BIG update

Wow, time flies when you're busy as hell. The most notable update is the Dogfish Dash. If you live in the mid-Atlantic region, you've likely heard of Dogfish and each year they host a 5K race at their brewery in Milton, DE. This year it was a 5K/10K and a few friends and I competed in it. I really got into running this year, so the Dogfish Dash combined two things that I love: running and beer. Registration cost just $20 and included entry into the race, a sweet Dogfish Dash t-shirt, and hours of free beer after the race in the Dogfish parking lot. It was a lot of fun to see the brewery and hang out afterward (including doing keg sprints!). But the gem from the day was this:

That's right... it's the man himself, Sam Calagione, and we got a picture with him (I'm just to the right of him). He apparently finished the race just behind us (I passed him in the last stretch and didn't even notice) and as we were walking away we saw him walking toward us. We asked for a picture and he graciously obliged. Afterward we got to drink some of the finest Dogfish beers before heading over to the brewpub in Rehoboth Beach for some post-race dinner and beer. All in all, it was a great time and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year.

As for other beers news, my pumpkin ale (which I named Pumpky Brewster) was done in late August and it turned out great... at first. I really liked the taste of it and it was a big hit with friends and family. And then I opened a bottle that had been sitting around for a month or so just the other day... and it exploded. Like, almost literally. I'm not sure where I screwed up, but there was way too much pressure in some of the bottles that didn't go in the fridge right away. Good thing we drank most of them before I found this out, because the beer was delicious and I hate wasting beer.

My current creation is a vanilla robust porter (name pending), which is waiting to be bottled. I think I'll bottle it this weekend and it should be ready to drink by Thanksgiving, possibly earlier. I combined some very dark malts with a few light hops and a vanilla bean tincture that sat for a week prior to being added to the secondary fermenter. I have high hopes for this one. My next brew is going to be a clone of one of my favorite Dogfish beers, Raison d'Etre. I'll post results when it's finished.

What else? Well, I've tasted a few great beers recently. New Belgium has slowly been invading the northern Virginia area, with every one of their beers now available in the area. My personal favorites are the aforementioned Fat Tire and the Hoptoberfest. I also took a trip to Penn State for a football weekend two weeks ago and was able to stop at the Troeg's Brewery. They have a scratch beer series that they have been putting out for years now. They're all recipes that the Trogner brothers brewed before they started the brewery. They only release them in the brewpub and they're single-run and extremely limited. They just happened to release their latest one the day I was headed up so I decided to stop and grab a case on my way up. It's called their Fresh Hop Ale, Scratch #49. It's a hoppy blonde ale, a curious combination of a light summer style and a smack of hops that lasts throughout the taste. It's different than I expected, but good nonetheless. I was also able to find a rarity at Penn State, at a bar called The Deli. Last time I was there, it was just a regular bar, but now they have a ton of rare beers. We were checking out before the game when one of us spotted a bottle of Troeg's Mad Elf, a beer brewed with chocolate and tons of cherries. We bought a bottle and drank it on the way to the game, then came back later and ordered some more. Turns out, it was from 2009, so not only was it Mad Elf, but it was vintage Mad Elf. So tasty. I also was able to finally find Founder's Breakfast Stout, which is officially dubbed a "Double Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Stout". I'm not usually a big fan of coffee beers, but this one is spectacular. It's the perfect blend of chocolate and coffee and it smacks you in the face. It's heavy, but highly enjoyable, a good after-dinner beer.

The final new beer I've tried since my last post is the holy grail, Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA. This was actually a mistake. My wife went to Total Wine looking for Founder's Canadian Breakfast Stout on release day. They were sold out of the CBS, but they did have a few plain white four packs sitting on a shelf that looked inconspicuous enough, but actually turned out being the 120 Minute. It checks in at 18% and is one of the strongest beers I've ever tasted. It immediately hits you when you sip it, is extremely malty in the middle and finishes dry. It's obviously a beer that should be aged, though, so the other three are currently sitting in a nice, dark spot in my apartment and will stay there for the foreseeable future. Until next time...