Dr. J's Beer Blog

The Ship Inn

2008-05-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

My old friends and I have an annual tradition. Once a year we get together to celebrate the opening of trout season. What started out as a mind bending day trip has gradually morphed into a four day holiday. When we were in High School (over 25 years ago), we used to load into my '72 International Scout and my friends '78 Bronco, hitting the road at 3am to make it for the opening "drop the line" 7am whistle. We would travel 2-3 hours just to fish. Actually, I think we drank more beer than we fished. We would crack our first can of beer at 6am, drinking in the cold morning air waiting for 7am to come. We'd fish for a few hours and then hit the beers, eventually heading home. Always with a designated driver and our parents were never the wiser.

Over the years we got older and the routine changed. We'd still head to our spot in the wee hours of the morning getting there two hours before fishing time, start drinking and then fish and then drink some more. But now because we were older we needed after fishing entertainment. That's when the "shaker joints" came into play. After a morning of fishing and drinking we would head for the Adult Entertainment venues. Nothing worse than a bunch of drunk college students in a strip bar. I am glad we grew out of that phase of our fishing trips or should I say lived through it.

A few more years down the line we became more established in life and decided that getting up at 3am to drive three hours to our fishing spot was ridiculous. That is when one of us came up with the idea of camping. Now, the one day trip has turned into a 3-4 day Trout Fishing Holiday. Oddly enough, we still only fish about four hours on this trip. The days have increased but the fishing time stayed the same. What could we be doing with all of our other time on this trip? Drinking naturally. Well, we call it bonding with our friends, getting in touch with nature, stress reduction therapy etc. But no matter how you look at it or what you call it, we were still there for the same reason we were there for 25 years ago, the beer.

Here is one of my favorite highlights of our annual trip. This is the part I start getting excited about two months before April, the beginning of trout season. After we fish in our fishing hole and then move down the stream to fish the Damn, it is usually about noon when we are finished. Just around the bend from the Damn, in Historic Milford New Jersey is the Ship Inn. The Ship Inn is what gets my salivary glands in a tither. New Jersey's first brew pub, the Ship Inn owned by the Hall family, brews English style ales. And they are quite good at it.

Much to the chagrin of the locals in attendance, around noon, 5 or 6 scruffy, waterlogged, some drunk, dirty fisherman parade into the Ships Inn and immediately take over the bar. Are we loud and obnoxious? Obviously. But for the most part we are personable, funny and usually form some sort of bond with the bartender, who is typically an attractive young lady. On our most recent trip there, the bartender was a young lass named Stephanie. I use the word lass because it rhymes with sass, and Stephanie can give as good as she gets. We have been going to the Ship Inn on an annual basis since 1994 and every time I walk in the door, I eye up the Old Style, English Hand Pump Beer Engine and ask, "What do you have in the casks today?"

Never to be disappointed, I always have the Best Bitter Ale. Served at a cellar temperature, Brewmaster Tim Hall's Best Bitter is so smooth it is silky. Just as good as any bitters I have had in England. I look forward to a few pints of Best Bitter each fishing trip. The Chocolate Stout is another winner. Dark, smooth and creamy, hints of chocolate all over it, the stout lovers in our group ate this style up. In our gathering of merry, sometimes grouchy fisherman, we have a few domestic swill drinkers. Sadly, for them there is not a domestic swill in the house. The Hall family only serves their own handcrafted ales and select imported ales on tap. They also have a fine bottle collection. Not to worry though. If you bring a few hardcore swill drinkers in with you, I settled them on Tim's ESB Ale. I love an ESB and this one proved to be extremely drinkable and even satisfied our "Light" beer guys.

The food in the Ships Inn is very good. We have our staples. Each time we go there we order a Shepard's Pie, a Scotch Egg and Buffalo wings. The Wings at the Ship Inn are extraordinary, as is the Shepard's Pie. But what gets the guys going is the Scotch Egg. The boys call it an Egg Meatball. What it is, is an egg shaped meatloaf filled with sausage, ground meat and a hardboiled egg in the middle. It is served with Picalilly Sauce, which is a dipping sauce made from cauliflower, carrots and mustard. It is very good.

My one exception with the Ship Inn is that on our latest trip, the bartender Stephanie refused to take down and fill the decorative yard glass hanging over the back of the bar. I wanted to fill it with some ESB and prove my manhood to the bar patrons. Stephanie refused to take the yard glass down. At one point I even offered her double her 20% gratuity, which was a lot considering we had 8 guys there drinking and eating that afternoon. In hindsight, it was probably best. As I mentioned previously, we were scruffy, drunk, waterlogged fisherman. Tim Hall should know that no matter how hard we tried, Stephanie would not break the "No Yard Glass Drinking Rule."

The Ship Inn is New Jersey's first Brew Pub and is located in Milford, NJ about 100 yards from the Delaware River and is worth a trip. As a matter of fact it is worth about 15 trips and still counting.

Beers In Review:

Allagash Tripel Reserve: This Belgian style ale had a nice, sweet refreshing smell. Almost fruity, very enticing. As I poured this beer, I couldn't help to notice the color. The beer had a orange, goldish hue with a formidable head that, as expected, thinned rapidly. The first sip had a well balanced fruity taste that was enjoyably refreshing. The second taste revealed all of the spices that were meticulously used in the boil. This ale even had a bit of a spicy kick to it. As the beer went down, you noticed the warming sensation from the 9% whollop this Tripel was packing. The best part of drinking Allagash's Tripel Reserve was the way the initial fruit taste morphed into a blend of spices and herbs then finishing dry and refreshing. Nothing reserved about this beer. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Avery Brewing Hogheaven Barleywine Style Ale: I really enjoy Avery beers. Particularly their IPA and extreme IPA styles. They take hops to the next level while never losing the balance between hops and malt. That being said, as far as their Barleywine goes, I just don't see it. It is a terrific beer, but I would never guess it was a barleywine. I like the traditional sweet malty taste of a barleywine. This one was all about the hops, which I am sure will please the guys who lean towards the high hop end. It was very good as an extreme IPA, give it a try and decide for yourself. 9.2 %

Stone Vertical Epic 07: The guys at Stone Brewing bred a Belgian Saison with a Belgian Tripel and came up with a helluva an ale for an offspring. She poured a light, orange color with a sweet, ginger aroma. Once in the mouth you felt a very dry taste which then left you with a bitter, hoppy aftertaste. Very good use of ginger and orange peel as those spices are right there on your tongue. This was an easy drinking, mellow, relaxing ale. The stamp of California was all over this brew This was one of the best, and I hate to use these words, entry level Belgian Beers one could drink. No offense meant by my use of the words entry level, but this ale is so easy drinking it could easily open up the world of Belgian beer to the non-Belgian beer drinker.

Hop Crisis

2008-02-17T07:30:00.000-08:00

It seems we are in the midst of a hop crisis. Weather conditions have wreaked havoc on the hop crop in Europe. Demand for Bio Fuels have farmers in the US trading in hop space for corn and other potential biofuels. The crisis will not effect the big brewers as much as the craft brewers. Watery beer doesn't use as much hops to come up with its distinct tastelessness. The average beer drinking American probably won't even notice that we are in the middle of a crisis. As for the rest of us, the hop crisis is as serious as the gasoline shortage of the 1970's and the price increases on barrels of crude oil today. Take away my SUV, charge me over $4.00 a gallon for gasoline, but never, ever mess with my Imperial Brews and my IPA's.

As craft beer consumers, we can expect a beer price increase due to the hop shortage as well as an increase in the cost of harvesting barley. Add transportation fuel costs to the mix and good beer is going to be more expensive. The price increase won't be an issue for me. I will keep the cost relationship for good beer in perspective. An average four glass bottle of wine costs $12.00. A six pack of beer or a couple of bombers or even a champagne corked bottle of Belgian Ale is still a bargain compared to wine.

The problem is what to do with the lack of hops situation. Hops are the distinct ingredient in all of our beers. We get our tastes, flavors and aromas from a variety of hops. Craft brewers will probably use their creativity and use more spices and less hops, ala the Belgians to make up for the shortage. But I have come up with an alternative. Start growing your own hops. It doesn't take much space. I planted two hop rhizomes last season in the spring and then filled up a bucket full of hops in the late summer. These two rhizomes literally took a couple of inches in ground space and about six feet in height. I didn't even string them out the way they were supposed to be planted. I had them grow on a trellis. I am assuming most craft breweries must have some yard space. Let's get the Rhizomes planted. It's time to grow hops. Maybe our fellow American Beer Drinkers can take part. Backyard hop gardens. Let's not take this crisis lying down, we can start a hop revolution. Our slogan: Save Your Beer, Grow a Hop!

The Beers

Aktien-Brauerei Kaufbeuren St. Martin Dunkle Dopplebock: That was a mouthful to pronounce. It was also a mouthful to drink. A deep, dark black malty beer. Thin head with a roasty, smokey toffee taste. Smooth mouthfeel. Classic German Dark Beer! Cold, Strong and Refreshing. Given to me by my good Friend from Michigan, I can imagine drinking this one in Frankenmuth with my lederhosen on and a polka in the background.

Undercover Investigation Shut Down Ale, Lagunita's Brewing Co.: This bitter ale was thick and malty looking with an extreme warming taste sensation. This baby had no balance between malt and hops as it leaned way towards the hoppy side. A huge bitter aftertaste! Delicious. 9.28 alcohol per volume, so it's a strong one.

Butte Creek Brewing Co, 10th Anniversary Imperial IPA: What a beer! Cloudy reddish, copper color, no head to speak of, mild hop smell, moderate malty aroma. This beer went down with a malty start, warmed up with a dry, hop bitter finish. I consider this beer a close second to Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, a compliment to be sure.

Belzebuth: France's answer to Barleywine. This ale clocks in at 13% and pours a cloudy, rusty color. This devil has a sweet malty aroma to entice you with temptation. Once you tasted it, you would dance with the devil's sister. Very warm and tingles all the way down. This is one helluva a beer. The ultimate fireplace brew!!

Belgian Rule?

2007-11-23T05:17:00.000-08:00

Why is it that Belgium brewed beers do so much damage (Think Hangover) and are the cause of many a holiday of havoc? As an experienced beer drinker, I am aware of the higher alcohol content as well as the much bigger sized bottle. This awareness leads me to drink with caution. A couple of small goblets before dinner as an aperitif, another goblet or two with dinner and a glass with desert. That's it. A total of 36 ounces of finely crafted beer. While the beer is being imbibed, my spirits are uplifted, my gabbing increases, wittiness runs rampant. I am the life of the Holiday. I say things I wouldn't say to my in-laws, even after a dozen pints of Guinness. I make jokes you wouldn't make after a half dozen glasses of DogFish Head 60 Minute IPA. My mark is left. Another Belgium inspired holiday.

