I can't believe it's already been a year since I went dry under contract at Johnsonburg last; while my contract has not yet been written, I'll be respecting those rules again and fasting from beer as of tomorrow. I've had a few new brews in the past couple of weeks, and thought I'd share--
Unibroue's Terrible: The irony of the name was enough to purchase this. Noah and I split it; it was anything but terrible. Really nice, interesting dark ale. Not too heavy, not too light, very drinkable but definitely a little different. I approve.
Dogfish Head Theobroma: We all know I love me some Dogfish Head, and this did not disappoint, but it also didn't quite live up to the hype, as far as I'm concerned. I've been stalking this bottle since I missed its last release more than six months ago. I was excited to find it. It's definitely got a lot of spice in its flavor but it wasn't what I expected, with ingredients such as cocoa and chiles listed. I didn't really taste either of those. It wasn't a boring drink by any means, just not quite what I was expecting given the description. Not my favorite Dogfish Head but definitely good.
Rogue's Somer Orange Honey Ale: I find Rogue to be hit or miss. This was probably a miss in that it was just super boring. I barely tasted honey and didn't really get any orange. It just came off as a plain boring ale, not even interesting for being a wheat beer. I was disappointed, since there were interesting and different things in the title. Oh well. At least Rogue isn't super expensive, and the hits are generally worth it (Chipotle Ale!).
Founders' Cherise: This was kinda bizzare. The fruit flavor was subtle, but it was very sweet and very tart at the same time. It was very interesting, but I don't need to repeat it. Then again, I'm not huge on fruit beers.
So, that's it until the end of August or beginning of September, assuming we get around to writing me a contract... staff training starts tomorrow though. It will be a busy summer as I serve as the program assistant at camp, but I hope to post a few things about beer that don't involve me drinking it. Now taking suggestions for what I should drink in September. I need to hunt down a bottle or two of Dogfish Head's 120 Minute to save till then (it was rereleased last week or so!)... what else?
Showing posts with label wheat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wheat. Show all posts
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Beer, Football, and Traveling
A few weeks ago, there was an extended family party in Richmond. Afterward, some of us met for dinner at Bilbo Baggins in Alexandria. They always have a good beer menu. I was looking for something lighter, being that I was tired from sitting in traffic all day, it was hot (I laugh at that now...it's going to top 100 today), and I was dehydrated.
Eggenberg Pilsner: I thought this beer was light, smooth, and refreshing. Unlike a macro light beer, it had a lot more flavor to it. It was slightly above average on alcohol content. To me, it was a great summer beer. It had a bit of a champagne body to it, which was surprising. Let's face it, you don't want a porter when you're overheated and dehydrated. Ok, maybe you do if you're Colleen...but that's not my thing.
Later that week, my beer adventures continued with a trip to Crystal City Sports Pub to watch the USA vs Algeria world cup game (yes, this was two weeks ago...it's been a lot of repeats recently). I have some flexibility with my work schedule, so this enabled me to watch the game there. It was a fantastic time. There's something about having two hundred people in a sports pub, drinking beer, and eating eggs while watching football. My beer of choice? Guinness, of course. Clearly, the beer gods smiled upon me that day.
The following weekend I traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan for a friend's wedding. I saw this as an excellent opportunity to meet some great people, see my friend get married, hit the open bar (hard), and try some new beers. I was fortunate enough to be hosted by Laura's brother and his family the night before the wedding. Their hospitality was much appreciated. I really like that section of the country, and honsetly wished I could have tried more beers in the land of microbrews.
Grizzly Peak Bearpaw Porter: The groom recommended Grizzly Peak Brewing in downtown Ann Arbor. When I arrived in Ann Arbor, I was searching sustenance as the airports had no selection of micro-brews. I thought this was an excellent porter. I wish I could have brought a growler home. Unfortunately, I am told this is only distributed locally, so it's difficult to find in a bottle.
Grizzly Peak Liberty Lager: This was a seasonal by Grizzly Peak, so I am not surprised ratebeer.com has yet to have a page on it. I liked the porter a lot more, but this wasn't bad either. There can be a lot of variation in lagers, and this erred on the hoppy side. However, the hop choice was interesting, since the aftertaste had a bittersweet to it.
Labatt Blue Light: I brought this over for Laura's brother, as he requested a Canadian beer. It was your average light beer.
I helped my friend Andy move his sailboat on 4th of July weekend. It took 7 hours to move it through the Chesapeake Bay, about 3 hours longer than it should have. While it was hot that day, the wind allowed for it to not feel as bad. However, when we finished I was pretty exhausted and dehydrated. They graciously fed us, and the dinner was excellent.
Pabst Blue Ribbon: Andy's mom offered me this beer, and I housed it due to the conditions described above. The beer was fine, probably because it was cold, and I needed a beer more than I needed a good beer.
I haven't had many new ones lately, so I am squandering my chance to retake the lead. I think I will be heading to make a custom six pack soon. Also, Laura and I will be roadtripping in the next three weeks, so perhaps I can stop at some brewpubs or microbreweries soon.
During my travels, I also had two retreads of note:
Legend Brown Ale: If you like Brown Ales, this is probably a beer for you to try. I wasn't a huge fan of this, again. I thought it was a little too full bodied for a Brown Ale. However, I admit that there would be plenty of people that would like this.
Bell's Oberon: I had this a couple month's ago at the Brickskeller. While in Ann Arbor, I had the chance to have a few of these on tap. I think this is an excellent summer wheat ale. Bell's is perhaps one of the best microbrewers in the country, and this only proves that statement further.
The Scorecard:
Colleen - 267
Paul - 254
Cheers,
Paul
Eggenberg Pilsner: I thought this beer was light, smooth, and refreshing. Unlike a macro light beer, it had a lot more flavor to it. It was slightly above average on alcohol content. To me, it was a great summer beer. It had a bit of a champagne body to it, which was surprising. Let's face it, you don't want a porter when you're overheated and dehydrated. Ok, maybe you do if you're Colleen...but that's not my thing.
Later that week, my beer adventures continued with a trip to Crystal City Sports Pub to watch the USA vs Algeria world cup game (yes, this was two weeks ago...it's been a lot of repeats recently). I have some flexibility with my work schedule, so this enabled me to watch the game there. It was a fantastic time. There's something about having two hundred people in a sports pub, drinking beer, and eating eggs while watching football. My beer of choice? Guinness, of course. Clearly, the beer gods smiled upon me that day.
The following weekend I traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan for a friend's wedding. I saw this as an excellent opportunity to meet some great people, see my friend get married, hit the open bar (hard), and try some new beers. I was fortunate enough to be hosted by Laura's brother and his family the night before the wedding. Their hospitality was much appreciated. I really like that section of the country, and honsetly wished I could have tried more beers in the land of microbrews.
Grizzly Peak Bearpaw Porter: The groom recommended Grizzly Peak Brewing in downtown Ann Arbor. When I arrived in Ann Arbor, I was searching sustenance as the airports had no selection of micro-brews. I thought this was an excellent porter. I wish I could have brought a growler home. Unfortunately, I am told this is only distributed locally, so it's difficult to find in a bottle.
Grizzly Peak Liberty Lager: This was a seasonal by Grizzly Peak, so I am not surprised ratebeer.com has yet to have a page on it. I liked the porter a lot more, but this wasn't bad either. There can be a lot of variation in lagers, and this erred on the hoppy side. However, the hop choice was interesting, since the aftertaste had a bittersweet to it.
Labatt Blue Light: I brought this over for Laura's brother, as he requested a Canadian beer. It was your average light beer.
I helped my friend Andy move his sailboat on 4th of July weekend. It took 7 hours to move it through the Chesapeake Bay, about 3 hours longer than it should have. While it was hot that day, the wind allowed for it to not feel as bad. However, when we finished I was pretty exhausted and dehydrated. They graciously fed us, and the dinner was excellent.
Pabst Blue Ribbon: Andy's mom offered me this beer, and I housed it due to the conditions described above. The beer was fine, probably because it was cold, and I needed a beer more than I needed a good beer.
I haven't had many new ones lately, so I am squandering my chance to retake the lead. I think I will be heading to make a custom six pack soon. Also, Laura and I will be roadtripping in the next three weeks, so perhaps I can stop at some brewpubs or microbreweries soon.
During my travels, I also had two retreads of note:
Legend Brown Ale: If you like Brown Ales, this is probably a beer for you to try. I wasn't a huge fan of this, again. I thought it was a little too full bodied for a Brown Ale. However, I admit that there would be plenty of people that would like this.
