There's been a lot going on in the land of beer since I last posted. There was the guy with auto-brewery syndrome. And who could forget all the beer blogs blazing over how white the craft beer industry is? Well, maybe it's a good thing I missed that last one, since I'm a white guy tangentially involved with the craft beer industry (very tangentially... I think Kevin Bacon is probably closer to it than me), but I don't know any better so I'll probably still throw out some opinions on that one at some point. Anyway, rather than covering the news, I want to just put up a brief entry about how where you are affects your beer.
You could accuse this blog of having been pretty Boston-centric, and you wouldn't be wrong. I'm not going to give you the cookie of telling you that you're right on with that one, so let's settle with you're not wrong. But, being as Boston is where I was and the craft beer world operates at a certain pace there, it affects one's perception. But having spent some time on the Seacoast yet again... there ain't nothing wrong with beer here.
A couple of weeks ago, before I got stupid busy, some friends and I went on a self-styled brewery tour... and we didn't do it in no city. Even though we had to travel a bit to get up here for it, our first choice for such an adventure was the Seacoast, as we made our way down from Dover (lunch at The Barley Pub), which was also having it's local Oktoberfest celebrations... so lots of Hacker-Pschorr Bräu Oktoberfest Märzen to be had. We hit most of the stops I mentioned in my previous post about beer trips, with the addition to a stop at Top Shelf Brews and Sea Hagg Distillery. By the way, I know this isn't a rum blog, but seriously... go to that distillery. I got this amazing blueberry rum that was so smooth, you didn't need more than an ice cube with it. Although it was also pretty awesome with lemon seltzer. Bonus: they have awesome posters.
My long and rambly point is that I don't think we could have gone so many places in one afternoon and had such an easy time of it in a place like Boston. Other seacoast adventures have included a post-moving (like, immediately post-moving) trip to WHYM Craft Beer Cafe in Portsmouth, who was doing their "Sausagefest" Oktoberfest. That meant three kinds of brats, potatoes, kraut and a dang LITER of Marzen. Also, we invented speed cornhole.
Another win for the Seacoast! And yet, I somehow haven't left the "release-iness" of Boston behind. Seems like every week I was running to the store to get something that just got delivered and was "limited quantities" or "two per customer, no holds" or something like that. And while it's not what I've experienced here, there have at least been no shortage of new beers to try from local breweries. Throwback Brewery's latest is a peach saison called Avoir La Peche. While I didn't find it to have some of the more traditional saison qualities, most notably some delicious yeasty sediment, it was pleasantly sour and very crisp and refreshing. At the same time, just down the road, Blue Lobster Brewing Company put out their very first bottled beer, Little Lobster on the Prairie, which was a collaboration with Oklahoma's Prairie Artisan Ales. This one was also a saison, and I really dug it. Notably, the beer contains Brett, so I imagine the second bottle I have set aside will (hopefully) get some nice funk to it before I get to curious and crack it open.
Lastly, not a new beer, but I also had one of the best "new to me" beers in a long time, just the other night at The Portsmouth Brewery. Now, I'll disclaim that I had some bad experiences at this establishment long ago, perpetrated by people that are surely no longer there, but suffice to say I haven't gone by there as much as most people in the area probably have... so I'm sure this beer isn't exactly a secret. While I am familiar with their Black Cat Stout, I had not, until Sunday, had their Black Cat Stout on Cask with Strawberries and Cacao. As you can see by this checkin, I was quite impressed.
Again, all these lovely times were had all within a few miles of each other, right in lovely, craft beer loving Seacoast NH. Now, the real test will be if I can get a bottle of Brewery Ommegang Game of Thrones: Take The Black Stout later today... one day after it released in NH (someone was a dummy and was out enjoying nature and missed the FB announcement until after the store had closed). But I know back in Boston, it would have been gone in an hour. Here? In a place where beer experiences move at a more reasonable pace, long enough to savor them, maybe I have a chance.
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