So what is it? Why the headache the next morning? Why the brain fog? Yes, the alcohol content is high, but I am aware of that. I drink within reason. On any other given day, I could have a dozen pints of Guinness (153 ounces of beer, trumping the 36 ounces of Belgium Ale) with no negative effect at all. The same with my ESB or lager, no problem there. So, what is it? It must be the secret ingredients.

I have learned that after quietly existing as a peace loving member of the European Union, Belgium has secretly, over the past few hundreds of years, been trying to takeover the world.
It is a very subtle attack, they brew high alcohol beers with secret ingredients. They place candies and fruits in their beers. They add spices like cloves and mix them with their own home grown hops. The Belgians have concocted brews that slowly chip away at human thought, brainwashing the drinkers to become Belgians. This is how they will take over the world. Before long, attracted to the unique tastes and aromas of exotic Belgium Beers, the entire world will be making Brussels their home. The Belgians will take over the world. You have been warned.

The Beers in Review:

Trappistes Rochefort 10, This Trappist Belgium Ale, pours a dark, blood red with a thick, copious head. The ale gives off a sweet, malty aroma with a touch of fruit. As typical, a mixture of many flavorful spices. # 10 finishes off dry and warm. The monks that brewed this ale, packed a whollup in there, with a whopping 11.3% alcohol per volume.

Trappistes Rochefort 8, The number 8 shares many of the 10's characteristics as far as color, aroma, taste and finish, yet 8 comes off tastier and more of a drinkable treat then its Trappist brother. The less alcohol, not by much, makes this ale drinkable, yet still dangerous. My favorite of the two.

V Twelve Ale, Victory Brewing: This Belgian inspired ale, of a whopping 12% alcohol by volume, was a rare treat. The 12% alcohol was so subtle in taste, that I wasn't really aware of the ale's potency as I was drinking it. A good sign I am sure. A sign that allows you to want even more of this beverage once you have finished the bottle. Victory V Twelve Ale was very smooth with a very enjoyable light sweetness to it. The most remarkable thing about the beer, besides the taste, was the color. Poured in a wide mouth goblet, the color of the ale was the deepest red I have ever seen. I actually found myself staring at this glass of beer numerous times as I was drinking it. V 12 is an incredibly well done beer and tastes fantastic.

Butte Creek Brewing Co. Organic Revolution 10th Anniversary Imperial IPA, you gotta love the word Imperial. Once you see that, you know that you are getting an amped up beer. I'm a little weird in my taste of IPA's. I prefer a "normal" IPA, one that has a bitterness to it, but more importantly a drinkable quality. I am not fond of the hopped up IPA. On the other hand (here is my weirdness), Once the hopped up IPA goes out of hop control, beyond the hopped-upness, I like it. There seems to be three categories of IPA. 1. True to Style. 2. Extreme IPA 3. Beyond Extreme, as in Imperial. I like number 3. Once the IPA becomes hysterical, it gains a true balance. The hop is cut down, by the malt, the alcohol mellows the bitter aftertaste with a true warming finish. I like that. Butte Creek does a great job of brewing well balanced Imperial IPA. Moderate malty aroma, deep copper color, dry, warm and bitter all at the same time. A terrific beer that is comparable to Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, but without losing it's own individual differences. Well done.

My Rugby Team Has A Drinking Problem

2007-06-10T09:48:00.000-07:00

Rugby is an interesting game. Besides being the number two spectator sport in the world, in the USA, rugby is looked at the same way some would look at a traffic accident; with curiosity, awe and disgust. The curiosity is first. Curiosity will hit a person like a ton of bricks and make that person wonder, "What the heck is going on here?" The awe shortly follows as the wide open mouths, with expressions of amazement, take in the pure athleticism mixed with elegant, controlled violence. The disgust usually takes place after the match as the ruggers partake in traditional rituals such as drinking beer from a dirty rugby boot, or singing ribald songs whilst running naked through a pub.

While soccer is known as a gentleman's sport played by ruffians, rugby has the opposite reputation and is known as a ruffian's sport played by gentleman. In rugby, you will never see the fan riots and maulings that you do in soccer. Rugby is a sport ruled by social etiquette and protocol. Ruggers are a polite group of lads or even ladies as the case may be.

Once a grueling 80 minute rugby match has been played, tradition has it that the opposing teams will gather and share food and drink together. The third half as it is known. This social gathering allows the players to brag about their wounds and game time heroics over copious amounts of beer. As the beer flows like the Falls in Niagra and inebriation takes place, the ruggers sing songs, play drinking games and celebrate their victories with naked Zulu Warrior marches throughout the pub. Rugby can be quite fun.

But alas, my rugby team has a drinking problem. Not the drinking problem that can land you in A.A, but the kind that dictates their horrible taste in beer. The beers that are light in color and taste. The beers that need to be served ice cold, so that you cannot tell that the beer has no taste. That kind of drinking problem. But then again, I guess when you are drinking beer out of a dirty rugby shoe, the beer shouldn't be a ten dollar Belgium Ale. Or if someone is constantly dropping a golf ball in your beer cup and you have to guzzle what you have in the cup, a Russian Imperial Stout would be out of the question. And I suppose it would be a waste of money to fill a funnel up with cask conditioned ale for the short journey through the tube and into the stomach.

Maybe my rugby team doesn't have a drinking problem after all. As a matter of fact, maybe they are just wise beer consumers and I have an observational problem. On the other hand, our team bar, The Muskett Tavern, home of the Jersey Shore Sharks Rugby Club may have contributed to the problem by having a serving problem. With Bud Light being the only beer on tap, the Muskett is also known for its $2.50 bottles of Bud, Miller and Lite. The big attraction at the Musket is the always on special of $3.25 bottles of 22 oz Coors Light and thankfully the East Coast's own precious mass brewed gem, Yeungling Lager (A rose amongst the thorns of domestic swill). It's difficult to shame your rugby team when there are precious little choices.

So now, it seems, the rugby team does not have a drinking problem. It seems they are acting in their own best economic interest. Why waste good beer, when you can chug and spill all the swill available to you at little or no cost?

What of the tavern and their serving problem? A few of the older statesman rugby stalwarts (Think, Me!), formed a nice relationship with the bar manager. One night the manager says, "So, what kind of beer do you guys like to drink? I'll try and get it for you." So, in addition to large 220z bombers of domestic beer, we now have in the Muskett's fridge, bottles of Victory Hop Devil and Golden Monkey, Magic Hat Blind Faith and #9 and a few different Sam Adams selections as well as bottled Guinness.

Once again, it appears my rugby team may now have a drinking problem. But at least we will be going down in good taste!

The Beers:

Monkey Wrench Dark Ale, cask conditioned winter dark ale from Daleside Brewery in England. This dark brown beer poured a thin head with a nice roasted malt aroma. Full bodied and well balanced at 5.3 %, this ale was extremely drinkable and the perfect session beer for watching an NFL game in the winter time.

Tripel Belgian Style Ale, from Southern Tier Brewing in Lakewood, NY, USA. This beer poured into a pint glass was light red with almost no head to speak of. The aroma was sweet and malty. This beer leaned towards the malt side with a good balance of cloves and spices to give it the Belgian seal of approval. This style of ale had a sweet and dry finish. You wouldn't know this was a New York brew.

Belhaven Wee Heavy, This Wee Heavy from the Belhaven Scottish Brewery was a terrific beer for a cold winter night. At 6.5% Wee Heavy had a crisp, dry, warming finish. Many tastes were found in this beer. Vanilla, smokey, roasted and malty to name a few. This was a very good beer.

Bluebird Bitter, This English Ale from Coniston Brewery was the ultimate session beer. You could drink this one all day and enjoy every sip. At 4.2%, this bitter had a very full taste with a complexity of many different hops apparent in every swallow. I classify this beer in the incredible category for its style.

Sunrise Weissbeer, an unfiltered wheat beer from Victory Brewing in Downingtown, PA, USA. A Cloudy, yellow beer with a very thick and frothy head. The beautiful smell of citrus and cloves immediately catches your attention. Light bodied and refreshing, this beer leans towards the sweeter side. A very dry finish with citrus overtones, Sunrise Weissbeer was tangy, refreshing treat. Perfect summer beer and a worthy effort once again by Victory Brewing.

Beers Around The World

2007-04-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

" I'm French Mr. Eckland. My parents started me on wine mixed with water when I was six... The truth is, I don't believe in excessive drinking.... We had martini's before dinner, white wine with the fish, red wine with the main course, champagne with desert, cognac with the coffee and port after dinner." ---- Father Goose, 1965 , a Cary Grant movie.

The above quote from Father Goose really makes you want to get invited to that house for dinner. The French can drink and I am quite sure they would not consider the above list as excessive drinking. The French are known for their able drinking ability and also their preference for wine. Other countries also have interesting labels attached to them concerning the type of drink that they drink.

Right next door, is Belgium. A country smaller than most states in America, but a country with over 400 different locally brewed beers. Beer in Belgium is given the same respect as wine in other countries. Lambics, ales, sour beers, pilsners, Trappist Ales, white beer. Belgium has it all and they are not afraid to up the ante when in comes to alcohol content.

The Czech Republic is responsible for the style of beer mostly consumed in the United States. Let me rephrase that. The Czech Republic is responsible for the style of beer that we in America, loosely base our most popular beer recipes on. The Pilsner was invented in Pilsen, Czech Republic. Up until the time of Pilsner, beers were dark and cloudy. In Pilsen, they cleared the beer up and came up with a lighter crisper style. A few towns over in Budweis, their style of pilsner was so good, it inspired Adolphus Busch in and around 1875 to come up with his own Budweiser brew. The Budweis beer made in the Czech Republic can be bought in the United States under the name Czechvar. Only the names are similar as the actual taste of the two beers is worlds apart.

Germany is another country that tends to brew crisp, clean, refreshing beers. The land of the oversized beer mug is known for their lagers, but are second to none when it comes to serving up a large, frothy glass of wheat beer. Also called, Weissbier or Weizen or Hefeweizen. These beers are becoming hugely popular in America due to their refreshing qualities and perfect paring with the summer season. Nothing beats a Weissbeer on a hot summer day.

