A BC4M road trip and beyond

As many of you may know, there is a small contingent in the BC4M that are what most would affectionately call "road whores". They possess a wandering spirit that has a thirst for adventure and a love for finding new experiences somewhere down the highway. These "rogues" love to spin yarns about the scantily clad "beer wenches"that they have run into at various watering holes across this great fruited plain that allow you to sip the rarest of beers from between their bountiful juggies. Bim had heard of such place in what the locals here know as P-Town but appears on the map as Portsmouth. It is a German restaurant and tavern called The Bier Garden. The list of beers they have is enormous and supposedly the Frauleins were like cougars so we decided we would make a rare BC4M pilgrimage to see what all the fuss was about. Snake, Fred, John Wilder and Bim were accompanied by a couple of chaperone's (Mrs. Bim and Mrs Fred) to make sure we abided by the look but don't touch rule in case we happened to be served by a couple of horny voluptuous vixens with a penchant for handsome craft beer drinkers. We ordered lunch and had a few tasty new beers while we sat back and enjoyed an unseasonably warm Saturday afternoon outside on the party pavilion. First up was an Ayinger Octoberfest (5.8%) which was malty and nutty with a hint of toasted bread flavor. A solid good, we also tried a Paulaner Octoberfest (5.8%) which was just as tasty. We also had a few beers previously rated like the RFG Trappists Rochefort 8 and the really good Dogfish Head Punk. Sadly, the waitress wasn't wearing lederhosen and she definitely wasn't letting us sip from her ample bosom, so after we finished up our lunch of various meats and sausages and cheeses, we loaded up the paddy wagon and headed over to Norfolk to try a few beers at The Taphouse. The decor screams musty dive bar, the floors are as sticky as the wet spot you made your girlfriend sleep on last night and the few patrons there all looked like they had just awoken from a 18 hour bongathon. Despite the fact we probably needed a tetanus booster from just being there, we ordered up a few new beers including Victory Hop Devil IPA (6.7%) which had just enough hop bite without pulling the enamel off your teeth so it got a good. We also had a Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye Ale (8.0%) that tasted like it should be used as the basis for a reuben sandwich. Dry and bitter, it was only a so-so. We then tried a Abita Restoration Pale Ale (5.0%) which lacked any distinguishing character and was just a plain nondescript beer that is similar to what a generic cereal is, cause if the knock-off brand tasted as good as Cap'n Crunch we wouldn't be calling it Colossal Crunch. The last beer we tried before we left was Duchesse de Bourgogne (6.2%) a Flanders style red ale that was sour and a little vinegary but still smooth as silk. It rated a good although the girls thought it tasted like a glass of red wine vinegar. Knowing we had to make it back home before the zombies came out after dark, we cruised back to the hood for a backyard fiesta at Casa de Snake. Since we had only eaten about 10 pounds of meat for lunch, Snake curbed our hunger pains by grilling up about 4 dozen brats and sausages for dinner. We sat under the stars on his recently remodeled deck thats is bigger than most double wides. While we grubbed out we tried some more new beers. First was Spaten Oktoberfest (5.9%), which was watery and a little skunky. "Damn Krauts", said Fred "always sending us this skunk piss, when will they get over the fact we kicked their schnitzel loving asses in two wars?" Compared to the Oktoberfest's we had earlier, this one was a dud and got a so-so. Next was a J.W. Dundee Octoberfest (5.5%) which was just as watery as the first one but smelled a lot nicer. The taste again was marginal, so it too got a so-so. Next was a Jolly Pumpkin Madrugada Obscura Dark Dawn Stout (8.1%). Featuring a label that had a rubenesque succubus with a bodacious backside and tiny funbags, the beer was both a sour and stout at the same time. "This is the most unusual beer I have ever tasted" said Bim, as Fred added, "How the fuck can you make a stout taste sour but yet be so flippin good?". An amazingly different beer, this one was really good and we would definitely drink it again. The final beer of the day was Troeg's Hopback Amber Ale (6.0%). This is the definition of a good session beer. Full of flavor and easy drinking, this one is the kind of beer you buy by the case. A solid good, we downed our glasses and then made our way home after a long beer filled day. The rogue faction of the BC4M might just be on to something with these day trips, seems like we are gonna have to make this kinda thing happen more often. Until next time.......Prosit!

