Bluejacket Brewery–“This Beer Tastes Like Disappointment”

Bluejacket is the newest addition to the rapidly gentrifying Naval Yard area of Washington DC. I was hearing the hype about this new brewery even down here in Florida. I was really expecting this to be a great experience but it didn’t deliver. In the words of a friend, “this beer tastes like disappointment” and the overall experience was a disappointment. First of all, the decor was a bit pretentious with lots of metal and wood. I didn’t feel like I was in a brewery but an upscale, yuppy bar. For those of you who know me, I like good beer and a friendly, down-to-earth atmosphere. I definitely didn’t get this here. The place was packed and with people who apparently didn’t drink much real craft beer. I was told by other patrons that this beer or that was the best — and believe me none of the beers were the best of anything. Even the bartender admitted that the beers weren’t very mature and none of them were that great. I also was very confused by the layout of the place– the brewery was a converted warehouse still complete with roll up doors. Warehouses are notoriously under-insulated and often hot in the summer and cold in the winter. The fermenters were located near the ceiling and heat rises, won’t this make it hard to brew in the summer? I mean DC is known for hot, humid summers. Of course, I am not a brewer, so I asked the bartender and he said he didn’t know if anyone had ever thought of that.

Now to the beers. The brewery had only been open about 2 weeks when I visited, yet there were 20 beers available on draft. I have never heard of a brewery opening with 20 beers. Don’t you usually want to perfect your signature brews and then move on from there? The whole thing seemed, not to overuse the word, pretentious.

Now on to the beers….. I visited with a friend who is also a regular beer drinker who pointed out after the third or fourth sample that it seemed like there was some sort of underlying beer recipe to which other things were just added. The beers seemed to have a formula taste and all of them were basically the same. I have to agree that this seemed to be the case, as might have to be with trying to open a brewery with 20 brews from the start. I am not going to go into every one of the beers since there were so many but will hit some highlights. Overall, I noted that most of the beers had very strong noses, which made me expect big taste; however, the taste generally did not deliver. Strompy was one of the better beers with a good dry and bitter taste. The Imposter IPA was also good with a strong piney taste. The Tooth and Nail had a feet like smell and left behind a very strong aftertaste. The Duel IPA was brewed with Belgian yeast so I expected something a bit different; it like many of the beers disappointed. The New Zealot was very yeasty and didn’t taste like a mature beer. The Figure 8 had a great nutmeg nose but the taste did not hold up. The Bitterschon had too much hops than you would expect in a bitter and you could both taste and smell the hops. The Suede smelled very chocolately and I expected a great porter but the taste was more sour so I suspect it was immature. Trouble had a horrible nose like bad apple cider and tasted like skittles had been put in the beer. Panther was the best of the darker beers with a good nose and taste. James and the Giant Peach seemed to be many of the patrons favorite but I found it a bit too sweet. Ingenue was brewed with lactose and had a blue cheese nose– this absolutely had to be one of the worst beers I have ever tasted as it made me almost gag and tasted like very old, moldy cheese that had been left in the sun. Seersucker was supposed to be a Weiss but tasted way too sour. Stowaway also tasted too sour. Butcher was supposed to be a dobblebock but it didn’t seem like one to me.

My advice here– avoid the hype and avoid this place for a few months. Wait until baseball season starts again, then head down before a Nationals game. Hopefully in six months or so, the beers will have matured and the brewmaster will have settled on a few signature beers that are well-developed and true to the name.

I have to also mention the food. We only had appetizers because the place was way too packed to try to get a seat and actually eat a meal. We had some chickpeas that were quite good. My friend got the pickle pot, which we expected to be pickles. However, there were lots of different pickled things in the little dish including pears and grapes. I am not a fan of pickles so I might not be the best judge of things but why would anyone pickle a grape? This might have been one of the oddest and most foul appetizers I have ever tried. Really? Stick to things people like– you’re a bar for goodness sake.

