Friday, May 29, 2009

Carol Stoudt @ the Brickskeller

The second event of unofficial DC craft beer week was Carol Stoudt at the Brickskeller. Carol and her husband decided to start a brewery over 20 years ago but her husband owned their restaurant and because of PA laws that meant Carol had to open the brewery. Apparently she has been quite an influence on the craft beer scene since. They are from Germany and decided to brew German style beers. I haven’t had much if any Stoudt beer but enjoyed what they had to offer. The line up for the night:
  • Kolsch (Brewmasters Reserve)
  • Gold Lager
  • Heifer in Wheat
  • Pils
  • American Pale Ale
  • Scarlet Lady ESB
  • Double IPA
  • Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout
It was interesting to hear Carol and their philosophy on beer. They must be doing something right to be in business all these years. Robin and I enjoyed the Fat Dog Stout. Carol commented on a couple occasions about how they had to come up with some funky names to compete and as soon as they threw a dog or a cow on the label the sales took off.

One of the highlights of the night was that Dave of the Brickskeller busted out some of his rare stash. I ordered the Bourbon Barrel Aged Black Ops from the Brooklyn Brewery and a Thomas Hardy brewed in 1988. The Black Ops was very nice. I'm not a fan of Bourbon Barrel aged beers but this was very balanced. Robin liked it as well. The Thomas Hardy from 1988 was just unique. It has a very velvet taste from the aging. Definitely something to sip. I don't know much about it but found this...

Hardy's Ale was first brewed in 1968 at the request of the Thomas Hardy Society to mark the 40th anniversary of the author's death. Each vintage was blended from as many as six different brews and underwent three fermentations. Collector's have been known to pay outrageous amounts for bottles from the 1960s and in the hundreds of dollars for those from the 1980s.

Looking forward to tonight and Saturday.

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