Cheers to Beer(s) in AUS

Posted on May 22, 2016 by melsmosaic

Ok, there is of our amazing wine in Australia and New Zealand. But, one must not forget about the brew! Some amazing stuff come from malt, yeast, hops and water. Some were enjoyed with aforementioned meals in posts. The couple below were ‘just’ enjoyed in Cairns, AUS near the Great Barrier Reef. The James Squires Pale Ale was perfect. Not hoppy, just smooth. The Golden Ale was a bit light, but nonetheless refreshing!

The XXXX Australian was one of those to just drink because it’s hot out and you wanted to try local beer. Think Foster’s. The picture of it focuses more on the beautiful water because of that.

New Zealand Wine and Beer Stop, Wild on Waiheke

Posted on May 22, 2016 by melsmosaic

As part of the wine tour we also got to enjoy some brew. We stopped at Wild on Waiheke, which has the Waiheke Island Brewery and also the winery. We primarily had the beer at this one but also had a sip of vino.

For the wine we had a sip of their Sauvignon Blanc. A nice traditional one that you get from NZ.

For the brews we had quite the spread. We enjoyed a taste of all of them while hearing the history of the brewery and all about the brewing process.

-Baroona Original, 4.7% ABV. Based on the German Kolsch style, the use of famous NZ grown Saaz B (Motueka) hops gives this beer its distinctive grapefruit peel aroma. Baroona is brewed from 90% pilsner malt and 10% malted wheat and is top fermented. — nice and cris,p just like it should be.

-Whard Rf. Wheat Beer, 4.5% ABV. Based on the Bavarian Hefe-Weizen style, brewed from a 50/50 blend of Pilsner malted wheat, very lightly hopped with Pacific Hallertau and fermented with authentic Bavarian yeast. Like many classic wheat beers this product is unfiltered and has the authentic clove and banana aromas. — definitely had the banana, not good for me. I like having banana flavor from the fruit or in some tasty bread.

-Matiatia Malt Beer, 7.2% ABV. Based on the new American Imperial Pale Ale style, this beer’s high ABV makes it perfect as an after dinner beer or nightcap. The palate is rich and full with notes of toffee and chocolate, balanced with generous additions of NZ grown chocolate, balanced with generous additions of NZ grown Cascande hops for a lingering resinous finish — heavy, couldn’t take more than a sips. Could taste what they said and definitely wouldn’t want it as a ‘main’ beer.

-Apple Cider, 5.5% — Brewed on site alongside the beers and make from Hawkes Bay Granny Smith apple juice and fermented with their top fermented ale yeast culture. The cider starts fermentation at a high gravity and is then cooled down once it reaches 5.5% ABV. This rapid halt to the fermentation leaves plenty of residual apple flavour and just the right level of sweetness. The aroma and flavour are both full of fresh apple notes and a lingering finish. — pretty good! And the sweetness is not overbearing.

-Hauraki Gulf Ginger Beer — non-alchohol. ‘Nuf said.

Another great place to check out.

Smiths Craft Beer House, Queenstown, NZ

Posted on April 28, 2016 by melsmosaic

Another spot visited in Queenstown was the Smith Craft Beer House.

You can pretty much deduce what they have based on the name. And you can order a sampler of whatever you like. Based on their large selection, the bartender chose several for the table based on our taste. The six that came to the table were:

From left to right:

Garage Prospect, Teas & Tea, Spicy Brown Ale, 6.2% — very dark

Horse Box, Vigilante, IPA, 5.8% — tasted a bit like tea

Horse Box, Storm Hopper, APA, 5.7% — crisp and not too hoppy

Beer Barrons, Lady Danger, Red Ale, 6.5% — red definitely describes it

Wigram Tornado, IPA, 6.6% — bit of fruit, not much else, slightly bitter

Tuatora/Coucher, Summer Gold Golden Ale, 4.5% — light, totally an ale

For lunch we ordered a pizza, half with cheese half without. The crust on this thing was amazing. So light and fluffy! One of the best pizzas I’ve had. Great stuff.

Forrest Brewing Company

Posted on April 26, 2016 by melsmosaic

On the return day from visiting the 12 Sisters, we took a different route. This let us stop at a brewery vs. a winery (for both drink and food). The location, Forrest Brewing Company.

