Friday, January 9, 2015

New Years (2014 Round Up)

Well 2014 has been a year of dramatic change for me. Professionally, it was the second full year in the distribution expansion to Northern Va. We more than doubled out portfolio and have been getting Hardywood in the hands of a brand new audience. We are at our limit as far as what we can do and I look for more big change next year. Personally, I became a father in May, which has presented a new set of challenges. I have had to evaluate the extra money and have decided that my passion for working on scooters and motorcycles is a healthier option. I will still be blogging but as mentioned previous, I am not sure how often. This year in beer I pursued Gose against the grain of the session IPA trend. I was glad to see Boulevard, Strangeways, Widmer, Anderson Valley and Off Color brewing answer the call. I stand by my belief that this style can be very refreshing ice cold on a hot day. My last two beers of the year are flash back to the stout obsession that has been well watered this year. Three big stout bottle shares, and I think I have had too many world class stouts. 
Coronado Brewing is out of California near San Diego. I have been pushing Coronado Stupid Stout for weeks based on the perceived merit of how hard it seemed for us to get the brewery to send us some. Also it was well received on the advocate and ratebeer. The price was very forgiving and this beer was exactly what I was looking for. It was a silky beer, with good mouth feel. I got really nice roasted, coffee, and chocolate notes. I even took a picture of the lacing on the head (top right) to illustrate what a good stout does to the edge of your class. It was a fine stout to kick off new years eve festivities. 

Off Color Brewing out of Chicago Illinois was a new to me this year. Nathan and I had their gose and farmhouse saison at Mekong earlier in the year, both are outstanding. I happened to catch the news of this beer, Dino Smores, hitting the market through social media. I consulted a friend who gave it the green light, and I caught the last bottle on the shelf at Norm's Wine and Beer in Vienna Va. It was expensive, but I needed to try it. I was not the biggest fan. It tasted a little oxidized and more powdered cocoa than I was feeling at the time. I am thinking this beer just didn't follow the stupid stout well. I am still a believer that Chicago is a sleeper of a beer town and I look forward to more excellent surprises from them in 2015. 

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