Exhibiting Pour Judgement and Liking It, in Newport, RI

We took today to make a Christmas season trip down to Newport Rhode Island to see how the original 1% lived back at the turn of the 20th Century.

My husband, son and I (no Dave on this trip)   traipsed through the famous summer "cottages" of the Vanderbilts and their ilk, The Breakers, Marble House, and The Elms.

Looking at all this opulence causes one to work up a mighty thirst. We were supposed to be headed to visit my parents over on Cape Cod after we were done here, but after skipping lunch all three of us were feeling that a meal would be better before the hour drive to grandma's.

We consulted Foursquare to see what was nearby to us. A huge list of foodrinkeries appeared, but one in particular caught my eye.  Pour Judgement.

Ohio Shenanigans - Great Lakes Brewing Company and Beautiful Cleveland

While I was visiting Pittsburgh and surrounds, waiting for my daughter to finish up classes before Thanksgiving, I found myself with a free day on Monday.

I figured "Cleveland isn't too far away, I'll go to Cleveland!"

I made the arrangements for face to face meetup with Bill and Stacey of Nothing But Love. I've had mutual admiration and blog friendliness with them for going on a decade now through my official blog (a)musings. It would be great to meet them live and in person.

I picked the Great Lakes Brewing Company so I could sample their food and brews. With a two hour drive ahead of me and a smile on my face, I departed for what some people call "The Mistake by the Lake." More on that later.

The restaurant was doing a booming business for a Monday lunch. The place was packed, one could even say mobbed. It was almost like everyone in Cleveland was there all at once. I got the impression that it isn't just the beer people are there for, but the food. At some brewpubs,  you know people are there for the beer first and foremost... this was definitely the eatery destination for the district.

Shenanigans by Fireside: Angry Orchard Ginger Apple Cider and Magic Hat Sampler

My husband and I (without Dave) took our dogs for a long hike and swim yesterday, seizing a beautiful and amazing fall Saturday afternoon. On the way home Doug had a hankering for some cider, so we stopped by Georgetown Liquors to pick up provisions.

Doug got Angry Orchard Apple Ginger Cider, from Cincinnati, Ohio. Seeing as we're in Woodchuck country, he thought he'd give it a try.

He also grabbed the latest and greatest mix from Magic Hat.  Marketed as Winterland, it has four brews for the sampling.

We built a fire in the fire pit as the sun was setting. The air got cold good and fast, and we set to sampling.

The Apple Ginger Cider was delicious. I was afraid of the "ginger" content because I've had ginger beers and stuff with ginger as an ingredient, and always have found it not to my liking. This was more like regular ginger ale with a touch of apple cider. It was crisp and smooth, and went down easy.


Too easy one might say if one liked to say such things. I really enjoyed it.

Then to Magic Hat.

I started with the Encore, which is a mix of IPA and wheat beer. It was great. Loved it. Really wonderful flavor and a great aftertaste.

Doug had  Ravell, which was slightly disappointing. It lacked body, was a touch watery for something supposed to be a porter, wasn't quite the beer we had hoped it would be.

It was dark, you could barely see through it, but it was in the end just kind of boring. The hints of vanilla weren't barely noticed by either of us. It was an "odd porter" for sure but just didn't really do anything for either of us.

We moved on to their "Howl" which was much better. It is listed as a Dark Lager, and like the Ravell it sure is dark, but so tasty and filled with flavor.

Then we had the classic #9, which we've enjoyed a million times. Doug said he though this tasted different than he recalled, it was much crisper, cleaner, deeper, and maybe just fresher than what we'd bought in the past.

Shenanigans Hiatus of Sorts

So last Wednesday was off for us, and this Wednesday is on hold until Saturday Night. I'm taking Dave to a Trivia Night Fundraiser for our school district's education foundation. Cash bar, not sure if there is beer on tap, or just in bottles, but we'll have a nice time nonetheless. Doug will be joining us so our team of awesome trivia experts will put a hurt on anyone else.

Apologies to the shenanifans who sit and wait for an update.

In other news, I will be making a trip to Pittsburgh later this month. My sister in law told me there is a new craft brewer who has a partnership with a restaurant in Rochester PA, so I'm going to pre-arrange a meeting or tour and write them up. Also, there are two destinations I have in mind for my solo shenanigans while I'm there and I can't wait to write about them. One is a brewery that used to be a church, sort of like the Holy Grail concept with the restaurant and everything, but they brew their own beers there, so it is a destination not to be missed for sure. Second is the Hoffbrauhaus in Pittsburgh, which is owned by the famous Munich Hoffbrauhaus folks. They brew all their own as well, and my daughter has been there once or twice and said the food is great.

If time allows, a trip to Cleveland on Monday to see friends who live there and possibly visit the Great Lakes Brewing Company brew pub.

Greatly looking forward to branching out with the shenanigans!

Stump Pub Trivia at The Tap

Shenanigans this past Wednesday night! What a good time! Dave and I arrived at The Tap in Haverhill at about 6:30. Dave kicked things off with Oktoberfest on cask (always too warm for my liking are the cask drawn beers but Dave loves it) and I had a Verruckt Pilsner.

I was disappointed to hear from my favorite barkeep Jon that the unique and wonderful Beerstand Berlinerweiss went down into history earlier this week. We really enjoyed that, and after the Beerfest I knew I would want to come back and have some more. But we never dragged ourselves over there and our delay was our undoing. So disappointed. I let him know that we loved it, and look forward to it coming back.

