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.

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.

Waiting in line, in the rain, in good spirits, for Nodding Head's door to open

Saturday, July 10 was Nodding Head’s annual Royal Stumble, this year being the 11th for the unique beerfest. Talk about an institution! The theme was “It’s Always Sunny at the Royal Stumble,” but as I alluded to in my previous Wee Bit Stumble video, that was a misnomer. Why? Because it rained from early morning until well after Nodding Head opened its doors to a soggy line of people.

But could rain keep us down? Hell no! This is the Stumble! This is the fest where breweries are clamoring to make sure your glasses are full, and your buffet plates have a nice assortment of pub food. I’m betting Nodding Head could move the Stumble into the dead of winter and folks would still come out, brimming with craft beer love and non-douche-baggery.

Yards Philly Pale Ale wins the Royal Stumble for 2010!

This year, Ryan and LeeAnne joined us after I talked their ears off nonstop about how the Stumble is one of the quintessential fests of the year. Making our way up the stairs, Yards was the first to grace my glass, pouring me a tall one of their Philly Pale Ale. Crisp and hoppy, it was a great way to start. Yards also managed to kick their keg first, giving them the honor of being the RS winner. Yay for Yards!

After getting our first pour and winding through the boisterous crowd, we commandeered a table (like you do) tucked in a far back corner and went to the buffet in shifts to get pulled pork, mini latkes, mac salad, and for those interested, hot wings and franks. It was a nice spread that was replenished often, without being over the top, dry or skimpy.

The offerings for the day were:

Mmmm...beer!

Dock St.: Saison Du Potts
Dogfish Head: Festina Peche
Earth Bread + Brewery: Glutenus Minimus
Flying Fish: Farmhouse Ale
General LaFayette: Barren Hill Best Bitter
Nodding Head: Grog
Ommegang: Rare Vos
Philadelphia Brewing Co: Pennsylvania Pale Ale
Sly Fox: Helles
Stewart’s: Coffee Stout
Stoudt’s: Heifer in Wheat
Triumph: Saison
Troegs: Sunshine Pils
Twin Lakes: Greenville Pale Ale
Victory: Helios
Yards: Philly Pale Ale

There were a lot of familiar beers in the line up, as well as a few welcome surprises. Earth Bread + Brewery’s Glutenus Minimus knocked my socks off! The beer is gluten free and sits at 2.5% ABV. Despite the low ABV, the beer packed a punch in the flavor department. At first I thought I was drinking Dogfish Head’s Festina Peche when I snagged a sip from LeeAnne’s glass. Nope! It was EBB’s Glutenus, and the flavor sang of fresh, succulent peaches. I could sure use a growler of that!

Twin Lakes Brewing Co.’s Greenville Pale Ale was an organic offering and nicely showcased Cascade hops. The gentleman manning the taps was jovial and full of information about the beer and brewery, and it was nice to see a new face at the fest.

As always, Festina Peche was a welcome refreshment, as was Stoudt’s Heifer in Wheat (I proudly told the brewery rep that I was married there, which he thought was pretty damn cool). Triumph’s Saison was spot-on for the style and General LaFayette’s Barren Hill Best Bitter had a pleasant nuttiness about it.

I think the beer that surprised me the most was Sly Fox’s Helles Golden Lager. I have to admit, I’m not really a lager girl. I respect the style and how accurate a brewer needs to be with lager beers, but they’ve never been on the top of my list. However, I found the Helles exceptionally crisp and refreshing, with a little je ne sais quoi that made it really enjoyable. I also had a chance to chat with Philly’s one and only Beerlass Suzy about the state of beer in NJ, Denver-area breweries, and my awesome Oskar Blues Canarchy t-shirt (which looks to be unavailable now, per the website).

