Weyerbacher and Sly Fox

2012-12-08

Headed up to Weyerbacher brewery, which turned out to be quite an event. The brewery is nestled near a residential are in the town of Easton.

The visitor center opens at noon, and the arrival time was 12:01 - did not want to be late. The tasting area has a dazzling array of beers available, pretty much everything on sale currently.

What was interesting is this was one of the few tasting rooms that was fastidiously carding everyone. Even more interesting is the founder was a German who chose to brew English style ales.

Had a nice tour of the brewery, with a detailed explanation of the brewing process. This included the whole flow from milling to mash tun, etc. What was entertaining was the three college-aged guys who were discussing if they could do the same techniques with their "beermeister" system.

An interesting turn was the emphasis on "cellaring" beer. Cellaring is when you store a beer, to see how it changes (hopefully for the better) with age. Generally speaking, one ages ales, not lagers. And the ales you choose to age should be minimally hopped (no IPAs) and probably at least 8% Alcohol By Volume. With some of their Blithering Idiot barleywine (2006) aging at home, this is something many of us have done before.

Beer sampled included:

Winter Ale [#3,379]

Merry Monk

Imperial Pumpkin - quite nice

QUAD - Belgian quadruple, aggressive

Seventeen Anniversary - it's their 17th birthday

Yankee Old Ale

Blithering Idiot - needs to age 6 months

Old Heathen - imperial stout

TINY - Belgian imperial stout

Verboten

Last Chance IPA

Double Simcoe IPA [#3,390]

The brewery is currently constructing a new visitor center, so that should provide a more dedicated tasting area; hope to see it on their 18th birthday.

Stopped in at Sly Fox brewing which is a relatively new brewpub in Pottstown.

Since it was past lunchtime, had the pulled pork sliders for a repast. Quite good, with great sides, altho the sales manager Pat had earlier recommended the kielbasa pizza.

There was also quite a palette of beers available, and apparently they now also sell beers in cans as well as caged bottles. A "caged" bottle refers to a larger bottle - typically 750 ml - with a cork to seal it and a basket made of wires to hold the pressure/cork in.

What was interesting is - once again, as far as my beer tasting goes - when a milestone number comes up (e.g. beer #2,000; #2,700; etc.) it is often best to let the chips fall as they may. Well, once again, beer #3,400 was their 10.3% Belgian tripel - Incubus - which is only available Saturday evenings. Beers sampled were:

Saison Vos [#3,391]

Royal Weisse

Helles Golden Lager

Pikeland Pils

Rt. 113 IPA

Phoenia Pale Ale

O'Reilley's Stout

Grisette - Belgian farmhouse ale

Rauch Bier - not as smoky as some (which is good)

Incubus [#3,400]

Odyssey

Saison de Cuivre

Chatted with a couple of local beer lovers - maybe new Club Belgique members?

With dozens of restaurants to choose from, where do you go if you're near Royersford PA? No question, you go again to the Craft Ale House. Dinner was an appetizer of mussels, with the grass-fed hanger steak.

Tried the:

Huyghe - Delerium Nöel

Stone - Old Guardian barleywine from 2006 [#3404]

With the Stone they outdid themselves; but apparently there are plans to have some vintage ale tastings in the future.

Count me in!

Beer Bar - par excellence

2012-12-07

Although not a brewery or brewpub, a beer bar is also a quintessential - nay essential - part of any beer fan's environs.

A good beer bar has some different brews, and offers decent food at a fair price.

A great beer bar has some more unusual brews, and very good food; in some cases near-gourmet quality.

A gratifying beer bar has rare and unusual beers, and food that in some cases is off the hook.

I would estimate the Craft Ale House in Royersford Limerick PA falls into the 3rd category - or higher. As with this apparently water-themed beer trip, this is where Mr. Royer "forded" (crossed) the river.

The bar - as the story goes - was originally an unassuming deli, which a husband-wife team bought and rehabbed and thus the Craft Ale House was born.