The land of Ale, England, brews some of the oldest and tastiest beers ever concocted. Britain is responsible for the extreme hop movement in the United States. When the Brits discovered additional hops added to the brew pot preserved the beer for the long boat trip to India, the India Pale Ale was born. On a more subtler note, the cask conditioned Bitters and all the other ale styles served at cellar temperature in pubs across Britain, are luscious examples of how a good beer should taste. And please, on a cold winter evening, never forget the king of all ales, the mouthwatering, stomach warming, tastiest of treats, the Barleywine.

When listing countries known for their unique drinking habits, one of the most unique would be the Republic of Ireland. Forget the green shamrocks, give me the black stuff. Stout sort of had the same origins as the British IPA. During the 1820's, Arthur Guinness was brewing porter beer in Dublin, Ireland. Arthur was exporting his beer to the Caribbean. To survive the trip, he made the beer stronger and renamed it Extra Stout Porter. Eventually the Porter was dropped from the name and the beer survived as Guinness Extra Stout. Overtime, the beer morphed into what we consume today, Guinness Draught. Guinness Extra Stout and Foreign Extra Stout are also available, but not as popular with the masses. If given the chance, try a bottle of Extra Stout, it will stand up to almost any American version of bottled stout. Truly a classic.

What of the Good Ol' USA? The roots of this country as a people represent one big melting pot of nationalities . The same could be said of our beer and our breweries. We have learned from other countries and brew beers of all styles. We have even taken the old traditional styles and Americanized them into bigger, bolder, brasher beers. While mostly known for our light and extra light lagers, American Microbreweries are foraging ahead with styles and tastes of beer that could not be found in any other country. The beauty of American beer is the same as the beauty of America, variety.

This Month's Beers

Arcadia Scotch Ale: Brewed in Battle Creek Michigan, this Scotch style ale is perfect for the style. It is very close to my bench mark beer, McEwan's Ale. Not as strong in alcohol as McEwan's but just a flavorful in taste. Sweet, malty taste with a warming finish.

Victory Brewing, Hop Wallup: This beer started with a strong hoppy aroma, almost like the trimming of a fresh hedge. A light bodied beer that has an extreme tilt towards hop bitterness at the finish. Despite the delicious hop wallop and the 8.5% alcohol, this beer is not only extreme, but extremely drinkable. To date, Victory Brewing has never disappointed me with any of their offerings.

Alaskan Brewing (Amber, Winter & Stout): The Alaskan Brewing Company brews a fine trio of beers in their Amber, Winter Ale and Stout. My good friend sent me these beers as a gift and they did not disappoint. The Winter Ale did not have any funky Christmas tree tastes, just a mild, drinkable ale with a hint of spruce. The Amber was also very drinkable and made a great session beer for me, as I drank all 6 in a row. The Amber is actually a German Alt beer and is a very good representative of the style. The stout was the big surprise, as I am a huge stout fan, I tend to be picky in my selections. This one was an oatmeal stout and smelled like a cup of hot coffee with a chocolate bar melted in. Delicious to boot. If this beer was on nitro it would remind me of the hand crafted Stouts at the Porterhouse Pub in Dublin, Ireland.

Pranqster: I tried this beer partly because of the name. I was known as the pranqster in college due to my playing of the pranks. This Pranqster, brewed in California is a Belgian Style Ale, light in color with a nice clovey aroma. Lot's of different herbs and spices in the taste. A very refreshing beer that due to the 7.5% alcohol content sneaks up on you. Very drinkable. A good summer beer.

It Has Never Been a Better Time to be a Beer Lover

2007-02-17T11:13:00.000-08:00

Wine is but a bowl of broth, ale is meat, drink and cloth. - 16th Century English Proverb

The whole "real" beer movement is starting to become very complicated to me. In 1991, it wasn't a problem. Now, at times, it can be a headache. In 1991, you opened the fridge and there was one brand of beer in it. Once you popped the top, that was it, you were committed. Granted, unless you had a large head start on me as far as quality beer goes, the beer that you just popped open was not much to write home about. More than likely, it was something very cold and something somewhat tasteless.

When I went out in public to a restaurant or bar in the early 1990's, my draught selection was usually the same beer that I had in my fridge. There was no adventure or experimentation, just blind loyalty to the beer with the least amount of calories. Less filling, who knew about taste? Didn't all beer taste virtually the same? Cold, carbonated, thin and not much else?

Zoom ahead 10 or so years. The beer revolution had taken it's foothold. Beer didn't have to taste like water. Beer didn't even have to taste like each other. There were now styles and strengths. Beer became something to be enjoyed and anticipated like a fine, no, I won't say it. How about anticipated like the next summer blockbuster you just saw the trailer for at the movie theater. Extreme, but truthful. Fast forward another five years and you are now in the midst of a beer explosion. The guys who make the watered down, tasteless beer are now jumping into the "craft" beer industry and they are trying their hand at making beer with taste. Succeeding too, I might add.

Look around. It has never been a better time to be a beer lover. The local beer store has so much selection and stock, one could spend an hour trying to find the right beer. Trust me, I know. Every day, beer distributors are bringing in fine new imports by the dozens. Beers from breweries that are so small you couldn't even find them with a map are now on our shelves. Take a peak at the tap selection of your local pub. Two or three handles? I don't think so. Six or seven would be more like it. And what about the super taverns with over a hundred different beers to chose from? They used to be hard to find, now they are popping up everywhere. Brewpubs? You bet. Books about beer. Beer magazines, beer newspapers, websites, beer blogs. Beer is every where. Beer dinners and tastings. Cooking with beer. Beer is better with cheese than wine. You name it, beer has exploded.

Never in a million years would I want to go back to the day when I popped a can of my favorite "beer" from the fridge, but as I mentioned earlier, the beer movement has made beer much more complicated. Now I have to make decisions. What beer would go best with the meal I am having? Which beer suits the weather and or the season? Do I want to have a glass of a sipping beer or would two or three pints of a session beer be better? Do I have the appropriate glass to serve it in? Is the temperature right? Wait a minute. Wawawawawa. I sound like a wimp. I sound like one of those wine guys. What am I talking about? Beer is for heroes and champions, the nectar of the Gods. The drink of the human race. It doesn't need to be picked apart by my new found sense of knowledge, it just needs to be drank and enjoyed.

Who am I kidding? I like my beer knowledge, I like my beer selections and I like the fact that it takes me more than a couple of minutes to decide what kind of beer I am going to drink. It has never been a better time to be a beer lover. Viva La Complication!

The Beer

Hobgoblin Ale: I found the UK based Wychwood Brewery Beers when I used to live In Ireland. I am glad that they made it across the sea. These are very hearty ales that are well crafted with many different tastes that come through. A very ruby red in color, this beer has a perfect balance of malt flavor and moderate bitterness. If you try, you can even taste a hint of toffee and chocolate flavor.

Rescue India Pale Ale: Brewed by the Barley Creek Brewery in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, this beer has the distinct taste of a homebrewed beer. Most beer when bottled by the pros loses that homebrew personal touch. It is a certain taste that lingers in a beer made at home. A good taste. Rescue IPA has it. Slightly sweet malty smell with a bitter hop after taste.

The Bad Elf Beers: Very Bad Elf: This was the best beer of the holiday season, as far as I am concerned. Maybe I drank too many and that is why I remember it fondly. That is probably the problem. This beer is so drinkable it is dangerous. Goes down like a "Mild", but has the taste and the alcohol content of a much bigger beer. Very Smooth. Dangerous at 7.5%.
Criminally Bad Elf: The Ridgeway Brewery in the UK who crafts the Bad Elf series seems to keep to a theme. Beers that that taste like lighter ales, but pack a whollup. Criminally Bad Elf is a Barleywine style ale, but tastes much like a lighter ale, yet kicks in at 10.5%. Be careful when you host a flagon of this barleywine.

Here is my Ode to the Big Brewer:

Jimmy Buffet's Landshark Lager, Stone Mill Organic Pale Ale and Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale: The Landshark Lager and Stone Mill Pale Ale fooled me. Listed as Margarita Brewing Co. in Jacksonville, FL. and Green Valley Brewing, NH. I thought I was trying out a couple of new breweries. After some research, I found out that the new companies were Budweiser Breweries trying to be stealth. The Winter's Ale was no secret as they give themselves credit on the label. All the beers were very drinkable with plenty of taste to go around. I enjoyed everyone. The Winter's Ale, one at a time is plenty. Very vanilla tasting. I liked it, sort like you like a cream soda. Enjoyable, but one is plenty with desert. The surprise of the A&B Beers was LandShark Lager. Even not knowing this was from Bud, thinking it was Jimmy Buffet lending his name to a thin type, mass made beer, I was shocked. More Stella Artois and Budvar than Miller or Coors, this beer had hints of a Cech pilsner recipe. Enjoyable and very refreshing. It should make some Parrot Heads happy.

Du Chesse De Bourgogne: This Belgian Ale was a blend of 8 month and 18 month old beers than aged in oak casks. Sounds good? It was. Sweet smell, carbonated like champagne with a slight raspberry taste to it. Reddish Brown color, clocks in a t 6.2%. Very good and refreshing. It has the taste of a lambic, but the alcohol of a sturdier beer.

The Fridge Full of Beer

2006-12-14T16:47:00.000-08:00

"Beer that is not drunk has missed it's vocation."--Meyer Breslau, 1880

I have a drinking problem. Alright, it is not so much a drinking problem as it is a collection problem. I am addicted to buying beer. I cannot go into a beer store without leaving with a variety of beer. Sadly, the beer doesn't even have to be new to me or my taste buds, I can walk out with just as many "old friends" as new ones. That is my problem.

What is even worse is that I do not even get to drink these beers. They are becoming stockpiled in my spare fridge. This is the fridge that cannot fit food due to the beer bottles lined up throughout. The very same fridge I talked my wife into purchasing because it would be great to have extra food space, especially around the holidays.

My problem was not really a problem until a year or two ago. I used to go to the beer store, find the beer I wanted and then bring it home and drink it. No problem. My problem started to surface when my home pub was built and three beers were placed on tap (Guinness, a home brew and a micro-seasonal). Now, I lean towards drinking beer from my taps. Prior to installing the pub, I had told my wife we would save money once the kegs were set-up because we would not have to purchase "bottles" of beer anymore. That is when I realized I was addicted to buying beer. I rationalized in my mind purchasing bottles of beer for the times when my wife and I would go out to eat. I figured we would only go to BYOB places, this way I was guaranteed good beer. I also knew that I needed a constant variety of beers to review and critique for my "Beer Hobby." Well, it turns out, since we had our baby girl, we don't actually get out a lot. We are home so much, the other day, my 2 year old daughter asked me if I wanted to have a beer with our dinner. Sad, but true.

