Fanfare for the Uncommon Man

Beer #69 Golden State Ale / Uncommon Brewers, Santa Cruz, CA

And so we come to another Friday.  Courtesy of many folks kicking off a long weekend (big shout out to the Presidents!), it was a quiet day which enabled me to get some work done.  Some, not all, and now we head into a weekend filled with beer, food, wine, beer, Fellini's, and apparently some snow on Sunday.  Note to self: buy all the bread in Chester County, and attempt to corner the market on milk.

Tonight's beer comes courtesy of the ever changing and increasingly impressive take out selection from Whole Foods.  Well, Whole Foods and Uncommon Brewers.  The beer comes in a 16oz can, and it pours a clear, effervescent gold with  a thick head.  According to the can, it's organic.... so I have that going for me, which is nice.  There's a pleasing citrus nose, and the taste brings a combination of mild hops and a light citrus of lemon and orange.  There's a bit of sweetness in there, and it ends up with a nice, clean finish.  Could definitely see this as a tailgate beer, especially with the nice 6.4% ABV you don't really notice. That, and the 16oz can makes a nice statement.  Well done, Uncommon.

Hooray for crappy camera phone pics!  And beer!

Per their website, they have something in the works called "Bacon Brown Ale."  For their sake, that better have some real bacon in it, otherwise I'll be very sad.

Thing to Think About Today:
Uncommon, you say?  I suggest you think about something truly and completely uncommon.  This came up on the iPod today on my way home, and for some reason kicked the weekend off just right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hARDXYz2io

Enjoy the weekend, my peoples.  And I think it's going to be a long, long time....

Beer 69: Brouwerij Kerkom Blossom Bink or TGIF

Yet another extremely long week is in the books and the weekend is beckoning bright and early tomorrow morning.  I have located my great white whale and hope to have it on the hook by 10am tomorrow.  I’m not risking jinxing the mission and will hopefully be telling you all about it at some point this weekend.

Today was random.  I dumped the entire contents of a filing cabinet into either a shred bin or recycling bin and then shoved said filing cabinet out into the hall for someone to haul away.  My office feels huge and I actually feel lighter.  I’m now on the hunt for an inexpensive but comfortable chair to tuck into that corner.  It will be my editing chair or my editing/napping chair depending on the document.

I also started the day getting passed by Snoop from The Wire.  Gary asked if I saw her coming out of Home Depot.  I think she was on the way to help Chris disappear some bodies in the vacants.  

Sidebar:  If you’re not watching The Wire, please, for the love of god, do yourself a favor and get on that.  You are missing out on amazing television program and some fantastic cultural references.  

Tonight we’re drinking Brouwerij Kerkom Blossom Bink.  Hailing from Belgium, it is a fruit beer made with pear syrup and honey.  The story on the label mentions the brewery is nearby renowned cherry orchards so I’m really unsure why this one features pear but whatever.  Those crazy Belgians!  It poured hazy mahogany in my glass.  

Sidebar 2:  One day Gary and I were driving home on Route 422 and I’m checking out the scenery and say, “What the hell is mah-hoag-gany and more?”  Silence envelopes the car.  I repeat, “What’s mah-hoag-gany?”  Gary nearly wrecks the car laughing at me.  Evidently despite 30-odd years on earth, I forgot how to pronounce mahogany.  Now every time we drive past the Mahogany and More store, it get mispronounced very loudly in fits of giggles.  

Back to the task at hand…it poured with a thin head that quickly left an off-white ring around the glass.  It definitely smelled of pears in beer.  Definitely different but appealing.  The taste was sweet and hoppy…like an alcoholic pear.  I’d describe the flavor as bracing with a good roundness from the malt with a kick in the tongue from the hops.  It was pretty good.  

Tomorrow’s adventure continues with day-drinking with friends from West Chester.  Follow me on Twitter (@TailgateNinja) if you’re interested in where I’ll be and perhaps want to join in the festivities.  

Cheers!

John Wayne Gacy, Marlo Stanfield, Count Chocula: America's Most Wanted

Beer #68 Cereal Killer / Arcadia Ales, Battle Creek, MI

America has a morbid fascination with two things: serial killers and breakfast cereal.  Oh sure, I can look up a bunch of stats on the proliferation of crime dramas on tv and the millions of boxes of cereal purchased each year.  However, we're in the middle of re-watching The Wire (season 5!), so I'm not going to spend my time looking up those stats.  I'll be re-checking in on Marlo's beef with Prop Joe and his efforts to bring Omar out of retirement.   You want to talk about serial killers, start with Marlo.

