Category Archives: The Traveler (Global Beer Culture)

My thoughts and ideas about places I’ve been and the beer experience I’ve had at those places …

Summary Update: All About Beers Growler List

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I’ve been busy (and will post soon) visiting more locations on the All About Beer Magazine’s “Growler List.”  This is a list of 125 best places in the world to have a beer.  Here’s a quick update on places visited since my last update:

From the summary — see my earlier post for explanation:

Total (actual) places visited: 31.  Those I’ve visited since my last post:

12) The Brickskeller (now Bier Baron) (Washington, DC)
25) World Beer Festival (Raleigh, NC)
33) The Wynkoop Brewery (Denver, CO)
45) Selin’s Grove Brewing (Selinsgrove, PA)
54) Falling Rock Tap House (Denver, CO)
118) Top of the Hill Brewery & Restaurant (Chapel Hill, NC)
124) Stumbling Monk (Seattle, WA)

Place substitutions: 5

Substituting for a place no longer open: 1

That gives me a total of 37 “visited.” Some of the next ones on my list:

9) Monk’s Cafe (Philadelphia, PA)
42) SandLot Brewery, Coors Field (Denver, CO)
71) Brewer’s Art (Baltimore, MD)
76) City Tavern (Philadelphia, PA)
101) Cooter Brown’s (New Orleans, LA)
106) Brick Store Pub (Decatur, GA)
122) 5 Seasons Brewing (Atlanta, GA)

That will get me to 44.  I have a couple of more on my stretch goals list, but they are dependent on some big variables … so I won’t list them yet! <smile>

Beer Mentor

#28: Wynkoop Brewery (#33)

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Yep, on my recent trip to Denver I obviously made it to the Wynkoop Brewery.  This place is #33 on the All About Beer List “125 Places to Drink Beer.”

My friend Mike met me for the 2011 Beer Drinker of the Year dinner (more on that later).  Afterward, we sat at the bar and sampled a nice Belgian trappist-style ale they are serving right now … called Orville.  It was excellent (you can tell we were enjoying it!)

We had the pleasure of chatting with the Head Brewmaster (Andy Brown).  He and his crew are making some very nice beers.  He’s very personable–if you get a chance when you stop through say hey!

Of course, on one of our many trips to the restroom (downstairs) — we noticed they had several barrels from Stranahan’s distillery (all airlocked up and bubbling!)

They have two or three casked-conditioned beers rotating (those are worth a try too!)  Overall I was definitely impressed with the atmosphere and beers from Wynkoops–definitely deserved to be on the list.

Beer Mentor

The Tap Room (San Marcos)

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Last summer as I was visiting both my daughters at Texas State University in San Marcos, my older daughter introduced me to “The Tap Room.”  This pub is right off campus (well within walking distance).  Here’s a shot of the exterior and my wife and daughter inside.

This place has been open since 1993 — it has an excellent selection of brews on tap … and it has all the character you need.  If you are passing through, I recommend a stop in!

Oh yeah, it has a great collection of tap handles as well.

Enjoy,

Beer Mentor

 

#27: Falling Rock Tap House (#54)

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Yes, it is official.  I’ve hit number 27 on All About Beer’s 125 places to drink beer.  The “Falling Rock Tap House.”  This place rocks!  I was in Denver this past weekend and had the opportunity to stop in here for a couple of special beers.

Just in case you were wondering, it was cold in Denver in February.  Here are the beers we sampled (on Friday AND Saturday):

We were able to sample four Russian River Brews: 1) Blind Pig, 2) Pliny the Elder, 3) Pliny the Younger, and 4) Consecration.  Wow!  What a line-up!  Both Pliny the Younger AND Consecration were limited release kegs that we sampled on Saturday.  Once again, wow!

If you love hoppy beers, these are for you (except for Consecration, a sour beer).  In order they were 6%, 8%, and 11% ABV.  The Pliny the Younger was absolutely the most well balanced hop/alcohol west-coast IPA I’ve ever had.  Amazing.  Here are a couple of pictures of it:

We actually showed up on Friday night, had Pliny the Elder, and then were told that we should come back at 1100 the next day for the Younger … so we did!  Here are some random shots of the bar … this place was full of character …

Oh, you’ll notice the last image says “Dain Bramage.”  The weekend we were there, they were having a Barley Wine on tap series … LOL!  This place was excellent.  Two other beers I had there on Saturday night … the Bull & Bush Man Beer and Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA.  Both nice beers.

