Troegs!
Drove out to Troegs during my layover in Harrisburg. Haven’t been to this brewery since I was in school and they were in their old location!
My oh my, how things have changed!
Java Head and Scratch #261!
samsbeeradventure
This is about sharing my adventures within the vast world of microbrews
Archive for September, 2016
Tastes Like College
I miss Troegs, drank this stuff like water while I went to school at Bucknell!
Hop Break
Sometimes you just have to solo an IPA. Looking back, I should have just drank this from the can, like a man. Instead I drank this like a little beer geek bitch that needs to take a decent photo to make himself feel better 
Wrapping Up Indiana Jones
Finished the Last Crusade the evening after starting it. Tonight’s theme was Upright beer. So pathetic right?
Upright Flora 2014 & 2016: So just like de Garde, the older beer is tastier, but they have transformed into completely different beasts. The wine finishing and brett character in the older beer is world class, while the new batch is spicy and bone dry. A+ for 2014, A for 2016. Drink this shit, it’s delicious.
Upright 6th Anniversary Saison: Yep, another incredible beer from Upright. I think I’ve started trading for less Hill Farmstead saisons recently because I have a brewery that produces saisons that are just as good and I don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for shipping. God I need to start hoarding these.
Indiana Jones + Beer = Happiness
Had a nice relaxing night in with a friend who’s going to be moving soon. Also, Indiana Jones has some incredible sound effects, and lots of Wilhelm Screams.
Upright Two in the Bush: This beer is fantastic. It smells like an enormous fruit bomb, almost de Garde like. However, it’s far funkier and tamer in the fruit than you would expect. It’s really good, and I can’t wait to let the brett profile develop here in a year or two. Get excited!!! A-
THIS THING HAD THE MOST FRUSTRATING WAX!!!! Thank god for Whaleslayers. Oh, it was tasty too!
de Garde Berry Bu b1 & b2: So here’s a mini vertical of Berry Bu…batch 1 on the left and batch 2 on the right. Who wins this battle?! Batch 1 did, simply because it had a lot more going on while retaining a ton of fruit character. By comparison, batch 2 felt like it was one note before fading into the darkness. That being said, batch 2 looked way tastier. A+ for b1, B+ for b2.
We got tired, so we made it through all of the Raiders of the Lost Ark, and halfway through the Last Crusade.
Eat the World
Turns out Emeril’s new show on Amazon Prime is really good. I marathoned the whole thing with friends over dinner. Along with this:
Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze: This really fresh bottle was remarkably better than the 375ml bottle I had not too long ago. This had all the carbonation, funk, and mineral qualities that I remember being underwhelming in the 375ml format. A
Drinking and Food Network
Yeah, we’re really domesticated. Don’t hate.
Alchemist Focal Banger: Something is up with this batch, it’s not nearly as floral as I remember previous batches being. Oh well, it’s still darn tasty! B
Upright Fatali Four: I’m running out of these, and it’s making me sad. I just can’t get enough of the tartness, funk, and heat, with just a bit of wine barrel at the end. A+
Block 15 Super Nebula: Had Breakfast with the Buffalo recently, so it was nice to see how this bottle compared. Mouthfeel is better than the Lost Barrels version of Super Nebula, but not quite up there with Buffalo. Chocolate, coffee, fudge, and barrel are all present though. A-
BeerMongers’ 7th Anniversary
So this weekend was BeerMongers’ 7th Anniversary, and I can’t believe time has flown by so quickly. I’ve been going to this place since 2011, for regular beers on draft, great prices on bottles to go, or for meeting together with friends for bottles shares and Timbers games. Being one of the best craft beer bars in Portland, they put on some fun stuff over the weekend.
Oh dang, Alesmith Vietnamese Coffee Speedway? Sign me up for a glass. Wait a second, what’s #5? A little brewery from Brussels apricot lambic….I wonder…..
Yep, it’s Cantillon Fou Foune. Jackpot!!!!!
Aaaaaand Alesmith Vietnamese Coffee Speedway. I can drink the Fou Foune while this warms up.
Oh, it so happens a bottle share started with beers from 2009, which was BeerMongers’ first year. I didn’t know about it, and I didn’t bring anything. I’m ashamed.
That’s a 1995 Orval. It was super interesting and crazy. Not going to try an Orval that old ever again.
Kill shot.
Thanks again to BeerMongers and the crew there who have enabled my alcoholism for the last 5 years. Here’s to more enabling for years to come!!!
Zwanze Day Tickets
It looks like de Garde Brewing is hosting Zwanze day for Portland this year. Thankfully, they had a deal set up with Arch Bridge Taphouse to sell tickets for those who lived in Portland, saving us from driving an hour and a half to the brewery to buy tickets. I’m forever grateful.
But first, there’s a beer from Beijing here. I feel weird.
Anyways, my Zwanze ticket!!!! There’s also an Imperial Stone Bu that I got to drink as part of my prize. Even better, I got to park right out front!!!!! Everything is as it should be in my perfect world.
Relaxing night for stouts!
A friend came over after a long day where we just watched a movie and checked in on some smaller bottles that are ill-suited for our regular group of friends. Once you hit a certain number of people, it’s just not worth opening beer where people only get to have an ounce or two, it’s silly. This isn’t the Midwest where 30 guys split a bomber. It’s madness!
Block 15 Breakfast with the Buffalo: Wow, this beer was too smoky and bitter when it first came out, but it is killing it now! As it currently stands, it’s one of the best stouts I’ve had this year. Unlike the Lost Barrels version I also had recently, mouthfeel is not an issue here. It is slightly less thick than Bourbon County Brand Stout, so things are looking good! Maple is nice and subdued, it adds a little bit of sweetness and depth to the beer but this beer is still very much a bourbon barrel aged stout. If you have one of these, drink it now. A+
Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout: This bottle is from 2013, which is the last year before Goose Island was acquired by ABInbev if I recall correctly. Anyways, after my comparison on Breakfast with the Buffalo to Bourbon County Stout it was time to check into one of my older bottles. The results? FANTASTIC! This beer was great if a little boozy upon release, but 3 years have turned this beer into a chocolate, fudge, and bourbon dessert sitting on a pillow made of marshmallows. Also one of the best stouts I’ve had this year. A+
Upright 7th Anniversary Saison: Can’t just drink stouts all night long, had to finish on a nice and refreshing note! This beer is fantastic, but I don’t like the fact that these bottles like to explode when you open them, that’s why the label is a little messed up. 😦
Anyways, that beer is still amazing, and gets an A-/A grade. The minus is due to the fact that it explodes. Grr.
Recent entry
- 2017-09-24
- Zwanze Madness
- 2017-09-12
- With Big Birthdays Come Big Beers
- 2017-09-08
- Collaboration IPAs
- 2017-09-05
- Boysen de Mer
- 2017-08-28
- Brews for New Avenues
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