Beer and Chips Pairing: Cape Cod Kettle Cooked Sweet & Spicy Jalapeño & Birds Fly South Ale Project The Blueprint IPA

Posted on by Evan

The Cape Cod brand of potato chips has been around for as long as I can remember and these are Cape Cod Kettle Cooked Sweet & Spicy Jalapeño which I paired with a recent beer review Birds Fly South Ale Project The Blue Print IPA 6.5% ABV. Now for future reference if you are going to have spicy food and you’d like to have a nice beer with it you can’t go wrong with an IPA. These Sweet & Spicy Jalapeño chips look much like your average chips but with little bits of green Jalapeño bits sprinkled on top T.he hops in this fruity IPA, The Blueprint complements the sweetness that hit you tongue quickly upfront then the hops do cut the Jalapeño spice in the middle which then the fruitiness of the beer blends nicely with the spicy finish of these Cape Cod chips. The hops profile of an IPA does blend well and keep the spiciness of spicy food down a bit. This was a good pairing a B+, the sweetness was minimal and there was more of the Jalapeño flavor they than anything else but was still good and went nicely with Birds Fly South Ale Project The Blue Print IPA, which is a great IPA. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Lagunitas Brewing Company & Short’s Brew Passion Grass West By Mindwest

Posted on by Evan

Purchased Lagunitas Brewing Company & Short’s Brew Passion Grass North By Midwest, 4.6% ABV from the local Harris Teeter grocery store. Passion Grass North By Midwest is a pale ale and pours a yellow color with a bright one finger white head that gives off very faint hop aroma with sour, tart grassy aromas that then lead into a bitter, sour, fruity lemon, tropical, grassy, flavor that finishes with a tart bitterness and a fruited tart bitter after taste with a light mouth feel. Lagunitas Brewing Company & Short’s Brew Passion Grass North By Midwest is not good I give this a F+. The tart sour flavor do not blend well with the bitterness of the pale ale. No it’s not good, it taste more like fresh fruit that has gone past it ripeness and is spoiling. No I don’t recommend that you try Lagunitas Brewing Company & Short’s Brew Passion Grass North By Midwest, it is bad but I did finish my twelve ounces and I will not go back to it! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Birds Fly South Ale Project The Blue Print IPA

Posted on by Evan

Birds Fly South Ale Project The Blue Print IPA, 6.5% purchased from the local Winestore is brewed not far in Greenville, South Carolina with Citra, Centennial, and Mosaic hops with a touch of Guava purée. Birds Fly South Ale Project only brews different variations of the IPA. The Blue Print IPA pours a deep yellow nearly orange color with a one and a half finger of nice white head with juicy tropical fruits aromas coming off it with a nice little hop note that lead to a juicy tropical fruits flavor with pineapple, guava, very faint grapefruit with hints of melon and a semi-creamy hoppy bitter note towards the back of the mouth with a nice tropical fruit finish and a nice slightly bitter tropical fruit aftertaste with a medium mouthfeel. Birds Fly South Ale Project The Blue Print IPA is just a tropical fruit bomb the way I really like my IPA and this IPA is well deserving of am A+ all the fruity flavors meld with the hope notes for a well balanced IPA that is awesome and flavorful and one I highly recommend trying and one that I will come back to again and again. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Throwback Thursday: Olde Saratoga Brewing Co. Death Wish Nightmare India Pale Ale

Posted on by Evan

Originally posted on November 15th, 2016

I like coffee and I like beer, so naturally, I would like coffee beer, and yes that would be correct cause I do. Most coffee beers are dark beers like stouts, porters, or brown ales. But this beer from Olde Saratoga Brewing Co. in Saratoga Springs New York brews Death Wish Nightmare India Pale Ale, 6.8% ABV. Death Wish Nightmare uses Death Wish coffee. If you haven’t had Death Wish Coffee then you are really missing out, and Death Wish Coffee is from Round Lake, New York nearby. It is good strong coffee, the strong kind of stuff you grandpa would say it’ll be hair on chest boy! This is an IPA brewed with whole Death Wish coffee beans. Death Wish Nightmare pours a light copper color with a five-finger fluffy slightly off-white head that stays for days. The aroma is like your smelling strong rich coffee being brewed on the other side of the kitchen. There is a slight earthy note there are well with a bit of an ash-like scent. Taste is roasted coffee upfront with a little ashy flavor in the middle with a bitter citrus pine on the back. The mouthfeel is medium with a nice ashy coffee finish that has a good bitter IPA and bitter coffee aftertaste. This is one balanced beer between the malts of the IPA and the coffee flavors. I say that Olde Saratoga Brewing Co. Death Wish Nightmare India Pale Ale is an A. I have never had a Coffee IPA before, and most coffee beer that I’ve had have been dark stout or porter. This was really good. I recommend that you try this beer and Death Wish Coffee! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly

