a warm day in the nations capital

Next stop on our tour was Washington DC for a brief visit. We arrived early evening and went to the nearest bar. Which just so happen to be a working-class strip joint in a not so nice part of town. No worries mate we are Aussies!! Well its really a story for the grand kids, but long story short I did get to try some malt liquor, while eating fried chicken and watching an African-American stripper shake her incredulous booty. I found this particular brand of malt liquor (steel reserve) to be quite palatable. I think people who complain about malt liquor should try the heavy-water tang of emu export. Next morning we woke up early to spend the morning soaking up the rich culture and history that Washington DC has to offer. By lunch it was most certainly beer time.

We headed to the closest brew-pub in walking distance, Capitol City Brewing Company. We spoke with a few friendly locals who all confirmed this was a good place for a drink.

Of course we went straight for their beer flight, to try and sample all of their catchy titled brews such "amber waves." Decent sized samples, friendly staff, good food what more could we ask for but great beer? Well they were all definitely all very decent brews that were solid samples of their individual beer styles. And their seasonal release, a hefewiesen, actually lived up to its name! cloudy and full of the authentic musty banana flavour! A good beer in the warm weather. Their other German beer in the line up was a regular offering, a delicious crisp Kolsch, light in colour, yet a full bodied crisp hoppy after taste. So many lagers are falsely labelled as "Kolsch" yet are just pale fizzy lagers with little to no body and fall flat after the first few sips. Capitol cities brew is an example of how to get it right. Their ales, amber and an american pale ale were also good. Maybe a bit too cold straight from the tap but still improved as they reached room temperature. The amber ale was a clear reddish brown colour, belaying the lighter malts used. Still, the body had enough carry to it to make it an easily approachable introduction to amber ales before moving on to something more heavy. The pale ale, with a higher alcohol content at 6.1%, was not as high-hopped as its west coast cousins but still had enough hop prominence to make this my kinda beer. All in all the offerings from Capitol City, while not life-changing, were still alot better than our last american brew pub in NYC. A good start to beer drinking in the capitol.

After talking beer to the barman and a few locals we had our next destination, RFD and Brickskeller, both legendary beer bars in DC. But first a pit-stop to a slice of americana. HAPPY HOUR AT HOOTERS!!! It doesnt get better than a plate of deep fried pickles and a half litre of  bud light for $5. At this point I didnt really care that it was bud light, the preferred beer of the infidel nation. IT WAS $2  A HALF LITRE!! After that little tourist deviation we hit up RFD near china town. Wow. And wow again. This sign says it all:

Thats about all you need to get me and Scott in the door. On tap and in bottles they had a true United Nations going on, just about every beer producing country was proudly represented. Australia was represented by the terrific Coopers stout and pale ale. Strangely cheaper that any local pub in Australia!! I tried the dogfish 90 minute IPA on tap that I had heard so much about and was not disappointed. Full, rounded body and lingering bitterness. And what a colour! Up their with the best IPAs I have tasted and trust me, that list is in the hundreds. Brickskellers is the other associated beer bar. With a cosy basement feel to it, this is the kind of place I could while away quite a few hours with their extensive tap and bottle list combined with knowledgeable staff.

We found our brief stop in DC drawing to a close. In a day we had visited a decent brew pub and two great beer bars that definitely should be on the top of any beer aficionados list if they are ever in the nations capital.
So long DC! Its been a blast, but the smooth jazz and party atmosphere of 'Nawlins is calling.

a final round-up of fine beer drinking in New York City

So I've previously discussed all my favourite places to find, in my humble opinion, the finer brews this great city has to offer. But time was marching on and we had other cities to visit before the mondial de beer in Montreal. So here's a quick review on two other must-see places. Both of these are conveniently located in Mid-Town and are walking/stumbling/awhelljustcatchacab distance for those only in New York for a short period of time but still want to taste good beer.

