Release the Hounds

If you live inside the Beltway then you probably know about Franklin's in Hyattsville, MD and you know about Mad Fox in Falls Church, VA. The two couldn't be farther apart both geographically and aesthetically. Franklin's is more like a pub, the clientele is exactly what you would expect from  a brewpub located near a liberal arts university (hippies), and the place is frequently loud-ish. Mad Fox is literally on the opposite side of the map. It's warm and dark wood feels like you walked into an A-list restaurant, the clientele is what you would expect from Norther VA (lobbyists, lawyers), and it's rather quiet.* What do these opposites have in common? Great beer.

We'll briefly touch on the food since Mad Fox is both brewery and restaurant though we know the only real priority is the beer. Overall, the food is quite good. It started slow with the miniature soft pretzels that were little more than little pieces of bread with salt. The fish and chips, made with a kolsch-style beer batter, was spot on. The Cheesesteak Panini, served to the trusty assistant, looked exquisite.

Stir-About Oatmeal Stout. It's a good time of year to be drinking the Oatmeal Stouts and the brewers at Mad Fox rise to the occasion. Sir-About is rather malty with a good, solid coffee finish - something we consider critical to any good Oatmeal Stout. It's certainly full-bodied but not heavy so there's always room for another round.

Festivus Ale. It's like drinking the Feats of Strength. If you like spices this is the beer for your. Brewed with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg this beer will send your taste buds over the edge. It makes for a good compliment to the Sir-About.

Reynard Black Saison. Mad Fox's "Belgian inspired dark Saison" is the best of the bunch. It's brewed with 8 different malts, according to the beer menu, and fermented with a French farmhouse yeast. It tastes mighty fine and goes right to your head if you're not careful, according to our trusty assistant.

If we have one regret it's that we didn't start with the sampler. Four beers, 4 ounces each, of your choice is definitely the way to start. From there you can make your choices on full pints - one you sampled or something new. It's the best way to get a full sampling of brews in one visit. So, I guess we needed an excuse to come back we have it.  

*Mad Fox may have been quiet because we visited during the awkward dining hours between the lunch and dinner rushes. A quick visit their Web site indicates that it's not always easy on the ears - New Year's Eve, for example, looks like it will be a blast.

Three Little Beers

How we're spending the afternoon inside the cubicle. Sure beats working.

Part I

Part II

The Real "Old Dusseldorf in A Long Neck"

Thomas Magnum, the protagonist in what is arguably one of the coolest television shows based in Hawaii, is convinced that Robin Masters and Johnathan Q. Higgins III are one in the same. For our loyal readers who are too young to remember, Magnum, PI is about a private investigator working for an anonymous rich guy in exchange for free room and board - and apparently unlimited use of the coolest Ferrari ever produced. His island clients are always extremely attractive women and his friends are so cool that one owns a helicopter. If all of that is not enough, his refrigerator is always stocked with beer - Old Dusseldorf, to be specific.

This leads us to a theory. Robin Masters is to Higgins what Old Dusseldorf is to Maui Brewing Company. In  the last episode Higgins admits (and then maybe recants) that he is the famed and anonymous Robin. To which we argue that Old Dusseldorf is really just a cover for Maui Brewing Company. MBC wasn't around in the '80s. Then again, Magnum met Robin Masters more than once and heard his voice a couple of times each season.

Admit it - we just blew your mind.

It took long enough but MBC found its way inside the beltway and we've been soaking it all in. MBC comes in cans rather than the preferred long neck but we won't let that take away from the overall experience. In no particular order here's a snapshot of our mini-line up from best to worst (psst - the worst is pretty damn good).

Is this the real Robin Masters?

Coconut Porter. This beer is one of our all time favorite porters and it comes with the price tag to back it up. Chocolate and a hint of coconut in both taste. Aroma is the opposite. $13 and change for a four pack makes it something to cherish but it is worth it.

Bikini Blond Lager. If Budweiser was made by a craft brewer this would be the result. It's crisp, refreshing but with better flavor than Bud. We have a couple left but this is a summer brew. The heat and humidity returns to the DMV in early April so we'll keep these with our preferred stock until spring.

Big Swell IPA. Strong finish to our line of Maui Brewing Company. An IPA that holds it's own against any other out there. It's not in the 90 Minute IPA realm but neither is the price. We have several in stock but expect them to be gone before Sunday expires.

Is this the real Old Dusseldorf?

Who Need's A Blog?

With the twitters and Untappd we've been long wondering if the blog is really even necessary in 2011. Sure, it allows the random beer geek to wax poetic about aspects of beer the general consumer rarely considers - but to what end? The other beer geeks are going to try anything new regardless. The consumer is going to get bored with technical jargon and go back to "manning up" on Miller Lite.

Today we're going to share our insights on Firestone Walker's Reserve but we're fairly certain it can easily be summed up in 140 characters or less and properly registered as something we've tasted through our untapped account. If we're so inspired we'll rate the brew on untappd, which links to twitter saving us the hassle of redundancy. So, we're going to make a fair attempt to sum up this brew in exactly 140 characters because otherwise there's nothing particularly interesting about this brew.

