Although San Diego was able to severely kick my a$$ on my first day of beer week, I was able to regain momentum and score a win for The Wench on the second day.

Morning came fast on Day 3. Unfortunately, our party of 4 (Pj, Alex, Tay & myself) dropped down to a party of 3 (we lost Alex to Law school — damn those smart kids). In order to sustain ourselves for the long day of beer consumption ahead, we chowed down on some whole wheat bagels with red onions, tomatoes, capers, cream cheese & lox — hey, we were just trying to be good Jews (and Jew wannabes).

Sometime before noon, the 3 Musketeers dragged our slightly disoriented butts up to San Diego Brewing Co. to meet up with head brewer, Dean Rouleau, for open house brew day with guest brewer Scott Jennings from the Sierra Nevada “Beer Camp” pilot brewery. We were greeted at the door and within seconds of being inside the bar, we had beers in our hands. Not a bad way to start a day, eh? I was pleasantly surprised by the scene inside San Diego Brewing Company’s brewpub. A bunch of homebrewers turned out for the event with several interesting brews in tow. But more importantly, almost every TV in the bar featured a Big Ten game. And if you have not learned by now, I’m obsessed with college … err … Big Ten … err Ohio State football. Dean was awesome enough to provide us with a tour of the SDBC facility. Just as the tour finished, it was time for the boys (Dean & Scott) to add the hops to the boil. The Cascade hops for the collaboration brew came from Star B Ranch Bison & Hops Farm in Pamona, CA.

Time quickly caught up to us and, before we could order another beer, we found ourselves running out the door to pick up our good friends Renee & Jordan Rounds for the 7th Anniversary Green Flash Charity Beer Festival. All proceeds from ticket sales to the 7th Anniversary Green Flash Charity Beer were donated to the FIGHT ALD ORG.

Adrenoleukodystropy (ALD) is a genetic disease that affects 1 in 15,000 boys in childhood but is most often diagnosed or goes undetected until it is too far progressed for treatment. A inexpensive blood test can easily identify boys at risk and it is treatable if caught before there is cerebral involvement.

Fight ALD educates medical professionals and the community about the early onset symptoms and diagnostic test with the hope that every affected boy will have a chance to win their fight with Adrenoleukodystrophy. On an interesting yet related side note, the President of Fight ALD, Bill Sherwood, is also the facilities manager for Stone Brewing Co. His wife Janis founded Fight ALD after loosing their son Sawyer back in 2003. Janis has visited at least 600 medical facilities in 22 states educating medical professionals on recognizing early symptoms of ALD. I had the honor of meeting Janis during the festival and I have tremendous respect for her amazing “one woman” fight against ALD. I’m just sorry that it was inspired by a loss. RIP Sawyer Benjamin Sherwood.

Upon arriving at the festival, we were distributed neon green wristbands with 10 tasting tokens, a meal ticket & a 7th Anniversary tasting glass. Being the clever professional photographer that she is, Renee Rounds shot a cool pic of the Green Flash Anniversary beer with the shadow from the glass.

Despite the large crowd, it was extremely easy to navigate the festival. In addition to Green Flash, other featured breweries included: AleSmith Brewery, Backstreet Brewery, Ballas Point, Coronado Brewing Co., FireHouse Brewery, Karl Strauss, La Jolla Brewhouse, Lightning Brewery, The Lost Abbey, Mission Brewery, OGGI’s, Pizza Port Brewing, Port Brewing Co., San Diego Brewer’s Guild, San Diego Brewing Co., San Marcos Brewery and Stone Brewing Co.

In need of a super refreshing “Pacific Northwest” hopped brew, I made a bee-line to Ballast Point for a sample of one of my favorite IPAs — Sculpin. After being refreshed by Sculpin, I found myself hitting up the Green Flash tent for samples of the Anniversary Ale, Hop Head Red Ale & Summer Saison. Somewhere along the way, around sample 4 or 5, we ran into our good pal Dr. Bill.

Dr. Bill convince us that we needed to go inside Green Flash’s tasting room where they were pouring tastes of a few limited special release beers. Not ones to turn down the opportunity to taste rare barrel-aged beers, the crew assembled and obediently marched to the tasting room where we ran into our new buddy Gordon, a brewer for Lost Abbey. Gordon poured us samples of Green Flash Little Freak — a barrel-aged Saison inoculated with Brett– as well as Green Flash Super Freak — the Green Flash LeFreak (Belgian-style IIPA) aged in San Pasqual Grenache wine barrels with brettanomyces. Little Freak was light and refreshing with hints of barnyard, while the Super Freak was more full-bodied and more complex. Gordon surprised us by whipping out a bottle of Lost Abbey Carnevale from underneath the table. Pj and Jordan got really really excited about that … as you can see.