You may ask yourself, “How did they drink all these beers?”  We had this excellent “Man Breakfast on our stomachs” on Saturday (see pics).

My recommendation to you — if you are in Denver, you should stop by this place and a have a few beers–well worth the trip! (oh, the food is excellent too …)

Enjoy! Beer Mentor

Summary: All About Beers “Growler List”

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If you’ve been following my post, you know I’ve been attempting to visit as many places as possible on the All About Beer Magazine’s “Growler List.”  This is a list of 125 best places in the world to have a beer.  It was published in May of 2008.  There are a couple of other lists out there — 150 Top Bars by both All About Beer, Washington Magazine, and Draft Magazine.

I kind of set this list as my “benchmark” and have been working through it as best I can.  I’m not debating the merits of the list … I’m just using it as a stepping stone.  I’ve got a list of places I’ve been building I should publish.  However, this post is about my current status on completing this list.  So, let’s get to it!

Total (actual) places visited: 24.  Quickly listing them (with their associated list number):

1) GABF (Denver, CO)
2) Grand Place (Brussels, Belgium)
5) Oktoberfest (Munich, Germany)
7) Abbaye de Notre-Dame d’Orval (Orval, Belgium)
11) Hofbrauhaus (Munich, German)
14) The Market Porter (Stoney Street, London, England)
15) Cat’s Eye Pub, Inner Harbor (Baltimore, MD)
26) French Quarter* (New Orleans, LA)
30) The Olde Mitre Tavern, Ely Court, Hatton Garden (London, England)
39) The Flying Saucer (Ft Worth, TX)
48) The Blue Tusk (Syracuse, NY)
51) The White Horse Pub, Parsons Green (London, England)
57) Andechs Monastery (Andechs, Germany)
66) Delerium Cafe (Brussels, Belgium)
80) Le Bier Circus (Brussels, Belgium)
82) Irseer Klosterbrauerei (Irsee, German)
91) Dogfish Head Ale House (Rehoboth Beach, DE)
92) Belgo Central (London, England)
97) Clark’s Ale House (Syracuse, NY)
103) Kelly’s Caribbean Bar (Key West, FL)
104) Rose & Crown Pub (Epcot Center, FL)
110) The Gingerman (Austin, TX)
114) The Dubliner (Washington, DC)
121) Old Ebbitt Grill (Washington, DC)

Places I’ve substituted for items on the list that I consider experiential listings.  In my opinion, you have to enjoy the venue to enjoy the brew … so I think this is a fair substitution: 5

16) Substituting Camden Yards for Fenway Park
– Drinking Clipper City Brews behind home plate in Camden Yards … awesome!
19) Substituting Highland Games for Horse Racing
– Drinking Stouts in the Beer Tent at the Glengarry Highland Games in Ontario listening to the Grade 1 North American Champions improv … fantastic!
22) German Bundesliga Fussball over NASCAR
– Drinking a sweet Pilsner watching 1FCK am Betze! Prima!
31) NFL Game (Cowboys/Redskins) instead of NASCAR (again)
44) NFL Europe Tailgating in Frankfurt over SEC Tailgating
– I’m a Big 12 fan … so, I’ll take the tailgating in Frankfurt! Sweet!

Substituting for a place no longer open: 1

123) Tim Schafer’s is closed I understand.  Substituting In De Vrede (Westvleteren, Belgium)

That gives me a total of 30 “visited.” I plan on visiting the following 8 sites in the next three months:

9) Monk’s Cafe (Philadelphia, PA)
12) The Brickskeller (now Bier Baron) (Washington, DC)
25) World Beer Festival (Raleigh, NC)
33) The Wynkoop Brewery (Denver, CO)
42) SandLot Brewery, Coors Field (Denver, CO)
45) Selin’s Grove Brewing (Selinsgrove, PA)
54) Falling Rock Tap House (Denver, CO)
71) Brewer’s Art (Baltimore, MD)
76) City Tavern (Philadelphia, PA)

So, my target on the list is 37 “places” by the end of May. Wish me luck!

Beer Mentor

#26: Cat’s Eye Pub (Baltimore) (#15)

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A surprise trip for me today to the “Cat’s Eye Pub” in Baltimore, Maryland.

Jill and I were returning to DC from Atlantic City–we’d just seen Flogging Molly in concert at the House of Blues!  I said “Hey we’re going by that way!”  And, as usual, she said “Yes.” (Wow, she’s great!)  So, we headed to place #26 for me on the AllAboutBeer.com “125 Places to Drink Beer” list–it’s number 15 on the list.