The other part of my problem is that when I see a beer I like, I just don't buy one bottle, I buy two. So, even if I drink one, the other is becoming part of the stockpile. At this point and time I have a veritable smorgasbored of beer, not only in my spare fridge, but also in the area of my house I use as a "celler" to age my high alcohol beers. What can I do?

Each year I have a beer party at my house where all the guests are required to bring a different style of beer. We then taste all the different styles and drink our favorites. This year, I am telling the guests not to bring beer. We are going to have an intervention. We will drink all of my beer. I will not be guilty of contributing to the beer that has missed it's vocation.

The Beers

90 Minute IPA: Dogfish head outdid itself and thanks to Wayne at my Beer store, I have a keg of it in my home pub. This is an incredible beer. Buy it in the bottle, have it on tap. Just drink it. Doc's Place in Somers Point, NJ has it coming out of the faucet. This is a sipping beer. To be enjoyed and relished.

Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A: He'Brew the Chosen Beer, from New York. The label is enough to make you purchase this beer. Hilarious. A double IPA that clocks in at 10% alcohol. A hop lovers delight. Great beer.

Below Decks: Heavy Sea's Beer from Clipper City Brewery in Baltimore produced a fine Barleywine Style ale. This is a drinkable barleywine. A session barleywine if there could be such a thing. Great taste and moderate alcohol content allows you to enjoy more than a few of these beers.

15th Anniversary India Pale Ale from Otter Creek: Talk about a beer that you can enjoy more than one of. It is a shame this is an anniverary beer. Stock up now, so that you will have a few to last until their 20th anniversary. Sweet, malty smell let's you know that alcohol is an ingrediant. Nice hop bite, even better hop kickback. A delicious beer worthy of celebrating anyone's anniversary.

The Perfect Pub

2006-09-12T16:20:00.000-07:00

There is something about being in the right watering hole. You actually feel it the moment you walk in the door. The atmosphere, like a dense fog, envelops your every sense. The comfortableness hits you smack dab in the middle of the face and you know you are exactly where you need to be. But what makes the perfect pub? Is it the material wood, brick and morter? Is it the people who work there? The people who drink there? The beer they serve?

Yes, I say. Yes.

To me the ideal bar, pub, tavern is not a hit or miss combination of the above, but an exact science. An astrological lining up of the planets in a precise way that creates the perfect drinking and living experience. I have been to many a pub where the establishment shined in one or two of the criteria. For instance, the bartender is awesome in one bar. In another, it is the people there that make the evening. While yet another, the choice of beer provides enough excitement to make coming back an event to look forward to. Rare is the place that has all of that. When you find it, you stick with it and you pray to God that nothing bad ever happens to it. Isn't that what Sam Malone and the fellows at Cheers had?

My ideal pub is sort of on the dive side, sort of. I like my pub to be darker, not bright and airy. I like to be shocked when I walk outside into the daylight, sort of like Dracula when he has been up to long. Give me wood walls, mixed with some old fashioned brick, old wood fixtures, a long mahogany bar with a brass rail. Old antique memorabilia hanging on the walls. Not the stuff that is meaningless to everyone, like at a Friday's, but stuff that has meaning to someone. Someone like the bar owner, the workers or even the patrons. Give me a working fireplace to take the chill off in the winter and provide that homey feel. Provide me with comfort food, typical stuff like well done hot wings, a big homemade beef cheese burger, piles of fries and a pot of beef chili. And the not so typical stuff. The stuff you might not eat at home but crave every now and then, stuff like a thick liverwurst and onion sandwich or a grilled cheese and tomato on whitebread.

Stick a tube up there somewhere, so if I happen to be at the bar and the game is on, I can catch it. Even more importantly, so I can watch the 9000th showing of John Wayne in the Quiet Man. Forget the radio, an old fashioned juke box with an eclectic variety of songs from across the board will suit me just fine. Classic rock, country, blues, big band, 70's corney AM pop, lay it on me. And while your at it, make sure a copy of last week's newspaper is laying on the bar, any day will do, I haven't read it yet. If there is room, a pool table couldn't hurt, a dart board is a must and shuffleboard would be nice.

When I sit at the majestic bar top, the publican calls me by name, and asks what it is I'll be drinking tonight. I don't expect him or her to know my drink, because I am not a man of one. I am a man with moods. That being said, my tap selection needs to have a quality lager or pilsner, Guinness, an ale on the bitter side, something else with a kick to my tastebuds like an IPA and then lastly, a seasonal rotation. I'm not asking for too much, am I? And while I am asking, please also have a nice bottled selection so that if I want a Belgium or a Barleywine I can endulge my mood.

Lastly, let my friends be there, if they're not, I'll make new ones. I'm not leaving this place.

The Beers

This time around I spontaneously reviewed a few beers with my friends at a Friday night happy hour on my back porch. I give to you a drunken review, uncensored.

Urthel Hop-it: "A superior hoppy Belgium Ale." The beer poured, "holy cloudy", it looks like it has a Yeast Infection, with just a hint of Sea Monkey's floating in it. The yeast is alive! No hop smell, yeasty. !st taste is very bitter. This beer was too busy. It tried to be a Belgium Ale and an IPA at the same time. The bottle's advertising was very catchy. Made you want to buy it, but this beer was trying to be too many things.

Weyerbacher, Double Simcore IPA: This beer poured a bodacious head, like a high priced Madison Avenue hooker. Great head, very thick. Dark copper hue. Sweet hoppy smell. Bitter after taste, like biting into a grapefruit rind. Seductive in a non-threatening way. 9.0% alcohol. A quality beer.

General Lafayette Inn & Brewery, Hefeweizen: Nice, straw color, strong head. Sweet, slight fruit smell, light bodied, taste of cloves. A perfect summer session beer. Great to have a growler full on the beach. One of the best Hefes out there. Drank a lot of this beer this summer.

OK, my finale. Never let a friend finish their beer first and then tell him to go help themselves to your fridge, because if he does, he may come back out with an open bottle of Hoegaarden Grand Cru that you purchased in Belgium 5 years ago and were saving for a special occasion.

Hoegaarden Grand Cru: All I can say is that when you divide 12 0z three ways, you don't get to have too much. The 4 oz I had was completely awesome. A mellow taste with 8% alcohol made the 4 oz dribble one of the more enjoyable beers that I will never get hold of again.

Beer Intelligence

2006-07-28T18:13:00.000-07:00

"When the beer is in the man, is the wisdom in the can."--- Old Dutch Proverb

Most people think that beer drinkers, when in the act of drinking beer, lose a degree of intelligence. I disagree. From personal experience, I have found that after one or two libations, my intelligence factor increases at least two or three fold. As a matter of fact, the more beer that I consume throughout the day or evening the smarter I think I become. Put a cigar in my mouth and not only will I also look more intelligent, but the confidence from looking more intelligent carries over into a further increase in my mental capacity.

How do I know this? Only an increase in intelligence would allow people to spend hours debating the merits of pretzels versus beer nuts. A greater mental capacity enables two people to play Juke Box Wars, where each person picks their 5 favorite songs, plays them and then decides whose was better. Politics? Religion? Spouses? Beer allows one to discuss these subjects with more flair than Tim Russert, Billy Graham and Dr. Phil. Not only does beer highlight mental prowess, but it also brings out empathy and compassion. After a heated discussion on the mechanics of warp drive and a debate on whether or not people can energize and transport between two locations, I watched two bar mates spend a half hour hugging and saying, "No, your right." "No, you are." " I love you man!"

As far as my increased beer intelligence goes, the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2004, published a study that said drinking alcohol, even in low amounts, might be associated with higher cognitive ability. I do not doubt the results of this study, as I stumbled upon it after a night of intelligent beer enhanced conversation. I came home after an evening at the pub and was doing a Google search for the latest American Idol results. Somehow my beer sharpened computer skills led me to the American Journal of Epidemiology. I doubt that would have happened if I was drinking water.

The Beers in Review

Hercules Double IPA: This incredibly strong (note the name) IPA had a beautiful hop smell. The beer, when swallowed gave off a multitude of hop tastes. It was very well blended. Brewed by the the Great David Brewing Co., If Hercules completed 12 labors, this was his 13th! One of the best Super IPA's out there. Found in a gas station in North Carolina, I have not been given word on where else to find this beauty.

Victory Hop Devil: This award winning IPA from Victory Brewing in Downingtown, Pa. has a very nice hop aroma, not overwhelming, even a slight, sweet, malty smell. A hoppy pungent first taste, that quickly becomes very drinkable. Hop Devil pushes the hop envelope, at the same time delivering a quality, well crafted IPA. Good stuff.

Magic Hat Batch 371: I found this concept very appealing. Brew a beer, give it a number, not a name, don't say what style it is, let your consumer try and figure it out. Batch 371 had a sweet, fruity smell. The first taste was very dry. 2nd taste was even dryer. The beer bears no resemblence to the aroma. My guess is a Belgium Ale. A lambic type beer, closer to a Geuze style.

Harviestoun Brewery, Bitter and Twisted: This Scottish Brewery brewed a clear, crisp bittered ale. Mild hop smell with a bitter hop taste. Very smooth. A crisp and sharp finish, right to the end of the bottle. Lightly carbonated for the classic Ale style.

Beer Means Everything to Almost Everyone, Everywhere

2006-06-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

Beer is possibly the greatest sociological commodity in the history of civilization. Wow, did I just say that? It is actually pretty difficult to write a sentence that contains the words "greatest" and "history of civilization" while being truthful. What is not so difficult is providing, the factual information that will persuade everyone else that my declaration is correct.

Beer knows no bounds, socially or economically. Beer drinkers can range from red-necks drinking Bud to high-brows sipping Sam Adams' Utopia. A low-end six pack of beer can cost someone around three dollars, while at the same time it is also not hard to find a 12oz bottle of beer that costs over ten dollars. Every country in the world, from the good old USA to Thailand, and everywhere else in between has beer and more importantly beer drinkers.

Beer has been around since primitive times ( at least 50,000 years) and has survived Ancient Egypt, Medieval times, the Spanish Inquisition, Crossing Oceans, World War I and even Prohibition. Beer, as was most early edibles and drinkables, was found by accident. Some grain was left in a container. The container was rained on. The grain became wet. Wild yeast attacked the watery bowl of grain, causing a bubbling fermentation. Some brave soul stumbled upon the liquid concoction and Lord knows why, decided to drink it. Luckily, the person did not die, but instead became drunk. The feeling was well appreciated and beer was born.

