First trip to Forest & Main

For my birthday last week, my very pregnant wife suggested we check out Forest & Main, a new brewpub that opened up in Ambler last year. I've been wanting to get out there forever as I've heard great things about it, but it's just a bit further than Tired Hands and not so conveniently on the way home from my wife's work. Since she's awesome or possibly crazy from the pregnancy, she drove us there even when she couldn't enjoy it. And, again, let me stress that she suggested it. This was not my idea but I was not about to turn her down.

When we got there, they had six beers available with the choice of getting a flight of four so that's what I did.

Yards Trubbel De Yards

It's been a while since my last post and it'll be a bit after this one too since I'm heading to San Francisco soon. Oh well, it happens right? It's been a couple weeks since I had this Trubbel de Yards at Kite & Key, but no matter. It's sort of a mix of tripel and dubbel according to Yards.

Certainly looks more like a dubbel than a tripel. Taste went that way too. Lots of caramel with a little chocolate in the nose. Pretty nice. Medium body, not thin but not thick either. Flavor was a mix of caramel and banana bread with a little cocoa in the finish. Quite delicious, glad I got to try it. I thought they were planning on releasing this in 750mL bottles, but we'll see if that plan comes to fruition or not.

Some Beers before Christmas

I opened a number of bottles with my family over the holidays, some I took notes and pictures and some I didn't. The latter was sometimes because I didn't feel like it though honestly sometimes I just forgot. I think I drank these two on the same night so lets talk about them together! If I don't I'll never finish writing about everything so lets go.

I had thrown a couple bottles in the beer fridge at random so there was no theme for this day. We started with the white wax version of FiftyFifty Eclipse, an imperial stout aged in 20 year old Elijah Craig bourbon barrels. The thing about the Eclipse series is that the barrel treatment (aka the barrel the beer is aged inside) is only referenced by the color of the wax. You have to look up the beer somewhere and compare the wax color to figure it out. Kind of a funny way to do things, but that's how it is.

Boulevard Nommo Dubbel

Not sure when I drank this, maybe a week ago Sunday? I have a backlog of things to write about that's just getting worse at the moment. Going out every night this week isn't really going to help with that but oh well. Boulevard Nommo Dubbel is a dubbel, obviously, with some spices added to it. I picked it up in Houston when I was there in early November.

Unfortunately, right from the beginning, I was thinking this was a big miss by Boulevard. Some spice in the nose and also a really noticeable metallic note that is just completely off putting. The body was luckily missing the metallic portion of the nose but there were other issues. Sweet up front, slightly spicy, then super sharp biting alcohol in the finish that was remarkably unpleasant. Flavors didn't blend well either with the spiciness not meshing with the little sweetness that peaked through in the beginning.

Since I'm crazy, I powered through my bad feelings about it and drank the whole bottle. I'll admit it got a tiny bit better as I got used to the alcohol. The sweetness came up a bit and I felt like I got a view into what Boulevard was aiming for with this beer. However, it was really not very good and either Boulevard agrees with me or consumers do as they discontinued this one for 2013. Maybe they'll retool the recipe for 2014 or they'll just cancel it forever, but regardless I hope they do something.

Lost Rhino Rhinoel

Okay so this is the second to last bottle my brother gave me for Hanukkah. Yes, I realize that was back in late December, but, well, you should already know I drink incredibly slowly. I blame drinking slowly for the bottles collecting in my basement more than my innate need to buy things I can't find when I'm on vacation. Or at least that's what I tell myself.

Lost Rhino Rhinoel is a dubbel.

The first surprise was that it was sealed with a cork hidden under the cap. I'm not totally sure why they felt the need for a cork but be prepared for it when you do buy the beer. Malty sweet nose with lots of bread notes. Really nice aroma for a dubbel. Sweet malt, mild fruitiness, and some clove follow. There was also a slight undertone, almost a smokiness, that brought it all together. Basically tasted like a real dubbel from Belgium. Really impressive actually. I quite enjoyed this and thought it was one of the better American dubbels I've had in a long while. Seriously, though, the cork seemed a bit unnecessary.

