Brew England Visits: The Trinity Brew House

There was a time in my life when I went to Providence several times a week. Usually after 11PM. Accompanied by a group of girlfriends. And we mainly visited such places as Lupos, Bootlegger's (RIP!), and The Complex. Even though we all hailed from Boston, there was something about Providence nightlife that was infinitely more appealing. I think it was the general lack of ID checking but that is a story for another time. and another blog.

The point is, I don't get down to Providence that much anymore. which is a shame. Adam and I went a few years ago for Water Fire and had a great time, in part due to the discovery of a fantastic little brew pub known as The Trinity Brewhouse. Located on Fountain Street in downtown Providence, Trinity is a brewpub and restaurant offering up an affordable menu of sandwiches, burgers, pizzas and homey entrees like Cottage Pie and Fish & Chips. The food, is delicious (especially the fries, if what you order comes with them you are in for a treat!) and the perfect accompaniment to their selection of freshly brewed beer!



Now, we had planned a weekend away and part one of this weekend away was to take place in Providence. Armed with tickets to the Providence Bruins game we headed down to Providence in the afternoon and checked into out hotel (The Hilton, which is conveniently located next to the Dunkin Donuts Center and across the street from Trinity). and then headed over to Trinity for a pre-game dinner.

We had no idea that on game nights it fills up really quickly so we were quite lucky to secure seats at the downstairs bar. Our bartender was quick and nice and immediately got us menus and took our drink orders. We decided, as one must always decide when at an infrequently visited brew pub, to have the beer sampler.



The sampler is offered at almost all brewpubs/micro-breweries and is a great way to get to know their selection. Trinity's selection was as follows.

1) The Kolsch - Crisp, light and smooth. Super easy to drink.
2) Tommy's Red Ale - Adam and I are both increasingly loving red ale. This one was unexpectedly hoppy for a red and had a nice rich malty aftertaste
3)Artisinal Belgian Amber - All of the flavor of a typical belgian with a deep amber color.
4) Rhode Island IPA - VERY BITTER. Almost obnoxiously hoppy. That is my opinion though Adam the Hop Head loved it.
5) Marzen - I had in my tasting notes for this one "odd" and neither myself or Adam could pinpoint any particular taste other than simply "odd". It is worth trying if simply only to school us on WHAT exactly it is supposed to taste like.
6) Larkin's Irish Stout - This one was my fave/ Super smooth, chocolatey with a hint of vanilla and roasted malt. Yum!

These were the beers on tap on Friday but our bartender told us they are constantly changing them out, though the IPA and Kolsch are more or less constants. So it';s always worth it to get the sampler in order to figure out what to drink with your meal!



Another neat thing about Trinity is their brewing process. It begins in tanks behind the upstairs bar, and is piped down to tanks behind the downstairs bar to ferment - then piped into cooling tanks and then from their directly pumped into their tap lines. That's pretty unusual and amazing! And why their beer tastes incredibly fresh.

The Trinity has a mug club that with a little luck (and $50) let's you keep a large glass mug behind the bar, decorated how you wish, for your use when you visit the pub.



There were quite a few mug club members there the night we visited, and we enviously eyed their substantially bigger mugs while clutching our pints. They could not have been a more friendly crowd though and we had a lot of fun with everyone. That is the other thing about brew pubs is if you sit at the bar, you're bound to be seated amongst friends. Shout out to Kev-O and Shoe!



So in conclusion, of you are interested in good food, good beer and a good time you should head down to Providence (only about 40 minutes from Boston) and hit up the Trinity Brewpub. If you need more of an excuse to go, don't forget that Waterfire starts next weekend and runs every weekend through the summer!

The Trinity Brewpub is located at 186 Fountain Street, Providence RI.
Click here for directions.


***Stay tuned for a kickass contest! The contest rules and prize will be reveealed in our next write up.***

Brew England Visits: The Fox and Hound

At least two nights a week Sarah and I opt to dine out at one of Quincy’s finest establishments: Grumpy Whites, the Stadium, Fuji, Fat Cat, etc. It’s also not unlikely for us to have a night cap at Fox & Hound, which is right down the street from our apartment. Well, last night happened to be one of those nights. After dinner, Keno, and scratch tickets (I won $110 on the new Las Vegas ticket!) at Grumpy’s, we hopped in the car for the short 30 second drive to F&H to grab a drink.

