Pump Pump Pumpkin Ale!

I was walking home from work today and strolled by the wine store. I thought to myself it would be a fab day to try a new beer for my Beer Blab. As luck would have it, not even two feet after I passed the wine store I was sucked into its sister store, Carmine Street Beer. I had noticed the enticing newcomer the other day and purposely walked by it.  So you can imagine the lack of my surprise when I found myself through the front door!

Carmine Street Beer is a cool new shop on the block owned by the wine store people, I recognized the owners. I also like wine, I'm classy sometimes. Plus, it can be more bang for your buck if you get wine in a jug. I can not speak of pricing because in the West Village you have to take a loan out to buy a single band aid. Lie.

I walked in and said hello to the people there. I felt like a celebrity in NY, everyone pretended not to recognize me. It was a nice narrow, open space, like the Holland Tunnel but smaller and with beer. I did a quick stalk through and zoned in on the pumpkin ales. A perfect brew for pretending its not August in New York Humidity. I love October and so do those fatty pumpkins. For no real reason I wanted to be loyal to my fellow New Yorkers so I chose Captain Lawrence Pumpkin Ale.

Would you be surprised to learn I really hated this beer? Of course you would because I loved it! I love beer and pumpkins! The only thing better would be if it came with a salted pumpkin seed as a prize. I love prizes. Everyone loves prizes! The beer is very flavorful, a lot of spice to it. It gets better with every sip which I think is the goal for most brewers. I don't feel like the spice overpowers my tongue, it gives it a little punch. Which is better than the choke hold of an ubber spiced beer. Sometimes very spicy beers cause me to drink it in little bitty baby sips until i finish and can switch beer. I can see myself drinking three of these beers and being totally not sick of it. I would probably want more than three but I would stop myself from being a glutton and get an Oktoberfest.

Flanny Beer Rating: 5 plump pumpkins and 4 seeds

Friday Night Lites!

Tonight we're sampling a lovely beer we bought at Trader Joes. Whenever I say Trader Joes I have the urge to sing it to this little ditty in my head but I have no idea what the ditty is! I wish google had a tune search. Ah, Flanny's big google idea. Beer blogger by night, job finder by day and google idea giver all the time. Is it ditty or diddy, P?

As I was saying, we stopped by Trader Joes and picked up this beer. I forget the name of it right now so I am going to describe it using my senses.

1. It smells like a lager
2. Looks like a lager
3. Tastes like a lager with some Oktober to it (OK so I remembered it was an Oktoberfest of sorts).
4. It feels wet, like a beer
5. It doesn't sound like much.

It's has a light taste to it and now that I asked my hub to get the bottle I can confirm it is a beer, a lager to be specific. A win for flanny!

The name is Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen. It doesn't have a big aftertaste and this is the kind of beer I could drink all night, if I feel so inclined. It's better than Heineken but I would put it in that ballpark. One word I would not describe it as is estery. Ah, look at me getting all beer reviewery.
I think it is a good light Oktoberfest. I wouldn't say it's my favorite beer but lagers usually aren't. I like lagers when I plan to have a few or if I want a lighter beer.

I would recommend this for sailing on rivers and while watching So You Think You Can Dance.

It looks darker in this glass because
of the color of the pole. Deception!!

Flanny Rating: 16

What a Wookey!

Right now I am drinking a Wookey Jack-Black Rye IPA. Mr. Not-Flanny just told me it was one of the better beers he has ever had. Now that is a feat because Mr. Not-Flanny has drank a lot of beers in his medium-length life. So I must give kudos to the Wookey ! I also think it is a delightful beer. Ms. Flanny, me, says it is really good pouted into a glass. I haven't drank it straight from the bottle yet, feeling a little classy, so I can't comment on that form of transport.

I wouldn't classify it as my favorite IPA because it isn't a regular IPA, it is a Rye IPA. I like it a whole lot though. It makes me think that I need to drink more Rye IPAs so my taste buds can continue this lovely experience. The beer has a kick to it but feels light. It is dark in color, smooth and doesn't have much of an aftertaste.

Of course the hoppiness provides that little punch we all love from our IPAs. You know, where the sides of your tongue are like, "oh, hello beer". One Rye Ale I know is Founders Red Rya PA. That's a pale ale though, without the India.

Speaking of India, did you know IPA was first brewed in England. If Alex Trebeck had asked me that question five seconds ago I would have confidently answered India.

"The the hometown of the IPA," reads Alex.
Buzz (That's me buzzing).
Alex dutifully says, "Flanny for 2000."
"Where is India!" I answer in a Wheel of Fortune style shout.
"Ohh no, so sorry, wrong country AND continent, Flanny. The correct answer is 'Where is England'. It's a good thing you don't need to be an expert to drink beer, eh."

Alex always knows how to pour a little salt in a wound. I like him for that. Luckily I googled IPA's origin tonight so I won't embarrass myself when he does ask me.

Back to my Wookey Jack, it's a beer I would recommend to people who like to drink beer in candlelight or next to a campfire. It feels sophisticated and almost a little romantic. Although I might think it tastes romantic because I am now looking at the picture of the beer next to a candle.

I want another one but I only bought one.

