Jesus + Beer

On Monday the 4th, I joined my good friend from college, Robert, for Theology on Tap that is sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Arlington. For those unfamiliar, Theology on Tap is a program for young adults where a priest/nun/someone qualified gives a talk on some issue relating to Theology/God/faith/life/modern issues that coincides with Happy Hour. It is intended for young adults. The best way I can put it is that the Church went where the people were for 2,000 years, and modern times have also brought it to your local pub. The program started in Chicago and has spread to many Diocese around the country.

I didn't get a chance to try a new beer, but I did have a Half and Half which is a DBF favorite. It's half Guinness and half Harp Lager. It was good to see my college friend, we haven't gotten together since before the Holidays. The talk this week was from a young man who survived cancer twice - once in high school and once in college. It required him to take a year from high school off and a semester of college off to fight the disease. Obviously, the talk centered around his faith during these times, his reflection on it, and the counseling he does for cancer patients now. Needless to say, it was a very good talk. If you're interested, the talk can be found by clinking on the Theology on Tap link above.

On Tuesday (the 5th) and Wednesday (the 6th), I continued to drink from the custom six pack my brother gave me for Christmas. The selection was heavy on the hops, but I thoroughly enjoyed drinking it. I also enjoyed keeping pace with Colleen, which is very important.

Lancaster Hop Hog IPA: This beer was different than a lot of IPAs I have come across. An IPA is typically heavy on the hops, and light on the malts. This beer definitely had more of a malt character than the average IPA. Personally, I found it a little odd at first, but it became a welcome break from the hop-heavy beers I've had recently.

Avery White Rascal: This is a belgian-style white ale. Honestly, it reminded me a lot of Hoegaarden which is a beer that was on my original Top 5 (which may change at some point). It's an excellent summer beer: light yet refreshing.

The six pack also included the much heralded, Victory Storm King Imperial Stout, which is a mutual favorite of mine and Colleen's. I haven't had this beer, despite it's perch as my favorite, in a long, long time. I must say, it still is the best beer I have ever had. It is by far one of the most complex in terms of flavors. The after taste changes three times: at sip, after sip, and ten seconds later. I find it a little more enjoyable and accessible than Arrogant Bastard Ale and even after 170+ beers it still remains my favorite. It is a seasonal brew. If you manage to come across it, know that both Colleen and I strongly recommend you get it. We also strongly recommend that you invite us over to partake in its awesomeness.

Wednesday night (the 6th) also brought me to quiz night at a local pub with the girlfriend and her friends. It's usually my job to answer the sports questions. This makes me proud, but incredibly nervous - since I don't want to let them down. The quiz was held at Ireland's Four Provinces in Falls Church. We didn't do so well on the quiz, but it was a fun time. I had their House Amber Ale, and I do not know the name of it. When I figure this out, there might be another addition to the list.

The weekend of the 9th, my brothers and I threw a surprise 25th Wedding Anniversary party for our parents. They deserve for not killing each other all these years. The party had about 80 people in attendance and was a fun time. There was a keg of Yeungling. No new beers were tried, but fun was had by all.

On Wednesday (the 13th), I met the girlfriend and her friends at this college bar across the street from George Mason University. The name of the place was Fat Tuesday's. It had a nice list of micro-brews, despite being your usual very fun college dive bar. Imagine some flat screen TVs, goofy shit all over the walls, peanuts on every table and you leave the shells on the floor, and a guy playing acoustic on a mic. The conversation was a fun time, as both her friends there were engineering students. Though, that sentence might sound like an oxymoron to some. You may have pity on my girlfriend, but I had a fun time and they were good guys. The beers I tried are listed below.

Kona Pipeline Porter: I love porters, and so does Colleen. If you've learned anything from reading thus far, you should have picked this up. Despite my love for porters, I was not thrilled with this one. It was too heavy on the coffee malt. Every time I took a sip, I just got the coffee aroma. I'm not going to lie, it was kind of a let down.

Clipper City Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning: This is one of those beers that I think I've had with my friend Andy in Annapolis. It was nicely balanced in flavors. It was not overly hoppy or malty, but if I had to pick I would go with more of a hop flavor. It was definitely a good conversation beer - too bad I finished it before I got there.

