Domestic ‘Irish’ Beer

Posted on March 17, 2014 by melsmosaic

It’s St. Patrick’s Day, another storm hit the area, which means there is no work. It even means I don’t get to teach class at the gym tonight. So, after meeting a friend for lunch (and walking there and back in the nice (?) slush and snow to attempt getting a workout) I was on a mission to get a (n)ice cold beer for the day. I stopped by a great local beer store in Bethesda, Beer, Wine & Co. to see what I could snag one bottle of vs. a 6-pack. Of course I couldn’t get Guinness or Harp in a single, so a bottle by great local brewer, Flying Dog, was suggested. It was their Lucky SOB Irish Style Red. Very nice and perfect for the day. Just a traditional red, crisp and what I wanted. And, they say it’s brewed with 4-leaf clovers, you can never go wrong with that!

Red Hook…it’d been so long

Posted on February 6, 2014 by melsmosaic

Before the big game last weekend I went to the store to grab some brew from Seattle. There store didn’t have any Pyramid handy and another big Seahawks fan pointed out that Red Hook is brewed right near there in Woodinville. I had a couple options to choose from but opted for the traditional ESB. Extra Special Bitter, smooth & bold as they say is just about right. It was so refreshing and a perfect beer for the game.

Holzar-Bier

Posted on January 22, 2014 by melsmosaic

A friend was traveling in Europe a few months back and was very kind and brought me back some German brew. Finally popped it open during the football games last weekend. It’s Holzar-Bier, which comes in a nice flip top, 1/2 L bottle. It’s 5.2% ABV and a dark amber. A tiny bit bitter, in a good way, and very unique. Will definitely see if I can find it around here.

Brasserie Beck

Posted on January 12, 2014 by melsmosaic

I was very fortunate this week to be able to return to a restaurant I visited several years ago, though this time it was just for a basic corporate lunch. It was nonetheless just as amazing. The location, Brasserie Beck in Washington, DC. It’s a “contemporary European style brasserie” with a basic yet widespread menu. Both times I’ve been there they have made amazing accommodations for dietary restrictions (lactose intolerance). The first time the chef wanted to make something totally new as a challenge.

They are well known for their beer selection, boasting 9 Belgium drafts and over 100 Belgium bottles. Darn, why was I there on a business lunch this past time?

For my meal I enjoyed an amazing Diver Scallops Salad — Avocado, Citrus, Shaved Fennel and Rocket Salad. This is where they used oil to pan sear the scallops vs. butter.

My colleagues each enjoyed the Grilled Hanger Steak Salad — Mixed Greens, Charred Scallions, Warm Fingerling Potato Salad, Blue Cheese.

None of us had a bite of food left on our plates. Would recommend checking this place out for lunch, dinner or just a nice happy hour.

Southern Tier of Choklat Heaven

Posted on January 10, 2014 by melsmosaic

A friend had been telling me about a chocolate stout recently and I was quite intrigued. I lean towards IPAs and wheats but will try something off the wall. She had to wait to go home at Christmas to get this stuff as it’s hard to find around here. So, last weekend I finally had the great treat of sampling some Southern Tier Choklat. Per the bottle, it’s a stout brewed with chocolate — sounds deep. WOW, give me some gingerbread, dark cherries and dark chocolate to pair with this and heaven had arrived! It’s 10% ABV, super smooth and just disappears. You don’t need much. It comes in 22oz bottles so pick one up to share with a friend for dessert.

I’m going to have to check out some of Southern Tier’s other stuff, now, too. They are located in NY and have a nice menu.

HOP Part II

Posted on December 16, 2013 by melsmosaic

And in the food world, a common thought when it comes to HOP is just plain old hops and beer. Bring me that IPA. And on the history of IPA, Wikipedia is once again that great place for just random info you never realized you were going to look up. If you want it, here’s your easy link.

There was a beer tasting yesterday of the wonderful Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. This phenomenal brewery comes to us from Chico, CA and has (biased opinion) one of the best pale ales. They were also sampling two other brews.

The Celebration Seasonal has a ‘medium-high’ hop level. They brew this with fresh hops (vs wet hops) and these are the “freshest dried hops to come from the fields, typically within seven days of harvest.” I could taste some tree in this beer, pine-y, in a good, seasonal way.

The other beer they had out was the Torpedo Extra IPA. This is definitely way up there in hoppiness (or you could translate that to happiness?) but the balance of flavors in it make it a very unique brew. Trees, citrus and just dang good beer!

Thanks Sierra Nevada for the hops, IPA and great brew.

Then, wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy one of those beers in the Sierra Nevada? The view there is amazing!!!

