Best Christmas ever pt. 3 - Blue Jacket D.C.

Greetings. It has been a while since my last post. I would like to say that I have  been doing fabulous things, however that would be untrue. Much like what happens to us all, life has gotten in the way. Two over scheduled daughters, one over scheduled wife and a new position at work has made me not very interested in writing. However, the aforementioned reasons have contributed to my steady beer consumption. So what has me going back to the blog you ask, our bi-annual Christmas trip to Virginia, which this time around included a brewery tour.

Although it is an 18-hour 1,200 mile drive from Southwest La to Northern Virginia, it is well worth it to spend a week with family in a relaxing setting. I refer to it as a drinking beer in sweatpants kind of a vacation. The most important things we do there, besides a whole lot of nothing, is catching up and enjoying each other's company.

Even though there are minimal goals for the trip besides getting there and relaxing, we did manage to make it to our Nation's capital to visit the national zoo, and most importantly for my girls, see their pandas. One other trip we made to the city was to a new brewery/restaurant called the Blue Jacket.

Margaret's cousin, Chad is a bar tender in DC and has many friends in the industry. One of his friends opened the Blue Jacket in October of 2013. It is located near the DC Navy yard in a building where munitions for Navy ships were previously manufactured. It gets its name from the Blue Jacket manual that was given to all enlisted sailors. It is also located within walking distance of the home stadium of the Washington Nationals baseball team. Think Wrigleyville in Chicago, but cleaner and with much better beers.

The space is very impressive with two floors. The first of which houses the restaurant and on the top floor resides the brewing equipment. Their menu includes 20 hand crafted beers on tap and 5 cask aged beers. All their beer is brewed on the premises. They offer full size pints and generous sample sizes. Between the 4 of us there that day, we made our way through about half of the beers on tap. Not bad for the Monday before Christmas and starting before 11am.

A particular favorite of mine and the group is the Mexican Radio. This beer is described as a spiced sweet stout. The thought that came to mind when I tried it was a similar flavor as the smell of the pipe tobacco that my dad used to smoke when I was a kid. Although it is sweet, it is not too sweet so as to be a dessert beer. Other notable beers for me included the Expat, the Panther and the Redhead.

Their menu below is very comprehensive and includes beer stats and tasting notes.

As noted above, thanks to knowing someone on the inside, we were able to get a behind the scenes tour of the brewing operations. Being a home brewer, I know the importance of keeping brewing equipment clean to avoid contamination. This fact, combined with the newness of the place was illustrated by the gleaming condition of the equipment.

The view from the 2nd floor

Boiling Vessels

Open Air fermentation. Letting nature do its thing. 

Oak Casks for barrel aging beers

The trip to the Blue Jacket was a nice treat and helped make our holiday "the best Christmas ever. Pt. 3." Margaret's family is not shy with superlatives. The girls got a nice haul from Santa and to see their beloved pandas and I got a present of well made beers in a pristine setting. Well done by the folks at the Blue Jacket and thanks for the hospitality and tour. Most of all, thanks Chad for setting it up.

For more information on the Blue Jacket, please see Blue Jacket DC.

Until next time (no promises on when that will be).

Cheers!

Full Circle - Yards Brawler

This past week, Margaret and I visited Scotland. This was the first time for both of us and we reunited with some great friends that used to live in the states and are natives. We were able to see places that regular tourists will likely never venture to. We had a great time and had some great beers. Updates from the trip to come.

However, the most important site I saw as it relates to the blog, was located in the US, in an airport no less. The inspiration for the blog came to me last year when Margaret, her cousin Philip and I were flying to London to visit Betsy, Margaret's cousin and Philip's sister. We had a layover in Philadelphia and had dinner. While having dinner, I had a beer from a local Philadelphia brewery called Yards Brewery, specifically the Brawler. Here is the entry from last year Inspirational Beer.

