Beer 279: Neshaminy Creek Brewing

I must have been giddy with thoughts of a four day work week because that's the only explanation that I could come up with that would result in my thinking that a date night at the end of a twelve hour work day made sense. But I held true to my invitation to Gary and was rewarded with some nice conversation and a great beer.

The Tribute Tripel from Neshaminy Creek Brewing ended up being the perfect way to end the work week and welcome Gary back from a week of business travel.


Sorry for this photo. I was outside with only my Blackberry and this was my third and best attempt. Weighing in at a solid 9.3% ABV, this beer did pack a wallop. But it was a well disguised wallop. (Sidebar: It is incredibly difficult to type when having one's legs massaged.)

The beer poured a reddish amber with a thick white head and was served in an appropriate glass that our waitress felt the need to explain...even after I said I'm a beer geek and totally get it. We were at the same bar at which we've been marveling at their pours of everything into an imperial pint glass. Everything...including the big beers. Dangerous and tasty all at the same time. And yes, there was some relief and disappointment in the glassware.

There was lots of Belgian candi sugar in the aroma and flavor. There was also a nice amount of caramel with boozy fruit. It finished with a nice pepper spice and dryness. This is an excellent beer especially considering that Neshaminy Creek has only been brewing for 100 days. If I didn't read it on their website, I would not have believed it myself.

Cheers!

Back to State College!

Beer #279  6th Generation Stock Ale / Susquehanna Brewing Company, Pittston, PA

I have three hours worth of things to do, and one hour to do them.  GO!  I was in State College yesterday, back home last night, and now back on the road again.  Can you get frequent flyer miles for driving?  Maybe?

Another day, another Pennsylvania beer - this time, the from Susquehanna Brewing out of Pittston.  This pale ale has a light copper color and a thin, lingering head.  There is a light aroma of barley, and the flavor has a nutty presence, with a bit of malt sweetness, and a hop bitterness on the finish.

Beer!

This brewery has been in business since 2010, but they have family ties back to the old Stegmaier Brewery, which opened for business in 1857.  This has nothing to do with anything, but the first thought that popped into my head when I saw where they were from was the fact that we (Hazleton Area HS) used to give their basketball team absurdly savage beatings on the hardwood.  Ah, the good old days of the Wyoming Valley Conference....

Thing to Think About Today:
The short version: pro football star goes to prison, gets blackmailed into playing on the prisoner football team (aka, "The Mean Machine"), is encouraged to throw the game, but then rallies his troops to win a game for the ages against the guards.  Of course I'm talking about The Longest Yard, starring Burt Reynolds.  Yes they remade this movie starring Adam Sandler, no I've never seen that version.  Why mess with a good thing?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmnzw-Dxym4

Beer 278: Boxcar Brewing and Everything but the Kitchen Sink

Let me introduce you to the Mango Ginger India Pale Ale from Boxcar Brewing Company.

Boxcar Brewing has been brewing in West Chester, Pennsylvania since 2007 and has just this year begun to distribute. Fortunate for me because I could never manage to get myself to any of the festivals where they would pour. 

I had no idea what to expect from a beer that included both ginger and mango in the title in what was advertised as an IPA.  No one dares to mess with an IPA like that...or would they? 

Let's just say this is my kind of beer.  It poured a hazy oaky brown color with a light tan head.  The flavor is citrus and fruit with a little caramel.  It has a nice ginger flavor happening - light and refreshing.  At 7% ABV, it was dangerously delicious to drink.

The hops were very mellow and I can't wait to get my hands on another one.  This is a very good beer. Cheers!

Beer from State College (But Good Beer)

Beer #278 Red Mo / Otto's Pub and Brewery, State College, PA

Yet another day with not enough time to accomplish any of the things I need to do today.  I'm interviewing students for full-time and intern positions, but I'm tempted to just email them all and tell them they have the job so I can go sit outside and enjoy the this amazing weather.  It's like heaven outside right now.

The beer for today is a local product, the Red Mo, which is a red ale from Otto's in State College.  State College is a town well known for beer consumption, but this one is a craft beer to appeal to drinkers who operate with a focus on quality, rather than volume.  This beer pours with a dark amber color and a lingering white head.  There's a faint aroma of malt, and the flavor gives you biscuit with some toffee sweetness, malt, and some dry hop bitterness on the finish.  This one is a keeper, and I'm looking forward to visiting them in person in the near future.

Big Mo.

Otto's has been brewing since 2002, but they moved into a much larger location in 2010.  No, they're not downtown, but they're close enough to campus to make them a popular spot in town.  Their website has a really cool section on brewing history in Pennsylvania, which should appeal to all the beer nerds out there.

