365 Days of Beer

There was no updates recently because I was too busy. So first here is my recap of Bear Republic night at the Hop Devil Grill.

$20 got you a flight of 6 beers in 8 oz. glasses. It was quite a nice lineup:

75) Bear Republic Ricardos Red Wheat - This was the first time this beer was available in NYC, and it is a pretty rare one either way. However, it was just a decent American wheat beer.

76) Bear Republic Racer X Strong Ale - Only the 2nd time this was on tap in NYC. Very hoppy with citrus flavors. It was nice but I have had better double IPAs.

77) Bear Republic Pete Brown Tribute Ale - What better way to pay tribute to a guy named Pete Brown than by making a brown ale? This was a good brown ale, though it is probably my least favorite style. I can usually handle a few sips but after a while I find the molasses flavors to be too sweet and overpowering.

78) Bear Republic Racer 5 - Hands down one of the best IPAs I have ever had. I think this one probably stole the show.

79) Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale - I love hops, so I loved this one.

80) Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye Ale - This blew away the Red Rocket. Almost up there with the Stone Arrogant Bastard.

This weekend there have been other beers. Check back again on Monday because Sunday has only just started.

81) HeBrew Messiah Bold - A brown ale. One dimensional but at least it wasn't overly sweet.

82) Wild Goose India Pale Ale - Got this as part of my beer of the month club shipment. For some reason I may have missed out on a shipment unless they are shipping my beers bi-monthly. Oh well. I'll address that another day when I am sober. Typical of the style but nothing memorable.

Last night popped into another local supermarket. Lo and behold they had tons of Lithuanian beers from Svyturys. Picked up a couple of bottles for myself and some for my mom.

83) Svyturys Baltas - This is a German style hef. Kinda boring but drinkable.

And...

At this very moment...

84) Sweetwater 420 Extra Pale Ale - This one appears to have won some awards. Very good beer and a very good pale ale. Hops are not overpowering. I guess it could use a little more but it is a well balanced beer. Also from the beer of the month club.

84 beers down with 281 to go. Today is the 57th day of the year so I am almost a month ahead.

Good god I've got to slow it down...

No more for today.

Tonight, Bear Republic, out of Healdsburg, CA, brings an exciting lineup to the Hop Devil Grill. I'll definitely be attending this and hope to try them all. The festivities start at 7pm. Take a look:

- Racer X: Only the 2nd time this imperial/double IPA has been available in NYC.
- Racer 5: An IPA and thought of as one of the best in its style... maybe the beer I am looking forward to most.
- Ricardo's Red Wheat: An extremely rare beer to find anywhere. At ratebeer.com there is only 1 rating for it.
- Pete's Tribute Brown Ale: A highly touted brown ale which I am looking forward to.
- Hop Rod Rye: A strong ale I have wanted to try for a long time.
- Red Rocket: Can't wait to try this against the Hop Rod.

I've only had their XP, so tonight I will add 6 new beers to the list, and that will put me at 80 for the year. After tonight I will be taking a break through the weekend, as I'll be almost a month ahead of schedule. I'll check back in tomorrow with a review of Bear Republic.

I don't remember all that much about the weekend and most of what I do remember is probably too inappropriate to post here so I'll just get down to business.

Friday:

69) HeBrew Genesis Ale - Not a very good pale ale. Didn't have much bitterness or bite to it.

Saturday:

At home I had

70) Hoegaarden White - This is usually what you will see chicks order at beer bars but it is the best witbier ever so they are smart girls. Nice foamy head with an orange aroma. Get it while it is still being made in Hoegaarden. InBev is closing the plant there and laying off tons of workers and this beer will now be produced in another one of their factories.

Went to Nevada Smith's to watch the Newcastle match with some friends. I don't follow soccer but it was a good time anyway. Stopped at Otafuku just before and picked up some takoyaki which grossed all the white people out.

71) Boddingtons Pub Ale - This is also made by InBev. Looks like movie theater popcorn butter as it settles. Nice creamy head on top. Good bitter.

Monday:

Took a trip into the city and decided to try the House of Brews, which I've been to once. It is on Restaurant Row so I assume most of the clientele are tourists. The bartender was very nice and friendly.

72) Stone Smoked Porter - Really amazing porter. Rich chocolate & coffee flavors with a hint of smoke to it.

73) Smuttynose Old Brown Dog - A brown ale but hoppier than typical examples of the style.

74) Ommegang Hennepin - A saison. Has an aroma that would make you swear this was from Belgium and not upstate New York. Banana and a touch of grassy aromas dominate. I had this with some frites and it was a good match.

