Tuesday, March 20, 2012

3/20/12 My visit to The Yuengling Brewery Tour

So today I went to rate the Yuengling Brewery for my first brewery tour that I am going to write about. I am going to try and write about a different brewery every week. This tour was actually pretty small in size only having three people including myself but this is not always the case and some times the tours can number close to 50. My tour guide was Vicky who seemed very knowledgeable about Yuengling considering that I did hit her with a number of different questions. The tour started out in the gift shop and then headed to the bar where the employees use to be able to drink at. It then heads to the area where the beer is brewed and then to where it is bottled. You then go down to the caves where the beer was kept before there was refrigeration and finally you head back to the bar for a sampling or a soda. The tours runs around an hour and gives you some great information about Yuengling. It also has some cool facts and sights that I would even say that younger kids would like. I learned the answers to some of the questions me and my teammates from the RZA had discussed the night before. We had wondered if any one had ever put a glove on the bottles like in Lavern and Shirley and the answer was no which was disappointing but expected. I also learned that Yuengling can't be sold where they don't have a license to do so and the reason that Yuengling has recycling information for states they don't sell in is because they use to sell in these states and the labels are probably just left over ones. I also learned that the reason that Yuengling doesn't sell its beers to the public is because they don't want to take any business away from bars and distributors. They also have no current plans on expanding their line up of beers. At the end of the tour I chose to have a black and tan which is a mixture of 60% Yuengling Porter and 40% Premium and a Porter. I did do a review on the Porter but not the Black and Tan because I didn't have two sheets. The tour for Yuengling Brewery was excellent and I would definitely recommend that everyone go on this tour. Thanks for reading and as always drink responsibly.

Health tip of the Day
The other stretch I try and do daily is where I stand up against a wall with my feet, back and head touching the wall. I hold out my arms and have my hands flat with my thumbs sticking out and touching. Then I slowly raise them above my head and down. I do this three times to help keep down some of my back pain.




Here are all of the pictures I took on the tour.






























3/19/12 Yuengling Lord Chesterfield and "The Hunger Games" Night of Trivia

BE PREPARED TO READ A FANTASTICALLY LONG BLOG TODAY. That being said I will do my best to make it as short as possible but I have so much to write about Lord Chesterfield that I am going to for go my normal recipe and limit my health tip to a reminder of not to drink more than 3 beers in a sitting and the reasons for this will follow. I will start out by saying that I did have five Chetties last night which is one of the many different nicknames that I and others that reside in Schuylkill County use for Lord Chesterfield. Last night the RZA did make it to team trivia to defend their title and did so unsuccessfully which we did not care about because of the amount of Lord's Brews that we had. The whole plan of another teams was to weaken our senses and hurt our mental capacity so we would loose. This plan obviously worked considering we finished in dead last. We also had a long conversation about where the team name the RZA came from. For those of you who don't know the RZA is a member of the Wu-Tang Clan which is a rap band that was popular in the late 90's with there biggest hit being Cream from the album 36 Chambers. The bad of rappers love kung-fu movies and play clips from the movies in their songs. That is a little back story and now for the rest of the night which the pictures will help to tell the story. Another reason not to drink in excess is the loss of my favorite reviewing glass last night. At the end of the night I decided to construct a bottle tree which seemed like a great idea and a great picture however another person who shall not be named who by the way had been drinking in excess to decided to help by taking down the bottle tree which she did quickly by knocking it over and in turn knocking over my glass which was the only thing that shattered. I did win a t shirt and a hat that were absolutely fantastic from Dorko's in Mount Carmel, PA which is where everything on this night happened and that supplied me with a great night of stories and a hugely great night. The bar was packed and laughter was heard throughout the bar which attribute partially to my belligerence shouting out comments every now and again.  One last thing before I start my actual review of the beer is that the freezer went out last night. My teammate Dr. J likened it to "The Hunger Games" in that they were trying to starve us out and weaken out will to live. So I couldn't get my normal fries and black bean burger so I fell to the Dark Side and ended up having a cheese burger that was absolutely delicious but against everything that I believe is good and holly and against my whole healthy beliefs but as I always preach as long as you do it in moderation you'll always be okay something that I should have tried harder to heed last night. But oh well I'm not perfect or have I claimed to be when I was being serious. The temperature cam in an icy degrees with a small head at 1 and 3/64th of an inch with a fizzy white appearance. Now I will say that from pour to pour the head was different on each beer. The head lacing was good and it dissipated quickly. The carbonation was medium with flat clarity and a gold body color. The aroma and taste were grainy with a mix of citrus. The flavor was moderate with an average finish length and a dry mouth feel. The tongue hit was towards the back with good body lacing. Overall I rated this hometown brew an A for it absolute excellence. Thanks for reading and as always drink responsibly.












