To kick off the recent Memorial Day weekend, and our roadtrip out to Ohio for two of my cousins’ graduation parties, I planned for Ray and me to have dinner and beers at Appalachian Brewing Co.’s Harrisburg location. Ray picked me up from my office that Thursday evening and we headed west … right into a horrific storm.

Luckily for us, the storm didn’t kick in until we reached the Harrisburg area, but it was awful. Visibility was nil, winds buffeted the car, and the finishing touch was the hail. We made it to the motel, only to find out they were without power, so we trekked into Harrisburg. The brewery would have power, right?

Technically ABC did have power, but the storm had knocked out the POS system, so servers had to go back to each table, retake orders and get them into the kitchen. The manager explained that they weren’t serving anymore and our faces fell. It was 8:00 pm, we didn’t know the area, and we had salivated over the menu on the way there.

I mentioned that we had driven all the way from Philly, just to visit the brewery and restaurant on our way out west. The manager paused for a moment and said, “Let me see what I can do.” After waiting a bit, he came back, got us seated and ran back into the fray of the busy dining room. Twenty minutes later he swung by our table, dismayed that no one had waited on us. “Let me get your drink order … first round is on me!” he told us. Our new friend’s name was Jeremy and he would spend the next hour giving us some of the best customer service I’ve ever received.

We both ordered the IPA on cask and were rewarded for our wait. Crisp, yet creamy, it was exactly what we needed. Jeremy came back around, took our food orders and in seemingly no time at all I had a cup of cheddar ale soup in front of me. It was rich and flavorful and I should have ordered a bowl or two. Definitely a dish I want to replicate at home.

Ray ordered a beast of a meatloaf, seated on Texas toast, topped with mashed potatoes and gravy and sprinkled with fried onions. My grilled cheese with tomatoes looked positively puny next to it, but it’s exactly what I wanted to eat.

We finished out the night with a second round, Susquehanna Stout for me — so rich and chocolatey — while Ray enjoyed the Anniversary Maibock, which had a lovely honey finish.

We chatted with Jeremy some more, thanked him for getting us a table and taking care of us, and selected a 4-pack of ginger beer and a 6-pack of white birch beer for the road (both of which are delicious). We’ll definitely have to go back to visit and sample more of Appalachian Brewing’s beers, but even though the brewery opened a new location, I feel like we’d need to go back out to the Harrisburg location to show our loyalty to excellent service.

Breweries, Brewpubs, Craft Beer Add Comment »

Before you even read this post, do yourself a favor and watch this video put together by Stone Brewing Co. about the collaboration between Greg (Stone), Sam (Dogfish Head) and Bill (Victory) to create Saison du BUFF.

I LOVE these guys and what they (and many other brewers) are doing for craft beer. They’re showing the Big 3, as well as many other corporations in the U.S., that collaboration is a good thing. Are they still each others competition? Of course. But they’re also each others allies, and together, through collaboration, they make the beer scene a better place for all of us craft beer drinkers.

Saison du BUFF (Brewers United for Freedom of Flavor) was brewed with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme 3 times: once at Stone (released in May 2010), at Victory (released in August 2010) and Dogfish Head (also released in August 2010). Each brewery’s take on the beer has its own unique bottle label, done in the style of that brewery.

I sampled the brews from Dogfish Head and Stone back in September of 2010 and wrote about them for the Ladies of Craft Beer website. I had a tough time getting the third bottle—from Stone—until a wonderful benefactor came through and sent me a bottle (and no, it wasn’t Stone).

So, here’s my take on all three of the SDBs:

Dogfish Head Brewery
Poured into a snifter, the beer pours a bright golden hue with a light, fluffy head. The aroma is very typical of the Saison style—spicy with hints of citrus. But giving it a few more sniffs, I could pick up some really wonderful herbal notes. There wasn’t one herb that stuck out more than another, but the fragrance was lovely and balanced.

