1292. Hedgerow Bitter


1292hedgerow

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project
Alcohol: 5.40%
Serving: Bottle, 22 oz.
Style: English Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 4.5 | Smell: 4.0 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 4.5 | Drinkability:  4.5

Overall: 4.2 

Hedgerow Bitter pours a cloudy, dark golden. It's topped by an off-white, stiff, meringue-like head that fades leaving good lace. The aroma is mildly malty with sweet fruity esters, and grassy hops.

This beer has mildly bready and toasty malts. The finish has nice grassy, and leafy hop flavors that leave a lingering bitterness. This beer is medium-bodied, and has prickly carbonation and a nice dryness.

A very nice rendition of an English Bitter.

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853-854. Burlington: American Flatbread

Jadyn and I went to Burlington, Vermont the weekend of July 11th. We left Cambridge at about 3:30 and drove to Burlington. After checking into our hotel and relaxing for about an hour we walked into town and decided to have dinner at American Flatbread. We'd been to a similar restaurant in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on the way back from skiing a couple times. The two have to be related somehow; they have similar menus, and similar atmospheres, but they have different websites. The one in Burlington has a brewery associated with it, so I wanted to stop for dinner and beer.

We started with their Evolution Salad, which has greens, carrots, celery, arame seaweed, and crumbled blue cheese topped with a nice raspberry vinaigrette. They have an identical salad at the restaurant in Portsmouth, it's so good that it was a must order for us. I had one of the special pizzas, which had chipotle barbecued pork, smoked cheddar cheese and zucchini, and Jadyn had the ratatouille pizza. Both pizzas were very tasty as was the slice of carrot cake that we split for dessert.

853. Mr. Black

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Zero Gravity Brewery
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Tap
Style: Schwarzbier, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 4.5 | Drinkability: 4.0

Overall: 3.95


Pours a clear, brownish black with garnet tints against the light. Topped by a thick, beige head that thins to a persistent film. The aromas are light overall, but still pleasing. There's a nice whiff of cherries, some caramel notes, and a nice roastiness on swirling.

There's a light bready sweetness upfront that's met by a toasty malts with some hints of caramel. Roasty throughout with a nice bit of roasted bitterness in the finish. Light-bodied, high carbonation, crisp.

Flavorful and easily sessionable.

854. London Calling

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Zero Gravity Brewery
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Tap
Style: English Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 4.5 | Drinkability: 4.0

Overall: 3.85


Pours a hazed copper. Topped by a thin, sudsy film of a head. The aroma is relatively light. There are hints of apple fruitiness and a juicy hop presence. There's a grainy, mineral yeast aroma.

Toasty, lightly sweet, caramel malts. Moves through to an apple-like character in the finish with some husky, hop bitterness and a light citric character. Light-bodied, moderately carbonated with a nice dryness in the finish.

Good balance with a dryness that keeps you drinking.

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823-824. New York: Rabbit Club

After leaving Burp Castle David and I went to Spitzer's Corner for dinner. David has the herb roasted chicken and I had a tasty Duck Confit.

After dinner we went to the Rabbit Club, a basement bar somewhere in the West Village. The bar itself was long and narrow and darkly lit. After a certain point they shut the front door and people had to ring the buzzer to get in.

After leaving the Rabbit Club we aught the Metro North back to Pelham and watched some South Park on David's computer.

823. Ivanhoe

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Ridgeway Brewing
Alcohol: 5.20%
Serving: Bottle
Style: English Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a hazy, amber copper. Topped by a sudsy beige head. Light lace clings to the glass. The aroma is sweet malts, caramel, and a bit of grassy hoppiness. Toasty malts upfront, light sweetness throughout with a good bitterness in the finish. Moderate carbonation, light-bodied.

824. Cwrw Braf

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Tomos Watkin Brewery
Alcohol: 4.20%
Serving: Bottle
Style: English Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Clear copper with a head that fades to a patchy film. The aroma is sweet and malty caramel with a hint of fruit. Toasty upfront with a touch of fruitiness and a light bitterness. The finish is husky. Overall I though it lacked flavor and character.