Taking a Break from Beer and Heading Over to Paradise Springs

Generally when I head to the DC area, I visit a bunch of wineries. With Virginia being the 5th largest wine-producing state and the Shenandoah region right outside of DC being a prime wine-producing area, it is not hard to find good local wineries. This time, I tried to stick to beer, but with some many wineries close by, I had to stop by at least one. This time I visited Paradise Springs Winery, which has adequate wines but an excellent location. Paradise Springs is located in Fairfax County just minutes from everything in the tiny town of Clifton. Many people don’t even know that the town of Clifton exists and fewer know there is a winery there. Clifton is a throwback in time– primarily agricultural and a historic district. There are a couple of small, but good, restaurants there. I only know about the town because years ago I did some work with the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust and worked on a project within the town limits.

Paradise Springs has a great tasting room in addition to the great location. The tasting room is comfortable with lots of wood accents. On the late fall evening that I visited, the outside patio was covered up with outdoor heaters. The place was packed as there was live music. Many people brought potlucks and food while enjoying the music and wine. The patio was hopping! The staff is also very friendly at this winery. Our staff member, Francisco, was very knowledgeable and personable.

Now on to the wines–I would categorize most as average. Nothing here stands out that much but you are assured to find something that meets your palate. We started our tasting with the Albarino which was very good but not very traditional. The 2012 Chardonnay was typical, but I absolutely detest chards so I am not the one to ask. The 2011 Viognier still had a very green grape flavor, perhaps it needed to mature a bit more. Viogniers are my favorites so I was a bit disappointed in this one. The 2012 Sonnet Blanc was a blend of vidal blanc, traminette, riesling, and chardonnay. The nose on this wine was very traminette even though it was only 16% of the blend. I found it a bit too sweet for my liking at 1.4% residual sugar. The 2012 Nana’s Rose was very dry but had a light flavor. We tasted the 2012 Melange, not the 2011, as given on our tasting sheet. The Melange is a blend of cabernet franc, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and petit verdot. Since we tasted the 2012, I don’t know the actual percentages of each varietal. It had a very earthy nose, of which I am generally not fond, but was a good blend reminiscent of a French wine. The 2012 Cabernet Franc was a bit light for me. The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon was very good with a great nose that held just a hint of that earthy smell. The 2011 Tannat was very good and by far my favorite. Of course, I generally love tannats.

If you find yourself in the DC area and want to hit a winery but don’t have much time, I would highly recommend Paradise Springs. You will get a good feel for what Virginia wines have to offer and find the atmosphere very enjoyable.

Port City– A Jewel of Alexandria

Port City is my kind of brewery– located in an industrial area off the beaten path, filled with friendly staff, and a haven for locals. I greatly enjoyed my trip to this brewery and it wasn’t just because the satellite radio was set on the 80s station. The beers were great, as was the atmosphere. I would highly recommend a trip to this brewery if you are in the DC area.

Port City offered several beers of different styles, all of which were very good. The Optimal Wit was a great Belgium style beer, even for someone like me who isn’t a fan of Belgium beers. The Downright Pilsner had a great flavor for a pilsner and was a bit heavier in body than a traditional pilsner. The Essential Pale Ale was my favorite– a traditional pale ale with good hoppy nose and flavor but not overpowering. The Monumental IPA was a bit weak for me, as I like the good piney, hoppy IPAs. The Porter had a great coffee flavor, but lacked a little on the nose. The specialty beer was Revival Stout, an oyster stout, which was very popular with the regulars, but to me, although not bad, was nothing to write home about. The oyster stout was brewed using local oysters and part of the proceeds goes to the Oyster Recovery Partnership– who can say no to drinking beer while helping the environment?

If you are in the area, stop by for a beer. Lots of regulars were stopping in for growlers and both customers and staff were willing to give you feedback on their favs. We visited on a Friday night and they had a local food truck outside, so you could make an evening of your trip to the brewery. Port City also had some cute souvenirs for the friends back home, including a dog collar complete with beer opener–a great gift for the beer drinking, dog lover!

BJ’s Brewhouse– New to Virginia

So I finally got back from a trip to DC during which I was able to visit some breweries. BJ’s Brewhouse was my first stop as it just opened about 2 weeks ago at a new location in Tyson’s Corner, VA. In fact, the location is so new that it doesn’t yet show up on the locations page of their website. Although a chain, I was not familiar with them, their food, or their beers. Apparently, their primary locations are out west but according to their website they do have some locations in the Ft. Lauderdale area.

