Earp family Christmas beer selection 2011

Sorry this is overdue. My life has been busy with working holiday retail purgatory and family time. I wanted to share what happened when Mom gave me her credit card and told me to pick up eight 6 packs for the holidays. I had a stout fermenting but it wasn't going to be ready in time. It's now bottled and carbonating, should be ready to go in time to celebrate Grandma's birthday in another week (and oh man, is she looking forward to trying my beer). So, this Christmas's eight--

Miller Lite: Despite it being practically required in this family, there are still five left on today, the Twelfth Day of Christmas.

Lager: Stocking up on the standards. Worst case scenario I cook with this. Best case scenario we have Grandma over and enjoy a beer together.

Yuengling Black and Tan: You know what? I like this. So does my grandmother.


So, those first three are non-negotiable when Mom hands me the card and says go to town. The rest--


Killian's: I used to love this a lot, but to be honest, I haven't had it in a few years. I think it might be too carbonated for me, actually. I like red beers though, but this one I always get because I know my dad and my one uncle are fans.

Brooklyn Brown Ale: I got this because I know my big brother likes brown ales and I wanted to do something besides New Castle, which is good, but I always do for him. Well, I guess he was pleased, because I got none of them, and there are none left.

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefeweizen: As much as I love beers that resemble black paint, I also love a good hefeweizen. This is definitely a good, good hefeweizen, tasting ever so slightly of cloves and bananas as well a good hefeweizen should, without being overwhelming. It's pleasant and feels warm and refreshing all at once. We always try to have a good mix around the holidays (basically meaning I can't get ALL stouts but I always won't allow for ALL light/plain beers), so the hefeweizen has been my go-to "see through" contribution. This one though goes so far above and beyond just filling a spot on the spectrum. Really. Drink it.

Magic Hat's Encore IPA: Another style I know Chris likes, and at this point I was desperate to try something new. This is part of the Magic Hat IPA World Tour, whatever that means-- last year I tried the Blind Faith IPA which I didn't find super incredible. This one, however, is pretty good. I don't know if the difference is that it's an American Wheat IPA (I do like wheat), but it's an IPA that does its job. It's bitter and refreshing without hurting my mouth or stomach. It's funny, because this one isn't anything exceptional, but I like it way more than I remember liking the Blind Faith. I'd recommend it.

Wolaver's Organic Oatmeal Stout: THIS WAS AWESOME. I know, I'm biased toward beer that you can't see through. I bought this because I hadn't tried it before, and only just learned in writing this post that Wolaver is the organic label for Otter Creek, a totally legit and good brewery in Middlebury, Vermont (which is clearly a great place, as that is where Dispatch formed). Anyway. I really only bought this because it was an oatmeal stout, but I was not disappointed. It's not very sweet, but it's very smooth and drinkable, a nice, not-too-heavy stout. I would get this again if I wasn't so hell bent on trying new beers all the time. What the heck. I'll probably get this again.


Other things I plan to repeat soon? Dogfish Head's World Wide Stout. Santa failed to leave one in my stocking but I think that's going to be my belated gift to myself as a reward for not messing up Christmas dinner this year (deep fried turkey! and half a dozen side dishes! all successful! AND THERE WAS GRAVY*!).







*Last year, there wasn't. And that may have also happened one other year that I was in charge of the meal. Sorry, vegetarians forget about these details...

fun, friends, falafel and beer

This year, I "watched" the Superbowl with Cheryl, Gurzo and Cristina at Cheryl and Gurzo's house. I may have been paying more attention to my friends, falafel and... there doesn't seem to be a synonym for drinks that starts with the letter F, so the alliteration ends there.

We split several 22 ounce bottles partially because good stuff came in them but also because I have realized that I do not have enough bottles for my homebrew, which I am set to bottle tomorrow (and will be buying more bottles in order to do so due to my poor planning).

HUB's Abominable Winter Ale: As much as I seem to have developed a taste for hoppy beers, I just felt like this was really unbalanced in favor of hops. It wasn't bad, just not particularly more interesting than a really hoppy beer.

Oakshire's Ill Tempered Gnome: This was relatively plain but had some nice spice to it, if that makes sense. It wasn't particularly complex tasting aside from the spices, I mean. Whatever. It was smooth and I enjoyed it and it seemed like a good beer to drink in winter when you're cold and just need something warm and spiced in your life.

Ninkas Oatis Oatmeal Stout: This was a little sweeter than the average oatmeal stout but very smooth and mellow. I liked it, but it's not about to win the favorite oatmeal stout award (that would most likely go to BORIS, Shakespeare or Samuel Smith, or the overly- built- up- in- my- mind- epic Southend Brewery Oatmeal Stout that I tried with the Mary Washington Geography Department at the SEDAAG conference in 2007).

