tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63604764301940798392024-03-12T16:30:50.256-07:00OverCarbonatedKrysten: All the other beer blogs I've found are boring and too beer snobby. Ours just needs to be insightful, honest and fun.
Jason: And sexy!
Krysten: And sexy.Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-50569437737916150232012-02-18T20:59:00.000-08:002012-02-18T20:59:04.602-08:00Hey Empire, Knock It OffHey Empire Brewing Company-<br />
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If I wanted to stand in a pitch black room and listen to extremely loud & wretched techno music then I'd spend my Friday night at Vinyl. Knock it off.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sEbfn2OOewU/T0CBfyoZDVI/AAAAAAAAAV0/9VyG7rXbSEQ/s1600/techno.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sEbfn2OOewU/T0CBfyoZDVI/AAAAAAAAAV0/9VyG7rXbSEQ/s1600/techno.jpg" yda="true" /></a></div>Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-86655889328409568982012-02-16T20:28:00.001-08:002012-02-16T20:29:25.746-08:00OMG working 10-10 is f&%#ing ruining my life!All of the 1-5 ppl that read this blog must be wondering wtf is up. Back in December I signed onto a daytime bartending job, increasing my hours to about 10am-10pm 5 days a week, giving me no f&%#ing time. Not abandoning the site (even though Jason could help instead of spending 5+ hours a day on joblow.com), just sabbaticalled until my bartending job ends in the next few weeks.<br />
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In the meantime, grab yourself a Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye (and thank me later).Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-44657850662812038362011-11-14T09:32:00.001-08:002011-11-14T10:11:54.242-08:00Rare and Extreme Beer Tasting (Syracuse Beer Week)<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>Rare and Extreme Beer Tasting</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><em>Syracuse Beer Week</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">J Ryan's Pub</span><br />
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Extreme beers = extreme hangovers... ugh. I can't say I didn't have fun though.</div>
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Here's the background story: Jason had me pick him up from school around 7:45 so that we could get there right at time at 8. Unfortunately he decided it would be a good idea to turn off his phone during class which lead him to not know what time it was... so around 8:15 he finally showed up, after leaving me in the car for a half and hour anxiously awaiting him. He was able to keep all his fingers though because I didn't miss any beers.</div>
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<em>My camera phone apparently had a hard time taking clear pictures.</em></div>
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While Extreme Beers has the hefty price tag of $50 it continues to be well worth the investment. We tried some outstanding beers that we would have not had the opportunity to have tried before, enjoyed some cheese and crackers, got to drink all the leftover beer (can you say, pitchers of Ommegang's Adoration??) and got to take all the free glassware we wanted.</div>
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<em>Cheese Platter!</em></div>
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<em>And, free glassware!</em></div>
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<u><strong>You're rare and I love it:</strong></u><br />
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<strong>De Struise Brouwers (Belgium)</strong></div>
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<strong>Struise "Tsjesses" Reserva</strong></div>
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<strong>Belgian Strong Pale Ale (10% ABV)</strong></div>
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Belgian Christmas Ale. Really good but I was too excited to get a beer to write a review about. Also was a little anxious after we stormed into the event panting and yelling while someone was giving a speech... oops.</div>
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<strong><strong>Brewery Ommegang (New York)</strong></strong></div>
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<strong>"Adoration Bourbon Barrel Aged"</strong></div>
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<strong>Belgian Dark Strong Ale (10% ABV)</strong></div>
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Spicy and bourbony. Like drinking whiskey and candy corn at the same time. Really intense flavor, really kicks you in the ass. I mostly blame my extreme hangover on this beer.</div>
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<strong>Jolly Pumpkin (Michigan)</strong></div>
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<strong>"La Parcela"</strong></div>
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<strong>Oak Aged Sour Pumpkin Ale (5.9% ABV)</strong></div>
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Starts out sour but has a less sour and more sweet, mellow finish. All of the beers that Jolly Pumpkin makes are sours, which means I'm going to have to start making trips to Dexter, Michigan (where they're located). I really liked this one. Not as harshly sour as I would have expected from a sour beer but that's what makes it well balanced and enjoyable to drink. Little hint of spice in there but I don't take it too much and I would have liked to have tasted more pumpkin in the beer.</div>
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<strong>Bryggeriet Djaevlebryg (Denmark)</strong></div>
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<strong>"Gudelos"</strong></div>
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<strong>Imperial Stout (8.9% ABV)</strong></div>
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Rated99 on Great Beers. Delicious, roasty and dark. Super well balanced and has a little bit of a burnt taste to it. Plus, I enjoy the humor of the beer being named "Gudelos" or Godless and that it was brewed with the Danish Atheist Society. Jason calls this one a "dangerous beer" because it's high in alcohol but it's hidden so you can't really tell that you're drinking a big beer. Lovely mouth feel.</div>
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<strong>Stone Brewing (California)</strong></div>
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<strong>"Russian Imperial Stout" Vintage 2007</strong></div>
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<strong>Imperial Stout (10.5% ABV)</strong></div>
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Really sweet and to me it tastes too much like bourbon. Jason and I both prefer the Gudelos better. We also were able to try their 2011 Russian Imperial Stout which tastes about the same but only weaker. It reminds Jason of Ithaca's Dark Humor.</div>
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<strong>Mikkeller (Denmark)</strong></div>
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<strong>"Texas Ranger"</strong></div>
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<strong>Barrel Aged Chipotle Porter (6.6% ABV)</strong></div>
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Son of a bitch... they totally stole my idea. Not as peppery as I would liked... so I win this round, Mikkeller.</div>
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<strong>Dogfish Head (Delaware)</strong></div>
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<strong>120 Minute IPA</strong></div>
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<strong>Super IPA (21% ABV)</strong></div>
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I've had this beer a few times and my response to it whenever someone asks me about whether or not I like it is, eh. Here's my issue: when the ABV on a beer is extremely raised it starts really tasting like whiskey and since I don't like drinking whiskey on the rocks or straight up, I have a hard time drinking a beer that resembles those flavors. But, I do have to say that at least there's enough hops in this beer to somewhat mask the intense whiskey flavor.</div>
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<strong>Hoppin' Frog (Ohio)</strong></div>
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<strong>"B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher"</strong></div>
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<strong>Oatmeal-Imperial Stout (9.4% ABV)</strong></div>
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Bourbon! Give me a rocks glass, turn me 80, put a cherry in it and call it a day.</div>
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<strong>Dogfish Head (Delaware)</strong></div>
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<strong>Pearl Jam "Faithfull" Ale</strong></div>
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<strong>Ale Brewed with Currants (7% ABV)</strong></div>
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So one day Dogfish Head went up to Pearl Jam and said, hey we want to do a beer after you guys... what do you normally drink on tour? Pearl Jam responded with: Red Wine & Corona. I probably would have walked away at that but Dogfish Head did not so therefore I give you "Faithfull," which tastes like red wine and corona. I'll take your finest and cheapest Cabernet... Does not do it for me, blah.</div>
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<br /></div>Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-67494801814351962472011-11-06T08:07:00.000-08:002011-11-06T08:18:16.159-08:00The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co.<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><strong>The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Location: Madison, WI</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Rating: **** (4/5)</span></div>
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I found my notes from our roadtrip home from Colorado, yayy!! I thought they were lost for good but apparently not. So our roadtrip home consisted of leaving Denver and heading Northeast to South Dakota. Turns out there's nothing in South Dakota but this really weird, Dr. Seuss looking landscape and pheasants that like to play Frogger with your car. No breweries for day 1.</div>
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<em>South Dakota</em></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;">Day 2 we hit up Madison, Wisconsin which is beautifully located on Lake Monona and is home to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They have an extended street full of shops, restaurants, Starbucks and bars which could use some TLC but is quite nice.</span></div>
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<em>Lake Monona. Check out that gnarly beard.</em></div>
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We had the pleasure of drinking and eating at The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company. This brewpub has this really sophisticated, 1940s, newspaper and reporter feel to it that's kind of hard to describe but is very unique and really cool. Their menus are made like actual newspapers which was probably my favorite part (well played sir).</div>
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<u><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Go fetch! (yourself a sampler...):</span></strong></u></div>
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<strong>Tri Pepper Pilsner</strong>: (****) Really spicy but not too overpowering; has a very malty yet light fragrance.</div>
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<strong>Praguer Lager</strong>: (***) German malts; sweet and fruity; light; refreshing; dark but clear amber color; crisp.</div>
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<strong>Texas Speedbump IPA</strong>: (***) Cask Conditioned; thick head; pine tasting hops; fantastic mouth feel; weak aroma; more of a British style IPA because the hop flavor isn't so strong; nice & bitter but could be a little bit more balanced between hop and malt flavors.</div>
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<strong>Black Water Scotch</strong>: (***) Sweet, smokey taste and aroma; could have a better mouth feel; smokey "bacon" taste isn't overwhelming; smooth; we say, nitro it!</div>
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<strong>Mr. Natural's Organic Nut Brown</strong>: (**) Bland; none of the flavors really grab me; super light maple flavor; little aroma; not bad but the flavors need to be more pronounced; it is an organic beer... whatever the fuck that means.</div>
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<strong>Stone of Scone Scotch</strong>: (**) Really light for a scotch; sweet, yet still has that sharp alcohol burn (but still, very light); little aroma; nothing special.</div>
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<strong>Emerald Isle Stout</strong>: (***) Light and watery; need to increase the mouth feel; really nice, buttery finish; needs bigger starting impact.</div>
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<strong>Hop Jack IPA</strong>: (****) Cascade & Chinook hops we believe; thick mouth feel; bitter (American style); strong hop aromas; bitter, lingering aftertaste; sweet, crisp malt taste.</div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-size: large;"><strong>great food... great beer... Great Dane!</strong></span><br />
<br /></div>Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-21604896673677704832011-10-28T10:05:00.000-07:002011-10-28T10:05:29.629-07:00The Banjo Brewing Company<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u><span style="background-color: #0c343d; color: #a2c4c9; font-size: x-large;">*The Banjo Brewing Company*</span></u></strong></div>
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Ladies & gentlemen, I am proud to announce to you the beginning of The Banjo Brewing Company. Sole-Proprietorship will be in effect shortly and we will be going into business. We are hoping to sell our beer on a short scale to friends and family and possibly (if allowed) at the Farmer's Market (CNY Regional Market). We're hoping to start small, grab some attention and build from there. We're in the process of nailing down some of the recipes that we hope to sell. Here's a sneak peak of the bottling process of three of our test batches for three different types of stouts:</div>
