The American Craft Beer Festival

(L to R: Capt. Bryon, Rob (me), Liam straight from the Dirty Jerz, "Distinctive Shirt" Ken, Dave "check out my Shark Bite" Nicholson)

Ziggy Saki Ziggy Saki Hoy Hoy Hoy!!!

Three cheers for the American Craft Beer Festival in Boston!!! (aka the ACBF also how my alphabet came out later in the the eve...) What a great time! This is the kind of event I've been talking about. Good food, Great Beer and even better friends. Liam, Dave, Capt. Bryon and Ken were my beer bretheren and they did not disappoint. Nor did our female companions, Jen, April and Ashley, you guys were an absolute hoot. It was nice to hang out with a group that TRULY knows their beer and that knows how to have a good time. Capt. Bryon runs a beer blog called www.homebrewer.net and I would HIGHLY recommend checking his site out. He really knows his stuff. Ken, Liam and Dave all have highly refined palates though years of downing suds. Ken's got a real gift for describing the beers and had some great ideas for pairings. Although Dave's best comment of the night was "I just drink the stuff!".

And imbibe we did! The Festival boasted over 300 beers which, if you used the tiny 2oz. glass they give you as part of your $40 entrance fee, it would equate to over 50 beers during the course of the night or 4.68 GALLONS of beer and a quick trip to the emergency room. Thankfully for my sanity, my liver and most importantly my marriage, I had barely a fraction of that and enjoyed myself thoroughly!

As previously stated, there were over 300 beers and just as many flavor variations. There were some great beers, some beers I would file under "M" for "Meh" and others than can be categorized as DEAR LORD did you throw that up already?!? I wish I were kidding, there was one where we blamed Dave for "Verping" (Vomit+Burp=VERP) when in fact it was actually his pre-ingested beer. Holy Horrible... I still get shivers.

A kind of odd observation: the beer community in general seems to have an obsession with how much hop flavor you can pack into a beer. To be totally frank, the beers I found to be the best of the day were well balanced, had something different to them and in general were just interesting. I won't go into much as far as specific beers right now, but I will review a few of my favorites in the coming weeks. I've got more than enough reviews to go over about 2 a week for a while...

I have a few tips for you if you plan on attending either this event in Boston next year or if you plan to attend one of these events elsewhere:

1. EAT FIRST! Food in the festival is often EXPENSIVE. They've got you for three plus hours and its quite pricey. The Seaport district in Boston has a few cheap eat places. The Seaport Bar & Grill, The No Name and Salvatore's are three of my faves, plus historic South Boston (Southie) is really near by and I've got a few hangouts there as well.

2. AGUA! Every few beers or so, grab a quick slug of water. Most of these festivals have cup cleaning areas; Basically bug juice containers full of water... but it's water... drink up. It will not only keep you hydrated, but it helps to cleanse your palate for the next set of beers! Better to taste your beers without tasting all of them at once!

3. Meeting spots: Imperative, especially if you've got some thirsty cohorts with a wanderlust and the attention spans of hummingbirds... We did pretty well with doing our own thing and regrouping to hang out with "The Team". For the most part, we used "Distinctive shirt Ken" as our marker, but I would try this one - Meet by the door leading to the port-a-potties. You're all going to end up there anyway!

4. This one is of vital importance, not only to your well being but to your overall awesomeness. Two words... Pretzel... Necklace. Check out the picture above. Those things were lifesavers, conversation pieces and lady magnets. Dave and Ken, thanks for taking a little arts and crafts time to keep us well fed and dapperly attired! I'm sure that I'll be in more than one blog and a few family photo albums.

Gang, if you've not been to one of these events, you need to check it out. It's a great experience to talk to some brewers and hang out with other beer snobs and of course, try some of the best (and worst) beers in the country. If you are to consider yourself a true beer aficionado, you need to first approach these events respectfully... with all the dignity that a neckware made of bavarian bread products can provide you... But seriously, most of the brewers are actually AT this event and they take great pride in their work. Take your time, taste the beer, ENJOY it. Heaving is kind of a no no, but it happens at these events. If you're drinking for volume, there are happy hours everywhere serving Piels and Pabst and Schaefer. Barf elsewhere friend, you're among beer royalty. Respect.

