The Locals HINTS AND HAULS THREAD

I agree. Although IIRC the first season of BrBa wasn't the fastest moving either (but definitely faster than this). I was skeptical about this show at first but so far they've made me regret having that skepticism

 

She looks better than her avatar. But Shhhhh, don't tell anyone.

 

Awesome, come down with them earlier in the week, run down to MD on Saturday without them, and pick them back up on Sunday as you swing back through town

 

Hell yeah! Im about to start it up right now, thanks to my DVR

 

Got a special delivery box today with some goodies

Chilling in the fridge

 

I didn't even think of that! I've only seen RC in pics so it didn't cross my mind as a beer. Funny

 

So... spoilers welcome?

 

I'd have waited 9 months for this!

 

This box from @rspauldi was supposed to just have my lost wedding band. Damn!


Thanks Russ. I've been wearing the the ring but she hasn't noticed yet.

I've decided to own up and tell the truth and promise to only pack boxes when semi sober

 

Spoil Away my friend, Spoil away! Ill just look away when i see your avatar.

 

As a part of the SixterCAN box from @LehighAce06 there was a beer that had an envelope attached to it. Inside the envelope was this letter:





Oh wow. I really don’t like to write reviews of beers and pretty much refuse to do them. That even caused me to have to endure a forced “vacation” from BA. Hmmm, Kevin knew about that and I’m wondering if this is his way of subtly torturing me. But, I will give it a go. Definitely not doing video, that would be horrendous. Fortunately Kevin was at least a little nice by giving me an out and allowing me to do photos. So here goes…..

After much pondering here is what I finally settled on for my 2-course Beer Brinner:

Course 1: 3-egg ham and cheese omelet served with fried diced potatoes.
Course 2: Buttermilk pancakes served with smoked sausage.

For the beer pairing my thought was to find some beers that were somewhat breakfast related. I looked through my beer fridge and settled on Ballast Point’s Grapefruit Sculpin and Carton’s Regular Coffee (which was a part of Kevin’s SixterCAN box). Now I had to make the decision on which one to pair with each course. I knew that Regular Coffee is pretty sweet and that the syrup on the pancakes would be sweet. Seems like complimentary flavors. But how would a bitter IPA pair with the sweet syrup? Hmm, doesn’t sound real good to me so sweet with sweet it is. The Grapefruit Sculpin will be paired with Course 1 and the Regular Coffee will be paired with Course 2.

continued......

 

For Course 1 -





Poured the Grapefruit Sculpin into a Tired Hands Brewing Company stem glass that was courtesy of Kevin.

A: Poured a clear golden amber with one finger of bubbly white head that dissipated quickly. It left spotty lacing along the side of the glass as it went down.

S: Very nice aroma of grapefruit mixed with mandarin oranges. I also got a hint of tropical fruits like pineapple and some subtle mango. At the bottom of the layered aroma the hoppy, resiny pine notes delicately poked through.

T: Taste was dominated by the grapefruit. Then came the tropical fruit, pine, and subtle sweet malts in the background. The grapefruit added to the tropical-fruit taste more than it added to the bitterness. Ballast Point must have backed off on the hops or some of the fruit acidity just cut through them. Either way they seemed rather toned back here which for me is great. Alcohol was almost completely hidden.

M: Medium body with good carbonation. Finished dry and juicy.

O: This is a big, fruity, delicious IPA. It is strange because I do not like grapefruit and I am not a big IPA fan, but for some reason this beer just hits the spot. I also enjoyed that the finish here is very clean compared to other IPAs. I don’t get the long lasting, strong, resiny finish that turns me off on the big hop bombs.




Beer Pairing - I wasn’t sure how an IPA would go with an omelet and potatoes. I was pleasantly surprised. One of the things that I don’t care for on big hop bombs is the strong lingering resiny aftertaste. It’s nice that Grapefruit Sculpin is fairly mild in that characteristic to begin with and the salt and pepper on the potatoes did a great job of removing the mild resiny aftertaste and resetting my palette. The eggs and potatoes didn’t wreck my palette and each drink of the Grapefruit Sculpin was a fresh taste of the beer. The food and the beer seemed to complement each other. Score!


continued.....

 

For Course 2 -





Poured the Regular Coffee into the freshly hand washed Tired Hands Brewing Company glass.

A: A yellow/orange color, hazy while still being a little transparent. Not much head, only a tiny ring around the top of the glass that disappeared quickly. No lacing as you drank this one.

S: Nice sweet coffee aroma with subtle cream/milk and sugar.

T: Sweet and creamy coffee with subtle hints of cream and brown sugar. Theres a slight roasty bitterness that is enjoyable and doesn't linger.

M: Nice full mouth feel. Smooth and creamy, felt and tasted like sweet coffee, minimal carbonation.

O: A pretty unique beer. Based on the name I was expecting a darker colored beer and for it to be more coffee forward. The coffee is definitely there but it is a nice complementary flavor and allows the cream ale to show through.





Beer Pairing - I was a little more confident in this pairing but I still wasn’t too sure if it was going to be too much sweetness. Time to dig in. I took a few bites of pancake and then took a sip of the beer. Hmm…lots of sweetness. Took a couple more bits of pancake and took another drink. Yup, too much sweetness. I really liked the coffee flavor with the pancake and syrup but the sweetness of the syrup combined with the sweet cream ale just seemed to mute the coffee a little too much. So, I took a few bites of the smoked sausage and then took a drink of beer. Yes, that was much better. The sweetness in the beer matched with the smokiness of the sausage much better and the coffee flavor of the beer popped much better. So, for the rest of the meal it was a bite of pancake, a bite of sausage, and a drink of beer. Very nice.

So after the meal I was stuffed (that was a lot of food!) and not to mention starting the feel the effects of the beers. That Regular Coffee goes down way too easy for a 12% beer.

As added bonus points for myself, I have to mention that I did all the cooking by myself. My wife was out with some friends leaving me to fend for myself. Fortunately I didn’t burn anything and it actually ended up tasting pretty good.


So that’s my proof that I completed the challenge. The signup for the next round of the SixterCAN will be coming out soon!!!!

 

@rspauldi

When can i come over for breakfast!?

 

If I was asked to do that you'd probably get a McGriddle pairing lol

 

GREAT job Russ!

 

I'd be in but only if its auction draft. Snake drafts get really lopsided I feel

 

Hold the phone Russ. You're telling me that's a homemade omelette??? I only make them now and again but wait until you see the mess that is my omelette. That looks like some five star hotel morning after shit if I've ever seen it man. Kudos!

 

I just looked up flights to MD... Lol, you guys are on your own

 

We need a west coast locals share, preferably at my house