Growlers

Nothin' But Growlers

What exactly is a growler? I'm sure most of you reading this blog are familiar with the term and no doubt, like me, have several empty ones hanging around the house ready to be filled. However, for the sake of clarification, a growler is a jug, usually made of glass though occasionally ceramic, used to transport beer. The typical growler, as seen to the right, is 64 ounces, however they do come in 32 ounce size as well as 128 ounces. Generally growlers of beer are not sold in retail stores the way six packs or 22 oz. bombers are. Growlers are filled on-site either at a brewery or brew pub or a bar, restaurant or other establishment that has beer on tap. Growlers are usually either brown or clear glass. When properly sealed and stored, a growler can keep beer fresh for quite a long period of time. I have had growlers I've stored in my cellar fridge for a month and the beer was excellent when opened. The key is to make sure the growler is completely clean before filling. Most places will run your growler through a quick and thorough wash before filling. If it's a clear growler, keep it out of the light.

Early growlers

Why are they called growlers? The name dates back to the 19th century. The typical method of
transporting beer from a local tavern to one's home was to fill a lidded pail. In transport the beer would be splashed around inside the pail and the CO2 escaping from the lid apparently sounded like a growl. Thus the term "growler." When Charlie and Ernie Otto of Otto Brothers Brewing Company (now Grand Teton Brewing Company) of Idaho developed the large glass jug for transporting beer in the 1980's, the name stuck. (Thanks Wikipedia). For the most part you'll only find growlers in the U.S., Canada and Australia - in other words the non-English-speaking English-speaking countries.
.

With the growth of craft beers, growlers have become much more prevalent. This despite the fact that you pay about the same for 64 ounces as you would for the same beer in a six pack totaling 72 ounces. So why the rise in popularity? It's probably equal parts caché, perceived freshness and lack of 6-pack availability of some beers. Just as there is a certain je ne sais quoi to extracting a cork from a wine bottle as opposed to

An alternate style of growler with a porcelain
hinged top. There's a rubber gasket to keep
it airtight. 

 twisting off a cap or getting it from a box, there is that same "I don't know what" to opening up a growler that has been filled directly from a keg. Is the beer any better than it would be from a six-pack of bottles or cans? Might make for an interesting BOTB experiment down the road. But often, as was the case with several of the beers we tried this month, the brewery just doesn't bottle, so the only way to take it with you is with a growler.

Late last year we had a BOTB meeting where we brought our favorite beers to taste, review and rate. On July 31st (making the July deadline by the skin of our teeth) we had a similar meeting where we were to bring a favorite, or one we thought The Guys would enjoy, in a growler. The difference this time was that we didn't rate them against each other, but merely reviewed them. As has become our custom, we started with the lowest alcohol content and proceeded to the highest. That way we feel we can taste and appreciate each on its own merits and not be overpowered by a bigger beer.

AMERICAN PALE ALE

EASTWOOD BREWING COMPANY, EASTWOOD, NY
(Previously Double Barrel Brewing Company)

BOTB Note: Owner-brewer Pete Kirkgasser recently announced a name change. Firestone Walker Brewing Company brews a beer called Double Barrel Ale. The name is trademarked and Kirkgasseer was sent a cease-and-desist letter from Firestone Walker's lawyer. Thus the change of name to Eastwood Brewing Company.

Brewery Note: Eastwood Brewing is a nano-brewery, making most batches in a 1 barrel (31.5 gallon) brew kettle. They offer their beers as draft only - filling growlers. Eastwood has been open since early November 2013. Here's what we found:

The Beer Facts: STYLE: American Pale Ale; ABV: 6.0%

Color: Wheat to clover honey color

Pour: Decent head with good retention and some nice lacing

Aroma: hoppy / piney

Body: Medium

Taste: Balanced with  notes of pine

Overall Impression: Well on its way to "Can't Get Enough."

