Some beers of late--
Founders Backwoods Bastard: Taylor left this at my house, so I drank it one night. I didn't like this beer because I don't like liquor, and it tastes like bourbon. It's technically a Scotch ale. That's about all I can say about it.
Heavy Seas Gold Ale: Hanging out with Paul on Thanksgiving Eve means plenty of interesting beer choices. This was one of the few in his fridge that I hadn't yet tried. It was pleasant and lighter feeling and tasting, and didn't overpower the homemade guacamole I brought to snack on. Win.
Sam Adams Old Fezziwig: Paul does not like this beer. Now, I can say the same. I split it with my friend (ok, and his fiancee) Laura, and neither of us were really crazy about it. It's just excessively underwhelming.
Sam Adams Black and Brew (coffee stout): I found this in the cooler on Thanksgiving after reaching in for a random handful of beers for my brothers and one of my uncles. Also in the handful: an Old Fezziwig (gave that to little brother), a Boston Lager (gave that to uncle) and a Becks (gave that to older brother). I totally disagree with the rating on Beer Advocate. This was a nice stout. It smells like coffee but tastes more chocolatey, isn't too heavy or strong, especially for being before I'd had anything more significant than crackers and baby carrots to eat. I approve of this stout. I kind of want to have it again, even.
Ommegang Rare Vos: I thought this was a solid Belgian with some extra awesome, which I thought was kind of pale ale like, but Brewery Ommegang reports as amber. Whatever, this was a great pint. Not too hoppy and not too boring. It's currently on tap at The Office, and definitely a steal on pint night.
In other beer news, I started brewing a stout last weekend, so I should have a case of that to share in January sometime. Once my fermenter is empty, I also have ingredients for an IPA, which takes way longer, so we'll see when I do that.
Also, I'm looking for suggestions for a good beer to buy for myself and put on a shelf until I get a job that actually utilizes my degrees (rather than the holiday retail purgatory I'm currently doing). Ideas?
Showing posts with label winter warmer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winter warmer. Show all posts
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
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).
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).
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Holidays '10 - Part 2
This will be yet another short post, as I am still playing catch up on errands this week. Laura and I got snowed in at my parents, where the snowfall the day after Christmas was about 28 inches! It took over 7.5 hours to return to Virginia the other day - due to road conditions in Monmouth County, NJ and several days worth of Holiday travelers condensed on I-95 on the same day. I received several beers as Christmas gifts (all are new), so I will be reviewing those in the coming weeks.
St. Pauli Girl: Laura's Dad is a big fan of this one. I thought it was a little better than a Heineken. It's a generic pilsner from Germany. It's actually made by InBev. This means you can expect a highly manufactured beverage, but one with highly consistent taste.
Fordham Genius: A friend told me that this was a take on Guinness. The beer was very good, but I do not agree with their analysis. Guinness is very dark, but almost watery when it comes to taste. Guinness is also light in alcohol. On the other hand, this had almost twice the alcohol by volume (ABV). The nitrogen tap (as opposed to carbon dioxide) gave it a similar experience to Guinness, but the two are fundamentally different.
Dogfish Head World Wide Stout: Colleen summed this beer up here. Laura called the beer a "punch to the face." What did I think? This beer is not for the faint of heart. If you're not a fan of aggressive, heavy beers...this is not for you at all. If you like lagers, amber ales, hefewiezens, and perhaps the occasional pale ale - then you should avoid this beer. It's extremely dark. It has a very aggressive taste. It weighs in at 18% percent alcohol. I absolutely loved it. I took my time drinking it over the course of two hours. Those on my short list of hardcore beer drinkers would greatly enjoy this. It's expensive, but worth a try.
Anderson Valley Winter Solstice: I got this as a gift for Christmas from Laura's mother. This was very interesting, and it was a great seasonal. There was a blend of spices that did not overwhelm the beer, but added to it as the blizzard was rearing its ugly head. Most spiced beers are a lot to handle, so this was a pleasant surprise. The finish was nice and smooth, with a little dry flavor afterward. However, the slight spice flavor stays with you for fond memories- 6.9% alcohol doesn't hurt either.
Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA: This is one of very few Samuel Adams beers that I had yet to try. That list is narrowing down to a handful. I thought this was an excellent introductory IPA. It gives all the wonderful elements of an IPA without adding an offensive amount of hops. There was a bitterness to the flavor, but the was almost a sweetness to the hops as well. This is worth a try.