The Beer News

Posted on by Evan

Here are this week’s new and events happening in the Charlotte, NC area!

  • Wednesday, February 6th. Hacker-Pschorr 1 Liter Stien Night. Flying Saucer Charlotte. 7 pm-10 pm. Buy the beer, keep the 1 liter Stein. First come, first serve. Weather should be perfect to enjoy a patio beer

 

  • Thursday, February 7th,  Burial Tap Takeover. Carolina Beer Temple. 12 pm-11:30 pm. Tickets by eventbrite.com. Burial is kind of a hot brewery right now. If by kinda hot, you mean blazingly hot with the fire of a thousand suns. And it is easy to see why. Fantastic beer after a fantastic beer is always a good thing, and the guys over at Burial never fail to deliver. So we have invited them to come in from the cemetery and into the Temple, to share some of their best brews with our incredible congregation.

    TAP LIST TBD

 

  • Thursday, February 7th. Blueberry Chocolate Wheat Ale Release. Catawba Brewing Charlotte. 3 pm-10 pm. It’s just as delicious as it sounds…

 

 

  • Friday, February 8th. Almost Heaven Release! The Unknown Brewing Company. 6pm. Come out Friday, Feb. 8th as we get ready for Valentine’s day with this sensual beer! Made with decadent berries and creamy white chocolate! You will think you were Almost in Heaven. Thanks to our brewers for being good sports for the label!! Available in 16oz cans and kegs.
    We will also have amazing and romantic keyboard music and indulge yourself in lemon and raspberry macarons from Le Macaron French Pastries Charlotte !!!

 

 

  • Friday, February 8th. Sally’s Rosemary Saison Pilot Batch Release. Triple C Brewing Co. 4 pm-10 pm. A blend of Belgian and French yeasts provide an earthy and slightly peppery taste that compliments the late addition of rosemary in this highly drinkable Saison.

    100% of the proceeds will go to help Sally Moore on her quest for a new liver. Please consider a donation here if you can’t make it to the brewery! https://www.gofundme.com/sally-moore-a-new-life-and-liver

    Bleu Barn Bistro has dinner covered!

 

  • Saturday, February 9th. Strawberry Seduction – Can Release. Lenny Boy Brewing Company. 11 am-11 pm. Strawberry Seduction is making its return just in time for Valentine’s Day. We use cold-pressed strawberries to unveil a sweet and tart flavor profile in this sour ale. Come by the Taproom on Saturday, Feb 9th and be the first to try our seducing strawberry sour. It’s sure to steal your heart.

    Strawberry Seduction will be available in 4-packs and on draft at the Taproom. We will also put some of this sour in distribution around North Carolina and South Carolina.  

 

  • Saturday, February 9th. Food Truck: Queen City Sliders. Blue Blaze Brewing Co. 12:30 pm-6 pm. A local food truck serving the greater Charlotte area.
    Queen City Sliders is a new and exciting food truck hitting the Charlotte area. We specialize in delicious old fashioned sliders and waffle tots!

 

  • Sunday, February 10th. Food Truck: Cousins Maine Lobster Co. Blue Blaze Brewing Co. 1 pm-5 pm. Cousins Maine Lobster serving up fresh and authentic Maine seafood!