Beer over the years has been used as a social lubricant. A glass or two of beer has gotten many a party started. Beer has been used to inspire. The relaxed feeing from the malted, fermented barley has produced many priceless artworks, music and novels. Art of the deal? Over time, a mug of beer has sat at plenty of financial tables. Beer has even been used medicinally. In Ireland, a pint of stout was involved in countless cures for all sorts of bodily aliments. Beer has even been used to procreate the human race. A couple of beers can result in some freaky, old fashion lovin. Isn't that what Jimmie Buffet sings?

When you raise your next pint glass or mug of beer, think about all that has happened and gone before. The long history of beer. I am sure before you have finished your glass, you too, will say, "beer is the greatest sociological commodity in the history of civilization." Maybe it will take three glasses.

The Beers

Allagash White: Summers here. And while thoughts may turn to baseball, the beach and barbecues, my thoughts turn to wheat beer! Nothing, to me, is more refreshing on a hot summer day, than a cold glass of wheat beer. I look forward to it so much, that once summer is over I refrain from having wheat beer to build the anticipation for the next summer season. This year, I tried an offering new to me. Always a fan of Belgium Wheat or White beers and also a huge fan of Allagash Brewing, it was a beautiful day, when my beer store finally stocked Allagash White. I never had an Allagash White before, so I was very excited to get this bottle home. No disappointment for me. Allagash White was true to the Belgium Wheat style. The beer gave off the tried and true smell of cloves. Not overpowering, but just enough to get the mouth to water. A beautiful amber color, with a bright white head. The clovey, citrus taste was just what the doctor ordered. Allagash White was superbly light, crisp and refreshing. The town of Hoegarden would be proud. I like this beer so much, that it has earned a spot in my house tap system. In addition to bottles, Allagash White also comes in 1/6 kegs for your beermeisters.

Dogfish Head Immort Ale: I enjoy a high alcohol beer. High alcohol beers make a great night cap or a terrific after dinner drink. Immort Ale was no exception. At 11% alcohol, this ale smelled a bit like toasted oak. The first taste was not what I expected. The taste of the beer had hints of maple and vanilla, but what really set the beer apart was the smokey oak taste. As the beer went down, the smokey oak flavor was very pleasant. Once that first sip goes down then the warming sensation hits. It hits you with a smattering of vanilla. This was a very well crafted beer and should be enjoyed slowly. At 11%, you have to be carefull. I purchased extra bottles for my beer cellar.

Cinco De Mayo means Beer in Spanish

2006-05-05T18:06:00.000-07:00

There is nothing like a good holiday celebration. Almost every holiday should involve family, friends, food and drink. The major holidays are usually much anticipated and often associated with lots of excitement. Good old fashioned festivities. Me, I am a fan of the minor holidays. Jim Belushi said it best in an episode of According to Jim, "The kids have Christmas, the gays have Halloween, St. Patrick's Day is mine."

All my favorite holidays revolve around beer. I am a huge fan of St. Patrick's Day. I day dream about Octoberfest for at least a month prior. The thought of barbeques and beer bashes with the 3 summer holidays gets me through the cold winter months. And lastly, an often over looked, but celebrated none-the-less holiday has me dancing in the April showers waiting for the 5th of May. Cinco de Mayo.

Most people think that Cinco De Mayo is Mexican Independence Day. Nope, it's not. The Mexicans won their independence on another date. Cinco De Mayo marks the date that the Mexicans defeated the French in a battle where the French, led by Napoleon III, were trying to conquer the country. Now that we have that tidbit settled, let's talk about the drink. A holiday that revolves around eating spicy Mexican dishes and washing it down with cold beer is a holiday worth celebrating. Mexico is not really known for its beer, more so for its Tequila and Margaritas, but Mexico's beers are the most popular in our country. The best selling beer in America is Corona ( Who would have thought they could knock off Bud Light? Why should Bud complain? They won't, they own a huge share of Corona.) As far as Mexican beers go, I was more of a fan of Dos Equis or Tecate. An ice cold Tecate on a hot summer day hits the spot like William Tell's arrow in the apple on that poor guys head.

But when it comes to Cinco De Mayo and eating spicy Mexican food, only one beer stands the test of time, Negra Modelo. A well crafted, dark Mexican beer. Roasty color, malty smell with a crisp sweet finish. Awesome. I just downed a Negra Modelo beer with the Fajitas I made for dinner. A very enjoyable beer that I only seem to have on Cinco De Mayo. Sort of like a Guinness on St. Patrick's Day for the non-Guinness drinkers. When I popped the top on the Negra Modelo bottle of beer this 5th of May, it dawned on me that I only drink this beer once a year. I guess that is one of the reasons why I really look forward to Cinco De Mayo. Not only do I get to have a Mexican meal, but I get to drink a fine beer and get a little loco. Aribba, Aribba, Negra Modelo.

The Beers:

Brooklyn Lager: Talk about a beer that gives the impression of a domestic blue collar beer. Lagers are what the masses drink after a hard days, sweaty work. Brooklyn, a hardworking blue collar sounding town if I ever have heard of one. But this beer is as far away from blue collar as one can get. My first sip put me right smack in the middle of Prague. This was one of the best lagers I have ever swallowed. I tried my first one and immediately new I was sticking with this beer for the day.

Bierre de Gamme, La Rulles: This was my Easter dinner beer. A Belgium Ale, unfiltered, unpastuerized, bottle conditioned Ale. This beer had a sweet smell and a very enjoyable taste. A light crisp beer, despite packing a 8.4% alcohol by volume. She'll sneak up on you. Packaged in a champagne bottle.

Duvel: The Devil in Belgium. This beer was originally concocted because of the popularity of lighter, crisp ales. The Duvel brewers didn't want to lose market share to all those English ales that were making their way into the country. But don't let that fool you into thinking that this beer is a tame bitter ale. They don't call her the Devil for nothing. A well balanced, beautifully crafted beer with all the hallmarks of hundreds of years of Belgium brewing history. Duvel is crisp, well carbonated, tastes great cold and has enough alcohol in it to knock you over after a bottle or two.

Erdinger Hefe-Wiezen: When I lived in Ireland and this was the only wheat beer on draft that I could find, I thought Erdinger was awesome. Since then, in my area in New Jersey, Erdinger is not available and cannot be found. Luckily, a friend had a bottle to share with me. I saved it for the first warm, sunny day of spring. I Opened it up and poured it into my special Erdinger glass. My memory was better than the actual beer. While Erdinger is the number one selling wheat beer in the world, it's taste is more on the bland side. Decent beer, but nowhere as tasty as at least a dozen American micros of the same style. Erdinger does pour with an incredible champagne type consistancy.

Beer Flood

2006-04-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

Disasters can take many different forms. Huge disasters, like Hurricane Katrina or a giant Tsunami scare the dickens out of me. Earthquakes, wildfires, mudslides, tornados and large meteors are also nothing to laugh about. When one spends too much time thinking of disasters, beer will provide a pint of disaster relief. Unless you lived in London in 1814. I always thought I was safe from a beer disaster. The closest thing I had ever heard that involved beer and the word disaster was either a spilled pitcher or an empty keg. This was not the case at a local brewery in London, England. As it turns out, a vat of beer with a small crack in it exploded. The vat was holding the liquid equivalent of 4000 casks or wooden kegs, causing its very own Tsunami of beer.

A domino effect ensued, with the rushing liquid causing more beer vats to explode. The beer broke down the brewery wall and flooded into the city streets, invading and destroying buildings and homes in its path. The locals were found to be either running or swimming for their lives, while some were lapping up the "free" ocean of beer. 12 people were stampeded to death in the rush for flowing beer. By the end of the day, 20 people had been killed by drowning, stampede and a few from alcoholic coma. Interestingly enough, a riot broke out in the hospital due to the smell of beer coming from the injured townspeople. The previously admitted patients, who happened to already be in the hospital for various illnesses, accused the hospital staff of holding out on them, and wanted beer for themselves.* And the English think Americans are without restraint?

I could see a beer frenzy like this happening at a Philadelphia Eagles Football game. Imagine if only one keg burst free. It would be like yelling fire at a crowded movie theater. Thankfully, (did I say thankfully?) beer today is stored in metal vats. The odds of a beer explosion/disaster ocurring are basically slim and none, but there is always wishful thinking.

The Beer

Young's Dirty Dick Ale: Young's brewery owns a pub in England that is 261 years old. The pub was named after a regular patron who never washed or bathed, Dirty Dick. Dirty Dick's Ale was sweet smelling, red in color with a very nice, mellow taste. At 4.1% alcohol, it is a very drinkable beer.

Grant's Scottish Style Ale: Brewed in Yakima, Washington using Scottish malts and American hops, the beer had a sweet malty smell and a sweet malty taste. A hint of hops in the first swallow, Grant's had a very smooth finish.

Ruination IPA: Stone Brewing, the brewers of Arrogant Bastard Ale, also make this incredible, out of this world, IPA. I poured the beer into a large mug and placed it about 2 feet away from my body. I could clearly smell the hops coming from this beer. Based on the results of an Italian study concerning hops and curing cancer, my first taste gave me every indication that Ruination IPA may possibly be the cure that the Cancer Society is looking for. This beer was hopped up. Considering the amount of hops, this beer was very well balanced and drinkable. It is not a one beer curiosty, it is definitely a having more than one kind of beer. I am now drinking it as part of my health & wellness program.

Loose Cannon Hop 3rd Ale: Brewed in Baltimore, Maryland by Clipper City Brewing, this bottle fermented, yeast on the bottom ale had a sweet, hop smell and a hint of citrus in its taste. Sort of like a grapefruit skin. This was a very pleasant, enjoyable beer. A beautiful reddish, carmel color, it is a shame that I only had one bottle to enjoy. I like this beer. Their motto, " It's Heavy Seas that Seperate the Men from the Boys," refers to Loose Cannon's IPA style. IPA (India Pale Ale) were brewed with extra hops so that the beer could survive the long voyage from England to India. This beer will not survive long in your fridge.

* Alan D. Eames, The Secret Life of Beer 1995

Stomach, Friend or Foe?

2006-03-24T11:50:00.000-08:00

To paraphrase author Samuel Blythe, "The human stomach will easily accommodate numerous quantities of beer, but the human stomach cannot handle a similar quantity of any liquid that does not cheer or inebriate." Written in an article titled, THE OLD GAME in 1914, there has never been a more true sentence. Sammy went on to say that he tried to prove this fact by trying to drink as much water as he would drink pilsner and he could never do it. I understand.

