Some New Favorites

In preparation for trivia night tonight, a few of us decided to pregame it at Galaxy Hut. I found the selections of craft brews to be plentiful and delicious. The inset picture shows their draft menu.

As soon as I saw it, I knew that I wanted to try the Heavy Seas Plank One Old Ale. Fantastic! I took my time drinking that one down but once I was finished...round 2. This time I went for the Sierra Nevada Olvia, having heard a favorable review from club mate John. It certainly was tasty. And I would try it again. However, I think I preferred the Plank One.

Soon after finishing my second pint, we walked to RiRa where the trivia was being held. On an earlier visit I had noticed a beer on tap from Palm. I decided that on my next visit I would try it. I did get the Palm this time. It was their Belgian Amber Ale. I can't say I enjoyed it that much. Maybe I was expecting more of the flavors I had tasted earlier but this one just didn't do it for me.

So in the end, I've added 2 drafts to my favorites list, and I found out that I'll go back to Guinness on my next visit to RiRa.

Starr Hill Summer Tour 12-Pack

I picked up the Starr Hill Summer Tour 12-Pack at my local Harris Teeter this evening. Four beers were included with the pack; three of them I had not tried. Lucy, Northern Lights, and The Love are the beers new to my palate. Jomo, a beer I remember enjoying, rounds out the lot. I am currently enjoying Lucy and have included a review.

Lucy

Style: Spiced Ale (top fermenting)
ABV: 4.4%
IBUs: 15
Pour: 12oz bottle
Brewer: Starr Hill

Overall Rating: 80
Color: Yellow to a light gold (beercapital.be)
Mouth feel: Not too thin but far from heavy. Good summer weight.
Flavors: Ginger, lime, and coriander make up the punch of the beer. The ginger and lime are easily distinguishable. The coriander not so much.
Aroma: Light, crisp, hints of ginger and lime.

Would you recommend this to a friend? Yes
Would you buy this again? Yes

May's Meeting

Voting Results for May's Meeting

Today's meeting featured several delicious Belgian ale selections.  Beyond our normal protocol of voting amongst 3 beers, we had the fortune of choosing amongst 5 selections.  The 5 beers selected for today's meeting were
A) Affligem
B) Biere du Boucanier
C) Kasteel Cuvée Du Chateau
D) Grimbergen Blonde
E) Brugse Zot
The winner of the meeting was Biere du Boucanier.  See the inset table for detailed voting results.  Thank you to Brandon and Andrew who procured today's meeting materials.  All were great selections.

An administrative point of order - Today is the first day that the club's blog has been available to its members.  To sign up you will need a Google account.  You can create this through the blogger site.

Plans for the New Season Are Underway

First of all, a congratulations is owed to Schneider Wiesen Edel-Weisse Mian Grunes for winning the inaugural drS Beer Club Tournament. The competition was certainly delicious and...um...competitive but in the end, there was one clear choice for winner. The decision was unanimous and reasonably so. So unto you Schneider Wiesen Edel-Weisse Mian Grunes, we bestow the drS Blue Ribbon and retire your label for the near future. For details on the voting, please view the 2011 drS Beer Club Tournament page.

Now on to the new season...

drS management have met for the first time to discuss this season's themes. We are going to design the themes so that both major paradigms of beer are represented in this season's championship: ales vs lagers. Currently, the ale themes are going to be Belgian, Irish, British, and German. The lager themes are going to be
Octoberfest, Bocks, Pilsners, and American Lagers. We'll stagger the ales and lagers so that they'll alternate months. A PDF will be posted to help guide a meeting's hosts to buy the proper beer. A new rule was discussed to help keep the competition open to new beers. We would like to exclude beers that have made the previous season's tournament or in other words, won their theme from the prior season.

The first meeting is looking to be Feb 16.

I will be following up later with more documentation. The PDF I mentioned earlier will be posted as well as a mission statement.