Don't forget that tomorrow night is Bear Republic at the Hop Devil Grill. I will definitely be attending that.

74 beers down, 291 to go...

So last night at Hop Devil Grill, Weyerbacher (out of Easton, PA) was kind enough to stop by with a great lineup of 7 beers.

Weyerbacher currently brews over 20 different styles of beer. One of the things I love about this brewery is that they aren't afraid of pushing the boundaries and trying out new ideas such as aging some of their beers in bourbon barrels. They definitely don't sit on their behinds brewing the same old stuff over and over, and that above all things tells you they are passionate about making good beer.

Kudos to Chris from Weyerbacher for bringing all of his great creations to NYC. He was kind enough to make himself available for questions, stopping by at every table to hear everyone's comments and talk about his beers. I definitely got the impression from him that he is a man who truly loves beer and the craft of making it. I look forward to seeing future Weyerbacher output!

Weyerbacher is open for tours & tasting every Saturday from 12-3. This summer I will definitely be paying them a visit, as it is just a short drive from NYC.

Now onto the beers!

Just $20 got us all 7 beers in a flight. I'll be just reviewing the ones I haven't had. They were all new to me except the Insanity.

62) Weyerbacher Old Heathen - This is an imperial stout. Very deep and complex. Nice roasted espresso and chocolately notes. Just the way I like my imperial stouts. 8.2% alc.

63) Weyerbacher Heresy - The Heresy is made by taking the Old Heathen and aging it in bourbon barrels. It is interesting to contrast the two back to back. I suggest you try the same taste test, and you will really experience all the different characteristics that are added by the oak.

64) Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot - What a great name for a beer, no? At a powerful 11.1% alc. by vol. too much of this barley wine might turn you into one. But what a pleasure it will be just getting there. This particular version definitely brings the malty flavors to the forefront. Like the Old Heathen/Heresy test, try the Insanity (Blithering Idiot aged in the barrels) after this one.

65) Weyerbacher Quad - Very big and full-bodied. With 11.9% alc, this is definitely a sipper for after dinner. Quite complex and heady. I will definitely come back to this one again in the future.

66) Weyerbacher Hops Infusion - An IPA. I should have had this first, because by now my taste buds (and possibly my motor functions) were quite dulled and I can't really remember much about this. The aroma seemed to be dominated with floral hops. I'll come back to this too.

67) Weyerbacher Raspberry Imperial Stout - This is made by adding raspberries during the fermentation process. I'm not a real big fan of fruit beers but this was interesting to try. They did a good job with this one because the raspberries do not overpower everything else. Well-balanced.

With that the Weyerbacher odyssey was over. And now that I looked it up, 2006 began with a Weyerbacher - their Winter Ale was my first new beer of the year. I look forward to visiting them this summer to try their full output and wish them continued success in the future.

Since it was also Kill the Keg Wednesday, we got the Old Chub which was only $3 per pint. At the time I couldn't remember having it before but it turns out I had some last year so it doesn't count.

Finally stopped next door at the Belgian Room (also part of the Hop Devil Grill). Regretted eating so much because I really wanted to try the pommes frites. I'll save that for another day. Had a glass of:

68) Strubbe Super Pils - This is a pilsener brewed out of Belgium. Bitter with some hoppiness. Not a bad pils but nothing special either.

68 beers down and only 297 to go puts me way, way ahead of the curve. About 3 weeks ahead to be exact. I'm going to take a couple days off with no beer and just take it easy for a while. See you again soon.

Don't forget that tonight Weyerbacher pays visit to the Hop Devil Grill. HDG is managed by the same people who run David Copperfield's. They know their beer and they especially know how to run a good beer bar.

Tonight is also Wednesday night, which means its Kill the Keg night as well.

Last night I had:

61) Czech Rebel - This, like the Czechvar I had over the weekend, is a Bohemian style pilsener. What a complete 180 in terms of quality. Where the Czechvar was rich and malty, this was thin and boring. I generally agree that once a beer has a lot of ratings on RateBeer.com, its a pretty good idea of the overall quality of the brew. How does this have a 2.68/5? This would rank it around other beers like Stella Artois and Grolsch, yet this is nowhere near as good as either of those. Like the Grand 9.5 I had recently, deduct a point from this one to get a more accurate rating. This is more like a Coors or Miller.

Well tonight, any bad feelings over this one will be erased by our good buddies at Weyerbacher. I hope to add many more to my list.

...you're taking a shower, and you describe the aroma of your shampoo as having "floral hop notes."