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Updates soon to come, we thank you for your support.</div>Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-78503513640504031012011-10-24T09:09:00.000-07:002011-10-24T11:18:21.170-07:00Beer Review: Lake Placid<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>"I'll Take Your Finest, Cheapest Chardonnay"</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><em>Beer Review: Lake Placid</em></span></div>
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<em>The view from Jason's family's cabin in Tupper Lake.</em></div>
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<em>Yayyy, fall leaves!</em></div>
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There are a few things in life that I live for. One of them is fall time in the Adirondacks. Unfortunately, scheduling difficulties only allowed us to catch the very end of the fall, leave changing, season, but we made it and celebrated by drinking up in Lake Placid.</div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">* * *</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">Lake Placid Pub & Brewery</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lake Placid, NY</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">*** (3 out of 5)</span></div>
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<em>P.J. O'Neill's (Lake Placid Pub & Brewery)</em></div>
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This pub/brewery in Lake Placid though is one of my favorite places to hit up when I'm visiting the 'Dacks. It's a little confusing, however, because they have an upstairs bar area and then a downstairs bar area called P.J. O'Neill's (Irish Pub). I'm not sure why there are two split bar areas in one building but I'm also not that worried about it. Has a nice mountain, ski lodge kind of feel to it which is what you expect from a pub/brewery in this area. They could work on updating the music though: a lot of 70s and 80s hits with a splash of Foster the People... really. We hung out downstairs at P.J. O'Neill's and got ourselves a delicious sampler:</div>
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<em>Eric enjoying his own personal sampler.</em></div>
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<strong>Festbier</strong>: Smooth, creamy, malty, somewhat mild. I really liked it and it was an easy pub drinking beer.</div>
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<strong>Ubu</strong>: We actually have this beer now where I work so it was interesting to have it straight from the pub. Hardy, dark, roasty, finishes with a nice bitter taste that doesn't stick too much on your palette.</div>
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<strong>Lake Placid IPA</strong>: Bitter, lingering bitterness on the palette, light, hoppyyyy. Bitter throughout the whole tasting experience.</div>
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<em>Free popcorn, yes!</em></div>
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<em>Hefeweizen, bottle only.</em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">Great Adirondack Brewing Co.</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lake Placid, NY</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">*** (3 out of 5)</span></div>
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<em>Stealth, horrible, photo of the inside of the restaurant.</em></div>
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<em>The most ridiculous looking table in the restaurant: (Eric) Damon, (Eric) Altman, Chris (Senor Cristobal), & Jason.</em></div>
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If you like your beer with a side of class then this is your place. I have to warn you though: their prices are steep (for both beer and food). Last year out of drunken stupidity, Jason, Eric and I visited this brewery/restaurant and splurged on Maine lobsters, 24oz f<span class="st">ilet mignons</span>, plates upon plates of steak fries, beers and pint glasses (which we didn't ask for but received anyways). What can I say, I like de best.</div>
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This year, most of us were hurting a little bit in the finances department so we took it a bit easy. Except for Senor Cristobal who spent about $60 on one lobster, drank it with a glass of Pinot Noir, followed up with Makers Mark on the rocks. Eric (unlike last year) enjoyed free bread, a piece of butter, and leftovers from Chris's lobster carcass. I splurged on a $26 sirloin, which I apparently read the description wrong because it was ground sirloin, shaped back into looking like a steak... (I should have gone with the lobster, gahh!) So this year we did try to <strong>opulence</strong> it up as much as possible but I don't think the people who were dining around us enjoyed our table manners, loud jokes and picture taking. Our waiter though was hilarious and a good sport, so that we really appreciated. But, in general, this place has Lake Placid rich ski bum written all over it.</div>
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<em>Chris with his opulence meal: lobster & pinot noir.</em></div>
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<em>Eric with his unopulence meal: butter</em></div>
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<em>lobster carcass.</em></div>
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I will say this: their beers are pretty good and delicious but nothing that is so spectacular that they deserve the prices that they are. I'm pretty sure the sampler that we received was around $16 (kind of high) and when we asked about buying a growler it was something like $34 for the growler and the fill and then $15 for refills. Something absurd like that.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kT5X9TUX85I/TqWJXTtq-ZI/AAAAAAAAAOA/-uUqoymLuVQ/s1600/2011-10-22+17.32.59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" rda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kT5X9TUX85I/TqWJXTtq-ZI/AAAAAAAAAOA/-uUqoymLuVQ/s400/2011-10-22+17.32.59.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<em>Love the sampler trays!</em></div>
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<strong>Hefeweizen</strong>: Medium mouth feel which is really thick for a hefeweizen, made with 50% wheat, almost a little tart.</div>
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<strong>Adirondack Abbey</strong>: Alcohol taste, hardy, little burn, Ommegang-esk, ABV is weak but the beer is mild enough to make it very drinkable.</div>
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<strong>Saison</strong>: Little sour, fruity, light, tart, could be more tart, somewhat spicy, weak aroma. Good in flavors but left me wanting more punch from it.</div>
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<strong>Whiteface Stout</strong>: Malty aroma, med-thick mouth feel, roasty, dark, really well balanced. Both my favorite and Jason's favorite from the night.</div>
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And just because I know you're curious, here's some pictures from the rest of our debauchery from a another ridiculous weekend in the Adirondacks:</div>
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<em>Altman, Jason & Chris hiking up Mt. Jo in the High Peaks Region of the 'Dacks.</em></div>
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<em>Summit of Mt. Jo</em></div>
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<em>Ad-Rock (from the Beastie Boys) and Mr. Potato Head (from childhood).</em></div>
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<em>First night in Tupper Lake, hat party!</em></div>
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<em>A bunch of city folk in a townie bar...</em></div>
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<em>You can't see it, it's electric! You gotta feel it, it's electric! </em></div>
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<em>Jason in the back, Altman on the left, muah (Krysten) in the middle & Chris on the right.</em></div>
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<em>(Eric) Damon & (Eric) Altman at Lake Placid Pub & Brewery.</em></div>
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<em>Knives in bars, totally okay.</em></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tB22Qy19x98/TqWMEw_cC7I/AAAAAAAAAPg/Esn880l_mnI/s1600/290200_10100238702165796_5502573_48905091_324163812_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" rda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tB22Qy19x98/TqWMEw_cC7I/AAAAAAAAAPg/Esn880l_mnI/s400/290200_10100238702165796_5502573_48905091_324163812_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<em>"Hey guys, watch me try to slam this piece of Swiss cheese with Sweet Baby Rays on it into my mouth..."</em></div>
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<em>Mario D. (Chris) likes to eat Swiss cheese.</em></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JTOiIgvx-kQ/TqWMSpr6jPI/AAAAAAAAAPo/0N7IDWZzyF4/s1600/323635_10100238986990006_5502573_48907361_194174353_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" rda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JTOiIgvx-kQ/TqWMSpr6jPI/AAAAAAAAAPo/0N7IDWZzyF4/s400/323635_10100238986990006_5502573_48907361_194174353_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<em>Stump: the true American Adirondack drinking game.</em></div>
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<em>(1) Find log (preferably a stump).</em></div>
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<em>(2) Put in a nail for each person.</em></div>
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<em>(3) Flip hammer one time, catch it, and immediately try to nail someone else's nail into the stump.</em></div>
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<em>(4) Drink a lot and try not to hurt yourself.</em></div>
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Other fun games we came up with include:<br />
<ul>
<li>Pierre Chardonnay Palms (think Edward Scissorhands but with Chardonnay bottles).</li>
<li>Jorge Tequila Manos (think the same, but with tequila).</li>
<li>Mr. Whiskey Shot (aka bring Chris to a bar with you if you enjoy endless whiskey shots)</li>
</ul>
Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-53079937427533031162011-10-20T07:20:00.000-07:002011-10-20T07:25:05.690-07:00Beer Review: Grand Rapids, Michigan<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Bland Crappids or Grand “Time” Rapids </strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Beer Review: Grand Rapids, Michigan</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Jason & Eric were in Grand Rapids for a history conference a few weeks ago. Jason went to present at the conference hung over. Here is how that happened:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong><a href="http://hopcatgr.com/">HOPCAT</a></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Voted third best beer bar in the world by Beer Advocate. They brew their own beer too but I would say go there for their awesome craft beer selection. Get there early if you want their daily special beers because they run out. The place was pretty cool. They have food there too but there's a sick pizza place a few doors down that is <em>really</em> good (ever have fully loaded baked potato zaa? I did). </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8OBjeAnk6iM/TqApy9OvRWI/AAAAAAAAAL0/Iv-thGSGD_c/s1600/IMG_0022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" rda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8OBjeAnk6iM/TqApy9OvRWI/AAAAAAAAAL0/Iv-thGSGD_c/s400/IMG_0022.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<em>Courtesy of the HopCat website</em></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--gQkw4iDEC4/TqAp0c8ND0I/AAAAAAAAAL8/7PjISS9d92Y/s1600/IMG_0031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--gQkw4iDEC4/TqAp0c8ND0I/AAAAAAAAAL8/7PjISS9d92Y/s400/IMG_0031.jpg" width="285" /></a></div>
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<em>Courtesy of the HopCat website</em></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_M5ws_7rY-Q/TqAp1DH-BHI/AAAAAAAAAME/HEfxJPMraDY/s1600/IMG_9586.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_M5ws_7rY-Q/TqAp1DH-BHI/AAAAAAAAAME/HEfxJPMraDY/s400/IMG_9586.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<em>Courtesy of the HopCat website</em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong><a href="http://www.breweryvivant.com/">BREWERY VIVANT</a></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Awesome location. It is in the church of a funeral home which became a day care and then a brewery. Great beers and ciders all made with Belgian yeast. If you like it sour go with the Farm Hand: French Style Farmhouse Ale, classic and delicious. The Sgt. Peppercorn Rye has a really good aroma and aftertaste of peppercorn, not too much though, and well balanced. Their Heavy Handed: Double Chocolate Stout seemed to be the beer they were most proud of at the time. They claimed that it takes 5 min to pour because of the thickness and the head of the beer because “perfection cannot be rushed.” The problem is that it’s far from perfect. There was a distinct metallic irony taste that seemed unintentional. I couldn't tell if it was a problem with the taps or just a flaw in the beer. I enjoy really wonky shit, but this was just unpleasant. Everything else was very good. Try some ciders even if you’re not a cider kinda person. The one I had was dry hopped.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-urupkkGA0nk/TqAqfKy82hI/AAAAAAAAAMU/YCbh5rttU-k/s1600/DSC_0011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" rda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-urupkkGA0nk/TqAqfKy82hI/AAAAAAAAAMU/YCbh5rttU-k/s320/DSC_0011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<em>Eric's Pictures</em></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nQmI_UWbxzs/TqAql-SWh2I/AAAAAAAAAMc/QYqH0o1kYT0/s1600/DSC_0013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nQmI_UWbxzs/TqAql-SWh2I/AAAAAAAAAMc/QYqH0o1kYT0/s320/DSC_0013.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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<em>Eric's Pictures</em></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ol5oXirS6BM/TqAqpEGVG5I/AAAAAAAAAMk/hErqK5Wq92M/s1600/DSC_0014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" rda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ol5oXirS6BM/TqAqpEGVG5I/AAAAAAAAAMk/hErqK5Wq92M/s320/DSC_0014.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<em>Eric's Pictures</em></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xIK4Y8tyU-c/TqAqsgw-HGI/AAAAAAAAAMs/riXvInRU02k/s1600/DSC_0016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" rda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xIK4Y8tyU-c/TqAqsgw-HGI/AAAAAAAAAMs/riXvInRU02k/s320/DSC_0016.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<em>Eric's Pictures</em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong><a href="http://www.foundersbrewing.com/">FOUNDERS BREWERY</a></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Apparently the oldest brewery in town. Food was very good. All sandwiches which you order from a window and pick up there later. The servers are only for beer (real beer wenches!). The breakfast stout was yummy. My fav was the “Backwoods Bastard” which was an oak aged scotch ale. The one I had was 11% and the alcohol, malt, caramel and wood flavors went together real nice like! They have a nice big tap room with live music. The only problem: they charge for peanuts! WTF, who charges for peanuts! George Washington Carver would be ashamed!!!</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3ERtAfZuTVA/TqArki6f5PI/AAAAAAAAAM0/iOJRu5rMGCA/s1600/founders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3ERtAfZuTVA/TqArki6f5PI/AAAAAAAAAM0/iOJRu5rMGCA/s400/founders.jpg" width="336" /></a></div>