The college rugby days had many an all night quarter bounce game, followed by a shot-gun can of beer, a small funnel chug, and then leisurely drinking until the night was over. Try that with a few gallons of water. I don't think it is possible to finish the same quantity of liquid with water as with beer. The Blythe cheer factor comes into play. Water is boring. As I have matured, the drinking games were replaced by multiple pint glasses and intellectually stimulating conversation. Well, maybe just the multiple pint glasses. The stomach still seems to hold a lot of beer. "Come on, one more." I know those words come from our friends sitting on the barstool next to us and those same words also come from the inner workings of our intoxicated brains, but do they come from our stomach? I have a funny feeling our stomach just doesn't know when to quit. That and the efficient way beer is transferred from inside our body to the outside. Our stomach is probably much smarter than we give it credit for. He gets full, sends it off to the kidneys and the next thing we know, the seal is broken. And that my friends is the secret to intoxication. Our stomach doesn't ever actually become full. He passes the buck and allows us to drink more and more.

I have a good friend, a philosopher of sorts. His mission in life was to always play rugby and live in quest of the ultimate tan. He is in his 50's now, and damn him, he plays rugby every chance he can get and his skin is as dark as ever. He once said to me, "Don't eat your drinking money." It took me years before I ever realized the deeper meaning to his words. Initially, I thought he meant, If a person only has so much money to spend on a night out, don't use a portion of it on food, save it for drink. It was when I read the words of Samuel Blythe that the true meaning dawned on me. "If you eat, you idiot, your stomach will get full and you won't be able to drink."

Atlantic City Beer Festival:

This event was a blast. Over 100 different beers to sample, live Irish music (St. Patrick's Day weekend), thousands of beer lovers, it was beer drinker's paradise. Stone Brewing, recently brought into New Jersey was there. Their Arrogant Bastard Ale was fabulous. DogFish Head from Delaware was in full force, as was Heavyweight Brewing, Lancaster Brewing, Brooklyn Brewing and one of my Local favorites, Riverhorse Brewing. Imports like Chimay, Paulaner and Guinness, had their full line-ups spread out for everyones enjoyment. Even Budweiser, had some new brews to sample. The Highlight of the festival was sampling Sam Adams, Utopia. A 25% alcohol, $140 bottle of beer. One of the best tastes to ever cross my lips. The Tun Tavern also saved a cask of their award winning Freedom Ale, Barleywine, awesome. The beer stands were set up in a large oval. I cannot remember how many laps we did, but my brain was not to happy the next morning. It seems in the excitement of things, I forgot my beer festival rule of drinking a bottle of water every half hour or so. In addition to feeling no pain that afternoon, the hangover the next day was priceless. This will be an annual event. Start thinking about next year. I am.

The Pied Piper of Beer

2006-03-05T12:38:00.000-08:00

The Pied Piper, so the story goes, played his pipe in the town of Hamelin, collecting all of the mice as he marched through the streets. As he played his merry tune, the rodents followed the Piper out of town. The sad part of the story is that when the Piper was not paid for his services, he stole 130 children. You don't really hear much about that part of the story. Actually, the piper was blamed for the missing children, but was never proven guilty. It seems during the 1200's, parents gave their children up to the crusade movement, their guilt forced them to blame the Piper.

Okay, I went off track a bit there. The Pied Piper had the ability to start a movement. With his merry tune, one mouse started to follow him down the street, which led to two, then three, four, five, and so on, until hundreds and hundreds of mice followed the Piper out of town. Every single mouse in the town was completely on board with the Piper. The same thing is happening with good beer, the only difference is that we have many Pied Pipers. Is Samuel Adams a Pied Piper of beer? Sure is. Boston Beer Company's Beer had taste and also had the advertising campaign that started the Pied Piper ball rolling. Once people tried the beer and liked it, word of mouth took over and more and more people made the switch to good beer.

This happens with all of the microbrews. Flying Dog, Smuttynose, Allagash, Heavyweight, Dogfish head, Riverhorse, Victory and Flying Fish too name a few, are all Pied Pipers of Brewing. In the small world of microbrewing, these breweries do not have the budget of Samuel Adams to spend money on national print and television ads. So maybe they rely on catchy phrases or the stylish artwork on their cardboard six pack cartons to grab our attention. Once our attention is grabbed, hopefully we will buy the beer and enjoy it. We then tell a friend and maybe even our local tavern. Word spreads and more and more people are drinking good beer.

The only way to keep good, quality beer in the forefront of consumers is for us to drink good quality beer. I know this is a tough mission. Not many are up for the task. But you and I are the chosen few. It is our responsibility to try different beers, to speak up to our beer store managers. Let them know which beers we like and which beers we are willing to purchase. If Microbreweries are the Pied Pipers, we are the legion of beer followers that will ensure quality beer of many different styles, finds its way into our lives.

The Beer

Sierra Nevada, Celebration Ale. The innovators of hoppy beer in America, Sierra Nevada pioneered the hoppy style of beer in the beginning of the microbrew movement. Celebration Ale doesn't disappoint. The brewers from Chico, California have made a seasonal ale that is as hoppy as an IPA. A terrific brew.

Pinkus Organic Original Munster Ale. This German Alt beer poured a hazy golden color with a thin head. At 5.1% alcohol, the beer had a refreshing wheat beer taste. Slight cloves with a surprisingly dry after bite finish. Coupled with the sweet smell, this beer was very enjoyable.

JU JU Ginger. Ale brewed with ginger from the Left Hand Brewing Co., Colorado. This was a very light beer in taste and in alcohol as it came in at less than 4%. Hazy, orange color with a citrus taste. Just a hint of ginger. I would have liked more. This beer was very refreshing and would make an excellent beach beer.

Go for a Pint?

2006-02-14T15:13:00.000-08:00

Go for a pint? Grab a beer? When I lived in Ireland, me mates would say, "Do you want to meet for a pint?" Back home in the US, my friends say, "Let's grab a beer." A friend of mine from South Africa asked the question, "How about going out for a few ales?" This last one always confused me a bit, because he would always order a lager. After a few outings, I finally told him that if he wants to go out for a few ales, he has to at least drink one. He explained to me that where he was from, ale meant beer in general, not style. Needless to say, I forced a pint of bitter on him before he switched to his, dare I say it....Danish Lager. How about the Aussies? The ones that I knew, called a beer a beer. Just like us Yanks. When I eventually ended my stay in Europe, I tried to bring the vernacular to my old stomping grounds. I tried saying, "Lets go for a pint." Since most of my friends are big Guinness fans, I even tried, "Let's grab a few stouts." Niether one seemed to flow as well as, "Do you want to grab a beer?"

The other big difference I noticed concerning drinking terminology was how we address our local drinking establishments. In England and Ireland, they refer to their watering hole as the "Pub" or as their "Local." As in, "I spent the afternoon at my local." Or, as in, "We went to the Pub." The Irish and English never really used the proper name of the pub. They talked about it as if you knew exactly which one of a hundred pubs they were referring to. And as far as they were concerned, amongst themselves, they knew exactly which pub they were referring to. Overhere, it is a different ball game. We tend to use the proper name of the bar that we frequent. If it is a one word name, like Gregory's, we'll use the whole name. If it is a long name or two words, we'll chop it up or give it a nick name. For instance, Skelly's High Point Pub, would be "The High Point". The Rod and Reel Tavern would be "The Rod" and The Greater Pittsburgh Irish Pub would be "The Pitt." So rather than say, "Do you want to stop at the pub for a pint tonight?", we would say, "Let's stop at the Pitt for a few beers."

The good news is that no matter what language or terminology is used, one way or the other you will end up sitting at a bar with some style of glassware filled with a liquid made from malted barley and hops.

The Beers

I was out and about recently and managed to have a few of my favorite "Popular" Beers.

Stella Artois: The Star from Belgium, this lager is brewed with Cech hops, giving it an incredible crisps clean taste. As far as imported lagers from big breweries go, this is my favorite. If you see it on tap, give it a try.

Yuengling Lager: A well balanced lager from the oldest brewery in the United States. I actually love this beer. It is my go to choice when I am chowing down on hot Buffalo Wings at my Local's ( The Rod ), wing night. Smooth and rough at the same time.

Murphy's Stout: After drinking so much Guinness, it is nice to find the occasional pint of Murphy's on tap. What I like about Murphys as opposed to the same creamy, smoothness of Guinness is the slight burnt roasty taste. A nice change of pace.

Anticipation...All About Beer

2006-02-03T17:14:00.000-08:00

Bump in the road. Curve ball. SNAFU. These are accurate descriptions for when a person cannot get their hands on a beer when they planned on having one.

Go with the flow. Roll with the punches. Zig Zag. These are accurate descriptions for what a person does while they are waiting to get their hands on the above mentioned, desired beer.

Friday evening around 6:30pm is the perfect and usual time for me to pour a smooth, flavorful pint of beer. Friday, 6:30pm means that I have finished the day and more importantly the week. Work is through. Chores are finished. The baby has been taken care of, and most assuredly, she is fast asleep for the night. 6:30 is the time that the pint glass gets filled up. 6:30pm is the time that the beer gets a head on it. 6:30pm is the time that satisfaction meets head on with accomplishment. Unless.......Bump in the road. Curve Ball. SNAFU.

Once in a blue moon, the wife has some sort of work thing happening on a Friday night. Once in a blue moon, on a Friday night, I am responsible for putting the baby to sleep. This entails filling up a bottle of milk and settling into the rocking chair until she is finished drinking and ready for sleep. On a typical night, she doesn't even get to finish her milk before her pretty head nods off fast to sleep. On my Friday night, she finished her milk and stayed awake. As I rocked and rocked, and rocked and rocked, my thoughts turned to my 6:30 beer. What would I have tonight? Would I pour from the tap, dip into the fridge or dig out of the celler? Ale? Lager? American Micro? Import? Strong? Light? What the hell am I going to eat with it? Snack with the beer while I am cooking dinner, or have the beer and snack in place of the dinner?

As you can see, a lot can happen while you are sitting in a rocking chair. The beauty of the whole experiance is that while I was rocking, and mind you, enjoying myself holding my daughter, man, was I working myself up into a frenzy for my 6:30pm beer. My daughter did eventually fall asleep and I'll have you know that during my rocking, I chose to have a Strong Lager and a snack as my dinner. Some nights are just worth the wait and some nights you can just skip dinner.