That's the exact thought I had this morning. No, I didn't switch out my shampoo bottle for an IPA. I'm just crazy.

So here is the much anticipated recap of this past weekends beers. Friday night I had a big can of:

56) Fosters Special Bitter - I rather liked this. I don't think it was really an ale as labeled on the can but for a lager style beer it was pretty good stuff. Dominated by malt characteristics.

Saturday was pretty much a day of drinking. I started off bright and early with:

57) Czechvar - This is a crisp and dry pilsener. Really enjoyable.

58) Zhiguly Beer Grand 9.5 - Being half-Lithuanian (and half-Japanese - who could ever guess that combination?) I felt a responsibility to try this beer. I've only had 1 other Lithuanian beer in my life. The first sign of trouble is right there on the upper right-hand corner where it says "99¢." I picked it up with no intention of buying it until I saw it was from Lithuania. What a disgusting concoction. Sadly I picked up a bottle for my mom but I will have to warn her about the caustic metallic finish that accompanies this brew. Yuck!

59) Becks Dark - This is a dunkel. Pours a light brown with aromas of roasted malt. Decent but the body felt a little thin to me.

Sunday I added one more:

60) Petes Wicked Wanderlust Cream Ale - This one also had a somewhat bitter finish.

60 down - 305 to go. Don't know if I'll have anything tonight. Maybe 1 new beer at the most. Tomorrow I will be attending the Weyerbacher event at Hop Devil Grill along with Big Daddy Cal. They will be there featuring the following:

Insanity oak aged barleywine
Old Heathen
Rasberry Imperial Stout
Blithering Idiot
Hops Infusion
Heresy
Quad

Should be fun, and there are some new ones on that list for me to try.

So last night after work I decided to make burgers. I tend to do many things in unconventional ways (the way I make music, eating pizza crust first to save the best tasting parts for last, etc) and the way I make burgers is no different.

Unless I am using a topping that is only suitable on top of the beef, like a fried egg, I just stuff everything into the meat.

Here is the recipe used for the burger I made last night:

flatten out 1/2 pound ground beef
add small bits of cheddar cheese
add bacon (make it crispy, then crumble it up)
add bbq sauce (I used Famous Dave's Rich & Sassy sauce given to me by a friend)
add cracked black pepper
add spices if you like

Roll it up in the beef and form a patty, covering up any holes where the filling might escape. Season each side with a little pepper and then sear it in a hot frying pan.

I found stuffing the meat this way can make the filling just explode in your mouth with all kinds of flavors, rather than having it all on top of the meat, where the distribution of topping to meat is a little unbalanced.

I paired this with:

55) Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock - Very dark brown pour. Fine bubbles form a thick head up top. Excellent roasted malt aroma. Very inticing stuff. Full bodied with complex dark, nutty, malty flavors and a hint of chocolate. This is also career beer #250 for me so it was nice to celebrate that milestone with the Celebrator!

55 down now, and 310 to go. Tonight I will have something else new from my fridge and will report back sometime after the weekend. Try making your next burger this way and let me know how it turns out.

Last night was taco night at home, and when I have tacos or any mildly spicy foods I usually like to pair that with beers that aren't too heavy and on the refreshing side. So the first beer I pulled from the fridge was:

53) Brahma - This is labelled as being from Brazil, where the Brahma brand is from, but a quick check reveals this is made by InBev in the Netherlands. Confusing, but I'm not going to get too worked up over it, because this beer was nothing to get worked up over. Even though it didn't say "light" on the bottle, this had the body of a light beer. Very similar to a Coors Light. Watery, thin, and weak.

54) Labatt Blue Light - This was also no-good. These beers were meant to refresh the palate when eating these spicy foods but they could hardly even stand up to the tacos. Not worth drinking again.

54 beers down with 311 to go. The next one will be a milestone beer, as it will be my 250th. So I will have to make it something good. I'm trying not to get too ahead of myself so I will probably save it for tomorrow night, and go beerless tonight.

No new beers last night, so there is not much to update. Being that tonight's scheduled dinner is tacos, I will probably open one or two of the lighter style lagers that are in my fridge.

--- --- --- --- ---

So instead I figured why not take a trip down memory lane. We begin at the beginning, and my first experience with alcohol.

I don't quite remember the year, but it was probably 84 or 85, and I was 6 or 7 years old. My family (on my mother's side) is filled with all sorts of wacky charm. We have lots of characters on that side, and being that they are Lithuanian, they know how to drink and have a good time.

That summer we attended a family wedding upstate in Rochester. And unless I'm getting mixed up, this was the place. I specifically remember two things about that trip.

