New Brew Thursday - Plan B Brews

Connecticut has a small . . . but growing . . . chain of restaurants called Plan B.  The "B" stands for beef, burgers, bourbon and beer.  All of which they have in abundance . . . they have creative burgers, a diversity of bourbons and along with everyday run of the mill beers they have rotating taps of amazing micro-brews.


Hubby and I make the pilgrimage to this mecca of awesomeness every month or so.


On a recent visit we had a short wait for a table in which to ponder the beer menu.  There were so many choices . . . so many good choices . . . what to choose??


By the time our table was ready we had completed sufficient research  . . . gotta love free Wi-Fi access . . . to make our decisions on which beers to enjoy with our burgers.  We both chose a different selection; ones that we each preferred but also so that we could both taste as many different beers as possible.


We both chose three and these were our choices:





Prima Pils by Victory Brewing Company 


This beer as won many awards and, after tasting it, I can understand why.  This pilsner style beer was smooth and delicious.  However I was impressed . . . and a little surprised . . . with the unexpected bite of hops.   The hoppy bitterness and mellow maltiness balance out to create a very enjoyable beer.   The glass was left with an impressive amount of lacing.   (5.3% ABV)

312 Urban Wheat Ale by Goose Island


It's a very sessionable beer (4.2% ABV) that screams summer . . . or better yet . . . drink me its summer!  312 has a slightly sweet fruitiness that compliments  the wheat and hops; creating a flavor that is surprisingly well balanced.  It has a creamy mouth feel that goes down oh so easy.  This is an excellent go-to beer if you're looking for something light but are craving more flavor than your average mass produced light beer.


Tramp Stamp Belgian IPA by Clown Shoes Beer 


The name alone was enough to get me to try this beer . . . that and the lure of hoppy goodness.  The description of this beer is thus: "Like a stamp on a tramp, this brew is about not so subtle seduction."  Yeah, that about sums it up.


This was an amazing beer . . . seriously you MUST try this one.  I've never had a beer with such a complexity of flavors.  With all that this beer has going on it surprising how well it all pulled together to make . . . well, lets just say . . . it's like a party in your mouth . . . with clowns! 


How to describe the plethora of tastes . . . it was a little sweet and a little bitter. Just as the hoppiness is rolling off your tongue wheatiness washes in and then it finishes clean . . . ready for more.  There is nothing subtle about this beer including the alcohol content (7% ABV).  I was truly impressed and highly recommend this beer.

Mary’s Maple Porter by Brooklyn Brewery




Hubby ordered this one . . . I like porters and stouts, but I don't love them like he does and I'm not a huge Brooklyn Brewery fan so it wouldn't have been on my list in any case.


It was . . . to be perfectly blunt . . . meh.  All the Brooklyn beers I've tasted have a weird flavor to them that I've yet to nail down and this one has it, too.    It's a deep dark porter and you can definitely taste the maple syrup.  But again, it was just okay but I wouldn't jump at the opportunity for another one.  And even my stout/porter loving hubby agrees with that assessment, so take that for what it's worth.  (6.9%)

He'Brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. on Rye by Shmaltz Brewing Company


A strong (10% ABV) IPA brewed with rye malt and named for Lenny Bruce . . . okay, gotta try it.  Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of rye beers.  This beer was definitely strong, definitely hoppy and definitely yummy.  Bitter and sweet . . . coffee and caramel are pronounced but somehow balanced out with citrussy grapefruit and pine notes.  The rye in this beer wasn't an issue for me at all . . . it all just kind of worked out very nicely to make a very good and tasty beer.  Also, despite the high alcohol content, there was no overt boozy taste to throw off the enjoyment.  It's a big beer and a pretty intense flavor experience . . . and it's kosher . . . I say go for it!




Vermonster by Rock Art Brewery


An American barley wine  . . . a great BIG one and without a doubt falls into the category of an extreme beer.   It's strong, both in alcohol (10% ABV) and flavor.  Vermonster pretty much slaps your taste buds around with bitterness . . . clearly not for faint of heart nor for the novice beer drinker.  But it's not all bitter . . . a sip of this brew comes with essences of fruit, caramel, malt and pine.  Despite the huge flavor and richness it finishes surprisingly clean.  Very nice.  This is a sipper not a pounder . . . sit back and relax and enjoy as it warms in your glass and the flavors change subtly as it does so . . . making for an interesting drinking experience.  Yes, I said experience and I mean it.  This is a good one . . . 


Cheers!

Oh . . . we had more than just beer.  We had wings and burgers too . . . om nom nom nom.  If you haven't been to Plan B, I would say GO!

New Brew Thursday - IPA Double Tap . . . Goose Island IPA and Ghandi Bot

The first IPA is Goose Island IPA . . . It's served on tap at our Wednesday wings-n-beer hangout and it's a good honkin' beer.  

