Portsmouth Beer Adventure - Sam Calagione Book Signing

Sitting in a funky basement space, with a shuffleboard, couches and pictures of naked women behind the bar, I knew that there was something special afoot. I was at the Jimmy LaPanza lounge in Portsmouth, NH (The downstairs lounge area of the Portsmouth Brewery) patiently awaiting the arrival of Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Brewing. Above our heads, a beer dinner was going on, something that I sadly wasn't able to get a ticket to attend. The brews for the beer dinner were being poured in front of my eyes, and I sighed as I watched tasting glasses of Sah'tea, Kate The Great and Portsmouth's Aged Barleywine be whisked away to be served upstairs.

I heard about the beer dinner and was instantly beaming that someone as famous as Sam would come to my state - one of my local breweries, to boot - to host the dinner. A few days after hearing about the dinner, I got told about the "after event" where Sam would be hanging out signing copies of He Said Beer, She Said Wine

While waiting, I tried the Portsmouth Brewery's Thaisenheimer - a beer brewed with Thai spices. It was pale yellow and slightly cloudy, but had a big fluffy head. The smell was spicy. Basil? Sage? I couldn't place the spices exactly, but the taste was crisp with a citrus backdrop and lots of herbal aftertaste. I'm told this goes fabulously with their curried mussels (one of my favorite dishes there) and I believe it.

When we asked about the Aged Barleywine that was also a Portsmouth brew and on the beer dinner menu, they said they didn't have enough left to serve the lounge guests. But, an extra taster glass of it was dropped off at our table with a wink and a nod. And let me tell you, it was amazing. It was sweet, alcoholic, and dark - like the color of Grade A amber syrup. It was sticky and resinously sweet. It even had a caramel finish - worth some serious acclaim. I have no idea what the regular schedule for this is to come out at the Portsmouth brewery, but if you see it, sip some, it was a treat to try.

Pretty soon, the beer dinner above ended and the guests, along with Sam, started to trickle in. I met and got to chat with a lot of beer loving people I knew only from the internet, which was rewarding in and of itself. I also got to meet Tod Mott, the head brewer for Portsmouth.

Sam came around and talked to everyone. It was obvious he had enjoyed the beers earlier, and was playful and chill. I had been raving to several people about the Lion's Pride Brewery, and it got out to Sam that his brews (including 120 Minute IPA) were on tap there. He actually asked me for directions - and it turns out that the place is on the way to Dogfish Head, ME, (of the DFH brewery's namesake) where he and his wife Mariah vacation.

Mike and I got a picture with him, which made my night, and I did get him to sign a coaster I brought back from the Rehoboth brewpub and the book, which we picked up while we were there. He signed it "Thanks for pointing me in the right direction."

I also enjoyed talking to Mariah, and found it amusing that at several points during the night, Sam wandered around saying "hey, where's my wife? where'd she go? anyone see my wife?"

I got to sample a few sips of Sah'tea and Squall IPA, but I didn't take good notes. The Sah'tea was light and crisp with some savory spice to it (cloves?), and the IPA was very, VERY grassy and hoppy, but had a great malty finish. I still don't understand how DFH manages to do that. I have a bottle of Squall that I'll be writing up soon, but I was happy with the chance to try.

I'm likely to also go to another Dogfish event soon at Novare Res Bier Cafe in Portland, ME this Tuesday. Apparently they're going to have 21 different Dogfish beers on tap, which might just be a record. I'm looking forward to it - join me if you can!!

Brunswick, ME Beer Adventure - Lion's Pride Brewery

I've taken a new job recently that takes a long time to drive to. It is a wonderful job, and I love what I'm doing , but sometimes the drive is tiring. So when I kept driving past a brewery I'd never heard of called the Lion's Pride Brewery, I vowed that I'd stop in there sometime and check them out, if only as a respite on my long journey home.

So on a drizzly Thursday I made the stop in. I was hungry, tired and pretty mentally drained. I walked into the brewery and saw a few things that made me smile. There were painted copies of brewery logos on the wall - every thing from New Belgium to Stone to Dogfish Head. Some were labels, and there was a really nice one of Chateau Jihau, one of my favorite labels from DFH.

