Jim and I were both sent some beer from the folks over at Old Dominion Brewing.  A pretty nice stout and a very good and unique pale ale.  These beers are not distributed in this neck of the woods, so I decided to bring a few bottles to Brewforia to share.

The Hop Mountain Pale ale was a real treat.  It was bright and refreshing.  But then someone mentioned an earthiness to it, which I thought gave it body and provided an interesting flavor when mixed with the malt backbone.  This brew was very well balanced between the maltiness up front and the hoppiness towards the back side.  Not hop forward, but nice and hoppy nonetheless.  This was a very good pale, and one I would recommend any time you get the chance.  Nice too is that it comes in 12 oz bottles, and at 6.6% it isn’t quite sessionable, but it isn’t an evening killer either.  Just be reasonable with it and it will treat you fine.

Next we opened the Stout.  And this had very good flavor, especially for a 6.1% ABV stout.  Again, not quite sessionable, but not too overwhelming either.  This brew was a bit of an enigma, because it is dryhopped with Vanilla Beans and Oak chips, yet is says it is their Oak Barrel Stout, however there is never any mention of barrel aging on the label or the web site.  So I don’t know if this brew ever spent any time in a barrel or not, but the bottom line is it was tasty.  A very inky black stout with a thin off white head, good coffee and chocolate nose, and the brew itself has a huge malty backbone with a slight hoppiness to keep it from tipping over with no hop presence.  Its mouthfeel was medium bodied with a bit of a slick feel on the tongue.  The flavor was good, you could definitely taste the vanilla and the coffee and chocolate on the roast of the malt.  It too had an earthiness quality that it shared with the pale ale.  After a time I realized where I had tasted this flavor before…Home Brews.  Now, before you go getting all concerned that these beers weren’t as good as I’m saying they are, it wasn’t a bad quality and incorporated nicely into these beers.  I’m just wondering if they spent enough time in the clarifyer.  Or perhaps the brewer intended for this character to be in these beers, because it did play nicely with the malts and hops and overall flavor profile.  Whatever the case, these were good, solid brews.  Another nice thing is the stout comes in 12 oz bottles.  Hard to find a good stout in the smaller vessels.

After we partook of these brews my buddy Rick knew I was looking for some Ballast Point Sculpin IPA.  When we were in Oregon a couple weeks back I kept looking for it, and finally when I was at Belmont Station in Portland I asked if they had it.  They informed me that Ballast Point didn’t distribute in Oregon, so I was aced out.  So when Rick pulled out a bottle of the ugly fish IPA, I was quite excited!  This was a well made brew with just one slightly strange flavor in it.  First it was very well balanced between maltiness and hoppiness.  with a nice hop linger on the back side.  There was a rather strange flavor about mid palate however.  My buddy Rick says it tastes like creosote, you know that oily tar they put on railroad ties to make them last forever.  If I tried really hard I could pick that out a little bit.  To me the flavor was of latex , or like you were chewing on a balloon.  It was only there for a half a moment then it vanished, blending into a very pleasing flowery and fruity hop finish.  But as I drank it that flavor kept asserting itself across my palate.  Not to the point that I couldn’t finish it, but I definitely don’t think I will go out of my way to find any more Sculpin.

Finally, just as I was about to leave, our friend Ryan comes up to the bar and says, I’m glad you are here, I have something in my car I want you to try.  I thought, ok…this might be my lucky day.  In comes Ryan with a mostly consumed bottle of Rowan’s Creek Bourbon.  Again another ungettable in Idaho.  Unfortunately Idaho doesn’t import anything from Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, makers of Willett, Rowan’s Creek, and my current favorite Noah’s Mill.  So this was a completely new bourbon for me, and one I was very eager to try.

This was a very good bourbon with good oily legs and a nice slick mouthfeel.  It was 101.5 proof or 50.75% ABV.  High ABV to be sure, but it was so mellow and smooth with a smoldering burn that enveloped you in its arms and didn’t let go for a couple of minutes.  It had a sweet flavor of pears and apple with a nice vanilla backbone and oaky finish.  This is another great bourbon from KBD and if you see this one pick it up.  Comparing it to the Noah’s Mill, it was much more mellow and easy drinking and had a fruity thing going on, where the Mill is all finish and oak and leather and tobacco.  Very good bourbon.

So that was my mini ungettables meeting at Brewforia.  This week I will be going to the real thing put on by my buddy Chad at Bier Thirty.  Can’t wait to see what I’ll get into there!

