eat there by asking a local who worked in a gift shop where she liked to eat. We both had cups of Gumbo. Laura had seafood gumbo. I sincerely hope Colleen will still be friends with me after this, because I had rabbit and sausage gumbo - which had quite the kick.

Crescent City Black Forest: I thought this fell into the category of a traditional dark lager. By that I mean, it's a little more complex than Yuengling and has a darker color.

Crescent City Oktoberfest: Like its counterpart, this was a rather mediocre Oktoberfest. The dark color and malty flavor were there, but nothing else really distinguished it.

Abita Amber Lager: We had this beer at the hole-in-the-wall place. The beer definitely had a clean taste to it, and went well with my dinner. The bottle advertises that the beer is brewed with spring water. Other than that, I didn't think it was that special. Being that Abita is the signature brew of New Orleans, trying this was necessary.

We left New Orleans the next morning en route to the suburbs of Atlanta to stay with Laura's aunt for the final night. She was very hospitable despite her broken leg. We certainly hope she gets better soon. The key note of that day's drive was US-90 along the water in Mississippi which had amazing views of the Gulf of Mexico.

This last beer was in my fridge. It may have been part of my last custom six pack, but I am not entirely sure. It seems Colleen and I tend to drink a beer as we write posts, and today is no different.

Left Hand Oktoberfest: I definitely picked up the caramel malt in this beer, and it had a slight sweetness to it. The brewer says they upped the alcohol from last year. 6.6% alcohol is a little high for an Oktoberfest, so it may have led to a different tasting experience. I tend to like Left Hand's brews, but I thought this was average.

I really need to post more frequently, and review fewer beers. I get the feeling its grueling to read through and digest this many reviews. I also need to get ahead of Colleen.

The scorecard:
Colleen - 304
Paul - 300

Cheers,
Paul

Movie Time

I will post about my vacation shortly, but in the mean time I wanted to let you all know about a movie that explains the microbrew industry fairly well. The movie is called Beer Wars and can be found via Netflix (among other places). My good friend and roommate Matt got a hold of movie, which he heard about through friends of ours. I'd like to credit him as the source of this post.

I thought it was an excellent documentary style look at the industry from the perspective of the little guy. I was familiar with most of the content from my brewing course in college, but if you want to get a look at how the industry works, this is the movie for you. If nothing else, you'll get an appreciation for the micro brewers out there and all they do for our taste buds. Check it out one night if you can.

Cheers,
Paul

a toast to Cheryl and Gurzo

You often hear about Cheryl and Gurzo in this blog. It makes sense, since these are the people who I drink beer with the most, especially new beers during our almost weekly gatherings at Stuff Yer Face. Well, this weekend they got married to each other in a totally lovely ceremony on a totally gorgeous day!


newlyweds!

Their wedding featured beers and wines all made in New Jersey. I actually had a cocktail (so weird for me) at the groom's request, but other than that focused my efforts on the two Flying Fish brews they had available-- Oktoberfish, which I'd had before, and in fact gave them my vote for when it was between that and the Abbey Dubbel being at the party (and it did not disappoint, though was slightly hoppier than I recall, but it's a really good Oktoberfest), and the Extra Pale Ale, which it turned out I hadn't had before! It's a little hoppy, but somewhere between what I'd expect from a pale ale and what I'd expect from an IPA. It was pretty good. I enjoyed it with some spicy rice and beans and was plenty happy.

But more important than me adding another beer to my list, way way way more important, is celebrating the exciting-ness of my two good friends, who are now wife and husband. They are two excellent people, and I am so honored to have been part of their wonderful day!

(But, for the record, I'm at 304 to Paul's 288, though I'm sure he'll have some great stories about visiting breweries across the country when he returns soon!)

accidental Triumph

This entry is dedicated to Josh Ritter, the reason I was in Princeton at all last night.

Paul really almost had this milestone, and I'm really sorry for ruining that for him. It wasn't really my intention to cross the 300 threshold that evening, it's just kind of what happened.

After another amazing, upbeat, fun show put on by the talented Mr. Ritter, a few of my favorite seminarians and I headed over to Triumph Brewing, only to find the doors locked. After a few minutes of pondering what to do, someone exited the establishment and held the door for us. They were open, so we weren't going to argue (we did tell them their doors were locked though). And we sat down, and when the server came over, I asked about the sampler.

Each sample is 5 ounces. There were currently seven beers on tap. And so, Paul was toast.