Bell's Oberon: I had this a couple month's ago at the Brickskeller. While in Ann Arbor, I had the chance to have a few of these on tap. I think this is an excellent summer wheat ale. Bell's is perhaps one of the best microbrewers in the country, and this only proves that statement further.
The Scorecard:
Colleen - 267
Paul - 254
Cheers,
Paul
Saturday, June 12, 2010
usa vs england
Today, I did some grilling and watched the USA vs England football game on TV. For those of you who don't know, my knowledge and passion for the world's game are only slightly better than this. That said, I enjoyed the game and hope the US can advance from our group this year. The group rankings could get interesting because it's 1 point for a tie and 3 points for a win - I guess we shall see how Slovenia and Algeria do. Without further ado, here are my recent tastings.
Yards Extra Special Ale: This is my second beer from Yards brewing, and I enjoyed it. This is in stark contrast to the previous beer I tried (Philadelphia Pale Ale). This was an English style pale ale, which was very characteristic of the style. If you want to get a sense of what hoppy beers might be like, just get a pale ale - this one wouldn't be a bad idea.
Sierra Nevada Extra IPA: I bought this beer to Laura's parents earlier in the week to have with dinner, since Laura likes IPAs. I thought it was very good, and was even a little interesting. The American hops had a slight sweetness to them, as opposed to a traditional bitterness that one finds with hops. I generally trust Sierra Nevada's beer, and look forward to giving this as a gift to the other hop-heads that I know.
New Holland Golden Cap: This is a wheat beer that is made with spelt, which is an acestor to wheat. From the taste, the beer seemed unfiltered. I thought the beer was pleasant when making burgers before the game. The fact that it was an American beer for such an occasion probably made it taste better.
New Holland Mad Hatter Ale: I'm not an expert on IPAs, but I thought this was an above average IPA. If you like that kind of beer, you'd probably enjoy this one as well. Unlike the aforementioned Sierra Nevada, this one tasted more cannonical to the style.
Lagunita's The Hairy Eyeball Ale: Sometimes I come across a beer that I truly find terrible, and I can't wait to finish the requisite four ounces before I can pawn it off on someone else in the room. This was one of those beers. I basically bought it for the name, since I would remember having a beer with that kind of name.
The scorecard:
Colleen: 261
Paul: 244
Cheers,
Paul
Yards Extra Special Ale: This is my second beer from Yards brewing, and I enjoyed it. This is in stark contrast to the previous beer I tried (Philadelphia Pale Ale). This was an English style pale ale, which was very characteristic of the style. If you want to get a sense of what hoppy beers might be like, just get a pale ale - this one wouldn't be a bad idea.
Sierra Nevada Extra IPA: I bought this beer to Laura's parents earlier in the week to have with dinner, since Laura likes IPAs. I thought it was very good, and was even a little interesting. The American hops had a slight sweetness to them, as opposed to a traditional bitterness that one finds with hops. I generally trust Sierra Nevada's beer, and look forward to giving this as a gift to the other hop-heads that I know.
New Holland Golden Cap: This is a wheat beer that is made with spelt, which is an acestor to wheat. From the taste, the beer seemed unfiltered. I thought the beer was pleasant when making burgers before the game. The fact that it was an American beer for such an occasion probably made it taste better.
New Holland Mad Hatter Ale: I'm not an expert on IPAs, but I thought this was an above average IPA. If you like that kind of beer, you'd probably enjoy this one as well. Unlike the aforementioned Sierra Nevada, this one tasted more cannonical to the style.
Lagunita's The Hairy Eyeball Ale: Sometimes I come across a beer that I truly find terrible, and I can't wait to finish the requisite four ounces before I can pawn it off on someone else in the room. This was one of those beers. I basically bought it for the name, since I would remember having a beer with that kind of name.
The scorecard:
Colleen: 261
Paul: 244
Cheers,
Paul
Sunday, May 30, 2010
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
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
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
woo...antibiotics
So for the last month (really?!), I've been busy traveling for family stuff and have been taking an antibiotic. While drinking wasn't forbidden due to the medication, I did significantly slow down my beer intake (new or otherwise).
I have taken notes, and unfortunately even lost the review for one beer. There's a reason you shouldn't write them on the back of a receipt. In any event, since my last post Colleen visited. She outlined her travels pretty well. It was nice to catch up while she was down here. I may be at a disadvantage if she lives in Virginia permanently, since so many of the beers that I've tried are found in this area exclusively.
I did get a chance to visit Williamsburg AleWerks, however the samples there were under our minimum ounce limit for a beer to count. Nonetheless, the tour and tasting were nice on a hot May day. I'd recommend any of there beers, they don't make anything that is below mediocre.
Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA: Have you ever tried a really dry red wine? Where your mouth just feels arid after? Yea, this was the beer version of that. The extent of the hops literally gave the beer a very dry taste. Colleen thought this was much milder than I did, apparently.
Rogue dead Guy Ale: Most people were surprised when I told them I hadn't head this up until a few weeks ago. This one was a freebie due to Colleen's Geography nerd party. However, I won't make fun of them anymore, since they did get me a free beer. For whatever reason, this gave me a really weird mix.
St. George Pilsner: I'm not that crazy about Pilsners. They ere on the light side for me, and there generally isn't much to them. This beer pretty much meets that description. It was fine, but just nothing special.
Carolina Blonde: Laura and I met with some college friends of mine a few weeks ago for drinks. It was quite nice to catch up with Amanda, since she is leaving the state for work soon. On the beer front, this was a rather disappointing. I'm not crazy about Gold Ales, and this didn't really change my mind. As far as the time of year goes, lighter beers are nice in the summer - but they generally disappoint me. They aren't that complex. As I've said a lot, I prefer porters.
Rogue American Amber: A caveat to my previous comment is that I do enjoy amber ales quite a bit, even if this is a summer beer. Despite my not-so-great feelings about Dead Guy Ale, I know Rogue has a pretty good reputation. For me, this beer definitely saved that. It's really one of the better Amber Ales I've tried.
Highland Big Butte Smoked Porter: I had this at the Green Leafe. I thought it was a bit on the smoky side, but I wasn't aware of the full name until I wrote this review - sometimes restaurants neglect long names on their menus. That said, it wasn't that bad of a porter, being that they should be somewhat roasty/smoky. I just prefer more of a roasted malt flavor than a smoky one. I've had one other beer of theirs when I was in OBX last summer, and I thought that was pretty good.
Bells Oberon Ale: After some searching on ratebeer for the name. I found the name to match the review in my head. I had this at the Brickskeller to celebrate my friend Matt's birthday. It was a rather hot day in DC, and as far as wheat ales go, this was a very tasty beer. I'd love to say the Brickskeller has nothing but knock out beers, but unfortunately it can be a mixed bag there. This one was quite good though. I can't even recall the brewer of the other beer, but that's how it goes.
Laura and I are meeting with a college friend of mine this week for a beer or two. The place has quite a few micro-brews, so perhaps I can close the lead. So, in conclusion, I am not dead...just really, really far behind!
The scorecard:
Colleen: 242
Paul: 229
I have taken notes, and unfortunately even lost the review for one beer. There's a reason you shouldn't write them on the back of a receipt. In any event, since my last post Colleen visited. She outlined her travels pretty well. It was nice to catch up while she was down here. I may be at a disadvantage if she lives in Virginia permanently, since so many of the beers that I've tried are found in this area exclusively.
I did get a chance to visit Williamsburg AleWerks, however the samples there were under our minimum ounce limit for a beer to count. Nonetheless, the tour and tasting were nice on a hot May day. I'd recommend any of there beers, they don't make anything that is below mediocre.
Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA: Have you ever tried a really dry red wine? Where your mouth just feels arid after? Yea, this was the beer version of that. The extent of the hops literally gave the beer a very dry taste. Colleen thought this was much milder than I did, apparently.
Rogue dead Guy Ale: Most people were surprised when I told them I hadn't head this up until a few weeks ago. This one was a freebie due to Colleen's Geography nerd party. However, I won't make fun of them anymore, since they did get me a free beer. For whatever reason, this gave me a really weird mix.
St. George Pilsner: I'm not that crazy about Pilsners. They ere on the light side for me, and there generally isn't much to them. This beer pretty much meets that description. It was fine, but just nothing special.
