Day 6: Red Shedman Honey Rye

Why We Chose It: I have spent the day at the Red Shedman Brewery & Hop Farm /  Linganore Winecellars in Mt. Airy and had a fantastic day. I highly recommend, and thought this would be a good intro beer for those unfamiliar. Also, have I mentioned my fondness for rye beers yet... although the honey part makes me nervous.

What Red Shedman Says About It: Take your senses to their happy place. Pale, Munich and Rye malts create a beautiful golden color with a touch of spice. Additions of pure honey create a sweet floral aroma.

ABV: 5.8 
IBU: 18

Fun Facts: Red Shedman Farm Brewery & Hop Yard is located among the rolling hills of Mt. Airy, on over 200 acres of farmland, between Frederick and Baltimore, Maryland. The farm cultivates several varieties of hops including Cascade, Columbus, Chinook, Nugget and Crystal. There's also an odd story to the odd name here: http://redshedman.com/story-of-red-shedman/

Day 5: Atlas Brew Works Rowdy

Why We Chose It:  We've got to support district-based breweries, and Atlas Brew Works is one of the top ones. I'm particulatly a fan of the Atlas District Common when at a Nats game. As a bonus, it's a pretty cool label.

What Atlas Says About It: Both fun and aggressive, Rowdy is a hop forward rye ale full of flavor. -- Made with three varieties of hops and a generous amount of specialty malts, Rowdy offers a complex flavor and aroma that is both aggressive and fun. The addition of malted rye to the grain bill lends a peppery and distinct character to the beer which complements the bitterness and floral notes of brewhouse hop additions. Finally, this copper-hued ale receives a liberal addition of dry hops in the fermenting vessel, imparting citrus aromas and a crisp, clean finish.

ABV: 6.2 
IBU: 50

Plato: 14.5

Fun Facts: Atlas is based in Northwest, DC, and I have no idea why I haven't been yet! Interestingly, it is 100% solar powered and you can even track the brewery's solar productions here: https://www.solrenview.com/SolrenView/mainFr.php?siteId=3868

Day 4: Left Hand Pixan Pepper Porter

Why We Chose It: Led by its milk stout (nitro and non-nitro), the Colorado brewery jas earned a strong reputation. Personally, I love a little heat, but also know it can go awry very badly if not done well. So this will be a fun tightrope... 


What Left Hand Says About It: The chili pepper porter - Dried cherry and plum flavors with subtle smoke, roasty malt sweetness and the warmth of chilis.

ABV: 7.2 
IBU: 34

Malt: 2-Row, Chocolate, Munich, Rauch, CaraAroma, C-120


Fun Facts: I'll leave it to Left Hand and their love of Colorado lifestyle: "Living here in our great state requires great balance — there’s just simply too much to do! Soak in over 300 days of sunshine a year. Catch a show at Red Rocks. Climb to the top of 14,255′ Longs Peak. Catch an Avs or Rockies game. Drop into some fresh powder at A-Basin. Tee up on the first hole at Haystack Mountain. Fly fish the South Platte. With so many choices, how does one manage? We sum it up all in one word: balance."

Day 3: DuClaw For Pete's Sake

Why We Chose It: It's local. Bill and Jeremy were immediately drawn to it, and put it in the cart before I could say anything. Ah, it's imperial so it's worth a shot. 

What DuClaw Says About It: An Imperial version of Sweet Baby Jesus! Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter that raises the bar again with its silky, full body, big roasted malt flavor and aroma dominated by rich notes of peanut butter and chocolate, subtle fruit and coffee notes, and a strong, warming 9% ABV. For Pete’s Sake!: It’s a whole new level of Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter!

ABV: 9%
IBU: 45
Plato: 21*


* Plato - This indicates the ratio of fermentable sugars to water in the beer. It's based on the specific gravity(the gravity/density of the beer at any given time), and is given in degrees.

Fun Facts: Personally, I've only been to DuClaw when I'm stuck at an airport or the mall. That's may have created negative connotations. In reality, it's first brewpub was in Bel Air, Maryland in 1996. The Pete's Sake is based on the Sweet Baby Jesus, which has won a bronze medal at the Great American Beer Festival.

Day 2: Uinta Farmside Saison

Why We Chose It: Uinta has regularly produced quality beers, and we wanted to include a new saison to the 24DOB. Plus, a brewery based in Utah is still intriguing to me on various levels.

What Uinta Says About It: Boasting funk & fruit notes from white wine must and gooseberries, this earthy saison is approachable yet complex.

ABV: 5.6%
IBU: 7
Glass Recommendation: Sifter

Fun Facts: The brewery is actually named after the Uinta Mountains in Utah, and it is pronounced you-in-tuh.  I 2012, it buys and demolishes a church south of the brewery to build a packaging facility. According to Uinta: "Considering Benedictine Monks were the first people to brew beer, we think they'd be okay with it." It is now 38th largest craft brewery in the Nation and is solid in 35 states

Day 1: Monument City Pagoda Pale Ale

Why We Chose It: Let's start local! The Baltimore brewery has been putting out quality  beer  since2014, and I am particularly a fan of their 51 Rye (made with 51-percent rye grain... hence the name). 


What Monument City Says About It: Nothing. No really. It's weird and I am not sure what that means. It's not the best website in the world and I'm not sure they do many updates to the content, so hopefully that's what it means... and not that they are trying to hide it from the world. However, nothing was on Untappd, Beer Advocate or RaterMyBeer neither. 

All I could find was a Maryland beer blog, Frank About Beer, that described it as "Pagoda Pale Ale is brewed with Cascade hops (floral and citrus flavors), and is double dry-hopped at the end of production, so you get a ton of beautiful, citrus aroma reminiscent of fresh grapefruit. The initial sensation is that it’s very smooth, and you’ll notice that mild grapefruit flavor in the aftertaste, as well as a bit of sweetness from the darker malt that is used."