Porter: This was served at "cellar temperature" which I kind of liked. However, it was very plain and light feeling, which surprised me for a porter. It was very smooth though, and I think this would be a good baby step for people trying to get into porters.

Rauchbier: This means "smoke beer". I didn't like it, but that's because I thought it tasted like bacon. As far as the beer part goes, yeah, it was another smooth brew, but I definitely thought I tasted bacon, and as a vegetarian, that kind of turns me off. A vegetarian at the next table agreed with me, though everyone else said it just tasted like smoky wood, which I got a little of, but mostly just bacon.

Honey Blond: This was very plain and light, standard issue sort of beer. Not much to write home about. Or in this case, write in the blog about. That might be a good thing though. Sometimes people just want a beer that's not totally crazy or overwhelming.

Amber Ale: This was a good amber. It was a little bit hoppy but overall very smooth and drinkable. If I approve of a hoppy beer, you know it's pretty good.

Gose: This beer was one of my two favorites in the sampler. A relative of the witbier, this gose is light weight, slightly sweet and really, really nice. I have to say, all of Triumph's beers were very smooth, meaning, there wasn't any sort of sharp bite as it went down the hatch. Except, of course, for...

IPA: Not as smooth as the rest of them, but I suppose that's to be expected when you're just a little glass full of hoppiness. This tasted like flowers to me (confirmed by our friends at the next table, who proclaimed, "This tastes like perfume!"). It was interesting. As someone who is still getting into this genre of beer, I have little else to say about it. Doesn't mean it was bad, just means that I am not an IPA aficionado.

Oatmeal Stout: Saved the one I thought would be best for last, and I was pretty right. I know what I like. Very smooth, slight taste of coffee in it, but otherwise a good, nondescript stout. Sometimes, that's ok.

Triumph is pretty good. If you're in the area, it's a good place to stop in. Actually, starting the first weekend of November, the artwork of my very talented friend Lauren Scott will be displayed there, so you should stop in. Princeton is a lovely town and there are some great restaurants in the area, too.

And so. My apologies, Paul--
Colleen: 303
Paul: 288 (though I know he's actually way closer to 300, he's just on the road and not updating)

the Miles Davis of beers. Literally.

Imagine me as a college senior, about a month before graduation. Hint: I look almost exactly the same now, give or take an inch of hair.

In my last semester at Mary Washington, I only took 13 credits, and only 10 for a grade (as opposed to the 18 credits I took the other seven semesters there). I was relaxed and enjoying the last few months of living in Fredericksburg. Those three credits that I was taking pass/fail? History of Jazz. This was an awesome choice. I sat with a few music major friends in this class, which usually consisted of listening to music and having a slight amount of discussion about it. This was a pretty laid back three hours of my life per week.

Toward the end of the semester, we got to fusion. And I loved it. I mean, I knew it was out there, but I never really thought about it before. I woke up one Sunday and decided: I needed to own Bitches Brew, the album by Miles Davis that helped define jazz fusion. And I would drive all over Fredericksburg until I found a copy. And I sat on my bed for the rest of that dark, rainy day, listening to it and drinking tea. It was everything I hoped it would be. That was a very chill and wonderful day.

Why did I tell you all of this? Because while looking for a hoppy beer for Cheryl, sitting next to the wonderful Lagunitas Hop Stoopid was Dogfish Head's Bitches Brew. I recognized the album cover on the label. And, just as I needed to own the album, I needed to add this beer to my list.

Paul posed the question a while back, what craft brewer in the country do I like the most? And now, I will finally answer: probably Dogfish Head. With the exception of Festina Peche (and they're entitled a dud), everything of theirs I've tried has been really, really great, including the beer that I think was made specifically for me: their World Wide Stout, which was geographically themed and strong and heavy and wonderful. Their Punkin Ale is probably my favorite pumpkin beer, the Indian Brown Ale was great (and made great marinade, too), even their IPA is... survivable... and that's saying a lot for me. (I tried the 60 Minute.)

So was Bitches Brew, like World Wide Stout, everything I hoped and dream a stout could be?

Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes. I think I loved this more than the World Wide Stout, as if that was possible. It's rich and smooth. It doesn't feel particularly heavy going down, but there's a lot of flavor happening. Good and malty. There was evidence of chocolate and honey. A fusion of awesomeness and amazingness, just like the album.


Other wonderful beers I've tried lately:

Coopers Original Pale Ale: Good, legit pale ale. And I thought that before my good, legit Australian coworker arrived to the party where I tried this brew from Down Under.