For tons of information of Lord Chesterfield visit http://www.chesterfieldsociety.com/

Here is Dorko's other website that does a great job of giving Pounder of the Week plugs and is a great place to go out for trivia, drink great beer, and eat great vegan food (when the freezer isn't broken).

Nutritional information from myfitnesspal.com 


Nutrition Facts

Yuengling - Lord Chesterfield Ale

  1.   
Calories131Sodium0 mg
Total Fat0 gPotassium0 mg
Saturated0 gTotal Carbs12 g
Polyunsaturated0 gDietary Fiber0 g
Monounsaturated0 gSugars0 g
Trans0 gProtein0 g
Cholesterol0 mg  
Vitamin A0%Calcium0%
Vitamin C0%Iron0%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

3/18/12 Toegs Troegenator Double Bock Beer

So last night even with my stuffed nose I powered through and did another review. I also have been toying around with the idea of trying to go to a brewery a week and do a review of a beer and post pictures I take from the tour. Next week I am going to try and get out to my hometown brewery of Yuengling on Tuesday and then hopefully hits Troegs the following week or the week after based on what I can fit into my schedule. Last night the beer I chose was given to me by a colleague who was just down at the Troegs brewery and picked me up a Troegs Trogenator Double Bock. The beer had a temperature of 41.6 degrees and an average head size at 2 1/2 inches with a fizzy light brown head appearance. The head lacing was excellent with a slow dissipation and soft carbonation. The clarity was dark with red color and a honey barley taste and aroma that I could tell was fantastic but needed my wife's nose to place it without having my full capabilities. The flavor was moderate and the finish length long. The mouth feel was watery with a back tongue hit and excellent body lacing. Overall I would give it an A- only because I could tell how fantastic it was without my nose at 100% but from what I could taste I loved it and look forward to trying another when my senses are at 100%. Thanks for reading and as always drink responsibly.





Recipe of the Day
This one is a little lacking but it is fantastic
Take 1/4 cup of the salsa from the last recipe and mix it with 1/2 cup cooked black beans, 1 cup cooked brown rice and 1/2 cup cooked corn with together and heat in microwave for 2 minutes. Absolutely fantastic.

Fitness tip of the day.
Two daily morning stretches have been really helping out my back issues one I do seated in a chair with quads parallel to the floor and calves perpendicular to the floor grab your feet with opposite hands with your thumbs on top of the foot and fingers on the bottom and hold for a couple of minutes (I usually do 2-3). I'll write the other stretch next time when I have more time to write it out.

Nutritional information from myfitnesspal.com


Troegs - Troegenator Doublebock Beer

  1.   
Calories250Sodium0 mg
Total Fat0 gPotassium0 mg
Saturated0 gTotal Carbs20 g
Polyunsaturated0 gDietary Fiber0 g
Monounsaturated0 gSugars3 g
Trans0 gProtein2 g
Cholesterol0 mg
Vitamin A0%Calcium0%
Vitamin C0%Iron0%
*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 Troegs web site


Troegenator® Double Bock

Alcohol by Volume: 8.2%
Hop Bitterness (IBUs): 25
Color (SRM): Bronze
Availability: Year Round
Malts: Pilsner, Munich, Chocolate
Hops: Hallertau, Saaz
Yeast: Lager

