Samuel Smith drops out of my speed dial

My worldview has been shattered by the Brits. Brick Store pub in Decatur introduced me to Mr. Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout in college. It quickly became one of my favorite beers ? moving to #3 on my speed dial list in 2 short years. Little did I know…

I got nostalgic last night and cracked an Imperial Stout. Was it good? Yes. Did it taste better than our Fat Monk Porter? No. In fact, it was just as “stout” as our porter in my opinion. So I’m going to go ahead and move Fat Monk up to #3, which drops Samuel Smith to the #11 position (and that, my friends, is not an actual speed dial position).

I’m thinking our second pass at a stout is going to grind Samuel into the ground. And Jonathan said, “We shall rise victorious! Three cheers for beer!”

Don’t forget to vote!

Be sure to check out our About section and vote for your favorite brewer. The guy on the left is my personal favorite. Notice the “devil may care” attitude, the massive nose bruise and the crazy trucker beard.

His name is Jonathan and he is my idol.

Hefe help!

We’ve already bent our own rules… Monday we brewed our first wheat beer and neglected to name it during the brew session. (Yes, brew session. It’s the lingo used in the business. Consider yourself informed.) That said, we’d love your help.

The stipulations: Each of our beers is going to revolve around a “character.” Fat Monk is a monk, Swashchuckler is a clown pirate, Roundhouse is a ninja. The beer name doesn’t have to be a character, but must be somewhat related to one (roundhouse kick to the face = ninja or Steven Seagal). Bonus points will be awarded for bringing in the beer’s history.

Also, the name has to be totally kickass. Please leave all suggestions as comments.

Validation!

It was Monday Night. Four regulars stood in front of three small glasses each. The trio of glasses were half-full of beer, colors ranging from a dark corn to a medium amber. The blind taste test had begun.

As we sampled the beer from each glass, Jeff stood by quietly, smiling like a little urchin. Our verdicts were the same. The first beer was the worst. The most watery, the least complex. The second beer was the most drinkable of the bunch. Good and smooth, but not great. The third beer was the most “sippable” beer. The darkest and most complex, it was definitely my personal favorite. So Jeff, what were we actually drinking?

Jeff’s words: “I’m an idiot. You guys are way awesome and sexy sexy.” And then he said something about the first beer being the only commercial beer of the bunch, one Brooklyn Brewery Pale Ale. Or IPA or something. The second beer was our own Swashschuckler turned bitter due to an awry grain addition. The third beer was the same Swashchuckler with the correct (but not yet final) recipe.

We rejoice!

P.S. Notice how Peter is wearing the same outfit that he wore a week ago. Does he shower?