The Beers

Samuel Adams Imperial Pilsner 2005 Harvest: This Brewmaster's edition poured a nice thick, white head with a surprisingly darker color than I expected. Carmel in color. I took my first whiff and Bamm. Hops. Lots of them. The first taste was very hoppy, but a different kind of hop. Don't take this the wrong way, because it was very good, but the first taste had a citrus sensation to it. Like biting into the bitter end of a grapefruit peel. The hop taste stuck around swallow afer swallow. The select Bavarian hops that the big boss chose for this beer gave it a distinct taste. At 8.8% alcohol and a strong hop taste, this pilsner would please the biggest hop head in the valley. It was awesome with spicy, grilled venison sausage.

Hecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier: Speak German? German Smoke Beer. A distinct taste that appeals to only a few. But if you like smoked meats and cheese this beer is for you. I personally love this beer and enjoy eating summer sausage and bag bologna between sips.

FrostBite Ale, Lake Placid Brewing, NY: Copper colored beer with a medium head. An evident hop fume exists. Strong hop taste, followed by a dry sensation. A very good beer that would take the bite out of anyone's frost. Drank a bottle with a wedge of Gruyere Cheese. The hops complimented the cheese in a very favorable way.

Draught v.s. The Bottle

2006-01-19T16:06:00.000-08:00

First off, why is draught pronounced draft? Why isn't it draught as in drawtt? My 7 yr. old niece and I were having a typical uncle / niece discussion, when she decided to read the label on my Guinness bottle. She said, "Uncle J, what does drawtt mean?" My mother immediately chimed in, "It is pronounced draft." My reply back to my mother was something typical from my usual know-it-all self, "I have lived in Europe, it is pronounced as it is looks, drawtt!" Mom said, "Look it up." Damn it. I hate when I am wrong.

Websters Dictionary says: Draught /draft/ British version of draft. Concerning beer. To draw up.

Now that we have the pronounciation down pat, does anyone have trouble with the word bottle? Ok, me neither, which brings me to the point of this discussion. Draught beer or bottled beer, what is better? On the surface, this question is very simplistic. The draft version of a beer just seems better. The art of the pour, the look, the atmosphere, the hot looking bartender pouring the beer. How can you top that? But what about the lowly bottle? Some beers are conditioned in the bottle, they age there, they grow there. They develop a distinct taste there. Think about a fine Belgium Ale. Most people make a big deal about a fresh pint of Guinness poured out of the tap, but it is actually pretty difficult to taste the difference between the fresh pint and the Draught Bottle, unless you are in Ireland or a very busy USA Irish pub.

Pop the top off of a bottle or fill up a mug from the faucet? I really think it depends on what type of beer you want to enjoy. Higher alcohol beers that age well, definitely fare better in the bottle. Ales come out of the tap just a tad tastier and smoother than their bottled counter parts. Lagers and pilsners taste great on draft, but are just as refreshing when poured out of a bottle. American Light beer needs to be served very cold and drunk from the actual bottle to keep you from realizing that it really doesn't taste like anything.

When I have a choice, I choose draft beer. Probably not so much for the taste, my reasons are the superficial reasons stated above. I like the art of the pour. I like the anticipation of waiting for my beer. I like the atmosphere of having a pint in a real pub. Draft beer is how beer was meant to be served. There weren't to many bottles in the pubs in 16th century Europe, were there? And lastly, there is also nothing wrong with a hot bartender either.

The King of Kegerators, The Sudsbuddy. The Sudsbuddy Beirmeister is the way to go if you want kegged, draft beer in your home. Made out of a durable plastic and round in shape, the Sudsbuddy when empty only weighs about 40lbs. Cooled by a thermoelectric motor, the Sudsbuddy is extremely quiet and energy efficient. One of the biggest virtues of the Sudsbuddy is that it is portable and you can take it outside. In the summer, it can sit on your porch or poolside. It even has a car adaptor, so you can take it camping or to a tailgate party. Sudsbuddy comes in a variety of colors, so it will fit into your recreation room's decor. Or do what I did ( I have two of them), put them under a bar or counter top. The Sudsbuddy can hold one 1/2 barrel of beer. If you home brew, it can hold two 5 gallon kegs. If you like microbrewed beer, most come in 1/6 kegs. The Sudsbuddy can squeeze two of them in there also. Think multi-tap towers. You can even get it set-up for Guinness and other nitro beers (Mine is). I love my Sudsbuddy. Go to www.sudsbuddy.com and check them out for yourself.

The Beers

DogFish Head, World Wide Stout: At $8.29 for a 12 oz bottle, this beer better be good. Forget about it. This beer is incredible. More Barleywineish than stoutish, this 15% alcohol beer had a sweet smell and poured very thick and dark. No head, no visible sign of carbonation. The first mouthfull gave off a slight raisan taste which followed through with chocolate overtones. My wife even found the chocolate in this one. The finish was very warming. This beer was fabulous. It is $8.00 well spent.

Harvieston Brewery, Old Engine Oil: Like the name implies, this Scottish beer was thick and dark, just like a stout. Chocolate smell and taste. 6% alcohol gave this beer some legs. A very good beer, terrific as an after dinner beer or a cigar beer.

Reaper Ale, Deathly Pale Ale: The strong hop smell of this beer told me it was not going to be like a typical pale ale, and I was right. This beer was more IPA than PA. A strong amount of bitterness which mellowed the more you drank. Rusty in color with a sparkling white head, This beer was a tasty treat.

Moderately Drunk?

2006-01-03T12:06:00.000-08:00

I have always been told that beer by itself is not a very good drink for getting drunk. If you want to get drunk, have a few mixed drinks or down a bottle of wine or two. Maybe even have a few shots of whiskey. By virtue of alcohol content, compared to hard liqour or wine, beer is a drink of moderation. Now, moderation flys out the window if you are drinking cases of beer from a funnel or playing quarter bounce like a college student. Quantity and volume in the long run will always trump moderation, no matter how slight the alcohol content. For that matter, beer drinking duration is another bump in the road. It is the time that one puts into the event that gets one into trouble. Drinking beer over a twelve hour period, even 3.5-4% beer will lead to a serious bout of drunkenness. How about cross polination? Quantity + Duration = Profound Drunkenness.

Not being a mixed drink drinker or a serious whiskey guy, I can honestly say that when it comes to inebriation soley from beer, I have been there. I know the quantity thing. I know the duration thing. I know the polination of the two. Beer can get you drunk. So where does this moderation thing come in? For me moderation came into play gradually overtime. Over a slow period of moving away from swill beer and learning to appreciate quality, well brewed beer. One or two, ok maybe three or four quality beers satiates your entire being. To borrow a phrase from John Denver, "It fills up your senses." Great taste, smell, mouth feel and after taste, leaves you complete. It takes 12 -24 Light beers to get the same feeling, only it's not the same feeling, you're just drunk. Good quality beer, leaves you euphoric and finished. You don't need anymore. It doesn't mean you can't have anymore. Have as many as you like. But remember, duration and quantity take away moderation. The drink of moderation can easily become the drink of excess. And you know what else? There is nothing wrong with that either. Beers for everyone!

The Beers:

EEL River Brewing, EEL River IPA, This California Micro has done a fabulous job with their IPA. 7% alcohol, this beer pours a dark, rusty, carmel color with a sparkling, white head. The faint hoppy smell does not even indicate the pleasure about to enter your mouth. The first taste is a very well balanced mouthfull of hops. Nothing overpowering or pushing the edge of drinkability as many American Micro's do with their own IPA styles. This is a very drinkable IPA with an ever present, but well balanced hop content. The closer you get to finishing a 12oz glass, the better the beer actually becomes. A true sign of a great beer.

DogFish Head Brewing, Olde School Barleywine: This is a very strong beer. Rolls in at a whopping 15% alcohol. Surprisingly transparent in color. Almost looks like a whiskey in the glass, except for the thin head, which naturally gives it away. There wasn't even a hint of visible carbonation. Slightly sweet, slight fruity smell, raisen like. The first taste was very thick on the tongue, carbonated and warming, almost a burn. Delicious. Not typical of the Barleywine styles I am used to. More Whiskeyish in appearance and taste than a barleywine, but very good none-the-less.

Lindeman's Peche Lambic: Now here is an ale for celebrating a New Years Eve midnight toast. This bubbly peach lambic from the Lindeman's Brewery in Belgium will win many points with the non-beer drinking female crowd. This ale is a pleaser. The beer was so full of peach taste and so refreshing, I think it would go down just as well on a hot summer day sitting on the beach. After having a few Black and Tan's and a Barleywine on New Years Eve, the Peach Lambic hit the spot. Bring a bottle home for the wife and yourself. You won't be sorry. Oh, and it is modestly light in alcohol.

2005: The Year in Beer

2005-12-20T11:26:00.000-08:00

Since it is almost Christmas and New Years Day is right around the corner, what better time than to reflect on all of the good beer and good times associated with good beer that I have had this past year. As a matter of fact, why don't I take the time to put together a list of a few of Dr.J's Best of 2005, a remembrance, or lack there of, of things beer.

The highlight of the year has to be the opening of my very own house "Pub." The look and feel of an old world Irish and British pub, with three beers on tap, my house bar almost gives me a reason to never go out. Having only had a "soft" opening, I am looking forward to my annual January "rugby guys over the house for beers night" to officially open the pub.

My daughter's first birthday party ranks high on my list of proudest moments. I can't believe how fast a year went by. It was also the perfect opportunity to crack open a few bottles of one year old Allagash Curieux , Belgian style Tripel, aged in Kentucky Bourbon bottles, to celebrate the occasion. A beautifully crafted beer that I am also saving for my daughters 21st birthday.

Each year, me and the boys head to Milford, New Jersey for our annual, opening day trout fishing/camping weekend. The weekend is always a blast. Nobody fell in the fire, drowned, or cut their hand open. And no other senseless act of violence occured. There was plenty of beer, lots of stumbling, a few fish caught and a creature with the initials BR foraging around the outskirts of the cabin late at night, gorging on Cheeto and Dorito crumbs. One of the best parts of the trip is our Saturday afternoon stay at the Ships Inn, New Jersey's first brew pub. Great beer and a delicious Shepards Pie to boot.

For pure beer excitement, nothing beats a Mark Haynie Beer Night. Mark is an extreme beer collector and is not afraid to share his bounty with everyone. I mean everyone. Mark, one of the founding fathers of the good beer movement in New Jersey, invites all and their guests to the Somers Point Fire Hall, where he provides great food and a beer selection second to none. All at his own expense. This doesn't just happen once, but three or four times a year. Kudos to Mark for providing me and many with great beer and great times.