-Don

I know I’ve not been around too much lately.  I’ve been trying to secure employment, and my journeys over the last two weeks have brought be all over the State’s of Oregon and Washington.  I told you about the Cascade Barrel house in Portland a while back, but I also went to Good Life Brewery in Bend, and had a very tasty Porter they are making and saw their operation up close and personal.  We then took a look at Bend Brewing, a very small micro brewery in downtown Bend.  After that we hit up Three Creeks Brewing in Sisters, Oregon on our way to Eugene.  Three Creeks was very nice, but seemed to pay more attention to the restaurant side of the house than the beer side.  Unfortunate, as their space is beautiful, but their beer is just kind of Meh…

Once we got to Eugene we went to a couple other local breweries, Steelhead brewing was on the edge of Downtown and wasn’t much to write home about, even their food sucked, however I think you all know how much I like Ninkasi Brewing, and we went to their brew house and enjoyed a pint of Barrel aged Renewal Porter.  Very good beer.  But the highlight for me was Hop Valley.

This is a relatively new brewery that really nails the Northwest hop flavor profile.  I sampled all their beers, and with the exception of one, was pleased at each offering.  They all have a hoppy bite, but unlike some where the hop profile is almost exactly the same for every style of beer (lookin’ at you Rogue) they mix it up very nicely so there is a hop presence and most brews are even hop forward, but the the use of them never becomes tired or redundant.  This is a great brewery, and one I’m sure you will be hearing more about.

While at Hop Valley we got to meet Trevor Howard the Brewmaster.  He was great to take us back into the brewery and show us around.  One thing he did for us special was he had kegged a one off Bourbon Barrel aged old ale style brew and he got us each a sample.  This brew blew me away.  It was so boozy and that great Northwest hop combined with the Bourbon forward nose and flavor was just what this beer and whiskey guy loves!  They are canning some of their brews, and are still local to the Oregon market, but have intension to expand, and when they do buy their beer, its awesome!

On our way home we went through Portland and did our visit with Cascade Barrel House, then went to Coalition Brewing, on the outskirts of downtown.  This place was a young start up and hopefully will hit their groove soon, but they weren’t quite there yet.  I had a session ale that tasted like bubble gum.  Probably not infected, but definitely not my kind of beer.

After Portland, we began our trek homeward but made a pit stop in White Salmon, Washington.  White Salmon is right across the Columbia River from Hood River, Oregon.  This is the home of Everybody’s Brewing.  This is a great brewery that brews beers in classic German styles.  All brews are session beers,  and even though they are lower ABV they still manage to coax a lot of flavor from their brew.  I had their ISA (India Session Ale) which wass a 4.4% beer and packed a lot of flavor and a great hoppy bite.  Their brewery is perched atop a bluff that overlooks the Columbia River, and the pub is a great place, taking full advantage of their view and their location, with deck views that are to die for!  Awesome little place, and one I hope we hear more from in the near future.  Presently they are just kegging their brews but eventually they want to bottle or can.  When they do, I will be first in line to try them all!

The following week I had a job interview in Bellingham, Washington and was there for 3 days and two nights.  After a harrowing trip through Snoqualamie Pass I was ready for a meal and a beer.  One of our loyal blog contributors Evan came to my rescue and told me about the two micro pubs they had in town.  That night I headed to Boundary Bay Brewing on the edge of downtown.  This is a beautiful little brewpub with great food and even better beer.  I had their Oatmeal Stout which was an imperial at 8.8% but didn’t state that on the tap handle!  It was boozy and oaty and delicious and I enjoyed every taste with my Ruben Sandwich.  I then picked up a bottle of their IPA to go.  This was a great beer with a smooth and easy drinking quality that could make it very dangerous.  I actually stopped into the brewery the following night and picked up another bottle along with their Barleywine which I will be cracking into for the next ungettables gathering this weekend!

The next night I went to Chuckanut Brewing, also on the outskirts of downtown Bellingham for dinner and a pint.  This place was another German style brewery and made mostly session brews, although they did have some that pushed the 7% ABV range.  I first had their Kolsch which won gold at GABF this year.  It was a very easy drinking beer with a very crisp flavor.  Great representation of the style.  I followed it up with their very light Oatmeal stout.  3.9% ABV, but it packed a ton of flavor!  For those of you back east it reminded me of Victory’s Donnybrook Stout.  Big roasty malt presence, lighter mouthfeel and a very clean finish.  This was a great beer, and I wanted to bring some home with me, but unfortunately they only keg, and I didn’t want an entire growler of the stuff.    Had a great burger here too, made with local meats and emphasizing the locavore movement.