This place is great for many re-visits. With a huge rotating taplist and many more in bottles its impossible to try everything. But the smart guys and gals have taken mercy on your poor feeble human bodies and thrown you a compromise. Beer Flights. The know how to do them well. There are many options to choose from, by beer style (would sir like to try foreign or domestic lambics?) or price range. Don't want a particular beer on the paddle? I found the staff were happy to substitute it for something else. This means everyone is catered for, from the swill drinking tourist wanting to try something new in the big smoke to the beer connoisseur looking for the next big hit to challenge the taste-buds. Rattle n Hum also do great tasting nights including this little gem we sadly missed out on:

Everything about that poster looks good!!! So make sure Rattle n Hum is on your list to visit when in NYC. Just remember their motto; "no crap on tap" and think twice before ordering that bud-light. Speak to the friendly staff and try something new!

Last place we went for beer was recommended to us by the kind folks at Rattle n Hum. They told us about a place called Gingerman, the greatest beer bar in NYC!! We kinda felt like we were in a fairytale, on a quest to seek out the mythical Gingerman. Well, we found the place and it wasn't exactly what we were expecting. Sure, it had plenty of beer taps and an exciting range of local and imports available but something important was missing. Atmosphere. I've been in plenty of fine drinking establishments all around the world, from small working class pubs in London to backstreet hole in the wall bars in Indonesia and they all have the same sort of camaraderie of raucous joy, were you make best friends with the random guy next to you and sometimes you cant even hear yourself think. Don't get me wrong, sometimes its great to have a quiet drink but atmosphere and company is what makes the average place well, great. Gingerman wasn't exactly devoid of atmosphere, but thanks to its surrounds and walk-in clientele from near by law firms and businesses, it gave off a certain stuffy and stilted atmosphere. We were politely instructed to take a seat at the bar and after a short wait we were served.  This is what their bar looks like, quite enticing indeed!!

Apologies for the lamp in the way. As you can see its a quite impressive line up. A solid mix of quality imports and local and domestic craft on tap and many more in bottles. The lawyer types can drink their imported asahi and pretend to be cultured, while there's still more adventurous offerings like their house beer, Gingerman Ale. Naturally I had to to try this!! Brewed by Captain Lawrence Brewery in up state New York this was certainly an interesting creature. Similar in body and mouth feel to our own Coopers Sparkling Ale with plenty of fizz and back notes of yeast. Not as cloudy as I expected, but with a rich mahogany brown colour. The ginger and spice lingered longingly on the back palate and added warmness. This is the kind of beer that's easy to session drink in the warmer months but would also be perfect to drink slightlty warmed up in the coldest winter. These beers are rarer then hens teeth. Quite a find. As you can see in the photo, Gingerman also does a service to the local community and offers reasonably priced growlers for takeaway. I can imagine a lawyer stumbling back to the office with a growler in each hand.  "Clear my schedule for this afternoon, Mary, I'M BUSY!"

If in New York for the weekend, throw the credit card at the wife/girlfriend/significant other point her in the direction of SOHO. Then high-tail it to these two decent establishments. Also make sure you cancel the credit card and turn off the phone. But most of all, enjoy the beer.

Coney Island Brewing and the applied benefits of an Aussie accent

So right after our little beer brunch at Brooklyn Brewery we wandered down to the famous south eastern tip of Brooklyn, Coney Island. I had researched (yes, I occasionally try act like a professional journalist,) a  brewery that was doing interesting brews with ingredients such as cotton candy and candy apples. This place had to be found! Apparently they were only brewing a few gallons a week, putting them into the nano-brew club. After a brief walk around we found the place, literally a small hole in the wall next to the side show. We got talking to the nice folks inside and found out that their bottled range of beers is actually contract brewed by a great San Francisco brewing company, Shmaltz. The small-batch beers they brew on site are really just for fun. In fact when we walked in they had a mash boiling up to make a hazelnut flavoured brown ale. We got talking to the brewers about beers in australia and home brew techniques. This eventually lead to being able to try one of their beers, discretely poured into a soda cup! Shhhh! Most of their bottled range is available across the US at selected locations where good beer is available. The range is branded as lagers, even though most of them are dark beers. Having tasted some of them I believe this to be a mis-truth. They maybe lagers only by the way they were brewed but they certainly have some great depth of flavour and full rich body. Seek one out today!

