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
Happy Sunday! Keeping that hustle going, so tonight it's another review coming up from The Brewer's Art in Baltimore, this time a bottle of La Petroleuse, a Biere de Garde. This one pours with a light amber hue and a lingering white head. There are aromas of faint citrus and bread, and you find flavors of biscuit, lemon, apple, and peppery spice, with a dry finish. You definitely notice the alcohol, but it's not an unpleasant sensation. This is an excellent beer for summer weather, and definitely a great example of the Biere de Garde style. Find a bottle and buy it if you can.
Doesn't that look nice? It does.
A portion of the proceeds for this beer go to causes that support women's entrepreneurship. Once again, beer drinkers are saving the world!
Thing to Think About Today:
Can I write a post about Baltimore that doesn't reference The Wire, greatest television show ever? I can, but why on Earth would I want to? Baltimore and The Wire are downright inseparable in my mind. I'll let Detective Kima Greggs send us home for the night with her rendition of Goodnight Moon. Bal'mer style.
Day #518 Le Canard / The Brewer's Art, Baltimore, MD
Previously from this brewery: Resurrection and more Resurrection, the first posts ever on this site, and Green Peppercorn Tripel, used to represent Bal'mer in my Super Bowl showdown.
A rainy Saturday here means I'm up early and writing. Would rather be sitting by the pool with my feet up, enjoying some quiet time, but we can't always get what we want. Busy day today with driving, a birthday party, and an early Mother's Day celebration, so I'll get right down to business.
Business today means a review of Le Canard from The Brewer's Art, a restaurant in Baltimore that also brews some outstanding beers. This Belgian pours with a clear amber and lingering white head. There's a pleasant aroma of sweet malt and honey, and the taste brings you tons of candi sugar, malt, bread, and caramel. This beer is potent at 8.5% ABV, but you don't really notice the alcohol in there. An excellent beer, particularly for a rainy Saturday spent not anywhere near a pool.
Bad picture/good beer
If you're not bilingual, then you may not be aware that the French word 'canard' translates to 'duck' in English. Like I just said - seeing how ducks like the rain, this beer is perfect for a rainy day!
Thing to Think About Today:
As many of you know, I enjoy an eclectic mix of music. I don't know where I find half of the songs I listen to, they sort of just show up and next thing you know I have something unusual or interesting or strange to enjoy. And when I say I have no idea how this particular song managed to find itself in my collection, I mean it. With a beer from Baltimore in mind, I give you Scott Walker covering Lady Came from Baltimore, an old folk song from the 60s. What can I say, sometimes I listen to some unusual things - that doesn't mean they're not good!
Day #445 Loose Cannon / Clipper City Brewing Company, Baltimore, MD
Previously from this brewery: Barleywine and Barlewyine + The Wire
Tonight I'm getting right down to business - I officially caught up with the times and bought a scanner, so I've been furiously working to take some classic old pictures and get them to the internet. For example, me at age four or five?
I AM A SEXY MAN
Enough tomfoolery (for the moment), let's get down to a beer review. Tonight I'm going with a beer I had at TJ's a while back, Loose Cannon from Heavy Seas. This beer has a clear, light copper color, with a fluffy white head. There's a nice citrus aroma, and when you take a sip you find pine and lemon, with an earthy dryness, and just the right amount of bitterness. A really nice beer I could drink all night, if given the chance. Great for a night when you're looking to pick a fight with the hoppiest beer in the bar.
Yar, matey.
Unless I'm missing something, you won't find the name Clipper City anywhere on their website. However, I still believe Clipper City is the name of the brewery, and they in turn brew Heavy Seas beer. I think I know this because that's what it says on Wikipedia, and the internet never lies.
Thing To Think About Today: Allow me to point out the obvious connection for tonight: Loose Cannon, meet Cannonball, by The Breeders. Enough said and rather appropriate on a night where I'm pouring over pictures from the 90's. Love this song!
Day #420 Bitter American / 21st Amendment Brewery, San Francisco, CA
Previously from this brewery: Watermelon Wheat (in my Top 25) and Marci's review of Fireside Chat
Representing San Francisco in my Super Bowl beer battle is a can of Bitter American, a pale ale from 21st Amendment Brewery. Out of the can, this beer has a honeyed amber color, with a quickly dissipating head. There are citrus aromas, and the taste is a mellow collection of pine, lemon, caramel, and sweet malt, with some good bitterness at the finish. This session beer is a mild 4.4% ABV, which means you this very tasty beer will go well with day drinking or tailgating. Well done, 21st Amendment. Very well done.
