Two Month Flashback of Beer

Every now and then I realize that I'm drinking a great beer and in a few months will forget that I even tried it. Its sad, especially when I want to give friends recommendations of good beers to try in a town with slim pickin's. To help remember I created this blog to follow my beer drinking adventures, but sometimes I forget to write them down...guess I'm too busy enjoying life (or need to find an app to write my blog with).

For today my walk down memory lane of the last two months. In May and June I had a number of fantastic beers.

Let me first start with Dogfish Head Fort. This Belgian Ale is brewed with raspberries, a lot of them, and the cute cartoon girl on the front packs quite the punch. Give your car keys to the designated driver, sit back and roll with the punches. Because you won't feel them until your done.

My birthday beer this year was also courtesy of Dogfish Head. While celebrating at the Fermentation Lounge the bartender offered to break open into the case of Squall IPA they had set aside for their blowout Dogfish Head night the following weekend. So my friends ordered me a bottle and such a gift must be shared. This IPA is not too hoppy but the ABV will give you sea legs.

My birthday dessert was a sip of Southern Tier's Creme Brulee. Tasty, but fair warning to only drink in small quantities, unless you enjoy visiting your dentist.

Also don't tell anyone that I had my first glass of Stone Arrogant Bastard. It's a little embarrassing to admit that it took my so long to try. But it lived up to its reputation. This was the last beer I had before heading home so my memory is a bit foggy. Guess I'll have to try it again.

One late night treat was Trade Winds Triple brewed by The Bruery. This unusual beer is a Belgian-style Golden Ale with a Southeast Asian twist. Instead of using candi sugar, rice was used in the mash to lighten the body and increase the gravity, and spiced with Thai Basil. I was hoping for more of a kick from the spice, but I still enjoyed this great summer beer.

The other night I decided to open up one of the beers I've been saving from the beer of the month club (that I had to drop). De Ranke Noir de Dottignies is an enjoyable Belgian Dark Ale from...wait for it...BELGIUM. The sweet 9% is hardly noticeable.

Brewfest Tallahassee

What a shock when I pulled up to my desk to write this entry and realized its been a year since I last blogged about a beer experience. My slacking is not because I've stopped enjoying the finer beers in life, but more about inspiration and life's other priorities.

A big example would be my recent move to Tallahassee with my wife after she accepted a job at Florida State University. So for the past month I've been wondering what is the beer scene like in Tallahassee. I wasn't crazy to think that this small southern city could compare to the beer mecca that Philadelphia has become, but this is an opportunity to check out some of the southern breweries that don't make it up north. When I started a beer and bar search I came across the Brewfest Tallahassee. The Tallahassee Sunrise Rotary organizes the fest as a fundraiser and I believe this is their 4th year doing it. The range of breweries represented seemed pretty good. Although the people at the stands were beer reps and volunteers, none of that meet the brewery opportunities like in Philadelphia. Not like I would let that stop me from checking out the brewfest (and embarrassing enough, its my first). Since it was my first I have nothing to compare it to, so I just went with the flow and had a great time meeting and drinking with people from across the Big Bend area. We all were able to enjoy selections from:

Abita Brewing Company*, Anheuser-Bush/InBev, Bell's, Bending Imports (Distributor), Blue Point Brewing Company, Boulder Beer, Brooklyn Brewery, Cigar City Brewing*, Erie Brewing, Gordon Biersch Brewing, Harpoon Brewery, Kona Brewing, Lazy Magnolia Brewery*, Leinenkugel Brewing, Magic Hat, Magners Irish Cider, Merchant de Vin (importer), Michelob, Narragansett Beer, Orange Blossom*, Oskar Blues Brewery, Red Brick Brewery*, Red Hook Brewery, Republic National (Distributor), Rogue Brewing, Sam Adams Brewery, Sea Dog Brewing Company, Shipyard Brewing Company, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Southern Tier Brewing, Stone Brewing, Summit Brewing, Swamp Head Brewing*, Sweetwater Brewing*, Terrapin Beer*, Victory Brewing, Widmer Brothers Brewing, and WoodChuck Ciders.
(*denotes local brewery)

My beer sampling was limited because Tallahassee is a suburban type city; super limited public transit, roads not safe for biking and not pedestrian friendly. So I was responsible for driving me and my wife home safely from brewfest.

Our sampling was a mixed bag, but a few beers did stand out. And now for the beer list:

Blue Point Toasted Lager
Blue Point Blueberry Ale
Brooklyn Champagne Ale (thumbs up)
Gordon Biersch Uberbeir Cask
Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen
Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale (thumbs up)
Kona Pipline Porter (thumbs up)
Orange Blossom Pilsner
Orange Blossom- Toasted Coconut Porter
Radeberger Pilsner
Red Hook Eisbock 28
Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout (thumbs up)
Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale
Swamp Head Big Nose IPA
Swamp Head Cottonmouth Belgian Wheat
Sweetwater Georgia Brown
Terrapin Rye Pale Ale
Terrapin Hopsecutioner
we also tried beer from Kona or Red Hook that may have been an Amber (thumbs up)

What an initiation into the Tallahassee beer world. I look forward to sharing my experiences and thoughts on my beer explorations in the South.

Thanksgiving Beer Drinking

For Thanksgiving this year the wife and I stayed home to give thanks and enjoy a vegan meal. Nothing like Tofurkey to put you in a food coma, coupled with some local craft brews.

