Some friends and I had quite an extensive beer tasting last night with some board games toward the end. Here's what we tasted:
1) Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Namaste - not the first time I've had this tasty witbier, super balanced and subtle spices make this an excellent brew for all seasons. 4.8% ABV. More here.
2) Black Isle Brewery Organic Oatmeal Stout - Straight from Scotland, this is filled with cocoa notes, bitter roastiness and earthy dark molasses, medium bodied, it has a milky sweetness and malts of oats and cereal with good legs. 7% ABV. More here (this beer is not listed but you can check out their brewery site).
3) Cider Creek Hard Cider Saison Reserve - From NY, sweet but semi-dry with apple peel, pear, applesauce, cinnamon and champagny yeast notes, med body and very drinkable, the alcohol is not apparent at all. 6.9% ABV. More here.
4) Abita Brewing Company & Birrifico Del Ducato Two Boots (Saison/Farmhouse Ale) - a collaboration between Abita and Birrifico Del Ducato from Italy, it has an anise/root beer nose, with clove, over ripe banana, black pepper notes, tart, oily, dry, touch hazy straw colored, almost salty, has a nice white head with a full mouthfeel, overall an interested brew.6.2% ABV. More here.
5) Brouwerij Huyghe Delerium Tremens - a Belgian Strong Light Ale or Belgian Golden/Blonde Ale, probably the former because of the ABV, it has bubble gum, mushy banana, pudding, salt, nose of armpit sweat if you wiff it right, a medium full body with an excellent white head, complex and tastes like a tripel but is slightly tart. 8.5% ABV. More here.
6) Guinness Blonde American Lager - had a brief taste of this before so it was interesting to get a better draught, it has an astringent bitterness, tropical hop nose from the mosaic, earthy, grainy and corn with a golden color. 5% ABV. More here.
7) Troegs Brewing Company DreamWeaver Wheat - nose is really nice, bubble gummy, peppery, tad clove that's quite burnt, sweet banana, red fruit of some sort, it tastes tart and grainy wheat, a tad bitter, pours golden. Says it's unfiltered but it's fairly clear. 4.8% ABV. More here.
8) Breckenridge Brewery Oatmeal Stout - lots of coffee and roastiness, dark and bitter, very dark cocoa notes hidden away with oats underlying. 4.95% ABV. More here.
9) Anderson Valley Brewing Company Brother David's Triple Abby Style Ale - dry, musty, citrus of peach or apricot, earthy hops, white wine, honey, slightly tart/saltiness, pours crystal clear golden/yellow with decent slow dripping legs. 10% ABV. More here.
Board Games:
My friend Sean and I played two games, first Railroad Tycoon (I have the original, not Railways of the World) and Takenoko. Railroad Tycoon started out with me on the east coast and Sean gathering track around Chicago. I managed to grab the early lead and an 8 point gain from laying track from Richmond to Atlanta helped. I decided to go for the long run from New York to Kansas City to get 20 points but just missed it by running out of turns. Sean quickly closed the gap toward the end of the game and it looked like he was going to take honors because of his railroad baron secret objective card (plus I didn't achieve mine) but I managed to eek out a victory by a 4 point margin.
Next, Takenoko, Sean started out grabbing points from objective cards pretty easily. I managed to sort of keep up because I hit some big numbered cards and even came close to getting my ninth objective card and winning the Emperor 2 point bonus but Sean ended the game. My last turn I needed a good weather die roll and got it and ended up getting a 7 point gain on my last turn with the only card I had in hand I could possibly achieve and that was enough to win me the game by 3 points again!
Overall my favorite beer of the night was: Cider Creek Hard CIder Saison Reserve, super drinkable I would quaff that one again anytime.
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Year 1 Down, Changes to 5 Year Plan Craft Brewery:
So it's been a year, I'm going to review my goals and let you (or me, because I'm pretty sure I'm the only reader) know how I did and where I am looking forward. There will definitely be some changes and I hope to put together new goals that will be a little less grand scheme and more tangible this year.
My goals previously:
1) Enlist the help of several friends as partners, co-workers and/or advocates.
