One last BrewHaHa in Maltimore / Brewtimore / Baltimalt

Returning to Baltimore I wanted one last TASTE-a-roo of the Baltimore beer scene. I tried to get my team plus one humanitarian dude slash navy seal to go to WharfRat (yes, a horrible sounding name, but a place that came highly recommended by BeerAdvocate). But alas, it was closed.

But this beergirl does not easily dissuaded become! A dinner at a a very new & nice (but kinda just decent, I now think in retrospect) PanAsian (mostly Thai) place whose name I can't remember ensued. But that is not important. And is neither here nor there.

Let's cut to the chase: MAX'S in Baltimore is the Bomb. And that, my friends, is simply that. The vibe is...a rowdy college sports bar. Totally clashing with the laidback pub style of the BrickStore, this place did not inspire. But good thing we stuck around...

OH MY GOD! Beer fans, delight and rejoice, check out the beer list: http://www.maxs.com/beerlist.php (though this was most definitely not what we had). I have never seen the 120 minute on tap, plus pangea, theobroma, Sah'tea, and many more. Avery Grand Cru (14%?) on tap? Oh mama! I did not indulge.

I got the Boulder Oblivion or Obilon or something that I can't be bothered to look up. I also had the ... OH BUGGER as my English compatriots would say, I simply can't remember! I guess the point is, Max's is the best place to check out PLUS Brewer's Art of course. But Max's has MUCH Better beer and MUCH worse atmosphere.

Stouts get their fifteen minutes

I pledge allegiance to the beer...

This fabulous picture is from a piece the New York Times published today on North American Stouts. While I do not concur with the writer's taste for "classic" stouts over Russian Imperial and other mega-stouts, I am a fan of several of the beers that made their top list: the McAuslan, Anderson Valley, and Bear Republic stouts are all bomb.

DC Beer Search

It wouldn't be proper for DSBC member "Sleeping Brewty" to visit B'more and not make a stop-over in DC. So one was made. (This story will be written in the third person. For dramatic affect).

Katy and her friends, Gen & Emmy, met up at the new and spiffy Birch & Barley where the mediocre grill Dakota Cowboy was previously sitting. A swanky feel and a beautiful "beer organ" with 50 beers on tap. Katy ordered the Harpoon Glacier Harvest Wet Hop though I must admit I am not sure if they served me that or the Green Flash Hop Head Red. It is embarrassing that I don't know which it was that was served as I should have known (and I am, by the way, giving up on writing in the third person!). But regardless, yum yum! One annoying note was the level of noise. My throat hurt from talking too loud when we left. But I was satisfied and happy nonetheless with another wonderful beer contribution to the DC scene!

Then I got Otter Creek Imperial Russian Stout. It gets an A- on beeradvocate (I'll save you the drama of clicking) and it was indeed delicious, but a bit sour compared to Great Divide's Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout. They deservedly get an A. And it is chocolatey and only slightly oak-agey and mostly just the best part of a chocolate milkshake. In a beer. Wow--that is a nasty sounding description.

Life was good. Da end.

Baltimore Brewsky

I can be quite snobby about beer. I guess we all can be. Well some of us can let our guard down and imbibe a Miller High Life (no names) or a PBR occasionally. But sometimes I also really hate it. In Atlanta/Decatur, I know my turf. I pretty much know the places ahead of time. But I was in Baltimore, out of my league. Other than Clipper City Brewing, I didn't know much about the beer scene.

I had the wonderful luck of checking out the Brewer's Art--a very funky and beautiful brewery in the lovely slash trendy Mount Vernon neighborhood. Well, not exactly luck. It had been featured in the NYTimes. And I had come there based on that. They had a good selection of bottles and their own brews on tap. Which were mostly Belgian styles, my favorite being the Saison/farmhouse style beer. And rosemary garlic frites---delightful!

My stint at the 13th floor of the Belvedere Hotel was different. It was also another cool old and lovingly restored building in the same area of town. Taking the creaky elevator to the top floor, I expected a lovely view and a classy bar. The view was nice, though no windows, but the bar was not classy at all. And it made me depressed when the best beer they had was a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. That one beer confirmed that I do not like that beer very much. But the company was fun and exciting that I hardly noticed.

Last night back in my old 'hood of DC, my dear friend Magda & I checked out Bread and Brew, a nice lil' bar + restaurant. Good beers on tap of course, including BREW FREE OR DIE! IPA. Actually quite fruity and delicious!

The Real "Mallternative" -- Decatur, GA or Mike's Hard Lemonade?

