Watch City Brewing

Watch City Brewing has been operating a brewpub on Moody Street in Waltham long before I was of drinking age, so the history is a little beyond me. I do know that this year they won 2 Gold medals at the Great International Beer Festival for there Rescue 1 Kolsch and Best Strong Ale Zok's Baltic Imperial Porter. I also know that for my 28th birthday I drank quite a bit with many good friends at Watch City. What I also know is that the first time I ever went to Watch City I got my car towed cause after I decided to go see the Baxter  at the Landmark Embassy Theaters. That's my first experience with Watch City, and while it was an unpleasant cab ride to sketchy tow yard to get my shitty Chevy Malibu, it never deterred my love of fresh beer made in house at Watch City. 
Sitting at the bar and smelling the amazing Irish breakfast our bartender talks to us about the newest selections on tap, including the UberOktolager, a 9.5% lager that's he insists of giving me a sample of, which I am more than happy to recieve. The Uber Lager is so ridiculously smooth that the idea of drinking an entire one is terrifying since it'll sneak up on me so fast. 

But the beer I've fallen in love with is the Hoppothermia Cream Ale. Apparently this delicious brew was inspired by Mug Club member Ed Burke (Mug Club is a membership program at Watch City) and is made with table sugar and corn flakes to create a delicious beer that's prefect with any breakfast. And after finding out that they serve breakfast (how did I not know this all these years?) I'm in love with it. I had to take some home. A quick growler fill later I was able to pour this golden delicious beer into the previously purchased Watch City glass I had waiting at home for the most recent Patriots game. 
As for the beer itself, the moment it hit my lips I understood the term Cream Ale finally. This beer smelled like sweet cereal grains and piney hops. Sticky hops coated the glass the entire time drinking this guy. This is the absolute best cream ale I've ever tasted, and I plan to go back for another growler before it runs out. Love it. Also plan on going back for breakfast very soon. 

Stillwater Artisanal Ales: As Follows

I'm Back from Christmas haze and ready to talk about the fact that we're still here.
And I'll admit it, I'm a sucker for the end of days. While I don't really believe the world will end anytime soon, I love reading about the furor and panic that sets in as people worry about the earth falling out of orbit and crashing into the sun or something. When I saw Stillwater Artisanal Ales As Follows, an Eschatological Ale, I knew I had to have it.
Eschatology is the study of mankind's end of days, and with it rapidly approaching last week I was ready to pop the cap of this beast and enjoy it before I missed it. Stillwater being a nomadic brewer much like my favorite brewing team at Pretty Things and reading that it was a saison style I took out one of my favorite glasses for this guy, Pretty Things Stemmed beer glass.
This beer poured a lovely cloudy golden color with a massive head, though I do love me some yeast so I pour heavy into the glass. That cloudy unfiltered glint in my beer is something I cherish and I'd never want to take it away with a weak pour. The smell is heavy alcohol with some citrus and some pilsnery malt smell. The taste is sweet with some honey nut cheerio breadyness and sweetness. The alcohol hangs heavy over this beer though, almost giving it a tannic hint that muddies up this beer slightly. It's not enough to make this beer unenjoyable though, quite the opposite, this beer is lively and should be sipped on the tongue and it's crisp enough to be chugged, though I wouldn't, it's quite boozy. Overall I'm amazed at the quality of a beer that's made by someone who doesn't fully know the layout of where he's brewing next. This is my very first beer from Stillwater and it definitely won't be the last, hopefully they can all be this good.

