Day 4

On the 4th day of Christmas, Frank About Beer drank for me - Hash Brown ale from Sweetwater brewery.

An India Brown Ale? That's what intrigued me into picking up this one - and it turned out to be just that. 

Like a brown ale, it poured a dark brown color with good carbonation. These English-style beers tend to be sweeter because of the malts used, and this one definitely has that characteristic, along with an alcohol content of 6.2% ABV.

However, it's the big, IPA-level of hops that really makes this one stand out. You get the sweetness from the brown ale, complemented nicely by west coast style citrusy hops. 

This is really one of the more interesting beers I've tried in a while - and you should, too, particularly if you like pale ales and IPAs. This one is really tasty.

Check back tomorrow for the next beer in our #12BeersofXmas series.

Cheers!

Christian & Eric

Day 3

On the 3rd day of Christmas, Frank About Beer drank for me - K-9 Winter Warmer from Flying Dog Brewery.

Winter beers are typically darker and made with a variety of spices and flavors that don't typically show up in beer any other time of the year.

In the case of K-9 Winter Warmer, it's a dark, brownish-red English ale that features, among other things, cardamom (a spice typically found in SE Asian cuisine). It has medium carbonation, and is a toasty 7.4% ABV alcohol content.

The label describes the taste as having notes of chocolate and vanilla. To be honest, I didn't notice any vanilla, but there was some chocolate in the aftertaste. As you can imagine, the predominant flavor is the cardamom, which tastes like a cross between nutmeg and a variant of ginger. I honestly would have liked more chocolate flavor to balance it out a bit - but keep reading.

I'll admit this was initially a "miss" for me, until a dinner mate offered me some vanilla ice cream. With chocolate sauce.

Holy. Crap.

Suddenly, everything came together, and the overly sweet ice cream meshed beautifully with the herbal spices of the beer, and it was DELICIOUS.

Bottom line? By itself, it really may not appeal to you but, if that's the case, try pairing it with some strong-flavored food (like ice cream or salty nuts) and see how well this beer goes with it. You'll be pleasantly surprised. 

Check back tomorrow for the next beer in our #12BeersofXmas series.

Cheers!

Christian & Eric

Day 2

On the 2nd day of Christmas, Frank About Beer drank for me - Penn Quarter Porter from DC Brau Brewing Company's brewery.

Named after a famous neighborhood in Washington, DC, Penn Quarter Porter is a dark, malty beer with good carbonation and a mild, though on-par for a porter, alcohol content of 5.5% ABV.

This actually smells great - it's a sweet, chocolatey goodness that continues to the taste. Once sipping it, you start to taste dark chocolate, hints of coffee, and even a sweetness that I'd describe as brown sugar. It is a bit bitter, and has a slightly dry finish. 

It's actually not as thick as porters typically are, but it's certainly not a reason you shouldn't try this limited release. In fact, it gets exponentially better when paired with a sweet dessert (I had it with creme brûlée), so definitely keep that in mind. Overall, I think it's a good one to start with if you wanted to try getting into a porter. 

Check back tomorrow for the next beer in our #12BeersofXmas series.

Cheers!

Christian & Eric

Day 1

On the first day of Christmas, Frank About Beer drank for me - Two To The Dome DIPA from 3 Stars Brewery.

This double India Pale Ale pours a dark, golden color with good carbonation. DIPAs tend to be higher in alcohol and, at 8.9% ABV, this one follows suit.

The taste is an interesting combination of the citrus-like hops of a west coast IPA, but also has the mild pine flavor of an east coast style. With all the hops flavors, you'd expect it to be bitter, but it's actually not that strong. There's a lot of great flavor going on with this beer, though.

Overall, it's a great DIPA that I've never had before, and would recommend it to IPA fans, whether you prefer ones with more citrus or pine. It's very drinkable, and would definitely be one I'd have again. 

Check back tomorrow for the next beer in our #12BeersofXmas series.

Cheers!

Christian & Eric

Weyerbach Mellow Monks Belgian pale ale

For Tasting Tuesday, Christian has a Belgian beer that's a milder version of another.

If you're a fan of Belgian beers (and are on the east coast), you're likely aware of Weyerbacher Brewing. One of their best  known beers is Merry Monks, a wonderful Belgian Tripel that's full of great flavor and, typical of a Tripel, pretty high in alcohol.

Enter Mellow Monks, a Belgian Pale Ale that's much lighter in both color and alcohol (only 4.5% ABV) while still retaining everything great about Belgian beers.

