Battle Mug

It's not too early to start shopping for Christmas gifts for your favorite craft beer drinker. If that beer fan also happens to be a fan of defensive weapons, I've got the perfect suggestion for you, the Battle Mug.

Hero-Gear started the Battle Mug project over 2 years ago as members of the staff sat around and contemplated what they should do with a slug of M4 carry handles they had laying around from a recent Police dept. upgrade to BUIS on their patrol rifles.

Long viewed as either “hardcore gun guys that like to drink” or “hardcore beer guys that like to shoot” it only seemed natural that they figure out a way of combining two great passions into one ass-kicking device.

Thus Battle Mug was born!

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I'll make your shopping easy for you. I'd like mine to have a Sig Sauer logo please. You can find the full description and ordering details at the Hero-Gear website.

Hat tip to and photo courtesy of Oleg Volk.

A Confession, "Shaker Pints"

You can't read more than a few beer blogs before running into a post about "proper glassware". I've written my fair share. Likewise, the expected post denigrating the "lowly" shaker pint. I've done that one too. Well readers, I have a confession to make. I admit I'm reaching for the shaker pint more and more frequently.

First, why all the disdain? Too heavy. Too boring. Wrong shape. The list goes on. And those points are not by any means completely invalid. But are they enough to relegate these glasses to the back of the cabinet?

Generally the objections to the shaker pint revolve around the shape. However, the shape of the glasses make them easy to hold. There's certainly enough room to get even my nose down near the beer. There's plenty of glass to look through to see the beer as well. I happen to like the heft of the glass better than, say, some light snifter. They're inexpensive and stack in a small space. The shape makes them easy to clean. (My understanding wife ensures all beer glasses are washed by hand.)

Many of my favorite memories about enjoying craft beer revolve around pubs and friends. In most pubs, you'll find the ubiquitous shaker pint. Those memories stick. When I'm entertaining friends at home, especially when there's a crowd, I'll bring out the collection of pint glasses to ensure there's enough glasses to go around. Many of those glasses sport logos from brewery or festival visits which bring back enjoyable memories as well. That is what good beer is all about; creating and sharing memories. Perhaps there's just something deep in our memories that just makes the shaker feel "right."

My name is David, and I'm a shaker pint user.

Sierra Nevada Celebration; Marking the Season

I picked up the first Sierra Nevada Celebration of the season this weekend. I always look forward to this perennial favorite, both for it's intense flavors, but for the way it introduces the oncoming "Winter" beer season. The wintery scene of the label reminds us of the upcoming colder weather and the joyous Christmas season. I am also reminded that soon I'll be enjoying some of my favorite seasonal beers. Personally, I don't look forward to the short days and cold nights, but the beers of Winter are among my favorites. Sierra Nevada Celebration heralds their arrival.

For some interesting background on Sierra Nevada's Winter seasonal, see "Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale – Clearing Up Myths" at TheFullPint.com.

Veterans Day

Today, raise a toast to all of the men and women who have served our Country.



Enough said.

8th Annual Fredericksburg Oktoberfest, This Weekend

The 8th Annual Fredericksburg Oktoberfest takes place this weekend at the Blue & Gray Brewery. The brewery's new location allows for an expanded venue so there's plenty of room this year. I stopped by Friday afternoon and enjoyed a couple of 1/2 liter mugs of the Blue & Gray Oktoberfest. I always look forward to this annual offering, and this year's batch seems especially well-done. I picked up a growler last week when it was first released, enjoyed it over the weekend, and will surely go back for more.

The Oktoberfest celebration continues on Saturday, starting at 11:00AM, with activities all day until 8:00PM. German food will be available outside, as well as special menu items inside at Lee's Retreat. As always, this is a family event so bring the whole gang and enjoy the day.

Capital Ale House Oktoberfest

On Saturday, Capital Ale House held it's second annual Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg. I was spending time with family in Maryland, and enjoying Polock Johnny's sausages and Guinness, so was unable to attend. Judging by the "live" updates I saw on Facebook, the estimated 15,000 folks attending had a great time. I'll point you to an article in today's Free Lance-Star for more information and pictures from the event.

