What was I drinking?

I found my thrill, on Cherry Hill...

Flying Fish brewery, operating out of Cherry Hill, New Jersey decided to celebrate their 10th birthday in style. A limited run of a very special porter was brewed, this one with the added ingredient of coffee. Imperial Espresso Porter has a deep and dark brown color, and almost looks like a coca-cola. It tastes strongly of roasted malts, and has a very chocolaty flavor.

I liked that this was brewed in the Imperial style, akin to the Baltic style of porters prevalent in Scandinavia, Russia, and the Baltic States. It's 8 % ABV is what Latvians call "Gumijas āmurs," or "The Rubber Mallet." It will give you a good whacking and make you dizzy. Unlike the Baltic Porters, I suspect that this is top-fermented, given the similarities to Ale, and the use of English Ale yeast.

What was I drinking?

Sierra Nevada brewery's
Bigfoot Barleywine style Ale

Ahhhh, they had me at "Barleywine."

Sierra Nevada has long been one of my favorite microbrews, who have gone "big" without compromising their quality. Brewmaster Steve Dresler has been with the outfit since 1983, when they were producing 30 barrels a week; they now have an annual production of some 700,000 barrels of beer. They operate out of Chico, California and have recently expanded their operation from "Brewery/Taproom" and Restaurant, to now include a music venue that features top acts from the Country, Bluegrass, Blues genre. They are also a very environment-responsible company, and plan to be operated entirely via fuel cell technology by the end of this year.

"Bigfoot" is a seasonal ale with a gorgeous red body. It is as "stinky" as its namesake -- the maltiness is quite strong, and has a good bitter hoppiness to it. It's quite sweet and has a lingering aftertaste. It goes great with cheesecake, and raspberries. Top-fermented yeast, added with two separate bittering hops and three different malts, make this a heavy ale. It is a classic barleywine, what Latvians call "Gumijas āmurs," or "The Rubber Mallet." It will give you a good whacking and make you dizzy. Alcohol by Volume: 9.6%, so like its namesake, "Bigfoot" is not a beast to be trifled with.

A true afficionado will certainly appreciate this fine brew, especially in moderation and in concert with some sweets. Those just looking for a buzz will find it pretty skunky.

What was I drinking?

O Hanami Ale
It has a taste of cherry
A seasonal brew

My try at a Haiku, in praise of this weekend's brew. It hails from the Granite state, aka NewHampshire, and made by the brew masters of the Smuttynose brewery. I like them a lot. They are on top of their game, be it ales, lagers and even porters. I was sorry to hear that their beloved Olive, the "mascot" of the Old Brown Dog Ale, passed away last month. She was just shy of her 16th birthday.

Hanami Ale is named for the ancient Japanese custom of cherry-blossom viewing. People from all over Japan congregate in parklands to enjoy the blossoms, called sakura. Folks were generally in good spirits and jovial -- Hanami is on the order of a national picnic.

The label features Mt. Fuji in the background, framed by cherry blossoms. Traditional Japanese icons, the mikado cat, sushi, and a cutesy doll make for a colorful foreground.

Hanami ale is available only from February to April. It is a pretty good medium-bodied ale. Hopefully it will warm up some in the coming weeks, to where the Weeping Cherry in my backyard blooms, and I can cook outside on the grill. We did fire up the smoker last week and gave some eels the treatment, but thats another story. I could see sitting out back on my patio, knocking some of these back and just taking in the blossoming cherry tree in the twilight.