Let's talk about butts.
Ugh! Not that kind of butt! I was thinking more along the lines of scuttlebutts.
Not the nattering nosy-parkers that hang around the office cooler gossipmongering like a clutch of free-range blatherers. I couldn't care less about who is doing what to whom or about such & such and so & so involving you know what. I never get involved in that kind of scuttlebutt. I mean really, who cares?
Well, I do! Not so much about the gossip but more about the scuttlebutt.
What in the heck is a scuttlebutt? I've heard a butt scuttle but . . .
I digress.
A scuttle is a small opening and a butt is a large cask. Combine the two and you have a small hole cut into a cask to allow a cold refreshing liquid to issue forth and, well, refresh you. A scuttlebutt, as it were.
And then there's the bunghole. Ugh! Not that kind of bunghole. What is wrong with you people??
Probably the same thing that is wrong with me. I know what my idea of a bunghole was. Think:
“I am the Great Cornholio, I need TP for my bunghole”
Thanks to Beavis and Butthead, that's what a lot of people think of when they hear the word 'bunghole'.
In actuality, a bunghole really is related to butts. Scuttlebutts, that is. A bung is a stopper, often a cork plug. Basically, you shove the bung in the scuttle to keep the butt from leaking.
Everyone knows how crappy a leaky butt is!
If it's any comfort. We're not the only ones with our minds in the toilet - the terms bung and bunghole have been used as slang for anus since the 13th century.
Two Roads has brewed a new beer dedicated to Stratford mayor John Harkins.
The new brew is a maibock and has been dubbed Hizzöner. Get it? His Honor / Hizzöner.
Maibock is a traditional spring lager. Translated from German, maibock literally means the bock beer of May.
The mayor himself was on hand at the brewery acting as burgermeister - master of ceremonies - to celebrate the tapping of the beer brewed in Hizzöner . . . er . . . his honor.
Maibocks are a strong malty lager distinguishable from traditional bocks by the bittering presence of hops.
The keg arrived in dramatic style on a hook from the brewery floor amid the din of Wagner's Ride of the Valkryies. The keg was then hoisted by a strapping young brewery worker and heaved onto the bar to the delight and applause of all in attendance.
With Two Roads CEO Brad Hittle at his side and the keg braced in waiting, the mayor raised the mallet to tap the keg. In my excitement I shouted, "Tap that bunghole!!" Yep, cuz that's the way I roll.
Whether or not his honor noticed my gaff, or perhaps he simply chose to ignore me, the burgermeister tapped the keg and the maibock began to flow.
Mayor Harkins got the first taste and pronounced it "smooth" and "delicious".
I am happy to say that I was the first of the unwashed masses to get a pull from the tap!
When the tap tender announced, "Who wants a beer?!" I was standing directly across from him and raised my arms up, jumped up and down and shouted, "ME!" (Heh, I'm not shy)
Three glasses were filled for me and my companions. Brewmaster Phil Markowski raised his glass with us to toast the happy occasion and to his latest creation.
Hizzöner (6.5% ABV) is a rich amber colored ale with light, bubbly head that lingers to cling to the glass leaving behind a nice layer of lacing.
The aroma is malty and hints at an underlying sweetness. The flavor of the beer is both richly malty and deceptively light tasting. The sweetness of the malt is balanced nicely by the hops but there is very little bitterness to speak of.
The maibock compliments well the existing cast of Two Roads beers. As the burgermeister decreed, this is indeed a smooth and delicious beer. Hizzöner is abundantly tasteful and dangerously quaffable. Indulge judiciously!
Overall: Excellent
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| Alex and Ted |
Two Roads Brewery will be tapping into a casked version of one their regular brews on the first Thursday of every month - an event they have dubbed First Firkin Thursday.
An ale firkin is a quarter keg of beer; it is what is commonly used for casking. The word "firkin" comes from the Dutch "vierdekijn" meaning "fourth".
Of course, I wouldn't miss the opportunity to try a casked Two Roads brew. So, I went to the first First Firkin Thursday.
As if Road 2 Ruin isn't hoppy enough, this month's cask featured this double IPA dry hopped with Mosaic hops. Road 2 Ruin's hop profile is big with bold citrus and floral characteristics. The Mosaic hops add even more citrus but also introduce the flavors of pine resin, tropical fruit and other fruits.
Rowr!
Was the casked Mosaic dry hopped Road 2 Ruin good? Hells ya! It was abundantly hoppy in flavor and aroma. Delicious!
I did a side by side comparison between the casked version and the regular Road 2 Ruin. I was surprised at how very different they were!
Take for instance the variance in color and clarity. They are both a lovely burnt orange. The regular Road 2 Ruin is clear and bright. The casked version is a deeper and denser.
Road 2 Ruin is a double IPA with a bold hop profile and massive flavor. It's a great beer! However, in contrast with the casked version, it is notably meek and mild. The casked Road 2 Ruin has a wonderful intensity of flavor that assaults the tastebuds with fresh hops and wicked good bitterness.
This is a hophead's dream! Quite droolworthy. Overall: Excellent!
Pliny the Elder, brewed by Russian River and named for a Roman scholar, is renowned as one of the best American IPA's!
Russian River brews this famous beer in small batches and the distribution is limited. It is also meant to be consumed as fresh as possible.
