Beer Discovery

  Finding that beer you love or where to find that rare beer can be fun and challenging. When you are on the hunt, and you find that beer you are looking for, it can be really rewarding to find or discover that beer. Every time I go to a major beer fest, I get on the hunt for beers I tried there. The vermont beer fest I went to a few years back had me finding Brooklyn local 1, ommegang, dogfish head, Lake placid, Rock art, and many more. This time, after going to the American Craft Beer Fest in Boston, my hunt continues. The main focus of the hunt is to find Ithaca Beer Co's Flower power IPA. This IPA was fantastic, and I may have to travel for it, but I will find it! I have already started my search, doing the usual contacting breweries and stores and asking questions. Even if I don't find some of the beers, it is still always fun to contact Breweries and compliment them on some great beer. So, I may find a lot of the beers or only a few, but it will be exciting and I will get to try some great beer in the process, wish me luck!

Elm City Brew Pub

   Over the weekend I was in New Hampshire with my wife. We decided we wanted a nice sit down dinner and my wife, who is more familiar with the area suggested the Elm City brewery because hey I'm a beer guy and it's another brewery I need to try! Inside an old mill with little shops and a huge book store, you find Elm City Brewery. Walking in the main entrance you find huge white bags of different Malts piled up. It was only 20 minute wait, and well worth it.

   When I go to any brew pub, even if I have been there before, I always get the sampler. Why not try a little bit of everything? I liked how at Elm city you are able to pick which you want to try, which some have specific beers that come in the sampler.

 Maibock- Slightly sweet,malty,  medium body, smooth, crisp, not very hoppy,drinkable.

Brown ale- Nutty, chocolate notes, caramel notes, slight bitter, creamy, rich.

ESB- Crisp, slightly bitter, light body, crisp. Balanced.

Porter- Coffee and chocolate notes, smooth, slight sweetness, rich and smokey, hop bitterness

Keene Kolsch- Crisp, light, very subtle hop notes, hint of fruit, very drinkable

 I ordered the Brewmasters Dinner to eat. This is what I am talking about for Beer and Food! The brewmasters dinner consists of Grilled Knockwurst and Bratwurst, 2 Potato pancakes, saurkraut, apple sauce, mustard and horseradish to dip! Excellent beer dinner! I had a pint of the Keen Kolsch with dinner. Milder flavored German style beer went great with a mild German dinner! Our service was great, I bought a pint glass to take home with me (I collect them), and all in all it was a great night out! I will be back hopefully soon!

Craft Beer Stores : Table & Vine

     It's hard to find rare beers or just craft beers that most stores don't carry. It is also hard to come by a store where I live, that has the type of craft beer selection that I want. I have been going to a store called Manchester Licquors for a while now because they have great customer service and their beer and wine selection is pretty damn good. I love their mix n match section, where they let you pick and choose from a wall of single 12 oz bottles to make up your own mixed 6 pack! After going to the American Craft Beer Fest in Boston this year, I found a lot of beer brands that my favorite store simply doesn't have. I decided to do some research on beeradvocate.com. A lot of people were raving about table&vine in west springfield, and its not that far from where I live, so I decided take a trip there.

     I entered into my version of a Extra Large Giant candy store. My eyes got wide and I held back the giggles and urge to run around the store jumping up and down. 100s and 100s of bottles of wine over here, a wall further than you can see of refridgerated beer, A huge section in the middle of gourmet foods, spreads, dips, gifts, cheeses, and of course 4 Aisles of beer, and entire aisle doublesided just dedicated to american craft beer! Table & vine advertises the largest selection of Beer in New England, and I believe it! I spent the whole time in the American Craft Beer section. I spent a good hour walking back and fourth looking at all the beers that no other store I have seen carries, even beers from cali that I have never heard of! I noticed they have a lot of 12 pack samplers which a lot of stores even Manchester Liquors simply do not have a lot of. I settled on a mixed pack of Troegs, a beer company from PA that I have heard a lot about that had a million mile long line at the Beer fest, haven't seen this beer anywhere, still haven't tried it. They had a summer themed mix pack so I say hey I finally found a store that sells this, let's try it. I also got a bomber of Paper city XXX lager another company I haven't seen in any stores. I can't wait to try the Troegs and I can't wait to go back to Table & Vine because there was a lot more good stuff there I want to try!

