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 #503 Rumspringa / Lancaster Brewing Company, Lancaster, PA
Previously from this brewery: Hop Hog, Milk Stout, and Winter Warmer
Busy weekend on the books, as I'm headed to State College to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Phi Gamma Delta at Penn State. More commonly known as FIJI, we are the oldest fraternity at PSU, dating all the way back to 1888. We're not just the oldest fraternity, but also the best (note: I may be biased) as our house has been home to world record holders, Olympians, CEOs, professional athletes, and a Heisman Trophy winner. Will be great to see a great group of alums back on campus and spend time with the next generation of brothers carrying on our impressive legacy. Damn glad.
What, this isn't what your college apartment looked like?
To celebrate this event, you get a beer review (what, you were expecting something else?), and today's offering is Rumspringa from Lancaster Brewing Company. This beer is a clear amber with a white head, and gives off a light but sweet aroma. When you take a sip, you get flavors of bread and malt sweetness, with a warm bit of honey. Virtually no bitterness hiding out, and speaking of hiding this beer has a 6.9% ABV, which it hides very well. Smooth, easy drinking, and great for spring time. Find this one and enjoy soon, as this seasonal offering won't be around forever.
Does this beer look crooked?
For those who don't know, Rumspringa is a period of time where Amish teenagers leave their community to live a "normal" life of sin and vice (you know: booze, zippers, cars - that sort of thing) to see if they truly want to be baptized into their faith, or leave the community forever. So... like spring break, only more serious.
Thing to Think About Today:
Fraternities are incredibly polarizing; people either love them or hate them. They're an easy target in the media for the ills of society, even though the kids in the chess club are doing the same exact things - just not in a big fancy mansion. So, to honor fraternity life, let's peek in on the second greatest college movie of all time, Revenge of the Nerds. And, to clarify, it's only in second place because nothing will ever top Animal House, the greatest movie from any genre ever. Sit back and enjoy 80s college life in all its glory:
Beer #362 St. Nikolaus Bock Bier / Pennsylvania Brewing Company, Pittsburgh, PA Beers to go: 4
Good productive day today, although I'm very glad it's winding down. I was scheduled to be in a training all day at work, but the instructor never showed up so the class left, and because my schedule was completely devoid of meetings, I opted to work from home. I love that I have the flexibility to work from home, but admittedly I don't get as much done sitting in front of my laptop as I do at my office. Too many distractions - errands that need to be run, dogs who beg me to take them for a walk, games of Words With Friends to play, and a fridge full of stupendous beers calling my name....
Thankfully, the work day is over and the beers can begin! Tonight I'm sampling a St. Nikolaus from Penn Brewing in Pittsburgh. This is the last of my supply of beers that have been given to me as a gift - although that shouldn't stop you from sending me more free brews to try. In the glass, this beer has a deep brown color with plenty of red highlights and an off-white head. There are pleasing aromas of malt and spice, and he flavors are great for winter: lightly toasted malt, caramel, and a hint of cherry. Really nice beer, and well worth your effort at this time of year.
Bock to the Future!
This brewery opened their doors for business in 1986, but their building dates back to 1848, when the Eberhart and Ober families started a brewery in 1848. E&O survived until 1952, and three of the buildings at the Penn Brewery complex are on the National Register of Historic Places. Good stuff. Thing to Think About Today:
So.... Pittsburgh. I'm going way back here, as I'm going to encourage you all to think about one of the best movies ever involving the sport of basketball, The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh. This film answers the question of what do you get when you mix basketball, disco, sequins, short shorts, afros, glitter, more disco, and (wait for it...).... astrology. Apparently, a down on their luck basketball team realizes the one thing that can get them to the championship game is having a roster of players all born under the Pisces sign. Yes, you read that correctly, and no, I have no idea how much drugs the writers, producers, and directors were taking to think this plot was a good idea. While astral connections are always one way to build your team, perhaps they should just get Dr. J the ball more. Don't sleep on this movie, as there's some star power present - besides Dr. J we find Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Stockard Channing, Debbie Allen, and Flip Wilson, to name a few. Check it out, and prepare to be amazed:
Beer #302 'na Biretta Rossa / Birradamare, Fiumicino, Italy
Winding down a completely hectic but incredibly fun weekend, the highlight of which was a great come from behind PSU win over Northwestern on Homecoming. This team won't be the champions of anything due to the sanctions levied against them, but they're certainly earning space in the hearts of Penn State fans. Keep it up, gentlemen. Keep it up. It's a fun season so far, and Beaver Stadium will be rocking when Ohio State comes to town in three weeks. Can't wait.....
