Snow Day, Snow Day!!!

New Belguim has my vote for the best winter ale on the market.  I found myself purchasing their Snow Day Winter Ale.  I liken this beer to a black IPA.  This beer is boldly hoppy with nice roasted undertones.  There are hints of chocolate and caramel that come from a new brewing malt called Midnight Wheat.  I encourage you to buy this beer up if you can still find it.  I, for one, will be stockpiling as much as I can find in my local grocery store and beer shop.  It is that good.  Enjoy the unexpected.

Brevard Knows Beer

I have been working on a project in this great mountain town called Brevard, NC (new home of Oskar Blues' East Coast Brewery).  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they have a craft brewery right near town call....Brevard Brewing Company.  I was in town for a meeting and the majority of us decided to go have a beverage and some food after the meeting.  We settled on a place called Marco Trattoria.  Being a Tuesday night, we had the place almost entirely to ourselves.  The waitress called for our order and I, as usual, ask if they had any beers on tap.  They had two, both from Brevard Brewing Company.

I first tried the Munich Dunkel.  I am a huge fan of German beers, so this sounded great.  I was surprised that this Dunkel functioned more like a chocolate stout.  The waitress told me that white chocolate was actually used in the creation of this beer.  This beer is very smooth and lightly carbonated.  I highly recommend this beer.

The second beer I had was the American IPA.  A very solid IPA with full hoppiness and citrus flavor.  I am very much looking forward to visiting the brewery in person.  Marco Trattoria is a great restaurant.  Try the pizzas, they are great.

Foothills Brewing...Get You Some!

So, it has been a while since my last post.  Lot going on, but won't bore you with all of that.  Let's get to the beer!

My beautiful wife recently grabbed me a great mixed 6 pack of beers from Trader Joe's which include two selections from Foothills Brewing out of Winston-Salem, NC.  I have long been a fan of Foothills Brewing.  I have always enjoyed the first of the two beers I will write about tonight, Hoppyum IPA.  Hoppyum is a solid IPA with a very hoppy nature and high bitterness.  It has a strong aftertaste and dry finish.  Definitely some citrus notes to this beer and it will leave you wanting another.  70 IBU's and a 6.2% ABV.  One interesting aspect of this IPA is that I found it to be thick on the sip.  Not exactly sure what this means as I review my notes from the night I tried it, so by default I find myself needing a re-try of this delicious IPA!  Well done Foothills.

The second Foothills brew is Torch!  Torch is a light Czech style pilsner that I found to be very appealing.  It has a full and rich finish and is surprisingly hoppy for a pilsner with 35 IBU's.  I see myself enjoying this brew on a hot day this summer.  Perhaps a drive to Winston-Salem is in order to get this nectar straight from the tap.  Let me know if you have been to the brewery.

The last Foothills brew that I want to cover in this post is the People's Porter.  I enjoyed this beer after sledding with my wife and boys up in Blowing Rock, NC at a really great restaurant called Bistro Roca.  It was a Sunday, but after spending a few hours going up and down a hill in the high wind and drifting snow this dad needed a beer.  I decided to try Foothills People's Porter.  I really gravitated toward darker beers this winter.  More so than usual.  People's is an English style porter with a slight hoppy flavor upfront but with a smooth espresso finish at the end.  The chocolate and toffee aroma is in full tilt.  It has a dark ruby hue color.  This beer does not disappoint   With 42 IBU's it will satisfy an IPA lover while still appealing to folks who love a dark smooth porter.  Have it with the Lobster Mac...I did!