Beer of the Week: Long Trail Ale

Long Trail Ale was first introduced to me during college when one of my roommates brought a case back from break. He was from Vermont, and that's where this tasty treat of a microbrew originates. Long Trail Ale is a dark amber ale, almost as bitter as some IPA's that I've tried, but not as harsh on the tongue. I'd almost compare it to Samuel Adams, except it doesn't make me gag with every sip. In fact, it reminds me of some of the German ales that I have tried that are full bodied, full of flavor, with a strong sharp and tangy finish. Tasting each sip, one gets a range from subtle sweetness, almost caramel, to a slight roasted flavor that I would imagine means the hops are roasted before being used. Maybe it's the association with Vermont, but this is the kind of beer I would picture an outdoorsmen or mountain climber enjoying after a long day out in the woods or hanging by a carabiner. Perhaps these guys would be cracking open a Long Trail, and eating a nice hearty meal to warm up and remind them of the good life.

Number of Beers Drank in one Sitting: 4
Pair with Food: Absolutely, particularly hearty fare like meat and potatoes, and anything with lots of carbs

Take a Hike

Beer of the Week: Heineken

Being half Dutch makes me somewhat biased to the most well known beer from the motherland, although Amstel Light has been giving it a run for the money. Heineken is an odd beer and suffers sometimes from the same issue as many German beers - skunkyness. Although this is somewhat intentional, I find that due to the green bottle, too often you buy it and it has gone from a slightly bad bitter taste, to a really bad taste that ruins the normal crisp hoppy taste that you come to expect when you find it on tap. Personally, I only get Heineken on tap, it always tastes significantly better. In fact, I would argue that more so than any other beer the difference in taste improve for Heineken when you compare draught to bottle or even can. Technically a pilsener, although most people probably wouldn't think about it in that way, the taste if you really concentrate has almost a slightly earthy taste, although it is so light the flavor doesn't last too long on your tongue. Personally, I love getting a Heineken and pairing it with traditional Dutch food like fresh raw herring at the Grand Central Oyster Bar. This is a somewhat acquired taste, and it took me years to really warm up to it, but now it is a tradition every year the herring fleet comes in to New York.

Number of Beers Drank in one Sitting: 5-6 (as long as it's on tap)
Pair with Food: Absolutely, especially fresh herring, and hearty soups and stews.

Get your hands off my Heini

Beer of the Week: St. Pauli Girl

For some reason I find getting bottled German beer in the U.S. that is fresh very difficult. And by fresh, I mean not "skunky". Yes, I realize skunky is just a word that Budweiser created, but it is a very aptly named term. Too often the lighter German beers like Becks, St. Pauli Girl and others taste like they have been in the beer fridge for months. With that aside, I am not a huge fan of St. Pauli Girl, but then again, I don't seem to like any light commercial German lagers. The taste is more bitter than your average light lager, and the finish is not as clean as american, mexican and asian beers. Would I drink it? Sure, why not. Would I ask someone to please pass me a St. Pauli Girl? Only if it was the St. Pauli girl herself handing it to me. Did I recently drink three of these out of a ginormous beer mug? Yes. Did I do it for this blog? Definetly. It actually wasn't as bad as I had remembered it being, and it might actually be a decent beer to eat with some bratwurst or other German sausage, since personally I like a light beer with most heavy German foods.

Number of beers drank in one sitting: 2.5
Pair with food: Only the heavier German food (is there any LIGHT german food?)

Get Some Free Pictures of the St. Pauli Girl (Oh, and info about the beer)