Boxcar Pumpkin Porter (Starrhill Brewing Company)

                 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 

Dark Hollow (Blue Mountain Brewery)

            I'd rather be in some dark hollow where the sun don't ever shine. Then to be at home alone and knowin' that you're gone. Would cause me to lose my mind. Well blow your whistle freight train carry me far on down the track. Well I'm going away, I'm leaving today. . I'm goin', but I ain't comin' back. I'd rather be in some dark hollow where the sun don't ever shine.
Then to be in some big city, in a small room, with you upon my mind. Well I'm going away, I'm leaving today.
I'm goin' but I ain't comin' back.
           I was in Total Beverage here in the fine city of Richmond and the name smacked me in the face. Dark Hollow is one of my favorite grateful dead songs. It is part of my camping play list. They had a display of these singles right in the front of the store, and it worked. You see folks, that is my job to place things in parts of my accounts that get the mind working, until you realize you neeed it.
            This dark delicious is a Bourbon barrel aged imperial stout from Blue Mountain brewery, weighing in at 10% ABV. I like the way the brewery stamps the year on the cork in the bottle in case you are one of those self control drinkers that can have beer sitting around for years. I am not, bought today drank tonight with a hot dog dinner. I will form my opinion of this beer and if I think It maybe better later, I'll go buy another. I don't believe that I will be though. I'm not sure if it was my poor pairing or if this is just a nasty beer but for the money I wouldn't suggest this beer. It isn't alcohol heavy in taste, and it doesn't have a roasted or coffee taste. The after taste is almost fishy. I'm drinking it slowly hoping that my palette will come around. The brewery says they age the beer in barrels that are practically dripping with Bourbon, and I think that maybe the case. The Bourbon flavor clashes too much with the stout giving an off flavor. Most beers for lagering or storing, taste sugar heavy, so this one wouldn't really be a candidate.

Pepe Nero (Goose Island Brewing Company)

           So I had one of those weekends where I usually wind up and wendy's too many times or at a friends house eating his wife's cooking. That is right, I was left to fend for myself and I did so well not spending money, then I went searching for a reward.

          I found this four pack of Pepe Nero at Once Upon a Vine north. I went with the intention of getting something fall seasonal then I settled on this. There was a lot of hype surrouding this brewery and I haven't have the one that knocked my socks off yet. To be fair, I have had two of Goose Islands wheat selections, which I am not a fan of wheat beers anyways.

         Goose Island advertises as being Chicago's craft beer. They produce a thurough line of beers and have a very unique barrel aging program. Like clipper city they have three degrees or levels of beer and this Pepe Nero is one of the their most serious. Nero is a farmhouse beer, and it has a velvety mouth feel with some subtle spice, that comes from the peppercorns. 

           I know very little about this brewery and their website is but so informative. What I have experienced so far is an attention to detail and commitment to providing unique beer. So go check for yourself, see what kind info you can turn up at www.gooseisland.com   

Land Ho! Black Pilsner style Lager (A Collaboration)

I have to admit it collaborations are always exciting ventures to feed the flavor of the week craft beer crowd. Stone, Dogfish head and Victory brewing have done a series of collaborations they are still making to this day. I was hoping for something a little risky or maybe something that was more flavor intense, but that's not what I got. What I got out of Heavy Seas in Baltimore and Devil's Backbone from right here in VA, was what could be described as an apparent blended beer? It has some of the subtle complexities of the DB Vienna Lager but it has that mouth feel like a Heavy Seas Peg Leg.

My previous post had my rant about the Heavy Seas brewery and what it means to me and so on. Now Devil's Backbone is a "taste the local" brand distributed my yours truly, and it has been an exciting partnership. I have been to the brewery twice and my 64oz growler came from there. When Haley and I got married we used a gift certificate to the Homestead that I had won at work, which was a real bore. While heading to the next stop, a bed and breakfast outside of Charolettesville, we made a slight detour to this brewery for lunch. As a huge fan of the area the drive captured my imagination and once we got to the brewery, pictured on this bottle, I fell in love. It was the first part of our honeymoon where we could actually relax, we tried all their beers. One of the best things this brewery has going for it is the venue itself.

Devil's Backbone has won several awards for their different brews. You can find their Vienna Lager, one of their most decorated beers, their 8 point IPA and their rotating seasonal in bars and specialty shops all over town.

And of course check out and support both breweries at:

http://dbbrewingcompany.com/

http://www.hsbeer.com/