Pahken the Cahr in the Yahrd to have a Beah in Bahstan

Yeah I said it, what?

So I know it's been a couple of days coming and here it is. I find that I have to be in the mood to blog. And being that this is really more of a journal for my own reflection (I have only 2 followers, one of which I live with) I'll do what I want. That being said...

Boston was a great trip. It was cold as hell on Friday when we arrived. It wasn't so much the temperature that bothered me but the wind. I haven't felt cold like that since working as a public safety officer directing traffic in the middle of a Grand Rapids winter storm at GVSU. It was freezing! Nothing that couldn't be overcome though by some good friends, good drinks and good times.

We did lunch at a barbecue joint (the name eludes me) and it was pretty good. Started the day of with an IPA and it hit the spot. From there we headed to the Samuel Adams brewery for a tour. For me the tour was a bit disappointing. This is likely because I'm an aspiring brewer and I've done my research. I wanted to hear more about the mash tuns and how they work. How is the sparging done? Tell me about the temperatures, times, all the good stuff. Oh well. It ended with a 45 minute tasting. Of course we tasted the Lager. We also got a crash course on beer appraisal. Appearance, nose, taste, mouth feel, etc. One thing I learned was that in Boston, if you're served a Sam that looks cloudy, you can demand your money back.

They hit is with the seasonal (white) and an experimental beer as well. The experimental should stay that way. It had some off flavors in it for certain. I imagine that's why it was saved for us tourists. All in all a good experience though. I picked up a couple of Samuel Adam's Perfect Pints for the road and we headed out for appetizers, drinks and later dinner. We ended up at the end of the night at place in little Italy called Bricco. Mafioso for certain. It was fun though and I had a chance to catch up with my sister and Ted which was nice. Meagen got to see a college friend and catch up with her as well.

Saturday of course was focused on the Extreme Beer Festival, but first some pictures for Amanda and Ted. We hit the streets and walked to Boston Common for some engagement shots. Meagen did a wonderful job as usual, and after some Shop and Light Room touch ups the pictures will be amazing. I can't wait to see the finished products.

And the festival. Let me just say that it was a great time. I'm going to list a few highlights but I don't have enough time to give you the whole story. If you want to hear it sometime just ask and I'll tell you about it.

For the stouts, Founders came through for me with a special edition Canadian Breakfast Stout. Being that I love coffee and dark chocolate flavors in beer, this espresso spiked monster hit the spot. The nose had a ton of espresso and a bit of chocolate and toasted oats. Taste was velvety smooth and heavy. Founders also came through with their Double Trouble IPA which is hard to beat for me. I love the grapefruit aroma and taste of this beer. The generous amount of hops is balanced well (but not too far toward the sweet) and finishes nice and clean. To be fair though, Crooked Tree did a Double Dark Horse which was great and F.X. Matt Brewing Company is rivaling Founders for my favorite IIPA. Their Sarnac was brewed with 12 different hop varieties and had the citrus and floral aroma I love.

There was a good bit of barrel aged beers left over from the previous evening and I had a chance to sample a few. Bells had an aged stout that was good. The collaboration brew from Dogfish was also interesting. The winning name was "Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, B, A Select. It had everything but the kitchen sink in it and was aged in oak barrels. Great stuff.

The new kid on the block was the sours. I had never tried these previously and I'm going to be curious to investigate them further. Hopefully Steve at Kickbacks can get a hold of some Gargamel from Allagash. Light amber in color, it was very tart but balanced with raspberries and some other sweetness. The nose was full of vinegar and wine. I don't know quite how else to describe it as it was so new to me in style. Worth a go for anyone though. I'm going to enjoy checking out the sour ale style.

One of my favorite (and most inspiring) tastes came from a gruit style ale. A gruit is a concoction of spices that were used to balance beers sweetness prior to the discovery of hops. Hops of course are the bittering agent in today's beers. This particular beer used a combination of orange and lemon zest, coriander, green and pink peppercorns, cinnamon and some other spices to accomplish the balance. It was very good! It has me inspired to try my own.

We wound the day down with some Italian and good conversation. All in all I really enjoyed this trip and I'll be back to Boston soon. I'd like to go in the summer to see Boston Common in full bloom and just walk more of the city. The trip has also inspired me to get brewing, and soon. I have too many ideas right now for the space we have though, so some of them will have to wait. I'll keep posting as the beers hit the fermenter in the future.

Respect Beer! Support your local breweries! Drink a homebrew!

Until next time

-MtR