• Drinking craft beer during The Birthday Massacre

    December 12, 2011 Author: Scott
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    Kelli and I headed to Sonar in Baltimore, MD to see one of her favorite bands, The Birthday Massacre.  The show was a great time, but I was concerned going in about what beers were going to be available.  Upon first look of the beer list:

     

    I wasn’t too happy with the beers available.  I glanced at the cooler to make sure I wasn’t missing anything, and found that the list was a clear reflection of the beers I could see.

     

    So, sure enough, the selection was limited.  This isn’t to say, however, that I didn’t find a fantastic Maryland craft beer.  In the middle left of the above picture you can see the dent I was putting in the Raging Bitch by Flying Dog.  A great IPA worth a try by anyone who likes the hoppy style beer.  With My beer in hand, I made a quick post to IndyBeers.com.

    Afterwards, I kicked back and enjoyed the great sounds of The Birthday Massacre  at Sonar  in Baltimore, MD.  By the way, if you happen to be a Birthday Massacre fan, you can check the rest of the pictures at http://www.talonphotography.com/album.php?albumid=5684952762119496737

     

  • The Birthday Massacre & Raging Bitch

    December 10, 2011 Author: Scott
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    image

    More pictures to come.

  • Beerporn

    December 9, 2011 Author: Scott
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    Kelli had the Uinta Hop Notch

    I had the Unibroue La Terrible

     


  • Adele doesn’t know good beer

    December 6, 2011 Author: Scott
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    I saw this post on MSNBC And couldn’t resist the opportunity to make fun of celebrity ignorance.  Since when are beers made by InBev/Anheuser Busch the “best quality European lager beer”?

     

    But, for as charitable as Adele may be, there’s one area where she’s not to be messed with: beer. For after the show, the singer requests 12 bottles of “best quality European lager beer. ie Becks, Stella Artois, Peroni etc. North American beer is NOT acceptable.” What did North American beer ever do to Adele?

     

    Source: http://scoop.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/06/9251333-adele-doesnt-want-your-north-american-beer-thank-you-very-much

  • Review Ninkasi & 21st Amendment Collaboration

    December 1, 2011 Author: Scott
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    Today Chris and I are reviewing Allies Win the War, a collaboration between 21st Amendment and Ninkasi (http://21st-amendment.com/beer/allies-win-the-war).  We decided on this beer after asking the Reddit community which beer we should review (Thanks shuazien, throwbookatface, and koollama for the recommendations).  We went to our highly recommended local beer store, The Perfect Pour, to procure our powerful pints (well, 12oz cans, but I was going for the alliteration). In our ongoing review series we’ll be covering the following 5 items:

    • Appearance
    • Aroma
    • Mouthfeel
    • Flavor
    • Aftertaste

    Here is a quick guide for the beginner http://indybeers.com/beer-tasting-guide/.  At the bottom of that page is an HTML template that can be used in our comments if you would like to post your own reviews along with us.

    About 21st Amendment Brewery:

    Based out of San Francisco, California

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/21stamendment

    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/21stAmendment

    About Ninkasi Brewing Company:

    Based out of  Eugene, OR

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Ninkasi

    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NinkasiBrewing

    Appearance

    Scott:  Tons of head (a good 5 minutes passed before it went away).  It took three attempts to to get all the beer into the glass.  Great looking redish/brown hue.

    Chris: It has a brownish-red color which was clear as opposed to cloudy. The head was frothy with big bubbles and left a head coat along the glass as it was being consumed.

    Aroma

    Scott: No question there is a strong hop smell.  As I leaned in to smell I could also hear the bubbles in the head talking like Snap, Crackle, and Pop.

    Chris: A strong malty aroma with subtle hints of nuts and hops linger in the background.

    Mouthfeel

    Scott:  Not a lot of carbonation, which is surprising seeing the amount head.  There is a slight syrupy feel to it on the tongue.