It has been a great couple of weeks and I hope to participate a bit more now that I won’t be travelling quite so much.

-Don

More and more, folks are getting into pairing beer with food, and why not? The right marriage of beverage and bite can take your enjoyment of both to levels unreachable when tasted separately.  I’m just getting into food pairings and can’t wait to taste all the possibilities.

One thing I’ve been into for awhile is beer and television pairings. Well duh, you say, people around the world pair booze and the boob tube all the time. But I find there’s a bit of an art to it.  Certain shows are best savored along with certain adult beverages, and there are a few shows I simply cannot watch without the appropriate companion drink.

Here are five shows I love, and the beverages I MUST have to enjoy them to the fullest: 

Mad Men – Let’s get this one out of the way first, as it doesn’t require much explanation.  Mad Men is a show about booze-fueled ego trips and booze-fueled affairs, and booze-fueled shouting matches and, well, you get the idea.  Of course it’s more fun watching if you’re a booze-fueled viewer. I typically enjoy a big Bourbon served in a tumbler while watching Mad Men, either neat or with a cube of ice. My go-to here is Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit, with a crisp and hoppy beer as a backer, like a Victory Prima Pils.

Game of Thrones – This Medieval fantasy show is filled with kings and queens, backstabbing, political intrigue, handsome dwarves, and even dragons.  I find it hard to sit through an episode without a goblet full of New Holland Dragons Milk in my hand, feeling like a king on my mancave throne.  Its rustic, boozy goodness is the perfect companion to the happenings in the Seven Kingdoms.  It certainly made what happened to poor Ned more palatable!

Justified - I’m not sure if anyone else enjoys FX’s backwoods police drama as much as I do, but I can’t get enough of Justified. I tune in every week to see if Boyd and Raylan are friends or foes, who’s making a power play in the holler, and if Marshall Givens will get the chance to draw down on someone foolish enough to pull on him.  Seeing as this show is set in Kentucky, a little whiskey is in order, and my hooch of choice is Four Roses Small Batch, an infinitely drinkable whiskey with a lower proof that won’t make you regret curling up with it. When I’m not in a whiskey mood, I’ll typically go with a Dale’s Pale Ale and enjoy its earthy goodness while watching justice prevail (most of the  time).

Boardwalk Empire – This show’s about Prohibition, so I think it’s only appropriate to celebrate my rights under the 21st amendment while I watch Nucky and company slowly strangle the life (and every penny then can muscle) out of Atlantic City.  While whisky is typically the hooch being bootlegged on the show, my cravings run towards beer here, in particular I crave the boozy comforts of Schlafly Reserve Imperial Stout. I drink it at room temperature, slowly savoring one of my favorite beers as I count my lucky starts that it’s not 1921. Prohibition was AWFUL!

Deadwood – This is probably my favorite television show of all time.  It’s a masterpiece.  Deadwood unfolds in a gold mining boomtown in the late 1800, so you can imagine that watching it puts one in the mood for cowboy whiskey.  The pick of the litter here is Stranahans Colorado Whiskey, which is not only delicious, but it’s old-fashion bottle looks the part.  I always want to bite the stubby cork out of neck, spit it across the room and drink directly from the bottle.  New Holland Spirits also makes a terrifically sweet and rich Brewers Whiskey that’s a good fit here as well, but it’s impossible to get in my neck of the woods (at least for now).

It seems silly that these shows would drive me to drink, but there’s no denying that I enjoy the viewing experience much more with the appropriate beverage in hand.  That said, there are other excellent shows that I watch that don’t make me thirsty in the least.  I’ll sometimes have an IPA while watching Top Gear (the UK version), The Wire, Downton Abbey, and Breaking Bad, but it’s not a requirement.

There’s probably some kind of psychological connection between the nature of the shows above and my desire to enjoy them with a beer or a couple of fingers of whiskey, but I don’t have the time to figure it out – I’m too busy trying to determine which pilsner pairs best with Three’s Company re-runs!

Do you have any beverage rituals that make your favorite shows better?  As always, let us know below!

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HAHA Jim, looks like this is here to stay!  Here is a link to the very brief write up by our buddy Adam over at Beernews.org.

http://beernews.org/2012/02/pong-beer-planning-to-expand-distribution-across-20-states/

Well I have made my way through the entire box and I think I have it.  Is a matter of fact, I’d be quite surprised if I was wrong, but they were probably pitching me a slow ball on this first round, remember there are 3 more rounds to go!

