Over the summer, I wrote a 7-part series about my summer 2011 tour of Maryland brewpubs. In that same spirit, I offer my Winter 2011-12 DC Brewpub Tour, another multi-part series featuring even more local places to get great beer. I hope these posts encourage you to support the awesome DC-area brewing community and visit more of our local breweries and brewpubs.

Part 4: Mad Fox Brewing Company, Falls Church, Virginia

When Visited: December 20, 2011

Occasion: Tuesday Tappings. I recently signed up for the Mad Fox e-newsletter so I could get their announcements about specials and discounts.  Mad Fox taps a fresh batch of new beer every Tuesday and I was especially interested in the weekly Tuesday Tapping announcement.

Bonus: You get a coupon for a free appetizer as a thank you for signing up for the e-newsletter.

Double Bonus: If you come in on Tuesday afternoon and show a copy of the e-newsletter, your growler fill of the fresh brew is half-price.

The week before Christmas, the Tuesday Tapping featured Orange Whip IPA. I love IPAs, especially citrusy IPAs, so I decided to drop in for a half-price growler fill.

I arrived just after work and grabbed a seat at the long bar. There was a separate section of the bar devoted to express growler fills and there were a lot of people coming in with growlers in hand.  But I wasn’t in a hurry and wanted to sample the array of brews on the menu.

Beers Sampled: Mad Fox offers four-beer samplers. I ordered some food and leisurely worked my way through two sampler racks. I tried the:

• Defender American Pale Ale, a straight-forward and well-balanced American Pale (5.2%)
• Festivus Ale, a traditional English-style winter warmer (5.6%)
• Stir About Oatmeal Stout, a traditional Stout (5.0%)
• Reynard Black Saison, a Belgian-inspired dark Saison (8.4%)
• Kölsch, one of Mad Fox’s signature beers (4.4%)
• Kellerbier Kölsch, an unfiltered version of the house Kölsch (4.4%)
• Lindy’s Weiss, a traditional Bavarian-style  Hefeweizen (4.4%)
• Geordie Brown Ale, an English-style Brown Ale (5.0%)

I left with a growler of Orange Whip IPA (7.5%), which I enjoyed in the Boa Beer Bar at home. Mad Fox describes this brew as “dry hopped with Citra hops from our friends in Yakima at Hop Union. The kettle additions of Citra hops brings this brew in at a whopping 75 IBU’s and the hops flavors are much more pronounced with citrusy hints of pineapple, orange. This version is also loaded with malt flavors with plenty of crystal malt, medium to full bodied and deep copper colored.” I loved it.

Best Beer: Orange Whip IPA. Of course Orange Whip is a reference to the famous John Candy scene in The Blues Brothers.

I was most impressed with: Tuesday Tappings and half-price growler fills! The food and service are impeccable too.

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Over the summer, I wrote a 7-part series about my summer 2011 tour of Maryland brewpubs. In that same spirit, I offer my Winter 2011-12 DC Brewpub Tour, another multi-part series featuring even more local places to get great beer. I hope these posts encourage you to support the awesome DC-area brewing community and visit more of our local breweries and brewpubs.

Part 3: Brewer’s Alley, Frederick, Maryland

When Visited: December 24, 2011

Occasion: Christmas Eve. We knew we would be homebound for all of Christmas Day and wanted to get out of the house on Christmas Eve to stave off cabin fever. So we grabbed an empty growler, hopped in the car, and drove up to Frederick for a nice Christmas Eve lunch and growler fill.

Beers Sampled: We picked a great day to visit Brewer’s Alley. The day we visited they had seven seasonal beers on tap, in addition to their excellent year-round house beers.

Brewer’s Alley offers a six-beer sampler rack, and you get to choose the beers. I like their standard-menu beers but have tried them many times, so I had an all-seasonal sampler, which included:

• Amber Fields Mild, talk about a session beer, this brew made with local barley is only 3.0% ABV
• Humulus Lupulus Rex, a light Pale Ale with an interesting name (4.1%)
• Scotch Ale, a strong malty brew for the cold weather (8.4%)
  
• Solidarity Porter, a sessionable Porter at 4.5% ABV
• RyePA, a Rye IPA (5.5%)
• New Moon Ale, a cask conditioned Strong Ale (8.2%)

As much as I liked the seasonals, we filled our growler with one of the year-round house beers:

• Nut Brown Ale, Nut Browns are one of my favorite styles and this one is excellent (5.5%)

Best Beer: RyePA, a beer that tastes just like a loaf of fresh baked rye bread. This is one of the best rye beers that I’ve sampled.

