In mid-August, I took off to Buffalo, thrilled with the prospect of leaving work and Philly behind.The plan was to spend a long weekend with one of my best friends Rach and her husband Dave in East Aurora, a picturesque town outside of Buffalo.

Last May, Ray and I took a similar trip to Buffalo, hitting up the Flying Bison Brewery and Pearl Street Grill & Brewery with Rach. But this trip was less about beer and more about relaxation and eating copious amounts of Bison French Onion chip dip. Nonetheless, aside from the Boris the Spider Chai Oatmeal Stout I shipped up ahead of my arrival, there would be more beer in this 3-day trip (of course).

On Sunday, Rach, Dave and I headed out to Ellicottville, a quaint town south of Buffalo. The main area is full of pubs and shops, but we were there for one thing: EBC—Ellicottville Brewing Co., home of EVL, the brewery’s flagship amber ale that is so popular you can find EVL hats throughout the various shops in town.

We stopped in for lunch at Ellicotville Brewing Co. and were simply blown away by the food, as well as the beer. Our server was friendly and answered my questions about some of the beers. “I’m a homebrewer,” I said apologetically somewhere in between my barrage of questions. He smiled. While Dave went with a pint of Black Jack Oatmeal Stout and the Shepherd’s Pie (highly recommended by our server), Rach and I shared a sampler of beers and each ordered burgers (mine had brie and apricot preserves and was cooked perfectly!).

I liked EBC’s sampler system. You could pick the imperial beers+2 (which we did), or another combo (I think maybe seasonals+2).

In our sampler there was the following:

IMPERIALS
• Raspberry Beret (7% ABV): blonde ale brewed with English and German hops & 80 lbs of raspberries. This beer surprised me because you could really taste the fruit, unlike a lot of raspberry wheats out there, which are just too light for my tastes.

• Catt County Cuvee (8.5% ABV): strong blonde aged on American oak for 6 months. Surprisingly smooth. Server told me the same beer is aging in Cabernet barrels, and I think he mentioned Bourbon barrels. From the website: ... the Catt Co. starts out slightly sweet and malty then fades into an awesome array of flavors such as green banana, citrus and vanilla all thanks to the oak. The finish is surprisingly dry thanks to the tannins in the wood, which helps to keep this unsuspectingly high alcohol beer easy to sip on.

I was really hesitant with Catt County because of the oak, but I actually really enjoyed it.

• Pantius Droppus (10.6% ABV): imperial pale ale dry hopped with Cascade and topped with a wicked name. The balance of sweet and hoppy was well done, and it’s an obvious a crowd favorite.

• Hop Bomb (8.8% ABV): Possibly my favorite of the day. Who doesn’t love a pale ale that’s run through a hopback full of Simcoe? According to EBC’s website, this Pale Ale uses copious amounts of Canadian Malts and West Coast Hops in the Kettle then is hopbacked through whole leaf Simcoe and finished with our “Hop Bomb” process which recirculates the finished brew through whole leaf hops 3 days giving it an amazingly fresh flavor and aroma.

LIMITED RELEASE
• Project 50: a spicy wit that I can’t remember much about. It was a bit of a letdown, compared to the other EBC offerings.

• Nut Brown (5.4% ABV): very roasty and nutty; this appeared to be Rach’s favorite.

All in all, the trip to EBC was a fantastic idea. We left with full bellies and 2 growlers—always a good sign.

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On my visit to Cambridge this past weekend for Boston GameLoop, an annual video game developer UNconference, I got to spend an evening with my fellow game geeks at Cambridge Brewing Company, located at 1 Kendall Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where we got to buzzily dissect myriad issues relevant to the modern game dev over CBC’s excellent selection of beers and pub fare.

Exhausted and ready to unwind after a long day’s conferencing, I (and surprisingly many others) boldly and bravely went straight for CBC’s 14% ABV seasonal barleywine offering, Arquebus, brewed with local honey and white wine grapes and aged over French oak. Served still, the result was peachy and just barely tart, with not very much oak flavor, but all the mellow smoothness of a well aged spirit.

While we all chatted, I took the opportunity to (sanitarily, I like to think) sample my colleagues’ beers. The Hefe Weizen had the expected spice notes, mixed in with an unexpected wild yeast funk. The house Amber Ale was fruity, caramely, and finely balanced. Finally, the Heather Ale, bittered with heather and — I think — lavender, opened a lot of eyes to the joys of the woefully under appreciated gruit style.

My second proper round was Three Rings Belgian Pale Ale, a spicy, fruity, hoppy contrast to the beastly Arquebus. Dry and refreshing, I could have had five pints without getting tired of it, and it went magnificently with the house burger I ordered.

And what a burger it was! I first have to point out the doneness: I ordered my burger medium, and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t exactly medium. It’s been a long time since a cowardly restaurant gave me a burger that wasn’t overdone, especially since the weather has been so hot. But this beef patty was bright pink and juicy. It came with a cold and crunchy pickle, and a generous scoop of some of the best, certainly the crispiest, fries I’ve ever had. Other individuals at my table of 20 had similar luck with their veggie burgers, fish tacos, and pork barbecue.

Given that I was really only there for the conversation and to stop feeling so famished, you can imagine my delight at what an impressive offering Cambridge Brewing Company presented. If you crave perfect pub food and love some innovation in your beer, CBC is one great excuse to visit beautiful Cambridge.

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You like Unibroue right? Who doesn’t? The Québécois brewery puts out some excellent beers: Maudite, La Fin du Monde, Trois Pistoles, and my newest fave, Quelque Chose.

Read more about this sweet-and-sour ale brewed with cherries (and can be aged until 2025!) in my latest post for the Ladies of Craft Beer!

Keep you eye on LadiesOCB because there are a LOT of fantastic things in the works! I’m really glad I have an opportunity to join the lovely ladies writing in that space—but fear not, I’ll still be over at BB writing away!

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