On Saturday, Ray and I and our two lovely friends LeeAnne and Ryan battled the bone-numbing cold to partake in High Street Grill’s Second Annual Winterfest. Drawn by promises of 40 different beers from 20 breweries, we were ready to sample til our hearts’ content — well, sample for 1 3/4 hours at least.

High Street offered 2 sessions –  one at 1 PM and the other at 3 PM — located in the enclosed and heated tent behind the restaurant in the municipal parking lot. And while there are MAJOR bonus points for keeping the tent nice and toasty, there were definitely two problems:

1. The 1 PM session, which we attended, was severely overcrowded. And unfortunately, overcrowded with a fair amount of people in their twenties who acted like loud, beer-swilling buffoons. The latter was not High Street’s problem (no fest organizer interviews ticket buyers to see if they are of the right “caliber”), however, getting a larger tent (and more room) would have made this an excellent fest, rather than simply good.
2. 1 3/4 hours for 40 samples just isn’t enough time. Factor in a supremely crowded space, and it’s damn near impossible to hit all the tables, chat with the brewers/brewery representatives and take thorough tasting notes. Sorry, we weren’t there to guzzle beer sample after beer sample; we were there to find new beers, chat with the breweries, and introduce our soon-to-be-homebrewing friend Ryan to a beer festival. If High Street could have swung two sessions that were at 12 PM and 3 PM, that might have worked out to everyone’s benefit.

But enough about the crowd. Let’s talk about the beers!

It was nice to see the Philly Metro area’s usual suspects: Victory, Sly Fox, Troeg’s and Yards. But what was even better? Drinking a sample of Oskar Blues’ Gordon, sipping some of Founder’s Imperial Stout, and snagging a pour of Left Hand’s Fade to Black seasonal. Notice something? These breweries are from Colorado, Michigan and Colorado, respectively. San Diego metro-based Stone Brewing was pouring some crowd favorites, Oaked Arrogant Bastard and the Pale Ale, while Fort Bragg Calif.’s North Coast Brewing Co. had samples of Red Seal and the wickedly delicious Old No. 38 on tap.

But back on our side of the Mississippi, it was great to see Jersey’s Riverhorse pouring the Oatmeal Milk Stout (one of our all-time favorites), as well as the Belgian Freeze, which was perfect for the weather. Our buddies from Stoudt’s were across the tent, pouring generous glasses of Old Fat Dog imperial oatmeal stout (nothing beats the Dog, nothing!) and the Winter Ale, which is a hoppy red for this season (we have a partially-decimated sixer chilling in our fridge currently). I got to chat with amicable Mike of Stoudts, where we had a Twitter connection — he had noticed me tweeting about the fest and how Ray and I recently got married at their brewery, so upon meeting there was an “Oh it’s you!” moment. Very cool. Great guy, phenomenal beers.

Major props have to go to the fellas manning Flying Dog’s table: up for grabs were the Gonzo imperial porter (soooo rich and chocolatey) and Raging Bitch, a Belgian-style IPA for their 20th anniversary that was so many kinds of right. Now, when going for my first Doggie sample, I snagged the porter, which I had yet to taste. The guys were telling me about the Bitch, and I said I would come back. Well, by the time I had the chance, the breweries were signaling the end of the session. Now, I’m not one to usually pull the girl card, but I wrestled through the crowd to get back to FD’s table. I met the guys with a small smile and signaled “just a little” towards my glass. They smiled and kindly gave me a half-pour so I could finally see what all the rage was about –  and let me tell you, it was good. Despite the wild name, the beer is balanced with its sweetness and hoppiness. A really nice end to the day.

However, I think the highlight of the entire fest had to be Boaks Beer, which we had never heard of — and they’re even from NJ! Boaks had 3 taps to offer: Monster Mash, a Russian imperial stout; 2 Blind Monks, a Belgian dubbel; and Abbey Brown, a Belgian brown ale. Ray, Ryan and I made quick work of this, each getting a different sample. I found Monster Mash to be a little odd — something about the nose. 2 Blind Monks was nice, but I think my sample of Abbey Brown stole the show, with a funky nose and little sourness in the mouth.