I decided to do a tasting and what’s nice is they don’t give you 4oz pours so you can easily taste everything on the 6-taster flight. The pour is just shy of 2oz. With this it comes on a nice wooden palate and you get:

Names:

Pilsner (no formal description) – nice and crisp

Silver top (no formal description) – bland/flat

Pale Ale (…lovely apple flavours then a lingering nudge of caramel malt. The finish leaves a refreshing crispness. The Cascade hops lend a lasting touch of bitterness gently balancing the malts. We let malt, Otways water, hops and yeast do all the work, you won’t find any preservatives in here. Best served cold and enjoyed whilst fresh. ABV 4.8%) – good bite

Irish Red (Coloured copper red with earthy malt flavours of dark caramel, chestnut and a touch of roasted barely. A spicy hop note dominates leaving a crisp refreshing bitter finish. We let malt, Otways water, hops and yeast do all the work, you won’t find any preservatives in here. Best served cold and enjoyed whilst fresh. ABV 3.6%) – just a bit awkward, would need to try it again when not sampling others

Sista Ginger (Our Forrest ginger beer recipe contains only the freshest natural ingredients, freshly grated ginger, hand squeezed lemons and choice exotic spices. We use slow fermentation to achieve a crisp, slightly cloudy, lightly carbonated and refreshing alternative to malt beers. Brewed using our ale yeast, it’s happily alcoholic. ABV 4.1%) – clear, like water, not great

Pobblebonk (Our Autumn seasonal beer is a French style Saison de Miel. Named after a local frog and using Otway’s Strawberry Clover honey, plenty of orange zest, it’s even got a stella hop…s Pouring golden orange with white foaming head, it’s a fruity number with peppery spice, clove, orange and honey notes. An interesting beer yet refreshingly easy to drink. One for a sunny afternoon by the river or slow contemplation on the veranda. ABV 7%) – citrus all that way

For lunch several of us had:

Eggplant Brulee Salad – Caramelized with sticky soy sesame marinade, Asian noodles, snow peas, yellow capsicum, bean shoots, greens, fried shallots.

Porterhouse Sliders

Feelin’ Crabby – softshell crab sandwich

All the food was great and the beer was quite nice to enjoy/taste.

Capital Wheel Lunch

Posted on March 31, 2016 by melsmosaic

Finally made it to the Capital Wheel at the National Harbor, MD recently.

Went on a cold day, which meant the line was non-existent. Great views all around. After the ride, checked out a restaurant in the area, Granite City.

They brew their own beer so opted for a sampler. The four brews on the taster were The Prairie Vixen, The Northern, the Cran Gose and the Smith & Forge.

The Prairie was a Hef with mild banana and clove, bubble gum, hints of citrus and mild spiciness. It was not that exciting and actually way too banana-y for me. The Northern was an American Lager that was mild, crisp and had mild bitterness. Very good, a true Lager. The Cran Gose tasted like toothpaste to me. The Smith & Forge was solid.

The menu was a normal brewery menu and based on the location, quite expensive. They had a traditional MD crab soup so I opted for that and a salad. My friend went for a bowl of chili and caesar.

Once we finally got the food…it was fine. It took nearly 45 minutes to get the stuff, and you can tell all it really takes it a couple ladles and putting lettuce on a plate. Nothing that exciting and there are many other places at National Harbor I’d rather check out.

Newbies

Posted on March 27, 2016 by melsmosaic

Always great to pop a new cork or have somebody pour you a new brew. The two most recents…

Was in Rehoboth Beach so had to of course visit one of my favorite breweries, Dogfish Head. They have some brews on tap they you can only get while standing under that roof. The one I opted for was the QuatroSanque. ‘an intensely citrusy IPA made with blood orange juice, sliced lemon and orange zest. Dark and medium crystal malts provide a deep amber color and sweet caramel/toffee notes to balance the the tartness of the citrus. Generous dry-hopping with Centennial and HBC431 dry-hops at a massive 2 pounds per barrel pushes the citrus and tropical juiciness to the next level. ‘ 7.25% ABV (served in 10 oz. pours). This stuff was smooth, not too hoppy and just refreshing. I was close to buying a growler…

LAM Pinotage. A bit earthier than normal, some tobacco in there, had minimal leather and smoke notes, but very interesting. I tasted some fizz, but it was a ‘normal’ bottle. It was a VERY light red. Was definitely the most unique Pinotage I’ve tasted. About $20/bottle.

