After another beat, I began to taste a little bite of hops and feel the alcohol (9% abv). I couldn't drink a lot of these, but one or two sure would be good. Really good!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tonight's Tap at the Flying Saucer
Tonight, the Flying Saucer in Addison tapped Harpoon Leviathan Big Bohemian Pilsner. Let me just say, what's not to love about a pilsner. Especially this one!
Came to the table in a snifter. A beautiful pale orange with a thin white head. There didn't seem to be any big nose to it...it seemed really light. In fact, I was really surprised at the taste...compared to the nose. It's nicely sweet...a big caramel flavor jumps out right up front. After a beat, I got the lemony zest. The Reverend's reaction was just the opposite...he got the lemon first, then the sweet. (He always was a bit backwards.)
After another beat, I began to taste a little bite of hops and feel the alcohol (9% abv). I couldn't drink a lot of these, but one or two sure would be good. Really good!
After another beat, I began to taste a little bite of hops and feel the alcohol (9% abv). I couldn't drink a lot of these, but one or two sure would be good. Really good!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Something to Look For and Forward To
So I'm surfing Flying Saucer's site and notice on their calendar that Tap Night August 26th is Mikkeller Chipotle Porter. Good God!
Beer Advocate reviewers say:
A: Pours a deep black with a huge white head that slowly fades leaving a ton of lacing on the glass. Probably the best looking porter I've ever seen.
S: The nose is full of cocoa and milk chocolaty aromas. I can also detect a slight hop presence in the background.
T: Taste is chocolate malts, milk chocolate, dark fruits, slight hops in the background, and on the finish you can taste a bit of the heat and spiciness from the peppers. You can feel the pepper heat on your tongue and lips get hotter and hotter as you drink this.
M: The feel is creamy and relatively thick with a good amount of carbonation.
D: This is one tasty porter. With the huge amount of flavors and the thick mouthfeel it's amazing this is just a 6.6% beer. Drinking one of these in a night will probably be enough though.
Although one guy said he didn't really like it as a drinking beer, but seriously thought about using it as a marinade!
Let's see...a spicy dark beer. Hmmmm...sounds right up my alley! I am soooo going to start looking for this to get a taste before the tap.
On another note, Joe and I shared a Pauwel Kwak last night. Delicious! A Strong Belgian Ale that's a perfect example of why I like Strong Belgian Ales so much...it tastes like liquid caramel apples. A great one to sip and enjoy for a good long time.
A: Pours a deep black with a huge white head that slowly fades leaving a ton of lacing on the glass. Probably the best looking porter I've ever seen.
S: The nose is full of cocoa and milk chocolaty aromas. I can also detect a slight hop presence in the background.
T: Taste is chocolate malts, milk chocolate, dark fruits, slight hops in the background, and on the finish you can taste a bit of the heat and spiciness from the peppers. You can feel the pepper heat on your tongue and lips get hotter and hotter as you drink this.
M: The feel is creamy and relatively thick with a good amount of carbonation.
D: This is one tasty porter. With the huge amount of flavors and the thick mouthfeel it's amazing this is just a 6.6% beer. Drinking one of these in a night will probably be enough though.
Although one guy said he didn't really like it as a drinking beer, but seriously thought about using it as a marinade!
Let's see...a spicy dark beer. Hmmmm...sounds right up my alley! I am soooo going to start looking for this to get a taste before the tap.
On another note, Joe and I shared a Pauwel Kwak last night. Delicious! A Strong Belgian Ale that's a perfect example of why I like Strong Belgian Ales so much...it tastes like liquid caramel apples. A great one to sip and enjoy for a good long time.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Sammy Savors Santa Fe
It goes without saying that a trip to Santa Fe means a feast for the senses: fine food, cold beer, refreshing mountain breezes, and enough world-class art to hold you over until your next trip to Italy. We sampled as much as we could in our scant 48-hour jaunt.
We started with lunch at Sadie's in Albuquerque (thanks for the recommendation, Carol!), where we tried a micro brewery beer called Outlaw from Rio Grande/Sierra Blanca Brewing Company (Moriarty, NM). Yum! http://www.sierrablancabrewery.com/
Next was a fun stop at the Santa Fe Brewery. In its tasting room, SFB offers a sampler with eight 4 oz. samples (+ 3 in this case)--you do the math. I won't reveal which was which, but one of us had the sampler and one of us had a single. Let's just say that the one who had the sampler looked a little fuzzy before it was all over.
After a turn around the Plaza, we stopped in at the Catamount, a perennial favorite watering hole, where we enjoyed a Santa Fe Nut Brown, which is probably my favorite beer right now (apologies to Shiner 101).