Carolina Blonde: Laura and I met with some college friends of mine a few weeks ago for drinks. It was quite nice to catch up with Amanda, since she is leaving the state for work soon. On the beer front, this was a rather disappointing. I'm not crazy about Gold Ales, and this didn't really change my mind. As far as the time of year goes, lighter beers are nice in the summer - but they generally disappoint me. They aren't that complex. As I've said a lot, I prefer porters.
Rogue American Amber: A caveat to my previous comment is that I do enjoy amber ales quite a bit, even if this is a summer beer. Despite my not-so-great feelings about Dead Guy Ale, I know Rogue has a pretty good reputation. For me, this beer definitely saved that. It's really one of the better Amber Ales I've tried.
Highland Big Butte Smoked Porter: I had this at the Green Leafe. I thought it was a bit on the smoky side, but I wasn't aware of the full name until I wrote this review - sometimes restaurants neglect long names on their menus. That said, it wasn't that bad of a porter, being that they should be somewhat roasty/smoky. I just prefer more of a roasted malt flavor than a smoky one. I've had one other beer of theirs when I was in OBX last summer, and I thought that was pretty good.
Bells Oberon Ale: After some searching on ratebeer for the name. I found the name to match the review in my head. I had this at the Brickskeller to celebrate my friend Matt's birthday. It was a rather hot day in DC, and as far as wheat ales go, this was a very tasty beer. I'd love to say the Brickskeller has nothing but knock out beers, but unfortunately it can be a mixed bag there. This one was quite good though. I can't even recall the brewer of the other beer, but that's how it goes.
Laura and I are meeting with a college friend of mine this week for a beer or two. The place has quite a few micro-brews, so perhaps I can close the lead. So, in conclusion, I am not dead...just really, really far behind!
The scorecard:
Colleen: 242
Paul: 229
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
...Paul?
I hope Paul's still alive. I got a little buried in the end of the semester fun and haven't talked to him in a while, but also, he hasn't posted here recently. Weird. Paul, where are you? Are you not trying new beers? Are you saving up 21 beers and going to post them all at once, surging ahead of me (because that's how many you need to get ahead...)? Are you just letting me win until I stop drinking beer for the summer (and all alcoholic beverages, as per my contract with camp)? This is confusing.
In the meantime, I have a few new ones to report, and yet another update on my now infamous chicken beer marinade:
Pork Slap Pale Ale: As someone who is not crazy about pale ales, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. It's very straightforward. This is also from Butternuts Brewing, who made Moo Thunder Stout that I really liked. Good beers with hilarious names in funny looking cans. Awesome!
Honey Moon Summer Ale: I quite liked this! But then again, we know I like wheat beers. You can taste the honey in this, but it's not too sweet. Refreshing and nice, just like it should be for summer.
Ithaca Apricot Wheat: I quite liked this too! My friend Gurzo got it because it's Ithaca, which is where he went to college, but it was a nice fruit beer. The apricot is obvious but not overwhelming or too sweet, over a smooth wheat beer. Paul and I often joke about fruit beers being suitable for breakfast, but I enjoyed it as a sort of evening treat while hanging out with my friend Cheryl and the aforementioned Gurzo.
Beer Marinade Update: I made the marinade with Rogue's Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout on Mothers' Day because I knew I'd enjoy the leftover beer. We baked the chicken, and apparently the marinade doesn't carry when you bake the chicken. Good to know. It smelled pretty nice though!
Paul: 222
Colleen: 242
In the meantime, I have a few new ones to report, and yet another update on my now infamous chicken beer marinade:
Pork Slap Pale Ale: As someone who is not crazy about pale ales, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. It's very straightforward. This is also from Butternuts Brewing, who made Moo Thunder Stout that I really liked. Good beers with hilarious names in funny looking cans. Awesome!
Honey Moon Summer Ale: I quite liked this! But then again, we know I like wheat beers. You can taste the honey in this, but it's not too sweet. Refreshing and nice, just like it should be for summer.
Ithaca Apricot Wheat: I quite liked this too! My friend Gurzo got it because it's Ithaca, which is where he went to college, but it was a nice fruit beer. The apricot is obvious but not overwhelming or too sweet, over a smooth wheat beer. Paul and I often joke about fruit beers being suitable for breakfast, but I enjoyed it as a sort of evening treat while hanging out with my friend Cheryl and the aforementioned Gurzo.
Beer Marinade Update: I made the marinade with Rogue's Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout on Mothers' Day because I knew I'd enjoy the leftover beer. We baked the chicken, and apparently the marinade doesn't carry when you bake the chicken. Good to know. It smelled pretty nice though!
Paul: 222
Colleen: 242
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
having beer with another buddy...
Don't worry Paul, you have not been replaced. You are my beer buddy, tried and true.
I'm talking about my Muddy Buddy!
This past weekend, I traveled to the Richmond region to visit with my friend Brian and his family and to take part in the Muddy Buddy, a partner 10k in which you kind of leapfrog each other, switching off biking and running, and concluding the race by crawling through a huge mud pit together. This is the second year I've done the event with Brian, and while not by any means a gifted athlete, I had such a blast both times.
muddy legs and feet that are happy to be liberated from wet, muddy socks and shoes
I unfortunately hadn't seen Brian and his wife and two super awesome children since last year's Muddy Buddy. We caught up over dinner at Capitol Alehouse, where I tried Starr Hill's Love Weiss, a really excellent Hefeweizen. It was just light feeling and super tasty and has a nice banana and clove hint about it. Because it's brewed with that stuff. I would do this again, very gladly! This might be a new favorite hefeweizen for me (sorry Sam).
The actual event was really fun. Last year I ran it after several months of recovering from a stress fracture and later, a car accident, and my first semester teaching. I've already admitted I'm not the most gifted athlete; I am grateful that Brian is not the least bit competitive, and only wants to finish the race. This year I was in slightly better shape and actually kept a more decent pace. Our time was still abysmal but we already have plans for next year, when I will be free of grad school and possibly able to keep a more regular exercise schedule? (Though Brian made a good point-- as a parent, how on earth does he do that himself?)
the mudpit and the finish line!
After the race, there was a beer garden sponsored by Red Hook. They gave out their ESB, which is not one of my favorite styles of beer-- come on, the "B" stands for "bitter". Regardless, it was nice to have a cold beer after an intense workout along the trails of Pocahontas State Park (and a swim through a stream with the bike on my shoulder!). Definitely more bitter than I'd prefer, but if you're into that, it might be tolerable. I get the sense that there's a decent something or other hiding under all the bitter. I won't go out of my way for this again any time soon, but I definitely appreciated the free beer at the end of a race. (To those who think that sounds crazy, two things: 1. I had plenty of water first and 2. See here, here and here.)
Many thanks to Brian and family for being amazing hosts and excellent friends!
Colleen: 239
Paul: 222
I'm talking about my Muddy Buddy!
This past weekend, I traveled to the Richmond region to visit with my friend Brian and his family and to take part in the Muddy Buddy, a partner 10k in which you kind of leapfrog each other, switching off biking and running, and concluding the race by crawling through a huge mud pit together. This is the second year I've done the event with Brian, and while not by any means a gifted athlete, I had such a blast both times.
muddy legs and feet that are happy to be liberated from wet, muddy socks and shoes
I unfortunately hadn't seen Brian and his wife and two super awesome children since last year's Muddy Buddy. We caught up over dinner at Capitol Alehouse, where I tried Starr Hill's Love Weiss, a really excellent Hefeweizen. It was just light feeling and super tasty and has a nice banana and clove hint about it. Because it's brewed with that stuff. I would do this again, very gladly! This might be a new favorite hefeweizen for me (sorry Sam).
The actual event was really fun. Last year I ran it after several months of recovering from a stress fracture and later, a car accident, and my first semester teaching. I've already admitted I'm not the most gifted athlete; I am grateful that Brian is not the least bit competitive, and only wants to finish the race. This year I was in slightly better shape and actually kept a more decent pace. Our time was still abysmal but we already have plans for next year, when I will be free of grad school and possibly able to keep a more regular exercise schedule? (Though Brian made a good point-- as a parent, how on earth does he do that himself?)
the mudpit and the finish line!
After the race, there was a beer garden sponsored by Red Hook. They gave out their ESB, which is not one of my favorite styles of beer-- come on, the "B" stands for "bitter". Regardless, it was nice to have a cold beer after an intense workout along the trails of Pocahontas State Park (and a swim through a stream with the bike on my shoulder!). Definitely more bitter than I'd prefer, but if you're into that, it might be tolerable. I get the sense that there's a decent something or other hiding under all the bitter. I won't go out of my way for this again any time soon, but I definitely appreciated the free beer at the end of a race. (To those who think that sounds crazy, two things: 1. I had plenty of water first and 2. See here, here and here.)