This afternoon I stumbled across the Wikipedia page for Mike's Hard Lemonade. I was checking to see if God's gift to fifteen year-olds was classified as a beer or a "malt beverage" or alcopop or what.

The answer was shocking! ...especially to this law-abiding Decatur, GA resident. Mike's Hard Lemonade is actually a "malternative."

You heard me! Malternative. Sound familiar?



Unconscionable!

First, there's the brazen thievery of The Grange, a Decatur watering hole, and their attempt to steal the identity of The National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry -- now this!

Decatur, have you no shame? Were we really to believe you wanted to establish yourself as a "mallternative" as in an alternative to mall shopping!?! Please.

This sneaky marketing campaign -- right under our noses! -- has all along been an attempt to lure 15 year-old lushes out of the basements of unsuspecting, out-of-town parents and onto our city streets! Stumbling about no less, in search of their precious malternatives.

I won't stand for this, just as you wouldn't stand our motto being "Decatur: A City of Homes, Schools, Places of Worship, and Underage Imbibers of Sweet, Sweet Malt Beverages." Somebody do something. I am disgusted.

Beer #7: Terrapin Depth Charge

Well, you've undoubtedly read about Beer Club's innovative communications strategy: SOCIAL MEDIA, here we come! With Lain and Amelia and their expertise in blogging how on earth could we go wrong? That's right, we couldn't.

So we come to beer #7...and it is a real hit. People were ready to ditch that funky barleywine (WTF, Green Flash?!) and we are onto coffee stouts!

OK, not the world's best photo. But gives you an idea of the color.

Words that come to folks' mind:

• Bright Rwandan coffee
• Instead of Wake & Bake, it's Wake & Burn, no...Wake & Churn.
• a real breakfast beer
• coffee coffee coffee!
• Burnt? ! No...Dunkin Donuts...no!
• Chocolate covered espresso beans!

We are currently debating our theme for November (in honor of Catherine's baby)...and...we've got it! Girly beers or manly beers! ! ! LOVE IT? LOVE IT!

Back to the beer at hand.

VOTING TIME!

SCORE: 5

Green Flash Brewing Company, Barleywine, 2008 Vintage

Hoppiest barleywine ever
alcohol foamieness
barlipa
ipa/barleywine combo
technical
no depth of flavor
i can like you if I try hard
maybe some dirty socks going on
amelia smells pizza
challenging
one of the more bitter beers ever
nothing subtle about this beer
hits and sits
less harsh as it warms

VOTE: 1

Imperial Iniquity Black Ale

I like the smell
-Christa
I love htis beer, it's my favorite so far
-Katy

"Some may consider it an immoral act to blacken an ale, but it's an ale black as night so it's the antithesis of unearthly"

Better balance than the Dogzilla, not as hoppy, more refined, very smooth, tastier finish
Taste chocolate or chocolate-flavored, somewhat astringent, taste the hops at the end and sort of chemical taste.
a little dark fruit flavor in the middle

7 points, thumbs up all around!

Beer #4: Dogzilla Black IPA -- Laughing Dog Brewing

So sayeth the Beer Club Crew of Laughing Dog Brewing's Dogzilla Black IPA:

"This aroma is crrrrazy."

"[This aroma is] So interesting."

"Doing a lot [olfactoraly]!"

Amelia made a face like a dog licking peanut butter: "I thought it was done making tastes, but oh I was wrong."

[Discussion about how neither Idaho nor Pittsburgh nor Buffalo is in the midwest. Someone posits Buffalo is "mid-Atlantic" (ed. note: untrue)]

"I'm not from Kansas anymore, Toto." - Katy

"Tastes like it's been aged in my grandmother's trunk." - Christa

[Discussion about how color affects expectations of taste.]

"Tastes musty."

"There's a nutty flavor, with a little chocolate."

"Complex, and it really makes you think."

"Long and bitter finish."

Ben reads from the bottle: pure poetry. How many times can you rhyme with the word "down?" Too many, according to Laughing Dog's copy-editor.

Suggestion: "Everyone should create a haiku about each beer." (Groans)

Final Score: 0 (7 voters)

(picture courtesy of Ben McCleod)

Live Blog! Twisted Pine Hoppy Boy IPA

It's from Boulder, CO, in case you were interested.

"That was good, Christa/out"

"Orange oil -- zest! It takes me a while to find it, but once I do -- BOOM!"

"Piney" (the label told us as much, to be fair) "Pine Sol!"

"Lemon!"

