The Epitome of Class

That's how I'm defining the latest outing with Sparrow and CapsLock. See, when you're a twenty something, most people get these pretensions of class, and stop doing things like drinking at a playground. I, on the other hand, highly endorse all forms of ridiculosity.

Especially those that start at 11:45pm and end with the three of you drinking wine from a bottle, smoking cigars, and scaring off teenagers. Basically I get a call informing me that drinking adventures are happening. I ambush the car, giving Sparrow a heart attack, and we're off. After grabbing a 6-pack of Sierra Nevada Summerfest, a bottle of some red wine, and a cigar, we're off.

Sparrow and I have a long history of staking out the various little parks/playgrounds in suburbia and spending the early mornings there drinking beer and doing everything from talking deep philosophy to fan-casting our friends in Harry Potter. Also, swinging on the swings. This is a fantastic old tradition of ours, and so we were enjoying this once again, along with CapsLock.

Why do I call him CapsLock? Well, see, everything he does IS IN CAPITAL LETTERS. He doesn't cook breakfast, he COOKS BREAKFAST AHHHHHH! He doesn't do push-ups, he DOES PUSH-UPS GRAAAARRRRRGGHHHHH! He doesn't head-but tables, he HEAD-BUTS THE FUCKING TABLE TO DEATH. He's a lot of fun to say the least.

Now, when we arrived at our old spot, it was already full of teenagers. And while CapsLock and I debated a hostile takeover, we realized there was an identical spot just a little ways away. So a short drive and a walk down a sketchy path through the dark woods (which wasn't actually that bad), we arrived at the other playground. We'd heard voices, but they'd disappeared as we'd gotten close so we figured they'd run off. Except, as I explored the area with my flashlight, I had the sneaking suspicion that several large forms weren't actually part of the equipment.

Starting a conversation with "Hi? We're not cops guys. It's ok" is pretty awkward, but apparently pretty effective, because it quickly defused a weird situation, and let us get back to what was important: the beer.

In between debates about personal philosophy, finishing the cigar, and swigging red wine from the bottle, I was thankful to have on hand my Summerfest. As those who've read this before know, this is one of my favorite beers. It's a great example of a beer that doesn't try to hard, but manages to be tasty and flavorful without being super aggressive. From start to finish Summerfest is a pretty mild beer, but that makes it perfect for a hot summer day (or spring evening as may be the case). It's got a lot of sweet malts with a nice hoppy undercurrent, and the sensation of a cool drink of water without lacking in the flavor department. The malts are grassy and the hops add a nice clean bitterness to the finish.

All in all, one of my favorite session beers for the summer, this was a great beer for a great night. Oh, and someone tell CapsLock that holding a position based on an unknowable factor is ultimately not very useful, even if it is interesting :-P

May your days be hot and your beers refreshing! Cheers!

The thing about spring

A wonderful thing happens during spring, where the cold weather finally flees off back to wherever it comes from (Minnesota obviously). However, I admit to sometimes feeling a little bit lost when my dark, dark heavy beers feel out of place. Those beers make me feel warm and content and full, not light and refreshed. And I love them for that, but come summer time, I'm a little lost.

Luckily, brewing companies recognize this and release all manner of deliciously lighter beers - oftentime a fruity or hoppy beer to compliment the hot weather and long days outside. I'm currently grooving on Sierra Nevada's Glissade, a Golden Bock that is lightly hopped but very flavorful. The nose is hoppy and wheaty, and the flavor goes along with that bring out nice sweet malts to match the mild IPAs. Not the most aggressive, but a really pleasant session beer, this is a good one for the long hot days outside,

I've also been enjoying a friend's leftover Snake Dog IPAs from Flying Dog. I'm not typically a big IPA fan, but this one is light and refreshing and exactly the sort of splash of water I need on hot days. The smell is all hops from the generous head, and the taste just enhances more nice floral hops and citrus fruits. About the depth of my IPA enjoyment, it's still a great beer.

I also feel I should mention another beer I really dug on, although admittedly it doesn't fit with my spring theme. Recently local brewer DuClaw has come out with a beer called Black Lightning. Now, I'm all about storms and lightning, but I was distraught to hear that this wasn't a black ale but a black IPA. I was concerned about the hoppiness of this beer, but my first sip set my heart at ease. The roasted malts and coffee flavors blend nicely with the hops, opposing eachother but creating a nice balance in the process. Definitely an aggressive beer, this isn't for the weak of heart. And like I said, it doesn't exactly make you think of spring, but it's delicious enough to deserve a mention.

Hopefully you're enjoying some of this lovely weather - see you all next time!

This one took way too long

Seriously, it's been a looong time since I've tried more than a few of these beers. I apologize to my loyal reader (there's one out there, right? :-P) but I just haven't found the time to sit down and hash my thoughts out.

We'll start with the best of the bunch - I was at Victoria Gastro Pub, quickly becoming a favorite of mine, debating between an Oyster Stout and a Saison, when I saw that there was an odd beer. It was a Strawberry Weisse, a "short batch" from Smuttynose. It was described as a sour strawberry beer, and I was hooked. I love Smuttynose, and I liked the idea of trying something limited edition.

The beer was fantastic. It poured a rich, ruby red, and was deliciously sour with a nice flavor of strawberries. This was no thin wheat beer with a hint of fruit - it was a punch in the face. To be fair, I desperately love all things sour, so be prepared to deal with a lot of sour. A relatively uncomplicated beer, I was nonetheless wholly impressed by their ability to make a strong and delicious fruit beer. Fruli strawberry can suck it - this is far and away the best fruit beer I've ever had.

Now, I also feel like I've made a mistake somewhere, because apparently I've never written about Sierra Nevada's Summerfest. This seems wrong, as it's quickly become one of my favorites for summer. Nonetheless, I'll give you my impression, and hopefully you'll forgive any accidental doubling.

Their Summerfest is a lager, but this is no bland golden beer. It has a very nice clean, crisp, and refreshing taste with floral and grassy notes, with a pleasantly assertive hop flavor rounding it out. Not too bitter, it's excellent for hot days and lazing around, with an interesting character but light enough to drink more than a few. According to beer advocate, the beer is a Czech Pilsner, but seeing as the bottle calls it a lager, I'm sticking to that.

I also had a chance, oddly enough, to try their Celebration ale. It's a winter beer from them, but apparently it'd been hiding in the back of my friend, The Culinator's, fridge. Classified as an American IPA, I admit to having my doubts. The beer is excellent - darker and spicy, with a nice hop profile. However, it just doesn't taste as bitter as I expect for an IPA. There are also some sweet malts in there as well, making a nicely balanced beer. Tasty and delicious, although misclassified for my money.

Now, the last beer was good, but a little surprising. While at the Perfect Pour, I picked up a mixed pack of Star Hill. On the box was listed the numerous awards each beer had won - multiple medals at the great American beer festival. Needless to say, I was excited.

Star Hill's Amber Ale is good. It's a nice copper red, with flavors of toffee and caramel, as well as some bready malts. Really though, it was pretty boring. I want to reiterate - it wasn't bad. But it wasn't terribly interesting, especially for a medal winning beer. Not a bad session beer, as I had a couple without evening noticing it, but nothing to write home about.