Hello from Virginia craft beer month and what a whirl wind it has been. I have scheduled 6 samplings this month that have proven to be more than I can handle. I am getting it done, barely. I have worked 18 days straight with no day off and I have worked two samplings with another one tomorrow. I am excited about the one tomorrow, there should be a good mix of college kids and yuppies. I worked this sampling with a good friend of mine and we killed it. It is the most beer I have sold since I have begun this sampling experiment. Boxcar Pumpkin porter was a big winner tonight, and so was I. I escaped with four of them babies back to the mansion.
Starrhill released boxcar last year and it was an interesting player in the pumpkin beer category. It isn't an extreme nutmeg and cinnamon disaster like some of the southern tier, dogfish head, or loose cannon liquid pumpkin pies. This unique porter based seasonal beer, is a subtle pumpkin flavor with some smokey notes. Thank you Mark Thompson for this gift of great beer. If you are scared of dark beers this maybe your training wheels. If you are wondering what makes a porter so dark, it is the dark roasted malt. If you imagine roasting a grain to the point it is almost black, it's going to taste like burning. OK, well maybe like coffee or dark nuts.
Speaking of dark nuts, Mark S. Thompson started his brewery in the walking mall in Charlottesville before the walking mall was even cool. The brewery could even be said to be a big part of the development of that area. A couple of years ago he moved the brewery into an old delmonte canning plan by the train tracks in Crozet Virginia. They make some wild beers that I suggest you pick up if you see them like smoke out or cryptical. So if you are out this fall pick up some boxcar or head up to Crozet to check out what Starhill has goings on. Check them out online at www.starrhill.com
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