God Only Knows

Welcome to Newcastle Brown Ale, the one and only. Yes, yes, I know, it's another brown. But I LIKE them, dammit.



Newcastle, England is where this beer is brewed. It's kind of close to Scotland, which doesn't seem to have anything to do with the tast, yet it was on their website, so I felt I should mention it. The town WAS the first place in Britain to brew beer, which actually does matter quite a bit to me, now that I think about it!

Their site in all flash, so I can't get a picture of this easily, but go to the site, and check out the first page. Hit refresh several times. The bottle caps have snappy little saying in them, like"For a bitter taste, drink with ex-girlfriend."


While looking for pictures of Newcastle, elsewhere, I found this. Holy crap! Don't drink TOO much beer, b/c you could end up like this guy! It just looks uncomfortable.

There is a lovely review of Newcastle posted on epinions, which I am blatantly posting here because I love it: Newcastle Brown ale pours to a light brown, almost cola-like color with a pock-marked foamy head and a soft malty nose. The palate is smooth and nutty, slightly sweet, with a light cracker-like malt character and a hint of chocolate. The hops are just barely perceptible in the finish. This is a wonderfully delicate beer, and a classic English brown ale. Though not as assertive as American brown ale, which is a maltier, hoppier brew, Newcastle should be appreciated for it’s subtle delicacy. It’s easy to throw loads of hops and malt at a beer and make it a big one. A far truer test of the brewer’s art is to produce a drinkable, subtly flavored delight the likes of this one.

If you have to buy bottles, buy bottles. But if you haven't had this before, meaning you, little one, go get it from a place that sells it on tap. Yummy yummy yummy.

I'm a Lazy Sod

For the second week in a row, I let Beer Friday come & go without the appropriate post. Bad Beer Girl! No points for me. OK, so let's call this Beer Saturday, and get a move on, shall we?

It's Saturday, it's a non-work day, and I'm feeling pretty ok with the world, even though it's damn chilly out today. What beer goes with that? How about a beer I personally will always associate with middle-aged, mid-western vacationers? You know who you are. You take your white, office-worker body south for a week & come back sunburned & obsessed with a CD of bad steel drum music or Mexican folk songs. I present you with a Corona, with a lime wedge, of course. Please don't squirt lime juice in your neighbors' eyes as you struggle to get it into the bottle. It's not polite, and simply highlights the fact that you don't drink this all that often.



My mid-western office-worker body would give anything to be 'miles away from ordinary' right now.

Blame It On The Rain

Today's beer is Heineken, because it's easy. And because I liked their keg-can ads. And because my favorite color right now is green. Not because it is the best beer in the world. It's just easy. Bottoms up!

Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)

This song is stuck in my head, along with a mental image of Freedom doing an awkward running man. Oh hello, Friday. I’ve been waiting for you all week, and yet still you were able to sneak up on me, catching me off guard. Friday days are spent making sure everything has been done for the week. I can’t relax until I know it’s all taken care of and done. But then, Friday morphs into anticipation, full of promise & hope. Oh, and beer.

What? Who said beer?

I feel that we need a fun beer today. Not a novelty beer, b/c who wants to drink SIX novelty, funky-flavored beers? Not me. But I would like something summery, springtime-ish, something we can imagine we are drinking outside, in the sunshine.

A summer beer, you say? Obviously. And one I've tried before? Absolutely. Last week just made me sad. How about a Harpoon Summer Beer? This brewery was founded on the Boston waterfront by 3 Harvard grads. Can you say pretentious, boys and girls? You would think so, but the beer is NOT. Quote describing the Summer beer from the site:
"Harpoon Summer Beer is a light-bodied, golden ale that is brewed in the Kolsch style. It originated centuries ago in the German city of Cologne. Clean, clear, and crisp - it makes an ideal summer beer."


It is only available in the notheast, and I'm kind of annoyed that their site doesn't tell you where you can buy it.

Liar

Today's beer is Arrogant Bastard Ale.



If you're feeling super-thirsty, you might want to try the Double Bastard Ale. Both are from the Stone Brewing Company in California. This beer has serious 'tude. I love it. The website rocks and has great FAQ's. I haven't tried it, since I live in the middle of the freakin' country. So I can't give you a review. The reviews from sites like RateBeer.com are extremely high. So I want some. Now. Today. Don't you think a beer named Arrogant Bastard would be a good beer for me? Me too! Maybe I'll order some from HiTimeWine.com. That a great site, by the way. They shipped me some Hinano, the Tahitian beer, once for The Husband's birthday.

Drink up, and if you've had this beer before, please give a review in the comments. Tell me if it's worth paying the extra shipping just to try it! Happy Friday!