Mellow Monks pours a pale gold color with mild carbonation. The taste is typical of a Belgian pale - a little smokiness and a clove spice flavor, but this one actually has a mild sweetness that tastes like apples, and even a hint of bubble gum (seriously!). It's not overly bitter, and makes for a very drinkable beer.

Overall, this is a great one for Belgian beer fans, particularly if you like Blue Moon. Just skip the orange slice for this one.

Cheers!

Christian & Eric

10 Perfect Gifts for Beer Fans

With the holidays quickly approaching, the annual search for the perfect gift is well underway, right? To help you out, we came up with 10 great gift ideas for that beer fan in your life.

1. Beer

Naturally. But this time of year, there are a lot of rare, seasonal beers that make great gifts. Why bring wine to a party when you can bring a "bomber" bottle of bourbon-barrel aged stout, or a rich, winter ale? Plus, they start at just $5, and will age just fine if you're not giving them away for a month or so (just keep them out of sunlight).

2. Growlers

These are larger glass or ceramic jugs that can be purchased then filled straight from the tap. They're wonderful gifts for a beer fan or party gathering, and can be cleaned and refilled almost anywhere that offers growler fills. You do want to use up the beer in a few days, so if you purchase a filled growler, make sure you gift it soon afterward.

3. Charcuterie/sausage 

Few things go with beer as well as salted, cured meat. Strong spiced sausage works great with an IPA or sweeter brown ales, while charcuterie is accented nicely by lagers, pilsners and kolsch.

4. Cheese

Like the meats, fine cheeses are a good addition. Mild cheeses are good with stouts and porters, but stronger cheeses go great with ales, lagers and wheat beers.

5. Chocolate

Go upscale on some chocolates (my personal favorite is from Salazon), then pair it up with a coffee stout. 

6. Chips

Skip the Doritos - find some quality, kettle-cooked potato chips at your local market or deli, and they'll go GREAT with a number of beers. Just don't get too exotic with the flavors (like bacon horseradish dip flavor), and the beer fan you buy them for will have no problems pairing them.

7. Bottle openers

Every beer fan can use a cool bottle opener, and we're always surprised by what we come across. Tacky, fun ones can usually be found for a couple bucks at a number of small businesses, but some antique shops have some VERY cool vintage offerings worth looking into.

8. Vintage beer steins

Another cool find? Vintage beer steins. These can be found at antique & consignment stores, and can be had pretty inexpensively (though some old, ornate ones can go for hundreds of dollars). In fact, Christian uses a beer stein as a coffee mug.

9. Beer koozies

These foam and neoprene covers are readily available, and come in handy in the summer, or so you don't freeze your hand to the beer can or bottle while tailgating during football season. They're usually available with team logos and beer brands, so pick a favorite.

10. Gift cards/certificates

Why not pay a bar tab? Most small businesses offer gift cards or certificates will happily sell you one so your beer fan will get exactly what they want.

Tasting Tuesday: Homebrewed Honey Porter

For this week's Tasting Tuesday, Christian tries a VERY small-batch beer with a VERY cool story.

As beer bloggers, we're often asked to try some interesting beers, and give our opinions. Once it was an experimental mint chocolate stout from a brewery. Once it was a first sample of a new, contract-brewed "chaos beer". Once was even Budweiser wort (which is actually DELICIOUS).

Frequently, though, we're handed a bottle or invited over to try some homebrewed beer. 

Recently, a friend of ours, Joey, handed us a bottle of his homebrewed beer. Joey's been brewing since 2009 under his own private label which he's dubbed, "Ashton Aleworks", and the bottle he gave us was his White House Honey Porter.

Why the name? "The White House Honey Porter was inspired by several home brewers who worked at the White House in 2012."

It's 6.4% ABV English Porter that, interestingly, pours a very dark purplish black with good carbonation.

These tend to be slightly malty with a touch of sourness, which this has. There's a strong fruit taste, similar to plums or raisins, and the finish is a little bready and slightly dry with a mild bitterness that quickly dissipates. In short, it's a spot-on English Porter, and it's delicious. "It's better straight out of my kegerator," Joey reports.

It's beers like Joey's that remind us of where beer comes from, and where every great brewer started. There's a great purity to homebrewing, and few things as great as the confident smile you get from a brewer handing you the beer they're most proud of. And we'll forever be grateful and flattered to have these beers shared with us.

Want to hear more about brewing at The White House? Here's a great link worth reading.

Cheers!
Christian & Eric