Following the fest, we wandered up and down High Street, where the annual Fire & Ice fest was taking place. It was fascinating to see the various ice sculptures, but I think this one takes the cake.

LeeAnne rocks the plunger

I bet that's cold on the butt

After this photo, we all had AMAZING cake and coffee at Robin’s Nest. `Cuz that’s what you do after festing on the coldest day in January.

Brewfests, Craft Beer 1 Comment »

In Part I, I covered our visits to Great Divide, Boulder Beer and Oskar Blues. Now, on to the remaining 4 breweries/brewpubs that we visited on our Denver honeymoon back in November:

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.

Breweries, Brewpubs, Craft Beer, Pubs, Restaurants Add Comment »

When it came to planning our honeymoon, we decided Europe was out — we didn’t have enough time to do it justice — and a cruise was out because nothing left the same weekend as the wedding (there was NO way we were going back to work for a week!). So what to do?

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.

Breweries, Brewpubs, Craft Beer, Pubs, Restaurants 3 Comments »

Long time, no write … I know, I know. We’ve been bad. The Ginpel (Ray’s Belgian tripel with rosemary, juniper berries, and other traditional spices) we brewed back in August — it’s in the secondary, waiting patiently for the herbs and spices to be added. Boris the Spider Chai Oatmeal Stout that we concocted in late September — it’s hanging out in the bathtub in its secondary as well, waiting for me to finally wade through all my various chai recipes I’ve worked on.

We’ll get to them. I mean, heck, the culmination of 14 months of wedding planning and DIY projects finally hit on Saturday, Nov. 7. Ray and I tied the knot and shared a pint (or four). But that will be for another post where we can regale you with stories of what it’s like to bring together 75 people into the brewery that Carol and Ed Stoudt built and how the best open bar is the one with more than 10 local craft beers on tap.

Until then, here are couple more photos from our amazingly talented photographer, Georgi Anastasov.

Breweries, Craft Beer, Miscellany 2 Comments »

We were in the Stoudt’s area this past weekend taking care of wedding-related tasks. During a break between appointments, we decided to have a couple rounds at our future wedding venue, and while we were there, co-founder Ed Stoudt, taking a break from shucking oysters, called out to the room, “Brewery tour!”

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):

Breweries, Brewpubs, Craft Beer, Opinion 1 Comment »

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!

Brewpubs, Craft Beer, Restaurants 1 Comment »

By May 27, Ray had finally finished digesting and recovering from the Rohrbach Plate, so we were off to see my good friends Rach and Dave in the B’flo, or Buffalo to you normal folks.

We arrived just in time for lunch and happily stocked their fridge with homebrews. Then it was off to Flying Bison Brewery, tucked away in the city, but not too hard to find. We were greeted by hop bines growing off the loading dock, which is always a good sign. Rach was a little skeeved out by the location (not the best in town) but we knew what would await us beyond the loading dock.

Once inside, we got right to business, sampling Flying Bison’s selections, which were diverse. We were impressed with the Blackbird Stout and Aviator Red, as well as a number of pilot brews. Even their lager was impressive! It was great to find out that Flying Bison’s brews are in high-demand throughout the region as well.

We got a nice, indepth tour, where our guide explained Flying Bison’s specific process, as opposed to the more high-level “beer is made of four ingredients” talks we usually get on brewery tours. We even got to climb up and look into the mash tun! Rach was an excellent sport, often not understanding  exactly what was being discussed — it was her first tour — but enjoying our reactions to what we were learning.

Flying Bison employs four people — including the owner Tim — which is pretty damn impressive considering everything they have going on. All in all we walked away with a growler of Blackbird stout for Rach’s husband and a mixed six-pack of the Buffalo Lager, Blizzard Bock and The “Herc”, a “C-130 Barleywine ale” (PUN!) that Ray found simply divine.

