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Just had the Left Hand Nitro Blackcurrant Cream Ale and I quite enjoy it despite not having much experience with blackcurrant before. Was expecting something a bit more tart really, but the nitro effect layered over the cream ale texture throws things off a bit I imagine. Smooth and on the upper end of sessionable at 4.7% ABV. Reddish-pink color with a cream white/touch of pink head. I feel like a mad scientist whenever I crack a nitro can and hard pour. Good times.

Saw Left Hand's Nitro Wake Up Dead has begun hitting the shelves but I will hold off until I soak up the last remnants of Oktoberfest. Thinking about taking a fall trip to Germany sometime in the future if I can brush up on my German. (It has been a very long time.) I wouldn't be going to Munich though, I imagine the official Oktoberfest is expensive and crowds of drunk people does not sound like a good time. I'll have to look into smaller celebrations elsewhere. Might just give Cologne and Dortmund the ol' 1-2 to see if I can get some authentic Kolsch and Dortmunder.

Ardent's Imperial Milk Stout is just as good this year as it was last year. Well worth a revisit for me and I am glad I did. Also stopped in at the local international supermarket and picked up some sake to prep for my eventual rematch with Lagunitas Sakitumi. Picked up a bottle of Kloud, a Korean lager that sort-of claims to be all-malt. Thought I detected a bit of distinctly-crisp finish typical of beers using rice as an adjunct, but I was probably overthinking it. Really dug the Hallertau hops in this one; just a bit of that light hop spiciness to jazz the thing up a bit. Certainly an interesting take on a classic German style.

I've been dwelling a lot lately on the "Tradition vs. Innovation" component of modern brewing. I'm not sure what this means for my long-term beer interests, but I think it pays to be well-rounded when possible.

Discovered today that additional offerings from Komes (Browar Fortuna of Poland) are becoming available stateside. Happily sipping the raspberry porter and RIS and I am quite pleased with these new additions. The raspberry porter is a welcome surprise, as I don't think I have had a raspberry porter before. The sweetness is almost cloying when it reaches the crescendo, which was almost a distraction, but ultimately the beer settles down. Quite good and makes you feel quite good at 8.5.

The RIS is an odd beast. Initially it is very boozy, as one would expect from a 12% ABV beer. This was the first time in a while that I've experienced the odd sensation of alcohol morphing into a slightly sweet smell on the nose. Then there was a bit of raisin on the taste. Once the beer has settled and warmed, plenty of roasted malt. Even a touch of smoke on the back end. Interesting. I need to acquire a few more bottles for aging and see where this beer goes at 6/12/18 months. At 12.0 it should do nicely.

I posted this in the master plan thread but figured it belonged here as well. By the way, this has yet to be reported elsewhere;

Reaver Beach is in advanced negotiations with the owner of the old Milan Station Post Office on Colley to make a sattelite location.

The landlord has a choice to make between letting the USPS come back or moving forward with Reaver. From what I have gathered, I expect them to select the brewery. If it happens, it will open around next football season.

This would be another great addition to North Colley, which is close to officially being named the North Colley Business District

The 2018 iteration of Walters Brunch from Benchtop is definitely worth looking out for. It's a coffee chocolate Porter with maple syrup. The aroma is something I wish I could take everywhere. The maple offers a sweet finish. It's lighter than most Porters. The coffee and chocolate is nicely balanced. This beer definitely lives up to its' name and will remind you of a perfect brunch.

Stoked about the Reaver Beach satellite and I am always in the market for a good porter, especially one featuring maple (as long as it doesn't get cloyingly sweet).

Speaking of porters, Reaver Beach Cthulhu the Dread

I recently had the opportunity to try two of the latest Ommegang Game of Thrones beers and I have to say that both of them are quality offerings. The first was the "Queen of the Seven Kingdoms" Sour Blonde Ale blend. Typical vinegary sour note, but nuanced with notes of apricot and other fruity ester character. Coaxed out the apricot with a bit of oxygen exposure letting it sit in the glass for a few minutes. Surprisingly drinkable for a sour beer sitting at 6.4 % ABV. Quite enjoyable.