Upon first sip, I got a lot of carbonation bite, most likely because the beer was too cold. I let it come up in temperature before trying it again, which is what you want to do with any overly-chilled beer (your tongue won’t pick up on the myriad flavors a beer has if its too cold). After 10-15 minutes, I was rewarded with a flavor that matched its aroma to a T—nice and dry, spice and herbal notes, with hints of citrus.

Victory Brewing Co.
Like DFH’s version, Victory’s SDB pours a pale gold with a thin, white head that dissipates fairly quick. The spice is very evident in the nose and a lot of the herbal notes of rosemary, sage and thyme come out—with rosemary taking the forefront. When giving the glass a few swirls to kick up aroma, a bit of barnyard funk comes out, which is a nice touch amidst the herbs and spice.

Ray noticed a light, fruity sweetness to the beer, something he associates with farmhouse ales. He also found the rosemary complimented the citrus in the beer. I had a difficult time recognizing the traditional saison attributes, unlike my first sampling of Dogfish’s SDB. When I looked up Victory’s version, I came across a review that claimed it was “more Prima Pils than saison.” While I agree that this beer is more of another style than a saison, I don’t agree with likening it to a base of Prima Pils. It’s just something … else. And that’s not a bad thing.

If I were to pair this beer with food, I would go for a nice whitefish, like haddock, topped with a not-too-spicy salsa with plenty of cilantro. Ray pointed out that the cilantro would go well with the bright bitterness of the herbs and hops. He also suggested pairing SDB with grilled veggies tossed in a light lemon vinaigrette. Even some bread and the right cheese would go well.

Stone Brewing Co.
Like DFH and Victory’s, Stone’s take on Saison du BUFF poured golden and clear into my geektastic pint glass. A little different from the other two beers was the massive, fluffy, aromatic head. The nose is full of rosemary, and even after letting this bottle get jostled about in my cabinets for nearly six months, it tastes of sweet freshness—almost as if we just picked it up from the Escondido-based brewery. It’s citrusy and herbal, and just the right beer to welcome in the warm weather and spring.

Stone’s version of Saison du BUFF actually reminds me a little of our Ginpel, due to the aromatic rosemary nose. I’m imagining Stone’s offering—as well as the other two—would be excellent to cook with. Perhaps a braised pork roast with roasted veggies?

Craft Beer, Tasting 1 Comment »

Two Sundays ago I decided to go all out in the kitchen, and one result was my Chocolate Java Head Stout Truffles. I love their richness and how they melt in your mouth. My fellow BeerCampPhilly folks also enjoyed them, along with some others from IndyHall. That’s how chocolate should be.

Chocolate Java Head Stout Truffles

Truffles Ingredients
8 oz chocolate (I used a blend of semi-sweet, bittersweet and unsweetened, only because that’s what I had available)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup stout syrup

Stout Syrup Ingredients
1/2 cup Tröegs Java Head stout
1/4 cup sugar (I used my homemade vanilla bean sugar*)

Directions
Put the chocolate in a heat-save bowl and set aside.

Over medium high-heat, stir together sugar and beer for the syrup. Stir regularly to keep mixture from burning and reduce until the syrup slowly drips off the spoon. This will yield about 1/4 cup.

Once the syrup is made, heat the cream in a pot over medium-high heat until it comes to a simmer. Stir occasionally. Add the stout syrup a few tablespoons at a time, stirring to incorporate.

Once all the syrup is mixed into the cream (you can use less if you’d like), pour the hot mixture over the chocolate. If you have a lid for the bowl, put it on and let the chocolate and cream sit for 3-5 minutes, undisturbed. Then mix together.

If you have some unmelted chocolate lumps, microwave the mixture in 15-20 second bursts, stirring well after each time.

Refrigerate mixture for 2 hours. Once fully chilled, scoop out truffles with a melonballer, firming up the shape in your hands. However, I was having no luck with this method and spent more time with chocolate on my hands. I googled “truffle shaping tips” and came across this gem from Chowhound, in which you line a container with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. For me, this was less messy and headache inducing. However, when I went to cut the truffles into squares, the chocolate began fracturing where it wanted. Thus, my truffles look like thick, dark chocolate bark, but let’s see who complains.
(Inspired by Sweet Fiend at Endless Simmer, with the basic truffle-making directions adapted from Simply Recipes.)

