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.
"That's his salad," Dave said.
Jess thought that the gentleman resembled Ernest Hemingway. So while "Ernest" was elsewhere, we made names for his drink like For Whom the Bloody Mary Tolls, The Old Man and the Bloody Mary, A Farewell to Bloody Mary, you get the idea...
We then talked a lot about Hemingway, his personality, his style, his death wish, and his demise.
Dave wanted to have a Black and Tan, but the Harp was drained and was getting replaced.So Leslie remembered that he likes a Black and Blue - which is Guinness and Wachusett Blueberry. Although I did look it up and found that Black and Blue is typically Guinness and Blue Moon.
The beers mix quickly, so watching the tendrils of Guinness spin downward into the blueberry is fun, but doesn't last long.
At the bar, they put a brand new pull on the taps. Newcastle Summer Ale. Dave was incredibly excited to see that the Old Brown Dog has a new trick!
He called to Leslie and ordered one, but it wasn't fully tapped and ready for drinking yet. They wanted to give it time in the building to acclimate to the temperature inside, since it was so hot outside in the delivery transfer process. I told Dave not to be too heartbroken, that he normally doesn't like summer brews... "Shove some lemonade in a glass with a squirt of beer and that is a summer brew" is his philosophy.
Personally, I'm a big fan of the summers. Better than Bud or Bud Light, and as refreshing as a glass or water. I was slightly disappointed that we didn't get to try this seasonal offering. Pictured below is my Blue Moon, with extra orange, the way I like it. Much to Dave's chagrin.
I checked a few reviews of the beer and it is getting low grades from the Beer Advocate reviewers. So we'll have to see how it goes. The next time, I guess.
We had to leave by 4:45 to get Geoff at camp. Lately, it has been hard to drag Dave away from the bar. He has been enjoying the summer, the people, the sights... and I literally had to have him chug his last beer to push him out the door and go get Geoff.
Dave asked me to take note of the beers on draught and find out what the ABVs are. The list of beers (not just at the Grog but a few others that we've sampled, and this will be a growing, evolving document) is located here if you want to read it.
But I wanted to include here a full list of the "black ands" so that he will remember that if the Harp is dry, he can still get a great assortment of Guinness based mixies to enjoy. Thank you Wikipedia for this list! I've bolded the ones that I think he should try first.
Black Castle or Black and Brown: Guinness poured over Newcastle Brown Ale
Priest Collar: A priest collar is made in the same way as a black and tan except using a cider instead of a pale ale or pale lager. Another name for this combination is called a Snakebite in some parts of the midwest and southern Canada.
Black and Blue: (aka "Dark Side of the Moon" or "Eclipse" ) Guinness layered over Blue Moon (beer) in place of pale ale or pale lager.
Black Velvet: A head of Guinness poured over cider ale, usually Strongbow Cider. Referred to as a Crown Float (or Crown Floater) in the Ottawa, Canada area.
October Tan: Guinness poured atop Samuel Adams Octoberfest creating a well-bodied seasonal mix.
Black and Trash: Guinness poured on top of the American Budweiser lager.
Pennsylvania Tan: Yuengling and Guinness
Special: Smithwicks with a Guinness Head
Black Cherry: Sam Adams Cherry Wheat with Guinness
Black and Indy: Pabst Blue Ribbon with Guinness
Wilmington Delight: King Cobra and Pabst and a little Fortified Wine
Black and Gold: Murphy's Irish Stout poured over Hacker-Pschorr Hefe Weisse, although Beamish or Guinness have been used
Black Czech: Guinness poured over Pilsner Urquell
Black Irish: Guinness poured over Estrella Damm (or Voll Damm)
Black Death: Guinness poured over Rogue Dead Guy Ale
Black Cow: Guinness poured over Spotted Cow (New Glarus Brewery, WI)
Dark Shark; Guinness poured over Dogfish Head
Outback Black; Guinness poured over Fosters
D4 Special; Guinness poured over Heineken
Blaxican; Guinness poured over Modelo
Black and Tan Smooth; Guinness poured over Kilkenny
Banana Split; Young's Double Chocolate Stout poured over Well's Banana Beer Brown and Bitter Newcastle and Bass
There you have it. Looking forward to next week already.
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