This is sort of an ongoing process, I've brewed one beer with my brother and I have several friends that would be interested in brewing with me, but they are probably not ever going to start a brewery with me despite the fact that we would be awesome. That's ok, I've got a new plan.
2) Find a location.
This is still of course up in the air, I am in an apartment that is not conducive to any home brewing beyond kits (not all-grain or barely even partial), but more importantly, my goal here is going to change dramatically.
3) Start home brewing.
Did this, made 2 homebrews, one a kit that was hardly good and another an extract clone recipe from the internet that turned out pretty good until I ran out of time to brew and motivation was sorely deteriorating from lack of all-grain being a "next step" option.
4) Get a job/internship/apprenticeship at a brewery with someone who knows what they are doing.
I didn't make any progress on this front other than find out from a worker at Genesee Brew House that there is a large Home Brewing Association in Rochester.
5) Taste and Study.
I've definitely done the most of this and the posts in this blog reflect that. I've tried 510 distinct beers since last July when I started using Untappd to keep track.
6) Come up with a name.
Shew Brew would be my name.
New Goals:
1) Start a home brewing brewery.
I'm not going pro anymore, it's not an option unfortunately, but I can always make my hobby a reality for myself and my friends/family.
2) Find friends, partners, whom I can collaborate with or who will brew themselves even on their own just so we can learn from each other.
I'm pretty sure I could convince people to join me in home brewing but for many of my friends/family our careers get in the way and time is not always an advantage, this may be a longer term goal. For now, I'll just invite people to brew with me whenever I do.
3) Move out of my apartment to somewhere I can brew outside with propane and a bigger brewpot for all-grain.
This may happen sooner than later as my wife and I have been given the opportunity to move into a house that belonged to a recently deceased family member. Next stop: all-grain and mashing.
4) Continue tasting and studying, especially recipe creating and ingredients.
I started making an excel sheet of different brews and what ingredients they used to see if I could self learn what styles typically use this or that ingredient and how much, but I'm starting to wonder if it's more trial and error than an actual formula? I really wish I could go to brewing school.
5) Learn from more seasoned brewers than myself, take my home brews to a home brewing club.
I need to find someone still who will take me under their wing, maybe ask me to come over when they brew. I could probably find this sort of person if I tried, so I guess I will. My wife will probably not like the idea of me going over to some stranger's house though.
So, you can see, from professional to home brewer this blog will likely remain the same [even in title] but the ultimate goal will be different.
My goals previously:
1) Enlist the help of several friends as partners, co-workers and/or advocates.
This is sort of an ongoing process, I've brewed one beer with my brother and I have several friends that would be interested in brewing with me, but they are probably not ever going to start a brewery with me despite the fact that we would be awesome. That's ok, I've got a new plan.
2) Find a location.
This is still of course up in the air, I am in an apartment that is not conducive to any home brewing beyond kits (not all-grain or barely even partial), but more importantly, my goal here is going to change dramatically.
3) Start home brewing.
Did this, made 2 homebrews, one a kit that was hardly good and another an extract clone recipe from the internet that turned out pretty good until I ran out of time to brew and motivation was sorely deteriorating from lack of all-grain being a "next step" option.
4) Get a job/internship/apprenticeship at a brewery with someone who knows what they are doing.
I didn't make any progress on this front other than find out from a worker at Genesee Brew House that there is a large Home Brewing Association in Rochester.
5) Taste and Study.
I've definitely done the most of this and the posts in this blog reflect that. I've tried 510 distinct beers since last July when I started using Untappd to keep track.
6) Come up with a name.
Shew Brew would be my name.
New Goals:
1) Start a home brewing brewery.
I'm not going pro anymore, it's not an option unfortunately, but I can always make my hobby a reality for myself and my friends/family.
2) Find friends, partners, whom I can collaborate with or who will brew themselves even on their own just so we can learn from each other.
I'm pretty sure I could convince people to join me in home brewing but for many of my friends/family our careers get in the way and time is not always an advantage, this may be a longer term goal. For now, I'll just invite people to brew with me whenever I do.
3) Move out of my apartment to somewhere I can brew outside with propane and a bigger brewpot for all-grain.
This may happen sooner than later as my wife and I have been given the opportunity to move into a house that belonged to a recently deceased family member. Next stop: all-grain and mashing.
