Thelonious Monk was one of the greatest, most influential musicians in the history of jazz. His cool, improvisational style complimented his cutting edge approach to the piano. Considered by many to be one of the founding fathers of bebop, Monk’s music evolved from this initial form and touched upon most genres of music. So I [...]
Made the rounds this past Tuesday in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. Plenty of corn beef & cabbage, “green” beer, etc. While the “wearing of the green” is the theme for this day, 2 beers with a black label stood out for me. The first was Sprecher’s Black Bavarian, an excellent, very drinkable schwarzbier. A [...]
I was at Shakespeare’s with my wife Anne last night. We were having dinner, shooting the breeze with Lowell the bartender, & enjoying a couple of drinks. The guest bottle was St. Bernardus ABT 12, an outstanding Belgium quad, and the guest draft was Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale, a pretty good APA from Flying [...]
As I write this, we are 3 days away from St. Patrick’s Day. In addition to the usual holiday classics – Guinness, Beamish, Murphy’s, Harp, Killian’s etc., may I suggest a few additional brews to get your Irish up? Celtic Fury (DuClaw Brewing Co.; Bel Air, MD; Irish Dry Stout; ABV: 5.5): Refreshing with a [...]
Mahaffey’s is a great bar owned by proprietor Wayne Mahaffey in the Canton section of Baltimore. It has a great neighborhood feel, and you can’t beat the Monday night special. That’s right, 3 10oz microbrews for $4, along with $1 sliders, either beef or chicken! You can eat and drink like a king for about [...]
Favorite Beer Type: Barley Wine While I drink a wide variety of beers, I always seem to go back to the Barley Wine style of beer. It’s the elixir of the Gods as far as I’m concerned. Favorite Beer: Open While a Barley Wine is usually the pick, I have to admit that any number [...]
We stopped by BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse in Pinellas Park on Sunday for dinner, and noticed that they had an abbey ale as the special on draft. Beer Advocate had it listed as retired, but BJ’s is brewing it again. I can definitely attest, after a couple of pints, that everything’s back to Normal! BJ’s [...]
It’s an annual right of passage at the beginning of February that two world renowned Imperial IPAs make their mark upon the craft beer world. The first, Russian River Pliny The Younger (Russian River Brewing Co.; Santa Rosa, CA; Imperial India Pale Ale; ABV: 11.0), has become the Holy Grail for many beer enthusiasts. While [...]
With the explosion of the craft beer industry, it seems like ales and lagers are giving wine a run for its money as the drink of choice. In fact, many breweries have started to age their ales in oak barrels which give them a distinct wine like character. This “crossover” is producing beers that appeal [...]