To all my friends, old and new that made this day a true success; THANK YOU. I really had a great time. To all the Brewers, THANK YOU for all the excellent beer. Even the bad ones have a story. To my wife, who wanted to attend this event but let me go because of some baby sitting issues. It was her fathers' day gift to me: THANKS A TON, LADY! You'll be here next year... I guarantee it!

All told, successful day. I'm ALREADY looking forward to next year!!

To Great buds and Great Suds!

Prost!!

Rob

The Dirty Ho

So many great things in life happen by asking the question "what if". What if I rub these two sticks together... FIRE!! What if I combine a Tiger and a Lion together? LIGER... Awesome. Such is the question often times when wine makers taste the fruits of their labor and decide... you know what would make this taste better? A different wine! This has happened more and more often with brewers as they've found that a beer that might be average, combined with another beer that is slightly average can actually make a pretty decent beer. The most recent example I can think of the is Rasberry UFO from Harpoon. At an event of theirs about two years ago, (prior to the official release) one of the marketing guys we were hanging out with during the day came up to me and said... "Dude, if you don't like the raspberry beer, try THIS". Offically, about a year and a half ago they took the two beers, the UFO (Unfiltered offering)and the Raspberry Hefeweisen and combined them together to make a beer that I think pairs well with food around the holidays, the Raspberry UFO.

Unofficially this is the case with a lovely little drink affectionately called "the dirty ho". It's an invention thanks to the Sunset Grill & Tap in Allston, MA. I've never been, but they boast the largest beer menus in Boston and one of the hottest pepper sauces on record... what could be bad about that?! My friends Mark & Shaina introduced me to the concept last night and at first, I thought they were going to bastardize one of my favorite beers by mixing it one of my LEAST favorites. Hoegaarden on it's own is a great beer particularly for summer. It's got a lemony zip, it's light, refreshing and just a fine example of a Belgian Witbier. The beer they mixed it with is Lindeman's Framboise Lambic. On it's own it is overpowering with it's cavity creating sweetness and it is a beer I know from experience not one to be had on its own. At first I was honestly not thrilled at the prospect. In general, I hate truly fruity beers as they tend to be syrupy, weird tasting and generally nasty principally due to the use of extract instead of real fruit. A hint of fruit is one thing... a slap in the face is quite another! The way this drink was prepared made the difference. Pour the entire 12 oz Hoegaarden into a true pint glass. (12 oz into a 16 oz glass... do the math!). Pour Carefully as you don't want too much head. (no joke necessary... too easy). Add about 2-3 oz of Lambic, stir sip & voila, a easy, cheap & LEGAL way to get a dirty ho into your house! The taste is hard to describe, but suffice it to say, it tastes better than cheap perfume and shame. There's a hint of Raspberry, but with the acidity and light herb flavor of the Hoegaarten. This is a recipe also reminicint of a drink I had at a Pub in London in the late 90s. 1 oz of Black Currant Liqueur, 1 whole Guinness. It's a pretty good concoction, plus a blood red head on your beer is kind of a cool touch!

Well, I've made up for some lost time on my posts! Next blog, Dogfishhead's Raison D'etre!

REMINDER: Get your tickets for the American Craft Brewers fest in Boston! I'll be there with several of my brew loving friends!

Slainte!

Rob

Arcadia Ales Hopmouth DOUBLE IPA

After a long day of spending way too much to keep my poor 10 year old car running and and mowing the dirt-patch I call my lawn, It's now time (at 8:30 PM mind you...)to sit down and relax.