*The vanilla bean sugar is super easy to make. I followed the directions from A Year from Scratch, but than took it a step further. I used the leftover vanilla bean pod from when I made a vanilla bean finishing salt. I followed AYFS’ directions (so easy) and basically forgot about the sugar for 5 days. Once I remembered, I pulled the slightly mummified vanilla bean pods out of the sugar and finely ground them in my spice grinder. Then I added my sugar (it was about 1/3 cup or a little more) into the grinder to incorporate. The mixture is fragrant and can be used in a variety of applications.

Craft Beer, Recipes Add Comment »

Ray drinking 2-Year Cask Aged Wee Heavier at Nodding Head for the Wood'ja event.

On Saturday, Feb. 12 Ray and I decided to combine our annual Anti V-Day dinner (which is always at Nodding Head) and the brewpub’s Barrel-Aged Beers event, Wood’ja.

This was not your typical bourbon barrel event; instead, these were beers that rocked out in some funky barrels, providing attendees with something sour to think about. Nodding Head featured 3 sours and had 2 special guest beers on tap:

• Cask Two-Year-Old Wee Heavier (9.5% ABV): Strong, Scottish-style ale that has been aged in a wooden cask that once held Calvados brandy, and more recently JW Lees Harvest Ale. This ale is very dark in color, and full-bodied with a roasty character and sweet malt flavors. The menu also read “Crazy sour … not for the faint at heart.”

• Pho-Tay (7% ABV): NH’s O-Tay aged in the Phunk Barrel. This beer started  as a golden ale brewed with 84 pounds of organic buckwheat and Belgian yeast, giving it a unique spicy character. After barrel-aging, it picked up oak and brett characteristics.

• Saison De La Tete (6% ABV):A blend of a young saison, and a sour barrel aged, low alcohol, hoppy pale ale. The flavors from the brettanomyceys and oak add some punch to the slightly funky saison character.

Special Guests
• Russian River Consecration (10% ABV): A Belgian-style Dark Strong Ale aged in American oak Cabernet Sauvignon barrels. Kicking up the funk Russian River uses Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus, and adds currants to the beer while it barrel-ages. This beer was served still (though the menu did not point this out, and it should have).

• Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Grand Cru (9.2% ABV): A blend of barrel-aged Bigfoot, Celebration and Pale Ale.

Ray had the Wee Heavier and Pho-Tay, while I ordered the Consecration and Saison de la Tete. I wish Nodding Head had let attendees know that the beer  would be served still, because it was a major shock to my senses. I didn’t quite care for it (I picked up notes of nail polish remover mid-way through), but Ray liked it. Ray also has a better tolerance for high alcohol beverages, whereas my senses get shocked severely.

I found the Wee Heavier to be very interesting, and the Saison de la Tete was very balanced and refreshing. Pho-Tay surprised both of us; I had ordered O-Tay a week ago and hadn’t really cared for the finish, but Pho-Tay hit everything right on the nail.

For the Anti V-Day portion of our night, Ray ordered the Duck BLT with boursin and cranberry ail, while I had the mussels specical, which was served in a coconut curry broth. It was delicious. Ray tried his first mussel (didn’t like it), but agreed that the broth was top-notch. He ordered a cask conditioned Goldihops (very hoppy light bodied golden ale (4.75% ABV) with tons of hop flavor and aroma without high alcohol or bitterness), while I had the Belgian Chocolate Stout. The stout was excellent, but I think Flying Fish’s Exit 13 Belgian Chocolate Stout still takes the cake for me. Mmmmm chocolate!

Brewpubs, Craft Beer 2 Comments »

Amy told us to look like serious Beer Geeks. This is what we managed.