The odds of getting a Pliny of the Elder are difficult, under the best of circumstances. But, it's pretty much impossible to get a bottle of this beer on the east coast.
I was thrilled to near death when I managed to get my hop loving hands on a bottle of Russian River's flagship brew.
The label is simple and understated. Not that it matters. It's what's inside the bottle that matters.
Pliny the Elder (8% ABV) pours a bright clear liquid gold. Even with a moderately gentle pour it built up a big poofy head that left behind remarkable lacing on the glass.
The aroma is ripe with hops. Citrus, resin and floral aromas tease the senses.
The taste is at first mildly sweet. Then the bitterness washes through - a tantalizing combination of citrus, pine and earthy hops. In classic double IPA style, there is a clear malt presence that balances out the abundance of hops.
The finish is crisp and bitter with a lingering essence of pine.
The mouth feel is light to medium with nice effervescence. This is a smooth drinking beer.
I liked Pliny the Elder a lot. Even my stout loving husband thought it was tasty. I was wishing I didn't have to share but was happy to enjoy it with someone who appreciated it as much as I did. Well, maybe not as much, but at least it wasn't wasted.
Here's the big question. Do I think Pliny the Elder is one of the best IPA's that I've ever had? To be honest, it is up there but I've had others I've liked better. I am willing to concede that it had to travel a great distance to get to me, not necessarily under optimal conditions, and it was undoubtedly not as fresh as preferable.
Overall: excellent
Cheers!
You may not believe this but I've been known to imbibe on occasion. Sometimes more occasionally than others. Shocking, I know!
As a matter of tradition, whenever I’m drinking with someone else we always toast each other; a simple clinking of the glasses. I mindlessly touch my glass with the person I’m with or simply raise my glass to the other; symbolically clinking. After all, that is what is done.
That is as long as it is done with alcoholic beverages. Many cultures believe that a toast with water is to wish death on all your drinking buddies. So, unless you actually want them to die save the toasting for the booze!
Why exactly do we perform that little ritual? The answer is rather simple. Raising a glass and striking them together demonstrates harmony and friendship. And the clink is a nice exclamation to punctuate the toast.
Must we actually clink? A common rule of etiquette states that it's okay to toast if your buddy happens to be out of arms reach, you simply raise your glass and make eye contact.
However, in Russian tradition, a toast only matters if you actually touch glasses. The only time you don’t clink glasses is when you’re drinking in honor of the dead. Conversely, if you fail to clink when making a happy toast means that someone is going to die. Clinking glasses seems a small thing to do to keep someone else (or yourself) from an untimely death. No?
Or, possibly worse, it is a widespread European superstition that failure to make eye contact with your drinking buddies as you clink results in a bad sex life for a year. That sounds pretty risky.
It’s also fairly dangerous to clink with an empty glass or to clink across someone else’s arm.
Who knew clinking - or not clinking - could be so perilous?!
All I know is that from now on I'm clinking. And, if I happen to be clinking with you, you had darn well better look me in the eye. Don't make me have to hurt you. Just sayin'.
Cheers!
On a recent visit to Willimantic Brewing Company I had every single one of their house brews - all nine of them! A flight of some, pints of others.
But WBC also has some amazing guest tap offerings. And as much as I wanted to, I couldn't sample them all. So, I opted for a flight of five. The choices were difficult but I managed to make a decent selection.
Several factors figured in my decision making. But I started out with all the guest brews from local breweries and then went with one of my favorites from elsewhere.
I really did want to try them all. So many beers, so little time. A girl can only consume so many beers before either falling off her stool or becoming unbearably obnoxious (or both).
This is what I got. It's kind of funny that all the beers I picked out are all the same color and clarity. I assure you, they are all very different!
Ten Penny Ale (5.6% ABV) by Olde Burnside is a Connecticut brewery. This is their version of Scottish ale that is characteristically rich and malty though lighter in alcohol than most Scotch ales. Malty, caramelly and delicious! Overall: very good!
Arch Amber Ale (?% ABV) Hartford Better Beer is contract brewed at Shipyard Brewing Company so it's not as local as I thought but is the original recipe of the now defunct Hartford Brewery (Connecticut's first brewpub). It is a clear amber. The flavor is light and malty, promising but lacking. Overall: good.
Hooker Irish Red (5.5% ABV) Hooker Beer Company. I know that I can't like every beer I taste but this one was sadly disappointing. The color was a beautiful clear amber. However, the flavor was watery, dank and blah - almost moldy. If this is any indication, between my husband and myself we didn't finish the 4-oz sample. A dirty line? A bad batch? Overall: bad
Spring Ale (5.7% ABV) by Back East Brewing. Like all the others in this flight, it is a clear amber color with a wisp of a head. It is light and malty with a touch lemon. Tasty but it comes up a bit short. Overall: good
Aprihop (7% ABV) Dogfish Head. This is a brew I've been meaning to try. I haven't met a Dogfish Head beer I didn't like. This was no exception. The aroma is ripe with grapefruit and apricot. The flavor is a lovely pairing of the two - lightly sweet, mildly bitter - very nicely balanced. Overall: very good!
My recommendation is that if you're visiting Willimantic Brewing Company for the first time that you focus on their house brews. They are always fresh and consistently good. You won't be disappointed. But once you've tried them all, there is invariably a number of good brews on the guest taps.
Cheers!
Let's talk about butts. 
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