brooklyn brewery

It was a cold and chilly sunday morning when Scott and myself woke up with the thought of local beer on our mind. So with that we caught a sub and walked a few blocks to the lovely Brooklyn Brewery. They even had a cat waiting for us

Poor Kitty was a lil cold. So we tried their now famous beers and let me tell you something, for a brewery with a bottling line that has its products pretty much all over the great state of New York and pops up on tap in a few other states, they brew a consistently good range of decent beers. The ever popular Brooklyn Lager has a good amount of body to it, malty and hoppy and a step above budweiser/coors/millers etc. The fact that its on tap in a lot of fine venues is a testament to its popularity beyond its home borough. But my pick from their line up was definately their winter seasonal beer. Chocolate Stout. A bit cold straight from the tap but when allowed to warm up and breathe a bit the full flavour shone through. Rich, malty and most certainly a distinct sweetish chocolate after taste. It was the perfect drop for a cold day in Brooklyn. I just wish they had a few bottles to take home with me. If you are staying in New york, do yourself a favour, catch the L train to Williamsburg and try a classy brew with some friendly locals.

A few cool places near McSorleys

As Ive mentioned before, McSorleys is an awesome bar, but the craft beer lover is in for a treat, because theres 3 other fantastic beer bars next door! starting with the Burp Castle, wich again only focuses on a 10 tap rotating beer menu and nothing else. They have a great mix of Belgian beers and a few east coast breweries. Plus the entire bar is painted like how I want my bedroom to be painted. With a nice beer mural or three!

I tried a Pint of Allagash Curieux, a belgian triple ale style beer made by a Maine brewery. Interestingly its been aged in Jim Beam barrels. Quite a tasty drop. Next up the street was Standings bar, a sportsbar with a huge range of craft beers on tap and available in bottles. A flight (tasting tray) of 4 4oz servings cost a measily $10. Again we tried some great IPAs, Stone arrogant bastard and smuttynose IPA stood out as seriously decent drops. And who cant love a brewery with a name like smutty nose? lastly we went down stairs to a little bar called 43 something I cant seem to remember! This place was more like a cosy restaurant with the added bonus of a nice draft beer list. We indulged in another sampler tray of some more decent beers before leaving the area. If in New York this little street is worth checking out!

McSorleys and Company

This is history folks. The oldest public house in New York. Theres old timers outside, smoking cigars and talking passionately about the yankees. I wish i could share the smell of the inside with you all, the sawdust covered floor, the smell of a million spilt beers and god knows what else on the ancient wooden  floor. Just what you would expect. To me its homely and welcoming, to others it must smell rank. The selection? well if you asked for a bud lite you probably would get asked to leave. Theres no wine list, no cocktails, hell even no spirits. You have two choices at McSorleys. Two. Light or dark beer. served in a mug. 2 for $5.  They were both delicious. So heres to you McSorleys, stay true.

picklebacks

What we are looking at here folks is a one way ticket to a messy night. $5 pickleback shots @ the backpacker bar. Its a shot of green label  evan williams bourbon whiskey followed by a shot of pickle juice. Yes you have read right. Went down a treat. Had to chase it with a pint of delicious Goose Island IPA to try and keep my tongue alive.

Heartland Brewery

So heres a brewpub chain thats pretty much all over Manhattan.  So we just HAD to try it. Seriously they have their own tourist map of manhattan with all of their brewpup locations helpfully labelled and not much else on the map. Luckily they had a tasting tray which as we learnt is called a "flight" around these parts.