I can see why this place is on the list.  Just from the outside you think “this place has character.”  You walk inside, and “Bam!” It is a definite throw-back pub.  Fantastic.  It has wood carvings, and murals, and model boats.  Everything you would expect out of an Irish Pub in Clipper City!  The mural in the pictures below depicts the “History of Ireland.”  It even has a printed description so you can read about it.

This place was voted a 2010 Best Live Music in Baltimore … as we were sitting there enjoying our drinks, the band started trickling in … the bartender told us these guys have been their house band for the last 25 years!  LOL!  Wish we could have stayed around to listen.  But on to the important stuff …

As you can see from the pictures above, there were about 40 beers/ciders on draft.  They had their own “Special Ale” which was an Amber … mighty tasty!  Here I am enjoying it …

They also had several of the Heavy Seas brews AND several of the specialty Sam Adams … the Noble Pils, etc.  Overall a very nice selection of session brews (Miller, Bud, etc) and a good mix of craft brews (and that’s not even talking about the bottled beer!)  I wrapped up my visit with the Heavy Seas Loose Cannon — an excellent IPA!

We both enjoyed the atmosphere and the beverages.  Afterwards, we walked around the harbor and took in some of the sights, like these mermaids.  Obviously, you have to polish the brass! <smile>

Enjoy,

Beer Mentor

 

 

RFD (DC): A Tasting hosted by Bob Tupper

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On Wednesday, 16 Feb, a couple of friends and I attended a Strong Ale tasting event hosted by Bob Tupper at RFD in Washington, DC (Chinatown).  He used to host these sessions at the Brickskeller but moved it here when the ownership of the Brickskeller changed (the Brickskeller is now Bier Baron).

As should be expected, we showed up a little early and had a mini-tasting of our own before we started the Strong-Ale Tasting!

We ordered ourselves a sample from the extensive draft list at RFD.  We had (in order of tasting):

Port City Essential Pale Ale, Mad Fox Diabolik Belgian Strong Ale, Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Dominion Millennium English Style Barleywine, and the Starr Hill Cryptical Imperial Stout.  I tried to order beers someone from Colorado wouldn’t normally have available.  Port City, the new brewery, is doing a very nice job.  I really enjoyed all of these beers.  The Starr Hill was good, but didn’t seem to match its style claim.  The Edmund Fitzgerald was wonderful.

Now, on to the tasting.  You can see the list here (with a couple of photos of Bob Tupper).

I will put up another post with my tasting notes on all 10 of these beers.  I do want to say that the 11-year old J.W. Lee Harvest Ale (provided by the brewer from Sweetwater Tavern) was amazing!  It is so nice to have these opportunities.  Here are the accompanying pictures–like I said, I will put together another post with my tasting notes.

Of course, when you’ve had a few strong ales, you always seem to have more fun wherever you are! <smile>

Beer Mentor

90 Reasons to Drink Beer at Home

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I was curious why (so often) I would rather drink beer at my house than go out to a great brewpub.  Besides the fact that it is safer and less expensive (no cab fares, etc), I also realized that I have a bigger selection available in my house than I can find at most of the local pubs.  I counted tonight: I have 90 different beers available to drink.  LOL!

Just in case you were curious, here’s the list!

(Oh, I didn’t mention my Whiskey/Scotch/Bourbon/Brandy Collection either …)

Enjoy,

Beer Mentor

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The List at “Clark’s Ale House”

Austrian

    Samichlaus Classic, Helles

Belgian

    Gouden Carolus – Cuvee Van de Keizer (2008, 2009, 2010)

    Delerium Tremens, Noel

    Green’s Dubbel Dark Ale, Tripel Blond Ale (Gluten Free)

    Chimay Tripel (White), Premiere (Red), Grand Reserve (Blue)

    Orval

    Trappistes Rochefort 8 (Cuvee 2009)

    Westmalle Dubbel, Tripel

    Westvleteren Blond, 12

Canadian

    Unibroue La Fin Du Monde

English

Ringwood Brewery “Old Thumper” (Brewed in US)

German

Franziskaner Hefe Weisse

Keiler Weissbier

Schneider Weisse Hefe Weizen, Aventinus WeisBock,

Aventinus (2006, 2010)

Warsteiner

Weihenstephaner Kristall Weissbier

Irish

Guinness Draught, Foreign Extra Stout

Harp Lager

Netherlands

Brouwerij de Molen: Bommen & Granaten (2009),

Rasputin (2009), Revelation Cat Triple Hop Bock (2009),

Vuur & Vlam (2009), Premiant Hopburst (2009), Amarillo (2009)