Comments: "This smells like a walk in the forest; It's a really nice blend, not too over-the-top with either hops or malt; It's a really good pale ale; This rivals a lot of IPAs; It could turn into a comfort beer; For the "New Kid on the Block" he's (Pete Kirkgasser - owner) doing all right; It just feels right - you can sip it or gulp it."

REBEL IPA

BOSTON BREWING COMPANY, BOSTON, MASS

The Beer Facts: STYLE: West Coast IPA; ABV: 6.5%; IBU: 45; MALT: Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, Caramel 60; HOPS: American Caacade, Simcoe, Chinook, Centennial, Amarillo; SRM: 11

What the Brewer Says: "Rebel IPA, the first West Coast style IPA from the same brewers that started a craft beer revolution in 1984."

Color: Copper

Pour: A very nice head, with decent retention and good lacing

Aroma: Toward the hoppy with a little more malt. There is a clean, piney nose.

Body: Medium

Taste: Initially a bit of a sweet taste, but bitter on the back end. There are notes of pine and a little hint of grapefruit.

Overall Impression: Midway between "I Could Drink This" and "Can't Get Enough."

Comments: "There are usually some of these in my fridge; I'm glad Sam Adams is brewing a West Coast IPA, a good effort; One good thing is that you can always find it in the grocery store; It goes really well with pizza; It's a decent session type IPA; Nice finish; It's very drinkable."

INDUSTRIAL IPA

CORTLAND BEER COMPANY, CORTLAND, NY

The Beer Facts: STYLE: American IPA; ABV: 6.8%; IBUs: 79.9; SRM: 14.9

What the Brewer Says: "Typical of India Pale Ale, this ale is bold, assertive, and full of hop flavor. It has a medium to dry finish and a fantastic citrus overtone."

Color: Unfiltered buckwheat honey

Pour: Better than decent head, with good lacing

Aroma: Grassy hops

Body: A touch more than Medium

Taste: bitter, especially on the aftertaste, it fills the mouth and is heavy. There are notes of toffee.

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough.

Comments: "this has a complex taste; There is a little more alcohol presence - it announces itself, but not overly; The aftertaste is almost like 'give me another taste'; This is a good local beer that rivals the national beers; It compares with the West Coast IPAs."

ARROGANT BASTARD

STONE BREWING COMPANY, ESONDIDO, CALIFORNIA

The Beer Facts: STYLE: American Strong Ale; ABV: 7.2%; IBUs: NA; HOPS AND MALT: Classified

What the Brewer Says: If you haven't done so already, just read the back of a bottle. It is the very essence of what craft beer is all about.

Color: Dark amber / brown

Pour: A high, creamy head that lasts

Aroma: Tends toward the malty with hints of citrus

Body: Between medium and full, more toward full

Taste: Leans to the malty, with notes of malt, toffee and caramel. Nice bitter hop bite with a nutty, malty fullness. Bit of a nice alcohol burn to it.

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough

Comments: "An absolutely delicious beer; It really is tough to beat this beer, it's big and bold, but you can have a few as well; If you like craft beer, you're an Arrogant Bastard fan; See the bottle...; the balance of maltiness and hop resins is rewarding."

PINE TAR IMPERIAL IPA

MILL HOUSE BREWERY, POUGHKEEPSIE, NY

The Beer Facts: STYLE: Imperial IPA; ABV: 9.0%; IBUs: 95

Color: Amber / orange

Pour: Very large white foamy head with not a lot of lacing

Aroma: piney / grassy hops

Body: Full

Taste: Initially sweet with notes of butterscotch

Overall Impression: Between "I Could Drink This" and "Can't Get Enough."

Comments: "This has a GOOD flavor; It really snaps your neck back; It is nice and bitter at the end; It has a big burst of flavor; There is a good alcohol flavor at the back; It's a really nice beer; I could drink this; It is a 'kick-your-ass beer': It is soooooo good."

SMELLS LIKE A SAFETY MEETING

DARK HORSE BREWERY, MARSHALL, MI

The Beer Facts: STYLE: Imperial IPA; ABV: 8.5%

What the Brewer Says: "Take a wiff!"

