Thanksgiving is only a week away, so, that means Christmas decorations, Hallmark movies and Christmas music have been going up/on for several weeks! No wonder I drink!
I have found three stand out holiday beers, so far. An oldie but goodie is Ayinger Celebrator. It is a great spiced beer complete with an ornament on the bottle. At 6.7% it will warm you on the chilly nights. The next is the 2019 version of Anchor’s Christmas Ale. In my opinion this is their best one yet, and they have been brewing Christmas Ales for many years. Wonderful aroma and spiced taste!
Third is a Cranberry Berliner from Jack’s Abby. This is a highly refreshing Gose perfect for Thanksgiving when the oven is on all day.
Finally, for dessert on Turkey Day, may I recommend Prairie Artisanal’s Rainbow Sherbet?
Another refreshing Gose with strawberry and banana notes.
Happy Holidays
Cheers!
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Discovery
As fall, and it’s cooler temperatures, rolls in, I have gotten to do some exploring while in search of fall colors. My first discovery was Riverside Brewing Company in Cambridge Springs, Pa. A fire leveled a magnificent old hotel and dinner theater a few years back. Rising from the ashes is a new brewery. It is magnificent! The architecture is awesome. Food and beer is great. There is a brunch on Sunday, often with live music. If you are within an hours drive of it, it is worth the trip.
My next new find was Bradford Brew Station in Bradford, Pa. Again, very nicely done. It pays homage to the oil industry in the area with very cool pictures and decor. Also, again, great food and beer. It is also worth the drive. You can combine it with a drive to the Kinzua Bridge Museum!
Finally, it looks like a local brewery, Bent Run, will finally be opening in its
new Warren location next month! Can’t wait! Cheers!
My next new find was Bradford Brew Station in Bradford, Pa. Again, very nicely done. It pays homage to the oil industry in the area with very cool pictures and decor. Also, again, great food and beer. It is also worth the drive. You can combine it with a drive to the Kinzua Bridge Museum!
Finally, it looks like a local brewery, Bent Run, will finally be opening in its
new Warren location next month! Can’t wait! Cheers!
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
A new season!
Football, I mean fall, is here. Most of our travel for the year is out of the way. That’s good. Now I can enjoy football, I mean fall. I made two amazing beer discoveries this year. The first was Marathon’s 26.2. It was brewed to be a refreshing post marathon recovery drink. It has Mongolian Sea Salt to help with the recovery. Well, I have never run a marathon, and never will, but, this is a great beer after a bicycle ride, mowing the lawn or even during/after a round of golf on a hot day! At 4%, it’s light and refreshing. It must be tried. Marathon, I believe, is a project by Boston Beer aka Samuel Adams.
The second discovery was not really a revelation to me! It was Trophy Brewing’s Trophy Husband!
I knew someone would brew a beer to honor me someday! Actually, this was the second. Southern Tier brewed a beer a few years back and named it Steve! But Trophy Husband was true, and accurate. I must admit I bought this very good Witbier for the can. It sits proudly on my wife’s mantel. I had to put it there, but still, it’s there! But, the fact that it was excellent was a real bonus!
Cheers!
The second discovery was not really a revelation to me! It was Trophy Brewing’s Trophy Husband!
I knew someone would brew a beer to honor me someday! Actually, this was the second. Southern Tier brewed a beer a few years back and named it Steve! But Trophy Husband was true, and accurate. I must admit I bought this very good Witbier for the can. It sits proudly on my wife’s mantel. I had to put it there, but still, it’s there! But, the fact that it was excellent was a real bonus!
Cheers!
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Dog days of summer.
Summer arrived late, but it did arrive. This is a great beer drinking season! I, personally, like the lighter, lower alcohol beers available this time of year. My long time summer go to has been Schoefferhofer Hefe Grapefruit. At a light 2.5% these are truly crushable on a hot summer day!