Many thanks to Brian and family for being amazing hosts and excellent friends!
Colleen: 239
Paul: 222
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
catching up and getting ahead
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am really quite a responsible drinker. What follows appears otherwise, but give me some credit-- I spent a week in a city I adore, with old and new friends, catching up and enjoying the company. I will try to keep each of these short, since there were a few of them during the week...
Fireflies Amber Ale: I stayed with Paul my first two nights in the area. He took me here, which had excellent food (especially the fries!) and great beer. He recommended this in the blog and to my face, so I went with it... and much to my surprise, so did he. He's letting me get ahead right now, since this summer I will not be active in this little tongue-in-cheek contest we have going. (Also he was a bit under the weather.) Anyway, this is a good beer! Generally unoffensive to anyone, I suspect. Very clean, not too heavy, not too boring. Nice.
Left Hand Fade to Black: My second night, I made my infamous easy beer marinade for Paul with this and then drank the extra 4 ounces, making it a legit entry on the list (we have an unwritten code about these things). This was my kinda beer! Really dark, with strong flavor, definitely a bit coffee-y.
Flying Dog Amber Lager: Nice, refreshing beer. Flying Dog is pretty legit.
Sweetwater's Straight Shooter Stout: So I'll sneak this tidbit in here: I had a job interview whilst in the area last week, and at the end of it, I went to Sweetwater with a fellow former Mary Washington Geographer for a quick round. I obviously ordered the stout, because I like those. This one was a good one! Well rounded, no particular flavor too strong, not too heavy, just the right amount of awesome.
Flying Dog Pale Ale: Rutgers co-hosted an AAG party with Clark University at RFD Washington. I brought Paul. I hear the place was great, but there were only a few beers on tap in the back room where we were, including this one that I'd never had before. It was a little hoppier than I'd prefer, but for being pale and hoppy, it didn't kill me. That means that it's an accessible pale ale, even if you're not into super hoppy nonsense (like me).
Kilkenny Cream Ale: This came up in conversation when out at the aforementioned Sweetwater, so I was pleased to see it on the menu at Murphy's, which was across from the conference hotels. This was another really great beer! It was a little bit sweet but not in a sickening oversweet sort of way like doppelbocks that I generally haven't been too into. Very smooth, very nice. I would do this again.
Mooney's Irish Stout: Also at Murphy's, this was a very chocolatey flavored stout. Very very obviously chocolatey. However, not bad. I liked it. But then again, I like stout. One of my friends I was out with ordered it as well, so I clearly wasn't the only one who liked it.
Murphy's Lager: Yes, three at once place! My college friends came into D.C. to hang out for the evening, so we spent quite a while at the restaurant waiting for everyone to arrive after work. This was pretty straightforward, no nonsense, dry lager. Whatever.
Tusker lager: Went to Brickskeller on Saturday night, a place Paul has mentioned more than once for their incredible selection. Seriously, go read the menu. I estimated about 1000 beers on the printed copy I was looking at, from all over the world, and reasonably priced, too. This place rocked. I watched the Caps game with Deron and Scott while enjoying this "whatever lager" from Kenya, for no real reason other than the fact that I'd never had an African beer before.
Starr Hill Dark Star Stout: This was excellent, also from Brickskeller while we watched the third period end in a tie. This was a bit coffee-y, especially compared to the Mooney's the day before with its absurd amount of awesome chocolate flavor. But I enjoy a strong beer, and this totally fit the bill.
Mike's American Lager: Out dinner with amazing host family #3 of my week, Alison and Scott Berry, I had this beer, which is apparently brewed using bottom fermenting yeast, like a lager, but using an ale recipe. I don't even know what that means, but this was a nice clean beer to go with my great dinner (I totally recommend the grilled portobello!).
Kona Wailua: Back at the Berries', Scott had some of this waiting. They had it on their honeymoon in Hawaii last fall, and he's a huge fan. This is a wheat beer brewed with passionfruit, which I tried for the first time in Mexico last summer-- delicious and sweet, but really difficult to eat because it's got seeds galore. In my beer, it worked out very well! Not too sweet or fruity, just a hint of interesting on top of a very nice wheat beer.
Legend Lager: This is also a "whatever" lager, but I was at the excellent J. Brian's in Fredericksburg with the excellent Hilary, who is originally from Richmond, like this beer. It was just fine with my delicious quesadilla and my fabulous company!
This seems ludicrous but I guess you had to be there to see that it wasn't really so crazy. MANY thanks to all of my wonderful friends who joined me for these!
Paul: 222
Colleen: 236
Fireflies Amber Ale: I stayed with Paul my first two nights in the area. He took me here, which had excellent food (especially the fries!) and great beer. He recommended this in the blog and to my face, so I went with it... and much to my surprise, so did he. He's letting me get ahead right now, since this summer I will not be active in this little tongue-in-cheek contest we have going. (Also he was a bit under the weather.) Anyway, this is a good beer! Generally unoffensive to anyone, I suspect. Very clean, not too heavy, not too boring. Nice.
Left Hand Fade to Black: My second night, I made my infamous easy beer marinade for Paul with this and then drank the extra 4 ounces, making it a legit entry on the list (we have an unwritten code about these things). This was my kinda beer! Really dark, with strong flavor, definitely a bit coffee-y.
Flying Dog Amber Lager: Nice, refreshing beer. Flying Dog is pretty legit.
Sweetwater's Straight Shooter Stout: So I'll sneak this tidbit in here: I had a job interview whilst in the area last week, and at the end of it, I went to Sweetwater with a fellow former Mary Washington Geographer for a quick round. I obviously ordered the stout, because I like those. This one was a good one! Well rounded, no particular flavor too strong, not too heavy, just the right amount of awesome.
Flying Dog Pale Ale: Rutgers co-hosted an AAG party with Clark University at RFD Washington. I brought Paul. I hear the place was great, but there were only a few beers on tap in the back room where we were, including this one that I'd never had before. It was a little hoppier than I'd prefer, but for being pale and hoppy, it didn't kill me. That means that it's an accessible pale ale, even if you're not into super hoppy nonsense (like me).
Kilkenny Cream Ale: This came up in conversation when out at the aforementioned Sweetwater, so I was pleased to see it on the menu at Murphy's, which was across from the conference hotels. This was another really great beer! It was a little bit sweet but not in a sickening oversweet sort of way like doppelbocks that I generally haven't been too into. Very smooth, very nice. I would do this again.
Mooney's Irish Stout: Also at Murphy's, this was a very chocolatey flavored stout. Very very obviously chocolatey. However, not bad. I liked it. But then again, I like stout. One of my friends I was out with ordered it as well, so I clearly wasn't the only one who liked it.
Murphy's Lager: Yes, three at once place! My college friends came into D.C. to hang out for the evening, so we spent quite a while at the restaurant waiting for everyone to arrive after work. This was pretty straightforward, no nonsense, dry lager. Whatever.
Tusker lager: Went to Brickskeller on Saturday night, a place Paul has mentioned more than once for their incredible selection. Seriously, go read the menu. I estimated about 1000 beers on the printed copy I was looking at, from all over the world, and reasonably priced, too. This place rocked. I watched the Caps game with Deron and Scott while enjoying this "whatever lager" from Kenya, for no real reason other than the fact that I'd never had an African beer before.
Starr Hill Dark Star Stout: This was excellent, also from Brickskeller while we watched the third period end in a tie. This was a bit coffee-y, especially compared to the Mooney's the day before with its absurd amount of awesome chocolate flavor. But I enjoy a strong beer, and this totally fit the bill.
Mike's American Lager: Out dinner with amazing host family #3 of my week, Alison and Scott Berry, I had this beer, which is apparently brewed using bottom fermenting yeast, like a lager, but using an ale recipe. I don't even know what that means, but this was a nice clean beer to go with my great dinner (I totally recommend the grilled portobello!).
Kona Wailua: Back at the Berries', Scott had some of this waiting. They had it on their honeymoon in Hawaii last fall, and he's a huge fan. This is a wheat beer brewed with passionfruit, which I tried for the first time in Mexico last summer-- delicious and sweet, but really difficult to eat because it's got seeds galore. In my beer, it worked out very well! Not too sweet or fruity, just a hint of interesting on top of a very nice wheat beer.
