Brew Fest Initiation September 24, 2010

To surprise my beer geek (and to get a little research material), I purchased some tickets to a local brew fest at the Jenkintown Festival of the Arts, which we attended last weekend. I have to admit it’s a little bit of a blur. I certainly started out sniffing and swirling and swishing and tasting. But by hour number two, I was giggling and starting conversations with men named Scooter.

While I could make a half-hearted attempt at professional reviews of each and every 8 ounce golden pour, I’ll leave the beer geekery to those who know what they’re talking about.

I can tell you that the Riverhorse Hop Hazard was a big hit with my BG. I also heard that the Flying Fish IPA was good from a couple of pals. There was a unanimous clunker, but I’m not here to thrown any beers under the bus (I don’t even think that’s allowed!).

For my BG’s t-shirt geekness, I found some decent characters who let me click their shirts. Our favorite was the Lost Dharma reference, just because it was unexpected. Most of the people there were pretty down to earth, and the only real snobbery I saw was the plastic cup washout before partaking in the next tasting. It was a decent foray into my first fest, and didn’t scare me away from the next one that is sure to come!

A Brew a Day September 13, 2010

My refrigerator is currently filled with three different varieties of brews, keeping my beer geek husband giddy with his choice of flavors and giving him a chance to drink a new beer each day of this weekend. I am holding my own, and found a new new favorite with my first pumpkin beer of autumn. It’s the well-known and well liked Punkin Ale by Dogfish Head. It was a great start to my falling for beer
season.

I really do taste the fall flavors, with hints of actual pumpkin and spices, and it’s an easy beer to like. I read and like the review by A Girl and Her Beer, who writes about the spices and origin of the beer name. It is a little bit like a dessert with the hints of nutmeg and cinnamon, and when anyone suggests topping with whip cream – count me in. I’ll give it an A for the drink-ability and because it puts a smile on my face.

My beer geek got a gift of a six-pack of Racer 5 IPA by Bear Republic. He is also a car geek so he got a big kick out of the name and label. I took a taste and it had a bite to it, which I knew he would appreciate. It was a fun little taste fest weekend, with Stoudts Oktoberfest still in the fridge from the last case purchase. We had to round it off with a light beer for some family guests, but we can’t complain because they were the ones to bring us the new brews from Collier’s in Cape May, NJ – a liquor store with a pretty decent beer selection. Thanks Gals!

But alas, it’s Sunday night and the weekend it over. The cool of the night air, memories of time with family, along with the aromas of the dinner and drinks of the night leave me with an excited anticipation for more to come this season of good brews and good company.

Proost!

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Falling for Beer September 9, 2010

I am totally looking forward to this autumn season. I had a fulfilling summer with multiple visits to the beach (yes, the beautiful Jersey shore!), a 2,200 mile road trip, and plenty of hot summer sun. So yes, I am enjoying the first cool breezes that fall brings – and especially anticipating the beer season that goes along with it.

I like almost anything with pumpkin in its name. I am a sucker for that manipulative advertising: Pumpkin Spice Coffee, Pumpkin Muffins, Pumpkin Patches. (Not sure why, but Pumpkin pie doesn’t really make the list).  So, I am thrilled at the vast bottles of pumpkin beer that fill the shelves this month. Call it an Oktober Pumpkin Autumn brew, and I’m in. Ok sure, I realize that I may be a little naive and that I’m being brainwashed in the marketing of these autumn flavors – and I totally get point made in the blog post by Thank Heaven for Beer on fall token beers – but I am still a newbie and getting a hold of true craft beers in this experiment of being the wife of a beer geek (not experimenting the wife part, just the beer part).

So, although the case that my beer geek brought home tonight doesn’t include my key noted ingredient above, I am still looking forward to the celebratory seasonal name: Stoudts Oktoberfest, also a brewing company in PA. Although my BG called it mild (he prefers a kick of something), I am really enjoying it and find it very drinkable with a good flavor. I’ll leave it to the experts on Beer Advocate for a real review. But I’d order this again, even if it wasn’t autumn.

