A Pint Half Full

Purchased from:
Whole Foods, Fair lakes

ABV%:
11.5%

Type:
Imperial Pale Ale

Color:
Orange amber color with a burnt sugar colored head.

Aroma:
Sweet and bitter, bittersweet.  The aroma clears the sinuses and entices.  Grassy hops and a bit of toffee to balance it out.

Taste:
First some sugary followed with a woosh of flavor and bitterness from the hops finishing dry.  Decent balance considering the DOUBLE dose of hops and malt.  Again, the freshness and boldness of the hops clears the nose.

Overall:
I was walking around my local Whole Foods and guess what, Flying Dog Brewery had a rep there!  They were offering samples from something like 12 of their different beers.  I had to stop by and make my way through their free samples from light flavored to stout.  They had a great mix of flavors with the Belgian IPA and this Double Dog Double Pale Ale sticking out to me.  It was nice to contrast all the flavors from the beers and talk about it with the rep.  I walked away but then returned to purchase a 4 pack of the Double Dog Pale Ale.  Double means they added double the hops and double the malt.  The hops definitely come through with a one-two punch of bitters and hoppy flavor.  Delicious. These flavors are bold and fresh but didn't mask the maltiness that followed it up which was great.  Alcohol levels are high so go easy on this one.  Great to get that big hop fix you're missing.

4.25/5

Had a nice weekend, spending time with a bunch of friends, sharing good food, and drinking great beer.  I love the fall due to the fact that the food and beer around this time all become hearty, with big, warming flavors and spices - it's just straight up COMFORTABLE.

So we ended up in Philadelphia on Saturday, to visit my wife's friend, and had dinner at Lolita, a "modern Mexican" restaurant with a melt-in-your-mouth beef tenderloin, and drinks at Continental.  The Continental had some nice beers, all bottled.  They had one I didn't recognize which was called Kenzinger, which looks like it is a local PA beer (something other than Yuengling??).  I ended up going with the Lagunitas IPA which I've had before and enjoyed alot.  Will have to go back and try that Kenzinger sometime.  I'd recommend both of those places to check out next time you are in Philadelphia - especially the rooftop bar at the Continental (heat lamps FTW!).  Ended up back in VA Saturday night, I know crazy, whirlwind trip.

Sunday, there was a wine festival in Old Town Alexandria that we were planning on hitting up and at least walk around and take in the brisk fall weather.  I think the travelling on Saturday pooped us out so we ended up not getting to Old Town until dinner time (and I got to watch football instead!).  We went to Columbia Firehouse.  It was decent New American style food - I got mussels which were very good and fresh.  The restaurant was also supposed to be participating in the wine festival but I didn't see any specials on wine offerings - strange.

I was impressed, however, with their beer list - a hefty mix of local craft brews.  Off the top of my head - and I know I'm missing some - on draft, they had St George Lager, Dominion Octoberfest (tapped out when I was there :( ), Flying Dog Gonzo, Southern Tier Pumking Ale, Victory Hop Wallop, Starr Hill The Love, Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA, Guinness Stout, and at least 5 more.  Also like 20 different bottles available - pretty ridiculous.  I was able to try 3 different ones, all unique and brilliant in their own way: Southern Tier Pumking, Victory Hop Wallop, and Flying Dog Gonzo.  Impressions of the beers mentioned after the jump.