Day 259, Sep / Raging Bitch Belgian IPA

Day 259 / September 16, 2011

Raging Bitch Belgian IPA

Flying Dog Brewing Company / Frederick, MD

A

NG

P

G

VG

O

Cynical Girl or Raging Bitch?

NOTE:  I’m taking a short break from the Oktoberfest Beer Run.  It will continue in a day or two.

“Take my advice – stay away from the Raging Bitch.”  That’s what I said on February 12^th of this year, when blogging the Snake Dog IPA from Flying Dog Brewing.  Well, last night I just couldn’t avoid the Raging Bitch.  That’s how she is.

I went with a few friends to the Birchmere, a legendary concert venue in Alexandria, to see Marshall Crenshaw, who is touring to commemorate the 30^th anniversary of the release of his first record.  The opening act was The Bottle Rockets, a blue-collar roots-rock band from the Midwest that I have been a fan of for years.  In addition to opening, The Bottle Rockets were going to be Marshall Crenshaw’s backing band for his set.  Sounds like a good lineup, right?  More on this later…

So why did I pick the Bitch?  Well, I’m 259 days into this blog.  Most bars have anywhere from  6 to 12 beers on tap, and about the same number in bottles.  I looked at the beer lineup, and I’ll be damned if I hadn’t had all or most of them already.  I may not have had the Starr Hill, but I couldn’t quite remember.  I know I hadn’t had the Raging Bitch, and I wasn’t planning on it, because I had it last year and I really didn’t like it.  And I still don’t.

Hopheads will like this better than I did.  It’s a high alcohol (8.3%), very bitter (60 IBU), sweet, dense beer that just does not appeal to me.  Beer geeks on BeerAdvocate give it an average score of A-, but I give it a NG.

Back to the concert:  The Bottle Rockets played a good, if a little mellow, set, taking several requests from the audience.  They were down 1 guitar player, who was at home waiting for a baby to arrive.  Unfortunately, Marshall Crenshaw’s set just wasn’t good at all.  Those of you who may remember his hits like “Someday, Someway” or “Cynical Girl” will remember Crenshaw’s tight, sometimes retro-feeling pop songs.  For several years, Crenshaw has been touring solo, playing acoustic version of old hits and new songs.  The set last night just seemed like it was dragging, with Crenshaw delaying or dragging out lyrics, and losing time with the band.  What sounded like a promising bill ended up a disappointment.

Marshall Crenshaw with the Bottle Rockets in NYC
I heard this concert was better...