Fred Flintsone hosts a BC4M

Fred hosted this meeting, which was out of control right from the start. There was no theme, and the chaos lasted well into the wee hours of the morning. Members came and went, and the beer flowed like water. First up was the Troegenator Doublebock beer from Troeg Brewery (8.2%). This was a great beer to start with. It earned a RFG. "full bodied and smooth... a winner". Then came Brooklyn Local 1 (9.0% ABV). This cidery, sweet brew tasted amazingly like homebrew. I didn't like it at all, but the others found it to be a so/so. Blue Moon Grand Cru (8.2%) was next. The group thought it was good, with the exception of 10PM, who loudly proclaimed that "it SUCKS!" Next up was Rogue's Santa's Private Reserve Ale (6.0%). We love Rogue, but Santa can keep this shit. It was a so/so. Dogfish Head Immortal Ale (11% ABV) was next. What's not to like about a 11% beer? Apparently everything. It SUCKS! As one member sad, "a moron could brew this ASS-STRAVAGANZA!" Starr Hill Amber Ale (4.8%) presented high hopes, but we were now losing our composure. This one sucked too. "Absolutely no need to buy another, why waste good money on this shit". Dogfish Head's Midas Touch (9%) was a relief... It rated a good to get the meeting back on track, only to be followed by their Palo Santo Marron (12% ABV). Although it rated a so/so, one member commented that "you might as well be drinking turpentine". The next beer was a Dogfish Head Burton Baton (10% ABV). They make a lot of beers don't they? This one was "hoppy, sweet, goodness" and rated a good. But, as is often the case with Dogfish Head beers, their next offering, World Wide Stout (18.0%), sucked balls. Johnny liked it, but the others declared that this one was "fucking nasty". By now it was time to break out the Unibroue Maudite (8%). My first experience with this beer was rough, and my second experience was no better. This one SUCKED. We were on our 12th beer with no signs of stopping... Next was a Bluegrass Brewing Co Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon Stout (8.5%). This was a strong very bourbony stout, and rated a so/so. Then came the Starr Hill Jomo Lager (5.57%). We like to call this one by it's spanish name, Homo Lager. It was given a good rating. As one member said "love the name, love the beer...Snake is a homo". Then came another Starr Hill beer, the Northern Lights (5.8%). This was a good beer. It was easy to drink with a nice hoppy taste. Red Hook's Winter Hook (5.9%) was sampled, but the keeper of the book was apparently too hammered to record the comments, so we will never know how this one fared. Then came the Smithwicks (5% ABV). This is Fred's favorite, and it got an automatic RFG because Fred says so. In Fred's own words, "eat that bitches!" Another successful meeting, and another BC4M hootinanny. Next up... the annual New Years Eve Carriage House Commons Crawl.

The First Recorded Meeting

Every meeting has a theme, generally one chosen by whoever volunteers to host. The first recorded meeting took place at Johhny's house, and the theme was winter beers.

First up was Starr Hill's, The Gift (6.6%). Starr Hill is a favorite, being a Virginia beer. However, the Gift didn't fair so well, rating only a so/so. Next up was Never Summer Ale (5.94%), from the Boulder Beer Co. We liked this one with it's woody, strong character. It rated a good. Next was Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale (6%). It was felt that this ale started strong, but finished bland. It rated a so/so. Next up was Red Hook Winter Ale (5.9%). This one was considered forgetable, rating only a so/so (this is a tough crowd). Harpoon Winter Lager (5.5%) was next in line. It was very spicy, but rated only a so/so. Wild Goose, Snow Goose Winter Ale (6.9%). This was a very strong ale, and rated a good (we generally like beer with character). Dominion Baltic Porter (6.8%). This one was a little light for a porter, rating a so/so. Holy shit!! We're on our 7th beer and nowhere near halfway home! This is gonna be a long night.
Next up was Rogue Yellow Snow IPA (6.2%). We are big fans of Rogue beers, but this one was not a crowd favorite, with hints of grapefruit and very hoppy. It rated a so/so. Delerium Noel (10%) was next in line. It has a real cool bottle, a hint of apple, and did I say a damn cool bottle? However, the bottle does not affect taste, and it only rated a so/so. Victory Storm King Stout (9.1%) was a nice treat. A strong stout that rated a good. By this time, we were drunk and getting off target. What sometimes happens at these meetings, is that we drink all the theme beers, and just grab whatever's in the beer fridge. Such was the case this night. The next beer chosen was Penn Weizen (4.0%), from the Pennsylvania Brewing Co. It was nice and smooth, and rated a good. This tasty beer was followed by Dogfish Head's Festina Peche (4.5%). Now as a disclaimer, we love the Dogfish Head Brewery. They make some damn good beers. This, however, isn't one of them. It earned the first "sucks" rating. As one club member stated, "it tasted like vomit". Sam Adam's Cranberry Lambic (5.9%) followed the peche. For some reason we didn't rate this one, but one member commented that it was "so good it's gay". I still have no idea what that means. Founders Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale (8.5%) got the bad taste of the last two beers out of our mouths, but it only rated a so/so. Next was the Blue Point Brewing Co. Toasted Lager (4.39%)... another so/so. And then it happened... no more real beers to drink. Time to bring out the old homebrew, CHC Best Bitter (5.0%). I think our taste buds were damaged, as this one rated a so/so. However, not all members were impressed. One member commented that it tasted like "man juice with a hint of hops". A perfect beer to end the night with!

And So It Begins...

While no one knows for sure, it is said that the BC4M all started one night on Johhny's back porch. Several of the founding fathers had gathered for some quality beers, when the discussion turned to creating a neighborhood drinking club that sampled different beers on a weekly basis. It soon became a regular gig, one that occured every Thursday evening, at one of the members homes. The club grew, taking on mythical proprtions. Member wannabes from 46 states called and tried to join, but we chose to keep the group small in order to preserve it's integrity. Our goal??? To drink and rate every beer ever brewed. It's a lofty feat, but certainly doable. No doubt we will be at it for some time, and we may lose a few good men in the process. But every member knows the risk, and has taken a solemn blood vow to drive on... Ok, that's mostly bullshit, but the general premise is true. We want to sample as many beers as we can, and to rate those beers as we go. Unfortunately, we were 6 months into it before Johnny produced the magic book, our living beer bible as it were. At the present time, I am the keeper of the book, a very high honor. The following posts will present our beer tastings and opinions of those beers. Forget Beer Advocate.com. This group knows it's beer better than any yuppy fruitcake beer snob...... Bim