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March 7, 2012 - Cohan Porter - Davidson Bros Brew Pub
My Year in Beer
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March 8, 2012 - A Great Day For Beer - Cambridge, Massachusetts
After 16,000 plus rotations on this rock, the days can start blurring together. Work, sleep, work can become the drone of the day to day. It's nice to break out of the rut every once in a while, just to remind yourself that you can. March 8th was a rut-breaking reminder of why I drone on and on.
The occasion was my beautiful wife's birthday (her 42nd, nearly older than Elvis - tick, tock). The location was Cambridge, MA. The reason was to see one of our favorite bands at the Lizard Lounge.
Session Americana is a fabulous, folk-rock, roots supergroup. SA is made up of members of other Boston-area bands who started coming together on Sunday nights to jam for fun. Out of those pure-joy sessions came Session. True to the irish tradition, the band plays around a pint-cluttered pub table and the resulting fun comes through loud and clear. If you like beer, music and life lived large - check them out:
Oh, and their signature song is called Beertown. Pretty good match for us and believe it or not, they were the second best thing about the day.
By mid-day we had arrived in Cambridge and had some time to kill before the 8:30pm show. The car: parked. The hotel: walking distance. The destination: Cambridge Commons. Cambridge Commons has a great selection of beers (31) on tap. We were out of town, off the leash and we had hours to kill - all the ingredients for an afternoon lost in foam (insert schoolgirl giggle here).
I started off with the daily cask offering, Haverhill Leatherlips IPA. After that, I moved on to Opa Opa Brewings Opa Opa IPA - delicious. Next up was Smuttynose's Finest Kind IPA - a great example of the style. After that I needed a palate cleanser and went with an Alagash White - very nice. Next swing, because I can never say no to one, a Green Flash IPA - pure heaven. From there it was on to Lagunita's WTF - an exceptional beer. Finally, since I was in New England and had miles to go before I'd sleep, I downshifted to my down shore favorite - Naragansette. Hi Neighbor!
Then I shopped for Vinyl. Then I went to a great show with a greater lady. Then I thanked my lucky stars and hoped for 16,000 more round and rounds.
After 16,000 plus rotations on this rock, the days can start blurring together. Work, sleep, work can become the drone of the day to day. It's nice to break out of the rut every once in a while, just to remind yourself that you can. March 8th was a rut-breaking reminder of why I drone on and on.
The occasion was my beautiful wife's birthday (her 42nd, nearly older than Elvis - tick, tock). The location was Cambridge, MA. The reason was to see one of our favorite bands at the Lizard Lounge.
Session Americana is a fabulous, folk-rock, roots supergroup. SA is made up of members of other Boston-area bands who started coming together on Sunday nights to jam for fun. Out of those pure-joy sessions came Session. True to the irish tradition, the band plays around a pint-cluttered pub table and the resulting fun comes through loud and clear. If you like beer, music and life lived large - check them out:
Oh, and their signature song is called Beertown. Pretty good match for us and believe it or not, they were the second best thing about the day.
By mid-day we had arrived in Cambridge and had some time to kill before the 8:30pm show. The car: parked. The hotel: walking distance. The destination: Cambridge Commons. Cambridge Commons has a great selection of beers (31) on tap. We were out of town, off the leash and we had hours to kill - all the ingredients for an afternoon lost in foam (insert schoolgirl giggle here).
I started off with the daily cask offering, Haverhill Leatherlips IPA. After that, I moved on to Opa Opa Brewings Opa Opa IPA - delicious. Next up was Smuttynose's Finest Kind IPA - a great example of the style. After that I needed a palate cleanser and went with an Alagash White - very nice. Next swing, because I can never say no to one, a Green Flash IPA - pure heaven. From there it was on to Lagunita's WTF - an exceptional beer. Finally, since I was in New England and had miles to go before I'd sleep, I downshifted to my down shore favorite - Naragansette. Hi Neighbor!
Then I shopped for Vinyl. Then I went to a great show with a greater lady. Then I thanked my lucky stars and hoped for 16,000 more round and rounds.
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March 9, 2012. - Peak Organic IPA - Morgan House Tavern
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March 10, 2012 - HB Racer5 Clone - Brew Day (Czech Pilsner)
Brewing to the Isley Brothers on vinyl - good day
Brewing to the Isley Brothers on vinyl - good day
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March 11, 2012 - Oatmeal Stout - Brown's Brewing
two_hearted
Well-Known Member
Its fun coming back here to see what you've been up to. Keep on posting!
