8/24/13 Victory Festbier

I had a couple days off in a row I went to Gettysburg, PA and while I was down there I stopped of at Wegmans in Mechanicsburg. This is by far the greatest grocery store I have ever been in and the thing that really sets it apart is the beer selection. The selection is on par with places that just sell beer but the prices are fairly close to other grocery store prices. I got a make your on six pack for $11.99. The beers I got in the six pack were Bell's Oberon Ale, Victory Festbier, Founders Porter, Brooklyn Brewing Company Oktoberfest, Southern Tier 2X Stout, and Rogue Hazlenut Brown Nectar. What really sets Wegmans apart though is the ability to see almost every beer they have in stock and the prices of these beers from your home on their website. This idea seems so simple and I wonder every day why other stores don't do the same.

To continue on my tradition of doing seasonal beers for fall I decided to have Victory Festbier while I was drafting my Fantasy Football Team.I had this beer in a pint glass with a bottle temperature at 47.3 degrees and a first taste temperature at 53.5 degrees. The pour was nice and the head came out at an average 3/4" head that was off-white and fizzy. The head and body lacing were fair with little to no carbonation. The head dissipated quickly and had an aroma of broth, pine and grain with a taste of sherry. The flavor was light with a watery mouth feel and a middle tongue hit. This was my first Oktoberfest of the year so I don't want to judge to quickly but it was unique in taste. Only the season will tell how it ends up ranking.Thanks for reading and as always drink responsibly.

Cost: $11.99 in create your own six pack from Wegmans
Ideal serving Temperature: 45-50 degrees

Information from myfitnesspal.com

Victory Brewing Co - Festbier

1. Servings:  12 oz 1 oz

Calories	170	Sodium	0 mg
Total Fat	0 g	Potassium	0 mg
Saturated	0 g	Total Carbs	17 g
Polyunsaturated	0 g	Dietary Fiber	0 g
Monounsaturated	0 g	Sugars	0 g
Trans	0 g	Protein	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Vitamin A	0%	Calcium	0%
Vitamin C	0%	Iron	0%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Festbier

Märzen / Oktoberfest

Friendship and camaraderie: the two keys to any festive event. And then there’s the beer. It should be full-bodied, yet infinitely smooth. Seductively malty, with a kiss of the hops for balance. This is our Festbier. Painstakingly crafted from German malts, decoction brewed for full flavor and carefully aged for depth of character. Gather with your friends for a festive moment of Victory!

Composition

Malt: imported 2 row Vienna and Munich German malts

Hops: whole flower German hops

ABV: 5.6%

Flavor

Subtly sweet with a delicate malt nose, our Festbier gains its impressive body from our use of all imported German malts and decoction brewing process.

Food Pairings

spicy Latin dishes, pizzas and burgers

Availability

Fall seasonal in 12 oz. bottles and on draft

8/22/13 Stegmaier Pumpkin Ale

So its been an interesting week. On Monday I went up to Dorko's in Mount Carmel for team trivia. My trivia team the RZA didn't fair so well starting behind and never really catching up but still the night had some real bright spots. Both me and fellow teammate Jason Burgess won the between round question and I hit for $250 on a scratch off. I also answered the question put out for a t shirt correctly and ended up winning that. All in all a pretty good night and any night playing trivia is better than a night not.

This week I stopped by Weis in Pottsville to restock the beer fridge and start sampling some of the fall season brews. I prefer to first focus in on the more local fairs so I picked up a six pack of Stegmaier Pumpkin Ale produced by the Lion Brewing Company in Wilkes Barre, PA.

In 1974 Stegmaier was acquired by the Lion Brewing Company when Stegmaier closed its doors. Lion began making Stegmaier's Gold Medal, Porter and Light. Under the Stegmaier name Lion Brewing company also produces a craft series which includes an IPA, white ale and pale ale. They also have three other seasonal beers which are Oktoberfest, Summer Stock Pils, and Winter Warmer.

On this night I had this Pumpkin Ale in a pint glass. The bottle temperature was 41 degrees amd I had my first taste at 47.4 degrees. The head size was small at about 1/2" with a fizzy off white head appearance. The head lacing was almost non existent and the head dissipated pretty quickly. The carbonation was little with a normal clarity and a gold color. The taste was a cinnamon pumpkin with a honey wheat aroma. The flavor was light with an average finish length and a creamy mouth feel. The tongue hit was towards the back and the body lacing was virtually none. Overall though it is not a bad representation of a pumpkin ale and at its price point it can't be beat. Its ABV is low for the style and for someone just getting into craft beers, this is a great one. You can put forth a small amount of money and get something off the beaten path and that is something rare and worth trying. So thanks for reading and as always drink responsibly.
 