7:00 AM on Saturday found me curled up in my guest room bed, watching a streaming movie on Netflix. Then my phone began to buzz. Less than 6 hours later, I found myself at Iron Hill West Chester with Ryan, LeeAnne and her dad for lunch and Belgium Comes to West Chester.

There were 22 Belgian beers available to sample or order full glasses; for samples, you could pay $2 per 4 oz pour, or you could order a flight. We made the decision to order flights 1 & 2 (listed below).

1. Iron Hill Maple Shade, NJ: Flemish Red Ale
2. Iron Hill North Wales, PA: Sour Dubbel
3. Iron Hill Media, PA: Wee Funky
4. Iron Hill West Chester, PA: Saison
5. Iron Hill Wilmington, DE: Quadrupel
6. Sly Fox Brewing, Royersford, PA: Ichor
7. New Holland Brewing, New Holland, MI: Black Tulip Tripel
8. Stewart’s Brewing Co., Bear, DE: Stumblin’ Monk
9. Troeg’s Brewing Co., Harrisburg, PA: Scratch 34
10. Devil’s Backbone Brewing Co., Roseland, VA: Dark Abby
11. Yards Brewing Co., Philadelphia, PA: Trubbel de Yards
12. Stoudt’s Brewing Co., Adamstown, PA: Tripel
13. Nodding Head, Philadelphia, PA: Rudy’s Kung Fu Grip
14. Flying Fish Brewing Co., Cherry Hill, NJ: Exit 4 Hoppy Tripel

I’ve had the beers from Flying Fish, Nodding Head and Stoudts and was pleased to see them again. I was absolutely blown away by Iron Hill Wilmington’s Quad. Typically, I find quads to be too strong for me, but this beer somehow hid its 11.8% ABV. I enjoyed the chocolate meets caramel maltiness as well as the dark stone fruit notes. I could have ordered a full glass, it was so delicious.

The table favorite was New Holland’s Black Tulip Tripel. BTT was smooth with hints of clove and esters. The program listed Michigan beet sugar as an ingredient, which I found interesting.

Prior to BC•WC, I hadn’t heard of Devil’s Backbone Brewing; I found their Dark Abby to be a party of plums and bananas, and quite good. They list Appalachian sorghum syrup as an ingredient for “extra sexiness.” The beer is also fermented with 2 Belgian yeast strains and finished with red wine yeast for dryness. Very interesting.

As for the beers we missed, they were:

Victory Brewing Co., Downington, PA: Golden Monkey
Cambridge Brewing Co., Cambridge MA: Tripel Threat
Dogfish Head, Rehoboth, DE: Red & White
Ithaca Beer Co., Ithaca, NY: Brute
Harpoon Brewing Co., Boston, MA: Frites & Geeks
Brooklyn Brewing Co., Brooklyn, NY: Sorachi Ace Saison
Brooklyn Brewing Co., Brooklyn, NY: Local One
Manayunk Brewing Co., Philadelphia, PA: Yunker’s Nocturnum

I’ve had the offerings from Victory, DFH and Ithaca (Gold Medal Baby!), but would have liked to have sampled Tripel Threat from Cambridge (they blew me away at GABF) and Frites & Geeks from Harpoon.

Iron Hill West Chester's Gerardus Maximus

To draw the afternoon to a close, I ordered one of West Chester’s specials, Gerardus Maximus, a bold hoppy red ale that danced along the lines of imperial in regard to ABV. I found it refreshing and a nice way to cut through the sweetness of the Belgian samplers.

The lovely Amy Strauss also ran around and snagged so many excellent photos for West Chester Dish. Check them out!

P.S. Do you know how many times I typed “Wester Chester” while writing this post? A lot.

Breweries, Brewfests, Craft Beer 7 Comments »

Ray and Mel at GABF 2010

Another year winds down, but instead of wondering where the year went, I’m glad to see 2010 scoot its butt out the door. I’m ready to welcome 2011 and all it has to offer.

