Rugged One

What's the matter Dude, you didn't want another Nugget Nectar on tap? That place actually looks pretty cool. We'll have to check it out sometime with you. For tonight's selection, something new from Firestone Walker Brewing in Paso Robles, CA. They are supposedly know for their unique, patented Firestone Union oak barrel brewing system, although I have a feeling that it has about as much to do with taste of the beer as AB's beechwood aging does. The Double Barrel Amber Ale. Not too bad. Fairly sweet with some hoppiness at the end that unfortunately gets drowned out by all the carmelized malts.

Something new from New England tonight. From Stone Coast Brewing in Portland, Maine comes the 420 IPA. Kind of blah. Tons of overpowering (and funky tasting) citrus with a weak hop profile. I think I may be the victim of a bad bottle on this one.

With Winter officially ending this week, I guess it's time to start working on the rest of these cold weather beers I have sitting around. The Lagunitas Brown Shugga'. The "mistake beer". Nice aroma and taste of sweet brown suger with a surprising hop kick in the finish. Lots of sweetness and alchohol warmth makes this one a winner on a cold winter's night.

Today, for St. Patricks Day, we were supposed to go up to Selinsgrove Brewing to drink the afternoon away and try some of their new on tap Snake Drive Stout. But when some hopefully final craptastic winter weather decided to rear it's ugly head yesterday, we decided that trip up into the mountains might not be such a good idea afterall. We had plans this evening to take our Dads to a Hershey Bears hockey game but where should we have dinner first? With rumors of good beer on tap, The Brewhouse Grille sounded like a good bet. I finish up with a Miller Lite cup full of Breckenridge Avalanche Amber. It pretty much fit in with all of the other amber/red ale Irish crap that everyone goes nuts over today. Kim's Dad hides in shame behind his cup of green Miller Lite. It's OK. We don't judge here on St. Patricks Day. Kim felt like a cider tonight, so she went with a Woodchuck. Wow, I really need to figure out the redeye reduction on my new camera! My Dad wanted a Dreadnaught too but I told him he better stick with the $2 Guiness. Check out that beer pose. You go Pops! There was some talk on Beeradvocate about some FFF Dreadnaught being on tap and there it is! Just as citrusy and piney as I remembered it being on draft at the Brewpub. This pine cone's for you Derek! Back to the Brewhouse Grill for some St. Patties Day fun. This place was the most rocking we had seen it. Tons of people getting crazy with the drinking!

Last night Kim and I split a bottle of the latest release from Dogfish Head. Their Red & White is a 12% Witbier on steroids, that...well I'll quote right off the bottle. "A big, belgian-style Wit brewed with coriander and orange peel and fermented with Pinot Noir juice. After fermentation a fraction of the batch is aged in Oregon Pinot Noir barrels, and another fraction is aged on oak staves. The beer is blended together before packaging." Yet another fantastically extreme beer from Dogfish Head. Kim & I both enjoyed it immensely! Beer & wine? And it worked ! What will those crazy bastards from Dogfish think up next?

Some pics from Thursday night's DuClaw release. So which am I? Kissably drunk or all the rage? Actually a little of both! Happy St. Patties Day everyone and thanks for reading. Pretty cool free glass. It went nicely with my release special of bangers & mash. Check out that crazy presentation. Talk about carb overload though! A nice dry Irish Stout. All right, time to get pissed! Of course Mr. Fury doesn't take too kindly to this and whips out his sword. I have to admit that this wasn't one of their better release vids. The release video was another one of their "Digital Shorts". Head brewer Jim Wagner has to call in "Mr. Celtic Fury" because he had some complaints from the other workers about him. I don't have a pic of next month's preview. Why? Cuz next's month's release is a real "Enigma" and all they showed was a big smokey ?. I guess we'll have to wait for next month. ...and even six degrees of Celtic Fury. ...the Irish in general... Trivia time, of course they had to do with Irish Stouts... Kim digs the Funk and it didn't even give her the runs! There's been a slight tweaking to their current lineup of staple beers. The Kangaroo Love Light Lager as been replaced by the return of the Funk American Wheat Beer. As a matter fact, I have two! One of the few times you'll not see start out with a Venom. That's cuz my baby, The Naked Fish, is still on tap. The return of the Celtic Fury Irish Stout! Back at DuClaw and it's the week before St. Patties Day. That can only mean one thing...

