VArious

I'm hanging out with my big brother at home, routing for the National League and listening to him play with Siri on his new iPhone machine. His puppy is curled up on the couch next to me, the Cardinals are winning, ...

I was busy catching up with my brother and enjoying the game. Go National League!

So. I spent the last week in Virginia, welcoming home one friend from Peace Corps service and another from grad school in England. That plus camping plus a visit to the alma mater plus catching up with one of my favorite girls plus meeting up with Paul for the first time in a while plus my college roommate playing a show means I have a few new beers to report--

Sam Adams Rauchbier: part of the Sam Adams seasonal pack, this is incredibly underwhelming. I mean, the last time I tried a rauchbier, I wasn't thoroughly impressed either, but this just had nothing to it. Don't bother.

Starr Hill Dark Starr: While hanging out in Fredericksburg with some awesome former professors of mine, I of course tried this Virginia stout. There was some chocolate flavor, some coffee flavor, and lots and lots of awesome flavor. It was dark and dry and smooth and wonderful. I like stout, and it's always fun to drink local.

Port City Porter: Another one at Cap Ale with a crew of Mary Washington geographers. This is a good porter from a relatively new brewer in Alexandria, Virginia. I'd say they're off to a good start. You can't see through it and it's got some hints of chocolate happening. Awesome.

Six Point Righteous Ale: I had another Six Point brew recently that I found to be not so great, but this was good. My good friend Emily and I had gone out on Sunday night in search of the Cardinals game, as she is from St. Louis, and ended up in a place in Columbia Heights that she'd never been. They were out of the Brooklyn Brown I'd ordered so the server recommended this instead. It was nothing like Brooklyn Brown, rather, more hoppy but really clean and nice. I'm surprised to learn it involves rye, but not upset about it. Rye beer. Hoppy rye beer. Good hoppy rye beer.

51st State Amber Ale: This is a pretty not-exciting house beer, but was how I kicked off my first ever bar trivia night, in which a team of Mary Washington Geographers owned the rest of the crowd at 51st State. If you go to this place in D.C., it's a reasonable beer for its price, but there are most definitely more exciting things on the menu.

Starr Hill Boxcar Pumpkin Porter: Of course, an extended stay in the D.C. Metro Area is never complete without a DBF Staff Meeting. Bailey's, located in Ballston and Crystal City, has a $2 pint special on Tuesdays. This was the only new beer I tried there though. This was more spice than pumpkin, but if you like pumpkin pie esque beers and you like dark beers, this is a good combination. The spices are good but not overwhelming, with a really nice, smooth porter underneath. I usually see pumpkin ales, not specifically porters, so this was a really nice change to that particular fall beer.

Tallgrass Buffalo Sweat: Selected partially because of the ridiculous name and partially because it's a stout, this was way sweet. I mean, I liked it, but a pint seemed like a lot due to the sweetness. If you like milk stout, it's great, but if you're not into the very sweet stouts, steer clear.

New Belgium's Ranger IPA: Taylor ordered this, but I ended up finishing it. It's good. Very recommendable.



Hooray for good beer, good friends, JT and Boo getting home, and the National League (and the team that knocked out the Phillies) winning! It is past my bedtime...