Boston 2010

Dave has a great memory and jotted down a list of all the fine establishments that we went to during my Boston trip...see below the photos for the details!

Well, I made it back alive and well...Boston was awesome and getting to hang out with Dave was great. He is working on creating a list of beers we had/bars we went to. Until then, enjoy a few photos from my trip!

Dave's List:


First Night:

Cornwall's, Boston:
Harpoon IPA
Fullers ESB
Young's Chocolate Stout

An Tua Nua, Boston:
Miller High Life

O'Leary's, Brookline:
Harpoon Oyster Stout

Wine Press Liquor Store, Brookline:
Narragansett, Rhode Island

Sunset Grill, Allston:
Coors Lite
Mead (do not remember)

Plus the two you already wrote about on the blog.

Second Day:
Sam Adams Brewery, Boston:
Sam Adams Boston Lager
Sam Adams Noble Pils
Sam Adams Chocolate Bock

Harpoon Brewery, Boston:
Harpoon Cider
Harpoon White UFO Hefe
Harpoon Chocolate Stout
Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA
Harpoon Leviathan Baltic Porter
Harpoon Limited Cask Series (tasted like shit)
Harpoon Belgian Pale Ale
Also regular Harpoon IPA, but I already wrote about it.

Barking Crab, Boston:
Pabst Blue Ribbon

Kevin's Apartment:
Sam Lite
Bud Light

Third Day:
Legal Sea Foods, Boston:
Harpoon IPA
Sam Adams

Tommy Doyle's, Cambridge:
Guinness
Coors Light

Grafton Street Pub, Cambridge:
Long Trail Brewery (Vermont) Double Bag

People's Republik, Cambridge:
Stella Artois

The Dug Out, Boston:
Coors Light

My Apartment:
Natural Light

So by my count, between the two of us, 28 different beers.

Dave and James Boston Blog Redux- Bad King John

Hi everyone, Dave again. I'm taking care of the review for this beer, "Bad King John" A Very English Black Ale by the Ridgeway Brewing Company of Oxford





At first take, the beer pours very dark. The color is quite reminiscent of a stout, however, it is more translucent than Guinness. The head is moderate-more than some of the previously reviewed beer, but still not substantial. The odor is very malty-quite reminiscent of a traditional stout.

First tastings are bitter-and reveal more hops than a traditional stout, though there are earthy notes. Much more sharply flavored than I would have thought, given the color of the beer. The body of the beer is not thick-much more "drinkable" than Guinness (it begs comparison).

Overall, it is nice, though at its price point I would rather get a 4-pack of Guinness for the cost of 1 Bad King John. An average stout, but still tasty.

Flavor: Labelled as a Black Ale, but tastes like a stout to Dave and James
Color: Dark, very dark, but still fairly translucent-almost dark red.
Alcohol Content: 6.0% (per volume)
Average Price: One arm and one leg ($5.99) per 16.9 oz bottle.

Dual Boston blog - Hookey Bitter

Well, today I am in Boston with Dave, and we are both reviewing a beer together...today we are enjoying a Hookey Bitter





After first tasting, I think Dave and I came to the conclusion that this is an average tasting beer. Nothing is truly striking about the flavor (besides a slight butterscotch/metallic flavor). It is lightly colored and has very little head, although the guy at the store told us that this was a very mildly flavored ale. Dave has pointed out the pleasant aroma of this beer, but also mentions that the flavor does not live up to it. It is not a bad beer, but certainly cannot justify the price that we paid for it...All in all, I think I can file this under "good beer" and feel happy that I tried it and will not feel bad about not ever having it again...

Flavor: Mild bitter ale
Color: Light amber/gold
Alcohol Content: 3.6% (per volume)
Average Price: $5.99 (per bottle)

Dave post 1 - Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer

Today's update is coming from my good friend Dave Levine...many of my adventures with beer have involved him, and I consider his opinion highly prized. Enjoy!


For my inaugural submission to the Beeritarian, I have decided to review a fruit-flavored beer, something I admittedly am not a big fan of. The beer is called “Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer,” comes only in a 12 ounce can, and is brewed by the 21st Amendment Brewery (“21st”) in Cold Spring, Minnesota.



I would like to begin by praising 21st for trying something new-watermelon beer. I have never tried or heard of a watermelon flavored-beer before. Read on to find out more:

After pouring, a weak head is immediately noticed. Not too foamy, and in fact, even after agitation, few bubbles materialized. The smell is sharp, and far from a typical beer scent-it is much closer to apple juice or champagne, with slight hints of watermelon at the periphery. The color is (again) quite close to apple juice, and you will notice by the picture, it is exceptionally clear, and must be a filtered wheat beer (you can see my crappy furniture through the beer-something I was hoping to avoid).

At first taste, it tastes like a low-quality American lager (say, Natural Light) mixed with about 1/3 parts of apple juice. A longer swig reveals the flavor to be not that of apple, but actual watermelon, which, when mixed with the beer, leaves behind an acidity that is what must cause the apple notes. Here is where 21st must again be lauded-it uses actual watermelon flavor-from actual rind and juice. Consequently, the watermelon flavor is somewhat dull, as an artificial flavoring was avoided. The taste (when you can find the notes) is of actual watermelon, not watermelon flavor. This is a good point, but inevitably causes the beer to have a weaker flavor, generally.

