Correction...

In my last post, I listed the beer correctly as Cascade Ale, but then inadvertenly referred to it as an "IPA", which it is not.  Either way, the beer lacked pizzaz...apologies to my reader.

Booooring!

So last week's FNP was really a Saturday Night Pint, but really, who's paying that much attention anyhow!  Why not Friday you ask?  Well, because apparently they don't serve alcohol at elementary school functions.  They should, but they don't.  I spent my Friday evening at my son's Fall Festival, and as the volunteer coordinator for that function, I can assure you that alcohol would push parent volunteer rates through the roof!  Volunteer for one hour, get a free beer.  Otherwise, you pay.  I'm pretty sure parents would be fighting over the opportunity to prove their dedication to the school community!

But I digress.  The beer of choice for the week was the Cascade Ale from Six Point Brewing out of Brooklyn, NY.  Now, before any of you accuse my opinion of being tainted due to an intense dislike of a certain baseball team from that area, I really didn't know where Six Point was prior to my choice for the week.  AND, what I really wanted was a draught offering from Bear Republic, but they were out.  So, I went with this one instead.  Unfortunately.

I inserted the illegally borrowed logo above because I forgot to take a picture of my beer.  It really wouldn't have been a very exciting picture anyhow because it was in a Whole Foods liter growler.  What fun is that?  It isn't.  And neither was drinking this beer to be quite honest.  This was a very thin bodied IPA with pretty limited hop flavor and aroma.  I'm pretty sure it was a single hop brew, but I can't be certain since they don't list it on their website.  Maybe it was a disappointing experiment that they decided to go with anyhow.  Not sure.  What I am sure of is that I won't rush to get this one again.  If you like IPAs, this one was a pretty weak offering. 

I'm on a run of beers that I haven't been too excited about, so I am hoping to turn that around this Friday.  Any suggestions?  I have a 4 pack of Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, but I'm not sure I can wait until Friday to try that.  There is a 22 oz. Dragon's Milk from New Holland Brewing too, but after the Mad Hatter disappointment, I am less excited about that one.  I guess I'll see what the weather is doing and decide.  Mother Nature apparently doesn't know it's supposed to be fall in Richmond, so if it's 80 degrees again, that may sway my decision.  Until then...

Cheers!
Becky

Holy Smoke! Campfire Smoked Porter & T.W.I.B Notes

Campfire Smoked Porter
Throwback Brewery
N. Hampton, NH
6.4% ABV

Ok, so this week's FNP is especially dear to me for two reasons.  One, the brewery is based in N. Hampton, NH...goooooo New Hampshire!!! And two, it is a brewery owned by two women!! Gooooo women brewers!!!  Oh, and I guess there's the part where this was one of three bottles presented to me as a belated anniversary gift from my pinter in crime.

Throwback Brewery describes this as "full bodied porter", but I found it surpisingly light, maybe medium bodied at most.  It definitely presents some smoke in both aroma and flavor, but isn't overwhelming. Campfire Smoked Porter is a very drinkable "finishing beer" as my pinter in crime described it.  Not one I'm starting my night with, but one that will lull me to sleep in front of the campfire for sure.   

T.W.I.B. Notes
I had the pleasure of adding a few other new brews to my quickly increasing beer portfolio.  New Holland Brewing's Mad Hatter IPA and Bear Republic's XP Pale Ale. 

Mad Hatter was a bit of a disappointment.  It was a thin, watery beer that was lacking a bit in the flavor department.  At 5.25% ABV I was really hoping to have found a "session" IPA, but I can't say this is one I'll go back to.  I am hoping this beer is not indicative of the rest of their offerings since I also picked up a bomber of their oak aged Dragon's Milk. 

Bear Republic's XP Ale was a very tasty medium bodied pale ale.  A nice, smooth beer that went well with our M.Y.O.P (make your own pizza) night!  That's a good one if you're planning on more than a few for the evening (but I still don't recommend operating heavy machinery...like a car).

We finished off the weekend with a trip to Charlottesville for apple picking at Carter Mountain, and our annual trip to Blue Mountain Brewery!  THIS is my idea of an ideal location for a brewpub!  Beautiful mountain views, a beautiful day, and luckily we got there early enough for a spot on their brand new patio!!  I had their Blue Reserved Wet Hop Ale.  If I had been paying more attention, I probably wouldn't have chosen it, but I started drooling after the description of the fresh hops!  They used a Belgian yeast to ferment, and it was noticeable after the first sip.  Not a fan of Belgians, so for me that ruined a perfectly good beer!  I followed it up with their Oktoberfest (I chose saurbraten for lunch), which was decent, but nothing to get too excited over.  Disappointingly they didn't offer bottles of their Black Russian stout, but the nice waitress brought me a sample!  It was darn good!  If we had brought both growlers, I would have brought some home!  We did bring home a growler full of Full Nelson for the Pats/Jets game...

Blue Mountain Brewery
Blue Reserve Wet Hop Ale (L)
ESB (R)

During my weekly beer run at Whole Foods I also grabbed a four pack of Founder's Backwoods Bastard, which is apparently the big brother to Dirty Bastard...can't wait to try that, but the weather needs to cool off again before I do!

Raising  a glass to another great week!
Cheers!
Becky

Rub a Dub Dub, drank me some Old Chub!

Old Chub is an 8% Scottish style ale from Oskar Blues, one of the craft breweries responsible for reviving beer in a can!  GOOD beer that is.  At the top of one of their print ads for another of their beers (Dales Pale) it says "fuh-can-eh".  And sadly, my juvenile sense of humor finds that to be pretty darn funny!  If only I could be that clever!

Anyhow, Old Chub is the second consecutive Scottish ale I have reviewed, and while very good, my unrefined palate preferred last week's offering (Dirty Bastard), and not just because of the name (juvenile humor, remember?).  I was actually going to do a side by side comparison, but my pinter in crime was unavailable once again, and I didn't really want to drink them both myself.  Plus, I was feeling lazy.  It was Friday after all.  The beer pours a dark mahogany color with a thin head, and left little to no lace.  Subdued chocolate and smoky notes are present in the aroma, but I found them to be TOO subdued in the flavor of the beer.  Based on the aroma, I expected a bit more punch in the flavor department.  Not a disappointing beer by any means, and I would certainly drink it again if the mood for a Scottish Ale struck me.  That is if someone was buying, because that stuff is EXPENSIVE! 

On a side note, I was a little concerned about what "chub" actually was.  I was expecting it to be some sort of street slang for something nasty.  So, being the dork that I am, I first "googled" it, then looked it up on the super cool dictionary on my phone.  The first offerings on google were harmless enough since it brought me to the Oskar Blues site.  For those of you still reading, the official "Beck's Phone Dictionary" definition of "chub" is a common freshwater fish, including European and American species.  If there is a perverse definition of the word, I am unaware of it, and prefer to remain so.

No clue what's in store for this week's FNP, but I'm sure I can find SOMEthing!
Cheers!
Becky