Archive for Beer a Day
Scrimshaw Pilsner
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Etch a nautical scene into the tooth of a whale, and you’re bound to get kicked out of Shamu’s tank at Sea World. But if you survive the experience, you can boast about having created a piece of artwork called scrimshaw.
Unfortunately — the beer named after the old whaling hobby failed to etch away my doubts about Pilsners.
Scrimshaw, by North Coast Brewing Company is a German style Pilsner beer. North Coast Brewing seems to have a great selection of beers, and I’m going to look for Red Seal Ale and Old Rasputin Imperial Stout. They also have a couple of Belgian style brews that really have me interested, such as Le Merle.
But I just can’t get very excited about pilsners, and Scrimshaw Pilsner is no exception.
It’s a crisp, dry beer. Very easy to drink, with a huge carbonation. There’s a sweet malt, with a slight yeasty bread taste. Hardly any hops that I can detect. I’m sure it’s a good German style pilsner, but I’m not jumping up and down about it.
If it were summertime and I were sitting on an ocean-side boardwalk eating fried fish, then Scrimshaw would certainly hit the spot.
But I wouldn’t be thinking much about the beer. . . I’d be wondering how many marine biologists have quit their jobs to become dentists.
Stone IPA
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When some people drink too much, they see pink elephants.
Pastel pachyderms aren’t for me. The next time I over-imbibe, I hope to see Stone gargoyles.
I first discovered the Stone Brewing Company (San Diego, CA) when their “Arrogant Bastard Ale” beckoned me from an otherwise dull beer menu. Since then, I’ve been pleased by several of Stone’s standout selection of bold brews.
Each Monday, I’ll be featuring an IPA. The first official “IPA Monday” brew will be from Stone.
Stone India Pale Ale pours from the bottle soft and golden, with a fluffy, fragrant pillow of foam. There’s a slight, sweet citrus smell mingling with hop aroma.
The bottle text claims that the gargoyle on the label keeps all aspects of the beer pure. To ensure Stone contains only barley, hops, water and yeast, the gargoyle. . .
“. . .wards off modern day evil spirits such as chemical preservatives, additives & adjuncts. One taste, and you can tell he does his job very well.”
I don’t know about that, but just one sip is enough to recognize that someone is doing a heckuva job at Stone. The beer is extremely refreshing and easy to drink. There’s a light, bread-like malt that plays a supporting role, blending carefully with complex citrus and “green” tasting hops.
Most IPAs seem to have a strong aftertaste. That’s what originally kept me away from the style — the hoppiness would linger uncomfortably. Stone IPA stands that on its head. The beer has a light, distinctive, and extremely pleasant aftertaste. There’s a residue of warmth and a sweet oiliness at the back of the tongue, almost as if the beer has just melted in your mouth.
It’s official — I have a new favorite IPA. Since I can’t have another Stone IPA for the rest of the year, I’ll be working in as many of the other Stone brews as I can.
Heck, somebody needs to keep that Gargoyle company.
Bull and Bear Ale
Posted by: | CommentsAuthors Note: This post was written on January 18th. The date has been adjusted so that the post content aligns with the date the beer was actually consumed.
This post came very close to being about Stella Artois.
On January 9th, I was holding out all day, looking for a special beer. Lunch at the Museum of Modern Art’s Terrace 5 was a treat, with several nice looking brews on the menu — including Blue Point’s Toasted Lager. And later, we stuck to wine during an excellent French diner at La Grenouille.
Before I knew it, the time was 11pm and we were at a terrible bar with a half-dead piano player butchering Elton John. I ordered a Stella, the most avant-garde item on the menu, and all hell broke loose at the table.
I like Stella Artois, but it can be had nearly anyplace. My companions for the evening would not allow me to drink a Stella, despite my protests that time had run out. So when the Stella arrived, my wife grabbed it from me — and she, cheered by the rest of the table, chugged it.
My wife, by the way, hates beer.
