The Bruery Cuir

I've had this bottle for a while (that's a common theme for me) but don't actually remember when I bought it. Eh, no matter. Cuir is a part of The Bruery anniversary series and each beer is french for that year's theme. Year one being Papier, year two Coton, year three Cuir, etc. Cuir is an Old Ale at heart, but is brewed by something called the Solera style. This means The Bruery ages previous years of the beer and then blends portions of them together along with the fresh to add complexity and different flavors. Some of the fresh beer, about 25%, is also aged in bourbon barrels and blended.

Karl Strauss 23rd Anniversary Old Ale

This was sent to me a little while by a friend in San Diego. He previously sent me the 22nd Anniversary beer which was a partially barrel aged imperial stout. The 23rd Anniversary built on that idea and was an Old Ale 100% aged in bourbon barrels instead of only partially.

Very clean nose, full of bourbon. Some vanilla and a little sweet fruit come in the back. Nice thick body. Started off a little hot with lots of bourbon flavor though the vanilla in the finish helped keep it from being overwhelming. A bit more alcohol in the finish too. I don't know if that makes me sound negative because I actually really enjoyed this. You do have to like the flavor of bourbon though as it's huge and ever present. Certainly makes me curious what they have up next for their 24th Anniversary and hope they continue getting better.

On a completely separate note, if you haven't bought tickets to the Yards Smoke 'Em if Yous Got 'Em beerfest, you're missing out. Last year was awesome and I imagine this year will be even better!

Philly Beer Week Day 5: Founders & Funky Buddha

After my day of rest (hah!) on Monday, Tuesday was planned to be a long day. I had lunch at Jose Pistola's, a stop at Kite & Key, and then finally Prohibition Taproom. Maybe seems like a lot for a Tuesday, but Philly Beer Week! Woo! Okay, okay, I'm a little crazy, I know.

The first stop of the day was the Founders lunch at Jose Pistola's. They were going to have CBS, two years of KBS, Curmudgeon's Better Half, and a few others. To say it was going to be popular isn't giving the crowd the credit it deserves. I arrived about five minutes before opening and the crowd was already like forty or fifty people long.

For those that don't know Jose Pistola's, the entrance is over past the green sign in the middle so pretty far from where I was standing. Lucky for me, my friends showed up at about 11:10 and were twenty to thirty people ahead of me. Pays to have friends who took the day off, I guess.

A Beer Four All Seasons

Yesterday, I was invited to a press tasting for the collaboration between Dock Street and the Four Seasons hotel. The overall series is named "A Beer Four All Seasons" as there will be four beers this year, one basically in each season. The gist is that the Four Seasons is providing the ingredients and various ideas and then Dock Street works with them to create something unique. For the first beer, they created a Truffled Old Ale, an old ale aged in Chardonnay barrels and then blended with black truffles. Sounds bizarre, yes, but it turned out to be tasty.

When I got the invite I honestly didn't know what to expect as I've never been to anything resembling a press event. I arrived at the hotel and walked back to the Swann Lounge where they were holding the event. I didn't recognize anyone at first, but then saw Bryan Kolesar and Lew Bryson so at least I knew a couple people. After a few minutes, they started opening some bottles for us to try.

A Night at Moe's

Just before Hurricane Irene, Jo and I took a short trip to Western Massachusetts to see her dad. It was supposed to be a weekend trip but we didn't want to drive home in the middle of the storm so we left early on Saturday. However, thanks to her dad's suggestion of heading to Moe's on Friday night after we arrived, I still managed to continue my tradition of always going there when I'm in town. Moe's is a really great bar in little old Lee, Mass. and if you are ever in the Berkshires you should be sure to stop there.

Watching Soccer at the Kite & Key

Okay so I've been spending a lot of time at the Kite & Key. So sue me. It's close to our house, the atmosphere is nice, the beer list is pretty great, and they have tvs really well placed around the room. So, yeah, you are probably going to be seeing more posts about it. You'll have to deal with the disappointment.

For this time, Jo and I went because we wanted to watch the Germany vs. Japan Women's World Cup game while having a few beers. We settled down, Evan, the bartender, did us the favor of putting on the game, and I ordered a Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye, an IPA made with rye.

Birthday Dinner at The Farmer's Cabinet

While Jo and I went to The Farmer's Cabinet for the first time for drinks with my Canadian buddy, I had originally planned to make my first visit my birthday dinner.  Walking into the restaurant the beer bar is on your left with a bunch of bar stools in front of it.  There are wooden signs on the wall with the draft beer options plus a spot reserved for the beers that will be brewed by Terry Hawbaker of Bullfrog Fame which I absolutely cannot wait to try.  The bartender, Chris (who also happened to be Terry's roommate), said the brewing equipment is set up but there are still some things to finish up so it'll still be a bit.  One cool thing was that they already have a rack of barrels set up on the restaurant wall for him to age stuff.  It'll be neat to see when they are full of delicious beer.

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!