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You are here: Home / Food & Recipes / Beer Blogging / Friday Beer Blogging – The Best Things In Life

Friday Beer Blogging – The Best Things In Life

by Tim F|  June 9, 200610:11 pm| 22 Comments

This post is in: Beer Blogging

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You know how it feels when a medium-rare buffalo burger with bacon and cheddar just materializes on your desk? Okay, that more or less doesn’t happen. But mention that you write about beer sometimes people will hand you a cold one to try for yourownself. Today’s beer blog acknowledges two guys who have done right by me and the brews by which right they did.

A few weeks ago I mentioned picking up a bike at Pittsburgh Pro Bicycles in Squirrel Hill. This is my favorite kind of shop, with a hardwood floor scuffed from cleat traffic, two or three shop dogs and as often as not you end up dealing with the owner himself. Around when I was closing on the bike purchase I noticed cases of Dogfish Head hidden (poorly) behind various staff counters, and after about a minute of beer talk Dave the bike guru fetched a brew for me, the 120 Minute IPA from Dogfish Head, and threw it in my bag gratis. Four-figure purchase or not, the 120 Minute is a precious beer and Dave definitely didn’t have to do that.

Dogfish 120
Hot dang

If Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute is a superlative IPA, the 120 Minute is on a whole other plane of existence. You will notice the 20% ABV right away because, seriously, how could you possibly not notice that, but the brewers have hopped the beer so mercilessly that the ridiculous alcohol content comes across as balanced between sweet and bitter, like two great Scottish wee heavy ales squeezed into one bottle. This limited edition won’t be easy to find, so if you do find it buy twice as much as you need and cellar the spare. Rest assured that it will keep.

Also in Squirrel Hill and across from the exalted Mineo’s pizza house on Murray, Kazansky’s may well have the most impressive beer selection of any Jewish deli serving matzo ball soup and latkes made right. Brian left the wine business to buy the deli years ago and has expanded an entire wall into a shrine to local brews. You’ll find Church Brew Works and East End brewing from Pittsburgh proper, Erie and Great Lakes, practically everything made by Stoudt’s plus Weyerbacher, Flying Dog, a generous Dogfish Head collection, Victory, Rogue and notable imports like Czechvar and Hoegaarten. When it comes to my first commandment of drinking (Act globally, drink locally) the store is a shrine. On the downside Brian doesn’t share my enthusiasm for darker beers so Yuengling Porter and Dogfish Head’s Chicory Stout didn’t make the list.

I mentioned to Brian that I had never seen the Small Craft Warning uber pils, from Heavy Seas in Baltimore, so naturally he passed on a bottle to check out. My inner microbrwesnob urged me to try anything other than a lager but what the heck, the price was good. Lucky me: Budweiser and Coors didn’t kill the lager style after all, they just gave it a bad name. Small Craft pours a medium straw gold with a lingering head and delivers a nose of fresh hay and honey, with a pleasant aftertaste that invites more consumption. A consenting opinion from BA:

Pours gold to peach in color and very clear. Sweet grass, hay aromas. Sweet light malt taste is well balanced with a crisp bitterness. Nothing overpowering here, just a simple well balanced pilsner. I cannot discern any alcohol in the taste and have a hard time believing this is 7.5% for how balanced and how light the maltiness is. I could definitely enjoy a few of these back to back.

It is a pleasure to see American brewers doing the lager style with elan, but bittersweet knowing that before prohibition the large fraction of brews made in America not only held up to that standard but won international awards. Has the time come to demand better?

***Update***

Around the beerosphere, A Good Beer Blog reviews the Wagner Valley IPA:

This beer was dark amber, foamy and thick as a milkshake and really fragrant. My usual not very helpful statement is to say here “I really like this beer,” but in this case I have to add it made me feel like a fire-breatheing dragon. That’s pretty strong.

I have to try that beer.

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22Comments

  1. 1.

    stickler

    June 9, 2006 at 11:39 pm

    Ah, Dogfish Head. They are driving local (Pacific Northwest) brewers nuts with their aggressive assault on the hop front.
    East Coast brewers are supposed to be mellow, almost British-wimpy on the IBUs. But not Dogfish Head.

    Hell, I think it was Dogfish Head that introduced the “Randall” at fine pubs near you (or, more likely, me). An extra cylinder full of fresh hops, through which your freshly-poured draft beer passes before it hits your glass. Want hops? Dogfish Head will get you some hops. Those guys have thrown down a bitterness gauntlet.

    Damn fine beers every one, too.

  2. 2.

    GOP4Me

    June 10, 2006 at 5:04 am

    Dogfish Head is the best thing ever to come out of Delaware. Ever. (Except maybe Grotto’s Pizza, but they haven’t left Delaware yet as far as I know so they don’t count.)

    Mind you, I say this as a 3rd-generation Delawarean.

  3. 3.

    D. Mason

    June 10, 2006 at 11:28 am

    Since you mentioned in this thread that you have a fondness for small businesses with a personal touch, I thought I would post this here.

    A couple of weeks ago there was a small uproar about some toothless legislation that declared English to be the national language. Generally speaking I think alot of people thought that this was a useless law, some said it was about heritage.