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<em>Courtesy of </em><a href="http://www.michigan.org/Property/Detail.aspx?p=B8230"><em>Pure Michigan</em></a><em> </em></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YsgH-CC412k/TqArlm52IgI/AAAAAAAAAM8/_3biH6zciDk/s1600/founders-brewery-in-gxrx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" rda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YsgH-CC412k/TqArlm52IgI/AAAAAAAAAM8/_3biH6zciDk/s400/founders-brewery-in-gxrx.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<em>Courtesy of </em><a href="http://beerrhetorics.com/industry-spotlight/industry-spotlight-sarah-aldrich/"><em>Beer Rhetorics</em></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong>* * *</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">On a radomnly buzzed note, check out Eric's pictures from Grand Rapids "ArtPrize:"</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mouPF7ec5lE/TqAn4imMqXI/AAAAAAAAALE/T7kjxkvko5Y/s1600/DSC_0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" rda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mouPF7ec5lE/TqAn4imMqXI/AAAAAAAAALE/T7kjxkvko5Y/s400/DSC_0001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KLxRs1iMJOc/TqAn8uPptUI/AAAAAAAAALM/iky7qPW0lAQ/s1600/DSC_0006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KLxRs1iMJOc/TqAn8uPptUI/AAAAAAAAALM/iky7qPW0lAQ/s400/DSC_0006.JPG" width="265" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tRKTrFAt2v4/TqAoL60y9mI/AAAAAAAAALs/PjH-5g5rRNM/s1600/DSC_0026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tRKTrFAt2v4/TqAoL60y9mI/AAAAAAAAALs/PjH-5g5rRNM/s400/DSC_0026.JPG" width="265" /></a></div>
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And then...</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9zhnA6_NlAg/TqAnzzpomxI/AAAAAAAAAK8/PXpZplXHR84/s1600/CSC_0032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" rda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9zhnA6_NlAg/TqAnzzpomxI/AAAAAAAAAK8/PXpZplXHR84/s400/CSC_0032.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Cat"><strong>Battle Cat!</strong></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">"Designed as a very different art competition, the goal is for the general public and artists to collide, exchange ideas and come away changed...</span></div>
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Grand Rapids, MI USA</div>
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$474,000 prize ($250,000 to 1st place)</div>
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Top 10 entries receive a prize</div>
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Artists can submit one entry</div>
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Any property in downtown Grand Rapids can be a venue</div>
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<li>Venues choose the artists they exhibit </li>
<li>Anyone attending the event can vote</li>
<li>Winner is determined by public vote" <em>(Courtesy of </em><em><a href="http://www.artprize.org/">ArtPrize</a></em><em>)</em></li>
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</div>Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-38060918471147079222011-10-15T06:37:00.000-07:002011-10-15T06:37:06.808-07:00Beer Garden Gnome<div style="text-align: center;">
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<strong><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;">BEER GARDEN GNOME</span></strong> </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3xyKiSAzxBE/TpmMO3Ey03I/AAAAAAAAAK0/YDzwyufIMUw/s1600/beer+garden+gnome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" oda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3xyKiSAzxBE/TpmMO3Ey03I/AAAAAAAAAK0/YDzwyufIMUw/s320/beer+garden+gnome.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/68300527/beer-drinking-gnome-garden-gnomes-for">http://www.etsy.com/listing/68300527/beer-drinking-gnome-garden-gnomes-for</a></div>
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Honestly, it's just essential for any garden. Put me down for 30 orders.<br />
<br />Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-7848689999875773812011-10-06T06:33:00.000-07:002011-10-06T12:43:00.409-07:00Pumpkinness<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="background-color: orange; font-size: x-large;"><u>*<span style="color: black;">*</span>P<span style="color: black;">U</span>M<span style="color: black;">P</span>K<span style="color: black;">I</span>N<span style="color: black;">N</span>E<span style="color: black;">S</span>S<span style="color: black;">*</span>*</u></span></strong></div>
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Yes my friends, that's right. It's what I like to call a "Black & Orange" instead of a "Black & Tan," or a Pumpkinness. Half PumKing from Southern Tier, half Guinness... pure genius. The guys at Blue Tusk know what they're doing and this beer combination is fantastic! While I thoroughly enjoy the sweetness and overpowering spice level of a tradional PumKing (Southern Tier), a Pumpkinness (I came up with the name, no need to thank me) really mellows out these flavors and the Guinness infuses the PumKing with roasty, dark and malty flavors. The aroma of the PumKing still floats above the Guinness to smack you in the face every time you take a sip, which is amazing. And when you get to the end of the beer, it's pure, delicious PumKing. Thanks Blue Tusk!</div>
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Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-55350632629939210992011-10-01T09:50:00.000-07:002011-10-01T09:51:16.473-07:00Adventures of the Chocolate Stout<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">Adventures of the Chocolate Stout</span></strong></div>
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<em>Hops randomly found on our adventures in Ithaca.</em></div>
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<em>Checking the temperature in our mash tun.</em></div>
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<em>Boiling the wort outside on our patio on top of a turkey burner (highly recommended procedure...)</em></div>
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<em>There's a heart in our beer! I'll take that as a sign.</em></div>
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<em>Thank you Martha Stewart for helping us make some delicious beers.</em></div>
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<em>First fermentation.</em></div>
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<em>Transferring the beer into three separate carboys for the second fermentation. Three experimental batches of beer that we'll reveal when they're finished.</em></div>
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<em>Taking our final gravity reading. Turned out to be a tad lower than we'd like but we're hoping it increases during the second fermentation.</em></div>
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More to come...</div>
Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-18967366901114706642011-09-22T10:48:00.000-07:002011-09-22T10:50:35.515-07:00Next Locally Grown Craze: Beer Hops<div style="text-align: justify;">
Check out Foothill Hops and Empire Brewing Co. on CNN Money! Craft brewing and localization are starting to get a lot of coverage across the nation and it's nice to see two of our own local CNY craft brewing associated companies getting the spotlight. Bravo!!</div>
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*For some stupid reason you'll have to follow the link to YouTube to watch the video...*</div>
Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-59762955347300864242011-09-21T20:50:00.000-07:002011-09-23T07:00:52.856-07:00J Ryan's New Editions<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">J Ryan's New Editions</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">(9/21/11)</span></strong></div>
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Had a few new beers at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/#!/jryanspub">J Ryan's</a> (Syracuse, NY) tonight, thought you should know about it:</div>
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<strong><a href="http://weyerbacher.com/">Weyerbacher</a> Imperial Pumpkin Ale</strong>: Intense spice level, rich in taste, a little too sweet for me. Has a nice, creamy taste to it but the spice was a little much, especially at the end. Could be a little bit more balanced but for a pumpkin ale at least it does have enough pumpkin and spice taste.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.horseheadsbrewing.com/">Horseheads</a> Pumpkin Ale</strong>: I hope you're starting to see a trend here... we really like our fall pumpkin beers... Anyways, Horseheads Pumpkin is pretty good and, as Alicia at J Ryans told us, it's like eating a pumpkin pie with cream cheese frosting on it (absolute perfect description!). Very sweet, somewhat spicy and finishes with... cream cheese? Pretty good, I approve, but I don't know how many I can drink due to the sweetness of it.</div>
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<strong><a href="http://middleagesbrewing.com/">Middle Ages</a> X (10th Anniversary) Cask:</strong> Usually, I steer away from cask conditioned IPAs (even though brewpubs and beer bars love to put IPAs on cask) because I feel as though a cask conditioned IPA looses it's hoppiness and flavor cask style and should be somewhat cold. However, Middle Ages X definitely blew me away tonight. The cask condition really exploited the hops and the flavors were extremely pronounced. It's delicious and a definite if you get down to J Ryans while it's on cask.<br />
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Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-85976680609707715282011-09-18T10:34:00.000-07:002011-09-18T10:34:59.494-07:00Good Nature Brewing<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Good Nature Brewing</span></strong></div>
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<em>Brewery In Progress - Estimated Opening: January 2012</em></div>
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Location: 37 Milford St, Hamilton, NY</div>
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Livin' the dream!<br />
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I am BEYOND jealous of Carrie Blackmore and Matt Whalen of <a href="http://www.goodnaturebrewing.com/Index/Home.html">Good Nature Brewing</a>. I'll have to be honest though, Jason handed me the article written about them from <a href="http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/09/more_local_on_tap_couple_worki.html">The Post-Standard</a> and it took me a good day or two to actually pick it up and read it, just from pure jealousy. Then, I got over dumb myself, read the article, fell in love and have reinstated my own brewery dreams as a possibility.</div>
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Where to begin... I guess first with a sincere <u>congratulations</u>! It takes a lot of guts to start a new business, let alone a brewery, and Matt & Carrie definitely have some guts. <a href="http://www.goodnaturebrewing.com/Index/Home.html">Good Nature Brewing</a> will be Madison County's first brewery and will focus on using local ingredients and will create unfiltered, natural brews free from additives and adjuncts. I'm happy to see that they are utilizing <a href="http://www.foothillhops.com/">Foothill Hops</a>, that's where Jason and I actually bought our supply of hops and they're fantastic and local. I'm also super excited about how much help <a href="http://www.goodnaturebrewing.com/Index/Home.html">Good Nature Brewing</a> is receiving, not only from the general public but from the government as well. Madison County provided them with $35,000 in seed money (omg...) which could turn from a low-interest loan to a grant if they hire "a low- to moderate-income employee within a year" (Potrikus, <a href="http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/09/more_local_on_tap_couple_worki.html">The Post-Standard</a>). I mean, $35,000 to start a brewery! Come on! That's maybe the coolest thing since sliced bread... Ohhh the possibilities... **takes a minute to daydream about opening a brewery...**</div>
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<em>Whalen & Blackmore at a beer tasting.</em></div>
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">(courtesy of Good Nature's </span></em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/GoodNatureBrewing?sk=wall#!/GoodNatureBrewing"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">facebook</span></em></a><em><span style="font-size: x-small;"> page)</span></em></div>
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<em>Good Nature's proposed brewery space.</em></div>
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">(courtesy of Good Nature's </span></em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/GoodNatureBrewing?sk=wall#!/GoodNatureBrewing"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">facebook</span></em></a><em><span style="font-size: x-small;"> page)</span></em></div>
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Anddd I'm back. Here's OverCarbonated's advice to the happy couple and <a href="http://www.goodnaturebrewing.com/Index/Home.html">Good Nature Brewing</a>:</div>