Beer and food Pairing: Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron with Grilled Chorizo and peppers over red beans&rice

  We start off with one of my favorite beers from my favorite brewery Dogfish head.
                                                    Palo Santo Marron
The beer is brewed in America's largest wooden barrels at 10,000 gallons. The unique flavor here comes from the Paraguayan Palo Santo wood which has been used for wine making. The beer is classified as a brown ale, but at 12% abv it is a strong brown ale aged with the palo wood. I love oak-aged wine, so I love the wooden flavor here. Pretty much black in color, pours a really thick head, high alcohol flavor, nice wood flavor, high malty and roasty flavor, some sweetness, choclate notes, caramel, and vanilla here. Definitely a bold beer that you can only sip. So unique and complex. 5/5 Excellent!

  I am still new to pairing food and beer. Even though I wrote out a basic guide, I still haven't had a whole lot of experience actually specifically pairing. On dogfish.com, they recommend steak, cajun food, chorizo, and farmhouse cheddar.

   The basics of pairing a food is you want the flavors to work in harmony and work together. If you have a mild dish, you want a light and mild beer. The palo santo marron is a very bold, very flavorful beer so I am going to need a dish that compliments it. I have had the beer before and I was looking at the idea from dogfish.com about the chorizo. A beer this complex is going to definitely need something spicy, smokey, bold and rich.

   I have almost 3 dishes working together here to create a perfect partner for a perfect beer. First we have the smokey, rich, but mild red beans & rice, then grilled spicy, smokey, well seasoned chorizo sausage. To top it off, spicy Sauteed peppers and onions with hot sauce, salsa, sazzon, cumin, pepper, parika, garlic powder, salt, chile powder. Beer and cheese can be paired like wine and cheese. Dogfish.com recommended a farmhouse cheddar, so I decided what better way to complete this dish than with shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

   When you perfectly pair food and beer together it can be magical. Tasting the strong beer with that nice wood flavor and that little bit of sweetness along with a spicy, rich,smokey flavors of the chorizo dish was out of this world. I would eat the food and taste each of the 3 dishes together and then sip the beer and taste those flavors, back and forth, working together. After finishing this perfect pair, I felt my whole body was satisfied like I had just gotten a full body massage. After that great experience with pairing, I cannot wait to do it again with another perfect pair!

Hangover Food Part 1: Bacon & Cheddar Cheese Fries

    I don't like to get really really drunk anymore because the older you get the longer it takes to recover. I am also past the point in my life where that is what I want to do. Yes I am a beer enthusiast, but it is more about discovering new beers and enjoying the flavors and styles. Every now and then I over-do it a little and even though it doesn't seem like I drank a lot, I feel like I got hit by a garbage truck. Especially when you are drinking beers that have 8-13% alcohol, you're gonna want to eat something fatty to soak up all the alcohol. I call these cures : "Hangover Food" .

   Whether you get fries from fast food, take out, sit down restaurant, or even frozen fries, in my opinion fries are great, I love fries of all kinds. Making loaded or cheese fries makes fries even better.

   You can pile on green onions, chili, jalapenos, sour cream, bacon, cheese. I kept it simple and piled on lots of bacon and sharp cheddar cheese. Fries need to be well seasoned too. I like to season my fries with garlic powder, chile powder, paprika, black pepper and salt. Another must have is a good dipping sauce. To go with the bacon and sharp cheddar, I love to dip these fries in ranch. Hydration, rest, and Loaded cheese fries and you are sure to be cured fast!