What was truly interesting to me is I first nosed all the whiskeys at once, and just based on their smell I put them in an order best to worst.  It turns out that that order was almost reversed from what I ultimately came up with for the true order of things based on flavor and mouthfeel and finish.

Based upon nothing but smell I put the order Best to Worst as C,D,A,B.  I don’t know if my sniffer is off, or if there is something to it.  You know like great whiskies smell bad…kinda like cheese?  It isn’t that they smelled bad, none of them did, but the worst whiskey of the bunch had this amazing vanilla, caramel smell, and the best one, all I could smell was a waft of alcohol and not much else.  Perhaps I discovered that the nose for whiskey is less about the flavor than it is for beer, and if that is my only take away here, it has been a valuable lesson.  Now to the whiskeys!

Whiskey A

Whiskey A was a wonderful smooth and full bodied whiskey, with one of the slickest mouthfeels I’ve ever experienced.  Very oily and very pleasurable.  This is undoubtedly the “Top Shelf” whiskey that I was sent.

I’m thinking that this was a high rye whiskey, or perhaps a wheat whiskey that has been aged a long time like a Pappy 20.  This whiskey was also by far the highest proof of all four.  I can tell this by how it made me feel.  One ounce of the stuff really put me on my heels.  I wasn’t impaired, but I definitely felt the alcohol in this hooch.  Is a matter of fact I drank this whiskey the first night and then drank the other three in one sitting, and I felt about the same after both.

This whiskey started off sweet like sugar plumbs and transitioned to a nice leathery tobacco about mid palate, then finished with some nice oakiness and vanilla/caramel flavors.  This was like drinking candy, but it was better, because it was bourbon!  The finish was long and smooth.  I’m conflicted here between a wheat whiskey that had long barrel time and a rye, because the finish was so smooth.  This was a delightful drink, and one I will enjoy even more when I drink the next ounce!

Whiskey B

This Whiskey was also very good.  This one I will say was a mid shelf offering, and probably a wheat whiskey based on its grainy smell and grape like flavors.  It was very wine-like in its presentation and flavor.  This too had a nice oily mouthfeel, although it was more medium bodied than the first whiskey.

It had good legs and had a nice easy drinking feel and flavor.  Flavor wise it was very grape like or light fruits like pear and apple.  While the mouthfeel was lighter and a bit more watery than whiskey A it had a wonderful creaminess on the back end which was like an ice cream shake.  If I didn’t know better I might say this was my house drinker Old Weller Antique.  Nice stuff.

Whiskey C

This whiskey was the clunker.  Bottom shelf all the way.  I almost poured it out, but it really goes against my grain to sink pour whiskey, so I finished it.  Probably use the rest in a barbecue sauce.

Funny thing was that this whiskey had the best nose of them all, but flavor wise it was a let down.  This whiskey had almost no legs, and the mouthfeel was straight up watery.  This whiskey was absolutely unremarkable and that is really all I have to say about it.  In my notes I said “Meh”, that sums it up nicely.  Towards the end I was getting metallic esters much like I did with the bottle of JW Dant I bought two years ago and took one drink out of.

Whiskey D

This whiskey tried real hard, but at the end of the day it didn’t really trip my trigger.  It was a high rye recipe and a bit harsh, which I just thought was ok, drinkable, but not really likable IMO.  I’m certain that this is a middle shelf offering, but not everything from the mid shelf to the top will be great to every palate, and this one really just didn’t have it for me.  I’d like to think this was the case, but it was also the third whiskey of the night, and perhaps my palate was getting tired.  I’ll try it again with an open mind next time and see if I like it better.

This whiskey was all wood, leather and tobacco.  It had very little sweetness and had a rather harsh finish, although it wasn’t remarkably long.  It did have a decent burn and the mouthfeel was good, medium bodied.

While I believe that Whiskey D and Whiskey B were both from the middle shelf region I much preferred Whiskey B to D.  I like a sweeter flavor, and B had that down, where D was very savory in its flavor profile.  Lots of people like that in a whiskey, and I like those flavors too, but I prefer them to be mixed in with a bit of sweetness.