So being that we had a similar layover in the same airport on this trip, I figured I would recreate a little beer magic and have the beer that set me on the beer blogging path. Margaret and I went to the same restaurant in the A terminal. Somethings were different this time. First, it was just the two of us. Second, my beer came with a cold pint glass, which in and of itself is not a big deal, but it changed the taste that I remembered from last year. It was still a good beer, but this was certainly the case of the surrounding events making the beer taste better the first time around. Maybe it was the excitement of my first trip to the UK, or getting to try a new regional beer for the first time, but it just did not live up to the memory of the first one.

Luckily for me, there were many other beers to be had on this trip and good times that made them taste even better. That is what I get for chasing the memory of the right beer in the right place. 

One last thing I found while walking around the Philadelphia airport.

Apparently Philadelphia has a long history of craft brewing. 

They even have a craft beer festival every year. Too late for this year's, but we are looking into hitting one of these in the future. 

Cheers to the City of Brotherly Love (and Craft Beer)!

Lists, lists, lists - Top 50 Craft Beers of 2013

Who doesn't love lists? Seriously? Not your daily To Do list of tasks at work or chores at home, I mean the subjectively compiled top or bottom something of all time lists. The kinds that spark debate and protest from fans everywhere. The top 100 One-hit wonders of the 1980's on VH1 is a particular favorite of mine. Although for my money A-Ha's "Take on Me" should be #1, not Dexys Midnight Runner's "Come on Eileen." Take a look and decide for yourself. I digress.

You probably have guessed it, beers are not immune to the lists either. My cousin, Philip, tipped me off to the list of the Top 50 craft beers of 2013, which can be found here. The most ironic thing about this one is that he does not even like beer.

If you choose to take a gander, you will see the list is dominated by a few West Coast breweries with several entries, including the Russian River Brewing Company that I just visited last week. I am somewhat proud to admit that I have had 13 of the beers listed. This is source of pride and disappointment (or as my coach at work would call it, "an opportunity"). Being only 26% of the list, I have a way to go. I would agree that this is an opportunity.



For the record, below is the list of the 13 I have tried:

48 (tie). Ommegang Three Philosophers
39 (tie). Left Hand Milk Stout
30. Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
27 (tie). Green Flash West Coast IPA
25. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
19. Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale
15. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
12 (tie). Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA
9 (Tie). Sierra Nevada Celebration
8. Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye
7. Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale
3. Dogfish Head 90-Minute IPA
1. Russian River Pliny The Elder

Agree or disagree with the list. There are some very tasty beers on it and I plan to mark some more off.

Cheers!

Trip to Wine Country - Pliny the Elder

This past weekend, Margaret and I took a trip to Napa, California with another couple. We have talked about going to the wine country for several years. It has been on our ever increasing list of places we want to visit since before we had the girls. As they say, life got in the way and the years have passed with no trip to Napa. The fact that I am now a "beer first guy" made me think that a wine specific trip would not be in the cards. 

However, last year, a group of our friends, 6 couples in total were having dinner and the seed of this trip was planted. The plan was for all of the group to go the following summer, which would be now. Much like how the years got away from us and plans changed, four of the couples dropped out for various worthy reasons, leaving only 2 left. 

Not being deterred, the lone survivors set out to have a complete Napa experience. This meant consulting a Frommer's guide book as well as a California Wine for Dummies reference. We toured and sampled wine from 5 vineyards. The wine was equalled by the food. We dined at the restaurants owned by some celebrity chefs, including Thomas Keller and Michael Chiarello. Both places being within walking distance of our hotel. 

The food and wine was surpassed by the weather and views. Waking up to mid 50's temps with next to zero humidity made getting out for a morning run quite enjoyable. Running down paths and streets surrounded by vineyards made the runs worthy of a spot in Runner's World's Rave Run report. 

