Holy wow, this is a bitter beer. And I like me some bitter.
I would have said this was an IPA, not a Pale Ale, because it is so loaded with what I am pretty sure are Cascade hops. It’s has the kind of bitter that sticks to the back of your tongue and keeps you from being able to taste anything else. The only flavor you get out of it is the bitter. It has lost all of the fruit and nut of a good pale ale.
So if you plan on doing any kind of beer or food tasting I highly recommend you have this beer last (or never).
Mind you, I am not saying I hate it. I just think everyone should be prepared for this one – work up to it, maybe do a little stretching first.
That didn’t keep me from drinking the whole thing. But wow, just wow!
Filed under: Beer, Drink local on March 27th, 2010 | No Comments »
I felt the need to give a shout out to our friends at Sierra Nevada Brewery. They are celebrating their 30th year of operation and I think that deserves a moment.
They were a pivotal player in bringing craft brewing to the masses. They fought the good fight against the distributors and the Big Three to get their beers out there. And when so many other small brewers went big and in turn lost what made them unique (Sam Adams, I’m looking at you), Sierra Nevada was willing to lose sales rather than increase their batch sizes and risk their flavor.
On the more personal side, Sierra Nevada has always been my go-to beer. It is consistently good without being boring. I always know I will enjoy it. They helped me develop a taste for hops for which I am eternally grateful. I don’t know how I lived without hops in my life before!
So raise a glass of your favorite Sierra Nevada beer and give thanks to these amazing folks who have dedicated so much of their lives to our favorite libation!
Thanks guys!
Filed under: Beer, Drink local on March 24th, 2010 | No Comments »
This was the second beer I had at the lovely River City Brewing Company restaurant in picturesque Jacksonville, Florida (what a view, see my review of the Kentucky Bourbon Triple Ale to see a pic). It was very mellow like a typical pale ale. I found it a bit light on the hops, but then I am quite a hop freak! It also had a bit of that syrup-sweet aftertaste that some ales get that I am not overly fond of.
The good news is that it went very well with the main course that I chose to have that day – a nice Louisiana Po’ Boy sandwich with shrimp instead of oysters. I had been told that the sauce on the sandwich was pretty spicy so I opted to get it on the side. Turns out it was not so spicy. But like I said, it went very well with my beer choice.
Overall I would say this beer was good, but not great. I’ve definitely had better.
However, if you ever make it to Jacksonville city proper, give this restaurant a try. You’ll like the beer, the service and the food. And you’ll love the view.
Filed under: Beer, Food on March 21st, 2010 | No Comments »
Here’s the second beer from the Flying Dog Bitch Session at Policy.This followed the Brooklyn Lager and the snifter of Dog Schwartz
B*tch in a bottle
Tons of floral and citrus notes. Lovely amber color. Belgian flavor comes through on tasting but doesn’t linger long. A nice, hoppy beer that satisfies. At 8.3 percent, maybe not the best choice for a Thursday night. But still tasty.
Filed under: Beer, Drink local, Food, Tasting notes on March 18th, 2010 | No Comments »
I have to begin this post by telling you that I am a native of New England – the New Hampshire seacoast area to be exact. And one of my biggest pet peeves is when someone outside of New England tries to serve one of our traditional dishes with their own flourish and say it is a true New England dish. I don’t care if you change our recipes, just be honest about it. And I have never found any restaurant in the DC area that serves good, pure New England seafood dishes except Boston Legal, and they are way too expensive!
But now there is a little bar on 8th Street in SE that has the most wonderful Lobster Bisque I have had in years. It is buttery, creamy, lobstery goodness with just enough spice to warm you on a cold wintry day.
I had a bowl just after Snowmageddon (AKA Snowmygod or Snowpocolypse) 2.0 and I swear for a moment I was back in North Hampton, NH with family.
I highly recommend this to anyone who might be in the area and looking for a good, inexpensive lobster dish, or just some great soup.