More walking, more shopping . . . and what do you know? It's time for dinner! That first evening we split a blue cheese burger at the Tune-Up Diner, which has been featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Yum! (Fun fact for you insiders: the Tune-Up Diner is the establishment formerly known as Dave's Not Here Anymore.)
Wednesday, 6:30 a.m.--a wonderful stroll up and down Canyon Road, where we saw some mighty fine artwork. (Oh yeah. Breakfast was a chocolate croissant at La Fonda Bakery. Delectable!)
We passed a happy couple of hours in the Chuck Jones Gallery and some other favorite haunts, and decided to have lunch at the cutest little Italian cafe that we just happened upon. We had a Pizza Margherita and Mista salads, enjoyed with a Stella Artois (me) and a State Pen Porter (him). May I just convey what a pleasure it was to enjoy a Pizza Margherita prepared by someone who gets it that it's supposed to represent the colors of the Italian flag (red, white, and green), and therefore you MUST include the fresh basil chiffonade or it's just a cheese-and-tomato pizza! Anyway...
Wednesday afternoon brought soothing mountain rain showers and dandy massages at Ten Thousand Waves (choirs of angels burst into song here). Ahhhhhhhhh.
http://www.tenthousandwaves.com/
After the massage, we were so mellow that when we stopped in at the Catamount, this time we decided to just order dinner while we were at it. I fondly refer to this as the "rainbow meal." I had stacked blue corn chicken enchiladas with red AND green chile; he had fish tacos dripping with confetti cole slaw and some kind of delicious spicy sauce. But the star of this meal, believe it or not, was the beverage. We asked the waitress if they could do a Black and Tan because we both wanted to try one. Answer: no, because they don't have Bass. But she offered us an alternative: a Black and Blue, which is a Guinness stout poured over a Blue Moon. The Verdict: Yum-O. Try it. It's awesome.
So, Thursday already. Today we go home. :-P But we squeezed in a little more shopping and a stop at Tecolote Cafe (another one from DDD) for a big breakfast. He had a perfectly-prepared Santa Fe Omelette with some kick-ass chile; I had French toast prepared with homemade honey blue cornbread with warm peach sauce and maple syrup. Yeah, it was as good as it sounds. It rocked. Even without beer. ;-)
So we shopped around and piddled and packed and what do you know! We can have lunch before we hit the road! So we opted for another perennial favorite, the Plaza Grill. We split a green chile cheeseburger with fries and washed it down with another NM brew, Monk's Ale. Again, a delightful little beer that would be worth making the drive to Tucumcari for a six pack on a boring weekend.
It was a great (but far too short) trip, the perfect battery-charger before the craziness of August snags us in its clutches to begin another nine-month round. Waaaaaaaa!
Next time, y'all come with us!
We started with lunch at Sadie's in Albuquerque (thanks for the recommendation, Carol!), where we tried a micro brewery beer called Outlaw from Rio Grande/Sierra Blanca Brewing Company (Moriarty, NM). Yum! http://www.sierrablancabrewery.com/
Next was a fun stop at the Santa Fe Brewery. In its tasting room, SFB offers a sampler with eight 4 oz. samples (+ 3 in this case)--you do the math. I won't reveal which was which, but one of us had the sampler and one of us had a single. Let's just say that the one who had the sampler looked a little fuzzy before it was all over.
After a turn around the Plaza, we stopped in at the Catamount, a perennial favorite watering hole, where we enjoyed a Santa Fe Nut Brown, which is probably my favorite beer right now (apologies to Shiner 101).
More walking, more shopping . . . and what do you know? It's time for dinner! That first evening we split a blue cheese burger at the Tune-Up Diner, which has been featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Yum! (Fun fact for you insiders: the Tune-Up Diner is the establishment formerly known as Dave's Not Here Anymore.)
Wednesday, 6:30 a.m.--a wonderful stroll up and down Canyon Road, where we saw some mighty fine artwork. (Oh yeah. Breakfast was a chocolate croissant at La Fonda Bakery. Delectable!)
Wednesday afternoon brought soothing mountain rain showers and dandy massages at Ten Thousand Waves (choirs of angels burst into song here). Ahhhhhhhhh.
http://www.tenthousandwaves.com/
After the massage, we were so mellow that when we stopped in at the Catamount, this time we decided to just order dinner while we were at it. I fondly refer to this as the "rainbow meal." I had stacked blue corn chicken enchiladas with red AND green chile; he had fish tacos dripping with confetti cole slaw and some kind of delicious spicy sauce. But the star of this meal, believe it or not, was the beverage. We asked the waitress if they could do a Black and Tan because we both wanted to try one. Answer: no, because they don't have Bass. But she offered us an alternative: a Black and Blue, which is a Guinness stout poured over a Blue Moon. The Verdict: Yum-O. Try it. It's awesome.