The reason I thought I came to Napa

With all this focus on wine, I made a surprising discovery while we were out at dinner our first night. While dining at Keller's Bouchon restaurant, as is my habit, I took a look at the beer menu before deciding on what wine to drink. Much to my surprise, on the menu was the Pliny the Elder Double IPA from the Russian River Brewing Company in nearby Santa Rosa. To the well informed beer consumers, this is very significant. I only recently had even heard of this beer while researching the "best beer in the world", the Westvelerten XII. For the article, see Rate Beer's Top beers. Knowing that the Pliny the Elder was rated the best beer in North America, I knew I had to try it. 

As loyal readers are aware, the IPA is not my style, but I figured I would suck it up for this one. Being an 8%ABV and being a larger bottle, it got my night started off right. It was very hoppy as one would expect of the style. Much of the flavors I got were of pine and some herbs and floral notes. However it was not a hop bomb and seemed very well balanced. The bitterness mellowed as it warmed. I can certainly see why this beer is so highly thought of.

As one would expect, this beer is not available in Louisiana, so when I found out that the brewery was located so close to our route to our hike in a Redwood forest, we took the 20 minute detour to allow me to pick up some bottles to take home with me.

Me outside the brewery

Like with the wine, due to some archaic laws in Louisiana, the beer could not be shipped directly home. However not to fear, by simply using a packing company as a "third party" I was able to include it in my shipment of other bottles, which included 2 wines, one olive oil and 2 bottles of Pliny the Elder. I am sure I was the only person who had as many beer bottles as wine ones to send home after their Napa trip.

I plan to set up a tasting of the best beer in North America for some friends at home. I wonder what cheese pairs well with IPA. Maybe one day I will get to try the #1. For more info on Pliny the Elder or other beers, please see Russian River Brewing Co. For those interested in who exactly Pliny the Elder was, please see Who was Pliny the Elder?

All in all, the trip was a huge success, great wine, food, weather, views, friends and world class beer. Much more than I expected.

These trees are over 1,000 years old. 

Cheers to beer in wine country!

Welcome Back Regan - Real Ale Brewing Rio Blanco Pale Ale

Today marked the triumphant return of my oldest daughter, Regan from her first time at sleep away camp. The camp is located in Columbus, TX, about 70 miles west of Houston. Being her first time away for this long (only a week), Margaret and I were nervous about how she would do. Even though she was going with a friend from her school, I was quite apprehensive when we pulled up to the camp on drop off day last Sunday. Much to our surprise and my relief, Regan could not wait for us to leave so she could start having fun. After being there 20 minutes she even said that she wanted to stay for 2 weeks next summer. Unfortunately this camp only does one week sessions.

I mention my relief, Regan's easy transition to camp and being away from her parents was not well received by everyone. This being a sign of her not needing us and being more independent hit Margaret pretty hard. On the drive back I had a big smile and Margaret's sunglasses hid some tears.

We did enjoy seeing the daily picture updates and trying to find Regan in all the group chaos/fun. Margaret and I would study the looks on Regan's face like the dead sea scrolls in order to determine if she was having fun. Now that we have her back, we can get the real scoop about what was going on.

In order to properly welcome her back home, I prepared her favorite meal, cheeseburgers and fries. This of course meant that I would need to have some beers while doing the cooking. Since she had just spent a week in the Republic of Texas, it seemed only fitting that I try some of the TX beers that I procured last week.

The Real Ale Brewing Company is located in Blanco, TX. This region is called the hill country. I have previously tried their Brown Ale (Real Ale Brewhouse Brown Ale). This time it is the Rio Blanco Pale Ale as part of a sampler 6 pack.

Appearance: Beer poured an Amber color not unlike the color of iced tea. The thin white head dissipated quickly. The beer was highly carbonated but left only patchy lacing that also lacked retention.

Smell: As advertised, this beer smelled like a Pale Ale. Some malty aromas were noted, but not much in the way of hoppy smells present.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Like the aroma, the flavor was malty. Some bread flavors and some herbal finish was present. There was some slight citrus flavor noted as well.