Dogfish Head Midas Touch: The ingredients for this beer were determined from pottery residue found in King Midas' exhumed tomb. An academic styled review can be found here (see page 4). The beverage is somewhere between beer, mead, and chardonnay. I thought it had a very interesting flavor that can't be found in beer today. It's interesting to note how beer has evolved over the past 2,700 years.
Wells Banana Bread Beer: My cousin Brendan graciously shared some of this with me. I've heard about it from him before, so I wanted to give it a try. I do love banana bread, but combining it with beer made me apprehensive. In short, it's a novelty beer. It smelled like banana bread and the flavor was there as well. It was nice to try, but I would recommend splitting a bottle with someone.
The scorecard:
Colleen - 341
Paul - 324
Cheers,
Paul
St. Pauli Girl: Laura's Dad is a big fan of this one. I thought it was a little better than a Heineken. It's a generic pilsner from Germany. It's actually made by InBev. This means you can expect a highly manufactured beverage, but one with highly consistent taste.
Fordham Genius: A friend told me that this was a take on Guinness. The beer was very good, but I do not agree with their analysis. Guinness is very dark, but almost watery when it comes to taste. Guinness is also light in alcohol. On the other hand, this had almost twice the alcohol by volume (ABV). The nitrogen tap (as opposed to carbon dioxide) gave it a similar experience to Guinness, but the two are fundamentally different.
Dogfish Head World Wide Stout: Colleen summed this beer up here. Laura called the beer a "punch to the face." What did I think? This beer is not for the faint of heart. If you're not a fan of aggressive, heavy beers...this is not for you at all. If you like lagers, amber ales, hefewiezens, and perhaps the occasional pale ale - then you should avoid this beer. It's extremely dark. It has a very aggressive taste. It weighs in at 18% percent alcohol. I absolutely loved it. I took my time drinking it over the course of two hours. Those on my short list of hardcore beer drinkers would greatly enjoy this. It's expensive, but worth a try.
Anderson Valley Winter Solstice: I got this as a gift for Christmas from Laura's mother. This was very interesting, and it was a great seasonal. There was a blend of spices that did not overwhelm the beer, but added to it as the blizzard was rearing its ugly head. Most spiced beers are a lot to handle, so this was a pleasant surprise. The finish was nice and smooth, with a little dry flavor afterward. However, the slight spice flavor stays with you for fond memories- 6.9% alcohol doesn't hurt either.
Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA: This is one of very few Samuel Adams beers that I had yet to try. That list is narrowing down to a handful. I thought this was an excellent introductory IPA. It gives all the wonderful elements of an IPA without adding an offensive amount of hops. There was a bitterness to the flavor, but the was almost a sweetness to the hops as well. This is worth a try.
Dogfish Head Midas Touch: The ingredients for this beer were determined from pottery residue found in King Midas' exhumed tomb. An academic styled review can be found here (see page 4). The beverage is somewhere between beer, mead, and chardonnay. I thought it had a very interesting flavor that can't be found in beer today. It's interesting to note how beer has evolved over the past 2,700 years.
Wells Banana Bread Beer: My cousin Brendan graciously shared some of this with me. I've heard about it from him before, so I wanted to give it a try. I do love banana bread, but combining it with beer made me apprehensive. In short, it's a novelty beer. It smelled like banana bread and the flavor was there as well. It was nice to try, but I would recommend splitting a bottle with someone.
The scorecard:
Colleen - 341
Paul - 324
Cheers,
Paul
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
keeping busy
Well. It's a busy time of year: finals, holiday preparation, visiting lots of family and friends. And you know, it's all three of those things that have lead me to try the following new brews:
Rogue Santa's Private Reserve Ale: I picked this one up to help me meet a thesis deadline earlier this month. Appropriately a red ale, it was a decent combination of the bitter of hops and the sweetness of something citrus fruity. It was pleasant, and while it did not help me to stay awake and finish the section of thesis that I owed my advisor, it did help me in being less critical and over-thinking of what I was writing... but I don't think that was exclusive to this brew so much as beer in general. Hm. Anyway, this was not the most amazing thing ever, but not a terrible price or taste for being festive.