After our tour we headed back to Rach’s beautiful home where we lazed about and ate chips and Bison-brand French onion dip. It was here that I was reminded of my years in college where Rach and I would debate “pop” vs. “soda” and Helluva Good brand chip dip vs. Buffalo-based Bison brand. For the record, Bison chip dip is excellent, but don’t pronounce it wrong — you say it bi-zon, not bi-son. Though if you’re me, you sound like an ESL student trying to wrap her mouth around the word “specific.” (Watch it in person some time. It’s hilarious.)

For dinner we headed to Pearl Street Grill & Brewery, where I tried a couple of their fruit brews: the Blue-eyed Blueberry Blonde and the Don Cherry Wheat. Both were smooth, subtle, and refreshing. Definitely an interesting brewpub.

We ended our evening in Buffalo on Rach and Dave’s back porch, pouring selections of the homebrews we brought them and watching a tumultuous thunder storm. They were both impressed with our beers, and we’re hoping the homebrew bug might bite them right in the ass.

For the remainder of our trip we were in southwestern Ohio, celebrating my cousin Kerry’s liberation from the confines of high school and on to higher learning at Kent State. Here Ray got to meet the rest of my family and earned the approval of my 5 uncles — I think the fact that he got their niece into homebrewing might have a lot to do with that. We served a few of our homebrews throughout our stay and were met with astonishment and delight: “You MADE this?!” was the most often heard comment, to which we replied, “Yes. Yes we did.”

Breweries, Brewpubs, Craft Beer, Miscellany, Restaurants 1 Comment »

On Sunday, May 24, we were in the `Cuse visiting my parents. Dad wanted to treat us to a night out — first we were going to go to Dinosaur BBQ, but the wait was an hour. Then on to the Clam Bar, which was closed. Then we went back to the city, in search of salvation from Empire Brewing Co. No dice…they were also closed the day before Memorial Day. So what to do? We checked out Syracuse Suds Factory, on the corner of Walton and Clinton!

I started my evening with the Black Cherry Lambic, which was as black as my soul and just as delicious. According to the brewpub’s Web site:

Based on a wheat ale, our variation of this unsual product of Belgin origins is made with pale and wheat malts, fuggles and cascade hops. It is fermented with a mixed strain yeast culture and abundance of black Bing cherries to produce a slightly tart and refreshing fruit character. Unfined, unfiltered and naturally aged for at least 1 1/2 months.

I can’t remember what Ray ordered first, but he finished the evening with the Sweet Stout, which he was immensely impressed with. My mom ordered a club sandwich, while the rest of us got an over-the-top rib melt. Definitely good pub food.

The next day, Memorial Day, we bid CNY adieu, packed up the car and trekked along I-90 towards my beloved Ra-cha-cha (or Rochester to you normal folks). I spent 4 years in the greater Rochester area, going to school at my dad’s alma mater, SUNY Brockport. So, quite frankly, I know the Thruway like the back of my hand and chose to drive, that way Ray could enjoy the scenery.

Though it’s not beer related, we went to Aladdin’s for dinner (I spent many an evening here in undergrad), where Ray paired an Anchor Steam with his pasta, and I enjoyed my first glass of Beaujolais. Then on to my favorite coffee shops of all time, Java’s and Spot Coffee. Located roughly a block or so from each other, they make for a great evening of coffee-sipping, dessert-eating, people-watching.

On Tuesday we headed out to Rohrbach Brewing Company’s restaurant/brewery location (they have a commercial brewery in Rochester as well). Starting off, we ordered a sampler of beers. Unfortunately, we weren’t very impressed with the Belgian Tripel, and the South Wedge Summer Wheat was so-so. The Magnum 44 double IPA was pretty good, but not what we thought a DIPA should really taste like. We did, however, thoroughly enjoy the Bluebeary Ale, which got the blueberry right on aroma and flavor. It was quite refreshing.

I also had a Vanilla Porter, but I think the beer that took the cake (or perhaps took the keg) for both of us was Rohrbach’s Red Wing Red Ale. This beer is brewed specially for the Triple A baseball farm team of the Minnesota Twins, the Rochester Red Wings. Ray and I were completely taken aback at how good this red ale was!

