Mould's Beer Blog

Last week, Kerry and I visited the picturesque town of Occoquan, Virginia for the wedding of Kerry's cousin.  Ahead of time, I sent out a query on Twitter to find a good place to pick up some beer that I can't pick up back home in NJ.  I got a great tip from  +Jacob Berg  (@JacobSBerg) to hit up Arrowine in Arlington, VA.  I was originally tempted to just go to the local Wegmans or Whole Foods, but in retrospect I'm glad I decided not to.  Arrowine was a great little store with tons to offer.   First and foremost, I was there for the beer.  Even though they didn't have aisles and aisles of beer, what they did have was exactly what I was looking for.  I was trying to keep myself to some sort of budget, so I couldn't bring it all home, but they were selling beers from New Belgium, Devil's Backbone, Port City, Lost Rhino, Evil Twin, Stillwater, Maui Brewing (!!!), DC Brau and lots of imports I've never seen before!  I was tempted by the 120 Minute IPA and

Hey everyone, glad you could make it!  I'm out of town for the next few days, so I've enlisted The Beer Whisperer to give a post.  This is his first post here, so it's a bit of an introduction to The Beer Whisperer and the breweries and beers from his area in Missouri.  Check out his YouTube channel here ! ------------------------------------ And a Howdy Doo to you! I'm Tom the Beer Whisperer and I love to talk about beer, I love to drink it too!                         This is my first article for this blog so,here's a little about what I do. I really don't do beer "reviews" more like beer conversations.                          So, since I've been in St Louis for past 2 months, I want to talk about the craft beer scene here and what beers from this area you should look out for.                                                 Quite a few craft breweries have popped up in St Louis over the last few years.  4Hands, Urban Chestnut, Six Row

Hey everyone, thanks for coming by!  On Thursday morning, Kerry and I are headed to Virginia for a family member's wedding.  It will be fun, and I get two days off of work for it!  I'm also excited to be able to pick up some beers down in Virginia that I can't pick up in NJ.  I'm hoping to find some New Belgium, Boulevard, Devil's Backbone and Port City.  If you have any other suggestions, let me know in the comments below! Yards Brewing Chocolate Love Stout Tonight I am drinking Chocolate Love Stout from Yards Brewing Company.  Yards, out of Philadelphia, doesn't normally release bomber bottles, so when they do, you can be sure it is something special.  This stout is brewed with chocolate and vanilla and is (according to Yards) irresistibly smooth!  Time to crack this one open! Chocolate Love Stout Yards Brewing Company English Stout 6.9% ABV 1 pint 9.36 oz bottle poured into a Dogfish Head signature glass Yards Brewing Chocolate Lov

A few days ago Kerry and I stopped in to Bourbon Street Wine & Spirits in Flemington, NJ.  It is only a few miles past the liquor store we usually go to, but I highly prefer Bourbon Street.  I just feel they take better care of their beer selection (which is quite extensive!).  I always end up finding unique bottles.  We ended up picking up a 4-pack of Weyerbacher Heresy and a 6-pack of Harpoon Cider.  I knew that Harpoon made ciders, but I didn't know that they bottled and distributed them down to NJ!  I'm going to post my tasting notes on the Harpoon Cider below.  I don't drink much cider, and I have never reviewed a cider before, so it may not be of the highest standard of reviews!  Anyways, here we go! Harpoon Cider Harpoon Cider Harpoon Brewery Hard Cider 4.8% ABV 12 oz bottle poured into a Victory tulip Harpoon Cider Harpoon Cider pours a clear, golden color.  There is no head or foam to speak of, but there are bubbles that float up fr

Happy Friday everyone!  Thanks for coming by!  Since I last made my proclamation to get back into running, I've jogged 7.1 miles over 6 outings.  Not too bad if you ask me, I'm pleased.  I've rested for the last 2 days to let my body rest, but I am planning on getting back out on the pavement tomorrow!   For tonight's beer, I'm drinking Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout, brewed and bottled in late 2012.  Black Chocolate Stout is released every winter, I think in either late November or December.  How about we crack this beer open and check out its specs? Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout Black Chocolate Stout (Winter '12-'13) Brooklyn Brewery Imperial Stout 10.0% ABV 51 IBUs 12 oz bottle poured into a stemless wine glass Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout pours dense black in color.  It has a small brown head, which subsides quickly and leaves a small crown on the surface o

Hey everyone!  Thanks for stopping in!  Today's post is a blogshare, and I hope you can take the time out to check out these great posts from some blogs I follow! Beer Diary... is a homebrewing blog centered around the blogger's move from Santa Cruz, CA to San Miguel De Allende, Mexico.  In this post, he presents the homebrewing club of his area, and shows what they've been brewing down in Mexico! On his blog Brookston Beer Bulletin , Jay Brooks' blog gives a great response to the recent uproar over a New York Times article where it was claimed that the beer industry is trying to be like wine. Over at Active Brewer: Brewer of the Soldiers , Allen pits Troegs Nugget Nectar and Bells Hopslam in a head to head battle!  Who do you think will win? Tired Hands Brewing Company (Ardmore, PA) is paid a visit by Bear Flavored Ales ....there's some great info in the post about Tired Hands if you were ever thinking of stopping in! SubBeerBia is a new blog

