Thursday, January 27, 2011

(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.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

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.


Saturday, January 15, 2011

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.