2010 was a quieter year for our homebrewing. Our wedding was in November 2009, so we took time off from brewing for that. Surprisingly, we only brewed twice in 2010: the Extra Fancy Brown Ale (which we have yet to review) and the  Bee Sting Ale, one of our favorite recipes from 2009. We also had friends over for a brew day, so they could experience what goes into making our favorite fermented beverage. We had an awesome time, and once we got the Bee Sting into the bottle and carbonated (yes, it took us 3.5 months to get the damn thing bottled), we knew we had a winner on our hands.

So why did we homebrew less? There were a number of factors.

• A little bit of brewing burnout
• Ray began working toward becoming a full-time indie game developer
• We had so much beer aging that there was barely any room to put it
• The condo went on the market

I’m also a firm believer in not forcing myself to do something when I’m not feeling up to it. And in the earlier part of the year, I just wasn’t feeling like homebrewing and writing about it. But the spring arrived, we brewed the brown ale, then summer came, we brewed the Bee Sting, and as Ray got more and more involved with his first game, he had less time. So, it was up to me to take the reins of Bathtub Brewery, and I think it’s worked well.

Ray’s still here. He does all the tastings with me and sometimes even pops in with a video. And that works. We’re still a homebrewing team — I just do the writing now.

On top of that, I joined the Ladies of Craft Beer as a contributor, offering reviews of craft beer, homebrewing advice, cooking/baking with beer recipes and an occasional opinion piece now and then. It feels good to be part of a community of women teaching other women about craft beer.

Though 2010 may have been a quiet year for our homebrewing, it was anything but quiet in regard to the beer festivals we attended. We kicked the year off with the High Street Grill Winterfest, which was unfortunately crowded, cold and too short. But our friends Ryan and LeeAnne came with us and we had fun nonetheless.

In May, we made it back to one of our favorite fests, the The Brandywine Valley’s Craft Brewers Festival at Iron Hill in Media. The fest was great as always, and Ray even managed to get video of me snagging a sample of one of the two rare beers Iron Hill Media poured into the frenzied crowd (for the record, I managed to snag samples of both).

In June, we attended SAVOR with Ryan in tow. The beers were excellent, the food was meh, and now we have to decide if the festival is worth its $95 ticket price for 2011.

July saw us stumbling into the Royal Stumble with Ryan, LeeAnne and a whole horde of revelers. As always, the Stumble was excellent, and topped off by a few roller derby bouts.

In August, we sent a bottle of our Barleywine with the Dish Trip crew to have it delivered to Charlie at Harpoon Brewery in Boston. Apparently he liked it, a lot.

September was our busy month. Before leaving for Denver, I represented Sly Fox at Geraghty’s Fall Beer and Food Fest, seeing first hand what it was like to be behind the table at a fest. Then we hopped on a plane and did a crapload of amazing things in Denver, including attending our first GABF. Wow wow wow!

Earlier this month, Ray and I attended a Philly Food Bloggers Potluck, where we chatted with Amanda Hesser about homebewing, served her, Dave from Victory Beer and some of the guests our beer. To say our homebrews were well-received is an understatement.

Huh. Looking at this mammoth post, I guess you could say that we didn’t have that quiet of a year. We may have scaled back on our brewing, but we were out in full force participating in the craft beer community.

As for 2011, we already have a Dubbel on the docket — now we just need to write the recipe. We may never get back to brewing monthly, but I think we will get back to brewing when the creativity strikes. That’s not a bad thing.

Happy New Year!

Craft Beer, Homebrewing, Miscellany 1 Comment »

I think it’s safe to say that Brewery Ommegang is one of my and Ray’s favorite breweries. Almost all their beers have hit it out of the park for us, from Hennepin, a Farmhouse Saison to Cup O Kyndness, a Belgian-inspired Scotch Ale. But of course, there will always be one that is exceptionally near and dear to us: Three Philosophers, a quadrupel created by blending 98% of the ale with 2% of a Belgian Kriek.