Flying Fish Exit 13: Very rarely do I seek out a beer. Usually I just keep a vague idea of what I've had and try to find things with funny or super unfamiliar names. However, embarrased by having missed two of the Flying Fish Exit Series so far (Exits 11 and 16 E W) (do you know how much I love Jersey!?), and having read of its release in an ongoing series in the Star Ledger, I asked the manager at the nearest liquor store with a decent beer selection. Surely enough, he'd received it-- hadn't even put it out on the floor yet, but I bought my bottle and opened it the moment I got home. This is a chocolate stout, and while the flavor is not overly complex or especially strong (think kick in the ass rather than punch in the face), it was really nice and smooth. I love me a strong stout, but I realize not everyone does. I love this beer because it's New Jersey themed and New Jersey brewed, but I also think it's a reasonably accessible stout.
Rogue Yellow Snow IPA: Taylor came to visit and chose this while I drooled over the Exit 13, but he was nice and shared (possibly because we bought an entire growler). He said, "meh" but is way more of an IPA aficionado than I am (which leads me to believe I should go back and retry a lot of earlier IPAs now that I'm sort of getting a taste for them). This one tasted kind of like flowers. It wasn't the most incredible IPA I've tried, but it also wasn't super gross like some I've had. Rogue can be somewhat hit or miss, but again, given the price on this, I thought it was pretty good. If nothing else, hilariously novel name.
"Black Ice": While this doesn't by any means count as a new beer, this is an interesting idea I stole from my cousin Andrew after seeing him post something on facebook about it last winter. It's half Guinness, half Sam Adams Winter Lager. I tried this at The Office catching up with Paul and Laura (with Taylor, too) but found it to be kind of... bland. Sorry Andrew. I think I'm missing something. Definitely interesting in theory, and definitely motivates me to try the concept on other beers-- the half and half is a go-to for both authors of this blog (Guinness and Harp).
The incredible Cheryl gets credit for choosing three different beers that were not on my list when she hosted Taylor and me for dinner this past weekend--
21st Amendment Fireside Chat: a lovely winter warmer, nice spiced flavor. I wasn't crazy about the aftertaste but the beer itself was worthwhile. Also, it came in possibly the coolest cans I've ever seen, featuring Franklin Delano Roosevelt giving a fireside chat.
Boulder Never Summer Ale: This was another warm, malty, wintery beer, though it was hoppier than I expected. It was a nice balance though.
Stone Imperial Russian Stout: This was more the punch in the face kind of stout that I love. Very strong, definitely got a taste of coffee. I approve of this beer!
Taylor actually hung out for an extra day in order to get the Stuff Yer Face Monday night experience. I feel it's worth rementioning Dogfish Head's World Wide Stout, which is currently on tap there, and is awesome. It's 18% ABV and so delicious and strong. Oh man. Good. No, GREAT.
After my love affair with the World Wide Stout, both Taylor and I ordered Stone Ruination. We noticed upon pouring them out that mine was much lighter in color. We checked the bottles-- one of us had one that was best by this past July, one of us had one that was best by this coming January. I suspect I had the older one, because while it was a decent IPA, Taylor's had much more flavor to it-- the strong hops, something citrus, and even a bit of yeast taste. Obviously fresher is going to be better, but in this case, it made a very noticeable difference. Mine was ok, but his was pretty good.
Some good stuff lately.
Paul: 311
Colleen: 341 (no I did not count World Wide Stout again, although it counts as like 3 beers)
Rogue Santa's Private Reserve Ale: I picked this one up to help me meet a thesis deadline earlier this month. Appropriately a red ale, it was a decent combination of the bitter of hops and the sweetness of something citrus fruity. It was pleasant, and while it did not help me to stay awake and finish the section of thesis that I owed my advisor, it did help me in being less critical and over-thinking of what I was writing... but I don't think that was exclusive to this brew so much as beer in general. Hm. Anyway, this was not the most amazing thing ever, but not a terrible price or taste for being festive.
