Archive for the ‘Road Trips’ Category

January27

TDY Visits Enemy Territory

By: Mark Wanczak

When I typically suggest to friends that they should visit Northeast Ohio, I typically receive the response below:

Ohio

But after the Steelers were eliminated from the NFL playoffs, I thought that I had a shot to convince The Drunk Yinzer (TDY) to visit, since TDY wouldn’t have any sports to look forward to (before the NHL resolved the lockout). I was generally concerned that they would travel to Birmingham Bridge and plunge into the depths of Monongahela.

Who else can sympathize with TDY and their recent depression regarding Pittsburgh sports? A non-Pittsburgher! More specifically, a Cleveland sport fan.

Cleveland embraces mediocrity and celebrates .500 seasons. The Browns have never made it to the Super Bowl. The Indians haven’t won a World Series since 1948 (second longest drought behind the Cubs). And the Cavs? I’d rather not discuss the Cavs right now. To top it off, the last time the Browns were in the playoffs, the Browns lost three times to the same team in the same season (I think a first in NFL history).

How do Cleveland fans deal with mediocrity and depression? Beer. Lots of it.

Thankfully, Cleveland is a drinking town with a football problem and without the Browns in the playoffs, Cleveland refocuses on the drinking.

I decided to share my wisdom with TDY and take the risk to invite them for a weekend in Northeast Ohio.  To encourage TDY to leave the safety of western Pennsylvania, I shared that one of the best places for tacos in Cleveland was having their weekly taco special on Friday that weekend. In addition, I informed them that another area of Cleveland, Ohio City, was ranked one of the best bar-hopping areas in the world (yes, WORLD) by USA Today. On top of that, the Ohio City area is relatively safe and TDY wouldn’t have to worry about being run over by an inebriated Steeler player speeding down Carson Street. If all the above wasn’t enough for them, our mutual friend Hurricane Spurious (HS) was in Northeast Ohio for the holidays and our other mutual friend, who was our Goalie in intramural Futbol (GF), lives in Northeast Ohio.

Needless to say, TDY made the trip west to glorious northeast Ohio.

On Friday night, we headed to my favorite taco place, Sachsenheim Hall. Sachsenheim is located on the border of Cleveland and Parma and is a German beer hall that serves quality beers at reasonable prices with phenomenal tacos. Yes, it is a German beer hall AND it serves phenomenal tacos. It isn’t any different than ordering a salad in Pittsburgh and receiving French fries and steak on it.

At Sachsenheim, you can choose beef, ancho chicken sausage, habanera bacon, blackbean & corn, saxon sausage, chipotle chicken and bacon, Italian carnival, chorizo, and/or venison tacos. The tacos may include lettuce, tomato and/or sour cream. On a sidenote, Sachsenseim is the last stop in the annual Taco thon in Cleveland. For more information, search “taco thon” on facebook.

To start, TDY and HS each ordered a 1 liter stein to accompany their tacos. It was the first of many orders of beer and tacos for TDY and HS.

I ordered a ½ liter Hofbrau Dunkel to accompany my order of chorizo and venison tacos. The chorizo tacos had a nice kick to them and ended up being my favorite taco. The venison tacos were unique and included hearty pieces of venison. The venison tacos were my second favorite at Sachsenheim out of all the tacos I ordered.

On top of great beer and phenomenal tacos is the reasonable price. TDY, HS, and I all paid around $20 each for multiple tacos and beers.

After a successful night at Sachsenheim, HS, TDY and I geared up for Ohio City on Saturday night.  Before experiencing what USA Today considers one of the best bar hopping areas in the world, we had lunch/dinner at B-Spot.

B-Spot is a burger restaurant owned by Iron Chef (and Cleveland native) Michael Symon. While being predominantly known for their burgers, B-Spot has delicious Lola fries (fries with rosemary) and a decent beer selection. Of course the group started drinking. I had a GL Christmas Ale to accompany my Fat Doug (burger with coleslaw, pastrami, swiss cheese and mustard) and Lola fries. HS ordered a few beers to accompany his specialty burger that included pepperjack cheese and hot peppers. As I learned in college, HS has an iron stomach.

After departing B-Spot, the group headed over to GF’s house to watch some football and drink beer. The group enjoyed various beer (Schlitz, Killians, Miller Lite, etc.) at GF’s house that was leftover from GF’s holiday family party.

