Author Archives: Stumblingpiper

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About Stumblingpiper

I've enjoyed my hobbies in many different states/countries. I like homebrewing, mountainbiking, bagpiping, and many others.

Hops, Hops, James Clark Hops!

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Yep.  I’m growing hops again this year.  As you may, or may not, know … I was out of the country until the early part of May.  My lovely bride took care of my hop vines for me and she got them off to a great start–they are now in full bloom and I’ll have to decide soon when is the appropriate time to pick them.  I have three varieties I’m growing: Chinook, Cascade, and Nugget.

The Chinook:  My Chinook vine took a hit this year — it was awesome early — had already grown to my roof and was spilling over at the top.  Then my air conditioner went out and the repairmen totally destroyed my vine.  I mean they completely pulled it out at the ground level.  I gotta tell you — hops are resilient!  Take a look at the pictures of my Chinook now … completely regrown and producing flowers (and this was in July).  Wow.  Oh, you can also see my new A/C unit in these pics.

The Cascade:  Last year I trimmed and tried to follow the advice about keeping the vines “spruced up” thinking that would produce more hop flowers.  NOT!  I only got about an ounce of Cascade hops out of my vine.  This year I just let the vine go.  It could grow wherever it wanted to go … and it did!  Talk about produce flowers!  Check out these pictures of how it has grown and started producing. We’ll see if I get more than one ounce this year!

The Nugget:  Lastly, I have the Nugget hops.  I did the same thing with these as I did with the Cascade … I just let them go.  They are growing hop flowers all over the place.  We’ll see if I get more than one ounce out of them this year too.  See the pictures:

This is kind of funny, really.  I’m just renting this house — it will be interesting to see what the next renters/owners think of these vines!  They are now very well established — they will be hard to get rid of … LOL!

Enjoy,

Beer Mentor

Galaxy Hut! Great beer in a small venue …

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So I subscribe to this “tweet” called “Beerspotter” here in DC.  They tell you all kinds of different things … but they recently had an entry about tapping a Firkin at a place called Galaxy Hut.  I just happened to be in the neighborhood (Clarendon) one evening and stopped in for a couple …

They had a nice selection of beer … and one cask-conditioned ale: the Blue Mountain Full Nelson Pale Ale … yep … this beer was a drinker … excellent Pale Ale.  I want to visit their brewery (soon) because they have a hop yard … see my next post (I’ll have some hop pictures of my own!)

If you are in Clarendon (Arlington, VA) this place is definitely worth a visit.  They are a very low key, subtle pub.  Great selection of beer … the food is good too.  For a nice quite, excellent beer hangout … give it a shot!

Enjoy,

Beer Mentor

#18: The Gingerman, Austin, Texas (110)

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This past week I was in Texas and had the opportunity to drive through Austin.  I checked out the list of 125 Places to Drink Beer (see earlier post) and realized The Gingerman was on the list at number 110.

Of course, I keep looking at this list as a ranking … I know, I shouldn’t … but then I think — this place should not be number 110 … it should be higher!  Then, I just laugh … because, it doesn’t really matter.  This place is awesome!

Their beer selection had both my favorite Weizen Bock (Aventinus from Schneider-weisse) and an excellent range of Texas brews.

I tried a brew from the 512 brewery in Austin … surprise, their IPA!  This beer was quite pleasant — definitely a West Coast variety IPA (in my opinion).  Well balanced, but the hops really come through … I thoroughly enjoyed it and would drink another if possible …

Oh, they also have a beer garden … but it was a little too warm this day — maybe another trip!

This is place #18 off the list for me … only 7 more to go this year!

Enjoy,

Beer Mentor

Middle Ages Brewery Festival!

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With a stroke of luck I stumbled upon the Middle Ages Brewery’s 15th Anniversary Festival.  Yes!  I was already going to Ottawa to see some friends and they (Middle Ages) just happened to be having their 15th Anniversary festival on the day I was driving back to Virginia … well who wouldn’t stop and have a couple?

Here’s a shot of the brewery — the park was right across the street — festival was free.  Just buy your beer tokens, stand in a short line, and enjoy!

They had a pretty good crowd going and the party had just started…

So, yeah, I had a couple … starting with the cask ale (an IPA).  These guys are making some pretty good beers!

The catered food was excellent, the beer was excellent (had to stop with 2 darn it), the crowd was great, the people were friendly — I could get to like Syracuse (except for the cold weather of course!)

You ask, how could it get any better?  Some good friends of mine (Enter the Haggis) were playing at this festival as well … score!