Legend Lager: This is also a "whatever" lager, but I was at the excellent J. Brian's in Fredericksburg with the excellent Hilary, who is originally from Richmond, like this beer. It was just fine with my delicious quesadilla and my fabulous company!
This seems ludicrous but I guess you had to be there to see that it wasn't really so crazy. MANY thanks to all of my wonderful friends who joined me for these!
Paul: 222
Colleen: 236
Sunday, March 28, 2010
three for me!
This weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing my friend's sketch comedy group in New York City. I went to college with one of the guys in the group, so it was really fun to see him perform and catch up a little bit, but it also resulted in attending the show with Megan, old friend who I worked at the summer camp with AND went to college with (crazy!), her man Nick (another camp person), a friend of theirs, and Alice, another friend of mine from camp, who I've shared good beer with before and invited to this show because she recently suggested we do that again.
Here is what ensued:
This show was Chester's anniversary show, and for a small entrance fee, they offered us free beer! I grabbed myself a Pabst Blue Ribbon (in college, many called it "People's Beer of Richmond"-- the college memory is probably what drove me to choose it over the Bud they also had) and sat to enjoy the show, thinking nothing of the plain old party beer I was consuming. However, upon updating this blog and my beer list right now, I discovered it wasn't listed!
After the show, we ended up at Phebe's in the East Village. I managed to find two on draft that weren't on my list:
Abita's Purple Haze: I'm almost positive I had this in college at a beerluck (everybody brings a wacky or fancy six pack, everybody enjoys random beers together), but that predates the list, so here it is now. Alice and I agreed, it tasted like graham crackers. I actually didn't get any particular raspberry flavor, which is odd since this is categorized as a fruit beer, or a wheat beer with fruit in it-- either way, suggestive of tasting like the raspberry puree mixed in with it toward the end of the brewing process. It wasn't bad though. Perhaps it would be good for breakfast?
Phebe's Ale: I actually had an argument with one of the bartenders about this beer. She was being really rude, kept watching TV every time Alice and I tried to talk to her after she asked what she could get for us... I asked for the house ale, which was apparently only available at the back bar in the place. This is fine. I asked her if she thought it was worth walking to the back. After she was done watching something on the TV for a few seconds, and asking me to repeat myself, she told me she didn't know, it was like dark or something like New Castle Brown Ale, to which I responded, "That's not dark!"
It actually was pretty dark, darker than New Castle for sure, but definitely still an ale (I could still see light through it). It tasted a little bit like black licorice and a little bit like flat Coca Cola. It actually was a bit flat, not that I'm crazy about carbonation (I am really not a soda drinker), but it needs a little to carry the flavor. It wasn't my favorite beer ever. However, I'd still recommend Phebe's for their awesome spinach artichoke dip, which they seemed to make from scratch, or at least had more fresh looking spinach in it than the average spinach artichoke dip out there. It was delicious.
Paul: 211
Colleen: 213
Here is what ensued:
This show was Chester's anniversary show, and for a small entrance fee, they offered us free beer! I grabbed myself a Pabst Blue Ribbon (in college, many called it "People's Beer of Richmond"-- the college memory is probably what drove me to choose it over the Bud they also had) and sat to enjoy the show, thinking nothing of the plain old party beer I was consuming. However, upon updating this blog and my beer list right now, I discovered it wasn't listed!
After the show, we ended up at Phebe's in the East Village. I managed to find two on draft that weren't on my list:
Abita's Purple Haze: I'm almost positive I had this in college at a beerluck (everybody brings a wacky or fancy six pack, everybody enjoys random beers together), but that predates the list, so here it is now. Alice and I agreed, it tasted like graham crackers. I actually didn't get any particular raspberry flavor, which is odd since this is categorized as a fruit beer, or a wheat beer with fruit in it-- either way, suggestive of tasting like the raspberry puree mixed in with it toward the end of the brewing process. It wasn't bad though. Perhaps it would be good for breakfast?
Phebe's Ale: I actually had an argument with one of the bartenders about this beer. She was being really rude, kept watching TV every time Alice and I tried to talk to her after she asked what she could get for us... I asked for the house ale, which was apparently only available at the back bar in the place. This is fine. I asked her if she thought it was worth walking to the back. After she was done watching something on the TV for a few seconds, and asking me to repeat myself, she told me she didn't know, it was like dark or something like New Castle Brown Ale, to which I responded, "That's not dark!"
It actually was pretty dark, darker than New Castle for sure, but definitely still an ale (I could still see light through it). It tasted a little bit like black licorice and a little bit like flat Coca Cola. It actually was a bit flat, not that I'm crazy about carbonation (I am really not a soda drinker), but it needs a little to carry the flavor. It wasn't my favorite beer ever. However, I'd still recommend Phebe's for their awesome spinach artichoke dip, which they seemed to make from scratch, or at least had more fresh looking spinach in it than the average spinach artichoke dip out there. It was delicious.
Paul: 211
Colleen: 213
Monday, March 8, 2010
ARGH!!!
No, I haven't dropped out of grad school and become a pirate.
But twice now, I've tried new beers at Stuffies and it turns out, they're already on my list.
This doesn't mean they're forgettable. At least both were very good brews--no loss. It's tough to remember everything you've ever tried when the official list is over 200 and there's still a few random others in your head that you know you've tried but this was before the beer list so it's not official. Oh well.
Brooklyn Brown Ale: While this is no Backdraft Brown Ale, this is a very good beer. It's nice and malty and has a good weight. It's very smooth and not too sweet. I misunderstood our favorite bartender Jill when she asked if I'd tried it before, because I tried this somewhat recently and definitely remembered it being good. Oh well. Like I said, no loss.
Aventinus: You know what? This one sounded familiar. I even had my beer list loaded onto my iPod and looked to see if I tried this, but I looked under Aventinus and Weissbierbrauerei but didn't see it... because it's Schneider and Sohn. Oh well. Not a big loss, since it's a really nice darker wheat beer. It was a little sweet but in an awesome way, like how some wheat beers have a bit of a banana/clove thing going on... very interesting flavor, and not too heavy. This is a good wheat beer, though not quite as light and fancy free as a hefeweizen, as this one is actually a doppelbock.
The score remains: Paul 202, Colleen 205.
But twice now, I've tried new beers at Stuffies and it turns out, they're already on my list.
This doesn't mean they're forgettable. At least both were very good brews--no loss. It's tough to remember everything you've ever tried when the official list is over 200 and there's still a few random others in your head that you know you've tried but this was before the beer list so it's not official. Oh well.
Brooklyn Brown Ale: While this is no Backdraft Brown Ale, this is a very good beer. It's nice and malty and has a good weight. It's very smooth and not too sweet. I misunderstood our favorite bartender Jill when she asked if I'd tried it before, because I tried this somewhat recently and definitely remembered it being good. Oh well. Like I said, no loss.
Aventinus: You know what? This one sounded familiar. I even had my beer list loaded onto my iPod and looked to see if I tried this, but I looked under Aventinus and Weissbierbrauerei but didn't see it... because it's Schneider and Sohn. Oh well. Not a big loss, since it's a really nice darker wheat beer. It was a little sweet but in an awesome way, like how some wheat beers have a bit of a banana/clove thing going on... very interesting flavor, and not too heavy. This is a good wheat beer, though not quite as light and fancy free as a hefeweizen, as this one is actually a doppelbock.
The score remains: Paul 202, Colleen 205.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The Public House
On Saturday, Laura and I met my friends Tim and Heather for dinner and some beers at a Public House (Pub) in Columbia, Maryland. Victoria Gastro Pub specializes in a unique beer menu, and they make the usual American classics with a slight twist. We had a really good time. Fine beers, fine food, and fine people are always an excellent combination. As I've mentioned before, when being indecisive about beer, I succumb to marketing and pick a name that catches my eye.
Flying Dog Raging Bitch IPA: Despite the name, I thought this beer was quite subdued for an IPA. I expected something, shall we say, aggressive. I got the complete opposite. Irony aside, I enjoyed this brew.
Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale (IPA): Let's face it, Stone brewing makes excellent ales across the board. They are not for the faint at heart or the newbie, but they are well crafted beers. This was no exception. It reminded me of an IPA, but it had the look and body of a stout. I want another one of these, soon.