Doug's train came in at 7 and we ordered dinner (Doug got the reuben, I got the awesome quesadilla, and Dave went with the fried calamari).  We split a pitcher of their Gestalt beer, which is Dave's favorite, and I must admit mine too.

World Series game 1 was on the big screen, and we all cheered for local boy done good, Chris Carpenter. When your team isn't in the big dance, sometimes it is just fun to watch the game for the game's sake.

Stump Pub Trivia started at 8:30pm, which was a little late for me. I wanted it to start at 7 so we could get home at a decent hour. I'm old, I guess. Plus, I knew Dave would hit his witching hour around 10pm and be ready to roll home and get tucked in. For those not in the know, there is an emcee, and he reads out the questions, four rounds with four questions, and bonus rounds in the middle. We named our team "The Zanesville Tigers" in honor of the big cats who were shot in that city in Ohio when their owner set them free and then committed suicide. 

We did pretty well with the trivia. Dave got some laughs at the bar with the bonus question. The emcee read "a multi-millionaire, producer, musician, and actor" as the first clue, and he stood up and yelled "Hey! That's ME!"

We didn't win, but held our own. I let Doug talk me out of two questions where I had the right answer and his was wrong.

I don't know if we'll go every Wednesday, as it wrapped up after 11pm, but it sure was fun. We will be back!

Oh Shenanifans, I have not forgotten you....

We just haven't had many shenanigans to speak of. That changes tonight.

Doug and I are taking Dave to The Tap in Haverhill. I think there is Pub Trivia on Wednesday nights, so we'll eat, we'll crack jokes loudly, and hopefully (if there is trivia) mop the floor with everyone else. Dave may have short term memory loss, but he knows stuff from back in the day that's for certain! And Doug is kind of a machine. I'm there to yell "Brett Favre!" when I know the one sports answer that comes my way.

Join us if you like.

shift in shenanigans

Looks like our shenanigans will be moving to Wednesday evenings going forward, which bums me out but I'm happy to work with Dave's schedule and needs. Not sure how far afield I can take him and get home in time to be happily in bed.



Watch for a new shenanigans update this week.

At Fuel and Fuddle in Pittsburgh PA

I had lunch with my daughter in Pittsburgh on my way back from Ohio. Her favorite place is located near her college, and is called Fuel and Fuddle. I didn't have any beer because I had 12 hours of driving ahead of me. This made me sad because they have a lot of great beers there.

However, I did take this picture while I was there, and the genius of Hunter S. Thompson is something I ascribe to. Enjoy.

Solo Shenanigans in Ohio

This past weekend I attended a funeral in Bowling Green Ohio. After the mercy meal and a big nap, a bunch of us went out to have a beer or three at a local bar. It was a sports bar, with Bud on draught and the most exciting beer they had in the tap was Magic Hat #9.

I asked the barmaid what they had that was locally sourced. In bottles, they had Great Lakes Brewing Company. I had the Eliot Ness and the Holy Moses wit beer. Both were very tasty, and I was happy to enjoy  local brews even though they didn't offer them on draught. We stopped at a supermarket to get bottled waters for our long trip home, and the grocery store had a beer aisle. So I stopped to see what they had from local breweries.

There was a nice selection of beers from Ohio and Michigan, I had to limit myself because I could have bought several dozen different 6 packs but I settled for a tasters pack of beers fr the Great Lakes brewing company, and a six pack of Oberon Ale from Bell's Brewery of Kalamazoo, MI.

Dave will also receive a 12 pack of the Great Lakes, and we'll sing "Cuyahoga" by REM as we drink the Burning River Pale Ale.

In November, I'm heading to Pittsburgh and may have a few days to entertain myself. I have some friends in the Cleveland area... so a possible side trip to the Great Lakes brew pub may be in my future.

Haverhill Brewery Brewfest Shenanigans

It occurs to me as I sit here with feet up and Dr. Who on the tube with a Dogfish Head 60 minute by my side that if we'd gone to the evening Brewfest session, we'd be getting home around now. Late, tired, and full of beer.

As is, I did get home tired and full of beer, had a nap, and now I have gone through my pictures and can do a write up of the event.

I'll preface the whole write up with the fact that this was our first visit to the Brewfest and we'll be back next year for sure. We ran into several friends who had been to previous Brewfests here and they all said this was the best run, most organized, really delicious event. So thumbs up to the Haverhill Brewery and Tap staff. I hope the evening session went as well as the afternoon session did. 

Dave, my husband Doug, and I headed down  to town, and had a heck of a hard time finding a place to park. We knew this would happen... Haverhill is notorious for little parking and with an influx of a billion beer fans things would be even tighter. We finally got a place to park at about 1pm, and headed in to feast.

The Tap restaurant, the basement, and the former antiques store next door were all transformed into beer heaven with brewers from all over the area. As the host, the bar was pouring all of the Haverhill Brewery favorites from Leatherlips to Gestalt, and some special new tastes.

We started off with the ciders, Original Sin and Woodchuck.  Original Sin had a lovely pear cider that is probably as close to the British "peary" that one can get here in the US. Very nice, crisp and light. Woodchuck's Fall Cider was delicious as well.

We immediately opted to eat, because the food was right there. They had a small roasted whole pig that they were serving on portuguese rolls with caramelized onions and gravy. Outstanding.

They had grilled sausages with fixin's, a nacho bar, and chicken wings with three or four different awesome coatings. Full up with deliciousness, we headed downstairs to the cask area. Casks were being pulled, from Jack's Abby, Haverhill Brewery, Notch, and Martha's Exchange.