For those of you unfamiliar with Lost Abbey Carnevale, it is a dry hopped saison ale sporting a hazy yellow color and moderately spicy nose with hints of oranges and tangerines from Amarillo and Simcoe hops. The yeast phenols add layers of clove and allspice. Weighs in around 6.5% with a medium-to-light body. It is seasonal and released around Lent.

After a few hours of quality beer drinking, it became apparent that the group needed to seek out some substance — in the form of meat products. The two food vendors for the day were Pizza Port & Kansas City Barbeque. On the way to the food tables, I ran into Greg Koch and got distracted by beer.

Before we knew it, the festival was wrapping up and it was time to embark upon yet another beer drinking mission. Dr. Bill invited the crew up to Stone Brewing Co. for a tasting of some rare beers from his collection. Once again, we are not ones to turn down opportunities to taste rare and interesting beers. Traffic was utterly unbearable and … sobering.

After what seemed like a year and a day, we arrived at Stone World Bistro & Gardens where Dr. Bill secured us the VIP section for our private tasting. Among many beers, Bill brought us Avery Dugana, De Dolle Special Reserva Ourbiera, the super exclusive (club membership only) Lost Abbey Sinners blend 09′, Hansens Oude Geuze, Hansens Oude Kriek and various vintages of Stone Double Bastard Ale.

Being that I had been distracted from obtaining food at the Green Flash Festival, Dr. Bill was also kind enough to provide us with a plentiful helping of Wild Boar Baby Back Ribs & Artisan sausages — which I devoured like it was my job. Earlier in the day, Stone hosted the Brewdog bahash bash where they tapped bashah, the latest collaboration brew by Scottish brewers BrewDog and Stone.

Bashah is the world’s first ever Black Belgian Double IPA. According to the BrewDog blog, there are five hops used in the beer: Hercules, Magnum, Warrior, Centennial and Amarillo. It is currently available in bottles. Dr. Bill couldn’t resist showing up the “disposable” keg in which bashah was distributed. Personally, I’ve never seen anything like it. It looks more like something you’d find at a NASA than a bar …

After getting our fill of meat products and amazing rare beers, it was once again time to hit the road in search of more beer week escapades. By the time we got to Taylors house, the crew was exhausted from hours of day drinking. We loaded up on a few cups of espresso while we debated our next stop. One of our friends, Beverly Bancroft, had charted a limo for the entire day and offered to send the limo to pick us up and bring us out on the town.

The limo took us to Toronado in South Park, San Diego — where we met up our new Twitter beer geek buddies Tab Brewer and Beverly & Mark Bancroft. My heart stopped when Tab ordered a bottle of (the rare) 2003 Boon Mariage Parfait. Some of you may not be aware (bad stalkers!) of my obsession with the gueuze. Long story short, the gueze is one of my all-time favorite styles of beer and I’ve put myself on a mission to taste as many variations of the style from as many brewers possible.

When Tab handed me the glass of Mariage I felt like a giddy little school girl who just got passed a love note from her biggest crush. It was bright golden in color with a, what is in my opinion, pleasant earthy, hay & barnyard aroma typical of Brett Bruxellensis. Overall, I found Boon Mariage Parfait to be light-bodied, highly carbonated & tart with a crisp, dry finish. That beer definitely had it going on. And I was really digging the funk … until of course I reached the bottom of the glass. Which was a very, very sad moment. But I quickly cheered up when the server delivered my beer brat smoothers in peppers and onions in a toasted pun with housemade potato salad on the side.

Now, I know what you are probably thinking. And yes, I have a bottomless pit for a stomach. Especially, when drinking beer in vast quantities. And especially when it comes to pork products.

I have a weakness for the pig.

You see, I was deprived of most pork products as a child. This is because my mother has been a vegetarian for 30+ years as well as a health & fitness fanatic. I’m oddly grateful that she never introduced me to the beautiful world of bacon, sausage, brats, pulled pork, BBQ ribs and so on and so forth — for I think I may have been an obese child if she had.

In Autumn of 2008, I tried bacon for the FIRST time — EVER. (FYI: I was 25 years old). And then I had my first bratwurst, first pulled pork sandwich, first rack of ribs etc… Food was never the same. And to come to think of it, either was my waistline. (Bacon belly anyone?)

Being both a beer connoisseur & pork fiend, it was pertinent that I try Toronado’s beer sausage — even if I had just previously pigged out (no pun intended) on sausage at Stone Brewing Co.  Toronado’s houesmade sausage was very juicy with a perfect blend of spices. It was so tasty, in fact, that it made me extremely thirsty for more beer. Hamilton’s must have been the go-to spot that evening because by the time I was ready for another beer, the entire bar was packed. It took some elbow swinging, but eventually I was able to make it to the bar.

