Drink Some More

Well I had a very busy weekend that really didn’t allow me to post at all on Drink Some More.  So I thought I’d just give you guys a quick rundown of what I encountered.

Friday Night

Friday night a group of friends and I went to this bar in Coventry, CT called Bidwells.  I went there quite a few times back in my college days, but I haven’t been there in a while.  My friends just moved into a new house up the street, so we went out to take advantage of a bar within walking distance of their home.  Supposedly a couple of days ago, they were given this drink that they fell in love with.  I was there to test it out.  What is this drink you ask?  It was called the Black Cherry, and comprised of Sam Adams Cherry Wheat and Guinness.  I have to say that I was a big fan of this Black Cherry drink and recommend it to anyone that wants to spice up their black and tans.  The most unfortunate things, however, about all Bidwell’s beers, was that the lines seemed dirty and you got this metallic taste in all the beers!  This did not bode well for my first Ten Penny Ale!

Saturday

Saturday was a comedy of errors, or so it seemed.  I woke up around noon (after one too many Black Cherries)  and started to head down to my friends apartment.  I stopped at a local coffee shop, called the Windsor Donut Shop and tried to get a coffee and a breakfast sandwich.  I was told, quite rudely, that breakfast sandwiches weren’t sold after noon (it was 12:15) so I just got my coffee and left.  They brew pretty good coffee there, for a donut shop, so I was mildly content.  It doesn’t match up with Starbucks or any other good coffee though!

Saturday Night

Saturday night was a chill night, I sat back and watched some t.v. drinking Sea Hag IPA by New England Brewing Company out of Woodbridge, CT.  I love this beer, especially for the novelty of it being in a can.  That’s right, an IPA in a can!  This is a very hoppy IPA that suffers just a touch from being conditioned in a can; you can taste just a slight metallic taste through the hops.  Though, not as bad a Bidwell’s beers!  Maybe next time I will pour it from the can and see if that improves the taste.

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Sunday

Sunday, I went to a wedding.  This was a beautiful wedding put on by a beautiful bride that I know from college.  It was an open bar affair, so I got down to business.  First, I ordered a beefeater martini.  I was shocked when I got my martini on hand, because it was on the rocks!  Has anyone experiences this before?  Is this normal for another part of the country/world?  It was good none-the-less, but by the end it was a little watered down.  After our meal, they set up a espresso and aperitif bar.  I ordered an espresso and a Sambuca which was promptly combined by the bartender.  Again, I am not sure if this is normal in another part of the country/world, but I was confused!  I have to admit, though, that the combination was actually delicious and I would definitely try it again!

I love black and tans. How can you not? Whenever I go out to a bar and there isn’t a new beer on tap that I haven’t tried I go for the black and tan. Picking up a six pack for Saturday night’s Red Sox game, I thought I’d try McSorley’s Black and Tan. I have had McSorley’s Ale before and I have enjoyed it; I thought I couldn’t strike out with their Black and Tan.

The McSorley’s Black and Tan seriously fails as a substitute for a real old fashion black and tan; one could see this might be obvious.  The awesomeness of a black and tan comes from the slow mixing of Guiness and Bass.  Black and tans from a bottle should not exist.

I say the above paragraph from a standpoint of rating this beer as a black and tan.  And let me reitterate, it fails misserably.  However, for a beer, I have to say that McSorley’s Black and Tan is an enjoyable drink.  It has a good taste to it, and one can look over its misclassification.

If I was at a bar and the option for a real black and tan was there, I would NEVER order this, but as for buying it again at the package store, I would probably do it.

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Kegerator
So I recently picked up a kegerator.  My roomate and I were going through bottles of beer like it was our job, so we thought a kegerator would be a much better financial option.  I have to say that I am in love with it!

We purchased the Danby Chill ‘n’ Tap and quickly put in a log of BBC Steel Rail.  It is so nice to get fresh beer from a tap in your living room!

Each log has 55 12 oz. cups of beer, and it came in just under $60.  I think this is going to be a very fun option for my roomate and I.  We decided on logs because it will allow us to switch out the beers more often than if we get 1/4 or 1/2 barrels. 

BBC Steel Rail

I have to say that BBC Steel Rail is a good beer.  If there were other logs in stock at the package store (I will no longer try to get a keg day of!), I would have probably have gotten something else.  But none-the-less it is a good pale ale.  It is a very golden color with a quickly disappating head.  The beer is very hazy when first poured and gets marginally clearer as it sits.  Its taste is more complex than the american lites, but not by much.  It is a good drinking beer because the hops do not overpower the taste of beer.

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This is Rogue’s Dead Guy Ale.  It is one of my favorite beers of all time.  Actually, if I was going to rank my beers from 5 to 1 all time, this would come dead smack in the middle!

I love the hoppiness of this beer.  It is very well balanced though which creates, like I said above, one of my top five beers of all time.  The color is definitely on the red side of the spectrum, but it is not a red ale.

This beer is very drinkable and I would recommend it to anyone that likes Sam Adam’s and is looking for something different.

Similar Beers: Sam Adam’s Lager

Serving Style: Bottle

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