This is my second Goose Island review (see other review).  Goose Island was once a little upstart company but is now Anheuser-Busch.  A downside in my book but I still like the brews.



Goose Island’s IPA is an English-style IPA. Although this is an English IPA it is brewed with Centennial and Cascade hops along with a pair of English style hops, four varieties total. It's the Centennial and Cascade hops that give Goose Island IPA a distinctly American flavor.  

The beer is a rich golden color with a white head that hugs the side of the glass leaving very nice lacing behind.   This is an earthy tasting beer with piney, floral, almost grassy flavor with a kind of citrussy pineapple finish.  


It's a pleasant beer to drink, it's perfectly carbonated, medium bodied and refreshing.  Goose Island has very good IPA taste with out being overpowering; not bitter and nicely balance.  


Overall, a good IPA and fits the bill when I'm looking for a little extra flavor.  5.9% ABV






Visit the Goose Island website for more information on this or their other offerings.  Be sure to check out their Facebook page, as well.

The second IPA is Gandhi-Bot which is brewed by New England Brewing Company (see my other NEBC review).


Gandhi-Bot is a heavy hitter as far as IPA's go . . . it's an Imperial style double IPA.  It packs quite a wallup in both flavor and alcohol content (8.8% ABV)

Gandhi-bot pours an amber color.  The full, long-lasting head grabs the glass.  Layer after layer of lacing appears sip after sip.  It looked like a strip mine excavation in my beer glass.


The aroma is OMG hoppy with the flavor to back it up.  My first reaction to the first taste of this beer was "WOW!"  and then "wow!".  Then I settled back and very much enjoyed this brew.

The very piney, very grapefruity, slightly sweet flavor was incredibly well balanced and smooth.  The intense of flavors . . . not for the light weight IPA drinker . . . finish with a lingering hoppy bitterness that begs for another sip.  And then another.

A seriously good IPA.  NEBC has out-done themselves with this one and I'll be keeping a few on hand for an IPA emergency.

I really, really like this one!  Grab yourself a pack and prepare to be wowed!

For more information check out NEBC's website or visit them on Facebook.

New Brew Thursday - Double Tap . . . Switchback Ale and Honker's Ale

One of our favorite restaurants, Red Park Steakhouse and Pub, has a hoppin' pub with some fantastic bartenders.  The bar is so much fun we normally dine in there instead of the restaurant.  

The pub has a large selection of standard beers with few rotating taps.  There's always something interesting and new to try.  They had two new (to us) ales on tap so we decided try a pair of ales.  Both were distinctly different with completely disparate flavors.


First up to bat was Switchback Ale.

Switchback Brewing was founded in 2002 by a couple of friends and is located in Burlington, Vermont.  I'm a big fan of small breweries, so anytime I get the chance to try a new microbrew I'm all over it.  This one didn't disappoint.  

Switchback Ale is brewed with five different malts, select hop varieties, and their own specially cultivated yeast.  The special brewing process uses the yeast to naturally carbonate the beer, and it is left unfiltered. 5.0% alcohol by volume. 

When the beer was set in front of me by the bartender I was immediately struck by the color . . . a beautiful reddish gold.   It was fairly clear for an unfiltered ale. The taste was refreshing; not overly hoppy, clean and fresh tasting with a nice malty flavor on the tail end.   It wasn't in-yer-face remarkable but overall it yummy and very drinkable.   If you're looking for something different to try, I'd say give it a go.

For more information you can find Switchback Brewing Company on Facebook.

Second in the line up was a beer by a fun name that couldn't be denied . . . Honker's Ale.  Brewed by Goose Island Beer Co. hailing from Chicago Illinois.  


Goose Island started out a single brewpub 1988 but was eventually sold to a better known brewery . . .  Anheuser-Busch . . . in 2011.  



The beer is distributed throughout the United States and England, but interestingly the Honker's Ale we enjoyed is made a little closer to home.  This variety and their IPA brewed specifically for the east coast in New Hampshire.  Does that make it a microbrew?  Mmm . . . I'm not so sure.


Honker's Ale is categorized as an English Bitter.  To me that brings to mind an acerbic hoppy taste but, in fact, this isn't the case at all.  British bitters are much milder than IPA's and are generally considered the mildest of English bitter ales . . . as opposed to best and premium bitter ales.

I would say that describes Honker's Ale pretty well.  It had a mild hoppy taste and was surprisingly light tasting . . . in other words, it is not a strong tasting beer.  It actually had what I would say was a hollow finish . . . not much flavor at all at the end.  4.7% alcohol by volume. 


Did I like it?  It thought it was good but not exceptional.  I can't say that I would buy it again; however, I wouldn't turn one down if someone handed me a glass.


Visit the Goose Island website for more information on this or their other offerings.