After ordering a Shipyard Export, Sarah and I quickly got into a conversation with our favorite bartender Wendy (as we usually do) and began discussing our website. It was then when it dawned on me that six of their eight taps belong to New England breweries. We have been going there for over five years, and while their draft selection has varied, there have been some staples- mainly Smuttynose IPA and Magic Hat #9.



What’s on tap you say? Well, if you visit the Fox & Hound, which is at 123 Sea Street in Quincy, you’ll currently find the following line up: Harpoon Celtic Ale (formerly Hibernian Ale), Newcastle Brown Ale, Smuttynose IPA, Magic Hat #9, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Wachusett Blueberry, Shipyard Export, and Harpoon IPA. Over the past two weeks or so they added the Celtic Ale, spelling the Longtrail White. They also currently have Sam Adams and Sam Light in bottles, and have had Longtrail Ale in the past as well.


Wendy, working the tap!

Their menu is great too, which features classic American comfort food, with entree prices $13 to $23. We have eaten there too many times to count and are regularly seen there many a Saturday night. Stop by and say hello to Wendy and tell her Adam and Sarah sent you!

What Not To Brew: Misadventures in Home Brewing Episode #1

Do not....



...save all of your label removing efforts for the moment before you actually brew. It takes way longer than you think and once all those labels are soaked and scratched off you still havt to sanitize each and everyone.

Stay tuned for a recap of our first homebrewing experience next week!

Tuesday Night Tasting - Sam Adams American Kriek and Berkshire Brewing Co. Coffehouse Porter

This past Tuesday, I convinced Adam we should maybe TRY some of the beer we acquired in the past couple of weeks that we seem to be stockpiling for some kind of Armageddon. He agreed and it was decided (i.e. I decided) that we should try the Sam Adams Barrel Collection "American Kriek" and he Berkshire Brewing Company's "Coffeehouse Porter".

First up, the Samuel Adams American Kriek:



The American Kriek is a a Belgium red that was oak aged with 40 pounds of cherries added to each barrel for two years.

First observation? The champagne style cork is TOUGH to get off. Which is why I reccomend making this the first drink of the evening rather than the last lest you find yourself bayoneting it on your porch out of desperation



(my cousin Dan actually bayoneting a bottle of Champagne at my Grandpa's birthday party last week. Not out of desperation though, more out of pure entertainment value)

In any case the bottle was quite tough to open but once that task was completed we were rewarded by a delightful beer!



It poured a nice ruby red color with a slightly pinkish head. The first taste is dry and somewhat malty and finishes with a slightly tart cherry finish. Adam enjoyed this beer thoroughly, as he is not a big fan of fruity beer. I also enjoyed it but did expect it to taste more like cherries than it did. I have read reviews of this beer on a few different sites saying that this beer is way too fruity. I wonder if they have ever had a truly fruity beer (like Paper City's One Eared Monkey or Concord's Grape Ale, or even Sam Adams Cherry Wheat), because this to me was not so fruity. More like a grown up version of the Cherry Wheat. If Cherry Wheat celebrates the young and sweet version of the cherry, the Kriek celebrates the older and somewhat bitter version. It was quite drinkable though, and not cloying at all as some fruit beers can be. I think this would be a nice beer to serve with appetizers as it's not strong enough to color the taste of what you are eating and is kind of a conversation piece.

"Oh cherries in beer? How droll!
"FORTY pounds of cherries per barrel? The mind reels"

These are the remarks I imagine people making at a party at which this beer is served.

The Sam Adams American Kreik retails for $9.99 for a 750 ml bottle and can be find at most local package stores. Use the beer finder on the Sam Adams website to find one near you!

Next up? The Berkshire Brewing Company (BBC) Coffeehouse Porter

The BBC's Coffeehouse lager is a dark ale which combines the taste of real organic coffee ( an extract made exclusively for them by Deans Beans in New Salem, MA) with their popular Drayman's Porter.

Immensely easier to open than the Kriek. Now, this particular beer is not new to me. Last month I was over my cousin's house to watch a movie (New Moon, so what?) and she had a bottle (750 ml) of this beer in her fridge. She told me how she had discovered it randomly at our local package store and fallen in sweet love with it's java notes. After sipping from the glass she gave me I was hooked too. And I of course relayed this story of Love At First Sip to the nice Berkshire Brewing Company boys who were at Lamb Jam this past weekend and they humored me enough to act psyched about it. Adam also sampled a little of it at the event and immediately said "Oh yeah we are getting a bottle of this".