White Whale Series #1: Heady Topper

"Call me Ishmael... If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me."
That's the first and last line to the opening paragraph of Moby Dick, Herman Melville's epic novel about a captains obsession with finding a white sperm whale that destroyed his previous vessel and bit off a chunk of his leg. A lot of beer fans have their own version of a white whale. 3 Floyds Dark Lord day, Kate the Great Day at Portsmouth brewery have their own special events. Have Beer, Will Travel.
The first beer that comes to mind for me is The Alchemist's Heady Topper. For one reason, we both had to go through Hurricane Irene together, with myself being forced out of Brattleboro and their restaurant getting completely destroyed. Luckily the Cannery was just about to open it's doors. Since that day the legend of Heady Topper has grown, becoming one of the most sought after beers on the east coast. Luckily I live close enough to Waterbury that a quick 3 hour drive can get me a nice case of Heady, and a delightful chat with the brewer.
The beer itself is an ugly beer. There's a reason is says drink from the can right on it. It's because this beer is an unfiltered mess with chunks of hop leaves floating everywhere. It doesn't bother me one bit but I imagine it might some other folks, and that's why they suggest drinking it from the can. Side note; Why would they sell glassware if they didn't want you to pour it into a glass?
Anyways, any hop descriptor you can come up with probably fits this beer. It reeks of pine and some citrusy grapefruit thing, but really it just makes my mouth salivate. Cracking that can is like hearing a bell ring waiting for dinner. This beer has a nice malty roastness to it, but it's a vessel for some of the best hops ever cooked into a beer. It's worth every good word ever written about it and more. It doesn't disappoint at all, in fact it actually exceeds ever expectation that can be expected of it. It's also worth the $3 a can price is typically carries at the brewery and I'd pay the $20 for a 4 pack it'd take to get locally if it ever comes back to Boston.

The Tap

When I was a young beer enthusiast, I had to install a "I've fallen and I can't get up" machine into a veterans home one fine saturday afternoon in Haverhill, MA. I was excited cause I had heard there was an excellent bar up there that had shoe fitters for tap handles and they made there own beer. I also had no idea where this place was so I wondered around Haverhill for 30 minutes before finding it, sitting myself at the bar and having some fresh beer. I honestly have no idea what I ordered, I usually ask for the bartenders favorite when I'm in a new place, alone and self conscience, and this was also some 8 years ago.
Present day, Haverhill Brewery has changed it's name and logo to The Tap Brewing Company, and I can say it's about 5 years too late. The welcomed change from tacky pin-up girl-esk labels like these to a much simpler, darker, and overall better looking label is in hopes of recreating a stale brand. And I must say, from first look I'm 100% on board. The labels look great and actually make me want to buy these beers, unlike before.
So the first one I got to try was Sassy Rabbit, a simple rye ale clocking in at 5.7% alcohol. This is a beer that really tastes like a beer. Nothing crazy going on here, spicy rye mixed in with 2 row malts and some sublet hop bitterness in the finish. Every once in a while you just want a beer that elevates a simple formula into a delicious and easy drinking beer that you're gonna want more of.
The rebranding of Leather Lips IPA is an absolute success to me. I haven't had Leather Lips since a fishing trip a long time ago and this bottle of beer is delicious. The smell of piney hops is deep in the smell and the taste is very thin on the malts, but the Nugget and Chinook hops carry this beer with wonderful deep bitterness. Sometimes a thin malts lets the hops truly shine through, and this is a great case of that.
As for their other 2 new brews, They were out of the Maple Porter and the bottle of Imperial Stout says it'll be better in a year, so I am thinking about sitting on it. Either way I am pumped that The Tap has decided to change there image and packaging. I still see those crappy looking 6 packs around and can't wait till they're dead and gone and replaced by the new and improved labels and beer.

Baxter Brewing Phantom Punch

My buddy Mike over at the Tippling House once told me that Baxter Brewing was the largest growing brewery in the USofA, and that their Stowaway IPA was even available in the Acela Train. Now, I'm not one to fact check, so I'm assuming that's true. What I do know is that after the death of his mother H. Luke Livingston took a shot at doing what he did in his college dorm, brew beer. I also know that   Baxter is the first brewery to exclusively can it's entire line of brews, which helps them keep up their green practices. And lastly, I know the first time I ever got to sip on a Stowaway IPA was at Charlie's Kitchen in Harvard Square, out of a can with a lovely wool coozie wrapped around it, and it was fantastic. Anyways, I was able to get my hand on a sweet Baxter can glass and their new seasonal  Phantom Punch had just came into the store. So it was a match made in heaven.

