Thank f*ck dry January is over and done with...a joyless, miserable experience and one I will not repeat.. I know no-one was twisting my arm but once I'd started I was going to see it through..and here we are. An adverse side affect of it is that I've managed to spend over £500 on stocking up the beer fridge during the last month (Cloudwater, Track, Verdant and Brass castle, mainly) in anticpiation of it being done and dusted....and now wet Feb is upoon us, I'm feeling ropey..typical...still hoping to pop to the Green Goddess later to mark the occassion (only if they have the Pollys x Track DIPA stil on tap), then it's Brass Castle taproom at the weekend followed by as much time in the River Ale House as I can get away with from next week. Cheers
Bow & Arrow Brewing in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Had one with dinner last weekend and then got some 4-packs to take up to our rental for the week. A really nice NEIPA and a fantastic sour IPA. Decided to stop off at the brewery on the way to the airport. This is their Monument Magic IPA, 7% and despite the haze it’s really more of a West Coast IPA. Hoppy with a dry malty finish.
On day 35 of dry January but will be tested later a my favourite subterranean micro pub - it’s a mates birthday (one with an 0 at the end) and his wife has organised a surprise party (which the regulars told him about).
Not sure if I will drink or not yet - Did sober spring last year and clocked up 126 days (96 the year before) so may keep going. Probably fold at the first sniff of IPA however and they have Titanic Plum Porter and Cherry Porter on which will be difficult to resist!
On day 35 of dry January but will be tested later a my favourite subterranean micro pub - it’s a mates birthday (one with an 0 at the end) and his wife has organised a surprise party (which the regulars told him about).
Not sure if I will drink or not yet - Did sober spring last year and clocked up 126 days (96 the year before) so may keep going. Probably fold at the first sniff of IPA however and they have Titanic Plum Porter and Cherry Porter on which will be difficult to resist!
Lasted two minutes and then drank Titanic Plum Porter …..
On day 35 of dry January but will be tested later a my favourite subterranean micro pub - it’s a mates birthday (one with an 0 at the end) and his wife has organised a surprise party (which the regulars told him about).
Not sure if I will drink or not yet - Did sober spring last year and clocked up 126 days (96 the year before) so may keep going. Probably fold at the first sniff of IPA however and they have Titanic Plum Porter and Cherry Porter on which will be difficult to resist!
Lasted two minutes and then drank Titanic Plum Porter …..
On day 35 of dry January but will be tested later a my favourite subterranean micro pub - it’s a mates birthday (one with an 0 at the end) and his wife has organised a surprise party (which the regulars told him about).
Not sure if I will drink or not yet - Did sober spring last year and clocked up 126 days (96 the year before) so may keep going. Probably fold at the first sniff of IPA however and they have Titanic Plum Porter and Cherry Porter on which will be difficult to resist!
Lasted two minutes and then drank Titanic Plum Porter …..
It was well worth it, wasn't it?
It’s a fabulous pint in my opinion! Tasted sweet after 35 days!
Something I’ve not had before. Over The Moon Chocolate Lager, a collaboration between Lamplighter and Remnant breweries, using chocolate from our magnificent local chocolate company, Taza.
Wasn’t expecting much from it, but it’s a pretty decent dark lager with the chocolate really coming through in the aftertaste. Not sweet, although Taza is not known for sweet chocolate - their thing is dry, almost grainy, unsweetened Mexican style. Much better than I had anticipated.
On day 35 of dry January but will be tested later a my favourite subterranean micro pub - it’s a mates birthday (one with an 0 at the end) and his wife has organised a surprise party (which the regulars told him about).
Not sure if I will drink or not yet - Did sober spring last year and clocked up 126 days (96 the year before) so may keep going. Probably fold at the first sniff of IPA however and they have Titanic Plum Porter and Cherry Porter on which will be difficult to resist!
Lasted two minutes and then drank Titanic Plum Porter …..
Pre concert beer in sunny Worcester (Massachusetts) - Hudson Valley Mirrorshield. 7% sour IPA with Lychee. Best new sour I’ve had for a while. Quite sharp, but a smooth fruity aftertaste.
Armsby Abbey is the bar - they have a few Trappist beer available but an impressive (and expensive) list of Belgian lambics.
One more before the show - Hill Farmstead Poetica. 5% Pilsner lagered in wood. Not fizzy, not super cold, tastes like beer, unlike most of its American counterparts.
Trillium 11th anniversary tonight. I’ve already had the Habitat 2024, which was a nice funky sour, reminiscent of Cantillon. This is my second - Habitat 2023 Peach, and it is dryer, but first taste was much more acidic.