Flying Fish Exit 13: Very rarely do I seek out a beer. Usually I just keep a vague idea of what I've had and try to find things with funny or super unfamiliar names. However, embarrased by having missed two of the Flying Fish Exit Series so far (Exits 11 and 16 E W) (do you know how much I love Jersey!?), and having read of its release in an ongoing series in the Star Ledger, I asked the manager at the nearest liquor store with a decent beer selection. Surely enough, he'd received it-- hadn't even put it out on the floor yet, but I bought my bottle and opened it the moment I got home. This is a chocolate stout, and while the flavor is not overly complex or especially strong (think kick in the ass rather than punch in the face), it was really nice and smooth. I love me a strong stout, but I realize not everyone does. I love this beer because it's New Jersey themed and New Jersey brewed, but I also think it's a reasonably accessible stout.
Rogue Yellow Snow IPA: Taylor came to visit and chose this while I drooled over the Exit 13, but he was nice and shared (possibly because we bought an entire growler). He said, "meh" but is way more of an IPA aficionado than I am (which leads me to believe I should go back and retry a lot of earlier IPAs now that I'm sort of getting a taste for them). This one tasted kind of like flowers. It wasn't the most incredible IPA I've tried, but it also wasn't super gross like some I've had. Rogue can be somewhat hit or miss, but again, given the price on this, I thought it was pretty good. If nothing else, hilariously novel name.
"Black Ice": While this doesn't by any means count as a new beer, this is an interesting idea I stole from my cousin Andrew after seeing him post something on facebook about it last winter. It's half Guinness, half Sam Adams Winter Lager. I tried this at The Office catching up with Paul and Laura (with Taylor, too) but found it to be kind of... bland. Sorry Andrew. I think I'm missing something. Definitely interesting in theory, and definitely motivates me to try the concept on other beers-- the half and half is a go-to for both authors of this blog (Guinness and Harp).
The incredible Cheryl gets credit for choosing three different beers that were not on my list when she hosted Taylor and me for dinner this past weekend--
21st Amendment Fireside Chat: a lovely winter warmer, nice spiced flavor. I wasn't crazy about the aftertaste but the beer itself was worthwhile. Also, it came in possibly the coolest cans I've ever seen, featuring Franklin Delano Roosevelt giving a fireside chat.
Boulder Never Summer Ale: This was another warm, malty, wintery beer, though it was hoppier than I expected. It was a nice balance though.
Stone Imperial Russian Stout: This was more the punch in the face kind of stout that I love. Very strong, definitely got a taste of coffee. I approve of this beer!
Taylor actually hung out for an extra day in order to get the Stuff Yer Face Monday night experience. I feel it's worth rementioning Dogfish Head's World Wide Stout, which is currently on tap there, and is awesome. It's 18% ABV and so delicious and strong. Oh man. Good. No, GREAT.
After my love affair with the World Wide Stout, both Taylor and I ordered Stone Ruination. We noticed upon pouring them out that mine was much lighter in color. We checked the bottles-- one of us had one that was best by this past July, one of us had one that was best by this coming January. I suspect I had the older one, because while it was a decent IPA, Taylor's had much more flavor to it-- the strong hops, something citrus, and even a bit of yeast taste. Obviously fresher is going to be better, but in this case, it made a very noticeable difference. Mine was ok, but his was pretty good.
Some good stuff lately.
Paul: 311
Colleen: 341 (no I did not count World Wide Stout again, although it counts as like 3 beers)
Saturday, August 7, 2010
contract/time is up, Paul!
Dear Paul,
Hope you've been having an excellent month and a half without any competition. I'm sorry to report that your time is (sort of) up!
Sincerely,
Colleen
I can't believe how fast my summer at camp has gone. Six weeks! I'm at home now-- didn't really have any big plans for the end of my contract. I thought I might enjoy a Guinness... not even a new beer for the count! However, the circumstances of my life have, as per usual, lead to other endeavors.
As I've mentioned here and there, I'm going to Malawi, and soon! I will be there in less than two weeks. (And yes, I plan on trying African beers during my lengthy time on planes/in airports). Subsequently, I'm going to be taking some intense antibiotics as malaria prophylaxis starting a few days before my 20 August departure. However, I got a head start on the strong antibiotics by discovering a bullseye rash on my thigh a few weeks ago, so I am not to be consuming much alcohol, among other things. The doctor's antibiotic of choice for the Lyme is doxycycline, which carries the following advisory,
"Take this medication 2-3 hours before or after taking any products containing aluminum, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc or bismuth subsalicyclate. Some examples include antacids, certain forms of didanosine (chewable/dispersable buffered tablets or pediatric oral solution), quinapril, vitamins/minerals, dairy products (such as milk or yogurt) and calcium-enriched juice. These products bind with doxycycline, preventing your body from fully absorbing the drug."