Dogfish Head Sah'Tea: Ahhh, Dogfish Head, you almost never let me down. This was really excellent, like if beer and chai had a beautifully delicious spiced baby (my love of spiced chai is severe). You could kind of taste the spices and the tea, but it was just so unique and enjoyable. I was worried when I saw juniper berries in the description after not totally loving tree flavors in another beer, but no problem. It was a hint but not overpowering. Subtle and complimentary. Ah. Loved it. This also introduced me to a new type of brew: the sahti. I had never heard of it before. I suspect this is not super typical of the style though...

Fort Collins Brewery's Double Chocolate Stout: I had this on Tuesday in hopes that another 22 ounce bottle would alleviate the bottle crisis... not even close, but it was still a worthwhile beer. If you like offensive, sucker-punch flavored stouts, this is for you. I really enjoyed this. The chocolate was present but not super sweet. The stout was mostly just strong and... strong. Yep. Delicious. My kind of beer.

Long Trail Hibernator: My little brother gave me one of these this evening because I'm his favorite big sister (probably more because I picked up some snacks for him on my way home from choir tonight...). It was not as interesting when it was ridiculously cold from sitting in a fridge in our ridiculously cold garage, but once I let it sit for a few minutes, I got a hoppier- than- expected- but- not- overly- so kind of flavor. Decently balanced, pretty smooth going down. This was more delightful than I expected. It's reasonable and generally unoffensive.

So, tomorrow I bottle my first batch of beer! It will need a week or two to carbonate before I can find out if I did it right or not... I'm really nervous, but excited. In the meantime, I have a few beers around waiting to be tried, including Mikkeller's Coffee IPA (I got the last two available in the region as per my big brother's request), Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout (which I plan to use to get me through the latest round of thesis revisions... ugh) and Dogfish Head's My Antonia (which was purchased to cover up someone's worst boyfriend ever moment of drinking all of my beer).

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.

Staff Meeting & A Double Date

On Friday night, Laura and I met Colleen and her new boyfriend, Taylor, at Mad Fox Brewing in Falls Church, VA. Despite my suspicions, traffic did no suck for our 5 PM meeting time. It was awesome to see Colleen and meet her boyfriend (he seems really cool). The beer, I thought, was worth the trip. They definitely did some things better than others, but that's typical of most brewers. The restaurant makes everything they serve (from local ingredients too) - with the lone exceptions being the mayo and ice cream. If you combine all of that with great people, little traffic, and a good conversation, it would be hard to create a better night.

I took a fair amount of ribbing for trailing Colleen in the count for so long. I've actually been having a lot of repeats (for several reasons), but this sparked me to try a lot more beers in the near future. Colleen and I both had samplers (4 beers at 4 oz a piece), plus we each tried two other beers a piece. We effectively prevented the other from getting a lead on the night; however, I am sure she has tried several more this weekend. Fortunately, I anticipated this and made two custom six packs at Total Wine - expect updates on those beers to come post haste. For now though, here are my reviews of Mad Fox's beers - expect Colleen to review some of these as well.

Mad Fox Oatmeal Stout: This was the first one I tried from the sampler, since I was told this was one of their best beers. The oatmeal stout was casked as opposed to kegged, which generally means less carbonation. I thought it was a nice, heavy oatmeal stout. I picked up the chocolate malt in the flavor.

Mad Fox Porter: Stouts and porters are closely related. Stouts tend to be heavier and have more malts, and porters tend to have a little more hop to them. To most people this would be splitting hairs, so you'll have to bear with me. That said, I thought this was a decent porter, but I liked the oatmeal stout more.

Mad Fox American Pale Ale: In Pale Ales, hops influence the flavor of the beer more than the malts. However, the balance isn't tipped as far as an IPA, for instance. When picking my four beers, I wanted two dark beers, a middle beer, and a light beer. This was my middle beer. I thought it was pretty pleasant. The hops came out more than the malts, but they weren't overwhelming.

Mad Fox Kolsch: I don't like Kolsch as a style. I often find them to be too light in color and taste. This beer pretty much fit it's style rather well. If Kolsch is your thing, it's mediocre. Otherwise, it does a pretty good job of clearing your palette before your next beer.

Mad Fox Wee Heavy: This beer is categorized as a Scotch Ale. Colleen thought it was sweet/sugary. I agreed there was a sweetness to the beer, but it didn't seem overly prevalent. The beer was served in a brandy sniffer. There was a slight fruit taste to it as well. It probably wouldn't be a bad dessert beer - if such a thing exists.

