1001 Beers: Boston Lager

One of my favorite places to go out and eat... just because Fondue is amazing, is The Melting Pot. They can get a bit on the pricey end but you never leave dissatisfied... unless you get a crappy waiter. I have not experienced that yet. Just throwing out variables. Makes sense, no? Well, Recently I was there and decided to have the beer flight with my Big Night Out. Mainly because I wanted beer, not really because I was trying to pair. The last time I was here I did the wine flight. I think there was one I really liked and I didn't really keep notes on them so it's whatever.

The beers for the flight were split between ones I have had many times before and ones that I have only had a few times. They were Boston Lager, Sierra Nevada Pale, Stone IPA, and Rogue Chocolate Stout. Honestly, I did not really see any correlation in flavor of the food to the beers that they presented but I guess I cannot be too mad. There were a few good selections.



The first course was just The Big Night Out Boston Lager Cheese Fondue. A little appetizer to get us going. Bread Fruit Vegetables, and Beer Number 19 Samuel Adams Boston Lager. I have only had this one a few times before, and I always say I am not really a fan of Sams so this was just a formality since you cannot substitute beers in the predetermined flight... not that they really have a beer menu anyway. Honestly, I found nothing interesting about it... again. Just another beer. A bit of floral hops in the start, a tad earthy and then citrusy... It was way better in the cheese than in the glass but I guess I can't be too picky, I did come here for the food.



The next beer was a classic. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. I can't say anything bad about this beer. Though, I did not think it paired well with my salad... It wasn't bad, but for sure it was not thought out. Check out This beer Here.



Stone IPA is one I have had a few times and it actually fits into this series, but I will give it it's own post at a later date. It deserves one and will not go into this count. There is just so much to be said about this beer and this brewery, that I'd rather have it organized than just thrown together to get Boston Lager out of the way hah! I guess Lobster and Stone IPA is never a bad choice, but again, the whole coming together thing was just lost. My fault, or theirs???



The last beer, Rogue Chocolate Stout. I thought I had never had this one before, but a little search on Untappd proved otherwise. I am not really a fan of Rogue, but this beer was actually one I might buy get a pint of one day, and not just because I am at the brewery. Again, who ever made these pairing decisions should be fired but I guess the beer and the courses stood alone and that is what matters?

982 Bottle Of Beer To Go!

Cheers

Eureka! Burger & The Back Abbey

For a couple of weeks we were planning to meet a few friends of ours, Louie and Monica, at one of their favorite Craft Beer hangouts and the day finally came to meet them there. I was really looking forward to it because I love me a good Burger and this place was seriously loaded with them! Did I forget to mention they had beer?



Eureka! Burger. Nikkee pointed out that the sign looked like the BevMo! one and I totally agree.


Compare


We planned to get meet there at about 5pm... So, we showed up a little early. Our drive was about an hour vs their drive which was only 20 minutes minus traffic so we figured things would be fine...

We got a table for four and just hung out until they showed up. I started my night off with a Black Market Brewing Company Anglo-American Brown Ale. Pretty good for a brown but it did not live up to the other beers I had from that brewery.

We were sitting there for a bit longer so we decided to order an appetizer. Just some fries smothered in cheese and cooked in some weird oil... They were really greasy and they did not come with enough cheese. I decided next to go with an Irish Red by some company I've never heard of. That one was pretty good as well. I think it was the Packinghouse Brewing Company...

At this time I took a look at the clock :p We have been sitting there for about an hour! I decided to text Louie and see what was going on. He got stuck at work a bit later than expected, so I can't really blame him. Especially since I am not really working at the moment... Or at least the work I do, I do not consider work. So we decided to order our dinner.