Burial’s Inner Tube at 3.5% is also crushable and very refreshing. Wicked Weed’s Uncle Rick’s Pilsner, although 5.1% is a very refreshing beer. The latter two are from NC, while the former is from Germany. Casita’s Uno Mas is a Mexican Style Lager. One of the best I’ve had. It, too, is from NC. And, a great summer beer. Today beer is yet another NC beer - NoDa’s Margarita. Another very refreshing beer and just 4%. And it does taste like a Margarita. But, my best NC discovery was Blue Blazes’ Pink Blaze. This is an outstanding Hefe scoring a rare AA from me. I think I’ll be making a return trip to NC, soon!
Cheers!
Burial’s Inner Tube at 3.5% is also crushable and very refreshing. Wicked Weed’s Uncle Rick’s Pilsner, although 5.1% is a very refreshing beer. The latter two are from NC, while the former is from Germany. Casita’s Uno Mas is a Mexican Style Lager. One of the best I’ve had. It, too, is from NC. And, a great summer beer. Today beer is yet another NC beer - NoDa’s Margarita. Another very refreshing beer and just 4%. And it does taste like a Margarita. But, my best NC discovery was Blue Blazes’ Pink Blaze. This is an outstanding Hefe scoring a rare AA from me. I think I’ll be making a return trip to NC, soon!
Cheers!
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Canadian Craft Beer
Cweed and I just completed a trip to the Maritime Provinces of Canada and Quebec City. A great trip! Craft beer in Canada is growing as fast as here in the US! Upstreet, Unibroue, Noctem Artisans, Gahan and Copper Bottom are all names to remember on such a trip. And there were many others! The biggest surprise was a beer from Moosehead! Their “Alpine” was a great refreshing beer. For a long time, it was only available in Nova Scotia but now they seem to be sharing better. The highlight of the beer portion of the tour was in Quebec. I stumbled upon Alafut brewery. Their wild ales, namely Dolgo a Gogo and Boulet Funky were awesome. Definitely worth seeking out. Hoping to get back in December for the Christmas Market. What a present that would be! Cheers!
Friday, May 10, 2019
I’m a brewer!
So, virtually every time I tell my “beer story”, the question is asked, do you make your own beer? Until now, the answer has always been, no, it doesn’t interest me. Too much work. I liken it to a carpenter remodeling a room. First there is demolition, then construction. Demolition is often brute force with not a lot of finesse. Construction involves a lot of skilled finish work. I am better at demolition! And, my guess is that I am better at drinking beer than making it!
So, to see if I was right, and to be able to say that I had brewed, I contacted a friend that owns a beer supply store and asked if I could use his equipment to brew a batch. I brewed a batch of Weed’s Killer Kolsch. I choose that name because I figured, worst case, it would kill me, or, best case, it would be “killer” good. Time would tell. Without the boring details, it turned out that my vision of brewing was right on. There was measuring, reading gauges, mixing and, occasionally, reading directions. It was like finish work. The most fun was bottling and capping. That was more like demolition. The process ended yesterday with the first tasting. It was good! Now I know where the interest in brewing comes in. I made a good beer! But still, it’s one and done for me. Too much detail.
Glad I did it. Never again! The best thing about beer is drinking it. I’m thankful that talented people like to brew beer! Cheers!
So, to see if I was right, and to be able to say that I had brewed, I contacted a friend that owns a beer supply store and asked if I could use his equipment to brew a batch. I brewed a batch of Weed’s Killer Kolsch. I choose that name because I figured, worst case, it would kill me, or, best case, it would be “killer” good. Time would tell. Without the boring details, it turned out that my vision of brewing was right on. There was measuring, reading gauges, mixing and, occasionally, reading directions. It was like finish work. The most fun was bottling and capping. That was more like demolition. The process ended yesterday with the first tasting. It was good! Now I know where the interest in brewing comes in. I made a good beer! But still, it’s one and done for me. Too much detail.
Glad I did it. Never again! The best thing about beer is drinking it. I’m thankful that talented people like to brew beer! Cheers!
