The Long Cut ...we'll get there eventually

Glass Act

First, some unfinished business: when I did my "I know what you drank this summer" post last week (I didn't actually title it that, but now I'm kind of wishing I did), I forgot one brew. That right there should tell you what I thought of the beer.

It was Smuttynose Summer Weizen, and yeah, it was pretty forgettable. I'm not crazy about weizens - which are wheat beers that go really heavy on the wheat - but Smuttynose is a pretty reliable brewery, so I thought I'd give them a chance.

"The taste of the spices was way too harsh and overpowering, prevented the beer from being good to drink while chilling on the porch or while eating dinner." If that last sentence sounds familiar, it's because I wrote the exact same thing two years ago when I last gave a Smuttynose summer weizen a chance. D'oh. That's how forgettable this beer is - I had forgotten that I had already given it a chance. Either that or I'm just getting more forgettable in my old age. But it can't be that.

Now, what was I taking about again?

Oh, right, beer. Now some good news: I don't think I've mentioned it before, but late last year I signed up to be a "founding subscriber" to Beer Advocate magazine. The two brothers who have run the BA website for ten years were putting out a monthly magazine for beer snobs like myself and I signed up before the first issue was even printed (maybe before it was even written?).

I didn't know what to expect (theirs is the only monthly beer magazine out there), but it's a good looking magazine - heavy stock paper with great photography - and the writing is very good and gets better with each issue. It turns out that there are a lot of good writers out there who like to write about beer, and Beer Advocate seems to get them all to write for them.

Anyway, other than getting a calendar from them (which, surprisingly, is twelve months of washed-out photography on cheap paper), there hasn't been any benefit to being a "founding subscriber."

Then last month, out of the blue, Jim Koch over at Samuel Adams decided that he wanted us - the truest of true beer fans - to be the first to try out his newly-designed pint glasses. I first read about the offer on the BA blog, which said we would each get one of these glasses in the mail. But when the box came, there were two of them in there. Sweet!

Now, are the glasses - which supposedly were designed so Sam Adams brews can be enjoyed just the way Jim Koch intended - any better than the usual pint glass? Well, they do have all those features you're been waiting for, like "a neck-and-lip design that helps sustain the head of the beer, which enhances the release of signature Noble hop aromas found in Samuel Adams Boston Lager." All I know is that they look really awesome. And the pair of them are worth $15!

I haven't actually tried to release the signature Noble hop aromas found in Samuel Adams Boston Lager in them just yet (sounds kind of dangerous to me), but they work just fine with my Yuengling Traditional (pictured, above). But soon, Mr. Koch, I promise, I'll try them with one of your beers (but it ain't going to be that wine cooler you call Cherry Wheat, that's for sure).

Oh, and thanks!

Overdue Brew Review

It's been quite a while since my last beer-related post - other than this frightening thing - so maybe it's time for should say a little something about the beers I've been drinking this summer (before I forget about them altogether).

Harpoon Hibernian Style Ale and Harpoon Summer Beer. And speaking of forgetting about altogether... I got these two at the same time way back in April, so forgive me if I don't remember everything about their taste. Here's what I do remember: I liked the Hibernian (which was being advertised as a springtime brew) much better than the Summer Beer.

The Springtime brew was a Irish Red, and was smooth and full-bodied. It was a nice little break from the hoppier stuff I'd been drinking. The Summer Beer, made in the German Kölsch style, didn't do much for me. To me, summer ales should be on the lighter side - something that goes down easy - but this one's bitterness didn't make for easy drinking. I don't know if it was because of it's style (I prefer saisons in the summer, like Flying Fish's Farmhouse Summer Ale) but it just didn't work for me.

Long Trail Blackbeary Wheat More often than not, I've gotten burned by fruit beers. And yet, I still can't seem to resist them. I'd never seen one made with blackberries before, so - after picking it up and putting it down about ten times - I finally stuck this one in my cart (I was home before I noticed the cutesy way they spell blackberry "blackbeary," which would explain the Yogi-like cartoon bear on the label).

Surprisingly, under that sugary-sweet label was a very good fruit beer. The blackbeary blackberry wasn't too sweet or too overberrying overbearing - there's just enough there to give the wheat beer a little something extra. Overall, the beer ended up being a great summer beer - it was light, very drinkable and seemed to go with whatever I was grilling.

Geary's Summer Ale Another Kölsch, and another beer that didn't wow me. It had more flavor than Harpoon's Summer Beer, but after about three-quarters of a bottle I never had much interest in finishing it.  Not my idea of a summer brew either - a little too strong and too complex. That might be a good thing during the other seasons, but I don't like being challenged all that much during the summer months.

Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat This was the beer I picked up at the start of our week downtheshore. I remembered loving this stuff years ago, when I was just a wee-little beer snob (and when I still thought that drinking Sam Adams was daring). Well, my palate must have changed quite a bit since then, because I could barely drink it this time around. The cherry flavor is way too sweet and way too pronounced. The worst thing I can say about it is that the missus enjoyed it - it was that un-beer-like. Bleh. By the middle of the week, I went out and got a six of...

Victory Hop Devil IPA Ahhh, this was more like it. I've talked before about how much I love this beer. So flavorful, so complex, and so, so, very good. Yes, I know I said that I like to keep it simple during the summer - especially while I'm on vacation - but I'm willing to make an exception for this one. In fact, I think I'm ready to declare this my absolute all-around favorite beer.

Also during the last few months, I've picked up some beer for my monthly poker night with the boys men. A couple of months ago it was a six of Lagunitas Censored Copper Ale, which I did not like at all. A lot of bitterness, but not much flavor - not a combination that keeps me coming back.

Just this week I brought a Red Hook sampler with me. Red Hook's a brewery I've heard a lot about but had never tried. I liked their ESB and IPA just fine, but the Blonde didn't have much character and the summer ale - called Sunrye - seemed to have even less. Not awful, but not enough there to make me want to buy any of it again, either.

Now, my least favorite brewery has to be Miller - I just cannot stomach any of their beers. So, of course, at the last poker night it was my Red Hook and Miller High Life, Miller Light, Miller Genuine Draft and Miller Chill to choose from. That last one is supposedly in the chelada style, with what Miller calls "hints of lime and salt." It got such a bad review from Beer Advocate guys that I just had to try it.

Well, the Beer Advocate guys got it absolutely correct - this is truly a "beer for people who hate beer." I think it's also a drink for people who think wine coolers aren't sweet enough, or who have always wished that they could get drunk off of Sprite (though I would imagine that it would be easier to get a buzz from a few cans of Sprite than from this weak brew). Whatever it is, it ain't beer. Stay lejos, lejos, lejos away from this stuff.

I think that brings me up to the present, where I've recently purchased a six of Brooklyn Brewing Summer Ale (another Blonde ale) and a six of Flying Fish HopFish IPA (as well as my usual case of the very afordable - and quite good - Yuengling Traditional). That ought to get me through the rest of the summer.

I Could Drink A Case Of Me

[Get your own here.]

Spring Draining

It's been pretty uneventful around here lately, beerwise. Rather than having a couple sixes of craft beer in the fridge I've been burning through some of the Yeungling that's down in my basement for about the last month (not that there's anything wrong with Yeungling). Last week, though, I did finally get back to the liquor store for a couple craft brews, so I guess I better say something about my last batch before I forget what they were like. It wasn't on purpose, but last time I went out I got two seasonals, one for winter and one for spring.

Most brewers label their winter brew something clever, like "Winter Brew," but when you're brewing up in ski country I guess you can get away with calling it Alpine Ale. Vermont's Otter Creek and it's all-organic sister Wolaver's are pretty reliable breweries; I've had several different styles from these guys and I don't think I've ever been disappointed. Alpine Ale continues that winning streak.

Unlike other winter ales that I suppose are trying to keep you warm by laying on the alcohol, Alpine Ale gets its winter warmth from its bready mouthfeel and taste (mouthfeel? bready? You guys would tell me if I was going too deep into beer snob territory, right?). Maybe it's more of a feeling than a taste, but this here is the comfort food of beers - smooth, balanced, full-bodied and filling. Impressive for its drinkability, not for some overpowering high-alcohol punch. The only problem I have with it is that it's only sold during the winter months; I could see myself picking this up anytime of the year.

The spring seasonal came from another reliable New England brewer, New Hampshire's Smuttynose. According to the label, their Hanami Ale "is inspired by the ancient Japanese tradition of hanami - cherry blossom viewing." It's made with cherry juice and, no matter how many times I've gotten burned by them, I'm always willing to try a new fruit beer.

And here's why I'm rarely satisfied with fruit beers: I always find the fruit in them either too overpowering or not powerful enough. I'm not even sure anymore if there's a happy medium in there somewhere - if it's even possible for me to ever be completely impressed by a fruit beer.

For me, Hanami suffers from not enough of a cherry presence. There's a little cherry aroma but it doesn't show up very much once you start drinking the beer. I'm not sure there's even enough there to call it a "hint" of cherry. Definitely not enough to build a whole beer around.

Also, I'm not sure what the weather is like during Cherry Blossom time in Japan - and I'm not real sure what a "spring ale" is supposed to be like - but the Hanami Ale struck me as something more appropriate for summer than spring. It's got a little more alcohol than the summer brews usually have but it still seemed light enough (and slight enough) to down after some grass cutting. I'm guessing that by the time the lawn mower's been tuned-up (which it really should have been by now) this stuff will no long be on the shelves. Then again, with so many good summer ales out there already, I'm not sure I would have picked it up anyway.

On my latest trip to the liquor store I picked up two more seasonals, and this time I did it on purpose. In a departure from my usual craft beer try-outs, I picked up two ales from the same brewery. Harpoon (yet another fine New England brewer) has an Irish Red ale called Hibernian, and they consider it a spring seasonal. Right next to it on the shelf (at least where I get my beer) was Harpoon's Summer Beer, a Kölsch style ale that, not surprisingly, they consider a summer seasonal. Kölsch and Irish Red are two styles that I get very often (I don't think I've ever even had a Kölsch), so this should be interesting.

And I Guess There Would Be Some Gardening Tools In There Too Somewhere

What my garage would look like, if I had a garage:

You didn't think that I would waste valuable storage space on the stupid Kia, did you?

[Photo source EdinPhoto, via Brookston Beer Bulletin.]

Of Course, Since It's Miller Lite, You Should Probably Just Aim The Thing At The Trash Can

Hey! How was your day?

My day? Oh, well, pretty uneventful until about 3:30 when I PASSED OUT ON THE MEN'S ROOM FLOOR AT WORK. But other than that, pretty run-of-the-mill.

Crazy, right? Still trying to figure out why it happened, but the last thing I remember was feeling a little woozy taking that last turn into the bathroom.