So, I hung out for a couple of hours … and then drove back to DC! Ha!  What a great time this was.  Highly recommend their festival if you are in the area … and definitely try their beer!  I brought back about 6 different ones to sample (in a relaxed mode).  I’ll be blogging about them later.

Beer Mentor

Gluten-Free Beers

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Ok, let’s talk gluten-free beers for a moment.  For those who don’t know gluten is considered to be “wheat grain protein.”  The offending protein, gluten, is found in wheat, barley, rye–obviously, for beer drinkers, no barley is a bad thing!  If you are allergic to this, then “gluten” is a toxin to  your body–read more here: Celiac Sprue

So there are several companies out there who are now making beers that are gluten-free–that means the beer is made from sorghum, or buckwheat, rice, or any other non-gluten grain.   This list is based on beers my wife (who is gluten-intolerant) tells me are good to her (it doesn’t matter if they are good to me — I can drink any beer I want!)

So, from someone who is a “Celiac,”  here’s her beer opinions:

Bard’s–this beer is ok, but not her favorite.  This would probably be the last gluten-free beer she would chose.  It’s just too light, not enough character.

Green’s — these guys make several gluten-free beers.  The ones my wife has had are English or Belgian-style beers which are basically a Belgian Strong Pale Ale (Quest), a Dubbel (Endeavour), and an English Strong Ale (Discovery).  I know what the beer advocate ratings say, but these are very good gluten-free beers.  She would recommend these to any Celiac. (They are higher alcohol beers, though, so be careful)

Redbridge – Yeah, I know, an Anheuser-Busch beer.  But she really likes this one–it is her daily go-to beer.  I keep a stash of this in the fridge for her and, when she’s not drinking wine, she likes to grab one of these.

Finally, the last beer she had was a Spanish beer that is gluten-free: Estrella Damm.  This one has won a gold medal the last couple of years … it is an excellent, gluten-free beer.  This one is probably moving up to be her favorite.

She will continue to sample other gluten-free beers as she gets the chance–the selection is growing … which is wonderful for her!

Enjoy,

Beer Mentor

#17: Clark’s Ale House, Syracuse NY (97)

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A couple of weekends ago I was heading up to Ottawa to visit some wonderful friends and I realized that there were two places on the “All About Beer” Top 125 places list in Syracuse, NY (on my way).  Well, I obviously had to stop!  I chose my namesake location on the way up–Clark’s Ale House–and planned on stopping at the Blue Tusk on the way back.  Unfortunately the Blue Tusk was closed on Sundays (they were cleaning the tap lines when I was there–yes! I love the place and haven’t even been there yet!).

Well, Clark’s Ale House was open and wow!  What a neat place … They had a wonderful selection of beers PLUS a hand-pulled casker … sweet.  I ‘think’ it was a hand-pulled Middle Ages brew (the local brewery!).

You could tell they really loved their beer and beer selection and they took care of offering it to you at the right temperature … this place is worthy of being on this list!

Oh, did I say their Roast Beef sandwiches are phenomenal?  Well, they are!  Worth a stop … even if it’s out of your way.

Enjoy,

Beer Mentor

Stumblingpiper’s Top 50 Places to Drink Beer

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Ok, these are in the order I can remember them.  The key for this list is: 1) I can remember where the place was and can get back there, 2) it’s a place that you can get to to drink beer, 3) it will be a place that, no matter if you’ve been once or dozens of times, you will want to go back when the opportunity presents itself.  I will adjust this list as I remember places …