Bland aroma and bland flavor. It has a mild porter-style, roasted chocolate finish and good looks with a caramel-nut colored head. There's some lacing though I still don't know why lacing matters. It  has a body that looks like a mix of dark chocolate and coffee. Way over - 263 characters.

Like the cute weather girl - all looks no substance. Accurate but way under - 52 characters.

Walker's Reserve is disappointing primarily because you expect a "reserve" to be special. It's a fine beer but by no means special. So close - 131 characters.

Walker's Reserve is disappointing primarily because you expect a "reserve" to be special. It's a fine beer but is by no means special. Beer. Nirvana - 140 characters.

There you have it. We have scientifically verified that there is no need for this or any other blog.

Ride a Pack of Dogs

Coffee has its roast monkey and artisanal brewing has its gypsy. The concept behind Stillwater Artisanal Ales is actually quite cool. Two guys in Baltimore decide to start brewing together but a conventional brewery, even a small one, requires a lot of start up capital. Rather than go through the mind melt these guys rent available brew space where ever they can to get crazy with their brews. Get a little more on them from this nice little piece in the WCP.

Stillwater's Farmhouse Ale comes in a beautifully labeled bomber. This beer is like good, old fashioned, in your face rock n' roll. You can take it at face value and really enjoy it but your better off listening to it over and over to really understand the groove. On its face, Farmhouse is a very good beer. Pay attention to the details and it only gets better. 

You can smell the wheat right off, which is a strong indicator of the performance of this beer.  By and large you know what you're getting. It's crisp, light, and savory. The subtle undertones are there if you care to pay attention. We mentioned the wheat aroma but there's a hint of musty, white grapes too. It almost smells old, which is awesome. The flavor is fruity but earthy. It's in the saison family but is not really a normal saison - the spice pallette is not quite there, which is fine. The best thing about this bomber is that we have another one in the basement.

These guys always have Stillwater Ales in their tour rider.

Sixpoint None the Richer

It was just over a year ago that we introduced you to Brooklyn's Sixpoint Craft Ales. Our seven loyal followers might recall the Sixpoint response to when they'll be schilling their wares in the DC area. We'll save you the click. "Well, we can't promise anything soon...Once we can take care of our folks here [NYC], then we'll maybe consider DC."

Good News! The folks in NYC are well fed and Sixpoint is available in the DMV. We know this because we're sitting at home sipping on a Righteous Ale that was purchased by our TA at the local Whole Foods. If you prefer first-person verification then rest easy knowing we conquered Bengali Tiger this past week at RFD.

Rye bread is awful but rye ale is good. It perplexes our tiny little brains that this grain, with it's multitude of health benefits, can make bread inedible and at the same time be a key ingredient in some brews. The guys at Sixpoint have a unique respect for the heartiness of rye - so much so that they threw it in an ale and declared it a righteous brew. Any good beer is more than the sum of its ingredients and that theorem holds true for Righteous Ale.

The Righteous Ale pours hazy with a copper color. The head maintains the copper hue and goes away in short order. This brew starts spicy and finishes sweet with maybe a hint of caramel. The carbonation  is a little more than moderate but is by no means overpowering. It's medium bodied with a dry finish leaving you thirsty for a second can. 

Speaking of cans, Sixpoint has joined the movement (actually, since they're new to DC we don't know if they ever used bottles). Righteous Ale comes in four packs but they're 16 ounce cans. If that ain't righteous nothing is. There is something cool, in a Dukes of Hazzard Lynyrd Skynyrd kind of way, about drinking from the larger can. It makes the beer taste better but if Righteous Ale came in a 12 ounce can we would still recommend it. So, you go back to surfing the interwebs and we'll head to the fridge for another round.

Disaster Preparedness 101

Having survived the 5.8 earthquake last week and Irene over this past weekend we've decided the time is right to start preparing for the next apocalyptic natural disaster. No, we're not talking about the return of Congress after Labor Day weekend. In fact, the next big one is already developing.

We at Dumbarton's Beer have come up with a simple and fool-proof master plan for surviving natural disasters. The plan: Have Kids. We can almost guarantee that if you have kids real disaster planning pretty much takes care of itself. We can prove it. Below are some of the supply kit highlights for hurricane survival as prepared by the fine folks at NOAA. This list is child's play (we couldn't resist).

Water: This is America. Nobody drinks from the tap and you all have a case of bottled water in the house. This item is moot.

Food/Booze*: If you're under the age of 25 you only have a stick of butter, expired ketchup and 2 cans of a six pack in your refrigerator. If you have kids the shelves are always stocked with both fresh foods and non-perishable items. We have kids and there is no shortage of food in our house - ever. And because we have kids there is no shortage of beer. Preparing for Irene in our house meant getting bread and cottage cheese. (Seriously, what kid likes cottage cheese?) We were already stocked with craft beer from several brewers.

Blankets/Pillows: Kids love their blankies. Sure, they have various names for their favorite blanket but if you have kids chances are you have several because you never know when and where the kid is going to throw up.