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<strong>(1)</strong> <strong>BEER: </strong>Don't be afraid to take risks. So far on your website I can see that you've perfected a Pale Ale, IPA and Mocha Porter, all of which I'm sure are fantastic, but they are pretty standard in the brewing world. While it's important to master the basics, I would also push the envelope on brewing and try some crazy combinations. For instance, Jason and I threw some pineapple into a batch of our IPA, just for the hell of it. I'm not sure if our friends were just being courteous but our PiPA seemed to go over pretty well. Get a little crazy! Do some small test batches and test them out in your tap room; a good reaction means perfect it & brew it bigger.</div>
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<strong>(2)</strong> <strong>BREWPUB: </strong>Ever think about combining a small restaurant to your brewery? A wise man (Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head) once wrote<em>:</em></div>
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"In my research I learned that brewpubs had one-tenth the failure rate of restaurants that open without breweries. I knew this statistic would be critical in raising capital... I decided that I wanted to own a brewery in a restaurant as opposed to a straightforward beer-production factory because I felt there was great brand-building value in direct interactions with the customer... They were paying <em>us</em> and providing feedback on our beer, and yet they enjoyed a level of input into what we brewed that is unheard of in the world of large-scale commercial brewing." (Calagione, <em>Brewing Up a Business</em>, p. 23-4)</div>
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I'm not sure if the thought has crossed the minds of <a href="http://www.goodnaturebrewing.com/Index/Home.html">Good Nature Brewing</a> but I hope it does. Opening a small restaurant in your brewery does not have to be extensive. It could be mostly sandwiches, paninis, salads, cheese plates, what not... But it'll attract a following and provide an outlet for people to really spend time at your establishment, enjoying your beer and munching. For instance, <a href="http://www.clarksalehouse.com/">Clark's Ale House</a> in Syracuse (reopening soon, yayyy) serves beer and primarily one killer sandwich, and it's just enough. I think it would be worth it so I'm hoping that this is part of their business plan.</div>
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<strong>(3)</strong> <strong>BRANDING:</strong> Build on an idea, build your brand and execute it perfectly. There's nothing sadder than traveling (which I do often) to visit a brewery or brewpub to disappointed by the look and atmosphere of the establishment. Your logo, pint glasses, shirts and website look fantastic right now so you're definitely heading in the right direction. Let that energy flow into the look and feel of your brewery:</div>
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"Branding is the way you differentiate your products from those of the competition... It's every tool and technique you use to translate your company's philosophy to the consumer" (Calagione, <em>Brewing Up a Business</em>, p. 71)</div>
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<strong>(4)</strong> <strong>EMPLOYEES: </strong>If you're looking for any low-income employees... holler at me. Turns out working in a restaurant, having an expensive taste in beer and running a small-scale beer blog doesn't ring in the bucks, who knew. But it's not about money, it's about living the dream, and honestly, I am beyond excited for the possibility and potential your brewery has. Make sure you hire the right people who have the same amount of honest excitement as you and really believe in what you are creating.</div>
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Live long and prosper,</div>
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OverCarbonated</div>
Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-60083646951776956622011-09-08T12:02:00.000-07:002011-09-08T12:03:59.867-07:00Boulder Beer Company<div style="text-align: center;">
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Location: Boulder, CO</div>
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Overall: **** (4/5)</div>
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<em>Taps, taps, taps, tapstapstaps!</em></div>
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<em>Sitting at the bar at The Pub with a full view of the action behind the window.</em></div>
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Now, I've been drinking Boulder Beer for years now so getting to go to this brewpub was definitely one of the highlights of my two month sabbatical in Colorado. Boulder Beer Co. is another Boulder brewery that isn't centrally located in the Pearl St. neighborhood so it's a little bit of a hike to get to, but definitely worth it. The Pub at Boulder Beer has a really nice, laid back atmosphere with that cool yet eccentric Colorado feelings to it. They also host an array of events at the Pub including small scale music concerts, unfortunately I didn't find the time to attend one.</div>
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So you wanna know about the beer, obviously... The beer was obviously fabulous and I wouldn't expect anything else. The sampler (as seen below) is OUT OF CONTROL! When we visited Boulder Beer Co., we had just finished eating dinner and drinking on Pearl St. and were hitting a serious wall. We were served with lunch trays full of samples. It was almost painful to get through... so if you go there, I would go on an empty stomach and make that the beginning of your drinking excursion.</div>
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<em>The beginning of our beer journey...</em></div>
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Okay, here are some of my favs:</div>
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<strong>Mojo Risin':</strong> So you can get this beer on the east coast (cough cough J Ryans) but that doesn't take away from the greatness that is this beer. This Double IPA is loaded with flavor and is perfectly balanced between malt and hops and is dry hopped with Amarillo hops, which happen to be one of my favorite hops to use in my own beer.</div>
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<strong>Planet Porter:</strong> I love me a smooth, dark, roasty beer. Planet Porter delivers on all of those terms and does not disappoint. Very easy to drink and full of flavor.</div>
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<strong>Flashback (India Brown Ale):</strong> Dark, hoppy and delicious. Clean and crisp yet dark and hoppy. Was a perfect combination of many different flavors packed into one beer.</div>
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<strong>Sweaty Betty (Blonde):</strong> Bavarian-Style Wheat Beer (according to Boulder Beer's website) that has that typical "banana" (aka clove) flavor but isn't overwhelming. I've also had this beer before on the east coast but I'm happy to have had it straight from the brewery.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nrEjWsXyf6w/TmkO3306MBI/AAAAAAAAAJk/-6L387Gyjw0/s1600/Pictures+137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nba="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nrEjWsXyf6w/TmkO3306MBI/AAAAAAAAAJk/-6L387Gyjw0/s400/Pictures+137.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<em>Eric, Casie and Jason (who is reallyyy enjoying our sampler)</em></div>
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Jason's favorite part of the brewpub was that he learned it was founded by two University of Colorado at Boulder professors. I liked learning this too because maybe when Jason does become Dr. Newtypants we will still be able to start a brewpub like we've wanted to do. See! Smart people love beer!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A66z3fPEeaM/TmkPlmPSO0I/AAAAAAAAAJo/TSTGel3C8hY/s1600/Pictures+139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nba="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A66z3fPEeaM/TmkPlmPSO0I/AAAAAAAAAJo/TSTGel3C8hY/s400/Pictures+139.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<em>Tidbits of Boulder Beer history.</em></div>
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Clearly, even on full stomachs, we had a hard time finishing our samplers... Thanks again, Boulder Beer, it was a pleasure.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-10H5z_hzJqE/TmkP5104x4I/AAAAAAAAAJs/ctSxcyGa7NY/s1600/Pictures+140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nba="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-10H5z_hzJqE/TmkP5104x4I/AAAAAAAAAJs/ctSxcyGa7NY/s400/Pictures+140.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<em>...and the end of our journey.</em></div>
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Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-33613451895030031182011-09-03T08:10:00.000-07:002011-09-03T08:12:47.447-07:00Dostal Alley Brewpub and Casino<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Dostal Alley Brewpub and Casino</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Location: Central City, CO</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Overall: ** (2/5)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y1vf4_79JNE/TmJCYuTwM2I/AAAAAAAAAI4/NQA_-T4TL6c/s1600/codostalalleylogo3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y1vf4_79JNE/TmJCYuTwM2I/AAAAAAAAAI4/NQA_-T4TL6c/s400/codostalalleylogo3.jpg" width="400" xaa="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Courtesy from </em><a href="http://thebeerfriends.com/2011/04/20/dostal-alley-brewery/"><em>The Beer Friends</em></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PUzSFLJwXdc/TmJCZ4CdK3I/AAAAAAAAAI8/br9hENotb60/s1600/Dostal_featuredSquare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PUzSFLJwXdc/TmJCZ4CdK3I/AAAAAAAAAI8/br9hENotb60/s1600/Dostal_featuredSquare.jpg" xaa="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Courtesy from </em><a href="http://www.coloradogamingnews.com/news/dostal-alley-attracts-beer-lovers-to-central-city/"><em>Colorado Gaming News</em></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Is it true nowadays that anywhere you go you’ll find a brewery?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Out in the middle of the <place w:st="on">Rocky Mountains</place> (in the middle of nothing) lies a small western style, gamblin’ city called Central City.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we’re driving back from quite possibly the most epic game of disc golf we’ve ever played (<a href="http://www.pdga.com/course_directory/course/ghost-town">Ghost Town Disc Golf</a> in Russell Gulch) and we’re driving through Central City when Jason spies the words “Brewery” on the side of a building.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Naturally, we pull over to debate if we have enough time to go in for a brew and pizza and Jason pulls the keys out of the ignition and runs inside.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">So now we’re in Central City, home of the slot machine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It literally seemed like every business (all 10 of them) had some sort of gambling element.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This might make a great retirement town for grandmas who are looking to give <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Atlantic City</place></city> a break.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n-ntBhU3JOU/TmJC2458-sI/AAAAAAAAAJA/1gUfmNNk3qM/s1600/198784_10100175500697046_5502573_48160662_2144411_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n-ntBhU3JOU/TmJC2458-sI/AAAAAAAAAJA/1gUfmNNk3qM/s320/198784_10100175500697046_5502573_48160662_2144411_n.jpg" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Central City, CO</em></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">I’m pleased to find that this very small brewery/pizza shop has emerged in this city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Craft brewing is a serious growing trend and if you can make it in the middle of a small town in the <place w:st="on">Rocky Mountains</place>, then serious nods to you!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave this brewery two out of five stars given how small the brewery is and how when we were there they only had four beers on tap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had their stout which was acceptable for the style, but it wasn’t anything too glorious.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ei8VBXgwuk8/TmJDK5vjT7I/AAAAAAAAAJI/bc8osZVUT3A/s1600/184018_10100175500726986_5502573_48160663_6331907_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ei8VBXgwuk8/TmJDK5vjT7I/AAAAAAAAAJI/bc8osZVUT3A/s320/184018_10100175500726986_5502573_48160663_6331907_n.jpg" width="240" xaa="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Brewing Tanks</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1bz3qjtx-kE/TmJDL3zhRdI/AAAAAAAAAJM/prO_mrkrbiM/s1600/185423_10100175500766906_5502573_48160664_7098148_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1bz3qjtx-kE/TmJDL3zhRdI/AAAAAAAAAJM/prO_mrkrbiM/s320/185423_10100175500766906_5502573_48160664_7098148_n.jpg" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Jason & Eric... note the computer gambling games on the bar.</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">According to their website, the brewery started in 1998 and given that they are in such a secluded area, I can see how they only have the capabilities to produce small batches of beer at a time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have though won a few awards which are posted on their website which is quite impressive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess what impresses me the most was finding this gem completely randomly and in a completely unexpected place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good for you Dostal Alley!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep on a brewin’!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mWVZfc5Myss/TmJDBL-hU5I/AAAAAAAAAJE/pF-qLFyNc5o/s1600/284610_10100175500816806_5502573_48160665_235527_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mWVZfc5Myss/TmJDBL-hU5I/AAAAAAAAAJE/pF-qLFyNc5o/s320/284610_10100175500816806_5502573_48160665_235527_n.jpg" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Award hanging on the wall in Dostal Alley.</em></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">And if you live in Colorado, you should give them a try (bring your quarters for the slot machines) and play a game of disc golf at Ghost Town.