INDEPENDENT PACKS IN THE CROWDS AT BEL AIR.  TRAIL RYEDER IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY.

Trail Ryeder Rye Pale Ale, Independent Brewing, Bel Air, Maryland Abv 7.2   IBU 43

Bel Air gave birth to DuClaw before the latter migrated down state to Baltimore.  There’s still a DuClaw outlet there, but it’s not the same as it was when the beers were brewed a few yards from your table.   Bel Air is doing something right, though, since Independent Brewing filled the void beautifully.   On two recent visits to Independent Brewing in Bel Air, we’ve had to work hard to find a seat.

Bel Air seems to be quite the drinker’s town.   It sports three Irish bars within walking distance of each other in addition to the two brewery ventures.   It is the sight of, supposedly, the world’s largest St. Patrick’s day party.   We think that would be hard to prove, but looking at the enormous crowd we drove past to get to Independence, certainly would be a finalist for the honor.

As we drove past the mob scene, we were comforted to know that every beer drinker within 30 miles had to have been at that party.  Wrong.  We passed another Irish bar with outside tents to handle the overflow. And Independent was even more crowded than it had been on our first visit.  Those folks in Bel Air sure know how to drink.

Independent is ready to handle those mobs.   The tasting room is good sized and augmented by a dining room where food truck employees will bring food to your table.  Bar service is efficient and friendly.  About 20 different beers are on tap at any given time, which is remarkable for two reasons.  First, beers are brewed in 20 barrel batches; few small town breweries would be able to turn over so many barrels, yet a St. Patrick day special beer sold out in days.

Secondly, few small breweries can brew so many different styles virtually simultaneously without some serous missteps.   Brewer Aaron Hopkins shows exceptional versatility; he also grows his own hops and barley on the family farm.

Tasting notes:   Trail Ryeder is an even and dangerously strong Rye Pale Ale.   The rye is a bit husky, but nicely evident without being overbearing.  A sweet finish from hop flavors and caramel notes in the malt, but a late bitter makes it moreish.

Food Pairings:   On our last visit, the Village Bistro food truck was dishing out guacamole and chips, homemade tacos and chicken quesadillas.  The Trail Ryeder was the perfect match.  Beer Review # 0098    20170404

TOMORROW WE’LL FEATURE BREWPORT’S HANLEY PORTER

SO MANY CHOICES, SO LITTLE TIME, BEFORE THE FIRST PITCH

Apostrophe American India Pale Ale, Bluejacket Brewery, Washington, DC.   Abv 7%

Happily, Nationals Park’s cozy arrangement with AB InBev has left intact the seven local brewery rotation at some of the stands if you can find them.  New to the park is a Devils Backbone bar featuring a session ale supposedly exclusive to the park and, we assume, a good range of the reliably drinkable DB beers.   The beers are at “slightly” higher prices, which is like saying Mount Everest picked up some extra elevation.

              We’ll be drinking a bit less in the park and a bit more in the neighborhood this year, however.   The Navy Yard area has become a fine place to find great fresh beer.   Travis Tedrow has been brewing excellent beers for some time, and the Gordon-Biersch chain has continued to lengthen the leash of its brewers, so look for lots of good brew there this summer.   Bardo should be open within days if it’s not open now, and we can’t wait to grab two of the 750 seats in good weather.  Bluejacket’s Arsenal is the rock star of the trifecta with a dizzying array of adventurous and high quality house made beer.  We assume you’d have trouble fitting in edgewise on opening day, but the crowds will drop on cool April nights, and we’re looking forward to warming up at Bluejacket before cooling off in the stands.

Each of these breweries has its charms, and we’ll have more to say about all of them in a “Hopping Around” post later in spring when the weather is reliable enough to really enjoy the crawl.

Bluejacket is a world-class production and drinking facility with more emphasis on food than most of the big craft brewery showpieces.  The sleek lines and high ceilings have an international feel that would be quite at home on the waterfront in Stockholm.  A look around shows that no expense was spared in selecting equipment that allow brewers there to make almost any style they could imagine.   It’s getting pretty common these days for breweries to produce a wide range of beer styles, but it’s not as common to have all or nearly all of them be fine examples of those styles Bluejacket is one of several breweries we’re featuring this month that manage to perform that magic act consistently.

