20Jan / 2019

Been too long

First off, I’m sorry to have been away from this for three years. I could make up some bullshit excuse, but honestly, I just grew tired of it. Life has started to even out a little lately, so I’m going to give this another try. Instead of trying to force myself into multiple posts a week like most blogs, I have decided to try to maintain a once a week update, but fully knowing that’s not going to happen and not beating myself up over it.

I’m happy to announce my new endeavor, Sunday Suds. In this reinvented blog, I’m going to take part of my Sunday, when I have the free time, to sit back, relax, and review a brew. Really take my time and enjoy every sip. I realized that over the last few years, I was drinking beer as a way to unwind after the workday, and wasn’t actually tasting the beer. I think that at least a few Sundays a month if I can just focus on the beer I’ll be able to better enjoy my weekday drinks as well. So, for better or worse, here we go!
Sunday Suds #1. January 20, 2019.

As you may recall, one of my favorite ways to buy beer is because I like the name or the packaging art. For SS1, the name won me over. Scottie’s IPA. For a period of my youth, I was known as Scottie (or Scotty, I was a never really sure how people thought to spell it), and while that’s gone, one or two people still call me that on occasion. It may be from a bygone era, but I still embrace the nickname when I have to. But enough about my past.

Moat Mountain Brewing Co., in the Mount Washingotn Valley town of North Conway, NH recently brought this one to market. They report that this is the brewer’s favorite recipe that, over the past eight years, has been honed to balance American and Australian hops. I think they’ve done a fantastic job. This isn’t a very strong smelling beer, giving off only a slight grapefruit accented pine nose. The first sip really opens things up, though. The pine gives way to a pleasant and mild green melon flavor and a slight effervescence that reminds me of the newest wave of haute-couture IPAs, the Brut IPA. (Writer’s note – I’m still on the fence about those).

After a few minutes to warm up from my slightly-too-cold beer fridge, the melon yields to a pleasant hop resin mouthfeel. It’s the right amount. Sometimes the resin sort of sticks to your palate and it dictates the entire beer. This rolls around a little then wears off, allowing the other flavors to be experienced as well. Moat reports this brew to be only 45IBU, but it comes off feeling more like a 65-70. I’ll openly admit that I understand IBU as far as being a 0-100+ scale, but I have no clue how they measure or rate or whatever. I just base my feelings off of other 40-50IBU beers that seem less bitter than this. If anybody out there in interwebsland can enlighten me, I’d be happy to learn something new.

Further into this beer, the flavor is still evolving, with mild lemon and grapefruit coming to the forefront while leaving the melon behind. As the temp comes up more, the resin subsides slightly, leaving a lemon-y tang with the pine. Overall, Scottie’s IPA is an amazing and eclectic beer that deserves any and all praise it receives. The flavor has evolved drastically, and I have thoroughly enjoyed this latest offering from Moat Mountain.

I would 100% recommend Scottie’s IPA to anyone looking for a solid IPA that really shows what the style can offer.

<>BM
P.S. WineyWoman just handed me a Vermont Maple Puffed Corn, uh, thing, and it really complemented this beer!

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15Feb / 2015

Winey Information Resources #1

The internet is full of information, but with so much to sift through, where should you start when looking for information about wine, beer, and other alcoholic goodness? Of course, I would suggest you start with this blog (self-promotion never hurts!), but we are by no means a never-ending vessel of information. I will be doing a series of posts highlighting great resources for information, good books to read, etc. on our favorite subjects.

Our first featured resource is Pinterest.com. I was really surprised to find the great practical information available on Pinterest. Sure, knowing all of the ins and outs of what makes a good wine is important, but sometimes you just want to know the type of wine that goes best with your salmon and risotto for your dinner party or holiday meal!

Pairing Wine, Beer, and Spirits with your Thanksgiving Meal from Pinterest.com

Or, how about how much of each type of alcohol should you buy for your party based on the number of people you’ve invited?

How to buy the correct amount of alcohol for your party.
From Pinterest

Sure, all of this stuff is merely guidance. Maybe you don’t care that Pinot Grigio is the best wine for your Thanksgiving stuffing–you’re going to drink your Malbec regardless of what the little chart says. These charts and infographics are used best when you’re not sure or you need a starting place. They can also be a great place to start experimenting with your alcohol and food pairings. Having the “right” wine can often take an already delicious meal to the next level.

