Support your local brew pub!

So, I was out this past weekend doing my old-man version of a pub crawl. That would be three different bars and then back home to go to bed before midnight. I could talk about the first couple of bars I went to (and the amazing Struise Tsjeeses I had at one) but the one I want to talk about today is the last one, Trinity Brewhouse.

I have been going to Trinity off and on for about ten years now. I used to go just about every week. I was a member of the "Mug Club" they had there. Eventually I tired of the place as I felt that the beer wasn't anything special and I just lost interest in it.

Well, fast forward about five years and I have made a nice transition into full fledged beer dork-dom. I still would stop by Trinity once in a while and felt the beer was OK, but nothing special. I could get much better beers out at the beer bars around. But, then came this past weekend.

Now, I have to give credit where credit is due. Sean Larkin, the brew master at Trinity, has taken some risks on beers recently and the quality of the brews has jumped WAY up. I am still not so sure about the draught system at the pub. I have heard complaints of carbonation issues. I also always tend to get hangovers there more than other places, maybe something with the system. But, it was never that big of a deal to me all in all. The beer was always what I sort of shrugged about. It was always "eh, whatever". Sean changed that. Where before I would only see the flagship IPA, a red, a pale ale, a lager, and an imperial stout (definitely the best), I now get a whole host of fantastic beers.

I now walk into the pub and see a barrel-aged scotch ale, a barley wine, a dunkel weisse, a kolsch, an imperial red, and maybe even a cascadian dark ale? The beers are bigger, better, and so much more well made. So, yes, the beers are a huge improvement over old standbys they used to have. Hell, even the food has gotten better there.

This past weekend, when I went in, I had the barrel-aged Scotch Ale.... on cask! And oh my, was it ever fantastic. The beer was strong as a good scotch ale should be. The barrel-aging wasn't overly done. It was in Woodford barrels but the bourbon just added a nice subtlety and the beer did the talking. And having it on cask just made it that much better. This is a beer perfectly made for cask.

My wife had the Cascadian Dark Ale that they had there. Yes, here in Rhode Island, we had someone brewing a CDA, and it was really good. Not my favorite style, but a great job with it for sure. We followed that by splitting a pint (mind you, all of these are full pints!) of the Barley wine. Caramely and sweet, it was a great beer. Maybe a pint is too much, but you certainly get your money's worth with it. My bill came to $17 for the three full pints. All beers were not low in alcohol either, so you would expect to pay more. I know their normal lower alcohol pints usually run in the $4 range. So, either way, you get a good deal in my opinion, especially here in New England.

So, yes the beer was excellent. The bartenders are actually good again too! But, while there, I realized what, even more than the beer, that I liked so much about the place. This place is Providence. It is where I live. It welcomes everyone in and keeps them all happy. It is a neighborhood type pub in the middle of a nice sized city. What more could you want?

I am glad to have rediscovered my love for my local brew pub. Do the same with your local brew pubs too. Keep them going, and they will pay you back in more ways than just beer.

Founders Backwoods Bastard

Going with a Founders Backwoods Bastard tonight. I had a Goose Island Sophie earlier tonight and next time I have one, I may review that one. But, for tonight, the Backwoods Bastard it is!

So, this pours with very little head. Even with a heavy pour, I had one finger of head that faded within a couple of minutes or so. As it pours it just LOOKS heavy. It pours a dark amber, almost brown. Mahogany is probably a better description for it.

Smell is almost entirely bourbon and vanilla. Fantastic smell coming off of this one. Just great. I love bourbon so this just is great for me. The base of the beer is a 10% ABV scotch ale. Obviously aging it in bourbon barrels imparts the strong flavors. Did I mention that it smells awesome?

Lacing left is pretty strong. I usually don't see that on a scotch ale. Flavor is very mellow all in all, very easy to drink. Dangerously easy to drink considering the strength of it as well. There actually is a bit of bitterness which surprised me as I drank it. That actually works nicely with it as it just adds a slightly different element to the beer. Alcohol is very well hidden on that, but you can tell it is there in the background. That again works well. That seems to be the theme with this one. Lots of elements working together in harmony, with none being too powerful. The driving force on this beer is still the bourbon though. As that is what I believe the brewers were aiming for, then I salute them.

As it warms up, sweetness comes out more and more. I think that if it gets too warm, that sweetness may end up being a problem, but for now, it is doing nicely. It makes this beer one that probably shouldn't be kept too long. With the abv that is dangerous, but oh so worth it in my opinion.

I give this beer a five out of five stars. I absolutely love it. It is one of my favorites.