We had a chance to try several of the Bluejacket beers at Greg Engert’s newest outpost – Owen’s Ordinary in Rockville.  The Pike and Rose Center that contains it claims a Bethesda location, but don’t even think about walking from Bethesda’s metro stop – instead,  Owen’s is a quick hop from Rockville’s White Flint station.   The Apostrophe was our favorite of the night.    Decent IPAs aren’t that hard to make, but considering the context of nearly 5,000 of them in the US right now, it’s hard to brew one that stands out from the crowd.   Bluejacket does it with a somewhat unusual paring of hops, but the key to the beer is its overall balance of the two hops on the firm malt base.

Tasting notes:   Hallertau Blanc and Azacca hops seem to give as much sweetness to the flavor as bitterness at the end.  I don’t know if I would have spotted the Blanc without the menu description, but it rocks in the aftertaste.   Some cream and chalk in the feel give a smooth ride and a touch of spicy pepper at the end finishes an exceptional balancing act.  This is a beer from brewers who know what they’re doing.

Food Pairings:  You have lots of food choices on the Arsenal menu, and if you’ve had everything they offer, you’re probably a television food show host.   This has enough depth of flavor to hold up to an adventurous dish – order something you haven’t tried and the beer, at least, will guarantee a meal you’ll like.

Note:  Beers at Bluejacket and Owen’s Ordinary rotate, so by the time you get there, you may not find our beer of the day, but you will find good examples of whatever style you seek, including American IPAs.  Beer Review # 0097    20170403

Beer Review # 0097    20170403

 TOMORROW WE’LL FEATURE A RYE PALE ALE FROM BEL AIR MARYLAND

BIG BATCH, BIG FLAVOR, BIG VALUE – SAMUEL ADAMS HOPSCAPE

HOPSCAPE, SAMUEL ADAMS, Hoppy Wheat Ale, Breinigsville, Pennsylvania.   Abv 5.5   IBU  30

For decades, small European brewers have regaled us with praise for the big brewers of the United States.   “Do you know how hard it is to brew big batches of beer with no off flavors?” they would say, and our reply of “Yes, and no flavor at all to speak of” didn’t change their admiration for the US powerhouses.   It’s interesting to watch those big batch brewers get into the small market game, however.   Some do it pretty well (Saranac) some not so great (fill in your favorite Crafty calamity here.)  Samuel Adams has brewed beers in big kettles almost from the beginning and continues to prove they can get small batch taste from kettles that were made for big batch brewing.  They don’t hit a home run with every new formula, but their batting average is pretty impressive.  We were pleased to see that Megan Parisi has found a home with Samuel Adams and was one of the brewers who formulated this beer — DC beer geeks will recognize the name.

We stumbled into Hopscape in a chain hotel Abingdon, Maryland.   In a cooler filled with yellow stuff, it was an easy pick.   Even after a day of tasting small craft brewers’ specialty products, its flavors were marvelously moreish.  Wheat can add a lemony note to a hoppy beer as well as brightening the overall taste.   Used skillfully, it complements the hops, but the balance is tricky.   Samuel Adams gets it right here.   One of the things that big batch brewers do well fairly often is to create very clean flavors.  The big guys just don’t release infected beer, phenols are very rare and diacetyl (buttery or cream tastes) are kept under control if they’re there at all.   That cleanness, matched with quite respectable hop and malt flavors, made for a near-perfect end to a long tasting day.

Brewery description:  Hopscape is brewed with four varieties of West Coast hops that add bold pine and grapefruit notes to the deep golden wheat ale. Chinook, Citra, Centennial, and Zeus hops impart citrusy, dank resin and grapefruit rind aromas that lead into a balanced flavor of bright citrus and piney hop character. White wheat and a two-row pale malt blend add a crisp, light sweetness, and the beer finishes with a slightly lingering bitterness.

Our Tasting notes:  Rich gold with a bit of haze.    A soft and creamy start almost mimics a nitrogen smoothness.  Spicy, fruit hops are West Coast American, but you find some similar flavors in Bavarian craft beers these days.   Some lime and stone fruit perks it up and cleanses a very slight late cream.

Food Pairings:  It’s soft enough to have with broiled fish, and the echoes of lemon and lime would complement it well.   But it’s hoppy enough to hold its own with something spicier.   Beer Review # 0096    20170401

 

ON MONDAY WE’LL FEATURE AN OPENING DAY SUGGESTION:

A VISIT TO BLUEJACKET BREWERY