Ice and Beer Go Great Together....

Day #415 Anna / Hill Farmstead Brewery, Greensboro, VT

Previously from this brewery: Arthur, Clara, Harlan, and George

Courtesy of some ice and freezing rain in my neighborhood, I just slid back down my driveway.  No, not on purpose, it's just that BlogNamedBrew Manor sits on a hill, and getting up the driveway in winter can be quite an adventure.  I like to think of it as an Winter X Games sport... can Gary walk up the icy driveway, get about one and a half feet from the steps near the house, and then slide alllllllllllll the way back down to the bottom without falling?

Indeed I can, and in fact today I did this feat while talking on the phone with my sister.  Let's see Shaun White do that.  I have skills.  I also have wet socks, as it's easier to get back up the hill in socks than dress shoes.  Life is hard in the suburbs.

But enough about my adventures, let's talk beer.  Tonight's beer is Anna, a saison from Hill Farmstead in Vermont.  This one was on draft at Pinnochio's, where I had lunch last Monday.  Pinnochio's is a pizza shop with an amazing beer list, a huge bottle selection, some very good food, some questionable service, a beer garden smaller than my car, and mountains of copyright infringement going on.  Back to the beer: in the glass, you see a dark, hazy golden color with a good bit of white foam.  The aroma is light, with grain, citrus, and spice.  The taste brings you loads of tart lemon, yeast, peppery spice, some malt sweetness, and a moderately dry finish.  An outstanding beer, and by now you should know that any time you see Hill Farmstead on draft, order it immediately and do not ask questions.

U MAD, Walt Disney?

Hill Farmstead was a nominee in my Brewery of the Year discussion, although they came up short in the end.  I do accept bribes for my 2013 list, should anyone from Hill Farmstead be reading this.

Thing to Think About Today:

The only music that goes through my head as I ski/skate/slide/toboggan down my drive way in the winter?  That would of course be Fantastic Voyage, and you're all welcome to join my new winter sport.  If you make it down safely, there's a huge party waiting in the trunk of my car for us.  It's going to be legendary......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3QAHZicSjQ

"Slide, slide, slippity slide / I do what I do just to survive"

Day 378: Hill Farmstead Arthur

I cannot be trusted around sushi. After an evening of sheer oceanic gluttony last night, I'm going in for Round 2 sushi dinner. Same restaurant. Some of the same people. I'm curling my hair and considering wearing glasses as a disguise. And yes, the food is that good. 

In the spirit of back-to-back sushi nights, I'm reviewing back-to-back beers from Hill Farmstead. As you may recall, just three days ago, I shared my commentary on their brew by the name of Clara. Both were had at TJ's 9th anniversary party a few weekends ago and if I had to pick a winner in a Hill Farmstead battle, I'd go with the Arthur.  

Arthur is a saison or farmhouse ale and is named for the brewer's grandfather's youngest brother. Per the Hill Farmstead description of Arthur, it is a saison crafted from American malted barley, American and European hops, their distinctive farmhouse yeast and water from the farm's well. It is unfiltered and naturally carbonated.

From the picture, you'll see that the Arthur poured a hazy but not cloudy deep gold color. It smells of tart yeast and malt. A fantastic smell that I love in a saison. The flavor was light bread, grass, a little more funk than I expected and a very nice subtle pear. My notes indicated some hesitation between green apple and pear. I wrote down and crossed out both of them multiple times and settled on pear.  

Beer stats

Style: Saison / Farmhouse ale

ABV: 6%

IBUs: Unknown

Rating: Excellent

Previously reviewed beers from Hill Farmstead 

My review of George

Gary's review of Harlan

My very recent review of Clara

Day 375: Hill Farmstead Clara

Is this week whipping by for anyone else? All week I've had the "Holy crap! It's 4:45 p.m.!" panic. I imagine this will continue the remainder of the week at which point, I'll just run away from all the work I didn't get done this week. New year. New start.


Another creepy hand photo.
Sweet.



Today's beer is from Hill Farmstead Brewery in Vermont. Hill Farmstead is a great family story that starts with a great-great-great-grandfather who was a tavern owner and continues through today with some phenomenal beers with great family connections. I encourage you to read more about them here.

This particular beer is the Clara--named for the brewer's grandfather’s sister. The brewery rests upon the land that was once home to her and her 13 siblings! This Clara is a grisette, which is a style of beer I've come to enjoy thanks to my beer adventure. 

It is to coal miners what a saison is to farmers.  It also may be served by French prostitutes. So there's that...

Clara poured a hazy wet straw color with a small white head.  There was plenty of lacing left behind as I enjoyed this one.  The smell is mellow fruit and fruity hops.  The taste is pepper and grass and very bright.  At 4% ABV, it was quite sessionable.