Goose Island Pere Jacques

I'm almost ready to write about our trip to Russian River but didn't quite have enough time this morning. I know you all can't wait but you'll just have to. Sorry! Instead, you get a simple write up about Goose Island Pere Jacques, a dubbel. Goose Island is a recent addition to the Philly market actually and we should start seeing more of it. I'm excited to see if we'll get some Bourbon County, their awesome bourbon stout.

Light sweet nose with tons of fruit and a little clove. Started bready and fruity with more clove. As it warmed, the fruit came out more clearly with some caramel. It was a sweet and malty beer, but that's generally expected in a dubbel and as long as the flavors are clean like in this, it works out. I tend to like my dubbels with a little more caramel flavor but this was still pretty good.

Sharing Beers

It's been a while but I finally met up with my friend Craig at his new house this past Wednesday and we availed ourselves of a few beers. When he lived up the street from me we were doing this a little more often but he lives in New Jersey now so I have to change states and who wants to do that? Okay fine, me, but still it's harder to get there but totally worth it.

We started with one we've talked about opening ever since we met the first time early last year, Big Sky Olde Bluehair, a bourbon barrel barleywine.

Bella Vista takes over Devil's Den

Ahh, Philly Beer Week finally begins. I put up my schedule the other day and so far I've kept to it pretty well. While this post is going to concentrate on the Devil's Den event, my first beer of beer week was actually at the Kite & Key. It was the Troegs Scratch 42, Razzmadizzle, a chocolate raspberry dubbel as far as I know.

Flying Fish at Monk's

I did a little work over the weekend and got in early to fix something, so I felt like I deserved a long lunch on Monday.  Lucky for me, Monk's was having a Mad Monday in the form of some rare Flying Fish sixtels.  They were also selling tickets for their Russian River beer week dinner and, amazingly enough, people were lining up for them by like 8am.  Apparently even beer dinner tickets are turning into rare commodities (although to be fair I'm not sure this is that rare for the more popular ones at Monks).

I started my lunch off with the Bourbon Barrel Abbey Dubbel although I meant to start with the Exit 13 and was misheard by the bartender.  Ah well.  You win some, you lose some.

Ommegang Abbey Ale

Had a  bottle of Ommegang Abbey Ale.  Take notice of my awesome new Gulden Draak cup.

Smells fruity with some Belgian aromas.  First sip had caramel and toffee notes finishing with a slight metallic note.  Not an unpleasant end just slightly odd.  As it warmed up, there were some more fruity flavors that came to the front.  Definitely a better beer when warmer.  The flavors really opened up and the slight metallic hint disappeared.  Really good dubbel.  Ommegang does Belgian really well.

Visit to Hulmeville Inn

I had a free afternoon and hadn't seen my friend in a while so we decided to meet up at the Hulmeville Inn.  Great beer, decent food, and an awesome owner, what's not to like?  I was excited to try a couple of the things on draft (the owner, Jeff, lists all of their current drafts on the website and I check it entirely too often) plus my friend let me know that they had some new Cigar City stuff in bottles.

The main thing I wanted to try was the Dark Horse One Oatmeal Stout as I loved the Plead the Fifth and wanted to try another of their stouts.  This was the dead man walking, the oldest keg on draft, so it was also heavily discounted (although Hulmeville's prices are ridiculously low anyway.)

It had a mild roasted aroma but not much else.  No strong oatmeal smell on this one.  First sip had a little oatmeal, some malt and a small finish of alcohol bitterness.  As I worked through it, the oatmeal started to dominate the other flavors which was pleasant.  Good stout, but nothing compared to the Plead the Fifth.

After that, we were offered a small taste of Sam Adams Utopias which pretends to be an American Strong Ale.  Really it's a liquor aged for a number of years in all sorts of different barrels and ends up at a whopping 27%.

Considering its ABV, it wasn't surprising that it smelled and tasted like a liqueur.  I thought it was sweet and syrupy and tasted a little like some bourbon stouts taste.  I'm incredibly glad to have been able to try it since it's expensive ($175 a bottle) but seeing as how I'm not a big liqueur fan, I don't know if I'd get it again.