If I must talk about serial killers, then it makes sense one of my beers from last weekend is Cereal Killer from Arcadia Ales, a barleywine ale on tap at Jose Pistola's.  It pours a dark brown in the glass (I guess; it was dark in the bar) and has a malty aroma.  The taste has flavors of malt and bread with a hint of sweetness, with some toffee hiding in the background.  Maybe a hint of chocolate.  You can definitely taste the alcohol in this one.  A decent beer, but probably not what I was in the mood for, particularly with Mexican food on the way.  So, it wasn't the best choice I've ever made, but it's definitely worth a try if you're a barleywine fan.  I'd drink another one.

Arcadia seems to be redesigning their website, so not much info there.  However, from some other sources, people seem to suggest letting it age for a while.  I had it on draft, so no dice there.  I'm going to go ahead and assume that the beer name is an homage to Battle Creek, which also serves as home to Kellogg's world headquarters.

Thing to Think About Today:
Count me as someone who finds the psychology of serial killers a very interesting topic.  However, it's a bit morbid to think about serial killers, so let's go ahead and think about cereal, shall we?  If we're thinking cereal, we're starting and ending the conversation with the best cereal EVER:

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

Not sure why they only sell this during Halloween season, but rest assured I get multiple boxes each year to satisfy my craving.

BONUS ROUND:  Everyone knows Frankenberry, Count Chocula, and Boo Berry.  But do you know there were two other monster cereals in existence back in the 80's?  Fame and fortune to the first person to correctly identify the two other monster cereals which no longer haunt the mornings.

If you don't know, I'll save you the time from searching google: Answer can be found here.

Beer 68 Rubus or WTF?!?

Tonight we drink a wild ale from Italy -- Rubus from Birra del Borgo.  This one caught my eye because the bottle was really cool.  Evidently I like the way Italians shape their beer bottles.  Remember the Baladin post?  I liked the shape of that bottle, too.

I popped the cap off the bottle and poured it into my trusty tulip glass.  It poured out with absolute no head…like none…it looked so strange.  The beer was beautiful in the glass -- a ruby-hued liquid.  It smelled strongly of raspberries…very appealing.  There was also the tiniest hint of malt sweetness.  I gave it a good swirl and sipped it.

All I could think was WTF!?!  My beer was bad.  What happened to the delicious raspberry scent of this beer?  Why did it taste so funky?  To the Interwebz I went!  Turns out that Rubus is a wild ale.  The bottle is downstairs in my growing collection of empties and I’m too lazy to double-check, but I am fairly certain that the label didn’t state anything about it being a wild ale or, if it was, it was in Italian.  So that would explain a lot.  Now that I knew I was drinking a wild ale, the taste made so much more sense.

There was the tiniest bit of carbonation - at times it looked quite flat.  Once you got past the tart citric flavor, there was some raspberry underneath.  It also had a mildly funky sourness - almost like burnt lemons.  I expected it to finish drier - but instead it was refreshing, which left me wanting more.  Hopefully Whole Foods still has a few bottles hanging around the beer cooler!

And on that note, I wish you good night.  Cheers!


p.s.  This beer is filed under “Bizzare” on the Birra del Borgo website.  Why does that make me so happy?

Yes, Soup For You!

Beer #67 Bittersweet Symphony / Brouwerij t'Gaverhopke, Stasegem, Belgium

After a long day, it's nice to come home and relax.  Which explains why after work I went to Wegman's, then came home and immediately went to work on making soup for dinner.  And no, we're not talking about opening up a can of Campbell's, we're talking about soup from scratch.  Time consuming? Sort of.  Delicious?  Yes.  Rewarding?  Yes.  Easy?  Eh, this one wasn't too bad.  More on that later.

Tonight's beer comes courtesy of a collaboration project between t'Gaverhopke from (surprise!) Belgium and a small American brewery, Tired Hands, which hails from the nearby town of Ardmore.  Tired Hands will get their day in the sun soon enough (with a visit, I hope), but we're crossing t'Gaverhopke off the list today.

I tried this one on draft at The Farmer's Cabinet, and it pours a hazy orange color with a pleasing citrus and yeast aroma.  The taste combined malt and hops, with some citrus notes and a faint hint of caramel.  Really, a very enjoyable beer that I hope to drink more of in the future.  One of the challenges of this beer blog has been when I find a good beer, I might not get to drink it again due to the need to cross breweries off the list. A risk is that really good but temporary collaborations like this one will disappear from existence before I ever get to drink another one.  Say what you want about macro beers, but I can guarantee that Miller Lite is going to not only taste the same, but also be on tap for years to come.  Bittersweet Symphony?  You better drink it while you have the chance....