Immediately, you can tell it is worlds apart from the Kriek. It rolls into the glass decadently and smoothly like a stout, with a thin creamy head. It smells of dark beer and dark coffee. The initial taste is silky with a chocolate smooth malty taste that fades into a rich coffee flavor laced with vanilla. Um, needless to say we LOVE it. I could write an erotic poem about this beer. I basically just did. Adam, who has had his share of Porters, claims this one as his favorite thus far in life.

This beer could qualify as a dessert, poured into tulip style glasses and enjoyed in front of a fire.

The BBC's Coffeehouse Porter comes in a 750 ml bottle and retails for about $5. Look for it in your local package stores and if they don't have it, see if they'll order it!

Lamb Jam 2010

When I first heard about Lamb Jam - happening at the Charles Hotel on March 7th - I knew immediately that I had to go, and that Adam and our friends Peter and Andy had to go as well. We all love lamb and we all love beer - so it was the perfect event for us.

Lamb Jam, hosted by American Lamb Board & BostonChefs.com , was touted as "this ultimate lamb taste off" and featured local chefs and their creative preparations of delicious lamb dishes, paired with the offerings of award winning local breweries and wine from Middleton Family Wines."

The featured breweries were Berkshire Brewing Company, Blue Hills Brewery, Ipswich Ale, Paper City Brewery, Mayflower Brewing Company, Rapscallion, Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project, Watch City Brewery, Harpoon and Cape Ann Brewing. An awesome selection, as you can see. We sampled everything and there were a few standouts for us:

Pretty Thing's Baby Tree Quadruple




Baby Tree is a Belgian-inspired year-round quadrupel brewed with dried plums. Now you know me, I love a fruit beer so I was eager to try this out. The beer did not meet our expectations - but in a GOOD way. I expected it to be really fruity and it was not. Adam expected it to be heavy and it wasn't that either. It had a subtle plum tone, and was super drinkeable. Also, the label is just plain cute.



We also hit the Watch City Brewery table HARD



....and not just because it happens to be one of our favorite restaurants/brewpubs but because it served what in my opinion was the best beer of the day! "Corkubita's Gordgeous Troika"is a dark red Belgian tripel made with three kinds of squash (Blue Hubbard, Butternut and Buttercup) which is aged for five weeks and then spiced with summer savory and herbs de Provence. It sounds more like a side dish than a beer but it is incredible. And went impeccably with all of the lamb dishes we got to try. I definitely pointed everyone I met in that direction and went back 3-4 times myself.. If you live in the area I cannot recommend enough checking out Watch City Brewery enough. Order the Troika and you won't be disappointed!!

Also, if you go ask them to bring back their Bacon Beer which I am SO MAD I didn't know about when it was being offered at their pub. Dang!

Other memorable brews included Blue Hills Brewery's Munich Lager which was a little sweet, a lot malty and minimally hopped - all qualities I enjoy. Another fan favorite was Paper City Brewing's Imperial Hop Monster. Says Adam: "The description on the Paper City website describes this beer as an "Imperial IPA with an unreasonable amount of Hops." This is definitely a true statement. I had asked the guy pouring the beer what the IBU content was, and he said that while it originally had an IBU reading somewhere around 100 it was lowered to mid to high 80s. It was certainly bitter, but was still easy to drink (this coming from a hop head).

I will always have a special place in my heart for Paper City, because theirs was the first beer I ever really liked, the peachy lager known as One Eared Monkey. Sigh. Memories.

In addition to all of the lovely beer there was also an abundance of, as the name of the event suggests, lovely lamb dishes to sample and savor!










It was loads of fun trying so many new dishes accompanied by so many great beer. The fan favorite among us was definitely the lamb sliders, pictured above, known as the "Royale with Cheese", offered by the Chef Toby Hill from Pain D'avignon ( I sense a road trip to Hyannis in the near future!) We met a lot of great people (shout out to our awesome tablemate Carolyn! who has much better photos of all the food than I) including one Mr. Billy Costa, the emcee of the event.



