April FABTS Meeting

April was our 4th installment of Big Beers. I think we finally finished all the Strong beers. We also had a special toast at 2pm to coincide with the CAMRA Cask Ale Week. A reporter and photographer were there from the Free Lance Star to document the World Record attempt. Check out the status of the world record toast here. We toasted with Lyle's Trafalgar Premium Bitter. A great session beer he plans to brew at The Pub.

After the toast we sampled a total of 19 beers. Here's the list and a few tasting notes.

Moa Original Lager (New Zealand’s native Moa is the only beer to be fermented in the bottle, like French champagne. This was a donation from Chad.)
Dogfish Head Fort '06
Dogfish Head Fort '07
N'ice Chouffe Christmas Ale
Weyerbacher Fireside Ale
Troegs Flying Mouflan (This was a donation from Edwin at Virginia Wine Experience)
Unibroue Edition 2005
Bell's Hell Hath No Fury
Lost Abbey The Gift of the Maji Bier de Gaarde
Lyle's homebrew with bret Vinnification
Lyle's Flanders Red
Avery Brabant Barrel-aged Wild Ale
Avery Collaboration Not Litigation '08
Maredsous Dubbel
Dogfis Head Immortal Ale
Sonoran Brewing 100
Jimbo's Saison homebrew
Green Flash Le' Freak
Holy Mackerel Special Golden Ale

We're finally finished with the Strong Beers. Next month's meeting is scheduled for May 9th and the Styles for the month are Maibocks, Trippels and Golden Trippels.

March FABTS Meeting

The March FABTS meeting is this Saturday, March 21st at Kybecca on Plank Road.  We are on our 3rd installment of Big Beers.  The January meeting focused on the Dark Big Beers.  Think Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot or North Coast Russian Imperial Stout.  The February Big Beers meeting had lighter and hoppier big beers; barley wines mostly.  Our 3rd installment will be whatever Big Beers we have left over. The partial list of beers we have so far is below.

2x 12oz Sierra Nevada Torpedo (7.2%)
2x 12oz Starr Hill The Gift (Hellerbock - 6.5%)
2x 12oz Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA (9%)
2x 12oz Victory St. Victorious Doppelbock (8.5%)
2x 12oz Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA (8.50%)
1x 750ml Brasserie Artisinale de Rulles Biere de Gaume Tripel (8.4%)
1x 750ml Dogfish Head Fort 2006 (17%)
1x 750ml Dogfish Head Fort 2007 (17%)

Capital Ale House this week

On New Years Day at 5pm, Capital Ale House will be tapping two very special, limited edition kegs from Dogfish Head Brewery!

Dogfish Head World Wide Stout - 18.8% ABV for $10.50.

Dogfish Head Fort Delaware - 18% ABV for $10.50. (The world's strongest fruit {raspberry} beer.)

On Sunday, January 4th, CAH is hosting a Bell's Beer & Cheese Tasting. 5 Bells beers and 5 cheeses for $10.00 per person.

Next weeks Steal-the-Glass night (January 6th) is featuring Bells Brewery. They are going to have Bells Amber, Best Brown and Cherry Stout.

FABTS December Meeting and Homework

The December FABTS meeting is scheduled for December 13 at 1:30pm. Lyle and Robyn Brown have cordially invited us to their house for the meeting. The style of the month is obviously Christmas / Hanukkah / Winter beers. I know we'll have a few multi-year verticals (Mad Elf, Weyerbacher, Rouge's Santa's Private Reserve) and other great seasonal beers from this year. The plan is for this meeting to be a small Christmas meal, with food. Dave F said he would be willing to do a turkey breast. Everyone attending should plan on bringing something to snack on. I'm looking forward to it!

For security reasons, Lyle does not want to post his address. Anyone interested in attending the December FABTS meeting please send an email to the FABTS email list or leave a comment to this post and we'll make sure you get the address and directions.

