Category Archives: Beer Locales

Places to enjoy and experience the Beer.

Green Dragon Pub (Bilbo Baggins): Alexandria

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If you are a “Lord of the Rings” fan AND a beer lover you will enjoy the Bilbo Baggins Cafe in Old Town Alexandria, VA.  This place  has an excellent beer menu (not large, but definitely a nice varierty).  I think this place has been in Alexandria since the mid-80s, so it was a Lord of the Rings place before the movies actually came out.

They rotate their beer selection seasonally so I would check back frequently before heading over there.  The pub/cafe is Lord-of-the-Rings-themed, but only subtly.  You will see some murals, different references to characters/places, and just a comfortable place to be.  I highly recommend the location for drinking beer (in the bar).

For those tempted to eat food there as well–apparently, according to reviews, the food selection is hit-or-miss … so eat at your own risk, but drink the beer on my recommendation!

Oh, so my beer for today was the Victory Stout on the menu.  It was seriously dark, nice chocolaty aroma, and the flavor was right were I expected for a stout.  The Victory folks have done a nice job with this beer.

Beer Mentor

Sanwald – Weizenkompetenz seit über 100 Jahren

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The Sanwald Brewery specializes in Wheat Beer.  That is all they make.  They were purchased by Dinkelacker-Schwaben Bräu (around 1977) … however they have been making Wheat beer for over 100 years.  They have four primary beers — the Hefe, the Kristall, the Dunkel (the dark) and a Low calorie Weizen.

As you will know from reading your BJCP style guidelines, “These are refreshing, fast-maturing beers that are lightly hopped and show a unique banana-and-clove yeast character. These beers often don’t age well and are best enjoyed while young and fresh. The version “mit hefe” is served with yeast sediment stirred in; the krystal version is filtered for excellent clarity. Bottles with yeast are traditionally swirled or gently rolled prior to serving. The character of a krystal weizen is generally fruitier and less phenolic than that of the hefe-weizen.”

I really liike that banana bread flavor you get with the Hefe, so it is my preference.  You will see in some later posts that I also like to mix my Weizens with some fruit juices (lemon-lime or grapefruit … maybe even banana!) … that combination is called a “Radler.”  The German word “Radler” roughly translates to “Cyclist.”  When I lived here before, I rode with a group of Germans who would stop halfway through a ride, have a couple of Radlers, and then ride back.  The juice have a little sugar kick and the mix kept the alcohol consumption / content down.    Have I stated lately that I love Germany?

Beer Mentor