DerekRx

Guess I better find some time to catch up from all the goings on from the last week before I get even more buried by all of the upcoming awesomeness we're going to unleash. Weird consistency, but smells great and tastes really good too. Nice breadiness as well as banana, clove, apples, and caramel. Good stuff for a homebrew and finishing it off yesterday with some more of Samuel Adams Longshot series, this time the Weizenbock Very light and wheaty, but with a nice honey and citrus twist. Good for the hot weather After some fun at Great Adventure on Monday I picked up some of Breckenridge's new Agave Wheat on the way home After trying so many different IPAs, this is still one of my favorites Followed that up with more Stone goodness that Bret had in the fridge, the IPA Which I enjoyed with Bret. Lots of pineapple, grapefruit, dark fruits, molasses, brown sugar, scotch, rum, and other strong flavors in this bad boy On Sunday I headed into Jersey in search of the Jersey Devil, but all I found was a Double Bastard For dessert, some Double IPA for me and for a unique twist, Nicole got a burger that she claimed was heavenly. For the main course I got the Fat Dog Salmon, a salmon in a wild mushroom and Fat Dog Stout reduction glaze, awesome We started off with a cheese plate consisting of a triple creme cheese, a hard cheese that tasted like butter, and the Pond Hopper, a soft cheese with hops in it and their Blonde Double Maibock, good and sweet and then we followed up our visit with some dinner at Stoudts, and some beers while we were there, like their Fest beer, which still confuses me why it's out year round The great weather continued into Saturday, so we flew to Europe. Or we went to check out Stoudt's Village, built in the back of the brewery with lots of little shops Sweet and light, easy to drink lots of these, but not as flavorful as the Sunset. No blueberries to speak of Friday it was time to enjoy some of Leinenkugels other stuff besides the Sunset Wheat like the Honey Weiss Nice stuff, light hoppiness and easy to session With fantastic weather in the latter half the week, I decided it was time to break out some stuff to enjoy outside, like the Barnstormer Pale Ale from Flying Bison up in Buffalo

From the last day or so... and I decided to follow that up with a Racer 5 IPA. Actually I ordered a Hop Rod Rye but they brought me this instead, good enough! and it definitely earned its A rating; lots of pine, citrus, and floral notes mixed with a nice sweetness. Just a tad bit better than the Mean Manalishi That's right. I don't know how he does it, but Capone managed to be the first place in Pennsylvania to obtain the stuff It happens to be Bear Republic Night, which means lots of taps of the BR stuff, including the Racer X??! because they've got awesome stuff on tap, that's why! Tonight I found myself back at Capone's in Norristown. Why? Really good stuff, great citrus and pine flavors with a nice sweetness to boot Yesterday I decided to enjoy something from Ohio, the Mean Manalishi Double IPA from Hoppin' Frog

Tonight time to start in on the newest releases in the Sam Adams Longshot competition winners. Last year's brews were pretty good, especially the Dortmunder, and the Boysenberry wasn't bad either. Thanks to Heath for these donations! Fairly good, lots of sweetness from the malts with just a touch of citrus and floral hops and a hint of grape in the finish. Not like Dimetap though, not that sweet A Grape Pale Ale, brewed by one of Samuel Adams' female brewers from Hawaii

Thanks for all the congrats, guys and gals. Tonight we decided to celebrate in style, with a festive ale. Good toffee flavors along with molasses, chocolate, dark fruits, and citrus. Good stuff that we both enjoyed Festive Ale, a Winter Warmer from Sweetwater, thanks to Joe

