AleWerks Red Marker Ale

Six years ago when I started writing these Musings, I had in the back of my mind that I'd get around to trying all the beers from all the Virginia breweries. Well, I've long forgotten that goal — I can hardly keep up with the ever growing list of breweries, much less their beers. Despite that, I'm often reminded that I've missed even the "easy" ones.

I was looking through photos from our recent vacation and I came across this beer picture I had taken at a lunch stop and was reminded of another tasty Virginia beer I enjoyed recently, one that I don't recall trying previously. We had detoured to the Dog Street Pub in Williamsburg on our drive back from the Outer Banks. I was looking forward to a light lunch, and hopefully a good beer. The pub has a fairly extensive draft beer menu, but I was drawn to a bottle of the locally brewed Red Marker Ale from AleWerks Brewing Company, right there in Williamsburg. This American Red Ale checks in at just 5% ABV, which made it ideal for the quick lunch stop.

A hard pour into a classic nonic pint glass created minimal head but released the rich caramel and bready malt aromas. The beer is a deep red-amber color. The initial flavor is slightly sweet and bread-like. Some mild citrus bitterness comes through at the end. The overall flavor profile is balanced and mild.

Admittedly, I haven't had too many AleWerks beers, probably due to the fact that they are readily available locally, leaving them to be overlooked. However, I've always enjoyed the ones I've tried. Coincidently, the last AleWerks beer I drank was during my last visit to the colonial city.

So many breweries, so little time.

Birra Nursia Marks One Year of Brewing

The monks at St. Benedict's Monastery in Norcia, Italy recently celebrated one year of beer making at their brewery, Birra Nursia.

Not only is the brewery successful, beer is apparently a great tool for evangelization. The monks take  Theology on Tap to a whole new level!

See "Beauty and beer: Monks' outreach is part of new evangelization" for more on the monks and their beer. Also, a previous Musings post on Birra Nursia is here.

Two More Local Breweries

Our area will soon be home to two new microbreweries. Last Tuesday, the businesses cleared a major hurdle, when the Stafford County Board of Supervisors approved zoning changes favorable to breweries wanting to open in the county. Adventure Brewing Company and Short’s Branch Brewing are now moving forward with their plans to open their breweries.

For more on the zoning law updates, see "Microbreweries coming to Stafford" and "Breweries cleared to tap a keg in Stafford" in the Free Lance-Star.

That's a Good Looking Beer

We went out last night for an evening of beer, food, and Irish music at Blue & Gray Brewing Company last night. I've been enjoying the brewery's Summer seasonal, Kirkland's Kölsch. I knew it was getting near the end of it's season, so was happy it was still available.

Prost!

As my beer was set down in front of me, I was struck by just how appetizing it looked. (Despite the iPhone photo.) Our enjoyment of good beer, and good food, is enhanced by its appearance. And my eyes weren't deceiving me, it tasted as good as it looked.

Buy a Priest a Beer Day

From The Catholic Gentleman:

Did you know that this coming Monday, September 9, is International Buy a Priest a Beer Day? On this festive day, faithful Catholics all over the world take their priests out for a beer and get to know them better. It’s a beautiful Catholic tradition that goes back to the time of St. Hopswald of Aleyard, the first man to take his priest out for a beer. 

Okay, if you’re getting suspicious by now, there’s a good reason. Buy a Priest a Beer Day is not a real holiday. But I would argue that it should be! 

Believe it or not, priests are real people, and they enjoy socializing over good food and drink as much as anyone. They also have a thankless and difficult job, a job that we couldn’t get to heaven without. Priests are the lifeblood of the Church, and they deserve some appreciation.

This sounds like a movement I can get behind. So, I'll make this offer right now, if you're a Catholic priest in my local area, get in touch. The beer is on me. If you're a factory beer drinker, and I can't convince you otherwise, I'll even buy you that "beer." I'll offer it up.

Actually, even if Monday doesn't work out, the offer is open ended. I'm always up for raising a pint with the good and holy priests I've come to know. Cheers!

See "International Buy a Priest a Beer Day!" for more.

There's Snake In Your Beer

As if the snake isn't scary enough, he's drinking Bud Light too.