I was most impressed with: The overall beer selection. Check my picture of the Brewer’s Alley “chalkboard” below — a total of 12 brews were available in a wide variety of styles!

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• Copper Ale, Otter Creek’s flagship brew is a German-style Altbier (5.0%)
• Stovepipe Porter, a well-hopped Porter, and quite drinkable at only 4.4% ABV
• Black IPA, this hoppy and dark unfiltered IPA is now a year-round offering from Otter Creek (6.0%)
• Winter Red Ale, a sessionable Amber Ale (5.5%)

The Winter Red Ale is Otter Creek’s new winter seasonal. It replaces the Raspberry Brown Winter Ale.

Otter Creek Brewing is located in Middlebury, Vermont.  I found this 12-pack at Total Wine in McLean, Virgina.

Today I heard a radio ad for the new Sam Adams spring seasonal, Alpine Spring, which is described as a citrusy, unfiltered lager that is the perfect transition from winter’s heavier brews to the lighter beers of summer. It sounds great…but it’s January 12. Sure, we’ve had a mild winter, but spring brew on January 12?

Since the brewers wait for no season, I figured I should catch up on the many winter brews that I’ve been sampling. Assuming winter brews are on still on the shelves, I’ve got three categories for the winter releases: Go Buy Some Today (and I Mean Today), Worth a Try, and Leave it on the Shelf.

Go Buy Some Today (and I Mean Today)

• Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale (CA), an excellent IPA and my favorite winter seasonal.  I hardly ever buy beer by the case, opting instead to mix a case of different six packs for some variety.  But I just picked up a whole case of this brew, on sale at Magruder’s. It’s drinkable enough for a session beer, but at 6.8% ABV, be careful.
• The Mad Elf, Tröegs Brewing Company (PA), a strong winter release from one of my favorite Pennsylvania breweries.  This is a unique beer — a ruby red ale brewed with honey and cherries that clocks in at 11% ABV. The price tag is worth it!
• Christmas Ale, Anchor Brewing Company (CA), every year since 1975 the brewers at Anchor have brewed a unique Christmas Ale.  The recipe of this longtime American holiday ale is different every year…and always excellent.
• Yellow Snow IPA, Rogue Ales (OR), this IPA is fast becoming one of my favorite winter seasonals. It is a bitter brew with a big hop flavor (6.2% ABV, 70 IBU).
• Santa’s Private Reserve, Rogue Ales (OR), another excellent winter release from Rogue, this double-hopped Red Ale is a holiday classic (6.0%).
• Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Ale (CA), a hoppy American Strong Ale (7.9% ABV). If you were looking for Lagunitas Brown Shugga’ this winter, it’s not available. Lagunitas admits they screwed up their brewing schedule and couldn’t find space for Brown Shugga’.  So they released the self-proclaimed Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Ale, which doesn’t suck at all. Read more on the RateBeer.com web site. Hilarious!

Worth a Try

• Shlaflay Christmas Ale (MO), inspired by spiced holiday beverages such as wassail and mulled wines, this 8.o% ale is spiced with orange peel, juniper berries, ginger root, cardamom and cloves.
• Breckenridge Christmas Ale (CO), dubbed “bottled joy to the world” by the brewery (7.0%).
• Stoudts Revel Red (PA), a hoppy Red Ale (6.2%).
• Full Sail Wassail (OR), a strong and dark winter warmer (7.0%).
• Port City Tidings (VA), a Strong Belgian Blond Ale brewed with Maryland wildflower honey and Virginia wheat (7.8%).
• Shipyard Prelude (ME), this winter warmer is a complex English Strong Ale (6.7%).
• Flying Dog K-9 Cruiser (MD), an English Strong Ale (6.4%).
• Grand Cru Winter Reserve, Flying Fish Brewing Company (NJ), a Belgian-style strong golden ale (7.2%).
• Winter Scotch, St. George Brewing Company (VA), “a malty, full-bodied ale…with a lingering peat smoke effect” (6.0%)
• Winter Ale, Blue Point Brewing Company (NY), this winter warmer is a hearty and robust Amber Ale (7.0%).
• Hibernator, Long Trail Brewing Company (VT), a drinkable unfiltered Scottish Ale (6.0%).

