From 6 pack to singles, Borgarnes, Iceland

Posted on June 26, 2017 by melsmosaic

After driving around all day in the wide Borgarnes vicinity, it was definitely time for happy hour. We didn’t really want to sit at the bar so I said let’s go check out the liquor store and grab something there and just come back to the hotel and enjoy. So we walked around the store and it’s quite interesting because you look at the prices. Right away you think that beer prices are tremendous in the liquor stores in Iceland. Something like $4-$6 for microbrew 6-packs.

Well, not so lucky. All the listed prices below a 6-pack are for the individual can or bottle. So, we’d see something like 440 kr or 390kr (which equated to about $4.50 or $4, respectively) and also a 6-pack with the paper ‘case’ torn apart or 1-2 cans missing. Very interesting. You can take a single or grab a 6 pack, whatever you want. This also makes a 6-pack come out to above $20.

Anyway, we opted to grab a SÓLVEIG Hveitibjór NR.25 and ÚLFRÚN Session IPA NR.34 (could not find an English site for either of these). Both of these are brewed by Borg Brugghus.

The first was 6% ABV, a wheat beer, unique citrus taste with some spice. The 2^nd, the IPA, was 4.5%. It was great, not too hoppy (53 IBU) and pretty smooth.

To be very classy, we put these in water bottles because we didn’t want to sit in our room, and it was wet out and couldn’t just sit outside on our ‘patio.’ So we had our classy bottles with beer and sat in the lobby writing postcards.

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).

Blood, Sweat, & Beer

Posted on March 1, 2015 by melsmosaic

Today I checked out the DC Independent Film Festival to view a screening of a movie that sounded very interesting — Blood, Sweat, & Beer.

It’s “a feature documentary about the explosive growth of the craft beer industry and the dramatic journeys of two start-up breweries.” The producers interviewed over 100 brewers and narrowed it down to two. Throughout the movie, there are some great stats about beer, good interviews, and all around solid information about this great drink.

The brewers from the Pittsburgh-area are (relatively) recent college grads who had to submit a location for a senior year project and soon thereafter launched The Brew Gentlemen (that’s the very quick story for it). They have made a huge contribution to help a rundown steel town come back to life. We sampled a couple of their brews. Good stuff.

The other brewery featured is that of beach lover who has been in Ocean City pretty much his whole life and wanted to change the scene from macro to micro brews — Backshore Brewing Company. He had to start it small because there is not much room on the boardwalk, from seating to brewery material proper. But, you have to start somewhere. He’s gone through some ups and downs, from the name to the size, but it’s growing and growing. I tried their light beer and it was nice!

The movie is due out later this year. If you like independent films and/or beer, worth checking it out.

Oh My Clydesdale!

Posted on October 5, 2014 by melsmosaic

As I’m traveling across the country, there was a stop in St. Louis. That meant a visit to the Anheuser-Busch brewery was due.

But, the only thing I truly wanted to see was the horses. I have done much work for A-B and I told them I never needed money (I say that as though I was the one truly getting the pay, I know my employer wouldn’t be thrilled with this thought), all I wanted was to do was come see the Clydesdales and play with the Dalmatians and Labs. What more could one ask???

So, we arrived at the brewery and did indeed enjoy a cold brew first. I’m not a huge fan of macrobrews (and will say I’m disappointed in how InBev/A-B, and some other names are trying to take over the beer industry), so I did not have a Budweiser. I opted for Shock Top, the good ol’ original one. They had the seasonal (pumpkin) one on tap (which I’ve had in the past and it’s pretty good), as well as the apple brew. They also had the good non-Bud brews available, including Bass, Hoegaarden, Leffe, Kirin, Stella, Beck’s, Goose Island, which they now own.

We were able to get a horse-tour only pass to go check out the great Bud icons.

Off we went to get a history of the horses and what they do. There was one outside and the rest were in there rough digs inside. They have quite the life.

We were also told about the farm where many more of the horses live, Warm Springs Ranch, and stopped by it the next day. Acres and acres of land where several hundreds of these majestic guys live. It was closed when were arrived (and tough to get a tour, anyway) but I was able to snap a couple pics.

So, I got most of what I wanted to see. Now I just want to see the dogs, both the Dalmatians and Labs, and my A-B goal will be complete!

Beauty is in the Eyes of the Beerholder

Posted on April 18, 2013 by melsmosaic

Source: craftbeer.com

You learn something new everyday! Yesterday I learned about Malbec World Day. Today it’s about a beer observance. As such, so many country songs are going through my head right now:

Zac Brown’s Toes with the great lyrics of “…cold beer in my hand, life is good today…”

Toby Keith’s I Love this Bar “I love this bar, it’s my kind of place… ”

Garth Brooks’ Beer Run “B-double E-double R-U-N…”

Back on topic, did you know that May 13-19 is American Craft Beer Week? WHOA! Mark your calendars, set a reminder, start planning. Bars, taps, pints, bottles, here we come.