As I was reading Dave Turley's blog, Musings Over a Pint, he ran across and article from the website Art of Drink. Entitled Imbibers One Hundred, the author has compiled a list of 100 drinks that he believes everyone should try, at least once. He writes:

Remember, this is just a list of things you should try, not the "best of the world" list. The list is about contrast and variation of flavour. I’m sure a few scotch addict’s, vodkaphiles and beeroholics will recommend a particular brand, but in most cases, this list is style specific, instead of brand specific. But please feel free to make recommendations.

I thought it would be fun for all of us to play along and discuss this on the message board and at the meeting. I've got 47.

Instructions:
1) Copy this list into your blog, with instructions.
2) Bold all the drinks you’ve imbibed.
3) Cross out any items that you won’t touch
4) Post a comment at Art of Drink and link to your results.
OR
If you don’t have a blog, just email the list of one's you've tried to the FABTS mailing list and post the number in the comments section.

List of Drinks You Must Try Before You Expire.

1. Manhattan Cocktail
2. Kopi Luwak (Weasle Coffee)
3. French / Swiss Absinthe
4. Rootbeer
5. Gin Martini
6. Sauternes
7. Whole Milk
8. Tequila (100% Agave)
9. XO Cognac
10. Espresso
11. Spring Water (directly from the spring)
12. Gin & Tonic
13. Mead
14. Westvleteren 12 (Yellow Cap) Trappist Ale
15. Chateau d’Yquem
16. Budweiser
17. Maraschino Liqueur
18. Mojito
19. Orgeat
20. Grand Marnier
21. Mai Tai (original)
22. Ice Wine (Canadian)
23. Red Bull
24. Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
25. Bubble Tea
26. Tokaji
27. Chicory
28. Islay Scotch
29. Pusser’s Navy Rum
30. Fernet Branca
31. Fresh Pressed Apple Cider
32. Bourbon
33. Australian Shiraz
34. Buckley’s Cough Syrup
35. Orange Bitters
36. Margarita (classic recipe)
37. Molasses & Milk
38. Chimay Blue
39. Wine of Pines (Tepache)
40. Green Tea
41. Daiginjo Sake
42. Chai Tea
43. Vodka (chilled, straight)
44. Coca-Cola
45. Zombie (Beachcomber recipe)
46. Barley Wine
47. Brewed Choclate (Xocolatl)
48. Pisco Sour
49. Lemonade
50. Speyside Single Malt
51. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
52. Champagne (Vintage)
53. Rosé (French)
54. Bellini
55. Caipirinha
56. White Zinfandel (Blush)
57. Coconut Water
58. Cerveza
59. Cafe au Lait
60. Ice Tea
61. Pedro Ximenez Sherry
62. Vintage Port
63. Hot Chocolate
64. German Riesling
65. Pina Colada
66. El Dorado 15 Year Rum
67. Chartreuse
68. Greek Wine
69. Negroni
70. Jägermeister
71. Chicha
72. Guiness
73. Rhum Agricole
74. Palm Wine
75. Soju
76. Ceylon Tea (High Grown)
77. Belgian Lambic
78. Mongolian Airag
79. Doogh, Lassi or Ayran
80. Sugarcane Juice
81. Ramos Gin Fizz
82. Singapore Sling
83. Mint Julep
84. Old Fashioned
85. Perique
86. Jenever (Holland Gin)
87. Chocolate Milkshake
88. Traditional Italian Barolo
89. Pulque
90. Natural Sparkling Water
91. Cuban Rum
92. Asti Spumante
93. Irish Whiskey
94. Château Margaux
95. Two Buck Chuck
96. Screech
97. Akvavit
98. Rye Whisky
99. German Weissbier
100. Daiquiri (classic)

Big FABTS update... Finally recovered from the Mead meeting in August.