</div>Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-91817286574608952192011-09-01T09:17:00.000-07:002011-09-01T09:23:32.316-07:00Twisted Pine Brewing Company<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Twisted Pine Brewing <place w:st="on">Co.</place></span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Location: <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Boulder</city>, <state w:st="on">CO</state></place></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Overall: ***** (5/5)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TysrLxBnhFI/Tl-utXG80iI/AAAAAAAAAIw/8x7STEz0oJQ/s1600/Pictures+011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TysrLxBnhFI/Tl-utXG80iI/AAAAAAAAAIw/8x7STEz0oJQ/s320/Pictures+011.jpg" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>The wall of gloriousness!</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FdMrXRysMtI/Tl-ug2lcjzI/AAAAAAAAAIs/_KGjTH_-D6s/s1600/302133_ratio4x3_width223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FdMrXRysMtI/Tl-ug2lcjzI/AAAAAAAAAIs/_KGjTH_-D6s/s320/302133_ratio4x3_width223.jpg" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Courtesy of </em><a href="http://denver.metromix.com/bars-and-clubs/brewery/twisted-pine-brewing-co-boulder/302133/content"><em>Metromix Denver</em></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Welcome to <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Boulder</place></city>!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Land of the rich and intelligent hippies who all seem to ride around Pearl Street on their Triton:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NiqvCJJCUmY/Tl-q-UjRIwI/AAAAAAAAAIc/mrE9FrT0EAQ/s1600/man-riding-triton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NiqvCJJCUmY/Tl-q-UjRIwI/AAAAAAAAAIc/mrE9FrT0EAQ/s200/man-riding-triton.jpg" width="200" xaa="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Courtesy of </em><a href="http://www.tritonbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/man-riding-triton.jpg"><em>Triton Buzz</em></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Off the beaten path (down on Walnut Street) lays a little gem called <a href="http://twistedpinebrewing.com/blog/">Twisted Pine Brewing Company</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before coming to <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Colorado</place></state> I had never heard of Twisted Pine before but when my friends told us about them, I was anxious to give them a try.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this laid back, yet somewhat small, brewpub holds some of the most creative and crazy beers I have ever tried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And since, yes, I have been to Dogfish Head in <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Delaware</place></state>, so this means a lot.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">What I love the most about Twisted Pine is that they are taking some serious risks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were creating their version of a Chili Beer (Billies Chillies) years before it really caught on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had the opportunity to talk to one of their owners or brewers (I assume from his presence/knowledge) and he told me that they were brewing Billies Chillies for a really long time and only recently did it start catching fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kudos to them for being creative from the beginning!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Andddd, the only reason I had the opportunity to talk to this gentleman was because he approached <em>me</em> as I sat at the bar to ask my opinion about their beer:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>1.</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This never really happens because I’m a girl… no seriously.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>2.</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked me what I liked and if I thought they should stop brewing any of their beers… bold question my friend, I like how you are really concerned about what your customer thinks.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>3.</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After I gave him the sense that I did know a thing or two about beer he stayed and chatted with me for a little bit about their beers, giving me some hints on their brewing process. Honestly, I really appreciated it. Really makes your customer feel connected to your brewery!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-97kXDwp6SkM/Tl-tYJl_2AI/AAAAAAAAAIo/gAuZWp0JxCc/s1600/Pictures+010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-97kXDwp6SkM/Tl-tYJl_2AI/AAAAAAAAAIo/gAuZWp0JxCc/s320/Pictures+010.jpg" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Twisted Pine taps</em></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Twisted Pine gets an almost never seen 5 out of 5 stars because<strong> (a)</strong> their beer is fabulous!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the ones that are their more standard beers are done artfully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <strong> </strong></span><strong>(b)</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their staff is fantastic, knowledgeable and are genuinely curious about what their customers have to say about their brews.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><strong>(c)</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are creative but not to the point of ridiculousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their experimental beers are imaginative and original but also delicious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love a brewery that’s willing to take some risks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><strong>(d)</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The overall feel of the brewpub was super laid back with really friendly, down-to-earth people which gives it a relaxed and fun atmosphere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They even had a guy come in and play piano covers of songs… I love it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On a side note though, I know, Twisted Pine, that I’m giving you 5 stars, but you didn’t have to go and name one of your beers after me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re too kind! (wink...)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WJgk0gHDSjM/Tl-tDBTBfzI/AAAAAAAAAIk/KOYB-au1LWo/s1600/OakWhiskeyRed-72.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WJgk0gHDSjM/Tl-tDBTBfzI/AAAAAAAAAIk/KOYB-au1LWo/s1600/OakWhiskeyRed-72.png" xaa="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Reilly's Oak Whisky Red</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Okay, let’s go over some of the beers I had that knocked my socks off:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Billies Chillies</strong>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is one of their more popular beers and I can understand why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Easy to drink but has that Chili Beer kick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The gentleman I spoke to told me that the hint is just using the fruit and not the seeds in the brewing process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clever!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Experimental Brews</strong>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Twisted Pine does something quite clever at their brewpub.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They come up with what I like to call “experimental brews” that they showcase at their brewpub.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Taking their regular beers, they mix together with their other beers, flavors and additives to create something completely crazy but most of the time absolutely delicious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m digging this idea because the way that I see it is this is an opportunity for them to try out an idea on a super small level, get a reaction, and see if it’s worth brewing on a larger scale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t remember the names of the ones that I had but I’m pretty sure some of them included a Raspberry Espresso Stout, a Billies Chillies Stout and a Blueberry Blonde.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Big Shot Espresso Stout</strong>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Super creamy with bold coffee and dark chocolate flavors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Super rich but not so much that it’s hard to drink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The really nice mouth feel and aroma of the beer top off the rich and delicate flavors.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kzxh54VfSow/Tl-xYTrKUdI/AAAAAAAAAI0/khMttO11_Os/s1600/Pictures+009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><em><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kzxh54VfSow/Tl-xYTrKUdI/AAAAAAAAAI0/khMttO11_Os/s320/Pictures+009.jpg" width="320" xaa="true" /></em></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><em>Jackie enjoying a "make your own" sampler.</em></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">And, if you have to know, we did enjoy their nachos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were fantastic, but then again, nachos are always fantastic and the best appetizer option aside from a cheese plate a brewpub can offer (I’m trying to save my money for the drinking!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jason also found a sweet portrait of himself on the wall:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ULhJnvhDXoI/Tl-s_HMqjDI/AAAAAAAAAIg/i7nJdb6OnOI/s1600/jason.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ULhJnvhDXoI/Tl-s_HMqjDI/AAAAAAAAAIg/i7nJdb6OnOI/s320/jason.jpg" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Jason... obvs</em></div>Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-16029983872847177972011-08-25T16:33:00.000-07:002011-08-25T19:27:56.844-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Mountain Sun Brewpub (Vine St.)</span></strong> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Location: <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Denver</city>, <state w:st="on">CO</state></place></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Overall: *** (3/5)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k95e8FS6YYA/TlbaSJWAPrI/AAAAAAAAAIE/CwfPBVd99Mk/s1600/IMG_7520_000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" qaa="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k95e8FS6YYA/TlbaSJWAPrI/AAAAAAAAAIE/CwfPBVd99Mk/s400/IMG_7520_000.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Curtosy of the </em><a href="http://www.mountainsunpub.com/"><em>Mountain Sun</em></a><em> website.</em></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HdaDFbrgArg/TlbaURNbi-I/AAAAAAAAAII/OHEt90VUVmE/s1600/205907_10100175502423586_5502573_48160698_3054377_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" qaa="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HdaDFbrgArg/TlbaURNbi-I/AAAAAAAAAII/OHEt90VUVmE/s400/205907_10100175502423586_5502573_48160698_3054377_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Mountain Sun originals and guest beers on tap.</em></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">This is where I spend most of my days, chillin’ out, maxin’ and relaxin’ all cool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">.. most </span>likely cause they’re right down the street from me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You should know that Mountain Sun has three locations: (1) Mountain Sun on Pearl St in <city w:st="on">Boulder</city>, (2) Southern Sun on Broadway in <city w:st="on">Boulder</city>, and (3) Vine St Pub on (cough) Vine St & 17th Ave in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Denver</place></city>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Confusing, I know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I say, stick with one name and just have various locations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyways, we’ve been to their two brewpub locations: Mountain Sun in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Boulder</place></city> and Vine St. They’re both pretty similar and since I’ve been to Vine Street multiple times, most of my reactions will be coming from there.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LC4XZ1uTvkY/Tlbak88injI/AAAAAAAAAIM/wAfhTjGlATQ/s1600/184133_10100175502498436_5502573_48160700_482974_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LC4XZ1uTvkY/Tlbak88injI/AAAAAAAAAIM/wAfhTjGlATQ/s320/184133_10100175502498436_5502573_48160700_482974_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Mountain Sun Sampler</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><strong>Here are my quick notes:</strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Cash Money</strong>: Bring cash!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They don’t accept credit cards (I’m not sure they know what year it is…)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They do have an ATM there and it only charges a measly $1 to use, but I NEVER remember until I get there, because, well frankly, I’m not carrying cash type.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They do accept checks though... really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Feel of Brewpub</strong>: Super relaxed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The staff there works on a tip pool so at one time it can feel like you have 10 people waiting on you, which isn’t a bad thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone who works there is extremely nice and, lucky them, they get to wear basically whatever they want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, and if you go around 10ish when the kitchen closes, they all conspire behind the bar, sing, toast and drink a beer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t expect to get a beer during that time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have board games you can play there as well and a sweet patio set up of cornhole.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Food</strong>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve only eaten there once with my friend Casie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We both got burgers (Junk Burger & Basil Blue Cheeseburger).