    Chris: It felt just over what I feel is lightly carbonated and is tingly on the tongue. It has a cooling effect which stood out and I found interesting.

    Flavor

    Scott: Unmistakable flavor of hops, but not enough to be considered an IPA.  The malty flavor that comes though is a nice undertone.  Knowing that it’s also brewed with dates makes me wonder about my morning ritual tomorrow.

    Chris: At first taste the hops stood out but as I went on that quickly dissipated and the malty sweetness took over.

    Aftertaste 

    Scott: I’m on the second beer as I write this, and it was a struggle not to throw these back more quickly.  Like good home cookin’, these please in a post-Thanksgiving-manner of wanting a second and third helping.  I’m not sure I could handle many any more as the 8.5% ABV is more than noticeable.

    Chris: I felt this was really tough to gauge since I really enjoyed the taste and probably drink/drank/drunk both too quickly to hone in on an aftertaste. It finished pretty much the same way it which is started.

    Final Thoughts

    Scott: We didn’t properly place these precious pints 😉 in the fridge right away (they were off the self in the store).  The first ones were a little warm, which may have have lead to the exaggerated head, and while we all agreed (Kelli had a sip of mine) that they should be colder, I found the slightly warmer temperature to be acceptable.  The flavor overcame the lack of coldness.

    Our second beer was properly chilled, and more enjoyable than the first.  I guess the lesson here is, if you can’t wait, go for it, it’s still good, but if you can wait, well…you’re a better (wo)man than I am.

    I think the past couple of reviews I forgot to give the beer a rating, so for this one I’ll give it a 4.5 out of 5.

    Chris: Packaged, in a small box of four cans, that looks like an old newspaper; I was somewhat skeptical. Pushing doubts aside, this was without a doubt, a great suggestion by the reddit community. This beer is a excellent combination of hops and malts, and packs a surprising buzz factor within these cans. I would definately recommend it to others.

  • Help Change Maryland Beer Laws

    November 19, 2011 Author: Scott
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    I just received an email from Marylanders for Better Beer & Wine Laws that I thought would be good to share.

     

    Beer in Maryland
    Beer seems to be returning to the fore as a creative medium with a number of small craft breweries opening or expanding recently in Maryland.  Alas, the laws dealing with them have not kept apace.  For example, craft brewers cannot lawfully sell their beer at farmers markets or self-distribute their products as wineries currently can.  A number of you have been voicing concern over this situation, with one member recently writing in the Baltimore Sun: “[A]llowing micro-breweries to self-distribute … would encourage more to get into the business.  Modifying Maryland’s distribution laws would ultimately benefit consumers by providing greater choice of products made in Maryland. We consumers have been deprived far too long.”

     

    We are looking to put together a Beer Council to address some of these issues and welcome your participation.  Please email me if you are passionate about beer and want to see more and better choices in the Maryland marketplace.

  • Beerporn

    November 19, 2011 Author: Scott
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    Brewery: Ellicott Mills Brewing Company

  • Friday Beer Fun

    November 18, 2011 Author: Scott
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    Just for fun I have put together a group of old and new Friday fun articles I’ve found over the past week for your Friday pleasure.  I may turn this into a regular column if everyone tends to like it.

    1. For the party animal in you, a collection of custom beer pong tables:
      http://www.interbent.com/customized-beer-pong-tables/
    2.  10 uses for beer that don’t include drinking it:
      http://listverse.com/2008/12/07/top-10-unusual-uses-for-beer/
    3. 10 great dishes made with beer:
      http://www.yummly.com/blog/2011/08/10-great-dishes-made-better-with-beer/
    4.  Are you a beer lover, or a beer snob?
      http://www.primermagazine.com/2009/live/beer-lover-beer-snob
    5.  Beer infographic with lots of useless data you’ll only use when drinking beer:
      http://www.patmoorefoundation.com/10-things-know-about-beer
    6. More useless beer information, this time in the form of records:
      http://madconomist.com/5-coolest-beer-records
    7. A beer gauge chart to know if your bartender is cheating you:
      http://thebeergauge.com/
    8. Craft Beer cigars for combing two of your favorite pleasures:
      http://www.tedscigars.com/hopz-craft-beer-cigars/
    9. For that person in your life that already has every type of beer glass:
      http://fredandfriends.com/products/view/hopside-down-beer-glass
    10.  And lastly, a beer motivational poster for the easily amused:
      http://www.demotivationalposters.org/image/demotivational-poster/0906/beer-fart-demotivational-poster-1245366730.jpg

