Sunday Sips: Namaste

25 ounces of joy.

Beer Name: Namaste

Brewed By / In: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery / Milton, DE

Beer Type:  Belgian-style White/Witbier

Best Served In: Jelly glass, Weisse (maybe a little bit against the grain here)

ABV:  5.0%

Characteristics: A little cloudy and beautifully golden. Head similar to the purity of a meringue that lasted about 60 seconds.  Bursts with the smells and tastes of lemon grass and orange.  The coriander balances out the tart flavors on the palate.  Effervescent and bubbly with every sip.

Food Pairing:  Roasted turkey, Caesar salad

Overall:  9.8 - On this amazingly sunny day here on the Main Line, I sat in my v-neck, quenching my thirst with this wit.  I found this to be incredibly light and brought me back for more.  All in all, I found peace in and united to this libation.  One of my Spring Brews To Do's - check!  Slainte!

This slightly unfiltered brew needed a slight Instagram filter.

Photos provided by author.  Remember to always drink responsibly and never drink and drive.

Cheers, Salud, Slainte!

My favorite part of any gathering of friends is when the server returns, places the drink around the table, and we show our appreciation for each other by clinking and clanging our glasses.  Around the table you hear the standard, "Cheers!"  As I sat with a few of my fellow Hawks, we toasted to ourselves and to our friendship.  Then a question popped into my head: how would the rest of the world respond to a raised glass?  Here are some of my favorites that I found!

Hebrew: L'chaim (la-HI-yim)
Italian: Salute (sah-LOO-teh)
Spanish: Salud (sah-LOOD)
French: Sante (sant-AY)
German: Prost (PROOST)

And of course my favorite, the Gaelic word, Slainte (SLAHN-cha).  So here's to the next time you want to look cultured with your nearest and dearest!

Looking Back to Spring Forward: Spring Brews To Do's 2013

As some of you have heard, my family sadly lost one of our beloved Leonbergers, Oliver, this weekend.  Although we shed tears for our loss, we can smile thinking back to the memories he brought to our family.  In honor of this season of new life, I felt it was appropriate to edit my seasonal Brews To Do's to reflect my love of Spring's weather, beers, and, now, memories.  I will look back to some of my new Beer-peats as well from the 2012 collection while I get the SPF 30 ready and my v-neck tees out!

Beer-peats
Philadelphia Brewing Co.'s Fleur de Lehigh - Available March-May.  Zing of ginger and zest of lemongrass make this brew the perfect porch pour. Check out last Spring's review and pictures.

Yards Brewing Co.'s Saison - Available April-July.  Drop a piece of citrus in and you are all set for a sunny day.  Check out last Spring's review and pictures.

Spring 2013 Brews To Do's
Dogfish Head Namaste - Limited availability.  Namaste is a term typically used in yoga to imply that spirits are connected by the heart chakra (read: feeling connected to Oliver).  Lemongrass, organic orange slices, and coriander are sure to slow my pace as I take in Spring's beauty.  Thank goodness, I found one of the last bottles at Wegmans!  Read more about its origins at Dogfish's blog.

Victory Brewing Co.'s Swing - Available in Spring.  A peppered saison heightened with the lemon and orange flavors?  Yes!

Yards Brewing Co.'s Love Stout - Available year-round.  I am looking forward to washing down a light but sugary dessert with these chocolate-y and roast-y flavors.

I cannot wait to getting head start on my To Dos and taking time to revisit my faves from last year.  More importantly, I look forward to thinking back to the lazy days the dogs and I spent on the porch this time of year while sipping beer.  Well, I sipped beer and the dogs laid there but we were all lazy.  So here's to man's best friend.  Slainte!

Erin Go Bragh!

For a few days I had planned on writing about St. Patrick's Day myths or writing about the best Irish beers.  Then another thought came into my head: what were my St. Patrick's Days like growing up?  So I decided to pay homage to my Mother and to my childhood by keeping it green.  No, I did not buy shamrock stickers to accent my eyes.  Rather, I brought our traditional St Paddy's Day breakfast to dinner and added my favorite complement: beer!  Like Sue's breakfasts of my younger years, I prepared green eggs and green shamrock-shaped pancakes.  Spoiler alert: my Mom's pancakes were much better shaped than mine and that was before Pinterest was around to teach her how!  In lieu of green orange juice, I added a Harp lager that I dyed green.  Quick tips: choose a light colored beer and pour about half into the glass, tip 1 drop of food coloring in, pour the remaining beer, it will mix itself!

As we stirred the batter and I dripped McCormick green coloring into my food and drink, I thought fondly of those mornings with my mom and my siblings. Happy Saint Patrick's Day and Slainte!

Where ever you go and whatever you do,

May the luck of the Irish always be with you!

Brewed in Dublin, Ireland!

Prohibition 2013?

Last weekend with a great pair of friends, my other half and I spent the day at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center.  The featured exhibit, American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, chronicled the historical significance of alcohol and the years leading up to January 17, 1920, the passing of the constitutional amendment making alcohol illegal in almost all forms.

Get your tickets now!

