The Session #46 Wrapup

Wow. Apparently you guys had a lot to say about unexpected and surprising beer experiences! Here's a rundown of everyone's posts, it made for (a lot of) damn good reading!

The Beer Nut wrote about a local brewpub in Dublin, Ireland that had been coasting downhill for some time. On his last visit, he was surprised to find that management has revitalized the establishment, complete with a new brewer and a unique beer lineup.

Tom at Lug Wrench Brewing Company discovered that a local distillery malted and smoked their own barley to make their whiskey. Using local 6-row barley and apple and cherry wood, they achieved a unique smoke flavor in the finished product. Tom was lucky enough to walk away with some of that special malt, and brewed a great sounding rauchbier.

Derrick at Ramblings of a Beer Runner talked about how finding craft beer in places like 7-11 and Safeway isn't that unusual anymore, but that five years ago, it would have been shocking.

The eminent Stan Hieronymus from Appellation Beer wrote about how at any given turn you can land in a craft beer haven, like the Cat's Paw Casino in Bozeman, Montana advertising "20 microbrews for $1."

David at Beer PHXation remembered a trip to New Hampshire that lead him to the door of Moat Mountain Brewing Co. He was impressed with the quality for such a small town place, and suggests making it your center of operations if you travel up that way.

Lew from Seen Through a Glass recalled a trip to the boonies in Pennsylvania, which resulted in a stop at a local watering hole, plastered with Coors Lite signs. With low expectations he entered, and was amazed to see things like Tröegs Trogenator and Steenbrugge Tripel on the tap handles.

Simon writes on The Reluctant Scooper about his experience with a well known name, Chimay. Despite how much he knew about the beer itself, the community where it's produced offered many revelations.

Bob from beer.bobarnott.com told us about a trip to Italy, where his prejudice about the beer was wonderfully dispelled as he enjoyed a flavorful, hoppy Italian beer at a beer bar called "Bir & Fud."

Greg at The Pour Curator takes a different tack and examines how two beer companies work to keep their advertising intriguing and unexpected.

Jay Brooks of the Brookston Beer Bulletin says "In the intervening 30+ years since those first unexpected beer experiences when I lived in New York, the journey I started then has led me to one unexpected discovery after another." 

Jon wrote on The Brew Site about discovering great beer at, of all places, an Oregon wine tasting room. He discovered that the winery owner is the sister of Vinnie Cilurzo, owner of Russian River Brewing Co., and therefore always has Pliny the Elder on tap.

Mark at Kaedrin Beer Blog recalls when, while still a Natty Ice drinker, he pointed randomly at a beer menu and ended up with Ommegang Hennepin. The result blew his mind, and to honor that he reviews Ommegang's new offering, Adoration.

Sean from Beer Search Party writes about two experiences where he was in the right place at the right time. At two events, fellow beer geeks shared rare beers with him, completely randomly and out of a shared love of good beer.

At Brewed For Thought, Mario tells us about a business trip that took him to North Carolina. After being discouraged by his research on the area, he finds out that one of the executives of the company he's meeting with owns a brewery, just outside of town.

Alan at A Good Beer Blog posted about a rare Westvleteren 8 that was shipped to him from Europe, a surprise payment for an advertising job.

Jay from A Beer In Hand talks about a favorite local taproom, famous for their craft beers and low prices. One day bombers of Stone's Vertical Epic appeared on the menu...for $5!

Thomas at the Geistbear Brewing Blog recently moved to North Carolina, and was disappointed by the beer scene. But things were changing, rapidly. "Maps of course are static documents and can't tell you the changes happening behind the pins or what is going on with the people on the ground." There have been at least six brewery openings since he's arrived with more on the way, showing that North Carolina is ground zero for the next craft beer boom.

2 comments:

David Jensen said...

Hey, is it too late to get a late-entry post mentioned in the wrap-up? I wasn't going to write a post because I didn't have a story but then I VERY recently had a discovery. I, however, haven't had enough time to do a write-up. So I was thinking of stoppin by my new favorite neighborhood beer bar to take some photos and do a write up.

Cheers!
Beer 47

David Jensen said...

Well, it took a little longer than I thought but here's my late addition to The Session #46. http://beer47.com/2010/12/amsterdam-cafe-in-sf-an-unexpected-discovery/

Now I need to work on my announcement for The Session #47, which will be a full blog post.

Cheers!