Saints We are Not

When you purchase a beer named for a saint there's a fairly good chance it's a quality brew.  Perhaps the brewers take it more seriously when religion is brought into the mix (bad pun intended) or perhaps its the fear of eternal damnation.  We have it on a tip that there's no beer in hell.

Today's beer is named for the 750th Anniversary of the Augustinian priory in Clare - the original home of the Nethergate Brewery.  So, it's not named for a saint but a priory is "a house of men or women under religious vows headed by a prior or prioress" so we're close enough.

Nethergate is located in Stour Valley, UK.  When a brew comes from across the pond we assume it's from a brewery established long before these United States.  Nethergate, however, was established in the 1980s.  That's right, Nethergate was born in the same generation that brought us Flock of Seagulls.  To be fair, the '80s also brought us Spinal Tap.

Augustinian is "bottle conditioned" and pours a dirty gold color with a creamy white head.  The aroma is fruity and citrus and be warned because it may lead to disappointment upon your first sip.  Take a couple of swigs to really appreciate what the beer has to offer.  By the mid-pint mark you'll be ready to open a second bottle.

Overall, the taste is malty followed by slight hoppy bitterness.  There is a strong but not overpowering carbonation that kind of lingers on the pallette.  This ale finishes clean, dry.

Augustinian Ale is a good summer beer, which is fitting because it's 90 degrees and humid in this house and not much different outside.  The bottle is just over a pint and our trusty assistant tracked this down at the local Whole Foods. 

The Latest on FBBC Sale

A couple of nuggets for the Flying Bison faithful.

Late on the 27th of May, FBBC declared on it's Facebook page "T's have been crossed.  i's have been... Wait for it... Wait for it... Wait for it... Wait for it..."

Certainly sounds like positive for those hoping to touch their lips to the FBBC ales again soon.

In other news...

Shareholder David R. Chudy was quoted extensively in a recent article about the disputed sale of FBBC.  In an opinion piece to today's Buffalo News, Mr. Chudy states that he was misquoted in the May 22, 2010 article. 

Stating that the deal with FX Matt Brewing Company is the best deal for FBBC, Mr. Chudy explains "while I did not think the investors would get back all of our investments, I did and do believe we will get back a significant amount, and a much better return than any other deal available. I went on to say that in addition to the financial return, there is an added intrinsic value to be able to walk into a Buffalo bar and order a Buffalo beer, Flying Bison. Omitting the word “all” and my subsequent comments changed the entire cast of my remarks."

(SAVOR) Fast Approaching

We have two very good reasons for not attending the SAVOR event this year.  While it pains us to regularly remind our loyal readers of the event we feel obligated to highlight some of the events leading up to SAVOR.  The nation's capital is making a strong attempt to become a solid beer drinking town and we're supporting that effort.  So, if you're in town for SAVOR or to play tourist here are some fun evens:

June 2, 2010
Anchor Brewing will introduce Humming Ale at the Churchkey in Washington, DC at a special release party prior to SAVOR.  Also available brews from Harpoon, Dogfish, Heavy Seas, Peak Organic and Flying Dog.

June 3, 2010
A Toast to Savor at RFD from 6:30-10:30p.  Samples from 10 breweries - "extremely limited release offerings."  Call RFD at 202.289.2030 for ducats.

Dinner at the Brickskeller Inn with Doug Odell, owner of Odell Brewing Company.  At least eight beers served.  More info here.

As more events are announced we will post them.  Despite the pain it causes us.

Flying Bison, We Hardly Knew Ye

In April, Flying Bison was supposed to be open for business again brewing beer for the thirsty loyalists in WNY.  Yesterday, the Buffalo News reported that not only is FBBC not brewing there is no indication it will be brewing any time soon.  According to rumors on the interweb, the new Peace Bridge will be completed in advance of any brewing.