Brewery tours were not available at either location that day, but we did get a chance to talk to brewer Mitch LaGoy after we finished lunch. Mitch was plenty willing to talk about his brews, give his opinions on some of the beers brewed before he came on, and talk about some of his ideas for beers down the road — can we say watermelon wheat?

Mitch also told us about the Rye Pilsner he brewed recently and was kind enough to get us a sample. The both of us were very impressed … the rye was prominent, but it was most definitely a pilsner. He used Saaz hops, and brewed in the Czechoslovakian style — think Pilsner Urquell, but better.

Mitch was a very friendly guy, but there was just something about him that we wouldn’t put our finger on. And then Ray asked how old he was.

“I’m 21,” he said with a grin, making us both feel positively ancient.

Mitch got his start homebrewing at age 19, and 2 years later it’s his passion and career. On top of brewing for Rohrbach, Mitch is also getting his degree AND looking to get some brewing certification. Nice work kid!

Unfortunately, Ray decided to order the “Rohrbach Plate” for lunch. For those of you from Western NY (WNY), you know this as the “garbage plate.” The menu describes it as “our juicy 1/2 pound cheesburger … cooked to your liking, placed on a bed of mac salad and beer battered fried topped with raw onion and our house hot sauce…”

I would describe it as cardiac arrest.

To see how Ray fared, come back next week as we make our way down to B’flo where bison roam and “pop” is king.

Breweries, Brewpubs, Craft Beer, Miscellany 1 Comment »

On Saturday, May 23, Ray and I headed out bright and early with a cup of coffee and a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich from the Delran Coffee Shop. We were on a mission: 4 breweries in 9 days, culminating in a graduation party/Ward family reunion. This would also be the first time Ray met most of my family, which consists of about 20 people. Needless to say, Ray did survive the Ward-Wilson-McDonald meet-up, and enjoyed himself. But he can tell you more about that.

Our trip began in Ithaca, where we first stopped at Ithaca Beer Company. On the outskirts of Ithaca, the brewery is easy to find and greets beer-seekers with a good-sized tasting room, complete with a corner dedicated to homebrewing equipment (go you, Dan Mitchell, for encouraging folks to brew their own!)

After inquiring about a brewery tour and grabbing a sample, Ithaca Beer’s Gina Lola (Gina, if I spelled this incorrectly, please leave me a comment or e-mail and I’ll get it fixed!) gave us an excellent tour, not only explaining about Ithaca’s specific equipment, but also including information about how beer is actually made — this was beneficial to some of the folks who were not familiar with the process, and allowed Ray and me to look like know-it-alls.

Ithaca Beer Company employs 12 people, and distributes in 10 states. Much like Dogfish Head, Ithaca also provides its spent grains to farmers. We got to take a peek at the oak barrels the brewery has, some of which had chalk-writing indicating what beer was residing inside.

Gina Lola wrapped the tour up after showing us the bottling line, and we ventured back into the tasting room. Standing alongside other Ithaca natives and Cornell and Ithaca College kids, we tried a few more samples of beers such as Partly Sunny, a wheat beer brewed with coriander and lemon zest, and Willard’s Stash, which I think was a really bold saison. We also revisited some of the flagship beers — Ray discovered that he actually really likes CascaZilla, and award-winning Flower Power was pure liquid refreshment.

After purchasing a 6-pack of Partly Sunny, 4-packs of Ithaca’s Root Beer and Ginger Beer, and two of its Excelsior! beer series: alpHalpHa and TEN, we had the chance to chat with Gina Lola and give her our blog card. It was great to talk with someone so passionate about beer, and it sounds like she’s interested in homebrewing (do it!).

Next, we headed to my Uncle Larry and Aunt Susan’s house. First off, they’re two of my favorite people, and second, the moment you meet them they’ll become your favorite people, too! We planned to have a BBQ with them, and my folks drove down from Syracuse to join. We shared some of our homebrews and got good reviews — my dad, a light-lager kind of guy, even told me that he really liked the Kölsch.