Friday, April 5, 2019
It’s been a Grimm week!
I had fun a couple of months ago with Trappist week so I thought I’d try a week of beers by the same brewer again. This week it was Grimm Artisanal Ales from Brooklyn, NY. Beer Snob, a favorite beer bar near me, was featuring several offering from Grimm so that’s what I focused on.
The week got off to a less than exciting start, on Sunday, with Skyspace, a sour, measuring in at 5%. On the Weed scale, it was an OK C+. Monday was a better day with Super Spruce, a gose, at 4.7 %. This beer was very refreshing with a hint of spruce. I scored it an A. Tuesday I selected Psychokinesis. This was a 5.3 % sour ale. Very good and it, too, earned an A. On Wednesday I drank Niceties, another Sour, measuring 6%. At a B+, it didn’t hit me like the previous two days, but it was good! For my selection on Thursday, I chose Topos, a 5% Pilsener. It was a very refreshing, easy drinking beer. On the Weed scale, it scored an A. No matter how Friday and Saturday were going to be, this was already a good beer week! Friday brought about Midheaven, a 6% Farmhouse Ale. It was a good one and scored a solid B. Saturday was Galaxy Pop, a 4.8% Berliner Weisse. This tart style beer in one of my favorite styles. It did not disappoint as it scored a not often given AA! Great finish to a Grimm week!
Also this week, I finally brewed my own batch of beer. That will be the topic next months blog! Cheers!
The week got off to a less than exciting start, on Sunday, with Skyspace, a sour, measuring in at 5%. On the Weed scale, it was an OK C+. Monday was a better day with Super Spruce, a gose, at 4.7 %. This beer was very refreshing with a hint of spruce. I scored it an A. Tuesday I selected Psychokinesis. This was a 5.3 % sour ale. Very good and it, too, earned an A. On Wednesday I drank Niceties, another Sour, measuring 6%. At a B+, it didn’t hit me like the previous two days, but it was good! For my selection on Thursday, I chose Topos, a 5% Pilsener. It was a very refreshing, easy drinking beer. On the Weed scale, it scored an A. No matter how Friday and Saturday were going to be, this was already a good beer week! Friday brought about Midheaven, a 6% Farmhouse Ale. It was a good one and scored a solid B. Saturday was Galaxy Pop, a 4.8% Berliner Weisse. This tart style beer in one of my favorite styles. It did not disappoint as it scored a not often given AA! Great finish to a Grimm week!
Also this week, I finally brewed my own batch of beer. That will be the topic next months blog! Cheers!
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Low news week.
So, it’s early March. Bad time for beer writing. Between seasons and no holidays upcoming. Well, I guess St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday. But, beer wise, SPD can be summed up with one word - Guinness!
I guess I can talk about a comment that about 10 -20% of my followers had after last blog. (Keep in mind that 10 - 20% totals 1)
Who determines what the best ever beer is? Good question!
Well who determines who the best baseball player ever is? People with opinions! In the baseball case, the age of the opining person is a variable. So is his favorite team. And, what determines the best player? Offensive skills? Defensive skills? Home runs? Batting average? Talk about subjective!
With beer, it’s simple - an individual’s taste buds is the only variable.
So, my answer would be that when thousands and thousands of beer drinkers, beer writers, etc. all with different taste buds, say that Westvleteren 12 is the best beer ever, it’s probably pretty close! It certainly is in my book. That’s IPA lovers, stout lovers, gose lovers, etc. agreeing on somthing! Best by a wide margin? Not necessarily. But the best! But then, I’ve only had a about 3600 different beers. What do I know.
Cheers!
I guess I can talk about a comment that about 10 -20% of my followers had after last blog. (Keep in mind that 10 - 20% totals 1)
Who determines what the best ever beer is? Good question!
Well who determines who the best baseball player ever is? People with opinions! In the baseball case, the age of the opining person is a variable. So is his favorite team. And, what determines the best player? Offensive skills? Defensive skills? Home runs? Batting average? Talk about subjective!
