Hops Hopper

Brooklyn Pub Crawl! September 7, 2008

One of my colleagues at work, who was also on the softball team, decided to organize a pub crawl in Brooklyn. We began our little adventure at 1pm at the Gowanus Yacht Club.  Interesting place- it’s entirely outdoors and there are a few wooden tables and a grill.  Beers were really inexpensive, especially the Pabst Blue Ribbon.  The first time I had PBR, i was in Beijing 4 years ago.  I wasn’t too experienced with beer (or alcohol) back then, but one guy was and when he saw PBR, his eyes lit up.  I guess after drinking Tsing Tao for the first week of the trip, he needed something a little more American.  Tsing Tao tastes like piss water by the way.  Any way, back to the pub crawl… I don’t want to sound like a beer-snob, but after drinking other beers, PBR is like the American version of Tsing Tao.  There’s a reason why it’s so cheap– it’s not good.  But I had to order it because PBR always brings back memories of my trip to China. I’ll always remember playing beer pong using a mixture of PBR and Tsing Tao (we couldn’t tell the difference in taste any way) and stacking a massively high pile of cans in somebody’s room.  Or the 4th of July BBQ we had and the people in China had no idea why this was a big deal.  We bought PBR event for that.  Ah, good times. 

We’re still at the Yacht Club and after forcing myself to finish the PBR i ordered, I looked on their beer menu and saw it– DUFF beer.  Homer Simpson fans might remember this beer from such episodes as… well they’re in almost every one of them.  I was thinking that it would be frothy and dark and come in a cool mug.  It was pale and came in a plastic cup.  It was ok, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to order another one.  I’m not a big fan of the pale ales, except for Harp.  It was fun to order though… or should i say D’oh! 

Next on the way–  actually have no idea where we went afterwards.  All i remember was that it was empty before we got there and we took up the whole place.  I ended up getting a Sly Fox.  It is a very bitter, dark, and strong beer, even more so than Brooklyn Lager.  But there’s a little hint of a spice, which makes the back of the throat tingle a little.  I wasn’t sure what it was, so of course i went on the internet and found out it was ginger.  I don’t like ginger at all.  I think it’s one of the worst tasting things ever.  I do like ginger ale though, but it’s fake– it’s all sugar water.  But i enjoy a Sly Fox every now and then.  The ginger isn’t overpowering and the handle on the tap is cool… it’s in the shape of a fox tail.  I like animals.

By this point, I’ve been to two bars and had three beers.  Not really buzzed yet, since PBR isn’t strong and i ate a burger and walked off some of the alcohol.  So, we go to the next bar and it was just a regular bar so i got a couple of Sam Adams seasonal.  i think I’ve already talked about that, so moving on. The next place i remember–it was called the Zombie Hut.  I’m pretty sure I had a Brooklyn Lager because they didn’t have any unique beers and being in Brooklyn, i had to have a Lager.  Warm lager, or any beer for that matter, is not pleasant tasting. It wasn’t warm when I ordered it, but after mingling and then going out for pizza, i left it unattended outside.  Whoops, my fault.  But if there’s anything I learned from my China trip, it’s that alcohol should never go to waste.  So of course I finished it.  

Finally, we made our way to Camp.  By now, there’s only a handful still with us from the first bar and most of us are pretty wasted.  Me included.  The reason the place is called Camp is because you can get smores… and not that, you get to make ‘em yourself.  They give you a chocolate bar, a bunch of marshmellows, crackers, sticks and FIRE.  yes you read it… FIRE.  Alcoholics and Fire… great combo right there.  But we were outside and there wasn’t much we could burn besides our fingers.  After a long day of drinking, we concluded at around 9 and went home.  It was a fun day and I’m glad i got to try to a bunch of different beers early on in the pub crawl. I eventually made it back home to Queens, while taking public transportation, and then i passed out on my bed, waking up at 3 in the morning.

Restaurant Week- Summer 2008 August 31, 2008

Gosh, I really suck at this.  I said I would keep up with this and in two months, I barely managed to write three entries. I think it’s mostly because I can’t remember my password to login. But I wrote it down and I think i’ll start writing a little more.

Any way, since my last post, I’ve had a few beers to drink and write about.  Where to start…

In late July, it was Restaurant Week in NYC.  Basically, a large number of restaurants (mostly expensive ones that most people couldn’t afford on a regular basis) offer a special menu in which you choose an appetizer, an entree and then a dessert for just $35.  I went to a seafood restaurant and ordered a Fisherman’s Brew Amber Lager from Massachussets.  I figured the beer and the food would work well together.  Well, unfortunately for me, I was really thirsty and finished it before my food arrived.  So i can’t really say how the pairing worked.  But it tasted real good with the bread.  Any way, according to the website (because i can’t remember anything from last month), the ABV is 5.5% and has a dry hoppy flavor.  I didn’t really think that it was that bitter.  Maybe it was the bread that affected the taste?  But even before the bread came out, i tasted the beer and i thought it was smooth (just like the website says).  Hoppy though?  Not really.  It wasn’t like a Brooklyn Lager.  But did I enjoy the beer?  Yeah it was pretty good.  Like i said, i was thirsty.