Serves him right for drinking bad beer.

Via CNN.

Treaty of Paris

While July 4, 1776 is celebrated as Independence Day, the birthday of the United States, world recognition of our Nation was formalized on September 3, 1783. The Treaty of Paris was signed by David Hartley, of Great Britain, and three American negotiators, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay, and brought the American Revolution to a close.

It's interesting to note that the Treaty begins with the words, "In the Name of the most Holy & undivided Trinity."

Full Moon Café & Brewery

A few months ago I was in a local grocery store and I saw a guy wearing a t-shirt from the Full Moon Brewery in Manteo, NC. I'd never heard of it, and since we were planning a trip to the Outer Banks, I made a note to find out more. The small restaurant and brewery is located in old town Manteo. We've driven down the main drag through the island on the way to the aquarium, but have never veered off into the village. It's a charming town that we'll have to check out further on a future trip. But this trip was solely for the brewpub.

The lunch rush was in full swing when we arrived. Both the restaurant area and separate pub are quite small, and there is also an outdoor seating area. Despite the crowd, we got a table pretty quickly and service was friendly and prompt throughout our stay. 

Of course, the first order of business was to review the beer menu. Nine house beers were listed, along with one guest tap from Weeping Radish Brewery. Full Moon focuses on British and Irish style beers. I was impressed that, despite their outward size, they had that many house taps. This was going to be a tough decision so I opted to start out with a flight of four beers.

The first beer I tried was the Baltimore Blonde, a British-style Pale Ale. The flavor and aroma was mild caramel and honey, which carried over into the flavor. A barely noticeable citrus bitterness come into play at the end. I suspect this is a popular draft for less adventurous drinkers. Next up was the Devils Own IPA. This tasty British-style IPA had a golden color with a thin white head. The taste is a nice balance of citrus and bitter. It's a light flavor with a clean finish. 

Up third, I tasted the Paddy Wagon Red. Deep red in color with a malty aroma, the flavor is toasted caramel and barley. The mouthfeel is somewhat creamy. This was a well-done Irish Red Ale that I enjoyed quite a bit. At just 4% ABV it makes a good session beer. Finally, I moved on to the Vitamin O, an Extra Special Bitter. ESB's are one of my favorite styles, so I was looking forward to this one. The reddish-brown beer had a very thin white head, and a nutty, caramel aroma. The flavor was slightly sweet, and nutty with some mild bitterness. Caramel and toffee lingered in the finish. The beer was nicely balanced. I ended up ordering a pint of Vitamin O to enjoy with my food.

Colleen and Checkered Flag decided to go big and they both ordered glasses of Stone of Destiny, the brewery's 9% ABV Wee Heavy. The beer had an earthy, malty aroma. The flavor brought forth molasses, dark coffee, some dark fruit and a touch of smoke. Those two glasses of beer received rave reviews from their drinkers.

Speaking of food, we were quite impressed with what we ate, and saw, at Full Moon. Colleen and I both ordered Shrimp and Grits. The sautéed Shrimp are accompanied by andouille sausage, peppers, tomatoes, onions, black beans and Creole spices, and served in a creamy sauce over grilled polenta. The dish was very flavorful and had enough kick to live up to the Creole label. It was also quite filling. The rest of our party ordered bacon cheeseburgers made with Angus beef, and real chunks of crispy bacon. Their sandwiches were huge and quickly devoured. The other food dishes we saw looked good, and like our selections, appeared to come as generous portions. At one point we all turned longingly to watch attractive platters of Fish and Chips being carried to other tables. Full Moon seems to do "pub food" quite well.

In proper Irish (or British if you prefer) pub style, Full Moon's beer repertoire also included a Stout, an Imperial Stout, and a Porter, but I was unable to get to them this visit. I regret that we didn't visit earlier in our trip so we'd have time for a return visit. I'm thinking those Fish and Chips would go quite well with a pint of Manteo Porter. Next time, for sure. 

I am glad I spied that Full Moon T-shirt as it led us to a great new beer destination. We bought a couple shirts ourselves, maybe we'll lead some other fans to good food and beer in Manteo. The next time we visit the OBX, we'll definitely be back.