The missus came into the city, rescued me, and took me home. Did I mention how wonderful she is? (She made me write that, but it doesn't mean it's not true). She and the nine-year-old have taken very good care of me since I've gotten home (the four-year-old, however, has been more concerned with watching Over the Hedge. Loudly. Very loudly).

The wonderful wife has ordered me to knock off early tonight, so I'll just leave you with one of the greatest inventions ever, uh, invented.

The Hole - video powered by Metacafe

[via Deadspin, under the heading "Soon, Americans Will Lack the Need to Move"]

[Please note that while this is beer-related, beer played no part in my passing out. Honest. I wish.]

The Session: Stouts

A bunch of the beer blogs that I read (and I do read a bunch of them) have come up with a new meme [except they don't call it a meme because they're beer people who write blogs rather than bloggers who write about beer]: on the first Friday of every month one of them will host something called "The Session," with a different beer style discussed each month.

I've been looking for a good Friday meme ever since I dropped the Friday Random Ten a while back, so this works out well for me. One Friday a month I'll write all about a type of beer, and on the other three Fridays I figure I'll... I don't know... maybe just get really drunk and write posts about how much I love you, man! That's sort of beer related, unless I'm in a hurry and I'm forced to break out the Jimmy Beam.

Anyway, here goes:

This month's beer style is... [I see you peeking at the post title].... stouts! I've served stouts, I know stouts, stouts are friends of mine, but sometimes they can be a bit much.

A little more background on this meme. It's called "the Session" because it's focus will be on what's called "session beers" - beers that you can have more than one of while your at the corner bar [or anywhere - I happen to have a church on my corner, and they're not too crazy about me drinking beer there, no matter how many times I ask], not the extreme beers that'll put you to sleep after a pint.

There's been a bit of a backlash against these extreme beers that always seem to get all the microbrew attention. Folks are starting to realize that, as interesting as these high-hop, high-alcohol, or high-something-else beers are, making a quality everyday beer is just as impressive. I agree.

I drink most of my beers at dinner or over a friend's house while watching a ballgame. Extreme beers can overwhelm my dinner or knock me out before the third quarter starts. Either way, it's not the effect I'm going for. Again, there's a time and place for extreme beers, I just don't very often find myself at that place during that time.

Stouts can often be overwhelming, too. I wrote a while back about Brooklyn Brewing's Black Chocolate Stout and how I had a hard time getting all the way through it. Luckily, there are plenty of stouts that aren't too strong, yet still provide plenty of flavor.

One subset [bet you didn't know beer styles even had subsets, did you?] has quickly become a favorite of mine: sweet stouts. We're not talking fruity lambic sweet here, but enough to knock some of the bite off the beer. This subset includes oatmeal stouts like Wolaver's excellent organic brew and milk stouts like the super-smooth one served up by Lancaster Brewing.

Then you've got your dry stouts, like Guinness Extra Stout, which is a very good, somewhat low alcohol session beer. Sometimes I luck out and one of my neighbors will bring some to a get-together, sparing me from having to decide between Heineken and Miller Light [shutter]. Still, for all Guinness's history, I'd rather try a microbrewery's take on the sweet stout.

And that's pretty much all I have to say about stouts.

Whine Wine Whine

I knew that those mass-produced wine coolers aren't made with wine, but are actually flavored beer.

I knew that hard cider - though often sold alongside beer - is actually a wine.

But I had no idea whatsoever that beer is now wine.

 

Thank you, New York Times, for setting me straight.

[The actual article does get it right.]

Bitches Brew

I've had Dogfish Head, Sea Dog, Old Brown Dog, and even Hair of the Dog, but this one's new to me:

A small brewery in the Netherlands has launched a new beer designed to bring cool relief to thirsty dogs.

Kwispelbier, marketed as "a beer for your best friend", is made from a special brew of beef extract and malt.

The beverage is a creation of pet shop owner Gerrie Berendsen, who wanted her dogs to share light refreshments with her after a day's hunting.

The beer is non-alcoholic and fit for human consumption, but costs four times as much as a Heineken.

Ironically, it's also four times better-tasting than Heineken. [badump bump]

Personally, I have no problem with beer for dogs, as long as these pups know when to say when.

Ruh-roh.

[BBC News via Beer Smack]

The Devil You Say

I haven't been doing any of my usual verbose beer reviews lately, but I absolutely had to write something about the six of Victory Hop Devil IPA I've been enjoying. I'll keep it short and sweet:

Hoppy, flavorful, smooth, creamy, bitter, sweet, full-bodied, powerful (6.7% APV), and perfectly balanced. One of the best, if not the best, IPA I've ever had.

Wow.

Float Off

As per Yoko's suggestion:

I'm afraid this didn't make my last bottle of Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout taste any better than the other five. It was going pretty well while there was still some ice cream in it, but it got mighty nasty once I got down to just creamy beer (at that point even a root beer float can be tough to get through). I think that instead of mellowing the strong bitterness of the stout, the sweetness of the ice cream increased its effect and made it even less drinkable. A failed experiment, but it was worth it just to see my sons' reactions as it was being conducted.

I'm Not As Think As You Overqualified I Am

Time to dust off the ol' resume:

Help Wanted: Chief Beer Officer® (CBO)

Four Points® by Sheraton seeks Chief Beer Officer to act as independent, part-time consultant for their Best Brews Program. This fall, Four Points by Sheraton, purveyor of pie and champions of contentment, is launching their Best Brews Program. In addition to featuring over 200 domestic and imported beers, they are seeking a Chief Beer Officer. The successful candidate will have a passion for beer, a basic understanding of brewing and an interest in further educating themselves about this glorious libation.

CBO duties will include:

• Act as a beer ambassador for the hotel at microbrewery tours, beer festivals and on bar stools across the country.
• Develop an intimate knowledge of the over 200 domestic and imported beers that are part of the Best Brews Program (which will be supplied to the candidate)
• Introduce these to the public through monthly blog reviews.
• Brew eloquence and a bubbly personality are both a plus.

Are you ready to make your love affair with beer public? To apply please visit www.FourPoints.com/CBO. To be eligible, all one needs is a love for beer, a basic understanding of brewing, and an interest in learning more. You must be 21 years of age or older.

And my high school guidance counselor insisted that "drunk guy" wasn't a valid career path. Pah.

Blue Moon Over Brooklyn

What goes better with Halloween than pumpkin and chocolate....ales? Those were the flavors of the two sixes I finally finished off this week.

The pumpkin half of that pair was Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale, the latest entry in my search for the perfect pumpkin ale. I hadn't realized when I bought this that it comes from that life-sucking, Republican-loving, mega-brewer Coors, but after trying the ale it wasn't all that surprising that it came from one of the big boys. It wasn't a weak beer like it's barely-there cousin, Coors Light, but its pumpkin taste certainly was weak. Where the last pumpkin ale I tried, Buffalo Bill's, was a not-so-interesting beer with a pretty interesting pumpkin kick, Blue Moon was a kinda-interesting beer with a not-so-interesting pumpkin kick. In fact, there was hardly any pumpkin flavor at all. The ale did have some body to it and was very drinkable (certainly more enjoyable than anything else I've ever had from Coors), but without a more pronounced pumpkin taste, why bother?

The chocolate half of the pair was Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, and its taste was definitely pronounced. A lot of the craft beer guys swear by this stuff, saying that its strong mix of coffee and chocolate flavors, along with its high alcohol content (at 10.6% it's about double of what Guinness Stout has), make it one of the best stouts around.

Here's where I go from beer snob to beer wuss. Everything about this stout is was a little too much for me. It would start out great: the pitch-black pour, the mahogany head, the strong coffee aroma, the slight chocolate aftertaste. Than, about half-way through, found myself not-so-thrilled about having to finish my glass.

Part of the problem, I think, is that I was always drinking it with dinner and, no matter what I tried, nothing really went well with such a strong stout. I've read that you should treat the Brooklyn stout more like a dessert, savor it by itself and not try to pair it up with anything. But I've never been a "beer for dessert" kind of beer drinker (although... hmmm... note to self: must attempt homemade beer ice cream). I had the same problem when I first tried Dogfish Head's 90-Minute IPA, another highly-praised (and highly-alcoholic) ale that just didn't fit what I want in an ale - something that goes well with some sort of food (even if it's just a bag of pretzels). So - good stout, bad beer snob; right flavor, wrong setting.

Right now I've got a few more of my trusty Yuenglings left, then I'm going to have to make another trip out to the liquor store. Not sure exactly what I'll pick up, but the Philadelphia Inquirer just had a well-written piece on Philly-area winter ales so I might try one of those, and a friend swears that a nearby (and dumpy-looking) liquor store stocks New Belgium Brewery's Fat Tire Amber Ale, which I had while I was out in San Diego, so I might pick up a six of them, too.

Pumpkin Drunkin

For the Halloween party that we went to last night - the one at which we were so amusingly and confusingly attired - the missus and I contributed some homemade (by me) cookies and a six of beer.

The cookies were oatmeal raisin, of course, and the beer was Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale. I'm always willing to try a pumpkin ale, and I like to match my beer to the occasion if possible (last year we brought Rogue's Dead Guy Ale to the same party).

There's a lot of pumpkin brews out there. Some put the beer first and the pumpkin flavor second, and end up barely tasting of pumpkin. Some overload on the pumpkin flavor and end up tasting like liquid pumpkin pie.

The pumpkin flavor of Buffalo Bill's definitely wasn't hidden under the ale, but it wasn't overwhelming either. That doesn't mean it wasn't perfect, though. The pumpkin flavors came out because the underlying beer wasn't very interesting. It acted as more of a base for the brewers to add the pumpkin and spice flavors to, which, to their credit, weren't sickeningly sweet.

The end result was a very drinkable not-very-beer-like beer that started out with an okay pumpkin flavor and ended with a nice big spicy cinnamon-nutmeg kick of an aftertaste. It didn't make me want to run out and buy any of Buffalo Bill's other brews, and it won't stop me from continuing to look for that holy grail of pumpkin ale, but it did make for a good party drink. I doubt I'd buy it for my own fridge, but I think it's one of those rare beers that my neighbors and I both wouldn't mind drinking.

That's about the best your friendly neighborhood beer snob can hope for.

A Drink And A Nod

That big gen-u-ine date night last night took us to Nodding Head Brewpub in Philly. The missus knows that if she asks me to pick where we're going, there's a good chance we're going to a brewpub.

We took the PATCO hi-speed line into the city with several couples that looked like they were going to the opera, or at least somewhere a little more fancier-schmancier than a brewpub. It was cool to see people who probably could afford to not have to take public transportation still choosing to use it.

