Since today is the first day back to work for many after the long holiday weekend and is also what many have now come to call “Cyber Monday”, I thought it would be fitting to write up a fun post to get you in the holiday spirit. And one which would hopefully prove helpful to some. Without further adieu, here are (only in some sort of order; it’s not exact) the Top 10 Gifts for…
Needless to say, I was really excited when a friend who was up visiting from Massachusetts recently brought with him a bottle of Newport Storm (Coastal Extreme Brewing Co.) Luke. ‘Cause, well, that’s me. So maybe, given the beer’s name, I’m a little biased as I write my review. But regardless, this was one damn tasty brew! The bottle describes the beer as an “India Style Red Ale” but at an ABV just shy of…
Needless to say, I’m a big advocate of beer rather than wine ’round the Thanksgiving dinner table. And I’ve written about it at Thanksgiving time every year the blog’s been around (last year’s post here). And the fact remains, if you want to wax traditional this holiday, than wine has no place at the Thanksgiving feast. The Pilgrims, after all, drank tankards of ale with their meal. It’s even been suggested that the reason the…
Just a quick request for recommendations: I’m going to be traveling through both the Washington D.C. and Baltimore Metro areas (and everywhere in between) next week from Wednesday through Sunday visiting family. I already know of some of the on-premise places I plan to hit — The Brickskeller, Olney Ale House, and Franklin’s in Hyattsville — but it’s been awhile since I’ve done a beer trek through that neck of the woods so can any…
The good folks at Redhook sent me a bottle — yes, FTC the bottle and the glass were both free — of their newest limited release bomber, the Treblehook Barleywine-style Ale. Redhook really did up the packaging right, including the accompanying snifter-style “limited release” glassware from drinking the beer from. The one thing I’m not sure about, however, is whether or not this is a redesign of the existing Treblehook or not. Maybe it’s just…
“When Garrett Oliver told us that he could drink 5 of them — which means he likes a beer — I knew we had something”.
That’s what David from Maine Beer Co. told me over a couple rounds at Novare last night. And that’s exactly what Maine Beer Co. has – something great going for them.
The Maine Beer Company is Maine’s newest brewery, currently situated somewhere between elaborate home brewery and professional set up (in a realm often referred to as a “nano brewery” although they are quickly outgrowing the distinction); they brew their beers on a one barrel system and ferment in a 7 bbl tank (the only professional piece of equipment they have at the moment). The brewery is the dream of two brothers — Dave and Dan — which began just about four years ago when Dan was interning at a law firm in town where one of the partners, an avid homebrewer, offered beer classes and education for all of the interns. Just after the internship ended, Dan and his brother began homebrewing; first a few extract batches and then some all-grain batches on borrowed equipment. It’s safe to say they were hooked.
Over the following few years, after dozens of variations, the pair drafted and perfected the recipe which would go on to become the brewery’s first and flagship beer – Spring Peeper Ale. A West Coast-style hoppy pale ale which they describe as,
A clean, dry, bottle conditioned ale. Its color is light, it has a moderate amount of American hops and its malts are all American. It has excellent head retention and a nice fruity hop aroma. Alcohol 5.5%.
This will be a two-part posting. The first part (this part) is an introduction to a beer I received in the mail a few days ago. The second part will be my own personal review of the beer. But this is definitely a one-of-a-kind brew that needs a little more of an upfront introduction. So here goes: The folks at Scotland’s BrewDog (the weirdest name of a brewery I’ve ever heard…) sent me a bottle…
As I sit here on a crisp autumnal Sunday afternoon flipping back-and-forth between the Red Sox and Patriots games and munching on some homemade nachos, I decided to dive into the bottle of Magic Hat Odd Notion (Fall ’09) which was sent to me by the brewery a few days ago. The Burlington, VT-based brewery describes their Fall ’09 Odd Notion as a, Belgian Chocolate Stout… a fitting final nail in summer’s coffin. Five different…
I love fall. I love fall beers. When a brewery gets a pumpkin-flavored beer right, I love pumpkin beers. One brewery to get their pumpkin beer right is, of course (because they get everything right), the good folks at Dogfish Head. I picked up a couple of bottles of the Dogfish Head Punkin’ Ale at Treats in Wiscasset on my way back to Portland from our cottage in New Harbor and enjoyed them before dinner…
If you’ve ever spent any time in Maine right around this time of year than you already know, Shipyard Brewing’s Pumpkinhead is BIG here. Like huge. To the point where, even though it’s far from my favorite pumpkin beer (or even my favorite Shipyard ale), even I succumb to the temptation a few times each autumn. But even more than Pumpkinhead itself, I like the idea of Pumpkinhead a lot – I guess it’s because…