Mould's Beer Blog

Frankenstorm is on it's way.  Bread: Check.  Candles: Check.  Ice: Check.  Beer: Check!  The big storm is supposed to strike land here in NJ late Sunday night into early Monday morning, and last until late Tuesday.  Kerry and I live in the western part of NJ, so we should be safe from most of it, except for local river flooding.  Tonight I'll be reviewing Positive Contact from Dogfish Head.  This is their collaboration with Dan the Automator (who I honestly had never heard of before this collaboration). I poured Positive Contact into my Yards Brewing tulip glass.  It poured a pale orange, golden color with a two and a half finger width head.  Apples, bananas and peppers hit my nose right away.  The smell is incredible and strong.  The Positive Contact is full of flavor, and reminds me of a smooth drinking Belgian tripel.  It tastes immediately of fruity esters, mainly banana.  The finish is peppery.  I'm ...

Hey everyone!  I've been thinking awhile now about changing the name of my blog.  I didn't want to mislead anybody into thinking "Mould Brewhouse" was an actual brewery.  From here on out, the blog's name is changing to "Mould's Beer Blog", and the URL has changed to http://mouldsbeerblog.blogspot.com. Thanks for reading!

I've been reviewing quite a bit of beers recently from Atlantic Brewing Company.  A very solid brewery, you can find links to my reviews of their blueberry ale, S.O.B., and Coal Porter at the end of this write up.  Tonight I'm sipping on their MacFoochie's Scottish Ale and watching Urban Legend  on TV.  Gotta love cheesy '90s thrillers! MacFoochie's Scottish Ale poured black into my wine glass.  Very little head to speak of, and as I drink, there is no lacing left on the glass.  It has a very smooth, silky appearance.  In the aroma, I smell roasted malt, caramel and smoke.  The smoke might be a figment of my imagination though.  I know it's supposed to be in there, because it's a scottish ale, but I'm definitely not getting a lot of the smoke in this one.  The mouthfeel on the MacFoochie's is very smooth and a bit thin.  Lots of roasted malts and more smoke comes through in the flavor.     Overall :  A good b...

Happy Wednesday everyone!  I don't know about you, but I cannot wait for the weekend to get here.  Due to the weather, and honestly, just being kind of lazy, I haven't gotten out to do many runs recently, but I do have a beer review here!  That counts for something, right?  Atlantic Brewing Company's S.O.B, Special Old Bitter Ale, is another beer I picked up during my recent trip to Maine.  The label claims the beer is a bitter and an IPA, so if I can expect one thing from this beer, it's hops! The S.O.B. poured a dark copper color into my Hofbrauhaus mug (thanks Ben and Nancy!) with a large and foamy head.  The beer has an aroma of caramel and citrus, and the taste follows closely.  It's a bit more bitter than most English bitters I've had.  Definitely more like an IPA.  The malt backbone tries to stand up to the bitterness, but can't quite do it.  As the name suggests, the bitterness is front and central.  This is a mighty...

Welcome once again to the weekly Blogshare!  Here are some great articles I've come across in the past week. BeerPulse reports on the acquisition of The Vermont Hard Cider Company by Ireland-based C&C Group Andy Crouch had an article on the Politics of Defining Gluten-Free Beer Bob from The Beer Circle paid a visit to 16 Mile Brewing Company in Georgetown, Delaware Chops from BrewChief gives a stellar review of one of Dogfish Head's Ancient Ales, Chateau Jiahu Oh Beery Me tells a story about the history of Rodenbach brewery, and gives a review of Rodenbach's Grand Cru, a beer I've been meaning to get my hands on! Thanks for reading and supporting these great blogs!

Happy Saturday everyone!  I hope you're all enjoying the weekend!  Beautiful day today, I took full advantage of it and jogged around 1.7 miles, averaging just around 10 minutes per mile.  After that, had some Wawa subs for lunch, and worked on a beer mapping project (more details on that later).   The beer write-up today will be another bay I picked up while on vacation in Maine, Penobscot Bay Brewery's Red Flannel Ale.  As a side note, I've decided to start using a fairly arbitrary 10 point system for my beer write-ups. Not this red flannel though! Penobscot Bay Brewery's Red Flannel Ale pours a brown color with a hint of red in the light.  Not even half a finger width of head developed.  Smells a sweet caramel, and some dark fruit in there too.  The taste is also quite sweet, full of caramel, lightly roasted coffee, and some raisin in the aftertaste.  The beer tastes only lightly carbonated.  I only got a hint of alcohol...

Hey everyone!  I don't know about you guys, but I am relieved it is finally Thursday night!  One more day of work this week, and then the weekend is here!  I was able to get 3 runs in this week, and after a 1.5 mile run today, I rewarded myself with a beer! Tonight's beer is Ishmael from Rising Tide Brewing Company .  I picked this bottle up while on vacation in Maine, at House Wine in Bar Harbor. Rising Tide is a 2 year old brewery located in Portland, Maine, and as of right now you can only find their beers in Maine or Massachusetts.  I'm very excited to get to try this! From the back of the bottle, Ishmael is an "American interpretation of the altbiers of Dusseldorf."  I wasn't too familiar with what to expect from the altbier style, so I consulted Michael Jackson's Beer Companion .  According to Jackson, the altbier reigned in German cities, usually in the north and west, that hadn't been converted to the bottom-fermented lagers.  ...