After leaving GF’s place, the group had at least two bars in mind for the night – Great Lakes Brewery and Market Garden Brewery. Great Lakes is, arguably, Cleveland’s most famous brewery.  TDY’s goal was to locate and purchase Blackout Stout ice cream. Unfortunately, Great Lakes was out of the ice cream but still had plenty of beer was ordered. The group enjoyed Cleveland Brown Ale (picture shown below), Commodore Perry IPA, Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, the Great Lakes milk stout, and Eliot Ness.

After having our fill of GL brews, we headed to Market Garden Brewery located near the famous Westside Market (similar to the Strip District in Pittsburgh) and founded by (among others) a former brewmaster from Dogfish Head. Market Garden has a large upstairs area and an even bigger downstairs area which includes the brewery. The group headed downstairs and sipped on Festivus Ale, Old School American Lager, Boss Amber Lager, and the Trouble IPA while discussing the fermentation tanks and the corresponding lines (#nerds4life).

The last stop of the night was Nano Brew (coincidentally owned by the same owners as Market Garden). Nano Brew is a bar/bicycle repair shop with a decent selection of various microbrews (I’ve heard it has great food too). It is smaller than Market Garden and, accordingly, less crowded.  I cannot recall what was ordered but I remember drinking some 9-10% alcohol beer (perhaps Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout? North Coast Old Rasputin?). So the next time you are riding on the near west side and need to fix your bicycle, stop at Nano Brew for a beer and the appropriate tools.

Overall, I think TDY enjoyed their trip to the North Coast and appreciated the various microbrews in Ohio City. I suggested a return trip to visit Sterle’s (a Hungarian style restaurant), Happy Dog ($5 hot dogs with innumerable topping choices and polka happy hour) and/or Sokolowski’s (a Polish cafeteria-style restaurant) with trips to Willoughby Brewing, Rocky River Brewing, and Hopping Frog, among others.

 

Posted in: Featured, Out and About in the Burgh, Road Trips0 comments

July17

Cheers to Montreal!

By: Tim McFarland

Montreal.  A bastion of French-Canadian pride in the province of Quebec and the 2nd largest French speaking city behind Paris is really right in our backyard!  With an 11 hour drive or about 1.5 hours on a plane, you can be drinking in a decidedly European experience without venturing too far from home.  Luckily, Montreal and Quebec have fostered a much better beer culture than France whose main contribution is Kronenbourg.

Our first day sightseeing in Montreal, we headed up to the Mile End neighborhood of the city and checked out artisan brewery Dieu Du Ciel.  The unassuming exterior shouldn’t fool you.  This place featured 17 homemade draft beers and 1 on cask.  The Artisan certainly is apparent when you see the list of beers that seems to defy the ordinary.  A wheat beer brewed with Hibiscus flowers?  Several types of belgian beers?  An Imperial Black IPA?  Dieu Du Ciel covers a wide range.

A dizzying array of choices at Dieu du Ciel

We tried the Rigor Mortis, a Belgian abbey ale, which is a nice representation of the style without being overly sweet.  My wife enjoyed the hibiscus flower wheat which is a pretty intense shade of neon pink but not as sweet as expected.  Do yourself a favor and check the aroma when first poured.  I have never gotten such an intense floral aroma from a beer.  The real stars in my opinion were the Morality, a collaboratiion American IPA with the Alchemist (Vermont) which is slightly sweet and not overly hoppy and the Perle cider incredibly dry but just sweet enough that  this microbrewed cider sets apart from the crowd.

The neon pink color of the Hibiscus Flower Wheat

From Dieu du Ciel, we moved on to La Amere a Boire specializing in lagers brewed onsite.  The czech style lager, Elephant, was advertised as a lighter alternative to higher alcohol lagers.  Note that as the beer is advertised as 10′, this is the original gravity of the beer and not the serving temperature meaning that the beer is lighter both in flavor and alcohol content.  The best beer we tried here was the hefeweizen which had notes of lemon and other citrus on top of a basic wheat body.

Our last stop of the day, Cheval Blanc had a dark nightclub vibe and slightly better beer than our last stop.  I tried the Falconer’s Flight IPA on cask.  Made primarily with Centennial hops.  This IPA is easy to drink and not too bitter but with a convincingly dry finish.  The best IPA I have tried in Canada.  It seems that the Canadian brewers either do not have the hops or are reluctant to make a true American style IPA with all of the bitterness that entails.