ABV: 5.5%
IBU: N/A

Fun Fact: Ever see a MC tap handle. There's a cool story:

"Monument City tap handles are crafted from first growth Douglas Fir cut over one hundred years ago. The wood was originally purposed to construct mash tanks for the Melville Distillery right here in Baltimore around 1910. Starting in the 50's, the vessels were reused to hold vinegar. They were eventually taken off-line as the company transitioned to stainless steel. The wooden tanks were dismantled and reclaimed by local Baltimore woodturning shop Mark Supik & Co. The lumber had to be removed one plank at a time and air dried to allow the wood to slowly stabilize. The lumber was then hand milled into custom three sided tap handles that were designed by Baltimore-based Orange Element and screen printed by Baltimore Print Studios.  Each tap handle is unique and handcrafted, just like our beers."

'Tis the Season: The Advent for 24 Glorious Days of Beer

Courtesy - https://www.buildabirthday.co.nz/products/christmasbeernapkins

We are back! With a strong group of returning drinkers and a nice group of newbies, the concept is beautiful, but simple:


Each day you are assigned a beer, and then your are invited to share your thoughts on each beer. The are no hard and fast rules, but try to stay on the schedule and contribute a thought or two. The beers are a nice mix of holiday styles, the usual styles and the unexpected. It starts Dec. 1 and culminates on Christmas Eve with a festive brew!

That's it. We may ask for a rating through the blog or survey, but mostly this is about drinking new and interesting beers during the holiday season. Hopefully, we get to know each other and are amused with our differing tastes and the odd memories triggered when a familiar flavor hits our lips.

Now, for the reason we are all gathered here today, the unveiling of the beer order. A few things to note: 1) We try to group style to do a compare and contrast, 2) for the first time in the event, by popular demand, we will try to do a get together. It is understood that December is already a horribly busy and we are allspread out quite a bit. With that being understood, we are looking at Dec. 14 for a gathering at Jailbreak to enjoy the beer of the day, depending on interest of participants.

Without further ado:

Date	Beer	Brewery	Style / ABV / IBUs
1	Pagoda Pale Ale	Monument City Brewing	Pale Ale - American • 5.5% ABV • N/A IBU • (3.72 Avg)
2	FarmSide	Uinta Brewing Company	Saison / Farmhouse Ale • 5.6% ABV • 7 IBU • (3.51 Avg)
3	For Pete's Sake!	DuClaw Brewing Company	Porter - Imperial / Double • 9% ABV • 53 IBU • (3.87 Avg)
4	Pixan	Left Hand Brewing Company	Porter - Other • 7.2% ABV • 34 IBU • (3.72 Avg)
5	Rowdy	Atlas Brew Works	Rye Beer • 6.2% ABV • 53 IBU • (3.57 Avg)
6	Honey Rye	Red Shedman Farm Brewery	Rye Beer • 5.8% ABV • 18 IBU • (3.48 Avg)
7	Daylight Savings IPA	Flying Fish Brewing Co.	IPA - Session / India Session Ale • 4.9% ABV • 50 IBU • (3.6 Avg)
8	Flying Dog University Night School Hazy IPA	Flying Dog Brewery	IPA - New England • 6.2% ABV • 35 IBU • (3.83 Avg)
9	Death Before Disco	Left Hand Brewing Company	Porter - American • 6% ABV • 24 IBU • (3.76 Avg)
10	Kujo Cold Brew Coffee Porter	Flying Dog Brewery	Porter - Coffee • 6% ABV • 15 IBU • (4.02 Avg)
11	Dunkin’ Coffee Porter	Harpoon Brewery	Porter - Coffee • 6% ABV • 28 IBU • (3.61 Avg)
12	The Kimmie, The Yink and The Holy Gose Ale	Anderson Valley Brewing Company	Sour - Gose • 4.2% ABV • 12 IBU • (3.59 Avg)
13	Snow & Tell	Boulevard Brewing Co.	Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy • 6.3% ABV • 28 IBU • (3.61 Avg)
14	Special Lady Friend	Jailbreak Brewing Company	IPA - American • 7% ABV • N/A IBU • (3.87 Avg)
15	Celebration Fresh Hop IPA	Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.	IPA - American • 6.8% ABV • 65 IBU • (3.75 Avg)
16	Nitro Merlin	Firestone Walker Brewing Company	Stout - Milk / Sweet • 5.5% ABV • 27 IBU • (3.95 Avg)
17	Narwhal Imperial Stout	Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.	Stout - American Imperial / Double • 10.2% ABV • 60 IBU • (3.98 Avg)
18	Yard Sale	Uinta Brewing Company	Lager - Winter • 4.2% ABV • 22 IBU • (3.35 Avg)
19	Winter White Ale	Bell's Brewery	Witbier • 5% ABV • N/A IBU • (3.52 Avg)
20	Florida Cracker	Cigar City Brewing	Witbier • 5.5% ABV • 18 IBU • (3.56 Avg)
21	Winter Solstice	Anderson Valley Brewing Company	Winter Warmer • 6.9% ABV • 5 IBU • (3.64 Avg)
22	75 Minute IPA	Dogfish Head Craft Brewery	IPA - American • 7.5% ABV • 75 IBU • (4 Avg)
23	Stone Ruination Double IPA 2.0	Stone Brewing	IPA - Imperial / Double • 8.5% ABV • 100 IBU • (4.02 Avg)
24	Mad Elf	Tröegs Independent Brewing	Belgian Strong Dark Ale • 11% ABV • 15 IBU • (3.84 Avg)