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Casie loved hers and I loved mine as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would definitely recommend their food… easy pub fare, fairly priced but quality ingredients and interesting combinations.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Beer Here!</strong>: There beers are pretty good but there’s nothing there that I’m overly excited about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can do a sampler there, which I would highly recommend because it’s fairly priced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m a fan of the Java Porter, the Dropkick Stout and the Annapurna Amber.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, they’re very similar to other beers with the same style, but they’re done right and they’re great to drink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope in the future though they really start testing the boundaries of what they can do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> They are devoting September to Belgian beer which sounds interesting, except that we won't be in the great state of CO anymore. </span>Oh, and lastly, they always have a few of their beers on Nitro, which is pretty sick.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Music/Events</strong>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On Sundays, Vine Street has some pretty excellent live music, which is fantastic!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots of bluegrass bands, yayyy!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kind of sucks that they only have music on Sunday nights, but since I don’t have a job out here, I’m not one to complain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They also do some beer competitions and I did drop in there once when they were having Comedy Debates (think Jason vs. Freddy).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pretty fun stuff.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ma2og7Wt09o/TlbbCkg1qDI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/dO8hitUpIHA/s1600/2011-08-07+22.06.04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ma2og7Wt09o/TlbbCkg1qDI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/dO8hitUpIHA/s320/2011-08-07+22.06.04.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Fresh Hops performing at Mountain Sun (Vine St.) </em></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gLloCJe2gKI/TlbbF-y0LXI/AAAAAAAAAIU/lCcm-mbFb2I/s1600/2011-08-07+22.06.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gLloCJe2gKI/TlbbF-y0LXI/AAAAAAAAAIU/lCcm-mbFb2I/s320/2011-08-07+22.06.25.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Jason enjoying himself... awkwardly.</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Overall and honestly, it’s not really the beer that drives me to Mountain Sun, it’s the atmosphere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love going there because it’s very down to earth, they draw a big crowd and they sometimes have fun, live events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I always have a hard time picking out a beer though because nothing excites me too much. Not that their beer is bad, but I feel like they need to push the envelope just a tad bit more and get some super creative stuff on tap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully I’m wrong and they come out with some spectacular original brews.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If not though, I’ll still go there… it is just a short walk away.</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-9438046114939442962011-08-07T16:46:00.000-07:002011-08-07T16:46:02.098-07:00Great Divide Brewing Co.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Great Divide Brewing Co.</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Location: <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Denver</city>, <state w:st="on">CO</state></place></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Overall: **** (4/5)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cT4h-vF-gp4/Tj8iq3BS5RI/AAAAAAAAAHw/Y1DkWKYlGhc/s1600/285092_10100175503546336_5502573_48160731_2497108_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cT4h-vF-gp4/Tj8iq3BS5RI/AAAAAAAAAHw/Y1DkWKYlGhc/s320/285092_10100175503546336_5502573_48160731_2497108_n.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8NbOMadVLl8/Tj8i0BzY0kI/AAAAAAAAAH0/4PCsPWg23ao/s1600/Pictures+115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8NbOMadVLl8/Tj8i0BzY0kI/AAAAAAAAAH0/4PCsPWg23ao/s320/Pictures+115.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">This is one of the more impressive taprooms I’ve ever experienced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The taproom of a brewery can be a powerful tool in gaining new customers, selling product and exposing their talents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great Divide has taken all of that into consideration and designed a very hip taproom that feels more like a standard bar than you would expect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And you can tell that whatever they’re doing is working, since the first time I went there was a crowd accumulating outside before they opened which led to a bustling taproom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second time we visited it was slower at first (well, it was 2pm on a Monday) but it began to considerably fill up as time went on.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">It was, however, a pain in the ass to find the first time, thank you <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Denver</place></city> and your terrible street planning, well done.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Here’s how the taproom works:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can invest in a pint, or you can do their 3 for $3 deal (it’s ballering).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For three bucks you get to sample three different beers of your choice from their taps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The samples come in small snifter-like glasses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After that, you can add on additional samples for $1 each.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love it because I can design my own sampler which allows me to try new beers that I haven’t had before or indulge again in ones that I know I love.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Like a normally brewery, they do have tours that you can go on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We didn’t do the tour… we were too busy drinking (I hear it’s great and you can take your beer with you).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The taproom also has a small selection of snacks that you can, snack, on which is pretty sweet and adds to the bar like atmosphere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Andddd, they have a happy hour from 4-6, awesome!!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S1xNfg0NclA/Tj8jD3KKG1I/AAAAAAAAAH4/29Nj8-XvPX8/s1600/Pictures+117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S1xNfg0NclA/Tj8jD3KKG1I/AAAAAAAAAH4/29Nj8-XvPX8/s200/Pictures+117.jpg" t$="true" width="200" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nvw_6N5sINo/Tj8jLSpi-OI/AAAAAAAAAH8/fveCWNMll5E/s1600/Pictures+118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nvw_6N5sINo/Tj8jLSpi-OI/AAAAAAAAAH8/fveCWNMll5E/s200/Pictures+118.jpg" t$="true" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">I have a few notes from some of my samples that really stood out:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Colette (Farmhouse):</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Little fruity, little tart, definitely refreshing and sessiony.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>17th Anniversary (Wood-Aged DIPA):</strong> Didn’t have a good hop character for me, but it’s 10%.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Chocolate Oak-Aged Yeti (Imperial Stout):</strong> Delicious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thick, chocolately with subtle hops.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Smoked Baltic Porter:</strong> Yummmm… tastes a little like bacon (from the smoked barley) but it’s not too overpowering.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Grand Cru (Belgian-Style Dark Ale):</strong> Alright, a tad too sweet for me.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Old Ruffian (Barley Wine):</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I normally am not a fan of barley wines but this one was pretty good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know Jason loved it, I think it’s a little strong tasting for me.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8J6znPvcghs/Tj8je9R2FUI/AAAAAAAAAIA/0_tqS10E0lw/s1600/Pictures+116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8J6znPvcghs/Tj8je9R2FUI/AAAAAAAAAIA/0_tqS10E0lw/s320/Pictures+116.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Most of Great Divide's beers have a high ABV, so be warned.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">If you get a chance, Great Divide does a Beer & Cheese Tasting every once and awhile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next one will be on August 18th and I’m hoping to go, since I love beer… and cheese.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div>Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-29027149906608278532011-08-05T14:19:00.000-07:002011-08-05T14:19:25.328-07:00Tommyknocker Brewery & Pub<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Tommyknocker Brewery & Pub</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Location: <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Idaho Springs</city>, <state w:st="on">CO</state></place></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Overall: **** (4/5)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-skcWgfYuI2s/TjxckXL7ZYI/AAAAAAAAAHs/_3AYmTsu8XQ/s1600/tommyknockerBrewery1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-skcWgfYuI2s/TjxckXL7ZYI/AAAAAAAAAHs/_3AYmTsu8XQ/s320/tommyknockerBrewery1.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Oh, how I love you Tommyknockers.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">One fine day, in the beginning of our trip here in <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Colorado</place></state>, we decided to go to a small town called Idaho Springs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would recommend anyone whose looking for that small, mountain-life kind of town to check out Idaho Springs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have a small main street with restaurants, bars, shops and best of all: Tommyknockers.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Literally (I mean literally) the smell of the malt pouring into the street drew us to this wonderful little brewpub.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We decided to take a small detour from hiking up St. Mary’s Glacier to enjoy a few beers and some food in the bar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jason and I have been back since then one more time as well, on the way back from another hike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing like hiking and then celebrating with some buffalo meat and delicious, delicious beer.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><em><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">** </span>Okay, so here’s the deal about my blog posts from <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Colorado</place></state>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since most of the time I randomly stumble upon good beer, bars and breweries, my notes are minimal but I’ll write what I can remember and try better next time.**</em></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VYlPAJ0g4RY/TjxcGKqnhvI/AAAAAAAAAHk/H1dcbD3c8gk/s1600/Pictures+095.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VYlPAJ0g4RY/TjxcGKqnhvI/AAAAAAAAAHk/H1dcbD3c8gk/s320/Pictures+095.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">So here’s a condensed version of all you need to know:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong>Duck Drummies:</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s right ladies and gentleman, duck drummies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Delicious duck drums prepared like chicken wings but more savory than hot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ordered them immediately.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Buffalo</place></city> Burgers & Nachos:</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You just can’t get this on the east coast, not like this.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong>Black Rye IPA (Cask):</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew the whole “Black IPA” thing was so in, but a Black Rye IPA?!?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So freaken good and clever!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Btw… this is only one small example of the experimental beers you’ll find here.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong>Jalapeno Ale:</strong> This is also “in” for a lot of breweries, but it’s also a fantastic idea and Tommyknockers is definitely hitting the style spot on.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong>Char D’Zon:</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s that, you say?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A chardonnay wine barrel aged saison??<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who does that?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On a side note, I hate chardonnay, so I didn’t actually try it, but it’s worth a shot out for creativity.