For me, 2011 was a fantastic year in beer. From homebrewing to festivals, bottle shares, brewery release events, pub crawls and just sharing a beer with friends and family, it’s certainly one to remember. After an in-depth look back, I’ve narrowed down from over the 500+ unique beers I’ve recorded tasting to my Top 10 of the year.
If you read my reviews you probably know that I normally review a seasonal beer in the season it is for, and I also evaluate it based upon this. There is nothing like good “summer beer” in the summer, or a warming dark beer in the winter. Given this, it may be surprising that I also enjoy drinking beers out of season – it is beer after all.
When Port City Brewing Company first opened in Alexandria Virgina I paid them a visit and profiled them in this post. Now, nine months later, the brewery is continuing to grow at an astounding rate. This week Port City released their Tidings Ale, a strong Belgian blonde ale, which is made with local Maryland wildflower honey and Virginia wheat, and is spiced with coriander, cardamom, fresh ginger and grains of paradise.
Recently as a group present for a friend, myself and some others put together a beer tasting. A beer tasting is easy to organize, and with a bit of thought can be a good way to experience new beers and some old favorites. Below are some tips for putting together a beer tasting for somebody other than yourself.
The subject of “Is beer classy enough?” or “Is beer as classy as wine?” has been covered many times by various blogs and magazines. There is an issue outside of that though, “Is there a social stigma attached to loving craft beer?” I have recently been proclaiming my love for craft beer in circles where I used to keep quiet about it for fear of being mistaken for a drunk, such as in the office or around executives in my company. But after realizing that those who are wine fanatics are accepted, I figured why not beer?