St. Elisabeth's lineup of Boreale Taps

We managed to find three more nice surprises on trip to Montreal.  The St. Elisabeth pub doesn’t look like much on the outside, but a large draft list and one of the coolest beer gardens in all of Montreal awaits the visitor.  this one is definitely worth your time, whether you want to test the waters of various canadian breweries such as the house favorite Boreale or simply want to relax with a few friends and a few good beers.  The completely enclosed courtyard is covered with ivy and the waitress service is certainly efficient.  St. Elisabeth’s is a great place to sit and relax.

The many choices of Benelux

One of our last stops in Montreal was at the Benelux brewpub.  The names on the chalkboard seem to contain som American connotations such as “Cactus” IPA, “Armada” Brown, “Amok” Belgian stout, and my personal favorite : “Yakima” American pale ale.   There was little to disappoint us at Benelux; I started with the Yakima pale ale which was excellent and was hoppier than most “IPAs” that I had in Montreal.  However, somehow the Cacus fell short of my expectations being dry and slightly sweet but not very bitter.  Amok Belgian stout was the real surprise though.  More of a quadruple or dubbel sweet flavor than a traditional stout but with darker malts and a complex finish that is at first, sweet, dry and finally with a touch of anise flavor at the end.  The Amok is a sweet, dark dessert in a glass!

Don't let your taste buds run "Amok"

Our final surprise in Montreal was the beautiful afternoon spent at the outdoor terrace at the McAuslan brewery.  We also had a great time at the Montreal International Jazz Festival.  Two weeks of free concerts.  You can’t beat that!  Check back with us next time to hear all about our afternoon in McAuslan beer garden.

 

 

Posted in: Brewery Visits, Road Trips1 comments

June20

11th Annual Beer and Gear Review

By: Jake

This past weekend we headed to Ohiopyle for the 11th Annual Beer and Gear Festival. This makes our 3rd straight Beer and Gear. We always look forward to this weekend and it’s usually the first beer fest on our calendars. In our opinion it is one of the best beer festivals in the area. Combine the beautiful scenery of Ohiopyle State Park with great craft beer and friendly people/dogs and you have the ingredients for a pretty awesome festival.

As usual we arrived at the park Friday to get out and enjoy the outdoors. A few of us biked to Confluence, while others went on a long day hike. The weather was perfect all weekend. This hasn’t always been the case for us. Each of the past two years at some point or another it poured on us. Well not this year!

There is no ticket pre-sale for the festival, contrary to a few rumors we heard floating around Saturday morning. With that said, a pretty good sized line started forming well before the 3:30pm start time. Luckily we were one of the first ones in line. Again, like in the past, $20 got you admission, a free pint glass, live music (Half Bad Bluegrass) and access to every beer there. You really can’t beat that! Name another beer festival that is a better deal, I bet you can’t.

Here are a few of our highlights:

  1. Blue Canoe Brewing; Titusville, PA – Last year their “Worst beer here” was a hit. This year they brought a Maple Bacon Pancake Porter. Yep, most unique beer of the day. Glad to see new and nontraditional beers being poured at festivals. This one was very easy to drink and was not too heavy on the maple syrup flavor. There was a bacon smokey flavor that for some was too much, but I thought it was just right (and I hate smoke flavored beer). The smoke flavor came from using REAL BACON, not from liquid smoke. And as always the guys from Blue Canoe were great to talk with.
  2. Helltown Brewing; Mt. Pleasant PA – You may/should have seen their beers on tap around Pittsburgh the last few months. Maybe you have heard of Idle Hands D.I.P.A. or Mischievous Brown Ale or Insidious IPA. They had the longest lines and had the most people talking this year at Beer and Gear. Lots of people were walking around talking about Insidious. Insidious is one of the best East Coast IPAs you can find around town. I consider myself a hophead and am always looking for the next greatest IPA. Helltown did a hell of job with this one. Hops hit you from all angles. There is a strong citrus and earthy (piney) tone to the hop character, both found in the aroma and taste. If you find them on tap it is well worth trying if you haven’t. Towards the end of the festival they had a few bottles of a Belgian Saison that was really good. We also were able to hang out after the festival and talk with Helltown. Great group of people who are excited and passionate about what they do.
  3. Morgantown Brewing; Morgantown, WV – They brought a change up of beers. Half way through they rotated taps and added some variety. Great idea and had a lot of people coming back for more. Kudos for the full pint pours at the end of the festival.
  4. All Saint’s and Otto’s Apricot Wheat were both very refreshing for a summer afternoon.  Otto’s managed to outshine the offering from All Saint’s by giving a slightly more intense apricot flavor on top of an excellent wheat body.  All this accomplished without being overly sweet.
  5. We had the accidental pleasure of meeting The Brew Gentleman after we spotted one of them wearing a Santa Fe Brewing t-shirt, which we quickly deemed our favorite t-shirt of festival. When we asked for a pic of the shirt for the blog, they told us they were from The Brew Gentlemen and filled us in a bunch of details about their new venture in Braddock. A great coincidence that made Beer and Gear 2012 even better.
  6. Mountain State Brewing; Thomas, WV – A solid showering from Mountain State. They have a really solid Amber. I know Ambers aren’t sexy, but it should be noted it is a very solid, easy drinking beer with no off flavors.
  7. Erie Brewing; Erie, PA – Let’s not forget about our friends from Erie. The Railbender and Mad Anthony were solid as always. They put together one of the better sampler cases and the cost is great for craft beer. Give it a try next time you head out to buy a case.
  8. Victory Brewing;  Downington, PA (courtesy of Vecenie Distributing) – We are familiar with Victory’s standard offerings but it’s always exciting to rediscover some good brews.  On a summer day, Victory’s Headwaters Pale Ale quenches the thirst with just the right amount of hop bitterness and without an overly dry finish.  Headwaters manages to also avoid an excess of malty sweetness which is all to common for pale ales.  Our pick for best Pale Ale is Headwaters, the perfect beer for a touch of hoppiness on a summer day.

Other breweries present were: Flat Rock Brewing, Great Lakes, North Country, Full Pint, Church Brew Works, Rivertowne, Rock Bottom, Fatheads, Penn, Oskar Blues, Troegs,  Duquesne, Anderson Valley and TRASH.

We managed to meet lots of interesting people not the least of which was meeting up with Miss Beer and Gear herself.  Advertising the beer fest for Wilderness Voyageurs, she has been to all 11 of them!

 

Tim, Ms. Beer and Gear, Mark, and Jake

If you were at Beer and Gear this past weekend, what did you think?  What did you like?  What didn’t you like?  First timers, let us know if you enjoyed yourself.  As always you can talk to us by email, thedrunkyinzer@gmail.com, or by Twitter, @TheDrunkYinzer.

 

Empty glasses and an Ohiopyle sunset

 

 

Posted in: Beer in the news, Brewfests, Road Trips0 comments

May4

Asheville : Beer City America

By: Tim McFarland

With spring in full swing, I made a weekend trip down to North Carolina for some R&R.  With a rental cabin in the woods of the Nantahala National Forest, we spent two and a half days hiking the Bartram Trail and some smaller waterfalls in western North Carolina.    While there, we took the time to sample some brews that we just can’t get here back in Pittsburgh and visited several of Asheville’s local breweries.

Orange Salamander

Driving in late on a Wednesday, we stopped at the Libation Station in Johnson City, TN to fuel up at least for the first day.  Looking for something different, I was drawn to the words “Southern Pecan”.   This offering is from Mississippi’s Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co. and the beer is Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale.   Our second choice was Nashville’s Yazoo Brewing Co’s Hop Project a rotating IPA.

The Lazy Magnolia is the big winner here :  the flavor has notes of candy sugar, caramel, and bananana with the nutty finish.  All of these flavors are balanced well with a malt bill that is not overwhelming.  Serve at room temperature to really bring out the pecan flavor.

Bartram Trail Ridgeline View

Thursday, we hiked 14 miles along the ridge line of the Bartram trail near Highlands, N.C..  As the mist rolled away in the early afternoon, we were lucky enough to catch beautiful glimpses of the new spring greenery in the valleys of the Nantahala.  Just in time for lunch, we got some some fly-bys from the local hawk population.

Friday and Saturday we enjoyed many shorter hikes among the waterfalls and relaxing in our cabin’s hot tub.  We were lucky enough to come across several 6 packs of Abita Strawberry Harvest Ale.  Devotees of TDY, may be familiar with this brew even though it’s nearly impossible to get here in Pennsylvania.  It is quite possibly one of the best fruit beers in existence.  Not nearly as over top as most entries in the genre.  It has a slight hint of strawberry that still manages to taste like beer, perfect for the summertime.