Clothing: You can no longer afford clothes for yourself and you're perfectly comfortable wearing the same items for several days in a row (like college but for different reasons). Your kids get new clothes every 4-6 weeks. This is a result of either the child's rate of growth or the changing seasons. Everybody's covered.

First Aid: You're house is already a MASH unit. Kids fall, jump, and run. They also spend the better part of the early years perfecting motor skills so from the moment of the first roll over you are stocked with all your first aid needs. In fact, you could probably put in a couple of stitches in a pinch.

Toiletries/Moisture Wipes: Wipes are one of the best things about having children. They are multi-purpose cleaners from children's skin to the hard surfaces in your kitchen. If you wear glasses you'll find they are every bit as effective as glass cleaner. In our house the wipe of choice is Pampers.

Flashlight/Batteries: OK, you might need to purchase a flashlight but if you need batteries in your house then you probably hate your kids. The grandparents and your always-clever friends love to buy kids toys with lights, bells, whistles, and music. All require batteries ranging from AAA to D and even 9-volt (yes, they still use 9-volt batteries).

Radio: It's 2011. Nobody has radio.

Telephone: Nobody has land line either but you probably have a cell phone with all the key phone numbers - like the Poison Control Center.

Cash/Credit Cards: If you have kids you don't have cash and your credit cards are maxed out (on things like batteries, clothes, blankets, etc).

Full Tank of Gas: Kids need to get out. A lot. They have gymnastics, play dates, doctor's appointments, trips to the zoo, and a host of other travel needs. Besides, you need a full tank of gas for those nights when you run off to the bar after the kids go to bed so you can watch the game while not sitting in chair stained with baby food.

There you have it. All of your disaster preparedness needs take care of themselves if you have kids. If you don't have kids get to work because that's the easy part.

*NOAA does not actually recommend booze but when's the last time you saw any news footage of people preparing for a disaster that did not include a beer run?

Why So Serious?

Though focused on the craft brew segment, we have a place in our hearts for Budweiser; a place that is growing smaller by the day. Those paying attention at home know that Bud is constantly battling with Bud in Europe. While we don't necessarily support the home team (home being relative now that the American Bud is owned by InBev) but we understand the obvious business issue. You can't have two Budweisers anymore than you can have two FoMoCos (hmmm....two Mustangs?).

We learned via HuffingtonPost that Budweiser is not taking the battle to wine by ordering Budini wine to stop using the name Budini. As it turns out, AB-InBev claims the "trademark for all alcoholic beverages beginning with letters BUD." We strongly encourage you to check out the story and find out why Budini importers, now importing Bodini, decided to cease and desist rather than fight Goliath.

All of this brings us back to our point that we like to have the occasional Bud. We grew up around Bud, enjoy it's taste now and again, and still think there's something inherently American and cool about ordering a bottle of Bud at the local dive. So, if you're from the Budweiser family and reading this please stop being a corporate bully. It's easy enough to hate global conglomerates (and non-conglomerates). We support buying local but don't make us go all hardcore because we're not cut out for cloth bags at the grocery store and living the "vegan lifestyle."

Don't Call it A Comeback

You might not have noticed but this blog has been stagnant for quite awhile now. If you're going to pick up the baton again you have to have a post that is, well, EPIC. That's why we're bringing you, for the first time ever, a review of not one but three EPIC beers.

The Epic Brewing Company (EBC) was founded in 2008 in Salt Lake City, Utah. A veritable hotbed of brewing, Salt Lake City is also known for great skiing and eclectic religions. Surely the guys at EBC came up with the name without knowing that the word "epic" would go from obscure to trendy to so overused that even Charlie Sheen stopped using it. The trilogy of Epic has a "strong belief in doing everything 'all out'" so don't let pop culture ruin this experience for you.

We sampled from the Exponential Series and we highly recommend you do the same. This series is available in limited quantities and is geared towards the "accomplished consumer" but we tried it anyway. The Classic and Elevated series' may be excellent as well but this blog post is not about being classic or even elevated. It's about being EPIC.

Imperial Red Ale (#6). The IRA is a double red ale with a hoppy aroma and a bitter hoppy finish. In short, it's really good. In between the hops you find a dry caramel, malty taste. It trends sweet and is light on carbonation. It pours amber with a creamy head.

Smoked and Oaked Belgian Strong Ale (#4). This one is all Belgian and almost no smoke but if you like Belgians this will suit you just fine. There is a nice sweetness that comes out from the smoked cherry wood malts but we didn't get much from the cask aging. For our palette, it seems cask aging results in overpowering whiskey flavor or no substantial benefit though we acknowledge a lack of sophistication in this arena (and most others). While the IRA was our favorite the Smoked and Oaked is good as well...and it's kinda fun to say smoked and oaked.

Sour-Apple Saison (#6). If there is one beer that rightfully has "Epic" on the label it's the SAS. The sour apple will kick you in the face if you're not paying attention (we were not paying attention). You know that feeling you get in the back of your jaw when you suck on a lemon? That's what SAS does to you. The Saison style is not one of our favorites but that doesn't mean we can't try them now and again. The combination of sour apple and Saison style was a bit too much for us but if we find it again we're willing to take another run at it.

