New Brew Thursday - Back East Brewing

Hubby and I went to the official Grand Opening of Back East Brewing.  It was a hot, sticky day with thunderstorms looming. Oh boy was I looking forward to some cold, yummy beer!

I don’t know what I was expecting but I was surprised by the volume of people who had shown of the event.  The place was packed.  There were lines of people everywhere . . . a line to get in, a line for each of the tasting stations, a line for the brewery tour . . . a line for everything.  

I’m certainly not finding fault in that.  I am happy for the brewery for having such a successful grand opening.  It was just so oppressive  . . .  both weather-wise and people-wise.

As we entered the gate we got our hand stamped, a cup, and tickets good for six 4-ounce samples.  So far so good!

I shouldn’t have been surprised by this . . . a myriad of politicians showed up to wave and smile and snip ribbons.  Yeah, they’re everywhere . . . especially during so close to an election.

 

We found the end of a line leading to a beer sampling tent and were looking forward with happy anticipation to our first taste of Back East beer.   Hubby and I each selected a different beer . . . I chose the Back East Amber Ale and he got the IPA.

Back East Amber Ale is their Flagship brew.  It had a good strong taste up front but pretty much empty of flavor on the finish.  It was smooth and nicely carbonated but generally lacking . . . something.  It was good but not great.

Misty Mountain IPA.  India Pale Ales are my favorite, so I was really looking forward to a taste.  It has a nice hoppy bitterness but is otherwise missing the other characteristics (citrus, pine, malt) of a good IPA that I’ve come to expect in a good, hand crafted IPA.  Again . . . good but not great.

We drank our beer while waiting in line for the brewery tour and tasting room . . . by this time, the dark clouds are building and I was hoping we got inside before all hell broke loose.  Thankfully, we did. 

We declined to take the tour due to time constraints.  But we did take the opportunity to sample a couple more beers while passing through the tasting room.  We also grabbed a couple bottles of the limited edition imperial stout  . . .  hubby 's favorite style of beer.

This time I grabbed a the Golden ale and hubby got the stout.

The Golden Ale was my favorite among all the beers I tasted.  It was very drinkable . . . crisp, light, tasty.  It was nothing special but it was good.

The Imperial stout . . . it was kind of disappointing.  It had almost no carbonation, watery mouth feel. Smokey but wanting other flavors to compliment it . . . like coffee or caramel or chocolate or toasted malt.

Overall I thought all the beers were good but really nothing special.  I was actually kind of disappointed because I’d been looking forward to this event all week.

Not to be a downer but I  . . . in my honest opinion, for what that’s worth . . . Back East needs to kick it up notch or three.   There are so many new and established craft brewers in Connecticut that are producing some of the best, most creative and amazing flavorful beers.  What I had at the open house simply wasn’t up to the standard I’ve come to expect from the little guys brewing fine craft beer in Connecticut.

Hubby’s take on the quality of the beer is that perhaps they since this was a free event and that the brewery doling out gallons of free samples that maybe they didn’t put forth their best brews. 

On some level that makes sense, but I would think that since it was an open house and the first exposure to their beer for a lot of people . . . myself included . . . that they would want to pour the best tasting beer they make. 

I’ll grab a bottle or two of  Back East Brewing from my local store and give them another give them another go around and see what happens.

Visit Back East Brewing's website or check them out on Facebook

New Brew Thursday - Sunday River Brewing Company

Hubby and I went off on a long motorcycle ride on a beautiful day. We went through two states. . . Maine and New Hampshire . . . three notches. . . Evans, Grafton,  and Pinkham. . . making a 200 mile trip.  The plan was simply a nice long ride and to see some beautiful sites.  Which we accomplished most successfully but we had the bonus of finding a micro brewery along the way.

Sunday River Brewing Company

The brewery / brew pub was waaaaay out of the way in the middle of nowhere.  And, because we were on the bikes we obviously weren't going to be slamming down a whole big pile of beers.  Hell, I don't feel comfortable riding after having a single beer. 

So, we decided to share a sampler and a whole big pile of hot wings. . . a few sips each of six beers . . . just a tease really. . . and noms.

About the brewery:  Sunday River Brewing Company (SRBC)  . . . once tied in with the now defunct Stone Coast Brewing Company . . . is located on  Sunday River Road in Bethel Maine. It is a decent sized pub with clear viewing of the brewing area.  The brew master . . . or pro brewer, as he is called there . . . is Stewart Mason.  A home brewer to start he began working for breweries in Boston and then other locations until he made his way to Sunday River, where he’s made his home. 