Tonight I bring a very special beer thread update. Oh yeah, and now we're engaged, in case you forgot. The Drafting Room was awesome with the whole thing and even gave us champagne to celebrate. and Nicole went with the Creme Brulee, which was raspberry today. Went nicely with a side of diamond and because it was a very special day, we went with dessert. I got their specialty, peanut butter pie. Everyone loves pie! and here's my flank steak of awesome Besides that she got some chicken special Which was definitely the best thing she ever had at TDR, or anywhere else for that matter Nicole chose the last one Oops, left one of the options out A look at the specials menu, some awesome stuff as usual. I went with the flank steak Nicole shows her love of Reading with some Legacy Fantasy, their Euphoria Belgian mixed with raspberries It's IPA month, so to stick with the hoppy theme of the day I'll go with the Arcadia HopMouth Double IPA. Definitely lots of hop presence, but with some good sweetness as well Moving on, time for dinner at The Drafting Room, our favorite place to eat (and drink) and the Hop Bomb is just that, lots of hoppy flavors with a nice malty backbone. Good stuff Good stuff on the taps list as usual, but we're here for their newest brew It's April, time for the Hop Bomb, made solely with Chinook hops Starting out at Rock Bottom in the King of Prussia Mall for their latest monthly release

Got Tuesday's pics right here, was just waiting for more activity around these parts first so I don't double post. Guess people don't drink during the week anymore! Heath's friend from NC was in the area for training this week and wanted to meet up with him for some fun. Since he recently tried some Stoudt's stuff and enjoyed it, it was determined that a visit to the actual brewery would be fitting for this trip. Not only do they have great stuff, it's also about halfway for them to meet. Conveniently for me it's right down the road from my place! Strong raspberry smell, but the taste was mainly all roasted malt with some raspberry tartness in the finish. It was ok, but I don't think I'll get it again. Sticking with New York, tonight I decided to open up my bottle of Raspberry Porter from Southern Tier, picked up back in Feb Good sweet citrus flavors as well as some dry pine notes in the finish. A very drinkable IPA if you like hopbombs By Wednesday the weather was looking pretty good, so I decided to jump into something Spring, Ithaca's Flower Power IPA Heath and Greg both decided to go with the Fat Dog Stout on Cask. Creamy with lots of chocolate, roasted malt, and coffee flavors When it was dinnertime I went with the Smooth Hoperator to go along with my German platter. Quite hoppy for a doppelbock, yet still smooth With time to kill since Greg was running late, Kim even decided to get a beer, the Gold Lager Upon his arrival, Heath did the same. Good flavors with some alcohol backing While waiting for everyone to arrive I decided to grab the new Big Brother Imperial Pils, brewed for Philly Craft Beer Week in honor of the late Michael Jackson My local brewpub that I don't frequent often enough, Stoudts

Today happens to mark the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. While I would love to celebrate by drinking one of the beers offered by Anheuser Busch or Yuengling at the time, I drink a little bit more than the 3.2% max offered on this day. So instead I'll drink some local stuff. For an old time beer, this one has a nice honey sweetness to it and is crisp. Here's to FDR and getting rid of no drinking!! Follow that up with another beer made by them, one that existed back then (sort of), Reading Premium A good hoppiness, but with a very thin malt backbone, I think it tastes better on tap, more solid A closeup of the label First up, a newly bottled brew of one of my favorite named beers out there, Legacy's Hoptimus Prime, a double IPA brewed right down the road