^Well in all fairness, I bought the Fuel crap before you told me to stay away from it. Now the Holiday Lager on the other hand. Can't wait for Derek to try that one out. I actually bought a bottle of something new from Lakefront last night. I'm giving them one more chance.

Some more Founder's excellence tonight... The Founder's Red's Rye. Very nice Rye Ale. Tons of hops and citrus up front that meld instantly into malty rye. Great stuff!

Tonight's selection is one of a couple of surprise bottles that Derek brought back for me from his recent visit out West. The Ballast Point Double Dorado DIPA. I had passed up a chance to try this when we were last out in San Diego last fall (instead getting a Green Flash IPA, which is now available all over the place here) and really regretted it. Glad I finally got to try it! The Ballast Point Double Dorado DIPA. Mmmm. Just a ton of fresh hops, citrus, pine and sweet, sweet maltiness. Just a great example of the West Coast DIPA.

We had a feeling that this might happen because of their "The ending everyone will be talking about" preview last week. Oh well. Whether you love Rob & Amber or hate them, you have to admit that the show won't be as interesting without them. Not sure who to root for now. I guess Oswald & Danny or the Beauty Queens.

So last night, with Derek back from Cali and then immediately leaving for another trip, we still had time to fit in another fun edition of Friday Night Beerfest. Derek wanted me to point out that the Fantome Ghost looks like a evil, skinny Strong Sad. Until next Friday. We definitely picked up the chilli in this but never did detect much of the cocoa Finally, it was time for some new to us Belgian goodness, the Fantome Chocolat, brewed with a combo of cocoa & chilli pepper. My, this was a nice one. Loads of chocolate & hops and it hid it's 11 % ABV very nicely. But we're not done quite yet. Time for some desserts, starting with the Rogue Imperial Stout, complete with cool ceremic bomber. Just a solid lineup of IPAs from Moylan's. Great, yet another place now to visit in Nor Cal. Fantastic, and just as hoppy & juicy as it's lesser brother's. It wasn't as malty & as alcoholic as some other Triple IPAs that that just made it more drinkable. Finally, it was time for the coup da gras. The Hopsickle Triple IPA. Wow, this was a fantastic Double IPA. Derek & I both agreed it was one of the best we've ever had. The Moylander Double IPA. Next up, the winner of both the 2001 & 2002 Alpha King Challenge at the GABF. This is ann awesome version of the West Coast style with a great balance between the citrus and hops. First up, a trio of super hoppy beers from Moylan's Brewery & Restaurant in Navato, CA. About 30 miles up the road from San Fran. We started with the Moylan's IPA.

Let's see what I got into tonight on this Thirsty Thursday. Then a bottle of Saranac Caramel Porter from a birthday sixer that Adam & Ellen got me. Thanks guys! The Flying Fish 10th Anniversary Imperial Expresso Porter. This was a very rich porter with some nice coffee hints.

Tonight's offering is one from a company whose beers I'm really starting to dig. He'Brew The Chosen Beer (ie The Schmaltz Brewing Co.) Some of their most recent beers I've tried have been big, bold, and in your face. Just the way I like them. Tonight's was no different. The He'Brew Genesis 10:10. An ale brewed with a crapload of malt, hops, and pomegranate juice especially for their 10th Anniversary. This must have gone over well, as they also just recently announced a brand new Origin Pomegranate Ale. I'm going to have to get my hands on some of that. Wow, I really liked this. Nice malt and hop balance and the pomegranate really stood out as it warmed up.

^ Shark Bite and Poor Man's on cask and you didn't try it. For shame. If only you had had a DD. Looking at plane ticket prices now. Some random samplings from the last 2 nights. Founder's Centennial IPA. Another damn fine IPA. This one really grew on me as it warmed up. Bell's Cherry Stout. God I love this stuff. Just such an awesome tart cherry bite to it. I'm glad I picked up a case of this. The Left Hand Warrior IPA. Wow, this one suprised me. Beautiful blend of citrus and those wonderful Warrior hops. Good stuff.

