[BW] Beer BlogEast to West, we just like good beer

Brewery: Stillwater Artisanal Ales
Location: Baltimore, MD
Style: Tripel
BeerAdvocate.com Rating 86
RateBeer.com Rating: 94
Serving: 11.2oz
ABV: 8%
Bottle/Foodery

Listed as the number 2 top new brewers in the world by RateBeer.com, in 2011 Stillwater is by far one of my favorite brewers. His beautiful Debutant (which I tried first during Philly Beer Week 2011) was named as one of the top beers of 2011 by Draft Magazine in November. Every time I hit the Foodery I look to see what new stuff they have in bottles lining a whole shelf now. I’ve picked up 3 new ones over the past few months and have been holding on to them for just the right time. Well, the time is now (especially as the beer stock is getting low right along with the bank account).  No description of this beer from the brewer as Strumke doesn’t have a full on website, just a blog.

Appearance: Large white head, beautiful cloudy golden orange color. Large white head. Nice lacing

Aroma: Huge hoppy aroma. Slightly floral and not bitter. Inviting. A little banana at the end.

Taste: Interesting hoppiness. Not really bitter. Slightly creamy mouthfeel. Not really boozy. Easy drinker. Yummy, as always but not as effervescent as his saisons. A bit yeasty and sweet.

The aroma was amazing! I want this in candle form. The falvor was not as amazing or complex as the other Stillwater beers I’ve had but still a pretty decent beer. A bit expensive for what it is but his stuff tends to be because of the gypsy brewing style. Not my favorite of the Stillwater stuff I have tried but still a pretty solid beer.

Cheers,
Natty

Brewery: Rogue Ales
Location: Newport, Oregon
Style: Amber Ale
BeerAdvocate.com Rating: 86
RateBeer.com Rating: 93
Serving: 12oz
ABV: 6%
Bottle/Gift

So I got this beer as part of our office holiday “Thieve’s Christmas.” It was a mixed six of holiday beers. I had to steal it from one of my favorite coworkers but it was so worth it. I like Rogue so I assumed a Christmas beer from them would of course be awesome. I don’t see many of their beers in 12oz. around here so that was cool to see. I typically don’t think of a red ale as a winter or Christmas beer, epseically not a double-hopped one.

Rogue shares a bit about the history of the beer on its website: “Rogue’s annual holiday offering, Santa’s Private Reserve, is a variation of the classic Saint Rogue Red, but with double the hops–including Chinook, and Centennial, and a mystery hop called Rudolph by head brewer John “more hops” Maier!”

Appearance: beautiful golden amber color with a small light tan head. A little cloudy, some light gets through

Smell: Nice floral hop aroma at first, slightly sweet

Taste: Hoppier than I excpected from a Christmas beer. Floral with a little bit of a bitter bite at the end. Crisp and slightly creamy mouthfeel.

Well, I don’t want to talk any crap on Rogue because I am generally a big fan, but I don’t understand how this specific beer should be a Christmas beer. I miss the spice and booze of a winter beer. It is a good, hoppy beer if that is what you are into, but I was just hoping for something more. I miss the spruce finish Rogue mentions so I don’t understand the name/Santa reference other than the fact that it’s a red ale. Not a bad beer, just maybe a bad name…..

Cheers,
Natty

Good evening readers!

So the hangover from Philly Beer Week has finally subsided. I know it took quite a bit and you were waiting in anticipation of what I might review from this amazing week and a half of beer gloriousness. Well, to be honest, I was completely overwhelmed with the few hundred events. That along with it being one of my busiest weeks at work, marked by an out of town trip for a conference and finals/commencement, I didn’t get to nearly as much as I would have liked but I did manage to make it to a few.

First event, opening night. While others were enjoying opening tap with a couple hundred people, I enjoyed a fishy four-course beer dinner at Noble. I had never been to the restaurant and honestly never really cared to but they had one of my favorite brewers highlighted that night and had to go. Stillwater had 2 beers on tap and 2 in large bottles, each one paired with a various course of seafood centered cuisine. I would have just had the beer but it would have cost me just about as much to get them without the food and I figured I better not be completely toasted by the end of the meal. The review of the specific beer and food pairings to come but I just have to say I totally nerded out when I got to meet Brian Strumke, the gypsy brewer (I’ll explain this later too) responsible for some of my favorite American-brewed beers.

Sunday, wandered into Philadelphia Bar and Restaurant (the most generic named bar ever!). I had a nice little jaunt across the Ben Franklin Bridge and wanted to get some ice cream at Franklin Fountain after. The line was long, as it always is, so I ducked into PBR (yes, I know it references a Philly hipster favorite brew) to watch the end of the Phillies game around 4pm, only to find that they had a Victory tap take over scheduled to start at 5pm. I stayed and tried all the ones I had never had and a few I love. Cool thing about PBR is they offer beer in 5, 8, 10 or 16oz glasses depending on what you are looking for, which is nice when they have 10 Victory beers on tap to try.