TASTING NOTES

The Troegenator Double Bock, is a dark, strong lager (8.2% abv). It pours into a glass with a bronze to brown color, fluffy white head and bready malt aroma. The Troegenator leaves a rich, warming feeling and subtle spicy flavors. The style, Double Bock, dates back a century or so ago. During periods of fasting without solid foods, the Monastic brewers relied on the double bock; a stronger, richer beer to fulfill their basic nutritional needs. Known to them as "liquid bread," a double bock has a strong malt aroma and chewy rich body. Traditionally these brewers ended the name of their double bock with the suffix "ator", ex. Celabrator, Illuminator, Subliminator... In the spirit of the tradition we give you the Troegenator to provide warmth and richness through the early spring months. A double bock of epic proportions, beware, the Troegenator is deceiving smooth and delicious.

FOOD COMPLIMENTS

Since Troegenator is a big beer, it is perfect with big beef—like grilled steaks and stews. It can also serve as a nice compliment to sweet, non-chocolate based desserts.
Serving Suggestions:
Temp: 45-50 ° F  Glassware:  Pint Glass or Dimpled Mug

Friday, March 16, 2012

3/15/12 Woodchuck Hard Cider Spring (Gluten Free)

Go along with my theme of hard ciders and thinking about years past when I use to drink cider frequently. I decided to have another offering from Woodchuck Hard Cider called Spring that I picked up at Brewer's Outlet in Pottsville. This is an example of a gluten free beer that I never realized was gluten free until I read the label. I love doing beers from brewers I haven't had in a while because they tend to stir up memories of drinking past. This is why I love having different beers because I can connect them with experiences and more easily remember the enjoyment I had. For instance I can remember back in college walking bar foot in the summer with a six pack of Woodchuck and just finding some random people having a party and just stopping in and hanging out. This was one of my favorite things to do. I always loved going new places and talking with people who didn't know me and I didn't know them and more than likely I would never see them again. This is because it is your chance to truly be yourself and not have to worry about what others will think or say because you probably never see them again. So the beer I had last night was a solid temperature at 43.2 degrees and had a small head at around 1/2 inch with a fizzy white appearance. The head lacing was virtually none with a head that dissipated quickly. The carbonation was medium with a sparkling clarity and a straw color. It had an apple aroma and taste with a strong maple syrup taste at the beginning that stop abruptly a couple sips in and then switched to slight hints of brown sugar. The flavor was light to moderate with an average finish length and a watery mouth feel and a middle tongue hit. The body lacing was fair and overall I would give it a B+. Compared to Crisp this had a stronger alcohol content and much more dimensions to it. The thing that held me back from an A- was the maple syrup start. If it had been the slight brown sugar taste all the way through I would have rated it higher but overall it is still a good sampling from the cider class of brews. Thanks for reading and as always drink responsibly.





Health/fitness tip of the day from lumosity.com
1 to 2 drinks a day correlates with better brain health however drinking 3 or more has the opposite effect.

Recipe of the day.
This was so good at ate it before I got to my beer.
Mango salsa
1 Red onion diced
1 sweet mango diced
1 large red pepper diced
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 habanero finely diced and seeded
3 tbsp cilantro
Mix all ingredients in bowl and put in the fridge for 30 minutes and its ready to eat.

Nutritional information from myfitnesspal.com



Woodchuck Hard Cider - Spring

  1.   
Calories190Sodium10 mg
Total Fat0 gPotassium0 mg
Saturated0 gTotal Carbs19 g
Polyunsaturated0 gDietary Fiber0 g
Monounsaturated0 gSugars13 g
Trans0 gProtein0 g
Cholesterol0 mg
Vitamin A0%Calcium0%
Vitamin C0%Iron0%
*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 the Woodchuck Website


LIMITED RELEASE

Crisp and refreshing because they're made from apples, never woodchucks.
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  • Spring
    Warm days and cold nights will make the sap flow in the woods, but keeping the cider flowing in your fridge is up to you. Start with our spring cider - the taste and aroma of fresh maple syrup and brown sugar will make you think you're sitting in a warm sugarhouse in the Vermont countryside.
    Available in These Sizes: Available In These Types