Saranac Summer Sampler

One of my favorite beer brands out there is Saranac which is under Matt Brewing Co. Mostly because they have a wide variety of beer, the are affordable and they are local craft beer. I see a lot of negative comments about saranac out there, yes they aren't as good as dogfish head or stone in my opinion, but they are still good. When I want a seasonal variety 12 pack, I can always rely on Saranac. Last year there summer 12 pack was alright. I remember it having a rye pilsner, bohemian pilsner, pomagranate wheat, pale ale, summer ale etc. Every beer was pretty good, but there was definitely some room for improvement. I feel like this year the Saranac brand went all out with there Summer sampler. As usual, there was 2 of each kind, making up 6 different kinds of beer here which is the usual for saranac. It seems like Matt brewing co. thought lets put out classic summer beer for this sampler. When I think of the best beers for summer, I think of Hefeweizen, Pale ale, belgian white, Kolsch, summer ale, IPA. Which are all here in one great sampler. The IPA, Belgian White, and Hefeweizen were fantastic. The beer I liked least was the kolsch, it wasn't bad, but I really like this style of beer and I felt like it wasn't nearly as good as the other kolsch beers that I have tried. I rated these beers on my living social account but I say get out there when you're in the mood for something refreshing and classic, try them for yourself before the summer is over!

Flatbread Pizzas

   So there have been theses flatbreads sitting in my freezer for a while and I decided to thaw them out and make something with them to finish them up before they went bad. So I decided to make some flatbread pizzas!

First pizzas I made I went with simple pepperoni and cheese. I decided to use 2 flatbreads with cheese in the middle to make them a little thicker because they are about as thin as a tortilla. I tried to make the first ones on the grill. They came out a little....well done... but they still tasted good.

Next attempt, I made a meat lovers flatbread but decided to do them in the oven hoping not to burn them this time. I used the same method except I stuffed the flatbreads with bacon and cheese. Then, I put pepperoni and ham on top, yes meat lovers. I baked the flatbreads at 450 degrees F for about 10-12 minutes. They came out nice and crispy but not burnt, I mean, well done like the other flatbreads.

 Pizza is awesome, grilled pizza is even better. The great thing about a pizza is the variety and possibility. I will attempt to grill flatbread pizzas again and maybe even try my own dough next time when I get the courage (tried it before and it was a mess) Anyway, get out there and grill some pizza!

Another tailgating experience

 Took a different friend to go see the New England Revolution soccer game. Well before the game its all about grilling and beer, so I had a great idea before the game....go to Thomas Hooker brewery and stock up on fresh growlers of beer! At $7 a refill, you can't beat it! So we head over to Thomas Hooker and we are a little early but the guy there knows me and lets me come get beer even though there is a private tour going on. Coming into the place I realized they completely re-did it. I read the news article that said this was going to happen, but its been a while. Instead of looking like you are in someones basement drinking beer, it now looks like you are at a nice bar and gift shop. The bar has lots of nice posters and rewards on the walls and 2 Large Tvs with Xbox 360 Kinect! I was quite impressed with the new layout. However, we have a soccer game to get to, so we picked up a growler of Watermelon ale and a growler of American Pale ale and hit the road.

  We got there very early, so early that we decided to walk around the shops near the stadium to kill time. We finally got to the tailgating area and were told that we couldn't grill until 5, so we played a little soccer around just to kill some more time. Finally, we opened up the Thomas Hooker and started grilling the cheeseburgers. Cheeseburgers, potato salad, beer and soccer. Also had a bottle of Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere which was very good. We get to our seats early, yeah you gotta love 8 rows back from the field, these seats are ridiculous! My team was losing at the Half, but one of my favorite players Rajko Lekic scored an equalizer to tie up the game! What an amazing day that I won't forget!

                                   heres me in front with my New England Revolution attire!

Chicken Quesadillas... On the grill!

  I love mexican food, and mexican food is great during the summer when done right. Grilling is a big part of my summer so why not do some chicken quesadillas on the grill?

I started with cutting of some chicken and cooking in a pan with chile powder, paprika, black pepper, cumin, garlic powder, onions, little bit of salsa.

Next I STUFFED the quesadillas with lots of cheese, the chicken mixture and bacon bits for even more flavor!

Grilling them was tricky. You have to crisp them long enough so they will hold together but not too long or they will burn. First trial I burnt one side, but the second quesadilla was perfect!

I cut them into wedges and enjoyed how cheesy, well seasoned and smokey they were. Quesadillas on the grill, a great way to mix it up this summer.

Fish tacos,rice and Saranac IPA

I love fish tacos. I have had them at restaurants and heard a lot about them on TV. I decided to make up my own recipe for fish tacos

I started with a slaw. Street vendors used cabbage originally because it lasted longer than lettuce and it is always good to start with a slaw to fill the fish tacos properly. I added 1 diced tomato, 1/2 onion diced, celery stalk finely chopped, and a half cup or so of premade coleslaw. I added a tsp of chile powder, tash of black pepper, dash of hot sauce. You can even add jalapenos or green chiles to make it spicier I decided to keep it a bit milder for my wife.

