• Halloween, Beer, and Candy

    November 8, 2013 Author: Scott
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    The candy

    The candy

    As with last year, and the year before that, Halloween this year was another great night of fun with kids and candy, and as always, the adults loved the beer.  Candy, I give away a lot of it, I mean A LOT, but it’s for the kids and they love it!!!

     

    Pizza

    Pizza

    My family comes over and we have pizza before the evening of kids comes trick-or-treating to our door.  I forgot to get a picture of the pizza before everyone started eating.

     

    The setup

    The setup

    I had about 120 kids stop by and went through all of the candy as well as about two and a half cases of beers.  It’s fun watching the adults decide which beer they’re going to try.  This year’s Sam Adams sampler pack had Har­vest Pump­kin Ale, Ruby Mild, Hazel Brown, Octo­ber­fest (which I also had a case of), Lat­i­tude 48 IPA, and Boston Lager. The Harpoon sampler had Octoberfest, Rich and Dan’s Rye IPA, IPA, and UFO Pumpkin.  I also had four packs and six packs of Shipyard Pumpkinhead, Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale, Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, Schlafly Pumpkin Ale, and a growler of Ellicott Mills Brewing Company Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Ale.

    Me getting a beer!!!

    Me getting a beer!!!

    This year, for the first time ever (I have been doing this for about 10 years), someone brought me a beer.  I had a woodchuck pumpkin.  It tasted a lot like the inside of a pumpkin, not really my kinda beer, but I was happy to get one I haven’t tried!!

    Charlie Brown was once again shown on my garage.

    Charlie Brown was once again shown on my garage.

    I bring up my projector and put It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on my garage door.  A lot of the kids end up hanging around for 10-15 minutes watching while their parents have a beer.

    Too many choices.

    Too many choices.

    I give away lots of candy every year with a slight twist.  There is a game I have all the kids play where they reach into a bag and pull out a poker chip.  Most of the chips are white (and I change the odds as needed), but if they pull out the black chip they win an entire sleeve of candy.  This year I had a bunch of halloween themed toys, too, and they were a big hit.

    Showing the young ones how to grab a handful of candy.

    Showing the young ones how to grab a handful of candy.

    What was your setup like this year?  Does anyone else give out beer or do prizes?

     

  • Beerporn

    January 23, 2012 Author: Scott
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    image

    Star Hill – Northern Lights IPA
    Harry’s Tap Room – Dulles Airport, VA

  • Review – Stone IPA

    September 29, 2011 Author: Scott
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    Today Chris and I are reviewing Stone Brewing Co.’s India Pale Ale.  We’re doing some work on the site and figured we’d double dip with a review of a great beer.  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/.

    (Note written after my review) – For the record, I have finished my review and I’m waiting on Chris to do his.  He is on is second beer, but won’t come up for air on coding the site.  I may have to take drastic measures soon.

    About Stone Brewing Company:

    Based out of Scondido, CA they brewed about 115,000 barrels in 2010.  Stone has been brewing beers for about 15 years.  They are happy to offer tours, but they tend to get busy so make sure to call ahead if you plan to visit the brewery.

    Twitter: http://twitter.com/StoneBrewingCo

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

    Appearance

    Scott: A nice classic golden beer with a slight tilt towards dark.  When I poured Chris’ beer I did it too fast and he got a nice size head.  For mine I poured more slowly and got a very easy to manage head on the beer.

    Chris: A cloudy, amber colored beer with a fair amount of head. I wasn’t opposed to how Scott poured the beer. While drinking the first beer I noticed the inside of the glass was coated with head based residue.

    Aroma

    Scott: You can definitely smell the hops, but it’s not overpowering like some beers.  There is almost a slight citrus smell at the end.

    Chris: I have a cold right now so my sniffer is on the fritz. The hops are there but don’t seem too strong.

    Mouthfeel

    Scott: Small bubbles, with a lingering feel on the left and right side of the tongue.  The the beer has a slightly heavy feel, like a light syrup thinness.  Overall, very pleasing palate.

    Chris: Seriously? This is category. It’s beer.

    Flavor

    Scott: Ah, the meat of the matter.  A very good IPA, although not my favorite.  The flavor is full, but not too heavy.  These will go down easy, but not too quick.  At 6.9% that is probably a good thing.

    Chris: Let me preface this section by saying that I’m not a huge fan of IPAs. I find most of them too hoppy with a strong tangy taste, almost bitter. All that said, Stone has done a pretty decent job by not knocking me off the stool. Something in my gut tells me, I really should review this when I don’t have a cold.

    Aftertaste

    Scott: There is an enjoyable hoppy aftertaste that seems to be lingering longer the more I drink.  Very pleasant, and makes me want to drink more.

    Chris: For an IPA it seems decent. I have a feeling my cold is masking the hoppiness.

    Final Thoughts

    Scott:  I would give this beer a 5/5 overall.  Out here on the East Coast it showed up as $10.99 for a 6 pack, so not an everyday beer, but one that should be enjoyed if you are given the opportunity.

    Chris: Score it 3.5/5 for me. My head is pretty loopy right now and not from this 6.9 ABV IPA. Based  on this experience, I would probably try it again.