Capone's!

To prepare our livers for our six brewery tour over New Years, Jo and I decided to head to Capone's for some lunch and drinks.  We haven't been there in a while and missed their delicious wings.  I also got a tasty cheese steak hoagie.

Once again, I started with a sampler of four great beers.

Vacation Beers 4: The Final Night

Twas the last night of vacation,
and all through the house,
I was drinking beer,
not just one but four.

Okay enough of that.  The last night of our trip to Vermont I went through a bunch of quality beers and had a grand old time.  After discovering that absolutely everything was closed in Brattleboro on Christmas Day including McNeill's brewpub, we stopped at Brattleboro Discount Liquors on our way back to the house.  I like to check random beer stores in hopes that they have interesting things.  Nothing super here although they had some local stuff so we picked some up including bottles from McNeill's.

Vacation Beers 3: Ridiculously Great

I opened some awesome beers this Christmas Eve.  While I expected the Troegs Splinter Blue to be excellent, I was surprised just how good the 2009 Bell's Expedition Stout was.  Ended up as a super night.

I started off the night with the 2009 Bell's Expedition.  I bought this case from Global Beer in Northern Liberties and it was already a year old when I bought it two weeks ago.  Pretty handy as really strong stouts often get better after a year or two.

Vacation Beers 2: Beer Harder

Another great night of beers and it's just the beginning of my vacation.  I opened a North Coast Old Rasputin, a great Imperial Stout I've been neglecting, a Troegs Flying Mouflan, a barleywine, and a Weyerbacher Quad.  The major thing that they all have in common is that their ABVs are pretty high.  It's going to be a theme for this vacation and, well, most of the beers I drink.

I started with the North Coast Old Rasputin.

The start of vacation beers!

Wednesday night, I opened a bottle of Founders Imperial Stout that was bottled in 2009.

Poured with no head but it still had a little carbonation.  Mild coffee smell.  First sip had some pleasant roasted notes with some coffee notes.  A little bitterness and some slight fruitiness are found, but they quickly disappear.  Nice thick mouthfeel on it.  Considering it's 10%, the alcohol is really well hidden.  Enjoyable Imperial Stout and another good one from Founders, a brewery out of Michigan.  Their more well known stouts are Breakfast Stout or Kentucky Breakfast Stout, but this one compares positively especially if you aren't looking for a mouth full of coffee.

Russian River Rumble

Thanks to my awesome sister in law, I finally got my hands on bottles of Russian River Consecration and Supplication in order to do a side by side tasting.  Every time I've had one or the other, I've decided that it's the best but it's purely because I can never remember what the other tasted like.  Friday night I decided to try to end my confusion once and for all.  Or, at least until I have the loser again and decide it's better.  I'm fickle, so sue me.

In the left corner, we have Consecration, a dark ale aged in Cabernet Sauvignon wine barrels with currants.

Dock Street Tuesday

Before driving to Troegs on Wednesday, Jo and I went to Dock Street Brewpub Tuesday night.  Dock Street is located at 50th and Baltimore (basically) and serves pizza and some other food.  It's an interesting neighborhood place and their pizza is quite good.  We went (well, I went) because they were doing a release of their Russian Imperial Stout, Prince Myshkin, and also had a few bottles (40) of their 2009 Barleywine for sale with it.  The barleywine had been aged in Pinot Noir wine barrels for 10 months and then set down in their cellar for a year.  The Prince Myshkin was aged for 11 months in the same barrels which means it pulled flavors from the oak, some wine flavors and whatever the barleywine imparted.  It sounded too interesting not to take a short trip on the green line to head up there.

Okay, now I know I'm crazy

If you've been reading my blog since near the beginning you may remember that I once questioned my sanity after attending the Troegs Splinter Blue release.  However, after Wednesday, I think I have crossed that line and left it in my dust.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Wednesday was the release of Troegs Splinter Black and I went to that too.  Splinter Black is an Imperial Stout brewing with cocoa nibs and turbinado sugar, then aged for three months on oak with vanilla beans, and finally bottle fermented.  According to the brewery it comes in at a whopping 13%.  To say I'm excited to drink it would be an understatement.

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.

