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 272: Otto's and Bluetooth Fails

Does bluetooth go bad? Or do they just become possessed by the devil and randomly place calls depending on the moon's cycle? I spent my entire evening commute at the mercy of my self-dialing phone. For a dozen calls. Calls in which the ID didn't come up on my in-dash display. Oh and this is my work phone so the person on the other end of the phone could have been any one of our trustees or donors. Best part is that my phone was safely in the backseat of my car and the bluetooth controls didn't work so I was completely at the mercy of the devil phone.

Evidently good fortune was still somewhat on my side because all the calls went to Gary. But it was still awkward asking him to hang up on me repeatedly. Good times.

I'm going to soothe my slightly rattled self with a Red Mo from Otto's Pub and Brewery in State College, Pennsylvania. I've spent how many years of drinking age in State College and never set foot in the place. How does that happen? Trust me...we'll be rectifying that situation this season!


The Red Mo an American red ale. It poured a really nice chestnut color with a tan head that left a bit of lacing in the glass. The smell was malt and light roast. The flavor is spicy with a slight fruitiness. There's a good amount of biscuit along with a nice hop bite at the finish. This is a good beer.

Cheers!