Highland Cold Mountain

We spent the few days before New Years in Asheville, North Carolina and I spent that time mostly drinking local stuff. We hit up a few breweries but didn't manage to make it to Highland because the day we could go they were closed for a private party. Sucks. So, I made do with trying their Winter Warmer, Cold Mountain.

I didn't know what to expect from this but actually found it pretty good! Sweet vanilla in the nose. Guessing it's brewed with it based on the strength. Continuing from there, the body also had a light vanilla sweetness with even more vanilla in the finish. However, it was never cloying or too sweet, just pleasant. I unfortunately don't remember what the main flavors were since the vanilla was apparently my focus. Nice job on a decent winter warmer regardless. Wish I had been able to make it to their brewery just to check out some other stuff. Oh well, next time!

Brunch at Kraftwork

Two weekends ago, Jo and I decided to stop at Kraftwork for brunch before heading over to Greensgrow to pick up our CSA allotment. On top of being on the way, I'd heard the food was quite good and their beer list is always top notch. Turns out their food really is that good as both Jo and I had excellent meals. Their biscuits especially were delicious and if you go definitely order them. To drink, I decided to start with Bell's This One Goes to Eleven. I think it's supposed to be an imperial red ale by style but I don't know 100%. I do know the name is from This is Spinal Tap, a pretty funny movie if you've never seen it.

Nodding Head 12 Beers of Christmas

On the second Saturday of December, Nodding Head held an event called 12 Beers of Christmas. They've been doing second Saturday events for quite a while now and they always have a few special beers for each event. For this one, they had 2010 Sledwrecker, Phunkywine, and some Grog aged in a JW Lees barrel. There were also quite a few others as they had like 12 beers available so it was quite an afternoon. When I arrived, things were slightly busy but there was plenty of room to stand.

Knowing I'd end up ordering all the beers I wanted anyway, I decided to start with the JW Lees Grog as it was in a small firkin sitting on the bar so I felt like it had the highest chance of kicking at some point.

Full Sail Wassail

Was looking for something interesting to drink during the Superbowl and came across the last bottle my brother Dan gave me for Hanukkah, Full Sail Wassail a Winter Warmer.  This one won't age well so I decided to finish my last bottle.

Some slight spice in the nose.  Initially I got spices backed by a sweet and malty base.  It feels like the spices were clove and ginger maybe but could be a few other things.  The finish was almost peppery which was interesting.  Decent spiced beer and an easy way to start off the Superbowl.

I also opened a bottle of Bells Expedition 2009 which was still fantastic.  I'm curious if it's the age or if this beer is awesome fresh too.  It's complex and really delicious.  You can see my first review here.  Mixed well with all the food we ate during the Superbowl too.

A Couple of Beers on a Friday

Last Friday I had a couple of interesting beers but haven't been able to talk about them quite yet.  Between the Three Floyds stuff, catching up on some other posts and Stina's birthday I've just had other things to talk about than these two.  Now's the time though.  I know, you're very excited.  I'm glad.

The first one I opened was a Great Lakes Christmas Ale.  My brother Dan gave me this for Hanukkah and I was excited because I had heard it was quite good.  I hadn't seen it anywhere around me so it was nice to get a few bottles.

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.

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?

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.

Saturday in Lee, Massachusetts

Spent the weekend in Lee, Massachusetts so that means a trip to Moe's! Moe's is a bar on Main Street in Lee and it's as good as any beer bar you can find. It has about 10 different rotating taps and the owner Josh brings in as many interesting beers as he can.  He had Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout last weekend for example. Any time I go to Lee I make a point of going there just because I usually find something good to drink there. On top of that, his bartenders are willing to talk to me about beer and know their stuff.  Plus who am I to say no to a trip to a beer bar? So if you're ever around exit 2 on the Mass Pike and want a beer, head into Lee and check out Moe's. If Josh is around, tell 'em Rich sent you.

Yesterday I got to have Sierra Nevada's Jack & Ken's again plus Gritty McDuff's Black Fly Stout. The Jack & Ken's was amazing again. (I talked about it here.)  That is such a great barleywine. After that I had a glass of Gritty McDuff's Black Fly Stout.

First, stouts on nitro are so freaking pretty.  The nitro tap and a proper pour is what gives that great foamy head.  This is a Dry Irish stout same as Guinness but way better.  It has way more flavor and it's just way more creamy.  This style is very easy drinking and this was no exception.  The Black Fly was just a little more bitter, but it was still really good.  Totally a nice way to cap off my visit to Moe's.

After that, Jo and I went back home where I decided to try two of the beers that my sister-in-law brought me from California.  One I asked for and one was a surprise.  The first was a Swedish beer named Oppigards Winter Ale.

It poured a brown color with a small amount of bubbly white head.  Had a mild fruit smell to it.  Not strong like a quad, just really mild and pleasant.  It tasted slightly spicy with a decent amount of sweetness.  I really didn't know what to expect from this but it was very good.  A really nice surprise since I didn't ask for this.

The beer I asked for was New Belgium's La Folie.

Unfortunately New Belgium isn't available in Philadelphia so this was a real treat for me.  La Folie is part of New Belgium's Lips of Faith series.  It's their Flanders Red Ale and they claim it's aged in barrels for 1 to 3 years.  It poured a dark brown color with zero head.  It's the sort of pour I'm learning to expect from this style of beer.  Great, super unique smells from this.  I smelled tart, sour notes with hints of vinegar but balanced with some nice lemony, citrus edges.  I was really psyched to try this out and my interest bore fruit with hints of caramel, slight vinegar and a nice tart end.  La Folie was really well balanced and I had no problems getting through the whole glass.  On top of that the bottle was super cool looking which is fun.

All in all a good weekend.  I got to go to Moe's and to try some more new stuff.  Plus I got this bunch of bottles (two of which I already drank) so I have a whole bunch of great stuff to try in the future.

From left to right it's: Deschutes Jubel 2010 (super psyched about this one, thanks Sean!), Russian River Temptation, Oppigards Winter Ale, Russian River Pliny the Elder (another fun surprise) and New Belgium La Folie.

Also note that I'm headed to Las Vegas tomorrow so there may not be any blogs this week until Friday or so.  We'll see though.