Tag Archives: cask ale

Flying Dog Dog Schwarz

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Flying Dog logoBeer-a-Day #33

As usually happens once a year or so, my FOAM meeting this month was held at the Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, Maryland. For the trivial cost of $5 for a glass, I could sample everything they had on tap.

They had a couple of Wild Goose offerings on tap, as well as a large portion of Flying Dog’s “The Pack”, “Canis Major” and the spring seasonal: Garde Dog Biere de Garde. Three offerings caught my eye today:

First was the Wild Goose Pumpkin Patch Ale. Pumpkin ale is a bit out of season, but it is a guilty pleasure of mine so I decided to have that first.

Then I found out that on the hand pump was the Wild Goose Oatmeal Stout. Not only was it on cask, which was unusual enough, but this batch had been further dry-hopped. The silky-smooth hand-pumped oatmeal stout combined with the spice of dry hops made for an interesting combination.

But what made the biggest impression on my was Dog Schwarz, part of their Wild Dog series. I don’t usually like smoke beers, but this one was nicely balanced. Frankly, from the first sip I was craving bratwurst.

You don’t need to join a Maryland homebrew club. Flying Dog offers tours and tastings every Saturday.

John Harvard’s – Long Island, NY

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About a month ago I was traveling around New York state and looked up a pub called John Harvard’s Brew House while out on Long Island. Looking at the website, it appears John Harvard’s is a small chain of brew houses. The one I visited is located in Lake Grove, NY.

While the restaurant was only mildly busy, the bar room was hopping with folk all watching the Islanders, the Mets, and/or the Yankees. Only a few didn’t seem to care what was on TV.

Danielle at the bar helped me out with my first beer choice, offering me a sample of a few brews to see what I liked. I liked them all and chose to start with something light, but I frankly can’t remember the exact style. I swear it was made with Amarillo hops, but the website doesn’t seem to list it. None-the-less, I recall enjoying it greatly. I was impressed with Danielle’s knowledge of the beers. Everyone had questions for her and she was ready with a descriptive answer each time. Not to mention, she was hustling her ass off as she seemed to be the only one to wait on customers.

I was in the mood for a steak and their menu was a touch more upscale than standard pub fare. I ordered a steak Belugi Style, which was spicy and heart consciously prepared with mango salsa and a side of rice. I’m always nervous when I step out of bounds ordering something like this at a pub, but they did a fantastic job with it… it was delicious.

Satisfied with my first beer and perfectly done steak, I decided it was a good time to try something else different, and for me, a first time ever. John Harvard’s offered a real hand pumped cask ale, something I’ve never been able to experience. Not carbonated, this ale is pumped with air straight from the cask to my glass. This IPA held a nice head of foam and went down smooth. Ahhh… now I know what I’ve been missing. It is too bad none of the brew houses near me offers real cask ale.

Normally I avoid chain restaurants like the plague, but this one is serving real beer to masses, with great food to boot. It is certainly a refreshing change. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend it.