Beer isn't just for drinking

The November issue of BeerAdvocate magazine had a recipe for cranberry sauce made with Ommegang Three Philosophers.  I thought it sounded delicious and finally got a chance to test it out.

Add 12oz cranberries, 1c honey, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1c dried cherries, 1tsp kosher salt, and 2 sliced oranges to the pot.  Pour the Three Philosophers over the top as seen above.  Reserve a little for the chef.

Mad Elf Madness

My friends had been talking about Troegs Mad Elf so I finally decided to do my small two bottle vertical.  For those that don't now the term, a vertical is drinking different years of the same beer to compare the differences caused by aging.  Most people do verticals with 4+ years to get a nice range, but they also tend to do them with other people because otherwise they'd get wasted by the end.  As I was by myself, I decided comparing the 2008 to the 2010 would be plenty.

In the above picture, the 2010 is on the left and the 2008 is on the right.  As you may be able to see, they were both a ruby brown color but the 2010 was much clearer.  I was actually surprised by how different they ended up being.

Petrus Aged Pale

I had another bottle of Petrus Aged Pale, a Flanders Oud Bruin, the other day.

Sour, tart smell with a tiny bit of vinegar.  Sweet and sour up front followed by a hit of bitterness and ending with a dry finish, leaving you wanting more.  As I worked my way through it, the hit of bitterness disappeared completely and the flavors switched between sweet, sour and tart.  I didn't get any hints of apple in this bottle unlike the last time I had it.  I really like this beer and feel it would make a good entry into the world of sours.  Search it out as it shouldn't be too hard to find.

Sly Dog Night at Belgian Cafe

Had a great night at the Belgian Cafe on Tuesday.  They were doing a joint Sly Fox and Dogfish Head night (nicknamed Sly Dog by Suzie Woods) and I was interested in chatting with her again when I was sober (instead of like during the Craft Beer Express) and, of course, trying some new beers.  As usual, the food at the Belgian Cafe was pretty great.  I had a vegan burger with brie and pickled jalapenos that was delicious and Jo had a chicken sandwich with leeks and blue cheese (aka the Monks Burger).  Suzy and the Dogfish Head rep, Wendy, showed up around 7 and I chatted with them both for a while.  Like I usually say, it's always nice when people are willing to talk to me about beer even if it's their job to do so.  I'll take anything.

Friday Beers!

Had a double dose of awesome beers last Friday and surprisingly enough they were both hoppy beers.  I went to Jose Pistolas for lunch (where else would I go?) with my brother in law, Sean, because they were having a bunch of Founders stuff on draft plus their food is always delicious.  While the Breakfast Stout was calling my name, I had to get a glass of the Harvest Ale poured from the first Founders firkin sent to Philadelphia (according to Adam.)

Notice the thick, creamy head as a result of being poured from the firkin.  I tried to get a picture of it but I couldn't get a good angle on it.  Basically, it was sitting on the counter in the corner and to pour a beer, Adam just opened the tap.  Picture a water cooler made of wood and turned on its side and you'll have a good idea.  The Harvest Ale had a lovely citrus smell without any hop bitterness.  First sip reminded me of lemons and some orange peel.  It was followed by a nice sweetness also without any bitterness.  Unfortunately I've never had the Founders Harvest before so I can't compare but this was really good.  Glad I went with it.  I also got a taste of Curmedgeon which was fantastic.  Tasted like a glass of caramel bread.  Right up my alley.

That night, I opened the bottle of Unfiltered Double Simcoe I got at Weyerbacher during the release of Riserva.  This is different from their regular Double Simcoe as it's bottle conditioned in a 750mL bottle so unfiltered.

Similar lemon and orange flavors in this one although a little bitterness is present.  It has a sweetness to it but ends with a hop bite.  Not overpowering, but it's there and lingers for a bit.  I thought it went really well with dinner too.  The hops flavor went really well with whatever it was I was eating at the time.  Orange citrus backed each sip and as it warmed up I started getting some caramel flavors as well.  Compared to the normal bottle that I had over Thanksgiving, this was less hoppy and a little sweeter.  Definitely would be interesting to have both together that's for sure.