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jvXVRksn9Ug/TjxcVagH7LI/AAAAAAAAAHo/IjKtuPVFTOg/s1600/Pictures+097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jvXVRksn9Ug/TjxcVagH7LI/AAAAAAAAAHo/IjKtuPVFTOg/s200/Pictures+097.jpg" t$="true" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HG1Es9WbOzo/Tjxb18GEkPI/AAAAAAAAAHg/TrlTNcNLEKw/s1600/Pictures+094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HG1Es9WbOzo/Tjxb18GEkPI/AAAAAAAAAHg/TrlTNcNLEKw/s200/Pictures+094.jpg" t$="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">If you’re in the Denver/Boulder area, I would definitely recommend making a trip out to Idaho Springs and visiting the main drag along with Tommyknockers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far I’ve only been able to find their beer in 12-pack variety cases in local stores but I’m hoping they start distributing to further places… Like <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Syracuse</city></place>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">You could do the Krysten & Jason method to visiting Idaho Springs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It goes, get up early, go for a hike (say Chief Mount. or St. Mary’s Glacier) and then hit up Idaho Springs on the way back for some brewskis and foodums. It's also the beer that we sunck into the the Trampled by Turtles concert Winter Park. Jason says... "next time you're in Colorado, make sure you don't 'wait so long' to try this beer."</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xjdkc14-zwQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-64410302298440627562011-08-02T12:04:00.000-07:002011-08-05T12:01:47.579-07:00Thunderhead Brewing Co.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Thunderhead Brewing <place w:st="on">Co.</place></span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Stop #5 of Roadtrip</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Kearney</city>, <state w:st="on">NE</state></place></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_gJWuRmF428/TjhJAXbnF_I/AAAAAAAAAHM/_6Zbsu9B3rU/s1600/Pictures+065.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_gJWuRmF428/TjhJAXbnF_I/AAAAAAAAAHM/_6Zbsu9B3rU/s320/Pictures+065.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Just when we thought we’d seen all of the corn the world possibly had driving through <state w:st="on">Iowa</state>, we entered <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Nebraska</place></state> and were greeted with more corn, more cows and some horses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Note to self: if you see a herd of cows and there are smaller creatures amongst them, they are most likely calves, not dogs.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">We took a slight detour off of our route to <state w:st="on">Colorado</state> to camp and drink beer in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Kearney</city>, <state w:st="on">Nebraska</state></place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily for us, this is the home of Thunderhead Brewing Co.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The small city of <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Kearney</place></city> has a desert, cowboy kind of feel to it and on a Tuesday night, it felt a little bit like a ghost town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surprisingly enough though, Thunderhead Brewing <place w:st="on">Co.</place> was an outstanding small brewpub located in what seemed to be the middle of nothing.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0Gimb94JKHo/Tjw-APk6vmI/AAAAAAAAAHc/VZ65Ef_t-vI/s1600/284428_10100175504214996_5502573_48160748_3366713_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0Gimb94JKHo/Tjw-APk6vmI/AAAAAAAAAHc/VZ65Ef_t-vI/s200/284428_10100175504214996_5502573_48160748_3366713_n.jpg" t$="true" width="150" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d4jSGsP2oLg/TjhJxqW05iI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/8tet2uRzicE/s1600/6pack_gf_cornstalker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d4jSGsP2oLg/TjhJxqW05iI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/8tet2uRzicE/s200/6pack_gf_cornstalker.jpg" t$="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><strong>Flight on Thunderhead (flight on <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Wayne</place></city>…):</strong></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong>Peach Wheat</strong>: ***</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Not too sweet; light peach taste; really good for a fruit beer.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong>Honey Wheat</strong>: **</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Nothing too special; can’t really taste the honey.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong>Summer Tiny Tim</strong>: ***</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">High alcohol taste; Nordic style (Gruit); had somewhat of a candy taste to it (a tad too sweet for me); </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong>Grand Cru</strong>: **</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Light looking but definitely deep and rich in flavor; looks like a lager but has a heavy wheat taste; a little funky.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong>Sweet Corn Pils</strong>: ****</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Sour/sweet aroma; slightly cloudy but has a bright yellow color; lingering aftertaste; crisp with some bitter notes. (This is the beer we tried to get a growler of, but then were denied... see below.)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong>Saison</strong> (9%): ****</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Amber color; Clean Belgian taste; really easy to drink.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong>Cocoa Porter</strong>: ***</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Mouth feel could be better; smooth; nice cocoa aroma.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong>Orange Chocolate Porter</strong>: ***</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Orange peel gives it a bitter taste; wish orange taste was a tad more pronounced; still very light for a porter; wish it had a better orange/chocolate aroma.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong>Cornstalker Dark Wheat</strong>: *</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Bland; watery; more <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Munich</place></city> malt please; little to no aroma.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong>Ian MacTawisch Scottish Ale</strong>: ****</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Medium-thick mouth feel; heavier stout taste; smooth yet sharp alcohol taste with a rich dark color to it.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">________________________________________________________________</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tPYIXkMFTPs/Tjw98HhZryI/AAAAAAAAAHY/-9ZjnvDMtyw/s1600/282067_10100175504334756_5502573_48160752_4041241_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tPYIXkMFTPs/Tjw98HhZryI/AAAAAAAAAHY/-9ZjnvDMtyw/s320/282067_10100175504334756_5502573_48160752_4041241_n.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Notes</strong>: We enjoyed a pizza at the brewpub which was fantastic! They're food is pretty good, but the menu is based soley on a "pizza" type theme, which I believe they could expand a little further. I do think that their beer and flights should come with better descriptions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had to chat with the bartender a few times to figure out what we were drinking, what the ABV was and so on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m really fond of their graphics and branding, I think it’s done really well and looks very professional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the other hand, the brewpub itself I felt could use a little bit of help (just to make it a little less of a standard bar and more of a stand-out brewpub with a specific atmosphere).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7oJpnM8JuK8/TjhKBPbE47I/AAAAAAAAAHU/KUGmAdihPxg/s1600/2405583970_1b50b14f92.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7oJpnM8JuK8/TjhKBPbE47I/AAAAAAAAAHU/KUGmAdihPxg/s200/2405583970_1b50b14f92.jpg" t$="true" width="131" /></a>Funny story though: apparently there’s some crazy law in <place w:st="on"><state w:st="on">Nebraska</state></place> that says you can’t fill a beer from a brewery using another brewery’s growler…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though they had a line of growlers on their own bar from other breweries… odd. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Lastly, Thunderhead was quite a surprise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jason and I both agree that when it comes down to the actual beer, Thunderhead wins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had a huge selection of their own brewed beers on tap and the majority of them were really good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t expect this from a brewery in the middle of <state w:st="on">Nebraska</state>, but that just goes to show you that the appreciation of beer is a cultural phenomenon that’s affecting even small towns across the <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">United States</country-region></place>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Note Note:</strong> I know I'm really behind on these blog posts but I've literally been drinking my way through Colorado... which leads to mostly drinking and less computer time. I promise you, they're on their way... after I finish this beer...</div>Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-61521764290622432782011-07-22T11:43:00.000-07:002011-07-22T11:46:33.426-07:00Olde Main Brewing Company<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Olde Main Brewing <place w:st="on">Co.</place></span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Stop #4 of Roadtrip</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Ames</city>, <state w:st="on">Iowa</state></place></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GumyS9H2jIE/TinBWHbBU_I/AAAAAAAAAG8/z9HVMCQ2VN4/s1600/olde+main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GumyS9H2jIE/TinBWHbBU_I/AAAAAAAAAG8/z9HVMCQ2VN4/s320/olde+main.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HZcgnBoTNBQ/TinBCRD8crI/AAAAAAAAAG4/ndg_xIg4PFc/s1600/Pictures+063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HZcgnBoTNBQ/TinBCRD8crI/AAAAAAAAAG4/ndg_xIg4PFc/s320/Pictures+063.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">After hours upon hours of driving through flat land filled with corn, cows, some horses, some corn, more corn, more corn, more corn… we arrived in Ames, Iowa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surprisingly, <city w:st="on">Ames</city> isn’t just occupied with corn, like the rest of <state w:st="on">Iowa</state> (and <state w:st="on">Indiana</state>, and <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Nebraska</place></state>…).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I should have guessed it would be a little bit more hoppin’ due to it being the home of <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Iowa</placename> <placetype w:st="on">State</placetype> <placetype w:st="on">University</placetype></place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coincidentally, that’s also where my friend Meredith is going to grad school and she met up with us at the Olde Main Brewing Co. which is located on a street filled with shops, bars and activities.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Here’s the story of the Olde Main flight:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qtV0gcahMO8/TinDkkoUU-I/AAAAAAAAAHI/F-6hlnNS6VE/s1600/Pictures+062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qtV0gcahMO8/TinDkkoUU-I/AAAAAAAAAHI/F-6hlnNS6VE/s400/Pictures+062.jpg" t$="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Long Face Amber</strong>: ***</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Good, sweet, lots of residual sugars, well carbonated.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Off KILTer Scottish</strong>: **</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Mile, little bland, should have a thicker mouth feel.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Clone Ale (Amer. Pale):</strong> **</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Little flat tasting, lingering aftertaste, can really taste the American hops.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>“Red Monkey” Root Beer:</strong> ****</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Yes, they snuck in a non-alcoholic beverage into our flight… pretty damn good though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sweet, well carbonated, delicious… if you’re into that kind of thing.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>The Dinkey (Wheat):</strong> ***</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Light, orange aroma, citrus and wheat taste, refreshing (side note: Jason’s not as big as a fan as I am).</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Sodbuster (Stout):</strong> ***</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">Weak aroma, drinkable dark beer, coffee and chocolate hints.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong>Lemontyme (Seasonal, Lemon Ale):</strong> *</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">So gross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn’t even get through the sample of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Super sweet and just overpowering with lemons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some guy next to me order a pint of it, I’m not sure how he got through the whole thing.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">___________________________________________________________</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">According to Meredith, this is the place to be during the college school year. We went at the end of June though so it was pretty dead... and it was a Monday night. I think some of there beers could use a boost but in general they had a good selection of brews and I'm glad to see something else come out of Iowa that isn't corn.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">*Note: Turns out people in <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Iowa</place></state> have good taste in music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We heard some Steve Miller, some Black Keys and even some Beck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We even were treated to some Fat Bottom Girls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I only wish this guy was still around to share a beer with us:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2mmDi-Y6Tu8/TinDMFSDgUI/AAAAAAAAAHE/CR4XdIQgBYg/s1600/olde+main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2mmDi-Y6Tu8/TinDMFSDgUI/AAAAAAAAAHE/CR4XdIQgBYg/s400/olde+main.jpg" t$="true" width="321" /></a></div></div>Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-87758398953567246692011-07-18T12:33:00.000-07:002011-07-18T12:38:17.607-07:00The Science Behind The Floozy Wiggle<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>The Science Behind The Floozy Wiggle</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">You, my dear, have been spotted (Sterling Stage Festival of Art). It's not our fault for filming you... you just floozy wiggle so well:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxcTuIfKgXypWZ1yv_aS0KPYpbDoR3ZHapTzPqsDK5cGGpGLQlExYNsZtQf-UuEqA5bOEIKM9mV8AgzIRlUWg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><u>Steps on how to perfect the floozy wiggle:</u></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong>(1)</strong> Find a large crowd where dancey music is playing to exploit your expertise.