Beer stats

Style: Grisette 

ABV: 4%

IBUs: unknown

Rating: Good

Previously reviewed beers from Hill Farmstead 

My review of George

Gary's review of Harlan

Day off = Magical

Beer #342 Circus Boy / Magic Hat Brewing Company, South Burlington, VT
Beers to go: 24

While you're at work, I'm sitting at home, writing a review and getting ready to get on the road - it's another Penn State tailgate weekend!  Only two left in the season, need to make them count...

Today's beer is Circus Boy, a hefeweizen from Magic Hat Brewing Company out of Vermont.  In the glass, this beer shows off a clear effervescent gold hue, with a wispy white head.  The aroma is of bread and lemon, and when you take a sip you pick up flavors of bread, biscuit, and banana, with floral notes and a crisp and clean finish.  Not as much clove or banana as you might want from a hefeweizen, but a decent beer for those who are looking for something light to remind them of sunny days.

Yeah, boyeeeee!

Burlington is a great town, and the last time I was there, I figured a tour of the Magic Hat Brewery would be a lot of fun, right?  Yeah, until I found out that the brewery was undergoing renovations, and there were no tours that weekend.  Next time, next time.

Thing to Think About Today:
Magic Hat?  Magic Man, from Heart.  It's Friday people, go crazy.  Let loose.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXOO7QVHgXs

Beer 286: Rock Art Barley Wine Ale

I'm taking a brief break from a whirlwind of activity trying to get out of dodge to tell you about Vermont's Rock Art Brewery and their barley wine ale.


The Ridge Runner has an ABV of 7.5%. It poured a lovely mahogany color with a small, pale tan head that disappeared fairly quickly. It left an edge of thin head in the glass. The smell is rich...full of dark fruit and syrup. It drinks with a thin feel and I was surprised by the amount of hop in it. I also expected a much denser brew considering it was a barley wine, but I'm pleasantly surprised by it. There is some caramel to the flavor and it's a nice well balanced beer.

I'd give it a good rating. Cheers!

If You Can't Rock Me....

Beer #284 Ridge Runner / Rock Art Brewery, Morrisville, VT

I'm writing this in the middle of making dinner on the grill; might as well enjoy this sensational weather while we can, right?  Nothing too fancy, just some burgers and sweet potatoes on the grill, along with a beer.  Nothing beats fall weather, my friends.  Nothing.

Oh, a beer you say?  We'll keep with the autumn evening theme and drink a Ridge Runner, a barley wine from Rock Art Brewery in Vermont.  This beer has a dark mahogany color with virtually no head.  Your nose picks up aromas of figs and raisins, and the taste is full of malt and stone fruits, with some sweetness and hints of leather, with a very crisp finish.  This is a little thinner than your average barley wine, but it doesn't detract from the flavor.  It clocks a 7.5% ABV, making it one of the more drinkable barley wines out there in the marketplace.

ROCK!

Admittedly, I assumed this brewery was from the Southwest when I picked up the bottle, due to the Kokopelli character front and center on the label.  However, the name and image are an homage to the scenery the brewery owners would see on hikes in the Colorado desert.  Hey, whatever inspires people to make good beer works just fine in my book.

Thing to Think About Today:
In the spirit of Rock Art, I present for your consideration some Smashing Pumpkins and the always wonderful Cherub Rock, a song that never fails to make me think of college.  We'll go with an acoustic version, to keep it super grunge-y.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27JDVLN3lJg

"Who wants....honey?"

Beer 271: Heady Topper and Naked Topper

I am strangely dumbfounded by the number of people I see driving around without shirts on. I could almost understand it on a warm Saturday afternoon. Maybe you just went swimming or worked outside all day...ok. But at 7:45am on a Thursday? In a car on the highway? That is just weird.

I'll contrast my musings on naked-on-toppers with a can of Heady Topper.

Brewed in Vermont by The Alchemist, Heady Topper is a double IPA with an ABV of 8%. The label suggested that I drink it from the can so I did. Evidently that preserves the hop aroma. The can also suggests avoiding being a d-bag by recycling the can. I have to assume that the brewer John Kimmich has something to do with these suggestions. That makes me really like him.

This beer also really makes me like John Kimmich. This beer makes me think he's a genius. It smells of pine and resin. Maybe some citrus? Curiosity got the better of me and I ended up pouring a tiny sample into a glass to find out what color it is. Bright golden yellow in fact.



The flavor is potent...to say the Heady-Topper is hoppy is an understatement. But it strikes a balance between lots of hops and the extreme punch you in the throat over-hopped beers. This double IPA finds the exact level of hop that makes a beer a winner in my book.