Mad Fox Alt: This beer was medium bodied and overall very forgettable. I seem to remember that neither Colleen or I were very impressed with this selection. There was very little hop flavor, and only a slight malt characteristic. Unfortunately, it came as an entire pint. In retrospect, I would have much preferred to have a pint of the oatmeal stout and a 4 oz of this.

I have some other beer reviews lying around (if I can find them all). I'll post them up later. I'd rather let a fun Friday night stand alone though.

The scorecard:
Colleen - 319 (expect at least another six since she matched me)
Paul - 306

Cheers,
Paul

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

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)

belated update

Well, my contract began two weeks ago, and Paul is already working on catching up. He only has a little over a month to do so until my contract is up! Here are the last few beers I tried before I began my summer (which has been going well, thanks!):

Stone Smoked Porter: It's been a couple of weeks since I had this but I remember it being great and my notes say "Mmmmm" so I'll go ahead and guess that I liked it quite a bit. I seem to recall the smoky flavor, and the full flavor of a good porter. I'd have this again.

Ithaca Ground Break: This was a pretty refreshing beer. I can't say that I know much about saisons (I think I said that the last time I tried one, so here's a little more info), but I can say that I seem to enjoy them. This had a bit of flavor to it and was very enjoyable.

Southern Tier Oat: You know, I'm always looking for a great oatmeal stout, and sometimes that means trying some not so great ones. This would be one of those not so great ones. It was just too flat and just not impressive in the flavor department. This falls somewhere between kinda boring and kinda gross and I wouldn't really recommend it. Kind of disappointing that it was the last beer before midnight on the 24th.

That leaves me at an even 270 while Paul works on catching up from his 254.

beer in the news?!

On Wednesday, I babysat for camp's program director's children while he and his wife went to the city to attend a taping of the Daily Show. While pretty jealous and half-contemplating not agreeing to babysit in hopes that his wife would take me instead, it was a pleasant day for us at home and they apparently had a great time seeing John Stewart. I'm watching the episode online now, and as it turns out, beer made the news! Here's the episode-- check around 6:35!*

Why did I post the entire episode instead of just the segment? Because the World Cup has begun and that's exciting! Paul always said that if I was living/working in South Africa this summer, he'd buy us tickets. While life has panned out in other directors, I still remember that deal, as I've been threatening to visit Africa for years and years (and finally will be at the end of this summer).

Anyway, back to the theme of this blog. Yesterday while running errands in the Rutgers region, I stopped at a liquor store near my friends Cheryl and Gurzo's house that offers mixed six packs. I also picked up a couple of bigger bottles to share:

BORIS the Crusher: Recommended to me by my friend Noah back at camp, I was torn between buying this or the oatmeal stout that Paul recently gave a great review. I tend to like this style of beer. BORIS, which stands for Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout, totally did not disappoint. SO good! It has a really strong flavor, but goes down so smooth. I highly recommend this beer.

Rogue Chipotle Ale: I bought this beer because it sounded like it would either be awesome or terrible, but for better or worse, I had to find out. I've recently begun to develop a taste for hotter foods (in baby steps... I cry quite a lot, but I swear I'm enjoying it) so it sounded interesting to me. This ended up being really interesting in a good way. It's warm and spicy, and I definitely felt the heat of the peppers in my throat. What this actually reminded me of is this smoked Tabasco sauce that I recently tried and liked. Kinda smoky, definitely has a hot bite, but really tasty. I'm not sure what I'd drink this with though, since spicy foods require plainer beers to cool the flames, at least for me while I'm still in spicy foods kindergarten. Definitely worth drinking on its own though, or probably pairing with a tamer Latin food, like empanadas.

And several hours later, after dinner, I ended up breaking into the six pack...

Left Hand Good Juju: So good. This beer is made with ginger, which sounded a bit odd, so I went with the same line of thinking as I did for the Chipotle Ale-- it's probably amazing or awful, but I had to find out. It's not an overwhelming ginger flavor, but sort of like a gentle ginger ale- beer hybrid. It was really refreshing and nice! This beer would be perfect on a hot day, but was also really enjoyable on a cool evening.

Cricket Hill Jersey Summer Breakfast Ale: Obviously taken in by the name, as a devoted fan of the great state of New Jersey, I found this to be a bit sweeter than I prefer my beer, so I suppose it would be nice for breakfast. It's technically a pale ale, but was sweeter than the average pale ale. It was light and a bit citrusy, as well a summer beer should be. I hadn't heard of this brewer before, but it's not too far away. Hooray NJ!


