Monthly Archives: January 2009

Great Divide Wild Raspberry Ale

Posted on by
Reply

Great Divide Wild Raspberry Ale

Beer-a-Day #31

The last, for the moment, from Great Divide Brewing.

We have a bit of a love/hate relationship with fruit beer. I always feel it’s a bit of a crapshoot when I go out on a limb to try one. I am heartened that they use real raspberries rather than extracts or syrup.

Deep amber with a quickly dissipating head. Raspberry in the aroma, obviously. A bit of underlying maltiness. The raspberry flavor is not overly sweet or overpowering. This could be quite refreshing on a hot day.

Great Divide Wild Raspberry Ale


Great Divide Samurai Ale

Posted on by
Reply

Great Divide Samurai AleBeer-a-Day #29

I enjoyed the Titan IPA, Saint Bridget’s Porter, and especially the Yeti Imperial Stout, so I picked up a bunch more from Great Divide.

This one is uses rice as well as barley and is unfiltered. What an uncommon combination.

Very pale yellow with no head to speak of. It’s a bit hazy, being unfiltered and all.

(My wife, the nursing student, says that it looks exactly like urine from someone who had better go see a doctor.)

The aroma is light; slightly floral. Mouthfeel and flavor are also light, obviously from the rice.

This didn’t thrill me. It would probably be rather refreshing on a hot day, though.

Great Divide Samurai Ale


Tröegs HopBack Amber Ale

Posted on by
3

Tröegs HopBack Amber AleBeer-a-Day #28

Tröegs calls this their flagship beer. How odd that I’ve never had it. Especially since I generally like Tröegs’ beers.

Nice, deep amber color with a white head. Bready from the malt, grassy from the hops. Medium body with a clean finish and plenty of sharp hop bitterness.

Me likey. I’ll be picking this up regularly.

Tröegs HopBack Amber Ale


Mountaineer Brewing Nut Brown Ale

Posted on by
Reply

Mountaineer Brewing Nut BrownBeer-a-Day #27

Owned by the same folks who own Barley and Hops, Mountaineer Brewing Company is one of the few breweries in West Virginia.

Medium brown color with two-fingers of off-white head. Aroma is lightly nutty with cherries and burnt apple. Creamy mouthfeel with a little sourness.

Mountaineer Brewing Company product line

Alcohol can prevent erectile dysfunction

Posted on by

What would happen if all the commercials they show during NFL games got mixed together? My current vision is of macro-brewed American light lager and pickup trucks helping old guys get it up.

Well, that may be partly true. A new study out of Australia suggests that moderate drinking may reduce the incidence of ED.

NewScientist: Alcohol stops men being a flop in bed

There is good evidence that excessive drinking can hinder sexual performance after a night out – a phenomenon sometimes called “brewer’s droop”. [We call it "whisky dick" - Ed.] The effect has been noted for many years: “[Drink] provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance,” Shakespeare reminds us in Macbeth.

But over longer periods, moderate drinking doesn’t seem to be linked to erectile dysfunction, says Kew-Kim Chew, an epidemiologist at the University of West Australia in Nedlands, whose team conducted an anonymous postal survey of 1770 West Australian men.

After accounting for differences due to age, smoking and heart disease – all risk factors for ED – Chew and colleagues found that drinkers experienced rates of impotence 25% to 30% below those of teetotallers.

I wonder if this plays into the psychosis of Neo-Prohibitionists?

(via Boing Boing)

Update: Of course, this article is going to be the target of comment spammers for time immemorial.

Dos Equis at Fajita Grande

Posted on by
1

Dos Equis logoBeer-a-Day #26

Today’s beer is the fairly ubiquitous Dos Equis from Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma. When I go beer shopping, it’s not generally a brand I’ll pick up. However, when I’m in the mood for Mexican food it’s my libation of choice. (I much prefer the Amber over the Lager.)

Essentially, this is an excuse to tell you about my new favorite restaurant: Fajita Grande.

This is a little, unassuming storefront restaurant on the Golden Mile in Frederick, Maryland, nestled in behind KFC in the Willowtree Plaza shopping center. The lighting is a little too bright and the floorplan a little too open, killing any romantic ambience. While some of the wall decorations seem like they might be genuine, it’s mostly the same sort of tchotchkes and marketing posters and such any restaurant would get.

Fajita GrandeBut, it has several things going for it.

For one thing, the staff there is very friendly and attentive. We never fail to feel welcomed. Multiple people stop to say hello and to check if there’s anything we need.

Secondly, the food is delicious. The salsa is fresh. From some acquaintences we have from south of the border, the food is also authentic. (We’re told that the rice is the best there is in a wide radius.)

Thirdly, the prices are more than reasonable. I can feed myself, my wife, and my two kids for under $20. Add in a couple of cervezas and we’re still looking at under $35. And they’re not skimpy portions, either. Did I mention it’s delicious? Sadly, they seem to have discontinued their “Kids eat for 99¢ Mondays”. Still, at $3.95, the kids’ meals are quite reasonable.

I highly recommend it. Be sure to stop in when you’re in Central Maryland.

Fajita Grande
Mexican Restaurant Bar & Grill

Rt. 40 West in the Willowtree Plaza (3 Willowdale Drive)
Frederick, MD 21702
(301)698-8989