After that, my friend and I ordered bottles of Cigar City Either and Or so we could check them out side by side.

While they are both Black IPAs and made with similar recipes, the differences shine through quite clearly.  The two beers are a result of a collaboration between Cigar City and two breweries; Hill Farmstead, located in Vermont, and Grassroots, located in Denmark.  You can read all about the specifics here but the gist (as far as I could tell) is that Either is Cigar City's version and Or is the collaboration of the other two breweries.

The Either smelled delicious.  Hints of alcohol, some hops but not too much, and some malt. Flavor was very smooth with some hops but no bitterness to it.  I thought it tasted similar to Jack & Ken's, Sierra Nevada's 30th Anniversary Black Barleywine which I talked about in this post.  On the opposite side of the coin, the Or smelled much, much hoppier without the delicious malt smell from the Either.  First sip just punches you with hops and bitterness and it never relents.  I called Hop'solutely a Hopwine in the previous post and Or is in exactly the same category except I guess it would be a Dark Hopwine.  It wasn't bad, but compared to the Either, I didn't feel it competed.  Of course my friend who likes IPAs more than me enjoyed the Or a lot more than the Either.  So, if you like hops a lot, drink the Or.  If you like maltier beers with some warming alcohol, get the Either.  You win either way but you win more if you choose wisely.

Then, the owner Jeff happened to be drinking a bottle of Jubel 2010.  Notice in my "beer cellar" list I currently have a bottle of that on my shelf.  I was curious where he picked it up and while chatting he offered me and my friend a sample of it since they weren't going to finish the bottle and because he's awesome.

It poured a dark brown color with minimal head, but the bottle had been opened for a bit so the carbonation may have been higher in the beginning.  It tasted of caramel, toffee, and some spices.  Super delicious and now I cannot wait to open my bottle.

Finished up with a glass of Boaks Wooden Beanie, a Dubbel aged in oak.  Actually, forgot to get a picture of this, but think of a glass filled with a brown liquid and very little head.  Smell was very Belgian, bananas and sugar.  Taste followed with some caramel, bananas, and sort of a biscuit flavor.  I also got some apple as I drank more.  Good dubbel and I'd order it again.  Plus Boaks is in Pompton Lakes, NJ near where I grew up.

Once again, a great trip to the Hulmeville Inn.  Everyone is always really nice there and Jeff, the owner, is always willing to chat with me which is awesome.  His beer knowledge is really thorough and it shines through in the draft lists at the Inn.  Plus, the prices there are always the lowest in the area.  The bottles of Either and Or were only $8, the same as my friend found them in Florida.  Just crazy good.  So, if you're in the area, definitely stop in for a drink.

Weyerbacher Mike

I had a bottle of Weyerbacher Mike today, an Abbey Dubbel.

Mike is part of Weyerbacher's Brewer's Select series.  All of the beers in the series go by Army lingo, so Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.  They wanted to experiment with different beer styles but didn't want to bother naming them so they came up with this.  The next is November, being released November 12th and it's an Imperial Brown ale infused with coffee.  Sounds pretty awesome.

Okay back to Mike.  First, it smelled super Belgian which is a good thing as it's a Belgian beer.  Lots of banana, some sweetness, some other unidentifiable smells.  Good though.  I tasted some sweetness, some malty flavors, and bananas in the finish.  Pretty satisfying mouth feel.  As it warmed up, I got some notes of caramel and toffee.  I actually felt it tasted quite a bit better warmer.  I unfortunately don't have another bottle, but if I did I'd definitely let it warm up before drinking it.  It feels like the caramel and toffee flavors would be much more pronounced.

Maredsous Abbaye

Opened up a bottle of Maredsous Abbaye, a dubbel.

Poured a caramel brown color with an inch of really cool looking head.  Well carbonated.  Pretty sweet smelling to me with some fruit flavors.  Not strongly fruity, but there's something there.  Sweet malty flavor with absolutely no bitterness.  The carbonation gives it a nice prickly feel when drinking it.  Not like a soda but still more carbonation than a lot of beers.  Very easy to drink even at 8%.  Good stuff.