I also noted grapes and pineapple as I was savoring it and also remarked on the nice dry finish it had. This beer is best enjoyed fresh. I'm not sure how old this can is...definitely a few months since we took possession of it. Is it better closer to the canning date? Hopefully I'll luck into another can soon and will report back.

This is a very good beer. Go out and find yourself a friend in Vermont and enjoy one yourself. Sadly The Alchemist saves all the goodness for the citizens of Vermont exclusively. Cheers!

Go For the Gold TodayI

Beer #268 Heady Topper / The Alchemist, Waterbury, VT

Lost in the excitement of the weekend was the fact we're now under 100 days to go for this blog adventure! Plenty of good beer in the books, plenty of good beers still to come.  People always say if you love what you do, it won't feel like work, and that's completely true here.  Now, if I can just figure out how to get someone to pay me money to do this, I'll really be set...

I'll celebrate this milestone with a great beer: Heady Topper from The Alchemist.  The can is clearly labeled with, "Drink from the can!", so I did.  However, curiosity got the best of me, which led to a quick pour of a splash into a glass, which showed off a very light amber color.  The aroma is straight up hops, with wonderful notes of grapefruit and piny hops.  When you take a sip, you get the perfect amount of hop bitterness.  This isn't an IPA that's trying to bury you under a mound of hops just because it can.  Instead, the flavor has a welcome bitter undercurrent, with a strong citrus and pine backbone, and a nice malt balance.  Truly a fantastic and very easy drinking beer; without a doubt a standout among the IPA crowd.  This beer (which was a gift from a fellow beer geek!) and brewery has earned a spot in my Top 25 list for being so awesome - the second brewery from Vermont to do so this year.

I like it in the can.

Right now, The Alchemist is only producing Heady Topper, although there are plans underway to add additional capacity and to can other beers as well.  If you're looking for this beer, good luck if you're not in Vermont - they currently do not ship outside their home state, although obviously I hope that changes sooner rather than later.

Thing to Think About Today:
Alchemy commonly refers to attempts through the ages to turn ordinary metals into precious metals such as gold.  Not sure anyone has figured that one out just yet, although The Alchemist Brewery certainly turns his ingredients into some amazing beer.  In the spirit of pursuit of gold, we'll let The Black Keys wrap things up today with Gold on the Ceiling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yCIDkFI7ew

Back to work tomorrow, so let's enjoy the rest of today, shall we?

Beer is Insane (in the Membrane)

Beer #223 Harlan / Hill Farmstead Brewery, Greensboro Bend, VT

We've survived another week, and we're a few steps closer to the goal.  Survive and advance, my friends, survive and advance.  Not much planned for the weekend, although we're cramming in a 20+ mile bike ride, farmers market visit, trip to the Mini dealership, a trip to a new bottle shop in the area, a visit to Tired Hands and dinner with friends, and all of the remaining episodes of Breaking Bad at our disposal.  Okay, so maybe we have a few things planned here and there.

Today's beer is Harlan, an IPA from Hill Farmstead.  Had this one on draft at Teresa's Next Door, which was fortunate timing as there had been a Hill Farmstead event the day prior.  In the glass, it has a hazy straw color, with a fluffy white head, although that might be related to the fact I had the last beer in the keg.  Your nose picks up aromas of lemon and pine, and when you take a sip you get a dry hop bitterness, with lemon, grapefruit, and pine throughout.  There's an earthy quality in there, and this beer is unquestionable proof that fantastic IPAs are not the exclusive domain of the West Coast or Colorado.  Hits the right spot at 6% ABV, and I'm moving it into my Top 25 for the year.

Hill Farmstead has become a "cult brewer" (my phrase) over the past two years, building up an incredible reputation and devoted fan base in a short amount of time.  In an earlier paragraph, I mentioned that finding this beer on draft was fortunate - that's because any time a local bar taps something from this brewery, a swarm of beer geeks descends on the bar like a plague of thirsty locusts, devouring all the Hill Farmstead beer in their path.  As their production is limited, people have in fact started selling bottles of their limited releases on the web for hundreds of dollars (although, the brewery is working to put an end to this illegal practice).  If you see it on draft, drink it immediately.  Do not wait, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

Thing to Think About Today:
Hill-related thing to go with your beer tonight, perhaps appropriate to kick off a Friday night?  Sure, why not!  Cypress Hill, the floor is yours:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RijB8wnJCN0

Summer Needs Some Bobcat Goldthwait!

Beer #168 Wildflower Wheat / Otter Creek Brewing Company/Wolaver's, Middlebury, VT

Yes, the summer is upon us.  Mother Nature has offered up a hot and humid day to unofficially launch the summer season, and I'm incredibly thankful it (plus a three day weekend) is here.  The sun was out this afternoon for our bike ride down the Schuykill River Trail, and some clouds are moving in now to I'm sure dump rain on us, but hopefully we can get some food on the grill before that happens.

