Just a quickie on a couple things happening in the QC beer scene this week. First Against the Grain Brewery and Ale house will be having a New Years Eve Dark Horse Release from 4pm to 1 am on the 31st https://www.facebook.com/events/385293361561497/. Second Great River Brewery will be tapping Hop A Potamus on Saturday January 5th, golden keg at 1pm https://www.facebook.com/events/538589626154255/.
Now for a bit of news there is in the works a new nano brewery in the QC area, location is not announced yet. It is Wormburner Brewing Company https://www.facebook.com/WormburnerBrewCo?ref=ts&fref=ts. They mention three beers, an IPA, an APA and a Belgian Ale on their facebook page so looking forward to trying the beers when they are out.
QC Beerguy
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Springfield, IL
My wife and I decided to make a quick trip to Springfield, IL to see some Abraham Lincoln sites and check out a brewpub and a bar or two this past weekend. The Lincoln sites are awe inspiring and helps a person realize what a strong and brave man Abraham Lincoln was. As President he could please no one and was always under siege from the press and detractors. To me he is the greatest President we have ever had.
We only scratched the surface on Lincoln sites. We went to the Abraham Lincoln Museum and Library, a must visit for everyone. We also visited the Lincoln Homestead, the only National Park in Illinois, the Old Capitol and the "New" Capitol. We finished our visit to Springfield by going to the Lincoln Tomb and yes we did rub Lincoln's nose.
Beside the Lincoln sites we did a bit of beer tourism as well. Our first stop was Obed and Isaac's Microbrewery and Eatery http://www.obedandisaacs.com/. Located in the Downtown area it is conveniently located close to the Lincoln sites, so if you want you can do like us and make a late afternoon pit stop. The history of the Microbrewery goes back to the days of the Lincoln era in Springfield. The owners of the brewpub are decedents of the family that was friends with the Lincoln family. To me it is a very cool story.
The building is extensive and has multiple rooms to dine in, the entrance takes you into the bar proper. Which unfortunately us was pretty much filled up so we were seated in one of the rooms off of the bar. The food menu was varied it had sandwiches, flat bread pizza, salads and entree. We just had an order of pretzels and a bowl of beer cheese soup, both were very good. What I saw of the other food that was delivered to other tables, I believe the food overall is very good.
Their beer is available by the pint, 10 oz glass or in a 4 beer sampler. They had nine of their own beers on tap as well as a couple guest taps. We decided to go with a couple of samplers which allowed us to try eight of the nine beers. Their beers run the gambit from light to dark and hoppy to malty.
First we tried the Upside down Brown Ale: 5.5% ABV medium brown in color with a tan head. Hints of spice, pine in the aroma as well as a bready nose. Flavors were dark fruit, dark malt and a nice breadiness. The beer finishes with a good nuttiness. This was one of the beer that stood out to us.
Second Obed's Pride Amber Ale: 5.2% ABV amber color with an off white head. A light caramel and noticeable phenolic aromas. The flavor is much like the aroma, which to me the phenolics detract from the beer. To me as the beer warms it actually becomes more drinkable. Overall a decent beer but not high on our list.
Third Isaac's IPA: 6.1% ABV light copper color with an off white head. Aromas of hops and malt great the nose. Taste is a strong malty backbone with citrusy hops. Medium bodied and the finish is dry and crisp. A good beer but not one of my favorite IPAs.
Fourth Frothbite Winter Ale: 6.6 % ABV dark brown with a tan head. Aroma was of dark fruit, dark roast and coffee. The taste was much the same as the aroma with one exception as the beer warms and unpleasant bitterness is perceived. Also surprisingly this is a light bodied beer. We had great hopes for this beer but were greatly underwhelmed by it.
Fifth Mother Road APA: 4.9 % ABV golden color with a white head. Aroma was low hops and medium malt. Flavors were light hops and malt. Light bodied and had a bit of a "dirty" taste. The beer does liven up as it warms and become more drinkable. Unfortunately for this beer to shine you need to let it sit and warm up, so if you are thirsty this may not be the beer to order for a quick drink.
Sixth Ditzy Blonde: 4.6% ABV light gold white head. Unpleasant aromas of butter and dishwater greet the nose. Taste was of butter as well, but it did have a medium hop presence which was a plus. I would suggest avoiding this beer. I am guessing that this is probably their best selling beer and because of that it is served before the yeast had a chance to clean up after itself and take the butter taste away.