And just in case we were beginning to think that people's perception of public transportation was changing and it was no longer only weirdos and winos who rode the train at night, our ride back home featured a guy who was telling anyone who would listen that he wasn't prejudiced, since he always made sure to never use the "n-word" (as he so tactfully and nonprejudicially put it) when making fun of black people.

Nodding Head has pretty good food as far as pub food goes, but their beer is outstanding. They always have some interesting brews on tap and, since you can only get their beer at the restaurant, it's always fresh.

I began last night with their 700 Level, a blonde ale, and ended with their Harvest Ale IPA, a hoppy pale ale. Starting the night off with the lighter blonde ale was a pretty good idea, but finishing the heavier Harvest Ale after a big meal (bbq pulled pork) was a bit tough, but somehow I persevered.

The missus seemed to enjoy her apple-tini, and seemed to enjoy her second apple-tini even more! She needed both (and a glass of water) to cool the fire caused by her Cajun chicken sandwich.

Afterward we took a little stroll around Rittenhouse Square before finally giving in to the chilly breezes and heading back to the train station to meet our new unprejudiced friend, the only low point in an otherwise great night out.

When You Said Bud, You Said It All

Today's Travel section of the Philadelphia Inquirer (where I live vicariously through people who get to vacation outside their home state) had an article whose title caught my eye: "Hip Trip - At Va. inn, beer mixes with haute cuisine."

The story is about Brent Wertz, who, as chief executive chef at Eagles Restaurant in Williamsburg, Virginia, "plans menus around beer, marinates and cooks with it, and passionately recommends beer whether you're dining plain or fancy."

What kinds of beer? Oh, only the finest [emphasis mine]:

"While he sliced a beechwood-smoked strip steak at my right, I caught myself swirling the contents of a burgundy glass. As the full-bodied Bud coated the sides of the glass, I felt like a big-time wine connoisseur, imagining myself talking about how the big flavor of this big beer exhaled deeper with each twirl. Once the plate of sliced steak and risotto (finished with beer instead of wine and cheese) was set before me, I snapped back to reality and picked up the dinner fork."

and

"As the dessert cart rolled in, Wertz smiled and said, 'You need a lager big enough to stand up against chocolate. Put your nose in this.' He handed me a glass designed for cognac but containing an AmberBock. Demonstrating my newly honed beer-sniffing skills, I tipped the rim until it settled at the top of my lip and at my eyebrows. Inhaling as though I knew what I was doing, I found a rich, full lager that smelled a lot like coffee and caramel. What a finale, I thought as I turned my attention to my double-fudge brownie torte."

Budweiser and Michalob AmberBock. Sure, I'm a beer snob, but something still didn't seem right about a "haute cuisine" chef recommending, and a travel writer gushing over, two pretty lame beers (and I know some folks love it, but I can't stand Bud).

I knew Budweiser was made by Anheuser-Busch, and after I did a little wiki-research (and it wasn't even Wednesday!), I found out that Michalob is also owned by them. A little more research and it turns out that the Kingsmill Resort, where the restaurant featured in the article is located, is, surprise, surprise, also owned by A-B. No mention of this is made in the article.

The piece was written by Mary Lu Laffey of "Rand-McNally Travel News," but it's not labeled an advertisement - it's a regular article, a weekly column in the Inqy's Travel section. Now, I don't look to the Travel section for hard-hitting journalism, but shouldn't they, I don't know, actually write their travel advice rather than let some hugemungo weak-beer-brewer/lame-resort-owner pretty much write it for them?

By the way, if you do decide to go down to Williamsburg, the article also recommends that you splurge and spend $51.95 at Busch Gardens Europe, which is owned by...yeah, you guessed it, Anheuser-Busch. I hear the park's $8 hot dogs pair up quite nicely with the complex flavors that can only be found in a bottle of Bud Light.

All Lukewarm And No Beer

It's been hard to keep track of where world leaders fall on America's naughty and nice list since, I don't know, forever? Yesterday's foe is today's friend (or, as it's more likely to be these days, yesterday's friends are today's foes).

And so it's been tough for me to figure out how I should see Venezuela's socialist president, Hugo Chavez. It would help if I could trust (or understand, or even find) our current administration's foreign policy strategy, but, well... yeah.

So instead I'm stuck coming to my own conclusion:

CON: Chavez has not delivered on his promise to reduce poverty in Venezuela.
PRO: Chavez has donated heating oil to some Americans who could not afford it.

CON: Chevez is a friend of Fidel Castro.
PRO: Chevez in an enemy of Pat Robertson.

CON: Chevez called the President of the United States a "devil."
PRO: Chevez called George W. Bush a "devil."

So, as you can see, it's been tough. The guy's done some bad things, but he's done some good things, too. But now, now it turns out that Chevez has finally gone too far:

"As of today, I want the National Guard to stop the beer trucks and take them to the nearest command post. No more trucks," he said in a televised speech. [...] The crowd had cheered him enthusiastically earlier in his speech, but his beer decree was met with a lukewarm response and scattered applause.

That's it, right on my naughty list!

Okay, after reading a little more, I realize that Chevez wants to get these trucks off the streets because some of the drivers are illegally selling the beer right off the back of them in the country's poorest neighborhoods.

I suppose that that's a pretty noble reason for removing the trucks, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the drivers who are legally delivering the beer to bars are also stopped. Then what? The beers wouldn't get to the bars and bar owners would have to resort to brewing their own beer fresh and bar patrons wouldn't have access to bland mass-produced beers and that would be.... not so bad.

Dang, now I'm right back where I started.

[I love how quickly the crowd went from "enthusiastic" to "lukewarm" when he mentioned taking their beer away. "Woo-hoo! Yea! Eh. Huh?"]

Bud...Weis...Ugh

If you read my post on lambics, you know I'll do anything to get a good fruit-beer combination.

But I won't do this:

Has anybody actually ever tried a mixed drink made with beer? Has anybody ever wanted to?

Who are the ad wizards who came up with this one?!

And if - a big if - I were to ever make a mixed drink with beer as it's base, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't start with a Bud Light.

[Drink recipes are from the Bud Light site, but you really don't want to click on that link, do you?]

Lambic Pentameter

"This beer, too sweet. Tastes like Bartles and James."

Okay, I'm not sure if that line is written in iambic pentameter, or any pentameter for that matter. (Guy writes one haiku and all of the sudden he thinks he's Longfellow.) I do know that it has ten syllables and pretty much sums up what I think of lambics.

Lambic is a style of beer that they almost always add fruit or fruit syrup to. Wine coolers are also a beer (or as their labels say, "a malt beverage") that they add fruit flavors to (though those flavors are usually artificial). So I figured that a lambic would be the perfect brew for the beer-hating, cooler-loving missus. In fact, when we went to Iron Hill brewery, one of the beers in my sampler was a lambic and the missus happily took that whole sample from me.

The beer pictured above was a different story. It (I don't remember what brand it was and the corkscrew seems to be blocking it in the picture) was a lot sweeter than the stuff Iron Hill served, and neither the missus or I enjoyed it at all (though I did finish my glass and most of her glass - hey, beer is beer).

Even though Iron Hill proved that not all beers of this style are sickeningly sweet, I doubt we'll keep trying different brands in hopes of finding higher quality lambic. It's much more expensive than most beers ($10 for about two pints), and neither of us are really that interested enough in this type of beer to go looking for that perfect bottle.

Maybe lambics are more honestly and naturally made than wine coolers, but that doesn't change the fact that wine coolers are out there, and that some are, in a pinch, not too awful. If you don't like beer (or wine, or the hard stuff) you don't have to search out a beer fruity enough to tolerate, you can just pick up a cooler. And if you do like beer, chances are you don't want one that tastes that sweet anyway.

So where's that leave the fruit lambic? Right where the missus and I would put it - too beer-like for her, too cooler-like for me. I'll just have to go back to my old system of making sure I bring home some coolers for her when I get beer for me.

Right now, those beers include Otter Creek ESB, Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout, Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale, and, of course, my old standby, Yeungling Traditional Lager. None of them, thankfully, require a corkscrew to open.

(And can you believe that they still make Bartles and James? I had no idea).

Sterling Iron

Well, the weather ended up cooperating, and our planned end-of-summer last family day out actually happened. The day's schedule - heading down to Wilmington for some outlet-store shopping, some minor league baseball, and a nice dinner - was dreamed up by me, so it's really quite amazing that everything went pretty well and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

The shopping went well. The kids got a little rammy, but that was understandable (I wasn't so understanding at that time, of course). Got some good bargains on some much-needed work clothes for the already-starting cooler weather. The missus made sure I didn't outdo her on the bargains or the buying, so she did alright, too.

The ballgame was fun even though the cloud cover went completely away during it, turning a chilly morning into a very hot feeling 77 degree day. We found some free sunscreen samples and ended up saying for six innings, which is pretty good for us (especially when the kids didn't have a ballpark playground to go to, like they're used to at their local RiverSharks games). The Wilmington Blue Rocks are the Boston's Single-A minor league team, but right now they look better than the Red Sox do. Both boys ended up with BoSox caps, even though our family already gets plenty of baseball frustration from the Phillies and the Orioles and wasn't really looking to add any more frustrating teams - they're real nice caps, though - you can't go wrong with that classic "B." Besides, we follow three teams around here - the Phillies, the Orioles, and whoever's playing the Yankees - so any enemy of the Yankees is all right by us.

Finally we ended up at dinner at the Wilmington Iron Hill Brewpub, the finale I selfishly built our whole day around. Even after the long day the boys were well-behaved, the food was terrific, and the beer was even better. Not being able to decide what to drink, I ended up getting the sampler (see photo above). Nine 4-ounce glasses of some really good beer of all different sorts - even a sweet raspberry one the missus enjoyed. We really need to get out to this place more often.

Tomorrow's planned to be a lazy day, Tuesday it's back to work for me, Wednesday the nine-year-old starts fourth(!) grade and Monday the little guy becomes one of the big guys at preschool - his final year before Kindergarten. Somewhere in there the missus goes back to her tutoring, too, which I think she kind of wants to get back to, if only to start getting paid again (and for the teaching part, too - though she probably wouldn't admit to that).

Wow. Where did the summer go?

No Time Like The Presents

Do you know what the four-year-old did today?

While we were out shopping, he asked me if he could make his Christmas list after we got back home. His Christmas list! The nine-year-old and I tried to explain to him just how far away Christmas was (even though the missus has already had to threaten to call Santa on him), but there seemed to be no changing his mind about it.

Luckily, he seemed to have forgotten all about his wish list by the time he woke up from his nap. Because really, who in there right mind is already... thinking... about... what... they... want... for...