I'm Not Okay (I Promise)

Today's beer is a Chicago brew.
Goose Island Honker's Ale


Next week I promise to pick something out of my ordinary rotation. Because, yes, I know this is another brownish ale. Although technically it's a pale ale. From the Goose Island site:

Named one of the best beers in Chicago, our Honker's Ale combines a spicy hop aroma with a rich malt middle to create an exceptionally balanced American Pale Ale. Craft brewed in small batches with pure filtered water, Midwest malt, the best hops and our own special yeast, Honker's Ale brings fine English-style brew to your mug.

Yummy.

Happy Friday to all. Enjoy your weekend, don't think about work, and good luck on the continuing b-ball brackets.

Beer Run

Since it’s the weekend before St. Pat’s, I’ve decided that there will be a choice of 4 beers here at Beer Girl’s Blog. Yes, I said FOUR! And no, none of them will be green.

Since we did Caffrey's last week, this week I'm offering Guiness, Murphy's, and my local favorite.

Choice #1 (the obvious one) Guinness

I love a good stout as much as the next Irish lass, but sometimes this is a bit heavy for me. I always think of it as a winter beer, which probably isn’t fair. It’s a slow sipping sort of drink, for truly savoring your beer. The website even has some nifty tools, like this downloadable door hanger. Funny stuff. Despite the fact that they have bottles & cans of this stuff, it’s still best from a tap. Maybe I just like it that way so I can watch the settling of the creamy head. I don’t know. Don’t drink this beer ice cold, it should be kept at what Guinness defines as ‘cellar’ temperature.

Choice #2 Murphy's Irish Stout

According to the website, Murphy's is: "Brewed from all natural ingredients, Murphy's Irish Stout is smooth and creamy, with a subtle bitterness. This truly satisfying stout is one to be savoured. Best served chilled between 4-6 degrees Celsius." It also won a Gold Medal in the International Beer Olympics. Good alternative to Guiness, as if you needed one!

Choice #3 Murphy's Irish Red

Described by the site as: "Well balanced and full-bodied, with hints of malt and caramel, this truly refreshing red beer has a unique speciality beer flavour. Best served chilled between 5-7 degrees Celsius. Perfect accompaniment to ethnic foods." Ethnic food, huh? I didn't know that. All I know is that I like it.

Choice #4 (local pick) Boulevard Brewery's Irish Ale

Another Irish Red brew that I adore. (In case you haven't noticed, my favorite beers are brown & reds.) The Boulevard website describes it thusly: "Boulevard Irish Ale, our springtime seasonal beer, is patterned after red ales that have a rich Irish heritage. Our recipe combines five kinds of malt to provide a complex, toasty flavor and reddish hue. Nugget and English Kent Golding hops are added to enhance the beer's complexity and to produce a pleasing balance." It's only available for a few months, so it intensifies my lust for this beer. Enjoy it now, it'll be gone soon!

Pick your poison, and let's roll.

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere

What's the next big holiday for a beer sort of girl? St. Patrick's Day, of course. Not only am I a beer drinker, but I am also Irish. I have the freckles to prove it. So while looking forward to a day of navigating amateur drunks, I will attempt to list fine Irish brews here this month.

Today's special is an old favorite of mine. Caffrey's.
I adore Caffrey's. It is my favorite Irish beer in the world. I found a great little article written on Brian's Beer Belly. I'll post the content in full, but my personal opinion is that Caffrey's is the most wonderful, creamy, light but still substantial beer on the face of the planet. It pours like Guiness, thick & frothy, and you have to let it set a minute before you begin drinking. The horror is that it is no longer available in the USA. (See below for details.) I am immediately starting a campaign to bring it back. I sent an email to Coors today to beg them to bring it back, and I even gave them this blog address. So if you are with me, please comment, so that they could see we care.


Cheers!

Nitro Bitter From Ireland
By Belly Buddy David Lauterbach

I enjoy having a selection of Irish beers to choose from when the St. Patrick's Day parade comes through my town. It is because of this that I stumbled across Caffrey's Irish Ale a few years back while trying to stock the shelves with some variety from Ireland.

Caffrey's comes from Belfast, North Ireland where it is brewed by the Thomas Caffrey Brewing Company. The 14.9 oz cans feature a nitrogen pocket that agitate the beer when you open it giving it that great 'from the tap' quality. Even if you know what the nitro 'widget' is, check out my Guinness review that gets up close and personal with this beer agitator.

Caffrey's is considered a bitter, but this is not overly bitter. It has a dreamy, creamy, toffeeesque taste that is light enough to drink all day. Despite the toffee quality, I wouldn't call this beer sweet. It has really beautiful amber/copper coloring and a thick, rich head. The head will stay with you all the way down to the bottom of the pint too, even if it's a soaped glass. This is a fairly light beer so I can easily drink these all day long, but on St. Paddy's I usually end up moving on to Guinness.

Now, here's the problem with Caffrey's... you can no longer get it in the U.S. As faithful American drinkers of this fine ale may already know, Coors Brewing Company acquired Caffrey's in December, 2001 when they purchased U.K. based Carling Brewers who had the distribution rights. Sometime in 2002, they stopped distributing Caffrey's in the U.S. due to poor sales. It is still available in the U.K.

