holiday beers

Good morning from a very chilly northern Virginia (currently 27°F/-3°C)! In effort to feel like I'm being productive without actually getting out from under the blanket, I thought I'd share my most recent few beers. Typically, the holidays and visits to Virginia mean visiting and celebrating with friends and family and habitually choosing new brews to do so. Paul actually called me a few days ago to ask what the holiday damage was. Here it is:

Flying Fish HopFish: This IPA was a little bit sweeter and fruitier than I've come to expect. While definitely not the greatest IPA I've ever had, I didn't dislike it. Part of that probably comes from the charm of drinking a New Jersey beer, but I think it's also legitimately ok.

Yep, that was it for the holidays. However, now we transition to my holiday in Virginia-- spending a week here to hang out with the Taylor and visit other friends, and to take part in a wedding this weekend. This is often a sort of danger zone for Paul; visiting with my college friends often involves going out to restaurants and bars, and being in Virginia allows me to find micro brews from VA, MD and DC that I don't normally have access to in NJ.

On Sunday night, Taylor and I went to Leesburg to meet up with our friend JT and his girlfriend Riley at Vintage 50. The food, particularly the waffle fries, was really good. The beers received mixed reviews.

Ole Brown Ale: Three of us enjoyed this one (the fourth didn't order it). Very smooth, straightforward brown ale, no tricks, nothing offensive about it. Went great with dinner.

Head Knocker: I had been eying this based on the name, but it was Taylor who actually ordered it... and then passed it off to me because he didn't care for it. Neither did I, but I finished it. It was kind of fruity and weird tasting and a bit more alcoholic than the rest of its counterparts on the menu (just over 11% ABV). I wouldn't get this again. Thankfully I had some awesome waffle fries to get rid of the taste.


Yesterday, I traveled out to the outlet stores in Leesburg with my friend Becky-- neither of us particularly care for shopping but both needed to accomplish things. She had mentioned a restaurant that had a lovely looking menu that could perhaps motivate us through the treacheries of shopping... guess where we ended up? Vintage 50! More excellent food, the excellent company of one of Becky's college friends and her very cute and well behaved 3 year old son, and I had a beer:

Molasses Porter: I generally expect a porter to have a strong flavor, but this one did not. However, it was a pleasant taste-- sweet but not offensively so, well balanced with the more bitter side of molasses. What surprised me more was the weight of the brew, or the lack thereof. It felt really light for a porter, but was very smooth and pleasant. I liked it.


Meeting up with a few more friends this evening, but Paul's Christmas presents will surely catch him up soon... speaking of Christmas presents, my brother and sister-in-law have provided me with a home brewing kit! Something I always figured I'd get into when I lived on my own, but since I have been given the opportunity now... look out for those adventures in the coming months, starting with a hefeweizen (even though DBF rules state that homebrews don't count toward the totals). Thanks, Chris and Kerin!

Paul: 324
Colleen: 345