Dirty Bastard!!

No, I'm not talking about the S.O.B at the Blue and Gray Oktoberfest who demanded his "deposit" back (let's see if you're really reading this Mr. Fitzpatrick), although he earned the title.  It's the Founders Scotch Ale offering that was lucky enough to be chosen for this week's Friday Night Pint review!  And I gotta say, this one earned a...

...stamp of approval!!! 

This mahongany colored scotch ale was just what the doctor ordered at the end of a day that began with hydroplaning my way up route 95 on my way to a rain soaked Oktoberfest celebration.  I'm pretty sure my shoes are still wet.  Chocolate notes hit you right away followed by a nice, light smoky aroma and flavor.  I find that I like a darker beer best after it warms up a bit, and this one was no exception.  This was the best Friday Night Pint since North Coast's Old Rasputin Imperial Stout, which I believe also earned a Wicked Good Beer stamp of approval.  I love adding diversity to my favorite beers, so I'm ok with adding Dirty Bastard to my hop heavy collection of favorites!  Definitely recommend this one!



Dirty Bastard
8.5% ABV
Founders Brewing Co.
Grand Rapids, MI
The flowers are a nice touch, don't you think?

 The Oktoberfest celebration at Blue and Gray wasn't a total wash out as Mother Nature redeemed herself a bit on Saturday with an overcast but dry (except for the 6 million percent humidity) day.  Things started off a bit slow, but quickly picked up.  Adding in my head has always been a problem and our low budget operation doesn't own any working calculators, so after awhile I just charged $5 for everything.  I can do fives.*  I'm so glad that Oompah band was there becasue they totally helped me concentrate on what I was doing. Thankfully I worked with our brewer Dave who can pour beer lightning fast, and Jimbo who can talk just as fast and confuse the hell out of people so they forget they had to wait for beer.  Quite the trio we were.  

So here I am at Sunday afternoon, impressed as hell with myself that I actually got this posted before the weekend was out!  Already enjoyed a Dogfish 90 with the hubby after his return from NH for the weekend (good thing I was busy so I didn't notice too much that he left me behind-he also returned with a belated anniverary gift that proves I married the right guy...more on that next week), and am looking forward to the pot of chili in the crockpot.  The only question that remains is what to drink with it.  Pretty sure I've got something in the fridge!

Cheers!
Becky
*I wonder if I'lll be fired Monday... 

Better Late Than Never! FNP #7/52

Seems like Friday Night Pints has turned it to mid-week posts!!  Oh well, all for the love of beer! 



Ayinger October Fest (Marzen)
5.4%

 Unfortunately I "rushed" through last week's Friday Night Pint since I was on my way to pour beer for Blue and Gray Brewing at the St. Benedict Oktoberfest.  So, just some quick thoughts on Ayinger's Marzen (October Fest)...I love fall, but am often not the biggest fan of Oktoberfest beer.  This one holds it's own however with a nice medium body and that earthy, spicy hop flavor and aroma you would expect.  A thin lacing coated the glass throughout, but it wasn't in the glass for long!  Overall, a nice representation of the style, and a good choice if you are looking to venture into the land of fall seaonal brews.   

Now, on to bigger and better things!  I spent the rest of the night at my first Oktoberfest (state side of course!) pouring three selections from Blue and Gray Brewing.  We had our Oktoberfest, Fred Red, and Stonewall Stout to offer the revellers, who by far preferred the seasonal brew.  Even members of the local distribution company raved about it and wanted to know why we weren't part of their family (geez, I don't know.  Maybe because you won't give small breweries the time of day you big bullies!).  Stonewall was a close second and Fred held his own (but I think his feelings were hurt...he's usually the preferred brew).  I planned on spending a couple of hours at the Festival, but ended up there until after 10 o'clock wondering when, if ever, the crowd would disperse.  Then it hit me...if you pour it, they will stay!  It wasn't until after the unfortunate news that the beer would no longer flow that the celebration began to wind down.  The pictures below were taken just as the festival began.  No time for pictures later...too many people wanting beer!

Ummm...yeah. You know what's on my Christmas list now, right?



We might have had fewer offerings than Brown, be we're more fun! 

Now I won't bore you with too many details about the rest of my weekend, but I must say, it kicked ass.  Not only was I able to spend some quality time with the boys, I got to visit the Marine Museum (instead of just driving by and commenting on the view from 95), watch the Orioles actually WIN a game at Camden, tour some old warships in Baltimore Harbor, AND visit THREE NEW brewpubs! 