They have at least 15 taps which change periodically, they have very good food, and they have beer.

First the food. There were four of us at the restaurant; three chose the grass-fed hanger steak and I chose the smoked boar. I am not sure what was better. The boar was tender, rich and smoky, served with Brussel sprouts.

 
The hanger steak was fork-tender, with bacon-accented collard greens and fried mashed plantains. There is a tempting dessert menu, but there's no better aperitif than a good barleywine.

Now the beer. A breathtaking array of beers in two coolers (with allegedly "more in the back", and there were) from A to Z. A good example is the fact there was van Eecke's Hommeil beer, a personal favorite.

The list of beer sampled - as I was not driving - is just a hint at the selection.

Ithaca - Flower Power IPA (draft) [#3,373]

Lefevre - Blanche de Bruxelles (bottle) [#3,374]

DuClaw - Devil's Milk barleywine (bottle) [#3,375]

Left Hand - Milk Stout (nitro) [#3,376]

De Struise - Tsjeeses Reserva '11 (draft) [#3,377]

De Struise - Tsjeeses Reserva '11 (bottle) [#3,378]

Had a nice chat with co-owner Gary, and me tipped us off as to another potential beer importer to speak with, after my own abortive attempt to import beers from Belgium.

So, remember, if you're within 50 miles of Royersford - and Craft Ale House is open - you really owe it to yourself to stop in.

NY & NJ - Defiant, Bitting, Harvest Moon

2012-12-06

First stop was Defiant Brewing in Pearl River NY. Legend has it that this was called Muddy Creek until actual pearls were discovered in the creek. And today we have the same metaphor, a "pearl" in the form of Defiant Brewing.

Defiant sells mostly kegs and growlers, but as luck would have it they also had limited numbers of "caged" 750 ml Christmas ales. That was good, as one was purchased - ostensibly to have at Christmas. Growlers would not do, as I'll be gone traveling well over a week.

The brewery is located in a small industrial area across from the metro station; so there's a dream locale. Commute to NYC, stop in the brewery for a beer after work. The bar (which apparently serves food Fridays/weekends) is cash only, which caused a bit of consternation, until told there is an ATM in the back.

Beers sampled were:

Medusa IPA - not overly hoppy, which is good [#3,355]

Stout - (which I believe was a dry or "Irish" stout) [3,356]

Magnus Pango (barleywine ale, quite literally one of the best in recent memory) [#3,357]

The only negative aspect of Defiant - for a person sampling beers - is the complete absence of "flights" (a group of 5-8 small glasses, typically priced $5-$12)!

Altho regular servings were priced very fairly (starting about $3.75 for a 10 oz glass) I was not intending to drink that much, and certainly was not going to spend $30-$40 to try the beers available. Now maybe if I had asked for a "taste" of each that would have happened (it was not very busy, they just opened at 2:00 PM), but that generally becomes annoying, and Club-Belgique members do not like to annoy anyone, especially employees at a brewery!

Anyway, I will be back in the area next year, and either
A) there will be flights; 
B) more bottle options to purchase; 
C) I will stay in a local hotel and just drink!

Next stop was at the J. J. Bitting brewpub, Woodbridge Township NJ. Named one would suppose as they built the first wood bridge over a stream, maybe a tributary of the Muddy Creek?

J. J. Bitting's is a boisterous, friendly "local bar" - staff was wonderful and the barmaid - even though only tastings were ordered - was as attentive as if it was a party of 12. The bar serves decent nacho chips with salsa gratis, which is a welcome surprise.

When the glasses come, Bittings actually has the tasting pre-printed (yay!) and in order (more or less) of how you may want to try them - i.e. "lighter" to "darker", to use the non-technical terms.