4) Continue tasting and studying, especially recipe creating and ingredients.
I started making an excel sheet of different brews and what ingredients they used to see if I could self learn what styles typically use this or that ingredient and how much, but I'm starting to wonder if it's more trial and error than an actual formula? I really wish I could go to brewing school.
5) Learn from more seasoned brewers than myself, take my home brews to a home brewing club.
I need to find someone still who will take me under their wing, maybe ask me to come over when they brew. I could probably find this sort of person if I tried, so I guess I will. My wife will probably not like the idea of me going over to some stranger's house though.
So, you can see, from professional to home brewer this blog will likely remain the same [even in title] but the ultimate goal will be different.
Friday, July 3, 2015
Sean and Me, Last Train to Wensleydale and a Beer Tasting
My good buddy Sean, who lives in Alaska currently, spent the evening tasting some brews we picked up from AJ's Beer Warehouse the other week. We also enjoyed a game of Martin Wallace's Last Train to Wensleydale. I have the First Train to Nuremberg version, which is two games in one, back to back maps, but we decided to play the original.
The game moved along fairly evenly, with perhaps a slight lead by me but Sean kept on my heels and even 1 turn before the last tied me up. The final turn was the deciding, and it looked like Sean had me, by gaining more victory points with his final train delivery. Unfortunately for him, his profit/loss ended up being to his detriment and I ended up winning by 1 point. An extremely tight finish and a game I always enjoy playing.
On the tasting side, here's what we tried:
1) Evil Twin Brewing Low Life - a pilsner that is floral, with light citrus notes, medium light bodied, tastes of green tea, honey, grass/hay, is a tad bitter with sparse white legs and a straw color. 5.5% ABV.
2) Left Hand Sawtooth Nitro - an extra special/bitter with walnut, macadamia/beech nut, black tea, caramel, spice, nutmeg notes, really smooth but understandably (to an American who is not used to nitro) a little flat, sessionable, super earthy, with a light brown color and frothy head. 5.3% ABV. More here.
3) Robinsons Brewing Company Trooper - a true English bitter from over the pond kept fresh I assume by the can that really grew on me, notes of lemon meringue, tad metallic/copper/brass kettle or something, dank but with bright flavor, floral, a full mouthfeel, sessionable, tall off-white head and semi-dry. 4.7% ABV. More here.
4) Allagash Dubbel - for this not being my favorite style this was quite good, complex and malty with intense burnt clove, banana, raisin, chocolate, dark sugars, molasses, tobacco, leather, woodsy with slow droopy legs. 7% ABV. More here.
5) Finch's Beer Company Secret Stache Stout - a black colored milk stout with lactose and vanilla added, notes of bacon, maple/vanilla, coffee, milk chocolate, hazelnut, mocha, roasty and rich with a better taste than nose that slowly improves as the brew warms. 5.3% ABV. More here.
6) Atlantic Brewing Company Mount Desert Island Ginger - an unfiltered wheat ale with notes of exotic ginger, lavender, passion fruit, berries, pumpkin spice, apple crisp, a tad tart, crisp, spicy, refreshing, particulate with a white head. 5.7% ABV. More here.
Some great brews, but only one can win, my favorite of the night was the Atlantic Brewing Co. Mount Desert Island Ginger. My wife and I first discovered this beer in Maine on our honeymoon at the brewery itself and have never stopped singing Atlantic's praises. Having found this little beauty in Vermont up in Burlington just a couple days ago and wondered if it was fresh (the bottles were quite dusty) but were happy enough to give it a go anyway. Seems like it was alright after all.
The game moved along fairly evenly, with perhaps a slight lead by me but Sean kept on my heels and even 1 turn before the last tied me up. The final turn was the deciding, and it looked like Sean had me, by gaining more victory points with his final train delivery. Unfortunately for him, his profit/loss ended up being to his detriment and I ended up winning by 1 point. An extremely tight finish and a game I always enjoy playing.