Filed under: Food, Not beer on March 16th, 2010 | 1 Comment »
I recently had the privilege of the most awesome and relaxing vacation in the Jacksonville, Florida area. I was watching my sister’s home and pets while she and her entire brood were off to the wilds of NH to see other family. It was awesome! I had the whole house to myself and access to her vehicle with GPS built in. I was totally free (not that I don’t love my sister and her family, but 3 kids are not a vacation!).
So for the first time I took a little solo trip into Jacksonville proper (my sister lives in a suburb out near St. Augustine) and found myself a wonderful brew pub called River City Brewing Company. They were located right on the river and, boy, what a stunning view! 
It doesn’t hurt that they also had a very nice waiter that was knowledgeable about beer in general and their beers specifically. My first beer choice I think impressed him – I don’t think he expected the respectable looking blond lady to order such a big beer for lunch!
The beer of which I speak was this lovely little big beer (12% – 14% ABV) called the Kentucky Bourbon Trippel Ale. The color was the most spectacular amber jewel tone and the flavor was smooth and malty. But I was a little surprised, and disappointed, that the bourbon was not more pronounced (it is actually brewed with bourbon, not aged in a bourbon cask as you might expect). And on it’s own it was a bit underwhelming.
Then they brought me my Caesar salad appetizer and all of the flavors of the beer exploded to life. Suddenly there was bourbon, and fruit, and just enough bitter hops to make your tongue sit up and take notice. It really doesn’t hurt that this was the best Caesar salad I have had in a long time. When the beer got added to the mix it just made my day! What a great way to kick off a vacation!
Filed under: Beer, Food on March 14th, 2010 | No Comments »
Sitting in McGinty’s pub. We ordered one Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and one Redhook ESB (extra special bitter). Comparing the two is an interesting exercise. Sierra is crisp with a little sweet, coppery note. The ESB has a great hop bite, almost as bitter as the Sierra, but a totally different character. Sierra has all the West Coast hop notes. ESB features more subtle hoppiness. Your thoughts?
Filed under: Beer, Tasting notes on March 14th, 2010 | No Comments »
My sister and I picked this up at a great store in NJ. HUGE selection of really cool beers. They have one aisle of large bottles and six packs. I almost unpacked my bags and moved into that aisle.
Not the fruit beer you were looking for. And that's ok.
But on to the beer: Pale, cloudy ale. Sour berry nose. Cidery flavor at the first taste. Bitter apple in the middle. Cream ale at the end.
I liked it. Very refreshing. Would be great with stew or a roast chicken with root vegetables. I think. I just drank it on its own. Damn fine.
Filed under: Beer, Tasting notes on March 6th, 2010 | No Comments »
Quick notes from the Flying Dog Bitch Session. They featured three beers: Raging Bitch 4, Garde Dog Bier de Garde, and Dog Schwartz.
I wanted to try Dog Schwartz first. The idea of a smoked double lager intrigued me. However, tap issue thwarted my plans. After a Brooklyn lager, the bartender brought over a snifter of the Schwartz: Lovely mocha head. Huge smokey nose. Black in color. Not heavy at all! Crisp flavor. The smoke lingered nicely.
There’s a picture on my phone. How to get it out? May require more beer.
Filed under: Beer, Drink local, Tasting notes on March 4th, 2010 | No Comments »
We are smack in the middle of Snopocalypse 2010. More than half of the pubs and bars on H St were open for business! We hit Little Miss Whiskey’s for a Stone IPA and Founder’s Dirty Bastard (fabulously brown sugar-y). Then we slopped through the accumulated inches to the H St Country Club for a round of 60 Minute IPA and minigolf. Several snowball fights were underway on the way home.
Stay safe, folks. Hope you have plenty of good beer in the fridge!
Filed under: Drink local on February 5th, 2010 | No Comments »
Holy wow, this is a bitter beer. And I like me some bitter.
