Sometimes We Just Stay Home and Drink: #7 DuClaw Retribution 2018 Chocolate Caramel Cookie, Bourbon Stout with Caramel, DuClaw, Baltimore, Md.

Date:  June 4, 2019  —

The Story— Oh really.  You need to add caramel to an Imperial Stout?!   An Imperial Stout done well is enough.   So we almost didn’t pick this one up, but we’re glad we did.  An 11.5% knee-wobbler, you’re only going to have one, but DuClaw has done so many “this should not be good but it is” beers over the years, we put it in the cart and took it home.  But .. wait for it– the 2018 Retribution is even better — check it out tomorrow.

The Beer– Huge Imperial stout with bourbon and rich cocoa and fudge.  Very rich and creamy as it develops with bourbon richness and booze that almost seems rum-like.   So nicely chewy, rich cream chocolate as it drinks.  Peter Paul Mounds!  Ellie liked the chocolate marshmallow and salted caramel mocha.  Oh yes, we both noted, and booze– whoof!

Value —4.   If you’re looking for an intriguing stay-at-home beer stoke up the fire and pass on a second round.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

Sometimes we just stay home and drink beer — hundreds of them over the course of the year as we hunt for a new favorite.  The searching for the beer of the day never stops, so for a while, there will be fewer travel-oriented posts and just some to-the-point descriptions of beers we’ve enjoyed.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers, and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”

Sometimes We Just Stay Home and Drink: #6- Right Proper Raised by Wolves, Right Proper, Washington, D.C.

Date:  June 3, 2019  —

The Story— Right Proper is one of several breweries that have made the nation’s capital a very interesting stop for Mid Atlantic beer hunting.   We first encountered them in March, 2014, just months after their opening at the Brewers Ball, a fund raiser for Cystic Fibrosis that is an event you need to attend.

They specialize in farmhouse and funky beers and as such don’t always hit the mark, but at their best, Right Proper is one of the best brewers in the Mid Atlantic.   It’s well worth the double dip we present this week.

There’s almost no thing as a flagship beer any more, but this would be it for Right Proper.  You can get it at Nats Park and it’s one of the few Ten Buck Chucks that you won’t mourn the passing of your Hamilton.  It was good when we had it at the Brewer’s Ball in 2014 and even better when we revisited it in a can a few weeks ago.

The Beer– It’s a really nice blend of old and new hops over a clean long almost husky malt foundation. Finishes fruity– strawberry, passionfruit, and a touch of kiwi with just a hint of sucrose later.  Sweet but interesting.

Value —  Good. Thirteen bucks for a four pack at the Winery on Kent Island.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

Sometimes we just stay home and drink beer — hundreds of them over the course of the year as we hunt for a new favorite.  The searching for the beer of the day never stops, so for a while, there will be fewer travel-oriented posts and just some to-the-point descriptions of beers we’ve enjoyed.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers, and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”

Sometimes We Just Stay Home and Drink: #5 – Founders Barrel Runner Rum Barrel IPA. Founders, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Date:  June 2, 2019  —

The Story— We first encountered Founders beers in 2002, only a year or two after they emerged from the edge of bankruptcy,   The brewed some good beers and some not so good beers.   You wouldn’t have bet your life savings on them.   But a change in direction to barrel aged and adventurous beers propelled them to one of the most respected breweries in the country.   They continue to brew beers that vary in compelling-ness, but instead of varying from oof to OK, they now vary from good to oh-my-goodness!!  If the brewery were a baseball player it would still strike out on occasion, but it would be among the league leaders in home runs.

We featured their Founders Dank Wood Imperial Red India Pale Ale in Bourbon Barrels last November.  Here we showcase another barrel aged triumph: a rum barrel IPA.   It shows off all the complex fruity and berry notes of the Mosaic hop and marries those flavors with rum in a way that only gifted brewers can.

The Beer–   Rum and Mosaic and wood on a very rich clean malt.  Some toffee and butterscotch. Herbal and sweet with Mosaic berries weaving in and out.  Brown sugar and toffee with a touch of nuttiness lasting long into the aftertaste.  Nicely complex.  Ellie found more even more rum than I did…but she really likes rum.

Value —  Very good.  Four packs aren’t cheap, but this is not a cheap beer to brew

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

Sometimes we just stay home and drink beer — hundreds of them over the course of the year as we hunt for a new favorite.  The searching for the beer of the day never stops, so for a while, there will be fewer travel-oriented posts and just some to-the-point descriptions of beers we’ve enjoyed.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers, and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”

Sometimes We Just Stay Home and Drink: #4 Clown Shoes at Mercury (Ipswich, Mass.) Crasher in the Rye 2017

Date:  June 1, 2019  —

The Story—  Clown Shoes was one of the most interesting and successful of the contract brewers of the last 15 years.   Brewing mostly at Ipswich’s Mercury Brewery, they produced over 100 wildly imaginative labels and often inventive beers to go with them.   Clown Shoes is now a part of the Mass Bay Brewery — brewers of Harpoon.  It will be interesting to see what happens with the merger, but overall, Mass Bay produces more consistent winners than Ipswich so we expect Clown Shoes beers to benefit from the merger.

The Beer– The bottle claims a “warming spice” but no indication of anything other than malt in the recipe.  Full flavored with the advertised cocoa.  It’s even and chewy and smooth with lasting gentle cocoa and malt.  Ellie and I disagreed on the ending — she found a bite of bitter threw the balance off and I thought it restored it.  Go find it and decide for yourself.

Value —  Good to Very Good

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

Sometimes we just stay home and drink beer — hundreds of them over the course of the year as we hunt for a new favorite.  The searching for the beer of the day never stops, so for a while, there will be fewer travel-oriented posts and just some to-the-point descriptions of beers we’ve enjoyed.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers, and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”

Sometimes We Just Stay Home and Drink: #3 – One more Remarkable Tröegs: When in Doubt Helles

Date:  May 31, 2019  —

The Story—   We’ve stayed at the Hershey Hotel that looms over the town, and over Tröegs brewery.  Their van takes you to and from and even though you could probably walk it, we were grateful for the ride up hill.   The sad part was actually having to leave the brewery.  So with these posts, we’ll stay another hour to savor one of the best Helles biers we’ve tasted outside the state of Bavaria.  It’s brewed infrequently and despite all my pleading, they wouldn’t agree to sell me a half barrel a month year round.

The Beer– Absolutely echt (authentic) Bavarian Helles – Mild gold malt with some bread finishing.  Sweet with some JFH and a flower or two. Gently chewy. Just a touch of late water is OK considering the 4.3% booze, which is very low even for session Bavarian beers.

Value — Excellent.  Like their Keller Pils, you’ll need to fly to Germany to do better.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

Sometimes we just stay home and drink beer — hundreds of them over the course of the year as we hunt for a new favorite.  The searching for the beer of the day never stops, so for a while, there will be fewer travel-oriented posts and just some to-the-point descriptions of beers we’ve enjoyed.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers, and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”