Ray managed to survive a discussion of politics with my dad and uncle, and there was enough steak, chicken and grilled veggies to feed an army. Typical Ward gathering.

Next up, I’ll tell you all about the brewpub on the corner of Clinton and Walton in Syracuse’s Armory Square, as well as the 21-year-old brewer we met in Rochester.

Breweries, Craft Beer, Miscellany 1 Comment »

Welcome to The Session, a monthly event for beer and brewing bloggers! This is Session #28, for which our friend and beer odyssey writer at Red, White, and Brew Brian Yaeger has chosen the topic, “Think/Drink Globally.” Brian writes: … “in honor of Global Craft Beer Forever, I pose everyone writes about the farthest brewery (including brewpubs) you have visited and specifically the best beer you had there.”

For me, the farthest brewpub I’ve been to is Gordon Biersch in Las Vegas. As you may remember, last October I was out there on business, amid a sea of Miller Lites and rum and Diet Coke. It was a sad, sad situation.

But on the last night out there we had our group dinner at Gordon Biersch. I remember that I started my evening with Gordon Biersch’s seasonal, which was a festbier. This style is not normally my thing, but this brew was nice and malty, as well as crisp. I ordered the goat cheese ravioli in brown butter sauce with spinach, mushrooms and pine nuts, and the festbier was a nice complement.

Now, we don’t have any festbiers lurking around the house, though Brian did instruct us to either drink some of the same beer, whether it be the exact beer, or a similar style. Because I rarely drink festbiers, the only brew I can think of to compare with GB’s would be Victory’s Festbier. I’ll go even farther to say that I think I may have preferred GB’s fall seasonal, but overall and pound for pound of malt, I have to say I prefer Victory’s beers.

I think I’ve had a Heineken in Amsterdam, back when I was a kid. Technically, I guess I should be writing about that, but, yeah, no.

The place I’d like to talk about is Glacier Brewhouse, way up in Anchorage, Alaska, where the sun goes down for months at a time, sidewalks are in the middle of the street, and local ordinances prohibit male babysitters, toilets that require the user to jiggle the handle when flushed, and rhyming. Anchorage is very very weird and you should never let anyone tell you that it’s actually perfectly normal and resembles a less populated Philadelphia with wider streets. These are falsehoods.

(Now that I think of it, Anchorage is probably farther away from South Jersey than Amsterdam is, actually, so this works out.)

Glacier Brewhouse was a welcome and surprising discovery during my trip to Alaska with my sister and my parents a few years ago. Days of cruising and bussing with nothing to drink but salmon had left us aching for some Good Beer, so we were thrilled when the tour guide made a passing mention of the place when we asked about nearby restaurants.

The interior is immensely spacious, with enough dining area for probably 100-150 people spread out amongst tables, a capacious bar, and a long high top that could probably seat 10-15 people on either side. The building has a feel that blends rustic and plush styling. A big fireplace sits in the middle of the dining room.

Glacier has an exhaustive line of beers aged in oak barrels from Jim Beam distillery in Kentucky. The only one available when we were there was the Beam Scottish Ale, which is the beer that stands out in my memory above all others from the brewery.

Unfortunately, I believe their beer is unavailable outside of the brewhouse (or at the very least isn’t available here), and strong Scottish ales are just now coming out of season for me and my habits, so I don’t have anything comparable on hand, but I can easily describe this beauty from memory: Big, slick body with lots of caramel notes that swirl around a dark orange pint of delight with delicious (and pungent!) bourbon and vanilla flavors. Very malty and sweet, it was an unusually long-term sipper for a beer that was only around 6-7% alcohol.

We hit the place twice on our trip, and remarkably, the beer tasted noticeably different between the two visits. On the first dinner there, the beer was much heavier on the vanilla, but on the second night several days later, the bourbon was much more aggressive. We must have gotten a fresher barrel the second time.

Breweries, Brewpubs, Craft Beer, The Session 3 Comments »