This is a beer I grew fond of, so, when Ray decided I was going to be his forever-lady, he picked up a 2007 bottle of the Cooperstown brew and proposed to me on Aug. 22, 2008.

To celebrate the engagement months later, my Uncle Larry and Aunt Susan gave us two bottles of Three Philosophers, bottled in 2008. Ray and I quickly decided to cellar the brews. One would be opened shortly after the wedding in November 2009, and the second would be opened right around our first wedding anniversary in November 2010.

Ideally, we would have had the beer on our anniversary, but our plans were to go to Blackfish in Conshohocken—an amazing seafood BYOB—and we figured a quadrupel would overpower almost anything we ordered. Instead, we had it a few nights later with pan-seared filet mignon and roasted brussel sprouts. So good.

The bottle aged well. Dark stone fruit was evident, and the alcohol was very mellow. The cherries were present, but tended to play second fiddle to stronger plum notes. The aging definitely smoothed out the beer, and we both found it quite enjoyable.

I highly recommend this sort of practice—buying a couple of bottles to celebrate an occasion, leaving one to cellar and open over an anniversary. It would have been an excellent experiment if my uncle and aunt had given us three bottles: the last could have been saved for our fifth or even tenth anniversary!

Breweries, Craft Beer 6 Comments »

More than two months later, and I’m still trying to wrap up our Denver trip—yes, it was that epic.

Oskar Blue Sampler. Top (l-r): ODB Barleywine; Velvet Elvis; Some High Grade Smoke; Columbian Supreme; Ten Fidy. Bottom (l-r) Priscilla Wheat; Hoppy Seconds; Redbeard's Love; Gubna Imperial IPA; S-bus Imperial Brown

After visiting New Belgium on Day 8, we headed over to Oskar Blues Home Made Liquids and Solids. We enjoyed 2 sampler trays filled with beers that don’t tend to make it into cans—these were draft specialties. The ODB Barleywine was intense, and I remember being fairly impressed with Some High Grade Smoke, especially since I’m not much of a smoked beer kind of gal (maybe someday). The imperial Redbeard’s Love was very caramely and S-bus Imperial Brown was my first exposure to the offbeat style, and I liked it.

Day 9
Once again we hit up WaterCourse Foods for breakfast, because, simply put, the food there is mind-blowingly phenomenal. Get on a plane NOW and eat there. Your stomach will thank you.

After a 6+ mile hike at Elk Meadow in Evergreen, Co., we met up with my fellow Lady of Craft Beer Micki at Great Divide. And, unfortunately, it was between these two activities that I found out that my beloved Clark’s Ale House was closing—making me a sad panda that could only be cheered up with excellent GD brews.

Day 10
Friday saw us head to Snooze for a light breakfast (1/2 orders of Bennys and coffee only for us). Our plan for the day was to go neighborhood hunting, nap in the park, have lunch at SAME Cafe, and basically just play it by ear.

We found that the neighborhood just south of the state capitol seemed to be our best bet, even with a street full of apartment complexes called Poets’ Row (I’m such a geek). I discovered a cool hair salon sporting posters for Roller Derby and discovered WaterCourse Bakery’s location, so I knew this would be a perfect spot to settle down in a few years (hair salons and bakeries … my only requirements).

Lunch at SAME (So All May Eat) Cafe was delicious and meaningful (read more about it on MelBee Says …) and reading and napping in Cheeseman Park was delightful.

Great Divide Yeti and Wild Raspberry soon became one as I mixed the two samples to become the Wild Raspberry Yeti.

Ray called for Happy Hour at Great Divide, so we hoofed it over there, and we enjoyed a few samples and pints and our books. There was an excellent vegetarian food truck doing their thing right outside the patio, but we resisted the temptation and held out for WaterCourse (yes again!) and their delicious pastas for dinner.

Day 11 saw us checking out, dropping off the rental car and heading to the airport. But before we shimmied through security, there had to be breakfast, and once last beer at Boulder Beer in the airport. I enjoyed a Mojo IPA with the same southwestern chicken salad that I had a year ago, while Ray enjoyed a Planet Porter with a burger.

