Weekend Beer Events

This Saturday is the monthly meeting of the Fredericksburg Area Brewing and Tasting Society. The theme for the meeting will be "Meads". The meeting is held at Kybecca on Plank Road starting at 1:30 PM. There will be a variety of commercial and home brewed meads for sampling.

Friday, July 25 - 5:00 - 8:00pm
Total Wine
Friday 5 @ 5 Beer Tasting:
Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest, Lagunitas IPA, Magic Hat #9, Kwak Belgian Ale, Tröegs Troegenator Double Bock

Saturday, August 9 - 12:00 - 5:00 pm
Kybecca
Beer Tastings in 2 Locations:
William Street (Downtown):
Beers TBD
Plank Road (Next to Ukrops)
Southern Tier Unearthly Imperial IPA, Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout, plus 1 Customer Choice

Every Saturday, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Blue & Gray Brewery
Beer samples and brewery tours

Please support the folks who bring us these events. Let them know there is an active craft beer community in the area. When you attend any of these events, tell us about it in the comments, and be sure to let the proprietor know you heard about it here.
Have something to add? Let me know, my contact information is here.

Boulder Beer Taphouse - Denver International Airport

Last week over at the blog Fermentedly Challenged, Dave alerted his readers to the opening of the new Boulder Beer Taphouse in the main terminal at Denver International Airport. Coincidentally this week I had a trip to Denver scheduled so I planned on lunch at DIA before my flight home.

The new taphouse is located in the former location of the Samuel Adams pub, just outside the TSA screening area. The taphouse has a bar, a few tables and a small food preparation area. In addition to the house beers, Boulder Taphouse serves a selection of macro-beers and harder spirits. It was disheartening to see several patrons sucking on bottles of Michelob Ultra while sitting in front of the Boulder Beer taps. A selection of sandwiches and salads are also available.

I opted for a Hazed & Infused Dry Hopped Ale, and a smoked ham sandwich on sourdough bread. The beer pours a slightly cloudy copper-orange with an aroma that's predominately citrus hops. The flavor is all hops with a lasting bitter finish. A bready malt attempts to hold everything together but still the hops dominate. The ham sandwich was standard fare, although tasty and it did hit the spot.

The quick beer made the trip through TSA mildly bearable. Once I made it to my gate, United announced that my flight was delayed by 2 hours*. I only wish that the Boulder Beer Taphouse was on the gate side of security! However, I did spot a pub in the terminal serving Boulder Pass Time Pale Ale. How apropos.

* Once we finally boarded the plane we were delayed another 3 hours!

Whither Local Beer?

The Annual Fredericksburg Agricultural Fair is the oldest continuous running agricultural fair in the Nation. After 270 years the fair added a "beer garden" to the venue this year. The Free Lance-Star reported that fairgoers could "choose from a selection of five beers: Blue Moon, Miller Lite, Yuengling, Coors Light and Leinenkugel." My schedule didn't permit me to visit the fair, and based on the beer list I wasn't compelled to make a special effort just to see the beer garden.

The question that immediately comes to mind is "where are the local beers?" Local home brewer and FABTS founder, Lyle Brown asks this question in a letter to the editor in today's Free Lance-Star:

Plant some local suds in fair's beer garden

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Fredericksburg Agricultural Fair had a beer garden this year ["Beer garden is popular fare," July 31].

I hope it went well enough to continue in future years.

What was a little disappointing is that the Fredericksburg Fair did not feature a Virginia beer in its beer garden.

No, I am not referring to Anheuser-Busch, which is now headquartered in Belgium. I am referring to any of the outstanding Virginia-owned and -operated breweries there are to choose from.

Virginia has a rich heritage of beer making, all the way back to Thomas Jefferson, who brewed his own beer at Monticello. Why can't our local fair feature beers that give a nod back to that tradition?

There are currently at least six breweries brewing and bottling their own beer in Virginia. It would be very nice to go to the local fair and be able to enjoy a local beer.

Even better, wouldn't it be a novel idea if the Fredericksburg Fair offered at least one beer from Fredericksburg's own Blue and Gray Brewing Co?

Blue and Gray has been brewing beer here in Fredericksburg for seven years now, and they make four excellent beers, plus several seasonals.

Surely it would be possible to offer at least one local Virginia beer at our fair!