So, Thursday already. Today we go home. :-P But we squeezed in a little more shopping and a stop at Tecolote Cafe (another one from DDD) for a big breakfast. He had a perfectly-prepared Santa Fe Omelette with some kick-ass chile; I had French toast prepared with homemade honey blue cornbread with warm peach sauce and maple syrup. Yeah, it was as good as it sounds. It rocked. Even without beer. ;-)
So we shopped around and piddled and packed and what do you know! We can have lunch before we hit the road! So we opted for another perennial favorite, the Plaza Grill. We split a green chile cheeseburger with fries and washed it down with another NM brew, Monk's Ale. Again, a delightful little beer that would be worth making the drive to Tucumcari for a six pack on a boring weekend.
It was a great (but far too short) trip, the perfect battery-charger before the craziness of August snags us in its clutches to begin another nine-month round. Waaaaaaaa!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
A Little Contest
I'm holding a little contest in my beer fridge. The winner will be the beer that can prove to me it's the best summertime beer. IMHO, that means a beer that's refreshing, drinkable over several hours by the pool and grill, but still full of flavor.
For several months now, I have not been able to go to Central Market without picking up an interesting six pack or two. I'm still on the hunt for Allagash 4 (see note below), so I continue to stop into beer stores...and when I can't find Allagash, I pick up something else. So for the next two months I've decided to focus on lighter, summertime brews (because I've been loving the porters and stouts for quite a while now...but they're tough to drink all day poolside).
Current leader is Bombshell Blonde brewed in Conroe, Texas by Southern Star Brewery. But yesterday I saw a Deschuttes summer beer, Twilight. That'll be on my shopping list next week.
I'll keep you posted on the smackdown and let you know which brew I think is the winner. If you have suggestions for contestants, let me know!
Note on Allagash: Thanks to eagle-eye Sammy, who was perusing their website, she spotted this little note: Special Message: Due to an unprecedented demand for our beer, Allagash recently had to pull out of some territories. We love all of our markets, are expanding capacity as quickly as possible and working hard to assure that we are back on your shelves soon. We apologize for any inconvenience and/or lack of beer drinking that this has caused. Thanks for your patience. Hope springs eternal!
For several months now, I have not been able to go to Central Market without picking up an interesting six pack or two. I'm still on the hunt for Allagash 4 (see note below), so I continue to stop into beer stores...and when I can't find Allagash, I pick up something else. So for the next two months I've decided to focus on lighter, summertime brews (because I've been loving the porters and stouts for quite a while now...but they're tough to drink all day poolside).
Current leader is Bombshell Blonde brewed in Conroe, Texas by Southern Star Brewery. But yesterday I saw a Deschuttes summer beer, Twilight. That'll be on my shopping list next week.
I'll keep you posted on the smackdown and let you know which brew I think is the winner. If you have suggestions for contestants, let me know!
Note on Allagash: Thanks to eagle-eye Sammy, who was perusing their website, she spotted this little note: Special Message: Due to an unprecedented demand for our beer, Allagash recently had to pull out of some territories. We love all of our markets, are expanding capacity as quickly as possible and working hard to assure that we are back on your shelves soon. We apologize for any inconvenience and/or lack of beer drinking that this has caused. Thanks for your patience. Hope springs eternal!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Can we do field research on this one? Please?
Friday, July 2, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Wow - Dogfish Black and Blue
'member when you were a kid and you drank, like, a berry or a black cherry soda? Well tonight's tap at the Saucer was Dogfish Black and Blue, and it really was like a berry soda. Sweet, but not syrup-y, carbonated, but not to distraction. Full of berry flavors, but not too Strawberry Shortcake. It was really good. And at 10-11% abv (no one could really peg it) it went right to my head. Awesome!
I wish I really had some strawberry shortcake to go with it.
And after I finished the Black and Blue, I treated myself to a Guinness.
I hadn't had one in a really long time. What I noticed was...all the flavor that I remember, but now, now that I have a little more knowledge about beer, and a more sophisticated palate, I was really able to pick out and identify the flavors that I was tasting. Let me just say this. Guinness is a really solid, really good stout.
Can I get a shot of Bailey's so I can chug it?
I wish I really had some strawberry shortcake to go with it.
And after I finished the Black and Blue, I treated myself to a Guinness.
I hadn't had one in a really long time. What I noticed was...all the flavor that I remember, but now, now that I have a little more knowledge about beer, and a more sophisticated palate, I was really able to pick out and identify the flavors that I was tasting. Let me just say this. Guinness is a really solid, really good stout.
Can I get a shot of Bailey's so I can chug it?
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