If you’ve never been to Toronado (in either San Francisco or San Diego), than you probably are not familiar with the amazingness that is its beer menu. Toronado boasts and extremely impressive and slightly overwhelming tap and bottle list. Being surrounded by hardcore beer geeks, the pressue was on. One poor decision, and I was going to be fed to the wolves. After the gueze, I was on a Belgian beer kick. I decided to order a bottle of Fantome Printemps — a bottle-conditioned Spring seasonal Saison from Belgium. Fantome exclusively produces the Saison style and releases a different twist to the style every season. I’ve been lucky enough several of Fantome’s Saison variations as well as have a few older vintages in my cellar.

Feeling confident with my decision, I presented the bottle of Fantome Printemps to the group. Unfortunately, the beer did not win the hearts of my fellow beer geeks, who were quick to reject it. I blame it on palate exhaustion. To be fairl, it is really hard to expect people who’ve been quaffing high gravity, super intense & extreme beers all day to drink a Saison. It would be like asking someone whose been drinking Bordeaux & Barolo to sip on a rose. Seems like water in comparison.

So being the sulky face hurt puppy dog that I was after being rejected, I took the whole bottle of Fantome Printemps and sat in my own little corner where I enjoyed every last drop of it.

As the crowd started to dwindle, it became apparent that our time was up and the bar was getting ready to close. But instead of throwing the towel in, a small contingent of loyal party-goers headed back to Taylor’s place for a nightcap and some Kill Bill Volume 1 action. Yet, just as I was thinking that I had won the third round, San Diego beer week snuck up on me fast. Halfway through my beer and even less through Kill Bill, I was out like a light.

However, this round was not a complete loss. For the first time during the trip, I was the first person to be awake and productive the next morning. I even made breakfast for everyone. And so San Diego, although you wore me down and put me to bed before everyone else, you did not win right out. Instead, we will call this a tie.

THE WENCH = 1.5 & SAN DIEGO = 1.5

Stay tuned for the 4th Round and last installment of: The Wench vs. San Diego Beer Week! Cheers!

Although lately I’ve developed a reputation as a gypsy for my rather nomadic lifestyle, I do call one place “home.” And this place is New York. I grew up in the Hudson Valley — just 60 miles north of Manhattan. My parents still live in NY and, in my person opinion, NYC is the best city in the country.

So naturally, when I get wind of new and exciting ongoings in the NY beer scene, I feel compelled to share it with the world.

Fire Island Beer Company entered the craft beer realm this past spring (May 2009) with the launch of its first beer, Lighthouse Ale. I’m excited to announce that they are set to release a second beer, the Red Wagon IPA, on November 1st.

Fire Island Beer Company is the brain child of two brothers and a cousin. The story goes as follows:

For the better part of their childhood years, the boys spent their summers on Fire Island, NY (aka “The Other New York”). Just off Long Island’s south shore, Fire Island is only accessible by ferry. And no cars are allowed on the island. Ever. It is there that the boys first developed a passion for home brewing, which ultimately resulted in the development of Fire Island Beer Company.

Unfortunately, Fire Island Beer Company has very limited distribution. At this time, they are only available in New York. For those of you who are lucky enough to live in New york, Fire Island has a nifty LOCATOR tool. Lucky for me though, my cunning Beer Wench ways have worked magic on the Fire Island Beer Company boys … and they will be sending me a sample to review. ROCK ON!

Interested in more information about the newest release — the Red Wagon IPA? Here is a copy of the official press release:

Fire Island Beer Company unveils Fire Island Red Wagon IPA
The Newest Craft Beer From ‘The Other New York’

OCEAN BEACH, N.Y. - Fire Island Beer Company is proud to announce the launch of their second craft beer, Fire Island Red Wagon IPA.  This India Pale Ale follows the company’s successful flagship beer, Fire Island Lighthouse Ale, which was introduced in May and continues to sell at a brisk pace.

Fire Island Red Wagon IPA will join Fire Island Beer Company’s lineup on November 1 and will be available on Long Island, in New York City and Westchester and Rockland counties. Red Wagon is the next step in bringing to life several unique craft beer styles inspired by the experience of Fire Island.

Fire Island Red Wagon IPA is the handiwork of two brothers and a cousin who developed their taste for craft beer and home brewing during the summers they spent on Fire Island, the naturally beautiful and very colorful barrier island just off Long Island’s south shore. The ultra-relaxed island has attracted families, partiers, weekend beach-goers and outdoor sports lovers for generations, yet it refuses to allow cars, pretension and the frantic pace common to NY-metro area culture. This led the Fire Island Beer Company founders to coin it “The Other New York,” a concept they find very refreshing.