Oh, sweet mercy, are those double-walled beer glasses?

Wow.

You know, there are only 121 shopping days left.

[Via Beer Smack, one of the many excellent beer blogs I've been hitting lately]

Good, But Not Quite A Thrill

In my last beer post, the one that went on and on and on, I promised not to buy any more beer until I finished what I still had. Well, I lied. Tonight I stopped into Kress Wine to pick up something for the missus (honest!). I did get her something (little bottles of margaritas) but I also walked out with a six of Atlantic Brewing Company's Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale.

I know that trying fruit beers is pretty risky. A lot of times the flavor is strong or syrupy or kind of just sits on top of the beer. But this one advertised itself as the original blueberry ale and it was from Maine, for chrissake! If you want to be my impulse buy, it helps to be from one of my favorite places in the whole wide wide world.

The good news is that the blueberry taste in this beer isn't strong or syrupy. And it doesn't taste like it was added as an afterthought either. If anything, the blueberry in it is a little too subtle - it doesn't really hit you unless you let it sit on your tongue for a moment (like any true beer snob would). Then you get a nice little taste of blueberries. It doesn't last long, but it's there and it tastes very much like real blueberries. What you taste before that is a light (not "lite") ale that would taste pretty good on it's own.

Unfortunately that blueberry taste is quickly replaced by an aftertaste that is a little too bitter for me - almost metallic even. It makes you wish that the ale ended with that wonderful fresh blueberry flavor, or that at the very least that it was allowed to hang around a little bit longer.

I wouldn't call this an everyday kind of beer - I think, like most fruit beers, it's meant to be more of a nice little change of pace from the usual stuff. While it might be the best attempt at a fruit beer I've ever had (Sam Adams does a pretty good Cherry Wheat, too), I'm not so sure I would pick this one up again. Maybe if I can ever get back to Maine I might.

Beer Nut

You know what I'm thinking? I'm thinking, "Wow, I haven't posted about beer in a while." And I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Oh, God, please don't post about beer, please don't post about beer, Lord God, don't have him post about beer." Nah, you'd never think that.

My last beer-related post was way back in April, and the first line of that post talked about how long it had been since I had last written about beer, so you're all going to have to humor me here.

According to my sidebar, currently I'm drinking Ringwood Old Thumper, Brooklyn Brewery Brown Ale, Smithwick's Irish Red Ale, and Yuengling Traditional Lager - but that was back in April. I'm just finishing up the cases of Smithwick's and Yuengling. Yuengling is my go-to beer, it's a solid, inexpensive beer - it's what my neighbors would drink instead of Heineken and Miller Light (perhaps the worst beer I've ever had), if only they knew anything about, or even cared about, good beer.

The Smithwick's was actually a recommendation of a neighbor who I thought had good beer taste. Now I'm not so sure he does. Smithwick's has a bit more body than lagers like Yuengling, but it doesn't have much flavor. Not enough to make me want to buy it again, anyway.

The Ringwood Old Thumper is an ESB out of Maine and had a lot of flavor for an ESB, where bitterness often overpowers most of the flavor. I'd get it again.

Brown Ales are one of my favorite types of beer, and the Brooklyn Brown didn't disappoint. It was a bit darker than the Brown Ales I'm used to, and had a taste that seemed a little stout-like. Not the best Brown Ale I've had (I still like Smuttynose's best) but not bad at all, and definitely different.

When the in-laws came in from Louisville, I picked up a 12-pack of Samuel Adams Summer Ale. I was looking for Flying Fish Farmhouse Summer Ale, but my liquor store didn't have any. This wasn't the first time I had the Sam Adams summer stuff, so I knew what to expect - it's a good beer to drink out on the porch or while grilling, but it's not the kind of beer I feel like having more than one of on a summer night, which is what I want from a Summer Ale. The Flying Fish Farmhouse is a Saison (French for "farmhouse," but actually a Belgian style) and is more drinkable that the Sam Adams. They both have pretty much the same amount of flavor, with the Farmhouse being a little more citrusy.

One night, while our Kentucky kin were still around, we all had dinner over my Mother-in-Law's house and it turned out that she had bought a sampler case of Philadelphia's own Yards Brewing Company. I'd like to think that she picked it out herself, but she said the guy at the liquor store suggested it for her ungrateful no-good [she didn't actually say "no-good," but she was thinking it] beer-snob sons-in-law (he initially suggested the Flying Fish Farmhouse, but she didn't think that sounded like something I would enjoy!). Since my M.i.L. doesn't drink beer, I knew I would end up taking much of the case home. After I gave away the six Love Stout (which almost killed me last time I had it) and after my brother-in-law drank his fair share of the case, I still had quite a bit of Yards' Saison, Philadelphia Pale Ale, and Extra Special Ale.

The Yards Saison was the Farmhouse-style I expected - light and very drinkable, the type of beer I call grass-cutting beer because it hits the spot after you've worked in the yard for a few hours, without filling you up. I had the Yards Pale Ale before and remembered being pretty impressed by it, but my new favorite Yards type is now their Extra Special (another ESB). Not quite as bitter as most ESBs I've tried, but it did have a lot of flavor and was very smooth (probably because it wasn't so bitter) - another good summer beer.

Before they returned to Kentucky, the in-laws brought over a six of that Flying Fish Farmhouse I like so much. Woo-hoo!

On our way to the very dry (and proud of it - even BYOBs aren't allowed) city of Ocean City, NJ for a week's vacation, we stopped in at Circle "helping people sneak beer onto the island for over 60 years" Liquors right before the bridge and picked up a six of River Horse Summer Ale out of Lambertville, NJ. I could not have been less impressed with this beer. They advertise it as an "uncomplicated" beer, but the word they should use is bland. It had absolutely no flavor - it barely had a beer taste to it. It was depressing knowing that I was stuck drinking this stuff on my vacation.

Just one more, I promise. Somewhere during all this I picked up a six of Lone Star Beer since it was under five bucks and I've wanted to try it (I can't keep hating Texas just because of Dubya - they gave us Ann Richards and LBJ, too after all).The bottle up there on my banner at the top of the page is a Lone Star. Not a bad everyday beer - not as flavorful and much thinner than my Yuengling, but I could see drinking it while watching a game with the guys (it's not worth spending more than five bucks on them anyway). It worked well as a grass-cutting beer too, but was a bit too thin to go well with barbecued stuff.

There. I bet you feel like having a beer or two after all that. I told you it's been a while. I still have about 12 or so more beers left in the fridge, so I won't be buying anymore for a little while. When I do, you can be sure I'll tell you all about it.

Belgian Waffling

You may have noticed that it has been a long, long time since my last beer-related post (or at least I hope you've noticed). Why? Could it be that I've stopped drinking the stuff?

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

[deep breath]

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Ahem.

No.

Sadly, though, my efforts to lose weight have forced me to reduce the number of nights I get to enjoy a beer. (Basically it comes down to whether or not I ran that morning, but even then a bowl of ice cream might win out for those last two hundred allowable calories). Happily, part of the reason I haven't bought beer lately is because I received a "gift case" (apparently, adding the word "gift" let's them get away with calling 18 bottles a case) of Belgian beers.

And back to sadly again - I wasn't very impressed with the Dutch stuff. The "case" was made up of six bottles each of Stella Artois, Leffe Blonde, Hoegaarden White. Of the three, only the Hoegaarden made a positive impression on me. Normally I'm not a fan of White beers, but this was the first I could actually tolerate. Most likely, if the White was anything like the other two, it was because the taste had been dumbed down. A true white beer fan might not like it as much as I did. The Blonde was okay and plenty smooth, but nothing worth actually paying for. The Artois was horrible weak and just blah. There's was no there there, you know? It didn't surprise me to see later that in its home country, Artois is treated sorta like Coors is over here - mass-produced and drank only when the good stuff isn't available. Buh, "gift case" - some gift. I'm so disappointed, I just may never accept free beer again.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Whew. Now on to the beers I actually did pay for.

Yard's Philadelphia Pale Ale was suggested by Tom over at Shallow Center. If not for the price, I could easily see this replacing Yeungling as my everyday beer this summer. Great taste, very drinkable, goes well with simpler meals. What more could you ask for?

On the other end of the spectrum (at least color-wise) was Stoudt's Winter Ale, another local brew. Wow, was this stuff dark. Even darker than Guinness. And its taste was just as dark, with a chocolate/coffee taste. Strong but not so strong that it couldn't be had with the right dinner. Very good stuff.

Now that I've run out of those beers, I headed back out and picked up some more. Instead of getting my usual case of Yeungling Traditional, I had a Saint Patty's Day flashback and treated myself to a case of Smithwicks (an Irish Ale from the aforementioned Guinness). Then for my two craft brews I got a six of both Brooklyn Brown Ale and Ringwood Old Thumper. Old Thumper, an ESB made by Portland's Shipyard Brewing, was one of microbrews I had up in Maine about ten years ago. That was the trip that started my whole obsession with the expensive stuff.

And my tastes, my fridge, my snootiness, and my bank account hasn't been the same since.

Now If Only Someone Would Invent A Beer Smoothie

I know this is going to date me (even more than last night's Brady Bunch reference did), but most of you probably remember the old ads for Dannon yogurt:

In the commercials, shots of elderly Georgian farmers were interspersed with an off-camera announcer intoning, "In Soviet Georgia, where they eat a lot of yogurt, a lot of people live past 100." Each shot had a caption at the bottom, which would tell the audience the farmer's name and his or her age, which ranged from 95 to 105. One such commercial ended with a shot of an old man eating Dannon yogurt, with a woman who was purported to be his mother looking at him fondly. The announcer intoned, "89-year old Bagrat Topagua... ate two cups. That pleased his mother very much."

Well, I've been eating yogurt since those ads ran back in the seventies, when yogurt still came in wax-coated cups instead of squeezable tubes, when there was only about three flavors to choose from (and two of those were "plain" and "lemon"), and when it was still considered odd for a kid to actually like the stuff.

It may not have been the reason I originally started eating yogurt, but the promise of active cultures adding years to my life has definitely played a part in my continuing to buy the stuff.

And now, after nearly three decades, I say: "Screw that."

LEOMINSTER [MA] -- Irene Alice Goguen may know a secret potion for longevity.

"Drink beer," the lifelong Leominster resident said. "I did, I'm still living."

Goguen celebrated her 100th birthday Monday, and joked that she enjoyed a beer now and then while she and her late husband, Jack, owned the Blue Moon, a restaurant in Leominster.

Hot Dang! Of course, knowing my luck, there'll be a story tomorrow saying that eating pretzels can kill you. Or should I say, can kill you even if you're not too stupid to chew.