My local Packey has a fairly wide selection of seasonal beers and in addition, they sell a lot of the micro-brews by the bottle. For someone like myself who likes to experiment with a variety of beverages, this place is spectacular. Tonight, I've picked out two beers, and for once, I grabbed them partly because their packaging made them stand out from their competition. I didn't buy these beers particularly for the taste or because I had heard anything about them in any of the beer press. Having been a marketing major in college, I do have a natural tendancy to take into account packaging so today, I'm running a little experiment. Does the beer live up to the extensive work that was put into making the beer even MORE appealing? In addition, I'll be doing a first for Brew n'Music, I'm going to give you an "As it happens" review: from Pop of the cap to the last schwag at the bottom of the glass, you'll get a play by play of my impressions as they happen.

The first beer, I'll actually not be reviewing this week... althought I've heard a LOT about it. "He-brew" is a beer that has gotten a lot of press and next weekend, I'll see if it lives up to the hype. Stay Tuned!

The beer I WILL be reviewing this week is the Arcadia Brewing Company's Hopmouth Double IPA. This is, based on the label made by the "Brew Crew" and is part of their Big Beer Series. We'll see... I'm to assume that the "Double IPA" is simply a result of a LOT of additional hops being added during the brewing process and perhaps dry hopped at a later date. Either way, this should prove to be an interesting challenge.

Packaging: Green label, Celtic Designs and a "hop monster" face adorn the label. Ooooooo! Spooooky! I can only assume this to be the "Hopmouth" monster that the villagers have been grumbling about. I will do my best to vanquish this beast... and perhaps it's brothers and sisters!

Initial Pour: The beer is well carbonated, small bubbles percolate to the surface, making a pleasant, white, however not overly thick head. The head opens in a way I found to be somewhat perculiar... It seemed to spread almost from the center out both up and down instead of growing from the water line up... weird. Color is a dark deep tan/amber and considering that it's an IPA, it seems fairly dark for this type of beer.

Smell: Hop notes are clearly evident, however not overpowering. There's a hint of caramel as well. Interested to see what the first sip brings.

First Taste: Oddly sweet at the first note and then bitterness hits the tongue with a crisp and hoppy freshness. The Hopmouth has a thick mouth-feel without being syrup-like in consistancy.

Second Sip: (no I won't be doing EVERY sip...) Whooo! Put some STANK on it, Ike! My tongue just took a quick whoopin' of hops. If you're a hop head, this is a beer for you. In general, despite its hoppiness, it does have a balance which again, the sweetness makes this a pleasure to drink.

I don't think I can tell you much more about this beer from here. It's a slightly heavy beer. Hoppy bitterness counterbalanced with a sweet grain flavor. Bottom line, it's a good beer. I would say that you should be EXTREMELY ready for the kick this thing's got.

Food Pairings: Hmmmm... Still trying to figure this one out... You could go one of two ways with this. Pair it with something sweet and subtle OR fight BACK with equally strong flavors. Lemon Rosemary Chicken for some reason keeps hitting me as appropriate. There's also a recipe for baked chicken with a brown sugar breading that could hold up well enough to a powerful beer like this. My wife experimented with this recipe the other day and it was top notch. This beer would also be well served against appetizers such as a strong sausage, salami or pepperoni, and a sharp maple cheddar. Long story short; a STRONG beer like this needs strong flavors to match up to it.

Overall impressions of this beer are good. The beer stands up to its packaging and certainly makes good on it's claims of A. Being a "Hop Monster", B. Being a BIG beer and C. CERTAINLY "Goes Big".

If you have a chance, check this one out, you'll not be sorry!

The Arcadia Brewing Company
Battle Creek, MI
www.arcadiabrewingcompany.com

Brew Well, Be well,

-Rob Anderson

Next week: He-brew!

Saturday night's all right for... Brewin?

Saturday has rolled around again, reflecting on a week of highs and lows, a rough week at work, a great bagpipe lesson, breakthroughs with the wife and kid and a service project that frankly cleared my soul... all in all, a good week. So good news! I will not be going to hell in the express lane that I previously thought that I was in. What better way to end a roller coaster week than to hang with a buddy and "help" him brew beer... Meaning of course, that I drank a whole mess of beer, watched the Sox TROUNCE the Yanks in an amazing 11 to 16 comeback all while watching Jason work his brewer's magic. He's making several batches of the "Wedding beer" which I've reviewed in previous blogs. Good beer, it should prove to be the hit of the reception... or the ceremony itself!! Either way, Jason's BierKeller is well stocked and while I brought over a sixer of a curiosity brew, Jason allowed me to drink some beers that were, honestly, pretty good.