So how good is it? well we are talking brewpub chain here and though I was hoping for something as decent, like our own James Squires brewhouses, my expectations were pretty low. They make all the usuals, light lager, pils, "wheat beer", IPA, stout plus a few seasonals. Starting with the light lager kinda set the mood for the rest of the tasting tray. It was light and tasted vaguely like an orange soda. The pils again was quite light on flavour or body. Both smelled more than they actually delivered. Still ok to drink ice cold on a hot day. The wheat beer was pretty much a joke. It smelt sour and slightly musty. The flavour? Well as Scott put it, like dirty dishwater. I could not finnish it. Their "west coast style"  IPA promised big things on the nose, big resiny phenols and fresh pine. The body, like the colour, was rather light. Alot more bitter than their other beers but no-were near a true IPA in terms of bitterness or body or flavour or pretty much anything. As for the west coast claim? Son, you better stick to practising before you try and step up to the big boys. Lastly we tried their stout and brown ale. Much better, not the best ive ever drunk but definately an improvement on the rest of the range. It was all comming together nicely. Good colour, decent aroma, flavour that lingered and an allright body to boot. Not bad at all. I think Heartland has a good thing going here. They are conveniently located in all the big tourist hotspots, make decent food, have a range of ok/hit and miss beers that are slightly left of center but still familiar to the masses. The service was great and friendly. Give it a go if you are in New York, just dont expect your world to move.

Its a strange world

Its great how every deli I walk into has a decent selection of local craft beer. And alot of them have budweiser cans for $1.50 ON ICE IN THE FRONT OF THE FREAKING STORE! The more I think about it, its really easy to get your booze fix on the go in New york. Southport port area, you can actually buy a beer and its licensed to carry it around the port with you. Coney Island, great little brewery (more on that later) but every second stall seems to be selling pina coladas in yard glasses or coors lite etc.  So it seems to be atleast from my visit that relaxing of liquor laws hasnt really lead to any increase in violence or anything. In every single club/bar/dice we went to we never ever once saw any sort of violence or anything. Same with street drinking. Kinda puts things into perspective. Then again almost everywhere we went we were asked for ID.

the epic flight

so we partied pretty hard on monday night. I think we got a grand total of 2 hours sleep. So perth airport at 430am we certainly werent in the best state:

MMMM!! DRINK IT DOWN! so we left perth at 430am arrived at sydney around midday. You know what that means! midday scotch! luckily sydney international caters for people like us

And then the fun began. 14hr direct flight to San Fran. Me old mate scott really got stuck into all the complimentary booze from United. I was kind enough to let him drink 6 cans of VB before telling him 8 hours into the flight that spirits are also complimentary. two double bourbons and coke later and this is the result

Pure class!! So after landing at San fran at 11am on the 17th we realised we had were kinda pressed for time. After clearing customs, re-checking in our luggage, running halfway around the airport and getting though a very comprehensive security screening process we had exactly 10 minutes until boarding time for our new york flight. so what would scott and shannon do? Of course we found a nice bar serving delicious local beer!! bottoms up its boarding time!

30+ hours later and still apparently the 17th we landed in new york. Lets not do this kinda flying for atleast another 7 weeks

an important lesson learnt!

ZOROK!! I mean seriously its $20 a carton. In australian dollars this equals much win. But hey what does it taste like? well let me show you a picture:

This is Matt, your typical poor student. He has been raised on a steady diet of emu bitter and still finds the taste of this Thai beer quite offensive to any standards of common decency.  Still I think Ill be using the remainder of the carton for drinking games!

This is me and the clunge-meister general aka scotty. Yeh i can wear a tight pink polo and still appear manly enough with the addition of a 1litre stein. Only a few days to go until our US/Canada trip! We will be blogging live from quite a few brewpubs and breweries and also the mondial de beir in Montreal. Cant wait!

that happy appliance!

This is my mate scott modeling the correct usage of the most valuable life-giving appliance in the whole house. Its also his live-in partner. Normally i have a rule about sharing a house with couples. But i made an exception when i saw this shiny lady. Two taps. 3 20ltr kegs. constant temperature. Here is a NSFW picture of her "ahem" intimate areas

 hot huh? Shes exactly 5 steps from the couch. Or a one minute drunken crawl when you fall off said couch

I have my own house. This is awesome for a number of reasons. On my week off i can sit in my underwear at midday on a monday, on my nice couch with an even nicer pale ale in my hand without any weird looks from anyone but the dog. Also i have found that the vegetable crisper draw in my fridge makes a handy place to store loose beer. Recently some of my mates have moved in. This is good because one of them has brought his Kegerator Beer fridge. BEER ON TAP? HELL YEAH!! more on that happy appliance later. But seriously what the fuck is that green looking thing in my beer draw? does anyone know?