So, I hope this season I will taste many a microbrew with pumpkin or not and expand the horizons of my brewsky knowledge (and hopefully not so much my waist). I anticipate a few fall brew fests in the future for my beer geek and I, and would happily take any recommendations that will be happening in the Philly area.

Cheers!

Beer Revolution September 3, 2010

Tonight is one of my beer geek’s favorite nights, it is the weekly trip to the neighborhood beverage store. I usually get a quick “be right back” as he walks out the door. But since I have started my little blog project, he asked “do you want to come?”  Wow, what an honor! But still, I’m not geeky enough yet, so I said ‘surprise me.’

As he walked in the door with a case on his shoulder and smirk on his face, he announced it was a variety pack, which I am happy with. He poured two different beers, and I chose the lighter one. I took a sip of his darker beer first as he tells me it’s the Yards Tavern Spruce Ale. It seriously tastes like a tree, if you ever imagined how a tree might taste. Not terrible, but tasted like wood, if that’s what you’re into.

Mine was the Yard Tavern Ale, and bartender I think I’ll have another. As my BG described it to me, it was made to taste like what our founding fathers may have brewed. That real revolutionary beer flavor, I guess. But it’s good, and at this point my pint glass is empty.

So the variety pack was a Yards Ales of the Revolution, including: General Washington’s Tavern Porter, Poor Richard‘s Tavern Spruce Ale, and Thomas Jefferson’s Tavern Ale. I wonder if my BG’s choice has anything to do with the John Adams series he’s been watching? As I posted previously about liking local brews, Yards is brewed in Philadelphia so I am proud to keep supporting the breweries in my general area. As posted on the Yard’s website:

Historical note: Our new brewery is located just blocks away from the site of Robert Hair’s brewery, where Washington’s favorite Philadelphia Porter was crafted.

I did taste the Porter, and it was a bit dark and I related it to Guinness, but my BG did try to educate me and all I seem to remember him saying was roasted barley. So all in all, I think this night was a drinking success for the beer geek and his wife – especially for a Thursday night at home.

Geek of all flavors September 1, 2010

My husband is a geek in many aspects of his life. He takes his interests and abilities to a higher level, and I often brag about him to others while teasing him at home. He is skilled in mechanics, electronics, computers, and can tackle about any household project you give him. He has quite a few interests which includes beer, of course. My man also has some collections… license plates which hang in the garage, computers which take up most of our home office, tires which stack in the basement.

In recent years, he has expanded his collection to encompass t-shirts, becoming what I will consider a t-shirt geek of sorts. And if it’s a t-shirt with a clever beer reference, all the better.  I share a small piece of his collection in photos to share the paradigm which is my beer geek.

Local Brews August 31, 2010

Tonight after getting home late, I am reaching for something carbonated and alcoholic in the fridge, but not desperate enough for the MGD left over from the last party (am I getting geeky?)  So I am left with the selection of the week from my beer geek husband, a Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot – a barley-wine style ale. My beer geek (I’m calling him BG from here on) even made me put it in a proper glass, although I read that a wine glass or snifter might be even more appropriate. I will embarrassingly admit that I usually (always) put my beers in a hot pink plastic mug that we keep in the freezer so my beer is super cold. Sort of related note to self – BG needs more fancy beer glasses – idea for his birthday!

I am actually enjoying this brew. I gave it a sniff and slowly tasted it like a beer geek might, and sarcastically called it woody because I was afraid I was wrong to think it a little fruity. Imagine my surprise when I saw the description a fruity aroma posted on the Weyerbacher website. Spot on!

I popped open a second bottle after I read that it is brewed in Easton, PA, which is fairly local to where we live. I try to be a bit of a locavore in some of my food choices, getting our fresh organic veggies every summer from Pennypack Farm. So I am thrilled to start supporting these local breweries, getting my buzz from a beer made less than 2 hours away. The local brewery list below is right off the top of my BG’s head, and I do not commit to it’s validity at this late hour. So I’m excited and thirsty to start trying any and all of their beers.

