Triangle Brewery Black Friday Event

Money benefits went to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Drinker benefits went to me and about 200 other beer mongers at the Triangle Brewery in Durham, NC. A friend from work PTap and I went to this mini beer fest right at the brewery in a warehouse district in Durham. Food was donated from everywhere and other local breweries were there to share their stuff along side the Triangle venue. Triangle's spread included a spicy Golden Belgian, a Tasty Seasonal, and a solid Pale Ale. Visitors included Foothills(Winston-Salem), Liberty Steakhouse (High Point), French Road Brewery (Asheville), Top of the Hill (Chapel Hill), Natty Green's Brewing Co. (Greensboro), Carolina Brewery ((not to be confused with Carolina Beer Company and Carolina Brewing Company)) (Pitsboro), The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery (Farmville), Rock Bottom Brewery (Charlotte), and Carolina Brewing Co. (Holly Springs).

The opportunity to taste all this local stuff was great. I'm pretty confident I enjoyed every 2 oz sample I could get my hands on with only a couple suspects. But given the beer enthusiastic environment, surrounded by those who respect this stuff as much as I do, even the suspects are appreciated for what was attempted. items in the sample list are highlighted with ^ after the score.

Thank you Triangle. It was chill
http://trianglebrewingcompany.blogspot.com/

Victory is Mine!

Victory Brewing Company continues to put out really great stuff at really great prices. Victory is the compromise between the $6 pack and the $9 pack. However, I don't think it lacks the greatness that some $9 packers achieve or HOPe to achieve. When I find a company I like I will try the brewery spread.
First up... Hop Devil. No surprises here. I have sessioned this Satan of hops many times past and of course it is featured in my favorites.
Then the Prima Pils. "A refined pilsner beer for natural enjoyment." It tastes just like a beer. Aren't I a great judge? Prima has a great clean and crisp finish inspiring the next gulp without the beer grin.
Whirlwind Witbier: was a surprise, not quite what I thought, a little different that the over popular and growing blue moon. The spicy burst is what got me at the start and I think I followed that experience with "ummm I don't really like it..." But sometimes you don't "get it" until later. by the time I finished this whirlwind of flavor I wanted to start over again. Reluctantly recommended.
Storm King Imperial Stout. In times past I have typically stayed away from stouts and porters. I guess I thought they are too malty for me. Top Down this season has been a great session with the King.

Victory is Yours!
http://www.victorybeer.com/

Where did it all start?

I first started writing in May 2006. But it really all started in 1992. I was 12 yr. old. and like most kids this age I was curious. I still have the first bottle from the first beer I ever stole from my parents. Molson Canadian Lager... mmmm. Actually, I am pretty sure I spit it out and poured the rest down the drain. But I kept the bottle hidden thereby officially stating my bottle collection.

The other addition is Rolling Rock Extra Pale. In the Summer of 99 myself and 4 really good friends knew that life was forever going to be different as we all were headed different directions for college. We spent the weekend getting drunk, checking out shooting stars, and speaking in philosophical Socratic overtones at Keuka Lake campgrounds in NY. Rolling Rock was a beer of choice. The one I kept still has the black burn marks from the fire pit. After all these years...almost 10, some of us are still friends and some not so much. But I will always remember those times and the great friendships we were fortunate to have.

SAMPLE LIST

Check it out at the bottom of the page. It's a running list of my ratings.

It' set up like this...

Brewery. Location. Beer. Rating
(Victory Brewing Company, Downington, PA Hop Devil 4.5)

And check out my Top Recomendations on the right.

Ratings

So I am not going to rewrite 50 pages from my journal. That was wishful thinking. Plus, what would you care anyway. What I will share, if I can figure out how, is a running list of beer that I have sampled and rated. Over the past 2 years my palate has changed and you may see my "revisiting" certain beers because I am no longer confident in my original assessment. But then again, there are so many! Why back track now.

Ratings are based on a 5 star scale. I've attempted to make it as objective as possible. On www.beeradvocate.com there is a similar rating guide but there are different aspects of the beer, such as mouthfeel, aroma, color, etc., that are rated which then averages out to an overall score. In my writing I reference these aspects as well but when it comes down to it, all we care about is the overall score.

Enjoy

Entry Level

I'm an entry level blogger who is reluctantly considering a transfer of one hand written journal to an electronic journal. A few years ago I began to journal my experiences with beer. As a new interest in beer I wanted to search for my favorite. In doing so I developed a rating system and collected the bottles as they were consumed. I found that I could not just rate the beer and leave it at that. As I shared my thoughts on paper about the "quality" or perceived quality of the beer I began sharing my experiences at the time. What was I doing, where was I sitting, who was I with, what was I thinking about(?) are questions I was also asking myself. So my tasting sessions also became reflecting sessions, hence the hobby has turned into something else all together and looks more like a journal but has a beer theme. I'd like to include some pictures, share some experiences and also "blog" other things that are going on in my life, such as, having a baby... this seams like something worth writing. So if you stumble on my site, great. If not, that's OK too. Slainte .