Guinness is probably one of the main reasons I haven't had any issues with iron deficiency in the past few years. But thank you, antibiotics, for disallowing me from consuming much of anything good, much less a nice Guinness.
So. I wasn't planning on trying a new beer, but stopped by one of the better beer sources near home as I headed there tonight, and found Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale. I bought it for the following reasons:
1. I actually had my eye on Flying Fish's Exit 6 (how very New Jersey of me) but it was a larger bottle.
2. This was the next beer I noticed available in a single bottle that I hadn't tried before.
3. My mom keeps the house at winter-like temperatures, so I figured it was an appropriate homecoming beer.
So here I sit, very very slowly enjoying this beer. Seriously, I opened it about an hour ago and am halfway through. I'm enjoying it more as it nears room temperature, possibly because I'm sitting here in a hoodie and pajama pants and freezing (because I have water for blood now that my iron intake is severely reduced), but it's a good beer for winter. Very smooth, warm flavor, sort of like a nicely spiced pie or something. No, it's not fruity. I'm out of practice explaining what I think of beers. Let me try again: um... yeah. Really out of practice. Smooth. Accessible. Might compliment a warm pie. But doesn't taste like pie. That would be weird.
I'd recommend this. In winter. Or in my parents' house.
I know Paul is holding out on a pile of updates, but till then--
Paul: 259
Colleen: 271
PS: Oh snap! I viewed the blog in another window to see what our numbers were at, and it seems that Paul is updating at the same time as me! So if I post this first... then I'm ahead for like, five more minutes.
Hope you've been having an excellent month and a half without any competition. I'm sorry to report that your time is (sort of) up!
Sincerely,
Colleen
I can't believe how fast my summer at camp has gone. Six weeks! I'm at home now-- didn't really have any big plans for the end of my contract. I thought I might enjoy a Guinness... not even a new beer for the count! However, the circumstances of my life have, as per usual, lead to other endeavors.
As I've mentioned here and there, I'm going to Malawi, and soon! I will be there in less than two weeks. (And yes, I plan on trying African beers during my lengthy time on planes/in airports). Subsequently, I'm going to be taking some intense antibiotics as malaria prophylaxis starting a few days before my 20 August departure. However, I got a head start on the strong antibiotics by discovering a bullseye rash on my thigh a few weeks ago, so I am not to be consuming much alcohol, among other things. The doctor's antibiotic of choice for the Lyme is doxycycline, which carries the following advisory,
"Take this medication 2-3 hours before or after taking any products containing aluminum, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc or bismuth subsalicyclate. Some examples include antacids, certain forms of didanosine (chewable/dispersable buffered tablets or pediatric oral solution), quinapril, vitamins/minerals, dairy products (such as milk or yogurt) and calcium-enriched juice. These products bind with doxycycline, preventing your body from fully absorbing the drug."
Guinness is probably one of the main reasons I haven't had any issues with iron deficiency in the past few years. But thank you, antibiotics, for disallowing me from consuming much of anything good, much less a nice Guinness.
So. I wasn't planning on trying a new beer, but stopped by one of the better beer sources near home as I headed there tonight, and found Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale. I bought it for the following reasons:
1. I actually had my eye on Flying Fish's Exit 6 (how very New Jersey of me) but it was a larger bottle.
2. This was the next beer I noticed available in a single bottle that I hadn't tried before.
3. My mom keeps the house at winter-like temperatures, so I figured it was an appropriate homecoming beer.
So here I sit, very very slowly enjoying this beer. Seriously, I opened it about an hour ago and am halfway through. I'm enjoying it more as it nears room temperature, possibly because I'm sitting here in a hoodie and pajama pants and freezing (because I have water for blood now that my iron intake is severely reduced), but it's a good beer for winter. Very smooth, warm flavor, sort of like a nicely spiced pie or something. No, it's not fruity. I'm out of practice explaining what I think of beers. Let me try again: um... yeah. Really out of practice. Smooth. Accessible. Might compliment a warm pie. But doesn't taste like pie. That would be weird.