 

  • Sunday, February 10th. Kegs & Eggs: Brunch at the Bot! The Wooden Robot Brewery. 10:30 pm-2 pm. Introducing Kegs & Eggs Brunch at the Bot happening every Sunday from 10:30am to 2pm. Get $5 Mimosas or hook up one of our beers with a shot of juice for a Beer-mosa! If your a bloody mary fan try a Michelada, our house lager with a shot of tomato juice.
    Expect brunch menu items from Twisted Eats by Kre8 like:
    Beer Cheese & Biscuits
    From scratch buttermilk biscuits, country ham, farm fresh egg over easy, Chef Rob’s OG beer cheese
    Shrimp & Grits
    Blue cheese & cheddar grits, blackened shrimp, Tasso ham gravy, crispy onions
    Avocado Egg Toast
    Farm fresh egg sunny side up, sliced tomato, avocado mash, wild mushrooms, micro cilantro
    Stuffed French Toast
    Hazelnut mousse, sliced banana, maple syrup, chantilly cream

    $1 off all Medium Beers ALL DAY LONG!

 

Allagash Brewing Company Black Belgian-style Stout

Posted on by Evan

Allagash Brewing Company Black Belgian-style Stout, 7.5% ABV purchased from my local Total Wine is from Portland Main with 2-Row Malted Barley blend, Black malt, Oats, Torrified Wheat, Chocolate Malt, and roasted barley with Northern Brewer and Glacier hops, dark caramelized Belgian candy syrup and Belgian Pal yeast. Allagash Black pours black with a thin one and a half beige head giving off a coffee aroma with chocolate roasted malts that lead to a flavor of sweet roasted coffee with chocolate malty notes with a slight bit roasted coco hitting the back with a roasted coco finish and slightly lingering aftertaste of chocolate roasted malts with a slightly full mouthfeel. Allagash Brewing Company Black Belgian-style Stout is not such a heavy beer it leans more on the lighter side and gets a B+. It has a great balance of flavors between the chocolate, the coffee, and the roasted notes. Allagash Brewing Company Black Belgian-style Stout is one that is worth trying and on that, I would love to have again. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Firestone Walker Brewing Company 2018 Dark & Stormy Vintage

Posted on by Evan

Firestone Walker Brewing Company 2018 Dark & Stormy, 11.1% ABV comes in a box which I found and purchased from my local Total Wine, and this beer is a Barleywine style beer is according to the brewery is a mashup of Helldorado and Velvet Merkin and aged in Jamaican rum barrels with a touch of hand-zested lime and ginger. Dark & Stormy pours a deep brown color with a one and a half finger off white head that quickly fades into itself giving off boozy rum aromas with faint vanilla with lime and ginger following it, that then takes you into a strong boozy taste with faint vanilla coconut with the ginger and some lime coming through with a nice boozy rum ginger and lime finish that is on the stronger side, with an aftertaste of faint ginger lime and the higher alcohol with a fuller mouthfeel. Firestone Walker Brewing Company 2018 Dark & Stormy is good but not the best, the higher alcohol content being more present in the beer hold in down a bit giving it a C+, just above average. It’s not the worst beer I’ve, but I am not a big fan of barleywine style beer, they are okay at best and tend to be over the stronger side with a fuller alcoholic flavor. The ginger and lime where okay and faint and the rum barrel was predominant through most of the beer, and keep other flavors faint. But I sort of recommend Firestone Walker Brewing Company 2018 Dark & Stormy because it’s a somewhat interesting take on the Dark & Stormy cocktail and I might come back to it, even if it was ten bucks of twelve ounces. But it was kind of worth it! Cheers! please enjoy responsibly!

Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Luponic Distortion IPA Series No. 11

Posted on by Evan

This Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Luponic Distortion IPA Series No. 11, 5.9% ABV is part of Firestone Walker’s IPA Series called Luponic Distortion and is the 11 one of the series coming out of Paso Robles, California which I purchased from my local Total Wine. According to the breweries brewmasters, this IPA showcases an emergent new hop from the Pacific Northwest which compliments the Australian hops as well as the German hops. Luponic Distortion No. 11 pours yellow light gold color with a white two finger head giving off tropical fruit aromas with hints of a bitterness that lead into a tropical pineapple note with hints of guava, bits of lemon and lemon drop that are juicy with a bitter hop notes coming in on the back fo the tongue with a nice tropical finish and a bitter tropical fruit aftertaste, with a lighter mouthfeel. This is the kind of tropical fruit IPA that I like and Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Luponic Distortion IPA Series No. 11 is an A+, something that you must try and one that I will most certainly o back for. All the tropical fruits meld well with one another creating a nice tropical fruit sensation in your mouth. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

The Beer News

Posted on by Evan

Here are this week’s news happening in the Charlotte, North Carolina area.