Color: Amber / copper

Pour: Generous fluffy, creamy head

Aroma: Grassy / malty

Body: Full

Taste: Sweet with notes of caramel

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!

Comments: "It's a sweety; Tastes like a Breckenridge; It's a complex beer; Quite an interesting beer; It's real tasty - a good beer; I'm gonna sign up for a safety meeting; This is the most peculiar name for a beer that I've seen; A fine beer; It has a lingering piney taste."

MIDDLE AGES X

MIDDLE AGES BREWING, SYRACUSE, NY

The Beer Facts: STYLE: Double IPA; ABV: 10.0%; IBUs: 90

What the Brewer Says: "Brewed in the style of an American Double IPA in celebration of our 10th anniversary. this beer is golden in color, had medium to full body, intense hop bitterness, flavor and aroma. Ten additions of American hops are made throughout the brewing process."

Color: Unfiltered golden to light amber

Pour: Decent off white head

Aroma: Banana and clove

Body: Full

Taste: Hop bitterness right on the front with notes of banana, clove and butterscotch.

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough

Comments: "This is a big one; You shouldn't operate machinery while drinking this beer;It has lots of alcohol, for sure, but it is balanced so it hides the alcohol; It just sits on my tongue; It tastes like a Middle Ages beer; It is English Ale-ish; I really like it; the bittering lasts through the swallowing; I like it a lot, but I couldn't drink a lot of it; It is very strong; It tastes like a 'hunting club' beer; I like this because that banana/clove taste is in the background and doesn't dominate - it compliments."

Miscellaneous Musings

Friend of the blog, Dave Grant, sent along one of his home brews for us to try and once again I was struck by how far home-brewing has come. I remember the first home brew I ever had years ago. In a word: awful. But Dave's beer, and those brewed by our own Mike Watkins as well as some others I have tasted are really terrific beers. Dave called his Hoppy Toady. It was a red IPA with a nice toffee malt flavor backed by a solid hop kick. Good beer. Thanks Dave.

 Speaking of Mike, he recently visited a few Central New York breweries along the Finger Lakes: 2 Goats Brewing in Burdett, NY, on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake, Rooster Fish Brewing in Watkins Glen, NY, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake, and Ithaca Beer Company in Ithaca, NY, just south of Cayuga Lake. The Finger Lakes have for several years been know for their wineries, with wine tours a staple around the lakes. But more and more craft breweries have been springing up around the lakes as well, and craft beer tours are gaining popularity. After sampling several beers from each brewery, Mike's recommendations are as follows:

2 Goats (the name is a play on Double Bock - bock being German for goat) - Goat Master Ultra Pale and XIPA were his favs. Also on tap they had Dirty Shepard Brown, Dirty Butt, Hefeweizen, Cream Ale, Goat Gasm (Ultra + IPA), Danger Goat Blonde, Dopplebock, and  Whiskey Richard (a big one at 12% ABV!)

Rooster Fish Brewing - On tap were: Summer Sky Hefeweizen, firehouse Blonde, Tripel Witch Belgian Tripel, Farmer Saison, Wee Heavy Scotch Ale, Mysterious Amber, Dog Tooth Pale Ale, Hop Warrior IPA, Original Dark Nut Brown Ale, Cocoa Porter, Raven Black IPA. His picks were Hop Warrior IPA, and Raven Black IPA.

Ithaca Beer Company - On tap were: Ground Break Saison Ale, Cayuga Cruiser (a Berliner-Weisse style ale), Flower Power IPA, Cascazilla Red IPA, Green Trail Session IPA, Apricot Wheat, #05256 (an amber ale made with a single new variety of hop yet to be named), Oatmeal Stout, White Gold. Mike's picks: Flower Power, Cascazilla, Green Trail, Oatmeal Stout.