More great can art from 21st Amendment
21st Amendment advertises this beer as a tribute to "unsung, unwitting heroes everywhere," which I guess includes the chimps that get sent into space (like the furry guy on the can).
Okay, so the winner of my Super Bowl beer challenge? Too close to call - both Bitter American and Green Peppercorn Tripel were delicious, so we're calling it a tie!!!! Let's go to overtime and compare each city more closely:
Television shows:
- Baltimore: The Wire, Homicide: Life on the Street
- San Francisco: Full House, Too Close for Comfort
Two incredibly hard hitting dramas versus two awful comedies? Even the inclusion of Ted Knight can't save S.F. here. Huge edge: Baltimore
Cuisine:
- Baltimore: hard shell crabs, Old Bay Seasoning, crab cakes
- San Francisco: Rice-a-Roni, Ghirardelli chocolate, sourdough bread
Sorry Uncle Ben, you lose. Edge: Baltimore Breweries:
- Baltimore: The Brewer's Art, Stillwater, Clipper City/Heavy Seas
- San Francisco: 21st Amendment, Anchor, Speakeasy
San Fran's might have more name recognition across the country, but don't sleep on the quality in B-more. Edge: Even
Make sure to visit:
- Baltimore: National Aquarium, American Visionary Art Museum
- San Francisco: Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Haight & Ashbury
While the Visionary Arts Museum is outstanding, it's hard to top San Fran in the tourism department. Plus, being close to wine country doesn't hurt. Edge: San Francisco
The winner? By a score of 2-1, we give the nod to Baltimore in this Super Bowl fight!!! Congratulations on this esteemed honor. Now, what this Baltimore victory will mean on the gridiron tomorrow, I have no idea. I just want to eat buffalo chicken dip and drink beer, really. But good luck to whatever team you're rooting for.
Thing to Think About Today:
In the spirit of all things Super, I present you with Soul Coughing's Super Bon Bon. Enjoy!
Day #419 Green Peppercorn Tripel / The Brewer's Art, Baltimore, MD
Previously from this brewery: we both sampled Resurrection as our first review of the adventure!
I hereby declare the weekend open for business, and hope you join me in celebrating its arrival.
With the new big-ass tv sitting in the living room, I'm genuinely looking forward to depositing myself on the couch this Sunday for the Super Bowl. Yes, the game itself is over-hyped and I don't have much rooting interest, but I'm still on board. Side note: there will be buffalo chicken dip involved, and this makes me delirious with glee. With the Super Bowl in mind, I'm going to review a beer from Baltimore today, and one from San Francisco on Sunday. Will the better beer determine the outcome of the game? Yeah, probably not, but stranger things have happened, I guess.
Representing the Charm City is the Green Peppercorn Tripel from The Brewer's Art, located on Charles Street in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore. This beer is a clear, bright gold color with a lingering thin white head. Your nose finds the aroma of yeast, spice, and fruit esters. When you take a sip, you meet up with a good dose of yeast, banana, bread, and some green apple, with a bunch of peppery spice throughout. It has a nice, even, dry finish, but not as much sweetness or clove as you might find in a Belgian tripel. This is a fine beer and one I encourage you to sample, particularly if you like a peppery bite in your beers. It checks in at a potent 9.2% ABV, so watch yourself. Don't want to drink too many and pass out before the halftime show.
I do love the 32oz Growler from Whole Foods
For those of you wondering, Charles Street separates Westside and Eastside Baltimore; very important for those of us who watch The Wire. Maybe this is where the co-op met to discuss business?
Thing to Think About Today: More clips from The Wire? Yes, more clips from The Wire, because this is my favorite show of all time. ALL TIME! To close things out today, I leave you with the 100 greatest quotes from the series. To no one's surprise, this video isn't remotely safe for watching at work, unless you work for a company where it's completely kosher to curse at will in your cubicle. You feel?
On my way home today I decided to treat myself to a manicure. My new go to place gets major bonus points because their manicures include a back rub while your nails are drying. For a back rub fiend like myself, this is major. So there I sat this afternoon, nails freshly polished, enjoying my back rub when the clasp on my bra pops open. All I could think is, “Isn’t this how some porn movies start?” Key piece of information, the manicurist was a dude. Alas I did not find out if this was the nail salon that provided happy endings. I just pretended to sneeze and then developed some really bad posture.
***
To ease my awkwardness, I’m breaking open a barleywine style ale from Clipper City Brewing Company. The Heavy Seas Mutiny Fleet Below Decks is from the 2011 mutiny collection. Beer from this collection is described as among their biggest and boldest beers, brewed in small batches and designed for aging like a fine wine. Three plus months of aging is all this one got.