Buffalo: Bad Marketing, Great Beer

"Buffalo. For Real." is the new marketing slogan for the Queen City. Yes, it's dreadful but don't let that discourage you from getting familiar with Buffalo's brew offerings. As featured in the video, Pearl Street is a great brew pub - everything Cap City should be. When friends and family come to visit we don't let them inside the beltway unless they have several offerings of Flying Bison.

Tip of the hat to Flying Bison for posting the video on their FB Page.

Your Fun for Today

Initially posted on the Chive.

The Livin's Easy

We are creatures of habit here at Dumbarton's Beer. We happen upon a style of beer and latch on like a parasite fish to a shark. This past winter we put away our share of stouts - coffee stouts, oak barrel-aged stouts, stouty stouts.

This week we are reminded that mid-Atlantic summers are hot, hazy, humid with a chance of late-day thunderstorms (strong in some areas). Who needs Doug Kammerer?

Summer is basically here and we need a new regular brew. Something we can call "user friendly". So, we went searching and by searching we went far and wide to one grocery store. See, the key to being user friendly is easy access. If it's the best summer beer ever but is hard to find it's not, by definition, user friendly. It should also be at least moderately budget friendly. Paying $15 for a sixer is not an option for an everyday beer. Actually, paying $15 for a sixer is virtually an abomination but that's for another day.

Being wrong all the time pays off

All of this led us to Troegs Hopback Amber Ale. Troegs is one of those brewers where you get more quality than you pay for. The brothers will never compete with Budweiser or PBR in terms of price but you can't beat bang for the buck.

Hopback Amber Ale is an American Amber Red Ale. Because we're aiming for an everyday brew we'll skip the particulars. It's a nice red brew with a caramel sweet foundation followed by mild hoppy bitterness.

Hopback is well balanced, which is key because sweet can become too much in the summer season. It's not particularly refreshing but real beer should never be described as "refreshing". We pictured it in a glass but we implore you to drink it straight from the bottle.

Best. Joke. Ever.

It's Friday and tomorrow is the end of the world so this is the best we can do. We hope to get one last post in before 6pm tomorrow.

Don't Buy Alcohol in Maryland

Today Governor Martin O'Malley signs into law the first tax increase on alcohol in more than 10 years. While we opposed the increase we appreciate that the elected officials in Maryland were clever enough to raise the taxes from 6 to 9 percent. According to reports, the increase will generate approximately $85 million in revenue for the state.

The self-proclaimed watchdog of the alcohol industry, the Marin Institute, calls this a defeat for big alcohol and a victory for public health policy. According to PR Newswire, Vincent DeMarco of the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative said "The new alcohol sales tax increase will save lives by reducing underage drinking and over-consumption while also providing much-needed revenue to fund critical health care and community services in our state."

Sure, and Maryland Lottery funds really do benefit the Maryland public schools.

Don't worry Marylanders we don't just report problems we also present solutions. Purchase your alcohol in another state (or constitutionally-chartered special district). Our geospacial mapping staff tells us the majority of Maryland residents live within shouting distance of Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, DC Pennsylvania, and even Delaware. Sorry Baltimore, you're probably screwed - it's a bit of a hike for you in every direction but you can come to DC grab some beer and catch a Nationals game (aside from the uniform colors and stadium design you will never know it's not the O's).

"The True Grail Will Bring You Life, the False Grail Will Take it From You"

It wasn't easy but after saving the world from Nazi's we found the holy grail - of beer. Dr. Jones has nothing on us.

OK, so we didn't save the world or find the beer but we really do have our very own bomber of 2009 Dark Lord by the 3floyds. Our good friend and colleague HH has special connections. Rather than doing the smart thing and keeping all the Dark Lord for family and friends HH decided to share it with this fledgling blogger. For our seven loyal readers you should be warned that we will hardly be as gracious.

Just Clap Your Hands

There has been a long-running debate about bottles versus cans and we're going to provide the definitive answer.  By "long-running debate" we use the New York Times standard so somebody probably talked about it somewhere. That somewhere was at the most recent Qualia Coffee beer swap. It was less a debate and more a conversation with the general consensus being that there will likely be a shift away from bottles and towards cans in the coming years. Of course, we agreed with this consensus because we have no real idea what we're talking about. Dumbarton's knowledge begins and ends with knowing you can typically purchase beer in cans or bottles.

Dumbarton's Beer has no dog in this fight. Meaning, we don't own or have a financial interest in an aluminum factory or a glass blowing plant (disclaimer: we have been to the Corning Museum). On occasion we are asked if there's an official DBB Policy Statement on cans or bottles and there is not. Our rationale is that we are focused on the beer and not the container. If it doesn't impact quality and flavor you can sell it to us in plastic baggies. How much would a dime bag of beer run us?

At 4:45pm this afternoon the executives at Dumbarton's Beer determined the time for a policy statement is at hand. The statement is as follows:

We like cans.

