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
Day #711 Dragon's Milk / New Holland Brewing Company, New Holland, MI
Previously from this brewery: a gaggle of beers
Another beer that was relegated to the shelf in the basement to age, where it spent a good, long time is this bottle of Dragon's Milk, a stout from blog favorite New Holland. This beer has a black color with a wispy and quickly dissipating tan head. When you inhale, you're greeted by intoxicating aromas of oak and vanilla. The taste is more of the same, with a delicious blend of oak, malt, vanilla, and hints of leather. None of which is surprising considering this beer is aged in bourbon barrels. Can't argue with that! It gives off a bit of a barleywine vibe, to be honest, and you definitely notice the boozy warmth of the 10% ABV.
The Dragon, or El Dragon
This one has a tiny little too much toasted malt to find a home in my regular rotation, but if you like bourbon, you'll probably like this beer. If all stouts would be aged in bourbon barrels, stouts and I would get along much better. I would highly recommend opening this one on a cold winter's night, preferably in front of a fire.
Thing to Think About Today: Not a lot of music on my iPod that connects to dragons or milk, so I'll go with what something I'm not embarrassed to admit I enjoy, Kelis and her ass-shaking Milkshake. Night all.
Several weeks ago I found out that my local Whole Foods got in a shipment of the RogueVoodoo Doughnut Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter stout. I like Rogue's beer. I really like Voodoo Doughnuts. And despite having heard from many people that the first iteration of the Rogue/Voodoo beer was a terrible, smoky mess, I could not resist the siren song of a stout with flavors of chocolate and peanut butter. (See evidence here, here and here.)
Can someone come over and rake all those leaves? Mr. Blog and I are too busy drinking beer.
It poured an almost black brown color with a deep tan, full head. It smelled strongly of bananas that faded nicely into strong dark chocolate aromas. As it sat on the table next to me, I could easily smell the chocolate scent wafting over to me. I took a sip and my first thought is that it is kind of watery. Another sip. Yup, watery. There's some chocolate in the flavor but it's light compared to the smell. There is a lot of coffee, which I wasn't expecting. There was also something perfumey in there and I can't describe it any better than that. Sadly I'm not
getting any peanut butter and I had to work hard to get any banana. I wavered between rating this one average, but the more I tried to drink it and then sleeping on it overnight, I decided that it was getting a poor rating.
Friday night before a bye week for Penn State football is a glorious night.I'm sleeping in until I feel like getting out of bed tomorrow. Or I'm going to go bonkers and hit a spin class and yoga to work off all the damage I've done at the previous five tailgates!
Tonight's beer is the Out of Bounds stout from Avery Brewingin Colorado. It poured a super dark brown with just a hint of light making it through the liquid around the edges. It had a thin cocoa-color head. The aroma was coffee, dark roasted malts and black pepper. The flavor was chocolate over bitter roast coffee with lots of malt. There's a good amount of hop flavor in there too. While it drank with a thin mouthfeel the taste lingered on my tongue for quite awhile.
Despite my general thinking that I don't like big stouts and porters during the warm summer months, that didn't stop me from trying a few of the new ones I found this summer (Tired Hands 5 out of 5, DuClaw Sweet Baby Jesus). This one goes in the peanut butter beer category, which surprisingly is actually a category of beer for me now.
This is the Spring House Big Gruesome--a chocolate peanut butter stout. It poured nearly black as night with a chocolate milk color head. It smells of fresh peanut butter and cocoa. The flavor is predominantly coffee, bitter chocolate with undertones of peanuts. It's creamy of full of dark roasted malt flavor and finishes with a nice bite.
Beer stats
Style: Stout
ABV: 8%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Great
Previously reviewed from Spring House
After visiting their tap room this spring, here are reviews of Goofy Foot(summer wheat), Cliff (saison), Little Gruesome(PB&J stout)
I've also had Cosmic Monster(quad)
I can't encounter the word chicory without thinking about the time Gary got hickory smoked at a winery outside Nashville. Who could resist views like this, a couple of bottles of wine and a block of cheese? Definitely not us!
If you lean closely, you can still smell the hickory.
Hickory, chicory, here's my segue...
Let's talk Dogfish Head Chicory Stout. It's brewed with roasted chicory and organic Mexican coffee. The label tell me that it's "Goodness beneath a bone white head." It is a very, very deep, dark brown...nearly black color with a tan head. It smells of sweet chocolate and wood and rich coffee beans. The flavor reminds me of cold coffee. There are hints of cola, a touch of wood. It drinks with a thin mouthfeel.