We'll start off with the curiosity beer... For the record, I bought this based on Jason's blog "Brewing the Perfect Beer" (linked to this blog). It wasn't a direct recommendation, however I just had to try it considering how much effort was brought to the documentary, "Beer Wars". Anat Baron's (brewer and documentary maker/co founder of the Boston Beer Co.) Edison Beer works well enough for an American beer and in fact holds up well to the style. It's pretty clearly an attempt to match the larger Light (or Lite thank you marketing for destroying the English Language) American Lagers (Coors, Budwiser etc.) and bring a craft brew feel to it. Frankly, I'm not quite sure what to make of it. It was a hot day in the Commonwealth today, it was a hot, toilsome emotionally rewarding day at Rebuilding Together, Boston and a GREAT day for a light beer. While there were other options on the shelf, I chose this one, thinking that there was perhaps a little bit of care brought to its creation. I wasn't wrong, it's clear that a lot of care went into this beer, however I did find it to be relatively uninspired. It had a good body, somewhat initially ricey (is that an adjective outside of Pee Wee's Playhouse?) taste and an even weirder aftertaste. I really wasn't sure what to make of it and had a difficult time placing some of the flavors. It's not a bad beer and perhaps would go well with BBQ or I might use it to use it in fondue or beer bread. However I wasn't totally wowed by it. As a side note, I've had some kind of off luck with buying beer at Trader Joe's... the TJ's beers in general are kind of bland (and frankly terrible, avoid them at all costs) I'd suggest going to a liquor store that takes their time in choosing quality beers. They've made SOME good choices... but by in large, the selection is poor.

The second beer was equally odd... well, we'll call it eccentric as it was a pretty good beer overall. In my family, when something is "interesting" it could go either way. Either it's interesting meaning truly neat OR it could be interesting meaning please stop this conversation... cooooouuld it get any weirder? The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery's Amber Ale, dependent on what you're into, malty beers or hoppy, dry or sweet, is a beer you'll either love or hate. In general, I like a beer with good balance, but this one trends well into the dry, malty side and it was hardly unpleasant. It's got a light hop flavor but the malt is what really comes through. It's clearly got a carmelized malt which gives it a bit of zing and a good body that made it a pleasure to drink. I had a hard time pairing it with anything in my head, but thinking further on it, I would imagine it good with a Vietnamese short rib recipe I made about a year ago. The salt of the fish sauce combined the sweetness of the brown sugar would compliment this beer. I'll see if I can find that recipe and will post it as soon as I can. I'm not sure that this one can be bought in the local area, however if you find it, give it a shot. I, personally found it to be pretty decent.

Still working on getting a brew recipe together, I have hops frozen in the freezer that need to be used and I'm thinking that a good light summer 4th of July brew is in order. Considering they're centennial hops, I think that the wife and I can throw something together on the fly.

Well friends, I'll be signing off now.

Be Well, Brew Well,

(a currently somewhat impaired) Rob Anderson

Wachussadisappointment

Well Ale-merica... I'm filled with a nagging sense of "Meh...". I want to start out by saying that it honestly pains me to write this post. However, I've been underwhelmed by my first beer (or in this case beers) since starting this blog. I think I'm even more dissappointed since the brewery is generally a hometown favorite of mine. It's not that they're bad beers, I think I just expected more from them. Dear God, I really AM turning into my parents!!

The Wachusett(pronounced like it is spelled Wah-Chu-Set)Brewing Company like I said generally puts out some tasty beers. The Blueberry Ale and the Black Shack Porter are two of my personal faves and I'd definitely put the Blueberry in particular in my top 25. However, over the past two weeks, I've had some of their other inventions which frankly, in my opinion fell a bit flat.