^Now you decide to post some beer pics! I'll let you post the ones from Pepe's. By the way, I hate your flash! Thanks again for taking us around Dude! Here's another take on the weekend. So with Derek in California for the weekend, our off season streak of 17 straight weekends of beer drinking had to inevitably come to an end. But our weekend streak of drinking beers with cool people form BACT continues thanks to a fun little trip this past weekend with Adam & Ellen. We had initially planned on a possible BACT Attack of B-More or Northern Jersey or NYC but then Adam suggested that since ACE New England's off season event (Nor'Easter) was to be held at Lake Compounce this year, we could check that out and then travel up into Western Mass, to check out the college filled area of Amherst/North Hampton. Knowing that this area is full of breweries and beer bars (including the #1 ranked best place to have a beer in America) we knew what must be done. Less than a month after the last one, it was time for yet another Massachusetts BACT Attack! Finally, I'll end this update with a High & Mighty Extra Pale Ale. A nice vibe and a great selection made the Dirty Truth our favorite stop of the trip. In fact the whole area rocked! Looks like we now have a new place to go when we're up at SFNE. Kim gives a shout out to our Beer Thread U.K. peeps with a Coniston Bluebird Bitter. Adam really digs the North Coast Brother Thelonius Strong Ale. See, check out all those taps! Double Wow! Check out that draft board! Loads of decent stuff to try. Wow, this is a little different than the Moan & Dove. Lots of college kids enjoying good beers. Despite the somewhat young crowd, we never felt out of place and easily found spots down at the end of the bar. Ah there it is, The Dirty Truth! Seriously, that's the only signage on the outside of the place. Our final stop took us down the road to another college bar area in North Hampton. Here lies the much rowdier sister bar to the Moan & Dove. But you wouldn't know from the outside, would you? We really liked this place! A nice vibe, good food, and better than expected beers will make for a return trip in the future. I got denied the Twin Sisters Imperial Stout so I decided to change things up a bit and try a new cider on the market. The Original Sin Cider. Don't be fooled by it's nearly transparent color. It was very good. This one's for you Gluten Free! For the next round, Adam gets their Oatmeal Stout and a water to wash it down with. The food was pretty good here. I had a yummy rueben with fries. While Adam goes for the very delicous Chocolate Porter. Kim tries their sweet Honey Pilsner. I start out with the Incinerator Dopple Bock. A little more thin than I normally like in my Dopple Bock's but it was still pretty good. Lots of decent looking stuff on tap. Well after that, we definitley needed some food. Luckily the Amherst Brewing Company was right down the street. It was pretty crowded but we managed to get a seat right away. All in all we had a good time at the Moan & Dove. A #1 place? I'm not too sure about that. A decent selection of beers but the place was almost too simple and laid back with hardly anyone in there at 8 pm on a Saturday night. Maybe that's the attraction f A shot of the Belgian side of their bottle menu. One again, nice but nothing that we haven't seen at other really good beer bars. Next up I get the Offshore Brewing IPA while Adam had a DeKoninck Winter Brew. Mmmm. A great salty snack that makes you thirsty for more beer! They are supposed to have some food here but we never saw a menu. But they did have everyone's favorite beer drinking snack. A big old barrel of peanuts! ...which frees Kim up to have a beer. An Allagash White. Adam keeps it local and tries something from High & Mighty Brewing in Holyoke, MA. Their nicely named Beer of the Gods! Ellen was taking it easy on the beer this weekend and just had a soda... I start off with the Dry Hopped St. Rogue Red. Very nice. Basically there is no wait staff here. You just get your beer from the bar and sit down and drink. They had a decent draft list but unfortunately, nothing that blew our socks off. As you can see the whole place is basically a medium size room with wood tables & benches, low lighting, and some kind of trance music playing. Our next stop, The Moan & Dove. The #1 ranked place to have a beer in America, according to Beeradvocate.com. Would it live up to the hype? Let's find out. Adam & Ellen say "It's nice, but it's no Julio's!" I must say that they did have a nice selection (but no Founder's) including a ton of tasty Belgians. Our first stop in Amherst was the Spirit Haus, a pretty well reviewed liquor store in the area to naturally pick some stuff up that I normally can't get around this area.

HA! We were flipping through the Carnival Stripper book there in the sellers room. Definitely some *ahem* interesting stuff in there. Nice pics of driving through the park. It was definitley an added perk of the event.

It was a decent event. Not only was the offseason tour of the park cool but the best was being allowed to actually drive down the park's pathway. We've never done that in a park before! It was interesting, parking right in front of Down Time. If only we could do that during the operating season.

Interesting. I was just wondering seeing as how we get so many imports here in the States but I guess it only works one way right now. Tonight's stuff... You know what? I absolutely love it. Tastes borderline like a Triple IPA. I'm going to put this side by side with a bottle of 06 next week. Then it was time for some of the 2007 release of the Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine. There's been a lot of debate about this years batch (both pro & con) as it is exceedingly hoppier than previous years. I figure with Derek gone for a few days, someone has to keep the Nugget Nectar flowing in this thread.

