Flying Dog Brewhouse Rarities

Flying Dog Brewery send along this press release (which got buried in my inbox) announcing the schedule for some special beers for 2013.

Flying Dog Brewery Announces 2013 Brewhouse Rarities Series

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, November 28, 2012

Frederick, MD – On the heels of releasing 40 different beers in 2012, today Flying Dog Brewery announced its 2013 Brewhouse Rarities – a series of innovative, small-batch beers available in the mid-Atlantic only.

“The only criteria that apply to our Brewhouse Rarities is that they are interesting and unusual,” Brewmaster Matt Brophy said. “It has to be something that we are intrigued by and dying to try.”

To determine the twelve releases each year, teams of Flying Dog employees develop recipes and pitch their styles to their fellow peers.

“All areas of the brewery – from our brewhouse to packaging and sales to accounting – are involved in these Brewhouse Rarities pitches,” Brophy said. “It’s important for us to look to everyone at Flying Dog for inspiration on styles that will continue to push not only Flying Dog, but also the craft beer industry as a whole.”

The 2013 Brewhouse Rarities include:

·      Chipotle Dark Ale: January

·      Green Tea Imperial Stout: February

·      Pumpernickel IPA: March

·      Big Black Wit: April

·      Easy IPA: May

·      Pineapple Saison: June

·      Belgian Devil: July

·      Roggen: August

·      Vineyard Blonde (brewed with local Vidal Blanc grapes): September

·      Orchard Ale (brewed with local apples): October

·      Cinnamon Porter: December

Since both the Vineyard Blonde and Orchard Ale are agriculturally dependent, the November release was intentionally left open.

All of the releases will be in draft only, with the exception of the Green Tea Imperial Stout, Belgian Devil, and Cinnamon Porter. Those will be packaged in both draft and 750 ml bottles.

In Flying Dog fashion, the brewery continues to push the envelop, and does so to create good beer, and not merely for shock factor as some brewers are wont to do. Admittedly, Pineapple Saison doesn't tempt me as much as Chipotle Dark Ale or Pumpernickel IPA, but I'm looking forward to trying these out if I get the chance.

Dry Fire Dojo

Confession time. You'll recall I wrote about my dry fire routine previously. I was seeing some progress, though the gains were slow. And frankly, the routine got boring. It was certainly easier to skip a day than to get out my gear and practice. After the Steve Anderson class a few weeks ago, I got myself re-motivated with a much better, and more interesting, dry fire routine.

The first thing I had to do was set up my dry fire "dojo" in the basement. Having a dedicated area to practice isn't a necessity I suppose, but it makes for a more convenient routine. All the needed equipment stays in the basement ready for use. Targets were hung over my beer bottle shelves, in standard USPSA El Prez layout. Initially I used some scaled down targets due to space constraints. However, in order to follow Steve's directions more closely, those were replaced with full-size USPSA targets which meant clearing out more space to give me the full 30 feet needed. I also put up some small plates to simulate a plate rack. Eventually I hope to build a simple swinger to work on that specialized skill too. I marked out the needed distances with tape on the floor, and put down a couple of 3x3 shooting boxes made from PVC pipe. Getting set up also required hanging a couple shop lights to brighten things up in the unfinished basement. Perhaps all the prep work also helps to motivate me; I do have time and money invested now.

The bottles are motivation - for a treat after a job well done!

I am working on the drills from Anderson's first book, Refinement and Repetition. In class, Steve suggested we commit to simply doing the first 12 drills in the book repeatedly for 5 minutes each, plus one additional drill for each daily session. Allowing for the time between drills, I find that takes about 75 minutes to do. A good part of the first few sessions was spent learning the drills and determining my base par times. Recently, it's become more familiar and I'm able to focus on the "doing."

I can get down to the dry fire dojo about 5 days a week, given other commitments. Even if I really don't feel like practicing, I'll force myself. But in all honesty, I think that's perhaps only occurred once, as I look forward to my practice time each day. The improvement I'm seeing is satisfying, and very motivational. I'm reminded of my much younger days when I ran cross country in college - if I missed a day running I was miserable. Back then I had to force myself to take one day off a week for recovery. Given the short days of winter, dry fire may well be my only practice most weeks. At least there's no need to clean the gun after dry fire!

Merry Mischief

As noted planned, Colleen and I shared a bottle of Sam Adams Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout earlier this week. It was an unexpected treat, and on a "school night" even.

I will admit to a bit of trepidation when opening the beer. So many spiced beers start out being enjoyable, but, for my tastes, often quickly become tedious. As is often the case with fruit beers, I also have spiced Winter Ales left over from six packs purchased years ago.

Merry Mischief pours a deep, dark color with a rich beige head. It smells like a spiced beer. The spices dominate — cloves, ginger, nutmeg — hmm, like a gingerbread cookie. Go figure. The spices take the front seat in the flavor too. However, they are mitigated by the roasted, and slightly sweet, stout. The finish leaves behind a bit bit of sweetness and spice, with a "sufficient" alcohol warmth. At 9% ABV, this is a beer best enjoyed while sipping. Of course that mode of enjoyment often goes by the wayside when one is trying to make notes for a review.