 

Ok, so I lied a little.  I'm only going to bore you with the beer details...just a few, so don't panic!  First stop on the way up was Hops in Alexandria, VA.  We had a gift card, so it was free, and really, how does it get better than free beer?  This place is a bit too commercialized for my tastes (I prefer those rustic brewpubs in the middle of nowhere...), and the beer is good, but nothing that warrants a "wicked good beer" stamp of approval.  My pinter in crime and I shared a sampler to start.  The samples were served in standard sample glasses (I really should be better about photos....) on a "placemat" that gave descriptions of each style.  I liked that aspect because then I was able be a total beer dork and try to guess what was in each, and find out if I was right!  I know, you are wishing you could have this much fun.  The samples included Clearwater Light (OMG, awful!), their Oktoberfest offering, leftover summer wheat, Lighting Bolt Gold, Thorougbred Red, and Alligator Ale (porter).  My favorite was the Alligator Ale, followed closely by the red.  So we ordered one of each to have with lunch.  Yes, we had food too, but who cares about that.  I also took a brief tour of the brewhouse with the manager on duty.  His tour left a little be desired ("First we put the stuff in here, then it goes over there, and then into the storage tanks out back").  Again, WHY am I not better about taking pictures!  Anyhow, not a bad place for a beer and a quick bite if you are in the area.

 

Prior to the O's game we stopped in to the Pratt Street Alehouse.  This is a great little place not far from Camden.  I had been there last fall as well for a reunion with some old friends and the Sox/O's game.  I had the Punk IPA which was a pretty good English IPA!  Great flavor, served at the right temperature, and perfect carbonation for my tastes.  Not too prickly on the tongue, but not creamy like a stout either.  I was a little disappointed not to get to try the ESB cask ale, but how long CAN you expect an 8 year old to sit quietly anyhow. 

 

The family seated next to us at Pratt Street found great humor in the fact that I was sporting my Red Sox shirt, Brady his Patriots sweatshirt, and Aaron in his, uhh...Yankees (suck) hat.  The gentleman asked, "So, how does that Yankees hat work over there?"  I replied in a very serious tone "Not real well, but when we met the SOB lied and told me he was a rich Red Sox fan".

 

Ok, the last beer stop of the weekend was on the way home.  It's a place my husband had raved about, having visited several times while travelling for work.  I must say, it was worth the delayed arrival home.



Pub Dog Pizza & Drafthouse
Columbia, MD

Other than the location (sort of a stip mall buried in an office park), Pub Dog is my kind of place!  Dark wood, sort of rustic.  I LOVED the fact that their beer offerings were on huge wooden boards, easily visible, and with descriptions of each (tough to know what you are getting when the beers are name after dog breeds).  They had every NFL game on (good thing too because there were no fewer than 4 different jerseys in the house), but the tvs didn't dominate the atmosphere (they were actually hung with the beer signs...picture here would have been nice, huh?  I'm such a dumbass.).  And the beer was fantastic!  I had the IPA (Hoppy Dog), the Imperial IPA, and the Dirty Dog (a blend of their brown and pale ales...interesting).  Pub Dog only serves pizza, which is fine with me.  They have a great selection, so going with a standard cheese or pepperoni was out of the question.  I chose the Thai Chicken pizza, and ate the whole darn thing (they are individual pizzas FYI).  If I hadn't had to drive home, I would have loved to stay to watch more football and drink good beer!  But alas, the responsible adult in me won over.  Mostly because I knew more beer awaited me in my own fridge, along with a comfy couch and the Pats on t.v.!!

 

So, if you managed to make it through this whole post, thanks for reading!  Now when you are planning your next visit to Richmond, you'll know where to make your pit stops!

 

Next up...this weekend's 9th Annual Oktoberfest at Blue and Gray Brewing in Fredericksburg!

Cheers!

Becky

18 Beer Day! Top of the Hops 9/10/11

Ok, so if I drank 18 beers in one day, you wouldn't be reading this because I would still be too drunk to type.  Or dead.  But 18 2 oz SAMPLES at the Top of the Hops Festival in Charlottesville?  No problem!