Sly Fox and Dogfish Head are apparently at the Belgian Cafe tomorrow night so maybe look for some notes about that in the next few days.  I know I'm going to the Bavarian Barbarian lunch at Jose Pistolas on Friday so feel free to say hi if you are going too.  Good beer and their brewer is going to be there I think.  Should be fun.

Duck Rabbit Brown

I had the Duck Rabbit Brown Ale recently and it continued to hold up their tradition of making great beers.

Nice roasted and nutty aroma.  A big toasted flavor comes in the first sip and is followed by a pleasant sweetness.  Some bitterness in the aftertaste, but only a little and it doesn't linger like an IPA or anything.  I thought it started similar to the Cigar City Maduro but the sweetness makes it end very differently.  Drinking more, you get a flavor similar to hazelnuts.  Yet another great beer from Duck Rabbit.  I cannot wait to try their Barleywine.

Philadelphia Brewing Company Harvest from the Hood

I got a bottle of Harvest from the Hood from our Community Supported Agriculture program a couple weeks ago.  For the past two years (I think two years), the hops used are grown at the farm where we get our stuff so they give out a bottle in the last pickup.  Harvest is a wet hopped IPA, meaning it's brewed with freshly picked hops.

Hoppy smell without the sweetness that the stronger IPAs give off.  Some citrus rind in the first sip but they don't remind me of grapefruit this time.  The citrus and bitter flavors result from the hops and differ based on the type of hops used in the brewing just like any other ingredient.  Not sure which hops are used to brew this one though.  The aftertaste is a bit bitter and lingers.  Decent IPA and neat that the hops came from a farm in Philadelphia.  I probably wouldn't pick Harvest up again but I don't think it's that expensive so it's worth a try.

South Philly Tap Room

Jo and I went to do some Christmas shopping in South Philly so we decided to stop by South Philly Tap Room for dinner and some drinks on the way home.  This replaced our trip to Devil's Den so I lied in my previous post.  Oh well, you'll just have to learn to live with the disappointment.  This was my first visit to SPTR so I was pretty excited.  I've heard a lot of good things about it and it lived up to all of them.  The draft list was quite varied and the food was really good.  I got a great meatball hoagie and Jo got an open-faced roast chicken sandwich that was quite delicious.  Plus there is a decently priced bottle shop called Brews across the street so you can stock up on things you need after having dinner.  How convenient.

To start, I got a beer I've been eying for a while, Allagash Interlude, an American Wild Ale.

It had a tart, fruit smell with a little funk in the background.  Not overpowering and very interesting.  Initial sip was tart and sour, but without the puckering lactic sourness that exists in some of the more pronounced sours.  Nice base of sweetness to buoy the sour flavors and keep them from ruining your mouth.  Jo really enjoyed this as well so take that as you will.  We both decided it had a lemonade like flavor although without the ridiculous sugar that exists in most.  I guess you could call it beeronade?  Hmm, maybe not since that sounds remarkably dumb.

After flip-flopping between Ommegang Adoration and Manayunk Iron Curtain, I decided to order Manayunk's Russian Imperial Stout since we're going to Ommegang in March anyway.

Cocoa, coffee and some roasted malt in the nose.  Quite inviting.  Some warming alcohol up front followed by some sweetness to counteract it.  The cocoa and coffee flavors fight with the alcohol a bit with the alcohol initially winning but, as is usual, the alcohol notes disappeared as I drank more.  It's a flavor that's easy to get past. at least for me, which allows the tastier stuff to come to the front.  Nice thick mouthfeel too.  Good offering from Manayunk even if it wasn't quite as tasty as the Stones Russian Imperial Stout I had the other day.  Hard to compete with them though.  Enjoyable end to the meal.

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

I drank a Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron the other day, a sort of brown ale.  I say sort of because it's aged in a giant wooden tank at Dogfish Head made of Palo Santo wood, is quite a bit stronger than a normal brown, and really doesn't taste anything like one.

I liked the look of this beer a lot; deep brown with minimal carbonation.  Considering it's 12%, no real surprise that the major smell I got was an alcohol sweetness.  Initially, I mostly tasted some sweetness but surprisingly without the alcohol I smelled.  Some warming alcohol appears in the aftertaste, however.  As it warmed up, I got some plum flavors, a little vanilla, and some caramel lingering on the tongue.  The vanilla really started coming up and it got more and more tasty.  Goes to show how much a cold temperature can mask flavors in beer.  Some people think this is too hot (meaning it tastes mostly of alcohol) fresh but I quite enjoyed it.  Quite pleasant with dinner as well.