It was a warm spring day inside the beltway. The kind of day that makes you want a cool beer and a barbecue. In preparing to set up the grill we gathered the appropriate tools - charcoal, newspaper, grill scraper, one can of Dale's Pale Ale. Step one: remove grill cover. Step two: open beer. That's when the apple landed on our proverbial head. The can cracked open like a beer commercial was being filmed in the backyard. It made that distinct can opening sound that, back in the day, you saw between innings of your televised baseball game. The sound that on television makes even Genessee Cream Ale desirable.

Cans are cool. They're not hipster cool or emo cool but old school cool. In opening that one can of Dale's we were instantly transported to cool. Drinking beer from a can must be the equivalent to cruising the strip with your best girl in the Boss 429. It's Bad Company writing the song Bad Company. It's the Hulk Hogan beating Andre the Giant. It's losing three straight Super Bowls and having the balls to come back for a fourth. In short, it's American.


PS. We were drinking beer from a bottle during this writing.

More Local than Starbucks

Nick Cave is weird

Seattle, WA - home of Starbucks, Microsoft, and Boeing. I'm sorry, what was that about Boeing? Oh, just as well given current events.

In the four days of our trip we learned that it does not rain all the time in Seattle, they do have a lot of coffee, and the rumors of craft brew heaven appear to be true. We also learned that there was a dry spell during the filming of Sleepless in Seattle so all the rain scenes are fake and we found where the boats from Deadliest Catch dock in the offseason.

Our plane landed this past Monday at 2p, fully in tact, and by 4p we were bellied up to the Pike Pub & Brewery. Located in the Pike Place Market, the pub boasts no less than 6 brews made on site along with several guest brews on draft. There's a myriad of bottles to choose from as well. We decided to play it close to the vest and drink only the brews made on site. The Double IPA was good but not as good as the Kilt Lifter or the Stout. The Trusty Assistant strongly recommends the XXXXX Stout and the Monk's Uncle, an abbey style ale.

Beer

We followed our trip to the brewpub with a stop at the Seattle Police Museum. It was not raining at the time but it was cool (several locals commented on the abnormally warm weather) so we stopped for a spring jacket along the way; highlighting our pathetic weather softness. The museum has pretty much everything you would expect to find in a police museum - guns, badges, handcuffs, and billy clubs. I swear it was a museum and not a kinky strip club. After trying on several police caps and gun belts we noted a cool display on prohibition and the capture of many famous gangsters. We also found an early breathalyser machine (perhaps the museum could raise funds by selling it to MPD).

Dork

On Wednesday it rained so we dined at the Elysian Brewing Company. Elysian is a bit more professional than Pike, which is not necessarily better or worse just different. We enjoyed the Dragonstooth Stout and the Mens Room Ale - it's a beer; no seriously. We enjoyed the Mens Room more than any other mens room we've tried. It was so good we decided to try Mens room in other parts of the city. Somewhere, Chuck Berry is giggling.

We can sum up Seattle in one brief line uttered to the hotel bartender. Thursday was the three-hour boat tour in the rain. In fact, it rained all day Thursday and into the evening. The tour was great but the weather sucked so we finished the trip by watching NHL playoffs at the hotel bar. A gentleman sits next to the trusty assistant and asks the barkeep about brews on tap. After hearing the rundown the gentleman complains that he can't get a regular beer on draft (we assume he meant national brew like Budweiser or Coors Light). That got us thinking...

The Northwestern, we promise

Every pub and restaurant we visited was dominated by pacific northwest brews on the tap. We mentioned  guest brews at the brewpubs. The boat tour had a bar with five local brews on tap. The hotel bar was four locals and one national. Again, the hotel bar had four locals on tap. The Irish pub was a push. The big names were available but primarily in the bottle.

The same can be said for coffee. Yes, Starbucks dominates the market but it is still local. However, we found several local chains and what appeared to be several local one offs that reminded us of our own Qualia Coffee.

Obviously, this was not a scientific study but it was scientific observation (prove it wasn't). At the end of the day we were pleased with the easy access to local fare. It doesn't hurt that the locals were very friendly and the vibe of the city is everything we remember from Singles. OK, we haven't seen Singles since we were in high school and wearing Docs but nostalgia counts for something and perception is reality; so we've been told.  So, thank you Seattle. We look forward to our next visit.

One last thing - Check out the Seattle Art Museum if you're in town. You will not be disappointed.

It Was A Yeti - I Seen Him

Smell My Yeti Smell!

Not only is it Yeti but it's the youngest of the Yeti lineage. Of course, we're referring to Great Divide Brewing Company's Espresso Oak Aged Yeti. This is one of several Yeti brews, of which, we have tried none so there isn't much for us to go on by way of comparison. That said, we did score a fancy glass for this brew. Perhaps it's time to take pictures with a quality camera and not on the kitchen counter (those are some fancy looking electrical outlets).