The season has finally begun, meaning we get to throw some roller coaster rides into the mix with our beer drinking. Time for a weekend update from Virginia. While I chose to go with the alehouse exclusive Alehouse 75, a mix of the 60 Minute IPA and the 90 Minute. Best of both worlds in this one! Heath went with the 90 Minute Imperial IPA, probably the East Coast's best. Lots of sweetness, grapefruit, and just enough alcohol warmth Kim chose to go with the Aprihop since it's Spring time. Light and fruity but with some nice hop kick The atmosphere reminded me of an Unos, but with lots of Dogfish merch and artwork scattered around Mostly all of Dogfish Head's current selections are here on draft Luckily we were planning on heading to one of the Dogfish Head Alehouses on the way home, in Falls Church, VA Today, after a rainy cold day at King's Dominion, we needed some warmth as for us guys, our dessert was Left Hand Warrior IPA and Avery's The Czar Imperial Stout For dessert the girls decided on Lambosas, an Ale House specialty consisting of Lindemans mixed with sparkling wine and such; Cassis for Kim and Framboise for Nicole Heath and Kim went with a Cask Pale Ale from Starr Hill and Red Nectar Ale from Humboldt complete with a perfect lemon Luckily we picked up on it lacking the characteristics of a hefe and compared it with a sample of the stuff, and they brought me the proper stuff But we were here for dinner, so we sat at a booth. Nicole enjoyed a new batch of Bell's Oberon while I ordered a Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier, #38 on BA's top beers of the world. Except this was a Bitburger Premium Pils they poured me by mistake Great stuff on tap, and I just love the long bar complete with ice shelf After finishing off at Busch Gardens, Team Extreme decided to head to Capital Ale House, which conveniently was right next door to our hotel Blech! This sample was more than enough for me. I feel sorry for Mark though, who decided to get 24 oz of it at Grogans! Also fairly new to the scene is the Chelada, a Bloody Mary type mix of Clam Juice, Tomato Juice, and Budweiser I also tried the Shock Top, which used to be called the Spring Heat Spiced Wheat when it was their Spring seasonal. Now it's full time, and it's probably their tastiest brew Wild Blue is next for me, a Blueberry Lager. Dave shows off his Ecto Cooler AKA Tilt My first sample would be the Sun Dog Amber Wheat, Anheuser Busch's new Spring seasonal. Not bad stuff It was a whole big BACT summit and we took up 2 tables. Mark, Amanda, and Dave enjoy the smell of their Skip Jack Ambers New stuff from last time, good way to earn some more tasting credits without having to buy the stuff only to discover it's not good After a fun (yet sometimes wet) morning and afternoon, it was time to enjoy some free brews! What a better place to start out the official season than a theme park built by a brewery! BACT at BGE '08

Italian J... errr ...Backlot Stunt Deck Flight Coaster or whatever they're calling it at King's Dominion. At least some of the effects still work

^I think the 8 is definitely more drinkable and flavorful from the start, but the 10 is a totally different beast with lots of fruit flavors all over the place, as well as some chocolate and sweet bread. Definitely more alcohol taste in the 10, meaning less desire to want to drink this as well as something else, but I can see how it got its rating with all those crazy flavors that come out, and none of them ruining the palate.

Tonight's beverage, another top 100 BA brew from our International buddies, brings us all the way to #10 in the world. At first sip I didn't care for it, too much alcohol taste at 11.3%, but as it warmed up more flavors came out, making it taste better. Lots of spiced fruit characteristics along with maltiness and alcohol warmth. Trappistes Rochefort 10, a Quadrupel ale from Belgium's Brasserie de Rochefort

^Nice choices, Joe. A good segway into my next Top BA beer, #35 the Ayinger Celebrator Dopplebock! Fantastic stuff, lots of molasses sweetness with a touch of cocoa, dark fruits, roasted malt, and a nice mildly bitter finish combined with some nice alcohol warmth All the way from Germany comes this fine double bock brew, the Celebrator

Tonight's submission is currently #19 in the world according to BA, one of the first Belgian ales I've had. and I can see why he likes it. Sweetness, yeasty bread, dark fruits, clove and other spices, a hint of citrus, and a nice alcohol warmth with a nice smoothness and a good effervescent carbonation. A really good Belgian, and being a big bottle that I've been cellaring since 2006 makes it even better! St. Bernardus ABT 12, 10%ABV. One of Joe's favorites, being a Quad and all

Another work week, another good time as any for a themed beer week. This week, we're drinking some of Beer Advocate's Best Beers on Planet Earth, focusing on the internationals this time around. I'm not normally a big fan of Belgians, but wow! Really flavorful, sweet maple sugar, dark fruits, molasses, nuts, chocolate, clove, butter, apples, and a nice alcohol warmth. Good stuff indeed! Surprisingly, new to me is #45 on the list, Trappistes Rochefort 8, a Belgian Dark Strong Ale from Brasserie de Rochefort coming in at 9.2%ABV

