Decided to enjoy a homebrew tonight for my 4th beer. I made this beer in July and it has mellowed out nicely. As an English Pale Ale it is not over-the-top hoppy but it has a nice bite on the back-end. There’s a few more left … want one??
Beer Mentor
Stopped in at my local neighborhood Belgian Beer Bar … Tripel Brasserie. This is basically my watering hole. Let me know if you want to meet and have a brew there!
The beer selection is excellent, the staff is great, and the atmosphere is wonderful. Oh … the food is excellent too.
But on to the Beer! Today I had a nice Schlafly … This local (regional) brewery is making very good beer — as a matter of fact, their Pumpkin Beer is near the top of the list for best Pumpkin Beers in 2013! (Great to see Selin’s Grove and Southern Tier in the top 10 … those guys are awesome!)
Since I was at a Belgian-style restaurant I had the Tripel from Schlafly.
A nice touch at Tripel … as far as I know there are only a couple of places you can get the Tripel on tap and they have it. This is a very good beer … right in style, goes down smooth … love the crisp hoppy flavor in this one. The right spicy yeast too … very nice!
Recommend a trip to Tripel … you won’t be disappointed!
Beer Mentor
This gallery contains 10 photos.
Went to a “story telling” evening last night called Second Tuesday at a place called The Heavy Anchor. Neat little venue … stories were about “First Dates.” Most were awkward, but funny! Here’s a few pictures of the place … Continue reading
Not sure where my mind has been the last year … but it’s time for another update on my Growler list work. As a reminder, this list is my effort to complete the All About Beer Magazine’s “Growler List.” 125 best places in the world to have a beer.
From the summary — see my earlier post for explanation:
Total (actual) places visited: 50. I visited 11 places since my last post — my brothers and my best friend joined me in Europe for a 2 week swing (that post will come soon!). Those I’ve visited since my last post:
3) U Fleku (Prague, Czech Rep)
6) Augustiner Keller (Munich, Germany)
28) Zum Uerige (Dusseldorf, Germany)
37) Atelier am Dom (Cologne, Germany)
41) Blues Bar (Stone Town, Zanzibar)
[This place was closed so I substituted Mercury’s …
you can see the old Blues Bar from the Deck]
61) Krcma (Ceske Krumlov, Czech Rep)
68) Gösser Bierklinik (Vienna, Austria)
73) Schlenkerla Brewery Tavern (Bamberg, Germany)
77) Die Weisse (Salzburg, Austria)
78) Halve Maan Brewery (Bruges, Belgium)
90. Cantillon Brewery and Gueuze Museum (Brussels, Belgium)
Place substitutions: 5
Substituting for a place no longer open: 2
That gives me a total of 50 “visited.” Here’s the complete list of places I’ve visited …
1. Great American Beer Festival, Denver, CO (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006)
2. The Grand Place, Brussells, Belgium (2010) (2012)
3. U Fleku, Prague, Czech Republic (2012)
5. Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany (1998) (2012)
6. Augustiner Keller, Munich, Germany (2012)
7. Abbaye de Notre-Dame d’Orval, Orval, Belgium (2009) (2012)
11. Hofbrauhaus, Munich, Germany (1997, 1998, 2001, 2012)
12. The Brickskeller (now Bier Baron), Washington, DC (2005, 2011)
14. The Market Porter, Stoney Street, London, England (2010)
15. Cat’s Eye Pub, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD (2011)
16. Camden Yards (Baltimore) [Substitute] (2008, 2009)
19. Glengarry Highland Games Beer Tent (Maxville, Ontario) (2003, 2011) [Substitute]
22. German Bundesliga (Kaiserslautern) (1997) [Substitute]
25. World Beer Festival, Durham/Raleigh, NC (2011)
28. Zum Uerige, Dusseldorf, Germany (2012)
