meeting of beer lovers

Hey,

Should we try to get together and sample beers in a "live setting" I'm thinking, tunes, beer and good conversation

post your thoughts please

"tfaco"

Stoudts Triple

Hello fellow beer lovers (male, and the one female)

I'm sipping on a fresh case of "Stoudts Triple." I've been out of beer for a while and bought a case tonight. This is my 3rd case of this this beer over a 3year period and it tastes just as good this time around. It's a heavy hitter with a content of 9.0 definitely a sipper by the fire. I would rate it as a 9, on a scale of 1-10. Taste would compare to Victory's "golden monkey", but a little darker in color. Definitely worth buying a case!! Time for another log.

Jake

Rogue Dead Guy Ale

Jake and I tried this beer once when we were camping. I recently bought a six-pack for some relatives that came over. I just went into the garage to check on my beer supply, and surprise, there was one Dead Guy mixed in with the Coors Light and Rolling Rocks! I decided to log in to BEER! and post while I sipped. If I had a bar in my basement (someday, maybe), I'd have this beer proudly displayed on the shelf with Ommegang for all to see. It's a Maibock (sp?) ale, copper in color, smooth, sweet malty finish, and is pretty friggin' good. I think it runs about 40 bucks per case, and every one of those 4,000 pennies is well spent. This beer goes perfectly on a camping trip, while cooking in your kitchen, while sitting watching tv, while reading a good book, while mowing the lawn, while staring at the wall watching paint dry. Anytime, anywhere.

Rogue is an Oregan brewery and they have quite a long list of beers, but I've only seen a handful around these parts. Maybe on my beer tour of the US I'll take a few extra days in Oregon sampling all the Rogue beers.

Dead Guy Ale comes highly recommended. 8.9 stars out of ten.

Old Peculier and Hobgoblin

Had both of these beers tonight. Theakston makes the Old Peculier, which is a yorkshire ale, whatever that means. Hobgoblin is a dark English ale made by the Wychwood Brewery. Despite the color differences of these two beers, they were similar in taste. Old Peculier had a dark amber hue, while Hobgoblin had a dark chocolate color. If you know Bass Ale, you can appreciate what these beers tasted like. They were a little more robust than Bass, packing a more flavorful punch with a slight bitter aftertaste. I have no idea how much they cost as I bought a bunch of six packs from Total Wine, but they were decent enough to enjoy on a blustery day. I'd give them 6.5 stars out of ten. I'd have them again gladly, but they probably wouldn't be my top pick.

Get together?

Here's an idea.....after a few brews. Enough of this virtual stuff.....how bout a beer club that meets every 2 mos or so for a beer tasting. Location TBD. Long live the monks!

Victory!

Victory Saison is awesome! TFACO bought a Pint of Victory Saison. Very refreshing. But a BIG bottle. As the bottle says an "Earthly Delight"!

Belgim meets the Jersey Shore

"Time for a cold one (TFACO)" and Beer Goggles are on a road trip.....working hard.....doing some research on our favorite belgium ales. So far......we havc had SB Watou Tripel and SB Pater 6. Watou was outstanding says Goggles. TFACO was partial to Pater 6. On to our next brew. Long live the Monks!

Sea Dog

Good evening fellow beer lovers! Tonight I want to post a short but sweet review of a beer I had the pleasure of sampling the other night. Sea Dog is a Wild Blueberry Wheat ale brewed in Maine. I found this to be very crisp tasting with a definate hint of blueberry. Along with hoppy beers, fruity beers are not one of my favorites but I must say for a fruity beer this wasn't bad. Would I buy this again? No I would not (and as a result would rate this a 3 out of 10) , but if you like beers that are fruity then I would tell you to give this one a try.

Well the fire is calling and I am enjoying a St. Rogue Red Ale. A review will be forthcoming at a later date!

Until next time.....