 Dave and my husband were very into it though, and went through the line a couple times over. Cask beers are normally warmer than I like, but they were all very tasty.

We headed upstairs to the main room, where Clown Shoes, Frosty Knuckle, Sam Adams, The Beer Works, John Harvard's Brewhouse were serving up their beers.  Cisco from Nantucket had beautiful vodkas, and Doug tried out their Triple 8 blueberry vodka and loved it. He'll be picking up some of that for sure.

Clown Shoes had Eagle Claw Fist Imperial IPA and their Muffin Top beer, as well as their Clementine on tap. Eagle Claw and Muffin Top were delicious.

But I did hear two women talking about how they hated the name "Muffin Top" and didn't think it was funny. I kind of did. It doesn't bother me. But as I've written before about Clown Shoes, how you market your beer makes a difference.

John Harvard's best offering was sadly named Farewell to Summer. It was delicious. And sad. All at once.

 A volunteer pulls for Frosty Knuckle, and I liked their pulls so I took his picture.
Love the mural work in this room. It is often unnoticed but not today...
Be sure to go to the Frosty Knuckle website, and learn about some local Gloucester Lore.

Heading over to the bar area, the host brews were all being served up. 

Seeing as we drink beer here all the time, it wasn't a big draw for us. But they did have a surprise on tap. The Beerstand Berlinerweiss is bitter, sour, lemony almost. Looks almost like pee, to be honest. 

Straight up, it is kind of gross. But they put two cool additions into the glass when they pour it, a raspberry syrup or something called Woodruff syrup. This transforms the sour brew into a happy brew. A very happy brew. I think I had several samples of the raspberry version and Doug loved the Woodruff. Dave didn't care for it and stuck with the pilsner in cask.  

I'll be back at the Tap sooner than later for a full glass of this fun drink. 

Back over to the former antique shop for more beers. Representatives from Cape Ann Brewing Company, Narraganset, High & Mighty, Mayflower, Martha's Exchange, Ipswich and others were there. 

Two highlights from this room stood out. 

First, Cape Ann Brewing Company had a Pumpkin Beer. Now, I know I've stated in previous entries that I'm done with Pumpkin beers. Hardly anyone brought pumpkin beers, which was great... the cool thing about CABC was that they were tapping an actual pumpkin. The pull, the tap, the whole set up was in the pumpkin.

Pictured here is TJ with the setup. Ten points to Gryffindor for the great thinking and creative display!

We had met Tom at the Newburyport Brewfest in the summer, and he recognized me. I told him that I didn't like pumpkin beers and he said they don't either. It's messy to make, smelly (even for beer) and just no fun. But they made theirs a stout, instead of an ale. And this made all the difference. 

I can honestly say after trying this pumpkin beer "This Didn't Suck." And you an put that in the marketing campaign for sure.

Next, we spent time with High & Mighty Brewing Company, who refer to themselves as beer-vangelists, "the Clergy of Zymurgy, the Priests of Yeasts..." which cracked me up.

They had three beers to sample, and the best was their saison, "Pas De Deux" which was very similar to the Brooklyn Sorachi Ace that I enjoyed this summer. Light, champagney, delicious. It was a beautiful beer. On top of everything they were wicked cool guys.

 We met Abby and Jack of Jack's Abby Brewers, and it isn't every day you get to meet a guy in Lederhosen. Their Saxon Son's Pilsner was lovely. Dave and Doug both thought the Smoke and Dagger was too "smoky"for their likings.

Ipswich Ale Brewery is local, and the four beers they had on tap were great. The 20 Year was great and I'm a fan of their Oatmeal Stout. And, they had a guy with a handlebar mustache which is another thing you don't see every day.

 The afternoon's entertainment was provided outdoors by The Flip.
They were fantastic!

And inside, this guy. I didn't get his name. Sadly.
He had a lovely voice and gave the room a lot of joy.

We ended up back at the bar, enjoying the host beers... Dave and Doug both were like kids in a candy store all day - I spent most of the time chasing them around from brewer to brewer...

Haverhill Brewery Brewfest is Tomorrow!

Just a reminder, if you're local to the greater Shenanigans area, you should think about attending the Haverhill Brewery Brewfest. There are two sessions and we'll be at the afternoon session.

Do join us, won't you?

A Midweek Shenanigans Trip Back to the Grill Next Door

On Wednesday night, Tree asked me to take Dave out for dinner and get him out of the house. It was an errands day, and he likes to get out on Wednesday nights. So my husband joined us for a trip to the Grill Next Door in Haverhill. As you may recall, we were there earlier in September, and when Doug sat and read the beer menu he said "No wonder you guys like this place!"

I got my card and Dave's out of the bin, and started a fresh one for Doug.

We got their obscenely huge chili cheese fries for an appetizer and a shrimp cocktail, and poured over the beer list. Doug started with a Founders Red Rye, which was delicous, I got the Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA and Dave floundered about for a while until he landed at the Brooklyn Post Road Pumpkin.

Now, I've pretty much decided for myself that I'm not having any more pumpkin beers. Dave however, forgets that he doesn't like them and then orders them. Sometimes I remind him and he gets a sample, and then hates it. I didn't stop him on his choice of the Post Road Pumpkin. He did hate it. Next, he went to the Avery Ellie's Brown Ale and that redeemed the universe for him.

The Bear Republic racer was more like a Cream Ale than I was expecting. I didn't get any "citrus" notes, it was tasty but I don't know that I will go back. Doug liked the Founder's Red Rye, and we all agreed it had a lovely flavor. 