First, during those years I was very much interested in airplanes. I had tons of books about them, and knew all kinds of strange technical details (...that have since passed well into my subconscious mind) about now obsolete planes such as the Boeing 707, and the DC-10. My dad would buy me die-cast airplanes made by Schabak. One time I setup full replicas of LGA and JFK on my bedroom floor. I had almost every plane that was flying into those airports at the time, and knew exactly at what terminals they were stationed. I even thought about being a pilot one day. I left this idea behind after going through the stage where every young kid obsesses about death (...mommy when am I going to die?). Mine happened to co-incide with a year where there were lots of plane crashes and other aviation mishaps, and the dream died.

Anyways, now that you know I was "airplane obsessed" at the time, what else would such a kid ask his parents to do while in Rochester, NY?

"Mom, Dad... Can we go to the airport?"

Reluctantly they drove to the airport so I could watch some planes. Having only seen large domestic and international airports such as JFK, LGA, and MCO (Orlando)... I was rather underwhelmed.

We pulled up on the side of the road to a barbed wire fence outside the tarmac. I saw about 3 Boeing 727s. I think there was 2 US Airways jets and possibly an Eastern. Nothing was going on. It was the sleepiest airport I had ever seen. I didn't protest when my dad pulled the car away.

The second thing I remember is that during the wedding party the band played just about every variation on "the Twist" that you could imagine. "Do the Twist"... "Let's Twist Again"... "Twist and Shout". So I remember everyone doing a lot of "twisting" on the dance floor.

When you are 6 or 7, the twist is just about the most fun dance you can do, and it makes watching your drunk relatives even more fun. So instead of doing the typical "run around and play hide & seek under the tables" wedding routine, I stayed out on the floor, danced, and got rather tuckered out.

I went up to my dad and told him I was thirsty. He asked what I want to drink and I told him to get me a coke. Off to the bar he went and quickly came back with my coke.

It tasted funny. But I kept drinking it, assuming that maybe they gave me a diet coke instead. I was just so thirsty, I didn't care. I guzzled it down to the bottom, not stopping until I heard the straw taking in air.

Soon after that, I got rather dizzy and lightheaded. I went to the front of the catering hall, found a couch and passed right out. The last thing I saw that night was the fuzzy image of my dad putting a jacket over me as a blanket.

I woke up the next day at the hotel. My mom couldn't have been too pleased to learn my dad did indeed order me the coke, but the bartender figured it was for my dad, so he put a good helping of rum into it, since this crowd was having a blast.

And that was my first experience with alcohol.

I don't know if it is possible for one man to disappoint so many, but the scheduled #50 went belly up when the maker decided not to show up for the Super Bowl. Hopefully he still has some of the home brew left. If he doesn't, and he gave it out to whomever he was with, each and every one of those fuckers had better be a hardcore beer enthusiast. And I mean people who are deep into it.

Oh, and his special bonus brew he was going to get? We drank that.

The game sucked, as usual. Really boring, juiceless game. Most of the ads sucked as well. My favorite one was the MacGyver MasterCard ad. It was great to see Richard Dean Anderson back in the role, even for just 30 seconds. Really, I wish they could bring that series back. It was one of my favorites.

Anyways, onto the beer. I had a couple of beers earlier in the day, but nothing that was new to me. The honor of #50 for the year goes to:

50) Brooklyn Winter (Christmas) Ale - Dark mahogany color, almost no head. Faint spice aromas and a sweet malty taste. Average beer from Garret Oliver, a man who really has the love when it comes to making beer, drinking beer, and enjoying it with food. I've never had anything bad from him, but this was not one of his better creations.

51) Victory Moonglow Weizenbock - My goodness. The coolest looking beer I may have ever laid eyes on. Thick creamy head. Looks like liquid caramel. Sediment swirling around everywhere. Flavors are so complex and enjoyable. A distinct pear/bubblegum/banana characteristic. Another winner from Victory. They are fast becoming my favorite brewery. In fact I will make a permanent link to them on the side of my page.

52) Sierra Nevada Bigfoot - This is a barley wine, and a very good one at that. Better than the Brooklyn Monster Ale, which was also had during the Super Bowl. I tell you, we drank some pretty heavy stuff but nobody passed out. This particular version of barley wine had a definite bitter hop character up front, which was different. But then all the maltiness and alcohol follow that so it is balanced nicely. Very complex and enjoyable.

This is going to be a week of overtime at work so I don't think I'll be getting out to any bars for a while and money is a little tight thanks to my car's right front axle boot needing to be replaced. But no matter, I have 10 bottles to try at home so that should carry me well into the weekend.