If you were unaware, Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston fought the 2nd of their two fights in Lewiston, ME after the Massachusetts Boxing Association said the fight wasn't properly licensed. I totally forgot till I saw this beer, I thought it was Portland. It's really too bad they couldn't superimpose the iconic shot of Ali standing over Liston, but I remember my grandfather telling me about the phantom punch and showing me the Sports Illustrated he still had.

Anyways, this beer is delicious. Lovely stout with chocolate all over the tongue and a nice vanilla finish. It also gets better as it warms up. I don't need to say much about it. It's a great beer. Too bad they couldn't call it Anchor Punch like Ali always called it, but I think the potential lawsuit from Anchor Steam was enough to call it the Phantom. Or maybe Luke is just a Sonny Liston fan. Just don't tell my Gramps about it. 

It's so rare that I buy a 12 pack that encloses the same 12 beers. Sometimes it's because my roommates are gonna steal some of my beer, and occasionally it's because the 12 beers are so good I want them all to myself. Every year I need to buy a 12 pack of Sierra Nevada Celebration. A beer made up of 3 fresh cut hops, Chinook for bittering and Cascade and Centennial for both floral aspects in the final cooking and loads of them sitting in the fermenter to dry hop. None of that really matters. What matters is sitting in bed, ignoring TV while watching At the Drive-In videos on this computer and sipping on the best winter beer there is.
It's really one of my favorite beers I can get in the winter. A sweet fresh hop beer that smells amazing in the glass, pours a beautiful amber and drinks so amazingly. Fresh on the tongue with fresh hops that barely taste bitter. So delicious. Everyone should go out and drink 12. I might even have to buy a second 12pack. Sometimes you have to travel to find an amazing fresh beer that's worth the money, and sometimes it's sitting in a 12 pack staring you right in the face.

Boulevard Rye on Rye 2012

Back when prohibition went into effect on January 16, 1920, Rye Whiskies were the popular drink of choice in the heartland of America. Templeton, Iowa became the epicenter for bootleg rye whiskey. Some 90 years later they’re still in business, which is a very long segway to the beer I’m writing about today. Boulevard’s Rye on Rye, a rye ale aged in Templeton’s Rye Whiskey Barrels.

Boulevard’s Rye on Rye 2012 came out of my fridge ready to rumble. It was a Saturday Night and Jamie Foxx was completely bombing, so I needed to add a serious kick to the night. And the listed 11% alcohol beer was sure to help.

And indeed it did, poured a delicious deep amber with a good head, it smelled of faint cereal. But the light smell didn’t mean anything compaired to the taste. So heavy and malty, it almost drinks like a slightly spicy barleywine. The hops are mild in the finish and add a nice bitter to the sweet malts that wallop this beer. 

Drinking it now I almost feel some regret, as I wish I bought another bottle to save for a few years to see how the maltyness and rye would’ve evolved inside the bottle. Boulevard continues to make unbelievable beers that are amazingly unique and drinkable. 

If you happen to stop by the store I buy beer for, West Concord W & S, I bought some new beer that I'm pretty excited about, so I figured I'd give you a quick run down.

1st, The Bruery's 5 Golden Rings, there series of beers made in the vain of the 12 Days of Christmas, is the 5th of their winter seasonals. Its a Belgian Strong ale that packs a serious holiday punch. At 11.5% abv, it's a beer brewed with a nice touch of pineapple juice plus cinnamon, allspice and ginger. 

2nd, Professor Fritz Briem Grodziskie. Who is Professor Fritz? Well, he's the technology Director at Doemens Institute, but most importantly he has a PhD from Weihenstephan, and was a member of the technical and research staff there. He's obsessed with recreating historically accurate beers based on the Forgotten styles brewed according to German Purity Law. Grodziskie or Grätzer is a Sour Smoked Wheat Ale that was brewed in the 1900s in East Prussia and dates back to as early as the 15th century. It was named after the Polish town of Grodzisk Wielkopolski or Grätz in German. It's brewed with air-dried barley malt & beech smoked wheat malt then hopped with Perle & Saaz hops. A sour mash is created using the old and forgotten technique called “Digerieren”. Digerieren in german means to digest, but simply is a technique to acidify your malt mash making it a softer but tarter beer. This leads to a light yet tart beer clocking in at about 4% alcohol but huge on taste. I love Fritz's 1809 Berliner Weisse and have never had a Grodziskie, so I am pumped to have this beer. 