30. The Olde Mitre Tavern, Ely Court, Hatton Garden, London, England (2010)
31. Cowboys/Redskins, FedEx Field Sky Box (DC) (2009)
33. The Wynkoop Brewery, Denver, CO (2011)
37. Atelier am Dom, Cologne, Germany (2012)
39. The Flying Saucer, NC, SC, TN, AR and TX (2010, 2013)
41. Blues Bar, Stone Town, Zanzibar (closed) [sub: mercury’s] (2013)
44. Tailgating Frankfurt Galaxy NFL Europe Game (1996, 1997)
45. Selin’s Grove Brewing, Selinsgrove, PA (2010)
48. The Blue Tusk, Syracuse, NY (2010)
51. The White Horse Pub, Parsons Green, London, England (2010)
54. Falling Rock Tap House, Denver, CO (2011)
57. Andechs Monastery, Andechs, Germany (2010) (2012)
61. Krcma, Ceske Krumlov, Czech Republic (2012)
66. Delerium Café, Brussels, Belgium (2010) (2012)
68. Gösser Bierklinik, Vienna, Austria (2012)
71. Brewer’s Art, Baltimore, MD (2010)
73. Schlenkerla Brewery Tavern, Bamberg, Germany (2012)
77. Die Weisse, Salzburg, Austria (2012)
78. Halve Maan Brewery, Bruges, Belgium (2012)
80. Le Bier Circus, Brussels, Belgium (2010) (2012)
82. Irseer Klosterbrauerei, Irsee, Germany (2010) (2012)
90. Cantillon Brewery and Gueuze Museum, Belgium (2012)
91. Dogfish Head Ale House, Rehoboth Beach, DE (2010)
92. Belgo Centraal, London, England (2010)
97. Clark’s Ale House, Syracuse, NY (2010)
103. Kelly’s Caribbean Bar, Grill & Brewery, Key West, FL (2007)
104. Rose & Crown Pub, Epcot Center, Orlando, FL (2006)
106. Brick Store Pub, Decatur, GA (2011)
110. The Gingerman, Austin, TX (2010)
114. The Dubliner, Washington, DC (2010)
118. Top of the Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Chapel Hill, NC (2011)
121. Old Ebbitt Grill, Washington, DC (2010)
122. 5 Seasons Brewing, Atlanta, GA (2011)
123. Tim Schafer’s at Lake Norman, Sherrills Ford, NC
[CLOSED] Sub–In de Vrede (Belgium) (2010, 2012)
124. Stumbling Monk, Seattle. WA (2011)
More to come! Beer Mentor
Wow! I looked up the other day and realized I’ve missed a complete year (plus!) of blogging! Terrible. But I haven’t been idle for the last year — I will be updating “back-posts” … there’s been a lot of exciting things going on with the Beer Mentor this last year — to include a move to St Lous, MO! Here’s a picture to whet your appetite for upcoming blogs … World of beer anyone??
…
Enjoy again! Beer Mentor
Third entry in the “Catch Up” series. Continuation of the report on our two-week European Beer Excursion we titled The Gypsy Beer Experience. This link will take you to a copy of the Itinerary:The Gypsy Beer Experience
This is #4 of 18 places on the All About Beer Magazine’s Growler List we visited. The first three were: 1) Oktoberfest (#5), 2) Hofbrau Haus (#11), and 3) Die Weisse.
This is #68 on All About Beers Growler list: Goesser Bierklinik. You can’t go wrong with a place that’s been doing the same thing since 1683. haha. This was actually our last stop of the day … we started in Munich, drove through Salzburg (visited Die Weisse), visited Melk Abbey (stunning), and then attended the Mozart Concert at the Music Hall in Vienna. It only made sense to us that we stop here for our nightcap(s).
Although their beer list is short (see menu below), they were served with gusto and a lot of fun. The food, beer, and atmosphere were all great.
Definitely a worthy entry on the Growler List. Stay tuned for more updates from The Gypsy Beer Experience.
Beer Mentor
I had the opportunity to travel to South Africa in June of 2012. While there I made it a point of touring the oldest brewery in South Africa … Newland’s Brewery. Technically it was the Mariendahl Brewery in the early 1800’s, but all breweries eventually change, don’t they? Well … maybe not some German breweries. haha.