I started by ordering a sampler that consisted of 8 beers. I was very disappointed when I received the sampler, because it was clear the server didn’t know much about the beers. They were clearly mislabeled and misplaced. I find this is a common problem– brewpubs hiring staff that know next to nothing about beers. I was, however, impressed by the way the sampler was served. The restaurant has a great iron beer sampler holder that provides for a unique presentation. Needless to say, I had to correctly label the beer myself– good thing these were all pretty standard beers.

I was really looking forward to a good pumpkin beer. I had been out of town, for the most part, during pumpkin beer season and completely missed my favorite, Dogfish. The pumpkin beer here at BJ’s was good but not great– the presentation would have been greatly enhanced by sugar and cinnamon on the rim. It was, however, good enough that I ended up going back during my stay and getting a second. The Piranha was a standard pale ale– nothing to write home about but very drinkable. The Hop Storm IPA reminded me very much of Shipyard and was, therefore, another very drinkable beer. The Oasis amber was standard. The Jeremiah red tasted exactly like Killian’s. The Nutty Brewnette brown ale was quite weak, as was the Octoberfest. The worst beer, by far, was the PM porter which was very bitter with a weak chocolate taste.

The beers at BJ’s Brewhouse are pretty fair; however, the food here was quite good and varied. The pub offers a wide range of entrees from salads to pizzas. A friend got the pizza and said it was good but not spectacular. I got the signature appetizer of the avocado egg rolls. I would highly recommend this appetizer and it made it well worth the trip.

Eden Winery

Sorry for the long delay in posting a new blog; however, I have spent a month in Costa Rica where there really wasn’t anything to write about in terms of beer or wine. I spent my time mostly drinking Argentinian and Chilean wines from the grocery store and Imperial/Imperial Light at the local bar. Not anything that anyone would want to read about!

I decided when I returned home to finally get around to writing about a few of our local places. I have been to Eden Winery several times over the years, but have never actually blogged about them. Eden Winery is located in Alva, Florida, which is basically a northern suburb of Fort Myers. The wines here have definitely improved over the last eight years or so that I have lived in the area. However, they are nothing to write home about.

When I first moved to the area, they were growing a few grapes on the property. Now the majority of the grapes are coming from a bit farther north where the weather is not quite as hot during the summer months. The wines are drinkable but definitely not for the real wine lover. The Lake Emerald is their driest red and the only one which might appeal to a dry wine lover. The Alva Rouge is a bit lighter, characterized as medium dry. The Alva White is their driest white but is a bit on the sweet side, also characterized as medium dry. However it has an unusual after taste that reminds me of pineapple. Although suggested as a wine to go with seafood, pork or poultry, I might want to pair this with Asian foods. Coral Bell is a blush that is slightly sparkling when first opened and has a very strawberry taste. I can see this as good picnic wine, as well as Eden Stars. Eden Stars is really the reason to go to Eden Winery. Eden Stars is a wine made from starfruit and has a taste that is definitely unique. I would suggest going out to Eden Winery on a rainy day when the beaches are a no-go just to try Eden Stars. Eden Spice is their final wine and is a very sweet red that really does not appeal to me, although they say it is their most popular wine.

Eden Winery has a nice property with cattle, picnic tables, and a nice front porch. I would suggest a visit as a good alternative to the beach. I often buy wine as presents from Eden Winery, not because it is good, but because I want to support my local businesses. Besides, Eden Winery is the southernmost winery and vineyards in the United States.

Double Barrel Brewery– A Real Local Brewery

Double Barrel Brewery is everything you could hope for in a local brewery– good beer, nice folks, and a great atmosphere. The brewery is a bit hard to find as it is located in a storage/warehouse area and not well labeled. However, with a GPS and keeping track of street numbers, you should be able to find it. We visited on a Sunday afternoon and the tasting bar was filled with friends of the brewer. The customers were friendly and loved to talk about the history of the beer and how they liked to drink it. The tasting room is sparse in terms of furniture but full of character. The brewery equipment is clearly visible behind a series of windows and glass doors. The loading area is right behind the bar. I love places like this because they make me feel like the beer is being made for the love of beer– not the commercialization of the industry or desire to make lots of capital.