Philly Beer Week

I was just scanning the net and came across www.phillybeerweek.org . Every day and every event looks pretty good, but one thing stood out. Saturday, March 14 at 5:00 there is Revolution was brewing! Ales and recipes of Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin! It takes place at City Tavern at 5:00. It's four courses and four ales from Yard's for $45. We could check out some good beer, eat some food, and learn a little history too. We could even hit the event before, the Troeggs brewing event at Good Dog Bar, which looks to be nearby.

Tell me what you think. Check out the website, there is a ton a info about stuff happening that week.

Glasses up!

Clipper City Winter Storm

Hopefully there will be no objection to chicks chiming in and reviewing beers.
Although I am a female, I love beer. Good beer. Cold crisp beer on hot summer days, and
full bodied malty beers in front of a roaring fire.
That being said, I loved this beer. Its made by Clipper City Brewing Co in Baltimore MD.
The brewing company says, "it has a full ruby hue, vivid malty flavor with an earthy hop aroma.
The alcohol content is 7.5% and the price is $30-35/case.
If your having a party and want a beer that will be loved by all, I say this is your beer.
It was absolutely delicious with little hop but full of flavor. I could have drunk many of these.
Particulrly with spicy kicked up food. I give this beer 8.5/10 stars!
Drink on!

Traquair House Ale

My fellow Bloggers I gotta tell you, this is some GOOD stuff!! This particular beer was actually gifted to me by my BIL, Beermehaenn in a variety six pack.

Traquair is described as a handmade ale brewed in the ancient brew house of the oldest inhabited house in Scotland.

The alcohol content is 7.2% and color is dark brown with a pleasing aroma. I can say without hesitation, I loved this from the very first sip. Much to my delight there was no trace of hops whatsoever. The flavor can be described more as mild and malty with a mildly sweet aftertaste. This is one that I would deem caseworthy (although I have no idea what it would cost but will try and find out and post). I would rate this an 8 out 10 stars!!

Thanks Pete for the brew and I look foward to sampling the rest of the selections in the six pack and posting my thoughts.

Until next time.......

Fordam Tavern Ale

I was a little confused when I got this beer. Initially, I wrongly assumed that the beer was from Fordham, NY. As I was putting it in the fridge to chill, I read the box. It went on and on about some sea captian who wanted to throw down a pint, blah, blah, blah...in Annapolis. So, as I was loading the bottles into the fridge, I checked the label for it's ABV. Nothing was listed, but I noticed that it said that it was brewed in...Dover, DE! I was confused. But not as much as after I had downed three or four of them and watched the clock tick down on the Eagles season. Did McNabb really throw that many passes at his receivers' ankles? Behind their backs? Did the receivers really miss the ones that McNabb threw right at their chests? Where was this mystery beer from, really? Was this beer the bad luck that brought the Eagles down?

Let me backtrack for a bit. Ok, I step out of the shower and am just about ready to watch the game with Jake, Steph, the whole crew. I quickly shave. Quickly. I don't know if you can do anything really quickly, as if quickly isn't quick enough, but I did. I hacked away the skin just under my nose, bleeding out maybe a pint a blood from a pinhole nick. Jake and Steph and the kids arive. I tried furiously to apply pressure, to no avail. The blood keeps coming. I greet them as I'm now giving up on tissue paper and grabbing for a towel. I'm trying to get appetizers ready, bleeding, checking to make sure the beer is cold, shaking hands, go Eagles, bleeding. I ask Jake, as if any asking needs to be done, if he wants a beer. He's looking at me like I walked out of a horror movie. We grab a beer, sit down.

The bleeding from under my nose stops just at the point when I also stop bleeding green, about my fourth beer. The Eagles season is toast, my kids are running around crying, tired, and acting like they're the ones who have had too much to drink. Jake and I ponder the beer. He's says the beer is pretty good. I think this beer is bad luck, from the Eagles losing, to my razor scrape bleeding like a slaughtered farm animal, to the mystery of where this beer is actually from.