I'd recommend this. In winter. Or in my parents' house.
I know Paul is holding out on a pile of updates, but till then--
Paul: 259
Colleen: 271
PS: Oh snap! I viewed the blog in another window to see what our numbers were at, and it seems that Paul is updating at the same time as me! So if I post this first... then I'm ahead for like, five more minutes.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Drinking in Colonial Williamsburg
As Colleen will probably post soon, she traveled to Minnesota. Therefore, she probably has another post (or more) already written in her head. I'll let her regale you with her travels on her own time.
Not to be outdone, I went to Williamsburg, VA this weekend to visit the girlfriend. While there she was kind enough to let me watch college football at The Green leafe. I watched football, while tasting a few new pints of beer, and she quietly sat with her beer and studied. She's a keeper. The place had a nice tap and bottle list of beers I hadn't tried before. I hope to get there again to try some more.
The new one's on the list are as follows:
Williamsburg AleWorks Red Marker Ale: This beer was smooth, but otherwise forgettable. I probably would enjoy Killian's Irish Red more.
Harpoon Winter Warmer: This tasted terrible: egg nog meets beer. There was also a cinnamon taste. It was quite surprising, because Harpoon usually makes a quality beer. Then again, the Holiday season makes people do strange things to beer...
Black Sheep Monty Python's Holy Grail: I have a confession to make. I bought this beer because of the name. It was a slightly hoppy beer.
Bear Republic El Oso Lager: I probably enjoyed this beer the most out of the group. It went down smooth, which was very much appreciated after the egg nog beer.
A few weeks ago, with the aforementioned girlfriend, we went to a place called Fireflies. It's pretty much a swank coffee shop atmosphere, except they server beer. During my travels there, I have documented (Colleen, note the word choice - I'm not bitter, really) 2 beers.
Olde Richmond Batch No. 4: This came in a 22 oz bottle. It was a nice, dark brown ale. It went down smooth, and went especially well with a pizza. Then again, what beer doesn't. Long story short, I'd certainly love to cross paths with this beer again.
Fireflies Amber Ale: This seems to be their proprietary beer. I am generally a big fan of amber ales. I think they are a nice mix between a strong malty beer, but with a slight hop taste. It's pretty much smooth with anything. This was already listed in my beer count, as I've had it before I just haven't reviewed it yet (expect more of these to come).
The gap has been temporarily closed...
Colleen: 154
Paul: 147
Not to be outdone, I went to Williamsburg, VA this weekend to visit the girlfriend. While there she was kind enough to let me watch college football at The Green leafe. I watched football, while tasting a few new pints of beer, and she quietly sat with her beer and studied. She's a keeper. The place had a nice tap and bottle list of beers I hadn't tried before. I hope to get there again to try some more.
The new one's on the list are as follows:
Williamsburg AleWorks Red Marker Ale: This beer was smooth, but otherwise forgettable. I probably would enjoy Killian's Irish Red more.
Harpoon Winter Warmer: This tasted terrible: egg nog meets beer. There was also a cinnamon taste. It was quite surprising, because Harpoon usually makes a quality beer. Then again, the Holiday season makes people do strange things to beer...
Black Sheep Monty Python's Holy Grail: I have a confession to make. I bought this beer because of the name. It was a slightly hoppy beer.
Bear Republic El Oso Lager: I probably enjoyed this beer the most out of the group. It went down smooth, which was very much appreciated after the egg nog beer.
A few weeks ago, with the aforementioned girlfriend, we went to a place called Fireflies. It's pretty much a swank coffee shop atmosphere, except they server beer. During my travels there, I have documented (Colleen, note the word choice - I'm not bitter, really) 2 beers.
Olde Richmond Batch No. 4: This came in a 22 oz bottle. It was a nice, dark brown ale. It went down smooth, and went especially well with a pizza. Then again, what beer doesn't. Long story short, I'd certainly love to cross paths with this beer again.
Fireflies Amber Ale: This seems to be their proprietary beer. I am generally a big fan of amber ales. I think they are a nice mix between a strong malty beer, but with a slight hop taste. It's pretty much smooth with anything. This was already listed in my beer count, as I've had it before I just haven't reviewed it yet (expect more of these to come).
The gap has been temporarily closed...
Colleen: 154
Paul: 147
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