I have four more in my mixed six, but till then:
Paul: 239
Colleen: 261

*I tend to get pretty disoriented as far as days and dates go when I'm living at camp... they actually saw Wednesday's show, that's yesterday's (Thursday's). Still awesome!

excuses excuses

So I can't really explain my MIA-ness. I think the best guess is all the graduations I attended, plus I just finished doing some moving. Before this update, I was behind by almost 25 beers and Colleen had a lead that was closing on 10%. Yikes.

Despite this, I did manage to escape my moving duties last weekend and go out with some sailing buddies from college. We went to The Whiskey in Annapolis, no new beer to be had there. However, I did get to catch up with some people and listen to some local music. I'd say the music drowned out catching up more than anything else. Nonetheless, good times were had.

After we had our fill there, we went to downtown Annapolis to Harry Browne's, which is on State House circle. The upstairs bar was the kind of place most appropriate for a cigar and a sniffer full of brandy, but I did manage to try a new beer. As pretentious as it sounded, unlike the last place, you could definitely have a conversation there. So perhaps that means I had a good mix of bar experiences.

Dominion Hop Mountain Pale Ale: I thought this tasted a little funny. I think it was most likely the hop variety, since it can have a large affect on pale ales and IPA. Considering the varying kinds of hops, that's my best guess on one try - assuming the keg was fresh. It did seem to get better as I broke up the taste with some bar pretzels. At times, I think beer can be aided by food. Yet, it can also mask the taste. Being that this isn't a sophisticated beer review guide, I'll stop here and reiterate my review again. Dominion generally makes decent beer, but I'd avoid this one.

In a desperate attempt to begin to catch up, I went to Total Wine and made a custom six pack. For the most part, I avoided porters and stouts, being that it's the time of year for lighter ales and lagers, but I did manage to sneak in an oatmeal stout. Also, at Laura's suggestion, I will be adorning the mantle in my living room with empty beer bottles from my recent reviews.

Bavaria Holland Blonde: Admittedly, if you put this and Heineken next to each other, I might not tell the difference. That statement makes this review interesting, since technically Heineken has not be officially listed on my count. The beer was light in color and taste, and the slight floral/fruit aroma reminded me of Heineken.

Harpoon Celtic Ale: As with the last beer, this reminded me of another common brew. I thought the taste was very similar to Killian's Irish Red. Harpoon, like Dominion, generally does a pretty good job. Being that I like Killian's, I thought this was a very good beer.

Left Hand Jackman'ss Pale Ale: As far as pale ales are concerned, this was rather middle of the road. I thought it wasn't too hoppy, but had enough kick to certainly distinguish itself as a pale ale. The beer went down fairly clean and smooth. Thus far, I'd say Left Hand brewing makes a quality micro-brew.

Lost Coast Alleycat Amber Ale: I tend to like amber ales, especially in the summer. I was somewhat disappointed by this beer. I thought it tasted pretty smooth, but was not what I think an iconic amber ale should taste like. No comment on the brewer, since this is my first by them.

Southampton Double White Ale: White ales tend to remind me of a wheat beer or Blue Moon. Fortunately, this was much better than Blue Moon. The beer was very cloudy, as I believe it was unfiltered. When tasting unfiltered beers from the bottle, it is best to avoid the very last drops as they mostly contain yeast. In short, this was a nice summer beer to have on a hot day.

New Holland The Poet: I thought this was a great oatmeal stout. While it was heavy for the summer, I thought this beer was well done for its style and overall. Laura made Salisbury Steak for dinner that night, and it complemented the food really well. I wish I had better descriptors for you, but I'm at a loss of words. I hope to locate another one of these, because I really enjoyed it - and so I can update this review a little more.

This begins my long march to slowly catch up to Colleen over the summer. I hope to pass her sometime in late July, just in time to build a lead before she begins her march to demolish me once again. That said, I hope to meet with my beer friend sooner rather than later for a beer. Speaking of my beer friend, I wish her best of luck on her Thoreau style thesis writing.

The scorecard:
Colleen: 253
Paul: 236

Cheers,
Paul

a linktastic entry for you

Paul said he was just waiting for me to pull out ten beers to add to the list. It's been a bit of a busy week for me so far, so no, not ten, but four, putting me back in the lead (barely).

Before this week went wild and crazy, I did have a lovely weekend, wrapping up my spring break. As a result of a minor procedure* late in the week, I spent most of it lying on a couch being pathetic. However, on Saturday, I was fortunate enough to be called upon to babysit seven of the world's most well behaved children (they turned off the tv and put themselves to bed!) with the help one of my favorite people in the universe, Becky, who recently returned from a three or so year stint in Peace Corps and other world travels. Since this was up at the aforementioned camp, I also got to see the aforementioned Lauren and share the aforementioned Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout.