Tuesday, I hit up two different events and 4 different bars. I started at another Stillwater event at Tria. I got to try two different bottles and again meet Brian Strumke. Following the event, I ran across center city to meet up with some friends at Devil’s Alley for another beer dinner. This one was three courses and honestly less than stellar, which was disappointing as last year, they had one of the best beer dinners I have ever been to. In fact, the food and beer was so unforgettable that I didn’t even take any notes on it. Following the dinner, we hit up Nodding Head and I had a spicy brew that I also did not take notes on but I remember liking. Then we lost a few friends and hit up Monk’s, one of the two best Belgian beer bars in Philly and one of the best in the world. Ironically, I ran into Brian Strumke of Stillwater there too. He was drinking some good Belgian beer after his full day of beer week events and appearances were over.

I left Wednesday for a conference that kept me away until Saturday afternoon. Napped a bit and hit up Jose Pistola’s for a beer. Nothing too incredible but I’m sure I made some notes somewhere that I will type up soon.

Sunday, after the afternoon Phillies game at the stadium, I hit up the other Tria location and had a nice beer and cheese pairing that was pretty incredible. Notes to come. Then met up with more friends at the Farmer’s Cabinet for the kick the keg night where everything was $6 flat (yeah to saving money!) and had a few brews from around the world that I have never had or even heard of. I had never been here since this is one of the many new beer-centric restaurants around town.

So, my beer week ended without hitting as many events as I would have liked but I managed to get to as many as I could have keeping in mind my schedule and my wallet.

Reviews are coming, I promise, but here’s to looking forward to another year of beer drinking to prepare myself for Philly Beer Week 2012.

Cheers,
Natty

Hello everyone,

I have some great new reviews on the way with hundreds of Beer Week events taking place in my fair city this week. While even being out of town for half of the incredible week and a half of beerfabulousness, I will manage to hit a few key events with some unbelievable brews. Keep an eye out!

Brewery: Lancaster Brewing Company
Location: Lancaster PA
Style: Maibock
BeerAdvocate.com Rating: B
RateBeer.com Rating: 45
Serving: 12oz
ABV: 6.6%
Can/Foodery

Well, as you all know, I am really into canned beer right now. Something just makes it perfect for the summer. Then you add to that the town I went to college in and a great Amish reference and you know I wanted to get this beer. A seasonal brew, I always seemed to miss it. It kicked right as I tried to order it at City Tap House a few weeks ago, but I grabbed a few last time I was at the Foodery and was so excited to have them. For those of you not familiar with Amish culture, “rumspringa’ is the time in an Amish youth’s life when they get to go off and live int eh world of the English (aka non-Amish) and partake in all the elements of the world that the Amish typically do not enjoy (zippers, processed food, booze, riding in cars, partying, etc). Once the period of time is done, they make the decision to return to the life of the Amish or to stay in the world with the English but be completely cut off form their family. It’s a really interesting concept that I learned a lot about while going to college right in the middle of Amish country in central PA.

Appearance: Golden brown, lots of light getting through, and a nice size off white head.

Smell: A strong wheaty aroma with a little bit of spice and a balance of hops/malt.

Taste: Light and crisp. A beautiful mouthfeel. Not too hoppy, malty or wheaty. A nice balance of all three. A litle bit boozy with a sweetness that I guess comes from the honey. Very smooth and refreshing with a nice little burn in the chest that comes with a yummy, boozy brew.

Well, it’s not anything as crazy as the real Rumspringa but it is definitely tasty and worth trying to get your hands on if you can. (CAN……get it!)

Cheers,
Natty

Brewery: RJ Rockers Brewing Company
Location: Spartanburg, South Carolina
Style: American Wheat Ale
BeerAdvocate.com Rating: B
RateBeer.com Rating: 68
Serving: 12oz
ABV: 5.8%
Bottle/Foodery

Appearance:  Golden with lots of light getting through. Very little white head. Some sediment.

Smell: Definitely smells of peaches but it also has a nice wheat aroma after you get through the sweetnes of the peaches.

Taste: Wow, peaches! The first kick is like a bag of gummy peaches (which I do love!). Once it subsided a bit you could taste the wheatiness. A light, crisp mouthfeel. Refreshing.

“An unfiltered American wheat ale made with real mean peaches. The only thing missing is the fuzz. Savor the anger.”