"Easy finish -- not as bitter and pinching as some"

"Good malt backbone" -- attributed to Ben

"Slight metallic finish ... may be due to olives"

There's a man somewhere who knows Don Henley. And now, Brennan known that man.

Vote: 6 (with 7 folks voting)

numero tres: Lake Louise Corn Rock Cream Ale

Apparently this beer is one of Christa's family friend's favorite beer.

We are now sidetracked by Christa's stories from the Great American Beer Festival. We are all so jealous that she got to sample so many beers that we can't access down here in the dirtay dirtay.

The Corn Rock Cream Ale is on the sweet side - but also hits you with some funk. Somebody commented: "like a dessert you would have at a holiday party." I find that good beers demand attention from our crew though, and this beer is NOT the center of attention right now. So, perhaps the B- grade on Beer Advocate is on target.

Sam thinks this is "for a more delicate palate" - and there are not very many delicate palates in our group, so we are "prejudiced" against the light beers. Sam: "smooth buttery mouthfeel."

Count: 1!

Liveblog of Beer Club: Beer #2

Alright, this is a Great Divide Hoss.
"Lain matches the beer in style"
"lunberjacky"
"does anybody taste cherry?" - "Yeah, Luden's, like candy cherry."
"great divide: great brewery, but..."
"subtle rye bread flavor"
"dark beers are coming..."
"it's Christa!"
"slightly sweet"
"for a lager..."
"not undrinkable, but..."
"grows on you"
"that is what a squirrel looks like" (?)
vote: 1 out of 8

First Beer: Flying Dog Kerberos Triple

We just had the genius idea to liveblog beerclub. Ben is in the kitchen baking his stellar cookies, adding that to the popcorn, okra, olives, delicious cheese and more he prepared us. (Go on Ben!) Oh, and of course, Catherine brought her famous baked goods...pumpkin cake.

So live blogging...here we go!

I (Katy) really like the Kerberos...very malty. But Brennan is not so hot into it. "Has a strong taste of rubbing alcohol in the middle!" he says. "Tasty" is Amelia's (very uninspired) comment. "awww...that's not a lame comment, she's just getting started" says Catherine.

"This does not look like a three headed monster in my mouth." Ben writes.

This beer be trippel fermented. Aftertaste is questionable to some. Some nice spices prevail like pepper..."a lil' too sweet?"

"mmmMMMmmmm" we exclaim.

SCORE: 3

Oktoberfest with Palestine's Only Brewery

TIME magazine recently published an article on Taybeh Beer, the very first brewery in Palestine, and their well attended (10,000 people!) Oktoberfest.

The bonus video is pretty great (please note how many cups deep that festival attendee is):



They've struggled a bit -- being surrounded by Muslim communities that completely abstain from alcohol doesn't exactly boost sales -- but they've found their niche and are turning a profit.

It looks like London may be the closest place to try Taybeh Beer, though the article mentions that there are more Taybeh natives living in Michigan than in Taybeh itself. Hopefully it's just a matter of time before Vargo gifts us a sixer from Detroit.

Finest Beer I Ever Tasted -- Schaefer!

I'm gonna have to take Hedy Lamarr's word for it on this one. I do like that glass.

(picture courtesy if of the indefatigably fascinating If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger, There'd Be a Whole Lot of Dead Copycats)

Wedge, Asheville

During our Beer Club envoy to Boone this past weekend, we were able to make a stop at the ralatively new Wedge Brewing Company in Asheville's River Arts District. We sampled the newly tapped porter, the Golem (strong Belgian), and a few others and then sat down with a pitcher ($10) of the Iron Rail IPA. The patio is varied, with seats arranged at different heights, spacing and orientation, making it versitile and dynamic for great socializing. It also featured live music. Next time you're in Asheville be sure to check it out.

Other notes from the weekend included a comeback for the fallen Breckenridge Brewery with its small batch 471 IPA. We also sampled the Heavy Seas Great Pumpkin Ale. This one is as spicy as a seasonal cider and fitting for the fall. At dinner we sampled a great Ska Decadent Imperial IPA (only a B!!?!?!??). But the best came from OR, by way of Christ(P)a(in). It was Deschutes Mirror Mirror American Barley Wine. This is a winner. Another scary-good bottle also made it from Oregon to Boone. It was McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt Whiskey. Delicious. If you're fortunate enough to get a glass I would.

All of these extras made an already pleasant North Carolina mountain trip all the more enjoyable. And, of course, it goes without saying that we brought a bunch of that NC goodness back home with us for the rest of our DSBC mates.