  1. My House … currently in Springfield, VA
  2. Great American Beer Festival, Denver, CO
  3. Aventinus Festival … Schneider Weisse Brewery, Kelheim, Germany
  4. Hahnen Fest … Queidersbach, Germany
  5. Savor Fest … Washington, DC
  6. Delerium Cafe … Brussels, Belgium
  7. Fruhlings Fest … Bad Cannstadt, Germany
  8. Cellar Bar … Breuberg Schloss, Germany (during B.A.G Summer School)
  9. An Spailpin Fanach … across from the Beamish Brewery, Cork, Ireland
  10. Beer Tent. Glengarry Highland games … Maxville, Ontario
  11. Beer Tent. Fruita Fat Tire Festival … Fruita, CO
  12. Firkin Rendevous (Bristol Brewery) … Colorado Springs, CO
  13. Cafe Trappisten … Westmalle, Belgium
  14. The Auberge de Poteaupre … near Chimay, Belgium
  15. Abbaye de Notre-Dame d’Orval … Orval, Belgium
  16. In de Vrede … Westvleteren, Belgium
  17. Jack Quinn Irish Pub … Colorado Springs, CO
  18. Campus Pub … Simon Fraser University … Vancouver, British Columbia
  19. Spinnacker’s Brew Pub … Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
  20. Rock Bottom Brewery … Bellevue, Washington
  21. Naturfreunde Haus … Volklingen, Germany
  22. Irseer Klosterbrauerei … Irsee, Germany
  23. Bier Garten on top of the Staffelberg … Bad Staffelstein, Germany
  24. Bier Garten behind Vierzehnheiligen Church … Vierzehnheiligen, Germany
  25. Raglan Road Irish Pub, Downtown Disney … Orlando, Florida
  26. Jack of the Wood Irish Pub … Asheville, NC
  27. Purple Fiddle .. Thomas, WV
  28. Westville Pub … Asheville, NC
  29. McGillin’s Old Ale House … Philadelphia, PA
  30. The Golden Bee … Colorado Springs, CO
  31. Durty Nelly’s … San Antonio, TX
  32. The Perch Bar … Orient Beach, St Martin
  33. Sloppy Joe’s Bar … Key West, FL
  34. Bull & Whistle Bar … Key West, FL
  35. The Hotel Bar … Georgetown, Ascension Island
  36. Bräustüberl Weihenstephan … Friesing, Germany
  37. Hofbrauhaus … Munich, Germany
  38. RiRa’s Irish Pub … Arlington, VA
  39. Clark’s Alehouse … Syracuse, NY
  40. Old Triangle Irish Alehouse … Halifax, Nova Scotia
  41. St Georgen Braustuberl … Buttenheim, Germany
  42. Peel Pub … Montreal, Quebec
  43. The Noble Savage … Shreveport, LA
  44. Trinity Brewery … Colorado Springs, CO
  45. Galaxy Hut … Arlington, VA
  46. Coconuts on the Beach … Cocoa Beach, FL
  47. Meg O’Malleys … Melbourne, FL
  48. Biergarten in front of Burg Nanstein … Landstuhl, Germany
  49. Dogfish Head Ale House … Fairfax, VA
  50. O’Brien’s Pub … San Diego, CA

Catching up … finishing out 250 beers

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Sorry for the hiatus on the blog update.  You may have noticed the one I just posted on top places to drink beer.  This is to complete my 180 beers in 180 days effort.  I decided to extend it to 250 beers in 250 days.  If you have been following the blog, you will note that I stopped at 243.  However, I did finish out to 250.  Here are the last 7 beers (for your viewing edification)!

244. (4 Jul 10) Orion Draft Beer – We had this at our local sushi place.  We stopped here for lunch on the 4th.  Nice to have a Japanese beer on our National Holiday! Ha.  It wasn’t very good … but it quenched my thirst!

245. (5 Jul 10) Rolling Rock – Two mediocre beer days in a row.  I can’t remember now why I had to have this beer on this day … I think it was the best available selection. Sad. I know.

246. (6 Jul 10) Chatoe Rogue – Ok, now, here we go!  The beers are getting better again.  This one was simply a treat–I always like to see the efforts brewers make in using the freshest hops — this beer is a solid drinker.

247. (7 Jul 10) Heavy Seas Mutiny Fleet Rye Porter.  This beer, too, was a very nice drinker. Two dark beers in a row, two nice beers in a row (you can see my early season hops drying in the container).  I really liked this beer … no real style but excellent none-the-less.

248. (8 Jul 10) James’ Imperial Walker IPA.  No rating on this baby!  I made this imperial IPA (post coming soon) out of my own hops.  9.1% ABV — can’t really tell what the profile is.  But it is good if I do say so myself! LOL!

249. (9 Jul 10) 21st Amendment IPA.  These can beers just strike me as strange.  I picked up several cans for our Tubing of the Shenandoah expedition on 17 July.  Of course, I couldn’ t wait.  I’m glad I didn’t.  This is a very nice IPA.

250. (10 Jul 10) Gubna Imperial IPA.  Yep.  Couldn’t wait again.  Had another can of beer.  But I thought it would be a good idea to finish out my 25o straight beers with an Imperial IPA.  This one worked out great.  Nice balance, good finish.  Worth the effort to find and drink!

Enjoy!