I bought Wachusett Nut Brown Ale when visiting a friend, selfishly of course wanting to try one myself! I was excited I hadn't seen a new Wachusett beer in my local liquor store also known as a "packey" here in MA, in a VERY long time. The Nut Brown Ale was not a bad beer, it just wasn't what I was expecting. I have high expectations based on my previous encounters with the WBC. Drinking this was sort of like picking up a glass of water only to find out all to late that it's really filled with rum. Not unwelcome, just not what you were looking for and certainly not what you were looking for to slake your thirst. The almost $10 I THOUGHT was worth it considering the quality I had come to rely on. Sadly, I feel that it was grossly overpriced. The body was somewhat watery, the taste was somewhat flat and lacking in both Maltiness and Hoppiness. Again, not a truly terrible beer, but certainly not worth the $10 a six-pack price tag. Perhaps the theft of their extremely expensive brass overflow a few years ago or the recent hop crisis has hit them harder than I thought, but let's all be frank... dropping a Hamilton for 6 beers is a bit steep even for the Commonwealth...

Now undeterred, I thought to myself, "this is a fluke, This is Wachusett we're talking about! Hometown heros, farm freshness, pride of the Nashoba Valley area! Surely this HAS to be a one time event." So this Friday, while hanging out and watching the Sox with my Dad in "The Pub" aka "Jack Sheehan's Pub" aka my parent's basement (it's a lot cooler than it sounds... Pool table, several flat screens and one in the bathroom... saaweeet.), I decided to grab a beer. My parents, living in close proximity to the brewery seem to always have a 6er of one of the Wachusett beers on hand. The Green Monsta Ale is what is currently on deck at at Jack Sheehan's. This beer gets its namesake clearly from a colorful play on our lack of ability to pronounce the letter "R" here in MA. It's an efficiency of language thing and closest to the King's English I'll have you know...At least that's what the History Channel said... TV's never lied to me before! So as far as cleverness in marketing, kudos. The beer is not terrible. However, the Monsta was not exactly 40 ft tall certainly not crushing the denizens of downtown Tokyo, much less greater Boston... The Monsta failed to wow me and I felt did not perform as I felt it should. I expected a hoppy IPA-ish beer and I was met with a beer that had an initial flavor of light malt, a bit of a grainy mouth and then a finish that tasted, honestly, like grass. While I was reminded of Fenway... I don't think I've ever had a yen to EAT the outfield! The flavors beyond freshly mowed sod were a bit flat and I surprised even myself by not finishing the beer.

Look... I know that they're not all going to be winners and that perhaps my palate differs from everyone elses. I'm still going to enjoy my faves from the WBC... and like the Red Sox, it's exciting when you win and it's disappointing to watch a loss, but I'll stick by ya regardless. Best of luck Wachusett. Despite these experiences I've loved other beers you put out and am honestly looking forward to trying whatever you've got coming down the pike.

Visit the Wachusett Brewery at:
http://www.wachusettbrew.com

He Brewin'

Gang,

There's nothing quite so satisfying in life as passing on knowlege. It truly is the path to immortality. Not like in "Highlander" where decapitated souls pass on knowledge through lightening shows and pyrotechnics... I know that when my head leaves my shoulders, the conversation takes on an ackward silence that just seems to pervade the room... Did no one else find Christopher Lambert an odd choice as a scotsman? I mean, I could understand every word he was saying... that's not Scottish at all!!! But I digress...

Good Friday should have been called GREAT Friday thanks to our friend Matt. Matt is our friend who we've built into a full blown He'brewer. "Today I am a man!!" Happy "Bar"-Mitzvah Mattie! Can (I make any more jokes during passover? I schvitzing here... but seriously Matties a Mensch...) Friday was Bottling day!! We were joined by our friends Dan "the dog walker" and my neighbor and good friend and quasi-professional brewer Jason, currently training for the Iron Man Triathalon. This night might have gotten him a bit off track on his diet... sorry buddy, but my permission slip as well as Dan's were signed and I think we were all down for a party!

