A Pint Half Full

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving holiday.  For dinner, I made a pork loin roast, corn bread stuffing, miso codfish, wintermelon soup, and my sister made garlic mashed pototoes.  Everything turned out well for the most part.  My pork was dry, though.  That's ok, I had enough beverages to wash it all down.

Other fun activities was going to sing karaoke, seeing Chanticleer - an all male acapella group - sing unnaturally high (falsetto or castrati?!), and spending the rest of the time giving my sister a hard time.  Just like the old days.

Back to the food and drink: on the table this weekend was the Southern Tier Harvest Ale, the Stone Double Bastard, and some Otter Creek Pale Ale that I got earlier last week.  For you wine drinkers, we also got some wine on my sister's recommendation - a 2006 Masciarelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, a red wine from Italy.  Impressions after the jump.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  Hope you are all enjoying time with friends or loved ones and sharing some good food.  Oh, and beer, of course.

As I went food shopping, I picked up a couple fresh brews that I'm pretty excited to try over this long weekend.  The first is a big bottle of Stone Brewing's Double Bastard Ale.  This looks like a beast of a beer at 10.5% ABV with potential of awesome flavor.  Looking forward to it.

 
Second, I picked up Southern Tier's Harvest Ale. I've tried their Pumpkin Ale offering and really liked it so I thought to give this a try with dinner.  I will post my impressions next week.

So, what are you all drinking and eating? Feel free to leave your impressions in the comments.

First, I just want to say that I still hold by my opinion that American light beers (Coors Light, Miller Lite, Bud Light et al.) are weak, flavorless, and are a detriment to the beer landscape.  They reduce the appreciation of better quality beers with richer flavors brewed with creativity.  Due to the mass production and cheap-ness of it however, it is impossible to escape these choices when out and sometimes they are your only choice.  Case in point - my friday night at BBQ Chicken and Beer (BBQ = Best of the Best Quality, really).

Note: This is part 6 in a series documenting the countries of Epcot Center and the beers they serve.

Next stop on our trip around the world was my personal favorite country, the United States of America.  The moment I walked into the town square, I felt a sense of national pride.  With a brick walkway and red,white and blue flags draped everywhere, America at Epcot is designed to mimic Independence Hall in Philadelphia.  There is a large "town square" where you can watch a drum and fife corps perform some of America's "greatest hits" - songs you don't know the name of but have heard when you learned about the revolutionary war in 6th grade.

No trip to America would be complete without junk food and beer.

Purchased from:
Whole Foods, Fair Lakes, VA

ABV%:
9%

Type:
Ale

Color:
Hazy, rich, golden hue with a pillowy white head

Aroma:
Immediately smelled of cloves and spices with alcohol interlaced, finishing up with a little sweetness

Taste:
More cloves and spice.  Almost tasted like this beer was "smoked".  The 9% ABV is pretty high and it provides a warming feeling but it is not overbearing.  Medium bodied with a flavor that you won't forget.

Overall:
I saw this in Whole Foods a couple times and was intrigued by the name and the image of a "golden" Canada (seriously?).  I really like the Unibroue Brewery; I've had fond memories of hanging out at Brickskeller in DC drinking bottles of Unibroue Edition 2004 (or was it 2005?) with friends and the stuff was just awesome.  So when I saw this offering I could not resist picking up a pack despite its $9/4bottle price tag.

La Fin Du Monde literally means "The Ends of the World" according to the box and is self described as "liquid gold".  If I thought about what liquid gold tastes like, it'd be close to this beer.  Unibroue has done a great job with this, delivering a unique flavor that is sure to awaken your taste buds to what beer can offer.  It is pleasant and easy to drink despite its high ABV but every sip is wonderful.  The flavor is very complex with its layers of smoky, spicy taste, finishing dry and warm, enticing you to drink more.  Be careful though, the alcohol will definitely hit you in the end.  I highly recommend this brew.

4.5/5

When I think of beer paired with food, immediately my mind thinks of something that complements a main dish or would be good to whet my appetite.  This is probably due to the nature of most ales and lagers, which are hop-focused, lending a bitter, acidic flavor.  Some beer can be give a dry, clean finish to open up the taste buds to prepare for additional food intake.   Savory foods can then be enjoyed fully as the beer fully enhances whatever it is you are eating.