Cost: $7.29 for a six pack (Weis Pottsville, PA)
ABV: 5.50%
Glassware: Pint
Pairing: Desert, poultry
Serving Temp: 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit

Nutritional Information from myfitnesspal.com

Stegmaier - Pumpkin Ale

1. Servings:  12 oz 1 oz

Calories	135	Sodium	0 mg
Total Fat	0 g	Potassium	0 mg
Saturated	0 g	Total Carbs	0 g
Polyunsaturated	0 g	Dietary Fiber	0 g
Monounsaturated	0 g	Sugars	0 g
Trans	0 g	Protein	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Vitamin A	0%	Calcium	0%
Vitamin C	0%	Iron	0%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

8/14/13 Susquehanna Brewing Company Pils-Noir

I figured it has been a long time since I last posted and it was about time that I started writing again. This time my goal is to write once a week and not to over do it. I am going to focus on new beers that I try and like and want to share with people who read this blog. 

So in getting back to blogging I figured I would write about Susquehanna Brewing Companies Pils-Noir. I got a variety pack from Weis in Pottsville about a week ago and have tried both the Pils-Noir and the Goldencold Lager. My wife and I both liked the Pils-Noir so I figured I would write about that.

I figured I would add a little something new this time when I wrote this entry. Hopefully from now on I will add a little history about the company. This brewer is another Pennsylvania brewery which I love because it is somewhere close to me so I have the opportunity to visit it. Here are some facts about the brewery that I found interesting and on their web site. Charles Stegmaier along with his father-in-law, George Baer, founded the Baer and Stegmaier Brewing Co. of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1857. On February 14, 1898, the company was renamed the Susquehanna Brewing Co. he Susquehanna Brewing Co. operated until 1920, when it closed its door due to prohibition. On November 10, 2010, Ed Maier, Mark Nobile, and Ed’s son J. Fred, formed the Susquehanna Brewing Co., Pittston, Pa. Here is their mission and vision statements which I thought were pretty cool. Their mission statement is Susquehanna Brewing Company delivers prosperity and enjoyment to our Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) customers and consumers through our quality, craft beers made locally in an environmentally responsible fashion. Their Vision statement is To have Susquehanna Brewing Company brew some of the most sought after craft beers in Pennsylvania with a reputation that extends nation-wide, make our Pittston brewery a ‘must-see’ place of pride in our community, and enhance the stature of NEPA.

I had the Pils-Noir in a pilsener glass at a nice 55.3 degree temperature. I paired it with steak, a baked potato, and some broccoli which it went very nicely with. Neither the flavor of the dish nor the beer over powered the other. The beer had a nice pour that produced about a 3" frothy light brown head. The head lacing was good and the head dissipated slowly. It had a medium carbonation with normal clarity and a ruby color. The beer exuded a floral aroma with hints of biscuit and grain. The taste as near as a I can describe was buttery with a hint of bourbon.  The first time I had it I remember a more smokey flavor but this time it had very little in the way of smokiness. I will say that the first time I had it it was at a temperature closer to 32 degrees. However, I thought it had a more easy going taste at the warmer temperature. It was very smooth and went down very easily. The flavor was light and the finish length was average with a watery mouth feel. The beer hit the tongue towards the back and it had good body lacing. Overall I thought it was a really great beer that I will definitely enjoy having again shortly provided my wife does not have the last one. Thanks for reading and as always drink responsibly.

Cost of beer: $17.99 for variety 12 pack (Goldencold Lager, Pils-Noir, and 6th Generation Stock Ale, and Hopfive IPA)

Food Pairings: German Cuisine

Glassware: Flute, Pilsner

Tour Information: Susquehanna Brewing Company offers a  free tour (Handicap-accessible) Friday at 5:00 p.m. and Saturday at 2:00 p.m. They also welcome groups by scheduled appointment. 

Information from the Susquehanna Brewing Company Website

We are pleased to share our innovative black Pilsner, Pils-Noir. Made from Pearl (Winter) barley, malted for us by Munton’s, CaraMalt and Crystal malts, prepared using our unique, husk-free milling process. We then naturally darken the beer using the classic Czech technique of decoction mashing. Hopped with Oregon Willamette, Mt. Hood and Washington hops, and finished with noble Czech Saaz for a fine aroma.