LeeAnne and her 5 lb bag of artisan coffee from Stewart's

While Ray, Ryan and I were steadily getting our drink on, LeeAnne — who’s not a huge fan of beer — set about the challenge that Stewart’s Brewing Co. had put out: For every pour of their Coffee Stout you had, you would earn a sticker. The person with the most stickers got a 5-pound bag artisan coffee — the same kind that was used to brew the stout.

So LeeAnne, extroverted and friendly as she is, managed to amass 146 stickers, while not drowning herself in the stout (which was delicious, by the way). Instead, she went from person to person collecting stickers, all the while trying the beer a few times. Talk about entrepreneurial spirit.

We left the Royal Stumble shortly before the end with five pounds of coffee in tow, heading off through the humid, wet streets of Philly in search of our next great adventure for the weekend: roller derby.

Derby girls are faaaaaaast!

So, busy busy busy. While we gather our stumbling thoughts, here’s a wee bit o’ preview video for you — shot by the ever talented (and ever Scottish) Ray.

Left Hand's tap room was PACKED!

Left Hand Brewing Co. in Longmont, CO: Ray and I are big fans of Left Hand’s Milk Stout, and because they were only a 15 minute drive away from the Tasty Weasel, we knew we had to drop by. The taproom was bustling, and it looked like they have a steady stream of regulars that keep the bar stools warm — always a pleasant thing to witness. I grabbed a table that reminded me of the octagonal lab tables I used to sit at in high school biology, and Ray ordered a sampler. Aside from the fantastic Milk Stout, we got to sample beers like Sawtooth Ale (ESB), Black Jack Porter, Polestar Pilsner, and Fade to Black — a Foreign Export Stout and new seasonal for the brewery.

Mountain Sun served up a fierce burger.

Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery in Boulder CO: It’s hard to recall Mountain Sun because it was the last stop on our whirlwind 4-brewery/pub day. We stopped in for dinner and the place was hopping! Ray wrestled his way over to the bar and returned with a Raspberry Wheat for me (I always like to check out the fruit beers and I needed something light after the day of drinking). Twenty minutes later we snagged a table and happened to mention we were honeymooning in Denver. This resulted in the bartender removing our first round of drinks from our tab, saying they were on him. Score!

I wish we had stopped by Mountain Sun a different day so we could have tried more of their beers; judging from their beer menu, they’re a pretty creative group there. The burgers we ordered were excellent, and most likely contributed to heartburn, but that was our own damn fault.

Wynkoop's gernerous sampler

Wynkoop Brewing Co. in Denver, CO: We had possibly one of our best meals of the week at Wynkoop, but before having dinner there, we had stopped in for a quick pint earlier in the week at the bar. There was a home game that day, and I found it interesting to watch Denver and Steelers fans sit shoulder to shoulder in the pub without even a sneer or growl (I’m used to Philly fans I suppose). We ordered the Mile HI.P.A and Monkeys Fist IPA and were pleased with both. Following up our hop bombs, Ray obtained a sample of Patty’s Chile Beer, which was surprisingly balanced and had just the right amount of chile.

A few nights later, we treated ourselves to one of the best dinners in Denver. I had the Venison Bourguignonne, braised in red wine with mushrooms and onions and served with mashed potatoes. The venison simply melted in my mouth and the sauce was delicious. But what topped that was Ray’s entree, the Colorado Lamb Sirloin. This dish is made with local lamb that has been marinated and grilled, served with a creamy mushroom risotto. Ray described it on the comment card as the single most perfectly prepared piece of meat he had ever had. A total show stealer, so much so that I can’t remember a lot about the beer we ordered. Ray had the Silverback Smoked Porter, which wasn’t too smoky and fairly balanced, and I — out of character — ordered the Drunkin’ Pumpkin ale.

Bull & Bush Pub & Brewery in Denver, CO: We visited the Bull & Bush our last night in Denver, after hearing how great the beers are. Though the pub’s exterior seemed to be more reminiscent of a German-style pub, the interior was most definitely English. I could have done without the multitude of flat screen TVs plastered all about, but we were here for the beer.

