Introducing Marc and Aimee
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(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Just after getting hitched, Marc and Aimee hit the brew room at The Upland Brewing Co. in Bloomington, Indiana.
A few weeks ago, two good friends of yours-truly posted a husband and wife beer review to The Forum. Marc and Aimée had a blast and it shows in their writing, so I invited them to contribute more.
You’ll find their beer and brewery reviews in a special section of BeerADay.net. Just click on “He Said, She Said” from one of the menus at the top of the page.
Their credentials — they love beer, and they specialize in an endearing banter that I believe you will enjoy as much as I do.
A brief example of their enthusiasm for good beer is portrayed in attached photo. Moments after their marriage, on the way to the reception, I drove them both to The Upland in Bloomington, IN where we took over our usual seats, played darts, and drank beer. At some point we were reminded several hundred guests were waiting on us, and if Marc and Aimée hadn’t been serving a couple of kegs of Upland Beer at the reception who knows if we would have ever left.
At least, that’s how I remember it.
Andy with the newlywed Marc & Aimée
OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale
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What a difference some oak chips can make! If I compile a list for my readers of “Must Try” beer from this “one a day: no more, no less, no repeats” challenge, then the OAKED Arrogant Bastard will be hard to shake from the top.
I was a little nervous about how this “twin” beer would impact my Beer a Day.net challenge. If the only difference between Arrogant Bastard and OAKED Arrogant Bastard were a few wood chips, then I’d likely find myself squirming when asked if I REALLY only drank one beer a day without repeating all year long.
As luck would have it, the OAKED is in a category all its own.
When I drank the original Arrogant Bastard Ale last night, I enjoyed the beer but had to warm up to it. The piney, spicy hops stayed in my face and just wouldn’t let me relax while I drank the beer — they demanded attention. Ultimately, I pacified both the beast and my abused palate with a pairing of sharp cheddar cheese.
I expected the oak to simply add to the clamor, as one more strong flavor ardently petitioning for redress of some forgotten wrong, more than happy to take its revenge on my weakened taste buds.
But the OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale proved to be far more diplomatic. Rather than rough me up, it seduced me with its fine perfume and soothing taste. In fact, this diminutive bastard (12 ounces) has proven to be one of the highlights of this entire beer drinking challenge.
Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale
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(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5) Loading ...“Perhaps you’re mouthing your words as you read this.”
How can you NOT love a beer that includes such a compelling insult on its label?
Arrogant Bastard Ale was the beer that first introduced me to the Stone Brewing Company. If memory serves, I had my initial taste of Stone and this strong ale at The Brickskeller in Washington, DC. And if I may indulge in a brief aside, I firmly believe The Brickskeller deserves as much attention as any other monument in my nation’s capitol. They have a beer menu the depths of which would make Dickens shudder.
This is my second Stone Ale of the year (third, if you count the Special Holiday Ale), and I’m planning to drink Stone on Saturday (Oaked Arrogant Bastard) and on IPA Monday (Ruination IPA). The Gargoyle and I will be good friends by the time next week gets under way.
Try as I might, I couldn’t find a simple 12 ounce bottle of Arrogant Bastard and had to settle on a big bomber. Perhaps arrogance doesn’t come in small packages; that is, at least not since Napoleon. But this has given me a chance to break out the 25 ounce mug I earned as a lifetime member of the Upland Brewing Company’s “Mug Club” (Bloomington, IN).
When I learned — during a visit back home in Indiana — that the Upland was phasing in new mugs, I successfully negotiated (read: big tip, lots of groveling) for my mug’s release some years ago. And I have reserved it for special occasions ever since.
Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout
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Anderson Valley Brewing Company makes a damned fine Oatmeal Stout.
Just don’t try to make sense out of the label, where seemingly incomprehensible phrases such as “not just shy sluggin’ gorms neemer” appear.
You see, back in the late 1800s, residents of Anderson Valley, CA discovered that life without PlayStation, The View, or Facebook was more boring than anybody had expected. When these rugged Westerners grew tired of whittling, square dancing, and planning their Visitor Center, they decided to ease the collective ennui in the most logical fashion imaginable — by inventing Cockney Rhyming Slang.
Or nearly so. Boontling, as their affected dialect became known, provides the words and phrases that inspire the names for AVBC brews. Barney Flats is the Boontling name for the Hendy Woods National Forest and its “awesome virgin redwoods” located west of the brewery (according to the label). By the way, “it’s not just shy sluggin’ gorms neemer” apparently means “not just for breakfast anymore” — a reference to this sweet and filling Oatmeal Stout.
I have to take a moment to remark on the head that filled my tulip glass when I poured this pitch black stout. The foam was two fingers thick and, from the top, had the appearance of coffee-colored whipped cream. And yet, from the side, you could see the foam was formed by densely packed and precisely placed bubbles. It looked like the cross section from a Memory Foam mattress. Though the spectacle lasted only a minute or so, it was without a doubt far more entertaining than confusing tourists by creating my own language.
I like the sound of back to back Victories. So after yesterday’s Victory Golden Monkey, I’m going for a Victory Prima Pils.
The Prima Pils is a pilsner for hop heads. If you have any doubt, 
you need only look to the label — it gets right to the point with a huge hop as the focal point.
I have a beautiful pilsner glass that was handed down to my wife and me by my father-in-law. But my taste tends to pull me toward ales, and I rarely ever drink a pilsner, so here was a great opportunity to fill up that fantastic V-shaped vessel.
The “Brewmasters of Victory”, Bill and Ron, include a note on the label reading:
“Prima! An exclamation of joy. A recognition of accomplishment. Thought it’s spoken in German, it’s felt in all languages. It’s what escaped from our lips as we sampled the first brew of this mighty Pilsner beer. Though we’d been through a few in our years with other breweries, finally, with whole flower European hops and fine German malts we had achieved what we’d sought for so long. Prima… an exclamation of Victory! Prost!”
I’m a sucker for a good story, and the idea of these brewmasters laboring for years to achieve their ideal Pilsner appealed to some Platonic aesthetic deep within me.