Next I took tilapia filets and cut them in half. I made a breading of equal parts cornmeal and Taco seasoning, you want to add enough cornmeal so the seasoning isn't overpowering. I dipped the fish in egg and then in the breading and put the fish strips on a grease&foiled pan. I baked the fish for about 12-15minutes at 400 degrees F . Once the fish is baked, time to assemble. First put the fish in the tortilla, top it with the slaw and then I topped it with mexican cheese blend. I made a store bought rice mix to go with it. And of course drank a Saranac I.P.A with the dish. A hoppy beer always goes great with a spicy dish, especially a lighter bodied beer like an IPA to go with a lighter dish that's good for summer. Awesome beer, excellent food

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Zumas Tex Mex Cafe - Boston, Ma

After the beer fest, my wife and I were trying to find a good place for a nice dinner. We found a few pubs or american cuisine, but nothing really caught our eye. We then walked by this tex-mex restaurant and looked at the menu outside, sounded good! So we go inside and you have to go down a stairs to a bar area with dim lighting. We were immediately seated and boom the waiter puts a HUGE bowl of fresh made tortilla chips and salsa right in front of us before we can even order drinks! My kind of place! So they had an awesome beer selection but I just wanted a soda. I was browsing the menu and was looking at my favorite mexican dish, fajitas, or possibly a giant burrito. I wasn't sure I really wanted to do mexican so I was looking at other options. I stumpled onto a BBQ combo. You can pick 3 of the listed items. But bbq in Boston? I was in the mood so it was worth the try. Out comes a huge plate of bbq pulled pork, beef brisket, smoked sausage, fries, slaw, cornbread and a slice of watermelon! It can't get any better than that! The food was amazing and I am getting hungry just writing about it!

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American Craft Beer Fest Boston, Ma

My wife and I decide to get to our Holiday Inn express early, and we were able to check in early. We asked the lady at the front desk how we can get to the beer fest and she said the best way was by subway. So, off to the subway we go. We had a hard time finding where the actually entrance to the subway was, but after asking a few people and following signs, we made our way. So getting on and off various trains and shuttle buses, we arrived at the destination. At first we started going the wrong direction to a different convention center, so we turned around. I saw a stone building with "seaport world trade center" on it. So we go inside, and there is a few dozen people with orange and red shirts that say staff telling us what to do all at the same time. After getting through the cluster and getting our wristbands, it was time to head downstairs to the event. On the way downstairs, you can smell the beer hitting you letting you know you're going the right way! Once in, you are handed a disposable beer sample cup. After getting a nice program that shows you a map and a list of all the beers under the roof, it was time to do what we came for! The strategy for the event was to find brewers that we have never tried or heard of and stick to the shorter lines. Basically drifting around the place in no real order. After stopping a half a dozen or so booths, it was time to get some food and water to help us with the alcohol. I got an ice cold water and 2 giant soft pretzels that really hit the spot. My wife got a chicken sandwich which looked pretty good. So now we are good to go again. I wanted to try troeggs, goose island and even though I have had almost every one of their beers I wanted to go to see my favorite, dogfish head. However, the lines were ridiculously long so we kept to the original plan. So I've had a decent amount at this point and need another break. Time to go to the T-shirt booth and get some shirts! They were nice shirts and only $10 a piece so I picked up 3. They were all sold out of the Beer geek shirts so I got "American craft beer fest" "extreme beer" and "respect beer". Very happy to get some nice shirts to take on home with me. So the beer drinking continues. Around this time my wife decides she's had enough, so she ends up coming in line with her cup so I can try 2 at each booth! I do this 3 times and then decide I have had enough too. It wasn't my intention to get drunk, just a little buzzed, have a great time and sample a lot of different beer I've never had. So, very satisfied, happy, and slightly buzzed, the fest was ending. So yes, I had a great time, only complaint was like most beer fests, it went by way too fast and I didn't get to try a lot of different beers that I wanted. Either way, I had a blast. But what beers did I try? What beers were my favorites? Well I saved the best for last, decided to write a quick list of all the beers I tried and then I rated the top 5 there. Here it goes....