A North Carolina Waterfall

We finally made it to Asheville late Saturday afternoon in time for the 4 PM brewery tour at Highland Brewing Co.  Anymore, I skip the brewery tours because most of them are the same and not too informative.  The Highland Brewery’s tour was probably the best tour I have ever been on.   There was a good amount of free samples, but they didn’t just rush us through the brewing process.  The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about the brewing process and just general beer knowledge (and she wasn’t even a brewer).   I learned several little tidbits and we got excellent access to the actual brewery’s equipment.  We were able to try all of Highland’s year-round brews:  Terese’s Pale Ale, Gaelic Ale, Kashmir IPA, Oatmeal Porter, and Mocha Stout.

The South's Third Largest Regional Brewery

The Gaelic Ale is Highland’s best seller.  A balanced beer that leans a bit more to the malty side but with some nice cascade hop character.  I was pleasantly surprised by the pale ale.  St Terese’s does not have a tone of flavorful but is a light, drinkable pale with just a touch of dryness and hop bitterness.  The Kashmir IPA is a British style IPA (read as light on the hops) and not really worth the effort for hopheads.  My wife thoroughly enjoyed the Oatmeal porter which mixes the roasted oat flavor on top of  sweet, malty base.

Asheville's Answer to the Lucky Lab

We made our way towards downtown Asheville and Green Man Brewery : a small craft brewery that fits entirely in an old gas station.  On this early spring day, the garage doors are up and the pretzels are free.  Green Man has a bit of an irreverent vibe and reminds me of the Lucky Lab in Portland.  We went through a sampler of 4 beers : IPA, ESB, Porter, and a cask IPA.  The IPA was crisp and bitter but somewhat light; a less bitter version of 60 min. IPA   The scene stealer at Green Man is the Cask IPA which brings out flowery aroma and flavor of the hops.  The oak aging really softens the bitterness of the IPA and makes for a much more complex flavor profile.

 

We wrapped up the night with pizza and a sampler at the Asheville Brewing Co.  The pizza was fantastic although the beer did not blow us away.  The highlights were Red Light Ale and Shiva’s IPA.  On the way out of town, we stopped at Bruisin Ales to pick up several special bottles to bring back home.

 

 

Bruisin' Ales Bottle Shop

 

 

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January15

TDY Visits Lake Placid Part 2

By: Jake

After a long day of bobsledding we stopped by the Adirondack Brewing Co.  The restaurant associated with the brewery is a little more high end than your typical brew pub.  The food is great here.  The Clam Chowder really hit the spot. The menu is full of surf and turf options, all of which looked awesome.

The beer list included: Haystack Blonde Ale, Ausable Wulff Red Ale, Cloud Splitter BelgianThe Red Ale is a good solid brew.  It was amber in color with a rich malty taste.  The Hefeweizen is a traditional German Hefe, you know what that tastes like.  The Belgian Strong Ale is a high alcohol example of a Belgian.  They use Belgian candi sugar so the taste is sweet with a dry finish and a hint of alcohol.  Strong Ale, Hefeweizen, Whiteface Stout, and John Brown Pale Ale.  After we sampled all the brews, Whiteface Stout and the Pale Ale stood out.

Whiteface Stout has won multiple GABF awards for foreign-style stout. Huge amounts of roast and chocolate malts give this brew a very robust opaque color.  The malt bill also contributes flavors of chocolate, roast, coffee, and Espresso.  This is a medium to full bodied brew that has 7.6% alcohol to balance out the roast flavors.  We drank a lot of these.

John Brown Pale Ale is a classic west coast pale ale hopped with a ton of Cascade hops. The beer is then dry hopped with cascade whole hops in the fermenter at over a pound per barrel. The dry hopping produces a sharp, crisp citrus aroma for this hop lovers beer.  This brew had a much bigger hop taste than the traditional pale ale, which was a pleasant surprise.

If you are ever up in the area stop by for a brew.  They also have a few seasonal selections throughout the year.

