New Beer Friday, The Vinyl Countdown Edition (April 14)

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

My wife Barb and I occasionally relax with a couple of Manhattans before supper. Over the winter we began enjoying our cocktails while listening to albums on old 1970’s era stereo equipment. The Yamaha receiver, Sansui turntable and EPI speakers had been sitting idle until last fall when we came across some albums that had been stashed in a box in the basement. The discovery prompted us to hook up the equipment, and despite a fair amount of snapping, crackling and popping, it was quite pleasant hearing Frampton Comes Alive on vinyl once again.

We had amassed a sizable album collection over the years but when we began buying cassettes and CD’s we packed the records away and forgot about them. Today I have no clue as to their whereabouts. Maybe we gave them away. Hell, we might have even thrown them away. Needless to say we’re wishing now that we had kept them.

Barb and I have been making periodic trips to used record stores over the past three months and we’re slowing building another collection. I’m not sure what exactly it is about our new found hobby that we find so enjoyable. Perhaps it has something to do with recapturing some of our lost youth. Or maybe we like listening to vinyl for the same intangible reasons that we like old cars, old houses, old boats and old barns and corked rather than screw top wine bottles.

A few nights ago Barb and I sipped our cocktails while listening to a pristine copy of Aja that we found last week at Dodds Record Shop. We agreed that Steely Dan never sounded as good and the Manhattans that I made with Bib & Tucker small batch bourbon never tasted better.

New and Returning Beers

• Clown Shoes Path of the Angel, $14.09/22oz - "Imperial Brown Ale aged in Bourbon Barrels" (source).
• Arbor Brewing Ypsi Gypsy, $1.89/12oz - "The Ypsi Gypsi is technically an American Pale Ale but we packed so much hop flavor and aroma into its 4.9% alcohol that we like to call it a session IPA.  Golden straw in color with a medium body and crisp carbonation, the Gypsi flaunts a rich flowery, citrusy character on the nose, palate and finish that comes from several late additions of classic American hops" (source).
• Brewery Vivant Plein de Vie Strawberry Rhubarb, $9.99/500ml - "A Belgian-weiss beer soured in a melange of barrels and aged with Strawberries and Rhubarb. Usher in Spring with this light and bright sour ale. Take a bottle home to enjoy with friends" (source).
• Brooklyn Summer, $1.59/12oz - "Summer in Brooklyn is all about following your impulses, winging it from beaches and barbecues to stoops and rooftops. Brooklyn Summer Ale is a refreshing, flavorful pale ale made to accompany you on all your warm weather adventures. 100% British 2-row barley brings its famed bready flavors, capped off with German and American hops to provide a snappy, clean bitterness and a bright, floral aroma. It's a sunny pale ale, Brooklyn style" (source).
• Green Flash Palate Wrecker, $2.89/12oz - "Palate Wrecker was originally brewed for the Hamilton’s Tavern 2nd Anniversary celebration. It’s the most complicated West Coast–inspired IPA we have ever brewed—mashing and sparging with hopped wort, in addition to our hop layering regimen for IPA. We use almost 6 lbs/bbl of Columbus and Centennial hops to create this very bitter hop monster (tested at 149 IBU and no extracts in case you were wondering). By popular demand, it is now released for the world to enjoy" (source).
• Griffin Claw You Figure it Out, $2.19/16oz - "We had to beg Dan to make this and it turned out awesome! Coconut & Vanilla stand strong in this easy drinking Milk Stout" (source).
• Pigeon Hill White DIPA Renegade, $2.99/12oz - "This Double IPA is the first in our “Renegade” series, a series of beers that meet stylistic requirements but aren’t afraid to be different. Renegade White is deceivingly light in both color and body. A West Coast style DIPA, Renegade White starts with pine and citrus in the nose. These elements then carry into the mouth with added notes of grapefruit and a pleasantly dry finish" (source).
• Uinta Hop Nosh, $1.59/12oz - "Our flagship IPA boasts an assertive bitterness and vibrant hop aromatics. Expect notes of pine, lime zest, and grapefruit supported by caramel malts" (source).
• Uinta Hop Nosh Tangerine, $1.59/12oz - "A play on our flagship IPA, this beer features an aromatic menagerie of tropical hops and tangerine zest. Wraps up with a crisp, bitter finish" (source).
• Uinta Lime Pilsner, $1.59/12oz - "Crisp, light-bodied, and immensely refreshing, our small batch Lime Pilsner combines a subtle malty sweetness with hints of fresh lime for a little splash of summertime in a can" (source).
• Short's Freedom of '78, $2.39/12oz - "Freedom of ’78 is a medium-bodied IPA brewed with guava. This IPA is bright and clear with a pleasing bronze hue. The beer’s aroma is a unique fusion of citrus fruit and subtle pine. The distinct characteristics of the guava nectar are impossible to miss with flavors of tangerine, nectarine, and even faint honey detectable. The finish is bitter and dry" (source).
• Left Hand Brave Heart, $2.29/12oz - "Super Smooth with soft caramel notes and bready maltiness" (source).
• Left Hand Good Juju, $2.29/12oz - "Our beer is a pale ale brewed from a relative low gravity, with some of the hops which would normally be used in the beer replaced by freshly ground ginger root" (source).

Video of the Week | Play Ball!

This seemed like a relevant video now that the MLB season is in full swing.

Cheers!