A Pint Half Full

Cherry blossoms are in full bloom here in DC.  They start blooming the end of March and die around the second week of April.  Aside from the flowers, I learned that Capitol City Brewery offers a Cherry Blossom Ale for these couple weeks.  After braving the crowds and viewing the blossoms, had some of it in the downtown location.  It is brewed with a belgian yeast and then allowed to infuse with some cherry puree giving it a unique, silky mouthfeel, and cherry-sugar sweetness balanced with hops.  Smooth, drinkable and light.  Go get some before it's too late!

Yes folks, I have achieved the impossible - I've become THIRTY years old last week.  I didn't think it'd affect me too much but in fact, when I woke up that fateful morning, it struck me.  I'm no longer "twenty-something"; I now have the privilege of saying I'm THIRTY.  That's a big number.  As odd as it may sound, the distance between a 29 year old and a 31 year old shrinks alot when it becomes the difference between a 30 year old and a 32 year old.

Anyways, I'm over it, as I had time to celebrate over the weekend with friends and revisiting some old haunts from when I first moved down to the Northern Virginia area.  Clarendon (a neighborhood of Arlington) pretty much typifies the NoVa nightlife experience - young professionals, in polos and jeans, gather to listen to 80s/90s cover bands, drink cocktails, and swig Miller Lite.  Not the preferred scene for everyone but fortunately, there are gems in a neighborhood that don't conform to this style and bring unique attitude and most importantly, awesome beers.  Galaxy Hut was the first stop on my birthday night and it was awesome.  The place is small, with a few booths and tables (including a pinball and 80's arcade machine tables).  The main attraction here for me was the beer selection.  They offer a large variety of craft brews on tap as well as bottles that rotate in and out (check their website for latest offerings).  Even with its hipster vibe, you feel welcome in the laid back atmosphere.  I had 4 beers here that I had never tried before and I will try to describe what I can remember here.

In this edition: Tupper's Hop Pocket Ale, Heavy Seas Big DIPA, Russian River/Avery Collaboration Ale, Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot Brown Ale

With the growth of the craft and microbrew industry, it seems that more and more "mainstream" restaurant/brewery chains are opening up.  In the DC metro area alone I can think of a bunch.  Dogfish Head has grown their restaurant chain to three or four locations in the DelMarVa area.  Great American Restaurants has their Sweetwater Tavern.  Capitol City Brewery, Rock Bottom Brewery.  The beers that are brewed range from all over the spectrum, decent to great.  I think they serve their purpose in pairing great food and bringing purposeful beer to the people.  I met up with a couple friends the other day at Gordon Biersch and tried a beer style I hadn't had before: Dunkel (DOON-kl).  Yum.

I'm back.  Hope everyone had a nice Christmas and happy New Year.  Alot has been going on in my world of beer.  My fridge is stocked with a "plethora" of beer thanks to friends, family, and a bit of my own curiosity.  Also, I bought a book called The Naked Pint which is great reading (at least the first 20 pages - I'm a slow reader).  So not only am I expanding my palate but also my MIND.  Don't worry, I plan to share these discoveries with you on my journey of learning.


Prior to going home for Christmas, I had the privilege of watching the NY Giants destroy the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field (football for all you uninformed, and don't talk to me about the last two weeks of the season). I'm a huge Giants fan and had scored tickets from my wife's co-worker. These were club level tickets no less! Being my first time on a seating tier that was not the nose-bleed level, I was excited to have a good view of the game and perhaps indulge in some higher quality refreshments, including the beer. Read on to find what I discover.

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).

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.

Yesterday marked the 250th anniversary of Guinness.  250 years ago, Arthur Guinness signed a 9000 year lease on a brewery at St. James' Gate in Dublin, Ireland.  Since then, it has become one of the most popular beers in the world and a staple for any beer drinker.  They released a 250th anniversary Guinness that differs in taste and brewing methodology than their regular Stout.  If I find it and try it, I will post a review. 

So if you are out and about, go get a Guinness and raise one to Arthur!

My wife and I went to Rome and Naples this past summer.  Now italian food is probably my favorite type of food and there was definitely no shortage of it.  I hate tomatoes but I have to say I wouldn't mind eating caprese salad (mozzarella, tomato, and basil) for lunch 'most' days if I lived in Italy.  Their pastas are generally light and delicate rather than the rich, salty food you get in the US (aka Olive Garden, Romano's Macaroni Grill).  The thing that stuck out most to me about the food in Italy was that each dish's ingredients blended together into a cohesive flavor and at the same time, stood out on their own so that you could TASTE each component.