That’s how, with the clock ticking and the piano player balefully intoning that he thinks it’s gonna be a long long time, we got out of that dive and rushed to the Waldorf-Astoria, where their Bull & Bear Restaurant and Bar is reputed to have a special “Bull & Bear Ale” on tap.
The bar is beautiful, classic. It’s like walking into an old man’s smoking room, and kind of smells like it too. Wood panels, mahogany bar, and class. I would have enjoyed it more, but they were closing down and I had only a few minutes to get my beer and save the challenge.
According to the bartender, the Bull & Bear Ale is “like Sam Adams”.
I asked, “But you don’t brew it here, I’m assuming?”
“No.”
“Where is it brewed? Who brews it? Is it a private label from Sam Adams?”
“I don’t know,” he said, “but it’s like Sam Adams.”
I drank it quickly, with only about 10 minutes left until midnight. The beer tasted more like a Bass than a Sam. That’s about all I remember about the beer, other than the sheer relief that followed having found a beer and finishing it in time.
Guinness
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Authors Note: This post was written on January 13th. The date has been adjusted so that the post content aligns with the date the beer was actually consumed.
With one hour until I was due to join the audience at the Conan O’Brien show, I sat down at an Irish pub in NYC with old friends and couldn’t resist ordering a Guinness.
Sure, I had planned to search out some beers that are unique to New York. But what could be more unique to the moment than having a Guinness in an Irish pub before going to see the most famous Irish American, as Conan has put it, “since Shaquille O’Neal”?
Guinness is a great beer, with far fewer calories than common wisdom suggests. It has a rich, creamy mouth feel and a surprisingly light taste for such a dark beer. These aspects mean that Guinness can easily be abused. In fact, I practiced Guinness chugging in college to ensure I was a ringer for Irish Car Bomb speed competitions, but I’ve seen the error of my ways. I stopped chugging Guinness after a wizened bartender reminded me, gruffly, that it should take longer to pour a Guinness than to drink it.
I’ve been taking time to enjoy Guinness ever since, and January 8th was no exception. I nursed that glass of beer so long I set a new record — a Guinness record, so to speak.
(C’mon, you knew that pun had to be coming.)
And if you saw the January 8th episode of Conan O’Brien (with guest Howie Mandel), you might have caught a few blurry shots of me, my wife, and my friends.
Old Man Winter Ale
Posted by: | CommentsWinter really gets me heated up.
I just spent an hour slipping and chipping ice from my front walk and driveway; after four snow storms over the past few weeks, I couldn’t be more exercised about hating winter in New England.
Your Author, Thoroughly Hating Winter
I live north of Boston, close to the New Hampshire border — and up here, winter doesn’t pull any punches.
After a storm, you can usually find me shoveling my car out of some impossible snowbank, pausing only to curse and shake my fist at the sky.
Railing at the winter weather, calling it names and threatening to cut off its snowballs — that’s one way to stay warm. Another way to combat the elements is with a good winter ale.
Winter ales are usually high in alcohol content and generally pair well with buttery and savory foods — I suspect many families survive holiday meals solely because of winter ale.
But many winter ales, to put it charitably, are an acquired taste — brewers often throw in liberal amounts of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, etc.
Southern Tier Brewing Company‘s Old Man Winter Ale is the best winter ale I’ve had all season. The beer pours a rich, dark copper. And it smells great — no spice to turn your nose. The beer pours into your mouth and slides around, puddling around your taste buds. On the front, you taste the malt as a toasted sweetness, but then the bitter hops cut in before the caramel taste fully settles.
I had initially grabbed Old Man thinking I would drink it on or near my birthday — since I’m turning 30 this weekend, drinking an Old Man just seemed appropriate. But Southern Tier’s brew turned out to be a great pick. And to bring it full circle — when I looked up their website, I discovered this beer and I were born just a few hours away from each other in New York.
Maybe I’ll give winter another chance?
At the very least, you can give Southern Tier and Old Man Winter Ale a chance — they have an impressive distribution list.
