Beer. Why Do I Drink It?

 

The popularity of craft beer is growing rapidly across the country and the world. A quick google search tells me there are nearly 9 thousand craft breweries across the United States. That number is growing every year and man do we love beer. When narrowing to New England it is easy to see our market is flooded with over 600 breweries and yes Massachusetts and my home state of Connecticut are leading the pack with 130 and 110 breweries respectively. So yes, beer is growing rapidly across the country. But why exactly is this? Well I can’t answer that, however I can tell you 3 reasons why I drink beer.

First, Beer is relaxing. What’s better then after a long day, when work is over, chores are done, dinner is cleaned up, and the kids are asleep? Sitting back in a comfortable recliner, putting your feet up and sipping on a delicious beer is the pinnacle of relaxation. With all the great styles and breweries, how could this ever get old? Sours brewed with marshmallow, stouts with peanut butter and IPA’s with so many different hops. Beer is always changing, it will never get old and it will never stop relaxing me after a long day.

Second, beer is a social experience. With Covid protocols in place it is more difficult to see friends and family, but even still beer is social. Meeting a couple friends at a brewery grabbing a couple pints and a snack is just outright fun. It is easy to social distance and stay safe while enjoying a tasty treat and catching up. Without beer this just wouldn’t be the same.

Then I look at home gatherings and can anyone imagine a BBQ, pool party, or 4^th of July gathering without an icy cold cooler beer. In my opinion a beer never tastes better then reaching into that icy cold water to grab that delicious beverage! Follow that up with throwing some corn hole, tossing some sauce, or a little can jam, and honestly it doesn’t get much better. Beer is the glue that keeps these events together!

Third, beer tastes like heaven. With so many different styles of beer today it’s almost impossible to not find something you enjoy. Personally I can appreciate almost all styles and flavors of beer, but my top favorites are lagers, stouts, and sours.

Lagers: I love the crisp smooth sips. Not bitter or hoppy with no buildup of phlegm in the back of the throat, just makes for a perfect sip. It’s a refreshing enjoyable sip every time and a beer I can drink again and again!

Stouts: On a cold winter night while my fireplace is cranking and a hockey game is on TV, a stout hits the spot. Better than a stout is an imperial stout. Coming in at ABVs of 9% and up, it is a perfect sipper. The malty, rich and sweet flavors coupled with a beautiful dark chocolate color is a sipping dream. With today’s additions of chocolate, nuts, coconut, peanut butter, and coffee the combinations are endless, and I for one would love to drink them all!

Sours: Sour is a flavor profile I have always enjoyed, so to add that to a beer is perfect for me on a summer day. The abv for a sour can range from 4% to as high as 10%. The flavors are endless with berries, marshmallows, and stone fruit being popular ingredients. Just writing about these delicious beers is making my mouth water!

So there you have it.  3 reasons why I love to drink beer and my 3 favorite beer styles.  Don’t forget to check out Barley Buds Beer Reviews on YouTube and podcast for more in depth beer talk and good times with good friends!

 

Cheers!

DeFo

Who Loves Beer? Manny and DeFo visit Forest City Brewing CT

Recently Manny and I took a trip to Forest City Brewing in Middletown CT. If you follow Barley Buds Beer Reviews you will know Mannys' favorite beer is Blaubeere Sour from Forest City. Manny has long raved about all the beer from Forest City and for some reason I have never made the trip before today. Being a big sour fan I was excited to head there, and I knew Blaubeere would be my first brew of the day.

Upon arriving to Forest City I was instantly enjoying the small town/family feel. Having no expectation or knowledge regarding the brewery the small industrial setting received an instant thumbs up from myself. With a quick google search I found the owner was Chris Coughlin, (Head Brewer) and opened Forest City on June 23rd, 2016. There is more to come about Chris, but first lets talk beer!

Number 1: Blaubeere Kettle Sour Ale. Manny loves this beer giving it a 5.0 score (we use Untapped rating system). He describes it as a perfect amount of tart and a fantastic beer, perfect for a summer day. On my first sip I loved the tart level to this brew and If you know my reviews I am big on color of the Beer. This one was spot on as I compare it to a cherry purple. This brew was spot on from pour to finishing sip, so I also had to go with a perfect 5.0 score. Other Barley Buds who have tried this beer include Matt (T-Rex) who checked it in at 4.75 and Greek who went 3.75. Close friend to the Barley Buds who we really want to get on for a review Scotty P also tried this beer and also gave it a 4.75 back in 2018. Overall this is a great beer and highly recommended with an average Barley Bud score of 4.65. 

Number 2: Stone's Throw Sour. Manny and I both drank this for the first time. Manny loved the stone fruit in this sour stating it hints towards the peach side. As we Barley Buds just learned a stone fruit is any fruit with a pit surrounded by flesh, so peach, plum, cherry ect. I personally loved the peach flavor as it stood out for me and the amount of tart sour was also perfect. Color was not too lite and not too juicy but just wright to go along with a fantastic aroma. Both Manny and I went with a 4.25 as a score, but looking back I would like to give this another try. I feel like I would have boosted my score to a 4.5 if I didn't drink this beer directly following the Blauberre.

Number 3: Brown Cow Vanilla Milk Stout. Here we switched up the flavor profile, moving on to a 6% abv milk stout. As advertised it was a lite stout and in my opinion hinging to the porter world. I'm not sure which hops were used for this stout though. It started with a nice vanilla aroma followed by vanilla on the tongue providing a smooth and easy to sip consistency. Although the flavor was very good, I went with a 3.75 as I prefer a thicker stout. Manny pegged this as a perfect one or two beer night sipper and checked it in at a 4.25.

Although the beer was great, the best part of this trip was learning that Manny was a family friend of Chris. Chris was nice enough to take some time to come outside and chat with us. He was down to earth, extremely personable and easy to talk with. He was very knowledgeable regarding his beer brewing, as we mostly spoke about the differences between the two sours we tried. It definitely was nice to hear about the a small part of the process to create different flavors among his sours. We also spoke about COVID and the stress it has placed on craft breweries regarding restrictions on the number of patrons and the requirement to serve food. With this Manny and I brought up the possibility to do a live recording at Forest City. I know I would love this opportunity to share some great beer with the rest of the Barley Buds and hope we can make it happen, because Forest City Brewing was 100% a winning trip. If you don't believe me then make the trip yourself, grab a delicious sour and don't forget to try a warm pretzel while you are there!

Cheers,

DeFo