TWIB – Six-packs, Monsters and Friends

This Week in Beer (TWIB) is a feature where I’ll highlight some craft beers I had during this past week mixed with some related (and unrelated) thoughts. Yes, it’s a play on the name of the show This Week in Baseball which I grew up on and loved.

You know how many beers I had this week? One. Yep. No, don’t look out your window, pigs are not flying yet. Just because my week in beer was uneventful doesn’t mean everyone’s was.

Here’s a few topics that fascinated me this week and think you should be interested in:

The Six-Pack Project: Beers from Around the Country

Bryan from the This Is Why I’m Drunk blog created The Six-Pack Project. He explains what the project is:

“It’s a new, collaborative effort between beer bloggers from around the country to highlight a six-pack of our state’s native brews that we believe best represent what the beer culture of our respective states offer. If someone is coming to visit, what bottles or cans would we want to share?”

I’ve had three of the six he choose but will make it a point the complete Bryan’s six-pack next time I’m in North Carolina.

Surprisingly I’ve only had two of Scott’s Virginia/DC six-pack which include DC Brau On the Wings of Armageddon, DC Brau El Hefe Speaks, Port City Porter, Bluejacket and Lost Rhino Pretty in Pink, Dark Hollow Chocolate and Coffee BBA Imperial Stout and Port City Downright Pilsner.

What do you think? Do these six represent Virginia? What about your state?

No more Monsters in Brooklyn

Brooklyn Brewery announced they will be discontinuing their Monster Ale barley wine. I had it a few years ago before I could appreciate it. I’ll be disappointed if I can’t find it on the shelf one last time.

If you do see it, pick one up. Brooklyn Brewery’s blog says it will age for a number of years.

Note: Find a dark place where the temperature doesn’t fluctuate much and store it upright, not sideways like wine.

What’s there to do now that Friends isn’t on Thursdays anymore?

Okay, that headline might be a few years out of date.

TWIB – Anniversary in Annapolis

This Week in Beer (TWIB) is a feature where I’ll highlight some craft beers I had during this past week mixed with some related (and unrelated) thoughts. Yes, it’s a play on the name of the show This Week in Baseball which I grew up on and loved.

This was a special weekend for me. My wife and I celebrated our first anniversary. We took a trip Annapolis, MD, a place we’ve never been to before.

Fordham Brewing Company

Well I was in charge of planning the trip and right off the bat when we arrived Sunday afternoon I took us to get lunch at a restaurant that doesn’t open until 5:00pm. Nice work. So plan B kicked in and I walked us around until we found the most crowded spot which ended up being Rams Head Tavern.

I ordered the Fordham Brewing Company sampler. It consisted of 6 of their beers:

• Rams Head IPA
• Rosie Parks Oyster Stout
• Copperhead Ale
• Helles Lager
• Tavern Ale
• Wisteria Wheat

The Copperhead Ale was my favorite by far. It was complex and flavorful. However, it was the only one I’ll ever get again besides maybe the Oyster Stout. The rest were average at best.

Boulevard Brewing Company Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale

Even though I struck out with lunch I hit a homerun with dinner. We went out to Severn Inn and feasted on seafood while sitting on the water.

I’ve had Tank 7 before and knew it was a winner. This beer is one of the few Saisons I enjoy. It’s dangerous at 8.5% ABV so I only had one while my wife took down a delicious white wine sangria.

Boulevard is relatively new to being distributed to where I am in Virginia so I’m just beginning to have their beers and hear about the company. From what I’ve seen these guys “get it” and are doing things right. I mentioned them in a post last week Why a Brewery Needs an Online Video Presence.

Too many beers, not enough time

Everyone’s worried about the “craft beer bubble.” How can the rate of growth be maintained? Are we going to run out of ingredients? You know the usual concerns. My concern isn’t that it’s growing too big, it’s that it’s growing too fast for me to keep up as an outsider looking in!

Let’s face it, if you’re not on the front lines of the craft beer industry you’re always going to be playing catchup — so and so brewed this, this new place is opened last week, did you go to that beer festival over the weekend? My usual responses are, did they? I have to try it!, yeah I heard that (which I didn’t), and no I missed it this year.

I’m going to focus on Maine as an example. Thanks to Carla at TheBeerBabe.com the statistics are readily available.

“The are currently 39 Craft Breweries in ME. There are 18 breweries in planning. 11 breweries have opened since 2011.”

April Dirty Thirty Day 5 – Legend Brewing Maibock

Today’s April Dirty Thirty review is on…

Legend Maibock… It’s Legendary.

Legend Brewing Maibock

Critical Information:

• 6.6% ABV
• Spring Seasonal

My Experience:

– POUR

Poured from bottle into pint glass. Decent sized pure-white head. There are very tiny bubbles that keep working for a few minutes.

– SMELL

Caramel and maltiness mix with some cloves. It has a rich, toasty lager aroma.

– TASTE

It’s sweet and toasty. Very minimal to no hop flavor. It has a bite to it’s aftertaste where it lasts for several moments. The aftertaste has just a slight bitterness to it (and not in a bad way). I’ve only had one or two Maibocks before and honestly can’t remember what they tasted like. I did no research on the style as well so I had no idea what to expect. But I like it. A lot.

– MOUTHFEEL

It’s slightly thicker than I would have expected. It has a heavy, dense weight to it.

– FOOD PAIRING

You don’t need any. But what’s the fun in that? How about a soft cheese, Brie?, and some deviled eggs. Ford’s Fish Shack has great deviled eggs that’s served with candied bacon.

– OVERALL THOUGHTS

Maibock. Yeah, might have to try more of them. I’ll have to do some research on them too. Legend Brown Ale is high on my list of go-to beers and now the Legend Maibock might be on it too. What makes this even better is that it’s from a Virginia brewery from a great city in Richmond. Speaking of Richmond I’m going to have to get a Hardywood beer into the rotation. Everyone keeps talking about them and I have to try more from them.

Score: 9/10

Congratulations for being a part of the April Dirty Thirty project. Keep the tweets and comments coming, you’re doing outstanding! Remember to use #AprilDirty30. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this beer, what you had tonight, what you’ve tried recently, anything.

Try something new and share it with us.

Hoppy Birthday and Happy Home Conclusions

Hoppy Birthday Cake

Saturday my wife and I hosted our first event in our new home we called Hoppy Birthday and Happy Home. It was a great success that I could have never pulled off alone. My wife spent the two previous days prepping and cooking while I kept worrying if we had enough beer (which we did).

The Beers:

Craft beer was not at a shortage

• New Belgium Trippel
• Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
• Bell’s Winter White Ale
• Leffe Blond
• Blue Point Toasted Lager
• Brooklyn Lager
• Anchor Steam Beer
• Port City Monumental IPA
• Stone IPA
• Breckenridge Lucky U IPA
• Troegs Java Head Stout
• Bold Rock Virginia Apple Cider
• Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen
• Port City Optimal Wit

The Food:

No one left hungry

• Beer Bread made with Leffe Blond
• Buffalo Chicken and Blue Cheese Dip made with Breckenridge Lucky U IPA
• Buffalo Chicken Bites made with Stone IPA
• Praline Bacon with stout coating made with Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout
• Buffalo Wings
• Egg Rolls
• Cheddar and Cottage Mac & Cheese
• And more!

COnclusion

Hosting always makes me anxious but this went off without a hitch. I’m excited to host more and have some good ideas for next time.