What could possibly be better than drinking on the company dime?! I love sales meetings...
Tonight had had the opportunity to visit the Watch City Brewery in Waltham, MA. First impressions were good. A Traditional Brick lined brew kettle and oak walled fermenter adorned the opening, both of which, I was told by our MORE than pleasant waitress are still in use, however the majority of the operations are completed in the basement in far more modern conditions. Overall, the experience was pretty good. I do have to comment, however that the beer FAR outweighed the food. The food at this event was cafeteria style so I'm going to give the team a pass on this given that I could not experience their single entrees. The spring rolls were decent enough, the crab cakes clearly frozen & overly breaded(inexcusable as we're so close to the Atlantic shore) and the fried raviolis were passable. The wings however were remarkable. I HIGHLY suggest them. They had a chinese style BBQ sauce which was, in the words of the dear departed Col. Sanders (aye with his wee beady eyes), finger lickin'good.
The beer at Watch City however was exemplary. I started off with the Chocolate Thunder porter (stats are on my cell phone... Can't... reach... too lazy). I ordered it mostly for the name. Awesome... any reference to Darrel Dawkins is fantastic. "Darryl, where was the declaration of Independence signed... At the bottom!" If I weren't so bloody white, I'd go by it myself... perhaps it can be one of those ironic nicknames like Tiny or stretch... I'm frankly not usually a fan of Chocolate anything really but the Chocolate Thunder was a thick and meaty porter with a taste that was not all together overwhelmingly Chocolatey. I can see it going well with a thick Stew or Chili.
Beer number two was a Portland (American Brown) Ale that they called the "Titan" (1.060 SG, 6% ABV, 47 IBUs). While I wasn't totally overwhelmed, it was a stand up beer which stood well enough on its own.
Beer number three wasn't truly a beer at all, rather it was a Barley Wine that they affactionately called a "Burley Wine". Outside of Sam Adam's Utopia, this was one of the most agressive beers I've ever had. Over 9% ABV and a whopping 75 on the IBU scale. However it ended up being a mellow and vibrant beer with flavors so intense that it caused me to nurse it for a good Hour or so.
By an Large, Watch City was a remarkable ride... I only wish that I had more time and a Designated Driver so that I could experience the Pub more completely. In addition, as an avid home brewer or brewster, check out their website. www.watchcitybrew.com. They have a whole section for Brew enthusiasts. Be mindful, however that their site has not been updated in quite some time.
Looking forward to my next posting and looking forward to your comments!
Rob
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
First Post
Every Journey Starts with Just one step: This is mine.
I've never in my life blogged and frankly, for the longest time, I thought it somewhat well... sad. I felt it relegated to the ranks of Comic book Guys (worst reference ever...) However, as of late, I've had a change of heart. I have a few friends who have done it and frankly, it's fairly interesting to read up on. Either I'm overly nosey or I'm the most tame voyeur of all time. Through this, I'm hoping that I can at least get my thoughts out on the page and use this as a forum to help you, the reader. HOWEVER, my end all, be all hope is that I can entertain you. If I've done that, I will have succeeded. "Victory shall be MINE!!!"
A little about me:
My name is Rob and I'm a life long "Mass-Hole" as we're so affectionately called throughout the Union and yes, I love the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots and the Celtics. (the Sox, the B's the Pats and the C's). I drive like a total and unabashed jerk and, I use the word "wicked" on a regular basis. I'm predominantly Irish, although my last name is Scotch/English. Either way, PASTY is the best way to describe my skin pallor. Suffice it to say, the sun and I do NOT get along.! If they make an SPF 300 I'll be the first in line.
I have too many hobbies to list but I'll be blogging on a variety of them on a regular basis.