Happy Pinning, dear readers! Just make sure to set a time limit for yourself, or you can spend several hours surfing Pinterest and not even realize it!

Have a great resource for information? Share in the comments!

Winey Woman 🙂

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04Feb / 2015

Long Trail Brewing – Limbo IPA

Spoiler Alert — I know at the start we stated that this blog was going to be for the Average Joe, with no snobbery. I’m breaking that rule on this one.

Limbo IPA is a special new brew from Long Trail. They’ve used a “new variety” of hops, coming from Australia and the Pacific Northwest. Why. Why are they importing hops from across the country and half way around the world??? They’re ruining their “small-town brewery” image here. They could have found a local variety of hops, grown in the northeast, that is comparable to whatever they’re using from around the world (they conveniently don’t mention what “new varieties” they’re using). Many, no, most, of the other breweries I’ve been enjoying lately are clearly proud to let their customers know what hops they’ve used in their beers, but Long Trail is being secretive for some reason.

The beer isn’t bad, despite what my above diatribe may have indicated. There’s a quite strong nose of orange, with a little hint of herbs, too. The first sip offers up a nice hoppy fizziness on the tongue, followed by a slight bitterness. It’s not so bitter that you pucker up and reconsider what you’ve gotten yourself into, however. The overall mouthfeel is smooth with a slight bite from the new “mystery” hops. I did like it, but I’m just disappointed that they couldn’t be bothered to use local ingredients. I’d have to say with this gaff, Long Trail has now graduated from micro-brewery to craft brewer; and I’m sad to see this happen.

<>Beer Man

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28Jan / 2015

Peak Organic–Citrus Saison

This one is different. It’s not at all what I was expecting, and that’s unfortunate. The first whiff after I poured it smelled like Budweiser. Plain old Bud. It even tasted like Bud; with some extra citrus flavors on top. I’m probably not being entirely fair here, as I believe this was intended to be a summer brew for Peak, not a 10-degree day winter drink. I’ll be looking for this one again come summer….try it when the temperature is about 70 degrees higher.

<>Beer Man

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22Jan / 2015

Smuttynose Brewing with Stone Brewing — Cluster’s Last Stand

This beer is great. To start, it pours with a near-perfect head. The first sip starts out with a pleasant hit of malt, balanced with full citrus hops. Like the head I was able to achieve in pouring, the first sip is nearly perfect. This is a wonderful collaboration beer. The bitterness of the hops starts to poke though after a few swallows, but it’s nothing overwhelming; there’s still plenty of sweetness from the malt to keep things in check.

After a while, the bitterness dissipates somewhat, leaving behind a well-rounded beer. I imagine part of this is because the brew has warmed up a little (5-10 degrees maybe?), and partly because it’s got enough of an abv to make a dent in my sobriety as I sit on the couch watching Top Gear and writing this, relaxing after a marathon of a Monday at work. With a “man’s dinner” of steak and potatoes, this beer is excellent as well.

This is an all-around wonderful brew from two powerhouses in the craft/micro-brewery genre. I will definitely be seeking out more bottles quite soon.

<>Beer Man

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16Jan / 2015

Dogfish Head — Kvasir

They describe this one as an ancient ale from a Scandinavian leather-clad priestess who, prior to things like grape wine being invented, insisted on a strong alcoholic mix of grain, fruit, and honey. They based this brew on what a Swedish brewery and a biomolecular archaeologist have uncovered about this “grog.”

It was good. Rather good, in fact. Sort of a “shandy,” but way better. I’m not a fan at all of having grapefruit juice or whatever mixed into my beer, it rather spoils the whole experience for me, effectively ruining both drinks. Kvasir, on the other hand, perfectly balances booze and juice. They’ve sourced lingonberries and cranberries for tartness, as well as cranberry juice, and combined that with birch syrup and honey to sweeten the deal.

The first sniff reveals a huge profile of tart cranberry, followed by a slight sweetness of lingonberry (anyone who’s eaten at furniture super-store Ikea knows what I’m talking about if they’ve had the meatballs meal with lingonberry jam). Anyway, the first sip offers sweetness like a shandy, but still enough “beer taste” to make you not want to pour it down the sink. The subsequent sips continued to provide more insight into this mysterious brew. There was a distinct sharpness from added herbs, along with a perfect sweetness from the syrup and honey. Further into the glass, the honey came to the forefront, allowing the cranberry to take a breather. Towards the end of my glass, I was finding myself disappointed that it was empty, but quite happy I’d experienced all 25.4 fl.oz. of mysterious goodness. If this is what Dogfish Head can do with an ancient recipe, I’m seriously looking forward to what else they can bring to my glass.