 A while back I referenced an article in which Sam Adam's Jim Koch claimed that a teaspoon of yeast prior to each beer he drinks significantly reduces the effects of alcohol. Since that time there have been numerous articles written by bloggers and reporters anxious to test this theory (or find an excuse to drink during work hours). Just Google "Sam Adams Jim Koch and yeast" and you'll get a page of links to writers who have attempted this. The most scientific of these - performed by NPR - seems to show only a minor lessening of alcohol in the bloodstream, while other, more anecdotal accounts - primarily this one by the Daily News - seem to validate Koch's claims. I've tried this experiment myself in a completely unscientific manner at the last couple of BOTB meetings. Basically I gulped down a packet of dry yeast mixed with water a bit before the festivities (ugh - tastes like Death in a glass). My conclusion is that I seemed to feel the effects less than normal and we did have some pretty high ABV beers at both meetings. For me the jury's still out.

Next month we sample some Vermont beers Hud's providing after a grueling working vacation throughout that state. 

Sláinte,
The BOTB Guys

East Vs. West IPA Challenge

This month the BOTB Guys took on the daunting task of comparing East Coast and West Coast IPAs. We intend this to be the first of several bits of coastal hop warfare. We took this on a man down as Herb was searching out good beer in warmer climes.

Gerry, this month's host, assigned three of us to seek out a favorite East Coast IPA, while the other three were to seek out a favorite West Coast IPA. There was a caveat, however: we were to stick to regular IPAs, not doubles or Imperials. We also decided to match the beers up by roughly the same ABVs and send them into battle one-on-one, as opposed to trying to rank all six beers against each other. Ergo, we would have three separate battles, with three winners. The Coast with the most wins the battle.

The line-up:

Round 1

    Brown's Brewing Company, Hoosick Falls, NY

VS

Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma, CA

Round 2

Custom Brewcrafters, Honeoye Falls, NY

VS

Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, CA

Round 3

Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD

VS

Green Flash Brewing Company, San Diego, CA

BROWN'S BREWING COMPANY INDIA PALE ALE

HOOSICK FALLS, NY

The Beer Facts: STYLE: IPA; ABV: 6.5%; MALTS: Two-Row Pale, Caramel, Carapils; HOPS: Chinook, Cascade, Fuggle, Summit, Crystal.

What the Brewer Says: "Our I.P.A. pours an amber gold with a distinctively rich flavor, significant hop aroma and soft, white and creamy head."

Color: Unfiltered cloudy golden or buckwheat honey

Pour: Decent creamy off-white head

Aroma: Malty/grassy

Body: Medium

Taste: Slightly bitter/crisp and clean. There are notes of malt early, then slight lemon and caramel, and bitter on the back end. Overall it has a balanced character.

Overall Impression: Well toward "Can't Get Enough!"

Comments: "This tastes good!; I could drink this; It doesn't disappoint; It's a good, solid beer; It isn't overpowering in any way; I'd be proud to have this in my fridge - and thrilled to see it on tap; I got this at Marcy Beverage in Marcy, NY, but it's tough to find; This is a good start for the East Coast."

LAGUNITAS IPA

LAGUNITAS BREWING COMPANY, PETALUMA, CA

The Beer Facts: STYLE: IPA; ABVs: 6.2%; IBUs: 45; MALT, HOPS etc. - "Ounces and ounces of malt, hops, yeast, and water."  

What the Brewer Says: "Lagunitas IPA was our first seasonal way back in 1995. The recipe was formulated with malt and hops working together to balance it all out on your 'buds so you can knock back more than one without wearing yourself out. Big on the aroma with a hoppy-sweet finish that will leave you wantin' another sip."

Color: Filtered honey

Pour: Decent head that is slightly off-white

Aroma: Grapefruit/hoppy (big nose)

Body: Medium

Taste: It is bitter, but not as bitter on the end as the Brown's IPA. There are also piney notes.

Overall Impression: Well toward "Can't Get Enough!"

Comments: "Hops attack the nostrils - it is aggressive; I wish it tasted as good as it smelled; There's a hop in there that I don't particularly care for; The hops presence goes all the way through."