I got the Jalapeno Burger with an Egg on it... I love eggs on almost anything. I remember the first time I had an egg on a burger... Heaven, but that is another story. The funny thing about this is, once they served it to me, they brought a knife. I did not know whether I should cut the burger or just pick it up and go at it. I decided to just attack it! On my first bite, I guess I hit the egg in just the right spot and the yolk went FLYING across the room. I felt bad and actually cleaned it up HAHA! I was kind of disappointed though because that is the part I like to eat the most. I totally should have cut the burger so that the yolk fell over every inch... sorry, I was having a foodgasm here...

Shortly after this, they finally showed up. Louie looked beat and Monica looked like she had a ton of energy. The waiter came back to the table and asked what they wanted and he pointed to my glass and said, THAT!


Empty Glass. I drank it too fast for the pic.

One of the reasons we decided to go to the restaurant this night is because every Wednesday, they have a different brew paired with a glass and you "Steal The Glass" after you finish the brew. The Beer for this week was Racer 5 IPA. This was one of the first IPAs that I fell in love with, and one of the few that I go back to.

I really hate the craft beers community and their IPA obsession. There are over 70 different styles of beer out there and this seems to be the most popular. I understand if this is what you like, go out and have it but at least give the others a try. You will be surprised at what you find. At least I was. Then again, if there is a good/great one I order that over anything else I see on the menu... Though I try to taste everything. I mean, how can I talk about a beer if I never had it?

I went through a total IPA phase for almost a month and then a friend of mine introduced me to the Saison. He brewed it himself, (technically I helped but he did all the hard work, i.e. wrote the recipe, brewed it, made adjustments, etc. I won a contest and got to brew it with him and his soon to be brewery! LA Aleworks ~name drop~), and it was my first one. I have never experienced a beer like this and I LOVED it. Seriously, favorite Saison I have had so far, and I am not just saying that. Try it yourself if you can at some point.

Anyway, he livened up after he got his beer and they ate. We left there and literally less than a block away there was another brewbar that sold (almost)nothing but Belgian beers. I was in heaven.

The Back Abbey.



I would say everybody should come out to this place and drink at least something here. I did not have everything on the menu, but I doubt there is one bad beer in the whole bar. No Joke.

There were several beers on the tap list that I recognized and that they have at numerous places but I decided to go with a brew that I never heard of. The Covee Des Trolls.



This beer was better than decent, IMO. Still pretty good. It starts out sweet with a bit of spice and maybe some citrus. I wish I would have taken better tasting notes on this while I was on location but I would definitely get this one again. It had a great mouth feel. It is just one of those beers you want to drink in between familiar brews but over again.

I wish I could have drank more here but I was getting past my limit. We hung out here for a while and then Louie told me to follow him back to his place.

Once we got to his house, we talked a bit and then as we were leaving, he gave me a bottle of Trappist Westvleteren 12 (The Best Beer in the World according to Beer Advocate) and Dogfish Head Hellhound On My Ale. I literally could have kissed him at this point HAHA! Man, they seriously have to be the best friends ever. Expect special reviews on these two brews.

We left them and said goodnight and it happened to actually be Heretic Brewing night at Tonys Darts Away close to our place and I have been wanting to taste their brews so I decided to stop by after my hour long drive home.



They had Tafelbully and Evil Twin on tap. They only have one brew left in their line up that has not yet been released but I am looking forward to it.

It was Evil Twin Batch 2 and Tafelbully 1. I much preferred Evil Twin 2, but wish I would have tasted the first as well. I really look forward to tasting Tafelbully 2, etc and seeing how it taste over time. I thought it was good but there were some harsh malt flavors that really stood out. I wonder if this was a feature of the beer, or an issue with the first batch (not that it was bad, just not my taste) on a huge system rather than a homebrew system.

Did I forget to mention that Heretic is a Homebrewer that made it big time? OH HELL YEAH! Every Homebrewers Dream, including mine. I can't wait to see where they go and I hope I can follow one day. I don't even want a big place. A brewpub would make me happy, but it is what I would want.

Anyway, Cheers! and check out these places and brews if you can.