It's been a while since the website was updated. After the August Mead meeting at Kybecca (and the two days it took to recover), we had an Octoberfest beers meeting at Virginia Wine Experience in September. I really liked the setup Edwin Wyant has upstairs for the tasting, it's like a cool little pub / bar scene. Nice and cozy. Lyle brought the last of his winning Sam Adams Long Shot First Place beer, Bamberg Hellerbock. We also had beers from Penn Brewing, Left Hand, Mendocino, Ayinger, Victory, Hacker-Pschorr, Starr Hill, Bethesda Rock Bottom, Sam Adams and Paulaner.

Our October meeting was held at Kybecca and the style of the month was Harvest beers. This was the first meeting I hadn't made in a while, so I don't have that much in the way of details. The members that were there enjoyed Dogfish Head Midas Touch, Redhook Late Harvest Ale, Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale and numerous Pumpkin Ales from Saranac, Cottonwood, Wild Goose, and Weyerbacher.

Lyle kept on his winning ways in October. His Rauch Heller-Bock, brewed with Star Hill Brewing for the Pro-Am competition at GABF, won a Silver Medal!! We have been treated to this beer numerous times at our meetings and everyone agrees it's a great beer. It would go perfect with any smoked-meats or barbeque. Lyle also won Best of Show at the Valhalla Mead Competition!

The Fredericksburg beer scene also got a great new hangout. The Capital Ale House finally opened downtown at 917 Caroline Street. It features an 80 ft. ice bar, a cold case at celler temperature down in the basement for public viewing, a private dining room and a place to hang out in the back to play games and darts. They print out their vast beer menu every Friday. There are 62 beers on Tap and 300 in the bottle. Monday nights are $1.00 hamburger / $1.50 cheeseburger night, Tuesday night is "Steal the Glass" night. There's a featured brewery and when you order their beer you can take home the logo glass. Wednesday night is Two for One Wings night. And finally, on Sunday for brunch it's American Micro day when the best of their domestic drafts goes for $3.00/pint until 5:00pm. The place has been packed since it opened. I hope it stays that way and they have great success. The FABTS group christened the place on Friday November 7, when Lyle's GABF Silver Medal beer, Smoke Out, was tapped.

Aaron Zaccagnino, aka Zacc, posted a great summary of the Fredericksburg Brewing Insiders (FBI) of their National Teach a friend to Home Brew Day at Blue and Gray Brewing Company. They had a respectable turn out; about 30 folks were interested in the displays and had loads of questions. Pat did a fabulous job with "Sample" table. He had bowls of the various grains that people could taste with information cards for them, and bowls of hops for people to smell to broaden their sensory appreciation. Outside the Brewery they made 6 gallons of wort for an American Blond Ale and had hot dogs for those who stuck around to watch them brew. Roxbury Farms and Garden had a great display of all things available for the beginner home brewer. They even had Kenny Hunter of Coffer Roasters of Fredericksburg Gourmet Coffee who had set up with samples as well. Sounds like they had a great time. If you're interested in brewing, in addition to FABTS, please look into attending an FBI meeting and visit their website at www.Fredhomebrew.org.

The November FABTS meeting featured beers that you would serve at Thanksgiving. This would included anything that goes well with the traditional foods of the day. Of course, there was much emphasis on turkey, but we didn't forget the pumpkin pie, stuffing, cranberries, mincemeat, and all the trimmings. There were a lot of Belgian-style Saisons and Biere de Gardes, as well as Tripels.

Phew! Lots of stuff happened since August. The one consistent thing I will leave you with is that all of us should do our best to support our local beer establisments and I will try to be better about keeping up with the posts.

August FABTS Meeting - Meads

Our August meeting is fast approaching.  The style of the month is Mead.  Mead is a fermented alcoholic beverage made of honey, water, and yeast.  It's also the oldest fermented alcoholic beverage.  I don't know about you, but everytime I think about mead I envision being in 10th grade and having to read Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.  Mead is the perfect drink for Renaissance festivals to get in the mood.  The BJCP has a great introduction to mead for those like me that are not as familiar with this drink.