Now I know what you are thinking.  Only 18 samples at a festival with unlimited sampling and over 50 breweries in attendance?  What a lame ass!  But truthfully, my goal was to try as many new beers as possible, still be able to safely drive home, AND remember a little something about the beers!  As former President G.W. Bush would say (or post on a really big sign): MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Surprisingly my two favorite beers at the festival were NOT IPAs.  In fact, there wasn't one IPA that really wowed me (palate fatigue?-super beer dork term to describe boredom with your beer of choice).  However, my favorite festival beer needs to be mentioned with an asterisk, because I had tried it before from a 22 oz. bomber, but this one was on cask (for more info on cask ales try http://www.camra.org.uk/).  It was Williamsburg Alewerks Bourbon Barrel Porter, and if I hadn't been getting ready to drive home, I would have had many more two ounce samples...this beer was damn good out of a bottle, and ridiculously good on cask.  The flavor was amazing, with the bourbon more dominant than I remember from my first bottle tasting.

It is full bodied without being heavy and is just sooo, smooth.  The perfect fireside beer in my opinion, and if I can get my hands on another bottle (or two), I'm putting one away until at least after Christmas.  That would be a fine beer with which to bring in a new year!

My second favorite (don't worry, I'm only giving details on the top two, the rest I'll just list with a note or two...) was Buffalo Sweat Stout by Tallgrass Brewing out of Manhattan, KS.  With a name like Buffalo Sweat, I of course had to try it!  It was a creamy, sweet stout without the sometimes overpowering roasted flavor of stouts.  Just my style!  It has the sweetness of a milk stout, but the flavor was not quite the same.  Can't put my finger on the difference, but I can assure you that a comparison tasting is in my future! 

Another thing that made this one of my favorites was the staff at the booth!  Now, I'm not sure if the gentleman at the booth was an employee of Tallgrass or not, but he was very eager (not annoyingly so like some beer geeks) to share information about the beer, and actually seemed interested in whether or not I liked it.  Refreshing!  Up to that point very few of the individuals pouring even bothered with a friendly Cheers!, or Enjoy!, never mind actually telling me anything about the beer.  When I met up with Matt (http://www.staythirstyblog.com/), the generous provider of my festival ticket, he pointed out that many of those pouring were probably volunteers or distributors, and not actually employees of the brewing companies.  Well, I hadn't really thought of that (duh) but here are my thoughts on that (because I know you care...): 1) Is it really that friggin' hard to be FRIENDLY?  I'm not asking for a hug, just be nice!  2) You are pouring (and probably drinking for free) great beer!  How can you not be having a blast?!  and 3) Hey beer companies, do you realize that the perception of your beer can be influenced, for better or worse, by the people who represent it at any and all times? 

Overall, I thought the festival was great!  It ran smoothly and, strangely enough, there was rarely a wait at all for beer.  It was well organized and easy to find the breweries I was interested in trying.   I was very thankful for the slice of pizza halfway through the day, otherwise things could have gone a little differently! 

It was great to catch up with Matt and his cohorts for the day.  Thankfully they were the ones who insisted I head over to the Cask Garden, which I had been avoiding due to the constant throng of people.  It was also fun attending different beer festivals together with my good friend Dottie!  She had a DD so she doesn't remember any of the beer she tried...  

Below are some pictures from the festival in case you care to see what you missed...wish I had gotten more and better, but it was hard to juggle the camera, my beer, the map, and my phone (and yes, I was one of those annoying people wandering around while texting...29 times to be exact according to Dottie).  Oh, and the list of the OTHER 16 beers that I sampled that day follows.  Cheers!!



I have no idea who Bob Fenwick is, but I think his sign holders ditched to go to the festival.



Family of railroaders, so this one was of interest.  Decent beer.  Unfriendly people.



What's with all the plaid? 




The V.I.P section.  Screw them.




Random corn hole boards. 





I think Starr Hill was there, but I'm not sure.


The other 16 beers, in no particular order:
Clawhammer Oktoberfest-Highland Brewing Co, Asheville, NC
Vienna Lager-Devil's Backbone Brewing, Roseland, VA
Black Lighting IPA-Duclaw Brewing, Abingdon, MD
Hoppyum IPA-Foothills Brewing, Winson Salem, NC
Oktoberfest-Foothills Brewing, Winston Salem, NC
Tasgall Ale-Highland Brewing, Asheville, NC (I really like this one too.  It could easily have been in the top 2)
Double IPA-Long Trail Brewing, Bridgewater Corners, VT (so disappointed.  Tasted like penicillin-only beer dumped)
Old Rasputin-North Coast Brewing, Fort Bragg, CA
Railhouse IPA-Roanoke Railhouse Brewery, Roanoke, VT
Boxcar Pumpkin-Star Hill Brewing, Charlottesville, VA
Oasis-Tallgrass Brewing, Manhattan, KS
Alpha Ale-Wild Wolf Brewing Co., Nellysford, VA
The Next 4 were all cask ales
Doggie Style IPA-Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD
IPA-St. George Brewing Company, Hampton, VA
471 Double IPA-Breckenridge Brewery, Denver, CO
Espresso Stout-South Street Brewery, Charlottesville, VA


Already looking forward to next year's Top of the Hops!  Who's in?