With beer, it’s simple - an individual’s taste buds is the only variable.
So, my answer would be that when thousands and thousands of beer drinkers, beer writers, etc. all with different taste buds, say that Westvleteren 12 is the best beer ever, it’s probably pretty close! It certainly is in my book. That’s IPA lovers, stout lovers, gose lovers, etc. agreeing on somthing! Best by a wide margin? Not necessarily. But the best! But then, I’ve only had a about 3600 different beers. What do I know.
Cheers!
Saturday, February 2, 2019
Trappist Week
Picking a favorite style is nearly as hard as picking a favorite beer! But, one of my favorite styles is Trappist Ale. So this past week I designated as WBM Trappist Ale Week!
Sunday I led off with Westvleteren Blond. This was an incredible beer and most certainly world class. I was mildly diappointed on Monday with my Westvleteren 8. Not that it was not a great beer, it was. It was just that the blonde set the bar so high. I guess I had expected each one to be better than the previous. Tuesday was the day I had looked forward to for years, literally! Westvleteren 12. The legendary Trappist Ale. It did not diappoint! I can now answer the question - if you were stranded on a desert island with only one beer .......? Each of theses beers were from Belgian Abbeys.
Wednesday was for the Tre Fontane Tripel from Italy. Thursday was Stift Endelszell Nivard from Austria. The week wrapped up with an American Trappist Ale from Spencer, MA on Friday and then Zundert 8 from The Netherlands on Saturday. What a tasty (and expensive) week! The Stift Endelszell beer was an “A” in my book. Sadly, it was the one I liked the least! The rest I had to create an “AA” category for. They were simply awesome. Cheers!
Sunday I led off with Westvleteren Blond. This was an incredible beer and most certainly world class. I was mildly diappointed on Monday with my Westvleteren 8. Not that it was not a great beer, it was. It was just that the blonde set the bar so high. I guess I had expected each one to be better than the previous. Tuesday was the day I had looked forward to for years, literally! Westvleteren 12. The legendary Trappist Ale. It did not diappoint! I can now answer the question - if you were stranded on a desert island with only one beer .......? Each of theses beers were from Belgian Abbeys.
Wednesday was for the Tre Fontane Tripel from Italy. Thursday was Stift Endelszell Nivard from Austria. The week wrapped up with an American Trappist Ale from Spencer, MA on Friday and then Zundert 8 from The Netherlands on Saturday. What a tasty (and expensive) week! The Stift Endelszell beer was an “A” in my book. Sadly, it was the one I liked the least! The rest I had to create an “AA” category for. They were simply awesome. Cheers!
2019 begins
Hoppy New Year!
Bent Run Brewing, our local brewery, scored a first place and two third places at the 2019 Farm Show in Harrisburg. Congrats to owners Phil and Denise Caudill! Great people brewing great beer!
I happened to stumble on BrewDog’s Jet Black Heart, a milk stout, recently. Wow! If you haven’t tried it - do so ASAP! Nice roasted malt flavors of coffee and chocolate.
Another recent great find was Evil Twin’s Don No! It is a Beliner Weisse with some mango and pineapple thrown in. Gotta remember that this summer!
Keep warm on the upcoming cold nights with a selection of winter warmers. If you need a suggestion or two, Deschutes Jubelale and East End’s Snow Melt winter ale good ones to start with.
Cheers!
Winter
It’s December, and that means Christmas is not far away. So it’s a safe bet I’m drinking a Christmas Ale as I write this. I am - Anchor Brewing’s 2018 Christmas Ale. One of their best, in my opinion. It is subtly spiced and, at 6.9% is definitely a winter warmer! Anchor changes their recipe every year so it’s fun to anticipate the new offering each year. If you store your beer ice cold (why???) you need to let this warm up some before the flavor really pops! If you can’t find Anchor, Bell’s has a good alternative with their Christmas Ale. It is classified as a Scottish ale. Another good bet is Great Lakes Christmas Ale. It’s a winter warmer st 7.5%. But, IMHO, the standard for Christmas Ales goes to St. Bernardus. It is a Belgian Quad and is 10% but you don’t know it - until you stand up!