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661-669. NERAX 2007

I went to the New England Real Ale Exhibition on Wednesday the 2nd. NERAX is an annual real ale event held in Somerville, MA. All beers at NERAX are cask conditioned, and are served by gravity or hand pump. I'd been the previous year, and it had slipped my mind that it was coming up. Fortunately, I passed by the Dilboy VFW Post on my way home to do laundry and noticed the sign. It's only about three blocks from my apartment so I walked over at 5:45, but wasn't able to get in until 7:15 because of limited admissions.


The Dilboy Post


The firkins

I stuck to half-pints this year, except the last beer I had which was a pint. Overall it was a pretty good fest, a little expensive, but the beer was good. I wore my Cantillon shirt and counted eight comments from other people.

661. Portsmouth American Mild

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Portsmouth Brewery
Alcohol: 4.80%
Serving: Cask, Half-Pint
Style: English Pale Mild Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a hazy copper with a thin sudsy head. The aroma is nicely hoppy and citric with toasted malts and a heavy fruitiness. Malty upfront with toasty, bready and caramel flavors. The finish has a lingering resiny and citric hop bitterness. Light-bodied with low carbonation, and a touch oily.

662. Martha's Smoked Porter

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Martha's Exchange
Alcohol: 6.20%
Serving: Cask, Half-Pint
Style: American Porter, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a dark black with a thin, dense, brown head that fades quickly. The aroma is dominated by smoke, with some evident coffee and chocolate notes, swirling brings out fruity and hoppy aromas. Mildly sweet upfront that is a mix of fruit and chocolate. The finish is smoky with a nice roasted bitterness.

663. Hop Back Crop Circle


Beer Stats:
Brewery: Hop Back Brewery
Alcohol: 4.20%
Serving: Cask, Half-Pint
Style: Herbed/Spiced Beer, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a lightly hazy golden with a thin, white film for a head. The aroma is grainy with a bit of sulfur, as well as yeastiness and a hint of sour apple. Grainy with some sour apple fruitiness as well as a nice grassy bitterness in the finish. Light-bodied, moderate carbonation with a dry finish.

664
. Hop Back G.F.B.

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Hop Back Brewery
Alcohol: 3.50%
Serving: Cask, Half-Pint
Style: English Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours an almost clear copper with a sudsy white head. The aroma is much the same as the Crop Circle, with a hint of sulfur and some grassy aromas. The taste is also similar to Crop Circle, but a bit more bitter. Medium-bodied, moderate carbonation and dry in the finish.

665. Hop Back Summer Lightning

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Hop Back Brewery
Alcohol: 5.00%
Serving: Cask, Half-Pint
Style: English Bitter, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a clear golden-copper with a relatively dense, sudsy, white head. The same hint of sulfur gives this beer a characteristic "Hop Back" aroma, but the graininess is diminished and a hint of caramel takes its place. Sweet and fruity upfront followed by a significant grassy bitterness. Medium-bodied, low carbonation and smooth with a grassy dryness in the finish.

666. Hop Back Odyssey


Beer Stats:
Brewery: Hop Back Brewery
Alcohol: 4.00%
Serving: Cask, Half-Pint
Style: English Bitter, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a hazy amber with a sudsy, off-white head. The aroma is yeasty grassy and hoppy. Toasty malts upfront that become lightly sweet in the center. The finish is a nice mild herbal bitterness. Low-carbonation, light-to-medium-bodied.

667. Dark Star HopHead

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Dark Star Brewing
Alcohol: 3.80%
Serving: Cask, Half-Pint
Style: English Bitter, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a lightly hazy golden with a sudsy white head. Piney, resiny hops dominate the aroma with some graininess that appears upon swirling. Malty upfront, only lightly sweet, with a nice resiny hop bitterness in the finish. Light-bodied with low carbonation.

668. Harpoon Brown Session Ale

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
Alcohol: 4.30%
Serving: Cask, Half-Pint
Style: American Brown Ale, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a hazy, amber-brown with a beige head. The aroma is malty with notes of caramel as well as a nice dose of hops. The flavors are malty with notes of caramel, fruit and nuttiness. The finish is nicely hoppy. Light-bodied, low carbonation.