Doug had the Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour next. Anything that has "sour" in the title or an ABV over 8% are things I normally avoid. Sour because ... well, I don't like sour things usually. And I'm the Driver so ABVs for me should be in the 5-6 range for me to comfortably have more than one beer. Well, the Flemish Sour was simply delicious. It was almost like plum juice (note, not PRUNE juice because that has super negative connotations when you think about it). Served in a little glass, it was just simply delicious, with the perfect kind of sweet sour. I am rethinking my views on sours...

For dinner, I ordered the Mac and Cheese with Buffalo Chicken. I am kind of obsessed with this dish. I have a great recipe for it, that I make at home, and whenever I see it on a menu, I have got to try their version. The waitress warned me "It's Hot.' And I said "It'd better be."

It was fantastic, and I got a nice Allagash White to go with it. Something crisp and refreshing that would take care of that heat on the mouth from the Mac and Cheese.

So far, of all the places I've tried a Mac and Cheese with Buffalo Chicken, this has to be the best. Super awesome, and I can't wait to go get more. Yum.

Doug had a fried haddock sandwich, and liked it a lot.

He then ordered something unexpected. He decided to try the Moonlight Meadery mead. He told me that I wouldn't like it-- that I would think it tasted like cough medicine.

Most of the time this is true. Hard, straight alcohol like Makers Mark or Southern Comfort, Whiskeys and Bourbons and the like all taste like Nyquil to me. Which is why I stick to beer and wine in my happy little world.

I wanted to at least taste it and decide for myself.

It didn't taste like cough medicine at all. It was honey and appley and delicious, thick on the tongue, and I immediately thought of Tolkein and Middle Earth and Game of Thrones and other such things. It was perfectly delicious. Doug was surprised that I liked it. Dave liked it too, but not enough to get a glass. I will be looking into finding some for a nice cold night here in the woodstove room, wondering if this is good to heat up just a tad to help edge off the cold of winter.

My final beer of the night was the Spatan Oktoberfest, an official Marzen beer from Germany. Dave had the BBC Oktoberfest, which is Marzen style. Click here to learn more about Marzen and Marzen style beers.

Dave wound up with the Young's Double Chocolate Stout, which was black as night and thick and hearty. We had fun with the glass, making note of where the pint and half pint lines were "Who would even WANT a half pint of this!" Dave exclaimed.

 Dave thought he may want a pumpkin beer, even though I told him that he would hate it. He got a sample of the Southern Tier Pumpking, and as I pretty much predicted, hated it.

I think the next several weeks will be spent with me reminding him repeatedly that the only Pumpkin beers he's liked at all this year were Shipyard's and Wachusett's. He feels like they're all trying too hard, and if he wanted pie, he'd order pie.


We ended up pretty much closing the place, watching the Red Sox blow their lead. It was another lovely beer experience at the Grill, and extra fun to have Dave and Doug sharing and talking about their likes in brews.

Low-Key Shenanigans at Rory O'Connor's Pub

This week we had a very late lunch due to Dave having a doctor's appointment about his seizure situation. I'll let him decide if he wants to share the discussions around that, but it was the centerpiece of our conversation for the time we were at lunch.

I forgot to bring my camera, so no photos.

Dave had a Boddingtons, I had what was labeled "Octoberfest" by Sam Adams, but it was the wrong pull on the tap. It was actually Sam's October Pumpkin, which was all vanilla and disgusting. I hate vanilla unless it is in ice cream. I suffered through it and poured half a regular Sam Adams Boston Lager in it to make it less awful.

I ordered a Patty Melt, which was perfectly done. Dave wasn't hungry at the start but ordered wings towards the end of our visit. The wings at Rory's are always just right. Sometimes you get them places and it is like they put them in a microwave. They are all flabby and gross. These, no way. Perfectly fried, wonderfully seasoned. We even sat there and wafted the smell up to our noses and laughed for a bit. 

No one fun was at the bar, things were very quiet. It is funny how sometimes on a Friday we can go somewhere and the bar is elbow to elbow, and other days we land somewhere and we hold court by ourselves.

It wasn't a very exciting lunch. But it was a beautiful day and I hope Dave decides to share some of his thoughts about what we talked about that day. Eventually

On the Deck at the Portsmouth Brewery

On Friday, I needed to make a trip to NH for some errands, so I figured we should just stay in NH for lunch. Eventually, we'll get Dave to Bowdoin, but this week I had a drop dead return time of 4:30pm.

Errands run, car loaded with all the stuff I needed to get, and we drove up into beautiful downtown Portsmouth. I've been to many restaurants there, but one had eluded me for the past couple of years, and that was the Portsmouth Brewery.

The bar was full, which bummed Dave out as it is his favorite place to roost. But the day was gorgeous so when they offered seating on the deck, I felt we needed to head there.

Our waitress informed us that it was Firkin Friday, and we decided to start there. I'm not 100% sure which beer was in the firkin, but I think it was the Smuttynose Big A IPA.

The beer was beautifully cloudy, I love unfiltered beers. It smelled wonderful, a touch of fruitiness and spice. But the taste just wasn't working for me, and turns out it wasn't for Dave either. He said "there's something not quite right about this one," kind of overpowering. The mouth feel was heavy, the after taste really strong. It had great promise, but disappointed me.