On the tasting side, here's what we tried:
2) Left Hand Sawtooth Nitro - an extra special/bitter with walnut, macadamia/beech nut, black tea, caramel, spice, nutmeg notes, really smooth but understandably (to an American who is not used to nitro) a little flat, sessionable, super earthy, with a light brown color and frothy head. 5.3% ABV. More here.
3) Robinsons Brewing Company Trooper - a true English bitter from over the pond kept fresh I assume by the can that really grew on me, notes of lemon meringue, tad metallic/copper/brass kettle or something, dank but with bright flavor, floral, a full mouthfeel, sessionable, tall off-white head and semi-dry. 4.7% ABV. More here.
4) Allagash Dubbel - for this not being my favorite style this was quite good, complex and malty with intense burnt clove, banana, raisin, chocolate, dark sugars, molasses, tobacco, leather, woodsy with slow droopy legs. 7% ABV. More here.
5) Finch's Beer Company Secret Stache Stout - a black colored milk stout with lactose and vanilla added, notes of bacon, maple/vanilla, coffee, milk chocolate, hazelnut, mocha, roasty and rich with a better taste than nose that slowly improves as the brew warms. 5.3% ABV. More here.
6) Atlantic Brewing Company Mount Desert Island Ginger - an unfiltered wheat ale with notes of exotic ginger, lavender, passion fruit, berries, pumpkin spice, apple crisp, a tad tart, crisp, spicy, refreshing, particulate with a white head. 5.7% ABV. More here.
Some great brews, but only one can win, my favorite of the night was the Atlantic Brewing Co. Mount Desert Island Ginger. My wife and I first discovered this beer in Maine on our honeymoon at the brewery itself and have never stopped singing Atlantic's praises. Having found this little beauty in Vermont up in Burlington just a couple days ago and wondered if it was fresh (the bottles were quite dusty) but were happy enough to give it a go anyway. Seems like it was alright after all.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
A trip to Burlington, VT
So a group of us went up to Burlington, VT (which is becoming an annual retreat for my wife and I) yesterday and here's what went down:
First, we stopped at Myers Bagel Bakery for a breakfast sandwich, which was voted one of the top 5 bagel places in the country by Epicurious (article here). They serve up true Montreal style bagels and the Montreal spice bagel was unique and delicious. I debated going with the lox or the brisket but in the end triumphed with the brisket that may be the best, most flavorful and tender brisket I've ever had. Balanced with red onion, sprouts, field greens and garlic aoli, it was a delight and my fellow travelers all agreed it was amazing when I graciously let them try the brisket--to the point where my brother-in-law Brad had to go get a 2nd sandwich of brisket for himself! I also had to try their Maple bagel and was rewarded with lovely maple aroma.
Next we stood in line at Winooski Beverage for The Alchemist's Heady Topper! I scored three 4-packs with minimum wait time (those in front who wanted a case were there 2 hours in advance!) and as always they sold right out.
Third stop was Zero Gravity Craft Brewery at American Flatbread, We'd had our fill of food so far and had special plans for later, so we just sipped a couple samples at their bar. It was nice that they offer 1/2 pints too so we weren't going to get sloshed as the samples piled up that day. Anyway, I tried the following:
1) Conehead IPA - a single hop Citra wheat IPA, this had a distinct mango nose, rind, dank. I like. 5/7% ABV, More here.
2) Bob White - a belgian wit that had a nice unfiltered quality, supposedly all organic, notes of burnt clove, coriander, almost a touch of sulfur? 4.7% ABV. More here
3) Black Cat Porter - had a taste of my wife's Black Cat Porter, smelled molasses, smoke, tasted coffee, roastiness. 5.2% ABV. More here.
After Zero Gravity, we took another trip to Winooski Beverage, because earlier there was a huge line for Heady Topper and didn't want to spend too much time there at the time. But, we were on a mission for beer and me in particular (if you read my previous post here) for some I cannot find in NY or outside of the greater Burlington area.
This is what I came away with:
1) Burlington Beer Co. Chasing Rabbits - they had this hoppy wheat ale and a Rye IPA called Light in the Window available and my wife chose this. I'm glad she did, we tried it later that night, which you can read about below.
2) 14th Star Maple Breakfast Stout - was really glad to find this, a 4 pack of 16 ounce cans, we also tried this later.