The brewery had two sections, one to the right that had tin ceilings and a long line of beautiful blown glass tap handles and cabinet full of bottled delights. I sat in there and was immediately greeted by a "beer tender" who handed me a beer menu that was the same size as their food menu.

I saw what was on the list and my eyes nearly jumped out of my head.

Belgian trappist ales (Roquefort, Chimay, Westmalle & more), Dogfish Head beers (120 Minute, Paolo Santo, Shelter Pale Ale), Brews from NH, Maine (Allagash, Smuttynose), from beyond and frankly beers that I'd never come across. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. This was supposed to be a brewery, but it was like beer heaven - almost the perfect beer list. When I asked about it, they said that they'd only opened a week or two before I came in, and that they'd start brewing in a month or so.

After being flabbergasted by the beer menu alone, I decided to try a Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor, described as a "hoppy Belgian blonde ale." (Doing a little research later I found it was actually a Belgian beer, and that it was bottle refermented and very hoppy, but coming in about 8% ABV). It arrived in the appropriate glass and was cloudy with a thin head. The aroma was very hoppy, and the taste didn't disappoint there. The hops do fade into a warming Belgian yeast taste - smooth and dry but not too sharp. The after taste, though bitter, lingers and makes the brew refreshing. I liked it a lot.

On a later visit, I also had the chance to try a Kasteel Rouge - a ridiculously red beer (again from Belgium) that smelled of cherries and resembled red wine when glanced quickly. The

aroma was unbelievable, and the taste was out of this world. It tasted, I kid you not, like black cherry ice cream. It had a beautiful cherry taste, a little backbone of alcohol, and the taste lingered on your lips like lip gloss. A dessert beer certainly, but it was almost worthy of being served on top of a sundae (what I would have done for a pint of Cherry Garcia...). The waitress told me that it was described to her as tasting like chocolate cherry cheesecake.

In summary, as it stands right now, this is a Belgian (and other fine domestic) beer lover's heaven. Their food is also outstanding - though dinner for two is not cheap, I recommend this for the serious beer fan. The taps are changed constantly, so you'll never be able to try everything there. I can't even begin to wonder about what they've got up their sleeve once they start brewing.

If you live in Boston, Brunswick Maine is about 3-4 hours away. I like this place so much that I would say that it's worth the drive for the serious beer fan. There are places to stay in Brunswick, some great towns nearby (like Bath, Wiscasset, etc.) and plenty to do. But come for the beer, and the taste will linger in your mouth for hours.

Beer Babe Post Script : And this is one time I can say with full gusto that I completely agree with the reviews on Beer Advocate! Not that I usually disagree, but the fact that every reviewer gave it an A+ is kind of epic.

Flying Dog - Garde Dog

"What on Earth is a Biere de Garde?" I muttered, under my breath in front of a rack of great beer at Stonybrook Beverage. I hesitated. I should know what type of beer I'm going to sample. I should know something about it... but then again, when's the last time I had something from Flying Dog that sucked? Never. So I picked it up.

Once I opened it up I noticed that the answer to my original question is written right on the bottle.

"...Biere de Garde or 'beer for keeping' is a traditional French farm house ale brewed in March for drinking during the spring and summer months...."

Sounds like a cabin fever beer - something that you put away during the part of winter that you think will never end....knowing that it will be sunny again and ready to be enjoyed. This seems appropriate considering a recent rash of unrelenting rain that broke just a few days ago for the first time in weeks.

I poured it into a glass and admired its orange yellow color. It didn't have a very long-lasting head, but it did have a great aroma. It smelled almost nutty, with the malts taking center stage. Smells great!

It tastes great - almost sweet like a barleywine, but with a little spice. There is a definite nutty character coming from the malts, and I really enjoyed that this one tasted a lot different than I expected it to. I'm usually a fan of what Flying Dog puts out, but this one is really well done. It makes me want to seek out other beers of this style to try. A new style to me - I'll have to do a little research and see what else I can find to compare it to!

*Beer Babe Post Script : Davis Tucker, one of my fans from facebook sent me a link to a wikipedia article about this type of beer. Biere de Garde on Wikipedia - check it out if you're curious!