Beer | Water, Water Everywhere And Not A Drop To Drink

Sep 03 2014

I’ll send you a postcard…

Happy belated Labor Day.

While everyone else is back to work and back to school, I’m officially on vacation. (Well, I mean, working vacation, but it’s still glorious. Because it’s that good kind of work that I mentioned.) I’m sitting at Arabica in Portland (Maine) (the original one–settled in 1633, according to the infallible Wikipedia) with beautiful people with beautiful tattoos, probably within a mile of Bill Clinton, contemplating surfboard builders and California rollers.

Tomorrow morning, I’m heading west! I was thinking, this will be my first flight in almost a year, which is insane after hopping from airport to airport on a pretty much weekly basis the year before that. It’s funny the way something can become second-nature and then slip right back into novelty territory. I find myself asking questions like, “Do I need a passport to fly domestically?” “How much time should I give myself at the airport?” To be fair, I usually do need a passport and the [international] standard 1.5 hours before boarding when traveling. I know, I know, douche jar.

Anyway, after my wicked busy summer, I’m so looking forward to reuniting with the Left Coast. And having the time and energy to write more. Look for dispatches from the West and new stories soon. Right now, though, I’m going to pack up the MacBook and go sip some Allagash, straight from the source.

Tagged allagash, bill clinton, california, labor day, maine, passport, portland, surf, surfboard, travel, vacation, west coast

Mar 16 2014

The Yankee Beer List

Water, Water Everywhere And Not A Drop To Drink

This is what happens when you don’t eat dinner before a Friday night at BK Brewery. Photo: Ms. Megan Whitney Moore

In my five legal (and absolutely zero illegal) years of beer swilling, I’ve had quite a few American-made concoctions. I feel it would be painful to retroactively track down each and every one of them, so I’m just going to start anew and add as I imbibe/recall. As usual, they’re in vaguely alphabetical order and the newest additions will be in bold. Enjoy…

16 Mile Brewing Company Harvest Ale
16 Mile Brewing Company Inlet India Pale Ale
21st Amendment Brewery Hell or High Watermelon
Abita Amber
Abita Purple Haze
Allagash Black
Allagash White
Anchor Brewing Co. Steam Ale
Anchor Brewing Co. Liberty Ale
Anchor Brewing Co. Summer Beer
Anchor Brewing Co. Our Special Ale (Merry Christmas 2012)
Atlantic Brewing Company Bar Harbor Real Ale
Ballast Point Big Eye IPA

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Apr 18 2013

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Beer, In the Name of Science, Travel

More New Zealand Beers.

Getting myself from Auckland to New Plymouth last year was a hellish mission. Think road works and foul weather and hairpin turns and four-cylinder engines and utter lack of cell signal. On the left-hand side of the road. Under the cover of night. I’m not sure whether I mined some value from the experience, or if the return journey was so fantastic that it masked the horror I felt while making that drive alone, but I thought it wise to once again hire an automobile this year. AND decided to shake things up by flying into Wellington in Auckland’s stead, a route that turned out to be nearly as lengthy, but a lot less nerve-racking.

Anyway, down to beer business. I added a few new Kiwi beers to the list while hanging ’round New Plymouth. Unfortunately, I still haven’t made it to Mike’s Organic Brewery. (I’m determined to go next year.) I did have amazing eggs florentine at Lahar in Okato, though, so it’s all good. When I arrived back in Wellington, the beer situation got really interesting. My friend Tully (of #TullysWellington Instagram fame) sent me to beer heaven, also known as Malthouse on Courtenay Place. I walked in, grabbed a stool, and said, “I would like a New Zealand beer that I’ve never had before.” Then this happened:

The guy behind the bar, Van, was ah-mazingly knowledgable and keen to serve up all kinds of wonderful beers of which I’d never heard. My favorite was definitely Yeastie Boys Pot Kettle Black. The Yeastie Boys’ name didn’t hurt their case, but their beer was pretty much the best beer I’ve had in… well, a long time. This is what they say about Pot Kettle Black:

“Pot Kettle Black is our multi-award winning ‘Black IPA’ (that some call a ‘Hoppy Porter’). The different names convey the fact that this beer is a contradiction of styles: fresh and hoppy, yet dark and rich. Most importantly it is mindbendingly delicious and a complete original.”

Check the freshly alphabetized KIWI BEER LIST here.