We were all sent home with great goodie bags that included a meat thermomete, lamb jerky, I Love Lamb chapstick, and a delicious spice rub.



All in all, it was a fantastic event and we had loads of fun. I give big kudos to the planners for limiting ticket sales so it wasn't like other tastings we have attended, where you have to wait in line for ten minutes and have no room to do anything. There were the perfect amount of people there and the food and drink were to die for. The event was such a success, word is it will be a yearly event going forward. So be sure and become a Fan of Lamb so you can get all the details on the next party!

Please click here to see the rest of our photos from Lamb Jam 2010!

Brew England Visits: Bin Ends, Braintree

Living in Quincy, we are lucky enough to be close to several package stores that have incredible selections of beer. Our perennial favorites are Luke's Liquors in Rockland, Curtis Liquors in Weymouth and more recently, Bin Ends in Braintree (which will be the focus of this entry).

A relatively new player on the liquor store scene, Bin Ends was initially primarily a place to find great wine at a great value. With their live Twitter Tastings, Wine Flea Markets and outstanding weekly case deal - they have become pretty popular. And have also expanded their repetoire to include a great selection of craft beer.



Initially Adam noted that you may not necessarily find a significant amount of New England breweries on hand, though you will find some great beers from the West Coast (ex: Stone and Rogue), and PA (ex: Victory Brewing Company). After another visit we in fact noticed that the selection of New England brewery offerings had grown vastly to include local favorite Pretty Things, several of the Smuttynose big beer series, as well as some Allagash offerings. In addition, they have a great Belgian beer selection!

It also seems that every other weekend they are hosting beer related events. We attended the Belgian Beer tasting a few weekends back and got to sample some delightful brews, our favorite of which was the dark, fruity and spicy Ommengang Abbey Ale.




I do not know what it is about monks but they brew a mean beer.

Bin Ends is perfect for us, with it's excellent and varied selection of wine AND beer, and we drop by at least a few times a month. If you live in the area you should definitely check them out. The staff is extremely helpful and knowledgable and you can't beat their prices!

Their next event is Sunday, March 14th "New Horizons in Beer - Groundbreaking Brews from New England's Top Craft Brewers" - become a fan of Bin Ends on Facebook for details on this and other upcoming events!



Visit Bin Ends at
236 Wood Road
Braintree, MA 02184
(781) 817-1212

Two Breweries - One Day

To celebrate my first FULL day as a thirty year old, Adam and I both took the day off from work and headed into the city for the day.

We spent the morning at the New England Aquarium, which neither of us have been to in twenty years or so. It was fun but far smaller than I remember! The penguins are still my favorite part though. We stopped to lunch on crab cakes and oysters at Legal Sea Foods before heading over to The Harpoon Brewery, down the street on Northern Avenue. I had been to the one in Vermont, which we checked out on our way home from Woodstock last year, but never the Boston brewery. Adam had been before and enjoyed it so we figured, what the hey.

The Brewery is easy to find, right off of Northern Ave on the water, and has ample free parking (a score in the Seaport District).

Since it was a weekday, they were not doing tours but they were doing VERY generous tastings. We were handed tasting glasses, shown to the tap and got to taste away to our heart's content. I started off with the Chocolate Stout and Adam with the IPA. I LOVED the stout. Very smooth and velvety and hello, chocolatey. I loved it in a way I have not loved a stout since a night of Vanilla Stout's I enjoyed at Milly Tavern in Manchester NH, long ago. I enjouy stouts in general because they are less carbonated, and this one has quickly become my new favorite.

We sampled a few more, before stepping into the actual brewery to check things out (though no tours were offered we could walk into a roped off area and look around).




To be honest when you have gone as as many tours as we have, though we always appreciate the education, it's kind of nice to skip right to the tasting!

The hit of the day was by far their latest 100 Barrel Series offering: Island Creek Oyster Stout. Are you freaked out by the idea of oysters in your beer? What if I told you that each barrel is made with over 500 actual oysters (don't worry they are eventually strained out!) The result is not what you might expect. Not seafoody. Not super briny. Just a rich, malty brew with this mineral note that just makes it finish crisply and beautifully. The oyster takes the heavyiness out of the malt and makes it a truly refreshing and truly delicious beer. Look for the 22 oz bottles in your local liquor store and snap it up quickly since our sources tell us this is the most popular of the 100 barrel series yet and is flying off the shelf (and as all 100 barrel series beer, is in limited supply).