“Fire Island Beer Company is going in a hoppier direction with Red Wagon IPA compared to our Lighthouse Ale,” says Co-founder and Head Beer Maestro Tom Fernandez. “We wanted to create a smooth-bodied golden beer that blends the right amount of floral and fruity hops and finishes with a crisp taste. I think we’ve accomplished that with Red Wagon IPA. It’s big on flavor and big on substance, or as its brewers like to say, “an IPA as grounded as the people who drink it.”

“Wagons are central to life on Fire Island, and the perfect symbol of what makes this place so different,” says Co-founder Jeff Glassman. “There are no cars, so people pull their stuff around in wagons instead. It’s a great reminder to keep things simple in life … you can only carry so much, so focus on what’s important. That is the idea that inspired Red Wagon IPA”

“Just like Lighthouse Ale, an early homebrew version of Red Wagon IPA was conceived and tested at the Shack, a casual lunch counter and bar between the bay and ocean in Atlantique Beach on Fire Island where we worked summers when we were younger,” Fernandez adds. “It didn’t matter if you were a local, a surfer, a fisherman or a weekender … everybody gathered there and shared stories and laughs over a few beers. It was full of really easygoing people with a ton of character, just like Fire Island itself, so the vibe there was awesome. All of our beers have been inspired in some way by this vibe and the Shack was a great venue to sample people on our early brews.”

What started as a basement home brewing experiment has grown into meticulously crafted and well-received beers. Fire Island Beer Company did not want to risk the integrity of their recipes in order to share them with a wider audience, so the craft brewers enlisted some expert industry help from the Olde Saratoga Brewing Company (www.oldesaratogabrew.com) to bring their recipes to life.

“Olde Saratoga has always supported the spirit of craft brewing,” said Paul McErlean, Head Brewer at Olde Saratoga Brewing Company. “When Fire Island came to us it was an exciting opportunity because we’ve never worked with a true home brew recipe before.”

Red Wagon IPA will leverage Fire Island Beer Company’s existing relationship with distribution heavyweight Manhattan Beer Distributors (www.manhattanbeer.com). As the largest single market beer distributor in the U.S., Manhattan’s Craft and Micro Division will be responsible for selling the new brand into target on- and off-premises accounts.

To help create a unique look and feel for Red Wagon IPA, Fire Island Beer Company turned to local branding and design boutique rocketdog (www.rocketdognyc.com). The innovative branding features original artwork and copy that will anchor all packaging, point of sale materials and digital applications for the beer company and its brands. One way the brand will share its spirit is through the use of four separate “stories” that can be found randomly on the rear labels of Red Wagon IPA. Each will communicate something different about The Other New York and the mindset found there. For example:

“When you come to Fire Island, instead of taxis to greet you, there are red wagons. So, you kinda have to learn to live with what you can pull or toss over your shoulder. Some clean clothes. Groceries. A toothbrush. Definitely a six-pack (or two) of Red Wagon IPA. If you think about it, it’s a good measure in life. To see what stuff is important. And what’s just stuff.”

“When we started Fire Island Beer Company, we set out with one mission: To create world-class craft beers that are inspired by the color, character and delicious experience of Fire Island. With Red Wagon IPA, we’ve taken the next big step in realizing that mission and are really seeing it all come together,” Glassman said. “We are all about good times and great beer.”

Fire Island Red Wagon IPA and Fire Island Lighthouse Ale are both available in single 12-ounce bottles, 6-packs, 5.16-gallon kegs and 15.5-gallon kegs and are available to ship immediately.

Visit Fire Island Beer Company at www.fireislandbeer.com
Facebook: facebook.com/fireislandbeer
Twitter: twitter.com/fireislandbeer

CHEERS!

After two amazing beer nights in New Orleans, my traveling companion (Shana) and I decided to “take a break” from beer for a night of vino with the authors of Another Wine Blog in Houston, TX. Another Wine Blog is the brainchild of Amy and Joe, a husband-wife team dedicated to wine, food and home-brewing. They currently reside next to NASA right outside of Houston, TX — but something tells me that may change in the very near future (wine country or bust).

The night began at a fun little pub called Boondoggles. Poor Shana. Just when she thought she was finally getting an evening of wine — we ended up at a pub. The beer menu was decent (a mix of corporate, craft, local craft & German imports). The food menu was your classic fried pub fare and pizza goodness.

