Last week was the week from hell.
Lots of crap—mostly political—going on at work that’s totally stressing me out; my wife is going to nursing school and is not home most nights, so I have to rush home (read: make sure I don’t miss my train and hope there are no delays) to pick up my kids; and various and sundry commitments that I don’t particularly want to do but don’t have a good reason to blow off.
On top of all that, I’m trying to help a non-computer-savvy friend with her computer problems. Apparently, she has been running it on high-speed DSL without a firewall, no anti-spyware software, and an anti-virus application several years old. I feel like I should be wearing rubber gloves working with this thing. Oh, and the NIC doesn’t work. And it’s a 233 MHz processor with 96 MB of RAM. Running Windows XP Professional. That has never been updated or patched. And contains all of her not-backed-up precious pictures and is how she pays her bills.
Anyway, by the time Sunday evening rolled around and my wife got home, I was pretty much wiped. Seeing my plight, she reminded me that it was “Kids Eat Free Sunday”.
Which can only mean one thing: Barley and Hops.
Well, she didn’t have to ask me twice.
The kids love the “Picasso Pizza” on the Children’s menu. Given a pita, sauce, grated cheese, and pepperoni, they get to make their own pizza. For our entrées the wife and I had, respectively, the beer-battered shrimp and the buffalo chicken wrap.
But this isn’t a food blog, is it?
I decided to get the beer sampler and, geek that I am, took some notes. The sampler included all of their “core” beers as well as their current seasonal offering (Winter Warmer). It didn’t include the bourbon barrel stout that was on the hand pump, but that’s okay because I had some of that the other night.
Catoctin Clear
Kölsch
4.3% ABV, 13 IBU
light straw color and very light on the tongue; refreshing with just enough bitterness in the finish; would be great on a hot summer day
Annapolis Rocks Pale Ale
American Pale Ale
5.9% ABV, 38 IBU
dark straw in color; medium body; hops cut right through the malt; delicious
Tuscarora Red
Red Ale
5.1% ABV, 22 IBU
color of dark tea; flavor seems to be a little lost; undercarbonated
Big Ben Nut Brown
4.4% ABV, 17 IBU
color of dark tea; medium body; light hop bitterness; okay
Schifferstadt Stout
Dry Irish Stout
5.0% ABV, 27 IBU
deep opaque brown; pleasantly nutty; very smooth; good kick from the hops; delicious
(Sadly, while still listed on their website, Dirty Little Blonde and Schwarzbier are no longer part of their core offering.)
Winter Warmer
Seasonal
medium-dark amber with red highlights; medium body; pleasantly warming
Of these, my favorites were the pale ale and the stout. My wife preferred the Winter Warmer.
More importantly, though, I got to spend some relaxing time with the people I love.