669
. Moat Mountain Brown Spruce

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Moat Mountain Smoke House & Brewing
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Cask, Pint
Style:Herbed/Spiced Beer, BJCP Style Guide

Pours a dark brown with a half-inch, beige head. The aroma is malty with nutty and caramel aromas. The taste is much the same with a lightly bitter finish. The spruce is evident, but becomes much more noticeable towards the end of the pint. Light-to-medium-bodied, low carbonation.

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652. Ipswich Original Ale

652. Ipswich Original Ale

Beer Stats:
Brewery: Mercury Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.60%
Serving: Growler
Style: English Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide

I had a pint of this out of a growler sized bottle last night at a birthday thing for Jadyn's roommate. I didn't take notes, and this is from memory, but I'll do my best.

It poured a clear amber with a sudsy beige head that sticks around. The aromas are malty and hoppy. The palate is the same, with lightly sweet bready and toasty malts upfront followed by a nice hoppy bitterness that lingers in the finish. I remember thinking the beer felt a bit thin. Overall a very drinkable beer, nicely balanced and flavorful.

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358 - 363. The New England Real Ale Exhibition

Last night I went to the final session of the 10th Annual New England Real Ale Exhibition (NERAX) at the George Dilboy V.F.W. Post in Somerville, MA (only a few blocks from my apartment). All beer served at NERAX is Real Ale, meaning it is cask-conditioned. The NERAX site has a good brief description of what Real Ales are all about.

I've heard that NERAX is one of the best Real Ale events in the country. Unfortunately the final session probably wasn't the best one to go to. Many of the casks had already been emptied during previous sessions, and several were emptied during the session. Still, I had several excellent beers and I walked away with a nifty NERAX Imperial Pint glass.

Full-pints (20 oz.), half-pints (10 oz.) and quarter-pints (5 oz.) were available at the cash bar. I stuck to half-pints and quarter pints to maximize the number of different beers that I could sample. I also tried to cut down on the length of my tasting notes since it's hard to write and drink when standing.


358. Young's Bitter - England

Appearance: Clear copper, with a thin white head.

Smell: Malty with resiny hops.

Taste: Light toasty malts with a pleasing hop bitterness that isn't overpowering. The flavor of hops is more pronounced than the hop aromas.

Mouthfeel: Low-carbonation, smooth and light-bodied.

Drinkability: Very easy to drink, nice bitterness that isn't overpowering.


359. Dark Star American Pale Ale - England

Appearance: Pours a clear golden with a frothy thin head.

Smell: Very pronounced hops.

Taste: Sweet bready malts with a strong hop finish with notes of citrus.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, low-carbonation, oily.

Drinkability: Nice interplay of flavors, but the hops might be too much for some.


360. Milly's Brown-noser - New Hampshire

Appearance: Pours an almost opaque dark brown with ruby edges. The only sign of a head is a thin ring of bubbles.

Smell: Roasted malts and dark fruit.

Taste: Sweet malts and fruit upfront, fading into light roasted flavors of chocolate and maybe a hint of coffee.

Mouthfeel: Smooth with very low carbonation.

Drinkability: Nice subdued sweet and roasted flavors.


361. Coniston Bluebird Bitter XB - England

Appearance: Clear copper with a thin bubbly head.

Smell: Damp cloth, nutty, hops.

Taste: Toasty malts, fruitiness, not a lot of hop presence.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, and light to medium-bodied.

Drinkability: Not huge on flavors, but easy to drink.


362. Milly's 4th Anniversary Ale
- New Hampshire

Appearance: Pours a clear reddish copper with a thin bubbly head.

Smell: Piney hops with a light citrus.

Taste: Light sweetness with a piney hoppy finish.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied and oily.

Drinkability: Hard to tell, I'm full of beer.


363. Sam Adams Nut Brown Ale - Massachusetts

Appearance: Opaque black with a thin bubbly head.

Smell: Nutty toffee, caramel and roasted malts.

Taste: Sweet caramel, dark fruits. The finish is sweet and candy-like with hints of roasted malts.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied with a sweet syrupy finish.

Drinkability: Tasty, but a little heavy.

Overall I had a good time at NERAX. Of the beers I tried I think Dark Star APA is the winner, followed by Sam Adams Nut Brown Ale.

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