3rd, Mikkeller Funky Easter. Mikkeller is the danish equivalent to Pretty Things here in Massachusetts. Very simply, Mikkel Borg Bjergsø doesn't tie himself down by having a specific brewery to brew in, so his travels take him to great breweries where he can strive to create unique and wonderful beer. Funky Easter is just that. Brewed at De Proef Brewery Funky Easter is a Belgian Wild Ale made at a brewery that makes some of the best Wild Ales I've ever tasted. Simple Brettanomyces cultures make Funky Easter alive and this beer will continue to develop in the bottle for years to come. 

4th, The Best Stout made in Ireland has nothing what-so-ever to do with Guinness. Porterhouse's Oyster Stout is made with freshly shucked oysters right into the conditioning tank giving it a sweetness that can't be described in simple words. It's a beer that needs to be tasted. And while it's a little expensive, but you'll pay for a dozen oysters, and this is a hundred oysters conditioned down into an amazingly delicious stout. 

Lastly, Huvila Brewery ESB is our only Finnish beer in our store. Described as "a dark brown strong bitter, robustly hopped with Goldings hops. The aroma is fruity and warming, the taste is full and complex, with a long, hoppy and bitter after taste." I love trying beer from other countries, because regional malts all have slightly different tastes, where a British pale ale has totally different taste than american or german or anywhere else. I bought this beer for that reason. A chance to try a beer from a country I've never had a beer from before, to see how a brewer in Finland makes an ESB compared to anywhere else. This is the joy of beer in general for me anyways. 

I'm sure reviews for all of these will come soon. 

Mystic 3 Cranes

The Three Cranes Tavern in Charlestown, MA was in business for 140 years or so before a fire put it out of commission. Sure, it was the battle of bunker hill when the British set the entire city on fire that burnt it down in 1775, it still has a place in our local lore. The Three Cranes tavern became a pile of rubble only to be rediscovered during an archeologist dig in April 1986 in what is now City Square, Charlestown. The Three Cranes Tavern was home base to Governor John Winthrop and was briefly served as the home of the seat of Government for our Massachusetts Bay Colony before our independence. What does this have to do with anything? Nothing really, except that Mystic Brewing released there latest beer for the fall season. Three Cranes Saison, made with locally harvested Cranberries, is something I've been looking forward to since Mystic announced it's release.
Mystic's Three Cranes did not disappoint me at all. Poured into my favorite Owl wine glass, it smells faint of cranberries and malts. It pours a nice pink tinted pale with plenty of carbonation wafting up in and carrying some dry hop aromas. The taste is almost bone dry with some wonderful tartness from the cranberries, with nice wheaty breadyness to carry it home. Paired with some dark chocolate as dessert, it really makes one of the best after dinner beers.  Loved it.

Enlightenment Brut

This is my first post in the world of blog. I buy beer for 2 liquor stores and I'm sure some posts will be store related, otherwise I'll probably focus on excellent beer, especially but not exclusively locally. Anyways, my first post is dedicated to special beer being brewed in Lowell, MA.
Biere de Brut is a lost art in the craft beer world. So in honor of my first post for my blog, and to acknowledge that I've known my future wife for 2 years, I decided to pop a bottle of Enlightenment Ales Champagne de Bier to celebrate. 

Brewer and Founder of Enlightenment Ale, and former and occasional assistant at Cambridge Brewing Company, Ben Howe is making what he calls Urban Farmhouse beers using techniques usually found in traditional Champagne production. It's an incredibly tedious process that makes for natural conditioning of beer that results in a fine carbonation, and gives a lovely pop like traditional champagne. 
As for the beer itself, it pops like it should, the pour is equally satisfying, very golden delicious looking. Lots of carbonation. The smell is a little faint, with some hints of malty alcohol. The taste is very strong malt but so very light on the tongue. Almost a sipper and easy drinking blend. Very enjoyable. 11% goes down without thought. Everything I’d want to pop at New Years or for any celebratory occation.