Below Decks poured a lovely mahogany color with a tan thin head. A good swirl brought out lots of carbonation and a rich, sweet smell redolent of molasses. It drank with lightness and was full of flavor. It is rich and somewhat buttery with hints of dark fruits. It finishes with some spice and a solid alcohol warmth. Even more intriguing than the straight up Below Decks is that there are versions aged in cabernet barrels or oak bourbon barrels. Perhaps the beer gods will smile on me and send one to Wegman’s for me to discover!
So is the Below Deck the right thing to be drinking on such a fine spring day? Probably not. But this is a very enjoyable beer and I’ll take it when I can get it. That day just so happens to be today.
A joint project where a married couple would spend the next 365 days blogging about beer, life, food, film, beer, music, sports, books, beer, dogs, beer, and whatever else crosses our path. But really, beer. An entire year’s worth, as a matter of fact. The challenge is this: to drink 365 different beers from 365 different breweries over 365 days. And to survive along the way. Now, some background: Marci and I are both undergoing the challenge, so we don’t need to each drink the same beer or the same brewery. So, mathematically, you might see us talk about 730 beers or breweries (although likely not). Beers we drink must be commercially available to get on the list. It’s cool that you brew an awesome home beer with eggnog and lighter fluid, but it’s not getting on the list (apologies). If you’re looking for an in-depth description of the flavor profile or the underlying notes or whatever, you’ve come to the wrong place. Check beeradvocate.com or some other site for that sort of thing. This is more of an explanation of beer at the intersection of life, my day, what I’m thinking about, and whatever else ends up on these pages. Be flexible. Go along for the ride.
The idea came for this project came during a dark period. My mother-in-law, Louise, was terminally ill and we were making near daily runs down to Manassas, VA to see her before she passed. Leaving our home in the suburbs of Philly, we stopped in Baltimore at The Brewer’s Art, a great restaurant/brewery/bar in the Mount Vernon neighborhood. The seed for the idea came from a friend who has completed “beer adventures” in the past: A beer from all 50 states, 365 different beers in a year. As we couldn’t just totally rip him off (thanks, Pat!), we went next level: 365 different breweries in a year. While we talked that night, Marci and I enjoyed more than one of the house beers along with some fantastic food, and for a brief period of time, we found an oasis of peace and laughter in an otherwise truly miserable experience. The best beer that night was Resurrection, and we bought some take-out to enjoy at home. An abbey-style ale, there’s a sweet and malty taste that goes down easy. If you're ever in Baltimore, you need to stop here and drink this beer.
If I lived a block away, I’d drink at The Brewer’s Art all the time and meet tons of interesting and good looking people. And I’d be happy.
Ironic, in a small way - in the midst of losing a loved one, there was a Resurrection. And it was good.
Thing to think about today:
In this space, I’ll share something to think about each day. It will be completely random, but completely worth your time. Trust me. Today, I’m going with “For the Price of a Cup of Tea” by Belle and Sebastian. If this song doesn’t put you in a good mood to start a year of drinking beer and writing, I’m not sure what will. Thank me later.
My dad had a saying - in fact he probably still does - shit or get off the pot. I've been talking about starting this blog for five months. So this weekend, I came home and declared that I, in fact, decided to get off the pot. And here we go.
I'm going to blog for the next 365 days about 365 different breweries. Because I can. And because my Mom died. Because my Mom died too young and didn't get to do a lot of the things she wanted to do. So I'm going to things I want to do. Things that scare me. Things like baring my soul (or at least my favorite beers and best opinions), which terrifies me. Because if any of you know me, you know I'm a behind-the-scenes kind of person. I like to make people look good because I can. It's a talent.
I don't put myself out there...until now.
Inspiration struck for this blog while we were at dinner on the night before my Mom's viewing and funeral. Gary and I stopped for dinner in Baltimore at The Brewer's Art. Check it out: http://www.thebrewersart.com/housebeer.html. Great food. Great beer. Exactly what I needed to take my mind off what I was about to do.
As I sat there lost and searching for something to give me purpose, I came up with this idea and thank god Gary was up for an adventure. Because here we are now, five months later with a fridge full of beer and a promise to each other to be honest and creative and to have fun because you never know what life has in store for you.
And onto the beer for today, Resurrection Ale from Brewer's Art. If one is going to start a beer blog - especially one inspired by death - why wouldn't one pick a beer called Resurrection Ale?
Resurrection Ale is a gloriously malty celebration of most everything I like in a beer. It also helped drown my sorrows so don't judge me. I've learned that malt often times means candy sugar and that sweetness is there. But it's cut by a nice bite.
So here's to you Brewer's Art and to you, Mom. Thank you.