Seventh Silly Pants Stout: 3.9% ABV Black with garnet highlights and a strong tan head. Great aromas of coffee, dark roast malts and a hint of licorice. Flavors are pleasant dark malt and coffee in the start, but ends oddly phenolic which is far from pleasant. This beer looks and smells the part but the flavor lets the drinker down. If the phenolic end could be taken away this could be a good session beer.
Eighth German Alt: 4.6% ABV Ruby brown color with a white head that did not last. Aroma was of prunes and other dark fruits with a light phenolic note. Taste was rich and malty with the prune notes carrying over. Medium bodied beer. This was a hit with us, the second beer that we really enjoyed.
The ninth beer which we did not try was a Black IPA, those of you that know me understand why this one was skipped. For those of you that do not I am not a fan of Black IPAs so I usually avoid them.
We greatly enjoyed Obed and Isaac's and on our next visit hope to have a seat at the bar and enjoy the vibe there.
Next we walked over to Norb Andy's Tarabin http://norbandys.com/ only a few blocks away. This bar has a colorful past, including that at one time it was a speakeasy. Upon entering from street level you walk down stairs into the basement bar. The decor has nautical tones to it but overall it is a comfortable place to be. We were able to have a seat at the horseshoes shaped bar which seats probably about 12-15 people. They have only six taps and up to sixteen bottles of beer. They did proudly serve on tap a fine local beer from Rolling Meadows Brewery, Abe's Brown Ale. The beer was a medium brown color with a tan head. It had a good malty aroma and had a malty flavor with a slight hoppiness and a bit of nutiness. Overall a really nice easy to drink beer.They also had a couple of Rolling Meadows beers in bottles as well Lincoln Lager and Springfield wheat, we did not try either of them which gives us another reason to go back to Springfield.
As I mentioned this is a comfortable bar and we quickly were able to strike up conversations with the bartender, who happens to own the bar with his wife, and the other patrons sitting around the bar. We had a very entertaining evening siting at the bar. I took advantage of one of the beer specials, $1.50 PBRs which was served in a chalice.
The menu is pretty standard bar food with one exception that is a local specialty, a Horseshoe. This is a cardiologists dream. First a layer of toast is laid down, then a layer of meat originally ground beef, then a layer of french fries and topped off with cheese sauce. It is served with a knife and fork and is a glorious mess to eat. No we did not have one but one of the other bar patrons did so my wife could she her first real live horseshoe in person. She had never heard or seen one before.
We were very pleased with the food we ordered. I had a tenderloin and my wife had a burger. The amazing thing besides the good taste of the food was the price of the food. For what you pay for the food it is a great bargain. We will go back to Norb Andy's on our next trip to Springfield. When we finished our food and our beers we called it a night and walked back to our hotel.
We did not make it to a couple of other bars that we wanted to Brewhaus and Floyd's Thirst Parlor, so that means we just have to go back another time. We also did notice a few other bars or restaurants that held promise as well so there will be a next visit. Also we have many more Abraham Lincoln sites to see as well.
QC Beerguy
We only scratched the surface on Lincoln sites. We went to the Abraham Lincoln Museum and Library, a must visit for everyone. We also visited the Lincoln Homestead, the only National Park in Illinois, the Old Capitol and the "New" Capitol. We finished our visit to Springfield by going to the Lincoln Tomb and yes we did rub Lincoln's nose.
Beside the Lincoln sites we did a bit of beer tourism as well. Our first stop was Obed and Isaac's Microbrewery and Eatery http://www.obedandisaacs.com/. Located in the Downtown area it is conveniently located close to the Lincoln sites, so if you want you can do like us and make a late afternoon pit stop. The history of the Microbrewery goes back to the days of the Lincoln era in Springfield. The owners of the brewpub are decedents of the family that was friends with the Lincoln family. To me it is a very cool story.
The building is extensive and has multiple rooms to dine in, the entrance takes you into the bar proper. Which unfortunately us was pretty much filled up so we were seated in one of the rooms off of the bar. The food menu was varied it had sandwiches, flat bread pizza, salads and entree. We just had an order of pretzels and a bowl of beer cheese soup, both were very good. What I saw of the other food that was delivered to other tables, I believe the food overall is very good.
Their beer is available by the pint, 10 oz glass or in a 4 beer sampler. They had nine of their own beers on tap as well as a couple guest taps. We decided to go with a couple of samplers which allowed us to try eight of the nine beers. Their beers run the gambit from light to dark and hoppy to malty.
