Friendship Brew (Green Flash/ St-Feuillien)

    It is late October and free time will soon be taken by the leaves. I have a lot of trees and every fall it becomes a battle. A battle between the trees and my ability to think about how to best get them up without spending every waking moment beside a rake.
   We recently had a very in depth meeting about Belgian beers and the goose island rendition of these beers. As I was raking/blowing leaves this past Saturday I was fantasizing about being a Belgian farmer working hard to support the house hold. I was getting really thirsty, thirsty for some liquid nutrition.
    Belgian beers are the gutter punk of beers. Their real attitude is fucken ferment, whatever, it's boiled, it's sterile, it's better than this piss water. There has recently been some new personalities who have published articles about the benefits of drinking beer to regain mineral, vitamin, and water loss due to physical activity. This is old news to the Belgian farmer, keep running and drinking yuppie (old news).
    I don't really know much about the two breweries who got friendly on this brew. I have had friends who have suggested that I try the hop bombs that put green flash on the map. St-Feuillien is a Belgian brewery that has been around for almost 1000 years. The subtle adjustment of yeast over the years that this brewery has been around is responsible for the incredible flavor. San Diego based Green Flash brewery is best known for their "west coast" IPA's and hop bombs. This brewery is not afraid to produce beers that will assault your palate and have been know to put their own spin on Belgian classics.
     I shared this beer with a true friend in the company of good family. I really appreciate how awesome that they are and they allow my family to meld into theirs and use their kitchen as a backdrop for my low rotation blog. Luck is coming our way folks and we know just what to drink when we can celebrate.

Burbon DIPA (Hardywood Park Craft Brewery)

          This remote post was experienced at the Lakeside Rockers MC clubhouse. I did not realize all the dodo splatters on the refrigerator in the picture but lets proceed. I bought a three pack of these Bourbon DIPA's over a month ago and have been itching to crack one open ever since. Sure I could have drank one by myself in my cave of solitude, but I really enjoy sharing the experience of big beers like this one. We have drank waaaay to much Busch, bud, and loose cannon in this garage recently. Bring out the glassware.

        Hardywood has released two of their barrel series this year, the Bourbon Cru and now this Bourbon DIPA. I believed I have heard they will be doing a Bourbon Gingerbread stout. I really liked the fresh Bourbon Cru but I had a sneaky suspicion that it would age well. I have two 750's left from that series and after drinking a two month old Bourbon DIPA, I am sure they are aging well. The fresh versions of this series taste very similar and Bourbon heavy, the flavor was very subdued even after two months. I suggest storing corked and caged big bottles on their side for aging so that the cork doesn't dry out.

       I get a bit ridiculous about my big bottle beers. I buy something that I have been sold as special and I hold onto it. I have a Brooklyn Black Ops from this time last year that I have been saving. Originally there were two. My friend Robert bought the other one then held it hostage. We drank it when we got his scooter running. Why hold onto these beers so long? special occasion, or a holiday, maybe it is that I want to share it with someone who will appreciate the complexity? I am thinking I will take this to Thanksgiving this year, or maybe wait until the dutch year 10 trip in January, but those guys don't really appreciate big beers.    

     There is a group in Richmond that does a beer dig in March every year. I wish I had enough friends who would get into it. You go buy good beers, live yeasty bold beers and bury them in the ground for a year. The following year you mostly dig them up and let people discover them one by one and enjoy the fruits of your patience. I met the guy who does Richmond beer dig, maybe I should just get in with his peeps.

Harvest Ale (Goose Island Brewing Company)

       I have been waiting for the opportunity to sell this beer for almost two months. I was excited to get a new line of seasonal beers and the summer Kolsh was a let down. I bought this six pack knowing nothing about what type of beer it was. I was caught by the orange and yellow fall marketing cues, and couldn't resist. I was expecting a amber or brown, but as it turns out this is an amber extra special beer. It was so hop bite to it, but it is forgiving. A friend of mine nailed it right on the head, it is a good transition beer just like fall.
        I am not looking forward to the leaves in my yard. I am looking forward to all the Oktoberfest celebrations, not to mention we are trying to have a party at my house. There are plans to take the children to the pumpkin patch, and there is a lot of twiggy and snoop a loops I have to burn in my fire pit. I feel like I need to take my hoodies to the dry cleaners to get them ready for the season. I will admit that I am hugely sad that it appears I won't get to look forward to opening day of hockey season.
       Fall beers are a tough act to follow, but I promise when the winter seasonal begin I will do my best to try to find some winners. Goose island has Mild Winter coming out in November, which is a brown ale with hints of toffee and raisins. I definitely will follow this brand for the year and you should too at their website www.gooseisland.com
     

Headwaters (VIctory Brewing Company)