The beers are all good. However, none of them tasted as I would have expected them to based on the names and style of beer. The Old Abe American Ale is the strongest beer with an alcohol content of close to 10%. I am not usually a lover of high alcohol beers as they often taste like someone poured some type of spirit into the beer. This Old Abe American Ale was very smooth and did not have that heavy alcohol taste. I was very impressed by this beer. The Applehead IPA didn’t have that hoppy IPA taste that I generally love but had a more sweet finish that hinted at almonds. Although I wouldn’t get this beer if I wanted a great IPA, I found it very drinkable. The Belgium Ale had a very grapefruit taste not the more lemony taste of a traditional Belgium. If you like grapefruit, it might be a great beer for you. The signature beer is the Bad Tom Ale–a good beer and a good solid ale. The greatest thing about this beer though is the accompanying story that explains the name. Bad Tom was a local outlaw, hung for his past transgressions that he blamed on women and drink. Actually all the beers are accompanied by interesting stories explaining their origins. To me, this signals great thought and creativity in naming and creating the beers. If you’ve been reading my blogs, I always give points for creativity!

Christian Moerlein– A Poor Substitute for Gordon Biersch

Another stop on my trip to Cincinnati found me at Christian Moerlein ,a brew pub located downtown across the street from the Reds stadium. I really thought that this brew pub was an almost exact copy of a Gordon Biersch. The atmosphere was similar, as was the menu. Gordon Biersch has great garlic fries so I happened to notice that these were prominently placed on the menu here also. We ordered the pretzel and beer cheese appetizer that was quite good, but how can you go wrong with beer and cheese? The cheese did not seem to be homemade or fresh– we joked that it was probably melted from a cheese like product. I ordered the mussel appetizer as my meal. My first order had about 6 mussels that were missing so I was given a second order. The second order only had 4 missing mussels. I do appreciate that they tried to make it right by providing a second order, but this should not have been the case. My friend got the spicy macaroni and cheese appetizer as her meal. This was good but the spice overpowered the cheese; I would have named it spice with cheese and macaroni.

I really hoped that the beers would make up for the lack of creativity in the atmosphere and problems menu. They did not. The only beer that I enjoyed was the hefeweizen. The other beers were lacking in flavor and not as full bodied as I hope from a craft beer. The Octoberfest was offered at the Brew Ha Ha and I found that to be a decent beer– too bad it wasn’t yet offered at the brew pub.

My advice– Gordon Biersch was first and has better beers, so just stick with them!

Cincinnati’s Brew Ha Ha

I have a good friend that lives in Cincinnati that I try to visit once every couple of years. This year, we planned my visit around the Brew Ha Ha– a charity event of stand-up comedians and beer. Entry into the event is free and there were some good comedians; of course, there were also some bad ones. The cost of actually drinking the beer can be quite pricey, though. To be able to drink beer, you have to purchase a $5 wrist band and then each tasting is $1 with $5 for a whole beer. The tastings were good size but with about 100 beers to taste everyone would be quite expensive. I have to admit, I prefer our local beer festival where the cost is $20 for as much beer as you can drink in a 2 hour time limit.

However, as this was outside of my hometown, I did get to try quite a few beers that I had not had previously. Unfortunately with the cost and crowd that showed up around 8 pm on Friday night, I didn’t get to try as many as I would have liked. This was a 2 day event and I only came for one day too. I will just quickly run through a few of the beers I did get to try and my opinions of them:

Anderson Valley Summer Soltice from Booneville, CA was a very good ale with a great hint of vanilla. Light and fresh this would be great for a summer day.

Pyramid was at this event. I have to admit that I am still mad at them as their brew pub in Sacramento closes about 5 pm on Sundays and I missed the opportunity to go. I mean– who closes a brew pub at 5 pm? The Pyramid Apricot Wheat was a bit too sweet for me. However, my friend who is a fan of fruity beers and ciders thought it was great. Pyramid Outburst was an OK IPA but nothing to write home about.

The Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale was there, which, if you have been reading my blog, you know is one of my favorites. I got to try their Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout which was also quite excellent and had a very chocolately finish. As I have previously blogged, I am also becoming more and more a fan of the stout, so mixing stout with bourbon is a win/win if you ask me.

Fat Head’s Bumbleberry Ale was also reminiscent of a great favorite, the Bar Harbor Blueberry Wheat. This was a great beer and not overly fruity. However, it still retained enough blueberry that my friend also appreciated it.