Anyone who has been reading for long enough may remember the brief love affair I had with the cherries in Adroit Theory's "All I See is Carrion" -- my fascination with cherries continues. The second GoT beer I was able to sample was the "Mother of Dragons" Smoked Porter/Kriek blend. First impression: wow. The sweetness of the cherries shines immediately, but is quickly toned down by a light curtain of smoke and then some nutty sweet malt. At 6.6 a bit strong but you run through a bottle of it easy. Looks like a dark beer, smells like a slightly muddy kriek, drinks like something in between. Definitely my favorite between the two. Was invited to sample this by one of my wine friends and I am glad I was invited. Ommegang does an interesting take on Belgian beers and they give me hope that American brewers will continue to make interesting renditions of foreign styles. Still waiting for a decent American take on Piwo Grodziskie

I think my favorite non-dark beer style now has to be German Pils. I've been enamored with the slightly grainy malt quality of Radeberger and tonight I got to revisit Bitburger after mistaking it for Radeberger on the shelf and just not paying attention. (White can, gold lettering, just different font...) Not a bad mistake to make. Well played, Radeberger. Getting the stuff in the pint cans in the way to go; the fresher and un-lightstruck you can get the stuff the better. The stuff looks glorious in a beer-clean glass. Didn't have the prescribed pilsner glass with outward taper available, so went with one of my tasting analysis wine glasses (a true workhorse) and had an enjoyable experience. I think the inward taper gives significant advantages for analytical purposes as long as you don't fill past roughly 1/3 to 1/2. Never underestimate wine glasses.

Ran the gauntlet today with study tastings. Did the whole spectrum of Bitter & English Pale Ale but have yet to memorize the ABV and SRM ranges for each. Can recommend Fuller's for sessionable authentic English offerings but that is lazy since they are one of the few available stateside. Did a brief German Pils/German Helles comparison too but that, alas, was an easy one. I suspect that more challenging comparisons will be asked of me in a testing environment and so the study must continue in earnest.

Bold Mariner is going to close the Lambert's Point location once the Ocean View location is fully functional. With The Veil, Makers, Reaver Beach and Elation opening soon, this area is on the verge of being a lot like Scots Addition. So they'll likely not get in the brew crawl folks. But it sounds like they're working under the assumption that breweries are replacing neighborhood bars.

https://www.facebook.com/657631614325906...628201357/

Maker's Craft Brewing is supposed to be opening on Church Street next month.

I had the Reaver Beach Diablo Rojo a week or two ago and I enjoyed it. It is a really hop-forward rye ale that leans a bit on dry-hopping. I mean really melon-y. I was thinking dry-hopped with Huell Melon hops but I heard that it can come across a bit subdued in beers brewed with an adjunct. Not sure what the hops were for sure but it was most definitely a melon-forward hop presence. Assertive bordering on aggressive. Interesting but not the sort of thing I will be drinking again for a while.

This is a bummer.

https://www.brewbound.com/news/bells-bre...o-virginia

(02-07-2019 02:13 PM)ODUCoach Wrote:  This is a bummer.

https://www.brewbound.com/news/bells-bre...o-virginia

Their Amber Ale is exemplary of the style and I have greatly enjoyed some of their darker beers (especially Kalamazoo Stout and Expedition Stout). This is an unfortunate loss for the average craft beer consumer in Virginia.

What is the general consensus here on beer and food pairings? Anything stand out in your mind as particularly intriguing? I was at Flying Dog a few weeks ago and I had a sampler flight matched with a little appetizer sampler and it completely changed my perspective of Flying Dog beers. Honestly I used to think they were just strong for the sake of being strong, but now I see that in the right situation a strong beer can perform well in a pairing. The cheeses were especially interesting, apparently there is a cheesemonger/specialty cheese shop in Frederick that does good work. The Snake Dog and Truth IPAs were matched up masterfully with suitable cheese counterparts. The high ABV cuts through the fattiness of the cheese and brings the more subtle flavors to the forefront. Complexity and intriguing possibilities abounds.

I have read a fair amount about some of the more boisterous cheeses (Stilton and Gorgonzola especially) and I am intrigued by the pairing possibilities. At Belly Love out in Purcellville, I had a fruity DIPA paired with a Balsamic-drizzled Gorgonzola flatbread and found it to be sublime. English Barleywine and Stilton is next on the list. I may have to go for an American take on the style (maybe Adroit Theory Tenebris) but I would prefer an authentic English version of elevated to high ABV (ideally no more than 9.5%). As far as the cheese, I am still in the dark. I will do some research before I go out and make a purchase. The higher-end grocery stores are getting better about cheese selection (especially Harris Teeter, Wegmans, and WholeFoods) but the niche cheeses are still best had at dedicated cheese shops.

For now, I do what I can to stay sharp. (ha.)