As it warmed a bit and I got closer to the bottom of my glass, it's characteristics changed slightly. First some burnt coffee flavors were becoming more dominant. After a few more sips, the chocolate flavor took over. This is a complex beer that will keep you thinking about exactly what you're drinking.
Beer stats
Style: Stout
ABV: 5.2%
IBUs: 21
Rating: Great
Previously reviewed from Dogfish Head
Mr. Blog Named Brew's review of the 60 Minute IPA
My review of Raison d'Etre
While I was at Troegs, I'm pretty sure I heard this beer sing, "I know you want it" to me.
It's the Troegs Javahead stout. And hot damn! It is an excellent beer. It pours black as night with a tan head. It has a strong coffee aroma. The flavor is mildly bitter. Lots of coffee. Lots of hop. There's some undertones of cola flavor. It drinks with a thin mouthfeel.
Previously reviewed from TroegsPreviously reviewed from Troegs
His review of Scratch 95(kolsch), pale ale, Nugget Nectarand Scratch 57(weizenbock)
My review of Sunshine Pils. Also check out posts from this week on a number of Troegs beers. Why? Because it's Troegs Beer Week on Blog Named Brew!
If you live around Philadelphia or Harrisburg, let me encourage you to visit Spring House Tap Room in Conestoga, Pennsylvania. The tap room decor is a hybrid of surf culture, anime-like cartoons and I don't know what else. But it has a great vibe and friendly, knowledgeable folks behind the bar. Pretty much everything I need.
I was hoping the mint chocolate chip stout was still around, but it wasn't meant to be. Instead my luck hit a different jackpot and that was finding the "Little Gruesome." Strange name for a beer? Yes, indeed. But when it is as tasty as this beer, strange is A-OK with me!
Little Gruesome is a peanut butter and jelly stout. Yes, I wrote that correctly.
It pours a dense, deep brown color beer with a full dark tan head. It has a dry, nutty aroma. The flavor is pretty unbelievable. Honest to God, it tastes like peanut butter and jelly. The peanuts come in at the beginning of a sip. Roasted and nutty. Once you exhale, you get a great jelly flavor. How do they do that??? It's a surprisingly easy drinking beer and has a dry finish.
I don't have much to write. I've been running errands all day and friends are on the way over. And readership tends to be down on the weekends, so there.
Today's beer is fresh from the taps at Teresa's Next Door. It's the Dark HorseToo Cream stout.
It poured black as night with a deep, dark cocoa color head. The head was the darkest cocoa color that I think I've ever encountered on this beer adventure. The aroma was light roasted malt. The flavor is nutty. Lots of roast coffee. Bitter chocolate. It has a light creaminess but overall drank with a thin mouthfeel.
Beer stats Style: Milk stout ABV: 7.5% IBUs: Unknown Rating: Excellent Previously reviewed from Dark Horse Another very coffee-centric beer called Perkulator Doppelbockand a reminder that I need to do more music related posts Gary's review ofDouble Crooked Tree, a double IPA
I'm shocked that I'm up to #360 today. I've said this before, but this year has flown by in a blur of beer bottles, cans and drafts. I realize I'm the one writing the posts and trust me I have double-checked my counting on more than one occasion. But, wow, where does time go? How is it #360 already? Final tallies are being compiled so I have tons of proof to mark the past year. But still. Seriously.
Tonight's beer made me nostalgic for my childhood. Yes, my childhood. Bear with me...this all makes sense in my head. I'm drinking a Luxury Double Chocolate Stout from Wells & Young. It is a milk stout brewed in England with a 5.2% ABV.
This one is right up there with Left Hand's milk stout. The Young's pours black as night with a full, cocoa color head. It smells of chocolate and lightly roasted malts. The flavor and carbonation combine to remind me of a fizzy chocolate soda. There are also notes of lightly roasted coffee in there along with a nice general nuttiness. It's sweet but not sugary and very easy to drink.
And you wonder how this relates to my childhood? My grandmother always had Faygo soda in the fridge. If you're familiar with this brand, you'll know they made the most ridiculous flavors of soda. My go to Faygo? The chocolate, of course.
Beer #358 Coke Oven Stout / Rust Belt Brewing Company, Youngstown, OH Beers to go: 8
Very productive today, accomplished many things. Not everything, but the important things. And, I managed to get some takeout Chinese food dinner, which is always a great way to close out a Sunday afternoon. Good day, indeed.