^Nice pics. The Sierra Nevada Pale Ale isn't too bad of a Pale Ale. They brew so much better stuff though. I think I'm going to sit down with a few bottles of their Barleywine sometime soon. So does much (or if any) American craft brew get distributed over your way? So I'll dedicate this post to Matt (who I guess is finally on his way to beer heaven right now) seeing as how I had a few from his favorite local brewery. Lakefront Brewing in Milwaukee, WI. I just honestly wish that I had better things to say about them. Finally, it looked like Santa dropped off a late XMas present of some Holiday Spice Lager after all. Wow, this is probably one of the spiciest beers I've had yet and honestly, it just didn't work for me. I will say that if this thing was indeed 9.5%, they First up, the Fuel Cafe Coffee Flavored Stout. Flavored was about it as this was very thin and hardly smelled or tasted of coffee. And the coffee that was present had this weird sour taste to it. Blech!

^No problem man. I hope it still tasted all right. I guess since there's only a few more weeks of winter left, it's about time to start getting into more of these Winter Warmers I have laying around. Next up the Brooklyn Winter Ale. Nice and sweet and malty with some hints of smoke and fruit. First up, the Pursuit of Happiness Winter Warmer from Clay Pipe Brewing in Westminister, MD. Not too bad. Nice malty front with a surprisingly hoppy finish but a kind of watery and weak body.

Thought I'd treat myself to a special beer on this most special of days. Goes great with Wegmans sushi too! Mmmmm. What can I say. It's my all time fav beer. The Pizza Port Wipeout IPA.

Well you would have thought that with all the drinking from yesterday and earlier this afternoon, I'd pretty much be done for the weekend. So did I but then decided to slip one more in. The Two Brothers Brewing Heavy-Handed IPA. Not sure exactly what but something just didn't sit right with this one. Maybe the hop varietal used? Maybe it needed to be more balanced? Just a little too bitter in the hop bite.

Just a couple of quick pics from today's lunch up at Selin's Grove Brewing. We beat the snow getting up there this morning but it started in pretty good while we were there and was pretty heavy at times on the ride home. We ended up skipping our other plans in Harrisburg and just decided to come home. You played it smart by staying home Derek. Stupid winter weather.... This trip was pretty cool because for the first time we got to see owner and head brewer Steve Leason mingling about for a little bit chatting up some of the regulars. Of course he was mostly lamenting how they are having trouble keeping up with demand as when we were there, they were once again out of certain beers and a couple of the taps on the wall were completely empty. And then I finish up with one of my favorites here, the Shade Mountain Oatmeal Stout. Kim of course has to get some of their fantastic homemade rootbeer. They were out of a few things but one they did have back on was the Golding's Special Bitter. Very nice. Back at Selin's Grove Brewing despite the imminent arrival of some nasty weather. What can I say? The place is worth it!

Tonight, I decided to delve into one of the lesser talked about aspects of craft beer. Craft beer in cans. Many of the smaller breweries (including locally, Sly Fox) are now using canning systems because they can be had for a lot less money than a traditional bottling line, only need 2-3 people to run it, cans allow for zero light to potentially degrade the beer, and it's generally a cool hook to get people interested in your product. Plus it's fun to get rid of the empties as you will see... Probably the most well known brewery doing cans right now (and probably the most well distributed) is Oskar Blues out of Lyons, CO. I just happen to have a couple chilling in the beer fridge right now... Craft beer in cans is fun! Boo-Ya!!!! I show a little better craft beer etiquette on this round and put Gordon in a pint glass. But the empty once again gets the star treatment... Next up is Gordon, a nicely balanced Double IPA. A Double IPA in cans? Are you kidding me? I love it! Look at that, instant can compactor. Boo-Ya!!! But uh oh. What do I do with the empty? That's right, I'm chugging this one straight out of the can. Redneck style! I'm going to have to chuck the rules of craft beer drinking out the window on this one folks... First up, Oskar Blue's flagship beer, Dale's Pale Ale. A rather nicely hopped Pale Ale.

Went with a couple of PA's finest tonight... Next up, it was some more awesomeness, courtesy of Victory. The Storm King Stout! First up, some Troegs Nugget Nectar. A beer that has been sorely lacking from this thread recently.;P