Weekend!

After a relaxing Thanksgiving with many great beers, Jo and I made our way back to Philadelphia.  On the way (okay not in any way on the way since it's 45 minutes past our apartment) we stopped at the Victory Brewpub.  Originally, I was going to pick up some bottles of Dark Intrigue, their new Barrel Aged Storm King, but they sold out of 70 cases in about 45 minutes November 24th so that idea was shot.  However, I also wanted to pick up a shirt from them, so we decided to go anyway.  When we arrived the parking lot was super full, but we managed to find some seats at the bar.

I started with a glass of Old Horizontal, their barleywine.

Smelled strongly of alcohol with very little sweetness.  The last few barleywines I've had all smelled very sweet so this was quite a change.  Initially, it tasted like slightly bitter alcohol.  After drinking some more, I realized it was just really heavily hopped.  Similar to Stones Old Guardian, but even hoppier.  The bitterness didn't linger, but every sip I took started with it.  It relaxed a bit as I had more but definitely a different take on the style.

I followed that up with a glass of Yakima Glory, a Black IPA.  At one point this was known as Yakima Twilight but they changed the name probably due to trademark issues but who knows.  If you do know, drop a comment about it.

Very pretty pour as they had it on one of their hand pumps.  It looked slightly darker in person than in the picture but regardless it's still darker than a regular IPA.  Smelled hoppy.  Very creamy.  Some roast followed by a lot of hop flavor but no real bitterness.  The fact that it was on hand pump masks some of the hop bitterness in a similar way as having it on nitro in my opinion.  I find the consistency and mouth feel change pretty dramatically.  I thought this was quite pleasant and would be interested in trying it again out of a normal tap to see the differences.

After that we drove home and worked on cleaning the house to get ready to put up some Christmas decorations.  To relax, I popped the bottle of Stones Imperial Russian Stout I bought from Capone's a few weeks back.

I noticed later that the gargoyle on the bottle is wearing one of those tall, Russian hats which is pretty funny.  Pretty neat bottle in my opinion.  Smelled sweet with some alcohol, mild coffee and some chocolate notes.  Initially, I got bittersweet chocolate flavors with a pleasant warming from the alcohol.  Some roast and even some really mild tart flavors in the background, almost cherryish.  No bitterness at all and really well balanced between the alcohol and the rest of the flavors.  This is probably one of the best Imperial Russian Stouts I've ever had.  Definitely lived up to its reputation.

Devil's Den is having an event December 1st that Jo and I should be going to.  They said they'd have different oaked or aged beers on draft so there should be some good stuff.

Thanksgiving!

I started celebrating Thanksgiving early by going to lunch at Jose Pistolas on Wednesday.  I was supposed to go with a friend of mine and even though he bailed on me I went anyway.  There were quite a few things on draft that I wanted to try (Founders Curmudgeon, Duck Rabbit Wee Heavy, Nøgne Ø Sunturnbrew, and St. Bernardus Christmas) but seeing as how I could probably find all of them again but the Nøgne Ø, I decided to get a glass of that.  It's a barleywine that's brewed with some smoked malt.

Two on Tuesday

I tried two new beers last night at the Urban Saloon.  Even though it gets kind of frat partyish on the weekends, this place is actually pretty nice at other times.  Their draft list is always decent and their food is good so Jo and I go there when we are looking for somewhere calm to go.

I started with Terrapin Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout something I've been wanting to try for a while.

The smell was all chocolate and very inviting.  First sip was chocolate up front followed by an almost milk shake flavor.  Super thick mouth feel.  Drinking more, the chocolate is a consistent presence and it continues to remind me of a milk shake.  The sweetness in it is great.  The only negative I could find is there was a weird, slightly chalky aftertaste which may be a result of the cocoa they used in the brewing.  It doesn't ruin the beer or anything, it was just odd.

After that I had a glass of Southern Tier Old Man Winter, an Old Ale.