Thing to Think About Today:
Let's switch gears from the college football scene and focus on the NFL for a moment with a delightful little film called The Replacements.  In this one, the NFL goes on strike, so the Washington Sentinels call on a former coach who was fired previously to come in and put together a team of fill-in players to finish the season.  Keanu Reeves stars as the former Ohio State quarterback who always choked in the limelight, Gene Hackman as the old coach with something to prove, and Jon Favreau and Orlando Jones highlight a cast of weirdos trying to get their moment in the sun before the real players come back.  Plus, they bring in strippers to serve as replacement cheerleaders, so you know this movie has to be good!  Check it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fan97hHZcM

Beer 277: Susquehanna Sixth Generation Stock Ale

I participated in a meeting today that included two neuroscientists and a biochemist. I have never felt so inadequate in my life. That being said I did manage to learn a few things in that two hours - including a fun experiment involving red wine, your tongue and the roof of your mouth.

I also got an invitation today to go see a grape harvest and crushing operation in person. I suppose my job does have some perks! But this blog isn't about wine, it's about beer.
In fact tonight, it's about Pennsylvania beer...the Sixth Generation Stock Ale from Susquehanna Brewing Company.




It is an American pale ale that pours a golden brown hue with a thick white and sticky head. The smell is very light...I expected a hop aroma and got nothing. The flavor is much more hop dominant than the other APAs I've had recently. Very citrusy and floral. There's something vinous in there too. I'm not loving this beer. I'll give it an average. Hopefully I'll find some of their other offerings to try out. This just wasn't the one for me. Cheers!

Sanctions and Sinbad

Beer #277 Mango Ginger IPA / Boxcar Brewing Company, West Chester, PA

Another short but sweet post, as I'm still trying to get a busy week of work under control.  However, it's always good to unwind with a beer.  Tonight's review is the Mango Ginger IPA from Boxcar Brewing.  In the glass, the beer is a hazy orange color, and your nose is greeted with a pleasing fruit aroma.  The taste is softer than your typical IPA, with a subdued bitterness and flavors of warm, tropical fruits and a bit of spice from the ginger.  Well balanced and quite tasty, and you really don't notice the 7% ABV.  We had this one on tap while out with a group of friends who all took a sample and liked the taste, but it was clear that most everyone was initially skeptical because you don't often see mango, ginger, and IPA in the same beer name.  Be skeptical no longer.

MANGO....

Boxcar is another new local brewery in our area, as they only started distributing their finished product to area bars and restaurants earlier this year.  Looking forward to sampling some of the other beers Boxcar is putting out right now - best wishes for a long and prosperous future!

Thing to Think About Today:
Another day, another movie about football.  As I'm writing this from a college campus, let's think about a college football team trying to win again after seeing their program decimated by scandals.  Oddly enough, this isn't about Penn State, as Necessary Roughness came out back in 1991.  In this film, the Texas State Armadillos are a group of cast-offs and nobodies mired in the wake of restrictions against their team, until their coach convinces a former high school star quarterback who never went to college to join the team, despite being 34 years old.  With a new QB on board, the 'dillos slowly start moving in the direction of being somewhat competent, just as the #1 ranked team is looming on the schedule....

This film features a great cast, including Scott Bakula, Robert Loggia, Kathy Ireland, Sinbad (!), and Jason Bateman.  I will say this: if Penn State trots out a 40 year old to play QB and a former swimsuit model to kick this week, I'm totally on board.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0zgO-bMeqc

"What we need to do is get crazy.  We need to get wild!  We need to partayyy!!!!!'

Get With the Program

Beer #276 Ryedentity Crisis / Knee Deep Brewing Company, Lincoln, CA

Another hustle day, so another day with the short and sweet.  I know you love and appreciate the longer posts, but for now you'll have to live with something a bit more to the point.  The beer du jour is the Ryedentity Crisis, a beer  from Knee Deep Brewing.  This beer pours with a clear, light amber color in the glass, and your nose is greeted with a light aroma of grain. The taste has notes of bread and honey, with a light peppery spiciness from the rye.  Ryedentity Crisis is billed as a farmhouse ale, and we all know how much I enjoy farmhouse ales.  If you see it somewhere, order it!

Add caption

Knee Deep has been brewing since 2006, although their website is a bit unclear as to when they "officially" started brewing beers for the public.

Thing to Think About Today:
Keeping with the football theme, let's switch from high school to college and spend the evening with The Program, a film that more or less explores the high stakes game of big time college football. Starring Omar Epps and James Caan (and I suppose Kristy Swanson and for whatever it's worth Halle Berry), this film definitely gets you ready for some D1 college football, warts and all.  Shall we?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6qnHU2fRSQ

Beer 276: The Gubna and September 11 Ramblings

I'm of the mind that if you're going to claim patriotism on one day, you really need to follow through the other 364 days. I'll also admit that I'm not the most patriotic person in the country. I've freely stated on more than one occasion that my fellow citizens embarrass me. Or so I thought.

