Troegs Scratch #30- Bock

After a good workout, yes a workout, I decided to open the last of the Troeg's Scratch series that I had in the fridge.  It was Scratch #30, a Bock (some say a Jerman Bock, apparently a Helles/Mai bock).

It poured a nice light brown (a little darker than the picture makes it out to be), with a nice size head that disappears quickly.  The head leaves a nice lacing on the glass.

The nose presents a very nice hop/malt balance- but no over the top smells come about.

First sip is delicious.  Second sip recognizes a nice sweet, bready taste that is backed up with a good amount of hops (drys everything out).  Surprisingly, this is 7% abv, I would have never guessed.  As with the smell, neither hops nor malt dominate the taste.

This beer also has a nice balance of Carnation that allows the beer to be smooth going down.  A very medium to light body doesn't hold you down after drinking.  This is a very drinkable beer, and being the 7% could consider this dangerously drinkable-- the kind I like. 

Wish I could get more.  If you can find some of this anywhere, pick it up now!

Moving

One of the best things about moving is finding new places with great beer.  My fiance and I love to eat out, so when we moved we searched for local restaurants to eat at. This took us to The Railroad House on Thursday night.

The online food menu seemed promising, and the pictures online made it look like a nice place to eat.  Something I was not expecting was a very nice beer list.  On it, I found a couple of Founders beers.  I went with the Old Carmudgean, a very good old ale that has a strong dark fruits smell and taste.  I was very pleased. 

These mini surprises make it fun and exciting.  Sometimes a place will have Founders/Bells/etc., sometimes they have BMC.  You never know what you are going to get.

Beer Day

Towards the end of the work day, I decided I needed to hit up a beer store before getting out of the city.  Living in Pennsylvania has its perks for us, being closer to family, cheaper insurance rates, etc.  But the one major downfall (to me) is the case law.  Yes, I know I can pick up bottles and sixers at bars or at the few bottle shops around, but the selection is usually lacking- especially compared to places like Well's, the Wine Source and HoneyGo Wine. 

Yesterday, I stopped into The Wine Underground.  This is one of my favorite beer/wine shops.  Unless you know where you are going, you would never run into it.  Located on a side street, the Wine Underground as a great selection of wine, and very knowledgable people to help you with your selection (I am not a wine person, but a good friend of mine who is thought very highly of them- he was actually the reason I know of it).  The beer selection, while not as extensive as the others, is very good.

I had nothing in mind when I walked in, but once I saw the Raging Bitch (Flying Dog), I placed a sixer on the counter and started my pile.  Next, I spotted 21st Amendment's Hell or High Watermelon.  I had a sip of this beer last year, and now want to give it its due with this warm weather.

On to the single bottles.  I have been on a huge Saison kick lately, so I was excited to see the Stone/DogfishHead/Victory Saison du Buff.  I grabbed two bottles of it, hopefully it lives up to its billing.  Beside the Saison du Buff was a mini display of big bottle of Avery.  I had the tough choice of Anniversary Ale-Seventeen, Maharaja and Collaboration Not Litigation.  Maharaja is one of my favorites, if not my favorite, and Collaboration Not Litigation is very good.  But I have never had Seventeen, and it sounded delicious- a Black Lager with a ton of hops.

I have some friends coming to visit this weekend, so I grabbed a 22oz Sierra Nevada Harvest- a favorite among friends.  The final bottle I grabbed was a 22oz Stone Old Guardian barleywine.  No specific reason for grabbing it, other than not remembering ever having it, and it sounded good.

Now I just need to find time to start drinking it.

Sorry for the bad iPhone camera picture

The Session #41- Homebrewing

This month's issue of The Session is hosted by The Wallace Bros. at Lug Wrench Brewing Company.  They asked bloggers to write about how homebrewing has influenced Craft Beer industry.

I am sure that many craft brewers started out as homebrewers.  I love the homebrew competitions that breweries hold, whether it is Sam Adam's homebrew competition or Heavy Seas (the Letter of Marque Hop Rye Porter was amazing).  But homebrewing means something different to me.

To some people homebrewing is their live. To me it is the start to a new life.

Now that I moved out to the country from Baltimore, one of the things that I am looking forward to is homebrewing. Yes, I could have done it in the city, but space was an issue. I have already decided to brew some of the beer for my upcoming wedding in October (with the help of my brother), and we have been going over recipe ideas. Will I keg or bottle? Big batches or small batches? Lager or stick to ales? These are the questions that vo through my mind on my hour and a half drive every morning.

The final question that goes through my mind is what style my first homebrewing will be. I though about doing a saison-it is my favorite now. Or maybe an IPA- my longtime favorite. I do love Belgians though or something safe like a basic pale ale. These questions burn me up and give me things to contemplate. What I know I can't wait for is to make these decisions. I also feel fortunate to know that I have build a good core of people who I know can answer any questions that I may have about homebrewing. So if you have any answers to the above questions, or any good advice, please let me know.