-Home Brewing: I LOVE a good beer and I'll be blogging on my recipies as well as my tour of my brewpubs of the world
-Music: I work for a record Label called "Brewhouse Records". Can you tell the ilk of people I hang out with?!?. Check us out! We have a brand new artist named Vanessa Kafka. She's GREAT!! Check her out as soon as you can! In addition, I've been writing a few things, mostly for myself but I'm going to be blogging on that as my projects progress. I play guitar, piano, banjo, Tin whistle, Harmonica and a HOST of other instruments
-Bagpiping: I'm in a group called the Sutherland Bagpipe Corps. I've JUST started in January but I have a history with music, so it's coming somewhat quickly. It is by FAR the most difficult instrument I've had to learn. They're a GREAT group of guys and I'm really looking forward to working with them further.
-Cooking: I fancy myself a home chef. I LOVE to cook and I have to say, my favorite thing to make is quickbread. My most recent success was with a Beer bread recipe I found. Could it be that I've combined two loves into one?!?! More on these later
-Fatherhood & Husbanding: Note that I didn't say Husbandry... If you've seen "dirty jobs" on Discovery Channel, you'll get the reference. EEwwww. Long story short, I LOVE being a Dad and I have a relationship with my wife and daughter that sometimes is just plain funny.
-Voiceovers: I'm getting into it! I've always had a knack for impersonations, accents and language. I figure of the 1001 ignorant things I can do, I might as well use this ordinarly useless talent to make some loot. Stay tuned!!
As you can see, I'll be blogging about nothing in particular. So friends and would be friends. I bid you good eve and I look forward to entertaining, informing you and hearing your feedback!!
-Rob
I've never in my life blogged and frankly, for the longest time, I thought it somewhat well... sad. I felt it relegated to the ranks of Comic book Guys (worst reference ever...) However, as of late, I've had a change of heart. I have a few friends who have done it and frankly, it's fairly interesting to read up on. Either I'm overly nosey or I'm the most tame voyeur of all time. Through this, I'm hoping that I can at least get my thoughts out on the page and use this as a forum to help you, the reader. HOWEVER, my end all, be all hope is that I can entertain you. If I've done that, I will have succeeded. "Victory shall be MINE!!!"
A little about me:
My name is Rob and I'm a life long "Mass-Hole" as we're so affectionately called throughout the Union and yes, I love the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots and the Celtics. (the Sox, the B's the Pats and the C's). I drive like a total and unabashed jerk and, I use the word "wicked" on a regular basis. I'm predominantly Irish, although my last name is Scotch/English. Either way, PASTY is the best way to describe my skin pallor. Suffice it to say, the sun and I do NOT get along.! If they make an SPF 300 I'll be the first in line.
I have too many hobbies to list but I'll be blogging on a variety of them on a regular basis.
-Home Brewing: I LOVE a good beer and I'll be blogging on my recipies as well as my tour of my brewpubs of the world
-Music: I work for a record Label called "Brewhouse Records". Can you tell the ilk of people I hang out with?!?. Check us out! We have a brand new artist named Vanessa Kafka. She's GREAT!! Check her out as soon as you can! In addition, I've been writing a few things, mostly for myself but I'm going to be blogging on that as my projects progress. I play guitar, piano, banjo, Tin whistle, Harmonica and a HOST of other instruments
-Bagpiping: I'm in a group called the Sutherland Bagpipe Corps. I've JUST started in January but I have a history with music, so it's coming somewhat quickly. It is by FAR the most difficult instrument I've had to learn. They're a GREAT group of guys and I'm really looking forward to working with them further.
-Cooking: I fancy myself a home chef. I LOVE to cook and I have to say, my favorite thing to make is quickbread. My most recent success was with a Beer bread recipe I found. Could it be that I've combined two loves into one?!?! More on these later
-Fatherhood & Husbanding: Note that I didn't say Husbandry... If you've seen "dirty jobs" on Discovery Channel, you'll get the reference. EEwwww. Long story short, I LOVE being a Dad and I have a relationship with my wife and daughter that sometimes is just plain funny.
-Voiceovers: I'm getting into it! I've always had a knack for impersonations, accents and language. I figure of the 1001 ignorant things I can do, I might as well use this ordinarly useless talent to make some loot. Stay tuned!!
As you can see, I'll be blogging about nothing in particular. So friends and would be friends. I bid you good eve and I look forward to entertaining, informing you and hearing your feedback!!
-Rob
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