Leave it on the Shelf

• Hell, they’re all at least worth a try!

Beth and I sampled these brews over the long Christmas weekend. I picked up most of these beers as singles at Total Wine in Mclean.  I love beer stores that sell singles! And I love the winter beer season!

]]> http://boabeerblog.com/2012/01/13/sampling-the-winter-brews/feed/ 1 boabeerblog Winter Beer Line-Up 1 Winter Beer Line-Up 2 Winter Beer Line-Up 3 http://boabeerblog.com/2012/01/09/baying-hound-aleworks-winter-2011-12-dc-brewpub-tour/ http://boabeerblog.com/2012/01/09/baying-hound-aleworks-winter-2011-12-dc-brewpub-tour/#comments Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:54:56 +0000 boabeerblog http://boabeerblog.com/?p=2280 ]]> Over the summer, I wrote a 7-part series about my summer 2011 tour of Maryland brewpubs. In that same spirit, I offer my Winter 2011-12 DC Brewpub Tour, another multi-part series featuring even more local places to get great beer. I hope these posts encourage you to support the awesome DC-area beer community and visit more of our local breweries and brewpubs.

Part 2: Baying Hound Aleworks, Rockville, Maryland

When Visited: December 22, 2011

Occasion: Hockey Practice. Let me explain.

In mid-December, I attended the Annual Multiple Guest Brewmaster Winter Holidaze Extravaganzee at RFD and Longsnout Stout from Baying Hound Aleworks was on the beer menu. The Baying Hound founder and head brewer, Paul Rinehart, talked about his small brewery and mentioned that he was open for tours, tastings, and growler fills Thursday through Saturday. Benjamin had a hockey practice on a Thursday night about a week later and Baying Hound is a hop, skip, and a jump from the Rockville Ice Arena. So after Benjamin got on the ice for practice, I made a quick trip to Baying Hound.

The brewery is located in an industrial warehouse. I pulled into the warehouse driveway and it was obvious which garage door in the long row belonged to Baying Hound. The door was wide open and the warehouse was brightly lit. I walked up with growler in hand and Paul invited me to have a seat at the bar and sample his beers.

Paul had joked at the RFD winter beer tasting that you could take the tour of his brewery from your bar stool, and he wasn’t joking. I looked around the small working brewery and admired the operation. You could tell this was a labor of love.

Beers Sampled: I wish I could have sat for a while but I only had time to taste the beers and get a growler fill. There were five house brews on tap:

• Lord Wimsey’s Mild Pale Ale, “brewed for people who don’t want a hop bomb”
• Long Snout Stout, smooth and roasty
• Mole Winter Warmer, a spicy winter brew
• Smoky Multi Grain, a brew with a pleasant smoky finish
• Nocturnal Barley Wine, strong and tasty

I filled my growler with the Mild Pale Ale, a easy-drinking session beer. In addition to the draft line-up, there was a list of 22-ounce bottles available, and I also brought home a bottle of Śarvara Black India Pale Ale, which is “devilishly hopped at over 80 IBUs, black as night and ready to be devoured.”

Quick aside, in early December I also found bombers of Baying Hound at Corridor Wine and Spirits in Laurel, Maryland. I bought bottles of the Stout and Mild Pale Ale, two of Baying Hound’s year-round offerings.

Best Beer: The Baying Hound line-up features some interesting brews, no doubt. But my favorite was Lord Wimsey’s Mild Pale Ale. Baying Hound says that the Mild Pale Ale is “brewed to have a gentle balance, not quite a session, but damn close.” It was sessionable enough for me!

I was most impressed with: The nano-brewery operation. Walking in the warehouse was like walking into a homebrewer’s garage. You walk in, take a quick look around, make yourself comfortable, and talk about beer. With a beer in hand, of course. It’s all very unpretentious and approachable at Baying Hound, made so by brewmaster Paul.

The labels on Baying Hound bottles include a quote: “Brewed by the people you’d like to drink with.” After my quick visit to Baying Hound and tour through their beers by brewmaster Paul, I won’t dispute the quote – I’m really looking forward to a return visit!