We'll close out today with a beer, and tonight I'm going with a Coke Oven Stout from Rust Belt Brewing. This beer was a gift from a dear friend with roots back in Ohio, and when you pour it in a glass, it has a dark black color with a tan head. It's a stout, of course it looks like that. There are aromas of cocoa and toasted malt, and the taste has a smoky characteristic, with plenty of toasted malt and some chocolate hiding out in there. A relatively thin stout, it has a clean, dry finish. I like their label - all of their beers have a gritty, industrial feel. For better or for worse, the area known as the Rust Belt earned the name for a reason. Rather than pretending that Youngstown (and many towns just like it) is something it isn't, these guys embrace the blue color work ethic and celebrate the industry that helped quite literally build a nation.
Does not taste rusty
For those who don't know how steel is made, coke is carbonized bituminous coal, used to power the blast furnaces involved in the making of steel.
Thing to Think About Today:
Wish there was more time left in this Sunday, as I freely admit I'm not looking forward to going to work on Monday (partially because I was there today, but whatever). So, in honor of the Rust Belt, let's keep the party going with some Rusted Root. And - just because I'm good like this, Rusted Root also hails from the Rust Belt. This song was great when it came out sophomore year of college, and it's still great today. Enjoy the remainder of your day, my friends...
Today was spent doing a little clean up and plotting for post #366. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's talk beer #358.
It's the Coke Oven stout from Rust Belt Brewing Company. This beer found its way to us thanks to a good friend who was doing a bit of traveling in Ohio, where Rust Belt is based.
The light barely penetrates the inky blackness of this stout. It has a thin tan head that's leaving just a bit of lacing in the glass. Smell is dark bread and grain...hints of chocolate. Nothing too crazy. It drinks with a thin mouthfeel. The flavor is bitter roast predominantly. There's underlying chocolate malt, bread and spices. I've had way better stouts. This one is average.
Beer #345 Wrasslers XXXX Stout / The Porterhouse Brewing Company, Dublin, Ireland Beers to go: 21
After a productive day at work today, I'm in hustle mode tonight as I need to make some dinner, blog, and then transport myself down to Total Wine in Delaware to stock up on wine for Thanksgiving (and maybe some beer for future use).
So tonight I give you a review for Wrasslers XXXX Stout, from The Porterhouse Brewing Company. This Irish beer is a dark black hue with a thin tan head. The aroma is of smoke and toasted malt. The taste has some chocolate, but you really find an overwhelming amount of toasted, roasted, burnt, smoky malt. There's some bitterness on the finish, but this whole overwhelming smoky thing is just not my cup of tea, and I can't even picture a world where I would drink this beer regularly. However, that's just me; I'm sure for those of you who like these sort of beers, it's a very fine example of the style.
She can't wrestle, but you should see her box!
Porterhouse was opened in 1989, and claims to be Ireland's first brewpub. They now have a number of locations throughout the U.K., and one in New York as well.
Thing to Think About Today:
I really can't think of the word 'Porterhouse' without thinking of Porterhouse, the clubhouse attendant from Caddyshack:
"Why you sonofabitch!"
It's also on my mind because I just re-watched this classic comedy two weekends ago. While Porterhouse was but a bit character in the grand scheme of the movie, I'm sure his hatred of Judge Smails made him want to engage in some wrestling. Or, wrassling.... in honor of this beer. Off to shop, my friends. Have a good night, and go ahead and think about Caddyshack in my absence:
Two nights ago I went to my first intermediate yoga class in a long time. After hitting a month's worth of beginner classes after an entirely-too-long absence from any yoga studios, I felt confident. It also didn't hurt that Mr. Blog Named Brew did the same intermediate class the prior week as a novice yoga student.
Oh. My. God. These chicken arms didn't know what hit them as I found myself in repetitions of down dog and high plank. Float my feet to the front of the mat? How about I take 19 baby steps to get there and stay somewhat in forward fold? After about 70 minutes of some serious yoga flow, I was utter jello. After another 12 minutes, I begged for mercy and curled into child's pose. OK, I didn't beg. I just crumpled into a heap and wiggled into position.
The funny thing about yoga is that I tend not to really feel the workout until two days later. That would be today. Sitting up is a challenge. I sound like an old man, grumbling and groaning every time I get up from my desk. I think my spine is trying to leave my body. I worry that I won't be able to feed myself dinner. Really. Worried.