So what does this have to do with beer?  My theory: countries that have really flavorful foods generally have light tasting beers which complement and enhance the flavors of food rather than the beer being a focal point in some other cases.  Think about it, Germany and England - crappy food: really rich, hearty beers that could be meals themselves; Asian, Mexican, Italian - great food: light, refreshing beers that make you want to eat more.

Now of course this isn't an end all be all rule, but it is a trend in my experiences.  Which leads me to introducing the beers I had in Italy, most of which did exactly as I mention, clear the palate to eat more food, and refresh the mind after a long day of walking around and viewing the achievements and ultimate epic fail of ancient Rome.

The boss "made" us go to happy hour last Friday and as I walked out into the hallway, encountered my co-workers asking where we should go. I tried playing it cool by saying "Dogfish, but I'm down with whatever" meanwhile hoping in the back of mind no one would have beef with the suggestion. Basically, the way our happy hours work out, we either go get cheap Miller/Coors/Bud Lights or we go to Dogfish Head and enjoy some quality beverages while unwinding from another long, tedious week. Usually, it's the former, and well, honestly, we deserve better than that.


So we head on over to the DFH Alehouse once again. Excitedly, I turn around as we enter the bar to see what offerings they have. "Punkin... Ale"?!!?? Apparently, the fall season is upon us! My eyes widen and I know exactly what I'm getting. I order it and take a big whiff. Pure joy as memories flood my mind of Thanksgivings past. I'm a huge pumpkin pie fan and after hearing some of the hype about this beer, it truly did not disappoint. On first sip, the beer just completely hit me with the creamy, nutmeggy, pumpkiny, buttery, pie-crusty, vanilla-y goodness that comes with your first bit of pumpkin pie with ice cream on top. Yes, it was that good. Subsequent intakes did not yield as strong a flavor as the first sip but that's good because it was not overpowering in anyway but just reminded you of that initial burst of flavor. So good; will look for this in the store in the coming months.

Next on the menu was another seasonal brew from DFH called "Aprihop".

Ah Labor Day weekend. Had a good time this weekend relaxing and having fun with some friends - and of course, drinking a few beers! First up was the Maryland Renaissance Festival (Renny Fest). You get all the campiness that you'd expect: turkey legs, miscellaneous meats on stakes/sticks/lances, fat guys posing as knights in shining armor, and impossible carnival games (those crossbows do NOT shoot straight). In addition to exceeding the expectations for festival cliches, the Renny Fest offered a decent selection of beer. On tap was Sam Adams Octoberfest and Cream Stout, Killians, Coors Light, and Hardcore Cider. I was excited about the 2 SA offerings and mainly sampled those during my afternoon in the mediaeval times.

Sunday, the merriment continued as my wife and I went back to Rustico for the second time. This restaurant has a HUGE beer selection with about 15 beers on tap and a whole book of bottles. Food is better than the usual new american and their woodfired pizzas are quite good with a tasty dough. They sort their beer by flavor (crisp, hoppy, roast...). I was in the mood for something hoppy and crisp after the cream stouts I had on Saturday and tried the Southern Tier Harvest Ale and Dale's Pale Ale. Both delicious with pizza and fries.

Impressions of all beers after the link.

If you didn't know, there's a new Dogfish Head Alehouse (www.dogfishalehouse.com) that opened in Chantilly, VA, not too far from the office. After visiting the Falls Church site, I was pretty excited that another one was opening up close to work (happy hour anyone?) A couple of my co-workers and I visited last week to check it out. Needless to say, the place was packed as the DFH beers are pretty popular and local to our area. I have to say this new venue is pretty nice and they have about 9-10 different beers on tap, varying in price from $5-$13. Their happy hour is $1.50 off drafts and $2 off pizza making their $5 drafts around $3.50. Not too bad to support a microbrew and their quality beers.

DFH beers are generally quite flavorful, using interesting ingredients and tend to be more hoppy (at least the ones I've tried). I particularly like their Indian Brown Ale as it's smooth, dark, and malty yet balanced.

However, this DFH Alehouse had one beer I'd been reading about that wasn't at the Falls Church one - "Theobroma"! They base their recipe off of what they believe was used in ancient Aztec drinks, including chiles and cocoa. I ordered it and it was still $10!!! This was during happy hour. I was expecting alot.