33 IBU’S 4.9% ABV

11/7/12 Innis and Gunn Winter Beer

So last night I tried some Innis and Gunn Winter Beer. This stuff was an excellent sipping beer that had just the right amounts of hints of a fine scotch. I've had other oak aged beer and the taste of alcohol over powers the whole beer. This one has just the right amount the makes you want to go back for more. This morning I also drew the name of the winner of the likes for Pounder of the Week and the winner as selected by my wife out of an Army hat was Brad Kelly. Thanks to all who have liked the Facebook page and to everyone who takes the time to read Pounder of the Week. I'm going to add more to this post in the next couple of days but I wanted to get some of this information out post haste so stop back again to read the rest of the review next week. Thanks for reading and as always drink responsibly.

Information from Innis and Gunn

Just in time for the cold-weather months ahead, pioneering Scottish craft beer maker, Innis & Gunn, debuts its FIRST Porter-Style Brew for the season – Winter Beer 2012.  Inspired by a centuries-old beer recipe, Innis &Gunn’s CEO Dougal Sharp, discovered the 19th-century recipe in the pages of A. Scots Cellar, by Florence Marion McNeill. In those days to make beer, molasses were traditionally used to give depth and sweetness to the brews, but also to create greater viscosity and heaviness in the mouth.  The Winter Beer 2012 combines this old-fashioned method, along with Innis & Gunn’s trademark approach to long, slow maturation resulting in a complex and sweet brew.   “I was reading “A Scots Cellar” by Florence Marion McNeill, a celebrated book on the history and tradition of beer and spirits in Scotland, and came across a brewing recipe, over 100 years old. It incorporated molasses as part of the brewing process by using it to impart beers with great complexity and sweet notes. This is exactly what we wanted to recreate with our very first oak-matured Porter. The new Winter Beer 2012 is definitely one of those beers you would fancy savoring whilst warming by the fireplace on dark winter nights,” says Innis & Gunn CEO Dougal Sharp. The Winter Beer 2012 is a rich, complex and malty beer with notes of molasses, fruit and hints of chocolate. The first sip starts with flavors of oak and molasses then develops to reveal a firm and full malty backbone, with traces of orange oil and wood.   Roast malts, tobacco smoke and chocolate are also present throughout. This delicious journey ends with a soothing finish like an open fire on a cold day as the roast malts, molasses and hop bitterness fall into balance and linger with occasional hints of the signature Innis & Gunn vanilla notes. The Innis & Gunn Winter Beer 2012 is the fourth Limited Edition beer to be released in the US market, and will also be available in Innis & Gunn’s Holiday Winter Pack alongside the Innis & Gunn Original Flagship and Rum Cask. The Winter Beer 2012 will be available for a limited time only in the US and is priced at $10.99 for a 4-pack.

10/30/12 Summit Brewing Company Horizon Red Ale

So I'm trying a slightly different format to this blog post so let me know if you like it better


Brewery: Summit Brewing Company
Beer: Horizon Red Ale
Cost: $2.50 from The Fridge Lancaster, PA
Glassware: Pint glass
Temperature: 43.7 degrees
Head Color: Off-white
Head Appearance: Rocky
Head Size: 1 7/8"
Head lacing: excellent
Head Length: Dissiappated Slowly around 1-2 minutes
Body Color: Amber
Body Clarity: Flat
Aroma: Citrus
Taste: grainy with caramel notes
Finish Length: long
Flavor: moderate
Mouth Feel: Dry
Tongue Hit: Middle
Body Lacing: excellent

After checking out Summit's website I decided to pair this beer with something spicy. So without the option of going and getting some groceries because the stores are pretty much wiped because of Hurricane Sandy. So I decided to create something with what I had in the fridge and cabinet. I took 10-15 Tyson boneless buffalo bites and cooked them up. Then I took a pack of Bird's Eye steam fresh wild rice, corn, peas and carrots and heated that up. Then I threw some olive oil in a heated pan and then knocked it back to medium low. I dropped in a can of Bush's black beans and then added the chicken and waited a minute and then added the rice mix. I heated it up for about 5 minutes and then put it on a wrap. I then took a taco cheese mix and put it on top and heated that in the microwave for 30 seconds. I took it out put on some romaine lettuce and some Ken's blue cheese dressing and dug in after sampling my Horizon Red Ale. I will say this beer went very well with this meal and stood tall on its own. If your wondering how I got such a big head on this beer I'll tell you. I was reading some information on some web site today about the perfect pour. So I figured I would try it. You pour the beer horizontally and then swirl the rest of the beer in the bottle and pour it in. When I took my first sniff the aroma was enormous. Overall I would rate this is a really great beer. It is basically an easy going IPA. It has a bitterness that is not over powering but helps to kill some of the heat from dishes. Thanks for reading and as always drink responsibly.