Bimigan's Ark

And God said, "Gather your beers two by two and get your sorry asses to Bim's Ark while I drown you drunken bastards with 3 days of rain!" And so it was written, and so it was done. Like cows heading to the barn, the BC4M braved wind and treacherous flooding, gathered the womenfolk, loaded our beer into buckets, and headed to Bim's. 3 days of flood waters had everybody pissed off and ready to throw down. Besides, with the bad weather, our 1950's era Direct TV had lost it's signal and we were starved for entertainment. And what better way for a bunch of craft brew alcoholics to entertain themselves (besides a circle jerk of course) than to drink good beer. Bim had the house well prepared for the flood, so it was the logical place to meet. Ok, enough of the gratuitous links, let's rate some beers! As we often like to do, we opened the night with "The RFG of IPA's", a Pliny the Elder. Our stock is running low, but until we run out, we intend to savor every one of these bitches! Next up was St. Georges Brewing Co.'s Octoberfest (5%). This beer had the odd smell that we've come to expect from this brewery, and the odd taste to match, but still rated a good. Abita Amber Beer (5%) tasted like weak Louisiana swamp water and rated a sucks. Boulder Beer Pass Time Ale (5%) was a sweet, smooth session beer, and the whole group agreed it was good. Next up was some weird Italian beer called Nuova Mattina (5.8%). This shit is brewed with ginger, coriander, green pepper and chamomile. WTF??? Were they using up all the crap spices from the spice cabinet? Not good fellas. Who brews with chamomile? The same dickwads that brought us theFiat, that's who. Breckenridge Lucky U IPA (6.2%) was a so/so, making all of us feel less than lucky for having tasted it. Finally it was time for a real beer, as we cracked open the Lost Abbey Serpents Stout (11%). This shit was pure deliciousness! Chocolaty smooth with just the right amount of alcohol heat. By the time we opened the next beer, the skys had opened up again, J. Wilder arrived in his "water skeeter", and we retreated to the boathouse (sorry, more gratuitous links). Ballast Point's Victory at Sea Coffee Vanilla Imperial Porter (10%) reminded us of our own old sea daddy, Tank, and his incredulous stories of battling Barberry pirates and sea monsters. This beer had a nice vanilla flavor and was a really good. Great Divide followed with their Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout (9.5%). We love yeti's (see "Prince Mike") but this one was weak and was only a so/so. If we wanted to drink oak chips, we'd ferment the runoff off Fred's fire pit. Next up was a beer we drank at Fred's birthday, but were too stewed to record... Great Divide's 16th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA (10%). No one can really remember what we thought of it initially, but on this night it was a good. At this point Snake, in his typical over the top fashion, stood and screamed, "Way too much talking and not enough fucking drinking!" Shipyard produced two losers, their IPA (5%) which sucked, and their Shipyard Expert Handcrafted Ale (5%) which was only marginally better and rated a so/so. CHC homebrew is "handcrafted" too, which says nothing about quality, as every one of our beers tastes like pure ass. Green Flash supplied the Barleywine style ale (10.9%) which are liked by some members and feared by others. It was a mixed vote, and rated a good. The Bruery's Mischief (8.5%) was really good, although there were no comments. Widmer Brothers have produced a mixed bag of beers, but their Prickly Pear Braggot (10%) was a unanimous good. We were on a roll now, tearing through new beers like a bunch of fat kids in a candy store. Bell's Best Brown Ale (5.8%) featured a nice rendition of Woodsie the Owl on the label, and tasted cool too, rating a good. Blue Moon Harvest Moon (5.7%) (the Coors Light of craft brews) was a decent session beer and rated a good. Brooklyn Brewery Post Road Pumpkin Ale (5%) tasted like they used the month old neighborhood pumpkins that Bim used to litter the street with on Halloween as a delinquent child (he now confines his shenanigans to sexually molesting lawn ornaments). Saranac Pumpkin Ale (5.5%) was a little better, but still only a so/so. We closed the night with a Shipyard Pumpkinhead (4.5%) that Fred described as a cinnamon cookie in a bottle and rated a good. And just like that, the party was over. Time for the BC4M to strap on the speedos and swin home

Bim's Thoughts from the GABF

The Great American Beer Festival has come and gone. Now it's time to look back on our favorite parts of the whole Denver experience. I think for me, meeting the other bloggers and brewers was my favorite part. Take, for instance, the Beer and Whiskey Brothers. For starters, Jim is 9 ft 6 inches tall and his brother is 10 ft tall. They look much shorter on the computer screen. Really nice guys who have their shit together when it comes to alcoholic beverages. Then there were the New Brew Thursday guys. I can relate to them, as we meet Thursday nights, and at one time considered calling ourselves the "Twenty New Brew Thursday Boys". Although they were from California, I felt like they would feel right at home with the Virgina based BC4M. And who could forget the Beer Monster... not quite sure what her gig was, but loved her style. I even got to speak with the Drunken Polack, who has sampled more rare beers than I ever will in my lifetime. His web page is a must read for serious craft beer enthusiasts. We met some wonderful brewers, the group from 6 Rivers Brewing Co., in California. They make some cool beers, and were down home friendly folks that took in our sorry asses when we needed a seat at the bar. With the beer selection in the thousands, it was impossible to taste them all. We started with a few of the better knowns in the group, but I was really impressed with some brewers whom I had never heard of, namely Fegely's Brew Works and the Mad Fox Brewing Co. Both these brewers were serving up really excellent beers, and I certainly am planning on hunting down their other beers to sample later. And to top that off, they had employees pouring beers! And lastly, I was able to speak to a Dog Fish Head rep regarding their beers. They are my favorite brewer, which I related, but I couldn't help but let the guy know that they make some real dogs as well (can you say Sah Tea?). Gotta keep the Big Dogs humble after all, and challenge them to continually step up their game. Almost everyone was exceptionally friendly, with the exception of one cornhole playing jackass by the name of John, who was, by the way, from Virginia! And a very special thank you to our Denver host and shuttle driver, Dawn, who probably endured more noxious internal gas exposure in that short weekend than she has her entire life. We were tired and cold and she gave us shelter, hungry and she gave us food, thirsty and she gave us beer. Jesus himself couldn't have done better. It was a most memorable trip, from the crazy costumes, to the cheers every time a glass was dropped, it's something that everyone who loves good beer, should experience. Plus, there are actually bars in Denver where Pliny the Elder is served on draught!!! We were in heaven.