I was reminded that Dave really didn't like the Smuttynose Pumpkin last week, so I was starting to fear that he was getting into an Anti-Smuttynose mode. There isn't a brewer that he doesn't like on this planet. Sometimes there is one brew by the brewer that doesn't fit his liking but he can always move on to another pint of something else by the same folks and be happy.

The waitress came back and Dave asked if there was a flight or a paddle option. Of course there was!

She brought us a huge paddle with ten beers on it. Watching her handle it coming out of the door was impressive. That's a lot of real estate! Now, knowing most places usually offer four, maybe five, on a flight...  this was a treat.

A cheat sheet was handed to Dave so he knew which was what, but it also matched up to the chalkboard on the wall outlining what today's fresh beers are (as opposed to yesterday's stale beers).

Going top to bottom, or right to left from the perspective of the photo of Dave with the flight above, here is the run down of what I thought about each one.

Keeping in mind that basically when sharing a flight you get two sips off each sample, it's hard to make a true, lasting judgement. A couple of these will require a pint-visit for me to make a real judgement on them.

Dirty Blonde: No overwhelming scent, flavor was very gentle.

Thaizenheimer: Kind of a "step up" in power from the Dirty Blonde, it had a great smell, great flavor. I liked it.

Gose: Another step up in flavor and scent... very wonderful. I really loved this one.

Milkstout: Outstanding stout, very dark but not heavy and weighty. Had a very light mouth feel, and I think that people who don't like stouts and porters would actually like this one.

left to right, Kölsch, Milkstout, Thaizenheimer

Kölsch: Fantastic. The Milkstout probably should have come after this one as the progression of the other beers would have been completed with this one. I had a glass of this after the fact, I liked it that much (It was a hard choice between this and the Gose). 

Fruit Gruit: I had to ask what a Gruit was, and our waitress knew her stuff. Before the advent of hops usage, beer or ale was often made with herbs, and this beer spoke strongly to that tradition. It was absolutely flavorful, rich in aroma, made me think of cold fall nights or snowy winter days. While it was delightful, I don't know that I could drink more than a glass of it.

The Portsmouth Brewery lists their "sister" company as being across town at Smuttynose. All the beers that came before this point on the flight were brewed in house at the Portsmouth Brewery. Spotlighting the following Smuttynose beers are the next three:

Smuttynose Old Brown Dog: I personally think this is the best of the Smuttynose beers, and on the flight it was indeed the best beer. Dave loves this one, and had a pint of it after we went through the flight. It is a standby, a loyal beer, like an Old Brown Dog. Loved it. 

Smuttynose Old Brown Dog, Fruit Gruit, and the Kölsch.

Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale: A very nice pale ale, nothing remarkable or outstanding. A great flavor.

Smuttynose Finest Kind IPA: I had this a few weeks ago. It is a very nice IPA, if you like IPAs! And I do!

Northcoast Scrimshaw Pilsner:  The last beer on the flight was from far away California. It stood out from all the others because it was just different. All the others, from the Smuttys to the Portsmouth  brews had a craft brew feel to them. This was more ... Familiar. Kind of like... a Budweiser. And being a pilsner, you sort of expect that ... 

Compared to all the other beers on the flight, it is the kind of beer that I would have my dad get if he had been at the restaurant with us. My dad (shudder) drinks Budweiser and PBR. He used to be a Schaeffer man, before Schaeffer went out. Then he was a Meisterbrau man (the first word in German I knew was, sadly, Meisterbrau). And then that went out. So he drinks Bud, or PBR, and when I take him to fancy brew pubs and craft breweries, I have to ask the barkeep "what is the closest thing you have to Budweiser?" so he can have his beer.  I would recommend this to him.

I neglected thus far to mention the food. I got Buffalo style beer battered chicken tenders, I think there were five on the plate, which seems like the perfect amount for one, but if you're sharing that's not a lot. They were, however, absolutely delicious. 

Dave got the Mussels. They serve them up in two styles, and Alehouse style or spicy curry style. Dave went with the Alehouse style, and it was delicious. I would love to sample the spicy curry version. 

The amount of mussels that he had in front of him was borderline obscene compared to my chicken tenders. There was enough in the bowl for four people to easily enjoy as an appetizer. Dave finished off all but the one that I stole. I'm not a huge mussels fan, so the one I ate did the job for me. Instead, I used his garlic bread and dipped in the alehouse sauce while he worked his way through the pile and we sampled the beers. It was delicious. Highly recommend the mussels there.

We then had sandwiches, because Dave really wanted their special sushi-grade seared tuna wrap. He would have gotten it if the tuna was offered as an appetizer, and as you know he's a fan of the sushi grade tuna appetizers in this world.  The wrap was filled with tons of tuna, so worth the price. He used the wrap as a bowl almost and ate the tuna out of it with a fork. I got the lemon dill chicken salad sandwich. It was delicious, but I think the bread would have been better toasted. Lemony, dilly, chickeny, delicious.

I was enjoying my Kolsch and Dave was on his Old Brown Dog when a fine young gentleman approached us with a tray of sample sized beers. His name was Brennen, and he was offering samples of the Thaizenheimer to entice people into trying it. 

We'd had it in our flight but took samples anyway, always happy to receive offerings of free beer. Brennen told us that there was a brewery tour starting at 3pm but Dave wanted to sit and drink another beer before we had to head home. A brewery tour could wait. Enjoying the sample of the Thaizenheimer, I almost regretted having a Kolsch for a second... but I got over it. 

It was time to head home, but before we left I wanted Dave to take this picture of me. 