If you've had Caffrey's and want to see it in the U.S. again, you can call the Coors Helpline at 1-800-642-6116 and let then know, or you can sit back and do nothing about it while poor uneducated souls end up buying and drinking Coors' other acquired (and promoted) Irish-type beer Killian's Red.

But those who have access to it will probably agree- it's a delicious, authentic Irish ale that is sure to please better bitter beer drinkers.

Philosophers' Drinking Song

Immanuel Kant was a real piss-ant
who was very rarely stable.
Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar
who could think you under the table.

David Hume could out-consume
Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.
And Wittgenstein was a beery swine
who was just as sloshed as Schlegel.

There's nothing Nietzsche couldn't teach 'ya
'bout the raising of the wrist.
Socrates, himself, was permanently pissed.
John Stuart Mill, of his own free will,
after half a pint of shandy was particularly ill.

Plato, they say, could stick it away,
half a crate of whiskey every day!
Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle,
And Hobbes was fond of his Dram.
And René Descartes was a drunken fart:
"I drink, therefore I am."

Yes, Socrates himself is particularly missed;
A lovely little thinker,
but a bugger when he's pissed.

And that, boys & girls, is the Philosophers' Drinking Song. I am NO philosopher, but I have been thinking too much lately, and have decided that I'd rather drink instead.

Beer

That's a title of a song, but it's so generic, so I'm actually supplying the lyrics of the chorus:

If I get drunk well,
I'll pass out on the floor now, baby
you won't bother me no more
if you're drinkin', well,
you know that you're my friend
and I say I think i'll have myself a beer.

Sounds like a Friday kind of song to me.

I think we'll need a light beer for heavy drinking.
The positives - Light feeling, crisp, defined as 'refreshing.' MUST be served ice cold. Also nice for those on diets.
The negatives - Can be bland, either feel flat or overly fizzy, horrible when served near room temp. Not as satisfying as 'bigger' beers.

I'd like to be more interesting, and offer up a Sam Adams Light, Amstel Light, or something other than the big 3's versions. But I've got to be honest. And honestly, I drink a lot of Miller Lite. I think it has more flavor than Bud Light, even though The Husband will contest this hotly at any point.

Glass bottles are my favorite for this beer, so that's what you're getting today. Drink up boys & girls. It's after noon, and almost officially the weekend.

Cold Beverage

Stick it in the fridge, stick it in the fridge, stick it in the fridge
Because I like cold beverages
I'm kind of thirsty....

The beer special at Beer Girl's Blog this week is Pete's Wicked label's Wicked Ale. Now, I do realize that this is not truly a craft beer, and just another example of the man buying out a little guy who used to make craft beers, and is now manufactured in big old factories, just like Bud. However, I like it, darn it, and that's what I am serving today.
.

Wicked Ale is a brown ale type of beer. And I do love me some brown ales. This is a nice, reliable beer, usually available at most bars, and goes with almost anything. Not too heavy to drink more than one, but not so light that you miss out on enjoying it. Description from the Pete's Wicked site:

AROMA: Roasted caramel, hop bouquet
BODY: Medium
TASTE: Surpisingly smooth. The initial malt sweetness is balanced with the hop, dispelling the myth that all dark beers are bitter
MALTS: Pale and Caramel
HOPS: Cascade and Brewers Gold

Cheers.

Friday, I'm in Love

The beer of the week here at Beer Girl's Blog is Boulevard Brewery's Pale Ale.


Yes, sorry, it's a local midwest thing. They have a handy-dandy locator tool here, if you'd like to see if you can buy some for yourself. The description, fresh from Boulevard's site, reads thus: "Boulevard Pale Ale is a smooth, fruity, well-balanced beer with year-round appeal. A variety of caramel malts impart a rich flavor and amber color, while liberal use of whole hops adds zest and aroma. Pale Ale is the first beer we brewed, and continues to be a perennial favorite."

Hmm, smooth and fruity sounds like this is a girly beer, and you must trust me when I say it is not. The 'zest' they refer to keeps it from being truly fruity. It has a nibble, kind of a bite after each sip, but not an abusive bite, hence the nibble. Definitely something that should be ordered on tap. Nothing wrong with the bottles, believe me, but I just prefer it drawn from a keg, in a pint sized glass.

Happy Friday!

Beer me

To drink my weight, I would have to chug 108 pints of beer!

Believe it or not, I'm walking on air.

I went skydiving today for the first time. I went with 3 other chicks, including my old college roommate. I can honestly say that it was the single coolest thing I've ever done. We went static line, which means your rig is attached to the plane, and when you jump, the line automatically deploys your chute. Free fall lasted just a couple of seconds, and then we spent the next handful of minutes zig zagging, practicing turns and basically serenely drifting back to earth, getting ready for the landing. We jumped from 3,500 feet, which isn't high in the grand scheme of things. I'm officially hooked.