Things to Think About Today:
Seems too easy to go with the song Bittersweet Symphony from The Verve, right?  I'll skip it and share with you the recipe for tonight's meal, a healthy take on baked potato soup, which we picked up from smittenkitchen.com:

1 head garlic
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium leeks, white & light green parts halved lengthwise, washed, and chopped small
5 to 6 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth (start with 5 cups, save the extra if you want your soup thinner)
2 bay leaves
Salt & pepper
2 1/2 lbs russet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 cup sour cream

Let's do it:
1. Rinse the head of garlic to remove dirt/loose skin, cut the top third out and discard.
2. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat, then add leeks and cook until soft (but not brown), about 5 minutes
3. Add the garlic head (whole, not chopped), broth, bay leaves, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt.  Reduce heat and simmer 30-40 minutes, until garlic is very soft.
4. Add potatoes and continue to simmer partially covered until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
5. Discard bay leaves and remove garlic head.   If you like garlic, take a few soft cloves and mash them with a fork, then return to the pot
6. Add sour cream, cook for another 2-3 minutes.
7. Use immersion blender (or transfer a portion of potatoes & broth to food processor or blender) and process, leaving chunks of potato for texture.
8. Top with something like chives, shredded cheese, bacon bits, or sour cream (or all of them, or none of them), and serve.  Preferably with beer!

Beer 67: Lindeman's Gueuze Cuvee Rene

We ended up at our favorite Italian BYOB (Fellini's of Berwyn) for dinner last night.  It's a family run operation and every time we walk in, I feel like we just got home to see family.  It's a nice feeling.  And instead of celebrating Valentine's Day dinner with champagne, I made a game time decision to go with Lindeman's Gueuze CuveeRene. 

From beeradvocate.com:

Description: A traditional Belgian blend of young and old Lambics, which are then bottle after blending, then aged for 2-3 years to produce a dryer, fruitier and more intense style of Lambic. There is no hop character, some are filtered and force carbonated if not pasteurized as well. Some say that this is the more harsh lambic as the sourness is pretty intense.

I would agree with the assessment that they can be harsh if you don’t like the intense sour flavor.  But as I’ve said time and time again, I am way into gueuze, sour ale, wild ale and Flanders ale.  The more sour, the better!  The Cuvee Rene poured a golden and hazy copper color.  It smelled of funk, mild fruit and wet oak.  A drink kicked the tastebuds on the sides of my tongue into high gear.  Lots of tartness, a bit musty (in the best way possible) and some citrus.  It had a great astringency and finished dry.  It drank with a nice roundness and lots of bubbly carbonation.  This is one of my favorite examples of a gueuze. 

Lindeman’s also does some nice lambics – I’m particularly fond of the pomme. Cheers!

Let's Get It On, Val(-Dieu)entine's Day

Beer #66  Grand Cru / Brasserie de l'Abbaye du Val-Dieu, Aubel, Belgium

Happy Valentine's Day to all, but most importantly to my darling wife.  For those keeping score at home, this is our 17th Valentine's Day together and we're still going strong.  Of course, as a rule we don't celebrate this made up holiday.  Started when we were in college and didn't have any money, so with what little we had (who am I kidding, I just tacked it on the credit card) we would go out for a nice dinner instead of exchanging gifts.  Kept that tradition going post-graduation, and haven't looked back.  Although this morning Marci curiously asked if I was sending her flowers today... which is odd as I haven't done that in the previous 16 years.  If anything, we now view this day much like New Year's Eve - it's amateur hour, so instead of trying a new restaurant we stick with something local and awesome.  Not a day for adventurous dining.

I think The Oatmeal sums things up nicely through their Valentine's Day blog.  Big fan of The Oatmeal and their warped sense of humor, particularly the BOBcats.

While I wait for my beautiful wife to arrive home so we can get dinner, I'll share my beer of the day.  It's another beer Marci has already sampled (she's clearly a trendsetter here), the Grand Cru from Abbaye du Val-Dieu.  The Belgian quad pours a dark color with a thick head, and has a sweet, malt aroma.  The taste is warm and boozy - the 10.5% ABV definitely doesn't hide in the corner.  There are flavors of honey and ripe fruit, malt, and biscuit, with a slight bitterness on the finish.  Smooth and tasty.  Definitely worth your hard earned dollars.   Much better than that overpriced bouquet of roses you were thinking about bringing home....

Thing to Think About Today:
Look, I think today is a fake holiday intended to sell product and make people feel bad about their relationships.  However, for those romantic folks out there, for those trying to take their relationship to the next level, for those trying to get laid: allow me to suggest you think about Marvin Gaye.  If you look up "sexy time" in the dictionary, you get a picture of Marvin Gaye singing his damn ass off during this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAoh2ttQzMk

As The Oatmeal tells us and Marvin confirms: less whining, more sexy rumpus.  And to all, a gooood night.