The Fredericksburg Fair is a popular local attraction and draws visitors from around the state. With the growing interest in Virginia agri-tourism, especially related to Virginia breweries, this oversight by the fair organizers is disappointing. I agree with Lyle in the hope that this event did well enough to become a regular feature. However, there seems to be little to attract craft beer fans. And I doubt even fans of macro-beers would make a special trip to the fair grounds simply to have a $3.00 cup of Miller Lite. I am sure however that this beer fan would make a special effort visit the fair in support of local breweries. Perhaps next year.

Pint's Pub - Cask Ale in Denver

During my recent trip to Denver I joined a friend for beer and dinner at Pint's Pub. Pint's Pub is a "traditional British brew pub" that brews a couple of cask conditioned British ales. In addition to the cask ales, they offer a number of other house beers, along with an extensive selection of single malt whisky. I skipped the whisky and sampled the two "live ales".

My first selection was Dark Star Ale. When I placed my order the waitress asked if I realized the beer was a dry-hopped cask ale. Most assuredly I replied, that was the reason I was ordering it. The beer is served from a hand pump and at cellar temperature, around 50-55°. I am sure the question was to avoid complaints that the beer was "warm and flat." Dark Star Ale pours a deep brown with only a thin head. The carbonation is very light. The beer has a light, malty, molasses aroma. The taste is a slightly sweet toffee malt. The finish brings a "green" hop bitterness. Dark Star Ale is easy to drink and quite a pleasant beer. No ABV is listed but I suspect it's on the low range for an Engish Brown Ale, maybe 4.5 - 5% ABV.

Next I opted for the second house cask ale, Lancer India Pale Ale. Like the previous beer, it is served at cellar temp. The IPA pours a dark copper color with a moderate head that hangs on just slightly longer than that of the Dark Star. There's a slightly floral hop aroma. I found this to be a nicely balanced English IPA. Caramel malt starts the flavor profile, followed by a piney hop bitterness. The hop bitterness lingers a bit in the aftertaste. Again, no ABV listed but if not "sessionable", the IPA was likely also on the low end.

Both beers were quite enjoyable though if I had to pick one, I'd say the Lancer IPA was my favorite of the two. Deciding to call it an early evening I did not try any of the other, non-cask, house beers. Next time I plan to try others, including a Scottish ale, Gael Force Ale.

Pint's serves traditional English pub grub, including lamb, beef and chicken dishes. You can get a Ploughman's Platter, Fish and Chips or Bangers and Mash if you so desire. I opted for one of the Angus Burgers, or "Wimpys". I had my burger topped with Dill Havarti cheese. The burger was tasty and served with "fresh cut chips" and a selection of pickles, onions, and peppers as condiments.

I enjoyed my visit to this "English pub" very much. The decor is what I'd expect for an English pub, you can even pick up the London Times to read. One can look through a viewing window in the floor to the cask room below. The service was attentive and friendly, and the meal a good value. I'll add Pint's Pub to my list of must-visit places in Denver.

Old Dominion Octoberfest

Christmas in July? No, Octoberfest in August. This weekend I picked up some Old Dominion Octoberfest at a local grocery store. Although the "official" release of this seasonal takes place at the brewpub on Wednesday, August 6, the beer is available at retail stores now. The bottles had a bottling date of July 8. The August release isn't nearly as early as it might seem, Octoberfest is actually held in late September and runs into early October. The brewers need to ensure the beers are available in time for local celebrations, and sales of the style tend to drop off after October.

Old Dominion Octoberfest pours a reddish-brown color with a moderately thin, off-white head that leaves little lacing as it drops. The aroma is malty with some faint notes of cinnamon and vanilla. The flavor has a smooth caramel malt base with a mild spice background; mainly cinnamon and perhaps some ginger. The spices are very mild but pleasing. The finish has some lingering hop bitterness. Checking in at a moderate 5.80% ABV, the beer is smooth and easy to drink.

I always enjoy the Märzen / Oktoberfest beers that make their appearance in late Summer. The selection from Old Dominion is the first I've seen this season and I couldn't resist trying it out right away. The beer was very enjoyable and has me eagerly anticipating the selections from other breweries. Octoberfest beers will begin showing up on store shelves over the next few weeks and I'll be ready for them.