Prior to that night, I had never tasted a beer from Texas. Joe steered me towards Saint Arnold, a local Houston brewery. Naturally, I went with the IPA. The Saint Arnold IPA was relatively light in body (for an IPA) and it had a very mild sweet grass hop and hay aroma. The taste was clean with very low malt flavors and a mild hop bitterness. Overall, it reminded me more of a pale ale than an IPA — but it was good. It went very well with the spicy, fried appetizers we ordered as well as the “Tejas” pizza (chorizo, andouille sausage, onions, jalapenos, Texas goat cheese, romano and provolone cheese).

From there, we went to a wine bar for some vino and dessert. I also got an opportunity to play chess — which I got my ass kicked in by Joe. Nonetheless, my brain appreciated the stimulation.

The next morning, Amy took me and Shana to see some of the rockets at Nasa. I assume that at some point or another everyone dreams of being an astronaut — well, I did at least. Unfortunately, I never visited the Kennedy Space Center when I lived in Orlando, FL. Luckily, I got the opportunity to check out Rocket Park at NASA.

After the brief stop at NASA, Shana and I found ourselves back on the road headed towards Austin, TX. Lucky for us, this leg of the road trip was the shortest.

For some time now, I have been wanting to visit Austin. After all, it is a college town — young, hip, progressive and unique. And on top of that, it is also the “Live Music Capital of The World.”

Being the bacon and pork obsessed human that I have become in the past year, it was only natural that I visit my good twitter friend — the one, the only, the most infamous — BACONATOR. Luckily, he turned out to be of the non-serial killer type and was willing to put us up for 2 … errrr 3 … nights.

Unfortunately for me, but fortunate for Shana and Baconator, we only had one night of beer consumption in Austin. BUT OHhhh what a glorious night it was …

Prior to arriving in Austin, I had already setup a night of beer debauchery and fun with Chris Troutman from a local Austin beer blog called “Beer Town Austin.” And from there it spiraled into a super awesome Austin tweetup (aka organization of people who interact via twitter) involving local beer geeks drinking local beers in local beer bars and noshing on local food.

The first establishment we visited was The Draught House Pub & Brewery.

Much to my surprise and UTTER delight, The Draught House had New Belgium’s La Folie on tap. Now for those of your who live in states where New Belgium is distributed, this might not sound like a big deal. But, for me, it is. La Folie is New Belgium’s original wood-conditioned beer that rests in French Oak barrels between one and three years before being hand bottled, numbered and corked. It is deep crimson brown in color with a pungent apple cider vinegar and wild yeast aroma. The taste is smack you in the face, pucker-up the lips, destroy the sides of your cheeks sour. Think sour cherries and tart vinegar with a slight hint of old wet wood.

Starting off with La Folie definitely set the mood right. Austin food blogger Jenny Chen took the whole mood to another level when she showed up with two coolers full of boozy confections. In addition to authoring the blog “MisoHungry Makes It With Moonshine“, Jenny is also the local founder of the Cupcake Smack-down. In honor of our visit to Austin, she whipped up 3 out of this world recipes made with local Austin beer.

1. Drunken German Chocolate Cupcakes – 512 Cask Pecan Porter Cake filled with coconut, almonds, and Irish Cream topped with chocolate pecan praline liquor butter cream and a maple bourbon pecan

2. Drunken Lamingtons – twist on the traditional Lamingtons recipe adding beer (Shiner Bock for this particular batch) to the cake batter, and 512 Pecan Porter to the chocolate syrup.

3. Uncle Billy’s Coffee Porter Cupcakes – Uncle Billy’s Coffee Porter Chocolate cake filled with kahlua and nutella, topped with a Irish Cream Cream Cheese frosting and cocoa roasted almond.

The boys from Beer Town Austin also met us up at The Draught House. They organized a tasting of all the Texas beers on tap with the owner and brewmaster. Chris and I filmed our tasting and the footage will be released in the near future after it is edited. We tasted several beers and, instead of listing them now, I will wait to reveal them when the video is ready.

The highlight of the entire Texas beer tasting was The Draught House’s very own Jakima Saison. This was one of the most cloudy beers that I have ever seen. And the color was a really unique bright orange. Normally, the saison style has an aroma of Belgian yeast and a bit of barnyard funk. The Jakima Saison aroma was pure hops — and Simcoe was definitely on the nose (this was later confirmed). It was definitely the most interesting saison-style beer that I have ever tasted — everything about it was crazy (color, aroma & taste). BUT regardless of its weirdness, it was damn tasty.

The next stop of the night was Uncle Billy’s Brew & Que. Almost immediately after arriving, the GM Ryan took a few of us on a tour of Uncle Billy’s brewing facility. I captured the tour on video and the footage will be released after minor edits. Following the brewery tour, we were given a few sample flights of Uncle Billy’s beer. Ryan led us through an official tasting of each beer — which was also captured in soon-to-be-released video footage.