We will be meeting next Saturday, August 9th, at Kybecca on Plank Rd.  We will have at least 3 home brewed meads from our members plus some commercial examples.  I made my first stop at State Line Liquors in Maryland and I finally know why everyone raves about that place.  They have the best beer selection I've seen.  I picked up a local Maryland meadery's offering.  I suggest you take the few minutes to stop by if you're traveling up or down I-95 between Delaware and Maryland.

Here's the list of meads so far for our meeting:

Commercial
Medieval Mead (Berrywine Plantation - Mt. Airy, MD) - James Russ


Homebrews
Lyle Brown - 2 meads
Joe Gherlone

Beers of the July FABTS Meeting

I couldn't think of a better way to show our patriotic side than drinking all types of American ales.  We had a great assortment of beers.  Thanks to Kybecca for hosting and donating the Anchor Steam and Coney Island Swordswallower and all the members that donated beers.  (If I missed your donation, let me know.)

I picked out a few of what I thought were the group's favorites during the meeting and put them in an online poll.  So be sure to vote in our July poll prior to our August 9th meeting.


American Ales

• Kona Wailua Wheat
• Legend Golden Ale
• Fiddler's Green Blond Ale
• Bosmo's Imperial Cream Ale - Joe Gherlone
• Alaskan Winter (Spruce) Ale - Joe Gherlone
• Avery Ellie's Brown Ale - David Turley
• Williamsburg AleWorks "400" Ale - James Russ
• Tommyknocker Imperial Nut Brown Ale - Joe Gherlone
• Anchor Steam Beer - Kybecca
• Coney Island Sword Swallower - Kybecca
• Boston Beer LongShot Grape Pale Ale - Joe Gherlone
• Bluegrass Brewing American Pale Ale
• Left Hand Jackman's American Pale Ale
• Butternuts Porkslap Pale Ale - Scott Fisher
• Butternuts Snapperhead IPA - Scott Fisher
• Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale
• Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale
• Flying Dog Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale
• Port Brewing Hop 15 - Joe Gherlone
• Bell's Two Hearted Ale - David Turley
• Victory HopDevil
• Southern Tier Hoppe - James Russ
• Moylan's Hopsickle - Joe Gherlone
• Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine - Joe Gherlone
• Alaskan Barley Wine - Joe Gherlone
• Old Dominion Millennium Ale - David Turley
• Bell's Kalamazoo Stout - David Turley
• Alaskan Smoked Porter - Joe Gherlone

Homebrews

• Applewood Smoked Honey Pumpkin Ale - Dave Frederickson
• English Spoken Here" English IPA - Joe Gherlone
• Radiant Copper IPA - Joe Gherlone

July FABTS Meeting Style of the Month - American Ales

July is American Beer Month (for obvious reasons), so the style will be American Ales.  This includes American Pale Ales, American Ambers, American IPA, even American-style Barleywines and American Wheat beers!   Below are the BJCP ale styles with "American" in the style name along with their commercial examples.

6. LIGHT HYBRID BEER
D. American Wheat or Rye
Commercial Examples: Bell's Oberon, Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen, Three Floyds Gumballhead, Pyramid Hefe-Weizen, Widmer Hefeweizen, Sierra Nevada Unfiltered Wheat Beer, Anchor Summer Beer, Redhook Sunrye, Real Ale Full Moon Pale Rye, Anderson Valley High Rollers Wheat Beer, O'Hanlon's Original Rye Beer

10. AMERICAN ALE
A. American Pale Ale
Commercial Examples: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Stone Pale Ale, Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale, Bear Republic XP Pale Ale, Anderson Valley Poleeko Gold Pale Ale, Deschutes Mirror Pond, Full Sail Pale Ale, Three Floyds X-Tra Pale Ale, Firestone Pale Ale, Left Hand Brewing Jackman's Pale Ale, Pyramid Pale Ale

