Skip to main content

Return

Hey folks!  It's been quite awhile, right?  Even though this blog has been silent, I've kept up my exploration of local beers as well as taking the time to enjoy some older favorites.  While my Facebook and Twitter pages have been dormant for the most part, my Instagram account has been relatively active.  I could just send you over to Instagram, but I will post some of the highlights from the past few months here for (hopefully) your enjoyment!

First off, I'm tending to buy six packs (and sometimes four packs) more often these days.  For years, as a general rule, I would only buy single bomber bottles or "mix-a-six" pack at a liquor store that allows it.  A lot of these were special release beers, destined to never be brewed again.  Now, I've grown somewhat tired of the fleeting experience of having a single bottle of beer.  When I have a beer I enjoy, I want to enjoy it over several rounds or several days.

Of course, I don't only buy six-packs these days.  I just buy a whole lot more of them.  Single beer releases are sprinkled in occasionally, like when local brewer Flounder Brewing released a bourbon barrel aged version of their Genevieve's IPA, I knew I had to pick up a bottle (FOMO, right?).  Or when a beer on draft piques my interest, I will still get a growler (usually 32 oz.) of it.

I mentioned drinking some older favorites.  I find myself returning to these old favorites, and distancing myself somewhat from beers that are new and trendy.  Trillium, Treehouse, Veil?  I'm sure they're great, but I've never had them and don't feel like I'm missing out.

So here's a snapshot of what I've been drinking:

Pilsner Urquell:  the quintessential Czech-style pilsner.  In college, I would occasionally drink a skunky and (what I thought was) unremarkable Pilsner Urquell.  Little did I know the skunk flavor and smell was from the sunlight getting through the clear, green bottle .  Now, Pilsner Urquell is sold in amber bottles that blocks a lot of the bad sunlight, and shipped cold to keep it tasting as fresh as possible (#NotSponsored).
  • Even though I've been drinking Pilster Urquell, I've also been thoroughly enjoying Neshaminy Creek Trauger Pilsner (German style) and Sierra Nevada Summerfest (Czech style).  

Victory HopDevil:  While not quite as historical as Pilsner Urquell, I was glad to be picking up some Victory HopDevil again .  According to Victory's website, HopDevil IPA does date back to 1996, and was part of their initial lineup along with Festbier and Brandywine Valley Lager.  Victory's beer, along with beers from Troegs, were the breweries that introduced me to the world of hoppy, bitter beers. Tasting this one again surely hit the spot.
  • Some other beers I've been revisiting are Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Brooklyn Sorachi Ace, and Hoegaarden Blanche.

Troon Brewing, A More Perfect Union:  I've also made time to try some new beers.  For Father's Day, I took a short trip down to Troon Brewing in Hopewell, NJ.  Troon is located on the grounds of Double Brook Farm very close to Main Street.  The small brewery currently only offers growlers to go, but you can order pints of their beer at the restaurant that is also on site, the Brick Farm Tavern.  On this visit, Troon only had a single beer available, A More Perfect Union.  This IPA was brewed with lactose, Huell Melon hops, and conditioned on Palo Santo wood.  Pineapple and coconut were the predominant flavors for me, and was only slightly bitter.  Pretty tasty, for sure.

  • Some other local beers I've been enjoying:  Flounder Hefeweizen and Xperimental Saison 03 and the Referend Bier Blendery's Berliner Messe - Gloria (Sommer).


    Troon Brewing, Hopewell, IPA
    Troon Brewing:  A More Perfect Union
Pilsner Urquell
Pilsner Urquell


Victory, IPA, HopDevil
Victory HopDevil IPA

That's all for now!  I look forward to diving into this blog more in the near future!

Comments

  1. Good to see you back! I recently started buying more six-packs as well. I got a little tired of chasing the latest and greatest (only to find out that it wasn't really that great) and just enjoying some local beers. I've been hit or miss with the blog, I need to focus and get that back up and going again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ed...I always look forward to seeing your posts pop up in my Feedly! I'm hoping to make this page at least semi-regular again. Cheers!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BJCP: Strong Scotch Ale (9E)

This is the first article in a new series of posts, where I will periodically choose a section from the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines , write about the style, and then drink and publish my tasting notes from some of the commercial examples given by the BJCP.  Now, I'm not sure if I will ever actually take the exam to become a beer judge, but I think this will be a fun exercise to learn more about beer! Fair warning, I will not be doing the sections of the BJCP style guidelines in any sort of order.  Whichever kinds of beer I am craving is what I will be writing about! Strong Scotch Ales (also known as Wee Heavy) comprise sub-category 9E in the BJCP style guidelines.  They range between 6.5% and 10.0% ABV, and have a light copper to dark brown appearance.  Obviously, strong scotch ales are all about showcasing the malt.  While studying this style, I found it quite interesting that the brewers ferment out the wort at cooler temp...

The Six-Pack Project: New Jersey

Welcome to the Six-Pack Project!  The idea of the project is to create a six-pack of beer that would best represent the current beer scene in your respective state.  For me, that is obviously New Jersey.  The Six-Pack Project was created by Bryan over at the This Is Why I'm Drunk blog.  Check out his introduction to the project here ! 10 years ago, beer probably wasn't the first thing that came to your mind when you were thinking about New Jersey.  However, times are changing, and it's an exciting time to be a beer drinker in the Garden State.  Every year, more and more bars are starting to serve a greater variety in beer.  Even more importantly, new breweries haven been opening in NJ each year, and lots more are in planning Today, there is a wide variety of beer brewed here in New Jersey.  Choosing six beers to best represent the state was no easy feat, but I was up for it!  Hopefully, the following will clue yo...

Beer Variety from New Jersey

Just what New Jersey beers are people drinking these days?  What are the post popular styles that are coming out of the Garden State?  In a previous post , I outlined what 6 bottled Jersey beers I would give to someone to represent New Jersey (kudos to Bryan from This Is Why I'm Drunk for the blog collaboration idea).  In this post, I'm going to look at NJ beers a little differently. To get a good sense of the NJ beers people are drinking, I could call up each bar and liquor store around  and see what their top selling brands are, call the breweries to see which is top grossing, or see what beers are top rated on any of those beer rating websites.  A quicker and easier way to achieve this, I believe, is to simply look up Untappd check-ins!  The beer rating websites may give you each brewers top-rated beer, but won't give you top selling.  Untappd may be a very small sample size compared to the real sales numbers, but I feel it suits this purpose...