My favorite Uncle Billy’s beer was definitely the Double IPA. SHOCKING, I know. It has a nice balance of malt and hops — with the 3 C’s being the main hops used.

The beer tasting was followed by more of MisoHungry’s amazing cupcakes as well as a burger run.

Unfortunately for the sake of the blog, the Texas beer experience ended here. The remainder of time spent in Austin involved a few cocktails, lots of wine, BBQ, ice cream, endless amounts of hot sauce, amazing food and a crazy night of rock band.

Stay tuned for more information on my cross country road trip!!! Next stop — Los Angeles, California.

Cheers!

]]> http://drinkwiththewench.com/?feed=rss2&p=1549 2 http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=382 http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=382#comments Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:26:54 +0000 Wenchie http://thecolumbuswench.wordpress.com/?p=382

Okay Kids. It is time to get serious.

REAL serious.

There comes a time in every hophead’s life where the hops cravings become insatiable. Regular IPAs start to taste like light lagers. Double IPAs, Imperial IPAs and Barleywines start to loose their “oomph.”

This insane phenomenon seems to occur about every 4 months throughout the year. This year it already happened in January and May. And now it is happening again in September.

WHO WHAT WHERE WHEN … and WHY?

A few times a year, Dogfish Head Brewery releases what is quite possibly the hoppiest beer on the planet …

The Mother of IPAs …

The Holy Grail for hopheads …

THE 120 MINUTE IMPERIAL INDIA PALE ALE

And each time Dogfish Head releases a batch of its very limited 120 minute Imperial IPA – the puny little Double IPA drinkers are forced to come to the realization that YES, there is something bigger and hoppier out there.

And that is when we start wanting more, MUCH more. We are no longer satisfied with our old staples and “go-to” IPAs. Oh no, not anymore. Not when we KNOW what is out there.

Unfortunately, due to the limited nature of this beer and its obscenely high percentage of alcohol – it is almost impossible to acquire. The Beer Wench knows this well, since she has never been able to get her hands on some. (Ohio has pretty strict alcohol laws which prohibit distributors from importing the 120 minute IPA. Can you say boo Ohio?)

But it seems that my luck has changed. The stars are aligned and fate has finally given me the opportunity to unite with my soulmate …

Next Monday, I will be permanently leaving the state of Ohio to explore the state of Florida. I have decided to turn my move down South into a mini road trip extravaganza.

At approximately 3pm on Tuesday afternoon, I will be standing in the Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, DE. After recieving a tour of the brewing facilities, I plan on heading over the the Dogfish Head Brewpub for copious amounts of off-centered ale as well as some equally off-centered grub.

AND I WILL NOT LEAVE without tasting – or at least acquiring – the 120 Minute Imperial IPA. MARK MY WORDS!

The Wench means business.

Even if I have to kick and scream and hand-cuff myself to the bar – I WILL NOT LEAVE WITHOUT THE 120 MINUTE IPA!

Now, some of you [rather unfortunate folk] may be wondering just what is so special about this beer? Well, let’s let Dogfish Head tell you themselves …

DOGFISH HEAD 120 MINUTE IMPERIAL IPA

Too extreme to be called beer? Brewed to a colossal 45-degree plato, boiled for a full 2 hours while being continuously hopped with high-alpha American hops, then dry-hopped daily in the fermenter for a month & aged for another month on whole-leaf hops!!! Our 120 Minute I.P.A. is by far the biggest I.P.A. ever brewed! At 20% abv and 120 ibus you can see why we call this beer THE HOLY GRAIL for hopheads!

In case you care… the average 12 oz. serving has 450 calories.

Source: Dogfish Head Brewery

A enormous THANK YOU goes out to everyone involved in the Surly Girl Beer Tasting With The Wench this past Sunday June 8th. The event had a surprisingly huge turnout and I was able to meet a lot of new beer lovers, beer geeks and hopheads. I was EXTREMELY impressed by Surly Girl Saloon‘s hospitality as well as the outstanding quality of beer, cupcakes and cheese that was provided for the tasting. The Surly Girl Staff was MORE THAN accomodating and made the experience very memorable and special. Andy Woelfing from Premium Beverage Supply did an amazing job running the tasting and I’m extremely jealous of those who won the Green Flash Brewing Company Beers.

I was completely blown away by the beer knowledge and interest of the tasters. Tasters ranged from beer afficiandos to home brewers to regular Joes who just love beer and want to learn more about it. I’m extremely excited to engage further with all the new people I met last night as well as looking forward to more people coming out of the woodwork for future tastings.