All in all for those that are keeping score for me the whiskeys stacked up this way:

1. Whiskey A:  ”A” is for Amazing!
2. Whiskey B:  was the runner up.  A nice middle shelfer.
3. WhiskeyD:  This one was good, but not my kind of good.
4. Whiskey C:  Bottom Shelf all the way, “Meh”

Now I just need to hear from Rob or Jeff and find out if my taster is hitting on all 8 cylinders or if I need a tune up!

-Don

No, for me I’d much rather go with a traditional Christmas Present something like this.

By the way this is available for purchase in full size on Amazon.  You can find it here.  Have a great day everyone!

-Don

Those white specs you see drifting across the screen aren’t eye floaters or Don rubbing his dandruffy beard atop the logo, they are digital snow, courtesy of WordPress.  They give folks with WordPress-hosted blogs the option of turning on the snow when the holidays draw near.  We had it on at the tail end of last year and liked it, so I’ve flipped the switch again for 2011.  I say let it snow, let it snow, let it snow – at least on the blog.  I’m driving a Mini Cooper convertible these days and I haven’t thrown my snows on yet!

Anyway, enjoy the flakes, and whatever you do, DO NOT think of Don rubbing his dandruffy beard every time you see them! 

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The past year has seen a proliferation of excellent beers available in cans, which offer many benefits to the consumer and to the environment.  But one thing cans don’t offer is the elegance of a bottle, and that’s at the heart of why Dogfish Head has no plans to can their beers. 

“I love seeing the success of all the canned beers that are out there.  But for us it’s just not an arena we’re choosing to play in” Sam Calagione told us.  Why?  Because cans run counter to his brewery’s mission to elevate beer beyond its everyday image.

“Our focus since the day we opened has been ‘let’s try to bring beer into the context of wine,’ meaning beer can be as flavorful as wine, as complex, and as food compatible as wine.” Sam says.  “That’s at the heart of our mission and we feel it’d be very confusing to put our wine-like beers into cans.  So for now were more committed to the champagne bottle 750 ml format.”

The only thing that might change this is if super high-end American wines start canning their wares. “When you get Screaming Eagle 16 oz pounders in cans, call me back,” Calagione joked.

Calagione and his crew over at Dogfish Head have always danced to the beat of their own drum, and while it’s disappointing that we’ll probably never see 60 Minute IPA in cans, it’s refreshing to see the brewery staying true to who they are.

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Some fathers and sons like to throw the ball around the yard or build models together.  Jimmy Russell and his boy Eddie like to distill bourbon.  The pair have been working together at Wild Turkey for 30 years, with Jimmy serving as Master Distiller and Eddie working his way up to Associate Distiller. The two seem to work well together, as they’ve produced a string of very nice adult beverages and have been inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame. 

Around ten years ago, they decided it was time to put their heads together and create a bourbon as father and son.  The result is Russell’s Reserve 10, a smooth and leggy charmer with a spicy finish featuring hints of orange peel and lots of warming oak.

Don’s the whiskey expert, and he reviewed Russell’s Reserve 10 last year, so I won’t duplicate his efforts here, except to say that this is the good stuff for sure, especially if you’re into smooth, slow burners.  I recently received free (!) bottle of Reserve 10 from Wild Turkey and have been happily reacquainting myself with its well-rounded goodness.

The reason I received the bottle was to bring attention to a Father’s Day promotion Wild Turkey is doing with Operation Once in a Lifetime, a non-profit group that provides resources to service members of the US armed forces.  Here’s the deal, right from the Turkey’s mouth:

- Wild Turkey 101
- Russell’s Reserve
- Wild Turkey Rare Breed
- Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit
- Wild Turkey American Honey Liqueur

You know, as a Father’s Day gift to myself. 

Memorial Day weekend is finally upon us and my thoughts are turning to lagers, pilsners and stouts (let’s face it, I’m a creature of habit!).  But my thoughts have also been lingering on a more serious subject – drinking and driving. Now before you roll your eyes, let me assure you this will be quick, painless and might actually help us all do some good.

Over the past year, our little site has really grown up.  Traffic is up tenfold, and we’ve been blessed with a loyal and vocal readership of tremendously cool people.  Our voice has grown louder and into a chorus of sorts, with people from all over the country adding their knowledge and humor to the site (and god knows we’ve needed the help!).  I’d like to try and put that to good use. 

Like Don and I, many of you are older, wiser and know how to handle yourselves.  Your days of even considering getting behind the wheel while a little buzzed (or worse) are behind you.  But that doesn’t mean we can’t make a difference this weekend and all summer long.