Hey everyone!  Another beer I picked up while visiting NJ Beer Co. was their 1787 Abbey Single Ale.  At the brewery, they allow you to mix a 6 pack of their beers, and I picked up 2 of these.  There aren't many abbey singles that I see around, but I'm assuming it will be similar to a Belgian-style pale ale.  Let's check this beer out! NJ Beer Co. 1787 Abbey Single Ale 1787 Abbey Single Ale New Jersey Beer Co. Abbey Single / Belgian-style Pale Ale 4.8% ABV 12 oz. bottle poured into my Victory tulip    NJ Beer Co. 1787 Abbey Single Ale 1787 Abbey Single Ale poured a light yellow/amber color with minimal head, no lacing on the glass, and visible, small carbonation bubbles.  The aroma is composed of lemon, yeast and a hint of earthiness.  The aroma is also full of citrus, mainly lemon.  As it warms up, a bit of clove and earthiness comes in to the flavor.  The beer started out with a high carbonation, but it quickly faded and flattened out.  It has a l

Hey everyone!  Thanks for coming by.  I'm super glad we finally reached Friday!  This morning we woke up to a surprising 5 inches of snow on the ground.  We were supposed to have gotten the snow the night before, so it was around 24 hours late!  Tonight, Kerry and I are sharing a bottle of Birra Etrusca Bronze from Dogfish Head.  This is one of their Ancient Ales, and is based off of chemical evidence taken from jars found near tombs in Tuscany.  The evidence dates back to the 8th century B.C.  Let's give this one a try! Dogfish Head Birra Etrusca Bronze Birra Etrusca Bronze Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Gruit / Herbed / Spiced Beer 8.5% ABV 1 pint 9.4 fl. oz. poured into my Dogfish Head signature glass and Victory Brewing tulip Dogfish Head Birra Etrusca Bronze Birra Etrusca Bronze pours a deep amber color with a two finger width white head, which doesn't leave much lacing on the glass.  Bringing the beer to my nose, I catch aromas of honey and po

Hey all, thanks for coming by!  Since my last post, I went out jogging once.  I did 1 mile in a little more than 11 minutes.  Not very quick, but it felt good.  I can't wait to get back out again!   Tonight I am drinking Weehawken Wee Heavy from New Jersey Beer Co.  I picked this beer up at the brewery in North Bergen, NJ while visiting for a tour and tasting .   Weehawken Wee Heavy New Jersey Beer Co. Wee Heavy / Scotch Ale ~ 8.5% ABV 12 oz. bottle poured into my Dogfish Head signature glass NJ Beer Co. Weehawken Wee Heavy     Weehawken Wee Heavy pours a deep, dark brown color.  Quite close to black.  Only a small off-white head developed, and it didn't last for long.  There is little lacing to speak of.  The aroma begins with smoked malt and dark fruits.  As the Wee Heavy warms, a slight chocolate aroma arrives.  I'm drinking this beer slow, so as to let the maximum amount of aroma and flavor to develop.  Lots of flavors do come out as this one

Hey all, glad you could make it!  I've been thinking of physical fitness recently, or rather, my lack of.  I think the winter has gotten to me.  Between the lack of sunlight and the cold weather, it has just made me plain lazy.  Tomorrow I am starting new.  I'm going to try and use this blog as motivation, and post (along with mostly beer-related  reviews/articles of course) what I have been doing each day to get back into some sort of shape!  Anyway, back to the beer! Weihenstephaner Korbinian Tonight I am opening a bottle of Korbinian from Weihenstephaner while watching The Walking Dead.  I picked this bottle up for around $2.49 from my local Wegmans.  Korbinian is a German doppelbock.  The label also reads "Dunkles Starkbier."  Starkbier was a new beer term to me, so I looked it up.  According to The German Beer Institute, a starkbier is a tax category for beers in Germany, and means "strong" beer.  Bocks, doppelbocks and eisbocks are all stark

Hey all, thanks for coming by!  Hope you're all having a great weekend.  I thought I would try and sneak in some beer notes on this Saturday night.  As an after dinner treat, I am opening a bottle of Firestone Walker Brewing Company's Velvet Merlin.  Velvet Merlin is an oatmeal stout, and is released in the winter months as a seasonal beer.  Time for a drink...   Firestone Walker Velvet Merlin     Velvet Merlin Firestone Walker Brewing Company Oatmeal Stout 5.5% ABV 27 IBUs Bottled on January 8, 2013 12 oz. bottle poured into my Ithaca Beer Co. pint glass Firestone Walker Velvet Merlin     Firestone Walker Velvet Merlin pours black with a little bit of red around the sides when held up to the light.  There is a one finger width tan white head which recedes fairly quickly.  The aroma and flavor are both of roasted malt, milk chocolate and coffee beans.  It drinks very easily, and is not too heavy.  The carbonation is light.   Overall :  Fires

Hey everyone, thanks for stopping in!  Glad it's Friday?  Me too!  Tonight I am drinking another canned offering from Sly Fox Brewing Company out of Pottstown, PA.  It is their Odyssey Imperial IPA.  On the can, the label says that each year the Sly Fox brewers "select their favorite and newly discovered hops to create a big, bold Imperial IPA."  I suppose then that the recipe on this beer changes a bit from year to year.  I like that!  Let's crack this can open...   Sly Fox Odyssey Imperial IPA   Odyssey  Sly Fox Brewing Company Imperial IPA 8.4% ABV 90 IBUs 12 oz. can poured into Victory Brewing tulip glass Sly Fox Odyssey Imperial IPA Odyssey Imperial IPA pours a beautiful golden amber color with a two finger width white head.  There is extravagant lacing, and the beer looks clear (filtered).  As soon as the beer was poured, I got a whiff of grassy hops, but before long, the aroma was gone, and I couldn't get much out of it.  Odys