The sign says "slow" and it is an old wooden street sign from who knows where. I liked it, because I was sitting there with Dave talking, eating, drinking beer, talking about the kids, talking about the food, talking about the beers... and doing it slowly.  We were enjoying the day, the sunshine, the deck, looking at the people on the deck. A girl with very purple hair. A very old couple. A guy in the most orange T-shirt either of us had ever seen in our lives. 

It crossed my mind, that life should be lived a little more slowly sometimes. So I wanted to hold onto this philosophy for a second or two by immortalizing it in a photo. I don't usually have pictures taken of me, I don't like my skin tone and I'm fatter than I see myself in my mind's eye, but this was worth taking the shot for.  I'm not making fun of "slow" people, or indicating somehow that I think I am "slow" and that's funny. I just really want you to slow down, have a beer (or whatever you like to have... a Shirley Temple, a glass of chardonnay, whatever) and spend time talking with a friend.

I think this is what the shenanigans blog is all about at this point in our lives.

Go Ahead and Fall in Love with ... The Grill Next Door

This weeks Shenanigans brought us to a local place that I had no idea existed. 

The Grill Next Door is located in Haverhill, MA on Rte. 97 as you're headed north towards Salem NH. I was aware there was a brewing supply/darts store and craft beer shop at this location, but really never knew a restaurant was in that little group of stores... much less a restaurant with so many great brews on draft! Normally I'm cruising past at top speeds in order to get to tax-free Salem NH to buy essentials, and watching out for crazy drivers through that stretch of road.

Dave and I were welcomed in by the bartender, Brittany (didn't ask the spelling of her name so I'm figuring it is the traditional way). 

Taking a corner spot where we could see all the pulls and make our picks, we quickly found Dave's old index card in the boxes that they use to track how many different brews you try so you can "go around the block a few times" with the Grill... I started a card too. We'll be back, I'm sure. 

The Holy Grail Pub, where you don't need to know the air speed velocity of an unladen sparrow (African or European).

Our shenanigans today were actually quite shenaniganful. On the way home I said to Dave "this was the best lunch ever." 

We went a bit far afield today, up to Epping NH and the Holy Grail Pub (be forewarned, the website has music so don't have your speakers cranked all the way up the way I had mine). My friend Carrie had mentioned it as a possible destination. I knew 45 minutes would be a bit of a haul, but the website looked like it would be right up our shared alley. 

The building is a former church, converted to a lovely high-ceilinged bar and restaurant, with stained glass and a choir loft for extra seating. The light in the room was ... well, "heavenly" due to the gorgeous sunny day. I wanted to sit in the patio area, due to the lovely weather but Dave wanted to go to the bar.

Gloucester, or Glosta. Depending on whom you ask. Cape Ann Brewing Company Visit

Lately in my head I've been hearing songs of summer's end. 

A consistent one is "Summersong" by The Decemberists. Thinking of the lyrics "Summer arrives with a length of lights / And summer blows away and quietly gets swallowed by a wave" made me think that it was high time we lunched by the sea, by the harbor, by the water, something... before summer actually does get swallowed by a wave.

At the Newburyport Brewfest a few weeks back we met the fine folks of Cape Ann Brewing Company and enjoyed their Greenhorn Double IPA greatly. I figured it was high time we paid them a visit for lunch. 

Haverhill Brewery Brewfest - September 24, 2011

My family went out to eat last night and we chose The Tap, the brewpub attached to the Haverhill Brewery. Upon entry, I was happy to see upon entry that we have another brewfest to look forward to at the end of September.

There will be two sessions, an afternoon and evening, with food, live music and brews from up to 20 local and regional craft breweries from Sam Adams to Clown Shoes and Ipswich Ale to Notch to Martha's Exchange and John Harvard's.

I'm hoping to take Dave to the early session. Tickets are available online at their website. Maybe we'll see you there for some shenanigans.

Most Expensive and Most .... Alcoholy

Watching James May Drinks Britain, which has grown on me after 3 episodes, I have to admit it, Oz and James in their little caravan trip focused on two beers that I probably will never, ever have.

First was from Boston Brewing Company, called Utopia. It is listed as the beer with the highest ABV on the market at 27%. It is banned in 13 states, and costs $150.00 a bottle.

Up until this point, Boston Brewing Company (makers of Sam Adams) and Dogfish out of Delaware were battling one another for the title of highest ABV, and so far BBC keeps the title, Dogfish won't be trying to beat that amount.

Second was from Carlsberg in Denmark, and is called the Jacobsen Vintage No. 1. It takes the title of most expensive beer in the world.

The bottle itself is pretty much over $100 of the cost due to the beautiful custom artwork and the material it is made with. It is 21% ABV, and is only available (if you can find it) in Denmark.

Ponder these things over your next locally craft brewed treat.

Come. Sit. Stay. Shenanigans at the Barking Dog, Amesbury MA

Jess was working in Newburyport so we opted to stay local but have her be a "bus wanker" as they say on the Britcom "The Inbetweeners" and take the MVRTA to us, instead of us coming to her. 

She's only here for two more weeks, and I think on Monday that's her last day in Newburyport at that job, as they hired a full time person to start for the fall, so our shenanigans can officially go far afield starting next week. 

So staying local meant we could sit in our cups and linger over lagers and ales at the Barking Dog Bar and Grill, sister restaurant to our Amesbury foodrinkery of choice, the Ale House. 