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Over the summer, I wrote a 7-part series about my summer 2011 tour of Maryland brewpubs. In that same spirit, I offer my Winter 2011-12 DC Brewpub Tour, another multi-part series featuring even more local places to get great beer. I hope these posts encourage you to support the awesome DC-area beer community and

Part 1: Rock Bottom Bethesda, Bethesda, Maryland

When Visited: December 23, 2011

Occasion: First day of Christmas Break. It was the Friday before Christmas and the office was clearing out quickly.  I joined the crowd and blew off the afternoon in favor of a brewpub.

The kids were still in school so I picked up Beth in Kensington and we drove into Bethesda for lunch at Rock Bottom. We grabbed a table in the bar, across from the large beer menu chalkboard. We started lunch with an amazing appetizer: Blue Cheese Chips, which are fresh house-made chips covered in blue cheese cream sauce and topped with scallions, smoked bacon and blue cheese crumbles. But of course we were there for the beer!

Beers Sampled: I ordered the sampler, which the last time I visited came with Rock Bottom’s five standard house beers and one seasonal. Since Rock Bottom joined with Gordon Biersch, a few things have changed. The standard house beers have been revamped and the sampler rack now includes all of the beers on the menu. There were nine house brews on tap when we visited:

• Kölsch, Rock Bottom’s session beer for the masses, light and drinkable at 4.9% ABV. Replaces the Lumpy Dog Light Lager as a standard house beer.
• IPA, a hoppy American-style IPA (6.3%). Replaces the house Potomac Pale Ale.
• White Ale, a classic Belgian style Wit beer brewed with orange peel and coriander (5.3%). Replaces the house Brown Bear Brown.
• Red Ale, a easy-drinking Red (5.7%). I’m not normally a fan of Red Ale because there’s nothing particularly remarkable about the style. But I love this Red — the best I’ve tasted. It is the only hold-over from the old house beer line-up; it was formerly called Raccoon Red.
• Robust Porter, a dark and roasty Porter (6.1%). This was the rotating house dark beer, a spot formerly occupied full-time by Stillwater Stout. Add a second sampler glass for the cask version of this brew.
• Winter Wheat, a spicy, strong Wheat Ale (8.2%). Quite different for a winter seasonal.
• 15th Anniversary Ale, a Belgian Strong Ale (8.5%) that I had sampled at the Annual Multiple Guest Brewmaster Winter Holidaze Extravaganzee, and the inspiration for my visit to Rock Bottom.
• 2010 Atom Smasher, an amazing Barley Wine (9.5%) that was cellared for a year.

Best Beer: The beer at Rock Bottom is brewed by medal-winning brewer Geoff Lively — all of his beers are excellent and it is hard to pick one as the best beer of the tasting. So I’ll pick three. The three seasonals, Winter Wheat, 15th Anniversary Ale, and Atom Smasher, are incredible beers that you simply don’t come across every day. I picked a damn good day to visit Rock Bottom!

I was most impressed with: Everything? Another tough call. We’ve been going to Rock Bottom for a long time and I really like everything about the place. Yes, it is part of a chain, but don’t hold that against it. To me, this Rock Bottom is an original. It has a comfortable neighborhood feel, great service, delicious food, and well, I’ve already said enough about the beer.

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Rock Bottom Bethesda Chalkboard (December 23, 2011)

]]> http://boabeerblog.com/2012/01/06/rock-bottom-bethesda-winter-2011-12-dc-brewpub-tour/feed/ 0 boabeerblog Rock Bottom Bethesda Sampler Rock Bottom Bethesda Chalkboard http://boabeerblog.com/2012/01/04/md-brewpub-summer-tour-2011-summary/ http://boabeerblog.com/2012/01/04/md-brewpub-summer-tour-2011-summary/#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:18:22 +0000 boabeerblog http://boabeerblog.com/?p=2261 ]]>

Red Brick Station Beer Sampler

The summer of 2011 featured a lot of visits to local brewpubs, inspiring my 7-part series titled: MD Brewpub Summer Tour 2011. This blog post provides a summary listing and links to the posts in that series.