Um, DELICIOUS. I love stouts. I occasionally mention my ongoing search for an oatmeal stout as bangin' as the one I had at the microbrewery in Charleston, S.C. while attending a geography nerd conference that one time. Well, I think I finally found it. This was smooth and delicious. No weird aftertaste. Just awesome. Actually, what I wrote in my beer spreadsheet is, "SO GOOD! Smooth, tasty, not too sweet, not too bland, plain delicious perfecto stout" so yeah. Winner winner chicken dinner! Except I'm a vegetarian. Whatever, it's just fun to say. And I found a winning oatmeal stout.

Now onto my regularly scheduled Monday evening antics at Stuff Yer Face.

Corsendonk Abbey Pale Ale: I would highly recommend this one to the person who sort of likes pale ales but tends to be scared off by hops. Actually, I would recommend this one to just about anyone who likes good beer, because it's just plain good. It's actually a tripel. I would use words like "refreshing" and "delightful" to describe this very nice pale ale. It's not too sweet, and there's no real hops punching you in the face type experience to be had. It's just very nice and very good.

Rogue's Captain Sig's Northwestern Ale: While I've had a few Rogue brews now that I have really, REALLY enjoyed (um, did you read the beginning of this entry?), this was not a good experience. Hop hop hop away! No one around me really enjoyed it, either. I drank enough for it to count. Begrudgingly. The brewer describes it saying something about malts and other stuff besides hops... but I didn't get that part. It was just really bitter. If you're into hoppy beer, you'll like this!

and... don't judge...
Heineken: Once upon a time when I didn't really drink beer, I seem to recall liking this? I think it had more to do with the company I was keeping at that time in my life (said company being a big fan of said Heineken). Someone (and I forget who) judged me in a negative light over this and I hadn't had it since, till last night, when I had it just for the sake of getting it on the list officially. Well, I was annoyed at the person for judging me at the time, but I guess I owe them a thanks, whoever they were, because this isn't nearly as tolerable as my memory suggested. In fact, whoever you are, if you're reading this, please remind me that you once judged me, so I can properly thank you. When searching for a non-descript lager (I list these as "whatever lager" on my beer list), I would definitely go for a "Mexican lager" or the Earp Family Standard Issue over this. Eesh.

And so. Paul: 209, Colleen: 210. So I guess Paul's statement about ten beers sort of counts, in that I'm now ten beers past 200 beers.

*Bonus link if you aren't easy skeeved out by medical things: this is an x ray of my spine with a big needle next to it when I had the same procedure done a few years ago.

Harvest Moon, with a digression about oatmeal stouts

Last night, Tom and I had dinner at the Harvest Moon in New Brunswick. The first time I went was summer of 2008 with my girlfriends Lauren and Cheryl, and I have been back many times between then and now, and never let down. The food is great and they make excellent beers. Last night I tried the Harvest Hefeweizen. So good! It was served with an orange, so I tried half of it without before adding it. Both ways are really nice. It's a smooth brew, very drinkable. Reminded me a bit of a Belgian-style witbier, but still very much within the vein of unfiltered hefeweizen. (If you're wondering more about what makes them different, you can read more here or here.) I'd recommend this beer to anyone. It's not too strongly flavored, but hardly boring.

Other beers I've had at Harvest Moon:
Jimmy D's Firehouse Red: This is a brew they always have at the ready. It's a good Irish Red.

Oktoberfest: Obviously out of season now, but when it's in, it's a good Oktoberfest. It's an interesting beer, definitely has some nutty and caramelly flavors going on, but not in a weird way. It's an interesting flavor.

Pumpkin Ale: Maybe the only one of their beers that I've been disappointed about. While I generally love pumpkin anything, this pumpkin ale is too sweet for me.

Smoked Oatmeal Stout: They have this on tap now. It's very thick and strong flavored-- the fact that "smoked" is in its name does mean something. This brew has a bit of a bite, but I like my strong beers.

(An aside about Oatmeal Stouts: I've been searching for a good oatmeal stout since I had my first one at the Southend Brewery in Charleston, South Carolina while there for a conference in November of 2007. Their oatmeal stout was AMAZING, agreed everyone I went to dinner with that night. I'm sure that the longer it's been since I had the Southend stout, the better I build it up to be in my mind, but it was really good to begin with. Harvest Moon's is pretty good, but not quite what I was looking for. If anything has come close so far, it's been Samuel Smith's.)

Colleen: 192
Paul: 174