[Story via Adfreak]

Bullet Train Of Thoughts

Where I write like Larry King:

• Anyone who tells you that cartography is glamorous has never shopped for a plotter.
• Donuts in the morning + Mexican for lunch + church pancake dinner = Fat Tuesday.
• Spring arrives: first little league team meeting tomorrow.
• Curious about the beer on my shirt in the new "about" photo? It's Bahamian, and not very good.
• Brew of the week at Starbucks - Kenya. Blah, I'm not digging it.
• I am digging The Amazing Race. After stumbling last season, Phil and friends have got their mojo working again.
• More AR - Favorite couple: the Nerds. Also liking the Sisters.
• State Efforts to Help Women Avoid Unintended Pregnancy: Not liking how New Jersey (43rd) ranked in this.
• 34% - this I am liking.
• My Lenten sacrifice: nail biting.
• Meatless Fridays in Lent: Roman Catholic = Required. Episcopalian = Optional.
• BBQ anyone? Say... Friday?
• ummmm...

I could have sworn I had more to say. How did Larry do it?

Making The Cut: The Best Beers Drank Drunk Drinked Consumed In 2005

[In an attempt to take some of the stress out of providing quality blog content through the holiday season, I have decided to end the year with several best-of posts, collected under the title "Making the Cut" (get it? - hey, coming up with clever post titles is the most stressful part of owning a blog).]

Just four brews really did it for me this year (in no particular order):

Stoudt Fest

It’s the smoothest beers I’ve had in a while. No bells or whistles, but great tasting. It’s something that goes well with a lot of different foods, which is good since I do most of my drinking with dinner.

Otter Creek Middleberry Ale

I'm always intrigued by ales made with fruit, but I'm also leery of them, fearing that they will be either too sweet or too understated (I've encountered both). Otter Creek seems to have hit the happy medium - the flavor of the fruit comes through without being overpowering.

Wolaver's Brown Ale

I was already familiar (and pleased) with Wolaver's Organic Oatmeal Stout, and Smutteynose Old Brown Dog Ale had already turned me on to Brown Ales, so I thought I'd try Wolaver's take on the style. It turned out to be a very good beer, with a slight nutty taste, but it wasn't as good as their Oatmeal Stout or the Brown Ale from Smutteynose.

Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale

You would think that pale ales would be less flavorful than other brews, being pale and all, but that need not be true. Smuttynose's Pale Ale is full of subtle citrus and caramel flavors and finished pretty dry, which I like.

Honorable Mentions to a couple of beers I sampled right where they were made. Both tasted great, both were from great cities, and both had great names: in Baltimore, DuClaw Bare Ass Blonde Ale and from Philly, Nodding Head Monkey Knife Fight.

Mmm, mmm, I love a good monkey knife fight.

Not The Greatest Beer I've Ever Had, But At Least It Didn't Try To Kill Me, Which, You Know, Is A Plus

I cut out of work early today - first to get my annual pre-Holiday Work Party haircut (the most important haircut of the year) and then to get some shopping done. I'm about 90% done with the missus (and really shopping for the missus is all the Christmas shopping I have to do, since she was kind enough to handle everything else this year).

Then it was off to the doctors for my monthly allergy shots, which were administered by SURPRISE! a med student. Zowie! This guy needs to work on his needle technique. Yow! Hey! Ho! Yah!

Then, then, finally, finally some me time (okay, I did stop at Starbucks while shopping, but still) - on the way home I stopped of at the liquor store to replenish my beer supply. I picked up my customary case of Yeungling and, despite the searing pain in my arms where Dr. Shakes stabbed me, I was able to concentrate enough to pick out two sixes of what I hope will be quality microbrews.

First, a recap of the beer I just finished off. I already posted my horror story about the beer that nearly killed me, but I also had bought a six of a beer that my body didn't reject. Otter Creek's Copper Ale, which they call their flagship ale, was alright. As you would expect from something called a copper ale, the taste fell somewhere between a pale ale and a brown ale, but I think I would prefer one of those styles of beer over this one. It didn't have the hoppiness of a pale ale or the nuttiness of a brown ale - so, not bad, but not great.

Today I wanted to pick up a winter/holiday brew. I narrowed it down to Anchor Christmas Ale, Harpoon Winter Warmer, and Stoudts Winter Ale. I liked Anchor's Christmas Ale a lot last time I had it, but I wanted to try something new. I came real close to getting the Harpoon, but I got scared off by too many mentions of spices on the package. So I went with the Stoudts. I've had other brews from Stoudts, so I'm hopeful about this one.

The other six I picked up was Yard's Philadelphia Pale Ale. Yes, Yards, the same brewery that made the Love Stout that, did I mention, almost killed me. But both Tom and Kelly both had good things to say about Yards, so I'm willing to give them another chance - but, so help me God, if I end up dying this time someone's gonna get sued.

And After All I've Done For You

My beer is trying to kill me.

Not in the usual too-much-of-a-good-thing "you're destroying your liver" way either.

When I pick up a couple sixes of craft brews I try to make one of them a local beer. Last time I went to the liquor store that local beer was Yards Love Stout. I'd heard good things about the Yards Brewery and I like stouts, so why not? I didn't really think about the name "Love Stout," mainly because most craft beers have offbeat names.

So I'm drinking my second bottle of Love Stout last week with dinner when I finally read the label:

An English sweet stout made with pale and dark English malts, English noble hops and 150 whole oysters -- shell and all. The oysters are thrown into the brew kettle during the boil stage of the brewing process, adding calcium to the wort. The result is a passionately smooth stout.

Oh, I get it now - Love Stout - oysters, aphrodisiac, passionately smooth - but, uh, I'm allergic to shellfish, people. Who the hell puts shellfish in their beer anyway? I didn't taste anything fishy (so to speak) in either bottle, and my tongue didn't swell up like a balloon. I thought maybe it was a joke, but no, I went to the Yards website and it's for real. Apparently, oyster stouts aren't that uncommon.

What to do?

Drink a third bottle, of course. So on Saturday I had a Love Stout with dinner again and on Sunday I noticed welts all over my back. That's the same reaction I had the first (and only) time I'd ever tried shellfish (Maine lobster in Bar Harbor. I wasn't that impressed.). So rather than find out what reaction four Love Stouts would cause, I gave the remaining three bottles to my brother.

As it turns out, Yards has now changed the way they are making Love Stout (no doubt this change came after my six was brewed). It seems that they have dropped the whole oyster thing to appease vegetarians. It won't make a difference to me, though. I found their stout way way way too fizzy (by far the most soda-like beer I've ever had) and too citrusy for a stout. I'm still willing to give Yards another chance by picking up another of their ales, but if it's made with ragweed or cut grass they better have a friggin' warning label on it this time.

Is It Pronounced "Ah-mish" Or "A-mish?"

[In college I once gave an oral presentation in a history class on the Amish that was researched 100% using books from the children's section of the county library (this was pre-Internets, people, it was the night before it was due, and I was desperate). At the end of my pathetically weak presentation there was time left for questions from the class. Nothing but the sound of crickets chirping. After a couple minutes of uncomfortable silence the teacher took pity on me and finally asked the question in the title of this post. I said it's "Ah-mish," he said "huh," and then I sat down. Not exactly a Great Moment in Education.]

So, anyway, it's been a while since I talked beer. Somehow I was able to make two sixes of craft beers last about two months by drinking a lot more Yeungling and bumming cheap lite beers off my neighbors all summer long. When I last picked up microbrews, so long long ago, it was a six of Lancaster Brewing Amish (A-mish?) 4 Grain Ale and a six of Victory Prima Pils.

I fell in love with Lancaster Brewing when I was out that way for training and stopped at their brewpub, the Walnut Street Grille. The food was great and I seem to remember all of the beers in the sampler being pretty tasty, too. Since then I've picked up bottles of their brews and it's been hit or miss. Some I loved (Milk Stout) and some I didn't (Strawberry Wheat). Well, the Amish 4 Grain Ale falls into that latter group. It's advertised as a pale ale, but it was a little too malty for my taste. Something tells me that this would taste much better on tap than bottled, though.

Victory Brewing, based in nearby Downingtown, PA, always seems to get rave reviews, and yet somehow I had never picked up anything by them. So when Men's Journal magazine named Victory's Prima Pils the best lager or pilsner in the world, I finally decided to give them a try. Here's the problem - I don't really care for pilsners all that much. I thought that drinking the world's best would make up for that, but it really didn't. It was a good beer, just not something that I would get again. But I'm not giving up on Victory altogether - I had their HopDevil Ale a couple times on tap at Phillies games this summer and I could definitely see myself getting some more of that.

Saturday I picked up two more sixes. This time I tried a local brewery for the first time and got something untried from an old favorite. I got Philadelphia's own Yards Love Stout and Otter Creek's flagship brew, the Copper Ale. As always, I'll let you know what I think of them right after I polish them off.

Give Me Back My Bullets

Ah, bullet points - friend of the lazy blogger:

• Longtime reader Karen sent me an article about the Bruce Springsteen symposium being held at Monmouth University next month. From the news release:
  • "Glory Days: A Bruce Springsteen Symposium" will take place on Friday and Saturday, September 9 and 10, at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J., where Springsteen began his career. [...] Some of the featured speakers include: critic and Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh; Barbara Hall, novelist, musician, and creator of the television show "Joan of Arcadia;" photographer Frank Stefanko, whose work graces the covers of Springsteen's albums "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "The River;" and Pittsburgh musician Joe Grushecky. [emphasis mine]
    • Okay, first of all, Springsteen started his career in West Long Branch? Sorry, but he named his first album Greetings From Asbury Park for a reason.
    • At $245 the symposium is a little too expensive for the working schlubs - like me - that Bruce sings about, but I wouldn't mind going to the Joe Grushecky concert they're having at the Stone Pony that weekend. Springsteen has been know to pop up at his buddy's Pony shows, and with that many Boss fans in town that weekend Bruce might just be flattered enough to show up once again.
    • West Long Branch does hold the distinction of being the town where I started my marathoning career when I ran the New Jersey Shore Marathon back in 1999. (Actually the race finished in West Long Branch, but you get the idea.)
• My post about the top songs of my graduation year has gotten a big response. Thanks to everyone who posted the songs from their year. I think we've proved that popular music sucks no matter what the year.
• I'm having doubts about the validity of the "Nerd/Geek/Dork" test I took the other day, since two of my sisters took it and were deemed "normal." Mmm-hmm. Right.
• Thanks to everyone who responded to my post about my Fantasy Football draft (except for those "normal" siblings and their wise-ass comments). The missus would likely warn you that by paying attention to me when I ramble on about fantasy football, you are only encouraging me to write about it even more.
• Speaking of the missus, tonight I ran an unusually-scheduled Wednesday night 5K race. It's a pretty big race around here and I've only missed it once in the last eight years. The missus and kids were there this year to watch me finish in a pretty respectable (considering the Hazy Hot and Humid weather) 22:30. But as proud as the missus may be of my accomplishment, the thing she wants all of you to know most is that I walked out of the port-a-potty with a long piece of toilet paper sticking out of the back of my running shorts. She was all proud of herself for discretely alerting me to this, then insisted on my telling the whole world wide web about it.
• Coolest thing about the race? Free post-race beer. Okay, it's only Coors Light, but even that taste pretty good after running 3.1 miles.
• Trying to get into the US Open. Well, not actually get into the US Open, since it's up there in Flushing Meadows and I doubt I would have enough cash to get in once I got up there, but I've been watching it on TV off-and-on this week. I used to be a big tennis fan (and player) but ever since I started running I've kind of forgotten all about it. That might change now, since the eight-year-old has shown a recent interest in the game - and he's not that bad either. I took him and a friend out to the high school courts and he did pretty well. Much better than he did with baseball.
• The missus doesn't know it yet, but I made her an end-of-summer mix tape disc. It's waiting for her in the van. I'm such a good husband, no matter what she tells you.
• For fifty points: What 70's rock band sang "Give Me Back My Bullets"?

