seals of approval

Paul summed up Mad Fox Brewing Company nicely, but I'll sum it up further: AWESOME. If you're in the area, it's worth a visit. Beer: awesome. French fries: awesome (especially the curry sauce they serve with them!). Also awesome, and to clarify one point of Paul's: yes, they make everything except the mayo and ice cream, but the ice cream is made from their beer. Our server brought us a sample of ice cream made with their porter. Oh my goodness amazing.

Right, on to the part where I tell you how I felt about the beers in more words than "awesome":

Oatmeal Stout: Probably my favorite brew of the evening. It was served on cask, which I don't think I've experienced before, but basically means smoother and less carbonated (which to me is a stellar thing). This was already a very smooth beer, not super overwhelming but definitely anything but wimpy. I approve.

Porter: This was good as a beer and also as an ice cream (I've mentioned before in this blog the merits of a beer float-- Mad Fox totally killed two birds with one stone for me here). A little sweeter but a similar weight and feel to the stout. Awesome.

Punkinator: This is the pumpkin beer I have been waiting for. It was smooth and had all of the spices I loved without being stupidly sweet. There was that nice vegetable flavor without being overwhelmed by that pie flavor that should really only be found in pies. Awesome.

Saison: While not as mind-bogglingly incredible as the Saison du BUFF I recently tried, this was still a very crisp, clean beer, lightweight and a little lemony. I enjoyed it quite a bit, though it seemed slightly out of season (in that those flavors align better with summer than autumn, the beer tasted plenty fresh).

Wee Heavy: While initially super impressed with how not see-through it was, I was a little disappointed with how sweet it was. It wasn't bad, just wasn't my favorite beer ever. Paul's right, this one is for dessert.

Alt beer: You know, this one was a little disappointing. I had forgotten I tried it until Paul mentioned that we each tried six-- Taylor actually ordered this one but wasn't crazy about it either, so we shared it (thus surpassing the 4 oz requirement). It was just... boring. Forgettable. Not bad, I guess, just not awesome.


I was actually in Virginia for a wedding this past weekend, but as per usual, ventured out and visited as many people in the area as I could pack into one short weekend. I was going to do a separate post to review the rest of the new brews I tried, but then I realized there were only three, so I'll just tack 'em on here:

Bell's Best Brown Ale: This was quite good. Very smooth and a great example of what a malty beer should taste like. Enjoyed on a friend's back porch area on a cool fall day-- excellent.

Natty Bo: I tried this because a friend had bought a twelve pack and Taylor asked if I'd had it before, to which I had to answer... no. We all know I'm not crazy about light beers, but I can tolerate some (see here or here). However, this was dreadful. Ugh. Sorry Luke, thank you for the beer, but more for you, man.

Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout: Whoa. Whoa. Well done, Founders. This was incredible. I think this puts a three way tie for first place for stouts in my life, alongside Dogfish Head's Bitches Brew and World Wide Stout. This beer was really, really, really strong, super dark, incredible. I could taste a hint of maple, not in a sweet offensive way, but nicely balanced with some other strong stouty flavors (chocolate and coffee). I had first learned of this beer in an article that the now infamous Taylor had sent to me, and then he found a bar in D.C. that served it. I approve (of both the beer and the boy who brought me to it).


Other seals of approval given: to Mad Fox, of Taylor by Paul, and of Paul's intention to finally regain the lead-- come on, I have a thesis to finish.

Colleen: 328
Paul: 306

Wait, PS: Upon returning to New Jersey on Monday, I did meet the usual suspects for a short while, where I ended up having New Jersey Brewing Co's Hudson Pale Ale because I love and had just returned to NJ. Gurzo really liked it, but I found it to be extremely mediocre. It was clean tasting and fine, but not super memorable. We have discussed lately though that sometimes that's ok. So I'm actually at 329.