Overall: Much like the previous one from this brewery, nothing remarkable, but this was highly drinkable. The flavors were mild and suitable for a summer evening. For more information about this beer, please see Real Ale Brewing.

I know Regan was only gone a week, but Margaret and I swear that she grew an inch. We can confirm that she lost a tooth while she was away. I know we are all glad that she had a good time and came back safely. This is one happy camper, already talking about next year.

Cheers!

More Homebrew and other June beers

The posts seem to be getting fewer and farther between, but I figure I should at least provide a monthly update. The beer consumption has not decreased along with the post infrequency. Since the last update, I have kegged the first larger beer batch that I can say I had a part in. My friend, also named Matt has been brewing for a long time and has been a homebrewing mentor of sorts for me. He has let me "assist "in two larger batches and I have learned a lot.

In my last post I showed some pics from the brewing of an Irish Red ale. I was able to be a part of the kegging process on Memorial day. This may not seem like a big deal, but remember that the beers I have made by myself have been such small batches that I bottled the 1-2 gallon batches in a dozen or so bottles. This batch is on the order of 10 gallons and fills 2 small kegs.

Filling the kegs 

(For those wondering, the suds are caused by the sanitizer. Gotta keep it clean)

Harnessing the power of gravity

I have yet to try the beer, but I am sure it will be a tasty one. Below is a pic of the pale ale that my friend made earlier this year. One day I hope to get the same clarity with my beers.

Ok, now that the homebrew update is complete, what have I been drinking from professional brewers? I have bemoaned the lack of quality craft beer selection in SW Louisiana and apparently the word is getting out. New Belgium Brewing has finally made their beers available in Louisiana, much to the delight of many local beer fans.

Although I have yet to try several of their offerings, I have had the following other craft beers recently:

• Oskar Blues Brewing's Dale's Pale Ale - Pale Ale with nice hops, but not too much of them. Also comes in a Patriotic looking can. 
  
  
  
• Goose Island's 312 Urban Wheat - This guy is super light and good for summer. Not much in the flavor department though. 

• Shiner's Wild Hare Pale Ale - Quite a surprise from Shiner. This Pale Ale was very impressive, with some fruit sweetness and not what I would expect from them, in a good way. 

This past weekend, the family took a trip to Houston to drop off my oldest daughter at camp for the first time. This of course meant picking up some hard to get beers. This included the Elda M. Stout from my friends at No Label Brewing as well as a sampler from the Real Ale Brewing Company. I have yet to try them, but looking forward to doing so. 

Now that the weather here is getting hot my beer focus has changed to lighter more refreshing ones in order to keep cool. Good luck beating the heat. 

Cheers!

It's been a while - 8 Best Beer Towns in America

So it has been a while since I last posted. That does not mean I have not been trying new beers. I have mainly been concentrating on brewing my own, either by myself or with friends. I have met with some mixed results. My Irish Stout turned out a little flat and did not look as I would have hoped. So much so that I did not even bother taking a picture.

I did however have some success with brewing with my friend who is also named Matt. We made two larger batches, a lager, which turned out very tasty to me and an Irish Red Ale that has not finished yet, but looked very promising.

My friend Matt's brewing vessel. Yes, it is a beer keg.

During the boil of the Irish Red Ale. The bag is an old paint bag used for hops during the boil.

My recent beer finds include:

• St. Arnold Elissa IPA
• St. Arnold Divine Reserve 13
• Sam Adams Summer Ale 
• Third Shift Amber Lager (Not exactly a craft beer, but solid none the less)
• Lazy Magnolia Jefferson Stout

All of these were pleasant, with the Elissa IPA a surprising non-pallet wrecking hop bomb. 

What inspired me to pick up the keyboard again (at least for one evening) is a list I found on CNN of the best beer towns in America. Unfortunately I have only experienced the beer scene of one of these towns, and even only on the periphery, that being Asheville. 

Let me know what you think. 

8 Best Beer towns in America

Cheers!