Hey everyone!  In this week's blogshare, we have: Total Ales :  A London beer enthusiast's path to getting a chance to drink Dogfish Head's 120 minute IPA at The Mayor Of Old Town beer bar in Fort Collins, Colorado. Brewbound :  Brewbound's post explaining Baxter Brewing's plans for expansion Drinks @ SeriousEats :  How To Identify Hops in Your Beer: The Three C's Beer Avatar :  Find out which beers they would need to survive a zombie apocalypse! Brooklyn BrewShop, The Mash :  Keeping with the end of the world, apocalypse theme, see what beers the people over at The Mash, Brooklyn Brew Shop's blog, would go for if they had to make one last trip to the beer store! Thanks for checking out all of these great blogs....know of any others I should include in my weekly blogshare?  Seen any great blogs over the past week you would like to share?  Add it to the comments below!

BBQ Sampler @ Mainely Meat BBQ.  Ridiculously good! After touring Atlantic Brewing Company, tasting their beers and ravaging their bottle/gift shop, Kerry and I had developed quite the appetite!  Directly next to the brewery resides Mainely Meat BBQ at the Knox Road Grille.  The smell of their delicious meats just brings you right in!  They serve BBQ ribs, chicken, pulled pork, sausage and lots of great sides.  We decided to get their sampler plate, which gives you a little bit of everything.  Taking advantage of being right next to the brewery, they serve up practically all of Atlantic Brewing Company's lineup of beers on draft.  I opted for their Big Wicked Double IPA, while Kerry got the Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale.  Real great stuff!  Take a look at the pictures below!  I just got word that Mainely Meat BBQ is closed for the season, but you should definitely make a trip there for some BBQ and beer after Memorial Day '13 wh...

Visiting Atlantic Brewing Company during our visit to Bar Harbor, Maine was a must-do.  We chose a day that was supposed to have a higher chance of rain, just because there is so many outdoor things to do in the Bar Harbor area.  A few miles driving down Rte 3 from our hotel and we were there... We parked in the gravel lot behind the small building that holds the brewery.  The grounds of Atlantic Brewing Company are pretty awesome.  In the picture to the left, you can see the gift shop, which is actually where they hold the beer tastings after the brewery tour.  They also sell all of their bottled beers there, and other swag like pint glasses, shirts, stickers, and mustard made with their beer. We met our tour guide in the gift shop, and walked outside to the second building, which housed the brewery.  Check out the pictures we took below! Atlantic Brewing Company makes several year-round brews, as well as seasonal a...

Tonight I decided to review Atlantic Brewing Company's Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale. According to Atlantic Brewing Company's website , their addition of blueberries to this ale only adds a "subtle blueberry aroma without the sweet aftertaste."  I am hoping this rings true, because if there's one thing that turns me off of a beer, is if that beer is a fruit-bomb.  Going into this beer with an open mind.... Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale poured into my Ithaca Beer Co. pub glass a light amber, copper color with a finger width head.  Smells primarily of blueberry, with a little bit of caramel and bread, but not much.  Tastes a mix of blueberry and light malts.  Very little sweetness!  Quite a bit of carbonation on the tongue, but a very light mouthfeel.  Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale is an easy drinking, refreshing beer.  I am pleasantly surprised with this beer.  Going into it, I tried to keep an open mind, but I really didn't think I would like it. ...

Hey everyone!  Welcome to the 10/10/12 edition of the Wednesday Blogshare!  Read on for some regional blogs I follow, and some great beer reviews!  Bear Flavored Ales , located in Beacon, NY, blogs about homebrewing with bears, beer reviews, and editorials about the local beer scene.  Here's a write up BFA did about their visit to newly opened Rushing Duck Brewing in Chester, NY!    Craft Beer Reviews is a blog I've recently started following, and he concerns himself with reviewing interesting craft beer and craft beer places.  Here's his review of Anchor Brewing's Brekle's Brown! Drink. Blog. Repeat. is a blog located in South Carolina, and posts well thought out beer reviews.  Here's his review of Allagash Brewing's Curieux!  Beer-Stained Letter is a blog dedicated to the happenings of craft beer in NJ.  Here is a write up he posted today of where River Horse Brewing from Lambertville, NJ is since they changed ownership 4 ye...

For the last week, my wife and I have been vacationing in Maine.  I've been going to Maine regularly for the past 15 years or so, and the time in Maine has greatly contributed to my love of good beer.  In Bar Harbor, which must receive millions of tourists every summer, almost every bar serves beer from Atlantic and Bar Harbor Brewing Companies, which are locally brewed right on the island.  Most also have Shipyard Brewing on draft.  Where my wife and I are in NJ, you just don't see that kind of loyalty.  Sure, there's a bar here and a bar there that have great stuff, but for the most part, there really isn't much choice on the draft lines.  There is some good news coming from the shore towns in NJ though.  Both only a little more than a year old now, Kane Brewing and Carton Brewing are getting their beers on tap in restaurants where previously you only would have seen Bud/Miller/Coors.  It's great things to look forward to in NJ! I took advan...

I'm in Bar Harbor, Maine this week, which is why there hasn't been many posts recently.  For this weeks Blogshare, you can read a few beer reviews, a write-up of an eastern PA brewpub, and a list of GABF breweries!  Click on the blog names for the link to the blog! Rich on Beer :  Rich on Beer paid a visit to Tired Hands Brewing Company in Ardmore, PA BeerFM :  BeerFM reviews Sierra Nevada Ovila Barrel-Aged Dubbel This Is Why I'm Drunk :  T his is Why I'm Drunk gives a review of Sam Adams Fat Jack, Sam Adams' take on the Imperial Pumpkin style Tilting Suds : Tilting Suds give an opposing review for Sam Adams Fat Jack BrewDad :  B rewDad gives a list of breweries that he must attend at GABF, the Great American Beer Festival.  Good luck BrewDad!