Avery Brewing

Posted on December 22, 2014 by melsmosaic

So, Colorado for the holidays, can’t go wrong. Side note: I’m not doing my blogs in order of what I consume (it is not influenced by what I’m consuming), but more because of the bliss of the food and drink. The first place I checked out when I arrived the other day was the Avery Brewing in Boulder, CO.

Nice small place, makes you feel very welcome. And I love what some of the info on the site says (reading it now) — “We are dedicated to making beer from the inside out: we brew what we like to drink–with utter disregard for what the market demands– and search out fans with equally eccentric palates.”

Did a read-through of the menu and was of course overwhelmed. So many choices! My friend highly suggested the Winter’s Day IPA. I’m sometimes worried that the winter brews are a bit darker than I truly enjoy. He told me it’s not too dark, more of a copper color. And, based on the description it has a unique spice, beer-wise, in it — “Created with Kyle Hollingsworth of String Cheese Incident, this IPA is spiced with rosemary.” The ABV is 6.5%. WOW! Great brew. You can get a slight bit of the herb on the nose and then just enough when you drink it. Great, great beer. My other friend had the White Rascal Belgian-Style Wheat Ale. After the sip I had, very nice traditional white Belgian beer. Of course my two friends can come here any time because they live a few miles away. If you’re in Boulder, check this place out.

Horse & Dragon Brewery

Posted on December 22, 2014 by melsmosaic

I’m in Ft. Collins for Christmas and of course have to check out some of the local ‘fare’ — that mostly means good microbrews. So today that meant a new brewery by the name of Horse and Dragon Brewing Company.

Wasn’t sure what to get so opted for a sampler. Ok, sampler? Six brews of 4oz each for $8 — that is quite the nice pour of some high octane beer.

The half dozen tastes included:

Fort Kolnz Keller Kolsch-Style Ale — “A grainy sweet aroma holds well with a slight citrus note derived from the moderate hopping. Dry and clean on the palate, bitterness is present but not overpowering. Extended cellaring is evident in the clean crisp finish and despite a very pale straw color and light body our ale has great depth and complexity. Ein Prosit Der Gemütlichkeit! ABV: 5.2%”

Sage Adweisse Berliner Weisse — “A light, effervescent, slight tart wheat ale that tastes so refreshing that it mush be good for us. Dominant ingredients are evident from the first sniff; wheaty goodness mixed with traditional German yeast scents and a hint of tartness. One glass will make you wonder why anyone ever put a lime in a beer, though this beer is sometimes served with dashes of flavored syrup. Our lowest ABV brew, this is an ale you can enjoy all day. Sage Adweisse was name for our (well, really, Linsey & Titus’s) brewdog. ABV: 3.6%”

Whistle Blast Honey Brown — “A welcoming ale displaying warm mahogany earth tones accentuated by a thin veil of creamy foam head, our Honey Brown Ale is as inviting as the historic English pubs where the style originated. Slight roast malt character leads the nose to a warm sensuous balance of mild hop bitterness and sweet honey malt after notes. A clean, somewhat drying finish allows the sweetness of malt to shine through and remain as a memento for each sip. Quaffable in design, this ale will toast well in any social situation and keep you coming back for more. Cheers! ABV: 6.3%”

Picnic Rock Pale Ale — “Picnic Rock Ale aligns itself with recreation in Colorado and our noticeable desire for great craft beer. Fresh hops aromas likened to lemon, pineapple, and honeydew melon stand out in front of this golden colored ale holding a white laced head. The aroma taking center stage is then carried into the noticeable hop bitterness. Malt body is medium-light and complements the bitterness, allowing for a smooth finish with a light floral hop linger. Let’s go for a picnic! ABV: 5.4%”

L3 IPA — “The L3 IPA pours an inviting copper color topped by a strong, slightly off-white foam. Your first sniff reveals the complex balance between the citrusy, spicy pear hop aroma backed by slight caramel malt notes. Tasting the beer takes you further into a flavorful American hop experience with plenty of hop bitterness balanced perfectly with the sweet malt backbone. This flavorful combination lingers on the palate yet finishes clean and prepares you for another sip. A very drinkable IPA, L3 is hop forward yet balanced. ABV: 7.6%”

The Dark Crystal Cascadian Dark Ale — “A relatively recent style that has gained traction in the Pacific Northwest is the American Style India Black Ale, or “Cascadian Dark Ale”. Deliciously hoppy, also hugely roasty-toasty malty. Get on in here and give it a try! ABV: 6.5%” (forgot to snap a picture — it is definitely dark!)

They were all quite unique — have to love microbrews. My favorite two were the Picnic Rock and L3. We decided to leave with a growler of the latter to enjoy some of before dinner and to have on hand the balance of the week.

It’s Punkin Time!

Posted on August 30, 2014 by melsmosaic

Oh, yes, it’s (almost) fall, football is here, which means another round of seasonal brew is due. That means Dog Fish Head has Punkin Ale!

Great stuff (along with many other pumpkin brews). Went to the tapping of it last week at the Dog Fish Head restaurant in Falls Church.

It was so fresh on tap that they hadn’t even posted it on the (chalk) board.

Ordered one and started to enjoy. I finally got around to looking up this morning why they call it Punkin. It’s based around the local Punkin Chunkin on Discovery Channel. Hilarious show! Well, the beer was perfect, its normal pumpkin and spice taste, as one would expect. And, the bartender wasn’t totally sure the ABV, but I had look it up, and it’s on that previous link, 7%. Fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. Cheers!

Two New (Tasted) Brews

Posted on August 30, 2014 by melsmosaic

Checked out Mussel Bar in Bethesda the other day (hadn’t been since literally the day they opened) for some good beer on tap. They have quite the selection! Almost too many good ones to pick from.

Opted to first try the Oskar Blues G’Knight Imperial Red

Per the menu: “Our “Velvet M-80” is a hefty, dry hopped double-red ale with a nose full of aroma, a sticky mouthfeel, a malty middle and unctuous hop flavors. G’Knight sports a surprisingly sensuous finish for a beer of its size (8.7% ABV, 60 IBUs)…”

Very nice and smooth, not too hoppy. Great for a summer night outside. Did not taste like 8.7%…

After awhile decided to sip on another and went for Dogfish Head’s Sixty-One.

From the menu: “The name Sixty-One is a reminder that this beer is Dogfish Head’s best-selling 60 Minute IPA plus one new ingredient: syrah grape must from California. The label, painted by Sam, is a twist on a typical watercolor…”(6.5% ABV, 60 IBU)

Could definitely taste the grape in there. A bit sweet, but not overbearing. However, definitely couldn’t drink more than one of these.

Great to try these new (to me) brews. And it was a perfect night out so got to enjoy them outside. Has anybody had them or had others they can share feedback on?

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!!!

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.