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January5

TDY Visits Lake Placid Part 1

By: Jake

Lake Placid, NY has hosted the winter Olympics twice, 1932 and 1980.  One of the more memorable, if not the most memorable, event in US Olympic history took place here in 1980.  Of course I’m talking about the US Men’s Hockey team beating USSR.  This game gave us a great speech from Coach Herb Brooks (kid version here):

Great moments are born from great opportunity. And that’s what you have here tonight, boys. That’s what you’ve earned here, tonight. One game. If we played ‘em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with ‘em. Tonight, we stay with ‘em, and we shut them down because we can! Tonight, we are the greatest hockey team in the world. You were born to be hockey players — every one of ya. And you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time — is done. It’s over. I’m sick and tired of hearin’ about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw ‘em! This is your time!

So what does this have to do with beer?  Absolutely nothing.  Currently Lake Placid is part of La Nina, hence no snow, but the beer is still flowing.  We frequented may local watering holes and sampled our fair share of local brews.  Two breweries sit in town; Lake Placid Brewing Company and Adirondack Brewing.  We will focus on Lake Placid Brewing first.

The Lake Placid Brewery brew pub is along side the shores of Mirror Lake in the town of Lake Placid.  It’s a cool two story building with lots of hearty wood and beer paraphernalia on the walls.  The first floor had a cool, dark wood bar that was hosting a santa party when we were there.  The second floor had more tables and a fireplace.  Very relaxing place to grab a brew and food.

On tap they had the everyday selections of: Ubu Ale, 46er Pale Ale, Lake Placid IPA and Moose Island Ale.  The seasonal selections this time of year were: High Peaks Hefeweizen and Lake Placid Winter Lager.

Ubu Ale – The is the flag ship beer for the brewery.  Named after a dog who had a great nose for beer and was a staple at the brewery.  This beer is smooth and very malty with a slight hint of hops, but mainly malty.  The website says English hops are used.

46er Pale Ale and Lake Placid IPA – Both beers are very similar.  I believe the only difference between the two brews is the amount and type of hops used.  Both appear to have the same malt flavor and finish.  The Pale ale used fuggle hops while the IPA was more citrusy.

Lake Placid Winter Lager – A very dark copper pour with a great head.  A nicely spiced brew, typical winter beer spices, ginger and a malty nutty taste.  Light body with a nice warming effect, good for cold winter nights after skiing all day.

Keep your eyes open for some Lake Placid bottles around town.  I have seen Ubu and the IPA on the shelves of some bottle shops.

Check back for Part 2 of TDY Visits Lake Placid.  Part 2 will include Adirondack Brewing and other local brews we found on tap around town.

 


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October9

GABF Part 1 : A Denver Getaway

By: Tim McFarland

At the top of every beer lover’s life list, a trip to the Great American Beer Festival is supposed to be a culmination of all that is great about craft beer.  Most of the major breweries and brewpubs in the United States descend on Denver, CO for a three day celebration of the independent brewing spirit.  I made my first pilgrimage to GABF this year with my wife in tow.  We both love Denver so the extended weekend was a nice mini vacation.

Flying in on Friday afternoon, we enjoyed dinner at the Vesta Dipping Grill.  This trendy Denver eatery has several interesting entrees, and I went with the grilled venison.  The real allure of Vesta is that each entree comes with 3 different sauces perfect for dipping.  Choose from 37 different types of sauces and pair with one of the excellent local tap selections from Odell and Great Divide Brewing Co.

We continued our Friday in Denver with drinks at Celtic Tavern where I enjoyed Breckenridge’s Java Porter on Nitro.  This is not one of my favorite Porters and here at TDY we refer to it as a gateway porter as the beer is surprisingly sweet and appeals to the porter novice.  On Nitro this beer is different and full of a variety of flavors that otherwise just don’t show up.  The creamy head of the porter on nitro complements the strong vanilla flavor.

 

Our night was finished off with a visit to the tap room at Great Divide.  We drank some of our favorites : Belgian Style Yeti, Wild Raspberry Ale, Fresh Hop, and Hoss’.  The Belgian style Yeti is certainly an interesting take on a great base stout, Yeti.  The Fresh Hop was also fantastic with a malt/hop balance that often escapes wet hop variety beers.  The Hoss is Great Divide’s  Marzen style beer with a Rye twist and was a new experience for us.  Overall, Hoss has a much greater depth in flavor than the traditional Marzen beer with some interesting spicy flavor on top of the sweet malty characteristics.  The tap room has a fun vibe, full of great beer at a good value and is a must visit on any Denver trip.