To finish things up, I want to highlight some key people that made the event so amazing. A HUGE thanks goes to Carmen, Managing Partner and General Manager of Surly Girl Saloon. If it was not for her superior organization skills and crazy cupcake idea, this event would never have been possible. MANY thanks to Andy from Premium for busting his butt back from New York to make it on time to run the event. There is no way I would have been able to run as successful a tasting without his beer knowledge and insight. BIG PROPS goes out to super duper Surly Girl baker Lara, who concocted the ridiculously delicious cupcake recipes specifically designed for the tasting. THANKS to all the bar and kitchen staff from Surly Girl Saloon who worked long and hard in ridiculous heat to help everything move so smoothly!!!

Last BUT NOT LEAST, thank you to everyone who came to the event. There is nothing I enjoy more than sharing my passions with others. There is more to eating and drinking than merely eating an drinking. Enjoying great food and beer with equally great people makes the experience twenty times better than when done alone.

(And special thanks to everyone who allowed me to indulge my passion for gaming by staying around after the tasting to play a few rounds of Apples to Apples. Expect more board gaming beer events in the future!!!)

Check out the photos on Facebook! (Unfortunately, I was too busy running around that I never got a good chance to take photos. If anyone has any pictures from the event … please email them to me so I can post them!!!

A friend and fellow beer geek has recently passed on some rather valuable information. Green Flash Brewing Company will be available in Ohio by the end of this week! I absolutely adore the marketing this brewery does. It is right in line will the marketing done in the craft beer industry — sophisticated humor, originality and fun graphics.

The West Coast IPA was just votedthe 2008 National Brewing News IPA Champion.

West Coast I.P.A. - This West Coast-Style India Pale Ale is extravagantly hopped, full flavored, medium bodied and copper colored. A menagerie of hops is combined throughout the brewing process to impart specific characteristics. Hops used include Simcoe for a unique fruitiness and grapefruit zest, Columbus for strong hop pungency, Centennial for pine and citrus notes, and Cascade for floral aroma.

Other styles include the Hop Head Red Ale, Imperial IPA, Double Stout, Trippel Belgian Style Ale, Barleywine Style Ale, Extra Pale Ale and Nut Brown Ale. Lions and tigers and bears, OH MY!!!

Here are some tasty tid bits from the website:

What’s a Green Flash

Green flashes are real phenomena seen at sunrise and sunset, when part of the sun suddenly changes color.

Green flashes usually are brief, lasting only one or two seconds.

Green flashes do not always light up the sky, but are often small and inconspicuous.

To see green flashes, you must be in the right place. An ocean horizon can often provide optimum green flash viewing conditions.

To see green flashes, the air should be reasonably clear.

To see green flashes you should use an optical aid, such as binoculars.

For more info on green flashes go to: http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/GF/

We hope you will be fortunate enough to see a Green Flash. We know you will have fun trying! Why not take along some Green Flash Brewing Co. Extra Pale Ale on your adventure?

CHEERS!!! I will let you know where I find it, when I find it! Also, please let me know where you all find it!!!

Today I asked myself, “Self. Where in Columbus can I access wireless internet for research as well as sample beer [for research]?”

Hmmm. Well there is always home … or even work. But, neither can provide me a great draft. And then it dawned on me -Cafe Apropos!

While they provide an excellent selection of bottled beers, I opted for the happy hour special — which is $2 pints. The five beers on tap were Stella Artois, Sam Adam’s Winter Lager, Blue Moon, Guinness, and Rogue Dead Guy. I will give you one guess on which one I chose. (Come one now, anyone who passes up a pint of Rogue Dead Guy for $2 is on drugs).

The beer was served a little colder than my preference, so I let it sit for a bit before drinking. I actually ended up sipping on it for an hour — and by the end of the glass, the temperature was perfect for allowing its true flavor to come out.

Let us begin by raving about how much I love this beer, and how much more I love it at $2. It poured a very cloudy, deep copper color with a rather hefty white head. The aroma was more malt than hops, with a subtle nutty sweetness. The taste was definitely heavy on the hops, leaving a very long bitter finish. My cheeks were still puckering from the bitterness for at least 20 minutes after the last sip. Tonight, I noticed for the first time how carbonated this particular beer is. After swirling it around – through the teeth and over the tongue, my mouth became full of foam. It was an interesting sensation, further increasing the bitter intensity of the hops. I also detected a high level of alcohol in the finish (9.9% ABV).

Overall, Rogue Dead Guy Ale is a bold, heavy, bitter ale with a long finish and high ABV. In my book, it’s a keeper. Next time I promise I will try something new, since I’m obviously biased towards this beer.