Prompted by one of my faithful readers, cmfl3x, I began to think about what beers would actually complement the after dinner meal - dessert.  First of all, I don't really have a sweet tooth at all; one fun size kit kat and I've got my chocolate fix for a good 2 weeks.  Also, I favor beers that are more on the hoppy end of the spectrum which does not go well with candy or sweets.  The mixture of the bitters and acidity that you taste conflict with the sweetness from whatever dessert you are eating.

Note:  This is part 5 in a series documenting the countries of Epcot Center and the beers they serve.

We reluctantly left Germany and took the short walk to Italy.  This was prior to our REAL trip to Italy so I had no frame of reference for what to expect.  However, now that I've been to Italy, I can say that Epcot tried to model their version off of Piazza Navona and its wide open space and light stone architecture.

I grabbed a Moretti from the beer stand prior to entering the piazza and watching a weird street performer jump around, speak gibberish, and blow a whistle while doing tricks. Things were getting surreal at this point.

Purchased from:
Giant Supermarket

ABV%:
5.8%

Type:
Lager

Color:
Deep brown which poured a relatively thick head

Aroma:
Mainly brown sugar malt, a bit of floral hops with a tinge of cinnamon

Taste:
Full bodied, sweet, a little spicy from the cinnamon ending with a little bit of hop bitters and warming alcohol

Overall:
After my disappointment in the Sam Adams Octoberfest, I went into the Winter Lager with lowered expectations. In previous years batches, I remembered tasting alot more spices in the mix but this year's is much more mild.   It is easy to drink and has more malt taste as it is quite sweet.  The cinnamon is prevalent to add a spicy, icy-hotness.  This is balanced with a bit of hop bitterness to counteract the sweet backbone.  The alcohol content along with the warming spices and sweetness make this a pleasant drink during the cold months ahead.  A quality, solid offering from Sam Adams once again.
 
3.5/5

Note: This is part 4 of a series documenting the countries of Epcot Center and the beer they serve.

Our travels take us from the Far East back to Europe as we entered Germany in our trip around the world.   If I learned anything from Epcot about Germany, it seems like it'd be that the country is all about Octoberfest, pretzels, chocolate, sausage, and castles.  And that's ok by me!  As you stroll through the little German town with the stone cobbled streets, surrounded by medieval architecture, Epcot once again transports you to a new country.  The color themes are in contrast to the brightness of China and now I see that this was probably by design.

Apparently, Snow White lives in Germany too as we passed by a photo stop where you could take pictures with her.

Purchased from: 
Whole Foods, Fair Lakes, VA

ABV%:
5.3%

Type:
Pilsner

Color:
Golden yellow straw color with a pure white, thick head that lingers and carries the aroma

Aroma:
Malt, lemon, apple in the background with hops up front

Taste:
Hop bitterness, light carbonation that is refreshing, crisp and clean.  Finishes with light malt sweetness. 

Overall:
After trying Dale's Pale Ale at Rustico, I wanted to check out some more offerings from the Oskar Blues Brewery based out of Colorado.  This brewery is unique in that they package all their beers in cans.  I think that cans carry a stigma amongst the beer world as being cheap or imparting the metal taste to the beer.  However, according to their website, Oskar Blues decided to use cans after finding out that there is a barrier between the metal and the liquid so that no aluminum actually touches the beer.  In addition, no light can touch the beer which preserves freshness and reduces chance of skunk.  I have to say, the theory holds true as this beer was great out of the can and tasted as good as it would out of a bottle and even, dare I say, on tap!

Aside from the freshness, Mama's Little Yella Pils is smooth, drinkable, and very well balanced, delivering a solid pilsner taste.  I love the bitterness and slight sweetness, with a little bit of acidity from the citrus flavor.  The hops leave your mouth a little dry in the end making you want to drink more.  With a lighter ABV%, it is quite easy to get through a few of these in no time.  The cans are quirky and attractive and I love this brewery's attitude - and they back it up with quality stuff.  Both Dale's Pale Ale and the Little Yella Pils are yummy.  Highly recommended if you can find it.

4.5/5

We've all been to parties or get-togethers with friends.  Let's be honest, the food and drink spread can make or break the party.  If there's a shortage or lack of selection of either, no matter who/what is there (your best friends, a girl you what to get to know better, Rock Band), the party will fail.  Even if Funkmaster Flex was spinning, the party won't begin until you're stuffing your face with cocktail wieners and washing it down with a beer.  So I'm listing 5 rules which should help those people planning gatherings amongst friends to make their party a hit.  These are just based on my past experiences and being a discriminating beer drinker.