Beer Spot: Dogfish Head Brewpub

 

My wife and I decided to do a long weekend for the THanksgiving weekend.  One of the stops on our trip was the Dogfish brewpub.  I must admit DFH is  my favorite brewery because they do so many different things with beer.  I don’t like all of their beers, not because they aren’t quality beers, but usually because it’s just not something for me.  I respect the chances they take and all the different stuff they do.  If you are one of the 6 people who visited the Fill It or Spill It facebook page (if you aren’t then you should “like it” because it is the right thing to do) then you saw the Ace Ventura quote and its true.

Me and the wife decided it’d be a good idea to get to the brewpub at 12ish because the brewpub opens at 12pm for lunch and we wanted to do visit the shopping outlets nearby.  We got there at about 12:30 and the place was full and there was a wait to be seated.  I don’t know if people were lined-up for the place to open or if it was because it was the holiday weekend, but I was a little surprised.  There were other people waiting to be seated and they were enjoying some beers outside waiting.  It was a really nice day so no biggie.

One of the cool things about the brewpub was the merch shop.  Outside in the waiting area, they have a little merch shop with dogfish gear and stuff, but you can also buy beer; either a 4pack or growler.  I saw a few people go up to the shop with 2 growlers in hand for a refill.  It was almost like a drive-thru.  How awesome is it that you can go to DFH and refill your growler?  And in case you were wondering, yes I did buy stuff at the merch shop.  I bought some of their beer soap and a 4pack of Immort Ale.

After about 10min, we got seated so the wait was short.  The brewpub had a real chill feel to it.  It’s definitely a place to go and kick it with a bunch of people.  We got seated in the outdoor area which was cool because they had the beer artwork posted on the walls outside in the patio area (I guess you would call it).  They had the big chalk board with some classics like the Raison and 90min and some stuff I really wanted to try.  I decided to go with a sampler to get the most bang for my buck.  I got the Bitches Brew, Chicory Stout, Tweason Ale, Festina Peche, and Midas Touch. The Tweason and Chicory were my favorite beers.  I also got a 75min IPA from cask (review up soon).   Rumor has it the Tweason is going to be bottled and I’m hoping it is because it is delicious.

The food was really good.  I got a steak and fries because I’m a meat and potatoes guy and it was good.  My wife got a salad of some kind and she seemed to like it.  We debated about getting desert because we were stuffed and had been drinking beer, but the Raison sundae with brownie sounded amazing, so I made the executive decision and ordered it.  What a great idea!  The Raison ice cream was delicious and so was the brownie.  I felt like a slob because I just wanted to jam my face in the plate to eat.  If you are at the brewpub, do yourself a favor and order it.

Needless to say, me and the wife did not make it to the outlets.  We were on a Dogfish high and decided to call it a day.  My only regret was not being able to make it to the brewery for the tour.  Our weekend was a sort of last-minute idea and by the time we tried to get tickets for the tour we were S.O.L.  Next time I’ll get my tickets in advance and make it to the brewery.  The brewpub is definitely a must see.  It’s not anything out of this world for anyone who isn’t a beer geek, but for me it made the trip.

 

 

Imperial Pumking

Winter is approaching fast so I’m having as many fall beers as I can.  This season I am really into pumpkin beers and I’m getting my fill while I can.  Pumking comes to us from Southern Tier, a brewery that is always full of surprises.  I wanted to see what their take on pumpkin would be.  This is the same brewery that made a creme brulee beer.  I’ll just repeat that for you, they made a creme brulee beer!  A brewery that can turn a fancy-pants dessert into beer has my attention.

The beer poured a nice clear orange-amber color.  Most of the pumpkin beers I’ve had pour a brownish color, so it was nice to see an orange pumpkin beer.  There was a respectable amount of head that was fizzy and dissipated quickly.  The head dissipated almost completely, but leaves a ring of head on the inside of the glass.

The aroma is all pumpkin.  It was an interesting aroma because I’m used to pumpkin beers smelling like spices and such, so it was new to smell actual pumpkin.  It also made me a little nervous because eating actual pumpkin is kind of gross to me and I was hoping this beer didn’t taste as pumpkin-y as it smelled.  Besides pumpkin aroma there was also some sweetness in the nose.   The aroma had a caramel sweetness to it. The ABV on this brew was a hefty 8.6%.