And there is no rush anyway. At 52 beers down with 313 to go, I am half a month ahead of schedule. I'll check back in again tomorrow and we'll see if I have anything to add to the total. If not maybe we'll take a trip down memory lane.

So here I am with the rare Saturday post. Last night we had dinner at the Carnegie Deli. A friend who has lived in NY for almost a year but has never eaten there wanted to give it a shot. It is a must see at least once and it is quite the tourist spot. The cover all the bases:

1) Big name and reputation? Check!

2) Walls plastered with autographs of celebrities whether famous, infamous, well-known, or has-been? Check!

3) Gruff NYC waiters? Check!

4) Massive amounts of food at NYC prices? Check!

5) Tables packed too close for comfort? Check!

Basically its got the whole "only in New York" type of experience going for it. I had the burger (which was quite good - they grind their own meat). I haven't been there in 18 years and I imagine it will probably be another 18 before I go back or if any relatives want to experience it.

Getting home, I had a little nightcap, which was from the Beer of the Month Club shipment. I will write about them after I get a couple of more shipments but I was happy about this one.

49) Coopers Vintage Ale - I really enjoyed this. Pours a cloudy amber with sediment at the end. RESPECT THE SEDIMENT! Very enticing to look at. Aroma was complex. You could somewhat smell the alcohol (7.5%) so there was a faint whiskey-ish character to it. But what I really got out of the aromas was candy apples. Flavors of caramel and grain breads dominate, along with fruity hints.

I have 2 bottles of this left, but I will give one as a gift to the maker of what will be beer #50. For those who couldn't guess it is a homebrewed concoction. The freeze is on until then. No new beers until tomorrow's Super Bowl party. I am looking forward to the beer more than the game, but I hope Pittsburgh wins. As a Giant fan, I am bitter about their loss in Seattle over the season, so I wish them failure.

49 new beers down and 316 to go. Enjoy your weekend and the game. Don't forget to drink responsibly. And if you can't drink responsibly, crash on your host's sofa, not in your car.

A visit to David Copperfield's is always a great experience. Last night was Kill the Keg Wednesday and Sleeman's Cream Ale was $3 a pint. I passed up on that but Big Daddy Cal put forth his best effort to try and finish it off by having 2.

Having ordered the excellent southwest chicken sandwich I started out instead with...

47) Boulder Beer Mojo IPA - I enjoy their Hazed & Infused which is widely available in many stores around here. This was a very good IPA. Very well balanced hops and malt character. Refreshing citrus finish. Recommended. I look forward to trying more of their output soon.

Next up I just had to get a glass of the Heavyweight Perkuno's Hammer. As always an enjoyable brew. Big Daddy Cal ordered one of these (on me) and also had the cask selection, to which I followed suit:

48) Sixpoint Grand Crue - This is a new one from Sixpoint, which is based out of Brooklyn. These guys definitely have a lot of potential. This was 15% ABV and an excellent after dinner beer.

I stopped there even though I could have allowed myself to try one more new one.

48 beers thus far leaves 317 to go. Today is going to be a beer free/go to the gym day. Either tomorrow night or Saturday I will have beer #49, which will probably be a crap bottle I have at home.

Sunday is big #50

...but apparently it is.

I have found perhaps the worst beer EVER. And it is not American. The next time you are in Europe, or anyplace where there are people likely to bash American beers because all they know is Bud/Miller/Coors, just stop them and say NON!

Tell them about this grotesque creation below. They no longer can win the debate over who has made the single worst beer of all time.

46) Becks Light - Easily the most horrendous brew I have ever had the displeasure of tasting. Bottle touts that it is only 64 calories. Alcohol is only 3.8%. This should practically be a "non-alcoholic" beer. Pours a see-through, clear-as-day, 7th inning stretch, off-white piss color. Fizzy Sprite-like head that dissipates almost instantly. Faint day-old bread aroma. Carbonation and fizz swarms the palate with no discernable flavors to follow. Nasty, face-contorting finish packed with hints of regret, stupidity, and a desire to vomit after tasting this abomination. Bloated, gassy feeling followed by loud belching seals the deal. Basically a beer flavored soda.

Today this will be rectified with a visit to David Copperfield's. I desire QUALITY!

When they open later today I will call ahead to see what is up on the Kill the Keg board. My goal tonight is to have 2 new beers.

46 beers down with now 319 to go. Today is the 32nd day of the year so I am 2 weeks ahead of pace.

Back later this afternoon with an update of what is on Kill the Keg for today...