Ask and Ye Shall Receive (Hopefully)

First off, happy new year! I'd like to say I was in a coma, or volunteering at a Romanian orphanage for the past month, but the truth is I haven't posted since before Christmas because I've been busy and/or lazy. A little of the post-holiday blahs, maybe? That's the nice thing about beer, though—there's nothing like a depressant to chase the blues away! and that's why we're here. Which segues nicely into this…

I got an e-mail from my old boss, who just sold his company and probably made a jillion dollars, and he's in Florida, where Dogfish Head beers are ubiquitous. It got me thinking: why can't I get a Dogfish Head here? Instead, I have to drive to another state. How can I get Dogfish Head to distribute here in the heart of America's breadbasket? Then I read this article, which contained this sensible advice: if you want a brewer to distribute here, write or e-mail them and say so. Makes sense. The piece referenced Lagunitas, which became widely available in Missouri last year (and noticeably so; that stuff's great and apparently is everywhere, which is fantastic).

So, if you are a fan of Dogfish Head, or Stone, or whatever great beer you want but can't get where you live, send an e-mail! It may not work (or it may work veeeeeeery slowly), but if you don't ask, you shouldn't complain when it doesn' t happen.

EXTREME BEER!

Boston Beer Company, maker of the ubiquitous Sam Adams line of beers (not my personal fave, but to each his own) is releasing its $150 per bottle, 27% ABV Utopias—EXTREME BEERS! Note that one of my favorite brewers, Dogfish Head, is also mentioned in the article for its 22% offerings (which I would definitely try), and that the founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving is okay with it, "as long as it isn't marketed to minors." Hey, kids: why buy 12 cases of Natural Light when you could be passing one of THESE back and forth between you, your buddy and your prom dates? Come on, MADD. Anyway, the process is interesting, and the fact that it's cask-aged for 20 years suggests why they can charge beaucoup bucks for it. If anyone out there has tried it, give a holler (and lend me a few bucks, old pal?). (Hat tip: Ashley Bowles)

Success from Albany, NY.

So I returned home from a week in Albany, NY this last Friday night having some moderate success finding good beer in between conference meetings. Difficult to do when you have no transportation and are staying at a hotel out by the airport. However, that being said, no trip to the Northeast would be complete without sampling beer from the oldest brewery in the U.S. - of course I am talking about Yuengling. The Traditional Lager to be exact. A nice rich-amber colored classic watered down American lager made for the masses. Still, it was beer and the atmosphere of Maxie's - the local bar along the airport strip - made up for any shortfalls (karaoke was an added bonus too).

Beyond Yuengling, the choices were few - typical domestics and even the International brews weren't too promising. Although when so close to Canada, how can you turn down a Labatt Blue or Molson's Gold? I was able to salvage the trip by paying a nice taxi driver obscene amounts of money to drive me to downtown Albany so that I could sample the fine beers made by C.H. Evan's Brewing Company at the Albany Pump Station.

And fine beers they were I might add. From the copper colored and light bodied Scottish Light, a 70-shilling Scottish ale, to the very good traditional hoppy Pump Station Pale, and a nice fruity Bavarian Hefewiezen. But their best beer hands down is their Kick Ass Brown. Now I know what you are thinking, "Seriously Ben? A brown ale? You know...you are starting to sound a lot like Higgason. What are you going to start drinking next? A Raspberry Wheat at McCoy's?!" But in all truthfulness, this is a really, really, really good beer. Think a Brown with an IPA twist. So good in fact, this beer won Gold at the Great American Beer Festival not only in 2002, but also in 2003 AND 2008. Throw in a Gold medal for Brown in the World Beer Cup in 2008 and I think you start seeing this is not your typical Higgason Brown. A nice dark amber color with strong hoppy nose, with Crystal and Amarillo hops dominate but enough maltiness of a Brown. The only regret I have is the beers were so good, I stayed later than I should have and the local liquor stores had closed by the time I went off in search of Dogfish Head IPA. I quickly overcame my depression however when I opened the latest batch of M&B beers when I got home. More on those later.

Sampling Beer from the Texas Hill Country

Greetings from San Antonio! A 5-day visit to the sister's house to visit our new baby nephew has, unsurprisingly, proven an opportunity to enjoy beer I can't get in Kansas City. After a 2-leg flight on delightful Southwest airlines (seriously, they're great) and a brief ride in our rented Chevy Aveo (seriously, it's a clown car) we arrived at my sister's place just before a flash flood hit. It wasn't long before I realized the only beer in the house, an 18-pack of Bud Light, wasn't beer at all—just an empty box in the fridge. Cruel fate! But an opportunity to venture out into the heart of the tempest in my tiny Aveo, to the H-E-B supermarket just down the street.

I was anticipating a poor selection, and I couldn't have been more wrong: this place had a GREAT selection of beers, including my favorite: Dogfish Head 90-Minute IPA. However, in the interest of budgeting, I ended up purchasing my second favorite, Dogfish Head 60-minute IPA. I also picked up a sampler six-pack from the Real Ale Brewery in Blanco, TX—something local, and a variety to boot. Upon returning, I immediately cracked open a Dogfish Head 60-Minute, and it was good. Not 90-minute good, but still damned good. I followed it with the Full Moon Pale Rye Ale, and I was underwhelmed. I tried the Rio Blanco Pale Ale, and it was better, but not great. The Brewhouse Brown Ale was the best of the lot, but it was a Brown (i.e. relatively boring). That was yesterday.

Today we took the kids to the children's museum in New Braunfels, which was very nice. We came home, the kids played, I watched Doctor Who on my laptop, and at 5 I finally cracked today's first beer: another Dogfish Head 60-Minute IPA. And I thought, you know, this is really good, so NATURALLY whatever comes after is going to pale by comparison. And trying the Real Ale Pale again, I thought, this isn't too bad. Not remarkable, a bit thin, not terribly memorable, but not bad. So kudos to Real Ale, a brewery that is not as good as Dogfish Head, but that doesn't make them a bad brewery.

Expect more reviews—I'm here 3 more nights.