A couple of days worth of drinking to catch up on. and then for some stacking fun while we finish up, until next time we're up in the area, when Knoebels is opened!! Not too sour, and with lots of cinnamon and spices as well as cherries Then, time for us men to join in on the Phoenix Kriek with two of our own Ooops, he accidentally got the Olde Frosty, this is the real River Piraat. Much less hoppy, much more Belgiany While Heath decided to try the new River Piraat, a Belgian Pale Aleish tripel, looks pretty dark though, and smells hoppy! Kim went with the same thing, without any hesitation Nicole went with the Phoenix Kriek, nice and tart with good cherry flavor First up for me, Olde Frosty IPA, loaded with pine flavor This is probably the most stuff I've ever seen on tap at once here, especially on a Sunday! Selin's Grove Brewing, it's been too long! Sunday it was time to head back to one of our favorite places and as we were leaving, I had to pick up a bottle of something here to enjoy later this week and finally, what may end up being the last chance I have this year for some HopSlam on tap Lots of great flavors in this, really lite, crisp, and hoppy Next up, the long awaited Victory Kolsch, must've been hidden since last summer A look at the tap for the Spring Fling, ooh la la! First up, Blue Point's Spring Fling Rye IPA, a nice Spring IPA, not overly pined out, but with some good mild hop flavors Lots of great stuff on tap, as usual Saturday after taking a walk we decided to head over to Union Jacks again to see what was left from the prior week's Hopfest But since Knoebels isn't opened yet, we decided to stop off and see how Fahrenheit is coming along.

Today we found ourselves driving by Hershey, so we figured we'd stop off and see how Fahrenheit is coming along. and the drive through Hershey, complete with Kiss Lights The Kissing Tower Storm Runner's Flying Snake Dive thingy Roller Soaker and Tidal Force A few other pics around the perimeter, like Wildcat and here's those few missing pieces Looking good, can't wait to ride it! Just looks like a few pieces left to put in place, 3 or 4 pieces of the cobra roll the Norwegian Loop looks pretty sick. All it's missing is an escalator going thru it here you can see him with his older brother in the background Lots of track in that area Here you can see its location, the ride goes towards Wildcat Coming along nicely, but still not complete. Complete up to and out of the Cobra Roll and their new kid on the block, now topped off and Norwegianed out Hershey's old new Intamin First stop was going to be Chocolate World, but it sadly closed just before we got there

^Did you taste the sour apple, candy corn, and basement flavors?! To finish off New England week, I decided to try something new from one of the regions biggest microbreweries, Harpoon. Really tart with lots of apple taste as well as hints of vanilla. Big sour vinegar notes too. Harpoon Cider, while not a beer, it is made by a microbrewery and does contain alcohol

Back to the New England theme for the rest of the week. Yes, definitely a good cream ale, lots of sweetness and butter notes, almost like liquid kettle corn with a nice grassy and spicy hop finish. Hopefully better is the Haver Ale from Haverhill Brewing, a cream ale with a pretty sexy label Kinda ick, with chunks of yeast, some citrus, dirty hops, and a really bitter finish that isn't caused by the hops. First up, Sheriff's IPA from Sherwood Forest Brewing in Massachusetts

^^Sweet, glad you managed to get some of that stuff, Joe. ^Welcome to you and your 'Friends' to the beer thread. Tonight I'm taking a break from this week's theme because Matt is nearby in Philly and it's time for Nicole to meet him! What a better place to meet than a brewpub! It was good to see Matt again, and I know I'll see him again soon. Yet it was odd that Nicole met him and the world hasn't ended yet. Maybe it's waiting until 2012. and I had the cedar plank salmon in a bing cherry glaze. Wide variety of food here at Manayunk Brewing! Matt went with Chicken Parm as far as dinner goes, Nicole was eager to have some sushi I sure hope he made it back to his hotel safely unable to decide, Matt chose to get them all in sampler format I went right for the California Dreamin' Imperial IPA, great flavors and balance Good stuff on the tap list today We decided on Manayunk Brewing as it's near Philly for Matt to get to, easy for us to park (and avoid too much traffic) and has a nice atmosphere