I was surprised by how hoppy this one smelled.  I expected it to be a winter ale, sort of sweet and caramel, but with the hop smell I knew I'd be wrong.  Taste followed with some mild hops although no real bitterness.  Maybe I would have liked this more if I knew what I was getting, but as it is I just wasn't particularly impressed.  It wasn't bad or anything, just wasn't that good.  Felt like a dull IPA with a little bit more body.

I expect to have another post tomorrow morning and maybe something after Thanksgiving on Friday, but we'll see.  Otherwise, have a good Thanksgiving everyone!

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 Winter & Fegley's Brew Works Hop'solutely

I had the Weyerbacher Winter Ale some time last week.  Jo and I got a growler of it when we visited the brewery for the Riserva release party.  The Winter Ale is a Winter Warmer.

It had a slight smell, sweet and malty.  Leads into caramel, toffee, and malt flavors with no hops or bitterness present at all.  Pleasant and drinkable as long as you like sweeter beers.  Jo enjoyed this a lot.  We both thought it tasted quite similar to Yards Brawler which isn't a bad thing.  It's also an inexpensive case so if you're looking for something to session, this is a great choice during the winter.

Last Friday night, I popped the bottle of Brew Works Hop'solutely I got from being super early to The Institute.  Brew Works claims it's a Triple IPA and I'm denoting it as such but really it's a Double IPA since the Triple IPA style doesn't really exist according to the mysterious groups that create beer styles.

I expected a huge hop smell, but it was surprisingly mild.  No head with very little carbonation.  Initially, I got some hop flavor with some caramel flavors along with it.  As I drank more, the hop bite grew and grew until it was all I was tasting during and after each sip.  I took a short break between the two glasses which helped me recover a bit, but man was it strong.  Reminded me quite a bit of Stone's Old Guardian.  I liked this, but next time I'd probably try to split it with someone as the full 750 was a little much for me.  Considering its ABV, I'd honestly call this a barleywine or what I want to call it, a Hopwine.  Hell, we have Barleywine and Wheatwine, why not Hopwine?

Troegs Mad Elf 2009

I met up with some friends at the Kite & Key on Monday and while they still had a few Allagash left from their Craft Beer Express Event, I saw they had a Mad Elf from 2009 and had to get it.

Not much of a smell to this one.  First sip, I got lots of sugary notes.  A little bit of caramel comes out but it doesn't stray too far from my first impression of sugar flavors.  The cherries were basically non-existent after a year.  I've heard from people that have had many different ages of Mad Elf and they all agreed that the cherry flavor comes and goes each year.  I'm excited to try the 2008 and the 2010 I have to compare them to this one.

Craft Beer Express

On Saturday Jo and I did the Craft Beer Express (CBX) for the first time.  They have done this two times before, once in March and once in June during Philly Beer Week.  Basically, you pay $10 for a ticket and this allows you to get on any of the eight buses that are traveling around the city.  You can get on and off at any of the 11 different bars where the bus stops.  Each bar had a different theme going, some with a full list of a specific brewery while others just following a theme.  The Institute, at 12th and Green, did all Stouts and Porters for example.  In the end the ten dollars is the transportation fee to get around Philadelphia for the day and it turned out to be well worth it.

While CBX officially started at 11am, The Institute opened at 10am (4 hours earlier than they usually do) for breakfast and I guess maybe so they could be prepared for 11am.

Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary

Monday was Sierra Nevada's 30th Anniversary celebration.  Thirty years of brewing is pretty impressive in this day and age and they seem to still be going strong.  In Philadelphia, the last of the four 30th Anniversary Ales was released and it's called Our Brewer's Reserve: Oak Aged Ale.  It is a mix of Oak-Aged Bigfoot (their barleywine), Celebration Ale, and fresh Pale Ale blended together and then dry hopped.

Nice thick head on it at almost an inch.  It smelled really hoppy with some alcohol hiding behind it.  Where the Jack & Ken's Barleywine smelled like alcohol with some mild hops this smells like hops with some alcohol.  First sip was very hoppy with some sweetness underneath.  As I drank more, the hops receded a bit and some caramel and sugars came up.  Bitter aftertaste that lingers for a while.  This blend was quite good but a little hoppy for me.  Of the three 30th Anniversary ales I've tried, I enjoyed the Jack & Ken's the most (the black barleywine) followed by Fritz & Ken's Ale (an Imperial Stout) and then this one.  Don't get me wrong, I'd drink any of them if they were put in front of me, but if all three were available that's how I'd order them.