But then I think of the price. I only bought a six-pack. It cost about $7. I try to do 7 times 4 in my head to get a figure for the case. I try again. I keep coming up blank. Then I realize that there is a calculator in the junk drawer, one on my cell phone, even one on the computer. I take out the calculator and plug in 7 x 4. It tells me 28. I'm not convinced. Next comes the cell phone, then the computer. They all tell me the same number, 28. So, 28 bucks it is.

For the price, Fordham Tavern Ale is pretty good. When I thought of all the bad luck throughout the day, I thought that this FTA was about just as good as some Budweiser Pisshole Select. But I made the mistake of letting my misfortunes ruin a decent beer, even blaming the beer at times.

All in all, The Fordham Tavern Ale was pretty good, considering the price, and despite the fact that I couldn't make out where this beer actually was produced. I don't actually care if a beer comes from Fordham, Ny, Annapolis, MD, or Dover, DE as long as it tastes good. And it did. And for 28 dollars a case, it tasted damn good. Bang for the buck, that's what matters. There are plenty of beers at that price point that I gladly skip over and gladly pay up to the next ten dollar range. This Fordham mystery beer I'll do again. Just not when the Eagles are in the NFC championship game.

3 stars, maybe 3.5 considering the price point.

SMUTTYNOSE IPA

Welcome fellow beer lovers. This is my first official post. I am a man of few written words but I will try and post at least once a week (if not occasionally more).

So let me segue to my thoughts on Smuttynose IPA. The scene is as follows: raging fire going while sipping a cold and frothy glass of Smuttynose. This was a bringover from my brother-in-law and fellow blogger, Pete. I had no expectations prior to my first sip but for full disclosure I am not a big fan of IPAs. So my thoughts (and please keep in mind these are just my personal tastes and I appreciate and respect that some might feel differently) are that all in all its a good quality beer. Its a little hoppy with a hint of fruity aftertaste which may somewhat balance out the hoppiness. It's amber in color with a modest alcohol content. That being said, I am not a huge fan of hopped up beers so while I thought this beer was satisfactory and would easily reccomend, personally its just not one of my favorites. I believe price wise its in the $35 range.

On that note, I will sign off, and return to my cold beer and add another log to the fire. Keep warm and always remember to just "SAY NO TO CRAP BEER".

See you next time. Jake

St. Bernardus

I picked up a case at the Beer Yard and I am breaking it out tonite. Has anyone tried it before? It is supposed to be exceptional.
P.S. I bought the case w/a gift certificate. Its a little steep....

Is there any BAD Flying Fish beer?

That's a serious question. To date, I've had the Grand Cru, the Summer Ale, and the Belgian style. All have been delicious. I'm willing to give all the brews from Flying Fish a try, unless someone can tell me any that isn't good. It seems the guys from Jersey know what they are doing. As much as I love some of the other local breweries, Flying Fish is growing on me. Troeggs makes the Mad Elf, which at the moment is my number one favorite winter beer, and their pale ale is pretty good. However, a few of their others have fallen short. Victory has the Golden Monkey, an excellent ale. And there lager is very good, too. But, again, the Pils was unimpressive. Flying Fish seems to be the jack of all trades, and maybe, just maybe, the master of all too.

Let me know if you've had any from Flying Fish that didn't cut it.

Glasses up!
Pete

Troeggs Mad Elf

This is a delicious cherry/honey flavored holiday ale. It packs a punch both in terms of alcohol content and price, weighing in at 11% abv and $60/case. The price of this beer went up nearly twenty bucks per case in just one year. The good news is that since this isn't any kind of guzzling beer, the case should last you slightly longer than usual. It's the perfect beer for a cold winter night next to a warm fire. A sipping beer, for sure. Very tasty. Very smooth. I give it 5 stars.

Welcome

Welcom to Beer! In here, only the select few can post about good beer, make recommendations on beers to try, and warn others about crap to stay away from. Jake and I have been talking for some time now about compiling a list of quality beer, or making some sort of ranking system, or some such thing. We've tried many different beers together, but sometimes the the name of the beer, the brewer, the style gets forgotten. With your input, we'll be able to eventually come up with the perfect beer for the perfect occasion during the perfect season.

Glasses up,
Pete