Please take these tips to heart and share them with your friends:

Have a Plan. Know how you’re going to get home safely before you crack open that first mouth-wateringly delicious IPA.  This might mean having a designated driver you trust, making plans to crash at the party site or even walking to your destination instead of taking the car.  For you married fellas, the best option is to get your wife pregnant so you have a rock-solid way of getting home.  Plus seventeen years down the road, you’ll have someone else to come collect you at the bar.

Pace yourself, big fella.  It’s okay to have a beer or two and get behind the wheel as long as you’re not slamming down the brewskis.  My rule of thumb is one beer every two hours, with lots of water in between.  I know this is pretty conservative, but it’s also a very smart way to approach things.  Another tip is to drink seltzer or sparkling water, which can give you the sensation of drinking a beer, just without the flavor.  Kind of like Coors Light.

Keep an eye on the other guy. Even if you’re being good, it doesn’t mean you can’t do more to help others.  Watch out for people who’ve had too much fun and are planning to get behind the wheel.  Offer to drive them home or call them a cab.  Know who’s driving and suggest they take it easy if they’re overdoing it.  I’ve looked the other way here in the past, mostly because it’s very uncomfortable getting into someone else’s business. It’s a lot easier to ignore the situation, let the person do what they will and hope everything works out.  But what if it doesn’t?  You don’t have to be all preachy about it, but just saying something might make a difference in that moment or in the future.  Man up, buttercup!

Again, most of us don’t need this advice, but I figured it’s a good time for a refresher on doing the right thing, especially as BBQ season begins. Please pass this around as a passive-aggressive way of reminding the folks you care about that part of being old enough to drink is being old enough to do it well.

Alright, ‘m getting a bit dizzy up here on my soapbox, so I’m climbing down.  I hope everyone has an awesome (and safe) holiday weekend!

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There are  lots of breakfast themed beers out there for us beer geeks.  There’s Mikkeller’s Beer Geek Breakfast, Founder’s tasty Breakfast Stout, and even a New Zealand cherry lager that was brewed to compliment your morning meal. Unfortunately, things can get complicated if you actually try to enjoy them at the start of the day, especially on a weekday on your way to work  (even if they might make you day a little more tolerable).

But now there’s something that’s made by beer geeks for beer geeks that’s a wholesome, delicious and smart way to start your day.  They are called Brubar Energy Bars, and I’m totally in love with them. 

Brubars are the brain child of Christian D’Souza, a homebrewer who had an epiphany while on a supply run:

My moment came while eating an energy bar on a drive to purchase homebrewing supplies. I realized that the flavors of energy bars are sometimes close to the flavors of beer (coconut porter, chocolate oatmeal stout) and I wanted to bridge the gap by putting beer flavors in an energy bar. It reminded me of the story of Frank Mars, the founder of the famous Mars candy bar company, who wanted a portable way to carry a chocolate malt.

So like any inspired homebrewer would, Christian started screwing around with a recipe for energy bars.  He kept the ingredient list as simple and locally-sourced as possible.  The result are two flavors of energy bars that are moist, delicious and very unique.

I can’t get these in New Jersey, but Christian was nice enough to send me some samples, which I ate in the car on the way to work this morning.

The Original Malt bar is made with malt extract, rolled oats, dates, almonds, coconut, olive oil, vanilla and cinnamon. The result is a chewy treat that tastes a little like oatmeal with brown sugar and a little like fruit cake, with little almonds nuggets adding flavor and texture to the mix.  They’re totally delicious.  I also got to try the Cherry Almond bar, and they are a lot like the Original, but with a tart cherry kick like you’d find in Founder’s Cerise.  These are wonderful as well.

The bars seem to have good nutritional stats, although they don’t have added vitamins like you’d find in more processed energy bars, but I’m happy about this.  The taste is so wholesome, it doesn’t need other crap messing it up, even if that crap is supposed to be good for you.  I say take a multivitamin and savor the simplicity of a Brubar.

Truth be told, a bowl of Grape Nuts tastes more like a mash bill than a Brubar, and you’re probably not going to think “beer” when you take a bite.  But if you appreciate the wholesome, unadulterated goodness of craft beer, you’re going to appreciate what Christian and his team have done here.  I can honestly say these are the best mass-market energy bars I’ve ever had in my life.

The bad news is that they are only widely available in California, although they are sold in a number of homebrew shops around the country.  They also sell them on their website, and go for $26.99 for a box of 12.  That’s a little pricey, but it’s hard to argue with the value you get in every wrapper.

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