With a set of proper tasting glasses, sampled were:

Victoria's Ale - a nice light ale [#3,358]

Avenel Amber [#3,359]

Rye Humor - nice rye pale ale [#3,360]

W.H.A.L.E.S. IPA - not an imperial IPA? [#3,361]

J. J.'s Raspberry Wheat - probably best with a poultry dish [#3,362]

Woodbridge Winter Warmer [#3,363]

Blackjack Oatmeal Stout [#3,364]

Nut Brown Ale - hand pulled, an unexpected treat [#3,365]

Did not try the food but everyone at the bar was pigging out - also saw some decadent dessert go by that caused angina just looking at it.

Mike the owner was not available, but just to let him know - good show!

Arrived in New Brunswick NJ, where at dinner enjoyed some duck-fat-fried french-fries at the Hyatt. After dinner, it was just a hop skip and a jump to the Harvest Moon. Now this place was hoppin'! There was a live band and it was almost wall-to-wall people.

One tap was out, but had tastings of:

Moonlight Kolschbier - hard to describe but had that unmistakable, hard-to-quantify Kolsch taste and mouthfeel [#3,366]

Harvest Hefeweizen [#3,367]

Elmes' Mild Manor - near perfect, biscuity English mild [#3,368]

Jimmy D's Firehouse Red [#3,369]

New Brunswick Brown Ale #3,370]

Simcoe Double IPA - rich, hoppy, slightly astringent (7.8% ABV) [#3,370]

Black O'Lantern Pumpkin Stout - rich nutmeggy, with real pumpkin [#3,372]

The brewer Kyle was out, but did get a chance to speak with the assistant brewer, who was very proud (rightly so) of the brewpub and their wares.

So, not a bad vacation day!

Free Beer (for me alway!) 2012-11-26

Ninkasa or Saint Augustine of Hippo was smiling on me today. Someone at work had asked "you like beer right, I have some 'old' beer, would you want it?"

After hearing a description, me say "Sure!!!"

(L to R) 2005 Chimay Premiere, 1999 Fuller's Vintage, 2006 Ommegang Abbey Ale, and 2005 Chimay Grande Reserve.

Northampton MA 2012-11-24

After attending a high-school reunion, we were able to stop in at the Northampton MA brewpub

Had their

Boog's Berliner Weisse - excellent example of a Berliner weisse [#3,348]

Alpha Project (Zythos) - believe this was a classic pale ale

Jess' Good Rye - hand pulled (cask ale)

Milk 'n' Cookies - milk stout

Mexican Food, and, What Else?

There are many, many food and beer pairings out there: mussels with ale (ideally at Monk's); hotdogs/hamburgers with light lagers like Bud and Miller; but perhaps nothing goes together better than Mexican food and beer.

One might say this, for if you were to sample a variety of beer types, Mexican food offers - with all it's permutations - spicy (obviously), savory, sweet, sour, crunchy, soft, rich, etc.

So was yesterday, where we had a few friends over; nothing special, just some good home-cooked food and excellent beers.

Fortunately my wife, being an excellent cook, set up a repast ranging from vegetarian squash soup to homemade guacamole. Now she is not of Mexican descent, but one could put her guac up against anyone else's.

Besides three friends, our younger son had two classmates over, and our eldest had stopped in from college; so what looked like a lot of food - in the final analysis - was "about right".

Atypical for some of the beer tastings I have hosted (and this really wasn't one, per se) as it was a small group we all used "real" glasses as opposed to plastic cups. I of course used my favorite Hommeil Beer glass.

As luck would have it, Rich brought both a
Stone - Arrogant Bastard and a
Lagunitas - Lucky 13 Alt

As a way of thanking him, I gave him all the bottle caps I had acquired over the years. He was in need of beer bottle caps, as someone he knows is making a beer bottle cap tabletop. Wow, wish I thought of that, but as that has a very low "WAF" I just figured, here take the caps.

Now the Lucky 13 was an unexpected treat; I have had it before - both in bottle and at the brewery - and it is spectacular. It is also rare, being brewed for Lagunitas's 13th anniversary (and yes, I meant to use "s's" as the possessive of a proper name).