We arrived early, greeted by the lovely bartender Danielle who was attentive and kind even when the bar started hopping around 1pm. I started with the Notch Session, Dave started with his best friend, Chimay. I hadn't had the Notch before, it was bubbly and hoppy. Very good. And... Chimay is Chimay. Belgian, Traditional, Trappist, History in a glass.

It's a beautiful word... "shenanigans..."

Thank you Matt Smith, aka "Dr. Who" and the creator of this lovely little gif for giving me the validation that indeed shenanigans is a lovely word.

It is 7am on Friday, and I'm pondering where to take Dave today. I've long promised him a trip to Bowdoin, to where he went to college but that may have to wait. We may possibly go afield to Gloucester to the Cape Ann Brewing Company, or to the Barking Dog in Amesbury, where we haven't yet been because we always land at the Ale House.

Decisions, decisions, for our Shenanigans...

Happy International Beer Day

I didn't get to celebrate shenanigans with Dave today due to recovering from surgery. BUT... my son informed me just now that today is International Beer Day, so I wholeheartedly encourage all the two people who read this blog (one of them being Dave) to celebrate wholeheartedly.

If you doubt my honesty, you can visit here and read about International Beer Day. 

Shenanigans to resume on Friday of next week, most likely. I doubt my surgery will prevent me from shenanigoing out into the world.

Cheers.

Clown Shoes and Beer Labels: What Sells? What Repells?

Last night at the Brewfest, I spent a few minutes talking with one of the representatives from Clown Shoes Brewing Company. I had recently read several articles about controversy surrounding their bottle labels, specifically Lubrication, Brown Angel and Tramp Stamp. 

My thoughts as we were sampling these really tasty beers were that a company, if it was to make really good, quality, wonderful beers, can serve their brew in plain labeled bottles. The "need" to grab attention by putting up labels that piss buyers off either by being overtly sexy, possibly dirty, isn't necessary.

Yes, the craft brewing market is a tight one. Breaking out and getting a name is hard. It is an age old argument -- "Bad publicity is still publicity..." and it seems that Clown Shoes has chosen the route of  let's get people talking about us so they're curious, and get them in that way, instead of let's brew beer that blows their floppy footwear right off their big assed feet. 

Personally, the label on Lubrication doesn't offend me the way it does others.

I see the gas station attendant robot/oil can man as the creative team intended it -- an old school 1950s kind of style gas jockey with a gas pump handle in his hand, NOT a "dong." I'm more put off by the Tramp Stamp and the Brown Angel (the angel with those creepy assed clown shoes on is enough to give me nightmares. I don't care that her boobs and ass are showing). Sex sells to guys, and that's their audience. In the end, if I were buying just by labels here, the Clementine would suit me fine.

And this further reinforced WHY I prefer beer on draught at a restaurant. I do not CARE what your label has on it. I want to know what your beer tastes like.

There are dozens of articles out there if you want to read them, just google Clown Shoes Label Controversy (and you can even spell Controversey wrong and get some good articles) if you want to research it further.

Just my two cents in the world of beer shenanigans.

Newburyport Brew Fest - Yankee Homecoming 2011

Dave and I skipped our weekly daytime shenanigans because we had a special trip planned.

Last night, Doug and I took Dave to the Brewfest at Yankee Homecoming. Each year, the city of Newburyport puts on a two week long rollicking festival filled with happenings, music, events and the awesome Brewfest. We bought our tickets online last week, and I'm glad we didn't wait because for the second straight year the event sold out.  We got there pretty much right at 5 when the shindig got underway, and I figured we'd be dragging Dave out at the time of closing at 9pm. This kind of thing is right up his alley.

No Shenanigans Today...

Because tomorrow, Dave, my husband and I are going to the Newburyport BrewFest, part of their annual Yankee Homecoming Celebration.

My friend Stu said they should change the name to Brewburyport for the day. I like that. So ... a full wrap up and disclosure of the adventures and shenanigans in Brewburyport will follow, most likely on Sunday afternoon.

Cheers!

Hot Hot Heat and the Grog

Yesterday we headed to The Grog again for our Friday lunch. My daughter Jessica has a job in  downtown Newburyport. Walking over to meet us at the Grog is an easy thing for her to do. She has joined us for Shenanigans three or four times, and is always a pleasure to have about.

We cozied up to the bar which was kind of hard to do because no one was cozy yesterday. Record breaking heat had spread across the region. The restaurant and bar were hopping, because of the sweltering temperatures.

Found our our lovely English barmaid is named Leslie. We'll remember that. She was incredibly busy yesterday - working the bar and filling drinks for the waiters.

Dave started with a Newcastle Brown Ale (more on that later) and I went with Rogue Dead Guy. Starters were Pork Dumplings for me and Dave got his favorite half dozen oysters.  Lunch was lovely - I got a burrito which was too huge to deal with and Dave had steaktips and fries.

Jess joined us at about 2pm for a Turkey Club (Leslie always offers her a menu and she doesn't need it, that's her go to lunch at the Grog, that Jess) and we had a fantastic time talking.

Jess is taking a bartending class, so we talked a lot about different mixed drinks, how Dave isn't allowed to have those and it kills him... because he is a big fan of the Manhattan. We talked about glass sizes and pour counts. Jess watched Leslie making her mixed drinks and counted along.

A gentleman down the bar from us ordered a Bloody Mary. I am not a huge fan of Bloody Marys. The name itself makes me throw up a little in my mouth, and thinking of Tomato Juice and Vodka in any sort of slurry together disgusts me. He left the bar shortly before Leslie served it, so it sat there, by itself, for a long time. A sword of three huge olives sat on top, and a giant stalk of celery shot out of the top.