On Sunday afternoon, I went for a casual time with my cousin Brendan (the inspiration for this project). We went to Fireflies, and sat at the bar for an hour or two watching Curling and other Olympic sports on TV. I had two new beers, as Fireflies is typically clutch for this. We also spent some time talking to the bar manager there. She said due to the epic snow falls recently, a lot of micro-brews have not been able to get there beers delivered. Thus, they were light on selection, but I certainly understood.
Victory Helios Ale: This had the color and body of a Belgian Ale, but there was a twist. True to the style, it was a very summer beer with a slightly fruity after taste and a light body. However, it also had a distinct hop characteristic that Brendan picked up on before me. This is a beer you drink after mowing the lawn. I think this beer helps Victory's reputation.
Left Hand Fade to Black: The bar manager mentioned that this beer would become the seasonal for Left Hand brewing. I've had one of their beers before, and this beer seems to redeem their reputation (I consulted my notes). This beer was quite good. It was a heavy, dark stout - as stouts should be. The roasted malts seemed to be dark chocolate and coffee.
The scorecard:
Colleen: 203
Paul: 200
I hope to make another trip to Bilbo Baggins soon. If I do, I'll obviously make a post here. I also need to include some pictures to make these posts less boring. Enjoy the beer, friends.
Cheers,
Paul
Flying Dog Raging Bitch IPA: Despite the name, I thought this beer was quite subdued for an IPA. I expected something, shall we say, aggressive. I got the complete opposite. Irony aside, I enjoyed this brew.
Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale (IPA): Let's face it, Stone brewing makes excellent ales across the board. They are not for the faint at heart or the newbie, but they are well crafted beers. This was no exception. It reminded me of an IPA, but it had the look and body of a stout. I want another one of these, soon.
On Sunday afternoon, I went for a casual time with my cousin Brendan (the inspiration for this project). We went to Fireflies, and sat at the bar for an hour or two watching Curling and other Olympic sports on TV. I had two new beers, as Fireflies is typically clutch for this. We also spent some time talking to the bar manager there. She said due to the epic snow falls recently, a lot of micro-brews have not been able to get there beers delivered. Thus, they were light on selection, but I certainly understood.
Victory Helios Ale: This had the color and body of a Belgian Ale, but there was a twist. True to the style, it was a very summer beer with a slightly fruity after taste and a light body. However, it also had a distinct hop characteristic that Brendan picked up on before me. This is a beer you drink after mowing the lawn. I think this beer helps Victory's reputation.
Left Hand Fade to Black: The bar manager mentioned that this beer would become the seasonal for Left Hand brewing. I've had one of their beers before, and this beer seems to redeem their reputation (I consulted my notes). This beer was quite good. It was a heavy, dark stout - as stouts should be. The roasted malts seemed to be dark chocolate and coffee.
The scorecard:
Colleen: 203
Paul: 200
I hope to make another trip to Bilbo Baggins soon. If I do, I'll obviously make a post here. I also need to include some pictures to make these posts less boring. Enjoy the beer, friends.
Cheers,
Paul
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
OMG SNOWPACALYPSE # 342837!!!!!!!
It's winter. It's ok if it snows.
However, tomorrow is my first snow day, although this semester I don't have class or work on Wednesday. Snow days have proven to be good days for trying new beers (see here and here), but I didn't manage to pick up anything new before the snow started. However, I do have something else to report:
I hit 200 beers last night! By accident.
Number 199 was actually during the Superbowl. My friend Jeremy hooked me up with a Flying Dog In Heat Wheat. Actually, he told me there were miscellaneous Flying-Somethings in the refrigerator upstairs in his sister's house, where a few of our friends had gathered to watch the game, and that I could help myself to them. I chose the In Heat Wheat on my own, for two reasons: the awkward name amused me, and I like wheat beers. (Why is it even called "in heat"?!)
The In Heat Wheat was a good unfiltered hefeweizen, though I wouldn't call it my favorite. Very pleasant and drinkable, that nice crisp clean wheat beer flavor. It was kind of foamy but nice and light to drink. I like it.
Number 200 was not as epic as I'd hoped. I went to Stuff Yer Face as I do most Mondays, though this week we were celebrating our friend Cristina's birthday. Stuffies is pretty empty on Monday nights and we're friends with the regular Monday bartender, so we do ridiculous things like bring cupcakes and homemade guacamole and take over the back corner. Upon our arrival, Jill, our awesome bartender friend extraordinaire, brought over two pints of Stone IPA. Apparently, two guys came in and ordered them and then refused to pay when informed that it did, in fact, cost more than things like Coors Light or Yuengling. No one else was interested, so I had at it, despite not being a fan of IPA's.
India Pale Ales are too bitter and hoppy for me. I just don't enjoy the flavor or the bite. This was no exception. Stone IPA received rave reviews from a lot of beer aficionados, so I guess if you're into that sharp, bitter flavor that IPAs offer, this is a good one to go after. The kick in the face from the hops is just not for me. But here I am, 200 beers, to Paul's 192.
And now, here I am, relaxing at home as the snow falls quietly here at the Jersey shore... goodnight!
However, tomorrow is my first snow day, although this semester I don't have class or work on Wednesday. Snow days have proven to be good days for trying new beers (see here and here), but I didn't manage to pick up anything new before the snow started. However, I do have something else to report:
I hit 200 beers last night! By accident.
Number 199 was actually during the Superbowl. My friend Jeremy hooked me up with a Flying Dog In Heat Wheat. Actually, he told me there were miscellaneous Flying-Somethings in the refrigerator upstairs in his sister's house, where a few of our friends had gathered to watch the game, and that I could help myself to them. I chose the In Heat Wheat on my own, for two reasons: the awkward name amused me, and I like wheat beers. (Why is it even called "in heat"?!)
The In Heat Wheat was a good unfiltered hefeweizen, though I wouldn't call it my favorite. Very pleasant and drinkable, that nice crisp clean wheat beer flavor. It was kind of foamy but nice and light to drink. I like it.
Number 200 was not as epic as I'd hoped. I went to Stuff Yer Face as I do most Mondays, though this week we were celebrating our friend Cristina's birthday. Stuffies is pretty empty on Monday nights and we're friends with the regular Monday bartender, so we do ridiculous things like bring cupcakes and homemade guacamole and take over the back corner. Upon our arrival, Jill, our awesome bartender friend extraordinaire, brought over two pints of Stone IPA. Apparently, two guys came in and ordered them and then refused to pay when informed that it did, in fact, cost more than things like Coors Light or Yuengling. No one else was interested, so I had at it, despite not being a fan of IPA's.
India Pale Ales are too bitter and hoppy for me. I just don't enjoy the flavor or the bite. This was no exception. Stone IPA received rave reviews from a lot of beer aficionados, so I guess if you're into that sharp, bitter flavor that IPAs offer, this is a good one to go after. The kick in the face from the hops is just not for me. But here I am, 200 beers, to Paul's 192.
And now, here I am, relaxing at home as the snow falls quietly here at the Jersey shore... goodnight!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Outrunning a Blizzard
Last Thursday, I went out with a few people to celebrate my friend Jeremy's promotion at work. We met at a place called Overwood. I thought it was a good time. A few good people, and couple of good beers tried on my part. The food was pretty good too, but that's clearly not the point of this blog. The beers I had were:
Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale: This beer was exactly what you would expect, clean finish that was slightly hoppy. Now, hops cause the bitter, or bite, in the after taste. Pale Ales are generally more balanced and subdued - this beer being no exception. IPAs, by contrast, are much heavier on the hops - and thus more bitter.
Avery IPA: Using the description for the previous beer as a guide, we'd know that this beer has more bite. I thought this beer was a good IPA, categorically speaking. I can get tired of IPAs after a while, but this beer was solid nonetheless.
Immediately after the celebration, I drove down to Williamsburg, VA to visit my girlfriend, Laura. The timetable of my departure was moved up due to the snowpocalypse. They got 3-4 inches of snow there, as opposed to the 3+ feet in some parts of the DC-Baltimore Metro area. With another storm on the way, this could get fun. Today, I returned gingerly to my place, careful not total my car and kill/injure myself/someone else. I'd say the drive was a little long, but a succcess.
Over the course of the weekend, I tried several beers. I bought my girlfriend and her roommates a Samuel Adams mix pack, and tried a new beer from it. I went to the Green Leafe twice on Sunday, once to wait out a meeting and once to watch the Super Bowl with the girlfriend. She and I also went to The Cheese Shop, which has a selection of micro-brews in the basement.