We also tried
Het Anker - Athos [#3,329]

Sierra Nevada - Narwhal Imperial Stout

InBev - Belle-Vue Kriek [#3,330]

De Proef - Flemish Primitive Wild Ale [3,331]

De Dolle - Stille Nacht [3,332]

We had thought Erin had a strong wheat allergy, so she was given a very small glass, from the 2002 Small Brewers Festival in California; however she made it clear she wanted a slightly larger glass!

Both the Arrogant Bastard and Lucky 13 were very popular, and I believe everyone (me included) appreciated the fact that there will be no more. The Athos was personally brought back from the brewery, and it was a nice mild Belgian Golden ale. The imperial stout - which is what a good beer tasting should do - made Craig ask "why imperial", what make it that?

The kriek - or more accurately - "kriek in a can" was quite good, considering. It too had been picked up in Belgium; I mean who can resist a small cute can of kriek?

The last two beers were perhaps the most interesting. Being a Flemish "wild ale" the brewing benefits from spontaneous fermentation, using wild years in the Flanders area. And as an FYI - the brewery name is a reference to Dirk Naudts - the Prof(esseur).

The Stille Nacht (still night) is ostensibly a Christmas ale, but there is no reason not to enjoy it any time. Although you may not easily find 8-year old bottles, rest assured this is one beer that get better with age. Although it can be almost dangerously pressurized...

For dessert, it was season-appropriate to have pumpkin spice cookies.

San Antonio TX

There's something about Texas that a lot of people really like: be it the food; the cultures; the history. There's also beer.

Arriving late afternoon, the first order of business was to head out to some of the better beer bars. Note a New England hurricane had been narrowly avoided!

First stop was The Esquire, which had some good recommendations from various beer websites.

The chili fries were a great appetizer, and service was prompt and friendly.

However, most of the local brews on tap were "out"! Tried:

Independence - Convict Hill Oatmeal Stout [#3,294]

Ranger Creek - Mission Trail Ale [#3,295]

Little Kings Hudepohl-Schoenling - Cream Ale [#3,296] in a tiny 7-oz bottle

That was about it, as the zombies were out for Halloween;

I knew they were people in makeup, but it was a but scary nonetheless.

Monday - 10/29 - tried to find several local beer bars and a brewery within a 1-mile walk. The bars were closed until 3 PM, based on some local beer establishment laws; the brewery was closed on Mondays

Stopped in at Lüke which boasted an amazing menu. Too bad an earlier sausage po-boy from the fantastic Lagniappe food truck had assuaged my hunger.

At Lüke tried an:

Alaskan Brewing - Amber [#3,297]

Saint Arnold - Elissa IPA [#3,298]

The manger Jason let me sample:

Ranger Creek - Lucky Ol Sun (Saison) [#3,299]

Saint Arnold - Endeavor Imperial IPA [#3,200 !] (bottle)

Southern Star - Buried Hatchet Stout [#3,201]

Jason seemed very knowledgable about beers and proper beer/food pairings. Apparently there's a lot of stuff planned with future beer/food events. The selection of beers was quite eclectic, and I promised to come back the next afternoon for the $0.50 oyster raw bar.

Made it to the Filling Station Tap Room on S. Saint Mary's St, as they are not open until 3. It's a quaint place to try some good beers. It's also next to what seemed like a nice restaurant, although there was no opportunity to try the food.

The bartender Jarvis was a good host, and told the story how the restaurant expanded and had this space left over; the Tap Room is new in 2012. Good selection of beers from as Far East as Brooklyn Brewing and as far west as Green Flash.

Beers sampled included:

Real Ale - Lost Gold IPA [#3,202]

Southern Star - Pine Belt Pale Ale [#3,203]

Saint Arnold - Endeavor Imperial IPA (tap) [#3,204]

Real Ale - Full Moon Pale Rye Ale [#3,205]

Real Ale - Rio Blanco Pale Ale [#3,206]

Alamo - Alamo Golden Ale [#3,207]

Note that given the size of the place (no room for a dishwasher) they use plastic cups; no big deal [remember all cans are plastic-lined] but be aware. Looks like a great place to grab some food from next door, sit on the patio, and watch the afternoon roll by. Met the owner as well (forgot his name - sorry) and complimented him on his place and wished him good luck.