1. Ruddy Duck Brewery, Solomons, Maryland
2. Growlers of Gaithersburg, Gaithersburg, Maryland
3. Pratt Street Ale House, Baltimore, Maryland
4. Red Brick Station Restaurant & Brew Pub, White Marsh, Maryland
5. DuClaw Brewing Company, Hanover, Maryland
6. Dogfish Head Alehouse, Gaithersburg, Maryland
7. Gordon Biersch Rockville, Rockville, Maryland

I hope these posts encourage you to support the awesome Maryland beer community and visit more Maryland brewpubs and breweries.

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The 2011 line-up includes:

• #9, Magic Hat’s flagship beer is a Pale Ale with apricot extract – a sessionable Pale with a twist (5.1%).
• Encore, an American Wheat IPA, this brew is a blend of an American wheat beer and a traditional India Pale Ale (6.4%). Nicely hopped, Encore has a beautiful grapefruit aroma and flavor. “Grab a lighter and get up front!”
• Ravell, a Porter brewed with whole vanilla beans (5.8%).
  
• Howl, this smooth Black Lager is perfect for the winter weather (4.6%).

New in 2011: Ravell
Out in 2011: Odd Notion

Magic Hat created a cool micro-site for Howl where you can watch the Howl short and read more about this winter brew. After checking it out, I’m glad I don’t have to experience the winter in Vermont. I’ll stick with the mild Maryland winter. Our winter solstice this year was a record-breaker: BWI airport reached 62 degrees, breaking the record of 61 from 1956. We were 18 degrees above the average high of 44 degrees!

The Capital Weather Gang is calling for a few days of frigid as we transition to 2012. I think I’ll go find another Winterland Variety 12-Pak – Encore alone makes this 12-pack worth seeking out.

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After a day of meetings, I hopped in a cab with my colleagues Todd and Dave for a short ride over to The Shlaflay Tap Room for dinner. This was the most anticipated brewpub on my St. Louis beer to-do list. Shlaflay is a legendary Midwest brewery – Anheuser-Busch has nothing on these guys.

According to their web site, “The Schlafly Tap Room first opened its doors in 1991 and proudly holds the distinction of being the first new brewpub in Missouri since Prohibition.” Once a regional brewery, I can now find Schlaflay brews right here around DC. I’ve loved the many Shlaflay beers I’d sampled — you can taste the high-quality — so I was really looking forward to visiting a place where Shlaflay beers are made.

I found the description of the Tap Room on the web site to be spot on: “Housed in a beautifully-restored wood and brick building on the National Historic Register, The Schlafly Tap Room enjoys a reputation as a casual, earthy place…” I’m not sure what they mean by earthy, but it is definitely casual and comfortable.

We were seated for dinner right away and over a leisurely meal, I worked my way through a six-beer sampler and three pints:

• Hefeweizen (4.5%)
• Pilsner (4.8%)
• Belgian Singel (sic) (5.1%)
• Dry-Hopped APA (6.6%)
• Pale Ale (4.4%)
• Oatmeal Stout (6.0%)
• Citrus Witbier (6.5%)
• Raspberry Coffee Stout (7.0%)
• American IPA (7.2%)

I had the last three beers as pints and these special brews were the perfect ending to my Schlafly beer tasting. I especially liked the IPA.

The Tap Room offered a classic brewpub menu to go along with the excellent beer.  Ever since my trip to Toronto, I’ve had cravings for Poutine, and this dish of “Tap Room Fries, Grain Mustard Gravy, Cheese Curds” was the perfect starter. I had the Cuban sandwich as my main dish and we all enjoyed the much-better-than-average pub fare.

It will be an easy decision to return to the Tap Room on my next visit to St. Louis!

This brings my 2011 St. Louis Trip Report to an end. I never made it to the Anheuser-Busch brewery, but I did sample more than 40 local beers in five brew pubs, an amazing beer bar, and a St. Louis beer garden. Traveling to St. Louis? Here’s your St. Louis beer guide:

• Guide to Finding Good Beer in St. Louis
• Square One Brewery & Distillery (2011 Trip to St. Louis, Part 1)
• Morgan Street Brewery (2011 Trip to St. Louis, Part 2)
• Bridge (2011 Trip to St. Louis, Part 3)
• Six Row Brewing Company (2011 Trip to St. Louis, Part 4)
• Urban Chestnut Brewing Company (2011 Trip to St. Louis, Part 5)
• The Schlafly Tap Room (2011 Trip to St. Louis, Part 6)

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The DC beer scene has exploded to the point that this tasting is held over two separate nights, with a different line-up of local beers offered each night. I attended the December 14 tasting with my brother-in-law Rich, who is a home brewer.