First we tried the Upside down Brown Ale: 5.5% ABV medium brown in color with a tan head. Hints of spice, pine in the aroma as well as a bready nose. Flavors were dark fruit, dark malt and a nice breadiness. The beer finishes with a good nuttiness. This was one of the beer that stood out to us.
Second Obed's Pride Amber Ale: 5.2% ABV amber color with an off white head. A light caramel and noticeable phenolic aromas. The flavor is much like the aroma, which to me the phenolics detract from the beer. To me as the beer warms it actually becomes more drinkable. Overall a decent beer but not high on our list.
Third Isaac's IPA: 6.1% ABV light copper color with an off white head. Aromas of hops and malt great the nose. Taste is a strong malty backbone with citrusy hops. Medium bodied and the finish is dry and crisp. A good beer but not one of my favorite IPAs.
Fourth Frothbite Winter Ale: 6.6 % ABV dark brown with a tan head. Aroma was of dark fruit, dark roast and coffee. The taste was much the same as the aroma with one exception as the beer warms and unpleasant bitterness is perceived. Also surprisingly this is a light bodied beer. We had great hopes for this beer but were greatly underwhelmed by it.
Fifth Mother Road APA: 4.9 % ABV golden color with a white head. Aroma was low hops and medium malt. Flavors were light hops and malt. Light bodied and had a bit of a "dirty" taste. The beer does liven up as it warms and become more drinkable. Unfortunately for this beer to shine you need to let it sit and warm up, so if you are thirsty this may not be the beer to order for a quick drink.
Sixth Ditzy Blonde: 4.6% ABV light gold white head. Unpleasant aromas of butter and dishwater greet the nose. Taste was of butter as well, but it did have a medium hop presence which was a plus. I would suggest avoiding this beer. I am guessing that this is probably their best selling beer and because of that it is served before the yeast had a chance to clean up after itself and take the butter taste away.
Seventh Silly Pants Stout: 3.9% ABV Black with garnet highlights and a strong tan head. Great aromas of coffee, dark roast malts and a hint of licorice. Flavors are pleasant dark malt and coffee in the start, but ends oddly phenolic which is far from pleasant. This beer looks and smells the part but the flavor lets the drinker down. If the phenolic end could be taken away this could be a good session beer.
Eighth German Alt: 4.6% ABV Ruby brown color with a white head that did not last. Aroma was of prunes and other dark fruits with a light phenolic note. Taste was rich and malty with the prune notes carrying over. Medium bodied beer. This was a hit with us, the second beer that we really enjoyed.
The ninth beer which we did not try was a Black IPA, those of you that know me understand why this one was skipped. For those of you that do not I am not a fan of Black IPAs so I usually avoid them.
We greatly enjoyed Obed and Isaac's and on our next visit hope to have a seat at the bar and enjoy the vibe there.
Next we walked over to Norb Andy's Tarabin http://norbandys.com/ only a few blocks away. This bar has a colorful past, including that at one time it was a speakeasy. Upon entering from street level you walk down stairs into the basement bar. The decor has nautical tones to it but overall it is a comfortable place to be. We were able to have a seat at the horseshoes shaped bar which seats probably about 12-15 people. They have only six taps and up to sixteen bottles of beer. They did proudly serve on tap a fine local beer from Rolling Meadows Brewery, Abe's Brown Ale. The beer was a medium brown color with a tan head. It had a good malty aroma and had a malty flavor with a slight hoppiness and a bit of nutiness. Overall a really nice easy to drink beer.They also had a couple of Rolling Meadows beers in bottles as well Lincoln Lager and Springfield wheat, we did not try either of them which gives us another reason to go back to Springfield.
As I mentioned this is a comfortable bar and we quickly were able to strike up conversations with the bartender, who happens to own the bar with his wife, and the other patrons sitting around the bar. We had a very entertaining evening siting at the bar. I took advantage of one of the beer specials, $1.50 PBRs which was served in a chalice.
The menu is pretty standard bar food with one exception that is a local specialty, a Horseshoe. This is a cardiologists dream. First a layer of toast is laid down, then a layer of meat originally ground beef, then a layer of french fries and topped off with cheese sauce. It is served with a knife and fork and is a glorious mess to eat. No we did not have one but one of the other bar patrons did so my wife could she her first real live horseshoe in person. She had never heard or seen one before.