<>Beer Man

Kvasir by Dogfish Head

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11Jan / 2015

Harpoon Brewery, Windsor, VT — something a little different this time.

Winey Woman and I decided to visit Harpoon Brewery’s Windsor, VT., location for lunch this weekend. I was smart enough to remember my two empty Harpoon growlers, as I usually find something worth taking home a lot of to share with friends. This visit was no exception. Being a Saturday, the place was PACKED, but even so, the wait for a table was only about 15 minutes. That gave us plenty of time to wander through the retail section to see the new clothing, beer glasses, sunglasses with pop-toppers built in, and of course, plenty of bottled and canned beer.

Harpoon Brewery, Windsor, VT

Upon being seated, our waitress was prompt and knowledgeable about the new beers on tap. Harpoon had two pilot batches ready to serve, Boston Tea Party and Humble Braggert. BTP was described as a porter brewer with black tea, and HB was a double IPA with tons of hops. I opted to get a taste of both, along with ordering one of my seasonal favorites, Long Thaw IPA. The BTP was dark…like really dark. But what did I expect of a porter with black tea? I’m not much of a tea drinker, and when I do, it’ll be herbal or white tea mostly. This one wasn’t something I’d personally seek out, but if you like dark beers with a far amount of bitterness, this one could be right up your alley.

From L to R: Hard Cider, Boston Tea Party, Humble Braggert, and Long Thaw

Humble Braggert, on the other hand, was awesome. So much hoppy goodness in one small sip, I was blown away. Having only had a small taste, I can’t comment on how it’ll hold up throughout an entire pint, but my small taste was enough for me to get a growler to go. Winey Woman got her standard Harpoon Hard Cider, as having Celiacs Disease makes drinking beer a rather unpleasant experience.

Might as well try a few!

WW interjection: Harpoon’s hard cider is decent. Drinkable, but much more like fermented apple juice in taste than a highly developed flavor profile found in some other hard ciders. I much prefer Harpoon’s honey version of their hard cider. They have also done a pilot batch of dry-hopped cider that was truly delicious. Hint, hint, Harpoon!!!

WW enjoying her cider

Our lunches came out looking awesome, I had a BLT with beer battered fries, and WW had a tuna melt on gluten-free bread. Like usual, both meals were great, and we enjoyed our time immensely. As mentioned above, I took home a growler of Humble Braggert, and I also got a fill up of Rich & Dan’s Rye IPA. I remember having this one a few years ago when it was launched, and felt it was time to reacquaint myself with it. I’ll be doing full reviews of both of these sometime soon.

The Beer Garden has a warm atmosphere- a really nice place to grab a brew and some food

Along with Harpoon’s northern location, the light industrial park (Artisans Way) they are in features a distillery and a shop featuring Vermont food products. Since we were there and didn’t have any time constraints, we decided to wander about some. In The Sustainable Farmer, they feature a smorgasbord of local Vermont products ranging from the obligatory maple syrup to cheese, sauces, spreads, and a recent addition – Putney Mountain Winery. Much to our surprise, one of the owners was there, pouring samples of their delicious wines. After having a taste of all eight they had in stock, we picked out two, a cranberry wine and a cassis dessert liquor. Both shall be reviewed shortly by WW and myself.

SILO Distillery- just across the driveway from Harpoon

The other alcoholic offering at Artisans Way is SILO Vodka. A vodka distillery that now offers other options, including bourbon and moonshine. I decided to sample the bourbon and moonshine, as I’d only ever had their vodka, which is amazingly smooth. The moonshine was definitely moonshine, but was clearly thought out. It had a rough taste, but wasn’t so rough that you couldn’t enjoy it. The bourbon, on the other hand, was incredible. So utterly smooth and flavorful, it was possibly the best I’ve ever had. I wanted to buy a bottle, but the price was quite steep, so I guess I’ll have to wait for my birthday or something… 😦

Overall we had an awesome time in Windsor, discovered some new drinks and revisited some old, and I can’t wait to bring you my thoughts on Harpoon’s brews.