I ordered another beer and that was a really interesting beer.  This time I ordered it when my food arrived.  And I thought it was a great pairing.  Here’s what i got- soft-shelled crabs with a spicy touch with this sweet rice.  The beer that I drank was an Abita Amber Lager from Louisianna.  When it touched my tongue for the first time, i was surprised that it didn’t taste anything like all the other beers that I’ve drunk.  It tasted like caramel.  I don’t normally like caramel, but I really liked this beer.  And even more so because it just went so well with the spicyness of the crab.  It was like a party in my mouth with all my taste buds working all at the same time.  I had the sweet, the spicy, the salty (i put a little bit of that sea salt on the crab just to see what would happen) and bitterness all in one place.  It did make the rice even sweeter, which i didn’t really like, but i finished all of it any way.

So what did i learn from this?  Drink water if thirsty, then order beer to fully appreciate all the flavors.  Next post will be about a pub crawl i did in Brooklyn.  Here’s a little taste… I drank a Duff beer.  Yes, the beer that’s most commonly drunk on the show The Simpsons, although maybe not the exact type that Homer would drink.  An way, as Apu would say “Thank you, come again.”

Happy Birthday to Me… last week July 26, 2008

As the title suggest, yes, it was my birthday last week.  Yay to me!  So I went out with some friends, hung out, and had a pretty good time.  And drank my first Hoegaarden!  And this is blog entry #2…

I’ve been to a lot of places that have served Hoegaarden, but I never tried it. First time i saw the beer was at the Beer Garden in Astoria, which is an awesome place and serves other European brews.  I opted not to get a pitcher of it– instead i got Spaten, which is a pretty good beer (and easier to say).  Almost like a Brooklyn Lager, but less bitter.  Any way, Hoegaarden has been on my radar for a while and I never got it.  So finally, a friend of mine ordered me one for my birthday (i don’t think he knew i wanted one) and it was not what I expected.  It was quite good.  

Hoegaarden is a Belgium-style white beer that is flavored with coriander and orange. Traditionally, white beers weren’t brewed with hops, but nowadays they are (thanks wikipedia!).  But with the other spices and stuff, it doesn’t taste bitter at all.  The Hoegaarden I had was topped with a lemon, which my other friends thought was weird considering there’s no lemon brewed in the beer.  I guess it’s usually topped with an orange slice.  Oh well.  The lemon did make it quite sour and a little tangy.  So i might not have gotten the full Hoegaarden experience, but I thought it was smooth and refreshing.  I like lemons.  And considering it was 90 degrees last week, it felt real good.  And luckily for me, the alcohol content was less than some other beers I’ve had- it’s only 4.9% ABV.  That is how i started the party last week… with a Hoegaarden.

First Entry about Beer… and many more to come July 5, 2008

While this isn’t my first attempt at blogging, this is the first time I’ve actually thought about committing myself to it. And it’s not a personal diary about how my day went. So if you were looking for stories about me breaking up with my girlfriend, or why i decided to eat salad for lunch, you might want to look elsewhere.

How many times have you gone to a bar and somebody’s asked you “what’s a good beer?” Or what about going into an establishment not knowing which beer to choose? Hopefully this blog can help you make that choice. I’m not a professional beer taster or ranker, I don’t work for a brewery of any kind, nor am i endorsed by one. I am just a regular, working guy who happens to enjoy a nice beer every now and then. And I want to spread any knowledge I have about beer to you, the reader(s).

Just a few things to keep in mind when reading this blog… I live in New York, a city of 8 million people, and hundreds of beers on tap across the many bars. I can’t try every single type of beer out there, so if your local brewery isn’t mentioned, sorry about that. I also do not advocate drinking excessively and/or breaking any of laws in regards to alcohol (ie. underage drinking). When you’re arrested for DUI, don’t blame this blog. I’m also not an alcoholic. I drink during social occasions, such as birthdays, company parties, or during sporting events. I only drink alone if I have beer in my fridge that’s about to expire… and most times i let it expire (shoot, I have 4 bottles of Sam Adam’s Cherry Wheat left…).

You might be thinking, “This is just a blog about beer… and?” It’s more than just helping you figure out what beers to drink. Many of us gravitate towards things we are familiar with. Like, if you go to a restaurant and you always order the same thing when you go, you’re missing out on every other item on the menu. There’s more on the menu than Chicken Parm. Same thing with beer. This blog should help you expand your horizons, try new things and have fun.

So, with all that said, i raise a glass and say “Cheers!”  Let’s get started:

I figure I start this off by talking about my favorite beer- Brooklyn Lager.  It is one of the many types of beer produced by the Brooklyn Brewery. Why do I like it?  Well, mostly for sentimental reasons.  I’m proud to say that I lost my beer virginity to this, as opposed to the Buds or Coronas that deflowered so many of my friends.  It will always hold a special place in my liver.  But besides that, what else do I like about it?  It’s got a pleasant dark-amber color, it’s quite bitter in flavor, but you can taste a hint of caramel.  It’s refreshing, particular during these dog days of summer, and it pairs well with most of your usual bar food, like burgers, fries, nachos, popcorn, and pizza.  Some people at first might not like the strong bitterness of the beer, but after a while, it grows on you.  Overall, it’s a great beer and if you can find it in your bar or in the store, pick it up and enjoy!