ROUND 1 RESULTS: Split Decision. Three of us went with Brown's and three of us went with Lagunitas. As fans of 'Cuse Basketball we were all used to nailbiters, so we were right in the zone.

Next up were two terrific beers. I am a big fan of both of them but have never had them side-by-side to compare. I felt this would be one of the more interesting match-ups of the night.

CAGED ALPHA MONKEY

CUSTOM BREWCRAFTERS, HONEOYE FALLS, NY

The Beer Facts: STYLE: American IPA; ABVs: 6.5%; IBUs: 65; MALTS: Pilsner, Melanoidin, Carafa II; HOPS: Falconer's Flight, Apollo, Chinook, Experimental 05256

What the Brewer Says: "Watch out! This huge IPA is coming at you ready to literally cram hops down your throat. This monster uses 4 different hop varieties, in whole leaf and pellet in 6 different additions. We used a healthy dose of Caramunich malt to give this beer a bright orange color and enough body to balance the hops. Cutting edge hop varieties create a crazy mix of pineapple, grapefruit and pine aromas that just screams American IPA.

Color: Translucent amber honey

Pour: Better than decent, off-white head, with ample staying power

Aroma: Big hoppy aroma

Body: Medium moving toward full

Taste: Deliciously hopped with a strong malt backbone. There are notes of citrusy grapefruit

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!

Comments: "A nice malt background; It's balanced with a bitter back; OMG; One terrific beer; From pour, to aroma, to taste, it doesn't disappoint; Fills your mouth like Dolly fills a sweater; A lot bigger than the 6.5% would lead you to believe; A 'GOOD' beer."

SCULPIN IPA

BALLAST POINT BREWING,COMPANY, SAN DIEGO, CA

The Beer Facts: STYLE: American IPA; ABVs: 7.0%; IBUs: 70; HOPS: Hopped at 5 separate stages; AWARDS: Multiple awards including a gold in the 2010 World Beer Cup.

What the Brewer Says: "Our Sculpin IPA is a great example of what got us into brewing in the first place. After years of experimenting, we knew hopping an ale at five separate stages would produce something special. The result ended up being this gold-medal winning IPA, whose inspired use of hops creates hints of apricot, peach, mango and lemon flavors, but still packs a bit of a sting, just like a Sculpin fish."

Color: Lightly filtered wheat

Pour: Decent off-white head

Aroma: Hoppy - grassy/fresh hay and pine

Body: Slightly more than Medium

Taste: Nice - tastefully bitter, not sharp, with citrus notes.

Overall Impression: Can't Get Enough!

Comments: "Tastes like a double; Full flavor; Fills all the senses / hits all the spots; This is s-o-o-o-o-o good; I'm thinking this is the best IPA on the planet; As a battle - maybe I'd like to put it up against Flower Power from Ithaca Brewing and see how it fared."


ROUND 2 RESULTS: Though it was not unanimous, Sculpin won the day, but Alpha Monkey put up a good fight. While we rated both of them an enthusiastic "Can't Get Enough!" West Coast won Round 2.

Round 3 pitted a couple of craft brew heavyweights against each other: Flying Dog and Green Flash.

SNAKE DOG IPA

FLYING DOG BREWING COMPANY, FREDERICK, MD

The Beer Facts: STYLE: American IPA; ABVs: 7.1%; IBUs: 60; MALTS: 60L Caramel; HOPS: Warrior, Columbus; YEAST: American Ale

What the Brewer Says: "Big citrus (notably grapefruit) hop aroma and flavor with caramel malt notes."

Color: filtered golden IPA color

Pour: Decent, tight effervescent, almost bridal white head

Aroma: Slight hay/grass and hoppy

Body: Medium to full

Taste: It has a taste bigger than its aroma. There are some notes of citrusy grapefruit.

Overall Impression: Between "I Could Drink This" and "Can't Get Enough" - but leaning toward the latter

Comments: "There is not a real strong alcohol taste; It has a sharp hop character; Not much of a malt backbone; A slap you up 'side the head taste; It has a nice label - sharp; The taste is not overly strong, it's pleasant; there is an aftertaste of bitterness or maybe a slightly metallic taste."

