365 different beers from 365 different breweries in 365 days with random musings on beer, food, music, sports, dogs and anything else interesting along the way
Friday. Yay. At least I have the day off.... you know, minus the time I spent at work from 4:45am to 8:15am. Because that's how I roll, apparently.
Today's sacrificial offering is a bottle of Woody Creek from Flying Dog. This Belgian white has a gold color and a fluffy white head. There are pleasant aromas of grain and citrus, and when you drink it down, you find a very mild hop bitterness, orange, and wheat. There's a touch of coriander in there too, which provides a nice flavor at the finish. Very nice, easy drinking yet flavorful beer. Don't drink Blue Moon. Drink this.
DP Dough in the house
This beer is a seasonal offering. Act now, supplies are limited (especially since this was a summer release).
Thing to Think About Today:
Woody Creek. Wood. For reasons I can't explain, this makes me thing of the Kenny Rogers Roasters slogan, "It's the Wood that Makes it Good." There used to be a Kenny Rogers Roasters in State College, PA up on North Atherton Street that I'd frequent a bit in my younger days. Like most things from my younger days, it's gone now, but the fast food slogan remains seared in my brain, and we'll always have this wonderful episode of Seinfeld to remember it by:
Beer #100 Garde Dog / Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD
Dear 99 Bottles of Beer song,
We're now on beer 100... and counting. Your jaunty lyrics mean nothing to me now, as you're in my rear view mirror.
Warmest regards,
Gary
With the 100th beer we've hit a milestone of some sort, although mathematically we're just shy of 28% completed. I meant to do this last week, and Marci meant to do it today, so here's my better late than never (idea stolen from Marci) look at what breweries/beers have earned a spot in the Top 25. In no particular order (for now):
Brouwerij van Steenberge / Trippel van de Garre
Brouwerij Rodenbach / Grand Cru
Anchorage Brewing Company / Bitter Monk
Brasserie Fantome / Fantome Saison
Oskar Blues Brewery / Dale's Pale Ale
Brouwerij Verhaeghe / Duchess du Bourgogne
New Holland Brewing Company / Blue Sunday Sour
Brouwerij Huyghe / Delirium Tremens
Wells and Young's Brewing Company / Bombardier
So that makes nine beers in the running... if you made me pick, I'd say the best beer so far was the Bitter Monk. However, drinking 365 beers from 365 breweries is a marathon, not a sprint. Plenty of game yet to play. Click on the 'Top 25' tag on the right menu if you want to catch up on any of the Top 25 candidates to date.
Tonight is another beer drank outside (shout out to Mother Nature!) on the deck, the Garde Dog from Flying Dog Brewery. This Biere de Garde pours a hazy shade of yellow, with a thick white head (my overzealous pour didn't help matters). On the nose you get the light scent of grassy malt. A friendly 5.5% ABV helps this beer go down easy, with flavors of malt, lemon, grass, and light peppery spice. There's a note of bitterness in there to round things out. Spring is upon us people, and if you want a way to get into a summery vibe, try this beer. Trust me.
Thing to Think About Today:
I was tempted to drop NWA's 100 Miles and Runnin in here, but I prefer to not dwell on the days when Ice Cube left the group. So instead I give you something less offensive - Guard Dog, an Oscar nominated animated short by the great Bill Plympton, starring a precocious pup who wants nothing more than a job as a guard dog, despite his glaring lack of skill in that department.
The embedded vid is just a clip, the link below takes you to the entire video. Please do yourself a favor and watch the entire four minute video:
I just ate enough horseradish and wasabi to kill a rhino. Here's hoping that my tastebuds are a hearty group of cells and don't fail me on my review of Flying Dog's Old Scratch amber lager.
Why did I pick this one? One look at the label should explain it all. What isn't shown in this picture is a quote from Hunter S. Thompson. Dogs, gonzo journalism, the opportunity to consider Johnny Depp's acting skills...wait, what was I talking about?!?
Oh yeah, beer. The very marrow of my existence for the next 350-odd days. Old Scratch is good. It's mellow, low ABV at 5.5% and just downright drinkable. I would take this to my tailgate and enjoy it with friends. It's got a good mix of flavors -- malt, a little bit of sweetness. It's not going to challenge you, but it will hang out with you and enjoy a lazy Friday afternoon.
Once you're done reading here, go check out the story behind Flying Dog here. It won't disappoint.
Until tomorrow, friends...when I wrap up Week 3 with Beer #21...what will it be? Will New Year's Eve play into the selection? Be patient, grasshopper. Hopefully good things are in store for us!
Update: Big shout out to my little sister who is celebrating a birthday today! Happy birthday, kiddo! Keep on blogging.