Yes … Newland’s is a part of the SAB family of breweries. Regardless, the brewery was awesome, the people were great, and the beer was good. I recommend a quick pass out that way if in Capetown. The tour is 5 Rand I think … and you get to sit in the pub at the end and have a few!
This place has quite the history — and it’s well worth the tour. I know most people think of wine in South Africa but there is definitely a tradition of beer brewing. I enjoyed the lagers (naturally … what country doesn’t server lagers on the African continent?) and the Stout. Like I said — you get to enjoy yourself at the end of the tour. Reminded me of all my US brewery tours. haha.
Enjoy! Beer Mentor
So if you come visit Djibouti I would recommend staying in a couple of places. There’s a Sheraton here. There’s also this place: Kempinski Resort. This place is a five-star hotel/resort. You have to see it to believe it. It has as many as five bars to choose from … Check out the details here.
Last Friday I had the pleasure of hanging with some friends at the Kempinski. What was special about it? Well … besides the live music, great scenery, they had both Stella Artois and Leffe on tap. The only drawback on having Belgian beers available was that they didn’t have the right glasses for it. However, that’s ok — I enjoyed the glass they gave me for my Leffe … especially since I could only have two!
Ha ha. Again … the Kempinski is a nice plan to go if you are in the area! :o)
Beer Mentor
In December I had the pleasure of visiting the Lost Rhino Brewery with my good friend Brian (and his lovely bride).
I think the place has had a face-lift since then … it was pretty nice then–I’d like to visit it again to see the changes! It is out a little ways in Loudon County (Virginia) … but worth the drive. The folks who own this place were originally brewers in the Old Dominion Brewery. When they saw their original brewery (and brewpub) closed in the area they decided to open another place … Lost Rhino.
We sampled all their beers (thanks for driving, Lynne!) We also showed up for the tour … the fellow who gave it (I can’t remember his name, darn it) did a great job.
Very knowledgeable … you were able to walk around and look into everything … it was the way a brewery tour should be! These folks are passionate about their beers… yes … we even got to sample the fresh stuff (see pic).
I only had one complaint with the trip … the ladies serving the beer weren’t very pleasant. Actually they were downright cold (a little rude). However, everything else was worth it. Make the trip, drink the beer. You’ll be glad you did. And tell the ladies hi for me.
Beer Mentor
Let’s talk about origins for a moment. There’s a really nice home-brew club in Colorado Springs, Colorado called the Brew Brothers. The history of that club and how it started is described nicely in the previous link! The three guys pictured in the logo above were the founding members–me (James C (beermentor), Mike B, and Ray C … hence the name BC2 Brewers. We started the first brew session at my house in Colorado Springs …
If I remember correctly, we actually started our discussions about brewing in 2002 but waited until 2003 to brew the first batch (we needed a good weather day!). It was great fun — we started with partial mash brews (using malt extract).
This allowed us to start without a huge initial investment. We had all brewed previously but we were all pretty rusty at it. We didn’t have a lot of equipment at the time so the extract brewing was cheaper because we could use cookware we already owned. As we got into it we obviously had to have some brews to sample (as well as a smoke). You can tell in these pictures we were really enjoying ourselves!
The nice thing about brewing together is that everyone brings their own ideas, skills, and equipment. There’s a lot of synergy in this type of activity! We had three different recipes–I made a DoppelBock, Mike made a Porter, and Ray made an Oatmeal Stout. Here are the labels I created to use on our bottles!
Another great thing about brewing together is the sharing of the brews! Since we all made 5 gallon batches, we ended up with (typically) 2 cases and a spare 4 or 5 bottles. We each gave the other two a couple of six packs each. So you had a case of your beer and a case of the other two guys! What a great experience and a wonderful origin to a great brewing tradition! I will post more pics, recipes, and tales of the BC2 Brewers past …
Stay Tuned!
Beer Mentor
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