On October 30th, made it down to Blue Star Brewing which was closed on Monday. The brewery prides itself as "pretty much everything" is organic; as part of I guess a full disclosure the bartender wasn't sure about all the hops.

Chatted for a while with a local retiree, who related a story of a recent local church dedication, where all religions were there to celebrate together - Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddists, etc; why only in Texas?

The beer flight offered was tastefully served in stem glasses. From left to right (although not sampled in that order) was:

Blue Star - Extra Pale [#3,308]

Blue Star - Barnstormer Easy Sour [#3,310]

Blue Star - Scotch Ale [#3,309]

Blue Star - Spire Stout [#3,312]

Blue Star - Cornfed IPA [#3,311]

Note that while the Cornfed IPA and the Extra Pale were standouts, the "Scotch" ale was not really "Scotch style". When asked what I thought of it, I said it was nice, bitter, good finish but lacked some of the attributes of what I would term a Scotch ale. The bartender agreed saying I was not the only one to say that.

Also tried an ersatz Kriek, with an appropriate amount of organic natural sour cherry syrup added to the sour ale - actually much nicer than one might expect.

Blue Star - Barnstormer Easy Sour Kriek (with cherry) [#3,313]

The Blue Star has a full restaurant but I did not get to try the food.

Walking back towards town, stopped in at the Friendly Spot.

Again apologize as I did not note the bartender's name, but a younger guy who was very beer-savvy, friendly, outgoing (have a good time at the wedding). Did get to meet the owner - Steve. First up was

Saint Arnold - Pumpkinator [#3,314]

I rarely do this, but this is what St. Arnold says of their own beer: "Pumpkinator...   is an imperial pumpkin stout and our answer to how a pumpkin beer ought to taste. ...10% ABV. It is brewed... for a background hop flavor, pumpkin for a rich mouthfeel, molasses and brown sugar, and spiced and dry-spiced to make it feel like you just walked into your mom’s kitchen while she was cooking 37 pumpkin pies." Yes. 37 pumpkin pies. And that dear readers gives you an indication of what a beer must have to rate a "10".

Was peckish enough to order some blackberry bbq pork sliders,

to go with a

Real Ale - Shade Grown Coffee Porter [#3,315]

Now as the Friendly Spot had one of my favorite beers - Hommel Beer from Van Eecke brewery (which I have toured) - this gives you an idea of the breadth and depth of their beers.

Also amazed at the women drinking unusual beers, especially several who wanted Pumpkinator as well. Finished off with a 

Spoetzl Shiner - Shiner Holiday Cheer [#3,316]

as I was heading back to Lüke.

Fifteen minutes later at Lüke, ordered a 

512 Brewing - Pecan Porter [#3,317]

which is a perfect accompaniment to raw oysters. 

Saw Jason again, who seemed surprised - yet pleased - I had returned. I said I had promised to be back; wearing the proper Club-Belgique colors. Tried a

Ranger Creek - Red Headed Stranger [#3,318]

Along with - maybe - one of the "top 10" burgers in America? Top ten in America - don't know.
Top 10 I have tried? Definitely.

Bavik - Wittekerke Wit Bier [#3,319] (can!)

Rahr and Sons - Ugly Pug [#3,320]

I felt personally guilty about that one Belgian, as I wanted the entire trip to be Texas beer. However someone sitting next to me extolled the virtues of the Belgian Wit, so I had to try it. When I tried to convince her and her friends to try the "frites" with mayonnaise (Belgian style) that was a no go.

So we have a trip where a hurricane was avoided; 26 new beers were sampled, rated and scored; and several wonderful people were introduced to Club Belgique.

See you again in 2014.