The first sip was very enjoyable.  I got the pumpkin flavor and was really relieved it didn’t taste like gross pumpkin.  The pumpkin-y taste was balanced well with the caramel sweetness in the beer.  There was also a little maltyness to it, which added a little dry lingering taste.  This was a medium bodied beer, but a little on the lighter side of medium.  The finish was nice with pumpkin flavor and the sweetness mixed in there.

Verdict: Fill It!  This beer was a new pumpkin experience.  Any time I have a brew from Southern Tier, it’s always something new.  I really liked this beer because it was a different take on pumpkin.  The actual pumpkin taste was a change-up for me, but it was enjoyable.  I probably wouldn’t be able to have more than one at a time because it has a lot of flavor to it or I’d really have to be in the mood for it.  It’s a nice way to end the night after a hearty meal on a chilly autumn night or just cuz you feel like drinking a beer.

 

Beer Book: Brooklyn Brewshop’s Beer Making Book

Welcome to my first beer book review.  I’m always trying to learn new things about beer, so other than drinking it, I decided to read about it.  I decided to buy a book about beer brewing because I am now a homebrewer and I want to learn everything I can.   Since I am still a novice, I buy beer making kits from Brooklyn Brewshop so I can make beer without making something that will cause me to go blind.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the Brooklyn Brewshop was putting out a book.  It makes sense that if cooks have cookbooks with recipes then homebrewers should also have a book of recipes.

The book starts with an intro from Erica Shea and Stephen Valand, founders of the Brooklyn Brewshop.  The intro tells the story of Erica and Stephen and how their love of beer making turned into the Brooklyn Brewshop.  Erica and Stephen’s  love of beer and beer making really comes through in the intro and I can tell is very genuine.

The book then goes into an overview of equipment needed to make beer, goes over the ingredients and the steps to beer making.  One of my favorite things about the book is the explanation of the different types of hops.  Everyone knows what hops are, but not everyone may know the difference or which hops give what kind of flavors.  I thought that was pretty dope.

The recipes are all arranged in the book by season, which I thought was awesome.  Each recipe has its own little intro and a 5 gallon variation.  There are also food pairing recommendations for each beer; for all the foodies out there.  Peppered throughout the book are really cool things like recipes for making food with beer, tips on how to grow hops, and other cool things.  The book is written in a really easy to read, conversational style.  It’s not like other beer books that I’ve gone through where the explanations of things are really wordy and boring.

Verdict: Read It! (the book equivalent of a Fill It!)  I liked this book and if you are a homebrewer you should buy it.  It is not a huge book, but is filled with tons of stuff.  Reading this book is like talking to some buddies about making beer.  It has some recipes you probably haven’t seen before like a “Coffee and Donut Stout” and a “Lobster Saison”.  The first beer I’m going to try is the “Lady Lavender”.  I tried it at the Brooklyn Pour event a few weeks ago and it was awesome.  Go buy it!

Grateful Harvest Ale

Autumn always brings great beers and I love picking up something new.  I’ve been trying to stay seasonal and drink all the autumnal beers I can this season, so I picked up the Grateful Harvest Ale from Harpoon.  With Thanksgiving right around the corner picking up a cranberry ale seemed appropriate.

The beer poured a brown color with a reddish hue to it.  Side note, I try to throw the word ‘hue’ into as many sentences as possible because it makes me feel cultured and artsy; my wife would be proud.  Back to the beer….the head was off-white and a kind of frothy; with some slight fizz to it.  The head dissipated quickly.

The aroma was malty.  There was a subtle cranberry smell that seemed to work well with the maltyness.  I could smell the balance in the beer.  The ABV was 5.9% so it was a good kick-back and relax beer.

The taste was malty straight off the bat.  The maltyness also had a toasty characteristic to it which worked.  The cranberry was just as subtle as it was in the aroma.  The most prominent thing about the characteristic of the cranberry was the tartness.  It wasn’t too much or anything, but I expected a little more sweetness.

Verdict: Fill It. (notice the absence of the ‘!’) I liked this beer and would probably get it again, but I wasn’t wow’ed.  It was a good beer with some fruitiness to it, so it makes it a good dinner beer.  I think I just expected something different, so my expectation was skewed.    The thing I liked the most about this beer is that $1 for every 6er purchased goes to a local food bank to help fight hunger.  If that isn’t a good reason to drink this beer then I don’t know what to tell you.  Go out, buy some Harpoon Grateful Harvest Ale, and let’s do some good.