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March 14, 2012 - HB Hazed & Infused Clone - Midweek Brew Day (Imperial Nut Brown Ale)
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It's been great so far - looking forward to the rest.
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March 15, 2012 - Sapporo Reserve - Shogun and Sashimi Deluxe
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March 16, 2012 - SPD - The Route
St. Patrick's Day. After Christmas day, St. Paddy's has to be my favorite day of the year. And like Christmas, St. Patrick's Day is rife with ritual and tradition.
Growing up, my father always had his St. Patrick's Day traditions. Every year the same routine, first Mass at St. Mary's, then the flag raising at the AOH then The Son's of St. Patrick breakfast then back to the AOH for a full day of pints, boiled meat and tomfoolery.
When I became an adult, I established my own routine and rituals. For the past 22 years, I've celebrated the feats of St. Patrick in the same way, with the same friend crawling the same pubs (with new friends and pubs thrown in each year for variety). It's an all day affair, with other friends dropping in and out along the route. Now in our wiser middle age, we hire a driver to ferry us among the capital district watering holes we visit (starting in Troy, stopping in Albany and ending in Schenectady). Nothing ruins a St. Patrick's Day more quickly than flashing lights...
Below is an account of our 2012 pub crawl, with images after in correlation:
- We start the day with irish coffees and a full irish breakfast.
- After breakfast we always watch John Ford's "The Quiet Man" (another tradition courtesy of my father). If you haven't seen The Quiet Man, it's a rollicking story of an american boxer (John Wayne) who returns to his ancestral home in Ireland to forget his troubles. Upon arrival, he incurs the ire of the local bully (Victor McLaglen) and falls in love with the bully's sister (Maureen O'Hara). What follows is two hours of beautiful irish countryside, rich irish characters and a good old fashion Donnybrook. The movie is a love letter to a mythical ireland and a great way to kick off the day. (My brother also follows this tradition at his bar. Every St. Patrick's Day he offers a full irish breakfast with a viewing of the Quiet Man - this year they had 101 people turn out. Fun stuff).
- First stop on the SPD pub crawl is always Marty Burke's in Troy, NY (also known as The Southend Tavern - http://southendtavern.com/). Marty Burke's is a classic working man's pub, a throwback and tribute to Troy's industrial past. On St. Patrick's Day they serve over 1,500 pounds of corned beef - holy cow!
- Next stop on the crawl is Brown and Moran's in Troy (now known as Brown's Brewing - http://brownsbrewing.com/). Here they do an annual 'Blessing of the Bar' where a local priest comes in and blesses the bar and all bellied up to it. The first year they did this, the bartender actually stopped the priest mid-blessing to refill our pints - the priorities shall be observed.
- Next we added a new stop to this year's tour, the new Dinosaur BBQ in Troy (http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/locations/troy/). The Dinosaur started as a biker bar in Syracuse and has grown into a statewide chain. They have great BBQ and a very respectable beer list.
- The penultimate pub on the Troy leg of the tour is Jose Malone's (http://www.josemalones.com/). Jose's is an eclectic Irish/Mexican hybrid that somehow works. They also have a nice beer selection.
- Next stop on the tour is Ryan's Wake in Troy, NY (http://www.ryanswake.com/). Chris Ryan is a great guy who was one of the original bartender's at Brown and Moran's. He's since opened up his own place and it's a perfect place to observe the intersection of pope and pint that St. Patrick straddles. Chris used a lot of reclaimed church interiors in his bar, to great affect. He also has Utica Club on tap and the nicest urinals this side of the Atlantic.
- After Ryan's we leave Troy and head across the Hudson River to Albany where this year we added a new favorite to SPD crawl - Wolff's Beirgarten (http://www.wolffsbiergarten.com/). Sure it's a german biergarten and about as irish as bratwurst, but it has all the characteristics of a good pub, so it gets an honorary inclusion.
- In Albany, we always stop at McGeary's Pub (http://www.mcgearyspub.com). McGeary's is the only regular stop on the Albany leg of the crawl as it's THE irish pub in town and as such attracts the largest crowd. It's a veritable La Brea tar pit of people, pints and music. We see so many folks that we know there that it's like a reunion of fellow fenians. Good times.