To get acquainted with Bull & Bush’s offering, we ordered a sampler that contained Big Ben Brown Ale, Stonehenge Stout, Allgood Ale (amber ale), The Tower ESB., Patio’s Vat-Dunkel Weiss and a couple others … probably an IPA of sorts. I really enjoyed the Big Ben Brown Ale, which had a lot more complexity than most browns — thick and chewy with molasses, pit fruit and toffee. Ray had the ESB to start, and I remember finishing the night with the MAN BEER, which was a citrusy IPA.

The night ended with us stepping out into more than 3 inches of snow, which was a bit of a shocker because less than 2 hours before the ground had been dry. Oh, and the rental car didn’t have any snow clearing equipment, so Ray used his corduroy coat to beat the snow off the car while I shivered in my snow-soaked Chucks. We laughed a lot on the car ride back to the hotel.

Honeymoon in Denver.

Think about it: mountains, fresh air, great restaurants, and breweries and brewpubs. How does that not make for a great honeymoon for a couple of mountain-loving foodie homebrewers?

While in Denver, we visited:

Great Divide's bustling taproom

Great Divide Brewing Co. in Denver, CO: On our first full day in Denver we hoofed it over to Great Divide’s tap room and brewery. We were able to take a quick tour, sample a variety of their beers, as well as buy a couple of pints.

GD’s Yeti Imperial Stout (both regular and oak aged) was fantastic to have fresh off of the tap. For the heck of it we sampled Samurai, which is hailed as an unfiltered rice ale. A little too close to the mass-produced macro brews for my personal taste, but the flavor was clean. Ray fell in love with Hibernation, a bold and chewy old/strong ale, while we were both pleasantly surprised by Wild Raspberry Ale, which had a lot more to offer than most fruit beers.

Boulder's sampler of delish

Boulder Beer Co. in Boulder, Co: For some [stupid] reason we had always underestimated Boulder Beer. Maybe it’s because we don’t tend to see a lot of it out on the East Coast, but let me tell you, our eyes were opened.

We ordered a full sample of everything they had on tap, as well as a few pints. From flagships to seasonals, we had a fantastic time with these beers. Ray declared Planet Porter as one of the best he’s tasted; my pint of Cold Hop, an English-style ale that danced on the edge of pale ale/IPA, was refreshing with just the right amount of hop bite; and we both loved Obovoid (oak-aged oatmeal stout) and Killer Penguin (ruby-red barleywine-style ale).

Never again will we underestimate Boulder. In a fitting sense, we stopped in at the Boulder Beer pub in the Denver airport on our last day of the honeymoon for a goodbye pint and lunch.

Tasty Weasel Tap Room: Home of Ten Fidy, Gordon and Barrels of Awesome

Oskar Blues Tasty Weasel Tap Room in Longmont, CO: Great space, eclectically decorated, with high ceilings shared with the brewery located right behind the tap room wall. We sat down to a full sampler of everything that was on tap: Mama’s Little Yella Pils, Dale’s Pale Ale, Old Chub (Scottish-style ale), Gordon (imperial red/double IPA), Ten Fidy (imperial stout), the last three of which also came in barrel aged versions.

It’s quite possible that Ten Fidy stole the show — viscous and black like motor oil, the imperial stout instantly won us over with its roasty-chocolate-coffee-bomb. I don’t think I have ever seen a beer poured with such a dark head.

Next up in Part II: Stay tuned for the rest of our escapades at Left Hand Brewing Co., Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery, Wynkoop Brewing Co. and Bull and Bush Pub & Brewery.

And so we followed one of Pennsylvania’s beer godfathers over to the brewery, where Ed began the tour with a rousing monologue about beer, prohibition, macrobreweries, and more.

We were taken completely off guard, but I managed to get most of it on video. It’s shaky, washed out, and noisy, and due to a corrupted file that I didn’t notice until it was too late to fix it, we’re missing about a third of Ed’s thirty-minute speech, but it’s something. It’s just a shame, because he made a lot of great points about how prohibition devastated America’s taste in beer during the missing ten minutes, points that he only briefly returned to later on.