Cheers to the Weekend

Posted on March 11, 2016 by melsmosaic

Have been sipping a range of drinks recently so thought I would pass them along as we enter the weekend. They hit all the choices out there — beer, wines, liquor. The rundown as the 5 o’clock whistle approaches.

Beer: It’s Flying Dog’s 25th Anniversary and I heard about their anniversary brew, Tropical Bitch. It’s a Belgian-Style IPA, 8.0% ABV. Per the description, “pineapple and mango dominate with subtle passion fruit and sticky sweet, yet crisply bitter, hop notes.” Was finally able to snag a 6-pack. Yeah, it’s ok. Fairly bronze in color and just off in taste, for me. Not that impressed (personally, keep that in mind). I keep opening more to see if I like it and not so much, but the color is very cool. It’s about $8-$10/6 pack.

White Wine: Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc from Chile. Nice and light, with subtle citrus notes. Has just a perfect body to it. Also has the convenient screw top. Perfect to enjoy with some cheese or seafood, or totally on its own. This is around $10-$15/bottle.

Red Wine: Napa Cellars Pinot Noir. I’ll let you guess where it’s from. It has just a nice balance of subtle chocolate and berries. Perfect. What I loved is that I was able to pick some up for $10/bottle vs. the normal $20!

Margaritas: Jose Cuervo Light Margaritas (pre-mixed). Addiction in a bottle. Only 95 calories a serving. Just don’t read how small the serving is, ok? It’s just perfect to throw some ice in a glass and pour this on top. Then grab the chips, salsa and guac. Can usually find this for $12-$15/bottle.

Drink on, my friends.

Blue Star Brewing Company

Posted on December 11, 2015 by melsmosaic

Last Day in San Antonio…time to try some local brew. I had seen this place on a super long exploratory walk (10+ miles) the first day I was there. Now had 4+ hours to kill before catching my plane, why not walk a bit to check this place out for some local fare, in more ways than one?

So, walked a couple miles (south) on the Riverwalk to the Blue Star Brewing Company.

Checked out the beer menu and wanted to do a sampler. You can pick any of their brews and get as many as you’d like in 4-oz. pours. Great idea! And they cost $1-$3 each. After reading and reading the descriptions I finally picked four — I’m not going to start with more than a pint’s worth of beer. And, some of the ABVs on these were high.

So I went with:

Texican: South Texas Lager, dry, crisp & mild. Flavors with leave you thirsty for more, 4.0% ABV. — This was my favorite!

Flying Pig: Extra Pale Ale, Refreshing, beautifully hopped, well balanced light colored ale, 5.0% – good hops, not overpowering.

Dunkelhead: Dark, bold and refreshing lager, 5.6% — not my style, glad I tried it, though.

Wheathead: Refreshingly satisfying wheat beer, ABV 5.2% — off/odd for wheat. I was expecting more of a Hef.

There food was good. Had a delicious salad with salmon.

Great way to close out my week in San Antonio. Check this place out if you’re looking for some local brew and you’re in the area.

Breweries, Wineries and Cideries (?)

Posted on October 18, 2015 by melsmosaic

Have been checking out some local places of imbibement lately and have had much fun. What else is there to do after hiking and running vs. supporting the locals while refueling?

#1 Forge Brew Works, Lorton, VA

Visited this one after hiking in Prince William State Park in VA. The hike also turned into 15 vs 9 miles. Great signage in that park, let me tell you. In the brewery’s tasting room, they have well over a dozen options on tap, from traditional to seasonal brews and you can get 4oz samplers at a great price to get a feel for the menu. My friend and I each got a spread of the 4oz pours so we could tackle the taps effectively. Some were very creative, some not up my alley, but awesome to check out. Dog friendly place (which is why we went — they have tons of water and treats for them) and you bring your own food if you want to munch on anything.

