December 19, 2006
Newly discovered IPA
I have been waiting for Troeg's Brewery in Harrisburg to make a new batch of Nugget Nectar, the triple-hopped IPA they released early in 2006. Vainly, so far.
A good choice to fill the gap - and at a similar price of $36 a case -is Two-hearted Ale from Bell's Brewery in Comstock MI. It is said to have scored 100/100 in IPA testing, whatever that is.
http://www.bellsbeer.com/default.asp
It compares well to Nugget Nectar. If you like a hoppy beer, try this one.
Posted by aquacura.com at 09:09 AM | Comments (0)
July 25, 2006
New Belguim's commitment to sustainability
Check this link: http://www.newbelgium.com/sustainability.php
The efforts New Belguim describes in wastewater management and alternative energy generation and use are pretty impressive.
Posted by aquacura.com at 09:52 PM | Comments (0)
May 13, 2006
Nugget Nectar
I've been neglecting my beer advice for far too long. In the early part of the year, Troegs Brewery in Harrisburg brought out Nugget Nectar, a triple-hopped IPA. It stands with the very best. If you like hops, find this beer.
Posted by aquacura.com at 09:38 PM | Comments (0)
October 31, 2005
SNCA is at a beer store near you
The 2005 Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is in stores. I still have a few bottles from 2004, carefully husbanded through the past year.
Look for Brooklyn Chocolate and Victory Storm King, two excellent seasonals.
Posted by aquacura.com at 08:47 PM | Comments (2)
October 05, 2005
About stouts
Phil, my beer mentor, has met the challenge I made in yesterday's posting: ten best stouts.
His list of stouts and porters is:
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout (a seasonal)
Young's Double Chocolate Stout
Guinness
Sierra Nevada Stout
Boulevard Dry Stout (from a Kansas City microbrewery)
Gritty McDuff's Black Fly Stout (Freeport microbrewery)
Yuengling Porter (a real beer value)
Clipper City Peg Leg Stout
Weyerbacher Heresy (Easton brew)
Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout
He gives honorable mention to Anchor Porter and Sierra Nevada Porter.
I have to note a glaring absence: Victory Storm King (Downingtown). It's a seasonal and it is a tremendous brew.
The Brooklyn and Young's at the top of the list are hard to argue. I think I might nudge the Weyerbacher out to give space to the Victory.
Speaking of Yuengling, Chesterfield Ale is a great ale value. It compares reasonably well to more expensive pale ales, and the price is surprisingly low. A good starter ale.
Posted by aquacura.com at 08:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 04, 2005
Ten good ales
My beer mentor, Phil, has produced the following list of good ales.
Let me know if you agree, if you've tried them, and if you think others deserve a top ten ranking (and which one gets knocked out to make room)
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (and the seasonal Celebration: what can we say?)
Blue Pointe Hoptical Illusion
Yards IPA
Brooklyn East India Pale Ale
Anchor Liberty
Dogfish Head 60 Minute (has anyone tried the 90 Minute?)
Pyramid IPA
Tuppers Hop Pocket Ale
Victory Hopfest
Bridgeport IPA
I've tried most of them, and I can't disagree with any of the choices. Troegs, a Harrisburg brew, is a fine pale ale, though. It may be heresy, but I think SNPA might be vulnerable. No doubt, it is a magnificent feat of brewmastery to make a beer in such quantities that is so good. Maybe it's the comparison to Celebration, which occupies the highest point on my personal beer pyramid (small p).
OK, have at it. Who wants to list stouts?
Posted by aquacura.com at 09:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 10, 2005
A good Texas beer
Bill Hoffman, a friend in Austin, took me to the Bitter End brew pub this week when I was in town. I take back what I said about Texas beer. Their pale ale stands up to anything we produce around here.
Posted by aquacura.com at 10:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 10, 2005
Texas beer
I just got back from a family reunion in Galveston, Texas. No, we're not from Texas, but several of my siblings followed my parents when they relocated from Pennsylvania to the Houston area.
During the week I was there, I tried unsuccessfully to find a decent local brew. The stores carried the predictable Anheuser/Coors/Miller brands, as well as a couple of Texas brews. I will politely compare them favorably to our own Keystone.
My sister-in-law, a real Texan (but not a beer drinker), told me that there was said to be a brew pub in the Strand area. I went to the place she described and found a Fuddruckers restaurant, not a brew pub. I never did find a tap with a Texan microbrew, although my search was admittedly not exhaustive. It was a family reunion, after all.
I came away with an enhanced appreciation for our local hotbed of breweries: Appalachian, Troegs, Lancaster, Stoudts, Weyerbacher, Victory.
Posted by aquacura.com at 08:45 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 21, 2005
Troeg's Pale Ale
As a Harrisburg area resident, I have checked out the Appalachian Brewery beers, and identified my favorite (Purist Pale Ale). But for some reason I had ignored the other Harrisburg brewer -- Troegs.
Last weekend I rode the MS 150 from Gettysburg (more on that when I open the bicycling category) on Saturday and Sunday. After Saturday's ride, Troegs hosted a rehydration event, where they served their pale ale and one of their other brews.
And a fine pale ale it was. Nice and crisp -- a pale ale that you could drink to satisfy a thirst. I recommend it to anybody in the distribution area.
To check out the Troegs offerings -- and what the hell -- the Appalachian offerings, too, here are links.
Posted by aquacura.com at 12:34 PM | Comments (0)
July 12, 2005
Why beer?
When I reached legal drinking age in PA way back in the early 70s (and for a few years before that) our choices in beer were pretty grim. The industry was starting to consolidate toward Anhueser-Coors-Millerization. We considered PBR to be a premium brand.
There were some small, local brews that had some character: Duquesne in Pittsburgh; Natty Boh in Baltimore. Others?
Today, we are in beer heaven. Central Pennsylvania, where Aqua Cura has founded it's world headquarters, has many small brewers turning out ranges of excellent brews. Appalachian, Lancaster, Stoudts, and Troegs, to mention a few. Go east to Weyerbacher and Victory and one could spend a long time savoring beers from this corner of PA.
A little farther gets us to Baltimore, where Clipper City turns our beers for their own labels as well as others. And at the pinnacle (this is risky) we have Sierra Nevada -- particularly the annual batch of Celebration Ale.
So let this corner of the Aqua Cura weblog be your place to alert your colleagues to great brews as you find them.
BTW, to answer my initial question, beer is essentially water, right?
Posted by aquacura.com at 05:38 PM | Comments (2)