After sampling a few more bres, we perused the gift shop and left with some t shirts, a few bottles of the Island Creek Oyster Stour and three growlers of beer (Chocolate Stout, Munich Dark and the Leviathan Baltic Porter).




If you live in the area a trip to the Harpoon Brewery is definitely in order. You will get to sample (responsibly of course) to your heart's content, learn a lot (the tourguides are informative and the bartenders will answer any questions, no matter how lame. Believe me) and it will all only set you back $5.

Tours are only offered on weekends and usually sell out so get there early!
Saturday 11:30AM - 4:30PM (every 1/2 hour)
Sunday Noon to 3pm (evey hour).

Luckily tastings are free, less busy and offered on weekdays.
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays @ 4PM
Fridays @ 2Pm and 4PM.

Don't forget to check out their St Patrick's Day Festival!

Visit the Harpoon Brewery at
360 Northern Avenue
Boston, MA 02210
1-888-Harpoon


Moving on, we decided since the day was still young to head over to another favorite local brewery, the Sam Adams Brewery in Jamaica Plain! This would be our third time touring the facility (we even got to take a tour with Jim Koch himself thanks to the awesome dudes over at BeerAdvocate.com).


We probably haven't been in about two years and I was surprised how much the brewery had changed. Much roomier, better displays and an actual area to listen to the tour guide tell us all about Jim Koch, Sam Adams, and their amazing line of beer.



There is a cardinal rule for going on the Sam Adams tour, particularly if there is a large group. Stand towards the back. You can still hear and see everything that's going on, and more importantly, the tasting room is directly behind you so you get first pick of seats in there when the group moves on! See? This is why you read this blog. Wise words.

Anyway, at the Sam tastings you may not get as many beers to taste as you do at Harpoon but you do get more of the beer that you do taste. In our tasting we sampled three (in order from left to right below) - The Boston Lager, Noble Pils, and new offering Brick Red.



Adam loves him some Noble Pils (though he was somwhat devastastaed that it replaced his beloved White Ale as the Sam Adams spring offering). IN his words "It's crisp and hoppy, but not overly bitter. It's got a great color, and a nice floral bouquet. Most importantly, you can drink several of them and not feel like you have to switch to a different beer".

Me? I am not a hops girl so I preferred the Brick Red. I loved it's toasty maltiness and it was just bitter enough to give it an edge. Furthermore, for every pint of this delicious beer ordered in Boston, a portion of the proceeds go to Jim Koch's Brewing the American Dream Fund which gives low income entrepeuneurs the support they need to succeed! Drinking and charity = a winning combo if you ask me!

We also learned about more about their Barrel Room Collection.

Celebrating Sam's long history of aging beer in wood barrels - these three offerings are bottled in a 750ml bottle and finished with a champagne cork.

Samuel Adams New World Tripel: Pale gold in color, this ale is big, flavorful and complex. A special Belgian yeast strain adds tropical fruit and spice notes to the crisp dry ale, while Saaz hops add a subtle herbal note. (~10% ABV)

Samuel Adams American Kriek: The intense black cherry character in this beer comes from Balaton cherries, which were discovered in Hungary and are now grown in Michigan. These special cherries are prized for their depth of flavor. The tartness from the cherries is balanced by a rich, malty character with toasted oak notes added from the barrel aging. (~7% ABV)

Samuel Adams Stony Brook Red: This unique brew defies traditional beer style definition. The rich, malty brew combines notes of tart fruit from the yeast with a toasty oak character from the barrel aging. The long dry finish is almost wine-like. This is a beer that is satisfying on its own and also pairs well with many foods such as braised or roasted meats, beef stews and strong salty cheeses. (~9% ABV)

(descriptions from the website)

Adam and I bought a three pack of the Barrel Collection offerings and look forward to trying them all (and reporting back our findings) .



In any case the Sam tour is something everyone should do at least once and you have no reason not to since it's cheap (usually a suggested donation of $5). They offer tours on the following schedule:

Mondays - Thursdays 10AM-3PM
Fridays 10AM-5:30PM
Saturdays 10AM-3PM
All tours depart every 45 minutes and last about an hour.

The Sam Adams Brewery is located at
30 Germania Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
617-358-5080