(02-09-2019 11:30 PM)CameramanJ Wrote:  What is the general consensus here on beer and food pairings? Anything stand out in your mind as particularly intriguing? I was at Flying Dog a few weeks ago and I had a sampler flight matched with a little appetizer sampler and it completely changed my perspective of Flying Dog beers. Honestly I used to think they were just strong for the sake of being strong, but now I see that in the right situation a strong beer can perform well in a pairing. The cheeses were especially interesting, apparently there is a cheesemonger/specialty cheese shop in Frederick that does good work. The Snake Dog and Truth IPAs were matched up masterfully with suitable cheese counterparts. The high ABV cuts through the fattiness of the cheese and brings the more subtle flavors to the forefront. Complexity and intriguing possibilities abounds.

I have read a fair amount about some of the more boisterous cheeses (Stilton and Gorgonzola especially) and I am intrigued by the pairing possibilities. At Belly Love out in Purcellville, I had a fruity DIPA paired with a Balsamic-drizzled Gorgonzola flatbread and found it to be sublime. English Barleywine and Stilton is next on the list. I may have to go for an American take on the style (maybe Adroit Theory Tenebris) but I would prefer an authentic English version of elevated to high ABV (ideally no more than 9.5%). As far as the cheese, I am still in the dark. I will do some research before I go out and make a purchase. The higher-end grocery stores are getting better about cheese selection (especially Harris Teeter, Wegmans, and WholeFoods) but the niche cheeses are still best had at dedicated cheese shops.

For now, I do what I can to stay sharp. (ha.)

Grab some Bellvina merlot cheese (Costco and Kroger have it but its much cheaper at Costco) - that stuff is amazing. You'll have to figure out the right pairing and report back.

(02-11-2019 04:00 PM)ODU2003 Wrote:  

(02-09-2019 11:30 PM)CameramanJ Wrote:  What is the general consensus here on beer and food pairings? Anything stand out in your mind as particularly intriguing? I was at Flying Dog a few weeks ago and I had a sampler flight matched with a little appetizer sampler and it completely changed my perspective of Flying Dog beers. Honestly I used to think they were just strong for the sake of being strong, but now I see that in the right situation a strong beer can perform well in a pairing. The cheeses were especially interesting, apparently there is a cheesemonger/specialty cheese shop in Frederick that does good work. The Snake Dog and Truth IPAs were matched up masterfully with suitable cheese counterparts. The high ABV cuts through the fattiness of the cheese and brings the more subtle flavors to the forefront. Complexity and intriguing possibilities abounds.

I have read a fair amount about some of the more boisterous cheeses (Stilton and Gorgonzola especially) and I am intrigued by the pairing possibilities. At Belly Love out in Purcellville, I had a fruity DIPA paired with a Balsamic-drizzled Gorgonzola flatbread and found it to be sublime. English Barleywine and Stilton is next on the list. I may have to go for an American take on the style (maybe Adroit Theory Tenebris) but I would prefer an authentic English version of elevated to high ABV (ideally no more than 9.5%). As far as the cheese, I am still in the dark. I will do some research before I go out and make a purchase. The higher-end grocery stores are getting better about cheese selection (especially Harris Teeter, Wegmans, and WholeFoods) but the niche cheeses are still best had at dedicated cheese shops.

For now, I do what I can to stay sharp. (ha.)

Grab some Bellvina merlot cheese (Costco and Kroger have it but its much cheaper at Costco) - that stuff is amazing. You'll have to figure out the right pairing and report back.

A cheddar/parmesan hybrid, eh? Soaked in Merlot too. I have never had a cheese soaked in wine. That will provide an interesting challenge. Initially I was thinking American IPA or Pale Ale. Might have to have sift through glass or two of Merlot to find something to resonate with. I will see if I can throw something together by the end of the weekend

Has anyone else tried this one? It's my current favorite from the Farmhouse.

Haven't had it but it sounds interesting. Sounds like a tripel with a witbier-ish leaning.

Back Bay used to contract their brewing out, so I didnt spend a lot of time drinking their beer.

They are brewing their own now.

But the last time I went to the oceanfront location, I got such bad service I'll likely never go back.

The taproom was empty apart from our group. We stood there for an extended period before we had to greet the beertenders to get their attention.

I then asked what seasonals they had on tap. The server just dropped down a menu ("it's all on there") on the bar before returning to a conversation with another beertender. We ordered, the beertender then lollygagged before actually pouring them (the other tender was messing with their phone the entire time). After one beer, we all paid and went to Chapel Pizza for many rounds.

Back Bay's beer wasn't good enough to justify that level of service. Heck, Commonwealth, Benchtop, Reaver, OConnors and Smartmouth blow their beer out of the water and all have exceptional customer service.