Hating on James May

I was watching TV the other day, and a show was being advertised for BBC America.  Called James May Drinks to Britain, it chronicles the adventures of Top Gear's James May and Oz Clarke as they toodle about Europe in a fancy schmancy car, sampling boozey goodness,  getting soused and learning about life along the way.

I personally am very mad at them, because I think that such a show featuring Dave and  me would be a real blast. The Shenanigans with Dave program could feature us going on the Maine Brew Trail, or hitting all the hot spots that Dave remembers from his Bowdoin days (if they're still there), or hey -- what is happening Beer Wise in the Pioneer Valley? 

We also have access to some fine vintage automobiles, notably my friend Jo's Jaguar, code named Panther, which would be an excellent Shenanigansmobile.  We would even have our own awesome soundtrack, which we would argue about frequently.

Oh well. I guess we can keep pretending in our little minds. All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players, after all...

Mohawks and Golf at the Tap

On Friday, Geoff was all set at camp in Newburyport and I didn't need to have Jess come meet us after work in Newburyport, so we could go elsewhere. 

We headed over to The Tap/Haverhill Brewery in downtown Haverhill.

We've been here a number of times, including our first day of shenanigans back in February. 

Jon, the bartender, has gotten to know us pretty well over time. He is generous with the samples, especially of the new ones on tap. Pictured to the left here is my Whittier White with orange and lemon, a perfectly wonderful light summer brew, and Dave's Schwartzbier, out of the cask, made with Czech Saaz. Dave and Jon go at it a little bit over the concept of the "Black and Tan." The beers at the Tap don't have the same properties as Bass and Guinness, so they don't make the magic non-mixture that is a half and half. Dave insists that Jon can do it if he pours slower and uses the spoon. Jon has tried. He said that it HAS worked in the past, with certain beers that they don't currently have on tap. But that right now it just isn't working that way.

The Plum Island Beachcomba, Fun with the Summer Sun

We had a twofer this week. Here's part one!

On both Thursday and Friday we had shenanigans. That has not happened ... ever. Because my son is in day camp in Newburyport, I am liking to stay close and not head too far afield until after he's done around July 29th. 

We dropped Dave's son Matt and his girlfriend Jess off in town, and decided we would head out to the Plum Island Grille. We had tried to go there in June but they weren't open yet. This time, there was absolutely nowhere to park. Strike two for the Plum Island Grille I guess.

I drove up the road a little bit and noticed that there was a "new" spot on the left. The PI Beachcomba looked freshly painted, doors wide open, and had a dog laying out on the front step.

They also had a huge, empty parking lot across the street. So I figured we'd give them a chance. We pulled in and headed into the bar. Every seat was taken, so we ate in the restaurant side. 

They only had three beers on tap, Guinness, Blue Moon and Sea Dog Blueberry Wheat, which we thought was weird. Dave had a Blueberry, noting that it wasn't Wachusett and he didn't really like that. I went with a Blue Moon.

The Grog in Early July

We enjoy the Grog greatly. 

Our lovely English barmaid was there, and we sat down to enjoy lovely lunch. Dave got oysters (a half dozen on the half shell) and plate of ahi tuna appetizer. I got a gorgeous huge salad, with spicy chicken. Dave had a Black & Tan, a Newcastle, and a Wachusett Blueberry, what he often refers to as his "nap beer." I enjoyed a Rogue Dead Guy (hats off to the Rogue Brewery in Oregon. I remember them from 1988 when we were living in Ashland how awesome they were), and the Victory Summer Love brew.

The Ale House, Amesbury MA

One of the better spots for grabbing a unique brew in the area is in Amesbury. The Ale House is a beautiful space, with exceptional food, and brews on draft from all over the world.

Dave loves to come here, because they always have different foreign beers on draught, and they give you a sheet of paper with all the beers on it where you can check off what you like, what you've had, what you want to have again. Dave takes notes in the margins, and keeps track of what he has had or where he "wants to go next."

Bubbles, lace, beauty.

The bartender is awesome. He's super friendly and is really entertaining. He's quick with the samples in the tiny glasses so you can decide if you want something like the Dieu Du Ciel! Route Epices (no, you don't. It's awful).

There are so many beautiful and tasty options here. Most of them have too high an ABV for me to enjoy. For those of you who don't know, ABV is alcohol by volume. Check out the picture for the Mikkeller Black Hole from Denmark there. 13% is crazy too high for afternoon lunch drinking but that didn't stop me from having a sample. Most of the beers that we're used to up around here are between 4.5% and 5.5%, so if you have a couple of 8% and 13% brews you'd better have a designated driver.

And I'm pretty much the driver. SoI limit my intake to 2 beers usually. And Dave will enjoy a few more than that. He plots out his orders using the menu, like he's reading a road map, and he greatly enjoys the trek around the globe.

This particular day at the Ale House, Dave had a pizza and I had a Chicken Quesadilla (one of the best in the area). I enjoyed brews from the local Somerville outfit Pretty Things, and their Field Mouse is a perfect pair to the lovely Quesadilla. 

Dave had a Chimay, new on draught this month. It hadn't been there before on tap but only in the bottle. 

I took a lot of pictures on this trip, the lighting seemed lovely and we were there quite a while enjoying the atmosphere and the journey.

My lunch -- tremendously delicious.
With a Pretty Things Field Mouse Farewell, which I wish was in a glass that didn't bear another brewer's logo.

Chimay! Dave's Fave.  Served in its own glass.