And then it was off to our gate to head back to Philly. Every time we leave Denver it gets a little bit harder, but one day the tables will turn and we’ll be leaving the Mile High City to go on vacation and not the other way around.

Breweries, Brewpubs, Craft Beer, Denver 2010, Restaurants 1 Comment »

The Abbey, the Beer-Stream trailer that was once commissioned to travel, sharing the wonders of New Belgium beers.

It may have been a month since I wrote about Odell Brewing and more like 2 months since we were actually at the mecca that is New Belgium Brewing, but our time spent there still seems pretty fresh in my mind. I mean, how does one forget about a 90-minute brewery tour?

We were greeted first by the classic Airstream trailer in the parking lot, and then headed straight into the Liquid Center. We checked in, got a nifty stamp on our hands and snagged our first samples, pre-tour. I had the Ranger IPA—so crisp and hoppy and full of resiny goodness. Our tour guide Seth (who is epically awesome and the tour guide to have while at New Belgium) had us gather around and enjoy the first of many samples to come (the Abbey ale … so caramely!) and told the story of how New Belgium was born out of Kim and Jeff’s basement and then grew into the current space.

Seth, our tour guide at New Belgium, was super cool and highly knowledgable.

Then it was time to head upstairs, where you can see the tops of the kettles and the beautiful mosaics that surround them. It was at the upstairs bar that Seth decided to make an “employee-owner” decision to have each of us pour our own samples from the tap (to save on labor, as he put it).

He taught us the perfect way to pour (just enough head so you get to experience the aroma appropriately) and let us have at it. I poured a perfect sample of Hoptober, the fall seasonal. Ray followed and managed to kick the keg of 1554 (a Belgian black ale). He gave it another shot, this time kicking the keg of La Folie, the sour brown. The third time was the charm and he finally managed a decent pour of Ranger IPA.

We peered in on the cellaring area, saw the lab where we waved at a bunch of the folks behind keeping the NB yeast healthy and then made our way over to the bottling/packaging facility, lovingly called the Thunder Dome, where we had yet another sample, this time Mothership Wit.

Throughout the brewery, New Belgium has dioramas like this one for Fat Tire Amber Ale.

From there, we headed back to the main building, headed up the stairs by accounting so that we could have the honor of coming back down—via a large metal curly slide. Seth suggested curling up to avoid any abrasions from the metal and riding on the left butt cheek. I tried my best while sliding down in a dress, but still managed to nail my knee pretty well. Two months later, and I still have a dark spot on my knee the size of a quarter.

We finished up in a room Seth has set aside for us with two final samples: Ranger and 1554. Seth regaled us with the story behind 1554 (watch the video!) and then sent us on our way to hang out in the Liquid Center.

Overall, it was an amazing tour, with much more than just walking around and trying samples. Seth explained all about the brewery’s environmental philosophies and more, which are just mind-blowingly awesome (and I’m not even going to try to cover it all—just read about it here).

Definitely reserve spots on the tour if you find you’re in Fort Collins. Great beer. Great time. Great social and environmental responsibility. Who could ask for more?

Breweries, Craft Beer, Denver 2010 1 Comment »

Mel, literally in the Bathtub Brewery

Hopefully you’ve been keeping track of all the great stuff over on the Ladies of Craft Beer website, where it seems I’ve been doing most of my writing (I haven’t forgotten you!). We’ve got some great beer reviews, homebrewing tips, opinion pieces and more. On top of ALL of that (and that’s a lot!), Stevie, founder and big cheese over at LadiesOCB has started a Women in Beer Series.

Stevie has reached out to all the LadiesOCB contributors, as well as a number of women in the thick of the craft beer industry. I think it’ll be a really exciting series, and yesterday I was featured! Talk about excitement.

So head over to the LadiesOCB website and check it out for yourselves.

Craft Beer, Homebrewing, Miscellany 1 Comment »