We had been to a few of these beer tastings in the past, back when they were held at the Brickskeller. With the Brickskeller sold to new owners, the festivities are now held in the back bar at RFD, and I have to say that I liked the new venue a lot better than the venerable Brick. Superior service, clean bathrooms, and closer to the Metro are just a few reasons why RFD is a better spot than the Brickskeller. The servers did a great job getting the beers out to the packed house – there was no waiting, which kept the tasting moving along at a great pace. This was absolutely necessary, since there were 14 beers on the menu.

We arrived around 6:00 and grabbed a cocktail table along the back wall with a nice view of the stage. We knew the main event would not start for at least an hour and a half, so we warmed up with some brews from RFD’s long draft menu and took advantage of the sample-size pours. Pre-show, I tried the:

• Cerveza Nacional Dark Lager, Chocolate City Beer, Washington DC (6.5%), I was happy to see this new DC brewery on the menu. I need to make plans to visit the brewery for a growler fill soon!
• Lips of Faith Prickly Passion Saison, New Belgium Brewing Company, Fort Collins, CO (8.5%)
• Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout, Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD (5.5%)
• Draft Punk IPA, Oliver Ales, Baltimore, MD (7.0%)

Our server was fast and helpful, and the food was classic bar fare. We started with a basket of soft pretzels and I added to my base with an order of sliders, which you could mix and match between cheeseburgers and buffalo chicken.

The anticipation was building as DC beer icon Dave Alexander announced the beer line-up.  There were 13 beers on the pre-printed menu, but BONUS, we had a write-in — a 14th beer was added to the line-up. The show finally got started with longtime Brickskeller beer-tasting emcee Bob Tupper shushing the crowd.

I tweeted each beer with comments as they were served, and I won’t repeat all those comments here. But here is the line-up:

• Gose, Gordon Biersch, Rockville, MD (4.4%), see my post about my summertime visit to GB for more on this brew.
• Tidings Ale, Port City Brewing, Alexandria, VA (7.8%), a Strong Belgian Blond Ale
• Festivus, Mad Fox Brewing Company, Falls Church, VA (5.8%), a Winter Warmer
• Longsnout Stout, Baying Hound Aleworks, Rockville, MD (6.0%)
• 15th Anniversary Ale, Rock Bottom, Bethesda, MD (8.5%), this Belgian Strong Ale was one of the best of the tasting.
• Rauch Dunkel Bock, Gordon Biersch, Tysons Corner, VA
• RhiNoel, Lost Rhino Brewing Company, Ashburn, VA (7.5%), a Belgian-Style Dubbel
• Scotch Ale, Fordham Brewing Company, Dover, DE (8.0%)
• Baltic Porter, Old Dominion Brewing Company, Dover, DE (6.8%)
• St. Nick’s Weizenbock, Sweetwater Tavern, Sterling, VA, this strong wheat beer was in my top 3 of the tasting.
• English Strong Ale, 901 Bar and Restaurant, Washington, DC, brewed for 901 by Cap City in Shirlington, VA
• Triple/Double, Capitol City Brewing Company, Shirlington, VA, this Belgian Tripel/Double IPA hybrid won the award for best of show, and I agree — it got my vote!
• Oak Aged Winter Spice Ale, Rock Bottom, Arlington, VA
• Black Frost Barley Wine, Brewers’ Alley, Frederick, MD (10.8%)

As each beer was served, the brewers took the stage to talk about their creations. Their comments and insights about the beers really added a lot to the beer-tasting experience.

What a line-up! Even better: when the formal tasting ended, they poured free samples at the bar of any beer on the menu. I went back for the citrusy hop monster known as Triple/Double from Cap City. This unique brew is worth seeking out.

The best part of the tasting is knowing that all of these beers are being brewed right here around DC. I now have a New Year’s resolution for 2012: get out and visit these breweries and brewpubs in support of the local beer scene!

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