- Once we are finally able to break free of McGeary's we take the crawl to Schenectady where BL's is our home pub. We also stop at Katie O'Byrnes and Pinhead Susan's, both great irish pubs in the own right.
All in all it's a very long day of pints and palaver. But a great day to get out and celebrate all that we love about the irish - pubs, people, music and mayhem. It's a great day for the irish!
Another tradition we've picked up over the years is sharing dirty limericks with folks we meet out. It's a great way to break the ice and make conversation. Here's my favorite:
There once was a man named Adair
Who was having his girl on the stair.
When the banister broke,
He doubled his stroke,
And polished her off in mid-air.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
St. Patrick's Day. After Christmas day, St. Paddy's has to be my favorite day of the year. And like Christmas, St. Patrick's Day is rife with ritual and tradition.
Growing up, my father always had his St. Patrick's Day traditions. Every year the same routine, first Mass at St. Mary's, then the flag raising at the AOH then The Son's of St. Patrick breakfast then back to the AOH for a full day of pints, boiled meat and tomfoolery.
When I became an adult, I established my own routine and rituals. For the past 22 years, I've celebrated the feats of St. Patrick in the same way, with the same friend crawling the same pubs (with new friends and pubs thrown in each year for variety). It's an all day affair, with other friends dropping in and out along the route. Now in our wiser middle age, we hire a driver to ferry us among the capital district watering holes we visit (starting in Troy, stopping in Albany and ending in Schenectady). Nothing ruins a St. Patrick's Day more quickly than flashing lights...
Below is an account of our 2012 pub crawl, with images after in correlation:
- We start the day with irish coffees and a full irish breakfast.
- After breakfast we always watch John Ford's "The Quiet Man" (another tradition courtesy of my father). If you haven't seen The Quiet Man, it's a rollicking story of an american boxer (John Wayne) who returns to his ancestral home in Ireland to forget his troubles. Upon arrival, he incurs the ire of the local bully (Victor McLaglen) and falls in love with the bully's sister (Maureen O'Hara). What follows is two hours of beautiful irish countryside, rich irish characters and a good old fashion Donnybrook. The movie is a love letter to a mythical ireland and a great way to kick off the day. (My brother also follows this tradition at his bar. Every St. Patrick's Day he offers a full irish breakfast with a viewing of the Quiet Man - this year they had 101 people turn out. Fun stuff).
- First stop on the SPD pub crawl is always Marty Burke's in Troy, NY (also known as The Southend Tavern - http://southendtavern.com/). Marty Burke's is a classic working man's pub, a throwback and tribute to Troy's industrial past. On St. Patrick's Day they serve over 1,500 pounds of corned beef - holy cow!
- Next stop on the crawl is Brown and Moran's in Troy (now known as Brown's Brewing - http://brownsbrewing.com/). Here they do an annual 'Blessing of the Bar' where a local priest comes in and blesses the bar and all bellied up to it. The first year they did this, the bartender actually stopped the priest mid-blessing to refill our pints - the priorities shall be observed.
- Next we added a new stop to this year's tour, the new Dinosaur BBQ in Troy (http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/locations/troy/). The Dinosaur started as a biker bar in Syracuse and has grown into a statewide chain. They have great BBQ and a very respectable beer list.
- The penultimate pub on the Troy leg of the tour is Jose Malone's (http://www.josemalones.com/). Jose's is an eclectic Irish/Mexican hybrid that somehow works. They also have a nice beer selection.
- Next stop on the tour is Ryan's Wake in Troy, NY (http://www.ryanswake.com/). Chris Ryan is a great guy who was one of the original bartender's at Brown and Moran's. He's since opened up his own place and it's a perfect place to observe the intersection of pope and pint that St. Patrick straddles. Chris used a lot of reclaimed church interiors in his bar, to great affect. He also has Utica Club on tap and the nicest urinals this side of the Atlantic.
- After Ryan's we leave Troy and head across the Hudson River to Albany where this year we added a new favorite to SPD crawl - Wolff's Beirgarten (http://www.wolffsbiergarten.com/). Sure it's a german biergarten and about as irish as bratwurst, but it has all the characteristics of a good pub, so it gets an honorary inclusion.
- In Albany, we always stop at McGeary's Pub (http://www.mcgearyspub.com). McGeary's is the only regular stop on the Albany leg of the crawl as it's THE irish pub in town and as such attracts the largest crowd. It's a veritable La Brea tar pit of people, pints and music. We see so many folks that we know there that it's like a reunion of fellow fenians. Good times.
