Spent a snowy afternoon with my friend Bobby having some tapas and beer at  Barcelona Tapas on Beacon Street in Brookline.  The Stoudt’s Gold Lager was a great way to start.  A Munich style Helles Beer that was crisp and aromatic.  It was styled after the “light” in color beers of Munich.  This went well with the Kale salad and the Beet salads that we started with before the tapas.  It was certainly too light and fruitful for the heavier chorizo, octopus and figs.  But as a great session beer with some light foods or just to quench your thirst, it can’t be beat. This is a beer that I will get this summer to keep in the fridge.

Just an FYI,  Stoudt’s Brewery offers retail sales, tasting and I believe a restaurant in Adamstown, PA.

Went to Stoddard’s in Boston with some friends after a meeting. I am not a big wheat guy, but I am a big Troeg’s guy, (Thanks in part to my NJ friend,Gary).  This was a very flavorful wheat.  The draft was poured nicely by the bartender. Draft of course .  very fruitful with several different flavors. Low ABV which is nice when you want to mix it up a little when there are about 15 taps . All in all a very tasty wheat, even though I would only have one.

What can I say.  From the first sip until the last it is truly FANTASTIC!!!  This is not your typical Belgium. It has a nice carbonation and a very subtle flavor. I think I tasted banana.  It was a great dinner companion to a perfectly cooked swordfish chop. Pouring it into the glass it seemed almost unfiltered with a nice one inch head. Some might say this is like a light saison. At $16.97 a four pack at Wegman’s, I won’t jump to put it in my regular session rotation, but I will be happy to share an occasional bottle or 4 with my friends

Maybe it’s the fact that it’s just too “hipster”.  Maybe it’s the “chalice”.  Maybe it’s the “ritual” of the pour.  Whatever it is, I always avoid ordering this when I am out.  However, when you are offered a Stella at the home of a friend, and where the other choices are the BCM. (Bud, Coors, Miller), the choice is easy.

It’s crisp, clean and has a light flavor.  Yes it’s Belgium, but no it’s really just another light lager.  Grade wise probably a C+.  But, when you are with friends and family, it’s not always about the drink.

St. Joseph’s Abby in Spencer, MA released it’s first Trappist beer this week.  It is unique in the sense that is the first Trappist beer to be launched in the U.S.  I can’t wait to try it and report on it here.

This is the Boston Globe article:        http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/01/10/trappists-spencer-tap-monk-mystique-launching-brewery/FBgfeHbf5lr5NjOfP8Jd8J/story.html

Had a wonderful Birthday Dinner with some of my closest friends.  One such friend, Louis, treated me with a barrel of Jack’s Abby, Jabby Brau for the Kegorator.  The Brau on draught is a real treat.  It is a local Framingham, MA  beer brewed just up the street from me.  It is known as a session lager and has only 4.5% ABV which means you can sit back and enjoy the ride.  I think at times that I taste a German or Czech Pilsner, but also taste some hops in the beginning.  I like it a lot as did most of my guests.  Hopheads would certainly shoo, shoo this beer.  As an added bonus, my friend Jane, brought over a nice six bottle pack that I will look forward to enjoying soon. Happy Birthday to ME!!!!!

Oh, and if anyone is wondering, the other keg is the Cisco Whales Tale Pale Ale.  Gotta love Bob at Framingham liquors. He’s magical. You ask for a keg and a few days later, VOILA, it appears!

My good friend Lynne and I shared a nice dinner at the Chophouse last night.  As always, the service is excellent and the food is top notch.  Started with a tender sashimi app and the “firecracker” roll.  Yes, it’s a steakhouse, but the fish is a nice way to balance out the dinner.  I had a bone-in sirloin which was cooked a perfect medium rare, and Lynne had the surf and turf.

Anyway, now to the beer.  Why do they call the Offshore IPA on draught an IPA?  There was hardly any hoppy flavors, seemed much more like a lager to me. It was fine, but, who wants fine?  The Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale, pictured above is a typical farmhouse ale with a nice Belgium type flavor some cloud to the pour and some citrus.  Of course the 8.5% ABV makes it the last of the two beers that I had because I was driving home. All in all, I could have been drinking a Gansett because it’s not always about the beer and food but, about the friendships and conversations.

Here I am with my friend, Diego Escobar, owner of the Abraxas Lounge in South Beach, and a beer connoisseur.  He has more beer knowledge in his pinky than most of us have with years of study.  Unfortunately, on New Years Eve 2013/2014 the lease on Abraxas was up and Diego had to close one of the best beer bars around.  It was one of the only bars that served no food so people could still smoke cigarettes.  However, most people were gracious enough to go outside onto the porch.  The best part is that you could BYOF (bring your own food)  Great beer selection and knowledgable staff.  I forget what I was drinking in the photo, but I did have a great Widemer Brothers Imperial IPA.  Could taste some citrus and possibly some caramel.  Amber color and very little head. Overall a good B to B+.
Diego is now searching for a new location and when he finds it, I will let you all know.  Wherever he goes, it is a MUST go to beer bar.

So, when we were in Cordoba last summer, we came upon this cute little restaurant that served a local microbrew.  Of course I had to try all three at lunch. Pours a little cloudy with strong citrus flavors. Not bad for an 85 degree day walking around the city.

After a 12 hour pub crawl last year, we  just want to end the night with a slice of heaven.  We scouted this 24 hour place near our hotel only to find it closed….???