Today started quite normal except for the fact that me and the Army of Dachshunds were on our own for wake up call, breakfast and the rest of the morning routine. Without someone else to trip over in the morning, I'm pretty efficient and found that me and the guys had time for breakfast outside. If you weren't out at 7am today, treat yourself to it tomorrow morning. It is GLORIOUS this week. I even remarked to Sal how beautiful and perfect it was. He agreed if that's what dropping a deuce in my flower bed means.

I headed off to work and that's when it hit me. It's September 11 and the day looked eerily similar to the one eleven years ago. Only I noticed how clear and so very blue the sky was much earlier...something I didn't notice eleven years ago until I was trying to figure out how to get from Philadelphia to my home. My mind wandered the way one's mind wanders when thinking about such a terrible event and I flipped on the radio for distraction. And that's when I turned into a patriotic blubbering mess.

God rest her soul...that Whitney Houston could sing the national anthem.

There was so much encouragement on the radio and online to spend time today doing something for someone else. Isn't that the way you should always conduct yourself? If you don't look out for others, do something kind for others, then doesn't that mean you're only looking out for yourself? And if you're only looking out for yourself, you're probably being a dick. And that goes against my philosophy of life: Don't be a dick.

So on this 11th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, don't be a dick and carry that with you from September 12 to September 10. You'll thank me for it.

My other advice for today...drink a Gubna from Oskar Blues Brewery. Gubna is an imperial IPA (10% ABV) brewed in Longmont, Colorado. The name of their tasting room is The Tasty Weasel. I've been there and it is awesome. Plus they do a great tour...very thorough.


The Gubna poured a deep, hazy orangey brown with a white head. It left lots of lacing inside the glass as I happily made my way to the bottom. The smell was a little off putting...kind of skunk-like. The taste is resinous and woody. It had some floral hop to it and a fantastic brown spiciness. I can't put my finger on the best word to describe the spice. Maybe something that goes into chili to give it a earthiness but not heat? Does that make sense to anyone? Hello?

Having been to Oskar Blues in person and having sampled many of their beers, I was surprised at how much I liked this one over all the others. I'll give the Gubna a very good.

Cheers!

Beer 275: Omnipollo Mazarin

I'm not sure what meaning lies behind the name Omnipollo Mazarin, but I'm certain delicious has something to do with it.  "What!?!," you exclaim. Yes, Marci is enjoying another pale ale.  I know, it's like you don't even know me anymore.  See. This is what two weeks on the west coast will do to a person!

I'm at the point where I can recognize
TJ's bar at a hundred paces.

The Mazarin poured a honey color with a slight haze and a thin white head.  It has a nice citrus and woody aroma. The flavor is resinous hops and lightly pine tinged. Between the flavor and the low ABV (5.6%), this is an easy to drink beer. 

From the brewer: "Mazarin is my take on a 'thinker’s beer'. Rather than being big and undecipherably complex I wanted to create something that would calm a hop yearning nerve without fuddling the brain too much. In other words, a lavishly hopped Pale Ale of judicious ABV — an Extra Special Pale Ale if you will."  I think he hit this one out of the ballpark!

Cheers!

Patriots vs. Texans

Beer #275 Caesar Rodney Golden Ale / Twin Lakes Brewing Company, Greenville, DE

Today is a hustle day, so I'm diving right into the beer.  For your reading pleasure, may I present the Caesar Rodney Golden Ale from Twin Lakes Brewing Company.  This beer was on draft at Whole Foods, so I brought home a growler.  In the glass you see a dark gold color with a fluffy white head.  The aroma is light, with grain and grass.  The taste is an earthy mix of grain and malt, with notes of bread and some light citrus and a dry finish.  This beer is easy drinking, with an agreeable 5.5% ABV.  I'm thinking this might be a good call at an early season tailgate.

Hail, Caesar!

Unless you live in Delaware, and possibly even if you do live in Delaware, you may not be aware of who this beer is named for.  I can help.  Caesar Rodney was a lawyer, politician, and military officer in the late 1700's.  He served as President of Delaware (sort of like Governor), and was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.  The state quarter for Delaware has a man on a horse on the back - that's Caesar Rodney.  Now you know.

Thing to Think About Today:
To continue with the theme I started yesterday, let's take a moment to think about another great football movie, Varsity Blues.  This movie tells the story of high school football in Texas, where the game is more of a religion than a sport.  A win-at-all-costs coach is forced to turn to his backup quarterback Jonathan Moxon, played by James Van Der Beek, after his star QB gets injured - because he made the kid play hurt.  Mox must now deal with his new found fame, his utter lack of respect for the coach, and Ali Larter wearing nothing but whipped cream in order to still come out ahead in the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSnkWiacUW4

"I DON'T WANT YOUR LIFE!"