The Malted Barley Recreation/Homage Party!

If you've read this blog in the past 6 months you should be quite familiar with my review of the best beer bar in the world, The Malted Barley in Westerly, RI. I was ecstatic when I did my review of this spot for many, many great reasons. I am still yearning to treck across the state of Connecticut just to have a sip of the fine brews they carry, and to also allow the delicious cornocopia of pretzels they serve to slide down my gullet, and into my belly. That being said, I couldn't contain my enthusiasm for this spot, and even while I sat at the bar I was texting photos to my friends Mark and Laura knowing full well that they too would be coming out to the Eastern Connecticut/Rhode Island area in a few weeks as well. I believe I said to them, "You need to try this spot, it's simply that incredible".

Well, sure enough on their visit to Foxwoods Casino Mark and Laura made it a point to stop at The Malted Barley. It was no surprise to me when I started receiving texts from them at the bar, such as "Holy shit this place is so awesome" and "I can't believe this spot". I was living vicariously through them that weekend, and I knew exactly the overwhelming feeling of joy, excitement, and raw pleasure they were feeling while sitting in that dimly lit bar in southern Rhode Island.

 

Around mid March Laura, Mark, my girlfriend Alissa and I decided to have a "Malted Barley Recreation Party". It turned out that Mark and Laura had been perfecting a pretzel recipe for a few weeks, and they were eager to share in the enjoyment with us. We were so very excited. Since we all live nearly three hours away from The Malted Barley, it was our idea to try to recreate the amazing atmosphere that we all experienced in that amazing bar in Westerly, RI.

The night was a huge success, and it was chock full of pretzels and delicious beers. We made a batch of salted pretzels, as well as a batch of pepperoni and mozarella stuffed pretzels dusted with parmesan and served with pesto butter, and a batch of jalapeno and cheddar stuffed pretzels. All of them came out fantastic! Nice and crisp on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside with huge bursts of runny cheeses, pepperoni and spicey jalapenos! The pesto butter was the perfect pairing for the pepperoni and mozarella stuffed pretzel, and so was the Tilted Smile Imperial Pilsner by Uinta brewing.

Speaking of beers, we wanted to make sure we captured the variety of brews you can get at The Malted Barley as well. We had a vast array of malt treasures to choose from that night. The pictures below capture a good fraction of what we had that night, and how varied our selections were. It was interesting to see how different beers paired differently with each pretzel we baked. By the way, Detour IPA by Uinta paired with the jalapeno and cheddar pretzel was killer. The hops complimented the hell out of the spicey jalapenos, and so did the strong alcohol taste on the finish.


As you can see, we had one hell of a night recreating one of the best bar experiences any of us have ever had. Until we all can find time to treck back out to Westerly, Rhode Island I am sure we'll be doing this again, and coming up with new and varied pretzels, as well as beer pairings to have with them. Thanks a lot for the good time Mark, Laura, Alissa and everyone at The Malted Barley, and thanks for the inspiration!



And The Utimate Party Animal...RORI!

                   





 



 

My Bloody Valentine by Alesmith

I have recently become a very enthusiastic fan of Alesmith, and many of the beers they make (see my previous review of their Nut Brown Ale). They do an excellent job of making classic styles, and they also do an exceptional job of putting a west coast spin on traditional styles of beer. Well, this beer is no exception at all. My Bloody Valentine is a red ale, but not a red ale in the traditional sense of the word. It's a red ale that you would expect from southern California hop enthusiasts, as I am sure you'll agree after reading my review below.

Beer Name: My Bloody Valentine
Brewery: Alesmith
Style: Red Ale/Amber Ale
Location: San Diego, CA
Packaging: 22oz bomber
Price: $6.50/22 oz bomber
ABV: 6.66% (so awesome)

Appearance: Very dark amber/mahogany in color, with dark crimson highlights when held up to the light. The beer pours with a thick, creamy white head that is 3 fingers thick and takes forever to dissipate, leaving behind widespread lacing.

Aroma: Sweet caramel malt on the nose, followed by a resinous pine aroma with some citrus (grapefruit) on the back end.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Slightly more than a medium body, but just shy of a full bodied beer. A generous amount of carbonation on this one as well. There's a ton of sweet caramel up front, quickly followed by biscuit and dough flavors. The finish has a beautiful resinous pine flavor that really creates a dry finish to an otherwise malty, sweet beer.

Overall: 9.5/10 This a very interesting, and satisfying take on the classic red/amber ale. It stays true to the style with it's sweet  caramel malt backbone, but the California style of hopping really balances this brew out nicely and surprises you with the strong hop finish. The dry finish of the brew is very refreshing, and allows the mouth coating from the malts to dissipate just in time for the next sip. Once again, Alesmith has done an excellent job of putting a California spin on a classic style! Cheers!

PS-Probably the BEST packaging I have ever seen for a beer. The back of the bottle reads "best paired with dinner for one, or your favorite emo album". Classic.

Stone Enjoy by 04.01.13

I had been waiting a while for my local beer distributor to get this brew in stock. I heard a lot of hype about Stone's new "Enjoy By" series of beers, and how incredibly fresh they were supposed to be. They are supposedly "so fresh" that they're purposely made "not to last", so that the drinker MUST enjoy the beer before the "enjoy by" date.  I was looking all over the store for it for roughly 30 minutes. Defeated and exhausted by my search, I slowly dragged my feet up to the register, eventually accepting that I would never get to try this brew. As I stood at the register (with the other 6 bomber I picked for my stock) I looked at the shelves behind the register, and low and behold there stood multiple bottles of Stone's "Enjoy By 4.01.13". Excited, and with a new found motivation I happily place my beers onto the counter, and pointed my finger behind the cashier and exclaimed, "and one of the 'Enjoy By's' as well please". Finally, I finally got my hands on one! Well, here's the review. I hope you enjoy it.

Beer name: Enjoy By 4.01.13
Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Location: San Diego, CA
Style: DIPA
ABV: 9%
Price: $11.99/bomber
Packaging: bomber (1 pt. 6 oz)

Appearance: The beer pours a pale golden hue with a 2 finger thick, creamy white head. There's a generous amount of lacing that slowly falls down the glass. The head is very rich, and very thick.

Aroma: A lot of pineapple up front, which mingles with citrus fruit (grapefruit, orange peel, and some lemon peel). A lot of freshly cut grass on the nose, which gives the beer a really earthy aroma. There is some slight pine and resin on the finish, with some sweet caramel malt coming through at the end as well.

Taste/Mouth Feel: A medium body, with moderate amounts of carbonation. Pineapple and pine notes on the front end, followed by a very sweet (caramel) malt center. The finish has a nice, bitter hopiness and slightly alcoholic taste. There are a lot of crisp, clean tastes on this one. The hops definitely give the beer an earthy taste, and the fresh cut grass profile is present throughout the tasting.

Overall: 9/10 This brew definitely presents itself as a fresh tasting one! The hops give the beer a clean, crisp and dry profile. The malts give the beer a rich caramel sweetness that isn't overwhelming and well balanced with the hop additions. What I really like is that the earthiness of the hops really allow the malt to shine as well in this brew, and leave you with a deliciously clean aftertaste in your mouth. Not a whole lot of a residual mouth coating on this brew. The alcohol linger a bit in the back of your throat, but it doesn't overpower any of the other profiles of the beer. Overall, a very good beer. Cheers!