In 2011 I added 67 new posts to the Boa Beer Blog, or a little better than fives posts per month. And I’m way behind! As I look at my running list of potential blog topics, I see more than 20 beer experiences that should be logged. So I’m going to write a catch-up post and pull in a bunch of 2011 brews who deserve a rightful place at the Boa Beer Blog table.

Random Beer Tasting headlined by Dogfish Head

A trip to Total Wine in McLean, Virgina resulted in a random beer tasting with several Dogfish Head brews that I was trying for the first time. I’m a big fan of Dogfish Head (DE) so this was a favorite 2011 beer moment. The tasting included:

• Saison du BUFF, a collaboration between Dogfish Head, Stone Brewing Co. and Victory Brewing Company (6.0%). ‘Nuff said.
• Miles Davis Bitches Brew, a unique dark beer with an interesting story as described on the Dogfish Head web site (9.0%).
• Burton Baton, an “oak-aged gentle giant” that is a blend of a an English-style old ale and an imperial IPA (10.0%).

This was an interesting four-beer tasting:

• Humming Ale, Anchor Brewing Company (CA), a summer release from Anchor (5.9%).
• Imperial Porter, Southampton Publick House (NY), a robust Black Ale
• Yakima Glory Ale, Victory Brewing Company (PA), a well-balanced Double IPA (8.7%)
• Organic Imperial Brown Ale, Bison Brewing (CA), a strong Brown Ale at 7.0%

Old Dominion Brewing Company

Old Dominion Brewing Company (DE) beers were on sale at Magruder’s, so I picked up a couple of cases of mixed six packs, including:

• Oak Barrel Stout
• Dominion Lager
• Dominion Ale
• Big Thaw Bock
• Hop Mountain Pale Ale
• Millennium Ale

Another Random Beer Tasting

Another random big beer tasting in 2011 featured:

Southern Hemisphere Harvest, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
“a beer with fresh-picked hops from the southern hemisphere”

Coffee Stout, Long Trail Brewing Company (8.0%),
available as part of the limited release styles brewed in small batches.