I'm mostly done with a post about the Craft Beer Express from this Saturday, but it's taking me a little longer to write that one.  Look for it tomorrow probably.

Weyerbacher Riserva Release

The 2010 release of Riserva finally arrived and boy was it worth the wait.  Weyerbacher released it on Friday November 12th with a small event at their brewery where they offered samples of it plus a few of their other beers.  Jo and I drove up there after work and were both very excited for it.  Me to try the Riserva and Jo because it sounded fun.

Bell's Best Brown

We need to pick up a new case of beer for Jo so I opened a bottle of Bell's Best Brown for her to try.

Smelled malty with a few toasted notes for good measure.  First sip was sweet with some toasted malt flavors.  As I drank more, I got a little bit of caramel but the overall flavor was mostly the sweetness and roast.  No bitterness at all and pleasant while eating dinner.  I enjoyed it but Jo thought it was a little too much to drink an entire case.  Still, a 6 pack would probably work out for most people.  Get it soon though as it's a fall seasonal and it's probably going to start disappearing again soon.

And yeah I made another post before this weekend.  So sue me.  On a random side note, I made some awesome cookies today.  So good.

Sly Fox Gold Rush and Cigar City Maduro

This will be a double beer post since I'm a little backed up with notes right now.  Need to get these two down as I have some super exciting events coming up this weekend.  Really cool stuff, but first two normal beer posts.

To start with, Sly Fox Gold Rush Lager, a Steam Beer.

Obviously, we picked up a growler of it when we visited the brewery over the weekend which means it was a beer that Jo liked.  For those that like beer but not the crazy stuff, this would be a good choice.  It smelled malty and sweet like a lager as expected.  Some sweetness, some maltiness, no bitterness at all in the flavors.  Very well balanced beer, quite enjoyable and easy to drink.  Great choice for relaxing in the afternoon.

Later in the week, I opened a bottle of Cigar City Maduro Brown, an American Brown Ale.

Cigar City is a brewery out of Tampa, Florida.  It makes some awesome beers, but right now only a few are available in Philly although I'm sure Bella Vista is working hard to get more here.  Getting back to the Maduro, I'll warn you now I'm going to use the word roasted quite a lot in this post.  I'd try to avoid it, but I have 3 lines of notes and used it 3 times so I'm sort of screwed.  I could consult a thesaurus but it's a blog not a novel so deal with my repetitiveness.  The smell was roasty but not too strong.  Flavor had a little sweetness, but once again the roasted malts came to the forefront and left their mark.  Aftertaste was also, surprise surprise, quite roasty.  There wasn't any bitterness in it and I thought it was closer to a porter than anything, but regardless I enjoyed it quite a lot.  So there we go.  I used roasted three times in three sentences.  Go out and try the beer and let me know if I'm wrong.

So yeah that's my current backlog (sort of.  I drank a Coronado Islander IPA today and it was good but I'm not going to post about it any more than this.)  Look for some cool stuff from the coming weekend although I know everyone will just read it Monday morning when they get to work.  And, sorry Jeff, they are probably going to be long posts.

Another Sunday, Another trip to Capone's

Jo and I can't stop going to Capone's on Sundays.  Delicious, twenty five cent wings along with a great draft list keep dragging us back.  Their wings are great and at 25 cents they are an absolute steal.  We also got a Chicken Parm sandwich which was also delicious.  As usual their tap list was quite diverse although once again the list that I got in the email on Wednesday had things that had already kicked.  Kind of to be expected considering the quality of beer in the email but one of these days I'll get one.

I started with the Rodenbach Vintage 2007, a Flanders Red Ale.  I posted a while back about Rodenbach Vintage 2008.

Reading my old post, this seemed pretty similar to the 2008. Very sour smell, pretty close to a sweet vinegar.  As I've said before, it sounds bizarre but it's absolutely delicious.  This tastes of fruit (I get sour cherry but I'm sure it varies between people), some balsamic, and just general tartness.  Drinking more I got some apple flavor as well.  Really great beer and I was excited to get to try another vintage of it.  I love the Flemish Red style right now.

