This episode of the Session focuses on local beers. Read the announcement from Gastronomic Fight Club as well as the Session #4 re-cap.

Frederick, Maryland

Within fifteen miles from my house (as the crow flies) in Frederick, Maryland, are two brewpubs and a craft brewery. Plenty of opportunity to drink, and write about, something local. Besides, it gives me another reason to learn about my newly-adopted hometown. If I go a bit further out there are many, many more brewers and brewpubs to choose from. While it’s not the craft brewing capital, Portland, Oregon, our nation’s capital has a lot to offer for the beer enthusiast. (Just look at the concentration of locations on the Beer Mapping Project.) Of course, when in Washington, DC one should not pass up an opportunity to visit the Brickskeller.

My first inclination was to write about a brewpub, since I think they’re as close to heaven on earth as one can get. However, we’ve written about both Brewer’s Alley and Barley and Hops multiple times, so I decided to spend this Session focusing on Wild Goose Brewery.

Formerly the Frederick Brewing Company, Wild Goose was purchased by Flying Dog Ales of Denver in 2006 and subsequently renamed. In addition to their original Blue Ridge and Wild Goose brands, they’re now also brewing Flying Dog beers locally.

For this edition of the Session I picked up as much of their beer as I could find. The Spirit Shop didn’t have any Blue Ridge (retired, perhaps?) but I picked up four Wild Goose styles. I also picked up eight styles from Flying Dog, but while technically they’re brewed locally, it just doesn’t seem right to include them. My brief tasting notes:

Wild Goose Oatmeal Stout
Deep brown with crimson highlights. Fluffy tan head. Nicely nutty with some fruit undertones. Not as smooth as I’d expect for an Oatmeal Stout, but not at all harsh. Rather good.

Wild Goose Classic Porter
Dark brown, with a strong, off-white head with tiny bubbles. A bit of fruit in the aroma. Mouthfeel is initially creamy, with a distinct bitter coffee flavor to it. I liked it at first, but now I’m not so sure. Worth a try.

Wild Goose English Style Amber Ale
Nice medium amber color. Decent head, which quickly fades. Kind of a grassy aroma. Seems a bit undercarbonated and the hop bitterness is a little harsh. Something’s not quite right about this one.

Wild Goose India Pale Ale
IPA is one of my favorite styles. Dark straw in color, with a nice head that reduces to about half a finger’s width of foam. Floral and grassy aromas. Nice medium body with a big hoppy finish. I like!

I’m not sure why snekse chose 150 miles as the radius to define “local”. I suppose he was being kind to people from places like Montana and Texas where craft brewers are significantly further apart. Here in the Northeast we’re much luckier. In addition to Brewer’s Alley (love it) and Barley and Hops (like it, and it’s got free Wi-Fi), there are half a dozen other brewpubs within an hour’s drive. Further, I have craft brewers nearby like Tröegs, Stoudt’s and Lancaster Brewing in Pennsylvania, Dogfish Head in Delaware, Clipper City over in Baltimore, and Old Dominion down in Virginia. No, it’s not Portland, Oregon, but there is a lot of variety and they’re spread out just enough to not crowd one another, but close enough that I can get just about any of them at a local retailer. And all within 150 miles of me.

Remember, too, that not only does buying locally produced products keep the local economy strong, but it’s also more “green”, for several reasons. I’ve been actively trying to reduce my “footprint” on the world and, besides, I’d rather buy from my neighbors.

I guess my biggest “problem” is just that I have so much choice nearby. Yeah, poor me.

Update: Session #4 re-cap

Related posts

• No related posts.