  • Thursday, January 31st. Seasonal Release: Hazy Sexy Cool New England IPA! Birdsong Brewing Co. 3 pm-10 pm. Back by VERY popular demand, we’re reintroducing our New England Style IPA, Hazy Sexy Cool, as a seasonal this year! We first released Hazy Sexy Cool last year as part of our IPA series and it was so popular that we’ve decided to bring it back and keep it around a little longer!

    Hazy Sexy Cool will release in the tap room at 3pm on Thursday, 1/31/19! Look for it around town at local shops starting the following week!

    Hazy, sexy, and cool. We’ve been making hazy, unfiltered beer for years, long before the haze craze and love for the New England style IPA, but why not really haze it up? Brewed with Citra, Mosaic & El Dorado hops, this IPA is sure to deliver all that citrusy juiciness we’ve come to know and love.  

 

  • Thursday, January 31st. Fist Monthly Battle of the Brews. Carolina Beer Temple Charlotte. 6 pm-9 pm. Tickets at eventbrite.com. Well, all of the breweries will leave, but only one gets to win! This marks our first monthly BATTLE OF THE BREWS, where 3 breweries from across the country battle for YOUR vote! Here’s how it works. Three breweries each pick one of their best beers. For one night only, all three will be on tap and available for your enjoyment. Whichever beer sells the most or kicks their keg first wins, and earns a guaranteed tap at the Temple for the next whole month. They also are guaranteed the chance to defend their title of Grand Brewery Champion at the next month’s battle! So come on out, support your favorites, meet reps from the brewery, and have a great time, all the while helping us crown a winner.
    PARTICIPATING BREWERIES:

    Great Lakes Brewing

    Cavendish Brewing

    Wooden Robot Brewing

  • Friday, February 1st. Beer Release Purple Blaze Common Lager. Blue Blaze Brewing. 2 pm-10 pm. Join us for the re-release of Purple Blaze Common Lager in a super small batch on draught only. This is our interpretation of the California common, or steam, style of lager that is truly American in origin.

    What’s in a name? The purple color refers to when people of different political stripes come together for the common good. California common, or steam, style of beers were very popular with working-class folks during the 1800s and early 1900s.

    We’ll have local food truck The Plated Palette at 6pm.

    Swing by the taproom from 2:00 – 10:00 for a pint!

    (With super limited quantities, please no growlers. Thank you!)

 

  • Friday, February 1st. Lord Hobo Brewing Release. Flying Saucer Charlotte. 6 pm-2 am. Welcoming this sought after brewery to the area by tapping their flagship Boom Sauce IPA, Meat & Potatoes Stout, and Consolation Prize Double IPA

 

  • Saturday, February 2nd. Beer for Breakfast! A Donut and Beer Pairing Part Deux! Pop the Top Bottle Shop. 10 am-1 pm. **UPDATE** Beers and Donuts finalized below!!
    We’re back at it and doing another collab pairing of beer and donuts from Your Mom’s Donuts! See below for the pairings. After getting through January, what better way to celebrate than with the best selection of curated beer and donuts from your favorite bottle shop?!?! Deets below:

    The Lineup:
    – Burial Beer Co. collab with WeldWerks Brewing Company Tessellation of Space Moroccan Coffee Spiced Imperial Stout. Brewed with lactose, Jamaican allspice, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, and star anise. *Suggested donut pairing will be a Dark Chocolate Ganache and crystalized ginger crumble donut.
    – Catawba Brewing Company – Charlotte Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout with whole roasted NC peanuts & Madagascar Vanilla Beans. *Suggested donut pairing will be a Peanut Butter, banana, and bacon donut.
    – Wooden Robot Brewery Good Morning Vietnam Coffee Blonde Ale. *Suggested donut pairing will be a citrus curd donut.
    – Foothills Brewing People’s Cherry Porter aged in bourbon barrels with tart cherries from the Pacific NW. *Suggested donut pairing will be a Vanilla Bean icing and pistachio crumble donut.