3) Stone Corral XX Chocolate Maple Porter - I believe I grabbed one of the last three 22 oz. bottles of this for $10.99. Can't wait!
4) Stone Corral Latigo - a Scottish Export style 90/- that placed 2nd at the 2014 Great International Beer and Cider Festival, what's not to love?
5) Bent Hill Brewery Coconut Porter - another 22 ounce bomber, I love porters and coconut, the marriage seems promising.
6) Bent Hill Brewery Vanilla Chai Porter - 22 ounce, it was between this and Crop Brewery's Vanilla Porter, but with the chai spice thrown in and a slightly cheaper price it wasn't a hard choice.
7) Simple Roots Brewing Co. Elderflower Saison - I couldn't find their Hearthside, but settled for my second Simpel Roots choice. My wife also saw this and was interested even without me knowing I had it on my short list.
8) Atlantic Brewing Co. Island Ginger - we were lucky to find a couple 6-packs of this brew from Bar Harbor, Maine, because I didn't think it was distributed out this way. We loved it when we had it in Maine on our honeymoon and hope that the dust on the bottles doesn't mean they are way past fresh. Crossing our fingers.
This should keep us occupied for a while!
Next on the list, The Shopping Bag, with their "Sizzler", awarded best burger in Vermont by the Food Network Magazine and one of the top 50 burgers in the country, see here. I had their Cowboy burger, topped with large onion rings (not straws for a good change), house made BBQ sauce, bacon, chedder and the largest 1/2 pound of beef I've ever seen. So delicious, just yum in every bite. Not kidding.
After The Shopping bag we stopped at Magic Hat Brewing Co. for a quick free tasting and self-guided tour. I've been here before with my wife, and they're honestly not my favorite brewery, but it's a fun place to see and we thought it was only right to provide that experience to others. I also got to try a couple of the new brews they've had on shelves that I've been tempted to try but not enough to pull the trigger on.
1) Art Hop Ale - this pilsner has pink peppercorn, but it really was light bodied, clean and had only the slightest tinge of spice from the peppercorns. This is only available at their Artifactory (brewery tasting room). 4.8% ABV. More here.
2) Stealin' Time - a ginger pale wheat ale with a nice ginger nose, light bodied with clean cereal malt. 5.5% ABV. More here.
3) Electric Peel - an IPA with grapefruit added, this was quite tart like eating a grapefruit for breakfast, no candied essence like all the other grapefruit IPA's I've tried, an again a little light bodied for my wanting, 6% ABV. More here.
4) Blind Faith - an English style IPA apparently, caramel, citrus and some herbal notes, crisp and refreshing, a tad dry, but not a huge aroma. 6.2% ABV. More here.
Overall, just a little light bodied/flavored for my taste.
On the way home we also stopped at Fiddlehead Brewing Co. in Shelburne because I've had their flagship Fiddlehead IPA, but that's all that is available on tap around Vermont. At their small, but impressive tasting room, with pretty views right in to the stainless steel brewery through the glass behind the bar, we had three free samples.
1) The new NEW Amarillo Getaway - this was a pale ale with Amarillo hops that were so fresh I was astounded by the dill, lemon, herbal and oily hop characteristics, yellow in color and did I say fresh? It was the last of the keg is what we were told and I thought Amarillo had more of a grapefruit characteristic, but to me it was more dillish. 5.8% ABV. More here.
2) Fiddlehead IPA - standard and a nicely drinking IPA that isn't too offensively bitter at 53 IBU, piney, citrus, crisp, resin, oily, hop bitter balanced. 6.2% ABV. More at same link as above scroll all the way to the bottom.
3) Rarified Air - an hoppy wheat ale (Untappd incorrectly labels this a DIPA) loaded with lemon, dill, juicy, chewy, herbal, pine and more pine that is so fresh like the Amarillo Getaway. I've seen hoppy wheat ales making a splash lately as a hype style. 7.7% ABV. More at the same link as above but 3rd down from the top.
