Down East Brewing Adventure

Going to a bridal shower is not necessarily what you would call a fun weekend. Fortunately, the bride and other bridesmaids are a blast and love good beer. There were so many new brews to experience. When we went to dinner in Maine (a very short jaunt from Portsmouth, NH), I had one of the local beers, but failed to get the name of it. Shame on me.

When we returned to New Hampshire, I tried the Lobster Ale from Shipyard Brewery. It was good beer. It had a nice character. Mostly, I tried it because I liked the name.

As the night moved on, I started drinking the Red Hook Long Hammer IPA. You might ask, isn't Red Hook a Seattle-based company. Well, I asked the same question. It is, but apparently, Long Hammer is batched brewed in Kittery, ME. OK, so it wasn't local, but it was fresh. As you know, I really like the IPA style and enjoyed this beers great finish and smooth taste.

The next day, I moved onto the local brews from Smutty Nose Brewing. As you might have guess, I first tried the IPA. Then I moved onto the Portsmouth Lager. It was "awarded best Vienna/Marzen larger in the Northeast" and it was a well deserved title.

The Bridal party sat on the water's edge at an area the locals call the Decks. We were at a bar named Harpoon Willy's. We got the corner spot on the deck and proceeded to drink Smutty Nose until the sun went down.

New England is indeed a great place!

Ending Prohibition

The focus of this blog has been around the team outings that are part of the Winking Lizard World Tour of Beer.

I think it might be a combination of the wicked rain storms, and the craziness of summer. It just seems like I haven't met with the team very much lately. I think it is also because I have been trying to cut down on the carbohydrates.

So, I have been unfaithful. I have been hanging out with my new work associates. You know how it is when you start a new job. You have to make friends, you have to go back to the old school ways of drinking Miller Lite.

Part of it is that Cleveland starts to shut down in the rain and the highways are crazy. The other part of it is this: I have been dating. The days of dating prohibition are over for me.

It is a weird thing to say, but it is true. Now there are two sides to this story. Side one - the uncomfortable madness of meeting new people. Side two - getting to have lots of groovy drinks and being exposed to groovy stuff.

Let me start with my latest - the Great Lakes Prohibition Pilsner. I have to mention that I did go for it because of the low alcohol content. I do have to say, I was disappointed. Here is the irony, I met with someone and I had the same kind of experience.

I needed to switch back to an old favorite - the Burning River IPA. Here is the quandary and why life and beer drinking are so similar. When you go out, do you stick with the drink that you have had before. You know you enjoy it. It is available in a lot of places and other people enjoy it. However, there is always the burning desire to try new things, to check some other things out. Maybe they will be better. Maybe it will be more engaging.

In this case, it would have been better to start with the Burning River - at least it isn't the same old Miller Lite.

Sierra Nevada Summer Time Sweetness

I happened to have an impromptu meeting with AneLyn on Sunday at the Winking Lizard. We happened to be meeting up on some top secret business we were doing.

First, it is important to note that she did add a beer to her world tour. She has also come up against the road block of the last dozen or so beers. There are beers that she has been avoiding throughout the tour - ones she has NO desire to drink. Well, the time has come. I suggested starting out with one or two really nasty ones at the start of each visit and just ending with her favorite beer - even if it is not on the tour.

Speaking of not on the tour, the beer of the month is Sierra Nevada's Summerfest. I had asked the waiter about the beer, and although he was very cute, he asked "Do you drink Miller Lite?" with a crappy little edge I didn't particularly like.

At any rate, I do drink Miller Lite. I also really like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (one of my first forays into pale ale). To be honest, my favorite beer style besides Guinness (see below) is India Pale Ale. I like the kickiness of it.

I had faith that the folks at Sierra Nevada Brewing would not let me down. Besides, you got a companion pilsner glass with the purchase. I decided to go for it. It was a great beer. It has the nice easy quality of a light beer, with kickiness of a pale ale. Sierra Nevada got it right. It was a Sunday afternoon in the sun beer if I ever had one.

The moral of this story, drink the Summerfest, and don't let cute waiters deter you.

SEE BELOW
Guinness - now I know you are thinking it is not a beer style because Guinness is a stout and that is beer style. Let all of us be honest. If you have ever been to Ireland and had a Guinness, you know that it is a category to itself.

You might be saying that you have had Guinness and the place that serves it takes a lot of pride and they serve a lot of Guinness. I am glad you are drinking the good stuff. However, anyone who has set foot in the Emerald Isle (even the British bit that is attached in the North) and put a pint of the black stuff to their lips can tell you.

Anything that rolls too far from St. James's Gate - well it is just an immigrant to that country - not a native.