Indian Lagers

Friday evening we joined some friends for dinner at a local Indian restaurant. Guru Indian Cuisine in located in the Central Park shopping area and features, I think, the best Indian food in the area. Usually I don't bother with the macro-lager style beers served by so many ethnic restaurants. This evening however, my friend Tom and I decided we'd try out some "Indian beers." We ordered Taj Mahal Premium Lager and Flying Horse Royal Lager, both offered in 22 oz bottles. The beers are from United Breweries - UB Group in Bangalore, India. Guru also offers Kingfisher Lager from the same brewery.

Taj Mahal Premium Lager, a pale American-style lager, pours a golden yellow with very little head. There was a bit of grassiness, and some skunkiness, in the aroma. The flavor was slightly sweet, grainy, and bland. The beer checks in at 4.5% ABV. Nothing outstanding about this beer, but also just what I had expected.

The second beer, Flying Horse Royal Lager, fared better. It too is a pale lager style beer. Pouring a straw yellow color, this one did have a fairly decent head that held up for awhile. The aroma was lightly sweet and I could also detect a hint of hops. The flavor was grainy with some bitter hops in the end. The hop bitterness wasn't enough to stand up to the spicy food, but the beer was definitely drinkable. The ABV rating is 4.7%.

We enjoyed a variety of Indian dishes, and selected "heat" levels ranging from mild to hot. I would have preferred a bit more kick in the beers. Most of the Asian, and Mexican, restaurants in the area serve country-specific beers, which are typically pale lagers. As good as hoppy beers are with spicy foods I'm perplexed that the eateries stick with these more bland offerings. Neither of the beers we had were ones I would seek out to buy and bring home. However, if there were no other choices on the menu, I'd order the Flying Horse Lager again. Even without an outstanding beer to go with the meal, we had a very enjoyable evening with good food and good friends.

Tasting Events This Weekend

Not too much going on this weekend. Maybe everyone is busy with vacations. BTW, it's not too soon to start planning to join in the fun next weekend, August 9, at the FABTS meeting. The theme for the month will be Meads.

Friday, August 1 - 5:30 - 8:00pm
Virginia Wine Experience, Fredericksburg
Beer Tasting:
Rogue St. Rogue Red, Rogue Younger's Special Bitter, Rogue Juniper Pale Ale

Saturday, August 2 - 12:00 - 5:00 pm
Kybecca
Beer Tastings in 2 Locations:
William Street (Downtown):
Beers TBD
Plank Road (Next to Ukrops)
De Dolle Bas Keun Belgian Pale Ale, Heavy Seas Hang Ten Weizen Doppelbock, plus 1st customer chooses 3rd beer

Every Saturday, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Blue & Gray Brewery
Beer samples and brewery tours

Please support the folks who bring us these events. Let them know there is an active craft beer community in the area. When you attend any of these events, tell us about it in the comments, and be sure to let the proprietor know you heard about it here.
Have something to add? Let me know, my contact information is here.

The Session #18 - Happy Anniversary

This month's edition of The Session is hosted by The Barley Blog. Our host Ray explains the topic thusly:

Use this as an excuse to celebrate. Open a limited release anniversary beer from your favorite brewer. Enjoy that special beer you normally only open on your wedding anniversary or birthday. Either way, tell us about it. Why is it a beer you may only drink once a year? Why is that brewery’s annual release the one you selected?

Hmm, tough one. I can't think of a beer we specifically reserve for special occasions. That doesn't mean I don't plan for special beers for special occasions. Planning what beer to serve at a dinner or other function goes hand in hand with planning what food to serve. We often hear talk of special wines being obtained for special occasions. Why should it be any different with beer? The only difference is beer offers more variety and the possibility of better matches with the food courses.

Regular readers will know that besides beer, we're big fans of food around here. And, it should come as no surprise that we give much forethought to the beverage as well as the food. If we're visiting family for a holiday dinner, we'll plan to bring a special beer to go along with the meal. A special dinner at home is no different, much thought goes into exactly beer to be served. The event doesn't have to be a meal, any special time spent with a loved one, is call for a well-thought out beer selection.

That's one of the beautiful things about our favorite beverage, it's perfectly suited for a special occasion, or for just hanging out. Even if it's an informal gathering, it's appropriate to give some thought to the beer and the people who will be drinking it. Doing so shows you care about the people with whom you are sharing a drink or breaking bread. So yes, I'd say we do have special beers for special occasions. It's the thought about the beer and the people who will be drinking it that makes it special.

Be sure to check back at The Barley Blog to see a summary of all contributions to this month's Session.

Update, July 3: Ray has posted the Session summary here.