- Once we are finally able to break free of McGeary's we take the crawl to Schenectady where BL's is our home pub. We also stop at Katie O'Byrnes and Pinhead Susan's, both great irish pubs in the own right.
All in all it's a very long day of pints and palaver. But a great day to get out and celebrate all that we love about the irish - pubs, people, music and mayhem. It's a great day for the irish!
Another tradition we've picked up over the years is sharing dirty limericks with folks we meet out. It's a great way to break the ice and make conversation. Here's my favorite:
There once was a man named Adair
Who was having his girl on the stair.
When the banister broke,
He doubled his stroke,
And polished her off in mid-air.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
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March 17, 2012 - HB Oatmeal Stout - St. Paddy's Day Party at Dr. Nick's
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March 18, 2012 - Genny Bock - Spring Cleaning the Garage
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March 19, 2012 - Three Heads The Kind - Kegging Moose Drool
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March 20, 2012 - Three Heads Skunk Black IPA - The 3rd Bay
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March 21, 2012 - Heady-Topper - Bennington, VT
Drove all the way to Vermont today to score a case of Heady-Topper aka The East Coast Pliny. Yummy to the 24th power.
Drove all the way to Vermont today to score a case of Heady-Topper aka The East Coast Pliny. Yummy to the 24th power.
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March 23, 2012 - Heady Topper - TGIF in the 3rd Bay
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March 24, 2012 - Flip's HB Robust Porter - Late in the evening...
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March 24, 2012 - HB Moose Drool - First attempt at All-Grain (in the 3rd bay)
Chuginator
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The epitome of home-brewing right there.
Love your camera shots. Very creative. Keep it up!
Cheers!
Love your camera shots. Very creative. Keep it up!
Cheers!
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March 25, 2012 - Chatham Brewing 8 Barrel Super IPA - New World Bistro
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March 26, 2012 - Dogfish Head Midas Touch - In the Archie
Beer brewed from a 2,700 year old recipe. Barley, honey, white grapes and saffron. Very interesting.
Beer brewed from a 2,700 year old recipe. Barley, honey, white grapes and saffron. Very interesting.
Two months in and it just never gets old checking this thread.
Drink on young Donnelly!
Drink on young Donnelly!
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A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single sip!
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March 28, 2012 - Dogfish Head 120 minute - Listening to 'Burning Love' on the Wurlitzer
'Burning Love' was recorded by Elvis 40 years ago today - Long Live The King!
'Burning Love' was recorded by Elvis 40 years ago today - Long Live The King!
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March 30, 2012 - HB Spotted Cow - TGIF!
Chuginator
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March 31, 2012 - HB Spotted Cow - Brew Day in the 3rd Bay (All-Grain Irish Blonde Ale)
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March 31, 2012 - Micro Beer & New York State Cheese Pairing - City Gastro Pub
Smuttynose Robust Porter, Smuttynose Old Brown Dog, Six Point The Crisp, Oscar Blues
(Not nearly enough beer or cheese by the way...)
Smuttynose Robust Porter, Smuttynose Old Brown Dog, Six Point The Crisp, Oscar Blues
(Not nearly enough beer or cheese by the way...)
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April 1, 2012 - Munich Dark - C.H. Evans Brewing
Chuginator
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Love this quote, and I really enjoy reading your year in beer. Keep it up, I wish I were diligent enough to chronicle my adventures.
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April 2, 2012 - Blue Point Toasted Lager - The Sports Grill
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All right, that's it. My wife and I are moving to Glenmont, NY.
PM me when you get settled - first round's on me!
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Thanks. It does take some effort to remember to chronicle. All the beer is very distracting.
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April 4, 2012 - Pint O'Plain - McGeary's
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April 6, 2012 - Belgian Flight - The Merry Monk
Brooklyn Sorachi Ace, Saison DuPont, Lindeman's Framboise, McChouffe
Brooklyn Sorachi Ace, Saison DuPont, Lindeman's Framboise, McChouffe
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April 7, 2012 - HB Spotted Cow - Poker with the boys
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April 8, 2012 - HB Snow Day & El Ray Del Mundo - Final Round of The Masters
Grumpybumpy
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mjdonnelly68 said:
I think a spaceship landed on your beer!
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