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong>(2)</strong> Pick a tight fitting outfit that is at least 10 years younger than your age.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong>(3)</strong> Begin by swaying your hips back in forth.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong>(4)</strong> Add in little knee dips.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong>(5)</strong> Sing along, very loudly. Animate!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong>(6)</strong> Put up an arm or two above head level and wiggle your way down to the floor.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong>(7)</strong> Remember, a solo floozy wiggle is just fine, but the best floozy wiggles travel in packs.*</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">*If you need to find a floozy pack, go to Empire on Thursday night when Just Joe is playing. Those nights are running deep with the floozes who have gotten their wiggle down to a science. Hint, get there early to secure a spot right in front of Just Joe's face, that's where they meet.</div>Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-30312193873782879732011-07-17T09:45:00.000-07:002011-07-17T09:52:56.452-07:00Goose Island Beer Co.<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Goose Island Beer Co.</span></strong></div><div align="center">Stop #3 of Roadtrip</div><div align="center">Chicago, IL</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C3k2FgruzTE/TiMP1VauzzI/AAAAAAAAAGg/2z6w4RZbnHU/s1600/Pictures+040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" m$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C3k2FgruzTE/TiMP1VauzzI/AAAAAAAAAGg/2z6w4RZbnHU/s200/Pictures+040.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FQGwoLz_5h4/TiMPtSQCXlI/AAAAAAAAAGc/nUWVxcHHGa0/s1600/Pictures+039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" m$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FQGwoLz_5h4/TiMPtSQCXlI/AAAAAAAAAGc/nUWVxcHHGa0/s200/Pictures+039.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qsh0sWtOayM/TiMRTl9Y_bI/AAAAAAAAAG0/tRmtya-Bp5k/s1600/Pictures+041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" m$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qsh0sWtOayM/TiMRTl9Y_bI/AAAAAAAAAG0/tRmtya-Bp5k/s320/Pictures+041.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you get a chance to go to Chicago, take it! It's a really fun, clean, down-to-earth city with a shit ton to do. If you go, you need to (a) try a deep-dish pizza, (b) eat a Chicago style hot dog and (c) go to Goose Island (which is conveniently right next to Wrigley's Field. We visited the brewery on a Sunday night so it wasn't as hoppin' as I thought it would be, but the brewery is huge and has a large beer selection, some of which you can only experience in Chicago. These are the three that stood out to us:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Fluer:</strong> ***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"A Belgian style pale ale blended with hibiscus and kombucha tea."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It had some sour notes and an interesting funky taste that really worked. You could really taste the hibiscus, or flower, character which gave the Belgian beer a really different taste than I would expect from a normal Belgian.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Pere Jacques: ***</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Belgian Style Abbey Ale. "Brewed with loads of malt and Belgian yeast, Pere Jacques is a wonderfully fruity, malty ale."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Has almost a bourbon taste at the beginning. Very rich taste.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Krystal Witt: ****</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Limited (brewed once); Witbier</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Really light and tasty. Little sour taste to it but because it was light it had definite drinkability. Delicious!</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0TRqeowdrS0/TiMQUyAkJ2I/AAAAAAAAAGk/UUdteLBtiC0/s1600/Pictures+042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" m$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0TRqeowdrS0/TiMQUyAkJ2I/AAAAAAAAAGk/UUdteLBtiC0/s320/Pictures+042.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T14-QT0eglQ/TiMQf12iSnI/AAAAAAAAAGo/SQUbXWM-rOk/s1600/Pictures+044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" m$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T14-QT0eglQ/TiMQf12iSnI/AAAAAAAAAGo/SQUbXWM-rOk/s320/Pictures+044.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">(Goose Island side note: They've been bought out by Budweiser, bummer. We'll see in the future how this effects their beer.)</div><div align="left">______________________________________________________________</div><div align="left"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you're really going to go to Chicago though, what I hear is that you need to indulge in their cheaper, session beers: Old Style & Hamm's. Sometimes cheap beer is the way to go.</div><div align="left"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DcuQFcEgaro/TiMQv6BKpOI/AAAAAAAAAGs/hHLM3e4VFEE/s1600/Pictures+047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" m$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DcuQFcEgaro/TiMQv6BKpOI/AAAAAAAAAGs/hHLM3e4VFEE/s200/Pictures+047.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cHBGEn6iHIc/TiMQ4OK7MYI/AAAAAAAAAGw/nUy-j-4KpQM/s1600/Pictures+048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" m$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cHBGEn6iHIc/TiMQ4OK7MYI/AAAAAAAAAGw/nUy-j-4KpQM/s200/Pictures+048.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Oh, and Jason was assaulted on the streets of Chicago as well. As we were walking to Goose Island a young gentleman shouted out to Jason:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Hey man, if I wasn't fucking her (girl standing next to him), I'd fuck you so hard in the butthole."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm guessing gay pride parade day was a good time to visit the windy city.</div>Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-75560903660355384032011-07-10T13:54:00.000-07:002011-07-10T13:55:52.398-07:00Great Lakes Brewing Co.<div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Great Lakes Brewing Co.</strong></div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Stop #2 of Roadtrip</div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Cleveland, OH<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wzj0A_kf1JM/ThoPJ7JduaI/AAAAAAAAAGI/zNlSf68ZG7Q/s1600/great+lakes+sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" m$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wzj0A_kf1JM/ThoPJ7JduaI/AAAAAAAAAGI/zNlSf68ZG7Q/s200/great+lakes+sign.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S-qGY_yaKsg/ThoPJI7Eq1I/AAAAAAAAAGE/mVIw_Nn-aww/s1600/great+lakes+outside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="height: 182px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 250px;"><img border="0" height="240" m$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S-qGY_yaKsg/ThoPJI7Eq1I/AAAAAAAAAGE/mVIw_Nn-aww/s320/great+lakes+outside.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Overall I thought <a href="http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/">Great Lakes</a> was a pretty fun and cool spot, located in a very nice and beer centric part of Cleveland. We stayed for dinner and drinks and although it was a quick visit, it was still a good time. Jason and I shared their appetizer cheese platter which, if I remember correctly, had a variety of things from local farms. We sat outside so I didn't get too good of a feel for the brewpub but the patio area they had was really nice. Also, we were able to try to beers that were pub exclusive beers:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GWx1zRMEdDQ/ThoOYeu8_kI/AAAAAAAAAGA/pOGdP50yyQk/s1600/Pictures+034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" m$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GWx1zRMEdDQ/ThoOYeu8_kI/AAAAAAAAAGA/pOGdP50yyQk/s400/Pictures+034.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><strong>Aloha Ale</strong>: **</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"A lighter-bodied ale with a blonde color and slightly bitter, dry finish." (From the Great Lakes website)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This beer was okay. It was really easy to drink but it also wasn't too memorable. Nothing too special but nothing extremely horrible either.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Wit's End</strong>: ***</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"A Belgian ale with lemongrass and ginger." (From the Great Lakes website)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I really enjoyed this beer. I think the lemongrass and ginger additions work really well with a lighter style Belgian ale. The flavors were pretty good and I would definitely enjoy drinking it again (unfortunately, you need to live in Cleveland to enjoy it).</div><div style="text-align: justify;">-------------------------------------------------------</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We also went to a Belgian beer bar across the street called <a href="http://bier-markt.com/">Bier Markt</a>, a restaurant/bar specifically serving Belgian style beers and food. They had an impressive list of Belgian's that you could buy either from the tap or from bottles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rpYyyAsdUyY/ThoP4bHWuSI/AAAAAAAAAGM/DjAF5hZpG18/s1600/Pictures+036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" m$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rpYyyAsdUyY/ThoP4bHWuSI/AAAAAAAAAGM/DjAF5hZpG18/s200/Pictures+036.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G5H1S-LRT3c/ThoQAH-jzbI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/tBasJNyRegI/s1600/Pictures+037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" m$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G5H1S-LRT3c/ThoQAH-jzbI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/tBasJNyRegI/s200/Pictures+037.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We were super excited to see that they had a section devoted to sours. I picked one that sounded good (<a href="http://www.vanhonsebrouck.be/">Kasteel Rouge</a>) but then upon receiving it we realized that this is the beer that we've had a bunch of times before we left at <a href="http://bluetusk.com/home.asp">Blue Tusk</a> in Syracuse (dammit). Oh well, it was delicious, even if we have had it before. Still, definitely worth it to check out this place.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--6nMZE3lG2A/ThoQbJK0fjI/AAAAAAAAAGU/p5GdHh-oU3I/s1600/Pictures+035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" m$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--6nMZE3lG2A/ThoQbJK0fjI/AAAAAAAAAGU/p5GdHh-oU3I/s320/Pictures+035.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360476430194079839.post-30679923010446848802011-07-02T17:39:00.000-07:002011-07-17T09:47:05.450-07:00Southern Tier Brewing Co. (Lakewood, NY)<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Southern Tier Brewing Co.</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Lakewood, NY</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dz2hEOW6W9E/Tg-50u540UI/AAAAAAAAAF0/v5RdwlOh0Fo/s1600/southern+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dz2hEOW6W9E/Tg-50u540UI/AAAAAAAAAF0/v5RdwlOh0Fo/s320/southern+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This was the first stop in our roadtrip across the country. We made it a point to stop at <a href="http://www.southerntierbrewing.com/index2.html">Southern Tier</a> because we have been long fans of their beer (what we can get in Syracuse) but since it's a good four hours away, we have never made the trek there. Luckily, it was kind of on the way to Colorado... In general, it's a little bit out of the way to get to.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For all of our stops on our brewery tour to Colorado (and possibly back) we're just going to do short blurbs on the beer/brewery so here it goes:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jason says: "A little pretentious... bartenders confused."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Krysten says: "Love the rustic, Adirondack style inside the bar area. Nice outside patio seating available. The Empty Pint (the name of the bar inside the brewery) has the feel of a real bar in that they offer bottled beer from other companies, wine and a selective food menu (delicious pulled pork sandwiches!). Outside look of the brewery could use some help; looks as though it's an old, modular factory when you drive up to it. They do some very cool events at the brewery including beer & cheese samplings. Beer is fantastic, as usual. My favorites include their Big Red (Imperial Red Ale), Farmer's Tan (Imperial Pale Lager) and Mokah (Stout brewed with Coffee & Chocolate). All were super delicious from the taps at the Empty Pint."</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H5tNb8hylPw/Tg-5-n2VOaI/AAAAAAAAAF8/C5qjxAg6n_Q/s1600/southern+tier+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H5tNb8hylPw/Tg-5-n2VOaI/AAAAAAAAAF8/C5qjxAg6n_Q/s320/southern+tier+2.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fD38UbNOWZo/Tg-58XvNx2I/AAAAAAAAAF4/VMJyp28kdac/s1600/southern+tier+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fD38UbNOWZo/Tg-58XvNx2I/AAAAAAAAAF4/VMJyp28kdac/s320/southern+tier+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Written by: Krysten</div>Over Carbonatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13311760128730533430noreply@blogger.com0