Further sips show more complexity, but I am unsure that I can ever resolve this beer to be one that actually tastes good. Perhaps this is a result of novelty, use of actual ingredients, or just a poor mixture of flavors. It does not have the characteristic savory body of a good porter or hefe, and it does not have the easy-drinking quality of a lager or traditional fruit-infused beer. It represents a contradiction in that it tries too hard to be simple, and as a result, simply fails...

That being said, it would go nice with a fruit dish, or perhaps cheese and crackers (think light, sweet hors d’oeuvres), but that is about it. Not a favorite, not really enjoyable, but certainly an interesting attempt.


Flavor: Apple juice and beer
Color: Looks just like an American yellow lager
Alcohol Content: 4.9%
Average Price: $10-$11 per 6 pack.

Old Thumper

Yes, I am reviewing a second beer tonight...I decided to do it up right since I had missed a weeks worth of posts, and since I am enjoying the effects of the OBP2.

Next up this evening is Old Thumper...





Old Thumper is brewed by Shipyard Brewery, which I know best for their pumpkin beer, but it seems as if they like to dabble into other ventures. Thumper always reminds me of Bambi's lovable friend from the Disney movie, but this beer is anything but.

This beer has a nice amber color and aroma, but after tasting it, I picked up a strong plastic-like flavor. After giving it a second taste, I would actually change my analysis to a "spicy plastic flavor". When I started this blog, I decided that, no matter how bad a beer was, I was going to finish it...I am tempted to break that vow.

I probably wouldn't recommend this beer to anyone...it feels weird having this be my first negative post, since I wonder if I would have responded as strongly hadn't I enjoyed the much better OBP2 before hand. Alas, I say pass on this one.

Flavor: Frisbee or perhaps tupperware?
Color: Medium golden hue
Alcohol content: 5.9% by volume
Average price: $2.99 (bottle)

OBP2

Well, it has certainly been too long since my last post...apparently, and despite my thoughts on the matter, a throat ulcer should not be treated with alcohol.

Well, I decided to jump back into it with a bang...OBP2 (Truly, it is OBP squared, but I don't know how to get the little '2' next to the P).



This beer is probably quite the handful...it uses the analogy on the bottle of a cup of coffee: half the water = double the flavor. Well, in the case of beer, not only is flavor doubled, but alcohol content as well. The deep reddish beer is touting 11% alcohol by volume...First taste impression: The first thing I noticed is this beer's sweetness. Considering the alcohol content, I figured this would be much stonger in flavor (closer to and IPA then perhaps a lager). The sweetness is followed by a subtle spiciness which compliments well with the sweet.

This is a locally brewed beer, which I alway enjoy sampling...makes me feel like I am giving back to my community in a strange way. Honey based beers have been around for thousands of years and because of this, have a very interesting history:

-Honey beers were once considered an aphrodisiac
-Teuton brides traditionally drank honey beers for a month after they were wed. The honey and moon cycles during the month were the basis for the term "honeymoon".
-Honey is one of the main ingredients in one of the oldest forms of beer: mead.

I am very much enjoying this beer, but as I mentioned to Jess, I am glad I only have the one to drink. This beer is so sweet and flavorful that I could imagine myself drink 3-4 in a short period of time and getting much too inebriated much too quickly. A very good beer that I would recommend (with caution) to pretty much anyone. Sweet beers are paired nicely with;

-Grilled sausages (could even use one to boil the brats first...mmmmm)
-Chocolate cookies made fresh by your significant other (taking a guess here, but I am sure it will work out nicely)
-Spicier foods

Flavor: Vert sweet with a mild spicy after thought
Color: Deep amber/reddish color
Alcohol content: 11% by volume (be careful, because these go down easily!)
Average price: $2.79 (bottle)

Smuttynose - IPA

Welcome back my old friend...Indian Pale Ale, how could I gone so long without your beautiful taste on my lips? Tonight I will be sampling a beer that Jess bought for me. The next several beers are gifts from her to me (suggesting more and more that I named this blog aptly).






Since this is an IPA, I knew that I should be expecting bitterness and a slightly amberish color, however I was surprised by what I saw after I poured the beer into my glass. If you look at the photo above, you will see something similar to what I saw: white specks floating in the beer! After doing a little research, it appears that certain IPAs will have the malts stick and create clumps in the beer. I haven't yet determined if this is considered a negative feature in a beer, but it didnt deter me from drinking it (although, this is only post 3, maybe i'll get more snooty?)

Again, the beers flavor was as expected...bitter and hoppy, just like an IPA should be! The flavor was less intense than the Sierra Nevada Torpedo, which might make this a better jumping off point for someone who wants to try an IPA, but isn't quite ready for the SNT...All in all, a very tasty and flavorful IPA...remember to look past the floaters!

Flavor: Bitter, but less so than the Sierra Nevada Torpedo
Color: Light amber with little hoppy specks
Alcohol content: 6.9% by volume
Average price: $9.59 (6 pack)