I'll try for a non-bulleted post tomorrow. I hope to have my top ten all-time greatest albums list done by then.

I Wish My Beer Was As Cold As Your Heart

My back has been bothering me for a couple weeks now. About two weeks ago my doctor told me to take Advil with every meal for a few days and the pain should go away. He even gave me a big (and free!) sample bottle of the gelcaps. I took them at dinner that night and kept forgetting to take them after that. The pain was nagging but but not bad enough to dominate my thoughts.

Well, I'm thinking about it now! If you could see me, you'd see those little lighting bolts hitting my back like on those old Doan's Pills commercials. (And you always thought that was just special effects.) I did a twelve-mile run on Saturday morning and ever since then I've been walking around feeling like I'm in my elderly forties instead of my still-youthful late-thirties. It's so bad that I called out today just to give the Advil treatment another day to work.

As much as I enjoy complaining to a (somewhat) captive audience, I'm really telling you about my back pain so that you know that I really don't feel like blogging much today, so you'll just have to settle for a short beer post instead of my usually long-winded one. Sorry.

Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale - When in doubt, go with the Smuttynose. You would think that pale ales would be less flavorful than other brews, being pale and all, but that need not be true. Smuttynose's Pale Ale is full of subtle citrus and caramel flavors and finished pretty dry, which I like. I also like when a pale ale has some color to it, and the Smuttynose has a beautiful golden color (even with a bum back, I still have the energy to sound like a beer snob).

Tröegs Rugged Trail Nut Brown Ale - Brown Ales are quickly becoming one of my favorite brew types (especially Smuttynose's Old Brown Dog). Many of them have the darkness of a porter, but aren't as full bodied or strong. Tröegs take on the brown ale has the smoothness of the others I've had with the added bonus of a tasty nutty flavor. Good stuff - went well with the missus' spicy cheeseburgers.

My latest trip to the liquor store resulted in sixes of two Pennsylvania brews (in addition to my usually case of Pottsville, PA's Yuengling Traditional): Victory Prima Pils (out of Downingtown) and Lancaster Amish Four Grain Ale (out of Lancaster City). The Victory was named the best beer in the world in the Lager and Pilsner category by Men's Journal magazine. I don't usually drink Pilsners (nor do I usually read Men's Journal), but I'm curious to try this one. The Lancaster is one of the beers I sampled at the Lancaster Brewing Company brewpub a couple years ago. I don't remember much about this beer, but I still remember how good the food was. Makes me wish my work would send me out to Amish country more often.

[Note: Post title is from a movie I had never heard of before. I don't think I'll be adding it to my NetFlix queue anytime soon.]

Bank Shots

Another Phillies game, another photo album full of shots from Citizens Bank Park. Take a look.

Case History

Last time I did a beer post, I was promising to halt my (somewhat) expensive craft beer purchasing until I finished the case of more-sanely priced Yuengling Traditional that was sitting in my basement, ignored. I kept my promise, but by the time I finished that case I was ready for the fancy stuff.

So last month I headed out to Oaklyn Discount Liquors to pick up another case of Yuengling and a couple of sixes of craft beer. Picking the microbrews didn't take too long, but when I went over to get the Yuengling, all the cases they had were refrigerated. That's a good thing for most beer buyers, but it sucks for me.

I usually get my Yuengling at BJ's Wholesale Club for about $13. Not only is that a great price, but since the beer at BJ's is stored at room temperature, I can store it on my basement floor instead of having to keep it cool. That allows me to chill just a couple bottles at a time in the fridge.  With a couple of sixes of microbrews already in there, there isn't much room for more than that. Oaklyn Liquors had some cases at room temperature, but when I asked about Yuengling the guy behind the counter tried to tell me that it's okay for beer to move from cold to room temperature and back again. Sure, if you happen to like skunky beer. I don't, so I looked over their cases and ended up spending $25 bucks on Flying Fish Farmhouse Summer Ale. When in doubt, go with the Fish.

Now, about the beers:

  As much as I like some of Smuttynose Brewery's beers, their Summer Weizen (aka Weizenheimer) has convinced me to stay away from the weizen style of ale forever. I've had weisens from a few different brewers now and I don't think I've liked any of them. Smuttynose promised a great summer ale, but while the beer was light in color (almost bright yellow), the flavoring was not light. The taste of the spices was way too harsh and overpowering, prevented the beer from being good to drink while chilling on the porch or while eating dinner.

It definitely wasn't a summer style, but the Wayerbacher Raspberry Imperial Stout was just as disappointing. Like Smuttynose, Easton PA's Wayerbacher is well-respected by beer snobs like myself for the many different styles they produce. Their attempt at a fruit-infused stout, however, isn't worthy of such respect. The raspberry flavor never seemed to blend in with the beer, and was so strong that it had a perfume-like aftertaste. Just a "kiss" of raspberry my butt.

Lucky for me I had that case of Flying Fish. Their Summer Ale is a true "grass-cutting beer" - the type of beer you reach for after sweating your butt off working in the yard. It's light and goes down easy, but it's still has great flavor. Of course, there's only so much grass cutting to do, but luckily the Fish also goes well with a lot of summer meals, such as pretty much anything coming off the grill. Definitely one of my favorites.

When I went out last week to once again replenish my supply, I tried a different liquor store - Cherry Hill Fine Wine and Spirits. Despite their name, they have a very large selection of craft beers, many of them available chilled and unchilled. You can even get six packs unchilled, which saves us a little more fridge room. I ended up getting my Yuengling case, a six of Troegs Rugged Trail Nut Brown Ale, and I decided to give Smuttynose another chance, this time picking up a six of their Shoals Pale Ale. Here's hoping I made better choices this time.

I Should Drink A Case Of You

Since I just got through naming Yuengling as one of the ten brand names I couldn't live without, I thought I'd post a beer review. I don't usually write a review of the craft beers that I just finished until I've had a chance to buy some more, but I don't think I'll be buying beer for a while. I try to save money by drinking an expensive beer one night and the affordable (about $13 bucks a case at BJ's)  Yuengling the next,  but I've been ignoring that case of Yuengling in my basement for a while now. So until I polish most of the Yuengling off, I'm not going to be visiting the liquor store. Ohhh, the sacrifices a low-budget beer snob must make. [If all this makes it sound like I don't like Yuengling, I do. I just like trying something different every once in a while. Spice of life and all that.]

So, the last time I raided the boys' college fund had some extra cash and allowed myself a trip to liquor store I came out with two brews from Vermont: Otter Creek Middleberry Ale and Wolaver's Brown Ale. Both are brewed by Otter Creek Brewing (whose website, strangely, is wolavers.com - confusing, no?). Wolaver's is Otter Creek Brewing's organic line of beers.

I was already familiar (and pleased) with Wolaver's Organic Oatmeal Stout, and Smutteynose Old Brown Dog Ale had already turned me on to Brown Ales, so I thought I'd try Wolaver's take on the style. It turned out to be a very good beer, with a slight nutty taste, but it wasn't as good as their Oatmeal Stout or the Brown Ale from Smutteynose. So I'm not sure I will be buying it again, but I wouldn't turn it down if someone offered it to me (though there are very few beers I would turn down).

The Middleberry Ale, featuring elderberries and blueberries (the Middleberry name is a play on the brewery's Middlebury address), was a different story. I'm always intrigued by ales made with fruit, but I'm also leery of them, fearing that they will be either too sweet or too understated (I've encountered both). Otter Creek seems to have hit the happy medium - the flavor of the fruit comes through without being overpowering. The beer struck me as a great summertime brew, and I could definitely see myself picking up another six of this soon.

If I ever get through those Yuenglings, that is.

Malt-imore

Yes, another post about Baltimore. If my favorite director, Barry Levinson, can have a Baltimore trilogy (Diner, Tin Men, and Avalon) then why can't I? Besides, shortly after getting back from Baltimore today I had to umpire my first real Little League game (I called a scrimmage during the preseason, but that doesn't count). I think it was the longest little league game in our town's history. Ugh. Not much time for thinking up something more interesting, so yes, you're getting another friggin' Baltimore post.

I thought I'd give my impressions on dining in Baltimore. Let's get the small stuff out of the way: the box lunches served at conferences at the Baltimore Convention Center suck. That little deli on Lombard between Howard and Eutaw that serves breakfast? Their pancakes are too pasty, order something else. Marriott Inner Harbor's breakfast buffet is good, but expensive (not that I paid for it). The Tex Mex Grill is always a good cheap lunch, and you can eat it right on their deck overlooking the Inner Harbor.

Okay, now I only got two dinners this trip, so I tried to choose wisely. I try to go to one untried place each time I'm down there and this time it was DuClaw Brewing Company out in Fells Point. I love brew pubs with microbreweries right on site, and DuClaw didn't disappoint there. I was very happy with their Bare Ass Blonde Ale (though I was a little embarrassed ordering it). I wish I was equally impressed with their Cuban sandwich. I love a good Cubano, but ever since the Dominican restaurant in Old City Philadelphia closed I haven't been able to find one. DuClaw's didn't even come close. Just because a sandwich has pork and ham in it doesn't make it a Cubano. It wasn't a awful sandwich, it just wasn't a Cubano.