Tableside Taps

A new Washington D.C. bar is installing table side taps for the table goers to purchase beer from (I learned from this post, that cited this post).  I had seen this unique asset online that a bar was going to install in Atlanta, but now it is coming to D.C.

I think that table side taps would be a great idea- if used in a smart way.  The way that the taps work, is that the customer swipes a card next to the taps, and pours their beer.  The amount of beer and price is displayed next to the tap, letting the customer know how much the beer costs as well as the amount they pour.

I am not what beers will be poured through the taps, although the article mentioned that it wouldn't beer Schlitz.  (This is MY idea, not how the bar will work)-> I would love for a bar to have this system in place, with the ablility to "rent" the table for the night and have a selection of beers to be placed on the taps.  This way, you could get as good or as crappy a beer that you would like.  This way, the table could buy the beer by the cup, or buy the keg (1/6) before hand and just pour.  The cost to rent the table would give you a place to sit all night, as well as the bar gaining the upfront money to offset the cost of people not buying by the glass.  That is what my ideal would be for the bar.

Check out the post to see the awesome photos of the tables.

The Time Has Come

I have made a compromise.  I love city living.  Even though we didn't take complete advantage of the perks of the city, we have enjoyed the ability to get home at night and be able to walk to where ever we needed to go.  Italian food, mexican food, the grocery store during a blizzard, the park and a couple of great beer bars (as well as the most friendly bar I frequently went to) were all within a couple of block of our house.

But the time has come to make my fiancee happy (and a part of me happy as well).  We are buying a house in the county.  Not Baltimore County or even Carroll County, but in Pennsylvania.  I am lucky enough to still have my job in the city, and am close enough to commute to work, but there are some things that I will definitely miss.  Maybe #1 on the list is Pint Night at Max's Taphouse.  Not for the glassware (I have way too much as it is), but for the guys who I have gotten to know and the peacefulness of leaving life for a while and downing a pint.

#1a would be the great network of bloggers/twitterers that Baltimore has (Brad at BeerInBaltimore, Dan at BeersForDinner, Chuck at Belgian beer and travel, @CDoubleIPA, @jmooy, @plank10 and all the others that I didn't list).  I have loved walking into an event/random bar and seeing people I know.  The combination of knowledge and friendliness lead to great experiences throughout the past year on A Beer in Hand.  Meeting and being able to talk to some of the greatest beer minds in Baltimore couldn't have been done without this network.

#1b is the great friendships that I have gained going to McGovern's every Thursday.  From an awesome bartender in Marty (who works at the Baltimore Taphouse on the weekends) to the great crew who have welcomed us into their family, we are grateful for your friendships. (If you like boating, check out my friends blog here.)

I see moving as a challenge and adventure.  I now get to seek out new beer bars, and get to experience new atmospheres.  Hopefully, I will be able to find great new beers, as well as attend beer events that I did not know about previously.

So here is to my last week as a full-time city resident. (I may be living part-time in the city, but not sure yet.)  If you are around Wednesday, stop into Max's for a pint.

Session for the Session (#40)

The Session this month is hosted by Top Fermented, and they ask each blogger's own opinion of Session beers.

What is your definition of a session beer?... 

Is it merely enough for a beer to be low alcohol to be considered a session beer, or is there some other ineffable quality that a beer must hold in order to merit the term? And if so, what is that quality? Is it “drinkability”? Or something else?...


What are some of your favorite session beers? When and where do you drink them? If you’d like, drink one and review it.

If you go on Beer Advocate, Rate Beer or any other beer forum website, you will find posts that argue the correct definition of a "Session beer".  Does it have to be under 4%?  5%?  5.5%?  Each person has their own abv definition, but the one thing that remains true is that a session beer must be easy to drink and light in alcohol enough to drink for the entire night without falling out the back window (long story, involves Imperial IPAs- don't ask).

When I think of low abv, easy to drink beers- I think of my go to beer.  When heading out to a party, or just to hang at a friends house, I will pick up or know that there will be Yuengling Lager. 4.3%, smooth and not bad tasting makes it a great beer to drink all night.  (It doesn't hurt that it is cheap.) 

When thinking harder of sub-5% beers that were easy to drink, my mind takes me to Selin's Grove Brewing and their Shade Mountain Oatmeal Stout (the beer on the left in the picture).  When I first started drinking craft beers, I drank many stouts and loved oatmeal stouts.  I turned from the dark stuff in favor of IPAs (with no regrets) but do enjoy a stout every once in a while.  So while spending the afternoon at the brewpub with my brother, I decided to give the 4.6% stout a try.  It came out looking perfect, and a smile came across my face. The taste did not disappoint.

I could drink this beer all day and night.  It did not weigh me down, and it made me want more of it. 

To see my full account of my trip to the Selin's Grove Brewpub see this.