After that, I changed gears a little and got a glass of Allagash Odyssey, a Dark Wheat beer that's been aged half in stainless steel tanks and half in oak barrels and then blended together.

Let me first say that this beer just blew me away.  I thought it was fantastic.  The smell was interesting in that it was sort of floral and perfumy.  I got hints of wheat, some roasted notes from the dark malts, caramel, and bananas.  It had a nice body to it and was super smooth.  For what started as a Dunkel Weizen this ended up super complex and incredibly tasty.  As it warmed up, I also got some toffee and slight oak notes.  Just so good.

Finally, since I've heard a decent bit about it, I got a glass of Sierra Nevada's Celebration, an IPA.

I didn't actually realize it was an IPA when I ordered it, but it was pretty obvious when it came out.  Smelled very hoppy with some grapefruit.  It tasted a little sweet but was overall quite hoppy.  Surprisingly clean finish though.  It's quite popular on Beer Advocate and while it was good I'm not sure why.  IPAs aren't my thing though so maybe it's good for an IPA.  It was good and all but I just didn't find anything special about it.  Still, something to order if you want something relaxing and easy to drink.

Yet again a great visit to Capone's.  I love this place.  The bottle shop is so dangerous though and Jo encouraging me doesn't help.  I came out of it this time with three bottles.

I picked up Dark Horse Plead the 5th 2009, Stone's Russian Imperial Stout, and Avery Mephistopheles.  I can't wait to try them.

Sly Fox!

Jo and I went to the Sly Fox brewpub Saturday evening.  We had been to the Pheonixville location before so we decided to check out the one in Royersford.  The brew pub was in a strip mall and was nondescript from the outside.  Still I'm always excited to go to a new brewpub and this wasn't an exception.

I started with the Oatmeal Stout which can't be that surprising to people who know my beer preferences.  (For those that don't, if a stout is available, I'll start with it.  If more than one is available, I'll just drink them all before trying something else.)

It smelled of oats and roasted malts.  Nice thick mouth feel on it.  Some roastiness, tiny bit of bitterness, some nuttiness.  I got a nice oatmeal aftertaste as well.  As I drank it, the bitterness disappeared once I got used to it.  Pleasant oatmeal stout, basically what I'd expect from the style.  Sly Fox makes beers that represent a style well which is great since you know exactly what to expect when ordering one of their beers.  The only downside of brewing to style is you know exactly what to expect from their beers.  Sounds odd but sometimes I like to be surprised with new flavors from a familiar style.

After that I got their Saison Vos, a farmhouse style ale.

It smelled so inviting that I forgot to take a picture of it until halfway through.  (That's totally true, I swear.  Stop looking at me like that.  I didn't just forget.)  It had a slight Belgian smell (the description implied it used a Belgian style yeast) and I thought it had a slightly musty smell as well.  It had a nice sweetness to it with some base spices, things like all-spice, pepper, other things like that.  The flavors blended a bit as I drank more of it and it warmed up.  All in all it was quite good.  Very similar to Ommegang Hennepin, another farmhouse ale.

I finished with their Route 113, an IPA.

Smelled pretty hoppy as expected.  Surprisingly thick mouth feel for an IPA which was nice.  Some hoppiness obviously but after that it had pretty smooth flavors.  There wasn't a lot of bitterness at all even with the hoppy notes.  No lingering bitterness in the after taste either.  All in all, I really liked this IPA.  Enough hoppiness to be pleasant, but no overwhelming bitterness.  Just really well balanced.

Very nice visit to the Sly Fox brewpub.  The food here was decent (although nothing spectacular) and the beer was pretty good.  I do enjoy Victory more but I enjoy their beer more so I kind of expected that result.  I want to check out the Pheonixville one again as I've read they moved to a new building since Jo and I visited (plus it's been years), but I'll probably wait until their Bockfest in May.  They have a goat race plus a whole bunch of great sounding beers.  Seriously, a goat race.  How can you not go to that!

