It's St. Patrick's day!! So how could I blog about anything but BEER!
That was Oct. 27, 2007.
A month later, we bought as many new and interesting beers as we could with it (and threw in some cash of our known). Our goal: Try as many beers as we could (and throw in a couple we liked already.)
In the interest of full disclosure, I tried the last beer tonight. Yes, for a year and a half, the bottle of Skullsplitter you see here has resided in our fridge, waiting for a day when Marcy and I could devote the kind of dissection and consideration we reserved for the other beers on our list.
Well, here we are on St. Patricks Day, March 17, 2009, and I opened the bottle tonight. And it had chunks in it. And it tasted like charred raisins. And it was gross.
SO ... minus a bottle of Skullsplitter (I drank a Blithering Idiot to make up for it) we present our views on a random batch of beer, the nectar that fuels all good things.
With Marcy to my left on the hand-me-down couch that forms the forest green centerpiece of our small living room, we sat staring at The Soup as Joel McHale conferred his wisdom.
At this particular meal we toasted Dave Wheeler, the guy who made this evening possible.
The Dark Chocolate Stout has a thick, cocoa-y feeling that gives off chocolate notes at first, but quickly converts to a bouquet of hops and a sweet alcoholy finish.
It elicited a hearty belch from the depths of the stomach, and is good for any time of the year (though the brewery only makes it in the fall).
It's somewhat filling, and did we mention it packed a punch?
It's overall a very satisfying dark brew.
This was a heartwarming addition to a hearty meal of split pea soup, bread, and broccoli/cheese bites.
One bottle shared between the two of us lasted thorugh Ninja Warrior and Everybody Loves Raymond.
On this particular Monday, we switched it up on the counch - me on the left, Marcy on the right.
We toasted to a successful 2008 for both of our careers. And that worked ... Marcy was laid off, and I was promoted.
Te stout had strong caramel overtones finished by a cigar-smoke bitterness. And not the second-hand-smoke kind, either.
The Samuel Smith produces a full-bodied but dry burp.
It's very dark; try to look through it and it's like trying to see thorugh a brick.
St. Peter's comes in a nondescript bottle. It's best enjoyed not ice-cold.
We had it with a meal of broiled beef blanketed with melted Gorgonzola, french fries, and broccoli while watching Ghost Hunters.
We tried this on a random Wednesday night sitting across from our Christmas tree.
The stout is dark, sinfully so, but not thick. It's easy to drink and has a nutty overtone, with a finish like molasses but less sweet.
It has a higher carbonation than most stouts, and would be well-paired with red meat.
The toast for this particular evening was to the holidays, family, and my wife.
Seeing a pattern here? We learned a lesson: Stout goes with just about anything.
Young's was nicely paired with a ham & cheese panini, broccoli, and roasted corn. We apparently also eat a lot of broccoli.
While watching How It's Made and Jack of All Trades, we enjoyed our Saturday night with a dark, dark brown concoction that was hard to put down.
The Dnouble Chocolate was very much like dark chocolate - smooth, but not sweet. The chocolate lended itself to the taste of a porter - it felt like a thin milkshake.
It also lended itself to a toast: To future home improvement projects and Team Mahoney (including Joxer).
Another night of Jack of All Trades brought a dinner that did not involve broccoli.
The amber ale was served in Guinness pint glasses and was paired with Italian sausage, baked beans, and boiled potatoes.
The Wychcraft is wheaty and dry, light and airy with a scent of mead and faint flowers. It has a smooth, honey aftertaste.
We toasted to Jack of All Trades and the Jack of our future. Take that as you will.
That's it for tonight's beer review. The rest of the beer is assuredly recommended; you should go out and try it right away:
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