You know what else is so intense? The Wrasslers XXXX Irish dry stout from the Porterhouse Brewing Company in Ireland. Could this really be my first beer in 341 days from Ireland? I checked all my records and indeed it is. Before I get into the beer review, take a gander at the cap on this one:
A pull tab on a bottle? I had no idea that existed. This may be one of the most unusual caps I've encountered. After peeling off the cap, I ended up with this:
The Wrasslers XXXX poured black as night with a thick tan head. The flavor was vanilla and milky at first. That was quickly followed up by some roast coffee. It finished with a bracing dryness and a bit of smoke. The armoma was earthy and full of cocoa. The most interesting part of drinking it is the way it grabs hold of your tongue and just doesn't let go.
PSU -- and through the transitive property, me -- has a bye weekend this weekend. Sweet. Weekend plans include bike rides, yoga, beer, good food, shopping and lots of relaxation. I. Cannot. Wait.
Lurking in the background... best salad ever.
Teresa's Next Door in Wayne (Pennsylvania) was pouring Summit Brewing Company's Oatmeal Stout on nitro this past week. I couldn't resist it. It poured black as night with a dense tan head. It smells nutty and roasted. The mouthfeel was creamy but thin. The flavor was full of coffee and toasted nuts with a really nice, subtle sweetness.
Beer #280 Oatmeal Stout / Telegraph Brewing Company, Santa Barbara, CA
Another fall Saturday, another day spent cheering on PSU. Let's hope that they keep getting better and get that first win of the season against Navy today. Once that monkey is off their backs, they'll be just fine.
Beer for the day actually comes from the West Coast, although I didn't get to sample it when we were out there in June. It's the Oatmeal Stout from Telegraph Brewing. No, I don't usually reach for stouts when I order, but this was on draft at TJ's, and we're getting to the point where I can't pass up new breweries, regardless of what they're making. This beer has a black hue with a thin tan ring. The aroma is of toasted malt, and the flavor has a touch of cocoa and sweetness to balance out the toasted malt flavor. Not a bad beer by any stretch, just not something I typically drink.
Dark.
Thing to Think About Today:
The last football film in our series is the legendary Remember the Titans, the story of forced integration in a Virginia high school and the impact to their football team and fans. Denzel Washington is at his best as Coach Boone, pulling his team together to work first as teammates, and then as friends. Huge cast of stars in this film, all who do a great job playing their roles. If you don't get goosebumps watching this film, you may not be alive.
Beer #274 Boysenbeery Stout / Invercargill , Invercargill, New Zealand
After a bad football Saturday, we did a late lunch with friends and got back in the groove with an Eagles win today. Ugly, but a win anyway. Also managed to go for a long walk on one of my favorite trails along the Schuykill River, which was exactly what I needed to start my day.
Now that the day is in full swing, it's time for a beer - the Boysenbeery, a stout from Invercargill Brewery in New Zealand. I drank this one in a dark bar (Famers' Cabinet), but it appeared to be a ruby color, with no head at all. Your nose picks up the scent of fruit and jam, and the taste is dry, with fruity strawberry and boysenberry notes, along with hints of cocoa and roasted malt. Interesting beer, and if you're a fan of stouts, beers with fruit, or beers from New Zealand, I can't recommend this one enough. This brew is made with boysenberry juice, and everyone knows boysenberries are were originally produced after cross breeding raspberries, blackberries, and loganberries. Okay, I didn't know that, but Wikipedia is smart in ways I am not about the origins of berries.
BoysenBEERy.
Invercargill is the southernmost brewery in New Zealand, and depending on what's out there in Chile or Argentina, maybe the world. It is run by a father and son team who have been brewing beers since the late 1990's. This brewey has no ties to agri-business giant Cargill, one of the largest privately held companies in the world.
Thing to Think About Today:
It seems football is in full swing, so perhaps we'll spend this week reviewing some of the greatest football movies of all time. I'll kick it off with one of my all time favorites, Wildcats. This film is the story of a disadvantaged high school with a forgotten about football team who hires a woman to be their head coach - much to the dismay of the players and the coach's ex-husband. Along the way she whips the Central High Wildcats into an actual team, and gets them to believe they can win. Don't just assume this is a feel good movie; it is, but it's also hysterical along the way. Incredible star power in this film, with Goldie Hawn in her prime, Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, James Keach, and the ever awesome Nipsey Russell, along with a theme song from LL Cool J.
And no review of this movie would be complete without a clip from the Wildcats cheerleaders and their incredible put-down skills. U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi! You UGLY!
Today's beer comes from Wild Onion Brewing Company, which is based in Barrington, Illinois. The selection is the Jack Stout -- described on the label as a full bodied and luscious stout brewed with five kinds of malts giving it a rich mouthfeel and nuances of chocolate and espresso. It has a 6% ABV.