The second night I went to a favorite of mine, the James Joyce Irish Pub, located halfway between Inner Harbor and Fells Point. They don't have a brewery on site, but they always have a good selection on tap. This time I went with Baltimore's own Clipper City Pale Ale.  Hard to judge from just one glass, but it was pretty good. I would pick DuClaw's Blonde Ale over it, though. The menu at the James Joyce is your typical pub fare, but the food is better than what you expect from a pub. I had the cheesesteak and I liked it. I also liked eating it out on their big open deck.

The missus is looking over my shoulder while I write this and says I should say something about our twelfth anniversary last week (on Mother's Day). So I'll just say that the whole family went out to On the Border, the new Mexican chain. It's a lot like Chili's, but strictly Mexican, not Tex-Mex. I don't know if I liked it because it was something other than Chili's (which the seven-year old loves but I'm muy sick of) or if it really was good. I had a combo platter and it was better than anything I've had at Don Pablo's, not that that's saying much. It's not fine dining, but we can't take the kids out for fine dining. The missus and I will get out fine dining on May 21, when we spend the night alone in the city and go out to an honest to goodness real restaurant.

Anyway, back to our anniversary. At dinner they had several Mexican beers to select from and I blindly picked a Pacifico Clara, mainly because it wasn't Corona or Dos Equis. It was pretty weak, but not as weak as a Corona. I don't expect much fullness from a Mexican beer, but it did go well with the combo patter.

And that's all I have to say about Baltimore and my anniversary. Forgive me if I got too mushy there.

P.S. - So's I get to sleep in my own bed tonight, let me just say that after twelve years I still love the missus so very very much. She's so nice to put up with me.

Aww, see, now I done gone and got all mushy.

O Boy

I'm at my conference in Baltimore and the only Internet access I can get (for free) is at a "cyber cafe" at the conference expo. So I'll make this quick:

• Took 147 pictures on my lunch break and
• Got in a 6 mile run through Inner Harbor and Fell's Point and
• Found a new brew pub in Fell's Point that I'm having dinner at tonight and
• Scored a ticket to the O's game tonight.

And there were conference workshops in there somewhere. Oh, and I miss my family. Really I do! But what am I supposed to do, stay in my room and sulk all night? Back home the missus and the boys are going out for ice cream tonight, but am I complaining? No! So it all equals out in the end.

Should have more to blog about tomorrow. That's it for now, gotta get to dinner.

Notable Potables

After you checkout, the cashiers at our local supermarket tell you how much you saved by using coupons and their club card. It’s my favorite part of shopping because it makes the time I spend cutting coupons seem worthwhile. Anyway, Sunday I fended off the seven-year old’s begging for pretty much everything (I swear he would have asked me to get him Tampex if we had gone down that aisle) and ended up saving $35. Thirty-five bucks! You know what that means? Beer run! I just finished off the two sixes of craft beer I had, so the timing was perfect.

One of the beers I picked up last month was Stoudt’s Fest. It’s a seasonal beer, but as far as I can tell not their Oktoberfest. Stoudt’s does list an Oktoberfest on their website and it doesn’t sound like the same beer as the Fest. Anyway, whatever it is, it’s good. It’s the smoothest beers I’ve had in a while. No bells or whistles, but great tasting. It’s something that goes well with a lot of different foods, which is good since I do most of my drinking with dinner. Even the missus admitted it was good, and she hates beer. Or maybe she was just saying she liked it to shut me up. Can you imagine hating beer and being married to me? Can you imagine hating beer? Can you imagine being married to me? Dream on.

The other beer I picked up was the Pale Ale from Geary’s, out of Portland, Maine. As much as I like pale ales I never seem to end up getting them. I tend to get distracted by flasher brews. I’m happy I took the chance on Geary’s (I had never heard of the brewer). Again, nothing spectacular, but I liked it. I don’t know if I would pick it up again real soon, but I didn’t feel like I wasted money on it. I guess that makes it an average beer.

Sunday I picked up two brews from the Granite State. I got a six of Middleberry Ale, a special release from Otter Creek Brewing out of Middlebury, New Hampshire. It promises “hints” of elderberries and blueberries. I just hope it’s not overly sweet. I also got a six of Wolaver’s Brown Ale. Wolaver’s is owned by Otter Creek Brewing and produces certified organic beers. I love their Oatmeal Stout, so I’m hoping their Brown Ale is just as good. I’ll let you know (about both beers) when I finish them off.

Near Beer

Well, according to the folks at RealBeer.com over 5000 votes were cast today in the final round of the Battle of the Beers, and Flying Fish came up short by only about 200 votes. Not too shabby. I think that have to be pretty happy to have made it this far.

But hey, the Phillies won!

Battle Of The Beers 2005 - Championship

This is it.

As predicted here, the Battle of the Beers Championship has come down to Cherry Hill NJ's Flying Fish and Delaware's Dogfish Head. It's pretty amazing that Flying Fish has made it this far, but topping Dogfish Head, the two-time reigning champs, is going to be a huge challenge. You know I'm voting for the good folks of Flying Fish (and I can honestly say that, while it's not my favorite beer of theirs, I prefer their Abbey Dubbel over Dogfish Head's 90 Minute Imperial IPA) and hope you will take a moment and vote for them, too.

Battle Of The Beers - Final Four

I have let you down.

I misread the revised tourney schedule and missed the elite eight round. I hope nobody missed my beer commentary too much. The good news coming out of the last round is Flying Fish moved on even without my vote. More good news is that they don't have to face reining champs Dogfish Head in this round of the BoB.

I'm predicting a Flying Fish/Dogfish Head fishy final. Today's picks:

Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA vs. Capital Autumnal Fire
90 Minute couldn't let up in its Elite Eight victory over Midwesterner Three Floyds Dreadnaught and now faces another Midwestern beer. Autumnal Fire has come on strong throughout the tournament, after surviving a first round match with neighboring Huber Bock.

My Vote: I was kind of hoping that Dogfish Head wouldn't make it back to the finals, but I have to admit that I would rather have the 90-minute than the Bock. I could vote for Capital so Flying Fish wouldn't have to face the champs, but I don't think there's any stopping Dogfish Head anyway.

Flying Fish Dubbel vs. AleSmith Speedway Stout
As the microbrewery built on the Internet, Flying Fish developed a loyal following well beyond the area its beer is distributed. By brewing cult classics, AleSmith had done the same. When thinking about the breweries, don't forget the beers themselves.

My Vote: This is too easy. I really wouldn't drink Speedway Stout. I'm kind of  surprised that they've made it this far. Their ride ends here. Fish Fish Fish!

Please Stand By

I have been so busy painting the dining room and other interruptions (like spending six hours driving down to Frederick, MD and back today) that I haven't had much of a chance to respond to comments on the blog. I have been using my breaks to read the comments, but at the end of the day I'm too tired to respond to them. Hopefully I'll get some time to do that this weekend.

Since I'm painting I also haven't had a chance to watch any DVDs this week. I have Steve Martin's Novocaine and Paul Newman's The Hustler in from Blockbuster right now. We did sign up for Netflix and already received Far From Heaven. We canceled Blockbuster but have until May5 to get their movies back to them.

I also wanted to mention that The Long Cut has ended up on John Corzine's blog. Corzine is one of my Senators and is running for governor of New Jersey. We Jerseyites (Jersians?) have been blessed with two very sane and very progressive Senators, so the race I have been watching closely has been the Pennsylvania senate seat now occupied by that national embarrassment, Rick Santorum. I guess I have been taking for granted that Corzine will win the governors race since the Republicans that are running are all chowderheads, most of them former candidates whose previous campaigns have pretty much self-destructed. But I really should be keeping an eye on those shifty conservatives, and I am a little worried about how North Jersey has seemed to lean more to the right since 9/11. I'll probably blog more about the race once the primaries are over.

I haven't been doing the Battle of the Beers because they decided to consolidated a weeks worth of battles into one day, Friday, so I'll have to find time to do that. And since I'm not at work with my MediaPlayer I'll have to come up with some creative way to do the Friday Random Ten.

So that's it. Sorry for the lack of links, but no time no time. Thanks for reading.

Back to painting.

Battle Of The Beers 2005 - Round 3, Day 4

Today's the last day of Round 3 of the BoB, and RealBeer.com has brought back their matchup comments (and they are real talkative today). Yesterday I voted for two local brewers - my favorite, Cherry Hill's Flying Fish moved on, but Downingtown's Victory fell to Ommegang. Today it's porter vs. stout, stout vs. porter. This is tough, I've got a soft spot for both styles.

Today's picks:

Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter vs. AleSmith Speedway StoutFirst off, we too wish that the semifinals included imperial stout vs. imperial stout and porter vs. porter, but the luck of the draw didn't work out that way. It's not like we don't have two porters that can stand up to a stout. After all, we've already described Ed as a stout dressed in porter's clothing, simply intense. Then there's Speedway, very imperial at 12%, plus injected with java. And served in really big bottles. The only thing missing is the Gordon Lightfoot song.

My Vote: Somehow the Edmund Fitzgerald keeps winning my vote. Today it's up against a caffeinated stout (that predated Budweiser's B to the E) and I just don't drink caffeinated drinks. By the way, if you do drink B to the E you'll look like a D to the ORK.

Smuttynose Imperial Stout vs. Alaskan Smoked Porter
They're probably getting ready to brew the annual batch at Smuttynose. Of a previous version, brewer Dave Yarrington wrote: "The big daddy, the high muckity-muck of dark beers. Visions of how brewers get their skewed views from too many late nights dipping tasters and testers into cauldrons of this black addiction." Excuse the bit of nostalgia, but we realized that our first Battle of the Beers (2001) was going to be better than expected when we pitted Smoked Porter against Coors, figuring there was every chance that Coors would win. After Smoked Porter captured 79% of the vote we knew better.

My Vote: This really is a tough one. I like Smuttynose but their brew is a imperial stout and I would rather have a porter than an imperial stout - especially if the porter is Alaskan, a past winner of this tourney.

Bonus Beer Note: In the Food section of today's Philadelphia Inquirer they have a primer on becoming a beer snob.

Battle Of The Beers 2005 - Round 3, Day 3

Yesterday in the BoB, Rogue Dead Guy squeaked out a narrow win and the easy-going Anchor Steam (a favorite of mine) got trounced by a heavy black Bavarian. I think that true beer snobs look down upon the paler ales as somehow less worthy of their praise. I enjoy a pale ale just as much as the more robust beers, if not more.

Today's picks:

Flying Fish Dubbel vs. Allagash 4

My Vote: RealBeer.com (organizers of this tourney) have removed their matchup comments, which I had been including in my posts, for fear that they may be unfairly swaying voters. I disagree but it has made me wonder if my own comments on these battles haven't unduly influenced my readers' vote. So today I will try to be as impartial as I possibly can when I say VOTE FOR FLYING FISH!