 

Got Punk'd!!

Dogfish Head Brewing
Milton, DE
Punkin Ale
7% ABV

So let me start by saying this.  I LOVE Dogfish Head Brewing.  I love the story of their success, and who doesn't love Sam Calagione?  He is a handsome, charismatic, leader of a succesful craft beer company, what's not to love?  I can say these things because I know my husband doesn't read my blog.  Anyhow, despite my appreciation for what they have done for craft beer, I am not a fan of the cult following they have established, and the blind raves about every beer they brew.  It just can't ALL be THAT good.  Sorry Sam.

These feelings aside, I chose Punkin Ale as my Friday Night Pint for several reasons: 1) It was on sale at Whole Foods.  Winning! 2) It DOES seem to have that cult following I so dislike (I know, I know) so I felt left out of the cool kids club, and  3) I really want it to be fall.  I even looked for a small pumpkin to put in the picture, but I couldn't find one.  I only looked in one place, but whatever.

In general I do not like "spice" in my beer, so I really expected not to like this.  But I did.  The spice notes (cinammon, nutmeg, allspice) were pretty subdued, which is how I think it should be (Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin, NOT subdued, just in case you wondered).  It's really a pretty gorgeous copper color, perfect for the fall.  Thin, whitish head that didn't last long (ummm...that just sounds wrong, but I'm not changing it).  Sweet, but not too sweet with a nice malt backbone.  Not much hop notes to speak of, but I think that served this beer best.  Hoppy notes would have taken it in the wrong direction.  Really my only complaint is that I wanted it to have more body.  The label touts it at as  "brown ale", so I expected it to have the same body as their India Brown, which is one of my favorites.  I also would have liked to try this beer on a nice, cool fall day (preferably in New England...), but since it doesn't cool off here until somewhere around January, I figured I should try it before it was gone!  Definitely try it if you haven't, because it's a solid fall option.  I still have three left (it was 4-pack before you all start making assumptions) and I would be happy to share if you are in the Richmond area and in need of a pit stop!

Stay tuned for scenes from the Top of the Hops Festival tomorrow...

I hope your window to the weekend is WIDE open!
Cheers!
Becky

September ROCKS!

I LOVE September, for just so many reasons, but this one may prove to be one of the best yet (excluding of course that lovely September day 15 years ago...).  First, this weekend I get to attend my first REAL beer festival, courtesy of Matt @http://www.staythirstyblog.com/ (check it out if you haven't!).  Thanks Matt!

Top of the Hops in Charlottesville, VA looks like a beer lovers dream with at least 50 breweries in attendance pouring, well, A LOT of beer!  I have already begun mapping out my strategy and am truly excited to try not only some new beers but some new (to me!) breweries as well!  Food, live music, and some "brew university" events round out the fun!  Very much looking forward to this!  Fingers crossed for some "wicked awesome" weather on Saturday!

As if that wasn't enough, I will be working the 9th Annual Oktoberfest at Blue and Gray Brewing in Fredericksburg, VA September 23rd & 24th.  That will also be a first for me, but from what I'm told, it's not to be missed!  Authentic German food (prepared on site at Lee's Retreat), live music, stein holding contests, and even some fun for the kids!  Probably less sampling for me at this one, but I'll be happy to pour YOU a beer!

Now, sandwiched in between these two weekends is a make-up trip to Baltimore that was derailed by the wrath of Irene.  This will be my son's first venture to a major league ballpark (if you can really call the Orioles a "major league" team...), and he seems very excited about it!  Now of course no trip would be complete without a visit to a local brewpub, so my empty growler and I will be making the trip to Red Brick Station & White Marsh Brewing Company (note to self...remember a cooler!).  Thanks to my husband I have had the pleasure of trying their Daily Crisis IPA (hmmm...THAT would have been a great name for the blog!!), but I look forward to sampling the full array on our trip.  

If all the stars are aligned properly (read: if we all aren't at each other's throats) we will hopefully stop at HOPS in Alexandria, VA on our way home.  For the past 18 months we have had a gift card to this establishment collecting dust, and I look forward to putting it to good use and crossing one more thing off my Virginia Bucket List!