Flanny Beer Rating: 97/100

Southern Tier in the Northeast

Tonight I decided it was a Penne ala Vodka kinda night. I was going to order from a local Italian Pizzeria but they recently upped their prices. 27 bucks for delivered pasta? No thanks! Luckily I married an ex-pizza man so that wasn't a problem. I went to the local market and picked up some heavy cream, some fancy pasta and some sauce. He's good but so is Preggo, homemade sauce is for suckers, says this Irish Chef...boyardee. 

Per usual, I had some trouble finding what I needed in one quick walk through, so I went up and down and down and up and under and over the aisles at least one time each. During my travels I walked by the beer cubby. I tried to ignore all of the beers I loved and beers I had not yet tried but I was weak, plus it's Friday.

Coincidentally I had brought enough money to buy the groceries and a variety of beer. Coincidence or had I planned? Or  did I not have enough cash and did I use the ATM card I swore I wouldn't use until next payday? Oh the mystery.

Mystery aside, I picked up a sixer of Southern Tier IPA from Lakewood, NY...and boy are my legs tired!

Joke didn't work? I'll keep writing it until you laugh.

I hadn't ever tried this and was excited for a delicious NY brew! The package says it is brewed with 4 varieties of hops and 4 types of malts. I don't know a lot about brewing but that, right there, told me they care. I am now drinking this beer and it does not disappoint.

The beer has a strong taste. It has that gritty taste that I love in my IPAs. It's not subtle but it's not the most "whaoo there horsey" that I have ever had either. I would definitely drink it again. In fact, my hubby just ventured to the fridge to make that happen! Reminds me of a slightly softer version of Dogfish 60 minutes. When I say soft, I don't mean to allude that it's not strong either. Trust me, I tried to put the beer down just now and the bottle forced its way into my mouth.

On that note, I'm off to go play Buzzerwizzer and kick some gritty butt!


Flanny Rating: 2 thumbs 1 Big Toe up

Octoberfest-Blue Point

Oktoberfest and Blue Point! Yeah, gotta love this beer. I had a couple the other night and was reminded how much I love Oktoberfest. I still remember the first time I had this style of beer. It was 2,923 days ago, in Munich. Just kidding. I was in Brooklyn and it was 96 1/2 months ago. Close enough.

I was doing laundry. My roommate and I popped over to the bar across the street to kill a little time during the spin cycle. I saw a new beer on tap. The new beer seemed to be in the style of my favorite month, October, and anything that ends in "fest" sounds good to me. Maybe not 'infest' but I am sure every, single, other word has a positive meaning.

So I plopped on that bar stool and ordered my first Oktoberfest. To be British, it was brilliant. For years I was deeply saddened when Oktoberfest season ended.

"Not available? What do you mean?" I pleaded with the bartender.
"You only have their delicious Toasted Lager?" I whimpered.

I actually don't know if it was even Blue Point I was drinking. My brain is telling me it might have been Becks and there is no use arguing with that supreme power. Whatever the brand was doesn't change that I was left with lesser alternatives. Winter Ales and Summer Ales just weren't the same. I don't know what  I drank in the spring but I do know it was not Oktoberfest. Alas, through years of studying the calendar I started to understand that Oktoberfest would be back and that 365 days is not that long when you're an adult approaching thirty.

Fast forward to today, mid-August, 2013, an IPA loving year, and I have started to smell the Oktoberfest in the air. If I'm being literal, I've started to see them on the shelves. Either or, they're there and I am happy. I love Blue Point and I love Oktoberfest. I will be drinking Oktoberfest from other brewers this late summer and fall but I will definitely be purchasing another sixer of this delightful Blue Point!


Flanny Rating: 4 Gold Stars

Blind Faith

Soooo, I'm back to trying new beers. Had two babies in two years, sort of threw me into a no beer zone for a while....well...a more limited beer zone. Baby #2 is four months now and the summer is in full heat wave! I am drinking a Magic Hat Blind Faith IPA. I am a big fan of IPAs and have to say this is a delicious one. It's not too harsh, although sometimes I like 'em a little rough around the edges. I enjoy a good wheat beer in the summer but I enjoy a good IPA all year long.

I would recommend it because it tastes good, it's probably not too expensive (hubby bought it) and the bottle is informing me it's a limited engagement! I must make the most of our time together.


Flanny Rating: 7/10

Introduction to My Beer Blab

Who am I?

I am Katie. I love beer. I have always loved beer. I will always love beer. 

My Story:

Since I was a wee little one the taste of beer has been a delight to me, even if it was only sneaking a tiny taste of a watered down Coors Light. Whether you love it at first or hate it the chances are you probably had one night or two where you drank too much of it. I am writing this blog for two reasons: One, I am brushing up on my writing skills with a topic of passion and, two, I need some sort of journal reminding me of the beers I have tried and what I thought of them. My memory sucks. A synonym for suck is imbibe. My memory imbibes.

During my blogging I will often refer back to the Master's of Beer Description. I actually don't know if they hold such a high rank but this site was the first one to come up in my google search of "words to describe beer" so they win. This site will help me develop my beer vocabulary which up until now has consisted of "this is hoppy" or "this isn't hoppy". I kid you but I do enjoy a beer heavy in the hops. 

I will leave my first post with a brief mention of my current favorite beer, Blue Point Toasted Lager. This beer is crafted on Long Island. It's delicious. Buy it, taste it and enjoy it. I am going to drink some of it tomorrow and inform you of my thoughts on it because right now it's late, I have work in the AM, I am beerless and I am tired.