Random Sierra Nevada and Sly Fox Weekend

Jo and I planned to head to the Sly Fox brewpub in Royersford on Saturday so I figured I'd start the weekend off with a bottle of Sly Fox Black Raspberry Reserve Friday night in order to have a Sly Fox themed weekend.  However, we stopped in at Brigids and they just put on Sierra Nevada Fritz + Ken's Ale and I had to try it, ruining my theme.  The things I do for beer.

Sierra Nevada Fritz + Ken's Ale is the first of their 30th Anniversary beers.  It's an Imperial Stout (although Sierra Nevada calls it a Pioneer's stout, but that's not really a style so yeah.)

It's called Fritz + Ken's because of the people who brewed it.  Each of the first three 30th Anniversary beers were brewed with a guest brewer from some famous brewery.  This one was brewed with Fritz Maytag, the owner (or founder, not sure if he still owns it) of Anchor Steam brewing.  Ken is Ken Grossman, the owner (founder?) of Sierra Nevada.

I smelled some roasted notes plus a little bit of alcohol on the nose.  Basically reminds me of a Russian Imperial Stout which is probably a good thing since it basically is one.  Some roasted malts, a little sweetness, and a bunch of bitterness in the end.  Decently thick mouth feel.  As I drank more of it, the bitterness faded and each sip started with a burst of sweetness almost tasting like a milk shake.  This 30th Anniversary was quite good.  I still think I like the Jack + Ken's Ale a bit better but this was impressive.  I can't wait to try the last one though.  It sounds awesome.

After that, we came home with our food and I opened the Sly Fox Black Raspberry Reserve to start my theme.

First notice the color and head.  It's a dark ruby with a thick amount of violet head.  Decent carbonation.  As expected, it had a huge raspberry smell.  Very inviting.  Tasted sweet with some fruit flavors mixed into it.  The beer itself was pretty mild but the raspberries bring it from okay to quite good.  Very clean finish on it, no hint of any bitterness.  Jo took quite a few sips of this one and also enjoyed it.  If you're looking for something to drink while relaxing, this is a good choice.

Next up will be a write up on the Sly Fox Royersford brewpub and some other Sly Fox beers.  I'm excited for it.

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.

Prohibition Taproom

Jo and I picked the Prohibition Taproom to visit before our chocolate tour of Philadelphia.  We were looking for somewhere new and this was close to Reading Terminal so we decided to check it out.  It's at 501 N. 13th Street, just south of Spring Garden.  Nondescript outside with a sign that said bar or something.  Neither of us can remember.  Inside, there were only a few tables and a pretty neat looking bar.  It was made of solid wood and had some islands that jutted out from it into the middle of the room.  Interesting set up that we've never seen before.  Might be hell for the wait staff, but our bartender said she didn't much mind it.  Our food was actually quite good and their draft selection was pretty varied.

I started with Avery Old Jubilation, a winter warmer.

It smelled a little roasty with some sweet malt.  I got hints of some caramel, a few more roast notes, and some other sweet flavors.  Interesting and quite good.  I'm really looking forward to trying Avery's Mephistopheles after having this.  I haven't had enough from them considering the quality of this one.

After that I had a glass of Yards Hoppy Lil' Hudson, an IPA.  (Yards brews this in collaboration with the Prohibition Taproom.)

Decent hop smell once again reminding me of grapefruits.  Almost an inch of head, but this came off cask which is why it looks so creamy.  Very smooth mouth feel also possibly a result of being on cask.  Some bitterness in it but there was none in the after taste.  Pretty pleasant to drink.  Very smooth flavor, very smooth finish.  Felt like drinking creamy hops which is pretty different than a lot of IPAs.  Once again I enjoyed an IPA quite a bit.

After that we went on to do our Chocolate Tour which was pretty fun.  A couple hours later we ended up at Tria and I got a glass of Port Older Viscosity, an imperial stout.  I talked about it during the Hulmeville Beer Geek BBQ event.

Similar thoughts to last time except I thought this glass had a bit more bourbon flavor in it.  Some wood flavors as well but not a ton of sweetness.  Second sip had a lot of chocolate notes.  As I drank more, the chocolate, wood and bourbon flavors blended reasonably well together.  Strong beer, but one glass is a good choice if you savor it.