With a swing of a mighty wooden mallet, Mayor Tom Tomzak kicked off Oktoberfest in downtown Fredericksburg at noon yesterday.

He hammered home a tap in the first keg, then handed a stein filled with some of its foaming contents to Evan Judd, a World War II veteran who took part in the Berlin airlift.

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And don't forget, local Oktoberfest celebrations continue next weekend, September 24 - 25 with the 8th Annual Fredericskburg Oktoberfest at Blue & Gray Brewing Company.

Virginia Brewers Show Their Metal, Again

Western States like Colorada, California and Oregan get a lot of (well-deserved) attention for the the fine craft beers produced there. However, Virginia brewers continue to show the world that good beer comes from these parts too! Three Virginia breweries came home with medals from this year's Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado.

The 151 judges at GABF judged 3,523 beers in 79 style categories. That's an amazing feat by itself!

Devils Backbone Brewing Company in Roseland, VA was awarded four medals:

• GOLD in Category 6: Coffee Flavored Beer for Baltic Coffee
• GOLD in Category 24: American-Style or International-Style Pilsener for Gold Leaf Lager
• BRONZE in Category 51: English-Style Mild Ale for Ale of Fergus
• BRONZE in Category 61: South German-Style Hefeweizen for Wintergreen Weiss

Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton, VA came away with two medals:

• GOLD in Gold Category 1: American-Style Wheat Beer for Sandy Bottom
• BRONZE in Category 41: German-Style Kölsch for Kolsch 151

Great American Restaurants (Sweetwater Tavern) in Centreville, VA brought home one medal:

• GOLD in Category 53: Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter for Gar Pale Ale

Congratulation to these Virginia brewers! You can see the complete list of awards at GABF web site.

Shooting Creek Brewery at Capital Ale House

We've been following Shooting Creek Brewery in Floyd, VA since mid-2008. Although they started distributing beer in March of 2009, I've not had the opportunity to try any of the beers. That changed a couple of weeks ago when the Capital Ale House "Steal the Glass Night" featured two beers from the brewery.

The first beer I ordered was Shooting Creek Rebel Ale. Shooting Creek describes Rebel Ale as "Brewed with malted barley and rye for a unique flavor-quenching zip, rich malt character, and deep amber glow. Moderately bittered using Cascade hops grown by Shooting Creek Farm brewery." The beer (at right) pours a cloudy, golden-amber color. I noted very faint grainy notes in the aroma. The taste is somewhat sweet, with some toasted malt detected as well. There are bitter citrus notes that come through at the finish, leaving behind a dry finish. Overall it's an easily drinkable beer, but not extraordinary.

Capital Ale House was also serving Shooting Creek Buffalo Brown Ale. Not wanting to shirk my duty to try both beers for the benefit of the readers of The Musings, I ordered a Brown Ale, and a Chicken Tostada appetizer to go along with it. This American Brown Ale poured a dark, cola brown with a thin beige head. There is a strong presence of citrusy hops in the aroma, as well as some toasted malt. The flavor followed suit. There was an enjoyable kick of bitter citrus rind on top of the sweet, dark malt. I wasn't sure how a brown ale would stand up to the spicy appetizer, but the citrus hop flavor enabled the beer to do just that.

I discussed both beers with a few other patrons. Folks were divided between disliking the Rebel Ale or finding it "just okay." Everyone I spoke to preferred the Buffalo Brown over the Rebel Ale. No one disliked it, and several found it quite enjoyable. More than one person remarked on being (pleasantly) surprised by the hop level of the beer.

My experience with the two Shooting Creek beers left me looking forward to trying out more beers from this small, southwest Virginia brewery. While "Steal the Glass Night" is a fun excuse for adding to one's glassware collection, the opportunity to try new and hard to find beers is a true treat.