Amherst Brewing Co - Incinerator doppelbock, Atwater Block Brewery- Teufel Bock & Uber Ursa Pils, Barrier Brewing Co.- Oil City, Baxter Brewing Co. - Stowaway I.P.A., Cape Ann Brewing Co. - Sunrise Saison & Strawberry Rhubarb Saison, Cape cod Beer- Cape cod red, Cisco Brewers Inc. - Sankaty light & Summer of lager, Franklin's Restaurant,Brewery, General store - The Hatchet Job, Jackie O's pub and brewery - Dark apparition, Kennebec river pub and brewery - whitewater wheat , Ithaca Beer Co - flower power I.P.A & apricot wheat, Offshore Ale co - Islander Double IPA & brown ale, Paper city brewing co - fogbuster coffee house ale, Peak Organic Brewing Co - Weiss Principal, Wormtown Brewing Co - Blonde cougar,

If you noticed, I have quite the mix of styles, at beer fests I try to mix it up as much as possible and try bold beers and as many different styles as I can, that way I'm not just try IPAs and stouts all day.

My Top 5 beers of the American Craft beer fest:

Atwater Block Brewery - Teufel Bock- weizenbock- 10.9% abv- 5/5

Barrier Brewing Co. - Oil City - American Black Ale - 6% abv - 4.5/5

Cape Ann Brewing Co. - Sunrise Saison - 4.5/5

Ithaca Beer Co. - Flower Power IPA - 7.5% abv - 5/5

Jackie O's Pub&Brewery - Dark Apparition- Russian Imp.Stout- 10.5% abv - 5/5

What an awesome time! I will be tracking some of these beers down for future enjoyment! I look forward to this event next year and the other beer fests I attend in the mean time! cheers!

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Preview : American craft beer fest this weekend!!

I am ridiculously excited to anounce that I am spending the weekend in Boston with my wife and will attend one of the American Craft beer fest sessions. Over 100 brewers and 400+ beers, yeah I am going crazy with anticipation! So, because of my eagerness, I decided to write a little preview post about whats to come this weekend. I got hooked on beer fests ever since attending the vermont beer fest and the oktoberfest in vermont at harpoon brewery. This is the big one though! This is one serious beer fest. The woodstock of beerfests, haha. This is the one I have heard so much about, and am waiting in anticipation for all this time. The thing I am looking forward to most is the opportunity to try beer from brewers that don't ship to where I live. All of these brewers I have heard so much about and haven't had the chance to try. A lot of local brew pubs that you need to drive there just to try the beer, but all under one roof! Some long time favorites, some I have never heard of, and lots I have been dying to try!

Here are some long time favorites that will be there:

Berkshire Brewing Company
Boston Beer Co.
Long Trail
Otter Creek
Dogfish head
Brooklyn Brewery
Brewery Ommegang
Thomas Hooker
Rogue

I will probably see what these guys have to offer, see what new ones they have that I haven't tried before. I already know what to expect from them so, what I am really looking forward to is the brewers that I haven't tried yet but have heard a lot of good things about, and those that I have never even heard of!

Here are some that I am talking about:

Amherst brewing co
Cambridge Brewing co
Coastal Extreme
cape ann
cape cod
goose island
gardner ale house
haverhill
jackie o's
lawsons finest liquids
left hand brewing co
paper city
pretty things
sebago brewing co
throwback
troegs brewing co
tuckerman brewing co
wormtown brewing co
watch city
white birch
prodigal

yeah the list is growing and quite overwhelming. with 2 oz samples, I will be able to try a lot of these but not even close to all of them. My strategy is to stick to ones specifically that I have never tried before, especially beers you can't get at all around here. I have done the research and found that there are rave reviews for lawsons, jackie o's, cambridge, goose island, amherst, etc. I will start with some of my high anticipated choices and work my way around. And, just like at the vermont brew fest I will need to take notes to keep track. I am very excited to try these never before sampled brewers. A lot of the brewers I tried for the first time in vermont are still all time favorites today. It will be quite an adventure and a lot of blogging material to come from it! I will let you all know how it goes. Cheers!

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