If you're looking for a bad guy in all this one could easily point to Phil Internicola and Wes Froebel would make for a good evil sidekick.  This would be an overly simplistic view.  Yes, both are looking, in some way, for a return on their investment.  However, they are hardly the only players with fault in this soap opera.  Tim Herzog is the Master Brewer, one of the founders, the face of FBBC, etc. and is one of the few (or only) who stands to gain from the sale to FX Matt Brewing Company.  Then there is the Board.  According to the News article management was not Herzog's strength and he took steps to correct for that but what could or should the Board have done?  What exactly is the Board's role in all this?

At the end of the day it's the beer drinkers who get the short end of this stick.  We're already 6 weeks delayed in getting FBBC back on the shelves.  If this carries on, the NFTA transit lines will reach the southtowns before beer is brewed in Buffalo again.  You read it here first - the renaissance is over.  Brewing beer in Buffalo has been set back years.

Tim, Phil, Wes, and the other stakeholders consider this our official plea to sit around the same table and fix this so the rest of us can drink some FBBC beer soon.  Lay out all the cards and have a real, frank conversation.  It sounds like you were all once friends (or family even).  So, pretend you get along and clean up this mess.

Bait and Switch at Chicago Craft Beer Week

It's always a treat to have somebody do your work for you.  Delegate people.

Thanks to our good friends on Michigan Ave in Chicago - Dumbarton's Official Midwest Correspondents.

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Another week in Chicago, another craft beer event.  After tasting as many new tappings as possible during the fantastic Craft Brewers Conference  in April, the much smaller and lamer Chicago Craft Beer Week  has hit town.  Half of the events take place in the far suburbs which certainly doesn't qualify as "Chicago" and driving an hour just to drink beer is not the best idea (except when you're in San Diego.)


We hit a new brewpub in trendy Wicker Park, Moonshine, which promised a special release for this event - Hymie Weiss.  We love a weiss beer and were looking forward to the festivities and perhaps one of us (the non-married one) meeting a beer-loving man.  Upon arrival at the bar, which is decorated in a cheesy southern-trash theme, the staff knew nothing of the event and no weiss was on tap.  We made the best of it with a lovely amber-colored and malty Longshanks Scotch Style Ale and a similar - just heavier and maltier - Morning Wood Dark Mild.   We then tried their generic Piston Broke Special Pale Ale and after 3 pints and an unfortunate impression of beer week, we decided to head home to watch the Blackhawks rule once again away from home ice.  


Breweries are popping up in Chicago faster than you can drink a 16% Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout and not all are great but we are getting a good buzz checking them out.  We apologize for no accompanying photos as the new Blackberry takes even worse pictures than the old one.  Thank you to the Dumbarton Brewmaster for allowing a Midwest Report from Heidi and Kristen!
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Qualia Coffee, Qualia Beer

Right around the corner from the homestead is a little, locally-owned coffee shop.  If you're thinking Qualia Coffee is little more than a locally-owned Starbucks you couldn't be more mistaken.  Qualia is a coffee shop.  Starbucks is a retail store focused on a coffee product.  Qualia sells coffee and a few pastries.  You can get a cappuccino, a latte, tea, and coffee.Nothing more, nothing less.  If you want a dark cherry frappucino with extra whip you know where to go. 

Qualia Coffee is run by an area resident who knows coffee like we know beer.  Actually, he knows a lot more about coffee than we could ever hope to know about beer.  The owner, Joel, is in the shop every day of the week logging hours only small business owners can handle.  What really makes the shop is that every bean in the place is roasted on site.  You can't get a fresher cup of coffee inside the beltway.

It's great when you can live in the big city and find a nice locally-owned shop where you can meet the neighbors, have a great conversation with the employees, and swap some beer.  That's right - Qualia recently introduced a beer swap. (You didn't think this was going to be only about coffee did you?)  Every other Friday evening staff and neighbors get together after hours to enjoy a few cold ones and we don't mean ice coffee.

The rules are simple.  Show up around 8p with a six pack of any craft, American brew or a sampling of your home brew.  Drop said brew in the communal cooler.  Start drinking - your beer or any other in the cooler.