So, I picked this one up on a whim when I saw it at the Foodery last week. It had been a while since I made it down there thanks to a few busy weeks at my job. The scowling peach on the bottle caught my eye, and I thought it would make a fun ‘beginning of summer’ beer. Well, it’s Memorial Day and when else would be a better time to try it?! I’m not usually a fruity beer kind of person because they usually taste a bit fake and really sweet. Unfortunately this beer is a bit of both of those. It definitely doesn’t have a real peach flavor but it does taste like a gummy peach which is interesting. It’s not super sweet though. The wheat and slight bitterness of the hops hit your mouth pretty quickly after you’ve smelled and tasted the peach. Overall, it’s not bad. It would fit well with a nice summer evening meal. I don’t know if I would get it again, but it definitely has me craving some gummy peaches. Worth a try but not an everyday drinker, it is available in the late spring and early summer across the Southeast and some other lucky areas.

This is my first South Carolinan beer and I find it really funny that as I researched RJ Rockers it turns out the founder/brewer is actually from Jersey. He also is a military vet – also very appropriate for a Memorial Day beer. I’ll have to keep an eye out for some other brews from RJ Rockers and give them a shot.

Cheers,
Natty

Brewery: Wild Onion Brewery
Location: Lake Barrington IL
Style: Pale Ale
BeerAdvocate.com Rating: B-
RateBeer.com Rating: 50
Serving: 12oz
ABV: 5.6%
Can/Foodery

“This American-style pale ale is our flagship brand and celebrates the blending of intense hop character and crisp, malty mouthful.”

Appearance: Golden and heady. Lots of light coming through with a large white, frothy head.

Smell: Light grapefruit aroma.

Taste: Crisp mouth feel and pretty hoppy. A bit of a citrus start with a bit of a malty finish.

So, I’ve been on a craft beer can kick recently. It is really exciting for me that more and more beers are coming in cans and can technology has been progressing so we don’t have to worry about that metallic taste we have all come to hate with canned beers from the big 3 (Miller, Bud, Coors). I found this beer along with a few others at the Foodery and thought I’d give it a shot. It had a decent can design, and I like some pale ales. And on a random note, I love that the can has 1902 on it (I’m not sure why since the brewery was only founded in 1995). That is the same year as the founding of my sorority. Pretty cool huh? Anyway, this pale ale is just okay. It is a little hoppier than I typically like; however, I really like the faint malt finish on it. It is definitely an easy drinker and would make a great session beer for a BBQ. This is the first beer I have had from this brewery. I’m not 100% sold on it, but they have a really awesome logo and the tap pull is killer!

Cheers,
Natty

Brewery: Weyerbacher
Location: Easton PA
Style: Imperial Stout
BeerAdvocate.com Rating: A-
RateBeer.com Rating: 99
Serving: 12oz
ABV: 8%
Bottle/Foodery

I walked into the Foodery today with no real focus of what I wanted to get. I talked with the staff a little and got some suggestions but then walked by the case with the Weyerbachers and noticed three that I had never seen before – all stouts. I had to check one out. The staff said this was their favorite but that it is best enjoyed on a night when all you wanna do is drink this beer and go to bed. So tonight it is!

Appearance: Dark, solid black. Nice dark tan head. Dispersed nicely.

Aroma: Slightly sweet and malty. No coffee overtones.

Taste: Wow. All I can say is YUMMY! Definitely a sweet, woody flavor. Not bitter or coffee heavy at all. A little bit of bitterness at the end but not much. A nice creamy mouthfeel. Definitely warming but not boozy in flavor. I would definitely get this again!

Cheers,
Natty

So, hello everyone. I know it has been a while, but I swear I have a good excuse. It’s not that I haven’t been drinking (I have been doing a helluva lot of that in fact) or drinking good beer…..This good beer drinker was striken with a stroke of bad luck back in January that left her laptop-less and homeless. I lost a good stash of amazing beer and all my accumulated notes waiting to be posted, as well as everything else I owned, in a huge Philadelphia fire at the beginning of the month. No need to fear though. A new MacBook has been purchased, a new West Philly apartment has been partially furnished (most importantly with a brand new set of great beer glasses), and life has settled down enough to get back to my dearest friend, beer!

Now I thought it would be ironic to pick a smoked beer for my first review back. Perhaps a 21st Amendment FireSide Chat or something else way to ironic…..but instead i found a new Imperial Stout from one of my favorite brewers! Enjoy.

Cheers,
Natty

Sorry everyone for my slacking at getting the second half of the 12 Beers posted. Rest assured they will come after the holiday, with more than enough time left for you to enjoy (and more in line with the real 12 Days of Christmas as one friend was sure to point out.)! On behalf of the BobWoodshed team – Happy Holidays!

Cheers,
Natty & Rick