After reading an article about matching beers to Thanksgiving meals in Philly Beer Scene I decided on three beers. While preparing dinner I started with Ommegang Rare Vos. During dinner the Dogfish Head 90 min IPA went well with the tofurkey, sweet potatoes, and mashed potatoes. The meal was finished off with Yards Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale. I was expecting the Tavern Ale to have a pine flavor, but that is Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce Ale, instead it was kinda of sweet and stronger. Pretty good for topping off the night.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving I headed out of the house to get some fresh air and walk around to work up an appetite to finish off the leftovers. A slight detour took me to Monk's Cafe, justified to see how things are going after the temporarily shut down over the summer. To keep from going overboard I limited myself to two beers. Since this was a few days ago I can only remember one of the beers. Taras Boulba is an IPA/hoppy beer. Before giving this beer a try I didn't realize the distinct Saaz hop taste, and I think I'll have to let the taste grow on me.

Saturday was another excuse to get out of the house (for needed a haircut and bank stop) and an opportunity to visit Brauhaus Schmitz. This is Philadelphia's newest (and only) German beer house at 7th and South Sts. I remember a few years ago this building being used as a two floor furniture store with lots of open space. The owners have done a good job reusing the space. The inside is beautiful with all the wood and exposed brick. After entering the front doors I had to pass through this blanket that was hanging down, that I'm guessing was there to keep the cold air from blowing into the bar/restaurant area. I took a seat at the bar and the bartender (dressed in a Dirndl) was ready with the beer menu- an extensive list of German beers, making it diffcult to choose. I ended up with Kostritzer Schwarzbier, a dark larger that went down easy. I could have stayed and drank it all day. This was not the last time that I will be pulling up a seat at the bar.

The final bar stop on my Thanksgiving weekend was McMenamin's Tavern in Mt. Airy. After a Sunday afternoon hike at the Schuylkill Environmental Center with my wife and friends, we wanted to stop for drinks and food. In addition to having the Sly Fox Chester County Bitter, I was able to watch the last 7 minutes of the Eagles game, as they beat the Redskins.

All in all a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

American-Asian Fusion Beer

Over Labor Day my wife and I went to upstate to visit family. The short trip was great because in Syracuse my best friend got married and we were able to visit my cute little niece. Then we took a trip to see my sister in-law and her husband in Rochester. For a couples dinner we went out to California Rollin'. What I did not realize is that they have their own house beers. I tried the Wasabi Brew- a light, American Pale Ale with a great aroma and flavor of the Japanese delicacy; Wasabi horseradish. It was good and had a nice bite at the end.

If you happen to be driving through Rochester and have a craving for sushi, make a detour.

Summary of the Hefeweizen Summer Challenge

The Hefeweizen Summer Challenge ended last night when I cracked open a bottle of Ayinger Brau-Weisse. For the past three months I've posted my thoughts about various beers I tasted for the Summer Challenge on Facebook. Here is a summary to help you choose a beer next time at the bar or te beer store.

1) Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier
2) Schneider weiss Hefe-Weizen
3) Ayinger Brau-Weisse
4) Franziskaner Hefe-Weizen
5) Hofbrau Hefe Weizen
6) Stoudts Heifer-in-Wheat
7) Lilja's Heifer Weizen
8) Sierra Nevada Kellerweis
9) Harpoons UFO
10) Erdinger Weissbrau
11) Magic Hat Circus Boy

Beer with the Boss

This past Monday the Hefeweizen Summer Challenge continued with the assistance of my boss (who was in town for the day). After a day of meetings we decided to head over to the Manayunk Brewery to relax. I steered us towards the Manayunk Brewery because I assumed they would have a Hefeweizen on tap. Lo and behold there was the Whistle Whetting Wheat, and the second beer be part of my challenge. Unfortunately it was slow out of the gates- my beer arrived in a plastic cup and a slice of lemon. Damn you Blue Moon!!

Things did not improve much from there. The beer did not have any head and the spice/cirtus flavor was well hidden. Not that impressed, so time to move on to the next beer in the challenge.

Summer Hefeweizen Beer Challenge

We all know that the summers in Philadelphia can be hot and muggy, and a cool, refreshing beer can transform a bad day into a good one. So this summer I've accepted a friendly beer challenge from myself (I hope to find a few others to join me). The Hefeweizen Summer Challenge will help me survive the heat with its unfiltered, golden color and light citrus flavor.

This is a style of beer that I enjoy, but have not fully explored. So for the next 3 months I'm going to search far and wide for different varieties of Hefeweizens. The trouble for my amateur taste buds will be separating American Wheat Beers from Hefeweizens. Who am I kidding, if I can tell the difference in the spice flavor I'll be surprised. Please excuse my ramblings if I mix up my styles. If I was mistaken comment on the article and I'll stand corrected. For the mean time I will be using the following definitions:

Beer Advocate:
"A south German style of wheat beer (weissbier) made with a typical ratio of 50:50, or even higher, wheat. A yeast that produces a unique phenolic flavors of banana and cloves with an often dry and tart edge, some spiciness, bubblegum or notes of apples. Little hop bitterness, and a moderate level of alcohol. The "Hefe" prefix means "with yeast", hence the beers unfiltered and cloudy appearance. Poured into a traditional Weizen glass, the Hefeweizen can be one sexy looking beer.

Often served with a lemon wedge (popularized by Americans), to either cut the wheat or yeast edge, which many either find to be a flavorful snap ... or an insult and something that damages the beer's taste and head retention."



The first beer in the challenge is the Paulaner Hefe Weizen. This beer hails from Germany and my trip to the Foodery at 10th and Pine was well worth the trip. This standard barer is a good start with its balanced spicy taste, the crisp taste and the great head that formed when poured. I could see myself drinking this all summer, but there are many more to try.