Beer Mentor

All About Beer Top 125 Places to Drink Beer

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On May 1st, 2008, All About Beer published their list of the Top 125 Places to Drink Beer.  They recently updated this list by publishing the 150 Great Bars list.  Most people would consider both of these lists controversial because … well … because that’s what lists do — start controversies … especially on a topic as subjective as the best places to drink beer.  I’ve taken two different approaches to this list.  First, I’m building my own list of the “Top 50 Places I’ve Drank Beer.”  I will be posting that list soon.  Secondly, I’m working down the original All About Beer List because, that too, is what I do.  If I see a list, I see that list as a challenge!  I will caveat my work on this list by stating that I think it is valid to substitute a venue when it’s about a location/event (e.g., drinking on the Green Monster at Fenway.  I will substitute Camden Yards).  So, without further ado, here is my status on this list so far!

Goal: To have 25/125 by the end of this year.  Current Status 17/125 places.

1 (1). Great American Beer Fest.  I admit–this is the best place to drink beer in the world.

2 (2). Grand Place.  Not really number two on my list–but nice!

5 (3). Oktoberfest.  Been there, done that.

7 (4). Abbaye de Notre-Dame d’Orval.  My favorite beer of all time.  The location is awesome!

11 (5). Hofbrauhaus.  Excellent — but not my favorite Beer Haus in Germany.

16 (6). Seats behind Homeplate at Camden Yards.  Wow!  The only way I like to watch baseball.  (Oh, I also was at the Brewers Stadium when Bonds was chasing the record.  And I have to say the Ballpark at Arlington is also wonderful…)  Funny, I don’t really like baseball.  But they have a nice selection of Craft Beer in the Orioles stadium.

19 (7). The Beer Tent at the Glengarry Highland Games … Maxville, Ontario.  North American Bagpipe Championships.  Horses, schmorses.  Not really a horse race fan … so I picked another style competition! Even better if you’re celebrating a 2nd place with your band.

26 (8). French Quarter … I’m cheating on this one–I was there during St Paddy’s Day … not Mardi Gras–but still a wild party … as New Orleans usually is (but, to be honest, this really isn’t a beer drinking city …)

31 (9). Private Suite at the Redskins Stadium watching the Dallas Cowboys beat the ‘skins.

44 (10). Tailgating.  I know an SEC game tailgate party is something else, but if you never tailgated at an IFL Game (Frankfurt Galaxy) in Europe you missed out!

57 (11). Andechs Monastery.  Definitely a tourist destination, but worth the trip!

66 (12).  Delerium Cafe.  This place should be a lot higher on the list!

80 (13). Le Bier Circus.  It was a serious Circus!

82 (14). Irseer klosterbrauerei.  If you have the option, I’d pick this one over Andechs.

97 (15). Clark’s Ale House.  They aren’t kidding!  Their Roast Beef sandwiches are amazing!

103 (16).  Kelly’s Caribbean Bar.  Yeah, I can’t really remember this one! 🙂

121 (17). Old Ebbitt Grill.  Yep–this one is very nice … right across from the Treasury Building in DC.

I’ve got 8 left to go this year … planning on them being: 12 (18). Brickskeller (easy), 14. (19)  The Market Porter (maybe, hard), 15. (20) Cat’s Eye Pub (easy), 25. (21) World Beer Festival (medium), 30. (22) The Olde Mitre Tavern (hard), 45. (23) Selin’s Grove Brewing (medium),  71. (24) Brewer’s Art (easy), 76. (25) City Tavern (medium), 91. (26) Dogfish Head Ale House (medium), 114. (27) The Dubliner (easy).

We’ll see how these go!  It’s all in the effort, isn’t it?

Beer Mentor

The Bruery: Christmas in July!

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My wife and I are relaxing this weekend just enjoying ourselves — bike riding, hiking, sampling wines, beers, and fireworks … tonight, we’ve just been hanging around enjoying the beautiful weather.  We were sitting on our patio this evening — she drinking a gluten-free beer: Redbridge … and me drinking a beer from The Bruery: 2 Turtle Doves.

I’ll have more to say about the gluten-free beers in another post.

Oh, yeah, nothing like some nice popcorn to go with your beer! LOL!

As I said, my beer for tonight is The Bruery‘s 2 Turtle Doves.  They claim this is their Christmas beer — it’s pretty spicey!  It’s also loaded with alcohol: 12% ABV.  Since it is a Belgian strong-ale, I got out one of my Rochefort glasses to use when drinking it.  Is it good? Yes, actually, very good.  Because of the Alcohol content, you definitely have to sip this beer — but it’s wonderful … the spices (chocolate and pecans) really do help this brown ale.

Yep … a sippin’ beer but enjoying every drop!

Beer Mentor