This is one dark brew. If you stick your hand in the glass you won't be able to see it. The aroma is mild coffee and sweet - like the cafe mocha we drink every morning. Yes, we are coffee wussies here at Dumbarton's Beer. This Yeti is also quite robust. The coffee flavor is most prevalent in a strong malt body. We didn't find much of the "vanilla oak character" but we didn't really miss it. The carbonation is in the medium range and it finishes with a nice warmth.

Generally, we're coffee stout fans and the Yet is near or at the top of this genre. It's the kind of beer you can sip your way through two or three bombers before you realize what you've done. The folks at Great Divide recommend this brew with breakfast foods so we may just open another bottle in the morning.

Laying A Big, Fat Egg

We're just over 4 minutes into the second period of the Blackhawks-Red Wings game and for the first time since Chicago drafted Patrick Kane we find ourselves rooting for the Wings. We're Eastern Conference-centric so most nights this game could end in a tie and we could live with it. A fair number of people believe in the prowess of the Western Conference but while they have Hockeytown we have Hockey Heaven (admittedly under construction).

The real reason for our Windy City animosity this evening is the disappointing news that the Goose Island Beer Company (aka Fulton Street Brewery, LLC) is selling out to Anheuser-Busch (aka Anheuser-Bush InBev). In a blog post sent to us by our Midwest Correspondents, CEO John Hall explains that it's primarily about increasing capacity, innovation, protecting the future of Goose Island, yadayadayada. Said Hall, "[t]oday's agreement...will provide us with the best resources available to continue along our path of growth and innovation."

Forgive our skepticism but this smacks of selling out the way your favorite punk band goes pop rock for the coin. The big brewers have been forcing their way into the craft segment for the past few years and it makes good business sense. It's likely hard for AB to be half of a global brewing conglomerate and open a startup craft brewing company both logistically and from a public relations perspective. Besides, you have to do something when sales of your flagship brand have been stagnant for years.

The real reason for skepticism is Mr. Hall's talk of innovation when the agreement includes news that Brewmaster Greg Hall is stepping down. According to Chicago Breaking Business, AB is pumping $1.3 million into increasing capacity but losing your head brewer is no small matter. One also wonders why not go small before going big? The same CBB article notes that Dog Fish Head recently pulled out of four states because they didn't have the brewing capacity.

It could be worse - AB could have hired Gilbert Gottfried as the new voice over for Goose Island commercials. For those keeping score at home, Chicago's leading 201 with 16:30 gone in the second period. We're going to grab a Bell's.

A Political Update and A New Beginning

Before we get started - it's official. DC Brau is the first commercial brewery operating in our nation's capital in more than 50 years! Find them on FB and on the Interwebs for great pics and updates.

On to the news of the day.  This is a bit of a good news-bad news piece on recent DMV brew-related legislation.

Maryland Poised to Increase Alcohol Tax: There's something about being below the Mason-Dixon line that makes state politicals act funky. OK, it's all politicals in all locales. Anyway, the folks at Heavy Seas have led the charge against a possible increase in alcohol taxes. It looks like this valiant effort is going to fail.

According to the Washington Times, which some people actually read, the tax is ready to pass. Don't worry Marylanders, this is probably the only tax increase you'll face this year. So, our recommendation is that you purchase your alcohol in DC, Virginia, Delaware, or West Virginia, or Pennsylvania. By our guesstimate, this really only screws residents in Baltimore. Everybody else seems to live/work close enough to a state or DC to avoid the tax.


DC Hearing on Allowing Samples Announce: We previously mentioned that inside the District commercial breweries are prohibited from offering samples on site. For half a century this was not a concern to anybody primarily because there hasn't been a commercial brewery actually brewing in the District. Well, now there is (see above) and they need to offer samples on site just like breweries in just about every other locale in the country.

The DC Council has legislation on the table to right this wrong. We'll say it's because of a need for due diligence but Councilmember Graham requested a hearing and his request was granted. The Human Services Committee Hearing will be held on March 31, 2011, at the Wilson Building - Room 412. Again, the bill is here. You can contact Benton Heimsath if you would like to testify. Don't hesitate to contact your Councilmember asking for their support of this bill.

Support DC Brewers!

Because the nation's capital has not had a proper commercial brewery in years you probably didn't know that it is against DC law for breweries to offer samples of their product on site (if you did know, well piss off). The fine folks at DC Brau have been working like a well-oiled K Street lobbying firm to get this changed. In fact, DC Brau tipped us off on their FB page.

On February 15, 2011, Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. introduced B19-0118, the Brewery Manufacturer's Tasting Permit Amendment Act of 2011. Councilmembers Wells, Alexander, Biddle, Evans and Brown co-sponsored the bill. The two-page legislation allows brewers to offer samples between the hours of 9:00 am and 12:00am, Monday-Saturday. The bill was referred to the Human Services Committee on February 16th.

The legislation was on yesterday's Council Agenda under item C - Reading and Vote on Emergency Legislation. According to the DC Brau FB Page, Councilmember Graham, the guy with the bow tie and goofy glasses, requested a hearing before the vote. The hearing will reportedly occur in April. So if you live in DC (and we do) contact your Councilmember (and we will) and make sure they support B19-0118. It couldn't hurt to call on Mr. Graham as well.