Cisco Nantucket's Whale's Tale Pale Ale: Admittedly purchased after Paul added 18 new beers to the blog. But it was pretty good. Not particularly amazing, but a decent pale ale-- a little hoppy, but balanced with a little sweet and no weird aftertaste, which is always a plus.

Dogfish Head Namaste: This was a very, very, very good witbier. I am sorry that it's not getting the true love it deserves because I tried it the same day I tried Bitches Brew. Brewed with lemongrass, oranges and coriander, it's got a slightly more complex flavor that just a straight light wheat beer, it's very interesting. Very fresh. VERY good.

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA: I tried this spur of the moment at Stuff Yer Face, because it was Monday and this is one of the only beers left there that I haven't had. Cheryl had the 60 Minute at the same time so I had a sip of hers to compare. This is a little sweeter and a LOT smoother than the 60 Minute, which I find to be a little sour in addition to the hoppy flavor typical of the style. Given the choice, I'd totally go with 90 Minute. I'm still not in love with IPAs, but this was good. Perhaps my next conquest should be the 120 Minute...


Given his current roadtrip, I suspect Paul might actually beat me to 300, but only if he updates before me. I'm going to try and make him sweat a little bit over it though...
Colleen: 295
Paul: 288

A Medley of Sorts

Part of me doesn't want to make a post this long, but the other part of me wants to update the blog and get back to my regularly scheduled programming. I've been working a lot of hours since Laura has been in Colorado, and now that the craziness is about to end, it's time to go through my notes that I've left here, on the back of receipts, and in my cell phone...so here we go.

In August, Brendan and I got a beer at Fireflies. Almost everyone I have taken there enjoys the the vibe and beer list. We talked about life, had some beer and some wings.

Boulder Beer Singletrack Copper Ale: I had some high hopes for this beer, thinking it might be more like an amber ale. I was sorely mistaken. It did have the smooth, light malty characteristics of an amber ale. However, this beer was had too much hop flavor, which ruined it for me stylistically.

I started off September with a Jimmy Buffett concert. If you have not been to one before, I would recommend it. It's basically just one monstrous, but chill, party. It gave me the opportunity to momentarily kick back and relax with a few beers and some friends. I managed to try a new, large macro brew.

Bud Light: It wasn't on my list yet, but according to Colleen, if it's beer it can be reviewed. I find this beer useful if I am out drinking and I don't want to load up on alcohol content. Other than that, it might find purpose to boil brats in or wash my car.

That same weekend, Colleen came to visit. It was great to catch up with her, and hear about her trip. As a thank you, she bought me a custom six pack. I've worked my way through them, some of which I had at the Virginia Tech vs. Boise State game, and the rest I had at a couple pizza and beer nights with the roommates.

Samuel Adams Dunkelweizen: I really liked this beer. It was a good transition from the summer beers that I've been complaining about in recent posts. Essentially, it's a dark hefeweizen. The difference being there is more malt to it, hence the darker color and different taste. Samuel Adams usually doesn't steer you wrong (EXCEPT: when there is a fruit/pumpkin in it or its name is Old Fezziwig).

Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale: I don't like pumpkin beers. I tend to avoid them. However, I am also behind in our beer count, so I can't be choosy. This tasted a bit like pumpkin pie, because I tasted cinnamon. It's an experimental seasonal. That said, the taste was better than most pumpkin beers that I've tried.

Holy Brew Purgatory Pilsner: It shouldn't surprise most that I bought this beer for the name on the bottle. Overall, it was an average pilsner. It was the light body, medium taste that you would expect to find from the style.

Smuttynose Robust Porter: This was a fantastic porter. Really, it might be one of the best porters I have ever tried. The beer was everything a porter should be, and nothing else. The brewers did a great job of not messing with a good thing. The beer was just the right body, with the perfect roasted malt flavor. I highly recommend it.

The Duck-Rabbit Amber Ale: Bottom Line: This was a sub-par amber ale that didn't seem to distinguish itself from any other amber ales that I've had in the past. If anything else, it left an odd aftertaste in my mouth. Perhaps it could have been the individual bottle, but I wasn't impressed.

Yards General Washington Tavern Porter: The recipe was originally created by Washington himself. He used molasses with his recipe. The molasses creates an interesting twist to the flavor and aftertaste. Porters tend to have chocolate malts, so the taste is not entirely foreign either. I thought this was good as well.