I made baked rigatoni for dinner tonight, a nice meal for a cold and dreary Sunday evening. And what better way to wash down an Italian meal than with a beer from Italy (even if it is a German style bock beer), the 'na Biretta Rossa from Birradamare, a brewery on the outskirts of Rome. It pours with a dark, hazy amber color and fluffy tan head. The aroma is of toffee and lightly roasted malt, and the flavor gives you more of the same with plenty of malt sweetness, along with toasted malt, some nuttiness, and a hint of cocoa. Nice beer for a fall evening, particularly when dinner in the oven is smelling so damn delicious.
What's not to love?
This brewery was founded in 2004, and the name roughly translates to "Beer to Love." Works for me!
Thing to Think About Today:
Your song to think about this evening came on twice on the drive home from State College. I'm a big fan of just shuffling through the iPod to see what comes up - usually Christmas carols, for some odd reason. Now you get to hear it as well. Sort of goes with the theme, no?
I'm such a sucker for a unique bottle. Throw in a good font and I'm all yours! That's pretty much how the decision to buy this beer went. Ooh. Cool bottle. Ooh! Look that font! Buy all the beer!
Anyways I digress. Brewed by Birrificio Ostiense Artigianale in Italy, the 'na Bireta Rossa is a German bock beer with a 6.3% ABV.
It poured a medium, hazy brown with a dense tan head. I could smell the caramel from a few feet away. Closer inspection revealed the aroma of figs. It drinks with a full, thick mouthfeel. It tastes of slightly toasted malt, earl grey tea and finishes with just the tiniest bit of hop bite. There's also some milk chocolate in there too.
The origins of Bock beer are interesting. Back in medieval days German monasteries would brew a strong beer for sustenance during their Lenten fasts. Some people believe the style has a pagan influence and should only be brewed during the sign of the Capricorn goat, hence the goat being associated with Bock beers. Basically, this beer was a symbol of better times to come and moving away from winter. I'll call it a symbol of better times as we move toward winter.
I'm fortunate to live in a part of the country where craft brewing is revered, and restaurants and bars are expected to carry multiple varieties of great beer from around the globe. This being said, I recently found myself in the River Spirit Casino in Tulsa, OK (don't ask) for a few hours. I was intrigued when someone asked our waiter what beers were on draft, and the eager young man replied, "every beer you can think of!"
EVERY BEER? My mind immediately raced with the possibility of crossing some great or hard to find breweries off the list. Just as fast as my mind took off, those dreams crashed and burned when I realized he was probably 18 years old and every beer HE could think of consisted of Bud, Bud Light, Miller Lite, Coors, Coors Light, and Corona. Ooof. I did manage to find Shiner Bock, a popular beer out of Texas from the Spoetzl Brewery, so all was not lost. Drank this one out of the bottle, so I can't really describe the color or aroma, but the taste had notes of malt and caramel. At 4.4% ABV, this is an easy drinking beer compared to other, more complex bocks. I was hoping I'd get to cross Choc Brewery from Oklahoma off my list, but perhaps another time.
While the lack of beer choices was a disappointment, the trip was not without it's moments. People watching at a casino on an Indian Reservation is an orgy for the eyes. Prime example was the woman wearing boots and cut-off white jeans shorts, which just happened to be giving her... shall we say... front wedgie, which she was eagerly digging out when she walked by. Interesting enough, but it gets better. She proceeds to hop up on a bar stool at a table on a platform elevated about 8" or so off the floor. And in the process of trying to (still) adjust her short shorts, she manages to lose her balance and tumble backwards off the chair and down to the floor like a hefty sack of drunk and oddly attired potatoes.
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Here's something you need to know about me: I am well educated, kind, and thoughtful. This being said, I find shows like America's Funniest Videos hilarious beyond belief. Watching people fall down in awkward and unusual ways is comedy gold to me. Guaranteed to make me near pee my pants laughing.
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I immediately dropped down and hid behind the bar so that she wouldn't see me crack up, and started laughing so hard my contact lens rolled out of my eye. By the time I caught my breath and composed myself long enough to see if she was okay, she had managed to get back up on her chair and resume her evening. I mean, wouldn't this be a sign that maybe it's time to close up shop and head home? Guess not!
Proof she exists! Or is that Bigfoot?
Thing to Think About Today:
If laughter is truly the best medicine, I suppose we'll use this space today to heal our injuries from falling off bar stools. Enjoy this montage of people falling off of swings, courtesy of America's Funniest Videos. Now why didn't I have my camera ready?