By the way, the Anchor 2018 Christmas Ale is my unique beer number 3500!
Merry Christmas!
Cheers!
Fall
Leaves are falling. Nights are cooling. Won’t be long until the high test beers get my attention - for those cold winter nights. But, in the meantime, I’ve scored some real winners. In addition to the Pumpkin and Marzen beers I mentioned last month, the creme de la creme for this month has been Cuvee d’or Rouge, an oak aged sour from Jack’s Abbey. I tried one from the local Mobil gas station (everybody buys great beer from gas stations, right) called them the same day and ordered 10 more. Truly outstanding! Another great one was The Lost Abbey’s Red Poppy. It is a barrel aged ale with cherries and poppy seeds. A third noteworthy beer was Grevensteiner by C&A Veltins from Germany. It describes itself as a”smooth rural-style beer”, whatever that means. All I can say for sure is that it was VERY good. At 5.2 % ABV, it was easy drinking and refreshing. October is going to be a hard act to follow, for sure.
So, once again, football season is upon us! That means Marzen, Spiced and Pumpkin beers are in the stores! My favorite beer season! A new high for the former style is the collaboration between Sierra Nevada and Weihenstephaner. Their Oktoberfest is not only the best Festbier I have ever had, but one of the best beers of any style! About what you would expect from one of the premier U.S. brewers and the oldest, and one of the best, brewers in the world. It is truly outstanding!
You into pumpkin ales? Then, Uinta Pumpkin Ale is for you! While not, for my taste buds, as good as the pumpkin offerings from Captain Lawrence and Elysian, this is a very good Pumpkin Ale. One that I will certainly buy again.
This beer season is complicated by football! In addition to which beer to drink I have to decide which game to watch - a new kind of beer pairing!
I’m back!
So, it has been a loooong time since my last blog. Retirement got in the way! After 12+ years of retirement, I have now gotten into a routine!
Last Wednesday, August 15, I was in the beer section of Giant Eagle in Indiana, PA. I abruptly stopped at an end cap and couldn’t believe my eyes. There was a big display of pumpkin and Octoberfest beers! In August! Kind of like Christmas music before Thanksgiving.
In past years I would have been excited, but this year I am coming off a GREAT summer of Fruit, Gose and Sour beers. I hate to see this season end. There was a great fruit beer offering from Boulevard Brewing that I enjoyed immensely - Jam Band. Also, there were some wonderful Goses and Sours from Destihl Brewing and Mikkeller Brewing, amongst others.
But, I gave in to my desires and grabbed Elysian Brewing’s Night Owl, a pumpkin ale. Really glad I did. As good as Southern Tier’s Pumking but with a lower ABV. So, I guess I can say goodbye to my summer favorites, after maybe drawing it out a little bit longer, and welcome the fall brews!
Cheers!
Last Wednesday, August 15, I was in the beer section of Giant Eagle in Indiana, PA. I abruptly stopped at an end cap and couldn’t believe my eyes. There was a big display of pumpkin and Octoberfest beers! In August! Kind of like Christmas music before Thanksgiving.
In past years I would have been excited, but this year I am coming off a GREAT summer of Fruit, Gose and Sour beers. I hate to see this season end. There was a great fruit beer offering from Boulevard Brewing that I enjoyed immensely - Jam Band. Also, there were some wonderful Goses and Sours from Destihl Brewing and Mikkeller Brewing, amongst others.
But, I gave in to my desires and grabbed Elysian Brewing’s Night Owl, a pumpkin ale. Really glad I did. As good as Southern Tier’s Pumking but with a lower ABV. So, I guess I can say goodbye to my summer favorites, after maybe drawing it out a little bit longer, and welcome the fall brews!
Cheers!
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