Back at home, later at night, we tried a couple of the brews we bought at Winooski Beverage, here's my tasting notes;
1) Burlington Beer Co. Chasing Rabbits - just released on the 20th in cans, a hoppy wheat ale, smooth, not bitter, hoppy in the sense of a great orange, resin, grassy, grapefruit, mango pulpy nose, white head/good legs, tea, hazy orange color, slightly less body than I wish it was, but the full aroma was excellent. 5.7% ABV. More here (scroll right to the blue screen that says "Bottles & Cans").
2) 14th Star Maple Breakfast Stout - this was full of coffee roasty goodness, a touch of cocoa bittersweet perhaps, but it was the maple though subtle that shines, hitting last and just bringing a slight edge of sweetness throughout, like pancakes in your mouth, the nose was a bit disappointingly just roasty and flat though. 5.5% ABV. More here.
My favorite of the day: Fiddlehead The new NEW Amarillo Getaway - just cannot get over the freshness and uniqueness of this brew. I hope Fiddlehead starts making its way around Vermont more so I can try some other offerings from them in the future. I'm glad it was one of the few places open on a Tuesday so I made it became a priority to visit their brewery.
First, we stopped at Myers Bagel Bakery for a breakfast sandwich, which was voted one of the top 5 bagel places in the country by Epicurious (article here). They serve up true Montreal style bagels and the Montreal spice bagel was unique and delicious. I debated going with the lox or the brisket but in the end triumphed with the brisket that may be the best, most flavorful and tender brisket I've ever had. Balanced with red onion, sprouts, field greens and garlic aoli, it was a delight and my fellow travelers all agreed it was amazing when I graciously let them try the brisket--to the point where my brother-in-law Brad had to go get a 2nd sandwich of brisket for himself! I also had to try their Maple bagel and was rewarded with lovely maple aroma.
Next we stood in line at Winooski Beverage for The Alchemist's Heady Topper! I scored three 4-packs with minimum wait time (those in front who wanted a case were there 2 hours in advance!) and as always they sold right out.
Third stop was Zero Gravity Craft Brewery at American Flatbread, We'd had our fill of food so far and had special plans for later, so we just sipped a couple samples at their bar. It was nice that they offer 1/2 pints too so we weren't going to get sloshed as the samples piled up that day. Anyway, I tried the following:
1) Conehead IPA - a single hop Citra wheat IPA, this had a distinct mango nose, rind, dank. I like. 5/7% ABV, More here.
2) Bob White - a belgian wit that had a nice unfiltered quality, supposedly all organic, notes of burnt clove, coriander, almost a touch of sulfur? 4.7% ABV. More here
3) Black Cat Porter - had a taste of my wife's Black Cat Porter, smelled molasses, smoke, tasted coffee, roastiness. 5.2% ABV. More here.
After Zero Gravity, we took another trip to Winooski Beverage, because earlier there was a huge line for Heady Topper and didn't want to spend too much time there at the time. But, we were on a mission for beer and me in particular (if you read my previous post here) for some I cannot find in NY or outside of the greater Burlington area.
This is what I came away with:
1) Burlington Beer Co. Chasing Rabbits - they had this hoppy wheat ale and a Rye IPA called Light in the Window available and my wife chose this. I'm glad she did, we tried it later that night, which you can read about below.
2) 14th Star Maple Breakfast Stout - was really glad to find this, a 4 pack of 16 ounce cans, we also tried this later.
3) Stone Corral XX Chocolate Maple Porter - I believe I grabbed one of the last three 22 oz. bottles of this for $10.99. Can't wait!
4) Stone Corral Latigo - a Scottish Export style 90/- that placed 2nd at the 2014 Great International Beer and Cider Festival, what's not to love?
5) Bent Hill Brewery Coconut Porter - another 22 ounce bomber, I love porters and coconut, the marriage seems promising.
6) Bent Hill Brewery Vanilla Chai Porter - 22 ounce, it was between this and Crop Brewery's Vanilla Porter, but with the chai spice thrown in and a slightly cheaper price it wasn't a hard choice.
7) Simple Roots Brewing Co. Elderflower Saison - I couldn't find their Hearthside, but settled for my second Simpel Roots choice. My wife also saw this and was interested even without me knowing I had it on my short list.