Rasp-beer-y

Posted on December 11, 2013 by melsmosaic

The snow ‘storm’ in DC brought a government shutdown. This was the first time I’ve ever been able to actually have a paid snow day! So, come 1pm, the snow was gone, the sun was out. What did that mean? Time to go (Christmas) shopping. I only had the intention of finishing off getting gifts for those on my list but when I went to the mecca of grocery, kitchen gadget, wine and beer store, things changed. After some discussion with the beer man and other shoppers of the current offerings, New Belgium’s (new) Frambozen came up. Nobody had actually had it for several years. The name itself screams raspberry then the description lures you into a brown ale. You can’t leave that poor thing sitting on the shelf! Had some a bit later. Very nice, smooth, nice hint of the fruit, but not overwhelming. Pick some up for a friend, yourself, or to take to a party to celebrate the season. Happy Holidays!

Brew-story

Posted on December 9, 2013 by melsmosaic

Saw an interesting article in USA Today this morning about old-school beers that just aren’t what they used to be. Some of the ‘big guys’ are losing steam as (awesome) microbrewers are making their way onto the red carpet of beer. There are nine brews many Americans no longer drink. Check it out.

(Photo: Tetra Images/Getty Images/Brand X)

Beer and Bike Tour

Posted on October 30, 2013 by melsmosaic

Being in San Francisco doesn’t mean you’re only near wine country. You are also around some good craft breweries. I came across a tour that was worth checking out — Small-Group Craft Brews and Bike Tour. You get to taste local stuff, check out some of the city ‘on foot’ and attempt to burn some of what you enjoyed with exercise. Can’t go wrong, right?

So you get to the tour office and get quickly fitted for your bike. The small tour is max of 8 people, we had 6. As we were leaving, one of the best parts was seeing the tour guide’s helmet — a hockey helmet! He said he just couldn’t find a bike helmet that really worked for him so this was best. Loved it!

So our first stop was 21st Amendment. It was a about a 5 minute ride from the start/office. The tour included one free beer and this is where we got it. I took some quick sips of a couple before deciding on the 5 South (this is a different beer, so mine was a different color/look).

Then we had about a 10-15 minute bike ride. Next stop was ‘just’ a bar that tapped local brews (all of CA), Zeitgeist. The staff was a bit arrogant and we only found out when we arrived that they only take cash. After snapping a picture of the board, I also was told you can’t take pictures after the sign just said no phones. I took that as no using phones to talk. Anyway, I went for the Baby Daddy. Nice beer. Good and bad on the bar, though. We went outside to the patio to enjoy our brews. You can smoke at this place…and you can smoke anything…

To get to the next stop we had a very fun 20+ minute bike ride getting to see more of the city. The we arrived at Cerveceria de Mateveza. Great place to try a flight. Opted for the Yerba IPA, Morpho, Local Honey and Spring Bloom Single. All were very good but it was the end of the tour and all were starting to blend.

We then got to ride back to the office and most was downhill. It was a 30+ minute effort but very relaxing. Fun day in San Francisco!

From CO to MD

Posted on October 29, 2013 by melsmosaic

I visited the breweries in Colorado then went less than a hour north of Washington, DC to check about another great beer producer’s house of heaven. This time it was Flying Dog. Now, did you know they started in Colorado and moved to Maryland to grow/expand/make people around here even happier? Oh, ok, maybe that last part wasn’t the true strategy but I don’t hear any complaints.

So when considering checking out the Flying Dog Brewery, pull out next year’s calendar. They have a several month wait list/lead booking time. I lucked out because I was going alone and was able to snag a spot from a cancellation. So, if you want to go that route, contact them a day or so before you’d be interested in checking it out. They only do tours Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

You get there, get carded, get your nice bracelet.

Pay $5 and get a great glass that you keep (this is jumping ahead as it has delicious fluid in it). Then the tour begins.

You get the scoop on the entire history, from the founder, the owner, the random tidbits, the alcohol, drugs, prison time, name, etc. Neat stuff. The hallway depicts all of this. There are more paintings that the camera didn’t quite pick up.

You continue into the beer processing area and learn about all steps of the brewing process, from when water and hops might initially collide, how they determine each brew (what goes into each one), when/how long it’s in vats, how the bottling process works and the final ‘boxing’/putting it in cases or kegging so we can enjoy it.

When the tour was done, we headed to the bar where we could pick whatever we wanted. For $5, we got 5 samples. Big samples. I had the staple, Raging Bitch. Went with the White Wheat. I tried the rarities — Orchard Ale. Then some of the seasonals, which were hit or miss. There were love/hates in the tour group as we discussed them. The seasonals I tried were this beer and wine funky thing (can’t remember the name) — interesting. One glass would be all I’d want and then the awesome Dogtoberfest Marzen.