The scorecard:
Paul: 173
Colleen: 172

I'd celebrate overtaking the lead more, but I know for a fact that Colleen is indeed ahead. This post was written over the course of 10 days, so it may seem somewhat cluttered or disjointed. My apologies for that. I should settle into a more normal schedule since the Holidays and my parent's party are now over.

One last note, Colleen and I would appreciate it if you would send out your thoughts and prayers to those in Haiti right now. If you are of the means, please also try to donate to the relief efforts. That country had a lot of problems before this earthquake and now things are so much worse. This isn't a current events blog, so I will leave it at that. Thanks.

Cheers,
Paul

not exactly a victory...

I have a standing meeting with some friends on Monday nights at Stuff Yer Face. They have great food, an excellent beer menu, and it's not too far away from any of us. I've tried quite a few new beers there. This week, they had a new one on tap: Victory's Yakima Twilight.

So disappointing.

I mean, Victory Storm King is a beer that both Paul and I feel quite strongly about. BECAUSE IT'S DELICIOUS. I've tried several Victory brews since he recommended that one back when we were in college, but have only been let down since. Yakima Twilight? I was amused by the name and I still had high hopes for the brewer. However, those high hopes were met with high hops... why are all of their beers so hoppy? Why? It kind of had an almost pleasant malty flavor when I first sipped it, but you swallow it and it's just so hoppy... ughhh.

I think I'm fairly open minded about trying new things. However, here's what I wrote about Yakima Twilight in my beer list: "More like yuckima hoplight. Seriously, I'm going to stop drinking Victory beers soon. Except Storm King." I've tried quite a few beers by them that were way hoppier than expected: Weizen Bock ("a bit hoppy for me"), Golden Monkey ("kind of hoppy"), Hop Devil-- ok, that one I expected (it's an American IPA). I guess I'm just not crazy about hops. And I'm just not crazy about any of Victory's beers except Storm King. It's a shame.

But it does bring the score to 154-142.

Welcome - Paul

When we discussed creating this blog, Colleen said we should each make a post introducing ourselves. This makes sense, since we will have four types of readers (which amounts to quite the Venn Diagram): those who know her, those who know me, those who know both of us, and those who know neither of us. In order to give credit where credit is due, the idea for this blog originally came from my cousin, Brendan.

I suppose an adequate place to start would be to give some background. Colleen and I were in the same play group growing up, and in our college years became good friends again. It was during this time we both realized that a) beer was good and b) that a bar near our home towns has an excellent pint night on Wednesdays and Fridays. In addition, we both went to college in Virginia, so we carpooled to and fro on several occasions during senior year.

It was during my senior year at Virginia Tech that I took the greatest course in the long and stored history of crazy college courses: Brewing Science. If you are a student at VT, please take it. The class was half learn about brewing (the theory) and appreciation of beer (the practical). Class was on Fridays from 2:30-5:30, which was a nice segue into Happy Hour. The first 90 minutes was theory, and the next 90 minutes was tasting. After tasting, I collected a bottle for each beer that I had tasted, and thus my "beer wall" was born. College students tend to put bottles above their cabinets, and I was no different. Between my "practical" homework and the class, I amassed many beers there.

Upon my graduation, I collected all the bottles into bags and took them with me. When I moved down to Virginia permanently, I realized my beloved collection could not come with me. And thus, the beer list was born. From that day forward, I kept a spreadsheet of all the beers I had tried and notes on each. It was during this time, Colleen wanted to join in on the fun. She created a list of her own, and the race to be the better beer snob was born. Lists were exchanged periodically, and if it weren't for that, my list would have been gone due to a computer failure (thanks, friend).

Currently, this lists stand as follows:
Paul - 142
Colleen - 152

At this point, we feel that we have very divergent lists. This blog is to track our exploits, entertain you, and to educate you and each other on different beers we've had. There will definitely be some East Coast bias in the beginning, but I hope to branch out - especially if I am going to overtake Colleen again.

My Top 5 Beers:
Victory Storm King (Imperial Russian Stout)
Anchor Porter
Hoegaarden
Starr Hill Amber Ale
Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale

We haven't decided on an exact format of our posts (musings) yet, but I am sure they will evolve over time. With that, I'll turn it over to Colleen to put her own spin on all of this.

Personal Note: As I said before, I live in Virginia and work for the Federal Government. In my spare time I enjoy trying new beers (duh), being outside, reading, and spending time with the girlfriend (insert "awww" here).

Cheers,
Paul