Beer 66: Barnwood Blonde Ale or Valentine's Shmalentines

Today is Saint Valentine's Day.  An overly commercialized Hallmark holiday during which both genders are made to feel very poorly about themselves and their relationships or lack thereof both intentionally and unintentionally.  I heard about "shred your ex" parties at local bars, last ditch campaigns to buy forgotten flowers, efforts to extoll the virtues of gold plated fake roses and the merits of edible underwear throughout my morning commute.  /sigh

Why today?  Why not every day?  Why does it have to cost so much money?  Why can't saying "I love you" happen every day without needing a reminder from card shops and florists?  What happened to romance?  The little things? 

I'm incredibly lucky in the romance department.  From having my coffee brought upstairs to me while I get ready for work every morning to a "you look cute today" with a playful pat on the rear...from a sweet peck on the cheek while I do dishes to getting kissed on the exact part of my neck that makes my knees go weak...I know I'm loved and appreciated.  Every day.

But it doesn't end there.  More should be done to celebrate the love among friends.  Sometimes a simple email addressed to M-Dawg does more to brighten someone's day than any number of roses could.  Or it's just a thank you call, or a handmade notecard and rock candy. 

Starting today I'm challenging myself and anyone reading this to spread the love to the other 364 days of the year.  Get going!  There's work to be done!

***

Today I'm drinking Barnwood blonde ale from Crown Valley Brewing in Missouri.  It poured a pale gold with a thin white head.  It had a sweet bouquet and taste...almost honey-like.  Very mild overall with an interesting twist with the sweetness.  I drank the entire pint trying to place what the taste reminded me of.  Maybe wheat?  Gary suggested rice.  It definitely wasn't honey.  Crown Valley describes it as an entry level craft beer and I think that's a fair description.  I could see drinking a few of these on a hot summer day.

Cheers!

The Post Where I Spend Time with Another Woman

Beer # 65 Duchess du Bourgogne / Brouwerij Verhaeghe, Vichte, Belgium

Very productive beer weekend, and I'm still putting together all of my notes from the wonderful and not quite wonderful beers I tried along the way.  Another beer from our Saturday dinner effort was the oh so delightful Duchess.

No, not that one.  The Duchess is a Flemish sour from Brouwerij Verhaeghe.

Still not right.  Sour, maybe.  But Flemish probably not.  Can we try this again?

Camera phone + dark bar  = awful pictures.

That's the one, thanks.  Boom.

This beer pours a rich dark color in the glass, and yes, thank you, I did get a wine glass to knock this one back.  I first tried a sip or two of this beer when Marci reviewed it a few weeks back (she wouldn't share a full glass), and I've been looking forward to drinking my own ever since.  This beer pours a dark color, but the aroma is light and fruity, with the tart and sour taste of cherries throughout the glass with some funk and mild vinegar tastes.  It's a blend of beer aged up to eighteen months in oak casks, and it's delicious.

Okay so this beer isn't named for Fergie, or, for that matter, Fergie.  However, it is named for Duchess Mary of Burgundy, who ruled Burgundy (sort of France, sort of Belgium) in the 1500's but died at a young age in a horse riding accident.  While falconing.  I kid you not, falconing, which is a totally bad ass hobby.  Her father's name was Charles the Bold, which is a pretty bad ass nickname.  He also got married when he was seven years old, which is totally not bad ass at all.

This beer definitely didn't disappoint, and I'm going ahead and putting it in my Top 25.  The Duchess probably received some bonus points from me being on a sour kick lately, but make no mistake - this is a beer fit for a queen.

Thing to Think About Today:
If we're talking about beer fit for a queen, then there's only one thing we can do.  Sorry, Ferg, the Black Eyed Peas didn't make the cut, because we're going to think about Queen today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEE

I guarantee you if Duchess Mary of Burgundy was around today, she'd completely rock out to this song while out falconing by horseback.  Bad ass.

Beer 65: BFM Douze or Hydrogen Explosions and Nitrogen Clouds

I spent a great deal of time today talking about rocket chairs, hydrogen balloon explosions, nitrogen clouds and robots making dramatic entrances.  I ordered 1,500 cupcakes and 2,000 hardhats.  Today was a good day.

Tonight we drink Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes Douze.  It is BFM's 12th anniversary brew -- a Belgian ale brewed with hops and fancy pants salt.  Fleur de sel de Guerande to be exact.  It was released in 2009 and evidently can't be found anymore per every site I read.  Why this was hanging out at  Whole Foods in Devon a few nights ago, I do not know. 

Into my tulip glass it went.  It poured dark apricot color and a giant head.  Perhaps that was user error.  Who knows.  It had good carbonation and a yeast funkiness in the nose.  There was also some citrus - lemon foremost.  Drinking it revealed a tart and funky flavor.  There was also a spiciness that wasn't quite peppery but also not an earthy spice like clove.  Very unique.  It had a mild sourness and the fleur de sel was a very interesting addition.  It wasn't outright salty -- more of a hint.  It finished dry and  at 6.5% ABV, left me wanting more. 

Cheers!