I was very happy that Colleen decided to grab this one to try out. I'll close this post with her statement, which sums it up quit succinctly, "I think I'll get a few more bottles next time I go to the store."

Feast of St. Nicholas

December 6 is the Feast Day of St. Nicholas. Often considered the inspiration for the tradition of Santa Claus, he is also considered a Patron Saint of Brewing. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, was in attendance at the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325. One of the orders of business for the Council was to refute the Arian heresy. It is said that one point the debate became so heated, an enraged Nicholas punched Arius in the face. While it may have been shocking at the time, one can't help but think he got the point across. I often think we could use a few more Bishops like St. Nicholas today.

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

It's Good To Be Me

When I got home from work yesterday, this was the sight that greeted me in the kitchen.


Colleen had gone to the store! The Sierra Nevada Celebration is a perennial favorite around here, but the Wittekerke Winter White Ale and Sam Adams Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout are new to us. "I thought they'd be fun to try" she told me. And then added, "Should we have the Merry Mischief tonight?"

Later in the evening I asked my lovely wife if she saw the ammo sale email I had forwarded to her. The reply, "Yea, I get that email too."

She picks up new beers to try, and follows ammunition sales. Eat your heart out guys!

Gifts For The Shooter Who Has Everything

Speaking of top shelf, here's a shaving brush that goes beyond a plain wooden handle. The Six Shooter Shaving Brush is brought to us by the same folks who gave us the 50 cal bottle opener.

Bullets2Bandages produces unique items from real bullets, casings, and firearms parts. A portion of the proceeds is donated to charities supporting veterans.

Celebrating St. Andrew With Good Beer

This past Friday while our son was away at a high school swim meet, Colleen and I decided to go out and celebrate the Feast of St. Andrew. We headed downtown to Capital Ale House in search of food and beverage.

Colleen was determined to enjoy a Scottish-style Ale in recognition of the Saint. She saw Oskar Blues Old Chub on the draft menu and her decision was immediate. A few minutes later the server returned with the news the Old Chub was all gone. Okay, the other Scottish Ale listed was Belhaven Scottish Ale. Nope, that one's kicked too. Switching back to the Old Chub, she decided to get the canned version. Again our server returned with the news that they were out of the cans as well. This time he brought back a couple bottled suggestions from the bartender. One of those was Belhaven Wee Heavy which she selected to conclude her beer ordering adventure.

The Belhaven Wee Heavy was an exceptionally tasty brew. Wee Heavy is a style I enjoy very much but not one that I have all that often. In fact, if I wasn't already on my own mission for hops, I'd probably would have enjoyed a pint of this Scottish delight myself.

While Colleen was seeking a Scottish focus, I was in the mood to savor some hop-rich brews. Fortunately my ordering process was a bit more successful. I started my hop progression with Laughing Dog Hop Dog Pale Ale. This Pale Ale from the Idaho brewery was rich with grassy, fresh hops, in the aroma and the taste. Brewed with fresh hops, it was quite crisp and refreshing. Sadly, my 10 ounce serving lasted barely until our appetizer arrived.

Next in my hop-focused progression was Hopulent IPA from Utah's Epic Brewing Company. This one was served on nitro. I almost missed the nitro-served IPA as the Ale House's menu listed it as "Coming Soon." Fortunately a friend who is a server at the restaurant (though not ours that evening) passed by our table and let me know to try it. The Hopulent had a creamy texture from the nitrous serving. The aroma was sweet caramel and bready-like malts. The taste followed the aroma, adding very clean citrus and resinous hop notes.

Finally I moved up the scale to a Double IPA. My selection for "dessert" was Firestone Walker Double Jack DIPA. This big beer had the strong aroma of juicy citrus hops. The flavor was a nice balance of sweet malt and grapefruit like citrus. A thick, chewy beer, it was an exceptional finish to my hop adventure.

Colleen and lingered over our drinks and food for quite some time. We enjoyed a wonderful evening of conversation and people-watching. Eventually, we called it an evening and returned home for coffee while we awaited the late return of our son.

Jack Daniel's Operation Ride Home

I posted about Jack Daniel's support of our troops previously. I received an email recently letting me know the distiller is again supporting our Armed Forces through Operation Ride Home.

What: Today, Jack Daniel and the Armed Services YMCA  launched the annual “Operation Ride Home” program to help junior enlisted soldiers and their families travel home this holiday season. The Jack Daniel Distillery will donate more than $100,000 – and asks consumers to contribute as well – to fund travel vouchers for plane tickets, pre-paid debit cards and other means of assistance.

Who: The National Armed Services YMCA of the USA will utilize their vast network and work with military commands around the country and every branch of service to identify junior enlisted service members and families who would benefit from travel assistance.

Calls to Action:
- If you or someone you know qualify as junior enlisted military and could benefit from Operation Ride Home, see your local chapter of the Armed Services YMCA.
- Members of the armed services and civilians alike can help soldiers and their families experience the holidays at home by donating here: https://jdoperationridehomemedia.com/donation

If know someone who needs help, or want to help, please follow the link above for more information or to support Operation Ride Home.