An Imperial Stout Grows in Brooklyn

When it comes to the winter months, I enjoy the heartier, more robust beers to keep me warm from the inside out. While at The Scotland Yard Pub, I was looking for just that type of beer and found Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout my new winter warmer. Unfortunately, there isn't chocolate in the beer, as the name may make you think, while it refers to the specially toasted malt used in brewing the beer that mimics the taste of chocolate. Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout is a medium bodied, dark Imperial Stout brewed in Brooklyn, NY. What makes Brooklyn Brewery special is that it can be considered local because it contract brews (gets assistance with) its larger brand name beers at F.X. Matt Brewing Company in Utica, NY, home of Saranac Beer, because Brooklyn Brewery isn't equipt to handle the volumn and demand.  Getting away from the technical jargen, you may ask yourself, 'what is an Imperial Stout?' If you enjoy stouts, think of it as a stout but with a huge kick...of alcohol that is. Typically, Imperial Stouts can have an alcohol content of  9 - 11%,  with most ales and lagers are 4-5%, with  Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout fitting in at 10% . Dont' let the high alcohol content make you think that the alcohol alone will over-power the beer because it was brewed to be well balanced with its smooth, malty finish. This type of beer needs to be appreciated slowly, perfect while cherishing the holidays.

That's brew to me...What's Brew To You?

A Night at Scotland Yard

Have you ever been or wanted to go to a NYC neighborhood pub? Experienced or not, we are all in luck because a little piece of “the city that never sleeps” has found its way into downtown Rochester giving you that NYC vibe and ambiance without having to pay a NYC price.  To find this jewel, venture downtown to St. Paul and you will find the Scotland Yard Pub.

The Scotland Yard Pub welcomes you with the feel of NYC adding a slight twist of British appeal. You could say The Scotland Yard Pub is much like a Gastropub with offerings such as wood-fired pizzas, Asian inspired spicy garlic wings doused in their signature Scotland Yard sauce, gourmet sandwiches/burgers and salads. According to staff, the chef obtains produce and meats daily ensuring the freshness of the menu.  As I sat with my wife thoroughly enjoying our White Pizza accompanied with Dragon Wings, I scoped out what other tables were being served, my thoughts immediately went to, ‘I am going to get that next time!’ Overall, dinner was amazing, very well priced for the huge portions that you get and service was impeccable (heck, the waitress even asked if I wanted my beer poured into my glass…at the table).

Now on to the reason, other than the delicious food, of why I am writing a post to my blog about this amazing place; The Scotland Yard Pub highly supports local craft beer. Equally as impressive as their wine list, the selection of beers is large but more importantly the pub supports our local brewers Rohrbachs, Three Heads Brewing, ROC Brewing Co., and Genesee Brewing Company. I spoke with one of the pub’s partners, Terry Owen, and I could tell right away he had a vision and a passion for good food and beer. Terry is truly a supporter of local brewers and was able to share with me that he would like to increase his taps to include more local beer in the near future.

As Terry told me, The Scotland Yard Pub brings the NYC appeal without driving 6 hours to get there. Amazing beer, amazing food, amazing experience…this is what The Scotland Yard Pub is all about.

As always you can support your local craft brewers by supporting our local bars and pubs that support them.

P.S.

My wife’s only recommendation, and Terry agreed, that potato skins with the Scotland Yard sauce is needed.

Genesee 12 Horse Ale Review

Apart of the Heritage Collection, which is a 12 pack of Genny Cream Ale, Genny, and of course Genny 12 Horse Ale, a friend of mine was nice enough to give me a bottle 12 Horse Ale for me to try.  The best explaination I have in regards to taste; 12 Horse has a malty characteristic, medium bitterness, a body that reminds me of a lager, and truly a highly drinkable beer ( meaning you can have more 2 or more and not get bored with it).

Reintroduced to the market recently, Genny 12 Horse Ale was taken off the market by its previous owners for various reasons, and is now all the buzz because this nostolgic beer brings back great memories everyone who enjoyed it. Many of those who had 12 Horse Ale in the past have been raving about its comeback thus introducing a new generation of beer enthusiasts to what had should have never been lost. Genesee Brewery states that 12 Horse Ale is an English Style Ale with a moderate alcohol content of 5.1%. Other known English Style Ales are Bass Ale and Newcastle Brown Ale. One thing that needs to be mentioned, the bottle that the beers from the Heritage Collection come in are unique in that they are shorter, more barrel like bottles with no neck. If you have had a Red Stripe beer before or know what the bottle looks like, it is one in the same.

For more information on the Heritage Collection pack, check out Genesee Brewery's website at: http://www.geneseebeer.com/HeritageCollection

That's brew to me...What's Brew To You?

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy...Ben Franklin”

Over the past 5 years, it seems that beer has become a way of life for me. Gone are the college years of drinking whatever beer was put int my hand without a care of how good it tasted (more alcohol please!). Today, my pallet has expanded, with a smidge of sophistication, to truly enjoy the complexity of god's nectar. As my quest to explore the various types of beers from local micro breweries to the internationally known,  my scientific curiousity got the best of me and I found myself entering the world of homebrewing. After interning at my local brewery for a couple of months, I graduated from kits to building my own mini brewery in my garage so that I can brew like the big boys. As a side note, I just want to thank my wife for letting me take over the garage so that I can make my All-Grain brews and keep my friends and neighbors happy.

As often as I can, I will publish my adventures of homebrewing as well as give beer reviews, discuss beer culture and hopefully get a few recipes for food with beer pairings.

With this post, I will say that this Saturday, I will be brewing an All Grain, 6-Malt Amber Ale so be ready for my update along with my recipe. Also, I will be trying Genesee Brewery's 12 Horse Ale so be on the lookout for that review.



That's brew to me...What's Brew To You?