It poured pitch black with deep cocoa color head. The head is quite dense but bubbled away and left a thin film behind. The aroma is rich chocolate with some fireplace. It drinks thin with a lactic sensibility. The flavor nicely melds chocolate, coffee and roasted malts. There is just the tiny bit of cola bite at the end. This is a very good beer.
Cheers! I'm off to TJ's in Paoli to watch the PSU Virginia game. This could be my last visit there depending on how the game goes!
It's football eve! How awesome is that??? And the weather forecast is not going to give me heatstroke so I may actually have fun at the first game of the season for a change! Nice.
Today I'm drinking the Peruvian Morning from Central Waters Brewing Company. Interestingly after checking out their website today, I've learned that they issued a voluntary recall for this beer. It seems that some of the bottles have turned and are revealing an off-taste. Lucky for me, my bottle was just fine.
Brewed in Amherst, Wisconsin, the Peruvian Morning is a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout. I didn't notice the barrel aged part and managed to pour out all the sediment. It was opaque black with a cocoa color head. It smells of bourbon and roasted things...not necessarily coffee or malt, just roasted organic stuff.
The flavor is rich and chocolate and cola. I'm not necessarily finding the bourbon in the taste but there is definitely a boozy warmth. This is a good beer.
The label states that it's made with freshly roasted Emy J's coffee and has flavors of vanilla, tannins, and coffee that meld together to create a flavor as deep as the ravines of the Peruvian Andes. I would agree with that statement wholeheartedly.
I hit the wall at about 4:15pm today and I'm not sure how I'm going to pull it together and make it through another day tomorrow. I knew it was all over for the day when I shouted, "I wield all the power!" At least I have friends, beer and barbecue waiting for me on Saturday as a reward for acting like a productive member of society on Friday.
I write about beer and friends this Saturday as if that's not how I would have described last Saturday or the Sunday before that. I have a lifestyle. It revolves around beer.
I have two more reviews left from last weekend's beer bonanza but one of them is being saved for a special occasion in November. (Hopefully you'll have stuck with me for that payoff!) I discovered the Invercargill Brewery's Pitch Black Boysenberry Stout thanks to The Farmer's Cabinet. It's brewed in New Zealand with a 6.5% ABV and great fruit flavor, this beer was very easy to drink. It poured a red-tinged chocolate brown color with a slightly pink head. At least I thought I saw pink under the candlelight of The Farmer's Cabinet. It smelled like figs, but the flavor was red berries, chocolate and roasted coffee. It's flavorful but dry. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Beer #254 Tart of Darkness / The Bruery, Placentia, CA
Great day today, as I took a vacation day instead of going to work. Managed to run some errands, get my car inspected (thanks, Berger Family Dealership!), make another batch of homemade pickles, and just take a breather from work in general. Ended this day with an opening round win in the summer league playoffs, so I'm feeling pretty good right now. I can't stop sweating, but I imagine that should eventually subside. Right?
Another beer from the Sour Fest is your beer of the day: the Tart of Darkness from The Bruery. It has a pitch black color, and a thin tan head. I picked up aromas of plum and roasted malt, and flavors of sour cherry, roasted malts, and earthy dark fruits. Very tart and delicious. As readers of this blog may recall, I really don't drink many stouts or porters, but I can definitively say I'm always game for a sour stout, and this one was incredibly well done. It reminded me a bit of Jolly Pumpkin's sour stout, the Madrugada Obscura, which Marci has previously reviewed.
The best kind of stout = sour stout
The Bruery cranks out some really enjoyable and unique beers, but every time I hear or see their name, I immediately think back to The Brewery, a legendary basement bar in State College (read: dark cave with sketchy bathrooms). Many, many, many of my Tuesday evenings in college were spent in said cave for Pitcher Wars, where $1.75 got you a giant pitcher of any beer on tap, including my go-to option, Yuengling Lager. You also got a mason jar to drink out of, although seeing people just drink from the pitcher as they rocked out to whatever band was playing was just as common. Now, if they start serving beer from The Bruery on tap there, I'll gladly make a re-appearance next time I'm in town.
Two State College bar scene references in back to back posts? Must be getting close to football season...
The Thing to Think About Today:
Sometimes the iPod goes above and beyond in its random selection of shuffled music. Like today, when I was in the midst of having the day off, driving home from Hazleton, and heard a song about... a blissful way to spend your afternoon. Yes, I'm talking about Afternoon Delight by the Starland Vocal Band! Okay, so the lyrics are describing a more... ahem, shall we say... pleasurable way to spend the afternoon with your loved one than running errands. Regardless, it's a great song for a sunny afternoon not spent at work.