B. American Amber Ale
Commercial Examples: North Coast Red Seal Ale, Tröegs HopBack Amber Ale, Deschutes Cinder Cone Red, Pyramid Broken Rake, St. Rogue Red Ale, Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale, Lagunitas Censored Ale, Avery Redpoint Ale, McNeill's Firehouse Amber Ale, Mendocino Red Tail Ale, Bell's Amber, Hoptown Paint the Town Red

C. American Brown Ale
Commercial Examples: Bell's Best Brown, Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale, Big Sky Moose Drool Brown Ale, North Coast Acme Brown, Brooklyn Brown Ale, Lost Coast Downtown Brown, Left Hand Deep Cover Brown Ale, Great Lakes Cleveland Brown Ale, Avery Ellie's Brown Ale

13. STOUT
E. American Stout
Commercial Examples: Rogue Shakespeare Stout, Deschutes Obsidian Stout, Sierra Nevada Stout, North Coast Old No. 38, Bar Harbor Cadillac Mountain Stout, Avery Out of Bounds Stout, Lost Coast 8 Ball Stout, Mad River Steelhead Extra Stout, Three Floyds Black Sun Stout, Bell's Kalamazoo Stout, Mendocino Black Hawk Stout

14. INDIA PALE ALE (IPA)
B. American IPA
Commercial Examples: Bell's Two-Hearted Ale, AleSmith IPA, Russian River Blind Pig IPA, Stone IPA, Three Floyds Alpha King, Great Divide Titan IPA, Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA, Victory Hop Devil, Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, Anderson Valley Hop Ottin', Dogfish Head 60-minute IPA, Founder's Centennial IPA, Anchor Liberty Ale, Harpoon IPA, Avery IPA, Mendocino White Hawk Select IPA

19. STRONG ALE
C. American Barleywine
Commercial Examples: Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Great Divide Old Ruffian, Victory Old Horizontal, Rogue Old Crustacean, Avery Hog Heaven Barleywine, Bell's Third Coast Old Ale, Anchor Old Foghorn, Three Floyds Behemoth, Stone Old Guardian, Bridgeport Old Knucklehead, Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws, Lagunitas Olde GnarleyWine, Smuttynose Barleywine, Flying Dog Horn Dog, Brooklyn Monster Ale, Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot, Old Dominion Millennium, Left Hand Widdershins

June FABTS Meeting

We beat the heat on Saturday, 6/14/08 at Kybecca, with a few "Summer Beers!" So, what are summer beers? Lighter, crisper, and typically lower in alcohol so you can drink 'em all afternoon and stay upright. The best summer beers are custom-tailored for warmer weather. From wheat beers and fruit beers to summer ales and brisk lagers, we tasted a lot of what's out there. Beer list from the meeting. Sorry, I forgot to get who donated what.

• Blue and Gray Classic Lager
• Blue Moon Honey Moon Summer Ale
• Blue and Gray Virginia Hefeweizen
• Rogue MOM Hefeweizen
• Brooklyn Summer Ale
• Saranac Pomegranate Wheat
• Smuttynose Summer Weizen
• Magic Hat Circus Boy
• New Holland Zoomer Wit
• Mendocino Summer Ale
• Dogfish Head Festina Pêche
• Southern Tier Hop Sun
• Brooklyn Summer Ale
• Tröegs Sunshine Pils
• Old Dominion Beach House Golden Pilsener
• Clipper City Red Sky At Night
• Brasserie de Blaugies Saison De L'Epeautre

Somehow, Sierra Nevada Summerfest was conspicuously missing (I left it in my beer fridge...)

March FABTS Meeting

The March FABTS meeting will be on March 8th at 1:30PM at Bangkok Boulevard. The style for March is BJCP category English Pale Ale. Specifically, sub-categories 8A (Standard / Ordinary Bitter), 8B (Special / Best / Premium Bitter), and 8C (Extra Special / Strong Bitter). Below are the Overall Impressions and Commercial Examples from the BJCP style guide. I will update the FABTS beers when I hear what people are brining. As always, any style of homebrew is welcome and appreciated.