Nutritional information from myfitnesspal.com

Summit Brewing Company - Horizon Red Ale

1. Servings:  12 oz 1 oz

Calories	171	Sodium	0 mg
Total Fat	0 g	Potassium	0 mg
Saturated	0 g	Total Carbs	0 g
Polyunsaturated	0 g	Dietary Fiber	0 g
Monounsaturated	0 g	Sugars	0 g
Trans	0 g	Protein	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Vitamin A	0%	Calcium	0%
Vitamin C	0%	Iron	0%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Information from Summit Brewing Company website

 Summit Horizon Red Ale 

 A richer shade of Red. 

 

An inspired hybrid that blurs the boundaries between IPA and Amber styles. The exceptional blend of American hops (including the harder-to-find Horizon variety) gives it an intense pine, citrus and earthy character in the nose and on the tongue.

 

Beerometer

10/24/12 Founders Breakfast Stout

It has been a while since the last time I have posted and its because I've been lazy. Its not that I'm drinking less. In fact I am drinking more its just been hard to get motivated to post. This is driving me nuts. I feel like I should be more motivated. But besides that I ended up successively brewing my second batch of beer. The Party Pig worked really well this time. I made sure the seals looked good and I kept it upright for 2 weeks before I put it in the fridge. The beer tasted pretty decent. I made Mr. Beer Cowboy Lager this time. So onto Founders Breakfast Stout. This stuff was amazing. I tried to drink it slowly so I could really enjoy. Then I made some Quaker Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal and had it with the second half of the beer. I had this beer out of my Guinness pint glass and it had a temperature of 46.8 degrees. The head size was average at about an inch. It poured nicely and had a rocky dark head the dissipated slowly with excellent lacing. The carbonation was little from what I could tell because this beer was a dark as a pitch black night. I mean you could not see anything through this beer. It had a taste and aroma of dark chocolate, coffee and oatmeal with the coffee taste being the strongest and the chocolate aroma being the strongest. The flavor was moderate with a long finish length and a dry mouth feel. The tongue hit was towards the back and the body lacing was excellent. Overall this beer was an A and probably one of if not the best beer I have ever had. If you love dark beers and coffee you will absolutely love this beer. Thanks for ready and as always drink responsibly.

Information from Founders website

The coffee lover’s consummate beer. Brewed with an abundance of flaked oats, bitter and imported chocolates, and Sumatra and Kona coffee, this stout has an intense fresh-roasted java nose topped with a frothy, cinnamon-colored head that goes forever.

• ABV: 8.3%
• IBUs: 60
• Availability: Sep - Feb

Nutritional Information from myfitnesspal.com

Founder's Brewing Co. - Breakfast Stout (8.3% Abv)

1. Servings:  12 oz 1 oz

Calories	249	Sodium	0 mg
Total Fat	0 g	Potassium	0 mg
Saturated	0 g	Total Carbs	0 g
Polyunsaturated	0 g	Dietary Fiber	0 g
Monounsaturated	0 g	Sugars	0 g
Trans	0 g	Protein	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Vitamin A	0%	Calcium	0%
Vitamin C	0%	Iron	0%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

  

Last trip to Lancaster and new beer stuff

I'm been mulling over what I am doing with this blog anymore and I have been super lazy with posting so I am trying to find a way to motivate myself into writing more again. So now I am just going to mix it up and anytime I do anything that has to do with beer I am going to write about it. I recently got a Periodic Table of beer from Amazon that is really cool. I also made a trip to Lancaster to volunteer for the 200 mile Ragnar race and figured it was a good time to do a couple of beer related things. On the way down I happened upon Sam's Man Cave which sells a bunch of glassware, steins, neon signs and beer related items. The owner was super cool and great to talk to. I only got some coasters but ended up talking to him for about 15 minutes about beer and found out about this huge bottle shop in Willmington, De that I am itching to go to. On the way home I stopped off at Iron Hill to pick up two growlers. I got a Belgium Tripple and their Oktoberfest. I finished off most of the Tripple already and it is fantastic. The guy at the bar highly recommended it. I also came across these stainless steel growlers on twitter that I am really interested in trying out. I sent them an email so hopefully I'll find out some more information to write about them. I also recently found out that Weis in Pottsville has opened up their bottle shop and from what I hear has a decent selection and prices that aren't bad. You can make your own six pack for $12. Well that's all for now. Thanks for reading and as always drink responsibly.