Our lovely and knowledgeable server, Darcie, brought us our sampler and described the brews as such . . .  a blonde, an alt, an IPA, a porter, a wheat and a double IPA.

The first, Sunday River Blonde, was a pale lemon colored ale; a very light and refreshing but tasty 3.8% ABV; this would make an excellent session beer that you could enjoy many of on a long hot day.

The second, Sunday River Alt, was a tawny colored ale that is lightly sweet and has a clearly define caramel flavor. Another excellent beer.  Smooth and delicious. (4%ABV)

The third was Sunday River IPA. For some reason I have been lusting after IPAs recently and this one didn't disappoint me. Grapefruity hoppiness, bitter on the front end with a clean finish. A classic English IPA flavor with 5.7% ABV.

So far we're going three to three on liking this brew pub's offerings . . . and the wings are pretty darn good, as well . . . they all cant possible be good. Can they? Read on . . .

The fourth was Black Bear Porter.  This was my least favorite of the sextet . . . but not because it was bad.   It was indeed quite good, in fact.  What made me like it less than all the others is the smoky aspect. . . I'm jot a fan of smoky beer, that's all.   Hubby claimed this to be his favorite partially because of the smoky flavor . . . so, to each his own. This porter is typically dark and malty but surprisingly hoppy.  6% ABV

The final two were seasonals . . .

The fifth in the line up was a Belgian Wit a pale golden yellow.   A fruity wheat beer simply screams summer.    Like a lemonade beer . . . oh so good and refreshing . . . was refreshing, light and tasty.  The lemon wasn’t overpowering but instead complimented the wheat to create a nicely balance beer.

The final beer in our sampler was Mollyockett’s Revenge, a double IPA. A very big IPA coming in at a strong 8% ABV.  Despite the high alcohol content there was no boozy taste.  A really good hoppy beer . . . bitter, citrusy and seriously good. 

The beer discovery of Sunday River was nearly as amazing as the awesome ride.  If you’re ever in the area of Bethel Maine stop by and have yourself a few brews, you won’t be disappointed . . . great beer, pleasant staff and good food make for an all around experience.

Cheers.

New Brew Thursday - Dogfish Head Double Tap

As I was browsing my favorite beer store I spotted a lonely bottle of Dogfish Head beer.  Not knowing a thing about this particular brew but liking the Dogfish Head beers I have had in the past it was a no brainer . . . I popped that little $10 a 12 ounce bottle into my basket and went on my merry way.


What I ended up with was World Wide Stout and was nothing short of WOW.

Here's the low-down . . . the label declares it to be a very dark beer brewed with a ridiculous amount of barley.  First brewed in 1999 it was, at the time, the world's strongest dark beer.  This Dogfish Head beer comes in at an astounding 18% ABV!


This is a seriously BIG beer . . . strong, rich and very intense.  Definitely NOT for the casual beer drinker.

WWS pours an inky blackness with a only a swirl of foam. Don't expect a lot of bubbles; the low carbonation creates a creamy, smooth mouth feel.  The heady aroma is a pleasant combination of chocolate, coffee and fruit.  The first sip was incredible;  dark malt, rich molasses, bitter chocolate and a nice boozy warmth.  Very interesting for a beer and not at all unpleasant.

Swirl it in the glass like a fine cognac . . . allowing it to warm only intensifies the already amazing flavors.


Don't be put off by the high price tag or the high alcohol content.  This is truly an excellent beer.

The second Dogfish Head beer was a surprise.  The first surprise was that it was on tap then second was a flavor that was entirely unexpected.  Again, I knew nothing about this beer other than that it bore the Dogfish Head name and thus was willing to give it a try.


I ordered the Black & Blue and when my beer arrived at the table the first thing I noticed was the color . . . a berry red color.  The first sip was was . . . well, it was a surprise.  Again with the berriness.  

At this point I whipped out my handy dandy tablet to find out exactly what it was I was drinking.  Ahh . . . now I get it . . . black and blue.  Black and blue berries.  


Black & Blue is a Belgian-style golden ale fermented with blackberries and blueberries. Real berries give this beer a very berry flavor.  This is a fruit beer but it's not overly sweet.  The sweetness is nicely balanced the hoppy bitterness.


This is a strong full flavored, full bodied ale.  Sip it and enjoy.  (10% ABV)




Visit Dogfish Head at their website  or on Facebook