Teaser: I bought a new beer, and will taste and review Stone Double Bastard Ale next week. Enough with my rambling, and on with the reviews:
Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat: So I have a confession to make, this is my 17th beer from the Samuel Adams brewery. That means about about 1/11 beers I've tried have been from them. Across the board, they make some very good brews. There are some very noticeable exceptions: Cherry Wheat, Cranberry Lambic, and Old Fezziwig Ale. This beer was very smooth for a wheat beer. There was a lemon-y after taste to it, that reminded me of their Summer Ale. It was a beer that could easily be enjoyed without food, but would get repetitive after a few.
Dominion Oak Barrel Stout: For most people, stouts are not the most accessible beer. They are thick liquids to drink, and typically are fairly complex in taste. This beer was that description on 'roids. It was highly complex, and very aggressive in flavor.
Legend Brown Ale: I've had a lot of brown ales in my life (ok, maybe 10-15). This was a mediocre-sub par Brown Ale. The typical smoothness of a Brown Ale was sort of there, but not really. I wasn't completely impressed with this one.
St. George IPA: This beer was from the bottom of the keg. Upside, a few ounces of free beer. Downside, the quality of any beer is less than ideal. Nonetheless, this was a fairly typical IPA. The hop aroma and flavors were there, which is to be expected.
Legend Chocolate Porter: Ok, I like porters. This beer, however, sucked. A porter should have a roasted malt (usually chocolate) after taste. It's more a subtlety than anything. This was like drinking a blend between beer and chocolate milk. This was my mug night beer, so it was a 32 oz beer (for six bucks!). Needless to say, it was torture from the first sip but the price was right.
Next weekend, I expect to add a few more to my list. The hope is to keep pace with Colleen and, dare I say, retake the lead at some point. Right now though, I'm just praying that I don't get snowed in for the next week.
The scorecard:
Colleen: 198
Paul: 192
Cheers,
Paul
Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale: This beer was exactly what you would expect, clean finish that was slightly hoppy. Now, hops cause the bitter, or bite, in the after taste. Pale Ales are generally more balanced and subdued - this beer being no exception. IPAs, by contrast, are much heavier on the hops - and thus more bitter.
Avery IPA: Using the description for the previous beer as a guide, we'd know that this beer has more bite. I thought this beer was a good IPA, categorically speaking. I can get tired of IPAs after a while, but this beer was solid nonetheless.
Immediately after the celebration, I drove down to Williamsburg, VA to visit my girlfriend, Laura. The timetable of my departure was moved up due to the snowpocalypse. They got 3-4 inches of snow there, as opposed to the 3+ feet in some parts of the DC-Baltimore Metro area. With another storm on the way, this could get fun. Today, I returned gingerly to my place, careful not total my car and kill/injure myself/someone else. I'd say the drive was a little long, but a succcess.
Over the course of the weekend, I tried several beers. I bought my girlfriend and her roommates a Samuel Adams mix pack, and tried a new beer from it. I went to the Green Leafe twice on Sunday, once to wait out a meeting and once to watch the Super Bowl with the girlfriend. She and I also went to The Cheese Shop, which has a selection of micro-brews in the basement.
Teaser: I bought a new beer, and will taste and review Stone Double Bastard Ale next week. Enough with my rambling, and on with the reviews:
Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat: So I have a confession to make, this is my 17th beer from the Samuel Adams brewery. That means about about 1/11 beers I've tried have been from them. Across the board, they make some very good brews. There are some very noticeable exceptions: Cherry Wheat, Cranberry Lambic, and Old Fezziwig Ale. This beer was very smooth for a wheat beer. There was a lemon-y after taste to it, that reminded me of their Summer Ale. It was a beer that could easily be enjoyed without food, but would get repetitive after a few.
Dominion Oak Barrel Stout: For most people, stouts are not the most accessible beer. They are thick liquids to drink, and typically are fairly complex in taste. This beer was that description on 'roids. It was highly complex, and very aggressive in flavor.
Legend Brown Ale: I've had a lot of brown ales in my life (ok, maybe 10-15). This was a mediocre-sub par Brown Ale. The typical smoothness of a Brown Ale was sort of there, but not really. I wasn't completely impressed with this one.
St. George IPA: This beer was from the bottom of the keg. Upside, a few ounces of free beer. Downside, the quality of any beer is less than ideal. Nonetheless, this was a fairly typical IPA. The hop aroma and flavors were there, which is to be expected.
Legend Chocolate Porter: Ok, I like porters. This beer, however, sucked. A porter should have a roasted malt (usually chocolate) after taste. It's more a subtlety than anything. This was like drinking a blend between beer and chocolate milk. This was my mug night beer, so it was a 32 oz beer (for six bucks!). Needless to say, it was torture from the first sip but the price was right.
Next weekend, I expect to add a few more to my list. The hope is to keep pace with Colleen and, dare I say, retake the lead at some point. Right now though, I'm just praying that I don't get snowed in for the next week.
The scorecard:
Colleen: 198
Paul: 192
Cheers,
Paul
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
a toast to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Thanks to a long weekend including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday (Observed) party and another Monday out with friends, I have quite a few new interesting beers to report.
Wells & Young, Ltd.'s Banana Bread Beer: This sounds questionable, doesn't it? It's surprisingly amazing though, assuming you like beer and banana bread. Despite the presence of some artificial flavors (in addition to REAL fair trade bananas!), it smells like actual banana bread, not some sort of fake banana candy. And it tastes awesome-- not necessarily like liquid banana bread so much as, you're drinking a nice beer while sitting in the company of fresh, delicious banana bread. Kudos to Tom to picking that one off the liquor store shelf for me.
Sam Adams Blackberry Witbier: While I'm not usually into fruit beers, this was pretty pleasant. The blackberry isn't too strong or fake tasting, and it's over a nice witbier.
Sam Adams Black Lager: This one was more up my alley. It's a lager that tastes more like a porter. It has a really strong flavor, largely chocolate, but goes down more lightly, like the lager that it actually is. Good stuff. That Samuel Adams, so reputable (with only a very few exceptions)!
Lancaster Rare Rooster Rye Ale: My friend Jeremy held this one aside for me to add to my list, though warned me he couldn't speak to its quality. The first sip tasted something like old rye bread with paint on it. Worried that it had turned, I handed it back to Jeremy, who tasted it and told me it was exactly the same as when he bought it. I kind of wonder how long the beer had been sitting, but he recommended that I generally avoid Lancaster beers, regardless of freshness. . I would recommend the same, after trying another...
Lancaster Strawberry Wheat: Not usually a fruit beer person, but after two recent positive experiences and my love of wheat beers, I went for it. Awful, awful, awful. This is rank medicine flavored strawberry, not even semi-tolerable lollipop strawberry. Ugh.
Kennebec River Summer Ale: Initially concerned that being a summer ale, it would be out of date, but it was all right. It was kind of a pale ale, which just isn't my jam, but it was drinkable. Especially compared to those Lancasters.
Troeg's Dreamweaver Wheat: Thank you Danni. This was a nice unfiltered wheat beer. No weird or bad fruit, nothing offensive, just a nice wheat beer. I could handle this one again.
Löwenbräu: This is another one Tom picked up to share, after we heard it referred to on Soap, a really hilarious TV show from the late 70s that we've been watching on DVD lately (I'd recommend that too). This is supposed to be legit German stuff. It was a bit too carbonated for me, considering that it didn't have any sort of really amazing flavor on top of the bubbles. I probably wouldn't go out of my way for it again, but it's definitely not a bad beer-- I've never been crazy about soda for the same reason.
Weihenstephaner Korbinian: a little sweeter than I'd prefer, but definitely a good beer. It's darker than the other brews I've tried by this German brewer, and very, very smooth. It's new on tap at Stuff Yer Face right now!
Sea Dog Apricot Wheat: For fruity beers not being my thing, I sure did try a few this weekend. This beer has a very light flavor to it, although it smells pretty strongly of apricot. It was also very smooth. Paul and I both have down on our beer lists another brew by Sea Dog, the Blueberry Ale. Both of us recommend it as a breakfast beer. I'd recommend this one likewise.
Well, that puts the tally at 173 for Paul and 189 for me. My semester starts today, so I'm sure I won't be ahead for long. While I think three day weekends and excuses to get together with friends are wonderful things, let us remember the great work that Dr. King did for civil rights in our country!
