beer blah blog

Still in Massachusetts, I grab some bombers from another old familiar place - the Berkshire Brewing Company. Living in Western Masasachusetts when it opened in 1994, I remember foundly sitting on the porch with a Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale, their flagship beer. It was a crisp American summer beer I enjoyed regularly. For whatever reason the shop I was in, didn't have any. But they did have...

Lost Sailor India Pale Ale

80 / 100

I grabbed the last 22 oz. of this in the refrigerated section of Cappy's Liquors (the one in Medford). Any good Bostonian knows Cappy's. Usually it's referred to as Fuckin' Cappy's. Cappy's has the certain astringent mixed with stale beer smell you can usually only find at a frat house crime scene after they were ordered to clean things up.

This pours a hazy orange color with an everlasting head. Lemons and grapes dominant the nose. The taste has floral hops with a well balanced, almost fruity malt backbone. Albeit made in the good ole U.S. of A. this is definitely a British style IPA. This was refreshing after my usually intake of copius West Coast hop bombs. The British are more subtle than us loud asshole Americans, aren't they? "FUCKIN' CAPPY'S!!!"

Coffeehouse Porter

81 / 100

Coffee and beer, pretty much the only things I ever drink (and H2O, but obviously both have plenty in them). Together at last. Actually, there's been many combinations of stouts and porters and coffee. Some worked well, some not so much. The first I remember is the delicious Redhook Double Black Stout that advertised being made with Starbucks coffee YEARS before that name was on every street corner in the country.

Back to the point - Coffehouse Porter. It pours dark and thick. The aroma is very expresso, a hint of caramel and smokiness. Not much indicated this is a beer. The flavor delivers that nicely. A hop kick bursts through the coffee and sweetness. It rounds out the intense flavors. The creamy goodness went down extremely quick. I wish I could get more of this on my coast.