Now on to 5 Rabbit Cerverceria, a bit let down for the night. The 5 Rabbit 5 Lizard Passionfruit Witbier was horrible. I don’t like to drink my beer with skittles and that was exactly how this one tasted. The 5 Lizard 5 Vulture Oaxacan Style Dark was barely drinkable with a taste of 3 day old coffee mixed with aspirin. After this experience, I will avoid all beers by this brewery.

Christopher Moerlein is a local brewery. There will be a blog specifically about this brewery. At the Brew Ha Ha, I tasted their Fifth and Vine Oktoberfest and the Northern Liberties IPA. The Octoberfest was quite good and not on tap at the local brew pub. More about the IPA in my future blog.

The Elevator Bleeding Buckeye Red was quiet good, even though it is obviously named for Ohio State.

North Peak Vicious was a very satisfying IPA. North Peak Archangel is billed as an American wheat. However, it seemed to be much more of a Belgian-style to me.

For a classic Belgian, I enjoyed the Epic Brainless Belgian. The Weyerbacher Merry Monks was also a good traditional Belgian– in this case, a tripel.

Southern Tier, another of my favorites, was also in the house. Their pumpkin beer, Pumpking, is only out done by Dogfish’s pumpkin. Southern Tier Live was also tasted and was a great, yet light, IPA. I generally find you can’t go wrong with Southern Tier.

So the highlight of the night was not really the beers but the free performance by Tom Arnold, where he made fun of his “friend” Arnold Schwarzenegger and his ex-wife Roseanne Barr. There is a lot of comedic fodder between those two! In addition, he met fans after the show in the beer garden, signing autographs and taking pictures. This was a great end to a good evening of decent beer!

Tom Arnold, Random, and me at Brew Ha Ha

OK so we really don’t know what this is–fox? Maybe?

The comedy stage at Brew Ha Ha

Tom Arnold on stage at Brew Ha Ha

My friend, Random, watching a comedian at Brew Ha Ha

Beer tents and general view.

Yes There is a Brewery on Disney Property

I was quite surprised by this one and a bit dismayed because it seemed to signal that the craft beer craze has not only gone mainstream, but has gone to the dark side of mega corporations. Big River Grill and Brewing Works has a location on the Disney Boardwalk.

I haven’t been to any of their other locations but this one seemed particularly small. I would definitely recommend reservations during the busy season. We went during summer so this was not a problem. The atmosphere is actually nice, but a bit cheesy, as it sits right on the fake boardwalk which has a old, Eastern seaboard beach feel. They have some outdoor seats which provide a nice view of the fake lake on which the boardwalk sits and allows for people watching. There are several other restaurants and shops around the boardwalk but the area is smaller than many of the other Disney properties.

The beers here were by no means extraordinary but quite average. I would not suggest making a stop here just to try out this brewery. Some of their other locations in major cities might be a better representation of the chain. However, if you do find yourself at Disney Boardwalk among the hordes of tourists, I would stop by for a beer. After all, you might need one if you find yourself there during the busy season.

Skip the Theme Parks and Check Out Orlando Brewing

Orlando Brewing is an absolutely great find! This brewery is Florida’s only organic brewery. The beers are all great, the staff is friendly, and the atmosphere is fantastic. I really can’t say enough great things about this brewery. I have been telling everyone I know to stop by next time they are in Orlando. The beers are not pasteurized, so they have a very limited distribution area, and you can’t get them very far outside of the Orlando area. The staff told us they had problems with the distributor leaving beers and kegs in the trucks parked in the hot sun and, as they are unpasteurized, the beers skunk easily.

I really wish I could find the tasting sheet on which I made meticulous notes about each one of the about 20 brews they had on draft. All were very good and many were quite excellent. The brewery even makes a beer especially for volunteers who help out. The very nice thing is that I was given a sheet to fill out to rate and give comments on each of the beers. The staff told us that they actually read the drinkers comments and used them to improve the next batch of each brew. This is evident from the quality of the beers– there is a lot of time and love put into these brews!

The brewery is located in an industrial park only about 15 minutes from Universal Studios so there is really no reason not to visit on your next trip to the theme parks. Bands play at the brewery several nights a week and according to their website they do a monthly dog out event where drinkers can bring their four-legged best friends.