The Imbibing Scribe: Pumpkins A-Go-Go
Embrace your inner basic bitch, grab a pumpkin labeled beverage, and enjoy yourself!
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The Imbibing Scribe
The Imbibing Scribe: Garden State Brew Fest 2015 Recap
It’s like Comic-con, except for beer
My friend and fellow beer enthusiast Noah sent me an email about a month before the Garden State Brew Fest that happened on September 26th. I’ve never been to an event like this, but, for various reasons, I anticipated needing a day of outside time and adult beverages around the end of September, so I looked into it. The tickets were more than I usually spend on anything.
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Oktoberfest Roundup *UPDATE
It’s the most wunderbar time of the year
As we move into the Fall, new beer flavors come to the fore. Unlike summer, when beers become thin and boring, the fall is when beer gets interesting. Today, we’re talking specifically about Oktoberfest beer. This bastion of early autumn is hard to miss in the liquor store. They beat you over the head with display after display of American versions, German classics, and variations on the Oktoberfest theme. Not to mention all the blue and white swag you could want.
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The Imbibing Scribe: Icelandic White Ale
When I think Summer, I think Iceland. Well, I do now.
This Summer, and every Summer, I am on a constant quest for interesting beers that are right for the hot weather. I try all the seasonal I can. I drink Mexican beer with lime. I try radlers, shandies, citrus beers, anything anyone tells me is a “Summer beer.” This year, a friend brought me Einstök’s Icelandic White Ale. This is not a seasonal. However, it feels like a summer beer. It’s light, highly carbonated, sweet and fruity. Yet, it doesn’t feel like a fruit beer (often the kiss of death). It’s simply refreshing and flavorful, which is somehow a difficult balance to strike.
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The Imbibing Scribe: Skull Splitter
Scottish people enjoy booze.
There, I’ve said it. Scotch ale, as a style, certainly reflects this fact. Skull Splitter from Orkney Brewing is a solid representative of this moderately heavy, malty, rich, and boozy lineage. At 8.5% ABV, it’s certainly neither a Belgian nor a truly Big Beer, but it packs a wallop, hence its name.
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The Imbibing Scribe: A Beer for Summer Nights
Summer is a notoriously thin season for fans of interesting beer
I went on a little expedition to my local store. I bought a selection of seasonal beers from breweries I know and trust. For the most part, I was immensely disappointed. There were attempts at kolsch, weak Belgian blondes, thin lagers with a hint of fruit. Boring, poorly executed, and predictable. And then I tried Great Lakes Brewing’s Chillwave Double IPA. I am no longer disappointed.
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The Imbibing Scribe: Ballads and Berries
Are beer and fruit best buds, or mortal enemies?
I love beer. I love raspberries. But, in general, the two should never meet. I am not a fan of most fruit beers. To paraphrase Mr. Franklin, Sam Adams Cherry Wheat is proof that God hates us and wants us to be miserable.
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The Imbibing Scribe: Playoff Beards and Michelob Lager
It’s time to do something very un-beer-blog-like.
I am going to extol the virtues of a macro beer. An under appreciated beauty of a beer called Michelob Lager. Michelob, as one would expect from a macro, is simple and inelegant. It’s also not at all strong, clocking in at 4.8% ABV. However, it is beer-flavored beer. This is God’s own session beer.
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The Imbibing Scribe: Porters and the Left Hand of Darkness
Porters and sci-fi go hand in (left) hand
March is typically the season for stouts. Truth be told, it’s the season for stout. As in one. As in Guiness. Oh, some people will bring Murphy’s to your party, and there are lots of good stouts out there (Dogfish Head Chicory Stout comes to mind), but it’s really all about Guiness. I myself have been known to tip a Guiness, or a half and half, a black and tan, or a car bomb with the best of them. But I’m not going there. Stouts are good, but porters are an undiscovered country of dark beer. I set out to map that territory.
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The Imbibing Scribe: Troegs Mad Elf
Tis the season for crazy little people
Beer geek 101: Winter is the time for big beer. The extra alcohol will warm the cockles of your heart – and your cheeks, too. In my mind, there’s a reason Santa has rosy cheeks: he stopped in Belgium on his way to your house. And now, in January, I’m drinking my way through the holiday leftovers. So currently, while the wind whistles outside my window, I’m sipping on a Troegs Mad Elf. A three year old Mad Elf.
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