Beer is Proof this book sucks

If we can sum up Beer is Proof God Loves Us in one word it's dreadful. Sure, it's an easy read filled with nuggets of beer trivia but Charles W. Bamforth comes across as admittedly "yearning for a better time."

Mr. Bamforth has quite a brewing pedigree. He's worked for some of the biggest and best breweries in the business. He's the Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting Brewing Sciences at UC Davis and he's taught courses in more countries we've visited. Finally, Beer is Proof God Loves Us is just the latest of his publications. So, at the end of the day we're in no real position to judge. Then again, we're in no position to judge beer and we do that all the time. And we judge people like we're searching for the next American Idol.

The opening chapter, Global Concerns, is the most informative. It offers a brief overview of how the big brewing conglomerates got so, well big. The book goes downhill from there. Mr. Bamforth blames Margaret Thatcher for much of what's wrong in England's brewing industry, gives a begrudging nod to craft brews while never missing an opportunity to boast on the great beers made by the biggest of brewers, quotes Emerson and talks religion. According to the author, the endnotes are worth the read but we cut our losses at the final chapter.

We can all agree that beer really is proof that god loves us but that hardly seems the central focus of the book primarily because the book lacks central focus. Beer's ties to religion certainly is not the theme of the book. Although it's discussed towards the end of the book it's included in an awkward discussion around religious ties to conflict and the author's time spent in the Middle East. Other pages touch on the role of homebrewing and neo-prohibitionists to ensure we cover the full spectrum of the brew topics. It might be a meandering stream of conscious writing or a series of chapters left out of other books and looking for a home. Either way, you'll certainly learn something and you probably should read the endnotes - but that's about all you should read.

Oh, and Benjamin Franklin never said "beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy".

Caddyshack III

In today's 24 hour news cycle it's all about getting the message out quickly. Get the video uploaded to YouTube, craft a blog post, and by all means tweet everything leading up to the event and then tweet some more. With that in mind, we bring you our review of dinner with the folks at Harpoon Brewery. The dinner was held on February 25, 2011.

The four course dinner was held at the Chevy Chase Club just across the boarder in Maryland. As you may have guessed this event was invitation only. Like famed attorney Peter Blunt we put on some fancy clothes and glommed on to some rich folk for an evening of fine dining, fine beer, and Dan Kenary serving as Master of Ceremonies. So, here we go...

The Reception: Held in some fancy room with lots of dark wood, family crests, and a really big fireplace the reception was an opportunity to rub elbows with 150 of your richest friends. So, basically, we gorged ourselves on the Celtic Ale because it's easier than carrying on a conversation with the people whose homes you clean during the day. The Celtic is good but pretty ordinary. The kind of beer you can drink at the dive you would normally be hanging out at on a Friday night. It's sort of the Bud of craft brew.

The First Course: Pork belly and octopus served with UFO White. All were new to us and we enjoyed the trip. Pork belly is almost better than bacon. Octopus, once you get past that it looks like octopus, is actually very good. We could get used to this lifestyle. UFO White is a Belgian-style wheat - crisp, clean and a citrus finish. Mr. Kenary suggested that some might like to dip a slice of orange in the UFO but we have a hard and fast rule that prohibits adding fruit to any beer (even Corona). Regardless, we can't want to have more UFO White.

The Second Course: Rock fish, veal cheeks, potato and artichoke filled peppers, and bell pepper salad with Harpoon IPA. Two gentlemen sitting across from us agreed that the chef made perhaps the best veal cheeks either had ever tried. While tasty, we couldn't help but wonder what kind of cheeks we were actually eating. The cheeks located close to the nose or the cheeks normally kissed when the boss is filling out your personnel evaluation. Seriously, can somebody tell me if we were eating ass cheeks?  Oh, the IPA was fine.

The Main Course: Buffalo strip loin, 36-hour braised ribs, gorgonzola-polenta pave, haricots verts (which is fancy-talk for beans). All served with the monster of the night - Leviathan Imperial Ale. We've sampled some of the Leviathan series but the Imperial Ale was a first for us and it was the big winner of the night for us. We sampled quite a bit of this high-alcohol brew. The Imperial Ale is both sweet and hoppy. The food was good but the main course really was the beer.

The Finale: Actually, who cares? We didn't really need dessert at this point and the beer was not our favorite. Of course, we still ate the caramel apple granola bar with poached apples and creme brulee - just so we could feel fat. Mr. Kenary served Catamount Maple Wheat, which actually starts out full bodied and smooth. We were pleasantly surprised but the maple finish was a big turn off - well, not for everybody but it was for us so we finished other people's left over Leviathan.

We really had a great time. The people were very friendly, the food was great, and the beer was even better. Now, if the ninth green were a hockey arena the night would have been perfect.

Read My Lips...