8. ENGLISH PALE ALE

8A. Standard/Ordinary Bitter
Overall Impression: Low gravity, low alcohol levels and low carbonation make this an easy-drinking beer. Some examples can be more malt balanced, but this should not override the overall bitter impression. Drinkability is a critical component of the style; emphasis is still on the bittering hop addition as opposed to the aggressive middle and late hopping seen in American ales.
Commercial Examples: Fuller's Chiswick Bitter, Adnams Bitter, Young's Bitter, Greene King IPA, Oakham Jeffrey Hudson Bitter (JHB), Brains Bitter, Tetley’s Original Bitter, Brakspear Bitter, Boddington's Pub Draught

FABTS Beers:
2 15oz Tetleys Bitter (widget in can) (Kevin B.)


8B. Special/Best/Premium Bitter
Overall Impression: A flavorful, yet refreshing, session beer. Some examples can be more malt balanced, but this should not override the overall bitter impression. Drinkability is a critical component of the style; emphasis is still on the bittering hop addition as opposed to the aggressive middle and late hopping seen in American ales.
Commercial Examples: Fuller's London Pride, Coniston Bluebird Bitter, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Adnams SSB, Young’s Special, Shepherd Neame Masterbrew Bitter, Greene King Ruddles County Bitter, RCH Pitchfork Rebellious Bitter, Brains SA, Black Sheep Best Bitter, Goose Island Honkers Ale, Rogue Younger’s Special Bitter

FABTS Beers:
2 15oz Ruddles County (Kevin B.)
1x 12oz Fuller's London Pride (Rob A.)
1x 19oz Bluebird Bitter (Kybecca)


8C. Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)
Overall Impression: An average-strength to moderately-strong English ale. The balance may be fairly even between malt and hops to somewhat bitter. Drinkability is a critical component of the style; emphasis is still on the bittering hop addition as opposed to the aggressive middle and late hopping seen in American ales. A rather broad style that allows for considerable interpretation by the brewer.
Commercial Examples: Fullers ESB, Adnams Broadside, Shepherd Neame Bishop's Finger, Young’s Ram Rod, Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery Pale Ale, Bass Ale, Whitbread Pale Ale, Shepherd Neame Spitfire, Marston’s Pedigree, Black Sheep Ale, Vintage Henley, Mordue Workie Ticket, Morland Old Speckled Hen, Greene King Abbot Ale, Bateman's XXXB, Gale’s Hordean Special Bitter (HSB), Ushers 1824 Particular Ale, Hopback Summer Lightning, Great Lakes Moondog Ale, Shipyard Old Thumper, Alaskan ESB, Geary’s Pale Ale, Cooperstown Old Slugger, Anderson Valley Boont ESB, Avery 14’er ESB, Redhook ESB

FABTS Beers:
2 15oz Old Speckled Hen (widget in can) (Kevin B.)
1x 12oz Old Speckled Hen (bottle) (Rob A.)
2X Welsh ESB 16oz (Lyle B.)
2X Fullers ESB 16oz (Lyle B.)
2X Bass 12oz (Lyle B.)
2X Sierra Nevada ESB 12oz (Lyle B.)
2X Whitbread 12oz (Lyle B.)
2X Fullers 1845 16oz (Lyle B.)
2x 15oz Greene King Abbot Ale (widget in can) (Rob A. and Scott F.)
1x 15oz Black Sheep Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale (Rob A.)
2x 12oz Lakefront (from Milwaukee) ESB (Scott F.)

2x 12oz Coopers Pale Ale (Kybecca)

1x 15oz Greene King Olde Suffolk English Ale (Old Ale) (Rob A.)
Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Pale Ale (Joe G.)
Redhook Copper Hook and/or ESB (Joe G.)