The night was just what I needed. Guy food, Guy beer, Guy talk. Matt's poor wife came down for a quick 15 minutes or so before she realized where the conversations were headed... but it's so warm and familiar here in the gutter!!! While I, like any good Irish Catholic, ignored Good Friday, Matt and his family celebrated Passover. This resulted in probably the funniest and frankly quickest version of the passover story ever replete with finger puppet plagues!! Oooh Lice!! You know it's going to be a good one when the story starts out "so this dude Pharoah..." Thankfully, after a few beers, my Parochial school training kicked in and I could fill in the blanks to compete the tale that frankly made the sweeping Charlton Heston epic look like community theater. Well played Matt. The academy should be calling ANY day now.

On to the beer!! Let my bottle caps gooooo!

Matt is brewing a SUPER hoppy IPA. We hopped it with fuggles hops and then dry hopped it with Kent Goldings (BITTER). I think that the IBU's are topping out at around 85 to 90. Based on the initial tastings, it's actually going to turn out to be a tasty beer. The malt is going to balance off the hops quite nicely, but there's definitely going to be a bitter back taste. It's got a light and somewhat hazy amber hue which should clear up after bottling and aging. My friends who are true brew-nuts are going to kill me for my next statement, but I need to be true to my tastes: Now, I like a good hoppy IPA but I've had a few that just go way too far. We're not shipping this stuff to the troops in India, people... Matt's on the other hand appears to be quite pleasant and although it's going to have some sharp nasal notes and a somewhat bitter aftertaste, I think it's going to be a good brew which should mellow with age.

No good brewing experience would be complete without MORE BEER! We had a few decent beers including an IPA that Jason brewed which I will affectionately term "the Wedding Beer". Jason is brewing a big batch of this for a friend's wedding. (See Jason's Blog, it's an excellent source of info and adds a level of science which I so clearly lack) While not a taste I usually equate to IPAs, Jason's brew had a slight and light mouth and a grapefruity aftertaste. Overall a great beer. Jason takes his time with his beers and is meticulous about his process. I wish I put as much care into my homebrew attempts!

In addition to the wedding beer, we were treated to a growler of the Opa IPA from the Opa Opa steakhouse and Brewery in Southhampton, MA. Opa generally puts out a good product and here they've made no exception. This is truly what a hoppy IPA needs to be. This one had some kick to it and the brew frankly is tasty and was appropriately paired with a Chicken Curry and Steamed rice which was prepared by yours truly... Simple recipe, Chicken, onions, two Italian HOT peppers and a bottle of Patak's brand Butter Chicken Curry Sauce. Top notch taste, easy and frankly HOT HOT HOT. I think to a person we built up a bead of sweat each. I've never been disappointed by it. Our spicy holy S*&T burn your face off journey continued with a local favorite: Wings from Buff's Pub in Newton. These are wings I'd wait in line for. Spicy, tangy, and slathered in a Honey Hot Sauce. It's a remarkable concoction and I ALWAYS enjoy having them. If you're in town, make the trip to Buff's. I think that the Opa IPA stood up well to strong food, however, I think it might be a bit too much on its own.

The night, all in all was a great success and Guys and gals, beer is no good unless it's shared with good friends. I'm glad I have friends like this to clink glasses with. Thanks a ton guys. I can't WAIT to do it again!!!

Brew well, be well.

Yours Truly

Rob Anderson


Mmmmmm. Pre Beer Ghaaawwaaaaaaa...


Who ordered Chinese? For the record... not a Buff's Wing.


The "Masters" at work... (insert sarcastic snarky comment of your choice here.)


Hey Man... that's not even mine... I'm holding it for a friend!


Yes Mattie, 80% of brewing is Janitorial work... Keep cleaning!


That's SCIENCE FOO! Recognize!


Professor Jason holding the class captivated


The Proud Papa and his beer...


Which label is better? White border or no border? Weigh in with your opinion


"Looks Like I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue": Jason on labeling duty


New Uses for the Thigh master! Matt capping his new brew


Wait... you want us to put this where?

Review: Watch City Brewing Company Waltham, MA

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