Hear Him Howling 'Round Your Kitchen Door

Beer #326 The Bollocks / Brash Brewing Company, Ipswich, MA

Happy Halloween, loyal readers!  Keeping a low profile in the house tonight, as kids coming to the door to beg for candy drives the dogs completely mental.  And no one needs that (and kids really don't need one more piece of candy), so we're chilling with the downstairs lights off right now to avoid a dachshund meltdown.  I do in theory completely love Halloween - the idea of being someone else for a night or adopting an alter ego you may otherwise never get to be during the other 364 day is rather appealing.  Although, I do prefer adult Halloween, which of course involves copious amounts of drinking and girls in sexy costumes rather than neighborhood kids dressed up like soccer players roaming my street (HINT: it's not a costume if you use it every weekend in your soccer league, Timmy; be more creative!).

If I'm demanding an adult Halloween evening, then we're drinking beer - tonight I'm reviewing The Bollocks, a double IPA from Brash Brewing Company.  This beer is a daunting 12% ABV, and it pours with a honey amber color and a lingering white head.  The aroma is a pleasing (yet boozy) citrus, and the taste gives you pine, lemon, and a dry, bitter finish.  There's enough malt and floral notes in there to keep it honest, but make no mistake - this beer means business.  If you're a hops fan, find this one and order in moderation (see above; it's 12%, people).  Big shout out to TJ's for having this one on draft recently, and allow me to put a vote in to put this beer on tap more regularly.

Never mind the bollocks, this is a great beer!

Brash is a newcomer, having first released their product in July of this year.  Their site is very sparse when it comes to information, but as best I can figure, this brewery was started by a brewer who left Texas to find a more hospitable environment for craft brewing.  Glad to have this brewery up and running, wherever it might find itself located!

Thing to Think About Today:
Had we not been interrupted by Hurricane Sandy, I was intending to throw in some favorite Halloween items in this space - candy, movies, music, etc.  However, Halloween is upon us, so I'm just skipping ahead to my all time favorite Halloween song, Werewolves of London, by Warren Zevon.  Truth be told, this song makes me think about listening to John Cunningham play acoustic guitar during Friday night happy hour at the Cafe 210 West more than it makes me think of Halloween.  If I had a time machine, I'd definitely set the dial to head back to see JC playing at the Cafe a few more times.

And while we're on the subject of confessions, I admit people might not see this as a Halloween song, the way you might consider Thriller or Monster Mash.  Yet, it's a song about a werewolf, and werewolves are most certainly part of the Halloween canon, right up there vampires and zombies.  Therefore, it's a Halloween song, and it's your thing to think about today.  In conclusion, don't overdo the candy, and make sure to bring in some extra for me to work tomorrow, as I don't have any.  Thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhSc8qVMjKM

"You better stay away from him / He'll rip your lungs out, Jim."

Beer 314: Brash Brewing and Black Tie Quizzo

You know you're entirely too comfortable with a bar when you randomly show up in a floor length gown on Quizzo night and don't give a damn. Yes, if any of you were at TJ's last night, I was the one in the purple floor length gown. And I suppose I could have just said gown and you would have known it was me...not like I had competition from someone in a red gown for example.

You may be wondering why I went formal on Quizzo night. Let's just say the food at the gala I attended earlier in the night was meat-centric and practically nonexistent and I had the chance to knock off another brewery if I hit my favorite bar. End of story.

What I didn't realize is that The Bollocks from Brash Brewing weighed in at 12%! Holy mackerel! It was probably the last thing I needed after a few glasses of wine and champagne. 

The Bollocks is an imperial IPA. It poured a hazy amber color. It really wasn't as orange as this photo indicates. It had a thin head but left lots of lacing behind. It smelled strongly of caramel, which carried through to the taste. There were lots of fruit-forward hops (most notably citrus) in the flavor as well.  

I didn't find much information on this brewer other than they exiled themselves from Texas due to ridiculous beer laws and made a new home in Ipswich, Massachusetts. It looks like they've only been producing there since July 2012. So far I'm impressed. This is a good beer.

Cheers!