With the beer festival waiting for us on Saturday evening, our morning began with a nice run through downtown Denver including a circuit of Coors Field.  Nothing to wake you up and get your drinking engine going like a brisk run.  A post-run brunch was served up at Rialto Cafe, home to a bottomless Mimosa and Bloody Mary bar.  Stock up here on lots of protein and carbs before the day of drinking begins.

Our major pre-brewfest stop was at Renegade Brewing Co.  We thoroughly enjoyed the sampler particularly the Ryeteous Rye IPA, 5 O’Clock Blonde Ale, and Another Thrill Imperial Porter.  A very chill understated tap room in Denver’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, Renegade serves up some interesting brews with open air courtesy of some well placed garage doors.  Another Thrill Imperial Porter is just a fantastic beer full of roasted malts and a high alcohol content.  Another Thrill is a must try for porter lovers.

Early in the afternoon, we began our GABF preparations : stocking up on gatorade, tums, and snacks.  I’m not as young as I used to be and I’ve found that it is better to plan ahead for these types of situations.  We went on the hunt for pretzels to make our pretzel necklaces for the beer festival.  We were excited to see the following sign outside the Rite-Aid.

 

Look for our continuation on the actual Great American Beer Festival….

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September30

Anticipating the Great American Beer Festival

By: Tim McFarland

Yesterday, the opening bell rang on the granddaddy of all beer festivals.  Beervana.  I am truly excited as this is my first Great American Beer Festival.  I’ve made a few visits to enjoy the beer culture in Denver, but I’ve always managed to miss GABF.  Trust me, there is plenty to keep beer lovers interested in this town even without GABF.

My favorite stop is Great Divide Brewing Co.  Brewers of the world famous Yeti Stout and Titan IPA as well as a favorite of ours, a wild raspberry ale.  The tap room is open extra hours for GABF weekend and the pours are generous.  The last time that I was at Great Divide, tasting pours were determined by tokens that were often not even collected by staff.  Great beer at an unbeatable value.

While in Denver, I highly recommend visiting the Falling Rock tap house as well as Breckinridge Brewery’s Pub.  Falling Rock’s tap list is really out of this world.  You would typically find the latest limited edition releases from Stone next to the premier beers of Belgium.  Breckinridge’s Denver location serves up their brews in a friendly atmosphere and walls lined with a truly impressive vintage can collection.  I’ve got tickets to  the Saturday night session so I will be making the most of Denver’s opportunities tonight and tomorrow!

It’s staggering  to look at the list of breweries that are going to be gracing the halls of the Denver convention center.  I’m excited to see many of the breweries that I have grown to love on the west coast included in the list.  Ninkasi, Hopworks Urban Brewery, Pelican, and Deschutes top my list combined with a few local breweries such as Hoppin’ Frog (Akron, OH) and Prism (North Wales, PA).

I’m always on the lookout to try out new breweries.   Please send me any recommendations!  I’ll do my best to keep some diligent notes and let yinz in on GABF.

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September7

Appalachian Brewing Co. (Camp Hill, PA)

By: Tim McFarland

Standing outside ABC in Camp Hill

Appalachian Brewing Co. has three locations in the Harrisburg area : Downtown Harrisburg, suburban Camp Hill, and historic Gettysburg.  ABC has also recently opened a new location in Collegeville, PA to tap into the Philly marketplace.  While perhaps not as well known as the other Harrisburg brewery (Troegs), Appalachian offers a large variety of beer styles that often differ among the locations as all are functioning breweries.

My sister, Mel, lives in the Harrisburg area so I have found excuses to visit the Troegs brewery in the past.  However, I’d never been to any of the ABC locations before.  My family enjoyed an early dinner at the Camp Hill location this past weekend.  In a decidedly suburban setting, the building looks a little bit underwhelming but the bar inside is nicely decorated with beautiful wood and a handpainted ABC logo on the floor.  The dining room vibe fits a little bit better with the building exterior.  The bar is really the place to be.  Craving some wine?  The Camp Hill location has 12  wines on draught!

A special of the ABC’s Camp Hill location was the lineup of 3 double IPAs each made with only one type of hop : Nugget, Summit, and Cascade.  Jake and I have always talked about doing this.  What a great way to study the effect of different hop varietals on the pallet!

ABC's IPA Triple Play

 

Nugget (7.57 % ABV, 82 IBU) – Starts off with a very nice floral aroma actually more than the Cascade which I found very surprising. Overall this beer is crisp and clean with some notes of citrus with some bitterness towards the end.  The finish is overall well-balanced and not too dry.