We were very pleased with the food we ordered. I had a tenderloin and my wife had a burger. The amazing thing besides the good taste of the food was the price of the food. For what you pay for the food it is a great bargain. We will go back to Norb Andy's on our next trip to Springfield. When we finished our food and our beers we called it a night and walked back to our hotel.
We did not make it to a couple of other bars that we wanted to Brewhaus and Floyd's Thirst Parlor, so that means we just have to go back another time. We also did notice a few other bars or restaurants that held promise as well so there will be a next visit. Also we have many more Abraham Lincoln sites to see as well.
QC Beerguy
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Beer and Food
Most people know that red wine goes with heavy foods and meats, where white wine goes well with salads and lighter foods. One can go further and split it even further by certain vintages of wines with in the reds or the whites. Believe or not different styles of beers can be paired with foods as well. Many beer lovers realize that beer with all of it styles actually can be a better match with food than wine.
The best example of this fact is the book " The Brewmaster's Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food" by Garrett Oliver, yes that Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery fame. Here is a link to purchase the book through Amazon http://www.amazon.com/The-Brewmasters-Table-Discovering-Pleasures/dp/0060005718. This book goes into great depth explaining how beer and food can be paired together. In explaining this Mr. Oliver tells how some flavors and attributes in beer can compliment or contrast with the food the beer is paired with. Some of the beer and food examples he puts forward are classics like oysters and a stout, an IPA with spicy Thai or Mexican foods.
Another book that looks interesting as well is "The Best of American Beer and Food: Pairing and Cooking with Craft Beer" http://www.amazon.com/The-Best-American-Beer-Food/dp/0937381918/ref=pd_vtp_b_3. It seems to be worth a look at least.
Besides these books there are numerous websites that have beer and food pairings. Here are a couple I like http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style_pairings, http://www.craftbeer.com/pages/beer-and-food/pairing-tips/pairing-chart. There are many more if you just google "beer and food pairings".
Once one has learned about pairing beer with food, they can then delight their family and friends with a beer themed meal or a beer and food tasting. It could be something as simple as pairing cheese or deserts with beer or something as complicated as a several course meal with a different beer for each course.
My wife and I have been to a couple beer dinners and have enjoyed them very much. One local brewpub holds a beer dinner approximately each month, our friends at Blue Cat Brewpub http://www.bluecatbrewpub.com/. Dan and Martha do an excellent job pairing food with their beer.
We are trying to figure out a time and menu so we can host our first beer and food tasting. Probably we will start out slow with a cheese and beer pairing or go with a dessert and beer pairing. The most important thing is just to enjoy oneself and remeber it is just beer.
So just do some exploring and find what beer and food sound appealing to you and proceed from there.
QC Beerguy
The best example of this fact is the book " The Brewmaster's Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food" by Garrett Oliver, yes that Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery fame. Here is a link to purchase the book through Amazon http://www.amazon.com/The-Brewmasters-Table-Discovering-Pleasures/dp/0060005718. This book goes into great depth explaining how beer and food can be paired together. In explaining this Mr. Oliver tells how some flavors and attributes in beer can compliment or contrast with the food the beer is paired with. Some of the beer and food examples he puts forward are classics like oysters and a stout, an IPA with spicy Thai or Mexican foods.
Another book that looks interesting as well is "The Best of American Beer and Food: Pairing and Cooking with Craft Beer" http://www.amazon.com/The-Best-American-Beer-Food/dp/0937381918/ref=pd_vtp_b_3. It seems to be worth a look at least.
Besides these books there are numerous websites that have beer and food pairings. Here are a couple I like http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style_pairings, http://www.craftbeer.com/pages/beer-and-food/pairing-tips/pairing-chart. There are many more if you just google "beer and food pairings".
Once one has learned about pairing beer with food, they can then delight their family and friends with a beer themed meal or a beer and food tasting. It could be something as simple as pairing cheese or deserts with beer or something as complicated as a several course meal with a different beer for each course.
My wife and I have been to a couple beer dinners and have enjoyed them very much. One local brewpub holds a beer dinner approximately each month, our friends at Blue Cat Brewpub http://www.bluecatbrewpub.com/. Dan and Martha do an excellent job pairing food with their beer.
We are trying to figure out a time and menu so we can host our first beer and food tasting. Probably we will start out slow with a cheese and beer pairing or go with a dessert and beer pairing. The most important thing is just to enjoy oneself and remeber it is just beer.
So just do some exploring and find what beer and food sound appealing to you and proceed from there.
QC Beerguy
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