The fine people at Heavy Seas recently sent around an E-mail on new legislation being offered in the Maryland legislature to increase taxes on alcohol beverages. Beer In Baltimore touched on this issue as well. HB 121, the Lorraine Sheehan Health and Community Services Act of 2011, increases the state tax rates for alcoholic beverages sold in Maryland from $1.50 to $10.03 per gallon for distilled spirits, from 40 cents to $2.96 per gallon for wine, and from 9 cents to $1.16 per gallon for beer. The House bill has more than 50 sponsors and the Senate counterpart (SB 168) has almost 20 sponsors. The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee held a hearing on the bill today and the House Ways and Means Committee on March 3, 2011.

State budgets are hurting across the country (we're looking at you Wisconsin) and commodity prices are going through the roof, which means prices for food - and beer - are going up too. We understand beer is a bit of a luxury item for some and it's not quite the same as putting food on the table. Maybe more people could afford a little luxury, or even a little tax increase, if wages had increased at all since the 1980s. With the current state of the economy employers have good excuse not to increase wages. What this means is no pay raise this year but the grocery bill is going up and that little six pack of heaven is about to get taxed like a cigarette.

Anyway, we're not saying you should oppose this bill but if you live in Maryland you should oppose HB 121/SB 168. You can voice your opposition at http://www.savemymdjob.com/.

If you live in Wisconsin, we're not saying you should support the unions but you should support the right to collective bargaining.

-Image courtesy of Heavy Seas.

Not That There's Anything Wrong with It

According to reports, the Minerva brewery is offering a product specifically for the gay-lesbian community. Purple Hand Beer and Salamandra will be marketed in Mexico, Columbia, and Japan. These brews are so gay that the labels are designed to be removed from the bottle so people can wear them as a symbol of gay pride.

Minerva is thought to be the first brewer to market a product specifically to the LGBT community - or is it.....

Local Boy Makes Good

You may know him as the local coffee barista at the best little coffee shop in the DMV but Andrew Passell is also an avid home brewer. We have sampled several of his drinks so we speak from experience. On Wednesday afternoon you can hear Mr. Passell along with Tiffany MacIsaac of Birch & Barley on NPR's The Kojo Nnamdi Show. The piece is slated to air shortly after 1:00p and we hope you'll tune in. Below is a little something to wet your whistle.

All the Grace of Fred Astaire

This has been floating around for awhile but still fun to watch - if only because of the great music.

Bottoms Up

This has been making the rounds on the Internet - for better or worse. Our friends at Gheorghe, who have a much better video posted today, refer to this as filler.

(savor) the Fun More than Once

SAVOR: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience is playing a double heard this year.  The The Brewers Association announced this year's event will take place over two nights - June 3-4, 2011.  Tickets go on sale to the general public on March 3, 2011.  A special few (probably everybody on the BA E-mail list) can purchase tickets on March 1, 2011. Once again the event will be held at Washington, DC's National Building Museum.

According to the announcement a full 60 percent of breweries at this year's event were not present in 2010.  Of course, we weren't at the 2010 event so it doesn't much matter to us.  See the list of participating breweries here.  If you're more of a foodie you're probably not reading this blog but here you go.

Nostradamus Predicted Old Stock Ale

The trusty assistant made a major score recently and the bounty included two bottles of North Coast Brewing Company's Old Stock Ale (2009). She made the score by making nice with the local Whole Foods distributor - read into that what you will. According to said distributor, Old Stock Ale can be aged for up to five years. So, the plan is put together a nice "now and later" theme.  This, obviously, is the "now" piece.  The "later" piece will come in approximately five years.

We'll be honest and say that even assuming we don't outright lose the second bottle it's a long shot that we'll get to the "later" piece.  Five years is a long time to write as a hobby for our four loyal readers. In five years nobody will be blogging; at least that's the Nostradamus prophecy. (Are we the only ones who notice a striking resemblance to Old Rasputin?) Hell, twitter will be wordy and we'll all be part of an entirely new social network that will invariably make us less social. So, our recommendation is that you play it smart and purchase two bottles of Old Stock Ale and run this experiment on your own.  In five years, God willing, we'll all come together and compare notes at the Dumbarton's Beer reunion.

Old Stock Ale is Excellent. The strong whiskey aroma almost scared us off but we make the big bucks to swallow our fear and take a gulp. You don't really gulp Old Stock Ale but when you get around to it you'll notice a chocolate milk flavor with hints of whiskey and espresso.  If you were to drink a cold Irish coffee in beer form it's Old Stock Ale. The color is dark brown with red accents.  The head is big but light and dies quickly.  There's some lingering lace along the trip.  If we have one recommendation, it is to let the beer sit for a few minutes after the pour.  The carbonation starts out somewhat strong but mellows out as you make a run to the bottom of the glass.

The Twelfth Beer of Christmas

Below is a sampling of what was waiting for us to start the weekend.  A gift from the trusty assistant.

The final inventory:
Six 12 ounce bottles of Bell's Java Stout - for the weekend's enjoyment
Six 12 ounce bottles of Bell's HopSlam Ale - to be nursed over the coming months
Two 16.9 ounce bombers of 2009 North Coast Old Stock Ale - one for now, one for later
One 22 ounce bomber of Goose Island Bourbon County Rare - for the shelf

You can be jealous because there's little chance of us sharing.