    A few items to know for the event:
    > A flight of 4 beers (4 5oz. tasters) from the above-suggested pairings as well as any flight of beers will run at $13.
    > Each beer above will also be available to purchase individually as either a 16oz. or 10oz. pour (depending on the ABV of the beer) that can be enjoyed with any of the donuts
    > The event will go until all donuts are finished, but the beer will continue to pour until closing time at 11pm

    We hope you can come out to this very popular event and enjoy this custom pairing. Cheers! 

 

  • Saturday, February 2nd. Can Release: Double Blaze Black IPA. Blue Blaze Brewing. 2 pm-7 pm. We are releasing Double Blaze Black IPA in cans for the first time in an exclusively small batch! Outside of the available kegs, we will only can one round in the amount of roughly 40 cases. 
    When hiking, double blazes indicate a junction of two trails, sharp turn, or caution. For our Double Blaze Black IPA (ABV 6.1%), we brought together the mash profile of a porter & hop profile of an IPA to form something unique & delicious: balanced citrus hop flavors & tropical aromas, packed tightly into a medium‐body dark ale.

    Live Music – TBD
    Food Truck – A Taste of Culture

 

  • Sunday, February 3rd Sour Draft Kids – Beer Release. Legion Brewing. 10 am-8 pm. The Kids are taking over! Sour Draft Kids will be in the taproom on Sunday, February 3rd, after making its debut at Queen City Brewers Festival the day before. This kettle sour is a mix of sweet and fruity with a tart, mouth-watering effect that will bring back those fond childhood memories.

    This event is fun for the whole family! We’ll be serving up a special Sour Patch Kids Mocktail for our younger friends, plus they’ll have the opportunity to decorate the chalk walls with their illustrations of Sour Patch Kids.

 

  • Monday, February 4th. Früh Bock Release. The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery. 11 am- 10pm. Früh is “bock” on Monday, February 4th! Join us for the release of our spring seasonal. 
    “Früh” (pron. “froo”) means “early” in German, and is also short for “Frühling,” meaning “spring.” Our seasonal “Spring Bock” captures the promise of warmer days ahead, combining a slight malty sweetness with a refreshing touch of citrus aroma from its noble Bavarian hops. The result is an amazingly fresh, crisp beer that masks a higher alcohol content in its smooth character. Big bodied and warm enough for chilly evenings, but bright and aroma-hop forward enough to compliment beers on the patio.

    Like all OMB beers, Früh Bock is all-natural — brewed in strict accordance with the famous German beer purity law of 1516: the “Reinheitsgebot.” In line with Reinheitsgebot, it was brewed using natural carbonation from the pure CO2 produced by the yeast during fermentation. We pull our brews from our lager tanks weekly, so you know it’s fresh. And, it was kept cold from production to delivery to you, because all beer should be kept cold to maximize freshness. We hope you enjoy this pure, fresh, cold beer. Prost!

    Under 21 welcome at OMB. Pets welcome outside in our Biergarten.

    Visit our website for more info on Früh Bock: https://www.oldemeckbrew.com/beer/fruhbock

 

 

Beer and Chips Pairing Allagash White Ale and Quillo Que Atre Quilla Fried Egg

Posted on by Evan

Here we are with another Beer and Chips paring and another Quillo this is their Fried Egg Chips paired with Allagash White Ale, 5.1% ABV. Quillo are chips from Sevilla Spain and Allagash White from Portland Maine. Quillo Fried Egg has what looks like black pepper sprinkled on them and have a very potato fried egg aroma, no as far as the chips flavor the hit the fried egg flavors right on the head, it’s like you are actually eating a fried egg. Allagash White is a beer that I’ve previously review and find it to be a great example of a Belgian White Ale, and interacts nicely when sipped on after partaking in a Quillo Fried Egg Chip, it does a nice job in taking away some of the full-on saltiness to the chip without taking it completely away giving you a nice fried egg flavor that goes well with the slightly fruity spiced body of Allagash White, which would also pair nicely with an actual fried eggs. I give these chips and this pairing a B+. I found that after eating one bag my mouth is a little bit overwhelmed with fried egg flavor, but it is still good and is a good pairing. Beer and Chips Pairing will return in two week as usual. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!