  • Beerporn

    November 15, 2011 Author: Scott
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    Store: The Perfect Pour

     

     

  • Review – Southern Tier crème brûlée Imperial Milk Stout

    November 13, 2011 Author: Scott
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    Today I am reviewing Southern Tier’s crème brûlée Imperial Milk Stout.  We did our real beer float review a few weeks ago and several people suggested we use this beer.  I couldn’t find any at the time, but last week I found a bottle of it at a great beer store, The Perfect Pour.  They had so many great beers I felt like I had died and gone to heaven.  I’m watching football while getting a few things done around the house, so Chris will not be with me and I’ll be going this one alone.  Also, I was a little lazy and used my cell phone camera instead of my real camera for the pictures.


    In our ongoing review series we’ll be covering the following 5 items:

    • Appearance
    • Aroma
    • Mouthfeel
    • Flavor
    • Aftertaste

    Here is a quick guide for the beginner http://indybeers.com/beer-tasting-guide/.

    About Southern Tier Brewing Company:

    Based out of Lakewood, New York they started operations in 2002 and have grown to produce over 30,000 barrels annually.  They were listed as one of the top 50 American breweries in the June ’07 issue of  BeerAdvocate magazine.  The crème brûlée Imperial Milk Stout is listed as a Summer seasonal on their beer page, so I was happy to score one in mid-November.

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/stbcbeer

    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SouthernTierBrewingCompany

    crème brûlée Imperial Milk Stout 

    Without Ice Cream

    Appearance

    Scott: Very dark brown, almost black in color.  The head lasted about a minute before dissipating.

    Aroma

    Scott: Unquestionable smell of crème brûlée.  I’m looking forward to getting a taste of this one.

    Mouthfeel

    Scott: Somewhere between a syrup and a creme with light carbonation.

    Flavor

    Scott: No mistaking this flavor.  It is a liquid form of one of my favorite desserts.

    Aftertaste

    Scott: There is a slight bitterness.

    Final Thoughts

    Scott: Very good, although not something I would have sought out.  With plenty of other stouts from which to sample I don’t see this one coming back around too soon, which is fine as it is a seasonal beer.

    crème brûlée Imperial Milk Stout

    With Ice Cream

    I still had some Hoffmans Ice Cream left from our real beer float review, and as this was one of the beers recommended by the reddit.com commentators,  I decided to try this with Ice Cream, too.

    Appearance

    Scott: Well, head abounds.  Like the others poured over ice cream, this beer wants to fill the glass with head.

    Aroma

    Scott: I need an old school batman POW or BAM image to describe how the smell crème brûlée is hitting me in the face.  While the smell was there without the ice cream, the combination of the two has pushed the smell over the top.

    Mouthfeel

    Scott: Similar to the other real beer floats, this one has that nice creamy feel, compliments of the coupled dessert.

    Flavor

    Scott: High quality palate pleasure.  If you love crème brûlée, this is for you, but drinking this while eating crème brûlée may be overkill.  If you can’t have crème brûlée, this is a cold, second cousin.

    Aftertaste

    Scott: Seeing I finished the whole thing in about a minute, aftertaste is all I have.  Like any good dessert following a great meal, I feel well satiated with a pleasant “mmmmm” resonating though my mind.

    Final Thoughts

    Scott: If you get the chance , give this a try.  Ice cream and beer has been a new found pleasure for me, and this one is high on the list of those I think anyone new to the experience would enjoy.