But here’s what still exists, in three parts (2 and 3 are the best — he mostly just talks about the process in Part 1):

That should have already been enough to justify joining, but then Iron Hill held their first Mug Club Party this past Saturday, offering free appetizers, t-shirts, door prizes, and an exclusive beer tasting to any Mug Club member who cared to partake. If they keep throwing these shindigs every quarter like they’re promising, then the club will prove to be an even more tremendous value than we expected.

Mind you, we’re under no illusions that we’re spending less money by being in the Mug Club, but it sure feels that way. We just prefer to, you know, downplay the fact that we’re going out for beer twice as often as we normally would.

It’s a pretty brilliant strategy, and almost resembles a sort of perverse bonds program. From our perspective, we buy into the program for a nominal fee, and essentially get a larger payout from it the longer we stay invested. For Iron Hill, though, they’ve effectively convinced the public to pay them for the opportunity to spend money there more often.

Genius.

Head brewer, Chris, serving the ravenous hoards.

Commentary aside, there were two exclusive beer offerings at the party, available only to Mug Club members. The first was a Cherry Vanilla Porter, aged on whole Mexican vanilla beans and concentrated sour Montmorency cherry juice from King Orchards in Michigan. It tasted like Cherry Garcia. They also had a grotesque chimera of a beer called Entirely Inappropriate, which was made by priming Octoberfest with actively fermenting Tripel wort in a firken, and then dry hopping it with Amarillo hops. I bet it was delicious, but unfortunately, the last person to get to try it was the guy in front of me in line.

The beers were not free, but the food was. At the far end of the bar area, the staff had set up a spread of hummus with feta and tapenade, nachos, and HUGE, inch-thick sweet potato fries with dipping sauce.

'Twas of the tasty persuasion.

The party was capped off with a very limited tasting of a 2003 bottle of Barleywine. Throw a steak into a cage of hungry lions, and you’ll get an idea of how this played out, but those who held their hand out quickly enough (I managed it twice, once for me and once for Mel) were treated to a smooth, complex elixir of malt and alcohol that had clearly weathered the last six years in that bottle with great enthusiasm.

Theoretically, one could have spent $7 that afternoon on an entire, albeit not very healthy, meal, but once we were in the door, it was pretty hard to resist the siren’s call of a juicy burger, a portabella mushroom sandwich, and a growler of IPA for the ride home, proving once again that the best way to get people to part with their money is to make them pay for the privilege.

Welcome to The Session, a monthly event for beer and brewing bloggers! This is Session #30, for which

Ahh dessert. The realm where I feel most comfortable because it’s one of my specialities — so much so that I just left my desk to go bake my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, although it doesn’t contain beer.

I have made 3 beer desserts I can recall. My first was a spice cake using Victory’s Storm King Imperial Stout, frosted with a quadrupel-spiced buttercream. I baked it for my 26th birthday, and guests seemed impressed.

We’ve made stout floats with Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout and a mocha java chip ice cream — and I think we’ve also used North Coast Brewing’s Old Rasputin and Stoudt’s Fat Dog.

I’ve also baked with liquid malt extract in place of molasses, creating my cherry oatmeal cookies, which were insanely good. Mmmm … cookies.

While baking my chocolate chip cookies and pondering beer desserts, I picked Ray’s brain for ideas. He thinks that any Belgian Strong, Tripel, Dubbel or Barleywine could be used with fruit somehow — so I suggested their use in a pie filling. Hmmm … a mincemeat pie dressed with a little English Barleywine in the filling? It could be delish. Ray also suggested making a reduction of a beer with some brown sugar and serving it over warmed fruit, with a spot of fresh whipped cream.

