Finz Sucks - Portsmouth Rocks

OK, so I have not blogged in a week. Sorry. Quick recap. I had a quite week until Friday. Friday I went to a place called Finz in Salem MA. Yuck. Bad service, bad food, and bad beer. The beer selection was quite lame, but worst of all they had a waitstaff that knew nothing about beer. Finz had on tap the Harpoon St. Patrick’s day special beer ( I believe it is called Celtic) and I was told by the waitress that it was like an IPA. It was a red! That is not even the worst part about it. When I traded my crappy holiday red in for the standard Harpoon IPA you could tell that they NEVER CLEAN THEIR LINES. Ug. I realize that I am a beer snob, but hey if you are reading this, it is the name of my blog.

Thankfully on Saturday we went to Portsmouth NH. We started off at The Portsmouth Brewery, which I am only so-so about, but they had this amazing Flemish red. It was a terrific beer. I don’t think I would wait hours in line for this one like many people do for the Kate the Great beer (noted on Beer Advocate to be one of the world’s top 5 beers), but definitely worth a trip. We had a few other types all decent.

Next it was off to Fat Belly’s for a nice Red Hook ESB & Long Hammer IPA. Since we were only a mere 5 miles from the brewery itself, the beer was wonderfully fresh.
Third stop of the night was over to an Italian restaurant, where the staff was fantastic. We had great beers (can’t recall which ones, but I do recall a good selection), great food, great scotches, and threw dollar bills on the ceiling. I would go back Rosa’s in a minute.
Last stop of the night was…. Well I can’t recall the name, but I can recall that we had more Red Hook.

So all in all it was a good weekend. This week I am gearing up to taste some southern beers as I am off to Nashville TN on Friday. Not sure what I am going to fine, but it will be fun to try.

What to do?

As a sales manager it is my duty (in this case pleasure) to take the sales representatives who come to the office out to dinner. The rep in town this week happens to be a beer experimentalist – meaning she is willing to try new beers. Although really a wine enthusiast she is happy to willing to taste beers I recommend. It is great. However she is also a foodie. So deciding where to take her this evening is not going to be easy. Do I take her somewhere to try new beers, to somewhere where we can get a good meal, or somewhere close to the office? The answer to this is IDK. I am working on it now. Originally I had thought about going to The Publik House in Brookline (but that is too far) next I was thinking heading to Allston to Sunset Bar & Grill (but a local rep said that that was too far), next I was thinking about going somewhere close to my house (as it is also close to work), but none of those seem right. IDK what to do. Suggestions anyone?

Stone Ruination - Blackberry Mead - Aged Beers

The other night I went out and had a Stone Ruination IPA & Stone Levitation Ale Contrary to the names they is not that scary. Like most Stone beers ( www.stonebrew.com) the flavors were strong but not obscene. I have found that aging Stone beers only improves the taste.
I realize that there are some people out there that do not believe in aging a beer, but let me tell you from personal experience that aging a beer can make it better.
About 3+ years ago my husband and I made a blackberry mead. It was fantastic after the normal gestation period (roughly 1 year), however year 2 and 3 have only made it so much better. The only complaint I have about that mead is that we are running out.

So my blog note for today. Aged beer can been great.

Beer Haus' of Munich - HofbreauHaus, Weisses, Augstiner, and Pauliner

I am sorry to my fan (possibly fans if I can get JP to look on his own) that is has been so long since I have blogged. The only excuse I have is that I was working – in GERMANY. I wish I could say it was the beer that distracted me, however it was the work. L Thankfully at ALL our evening events we were supplied with FranzisKaner beer. It was fresh on top.

I was able to slip in a little play time. My only free PM in Munich was Tuesday and I was able to make it to 4 brew houses. The is order is favorite to least favorite.
HofbreauHaus - if you go to Munich you have to go there. It was my quintessential vision of a brew house. It is huge, expanding 4-5 rooms, long wooden tables and benches, mass (large – what we refer to as liter) and klien (small- what we refer to as 16oz beers) – but of course they assume you want the liter, oompa band on stage, wait staff in traditional lederhosen and dirndls. It is awesome. The beer itself was good. Nothing personally wild and crazy for me, but good. I know it is cheesy touristy, but I loved it.
Weisses Brew Haus - (home of the Aventis & Schneider Weiss beers)– on the other hand was a less touristy and more typical Munich brew houses. The food was authentic, and the beer was great.
Augustiner Brew Haus – Another tradition brew house with good beer, but more tourists. We headed to one (as they have many locations) that was a little further out of the center, but it was still loaded with tourists. What I loved about the Augustiner Haus was that they held true to the table sharing tradition. If you were not aware, it is traditional that if there are open seats at your table, if someone wants to join you, they ask and you permit them to sit with you. Conversation usually ensues. In our case we did not speak German, so no conversation was had with the folks that joined us at our table.
Pauliner Brew Haus – This location (again they had multiple locations) was the last destination for the PM, we had had a few beers in us already which could have possibly clouded our judgment, but to me felt more upscale than necessary. Smaller rounder and square tables with table cloths and candles. Good beer, atmosphere just ok.
So in conclusion I would have to say that although it is known as a tourist trap, the Hoffbrauhaus ROCKS and is a must see in Munich.