So seriously?  How can this September NOT rock?  Well, more on that in a future post, but for now, bring on the beer!

Cheers!

Becky 







Big Girl Pants Don't Fit (FNP #5/52) & T.W.I.B* Notes

This week's FNP was Unibroue's La Fin Du Monde, a highly respected Belgian triple.  Now, Belgians seem to be the beer you drink when you finally graduate into "big kid" beers, but I just don't like them.  I keep trying, because I want my big girl pants to fit, but so far, no luck.  Now that's not to say I don't APPRECIATE the Belgians.  I do.  I appreciate the creativity and skill that goes into making them, but I just don't like drinking them.  Does it make me any less of a "quality beer" drinker?  Some "beer snobs" might think so.  But I don't hang out with any, so who cares what they think anyhow.  Regardless, here is the skinny on my attempt at fitting into my big girl beer pants. 



Unibrou
La Fin du Monde
Belgian Triple
9% ABV



La Fin du Monde (really, pretty appropriate after a week of earthquakes and hurricanes, don't ya think?) pours a hazy, golden color with a great head of foam.  It definitely has a spicy aroma at first whiff, and the flavor follows suit.  It is described as having "a complex palate of malt, fruit, and spice notes", but I don't easily get anything except the spice.  And there is where the problem lies...it's the spice I don't like.  I'm fairly certain the yeast is to blame, but hey, we won't hold it against them.  They're just doing their job.  It's the same reason I'm not a lover of witbiers.  The spiciness is a real turn off for me.  But, I'll keep drinking beer and experimenting with new options, so hopefully I'll fit into those pants yet!

T.W.I.B* (This Week In Beer) Notes  Ok, so just because I wasn't happy with my FNP doesn't mean the whole week was a wash! Here is a brief recap of the week's beer events (as in what I drank this week) other than my FNP.  Just a few quick thoughts, nothing elaborate.  So here it is, in no particular order, the different brews I drank at various times (as in not ALL at one time) throughout the week.

Sierra Nevada's Torpedo IPA:  You just can't go wrong with Sierra Nevada.  A nice, clean IPA.  Doesn't knock your socks off, but you don't regret buying it.

Legend Brown Ale:  Legend is a local brewery here in Richmond, and their brown ale is by far, my favorite of their offerings.  It is a really flavorful, well balanced brown.  A great fall beer if you don't like pumpkin in your beer.

Avery IPA:  I got this at Whole Foods in one of my 3 flip top liter growlers.  I know what you're thinking, but keep it to yourself smartass.  This was JUST what I needed that day.  This IPA is one of my favorites, especially on draft.  Sooo good.  Just the right balance of malt and hops.  Try it if you haven't.

Michigan Brewing Wheatland Wheat:  Ok, in this beer's defense, I only had a couple of sips out of my husband's beer, but I was not impressed.  It is also part of a "Beer of the Month Club" gift that he received for his, uhh, 2nd 39th birthday in January.  So granted, it probably spent some time in a super hot UPS truck, which never is a benefit to beer.  Picture dirty dishwater in a glass, and there you have it.  Add some super fake lemon flavor to your dishwater, put it in a bottle, and voila!  You have a beer I probably (never is just so strong) won't have again.  But hey, you can make your own decisions.

Michigan Brewing Nut Brown Ale:  Ok, I know what you are thinking...why try another beer from the same brewer?  Well, for one, it was already in the glass, and two, you can't judge a brewing company on one beer!  So, this one was actually pretty good.  Pretty good flavor, but maybe not as complex as I would have liked.  Maybe a shorter stint in a UPS truck would have helped.  I'll choose Dogfish Brown or Legend over this for sure.

Now THIS is one of the more daring adventures in beer I have had in a while.  I had no idea what to expect, but it was highly recommended by an individual who had taken one of the brewery tours I was giving (he actually had a picture of it on his phone, which immediately earned him my respect, since I too have pictures of beer on my phone.  All the cool people do.). Surprisingly, I really liked it!  It is a rauchbier, made with smoked malts (I tried it on a night when my pinter in crime wasn't home-he hates smoked anything).  Opening it was like driving by a smoker in someone's yard with your windows down.  Seriously, it smelled like bacon and good bbq rolled into one.  Now, I'm probably not rushing home and looking for one of these in my fridge, but if you're looking for something way outside your beer comfort zone, try it!

So, that's it.  A disappointing FNP, but you can't win 'em all!  I'll sure as hell keep trying! 

Cheers!

Becky