Yet another NYC Offie - not really

You have probably guessed by now that my wife does not really like hanging out in pubs while I try every imaginable beer that is on offer. In these circumstances, off licences and supermarkets are a god (I have left god in lower case on purpose, to imply it was noun would mean that I am 'one' of them) send. In this case it was a supermarket and I made three purchases.

1. Smuttynose IPA (5.6% abv) - pretty boring text on the label, but a picture of old people on the front inspired me to purchase this product. This was one of the better beers I had the pleasure of experiencing while in NYC. It's good in the fact that you can taste that the beer is more complex than just pinecones and is actually balanced by a nice maltly beer. This beer actually has some British pedigree and was awarded a gold medal as the best American beer at the GBBF in 2004. Anyhow while drinking this I had some corn chips (Tortilla chips if you swing that way) and watched some more trashy US television. The Burger King guy is pretty scary. He has a constant shit eating grin and a massive head. I don't now why he likes square butts though?

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2. Stone IPA (6.9% abv) - yet another quality beer with some semblance of balance. Having not tried arrogant bastard or ruination before, but hearing all the rumours I prepared for an onslaught of the dreaded pinecone flavour of c-hops. To my surprise it was not as aggressive as I thought it would be and was actually really good. The beer is best described as Light-medium malt character with a heavy dose of hops! This beer has balanced but still abundant hop aroma and crisp hop flavor. I watched some reality TV with this one - who is Kim Kardashian and why is she famous? She has a nice rack though, pity its counter-balanced by her ass.

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3. Sierra Nevada Torpedo (7.2% abv) - Is the 'Extra IPA' offering from Sierra Nevada and tastes like a beefed up SNPA. In reality its probably not all that different and certainly retains that house astringency that I find all Sierra Nevada beers tend to have. It was good though and I am glad I tried it, but I probably wouldn't bother again. While I pay full respect to the contribution that Sierra Nevada has made to the US craft brewing scene, I tend to find there beers a little bit safe/conservative when comparing them to some of the beers coming out of the newer/smaller breweries. I say this having spent only a few days in the US, but seeing this on the shelves at my local Tesco would still rock.

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Anyhow I will leave you for today with a picture of a brewery draymen's truck from Yuengling brewing. Which is America's oldest Brewery. I didn't find any of their beers in my travels, but hopefully will track some down in the near future.
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Blue Moon

Yesterdays post was about Blue Smoke, today's will be about Blue Moon. And yes I will be finished telling you all about NYC by the end of the week. The story is that since we had been doing stuff that i had chosen, we should do something that she wanted to do. fair enough. So we headed down to a riverside cafe an the Hudson near 79th Street. I examined the menu and did not see anything promising, just the usual suspects - Bud, Bud Lite, Coors, Coors Lite, Miller, Miller Lite and Blue Moon. So in typical fashion I ordered the beer I had not had before. According to the Blue Moon Website (http://www.bluemoonbrewingcompany.com/) they are a craft brewery who produce a White beer, a pumpkin beer, a spring ale, a summer ale and a winter ale. I have no idea which one I was served up. I assume it was the white beer, but it was tasteless and gassy and could have been any beer style. At least it didn't taste like pinecones....

Mama Mexico

It has been a busy week and I just realised that I have not posted since Monday. What impact does this have your lives? Well none really except that you have to wait a couple of extra days to hear about my adventures in the big apple.

After surviving our adventures in Brooklyn, we made it back to the UWS in one piece and headed to Mama Mexico for dinner. This place is in vogue at the moment and we were lucky to get in due to a cancellation. The beer menu on offer was not very exciting, just your regular Mexican faire of tasteless lagers with the exception of Dos Equis XX Ambre (which I opted for).

Most beer geeks will know that South America is a haven for amber coloured Vienna style lagers and I was well chuffed that Mama Mexico's were offering more that your regular Corona and friends options. Anyhow I strongly recommend Mama Mexico's (101st and Broadway) for a feed - best guacamole in town.

On the way back to our room we stopped at another off licence and picked up some Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream for the missus and some Pete's Wicked Ale for myself. This beer was OK, well at least it didn't taste like pinecones. Besides this it was kind of bland and I won't be bothering again. I also managed to finish off the Ben & Jerry's after my beer and watch some more mindless but utterly intriguing US reality TV. A good way to finish off a boozy day.