Another Reason to Skip Delaware

OK, so everybody knows that Dogfish Head is the pop music of microbrews. Seriously, how many other microbrews offer bike shirts as part of their merchandising? We actually met Sam Calagione (we even read his book) while he was at the Savor event in Washington, DC. Since that makes us old friends we can give these blunt assessments. Remember kids, pop music is not always a bad thing (see image, right).

This past weekend we gathered with friends to check out the still almost new Dogfish Head Alehouse in Gaithersburg, MD. It's conveniently located just off the highway so there's no excuse for getting lost. Arriving a bit earlier than expected we put in a bid for a table and sauntered up to the bar. The place is nice, clean, and has a homey feel to it. There's a lot of dark wood which provides a wintery comfort. The bar is nice and open, sports 3 big screen televisions, and offers 9 Dogfish brews. It's very a casual atmosphere and the staff, particularly at the bar, are friendly.

The food was good but we relegated ourselves to a few appetizers and the sandwich portion of the menu. Frankly, when you're going to a brewpub you go for the beer - not the food. And the beer is everything you expect when you're drinking a Dogfish Head. Their beers tend to be hoppier then most and a bit bitter but we love that in our beer. We feasted on the Indian Brown, Raison D'etre, Alehouse, and Pangea. We probably drank too much but isn't that the point?

We didn't pick up any fancy merchandise and we didn't give the menu a thorough vetting. Despite drinking several rounds we only made it through half the brews on tap. Basically, we left ourselves many reasons to go back - and we plan to do just that in short order. You're obviously not going to use the Alehouse as an excuse to skip the home brewery but it is a great place to get your fix in between trips to the big DE.

Not That There's Anything Wrong With It

We've seen Crocodile Dundee so we know that generally Aussie men are akin to the American cowboys of the wild west. The likes of Jessie Spencer, Hugh Jackman, that guy on The Mentalist, and even Heath Ledger (what, is it to soon?) make us wonder every now and again but we shrug it off because they always hang out with hot chicks.

Then the fine folks at Reuters reported on a survey that found Aussie men are more likely to drink champagne than beer and talk fashion and hair over football (seriously, hair?).
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CANBERRA (Reuters Life!) - The survey found 75 percent of Aussie men were more likely to bring champagne and a cheese platter to a barbeque, rather than the traditional box of beer and raw meat for cooking.

One-in-two men also now favored yoga or pilates exercises to football and cricket at the weekend, the survey of 500 men for boutique brewing company Barons found on Tuesday.

"Many single women are crying out that its almost impossible to find a real man," Barons Chief Executive Scott Garnett said.
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FYI Australia - the metrosexual thing is out. Not that "out" we mean no longer trendy.

We need a Foster's right about now.

Final Verdict: Perk-A-lator Stout

We managed to go a full 7 days beyond the one month aging for our Perk-A-lator Stout. Part of the reason for the extra week is that the key players were stuck in Orlando and/or Phoenix when we should have been crackin' the hootch.

After a little chilling in the fridge we hit the first capped bottle - b/c we are big dorks we marked the first bottle just so we could know what we were tasting. The beer pours dark and full in a way that only a good stout can. By dark we mean opaque, lost in the middle of woods in the dead of night with no stars while the Blair Witch is looking for you kind of dark. The head is heavy with a nice chestnut color but it settles down rather quickly. The scent provides a slight hint of coffee. Taking a nice big first swig - because we are daring and only sissies take a tiny first sip - and the stout flavor jumps out at you. The carbonation is good but not great. There is a slight coffee finish. Overall, Perk-A-lator came out with smashing success for a homebrew. We are quite proud and have been downing it heavily since opening the first bottle.

As close as we are to brewing experts there are a few drawbacks. The first being that the coffee flavor, while present, could be a bit more full in the after taste. We mentioned that the carbonation is good but not great and we stick by that - if we could take it down have a notch the brew would be smooth as silk. If you're shooting for something as smooth as Guinness we just missed. Finally, the scent after pouring is pretty good but there's a slight tinge of pungent - maybe alcohol smell. You really have to focus to pick it up but it's there.

This is not a movie so we're not going to bother making up a lame scale of beer bottles or pint glasses. Regardless, it's the best brew since bringing on my trusted assistant. It's also a close second to our pride and joy Oatmeal Stout (brewed before we discovered the blogosphere).

Keeping It All in the Family

Indiana state police arrest a woman for drunk driving and it appears she was driving with her child. Not the best decision making but that's not the point. According to the article, the troopers called several family members to pick up the child. First, the father shows up drunk to pick up the child - he too gets arrested. Then the grandparents show up and turns out they had been drinking. Fortunately for the child, grandma was under the legal limit so officers escorted the happy trio home.

GO HOOSIERS!

There is Bad Beer After All

Some beers really are not worth having more than once and today we take a look at two. This is not to say these respective brewers make all things bad but every once in awhile even the best lay an egg.

Breckenridge Brewery's Remarkable Vanilla Porter. So, it's actually brewed with real vanilla beans (as opposed to the fake beans). The label boasts that this original recipe is "seldom seen" and "never duplicated" and for that we are thankful. The beer is a bit light in color for a porter but it has great head (that's what she said). Get a good snootful of this and there is a mild vanilla background but on the front end there's a solid alcohol smell - not exactly ideal. Take a swig and it's like drinking carbonated vanilla extract. According to the fine folks at Breckenridge we're tasting a nice herb and spice beer. Of course, when talking spices you have to use great geography and these folks do it up right talking big on the jungles of Papua New Guinea and Madagascar - pretty fancy.

Bell's Cherry Stout. We are actually big fans of Bell's other brews but the Cherry Stout - not so much. On the pour, from a bottle into a pint glass, it looks great. Dark in color with the nutty colored head you would expect from a good stout. Take a deep breath over the glass and you come away with a nice stout feel backed up with faint cherry. Our expectations at this point were high. The taste is where things get tricky. At best the cherry flavor is fake and forced on to the palette. In the end it's closer to a cherry cough syrup than a good, reliable stout.

Generally we prefer that these fancy flavored beers have more hint in the after taste. Of course, these things are highly subjective and we encourage you and yours to try these out and judge for yourself. We're not exactly experts or judges - just schmoes who like to drink too much. Anyway, this has been fun but we're going to find a real beer.

Vote or Be Shamed

It's election day and we here at the D-liner don't care who you vote for we just care that you vote. When you're done voting do not forget to where your fascist "I Voted" sticker proudly - preferably some place where everybody can see it. Stand a little taller so you can look down on people that didn't bother to vote. It's everybody's right to vote and because you voted it's your right to shame others into voting by wearing your little sticker.

You're better than those Socialist, Commie-pinkos that don't need to vote; that don't respect the right to vote. Feel free to flick boogers on these non-voters who still live in their parents basement and couldn't break free from their online gaming so they could wait in 8-hour lines filled with voting glitches and hanging chads.

When you're done looking down on the slackers go to CNN's iReport and post your video about how great you are and how you reminded all the non-voters about their civic duties (because posting your video means you almost work for CNN).

If you didn't vote please purchase "I Voted" stickers here or here or tell people you don't wear one because you didn't want to ruin your coat.