The halls are filled with artifacts such as church hymnals with tunes about staying dry and an original growler - shaped much differently than our jugs of today.  Walk with the Temperance movement and learn if you are a "wet" or a "dry" based on a census-like survey asking your ethnic identity, religious affiliation, and occupation.  Perfect your Charleston while you sneak around the speakeasy and discover the origins of the term (spoiler alert: based on Irish history, naturally).  Incredibly, many of the rogue practices of the Roaring 20s still affect our drinking habits today.  Think about it: the precursor to the mixed-gender nightclub (the first Girls Night Out?); the birth of the mixed drink, gone were the days of simply ordering liquor on the rocks. Lastly, you see the impact of organized crime, how Al Capone came to shack up at our city's own Eastern State Penitentiary, and the fall of the 18th Amendment.

Sing on high the joys of being a dry.

American Spirits is running until April 28 and was about $17 as an adult.  I highly recommend taking a day into Philly and making a stop here!  Learn more about the exhibit at their site and see more of what the City of Brotherly Love is offer at the Visitor Center's Twitter (@PHLVisitorCntr)!  Slainte!

Nice to know you #18!

Sunday Sips: New Grist Gluten-Free

Beer Name:  New Grist Gluten-Free

Such an inviting label! Photo by author.

Brewed By/In:  Lakefront Brewery, Inc. / Milwaukee, WI

Beer Type:  Pilsner-style Fruit/Vegetable

Best Served In:  Pilsner glass, Bavarian Seidel (similar to stein)

ABV:  5.1%

Characteristics:  Pours brilliantly yellow and clear.  Highly effervescent.  Pure white head that lasted about 45 seconds.  Smells and tastes sweet, like an apple.  Light mouthfeel, slightly watery, with sweet notes after rolling over your palate.

Food pairing:  Shellfish/crustacean (shrimp, calamari, lobster), Thicker fish (salmon, cod, bass)

Right after the pour.  Photo by author.

Overall:  8.5 - I am doing my best to explore outside of my comfort zone with beers.  With relatively low alcohol content, sweet and light flavors, this is an easy session beer - perfect for spring and summer.  I have never tried anything from Lakefront and I am excited to go back for more after this experience.  In lieu of malt, they brew with rice and sorghum, an old-world style cereal, that is widely used for gluten-free recipes.  In fact, New Grist is the first certified gluten-free beer!

Slainte!

Remember to always drink responsibly and never drink and drive.

Philly Food Pairing!

CraftBeer.com is featuring a slew of fantastic food-beer pairings.  My favorite of them all?  Duh.  Philly Cheesesteak and Pale Ale!  Here is a selection from the article.  To see all of the delectable combinations, click HERE.  Slainte!

Philly Cheesesteak and Pale Ale

You may visit The Liberty Bell and attempt to sprint up the famous Rocky steps, but if you really want a taste of the City of Brotherly Love, you’ll be indulging in a Philly cheesesteak. The soft, chewy bread is filled with grilled rib-eye beef, either sliced or chopped, depending on who you ask. The sandwich is classically finished off “wit” onions and cheese including provolone or more commonly, bright orange Cheese Whiz.

Although flavorful, a cheesesteak has a mild taste that pairs perfectly with a pale ale. The slight hoppiness stands up to the onions and hearty meat, and the cleaner finish is refreshing after the salty beef and cheese. It’s satisfying but not overpowering, just like the sandwich.

Suggested Pairings

• Yards Brewing Company | Philadelphia, PA | Philadelphia Pale Ale
• Weyerbacher Brewing Company | Easton, PA | Verboten, Belgian pale ale
• All Saints Brewing Company | Greensburg, PA | Laurel Highlands Pale Ale 
• Breaker Brewing Company | Wilkes-Barre, PA | Lunch Pail Ale
• Appalachian Brewing Company | Harrisburg, PA | Purist Pale Ale 
• Copper Crow Beer | Lafayette Hill, PA | Copper Crow Pale Ale 

San Francisco / San Jose: A Brew Review

As I sit hoping my body adjusts to the change in time zones and recovers from the red eye flight, I pleasantly reflect upon my trip to California.  My other half was there for work so, naturally, I decided that it was a good time to take a vacation.  We stayed in the Silicon Valley - perfectly placed to explore San Francisco and San Jose.  I had never been to either city before so I was very excited to see a new part of the West Coast, especially from the perspective of a few pints.

Our first night in town we were ravenous for a hearty and easy meal.  Thankfully, Tied House Brewery & Cafe was close by.  They had a fresh menu of pub grub with a decent all-ale selection.  I decided to focus on the special - the New World Wheat.  Brewed in the typical style of an American Wheat, it was light, crisp, and clear.  Not too heavy, hoppy, or cloudy.  Heck, they even insert the label of your beer with your check (see below)!  A perfect way to end a long day of travel.  Due to my lack of sleep, the time change, and the overall hustle of traveling, I feel asleep at the 7 o'clock that night.  Learn more about Tied House by visiting their website or their Twitter.

Fast forward a few days later to the ever-so-flat San Jose.  As my slightly sore quads took a turn about San Pedro Square and the surrounding streets, I landed at Los Gatos Brewing Company.  What a beautiful restaurant.  It is reminiscent of a Victory or an Iron Hill. I ordered the Pale Ale.  A glass of filled with deep amber/orange-tinted color with the tastes of the hops and bitterness.  I loved their place mats as well - a map navigating the guest through their brewing process.  Learn more about LGBC at their website or on their Facebook fan page.

As you can guess, I had a great time eating and drinking my way through the cities by the bay.  But as much fun as I had scaling the slopes of San Fran and promenading the developing San Jose, the East Coast will always be my home and have my heart. Slainte!

(Photos provided by author)