The roommates and I went to RFD in Washington DC. They have about 50 beers on tap at any given time, and a good bottle list. Their location near Chinatown makes for a good location. Matt, Brendan, and I enjoyed time to make sarcastic comments. It's nice to kick back with them and have a few new beers.

Troegs Dead Reckoning Porter: The fact that it is the time of the year for porters makes me very happy. This porter also made me happy, because it was done well. The beer was heavy, which should be expected, but didn't overbear my stomach. The malts seemed varied in flavors, but were very well balanced.

Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale: The guys at Stone brewing are most likely the best in the country. They aren't afraid to experiment, but everything they put on a shelf seems to be liquid gold to a beer snob. This was an incredibly complex beer, which is par for the course with Stone. It's kind of like drinking an IPA, but it's dark with plenty of malts.

I joined my friends Tim and Heather for dinner a couple of weekends ago. We went to Victoria's Gastro Pub. I have been there before with them, and I highly recommend it as a place to eat as well as enjoy new beers. They are on the cutting edge of complimenting food with beer. When paired well together, I think beer and food make a better combination than wine and cheese.

That same weekend, I went to West Chester, PA to their yearly restaurant festival. It's a really good time, plus I get to hang out with my cousin Scott. He was kind enough to buy a six pack of Guinness, since he knew I was coming. Quote of the weekend: At one point, I went to get another beer and I said, "I guess I'll preserve the Miller Lite and get a Guinness for myself". I intended this to mean, that since most people won't drink Guinness, that's what I will stay with in order to be polite. However, after a good laugh, the group decided this would make a great beer commercial.

Evolution Lucky 7 Porter: I enjoyed this porter. As far as the style goes, it was above average. There was that smoky/roasted taste that is endemic of most porters. The malts were well blended between coffee and chocolate characteristics.

This past weekend, I went with my cousin Brendan and a few friends to the DC Oktoberfest. In short, it was a small piece of heaven. I ended up with an extra ticket, so that meant more tokens. The best part was the smallest samples (which cost one token) were 4 oz. That follows our rule. Secondly, I had enough tokens and time to get decent samples (8+ oz) and still maintain a good review. I will be going back to this next year. Colleen, you should come down for it. Most of the brewers were ones that I hadn't heard of before - win.

Julius Echter Hefe-Weissbier: I thought this was a very light bodied hefeweizen. The beer was unfiltered, and thus a little heavy on the yeast. However, it did have a sweet characteristic that complimented the hot September day.

Evolution Rise Up Stout: This was heavy on the coffee malts. I traditionally don't like coffee stouts that much, and this wasn't an exception to that rule.

Goose Island Honker's Ale: I have some interesting notes for this beer. I thought it came across as rather malty on contact, became mild and very good in between, and ended off hoppy. And those are the impressions I got on each sip. I need to find this beer again so I can break it down more.

Pyramid Juggernaut Red Ale: The lone descriptor I included was the beer was rather malty. Other than that, it was very forgettable. I wouldn't go out of your way to find this.

Lancaster Oktoberfest: I tend to think of Oktoberfest style beers as being on the heavier side, and erring mostly toward the malt side of things. If you don't like IPAs, then Oktoberfest might be your thing. For an Oktoberfest, I thought this was very light. By that I mean it wasn't as heavy as I expected, nor did it contain as much of a malt characteristic as I expected.

Sierra Nevada Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale: Like Colleen, I found this to be a very drinkable beer that was very, very smooth. The malt character is extremely well balanced. For those of you who aren't big on hops, but want to try something from one of America's best brewers, give this beer a shot. I had more of this beer than any other at the DC Oktoberfest.

Lastly, I went to Rock Bottom to celebrate my good friend Andy's birthday. Colleen and I have both reviewed Rock Bottom (since it is a chain of brew pubs). We also happen to like it, since their beers are pretty good. My advice is to look at the boards on the wall to see which beer is freshest and go with that. My biggest complaint is sometimes the beer gets a little old there.

Rock Bottom Rocktoberfest: After a summer of light, fruity beers we finally reach autumn, which means the style of beers predominantly found changes (praise Jesus). I thought this Oktoberfest was rather well done. It was very well balanced, and had a great malt characteristic to it. It's certainly above average for the style.

I'll be on a road trip with Laura in the next couple of weeks. Expect some updates on great brewpubs from around different parts of the country. I need to keep pace with Colleen somehow...

The scorecard:
Colleen - 290
Paul - 288

Cheers,
Paul