Final words about Prague

As I am running out of time, because I have to hit the Autobahn to Munich, I wanted to give my final assessment, beer wise of course of Prague. Let me start by saying the city is amazing and I had a blast. The beers I did try were very good, nothing I would call amazing or add to my top 10 list, although Budvar dark may receive an alternate position, all in all I would have to say is good country, and good beer. However if you are looking for variety, Prague is not your country. What they do offer they do well, but the offering is small. From this beer lovers point of view definitely go, but don’t go for the beers.

Medvidku maker of Oldgott - awesome bar in Czech Republic

As promised I wanted to tell my readers about the Czech Republic. We arrived yesterday to Munich and immediately drove to Prague. A very short simple trip. We were greeted by friendly people and great beer. For those of you who don’t know, the Czech’s created the original Budweiser – which we have enjoyed many times in the US. This time we had it on tap. We went to a place called Medvidku – an awesome micro brewery – that looks small from the outside, however when you went it there were 3-5 beer hall rooms, plus a brewery on the 2nd floor – that was in use. The smell of fresh hops and grains lingered in the air (only on the 2nd floor) because of the no smoking laws – that it, there are NO smoking laws so you can smoke wherever. We also enjoyed a fresh homebrew called Oldgott which had a great rich flavor. We did not try the X33 – one of the worlds most potent beers – that we are brining home to try with our friends.

Well off I go again to drink more beers.

Keep reading and I will keep posting.
SBG

It is about time for a new post

I have been asked many times what is my favorite bar. Domestically I would have to say hands down, it is a little place in Lovell Maine called Ebenezer’s Pub Check them out - http://ebenezerspub.net

The beer selection is amazing. There is stuff there that you simply can not get in any other New England state. How the owner does it, I don’t know, and I don’t care. It is one of the few places I can walk into and ask the owner Chris, or his wife Jenny to pick something out for me. They know beer and they know me. We typically take 3-5 minutes deciding, but just about every time I am extremely happy with the selection. They will hold 1-2 beers that are hard to find and they think we would like. The owner is also one of the most colorful characters I have ever met in my life. He loves beer more than I, and more than anyone else I know, and that true passion shines through. Of course you have to take everything he says with a grain of salt.

Last night I was given a Kiren Light instead of a Kiren, and I have to say not bad. Not as good as the Bar Harbor Real Ale by Atlantic Brewing Company (Bar Harbor ME) that I had when I got home, but not bad.

Let me know some good beers you have tried.
SBG

Nugget Nectar

I wanted to mention how much good the Nugget Nectar beer by Troegs is awesome. It has a ranking of A on Beer Advocate. I have to agree. If you can get it, try it.
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/694/15881

Traveling outside the US for Work - and beer!

OK, so I know the economy sucks, but you still need to vacation right? Well my company is sending me to Munich Germany for a conference. So what is a girl to do? Here is what I am going to do - invite her husband to go with her and head to the Czech Republic prior to the conference.
Due to the limited funds and the limited time the question now becomes…….
Do we stop by Pilsner (the original home of the most sacred of styles) or the Czechvar brewery? For those of you who don’t know Czechvar (which is called Budvar in all other countries) was originally called Budviser. Sound familiar? Well us patent laws made them (even though they were around for many many years before Budweiser)change their name to Czechvar. However they could not make them change the beer – it is one of the best Pilsners in the world.
So you see our dilemma? Oh wait there is no big dilemma, rather just a choice that has to be made. Either way I will be partaking in some of the world’s best beers.

The Barking Dog, Purple Haze by Abita

So this weekend I went to my favorite local joint, The Barking Dog and was served by one of my favorite bartenders Jeff. Jeff is a sweet young (compared to me) guy who always is right on the money for beer suggestions. So you would imagine my surprise when he was cut early from his shift and sat down to have some dinner and a drink or so. Low and behold what was he drinking, Bud Light. This is the same man who came up with the McConehey. A mixture of Purple Haze and some kind of Porter– a masterpiece!!!!