               Evelyn has been to more breweries than most people that I know. In a single weekend she went to two, one of which being the grand opening. She has a real critical opinion for the feel of these breweries and their events. Seen here at Hardywood Park, clearly this was a spot that made her feel at ease.
            Victory brewing company was a beer we inherited from the purchase of Legendary distributing. I remember being excited about how many beers they carried and how deep their merchandising went for as new as I though they were. Working on their second brewery in PA., Victory has stayed true to their portfolio and the last new beer they have release is this Headwaters. Why did they bring out another IPA? Well, aside from the fall seasonals, IPAs are the top grossing trend in the beer business. It has become almost a frustrating thing for beer snobs alike. Victory already has hop devil, and hop wallop. They do these beers right why not? So where does Headwaters measure up amongst the other IPAs? It is the smoother more balance choice, more session able. Hop devil and Hop Wallop are IPAs of the hop bomb variety, very spicy. This style of beer is one of the flavor of the month problems with selling beer. This isn't a beer you can sample and turn people onto, it isn't great with pairing. Some people have an "all IPAs taste the same attitude" and I have had my share. You will hear people talk about mouth feel when sampling beer, and IPAs are definitely measurable by mouth feel. Sometimes a hoppy beer can feel fuzzy or over carbonated in your mouth. They are often described as being piny or citrusy. I prefer the piny with a clean mouth feel.

           Resist prohibition, and drinking yellow fuzzy beer. Support your local breweries and try everything you can get your hands on. Some breweries get complacent with their line of beers and don't provide anything to talk about. Lets start planning a weekend trip to go to PA and visit this brewery, like them on facebook and keep your ear open to possible collaborations. Check them out online at www.victorybeer.com.

Tasting room opening (James River Brewing Company)

James River Brewing Co. opened there doors to the public Sept. 1st 2012. It was a lot further away than I first thought. We took route 6 (Patterson Ave.) out of Richmond until it quit in downtown Scottsville. After out return trip we discovered there really is no quick way to get to Scottsville, so take route 6. If you ride a motorcycle or have a convertible take route 6, and make sure you pee before you leave the house because it takes about an hour and a half to get there from Richmond. Route 6 did have a couple small winery's on the way out, which leads me to believe this ride could become home to many more like 151 in Charlottesville. Scottsville is two blocks of old buildings. Take a left off route 6 and you run over the river's bend, turn right and the brewery is at the end of the street on the right. Aside from the beautiful river bend in the back drop it is like every sleepy small southern town you see when you are doing some back country route driving.


Sandbar, and the Pilot 1

               The brewery provided several beers for as new as they are to having an open sampling room. We did a flight of the core four beers that they produce which was six dollars, very reasonable. We tried the river walker, rock island red, sandbar and the pilot one. I enjoyed the rock island red, an Irish red that had a rich mouth feel and a hearty finish. My guest stunt drinker, eat your heart out McKenna, enjoyed the Pilot 1 brown ale. Compared to Legend's brown ale, the pilot one was lighter in flavor. The other two beers in the flight were American wheat and an ESB. So, the Green Eyed Lady, yes we tried it. I'm not sure that I could try a full glass. For those of you who don't know, JRB had a little fun with the IPA but infusing it with the salty pistachio flavor. The oil from the nut almost completely killed the carbonation in the ale. The beer even appears to have a light green hue. I think this would be a good real ale, or cask conditioned beer.

          The tasting room was definitely awe inspiring, and local breweries need to take note. The local craftsman in this small town really came together and created a turn of the century tavern feel. They had rough cut timbres, bar tops, and counter tops of raw wood with the bark still in tact. While sampling our flights every beer had the same essence which I though may have been from the freshly finished smell of the bar and all it's wood working embellishments. It was cute watching the bar trying to keep the glasses for the flights clean and helping every customer. I am not sure how much beer serving the staff had done but I can wait. It was very nice seeing the community come together in support of this new business. It wasn't your typical beer nerd turn out for this opening.

                Around back of this 100 year old building it smells like horses. There is hay on the ground and some fresh cut cedar planks on hay bales for seating. A small trickling creek, with snakes and fish, is drowned out with the mountain sounds of banjo, guitar, and mandolin. Live blue grass music always makes beer taste better. It was a small venue, probably only capable of entertaining around a hundred guest. I'm sure they can figure out the logistics of having bigger and better events. I believe the total package is marketable and should do well if the community stays supportive. With patience and some more financial backing this could definitely be a great destination for a weekend trip. The setting is romantic and the backdrop of the river is beautiful. The small town on the train tracks captures the history and heritage of Virginia. It really is right up my alley, and if you like simple living, you will agree. There is something special about Scottsville and James River Brewing is and will be a part of it. Check them out online at  http://www.jamesriverbrewing.com/

Now if you don't mind, we have to get back to our family weekend, have a great labor day!

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.