(Jet was passed out on the floor while we were sipping, eating and watching football)

#2 Distillery Lane Ciderworks, Jefferson, MD

I keep calling this a cidery because it goes with the flow of the sentence with winery, brewery… Ok, so it’s a distillery. They distill (hard) cider. Anyway, on we go. I mapped this out to visit after completing a half marathon as part of refueling. As a map point, it’s about 30 minutes from Harper’s Ferry and maybe an hour+ from DC. They have a big range of hard cider, from bubbly stuff, to ones with some additional flavor influence (fruit, sweet), to dry & sweet, to barrel-aged stuff. I never knew there was so much to this. When you buy your tasting, you get to pick whatever you’d like to taste — $5 for 4 pours, and the souvenir glass. And when you go with somebody else…sip & share, share & sip.

The whiskey-barrel influence stuff–nice! The cherry and maple (independent) fused stuff, yeah, not so much. The bubbly — where’s my champagne flute? They also have that regular apple cider that you don’t need an ID to buy and those healthy apple things that you buy to just add at this cool place.

#3 Big Cork Vineyards, Rohrersville, MD

(cork stool, oh yes)

It’s 5-10 minutes from the cidery, darn, I meant distillery. Isn’t cidery just a natural name? That’s why we visited it next. I’d tasted their wine a couple times at local farmer’s markets. But, they just opened they gorgeous tasting room this year. My friend and I decided to split a tasting so we splurge and went for the big one — 7 wines — watch out! It was $14 for this ‘more’ tasting.

Some were ok, nothing to write home about. There is still just something missing in MD wines. VA is gaining power and MD is next door so I don’t know why they can’t do it (at least for me, though I know I’m not alone in that comment).

#4 Right Proper Brewing Company, Washington, DC

Was simply googling breweries in DC and this one came up. Had never heard of it so had to investigate. It’s in the Shaw-Howard area of DC. So much on tap, innovative options, what do I pick? You can get half pours (no flight options). My friend and I opted to play with the wolves and ordered some Wild Wolves and Raised by the Wolves. We had some sips to ‘sample’ before ordering our half pour of choice too. I stopped here before a big dinner so didn’t get to do enough investigation but definitely plan to go back to do a deeper search.

#5 Boxwood Winery, Middleburg, VA

Located in a historic, very nice area 1-1.5 hours outside of DC, this winery is growing well. They used to have a nice tasting room/wine bar in Friendship Heights which has unfortunately closed. They still have one at National Harbor and in Reston. These are definitely VA wines, unique tastes and good to keep an eye on. I like a couple but I just can’t justify paying the price for some of them. The price was $10/tasting, and we got to keep the glass (add to the collection).

The Franciscan Well, Cork, Ireland

Posted on July 8, 2015 by melsmosaic

Among various places visited while in Ireland, a great place stumbled upon (no pun intended) was Franciscan Well Brewery.

It’s a newer brewery (founded in late ’90s), but has great history to it.

‘The Franciscan Well Brewery was founded in 1998 on the North Mall in Cork City and is built on the site of an old Franciscan Monastery and Well, dating back to the year 1219. Legend has it that the water from the well has miraculous and curative properties and people would come from afar to drink from it.’

We opted to take the entire brewery tour to find out about what all they do based on the additional info they provided on their site.

‘The Brewery has combined modern technology with old age tradition in forming classic beer styles including lager, ale, stout and wheat beer. All the beers brewed at the Franciscan Well are natural, and do not contain any chemical additives or preservatives and are made with the best ingredients.’

It was great. To put the size of the brewery in perspective, the only thing I can think of is that it’s maybe a quarter size of the end zone of a football field? Maybe 1/3? It’s tiny. They have so little space, have to stay on top of things to a tee and provided more much more insane amounts of info, from law restrictions, what got them started, real estate, bottling, competition, brewing specs to tastings from beginning to…ahhh…end.

The tour provided 4 or so tastings where you also went through the components of yeast, barley, etc. All their brews were great. But, one I do remember was a hefe with way too much banana. I definitely did not need to have more of that.

When you visit the brewery, they have an outdoor brick pizza oven where you can order a great meal, as well, to help soak up all the fun. Worth checking out to get in even more Irish culture.