The beer for the day is the Wildflower Wheat from Wolaver's.  You get a clear gold color in the glass, and your nose picks up aromas of grain and honey.  When you drink it, you find a nice balance of honey, wheat, and sweetness.  The honey is really well done here.  Per the bottle, it's also brewed with chamomile, and after reading that I could find that flavor as well.  Great, easy drinking option for a muggy summer day.  For those who are more environmentally conscious, this beer is USDA certified organic.  For those who like drinking in a parking lot, I can see this 4.25% ABV option being a summer tailgate beer.

Vermont Tourism Board should pay me some
cash for this beer & pint glass combo!

For those who are curious, Wolaver's is part of the Otter Creek Brewing Company, although I wasn't able to quickly dig up information on how Wolaver's (born in 1997) came into the Otter Creek family.  I think (stressing: think) Otter Creek started Wolaver's as an experiment in organic beer, and then based on the success brought them under the bigger umbrella.  If someone knows the story and cares to share, feel free!

Thing to Think About Today:
To launch the summer, let's all think back to an under-the-radar summer classic from back in the 80's, One Crazy Summer.  Starring John Cusack, Bobcat Goldthwait, the dude who played Booger in Revenge of the Nerds, Jeremy Piven, and a young Demi Moore, this movie tells the tale of some underachievers who band together to help save a beautiful girl's grandfather's house from greedy developers.  If you're not familiar with this one, definitely check it out on a rainy summer day.  Hilarity ensues, as it always does.  It always does....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xJu_qJw_Rk

I sincerely hope you all have one crazy summer, starting today.

Beer 168: Wolaver's and Meat in the Air

This is a dog who smells barbecue. He's been trotting back and forth across the deck, nostrils flaring, trying to figure out where the grill smell is coming from. Then he dropped a turd that could peel paint off the house. I guess that's payback for serving kibble and not grilled steak for dinner.



Today I'm drinking a Wildflower Wheat from Wolaver's Fine Organic Ales. Wolaver's merged with Otter Creek Brewing Company back in 1997 so I guess I inadvertently crossed two breweries off my list today.

The Wildflower Wheat poured a hazy deep gold with a small white head. It smells of wheat and malt. It's brewed with pure organic Vermont honey and chamomile and approved USDA organic if you're into that sort of thing.

There are hints of honey in the taste along with a smooth malt and wheat flavor and a bit of lemon. It drinks cleaner and crisper than a hefeweizen. I'll give it a very good rating, but not top 25.

Cheers!

Beer #26: Long Trail Centennial Red or When Will I Learn

I'm feeling kind of random today.  Tonight you get a sampling of a few of the thoughts that bounced through my head today.

1.  There is a field alongside I-76 westbound where one of the local townships collects and mulches leaves for its citizens.  This time of year they collect old Christmas trees and recycle them.  So for the next couple of weeks, every time I drive by I'll be assuaged by a fresh pine scent.  And that's kind of nice.

2.  I had a conversation today that included the sentence, "Oh, I hope you can't smell our bucket of hearts."  I also learned a lot about Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches.  I love my job.

3.  I would love to quit my job and be a full-time event planner.  (Yes, the same job that I just declared my love for in Item 2.)  I think I have the chops to make a go of it but I would also like to continue making the salary that I do and that's most likely not going to happen right off the bat.  And as Gary will attest, I like to shop.


4.  If I ever have to perform a dance routine, it will undoubtedly be to The Pretenders Brass in Pocket.

***

Long Trail's Centennial Red.  Gary bought this beer. He came home all excited about it and I did it anyway...I opened the beer tonight and called it my own. Luckily it was a 750ml bottle and I was sharing.  Plus I cut my losses after half the glass and Gary got most of the beer after all.

The Centennial Red was a beautiful auburn hue in my glass.  A good swirl released the scent of hops and that was the beginning of the end for me.  It tasted woody...a bit bitter but with sweetness.  I'm kind of bummed that this was the Long Trail beer that I selected for the blog because I like a number of their other beers:  Blackberry Wheat, Long Trail Ale, Pollenator.

Sidebar: iPod has been rocking Seu Jorge lately. You may have heard of Seu Jorge from the soundtrack of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou -- a great but strange Wes Anderson film. Or not. You should rectify that situation because he covers all the classic David Bowie songs in PORTUGUESE!!! Google them both...I promise you won't be disappointed. How could you with Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe and Cate Blanchett in the same cast and the covers of one of the greatest musical artists of all time?