Had a craving for Sour Ale.
Well I was going to go to Monk's Cafe. They have a "Killer" Sour Flemish ale, that everyone talks about. I've had it before, but I also had a few other beers, so a good review of the beer is well out of the question. I was all ready to go with my best friend Jay in toe, but then the word about the traffic being bad and it was raining. So we decided to go to one of our favorite haunts, Firewaters in Concord, Pa.
Amy, one of our favorite bartenders, waited one us. I figured I'd do a review on some of the beers on tap. They happen to have 50 beers on tap, so plenty to choose from.
Lindman's Framboise was my first choice. I really like this tarty little Belgium. It's refreshing, clean, and fruity. Has this perfect tartness to it. Goes great with anything fresh and light like a salad and kabobs. This is definite a classic beverage for BBQs. It also goes great with desserts like pretty much anything that has chocolate in it.
I know this is going to sound a little sexist, but it's great starter beer for women who do not like beer, because they're used to our domestic shelf life beer. If you get a chance try this one. On my 1 thru 7 ratings of beer, with 7 being the best, I give it a 6. Why not a 7 you may ask, well, it doesn't hold up to some of the greats I've tasted, but the main reason well its a little girlie. I know I'm a male chauvinist pig, but I'm honest male chauvinist. So to my next beer.
I saw it on the beer list and I was so excited. I love Irish reds, and Irish redheads, but that's another story for another time. Harpoon Celtic Ale is what I ordered. What I got was not an Irish Red. See I spent some time in the U.K., I drank a lot of beers when I was there, and this was not one of them. Even the ones I did not like they were still better than it.
Even though I'm trash talking on this beer its because I'm a beer snob, all in all it's not a bad beer by any means. If it was at a BBQ, and I had to choose between it and some of our other domestic beers, I'd most likely choose it. I'll say its clean and mild. A little harsh on the back end of the mouth feel. I'll even go further and say it's a good burger beer. I'll even venture to say it will make a beer for splashing on the hamburgers when they on the grill. So after drinking two glasses of water, I now ordered up my third.
My last beer of the evening was Flying Fish Farmhouse Summer Ale. I was surprised to say the least. Clean, crisp, refreshing, and a little hoppy. I don't tend to like beers with too much hops in them, I'm more of a balance guy in everything, but I can say that "Hop Heads" will enjoy this just as much of the rest of us. It was a nice finishing beer with no longing after taste. Nice mouth feel, and would definitely be at my next BBQ. I give it a 5. I noticed on their homepage they make an Oktoberfest, which is favorite style of beer, called OktoberFish. I will be looking into that when they roll it out again.
This I can say will go great with almost everything you could eat. I won't say its not good for heavy foods or spicy foods because I'm already eating something gut filling so why not have a nice not overpowering beer. Although, ice cream and this beer would not make a great pairing, but it depends on the the ice cream and if your willing to take the chance. So I listed below some links for you to look at. Enjoy and "Cheers"!
Links:
Monk's Cafe: http://www.monkscafe.com/
Firewaters: http://www.firewatersbar.com/
Lindman's Framboise: http://www.lindemans.be/start/framboise/en
Harpoon Celtic Ale: http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/index.cfm?pid=28514
Flying Fish Farmhouse Summer Ale: http://www.flyingfish.com/beers/seasonals.cfm
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