Summit (7.57 % ABV, 87 IBU) - The best head of the three beers but missing any sort of noticeable aroma.  The flavor profile is complex with a sweet first taste followed by a sourness.  There are unmistakeable notes of citrus, primarily orange flavor.  The finish is more bitter and dry than the other offerings but still is relatively well-balanced.

Cascade (7.57 % ABV, 72 IBU) - The cascade has a good floral aroma which is not surprising.  Overall, the flavor is a bit bland but the finish is slightly sweet and a bit drier than the Nugget though not as dry as the Summit.

My favorite :  The Summit had the most standout flavor but the Nugget was a much more well-rounded IPA.  I’ll take the Nugget everytime.

I look forward to sneaking away from future family gatherings to visit ABC’s other locations.  The downtown Harrisburg location has a seperate Belgian beer bar, The Abbey!

Posted in: Brewery Visits, Out and About in the Burgh, Road Trips0 comments

July6

Lamas! Enjoy the local drinks of Greece and Turkey

By: Tim McFarland

Lamas. Salud. Gezondheid. Slainte. Cheers. While looking up to Zane Lamprey, I too have been lucky enough to travel to many places and enjoy the local drinking culture. If you follow TDY, you know that I was recently married and enjoying my honeymoon in Greece. In my opinion there is no better way to learn local culture while traveling than to learn the drinking customs.  So here’s a quick rundown…. 

OUZO

Most cultures have one defining hard liquor. The Belgians have Jenever, Russians and Pollocks have Vodka, Scandinavians have Aquavit, Italians have Sambucca, South Americans have their versions of guaro and cachaca, and the Greeks have Ouzo.  Similar in flavor to Absinthe or aguardiente, Ouzo is flavored with Anise. To Americans, this flavor is most recognizable as black licorice. Meant to be sipped, Ouzo is typically mixed with a bit of water. Upon mixing with water or a few ice cubes, the drink turns a milky white. At 40% alcohol, the light flavor can be misleading and a few too many Ouzos could end your day prematurely.

BEER

As in most of the parts of Europe where Dutch or German are not spoken, the beer is fairly pedestrian light lagers. Mythos is the Budweiser of Greece, available almost everywhere and certainly refreshing on a hot Mediterranean day. Alfa is the Coors of Greece, tasting very similar to Mythos. However Alfa is almost always sold extra cold making it a nice change on the hot days. Fix is the third major beer in Greece and surprise, it is also a light lager. However, the color is a bit deeper and the taste is overall more well rounded and the aftertaste is much smoother and more enjoyable.

Looking for an escape from golden lagers?  There are a few craft beers available though they are typically hard to find and expensive.  A Greek microbrewery simply called Craft offers up a gold, red, and a dark variety.  I tried the red which was good but probably not worth the price or effort to find it!  Turkish Beer is nearly an oxymoron since Islam traditionally looks down upon alcohol consumption.  However, Turkey does drink a surprising amount for a predominately Muslim country.  The local beer is Efes which comes in Pilsen, Light, and Dark varieties.  It’s similar to the Greek offerings, but I think is actually worse, with an undesirable aftertaste.  All the Turks are convinced that it’s the best though, so you better not tell them!

RAKI

There’s a defining liquour and then there’s the liquor that no one is ever sure why they drink it.  In the U.S., this might be Everclear or 150 proof rum.  In Italy, the offensive liquor of choice is grappa.  Aquavit also somewhat falls into this category.  Raki is very similar to ouzo but typically much stronger.  Like grappa, it is distilled from vegetation leftovers such as the stems and skins of grapes and olives.  In Greece, Raki is very strong and relatively flavorless, but Turkish Raki is much similar to ouzo.  Turkish Raki will turn a milky white when water or ice is added, just like ouzo.  However, the anise flavor is somewhat overpowered by the straight alcohol flavor and aroma from the Raki.  As a visitor, Raki is a great beverage to try once, then order another beer.

WINE

Red wine is almost unheard of in either Greece or Turkey.  There are several varieties of white grapes that are indigenous to the region.  Greece in particular turns out some really complex white wines that are a far cry from your chilled Pinot Grigio.  We were lucky enough to spend time on the Greek island of Santorini, known as a producer of exceptional white wines.  Just wait, there will be a whole other post just for the white wines of Santorini.

Posted in: Beer Reviews, Road Trips0 comments

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