Beer is relaxing

This is just a fact. Beer can be very relaxing. Much like a hot bath, or a nice cigar, a cold beer can really offset a tiring day. Case in point - today I was sick and tired and exhausted, and just generally pissed off. What at? Nothing, really. Just pissed.

So I poured myself a glass of Troeg's Pale Ale. I've had troeg's twice and been impressed both times, so I was intrigued.

The beer poured golden, and that cold crisp first sip just relaxed every muscle. I sighed and quaffed more, enjoying the simple pleasure of the beer, to the exclusion of all else.

The beer itself, apart from magic relaxing qualities, was quite good. A pretty typical pale ale, the citrusy hops were nicely balanced by some sweet malts. Not a terribly complex beer, but just really simply and tasty. And sometimes thats all I want. Not a beer that I have to consider and attacks me from all angles. Just a nice simple beer at the end of an exhausting day.

Definitely something I'd look to for a session beer - worth a try for both the casual beer drinker and the regular.

Around the world

That's the gimmick of the latest beer I tried. My friend The Culinator came over this past wednesday to share some beer and enjoy Top Chef goodness. Currently the show is Top Chef masters, and while Culinator is not as amused with the contestants ("There's nobody to hate!"), the host ("She doesn't eat anything!", or the skill level ("I like it better when they fuck up"), I think the show is pretty badass.

The chefs on the show are all famous restaurant owners, well known in their craft, so there is less amateurism, and more impressive competition. The latest chef was eliminated because although their dish was delicious and well made, it was too simple and ordinary (toast with coconut jam, and a soy sauce egg. More than I could do, but less than the crusted swordfish, the pan fried scallops, the cured salmon and steak tartar.

With it, we enjoyed Dogfish Head's Pangea. Uncertain at first what kind of boooze it was, we looked it up. It is, as reported by Beer Advocate, a Belgian Strong Pale Ale. A bit of a mouthful, but I was intrigued. The flavor profile, perhaps unsurprisingly, is pretty similar to a Saison or Biere de Garde. It's got some serious fruity esters, with a nice hop finish, and an interesting ginger note.

Really, the big complaint from us both was how timid and mild it was. It felt like the flavors were all very dissipated, as if I was seeing them from a long way off. The flavors were each tasty, but just hints of their full potential. I was pretty unimpressed, considering how much I like dogfish head, but this beer just didn't do it for me. It's not a bad beer by any stretch of the imagination, but it just feels like a shadow of what it could and should be/what other beers are. Worth a try, but don't think I'd get it again.

Now, a word to the wise. We had the beer at room temperature, but we wondered whether chilling with concentrate the somewhat weak flavors. The bottle warned us not to, that the beer was best served chilled, but not cold. Luckily we only used about a sip each to get it cold, because it was AWFUL. All alcohol and bitterness, without any real flavor until the aftertaste. Definitely follow the bottle here folks - chilled, not cold.

In retrospect, I wonder whether judging this as if a saison or biere de garde is wrong - after all, in terms of a pale ale it wasn't all that bad. Crisp and refreshing, with enough bite to be interesting but not too much. However, they didn't call it a belgian pale ale. They called it belgian strong pale ale. And I expect something a little more forceful when they call it a strong ale - Arrogant Bastard and Brooklyn Local #2 are strong ales. This just isn't in the same weight class as those heavy hitters.

DuClaw

So, as I may have noted on several occasions, I do live and breathe sometimes for a brewery in Maryland called DuClaw. The name is weird, but don't let it throw you off. Apart from some seriously tasty bar food (I recommend the buffalo dip), they have wonderful, amazing beers.

My favorites are definitely Alchemy, and Venom though.

Alchemy is DuClaw’s stout. Oh Gosh. Coffee and chocolate float through this hefty drink, sweetening it from the first sip to the last drop. A very sweet stout, some people are not big fans, but they can go suck it. I love this beer, and order it most any time I go to DuClaw. It goes well with most any food too, as the flavor doesn’t interfere, but doesn’t get overwhelmed by the food either. A very balanced, and tasty drink.

Venom on the other hand is their pale ale, kind of a polar opposite. A brief into: I hate pale ales. They are bitter. I find bitter gross. Cool?

With that in mind, I love this beer. I love it so much; I can’t even have it that often because I’m afraid I’ll spoil it for myself. It has all the flavor of complex pale ale, very refreshing and delicious, with none of the bitter after taste. The whole time, you’ll be expecting it to come like a roundhouse to the face, but it mercifully stays the pain that follows most of its brethren. I have tried many, many pale ales, and this is the only one I have ever enjoyed. It is a fantastic beer, and I wish I knew how they made it that way.

All of the below are beers I’ve tried at some time or other. They’re all pretty goof in their own ways, but I haven’t enjoyed them enough to have them repeatedly.

Hellraiser IPA – Wow. Very bitter. If you like bitter beers, this is your bag, but otherwise be warned. It’s a very clear taste, with a BITE for an aftertaste

Misfit Red – Oh so delicious. I don’t get this often, and I kick myself for that. It’s a fantastic Irish Red, flavorful without being bitter, sweet without losing body and flavor. Highly recommended

That Blonde Ale – Eh. I don’t even remember its name. It’s a more complex Budweiser. What else can I say?

Kangaroo Love – It tasted like soap. No, seriously. I don’t know why. It just wasn’t my kind of beer I suppose, very weak. It's supposed to be an Australian beer, but I just wasn't having any of their shenanigans.

Sawtooth – Their seasonal Wit Beer. Very impressive, somewhat spicy, and deliciously refreshing for summer time. Still, you really have to like Wheat beers to be into this bad boy. Enjoyed it but not desperate to try it again.

Celtic Fury – One of their spring beers, a delicious stout reminiscent of Guinness. I was actually very impressed by it, a nice coffee flavor without being bitter or tasting burnt, but others didn’t share my enthusiasm. Sadly, it has a somewhat abbreviated run, so I’m eagerly awaiting trying it again next year.