Wells & Young, Ltd.'s Banana Bread Beer: This sounds questionable, doesn't it? It's surprisingly amazing though, assuming you like beer and banana bread. Despite the presence of some artificial flavors (in addition to REAL fair trade bananas!), it smells like actual banana bread, not some sort of fake banana candy. And it tastes awesome-- not necessarily like liquid banana bread so much as, you're drinking a nice beer while sitting in the company of fresh, delicious banana bread. Kudos to Tom to picking that one off the liquor store shelf for me.
Sam Adams Blackberry Witbier: While I'm not usually into fruit beers, this was pretty pleasant. The blackberry isn't too strong or fake tasting, and it's over a nice witbier.
Sam Adams Black Lager: This one was more up my alley. It's a lager that tastes more like a porter. It has a really strong flavor, largely chocolate, but goes down more lightly, like the lager that it actually is. Good stuff. That Samuel Adams, so reputable (with only a very few exceptions)!
Lancaster Rare Rooster Rye Ale: My friend Jeremy held this one aside for me to add to my list, though warned me he couldn't speak to its quality. The first sip tasted something like old rye bread with paint on it. Worried that it had turned, I handed it back to Jeremy, who tasted it and told me it was exactly the same as when he bought it. I kind of wonder how long the beer had been sitting, but he recommended that I generally avoid Lancaster beers, regardless of freshness. . I would recommend the same, after trying another...
Lancaster Strawberry Wheat: Not usually a fruit beer person, but after two recent positive experiences and my love of wheat beers, I went for it. Awful, awful, awful. This is rank medicine flavored strawberry, not even semi-tolerable lollipop strawberry. Ugh.
Kennebec River Summer Ale: Initially concerned that being a summer ale, it would be out of date, but it was all right. It was kind of a pale ale, which just isn't my jam, but it was drinkable. Especially compared to those Lancasters.
Troeg's Dreamweaver Wheat: Thank you Danni. This was a nice unfiltered wheat beer. No weird or bad fruit, nothing offensive, just a nice wheat beer. I could handle this one again.
Löwenbräu: This is another one Tom picked up to share, after we heard it referred to on Soap, a really hilarious TV show from the late 70s that we've been watching on DVD lately (I'd recommend that too). This is supposed to be legit German stuff. It was a bit too carbonated for me, considering that it didn't have any sort of really amazing flavor on top of the bubbles. I probably wouldn't go out of my way for it again, but it's definitely not a bad beer-- I've never been crazy about soda for the same reason.
Weihenstephaner Korbinian: a little sweeter than I'd prefer, but definitely a good beer. It's darker than the other brews I've tried by this German brewer, and very, very smooth. It's new on tap at Stuff Yer Face right now!
Sea Dog Apricot Wheat: For fruity beers not being my thing, I sure did try a few this weekend. This beer has a very light flavor to it, although it smells pretty strongly of apricot. It was also very smooth. Paul and I both have down on our beer lists another brew by Sea Dog, the Blueberry Ale. Both of us recommend it as a breakfast beer. I'd recommend this one likewise.
Well, that puts the tally at 173 for Paul and 189 for me. My semester starts today, so I'm sure I won't be ahead for long. While I think three day weekends and excuses to get together with friends are wonderful things, let us remember the great work that Dr. King did for civil rights in our country!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
final-ly
I told Paul a few months ago that it was my goal to overtake his variety-of-beers record by New Years because I had, you know, a semester to finish... so I accept that he has pulled ahead slightly in this everlasting contest. (I also accept because he had a 70 beer lead on me when this all began in college.) Well, it's finally finals! I have just a week and change left in the semester, and then I can responsibly reclaim my lead.
In the meantime, I did have a new beer last night. I went out in my typical Monday night fashion, except, Stuff Yer Face was closed for their holiday party so my friends and I went to Marita's Cantina instead, where they currently have Leinenkugel's Fireside Nut Brown Ale on tap. Paul isn't really a Leinenkugel fan, I know, but I haven't disliked any of theirs that I've tried thus far:
Summer Shandy: citrusy summer wheat ale. I like wheat beer. I thought I tasted lime but it was lemon.
Sunset Wheat: easy to drink, not too strong, I will repeat: I like wheat.
So, the Fireside Nut Brown: definitely tasted the nuttiness but it was decent. Didn't have a second though, ended up switching to Guinness, but that was a mood thing, not that the Fireside wasn't at least tolerable. Though Leinenkugel probably wouldn't be my first choice, I definitely don't dislike their beers.
Also, about halfway through our first round, my friends and I were later joined by all of the bartenders from Stuffies! It's really fun drinking with your bartenders. Sign of a great bartender: drunk as she was, our usual Monday night bartender was still able to recommend me the Fireside Nut Brown Ale, because she didn't think I'd had it before and knows that somewhere, some dude is trying to try more different beers than me.
Well, dude, the score is 157-159.
(I mean, I was already halfway through mine at that point, but I'm impressed by her effort.)
In the meantime, I did have a new beer last night. I went out in my typical Monday night fashion, except, Stuff Yer Face was closed for their holiday party so my friends and I went to Marita's Cantina instead, where they currently have Leinenkugel's Fireside Nut Brown Ale on tap. Paul isn't really a Leinenkugel fan, I know, but I haven't disliked any of theirs that I've tried thus far:
Summer Shandy: citrusy summer wheat ale. I like wheat beer. I thought I tasted lime but it was lemon.
Sunset Wheat: easy to drink, not too strong, I will repeat: I like wheat.
So, the Fireside Nut Brown: definitely tasted the nuttiness but it was decent. Didn't have a second though, ended up switching to Guinness, but that was a mood thing, not that the Fireside wasn't at least tolerable. Though Leinenkugel probably wouldn't be my first choice, I definitely don't dislike their beers.
Also, about halfway through our first round, my friends and I were later joined by all of the bartenders from Stuffies! It's really fun drinking with your bartenders. Sign of a great bartender: drunk as she was, our usual Monday night bartender was still able to recommend me the Fireside Nut Brown Ale, because she didn't think I'd had it before and knows that somewhere, some dude is trying to try more different beers than me.
Well, dude, the score is 157-159.
(I mean, I was already halfway through mine at that point, but I'm impressed by her effort.)
Sunday, November 29, 2009
oh hey I'm Colleen!
Paul did a good job summing up how we know each other and what our deal with beer is, so I'll just briefly introduce myself.
I'm currently in my second year of grad school, working on a Master of Science in Geography. That's right, Geography. It's real. I specialize in biogeography and human- environment interactions. Basically, I hug trees and play in the dirt. My thesis is about invasive plants and slash and burn agriculture in Mexico, where I spent part of my summer doing research, and where their beer is all the same (not very exciting).
My top five beers at the moment:
1. Sam Adams Hefeweizen
2. Guinness (though this is what I have most often)
3. Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout
4. Victory Storm King
5. Flying Fish Oktoberfish
Also, the score is actually currently 153- 142, as I just tried Bud Light Golden Wheat. Don't ask me why, since I generally avoid stuff with "light" in the name, but it was surprisingly not crappy. I like wheat beer, what can I say.
Other stuff I like: old family photos, traveling, the beach, hugging trees, making and/or listening to music, the state of New Jersey
Also, if Brendan the cousin gets credit for encouraging us to blog about our beer adventures, and Paul gets credit for actually signing us up for the address and starting the blog, I totally get credit for the name. Paul is a dear friend, and my beer friend. I'm so clever sometimes.
I'm currently in my second year of grad school, working on a Master of Science in Geography. That's right, Geography. It's real. I specialize in biogeography and human- environment interactions. Basically, I hug trees and play in the dirt. My thesis is about invasive plants and slash and burn agriculture in Mexico, where I spent part of my summer doing research, and where their beer is all the same (not very exciting).
My top five beers at the moment:
1. Sam Adams Hefeweizen
2. Guinness (though this is what I have most often)
3. Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout
4. Victory Storm King
5. Flying Fish Oktoberfish
Also, the score is actually currently 153- 142, as I just tried Bud Light Golden Wheat. Don't ask me why, since I generally avoid stuff with "light" in the name, but it was surprisingly not crappy. I like wheat beer, what can I say.
Other stuff I like: old family photos, traveling, the beach, hugging trees, making and/or listening to music, the state of New Jersey
Also, if Brendan the cousin gets credit for encouraging us to blog about our beer adventures, and Paul gets credit for actually signing us up for the address and starting the blog, I totally get credit for the name. Paul is a dear friend, and my beer friend. I'm so clever sometimes.
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