Beers: June 29-July 5

New Belgium Lips of Faith Dandelion Ale
R and I actually escaped the kid for a drink at Sycamore. While R sipped on a Manhattan, I ordered this specialty beer from New Belgium. I really appreciate that Sycamore brings in such hard-to-find beers as this one. However, the beer was unremarkable. It was refreshing and sweet though, just nothing special.

Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat Ale
I had a rock show later Monday evening. I always like to have a beer at a show. It helps me unwind a little and enjoy the music. The problem is that most venues don't carry much in the way of good craft brews. For this mid-summer concert, I went with a local favorite. Boulevard Wheat is not a mind-blowing beer, but it's a good go-to session beer.

Mikkeller Single Hop Simcoe IPA
I bottled my own single-hopped IPA this week. It reminded me that this beer was sitting in the stash. I just love the grapefruit in the simcoe hop. I wonder why more breweries don't feature this hop more often? I guess it could be difficulty in pairing with the right malt, scarcity, cost, or a combination of the three. Whatever it is, this beer is good. I just wish I had more than one bottle.

Caldera IPA
How can you dislike a west coast IPA in a can?

Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale
I ordered a Founders Centennial at the 'Tag Friday evening for happy hour. They were out. So, Barry, the bartender, offered me the Old Curmudgeon. Normally, that's not a likely substitute, but Barry offered it up for free since I often bring a lot of business to the 'Tag. I accepted.

Avery IPA
One of my favorite pairings in this town is the "Blue Steak Wrap" at Addison's with an Avery IPA. I've had both twice and I don't think I'll change.

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron Brown Ale
This high ABV gem paired perfectly with a homemade blueberry pie. The heaviness of the pie is balanced nicely with the beer's caramel sweetness. The extra alcohol doesn't hurt.

Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale
Another great pairing of the weekend happened when my parents brought me a couple of Booches burgers. I joined the burgers with this hoppy, caramely brown ale. The extra alcohol cut the grease. Too bad Dogfish Head doesn't distribute here.

Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA
The neighbors had a little cookout. I brought the Racer 5 as a solid IPA stand-by. So hoppy and balanced. Mmmmm.

Bell's Oberon Wheat Ale
It's not summer without Oberon. Lately, I've been leaving out the orange peel and it's been worth it. On fruit in beers, I was wrong.

My Three-Hearted Ale
I had the second-to-last beer of my first batch. Look for a eulogy of some sort. The worst part is that I don't want anyone else to have the last one. I should have kept two.

Hair of the Dog Fred Barley Wine
Posted about this one with some lamb kebabs and mint sauce. Despite the absent carbonation, this beer was so, so good.

I Feel Like the Governor of South Carolina

Between work, school, and vacation, I have severely neglected my blogs. It's as if I was lost on the Appalachian Trail or in Argentina visiting my mistress or some shit like that.

So, in the spirit of keeping things updated, I thought I'd fill you in on what was missed. Will I chronicle every beer I had over the past two weeks? No. But here are some highlights...


I was able to make out to Sycamore a couple of nights in a row for some good beers. I sampled an '09 Matilda from the folks at Goose Island. This was a great Belgian style strong pale ale. I had an Orval later in the week and the Goose Island pale compared favorably. The second night at Sycamore rewarded me with a Founders Red's Rye Ale which is an excellent example as to why ryes might be the next big thing in beer. I also enjoyed some Southern Tier Choklat as my buddy's wife ordered a bomber she needed to split with us.

In between those two visits to Sycamore, I did fit in a Brother David's Tripel from Anderson Valley. While this beer is not the best example of the style, it do go well with the gyro and spinach pie I picked up from International Cafe.


My blogging friend from NYC returned the favor and sent me some great beers. I have yet to taste any of them. We actually left on vacation (more on that below) the day after the shipment arrived. So, in my stash sits a Brooklyn Local #1, Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, Hair of the Dog's Fred, Weyerbacher Twelve, and a '08 Goose Island Matilda. My plan is to hit the Matilda first as I just had the '09 version recently at Sycamore.


As I mentioned before, we traveled to North Carolina for a vacation. No, we did not spend a week in Asheville. Rather, we spent our time on the Outer Banks which was great, sans the few beer options. My father-in-law and his wife very graciously rented a cottage on the beach for his two kids and their families. Luckily, there was plenty of beer as both my fil and brother-in-law are homebrewers big beer enthusiasts. I was the only one to bring his own. They both liked it a lot. My fil commented that it was pretty good for a rookie.


Aside from my homebrew, we feasted on Magic Hat #9 (still not sure about fruit beers), various selections from Trader Joe's, and some Dogfish Head. The DfH came from a grocery store R and I discovered. They had both 60 Minute and 90 Minute IPA's. I couldn't pass that up. This salvaged what could have been a somewhat disappointing week in beer. That is, until we discovered Harrika's Brew Haus.

The Brew Haus featured beer, tea, and related collectibles. (And next door was their wine and cheese house.) It was a restoration/gift shop/craft beer/party house/tea room kind of place. The beer selection was first-rate. They even had a couple of beers on tap. I chose the Harpoon Summer Beer since I really didn't need another Fat Tire. (Apparently, New Belgium was a newish addition.) If you ever are in the Emerald Isle area, you must stop by this little joint at least for a drink. Due to limited space in my suitcase and limited time to drink, I just picked up Weyerbacher's Insanity and Heresy as well as a Dogfish Head Palo Santo Maron.


So, there you have it. I'm caught up. Sure, I drank a Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale and an O'Fallon Five Day IPA, but that was basically the meat of my two week hiatus from this blog. There's more to come as I have a dinner with a Belgium strong dark ale and a blind tasting on which to report. Cheers!