Ommegang Hennepin vs. Victory Golden Monkey

My Vote: Both of these beers seem interesting: Hennepin, a farmhouse ale,  with its "Champagne-like effervescence" and Golden Monkey, a tripel, with its "intriguing herbal aroma." I'll go with Victory since it's a local brewery and has a better chance of getting to me fresh.

Battle Of The Beers 2005 - Round 3, Day 2

Fan favorite Arrogant Bastard is gone, trounced by the almighty Dogfish Head 90-Minute yesterday in third round action in the BoB. My other pick, Dreadnaught did move on to the elite eight. I'm starting to think that the 90-Minute has this whole thing won and, just like in any good tourney, I'm rooting against the favorite - no matter how much I like it.

Today's picks:

Rogue Dead Guy Ale vs. Capital Autumnal Fire
Is that a maibock with the glow-in-the-dark label? And what can you say about a beer that is part doppelbock and part Oktoberfest? We may need to sample both again.

My Vote: A bock versus a doppelbock? I have no idea which to pick. I'll have to fall back on the more clever name rule and pick Dead Guy Ale.

Sprecher Black Bavarian vs. Anchor Steam
This happens at this point in the tournament. From Wisconsin, we've got a classic dark Kulmbacher beer, and from California the only beer you can call "Steam." Tough choice.

My Vote: What sounds more refreshing to you, Kulmbacher or Steam? I really want Anchor Steam to go far into the tourney, so I'll go with them.

Battle Of The Beers 2005 - Round 3, Day 1

I again went went three for four in the BoB Thursday, and was surprised to see Speedway Stout beat out Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout (which I voted for). Brooklyn has a larger distribution and is more well-known, plus I thought Brooklyn's chocolate would beat out Speedway's coffee.

The tourney moves into the Sweet Sixteen today and features only two battles a day this week. Today it's three Imperial IPAs and a Arrogant Bastard (Which is funny because after three Imperial IPAs I usually become an arrogant bastard. Okay, I become even more of an arrogant bastard than usual.).

Today's picks:

Arrogant Bastard Ale vs. Dogfish Head 90-Minute Imperial IPA
Dogfish Head puts its 14-match winning streak on the line today against the Bastard. It's a rematch from 2003, when 90-Minute ground out a 52%-48% victory.

My Vote: The rules of the tourney says I'm supposed to pick the beer that I would ask for at a bar. I've already had the Dogfish Head and would really like to try the Arrogant Bastard. I'll take the Arrogant Bastard and hope the bartender understands I'm ordering a beer and not commenting on his personality.

Great Divide Hercules Double IPA vs. Three Floyds Dreadnaught
Great Divide prides itself in being hoppy, but balanced. Three Floyds doesn't doesn't always focus on balance, and touts Dreadnaught as a beer worthy of a journey around the globe.

My Vote: These two high-alcohol Imperial IPAs seem so alike that I have to go on name alone, and Three Floyds wins.

Beer Haul

During the weekend break of the Battle of the Beers that has enthralled Long Cut readers all month long, I thought I’d take time out to talk about … beer. The beer I’ve been drinking lately. Unlike most of the beers in the BoB, these are beers I’ve actually tasted. I bought four-packs of these two beers last month (to complement my ever present Yuengling Traditional) and both were new to me.

I’m often overwhelmed as I stand in front of the beer coolers at Voorhees Discount Liquors. They have a lot of choices that I never see at my local liquor stores, where anything that’s not Coors Light is considered a craft beer. Plus it’s such a pain in the neck fighting the traffic to get out to Voorhees I try to make the most of my rare visits out there. I’m always torn between going with a known favorite and trying something different, between a known brewer and one I’ve never heard of, between a known style and one I’ve never tried. I’m guessing that wine folks go through the same thing.

Allagash White Beer hit the trifecta for me: different, unknown, and untried. It’s unusual for me to go that far out on a limb, especially for an expensive brew like Allagash. What got my attention were the pouring directions on the bottle. Cool! The White Beer is a Belgian Wheat Beer with yeast settled at the bottom of the bottle. You slowly pour out most of the beer, swoosh the bottle around and carefully pour the yeast out so it sits atop the glass. Of the four bottles I poured I only got it right once, although taste-wise I couldn’t tell the difference between the one I got right and the three I didn’t. My opinion of the beer is that it’s a very good beer in a style that I don’t see myself buying a lot of. It was very smooth and had a unique taste that I liked, but not enough to keep buying. Another one of those beers that I had trouble matching up to a dinner.

The other beer I bought last month was Dogfish Head Punkin’ Ale. That’s how they spell it, Punkin’, not Pumpkin. But it is a pumpkin ale, something that I’m always willing to try. I was disappointed with the Smuttynose Pumpkin I had last fall, and sadly I was just as disappointed with the Dogfish Head. I didn’t think either brewer’s Pumpkin had a very pronounced spiciness. Additionally, the Dogfish Head was too fizzy for me. I do wonder if the ale I bought sat around a little too long (I really shouldn’t buy an October seasonal in February).

I lucked out last week and found myself in Voorhees after dropping the seven year old off at a birthday party. After standing in front of those coolers for way too long (yet again), I ended up with a six of Geary’s Pale Ale. It’s been a while since I’ve gone back to my beer drinking roots and picked up a Pale Ale. I think I forget about the Pale Ales because they lack the bells and whistles of fancier styles, but I still love them. I also have a soft spot for beers from Maine and Geary's is out of Portland. I also picked up a six from a Pennsylvania brewer, Stoudt’s. I got their Fest, a martzen style amber lager. Two more brewers I’ve never tried.

Friendly

Happy St. Pat’s Day (what’s left of it). It was kind of an anti-climatic holiday for this Mick (technically half-Mick). The missus and kids are all suffering through various sicknesses, and all three are sporting fevers. Their appetites weren’t very strong, so for an Irish meal I ended up opening a can of Trader Joe’s Beef Stew for dinner as a substitute for Irish Stew. I didn’t even have a stout in the house, so I had to settle for a pale ale (which I did not dye green – how in the world can anyone who claims to love beer do that?). I did talk the boys into making some lemon pudding and dying it green. Nasty looking stuff. Kind of neon-ish. Had two servings.

I wanted to post about last night’s meetup for the Philly bloggers. About twelve of us met-up at Independence Brew Pub in the Reading Terminal Headhouse. I’m pretty sure everyone had a great time. It was cool to finally put faces to names (except for Scott from Blankbaby, who’s the only one amongst us brave enough to post his likeness on his blog – so we already knew what he looked like). Great beer – IBP’s Oatmeal Stout was like a meal, and so fresh tasting. Great conversation - everyone started in like they already knew each other which, thanks to the blogs, they really already did. A lot of great ideas and conversations flying around the table.

I even got to not only see Dragonballyee’s $$$ camera, but look through the viewfinder. I was only kidding when I told him I was more interested in meeting his camera than meeting him (well, mostly kidding). I used to think that if I had a camera like his I could take great pictures like him, but after seeing all the knobs and buttons I doubt I’d even know how to turn the camera on.

The only bad part of the whole night was when I got home I realized that I didn’t chip in for the fries. Next month I’ll pay double, I promise. The funniest part of the night may have been when the barmaid asked me what we were meeting about:

Me: Blogging.
Her: [Vacant Stare]
Me: Blogs?
Her: [Blink]
Me: Weblogs?
Her: [Blink, blink]
Me:Uh...Web stuff?
Her: Oh. [Slowly backs away].

Thanks to Karl (the brains behind the Philly Future site), Scott, and everyone else who had a hand in organizing this get-together. Looking forward to the next one.

[The above photo is from the Commodore Barry statue behind Independence Hall. The image has been heavily Photoshop’d to bring out the Irish in it.]

Battle Of The Beers 2005 - Round 2, Day 4

That's more like it - my picks went three for four in the BoB yesterday. And not only did Cherry Hill's Flying Fish win, they won big, grabbing two-thirds of the vote. Today's battle has a lot of porters and stouts (which have been dominating my beer buys lately) and a couple barley wine (which I can't get myself excited about enough to try).

Today's picks:

Full Sail Old Boardhead vs. Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter
Old Boardhead rolled past a stout (Widmer's Snow Plow, also from Oregon) in the first round, but now must deal with a porter that some have described as a "stout wrapped in porter's clothing." Don't expect the Great Lakes beer to back off a bit.

My Vote: Right off the bat, porter vs. barley wine. I'll go with the Porter.

Alesmith Speedway Stout vs. Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
This is the only stout-to-stout battle of the day. They are both imperial, with Speedway favoring coffee and Black Chocolate favoring, well, chocolate.

My Vote: One stout is made with coffee (which I don't consume) and the other with chocolate (which I often consume). Brooklyn wins.

BridgePort Knucklehead vs. Smuttynose Imperial Stout
Two beers you may not see coming. Knucklehead put the accent on barley in barley wine. If you are thinking black when you our an imperial stout, then Smuttynose will live up to your expectations.

My Vote: This time the barley wine goes up against a stout. This is pretty easy anyway, Smuttynose is a quality brewery.

Alaskan Smoked Porter vs. Hair of the Dog Adam
The 2002 BoB champion better be ready. Adam posted an impressive first round victory over Left Hand Imperial (the beer of the day) Stout. Of course, it wasn't St. Patrick's Day.

My Vote: The Adam is described as a dessert beer. I'll stick with ice cream for dessert and drink the Smoked Porter with my dinner.

Battle Of The Beers 2005 - Round 2, Day 3

Oh boy. For the second straight day only one of my four picks (Anchor Steam) moved on in the BoB yesterday. And once again, the other three were crushed by their competition. Today's matchup includes the good people of Cherry Hill's Flying Fish. Please take a minute and give them your vote. Thanks.

Here are my picks for today:

Celis White vs. Flying Fish Dubbel
The pride of Texas (Celis White) became the pride of Michigan. Flying Fish has always been New Jersey through and through.

My Vote: I'm not sure that saying a beer is "New Jersey through and through" is going to get them any votes. The Fish is South Jersey, through and through. Big difference.

Allagash 4 vs. Russian River Damnation
Four malts, four hops, four sugars, four yeasts - is that enough to overcome Damnation?

My Vote: The Allagash brewing method still intrigues me.

Ommegang Hennepin vs. Maudite
Both beers are better called Belgian inspired than shoved into a style category. Hennepin is brewed in the spirit of farmhouse beers, while Maudite is strong, red and spicy.

My Vote: The Ommegang is a Farmhouse Ale, which is enough to give them my vote.

The Reverend vs. Golden Monkey
The Reverend is the second "quad" of the day to head into action, where the triple-ish Golden Monkey awaits. Four or three?

My Vote: Like the Allagash, the Reverend is a "quad" so I go with that.