We attended the swap this past Friday.  Several of us braved the elements and we were able to sample 4 different beers, including a Scratch from Troegs and 2 home brews.  There was more to sample but we had our share.  In two weeks we'll be back for more.  In the meantime, we'll drop by regularly for our caffeine fix.

Ahhh, the Squishy Middle

Sometimes the squishy middle kicks the most ass and we have just the example.  We bummed around Stone Brewing waiting for the witching hour (ok, 4:00 pm), when Lost Abbey is open to the public for tastings.  Port Brewing/The Lost Abbey is what you expect from a solid micro-brew company.  It's kinda working class, kinda grungy, and from the moment you walk through the door you know you're not cool enough to hang out there.  I mean, you sit on kegs covered with some dextor-maltose-something-or-other-fake-sugar, for crying out loud.

Port/Lost Abbey has a wonderful lineup on tap.  Unfortunately, we were allowed to try none of them thanks to the California Department of Health.  Apparently, state government employees in CA work on Friday afternoon (unlike what we are accustomed to inside the beltway).  The DOH dropped by and shut down the draft brews because the brewery does not have a washable ceiling.  The good staff at Port/Lost Abbey don't know what that means either.  On the plus, we were permitted to run wild with the bottled brews - and we celebrated a staff birthday.

A friend recommended The Angel's Share but we took the staff recommendation and settled on Old Viscosity.  We have a natural born affinity for cars - and dark, strong ales - so Old Viscosity was really the only choice.  As advertised, it's dark as motor oil and makes you wish you were drag racing with IHRA.

Special thanks to the California State Government.

I see London, I see France...

The Brews

Happy Birthday to you...

the Ivory Tower

I Left My Wallet in Escondido

So, we stumbled our way to the left coast for the second time in six months and found ourselves plastered face first in an eerily familiar place - San Diego's Gas Lamp Quarter.  Sadly, it seems we're only allowed in San Diego for business purposes but while there we did manage to find some fun in the sprawling surroundings.  In fact, we found so much fun it's too much to put into one post (never fail to seize an opportunity for laziness).

Today we bring you the first and last of our trip - leaving the squishy middle for tomorrow.

Stone Brewing Company
Overall, the building (pictured below) was disappointing.  The atmosphere is best described as corporate and cold.  Sure, we get that "stone" and "cold" go hand in hand but you would expect these arrogant bastards to be aiming more for stone and "cool" or stone and "badass."  Instead, you get stone and corporate.  The food was good.  The beer was better (particularly our Ruination IPA).  Still, you leave the place thinking that the gargoyle motif is little more than a marketing gimmick.

So, while the atmosphere wasn't everything you might expect in a brewery the staff were excellent and friendly.  There was a steady stream of locals coming through to purchase kegs, which is a testament to the quality of beer.  There are a lot of breweries in the San Diego area so this wouldn't be at the top of our list.  However, we'll still drink their beer.

Stone has this weird atrium type thing.  It was like going to the beirgarden - with my mom.

Um, would a sign kill you? Something that maybe indicates a brewery?

San Diego Brewing Company
The San Diego Brewing Company is quaintly located in a strip mall off a major thoroughfare.  You know, the type of locale that says "Oh, right; I need an oil change."  The magic happens on the inside. 

SDCB is a wonderful mix of in-house brews and micro-brews from across the land.  It's the type of place where you order a beer and watch the game.  So, that's what we did.  On one television we're watching Sharks-Red Wings.  On the next television the NFL Network highlights the Buffalo Bills Super Bowl XXV season.  Aside from the last 2 minutes of the Bills highlight reel we were in heaven.

The staff were friendly and more importantly answered endless questions about both the beer and food menus.  The inhouse brews were very good, having sampled the Old Town Nut Brown and Hopnotic.  We followed up with John Henry's 3 Lick Striker Ale - we were warned about its power but we hit the bottle anyway.  We attempted to sober up with a monster burger and fries - apparently a house specialty.

Hey, where is the Jiffy Lube?

 Yup, it's a sippin' beer.

Tomorrow:  the squishy middle.