Flying Dog Road Dog Porter

A friend of mine invited me over to his house for a very low stakes poker game which suited me nicely since I am not a poker player. In fact, poker had nothing to do with why I decided to go. Nope, the main reason I decided to go was to share a bottle or two of this "new to me" porter with my friend.

He is a fan of porters and stouts, and he has been very helpful in getting me started to becoming a homebrewer. Ever since he shared a bottle of his Liquid Malt Extract first brew with me, I was hooked.

Since that time I have been researching the art of brewing, and there is a lot to learn. Brewing is scientific and exact, yet it is also mysterious and enigmatic. My research has been obsessive and fun. So, not only was I going to share a porter with my friend, I was also going to share with him a fantastic bit of information about the effect of water hardness on brewing.

When I arrived there were no seats left around the table. Several young college guys had beat me to the party because I had a previous engagement. I put the beer in the chiller and watched the game. My friend asked me what I had been up to, so I told him that I had a porter in the fridge for him to try, and that I had learned why different regions of the world are well known for different styles of beer.

One of the college guys, a curly headed, clean shaven, future republican committee chairman perked up. As I was sharing my newfound information, the overly confident college kid began interrupting. Apparently, he knew some home brewers, and he had plenty to share. He said that he had never worried about water hardness at all. He also said that he only worried about the specific gravity of the wort and that it didn't seem to make any difference in his beer. Then he remarked that the Flying Dog Road Dog Porter I had brought was a "decent porter from a decent brewery." His conversation was unending, and his conversation was one sided.

I don't mean that I didn't talk back to him. To my friends regret, I did, but it soon became evident that this young man had nothing to learn from anyone, about anything. Everything he said was a suggestion or a recommendation about how I could make my future ale attempts meet his already high level of expertise. When I realized that this was not a mutual discourse to pursue the brewer's art, but rather that it was a sermon to the less informed initiate, I disengaged. It turns out that the sermon continued for quite a while before my lack of retort encouraged him to switch subjects.

When the bottles were cool I poured one for myself and one for my friend. Thankfully, due to the young expert's analysis no one else was anxious for a glass. I spoke a silent thanksgiving for that and handed the glass over.

The beer poured an almost black ruby red in the glass. Little head formed and the head that did form dissipated quickly. The aroma was of rich malt, and the initial flavor was of cola followed by malt with an aggressive carbonation. The mouthfeel was lighter than one would expect from a porter. It was not the best porter that I had ever had, but it was more interesting, more flavorful, more complex than anything else at the table, and we didn't have to share.

Dundee India Pale Ale

This beer poured a golden amber with a 1 finger head. The aroma was of a crisp malt with little hoppiness. On the tongue the malt continued but only with concentration were hops detected. The light mouthfeel and subdued hoppiness make this beer very drinkable, but is it a real IPA?

I have recently had another bottle and found that the flavor is much stronger on this bottle. I think that there may be a lot of variation between batches.

Dundee Honey Brown

Poured a clear honey amber in the glass. There was a fruity almost soapy aroma from the glass. Flavor was slightly malty, very little honey. The finish was sweet and became unpleasant. Body was light and watery

Full Sail IPA

As this IPA poured I could smell citrus and malt. In the glass it was amber with a thin head. Carbonation was lively, and seemed to overpower the malt and citrus leaving a vacant first impression in the mouth. Hops, though never overpowering took over in the finish.

The Sixth Glass

For a person who appreciates good beer, New Year's Eve can be a complicated time. This is especially so if you are enjoying the holiday with a large number of good friends. You might be asking, "What could be complicated? Friends, alcohol and the next day off! What could be better?"



Well, I agree that friends, alcohol and a day off can contribute to a wonderful time, but for a beer lover, quality beer can be scarce at such gatherings. At this particular gathering several friends had decided that we would all bring some different wines to sample. They did. One friend decided to stretch the rules of spirited engagement and brought an Italian rocket fuel called Grappa. I brought two bottles. One bottle was Prosecco, an Italian sparkling wine, and the other was The Sixth Glass from Boulevard which had been given to me for my birthday earlier that afternoon.



Approximately 20 people were sampling all of the different beverages. I sampled some different Chardonnays, and a Reisling as well as making sure that I got at least one small taste of Prosecco. Finally, I tried the Sixth Glass bottle of ale. Many were interested in sampling it, and I remember it being excellent. My memory was of an ale that was thick and flavorful. I took it easy remembering that this ale carried quite a punch.



I tried to make sure that I did not have too much of anything, and I made sure that my wife drove home, and later that night I thought, "I will have to get another bottle of that wonderful Sixth Glass Ale."



Well, last night I did just that. I bought myself a bottle of the "The Sixth Glass," let it chill just a bit, and finally pulled the cork. I smelled the wonderful aroma from the bottle and thought, "I smell a lot more alcohol than I did the last time." I tasted it and I thought that it was much thicker than I remembered, and I thought that it was much sweeter than I remembered. In my mind this was not the wonderfully balanced beer that I had on New Year's Eve. What had happened? I sampled and contemplated and thought and figured. I was perplexed. How could a beer that I loved so much a week ago be so distasteful today?



A thought came to me. Part of the joy of the of the first bottle was that it was a gift. Another part of its beauty came from the comradery of the party. Another part was that Italian sparkling wine and Italian grappa rocket fuel had tainted my decision making ability. Regardless, I can always say that my first memory of The Sixth Glass was a fond one.

For my birthday I received a bottle of blue label Chimay Grande Reserve Ale. I was very excited and thankful to get it, but I was even more pleased to know about the thought and debate that went into choosing this particular ale. "Would he like this one? No, not that one, let's get him this one. No, look here. I think this is the one we should get for him."

Two days ago I took this bottle to a little dinner party that I attended with my wife. When I pulled out the bottle and set it on the counter their response was, "Wow, he brought a big bottle of Chimay." Apparently one of our host's friends had just ordered an 8 dollar glass of Chimay when they were already to inebriated to appreciate the quality of the Chimay. Well, there would be little danger of that on this night. In spite of the fact that Chimay Grande Reserve has an ABV content of around 9% there was little chance of taxis taking us home because it was shared with 5 people.

It would be silly for me to say that the Chimay was the hit of the party. The truth is that conversation with good friends was the hit of the party, but the fajitas, salsa, and Chimay certainly didn't hurt.

This, in a round about way brings me to what I think this blog is about. It is not just about the licorice overtones and excellent balance of a great bottle of beer, it is mainly about how great beer can help to make a great party be just a little better. It is about places where we had an incredible glass of ale, and it is about that one time when we were at that out of the way pub and a friend said, "Hey, they have Gordon Biersch!" and we got to try a new great beer.

It seems to me that the quality of the beer is only part of the story. It is my hope that this blog will explore that other part, the part that is sometimes not told. That is why it called Ale Tales.