On Wed, 28 Jul 2004, Lew Bryson vociferated:
}> I've been slowly working my way through the eastern European section; }> most of the brews seem to begin with the letter "Z". :-) } }Yeah, I'll tell you...I got a case of North Coast Red Seal Ale, and it was }just pretty damned good. I had to race my wife on this one, and I think she }drank more of it than I did. } }Also...if anyone's in the Philly area, go out NOW and get some of the newly }reformulated Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale. Good Lord above, is it good! A }very crisp pale ale, about 30% pilsner malt, nicely hopped but not overdone, }a fantastic session beer. I'm going to be getting several kegs of this one, }I think. Hope they can maintain it in the bottle.
Now that sounds /very/ interesting right about this time of year.
My favorite local has slipped a little in my esteem. Oh, the beer is still top notch brew, and fresh, but lately its all been minor variations on the various McMenamin standard -- no imagination. I'm not sure if this is a result of new company policy, or just the philosophy of the current brewer.
In particular, I've not seen many of the strong malty brews I'm so fond of -- Scotch ales, "bocks", thick winter brews, or the late lamented "HObbits Habbit".
Well, OK, he /did/ come up with a jalapeno pale ale in which you could actually /taste/ the pepper, and it didn't come off like somebody poured a bottle of Frank's hot sauce in a Coors Light. The heat was just right, and well balanced by the malt. But I still think I prefer my beer and my chile in separate vessels...
This time of year I'm drinking the lighter brews, but when the cold rains roll in this fall, I'm once again going to be wishing that old Steve would come back home.
Dr H