Local Breweries to the Philadelphia, PA area

• Weyerbacher – Easton, PA
• Troegs – Harrisburg, PA
• Yards – Philly, PA
• DogFish Head – Rehoboth, DE
• Flying Fish – Cherry Hill, NJ
• Victory – Downingtown, PA
• Sly Fox – Chester County, PA
• Dock Street – Philly, PA
• River Horse Brewing, Lambertville, PA

The Top 10 Signs that You’re the Wife of a Beer Geek August 29, 2010

I am the wife of a beer geek. Although I need no validation, a top 10 list can always seal the deal. It may also answer your curiosity if you share my burden. So I share this list as posted on the thankheavenforbeer blog (my hubby’s favorite is no. 2).

The Top Ten Signs that You’re the Wife of a Beer Geek:

10. You aren’t a “beer drinker,” and yet you recognize and affirm that drinking beer involves a culture and experience. You’ve been a consistent observer of that world and even had occasions to participate in it.

9. You are not a beer drinker, yet you’ve tasted dozens, even hundreds of different beers…

8. …and not only so, but you actually know how to taste (sight, smell, taste—you would never offend your beer geek spouse by just picking up the glass and taking a swig) and how to describe a beer. Hazy. Roasty. Warm. Bitter. Grapefruit. Dry.

7. …and even though you don’t necessarily LIKE the taste of the beer, you can differentiate whether it is of good or poor quality. For instance, “That one has good balance and complexity, but I still don’t like the flavor any more than I enjoy chewing on black licorice” (come on, nobody REALLY likes black licorice!). “That one tastes like someone put it in a glass with ice cubes, left it sitting out in the sun all day, and then tried to pass it off as beer.”

6. You’re not much of a beer drinker, and yet you’ve caught yourself making disparaging remarks about those popular “domestic” brands. Triple hopped? Really?! (That just sounds made up!)

5. You’ve taken numerous vacations (a honeymoon, etc.) involving beer shopping, beer tasting, breweries, pubs, local beers, etc. If you’ve been the wife of a beer geek long term, you’ve also likely enjoyed the experience. (Sub-category: your spouse thinks visits to the in-laws are a special treat because he has the opportunity to try different regional beers that he can’t get at home.)

4. Bottles. Bottles everywhere. Bottles coming out of your ears.

3. You’ve “helped” brew even though you had a million things you’d much rather have been doing.

2. Ten dollars does NOT seem like an unreasonable amount to spend on a single bottle of beer. After all, you would never expect to get a superb wine for $2.00. (Sub-category: Beer is an official part of your household budget.)

1. You’re surprised by the fact that YOU have actually come to enjoy (even to love!) beer.

Smooth and Witty August 26, 2010

A craft brew menu for my hubby is like if I allowed myself to a triple scoop ice cream cone, and had to choose from the 32 flavors behind the frosty glass. There, I am in my comfort zone. But with such a great beer list I usually get lost in the vast descriptions of coriander, curaçao, burnt toast, barley, and smoky wood.

I ended up sticking with a wit, but made it a double… and got the Great Divide, Double Wit -Belgium white CO 8.1% abv. It was delicious. With my sophisticated pallete, I thoroughly described it as smooth… smooth and witty.

My hubby started with a Flying Fish, Exit 4 – Abby tripel 9.5 % abv, which he enjoyed with a goofy grin. We continued through the night with the hops, malt, and barley (and a touch of coriander). All in all, a good night for a beer geek and his wife.

And in what other hobby can you get a good buzz while having a detailed conversation about yeast strains and woody aromas?

Keeping up with the Draughts August 20, 2010

As I write my first blog post, I am drinking a glass of wine. And it’s not my first of the night either. But I like beer, I really do. I know what a hop is (sort of), I have a hankering for Belgium styles, and I know that BMC (Bud, Miller, Coors) is not welcome in the house, unless we’re having a party and it’s really necessary.

I have had many a beer in multiple countries, and don’t get me started on the 88 pints of Guinness in the London pub years ago. Not that I need to defend my golden honor, but when you are married to a beer geek it’s like trying to keep up with an elite malt-ite. But I can hold my own, and I get a kick out of my hubby’s habit… er, I mean hobby.

So I will document my beer adventures and hopefully some humor into the dynamics between a wife and her beer drinkin man.