GREEN FLASH WEST COAST IPA

GREEN FLASH BREWING COMPANY, SAN DIEGO, CA

The Beer Facts: STYLE: West Coast IPA; ABVs: 7.3%; IBUs: 95; HOPS: Simcoe, Columbus, Centennial, Cascade; AWARDS: Multiple including 2008 champion of the National IPA Challenge.

What the Brewer Says: "A menagerie of hops is layered throughout the brewing process: Simcoe for unique fruitiness and grapefruit zest, Columbus for strong hop pungency, Centennial for pine and citrus notes and Cascade for floral aroma. A multi-dimensional hop experience."

Color: Unfiltered honey brown, a dark IPA color

Pour: Off-white, near Guinness class head

Aroma: West Coast IPA nose - citrus, pine, lemon.

Body: Full

Taste: Bitter - the most of the day as indicated by the 95 IBUs - but pleasantly so. Additionally, there is a bit of a malt taste.

Overall Impression: "Can't Get Enough!"

Comments: "This is quite smooth, despite the 95 IBUs; A West Coast hops, definitely; There's a taste that lingers; It has serious IBUs; Very impressive; You can't get to 7.3% ABV without a malt presence; It finishes very well; It's the most complex taste of the day; And with the biggest hops presence; It has more of a malt character; Wow, this is good!"

ROUND 3 RESULTS: Green Flash won in a 5 to 1 vote over Snake Dog.

OVERVIEW

At least with this small sampling the West Coast beat the East Coast by a score of 2-0-1. The real winners, I must say, were the BOTB Guys. How can you go wrong with six delicious IPAs?

CRAFT BEERING IN PARADISE

Three Great Escapes From the Cold - Only Two With Great Beer

This has been a great year to get out of the Great White North as much as possible and a few of the BOTB Guys were able to do just that. Herb and Pat have been on the road for some time now and recently

reported back from Tampa Bay that their annual Tampa Bay Beer Week was about to start. I'm sure we'll get updates.



Mike and Diane spent a week in Costa Rica and had the opportunity to check out the Lake Arenal Brewery and Restaurant La Huerta and Hotel Minoa while there. You can check it out HERE for a little musical guided tour of the place.

Opened in 1998, Lake Arenal Brewery was the first microbrewery ever in Costa Rica. The accompanying Hotel Minoa is home to the Global Renewable Energy Education Network (GREEN) begun in 2009. GREEN offers 12 day programs for students, giving them access to the renewable energy technology and sustainability industry.
The accompanying farm practices what GREEN preaches. The cows dine on the spent grain from brewing and the pigs get all plate left-overs from the restaurant. Locally grown coffee is made on a methane gas stove using methane produced from pig waste.

The brews on tap while Mike was there were:
Lake Arenal Brewery Pale Ale
Lake Arenal IPA
Morenita (an American Brown Ale)
Guapote (an American IPA)
Nut Brown Ale

Mike had the opportunity to try the Pale Ale and the Nut Brown. The Pale Ale is 5% ABV and 48 IBUs. The Nut Brown is 4.8% ABV and 21 IBUs. Mike said that both beers were very tasty. His next trip down he intends to check out Volcano Brewery, also on Lake Arenal as well as Beachfront Brewery in Tamarindo.

Are there are there hops in Mexico?

Quoth my taste buds "I say no!"

Rick (that would be me speaking to you in the third person) and Les, meanwhile, headed down to Cancun, Mexico for a week of fun in the sun (and a little Mayan history, as well). Cancun is a beautiful place, as is nearby Isla Mujeres. With temperatures in the low 80's and lots of sun, it was a welcome relief from the bone-chilling cold we've been experiencing in that other Mexico up here in Central New York. And, yes, we did mess with people's minds a bit when they asked where we were from and we told them "Mexico."