Sevendust- "The Past" featuring Chris Daughtry

A new week, and I've got enough stuff that it's time for a new theme week (with 1 day's exceptions). So, without further ado, I bring you New England week, where all beers I enjoy will be from our Northeast sector, well except for tomorrow. But in all honesty, blah! Too much raspberry overtakes the other flavors of malt and citrus, and combined with the alcohol, all it tastes like is cough syrup. I felt bad for the Ithaca glass I chose to hold this in First up, Berkshire Brewing's Raspberry Barleywine AKA Raspberry Strong Ale. 9% of raspberry destruction

Kona has some really good stuff. My favorite place by far is now Boma, it may sound scary being all "African", but it's really a wide variety of great stuff. Think hard about the places that require 2 vouchers. While they may be really good if you order the right thing, if everyone is going to order something average, there's a chance there is something comparable elsewhere in the resort for 1 voucher.

Saturday we took some time to head back to some of our favorite places around Buffalo, as well as scouting out some new places. Here's to a Victorious trip for us and a hoppy Easter for all! and finally, after driving home today, I was only happy to enjoy some locally brewed HopDevil. and while the bar isn't that large (like 10 people or so), with stuff like Great Lakes Blackout Stout on tap, I was so bummed I went with the Pils at BBP instead! Definitely plan on going here next time we're up in the area Though it's no Pizza Port, they've got a pretty impressive micro list for a pizza joint On the way home, we passed by one of the Pizza Plant locations, so we decided to check it out, even though we were pretty full Though they were out of many of the darker beers I wanted to try (more local stuff like High Falls, Saranac, Great Lakes, etc), they do have a nice selection, and lots of international stuff Angry chair face says "I Want Beer!" But Nicole enjoyed a Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat. Lots of blueberry flavors in there, and mixing with the oranges it smelled a little like licorice at first Round 2 consisted of me trying their Pils since they were out of every guest tap I wanted to try. Light and refreshing, though the carbonation was almost nonexistent. While I went with Buffalo's finest combo, Beef on Weck and Buffalo Wings! Fantastic!! Nicole's lunch was the Souvaki Salad, which she liked, but couldn't finish it Nicole enjoyed their Weisse while snacking on some peanuts. This one was pretty good, nice spice and wheat flavors While it's a beer bar with an impressive 30+ taps for guest beers, they brew their own as well, like this Red Ale which was good, though very malty and low in carbonation Unless you follow it up with lunch at Buffalo Brewpub Cafe Mocha and cherry Timbits, the day can't start much better than this! First stop, Tim Horton's, the official coffee of BACT

This holiday weekend we headed up to Buffalo to see Nicole's family since it's been a while since she's seen them. Of course we did the trip BACT style, with some coasters and beer. Next up, more adventures in Buffalo! The falls were pretty breathtaking, but we couldn't get much closer due to the winterish conditions still around Since Nicole agreed to do some beer stuff to make me happy, on our way back up to Buffalo we decided on an impromptu detour to see some waterfalls without the Tabasco barrel, the Gorges Smoked Porter doesn't taste like burning, it tastes like smoked bacon and coffee! besides the growler fills and 6 packs and cases, you can also mix your own 6 pack, 12 pack, or case, which I did, along with a few pickups of their Excelsior series beers here's some of the homebrew supplies Nicole let me try her Apricot Wheat, which was also very good, nice apricot flavor and best of all, it's free! I decided to start out with the Flower Power IPA, and I was very impressed, great flavor They've got great hours, and plenty of stuff on tap for growler fills and tastings Looks like an old convenience store, but now they brew awesome stuff as well as a homebrew supply shop and then 3.5 hours later, we had a little detour into Ithaca, New York, home of Ithaca Brewing First stop, Dorney to get our passes processed. Here's the new lower park skyline

For tonight I decided to stick with the International sort of theme we have going here this week by opening up a bottle of one of Fullers top rated beers. I must say, when in England, I didn't really care for too many of their ales, but the Fullers stuff like the London Pride was pretty good, and this stuff is even better. Smooth and flavorful with caramel, toffee, chocolate, cherries, and coffee Fullers London Porter, once a top 100 beer, but has since fallen off the list, still rated an A- though