My suggestion? Hit up Cafe Apropos on a weekday night between 4 and 8 for a $2 draft of Dead Guy. You will not be disappointed!

About Dead Guy Ale:

Gratefully dedicated to the Rogue in each of us. In the early 1990s Dead Guy Ale was created as a private tap sticker to celebrate the Mayan Day of the Dead (November 1st, All Souls Day) for Casa U Betcha in Portland, Oregon. The Dead Guy design proved popular and was incorporated into a bottled product a few years later with Maierbock as the elixir. Strangely, the association with the Grateful Dead is pure coincidence.

Dead Guy is a German-style Maibock made with Rogues proprietary “PacMan” ale yeast. It is deep honey in color with a malty aroma, rich hearty flavor and a well balanced finish. Dead Guy is created from Northwest Harrington, Klages, Maier Munich and Carastan malts, along with Perle and Saaz Hops. Dead Guy Ale is available in 22-ounce bottles, 12-ounce 6-pack, and on draft.

Measurements: 16 degrees Plato, IBU 40, Apparent Attenuation 78, Lovibond 16
No Chemicals, Additives, or Preservatives

Rogue Ales was founded in 1988 by Jack Joyce, Rob Strasser and Bob Woodell, three corporate types who wanted to go into the food/beverage industry. Rogue’s first brewpub was located in Ashland, Oregon and was a 10bbl brewsystem. Rogue opened a second brewpub, 15bbl brewsystem, in May 1989 located in Newport, Oregon. Rogue closed its Ashland operation in 1997, after the great flood destroyed the place. In 1991, the 15bbl system, named Howard after John Maier’s former boss, from the Newport brewpub was transferred across the bay to the current brewery and upgraded to a 30bbl system. In 1998 Rogue bought a 50bbl brewsystem, named Kobe. Kobe is the only brewsystem in use

In celebration of my inaugural blog, I decided to go out an try a new beer.

For those of you who are interested in sampling a different beer, but are hesitant to invest in a whole six pack, World Market has an excellent selection of “buy by the bottle” beers.

After scanning through the various rows, my eyes stopped on Victory’s “HopDevil Ale.”

The description on the bottle reads: “The mythical HopDevil resides in the lore of farmers. Our HopDevil is the real deal. Bold, spicy and menacingly delicious. He’s the product of distinctive American hops and meticulous craftsmanship. Arising from the heady wilds of our Hopback and gently tamed with time, this Devil makes a great companion.”

The six pack ran for $8.99 and the bottle by itself was just under two dollars.

I prefer to drink the more hop heavy beers and IPAs at just below room temperature. As with wine, coldness kills the flavor. Since I bought the beer off a shelf and not out of a cooler, it was ready to drink when I got home.

Everyone has their own preference on drinking styles. If I’m drinking beer from a bottle, I prefer to pour it into a glass. Since I do not have any specialty beer glasses, I tend to pour the more aromatic beers into my larger wine glasses. Don’t laugh. It really does make a difference.

Upon pouring the HopDevil Ale into my giant wine glass (and I do mean giant), a pleasantly familiar aroma of hops invaded my nose.

As you can see in the picture I’ve posted, the color is a beautifully rich amber with a nice soft caramel foam.

The flavor of the beer held up to its promise. The bitterness of the hops, although very present, was not too overwhelming, allowing the richness of the German malts to really come through. The beer was excellent to sip on, and made a great pairing with some roasted and lightly salted almonds. Really hit the spot after a long day at work.

Victory’s HopDevil COMPOSITION
Malts: Imported, German 2 row
Hops: American whole flowers
Alcohol by volume: 6.7%

After checking out Victory’s website, it is apparent that I must try their seasonal beer entitled “Hop Wallop”. The problem will be finding it. I will keep you posted on my search.

Victory’s Hop Wallop

ABOUT
We celebrate the pioneering spirit of old Horace ‘Hop’ Wallop and those who dare mighty adventurous things in this vivid, robust ale. As our annual homage to the hop harvest, expect loads of aromatic splendor and bitter beauty.

COMPOSITION
Malts: Imported German malts
Hops: American whole flowers
Alcohol by volume: 8.5%

AVAILABILITY
Limited bottles and draft -beginning November 1, for a limited time

About Victory Brewing Company
“Having trained in Germany, we appreciate the artistic freedom we have here in the US. Here creativity is embraced by a fervent core of consumers and we are happy to serve that audience with our experience in traditional methods, selection of choice, often imported ingredients, and the best processing that technology can offer us. We relish the opportunity to please both ourselves and our audience with our flavorful creations. We’ve invested more than our lives in this. Take a look.”

Bill Covaleski
Brewmaster & President