Scottish

Brewdog Hardcore IPA

Spanish

Estrella Damm Daura

US – California

Firestone Walker Pale 31, 14th Anniversary Ale

Lagunitas Gnarly Wine (2009)

Stone Ruination IPA

Trader Joe’s 2010 Vintage Ale

US – Colorado

Breckenridge Small Batch 471 IPA

New Belgium Fat Tire

Trinity “Slap Your Mammy” Double IPA

US – Delaware

Dogfish Head: Palo Santo Marron, Pangaea, Namaste,

Sahtea, Chateau Jiahu, Miles Davis Bitches Brew

US – Maine

Allagash Odyssey (2008), Fluxus (2009)

US – Massachusetts

Sam Adams: Infinium Ale, Boston Lager, White Ale,

Irish Red, Winter Lager, Holiday Porter, Chocolate Bock,

Old Fezziwig

US – Michigan

Bell’s Winter White Ale

Founders Porter

US – Missouri

Anheuser-Busch Redbridge (Gluten Free)

US – New York

Brooklyn Winter Ale, Black Ops

Middle Ages Druid Fluid, Wailing Wench, X-Double IPA, Kilt Tilter

Southern Tier Iniquity, Farmer’s Tan, Choklat Stout

South Hampton Cuvee de Fleurs

US – Pennsylvannia

Fegley’s Brewwerks Devious Imperial Pumpkin, Hop’Solutely Triple IPA

Troegs Nugget Nectar, Dream Weaver, Java Head

Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot

Yuengling Lager, Light Lager, Lord Chesterfield Ale

US – Texas

Shiner Holiday Cheer

US – Virginia

James Clark Apricot Mead, Belgian-style Witbier

Williamsburg Alewerks Coffee House Stout

US – Washington State

Red Hook Long Hammer IPA

Savor Fest: Logo Contest!

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There’s this (pretty) new fest in Washington DC called “Savor.”  This is the (I think) fourth year the fest will be in existence.  My friends Ray and Bobby accompanied me to the second one in 2009.  It was awesome!  Here’s the link for the details: Savor

This fest is a great time AND a great venue (The National Building Museum).

This year, DC BEER is hosting a logo contest for SAVOR.    Since I have so much copious free time, I thought I’d try my hand at the logo design.  Woo Hoo.  Let me know what you think!

Beer Mentor

New Brewery: Port City Brewing Company

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This Friday I was fortunate enough to attend the Open House for the newest Production Brewery in the DC area: Port City Brewing.  Actually, I had the day off Friday, I was looking for something to do–a friend of mine had mentioned there was a new brewery opening in Alexandria but he couldn’t remember the name.  Google here I come! I saw this article about it in the Washington Post and thought I could pick up a Growler around lunch (I thought they were already open)–The article mentions that their Belgian Wit would be available — and since I’m currently brewing a wit bier I thought it would be a great opportunity.

I showed up around noon and they were obviously not open.  I was able to poke my head in the back and (fortunately) one of the brewers told me their open house was at 4pm.

I showed back up at 4pm and, sure enough, they were open!

They had two of their four flagship beers available for tasting (see picture above).  Here are the images of the four beers:

The beers were quite nice — I even brought home a growler of the Pale Ale.  Yea, refill for $10 baby!  I was impressed with their setup, operation, and the fact that they were very nice (that’s always a plus in my mind around DC!).  The owner gave us a short tour of their brewery.  Here you can see their base grain storage silo and a shot of where it comes out of their grinding room.

They’ve got a very state-of-the-art brewing system.  Here you can see their mash tuns, kettle, and their 30, 60, and 90 barrel fermentors.

These tanks in the below pictures are their staging vessels for kegging and (soon) bottling.  Just to the left of the tanks you can see their cold storage facility.  Since their beer is not pasteurized it needs to be kept cool.   These tanks will also be used (eventually) for lagering.

They are nearly ready to begin bottling–here’s a shot of their bottling equipment.  An interesting anecdote that may actually interest only me:  they picked up this bottling equipment second-hand from the Southern Tier Brewing company.  That’s another plus in my mind — I love those Southern Tier guys!

Finally, I overheard that their witbier is already on tap at Churchkey.  They have it at a few other spots–but I don’t remember where.  Their WitBier and Pale Ale are ready now.  The Porter is next with the IPA following close on their heels in a couple of weeks!  I can’t wait!  Welcome to the DC area, Port City Brewing!

Beer Mentor