The only downside to the whole trip was the total unavailability of craft beer. Mexico is about where the US was in the early '80s as far as beer goes. Virtually all of their beers are produced by a few big brewers and they are all lagers. Corona is the big dog down there, but Dos Equis, Medola, Pacifica, Tecate, Sol are all popular. Like the mega-brews in the US, most of the beers are produced by two large conglomerates: Cerveceria Modelo / Grupo Modelo and Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc-Moctezuma / FEMSA.

Grupo Medolo et al, which is half owned by Anheuser-Busch, produces Corona and Medola.  FEMSA et al produces Tecate, Sol, Dos Equis, Carta Blanca, Superior, Indio, Bohemia, and Noche Buena. The best of the bunch is Bohemia which actually has a bit of a hop profile to it. I ordered that whenever possible.

There are microbreweries in Mexico, but relatively few. Day of the Dead brewery was one Ron and I discovered while in South Carolina of all places. Their Hop On Or Die IPA is excellent. But the ironic truth is that most Mexican craft beers are exported to the US because it is so difficult for them to compete with the Mexican mega-breweries.

So even though we had a terrific time, enjoyed the wonderful weather and were awed by the Mayan pyramids, I couldn't help but email back to the rest of the BOTB Guys that I was suffering from HDS - Hops Deficiency Syndrome.

Of course, then I actually did get sick (curse you Moctezuma and your vile revenge! What did I ever do to you?) only to find out upon returning home that a viable treatment was brewer's yeast (seriously). What a strange and wonderful world we live in.

 I knew the perfect delivery system for brewer's yeast, too.

The song below (sung with liberal interpretation to the tune of The Beach Boys' Kokomo) I felt nicely expressed my dual attitude on the trip.

  MEXICO

Corona, Modelo - the beers are really mellow;
Dos Equis, Tecate - with bodies thin and yellow;
Sol and Pacifico - hops not so terrific, no.

Yucatan...
        On the Mexican Gulf,
A place called Cancun, ya' know
It's a great place to go, but no craft beer here at all.

I love the sun and sand,
The beachside views are really grand;
But if you want tasty beer,
You'll need to go to a dif'rent land;
Not much in Mexico.

Corona, Modelo - the beers are really mellow;
Dox Equis, Tecate - with bodies thin and yellow;
Sol and Pacifico - hops not so terrific, no.
Down in Mexico,
The beers are cheap
So you can drink a lot,
If that's what you really want
Down South in Mexico.

Coladas on the beach;
Margaritas always in reach;
Miss the hoppy brews back home,
But not the snow nor the icy cold;
Back home in Mexico-
      - New York, that is.

NICELY DONE SAM!!

Samuel Adams has released it's latest IPA - Rebel IPA - and it is a terrific beer. I've always said that one of my favorite Sam Adams beers is their Latitude 48. Now that fine beer may have some competition from its own brewery. Rebel IPA is Sam Adams version of a West Coast IPA. It would have been interesting to see how it stacked up in this month's battle, but we already had the line-up set by the time Rebel hit the stores. I'm thinking of a head-to-head against Latitude 48 some time. A kind of East Coast vs West Coast by a single brewery.

AND THANK YOU SARANAC

This summer Saranac slipped a little something extra in their 12 packs. Nestled right on top was a pint can of Legacy IPA, a beer brewed to celebrate 125 years of brewing. The brewery originally known as The West End Brewing Company and later as Matt Brewing Company has become a huge player in the craft beer industry with their Saranac line of beers. It is the second oldest family owned brewery in the United States and the 6th largest craft brewery in the US. Therefore the name of this specially brewed beer is quite appropriate. After trying it we lamented that it was too bad they didn't sell this on its own as it was a terrific beer. We feared it might go the way of Guinness 250 - a one-time celebratory brew that was gone all too soon. Lo and behold, Saranac has wisely kept Legacy alive and is selling it in 4-packs of 16 ounce cans. Thanks, Saranac.

Next month we pit brews from the country's midsection against each other in a battle for the middle.

Sláinte,
The BOTB Guys