8) Atlantic Brewing Co. Island Ginger - we were lucky to find a couple 6-packs of this brew from Bar Harbor, Maine, because I didn't think it was distributed out this way. We loved it when we had it in Maine on our honeymoon and hope that the dust on the bottles doesn't mean they are way past fresh. Crossing our fingers.
This should keep us occupied for a while!
Next on the list, The Shopping Bag, with their "Sizzler", awarded best burger in Vermont by the Food Network Magazine and one of the top 50 burgers in the country, see here. I had their Cowboy burger, topped with large onion rings (not straws for a good change), house made BBQ sauce, bacon, chedder and the largest 1/2 pound of beef I've ever seen. So delicious, just yum in every bite. Not kidding.
After The Shopping bag we stopped at Magic Hat Brewing Co. for a quick free tasting and self-guided tour. I've been here before with my wife, and they're honestly not my favorite brewery, but it's a fun place to see and we thought it was only right to provide that experience to others. I also got to try a couple of the new brews they've had on shelves that I've been tempted to try but not enough to pull the trigger on.
1) Art Hop Ale - this pilsner has pink peppercorn, but it really was light bodied, clean and had only the slightest tinge of spice from the peppercorns. This is only available at their Artifactory (brewery tasting room). 4.8% ABV. More here.
2) Stealin' Time - a ginger pale wheat ale with a nice ginger nose, light bodied with clean cereal malt. 5.5% ABV. More here.
3) Electric Peel - an IPA with grapefruit added, this was quite tart like eating a grapefruit for breakfast, no candied essence like all the other grapefruit IPA's I've tried, an again a little light bodied for my wanting, 6% ABV. More here.
4) Blind Faith - an English style IPA apparently, caramel, citrus and some herbal notes, crisp and refreshing, a tad dry, but not a huge aroma. 6.2% ABV. More here.
Overall, just a little light bodied/flavored for my taste.
On the way home we also stopped at Fiddlehead Brewing Co. in Shelburne because I've had their flagship Fiddlehead IPA, but that's all that is available on tap around Vermont. At their small, but impressive tasting room, with pretty views right in to the stainless steel brewery through the glass behind the bar, we had three free samples.
1) The new NEW Amarillo Getaway - this was a pale ale with Amarillo hops that were so fresh I was astounded by the dill, lemon, herbal and oily hop characteristics, yellow in color and did I say fresh? It was the last of the keg is what we were told and I thought Amarillo had more of a grapefruit characteristic, but to me it was more dillish. 5.8% ABV. More here.
2) Fiddlehead IPA - standard and a nicely drinking IPA that isn't too offensively bitter at 53 IBU, piney, citrus, crisp, resin, oily, hop bitter balanced. 6.2% ABV. More at same link as above scroll all the way to the bottom.
3) Rarified Air - an hoppy wheat ale (Untappd incorrectly labels this a DIPA) loaded with lemon, dill, juicy, chewy, herbal, pine and more pine that is so fresh like the Amarillo Getaway. I've seen hoppy wheat ales making a splash lately as a hype style. 7.7% ABV. More at the same link as above but 3rd down from the top.
Back at home, later at night, we tried a couple of the brews we bought at Winooski Beverage, here's my tasting notes;
1) Burlington Beer Co. Chasing Rabbits - just released on the 20th in cans, a hoppy wheat ale, smooth, not bitter, hoppy in the sense of a great orange, resin, grassy, grapefruit, mango pulpy nose, white head/good legs, tea, hazy orange color, slightly less body than I wish it was, but the full aroma was excellent. 5.7% ABV. More here (scroll right to the blue screen that says "Bottles & Cans").
2) 14th Star Maple Breakfast Stout - this was full of coffee roasty goodness, a touch of cocoa bittersweet perhaps, but it was the maple though subtle that shines, hitting last and just bringing a slight edge of sweetness throughout, like pancakes in your mouth, the nose was a bit disappointingly just roasty and flat though. 5.5% ABV. More here.
My favorite of the day: Fiddlehead The new NEW Amarillo Getaway - just cannot get over the freshness and uniqueness of this brew. I hope Fiddlehead starts making its way around Vermont more so I can try some other offerings from them in the future. I'm glad it was one of the few places open on a Tuesday so I made it became a priority to visit their brewery.
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