<>Beer Man

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11Jan / 2015

White Birch Brewing – Double IPA

Awesome. Despite being a double IPA, it’s really smooth. I was expecting a somewhat harsh brew, but this is well balanced. There’s a big wallop of hops right on the nose, and where a typical heavy IPA hits you with bitterness, this doesn’t. It’s more of a sweet bitter, if that makes sense. There are a bunch of flavors going on – plenty of the obvious sweet citrus from the hops, but also some savory, herbal notes. And it’s right up there on the abv scale, too. Not even half way though the 22oz bottle and I’m feeling pretty good 🙂 Because it’s a big bottle, you don’t have any choice but to nurse it a little, and as it warms up, the beer loses a lot of bitterness, letting the sweet and savory shine, as I’m sure the brewmaster intended.

<>Beer Man

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08Jan / 2015

Throw Back Thursday- Beer Advent Calendar Reviews, Part One

WW: What do you give the man who has everything? I was stumped with shopping for Beer Man for Christmas until I stumbled upon some inspiration on Pinterest- a Beer Advent Calendar! Let’s kindly accept the fact that we’ve lost any religious affiliation to “advent” with this present and instead focus on how I may have made an amazing play for Best Wife Ever. I’ll be posting some of Beer Man’s best from his daily reviews (originally posted on facebook) during the period of his advent calendar each Thursday until we run out 🙂

So instead of a LEGO advent calendar or one of those cheesy “chocolate” ones, this year my awesome wife made, no, built, a beer-a-day calendar. Dec 1 is a special Arrogant Bastard blend. I get to remove the excellent wrapping paper each morning, place the brew in the fridge, then dream about it all day until I can get back home to pop it open. I believe, ladies, that the gauntlet for the best wife ever award has been thrown down.

Spelling Mistakes Intentional

End of Day One Update: I have fully consumed beer #1. Lukcy Basartd as it’s called is quite nice. They call it a dry-hopped beer, but it doesn’t particularly come through at first. The malt profile is “large and in charge” with this one, and at 8.5% abv, it’ll kick your ass. The hops come through as the brew warms up slightly, making for a nicely rounded drink. Having a genuine German stein that will hold 22oz is definitely a must, allowing the beer’s flavor to expand.

<>Beer Man

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07Jan / 2015

Sierra Nevada – Beer Camp – Chico King Pale Ale & Coffee Milk Stout Ale

So here’s a report from Beer Camp…yeah yeah, I know, “What happens at beer camp stays at beer camp”….oh wait, that’s deer camp….but anyway….

I had the fortune of being able to try two of Sierra Nevada Brewing’s “Beer Camp” beers, a special case of one-offs they made to showcase some of their talent and to bring some local as well as far-away flavors to their fans. First I had their Coffee Milk Stout Ale, which is kind of an oxymoron. How can you have a stout ale, exactly? That’s technically two different beers. An ale is medium body and a stout is heavy and dark. Regardless of their creativity, this one was really good. Coffee is my “other woman” besides beer, so combining the pair is, well, kind of what fantasies are made of….but I digress. Sierra did an awesome job on this one, creating a super smooth brew with a perfect coffee flavor, combined with some light sweetness from the added lactose.

Beer Camp- Truth in Advertising

Chico King Pale Ale was described on the bottle as having “plenty of bright, fruit-forward, resinous hop varietals atop a robust malt body,” and boy are they telling the truth here. I’ve never read a label and then actually experienced what they described so precisely. Their choice in hops is a pleasant mix of citrus-heavy as well as other stone-fruit and apple-ish varieties, plus the malt profile is a perfect compliment to balance the fruit. Neither overpowered the other, but both came through independently while still complementing each other. I could definitely add this to my list of sessionable beers without question…if I can find more….

<>Beer Man

Beer Camp

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← Older posts

Beer Man and Winey Woman

Tag Archives: Beer

Been too long

Winey Information Resources #1

Long Trail Brewing – Limbo IPA

Peak Organic–Citrus Saison

Smuttynose Brewing with Stone Brewing — Cluster’s Last Stand

Dogfish Head — Kvasir

Harpoon Brewery, Windsor, VT — something a little different this time.

White Birch Brewing – Double IPA

Throw Back Thursday- Beer Advent Calendar Reviews, Part One

Sierra Nevada – Beer Camp – Chico King Pale Ale & Coffee Milk Stout Ale

Tag Archives: Beer

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