$55 for unlimited beer and nibbles for 3 hours. Not a bad deal, especially given the quality of the beer, and a free glass, to go with all the others.
Tilquin Day at Tip Tap Room in Boston. Great bar, although nothing is cheap here.
They’ve got six on draft, 5 oz pours, so I’m doing them in pairs. First up, Arielle Sauvage and Clementine.
Arielle is Lingonberry - never knowingly having had a lingonberry, all is can say it that it tastes a bit like blackberry. Not as sour as I expected from Tilquin, it’s quite smooth. 6.5%
Clementine is much more like I expected, sour and pithy. Just how I like my sours. 6%
And, for those not easily offended, those 5oz pours are $11 each. At today exchange rate, that’s £33.28 a pint in real money.
Both proper sours. I can’t taste any fruit in the Grenade, to me it’s just a sour, but it’s a good one. In the first three, if you didn’t tell me what fruit it was I’d have a hard time identifying it. Not the melon - it’s definitely melon, and it’s definitely sour. Both 6%, but Grenade wins for me. It’s that bit more sour without overdoing it.
I’m a fan of rhubarb sours, I can’t remember having a bad one, although they are pretty rare. This one is a good example, and unlike all the others today, it’s just 4.5%. Great balance for a sour. Violette on the other hand has a really weird taste up front of something burnt, it’s on the nose as well. I don’t know what it is, I just can’t get past it. It’s pretty sour, but the odd burnt sensation makes this my least favorite of the six.
Bonus beer - from the secret stash, from a brewery that’s now out of business. Black Project Oxcart - a geueze brewed in Denver. This one was bottled in 2018. It’s held up pretty well. It was a corked bottle, and like some vintage Boons I’ve had, the sourness has faded some, and it has a sweetness on the aftertaste. Very pleasant and rare to find a brewery that makes beer that’s meant to age, and a bar that keeps it. The only one I knew that used to do this was Kulminator in Antwerp.
You get around Sommerville....I live on the Cape and have added some of these to my list......have you tried Tree House yet in Charlton, MA ? I like Trillium...we get to their pub in Seaport every now and then......also out here we have Devils Purse and Hog Island which are not bad......
You get around Sommerville....I live on the Cape and have added some of these to my list......have you tried Tree House yet in Charlton, MA ? I like Trillium...we get to their pub in Seaport every now and then......also out here we have Devils Purse and Hog Island which are not bad......
I’ve been to the Charlton one a few times. It’s a great location, it’s a shame you’re limited to three beers because everyone has to drive there.
I haven’t spent any time on the cape for ages. I’m not a beach person and I’ve never found enough down there to keep me amused. I’ve heard the Tree House there is nice, but a pain to get into because you normally need a reservation just to drink in the bar.
Far too big a thread to check back on, but any entries on alcohol free offerings?
Or maybe there’s a separate thread for that?
Serious question. (Waits for abuse…)
I view n/a beer the same as decaf - something I don’t really want. But, I have had some, and I don’t know if they’ve made it across the Atlantic, but Athletic Brewing does a range of beers. I’ve had a couple and I’d drink them in an emergency. They do at least taste beery.
Far too big a thread to check back on, but any entries on alcohol free offerings?
Or maybe there’s a separate thread for that?
Serious question. (Waits for abuse…)
I view n/a beer the same as decaf - something I don’t really want. But, I have had some, and I don’t know if they’ve made it across the Atlantic, but Athletic Brewing does a range of beers. I’ve had a couple and I’d drink them in an emergency. They do at least taste beery.
Available in Tesco here, and presumably elsewhere. One of the best zero beeros, IMO, along with Guinness 0/0, Big Drop and Days pale ale. Very useful alternative for those of us who are supposed to watch our units for medical reasons. Hate coke and there's only so much juice you can drink.
I told myself I wasn’t going to post each beer, but this one has to be done. Not because of it quality, and it is a very good DDH/NEIPA, but simply because of its name. I give you Mast Landing Pantless Thunder Goose
Comments
Not sure if I will drink or not yet - Did sober spring last year and clocked up 126 days (96 the year before) so may keep going. Probably fold at the first sniff of IPA however and they have Titanic Plum Porter and Cherry Porter on which will be difficult to resist!
https://novareresbiercafe.com/wp-content/uploads/draught.pdf
Just in time for the last of the cherry blossom on the deck
Very useful alternative for those of us who are supposed to watch our units for medical reasons. Hate coke and there's only so much juice you can drink.