The Final Days of Summer Beer Month 2013

Day 28:  Sixpoint Brewery Sampler

Refreshed from my final all nighter at BBC 13, I cracked open a trio of beers from Sixpoint Brewery.  Luckily these cans made it past TSA in my travels back home.  Some of my loot from my East Coast beerventure included their Righteous, Sweet Action, and Resin.  My favorite of the three, by far, was the Resin.  Any ale that boasts over 100 IBUs gets my attention.  Whether it was my thirst for hops or my overall love of this 9.1 percenter, I wished that this twelve ounce can lasted all night.

 

Day 29:  Sierra Nevada Brewing Company: Ovila

One of the many beer styles that I came to appreciate at the Beer Bloggers' Conference was the Saison.  A style that originated in Belgium during the 19th century, it was one that, over the years, I haven't exposed myself to.  My recent trip opened my eyes to this Farmhouse style ale.  What I loved about Ovila was the combination of pepper and mandarin oranges.  The sweet funky finish was delightfully sippable.  As it warmed to room temperature, the complex palate just kept going and going.

Day 30:  Anthem Cider: Hops

What says summer more than a cider with hops?  Anthem prides itself in making "true cider", pressing whole apples, and using some of my favorite apple varieties: Honeycrisp and Fuji.  So when you put my favorite apple in a hard cider and then hop it up with one of my favorite hops, you get a winning combination.  Dry hopped with Cascades for about three weeks, this hophead might have just found a new breakfast favorite.

Day 31:  Yakima Craft Brewing: Heather

On the last day of my Summer Beer Month, I found myself in Yakima, WA.  Regardless of what needed to get done that day, beer was on the agenda.  After a quick pint at The Beer Shoppe, I headed over to Yakima Craft Brewing.  My eyes must have lit up when I saw that they had Heather on tap.  Ok, I know, I might be a bit partial.  This ale had a mild honey sweetness that just popped with the addition of Heather tips.  So much so, that it was decided at that very moment to make a Heather ale of my own.  Maybe even barrel age it. All Heathers get better with age, right?

SBM 27: BBC Day 2

After a morning full of presentations, it was time for our beer paired lunch sponsored by The National Beer Wholesalers Association.  From Gazpacho to Boston Cream Pie, our taste buds were tantalized with the unique tastes from coast to coast.  While I couldn't enjoy the Crab Cake with Fennel Salad, the chef made sure to create a Tofu version of the same flavor profile for me to enjoy, pictured here.  With beers from Rogue, Stillwater, Lagunitas, and Allagash, it was difficult not to fall in love with every pairing.  Our bellies full, we settled in for a few more talks prior to heading out for Live Beer Blogging.

Live Beer Blogging.  At first, I didn't quite understand what this was all going to be about.  When we got to the Burke Distributing/Massachusetts Beverage Alliance event, a dozen tables were spread out amongst the racks of beer.  Wifi hotspots, tasting glasses, and antsy brewers were everywhere.  This was going to be Beer Speed Dating.  While my experience with real speed dating was tiring and unimpressive, this version was highly entertaining.  Brewers came around with their creations, poured samples, chatted about their passion, and answered our rapid fire questions in five minute intervals.  While they were presenting, us bloggers were busy snapping pictures, taking notes, and Tweeting.  A live Twitter feed projected our thoughts on the front wall of the warehouse. Some notable tastes were the Backyahd IPA from Foolproof Brewing Company and the Catalyst DIPA from Backlash Beer Company.  Needless to say, this hophead was finally happy with these darn good East Coast IPAs.

Next stop, Harpoon Brewery.  How can you not love being greeted with trays upon trays of delicious local Boston beer?  Being New England's largest brewery, Harpoon did it right with a reception in their warehouse, which turned into a brewery tour, and ended with an amazing dinner in their Beer Hall.  I quickly became a huge fan of their Black IPA and Cider.  With flatbreads, a variety of salads, and free flowing beer, we were beyond satisfied.  Another event was still on the horizon:  the well talked about and often referenced Beer Social.

What are two girls to do when the beloved Beer Social is running a bit late?  Crash a haunted graveyard tour and seek out the Cheers sound stage bar, of course!  With my partner in crime, NW Beer Babe, we ventured off on foot downtown Boston.  We first came upon a haunted tour entering a small yet distinctive cemetery.  With memorials from the likes of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Benjamin Franklin, this Ghost and Gravestones tour was fascinating.  Afterwards, we headed to Cheers for some cold beers, great bartenders, and a mysteriously scored staff polo.  Then it was back to the hotel for the Beer Social, that was now in full swing, and an after party beer tasting that lasted right up until I needed to return my rental car to the airport.  What a way to close out a fantastic weekend!

SBM 26: BBC Day 1

After a much needed stop at a Starbucks in Portland, ME, I was back on the road.  This time, the oldest brewery in New Hampshire was on the agenda for lunch.  The Portsmouth Brewery opened its doors to all of us bloggers, letting us taste everything we wanted and serving us tasty morsels to boot.  My favorite pint was the Ginga Ninja, a ginger IPA with lots of flavor and just the right amount of ginger to compliment the hops.  Before leaving Portsmouth, I made sure to check out the Redhook Brewery facility.  Looking just like the one back home, I circled the parking lot and headed down to Boston.

On a good tip from local beer blogger Two Girls One Beer, I headed into the Belmont area to stock up on some canned beers from the Craft Beer Cellar.  Over the years, I have realized that stashing cans in my luggage, in lieu of bottles, decreased the likelihood that my cargo would turn everything I owned into beer soup.  I picked up a dozen or so cans of East Coast brews and then was off to fight some downtown Boston traffic.

With the tour bus full of all my Pre Conference friends stuck in traffic, I perused the trade show in the hotel lobby.  Lots of samples kept me entertained until 150 beer bloggers boarded three tour buses to head on out to the Boston Beer Company.  Greeted with a can of Boston Lager, we all gathered in the brewhouse to hear some words from Julia Herz of the Brewers Association and Jim Koch from the Boston Beer Company.  Small group barrel room tasting of the ever sought after Utopia, buffet style small plates made with Samuel Adams beer, and lots of great conversation made this evening a hit.  It was hard to believe that once we got on the bus there was yet another event to attend at Stoddards.

Pyrates, pints, and poets...oh my!  Arriving at Stoddard's Fine Food and Ale we were met with tasting glasses, eyepatches, and limericks to solve, courtesy of Heavy Seas.  When it didn't seem like we could taste yet another beer, we rallyed and enjoyed them all.  My standout favorite was Heavy Seas Peg Leg Imperial Stout aged in Buffalo Trace Bourbon Barrels.  I eagerly passed around my tasting glass for others to try, which left me with an empty glass.  Good thing unlimited tastes were the theme of the night.  A couple more brews down the hatch and then we all called it a night.

SBM 24: Traveling to Beer Bloggers' Conference

Let's be honest here, folks.  When the Starbucks line at SeaTac airport wraps around half of the N Concourse, the last thing one wants at 7am in the morning is a beer.  Wait, on second thought, maybe it should have been the first thing I reached for.  Not knowing if I was going to get on the 9am flight or the 10:30pm one, I loaded up on the caffeine needed to camp out in a carpeted corner among bitter travelers.  Equipped with a five shot Americano, my fully charged GearPower, and plenty of backlogged blogging to accomplish, I settled in for the long haul.  Turns out, when you have plenty of patience, waiting at an airport all day isn't that bad.  With days upon days of drinking beer ahead of me, I knew that I could catch up on this day's lack of barley brew in no time.

www.starbucks.com