Day 160, June 9 / Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema

Day 160  /  June 9, 2011

Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema

Anderson Valley Brewing Company  /  Boonville, CA 

A

NG

P

G

VG

O

   

Cerveza Crema translates to Cream Ale.

Cream Ale makes me think of Genessee Cream Ale.

Genessee Cream Ale makes me think of Genny Screamers (check Urban Dictionary).

Genny Screamers makes me think of Saint Patrick's Day 1982.... 

I was back home in Syracuse for my first Spring Break from college.  I was of legal drinking age (18 at the time) and I was at a bar near the Syracuse University campus.  They had green Genessee Cream Ale on tap, and I'm sure it was cheap, and I'm sure I had quite a few.  The next day... green Genny Screamers.  Yeah, I know.  For the most part, since that day, I have pretty much avoided Genessee beers, Cream Ales, green beers and Syracuse.

But that was a different time, a different city, a different beer.  I have actually enjoyed a cream ale this year (Kilkenny), and I just booked a trip to Syracuse for my 30th high school reunion (man I'm old).  Who knows, maybe I'll even have a Genessee while I'm up there.

On to today's (well, Thursday’s) beer….

Anderson Valley Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema is available in bottles and in cans, and is a slightly unusual summer beer.  It is a copper, slighltly cloud cream ale. If a summer beer has a flavor, its usually a fruit flavor.  This beer had a sweet, malty taste, with a bit of nutmeg flavor.  I think I actually might like this beer a little better on a cool fall day.

Today's song is one that I heard on the satellite radio (80's station) yesterday that I hadn't heard in a long time.  Why is it a Song of Summer?  Because I can recall driving down the road in the summer with the windows (or convertible top) down, cranking this song, and just saying, "Oh yeah!"

Day 159, June 8 / Citra Blonde Summer Brew

Day 159  /  June 8, 2011

Citra Blonde Summer Brew

Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.  /  Portland, OR

A

NG

P

G

VG

O

Satisfyingly Sessionable

That’s what it says in small print at the bottom of the label of the Widmer Citra Blonde Summer Brew.  And I couldn’t agree more.

As I poured this into the glass, I was impressed by the smell of the citra hops, a new type of hops that lend a fruity flavor to a beer.  The resulting taste of the Citra Blonde is a very refreshing, light summer beer, with just a hint of fruitiness.  This is a beer that I’d definitely recommend you go out and pick up a six pack of.

And now time for a song – not necessary a summer song, but a song from one of my favorite bands, with a video retooled to reflect current events.  Enjoy!

Day 158, June 7 / Hop Sun Summer Wheat Beer

Day 158  /  June 7, 2011

Hop Sun Summer Wheat Beer

Southern Tier Brewing Company / Lakewood, NY

A

NG

P

G

VG

O

Sweet Redemption

A summer beer with a little bit of hops, tasty.  Southern Tier’s Hop Sun is categorized by Beer Advocate as an American Pale Wheat Ale, which is a good description.  It actually tastes a little more like a pale ale than a wheat beer.

It’s a nice, clear, golden ale, with just a mild head.  Sorry, I’m not too verbose tonight – you try doing this every night!  (On that topic, I do have to hand it to my friend Tony, who is posting a pretty lengthy blog article, complete with pictures of beautiful scenery and food, every day on his two week Hawaiian vacation.  Check it out!)

Summer Song:  From their album Indian Summer, here’s a track from Carbon Leaf.

Day 157, June 6 / Sum’r Organic Summer Ale

Day 157  /  June 6, 2011

Sum’r Organic Summer Ale

Unita Brewing Company  /  Salt Lake City, UT

A

NG

P

G

VG

O

A summer quickie…

I had never seen any beers from Uinta or their Four + organic series, in the stores around here.  So I had to grab one for the Summer Beer Run.

I cracked this open to have with dinner tonight.  According to Uinta’s website, Sum’r is made with Sorachi hops and lighter malts.  I guess I should expect it in a Summer Beer Run, but this was another very light, not very flavorful beer.

Here’s an 80’s flashback summer tune for you!

Day 156, June 5 / Samuel Adams Summer Ale

Day 156  /  June 5, 2011

Samuel Adams Summer Ale

The Boston Beer Company / Boston, MA

A

NG

P

G

VG

O

Goldilocks, Pittsburg Rare, Calico and Great Balls of Fire

These were a few of the answers that helped secure Fat, Drunk and Stupid’s second consecutive championship win in the Auld Shebeen’s pub trivia tournament of champions yesterday.

For the last 3 months the winner of the weekly Tuesday night contest earned a place in the tournament. Technically, we earned an automatic berth as defending champions, but we also won a weekly qualifying round in back in May too.  I regrouped with my old work friends Jeremiah, Jim, Scott, and Stank in the basement of the Auld Sheebeen on a sunny Sunday afternoon.  We barreled through 4 rounds of 20 questions each, debating and second guessing each other’s answers.

Fat, Drunk & Stupid (and a little Fuzzy)

Despite some tough competition, we were in first place after the first four rounds.  But that didn’t matter any more.  They took the top 5 teams out of the 15 competing, and we played one final 25 question round.  Now last year, all 5 teams tied in the final round, resulting in a five round tie breaker.  This year, 2 teams tied for the top spot, with our venerable competitors Rex Manning Day missing the tie by just one word – “Thank You for NOT Smoking?”

Tie Breaker Question:  How many midshipmen were in the first graduating class of the US Naval Academy?

          We guessed…. 45

          They guessed… 35

          The answer was… 50!  (in 1854)

So we won bragging rights for another year, enough cash to cover our bar bill, and 4 Washington Nationals tickets.  Second Prize?  8 Washington Nationals tickets!

Want to play along and see how’d you do?  I posted the question list here – check it out!

http://www.box.net/shared/dy135o9ydv   Thanks to Chris and the crew at the Auld Shebeen for putting this on!

I feel like I used up a “gimme” beer yesterday by ordering a Sam Adams Summer Ale. Sam’s “Seasonal” is on tap just about everywhere, probably the most common summer beer you can find on tap at restaurants around here.  I even have a bottle of it in the fridge, so I guess Linda can have that one.

I’ve gotta say, Sam’s Summer Ale is not so impressive.  It’s actually a light filtered wheat ale.  That’s right, say it with me, it’s a… Kristalweizen.  But to me, it’s pretty much just a light summer beer without a whole lot of flavor.  After my first Sam’s Summer, I joined Jeremiah in a pitcher of Harp.

Oh yeah, here’s a song… a cover of a classic summer song done by Jason Mraz.