As far as drunken fun goes, my best memory, or what I can recall of it, is at Atlantic City's Tun Tavern. My friends and I showed up there for an Octoberfest that never took place. We decided to stay and make our own Octoberfest. We showed up at two in the afternoon and my buddies let me take them on a guided tour of the Tun's Beers. We then settled into our favorites and drank, drank, drank. At six in the evening, a school teachers convention party was breaking up, some of the teachers we befriended gave us their "all you can drink" bracelets. The next thing I know, it is nine pm and I am standing outside waiting for a cab with my friend and neighbor Magoo. Two cabs pulled up, I got in one, he got in the other ,we headed home seperately and paid two seperate cab fees!!

A late summer evening at BR's house cannot be beaten. Drinking Hoegarden all day while swimming in the pool and Hoegarden all night while sitting in the jacuzzi hot tub. Fine time.

I like to do a lot of cooking and I like to cook with beer. My best recipe this year was for a medieval Scottish dish called, get this, Cock-a-Leekie Soup. More like a stew filled with chicken, leeks, barley, vegetables and dried plums. I substitued a cup of chicken broth with 12oz of McEwan's Scottish Ale. The beer, I mean soup, came out incredibly well. I have since made two more batches and each one gets a little better.

The best beers I have had this year were from all around the beer board. Imported wise, my favorite this year was Dekonnick Belgium Ale. This beer was a very drinkable, great tasting 5% alcohol ale. Loved it. While on the subject of Belgium, Victory Brewing's 12 was simply awesome and wins my Belgium Style beer award. If I had to pick a dark beer, Flying Dog's Gonzo Imperial Porter wins the prize. As far as American lighter styled beer goes, Long Trail Ale, From the Long Trail Brewery and ESB from Riverhorse Brewery win my drinkability, session beer award. The Barleywine, on the spot, right then and there, award goes to the Tun Tavern's Freedom Ale. Beautifully done, tastes like it has aged three years. Speaking of aging, the aged Barleywine award goes to Heavyweight Brewing's 2003 Old Salty. Incredible.

Being that there is another week or so left in 2005, I still have a little time left to create some more beer memories. Here is to you and your beer memories. Maybe we can get together and swap some in person. Happy New Year!

The Beer:

Orval Belgian Trappist Ale: This beer pours a nice rusty color, looks a little like unfiltered apple juice with a huge, thick, foamy head. Orval has a sweet smell to it, but is surprisingly bitter. A very dry beer, that bites you in the mouth on the second sip. A classic Belgium Ale. Very good.

Monster Ale 2003 from the Brooklyn Brewery: I aged this beer for over two years and I was not disappointed. 11% alcohol. Pours a very dark copper color with a sweet raisen smell. A thick, sweet, warming beer. Aging brings out more flavor, so sock some away.

Why is it that one can polish off a bottle of wine with no problem, but drink two or three glasses of Barleywine and you feel it the next day? Wine is 13-14% alcohol, Barleywine is 8-10%. Just a thought.

Flying Dog Brewery, Horn Dog Barleywine: Nice, thick, dark beer with a slight sweet smell. Very thick in the mouth, almost like a syrup. Lightly carboanted, as it should be, warming, but not overwhelmingly warming. A half of a glass is very relaxing.

The Happy Holiday Beer Story

2005-12-06T11:11:00.000-08:00

It was just before Christmas in 1983. My good friend and I had just finished our quarterly chiropractic school final exams and were getting ready to head back to our respective home states for the holidays. After a grueling four days of tests, we were ready to blow off some steam at our favorite watering hole. Mind you, our watering hole was one of the biggest dive bars and redneck hangouts in Marietta, Georgia. Terry's was the name and stumbling out alive was the game. On this particular night, we had drank our share of bad beer, and were ready to head out on the town to impress the ladies of Atlanta with our ability to slurr the English language. Since we were both in the holiday spirit, we noticed that there were two meager pine saplings in the parking lot which struck an uncanny resemblance to Christmas trees. After a five minute battle with the trees ( my friend says it was more like 30, and the trees almost won), we stuck them in the front bumper of my 1972 International Scout, rolled down the truck windows, turned up the Oak Ridge Boys Christmas cassette and sang Christmas songs all the way down Route 41. When we got out of the truck, we noticed our "Christmas Trees" had magically disappeared from the truck's bumper and by the end of the night, none of the ladies would even let us approach them let alone show off our slurring skills (go figure). Thankfully, we did not have to show them to the police either.

25 years later, it is safe to say I won't be pulling any pine trees out of the ground and decorating my truck. And thankfully I have matured enough to not drive intoxicated, especially while singing Christmas carols at the top of my lungs with the windows open. It is also safe to say (my wife told me so), that I won't have to impress any strange women with my slurring ability. But one thing is for sure, it is nice to know the memory is still there.

Happy Holidays and Safe Holidays!

A Side Note: It has been one year since I started Dr. J's Beer Blog. This site has went from zero hits per month to over one thousand. I thank you for reading my ramblings and hope to continue providing you (I hope) with entertaining beer stories.

And Now The Beers:

Weyerbacher’s Imperial Pumpkin Ale: I went out on a limb and bought some more pumpkin ale. Not a big fan of the style, but have been warming up to it recently. I brought a few bottles of Imperial Pumpkin Ale to Thanksgiving dinner. It was a hit. I served the beer with desert, apple pie and of course pumpkin pie. The ale really tasted like pumpkin. It was delicious with the apple pie, a bit of overkill with the pumpkin pie though. This beer should be on everyones holiday desert list.

Smithwick’s Irish Red Ale: A favorite of the non-Guinness crowd in Ireland. Smithwicks, pronounced Smit icks (believe me, I’ve been laughed at for my Americanization of the name) is a tasty, robust ale. It is very light in alcohol. It is about 3.4% which makes for a great session beer. It would be Ireland’s answer to light beer, only with body and taste. Carbonated more like a lager than an ale.

Hoegaarden Grand Cru: Not a wheat beer, more a Belgium Tripel, this Ale is an ever changing symphony of tastes. I purchased 6 bottles of Grand Cru when I was in Belgium and have been aging them and drinking them at the same time. This years sample is three years old. Grand Cru pours an almost dark peachy color and gives a very complex taste. You can pick up fruit, maybe some melon in the taste. The beer has a very warm finish and posts an 8% alcohol content. Very tough to find, but if you see it grab it, it is worth it.

To Brew or Not To Brew....

2005-11-22T12:27:00.000-08:00

About a decade ago, post CML (cans of Miller Lite), I expressed an urge to try and brew my own beer. The urge itself amazed me, because my only experience with home brew was a few years prior. After one of my rugby matches, a teammate offered me a bottle of his home made beer. It did not matter to me how tired, sweaty or drained I was, one sip of his beer and I immediately spit it on the ground thinking it tasted like wet hay. So, I said, thanks, but no thanks, and out of my cooler I picked up a can of Miller Lite.

Years later, with a refined taste and knowledge of beer, I wish I could try his beer again, enjoy its taste and share in his brewing accomplishment. Unless it actually did taste like wet hay. Either way, Coy, if you are out there, I apologize. I hope that my spitting out your beer did not send you back to the world of CML.

I have to admit, I was scared to brew my first batch of beer. My wife bought me a complete homebrewing kit for Christmas, she even bought me a set of stainless steel pots. Coincidently, much to my wife's chagrin, that same Christmas, my secretary bought me a homebrewing kit also. With two kits, fate would have it that I was destined to be a homebrewer. And with simple advice from the local homebrew shop, how could I fail. I'll never forget the shopkeepers words, "Have you ever made soup? It's as simple as that."

Thankfully, my wife had also bought me lots of homebrewing books to build up my confidence before actually brewing my first batch. In hind sight, I still do not understand those books and the shop keeper was right. It was as simple as making soup. Boil water, add ingredients, stir, ad more, stir, cook some more, stir, add more stuff, stir, cook, stir. Done. Wait two weeks, drink beer. Drink damn good, healthy beer.

As time went on, things did get more complicated as I advanced into another level of brewing, buying more equipment, changing recipes around, coming up with my own. But one thing didn't change, damn good beer. The best part was naming the stuff. Dr. J's Rock the Dock Bock was an early popular brew. Friends actually requested me to make more. Dr. J's Subluxation Ale was even mentioned in Brew Your Own magazine.

So, what's on tap now? That's right, I said tap. I graduated from putting my beer in bottles to kegging 5 gallon batches of brew. Nothing like pouring one of your own on Draught, and right now it is a Belgian Winterfest Ale. Brewing your own beer is very rewarding and there is a lot of pride involved when one of your friends takes a swig and says, "Hey, this is really good." So, I say to you, give it a whirl, and if you don't want to get involved with all of the brewing stuff, there is always a Mr. Beer machine!

The Beer:

Dr. J's Belgian Winterfest Ale: A dark red beer with a thick head, The smell of cinnamon and slight orange follows with a hoppy taste. The beer tasted pretty good. I should have followed the recipe. I was supposed to add a whole jar of clover honey to the brew, but I thought that it would have made it to sweet. Now the beer tastes like it should be sweeter and not so hoppy. If I don't tell my experienced guests that it is a winter ale, and just tell them it is some sort of Belgian IPA, I'll be alright.

Heavyweight Brewing, Two Druids Ale: Based on a medieval recipe before hops were used in the brewing process. This beer contains Rosemary, Yarrow and Sweet Gale. It pours a nice thick, cloudy color with a thin head. You can smell the Rosemary. The first taste is sweetish and fizzy. Deceptively strong. You don't notice the warming sensation until after a few sips. I don't like to compare beer to wine, but if I did, this beer would be like a very dry chardonnay or a dry champagne. A great beer to toast the New Year as well as enjoy the other 52 weeks of the year.

Flying Fish Brewing, Grand Cru Winter Reserve: I had to try a professional breweries Belgian Winter Ale to see how my home brew version stacked up. It is a good thing one of my patients brought this in for me to sample. Light, orange color, bright, white head. Nice, tasting beer, clean, crisp and refreshing. The only problem is that I can't describe the taste. I really don't know what it is that I am tasting. I do know I like the beer. I just can't pick up the spices. Maybe you can help me out? My version had the pronounced taste of definite spices, even if they were not in the correct proportions. But, maybe that is because I know what I put in there. What's in there Fish Guys? Secret Recipe?