As for desserts we’ve ordered out, we have to tip our hats to the folks at Dogfish Head. We have shared the  Chocolate Chicory Stout Cheesecake, which interestingly enough, is made with blue cheese and is insanely rich, and we have also shared the DFH Stout Sundae, which consists of vanilla ice cream, Chicory Stout chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and a hop-infused brownie.

What I think is important to consider when creating a beer dessert is that you must have a plan of action for dealing with the bitterness. Balance is crucial. If you’re going to reduce a beer for a sauce, you don’t want to reduce it to an unappetizing sticky mess.

So I think this might mean no IPA-infused cookies. Nevertheless, I’m sure there’s a place for bright, grassy beers, just maybe not dessert.

Iron Hill Maple Shade, NJ

Imagine our excitement: on Monday, July 20, Iron Hill in Maple Shade NJ opened at 5:00 PM to what was probably a crowd of very thirsty folks. Why? Because, unfortunately, this area of South Jersey is a bit dry when it comes to great places to drink great beer.

Sure, we have Casey Hughes and the folks at Flying Fish Brewery in the Cherry Hill area who put out some mighty fine beer. And there’s Riverhorse in Lambertville, always sure to shake things up a bit. But great beer bars?

Before Iron Hill graced us with its presence, the only one I could think of is High Street Grill, which does a fantastic job of pairing excellent food with great craft beer — local brews, as well as some harder to find ones.

The new Iron Hill is, no contest, the nicest one yet.

But now we have Iron Hill, a successful chain — though I hate calling it that; it makes me think of McDonalds — that pairs creative craft brewing with top notch cuisine. Sometime earlier in the year, the food menu was expanded from 2 pages and a list of specials to probably 5-6 pages. The only complaint I’ve heard in regards to that is “There’s so much that looks good! I don’t know what to get!”

Originally we were going to wait until August — after my graduate school loan was finally paid off — to take a trip to Iron Hill, but somehow I managed to strong arm Ray into going this past Wednesday. The place looks fantastic, and though there was going to be a 40-minute wait, we took the time to sign up for the mug club and get our first official 24 oz. of Iron Hill beer. We both had the Black IPA, which uses a very small amount of roasted malts — later on the tour the assistant brewer mentioned it was black patent, though Carafa would have been preferred — to get the lovely dark color and subtle roast. The Black IPA was everything I was looking for: bright, citrusy, piney, and absolutely refreshing.

Some newbies learn about brewing for the first time from Iron Hill Maple Shade's assistant brewer (center).

To kill a little more time, we walked down the hall to the brewery and got invited in with a few other folks for a tour. The assistant brewer gave a great introduction to beer (the other part of the group knew nothing of the process), and we got to munch on some malt and sniff some hops. Unfortunately, our beeper for the table went off before we could really get into checking everything out, but we did catch wind of a possible homebrewer contest.

We were seated in a booth that could probably have seated 8, and our server was quick and friendly. We began our meal with an order of the pomme frites served with caramelized garlic-rosemary mayo. The fries were golden crisp and perfectly salted, and the mayo really rang with rosemary. Ray noticed that sipping the Black IPA after eating some of the fries really accentuated the roasty flavors as they melted through the fat of the frites, adding another level of complexity to the beer.

I could not care less how bad these probably are for me.

For dinner, Ray ordered the fish and chips, while I ordered the portabella mushroom sandwich, which had arugula, roasted red peppers, goat cheese, and the same garlic-rosemary mayo that the frites had. Both of our dishes were excellent — I have to say my portobella sandwich was actually mouthwatering, which is not something people tend to say in regard to a sandwich full of veggies.

A moment ago, they were called frites. Now, they're called chips.

My portobella sandwich.

We finished off the night with the hefeweizen for Ray, and I had a beer they called the Kellerbound Ale, which is an unfiltered version of the Ironbound Ale on nitro. Both, of course, were excellent.

To the Iron Hill folks — thanks for looking across the water to Jersey. We needed you, and you’ve come through for us, once again. Cheers!