    At the time I didn’t see many people arguing for the law on the grounds of practicality, though there were a few. I planned to bring up that part of the argument but decided to wait until and example of the practical need for such a law popped up in the news. Here it is:


    Geno’s famous cheesesteak shop faces threats of legal action for not servicing spanish speaking customers.
    It’s a short AP article but for those who don’t want to bother, here is the relevant paragraph:

    Juntos, a neighborhood organization that advocates for Latino communities, said it plans to send people to Geno’s to try to order in Spanish. Depending on what happens, the group may pursue court action, said Peter Bloom, the group’s director.

    This is a threat to small businesses who often can’t afford to have a bi-lingual staff. As I’m sure some of you know, when taken to court you can win your case and still loose big. With legal fees and time lost from work, defending yourself sucessfully in court can still be devastating. Thus the practical purpose of an english national language. If that silly law can protect small business owners from these types frivolous of lawsuits then I think it was a great idea.

  4. 4.

    chopper

    June 10, 2006 at 12:30 pm

    the hell? 20% ABV? how the hell do you squeeze 20% out of ale yeast? even the toughest beer yeast craps out at like 13-15.

    man, they must have some wicked crazy voodoo magic going on in that brewery. i like it.

  5. 5.

    Kirk Spencer

    June 10, 2006 at 7:45 pm

    D. Mason, I’ll sucker to your threadjack, and mention the rest of the story.

    Dino’s was in the news on this already. Seems he ordered his staff to refuse to serve anyone who didn’t order in English. No pointing, no circling something on the menu, nothing but ordering in clear and plain English.

    And allegedly (and this is what the current group is going to test) he would sometimes tell people they had to order their own – no interpreters. No speakie english, no eatie cheesesteak.

    That moves it out of businesses unable to afford bilingual staff to a bigot refusing service per his bigotry.

    Now personally, since there are a LOT of places that serve philly cheesesteaks, I’d have been just as happy if put him out of business the old-fashioned way — encouraging folk to go eat somewhere else that didn’t support the b*****d, with pickets and word of mouth. However, it’s a given that if they tried that it’d be the owner (of the store started by his immigrant grandfather, who reportedly never spoke very good English — irony lives) who brought the lawsuit.

  6. 6.

    D. Mason

    June 11, 2006 at 11:03 am

    Kirk it’s still his business. They are trying to use the court system to force him to offer a service that he doesn’t want to offer. No doubt there would be a cloud of animosity around the situation. How long did they bother him about serving non-english speaking customers before he took a hard stance? Could they be exagerating his antics? From the tone of the story it certainly didn’t seem like this was a new thing so I’m sure there are some circumstances that we don’t know about. If a group dragged you before the city council to try to force you to change your business practices how much less tolerant of them would you become? I know I would go out of my way to inconvienience that group.

    Maybe it is all his fault, maybe he has some anti-Mexican slant. Last I checked Americans still have the right to be an asshole. He didn’t deny them service because of their race, he denied them service because they’re an inconvienience to him(if you’ve ever tried to sell food to someone who doesnt speak your language you know that). It might not be nice but it’s also not bigotry.

  7. 7.

    Christie S.

    June 11, 2006 at 11:42 am

    On the downside Brian doesn’t share my enthusiasm for darker beers

    LOL, I’m in agreement with your shop owner fellow. I’m not fond of beer that I have to chew. I did, however, develop a great appreciation for Pils beers when we were stationed in Germany.

  8. 8.

    Paddy O'Shea

    June 11, 2006 at 2:43 pm

    GOP4Me drinks? Explains a lot. And all this time I thought he was a carpet cleaner huffer kind of guy. Carbona Gold with a twist of Pam.

    Nice to see PJ Media is dedicating some of their Pod time to Mary Cheney. Sales on her book are at around 6,000 right now, making it one of the more memorable commercial disasters the book publishing world has seen lately. I’m sure the PJs’ll just turn those numbers around in no time.

    New AP-Ipsos Poll shows the Democrats with a 20% lead over the Porkpublicans in this year’s congressional tilt. Looks like all the Gay and Mexican bashing from Georgie and K-K-Karl just isn’t cutting it with the citizens. So what will they do now? Start a war or something?

    http://griperblade.blogspot.com/2006/06/november-cant-happen-soon-enough.html

  9. 9.

    GOP4Me

    June 11, 2006 at 3:45 pm

    GOP4Me drinks? Explains a lot. And all this time I thought he was a carpet cleaner huffer kind of guy. Carbona Gold with a twist of Pam.

    Used to, Spoofy. Now all the beer is yours.

    New AP-Ipsos Poll shows the Democrats with a 20% lead over the Porkpublicans in this year’s congressional tilt. Looks like all the Gay and Mexican bashing from Georgie and K-K-Karl just isn’t cutting it with the citizens. So what will they do now? Start a war or something?

    Yeah, yeah, yeah, Spoofy. When November rolls around, we’ll have the results from the relevant poll.

  10. 10.

    Paddy O'Shea

    June 11, 2006 at 5:44 pm

    Question for you Goop Loops: Over on Scruloose you say you’re from Vermont, but here on B Juice you make the shameful confession that you’re a third generation Delawarean?

    Outside of the inbreeding consequences of having had your already stretched family gene pool stuck in such geographically small areas, what’s up with this?

    Vermont or Delaware?

    What are the voices telling you today?

  11. 11.

    GOP4Me

    June 11, 2006 at 6:38 pm

    Question for you Goop Loops: Over on Scruloose you say you’re from Vermont, but here on B Juice you make the shameful confession that you’re a third generation Delawarean?

    Grew up in Delaware, went to school in Maryland, New Mexico, and New Jersey, settled in Vermont about 5 months ago. I’m not from here, have no family here, and probably won’t stay here more than a couple years. Then I’ll move to Georgia or Virginia or something, wherever my wife’s career path takes us.

    I know that’s probably very hard to follow when you’re drunk, but try not to accuse me of dishonesty when you can’t keep the basic details straight, Spoofy.

    Outside of the inbreeding consequences of having had your already stretched family gene pool stuck in such geographically small areas, what’s up with this?

    Good one, Spoofy. All kidding aside, with people like you leading the charge, I know we can make California red again.

  12. 12.

    stickler

    June 11, 2006 at 9:48 pm

    All kidding aside, with people like you leading the charge, I know we can make California red again.

    Um, has GOP4EVAH actually been west of the Mississippi? I know you claim it. But out West, the whole “ban abortion/regulate the bedroom/reintroduce Prohibition” stuff is ballot-box disaster. Jerry Falwell is not a very popular political spokesman out here.

    And “turn California red again?” Not gonna happen so long as the GOP tries to demonize all them Hispanics. White conservatives are more in the style of Goldwater, and Hispanics know the GOP wants to deport them all. Either way, the neo-Confederates in charge of the Republican Party today are not — ever — going to re-establish the GOP as a dominant party in California.

    The only GOP candidates who win are those — like Ahnold — who distance themselves from the “morals” BS spouted by Texans on the make. Ahnold is pro-choice, and so is a commanding majority of the California electorate.

  13. 13.

    Patty O'Shea

    June 11, 2006 at 9:50 pm

    Wherever your wife’s career path takes her, eh Goop Loops?

    Does she enjoy her role as mommy to a chronic adolescent, Goop? Have you ever stopped to consider that perhaps she’d find the company of a man who can stand on his own two feet a bit more enjoyable than the ranting blog dunce she’s stuck with?

  14. 14.

    Filthy McNasty

    June 11, 2006 at 10:57 pm

    Does this site shut down posting on weekends? Just curious.

  15. 15.

    Lumpen

    June 11, 2006 at 11:00 pm

    I know we can make California red again.

    Already better than halfway there. Red is beautiful.

  16. 16.

    GOP4Me

    June 12, 2006 at 4:18 am

    Come on, Stickler. Give Spoofy some credit. He’s a genius at impersonating leftists and making them look retarded. Give him a few more years, he’ll turn California Red. The main population growth in the state is in the red counties anyway- demographics are in his favor!

  17. 17.

    Fast Lane

    June 12, 2006 at 10:01 am

    hmmm, only 24-48 hours before the next thread. as a psa here’s a preview:

    Sorry, I’ve been grading papers and dealing with Summer Students. I promise I’ll have pictures of a Cat up real soon. In the meantime the Riff-raff that are really the only reason to come here will once again carry the load.

  18. 18.

    ppGaz

    June 12, 2006 at 10:42 am

    R.I.P. TOM DELAY….Ruth Marcus memorializes Tom DeLay in the Washington Post today and does a fine job. However, I — like many others — will always remember him best for his reaction to the Columbine shootings in 1999:

    “Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare, the teaching of evolution in the schools, and working mothers who take birth control pills.”

    The man who said this has been one of the most powerful leaders of the Republican Party for over a decade and was treated seriously by the DC press corps the entire time. Never forget that — about either the Republican Party or the press. All the rest is trivia.

    Kevin Drum is back from vacation and takes the Republunatics deep on the first pitch.

    Emphasis is mine.

  19. 19.

    GOP4Me

    June 12, 2006 at 2:13 pm

    Already better than halfway there. Red is beautiful.

    Amen.

  20. 20.

    GOP4Me

    June 12, 2006 at 2:15 pm

    Does she enjoy her role as mommy to a chronic adolescent, Goop? Have you ever stopped to consider that perhaps she’d find the company of a man who can stand on his own two feet a bit more enjoyable than the ranting blog dunce she’s stuck with?

    Stop it, Spoofy, you’re killing me. This is hilarious. I’m just looking for an excuse to get out of this Hippie Socialist secessionist cesspool, and you want to imply that you have some notion of what I look like or what I act like around my wife? Hilarious!

  21. 21.

    chopper

    June 12, 2006 at 5:32 pm

    GOP4ME calling someone else a spoof…has the whole world gone topsy-turvy?

    tell us more, bizzaro GOP4ME.

  22. 22.

    BIRDZILLA

    June 18, 2006 at 3:30 pm

    Have you ever tried ROMULAN ALE or SUARIAN BRANDY?

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