Nor’ Easter in May

With visitors from out of town at the house and a spike of good weather, it seemed like the ideal night for an impromptu picnic. Friends gathered in the backyard, D fired up the charcoal, and soon we were having the first picnic of the season!

There were lots of good things to drink, but the beer of the night came toward the end of the night, when we broke out the Nor’ Easter Winter Warmer (Batch 2) from Captain Lawrence Brewing Company

It is described as a Belgian dark ale brewed with elderberries and aged in bourbon barrels. It is an extremely dark brown to deep purple, only letting bits of light flow through on the edges of the glass. It has very little carbonation, and the thin head in a purplish tan. The scent of bourbon mixed well with that of dark fruit and roasted malts. That scent translated into flavor as tart fruit, chocolate and alcohol, and a slight oak flavor added to the finish.

This was an excellent choice, and I was glad only three people were sharing the 750 mL bottle.

Desert Birding and Back Street Brewery

This morning we had a late start (we got into La Quinta after 3 AM in “our time” so we needed the sleep!), but finally got out to do some birding near the Salton Sea in the late morning.  Our hosts, Bob and Dianne, knew just where to go for nice views of the water birds at the Sea and a beautiful walk through San Andres Oasis.

After a day of birding, we stopped off at Oasis Date Garden for date shakes, and then visited the Coachella Valley Wild Bird Center to meet some of Dianne’s friends (Rodney the Roadrunner was one of my favorite!)  We stopped at Trader Joe’s because it’s always a treat to go there, and then returned to the house for a yummy dinner of homemade enchiladas.

Our after-dinner entertainment was the Mr. Christmas Santa’s Marching Band (this video is not HER set, but you get the idea…funny, funny stuff, and pretty darn talented!) 

We ended our night with a trip to Back Street Brewing in La Quinta, which is part of the Lamppost Pizza chain.  There were 7 beers on tap, with guest taps including Framboise.

• Crossroads Cream Ale
• Heritage Hefeweisen
• Jagged Lil’ Pilsner 
• Rita’s Red
• Ron’s Pale Ale
• E.R. IPA
• Saint Nick’s Treasure

Our bird list for the day (not in order of appearance):

1. Eared Grebe
2. American White Pelican
3. Brown Pelican
4. Double-crested Cormerant
5. Great Blue Heron
6. Great Egret
7. Snowy Egret
8. Green Heron
9. Canada Goose
10. Northern Pintail
11. Northern Shoveler
12. Gadwall
13. Ruddy Duck
14. Osprey
15. Northern Harrier
16. Red-tailed Hawk
17. American Kestral
18. Gambel’s Quail
19. American Coot
20. Killdeer
21. Black-necked Stilt
22. Greater Yellowlegs
23. Least Sandpiper
24. Bonaparte’s Gull
25. Ring-billed Gull
26. California Gull
27. Herring Gull
28. Yellow-footed Gull
29. Caspian Tern
30. Rock Dove
31. Mourning Dove
32. Common Ground Dove
33. Costa’s Hummingbird (at the house!)
34. Northern Flicker
35. Say’s Phoebe
36. Common Raven
37. Verdin
38. Cactus Wren
39. Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
40. Northern Mockingbird
41. American Pipit
42. European Starling
43. Orange-crowned Warbler
44. Yellow-rumped Warbler
45. Sage Sparrow
46. White-crowned Sparrow
47. Brewer’s Blackbird
48. Great-tailed Grackle
49. House Finch
50. Lesser Goldfinch

Countdown to Christmas – Week 4

The last 4 days on the Advent Calendar of Beer

Dec. 22 – Winter Warmer – (Santan Brewing Company) this was sent to us in a growler from Chandler, AZ.  The same person who sent the Papago delivered this to us, and the packing job was SO VERY superior!  When I began to unpack it, it was so riduculously well wrapped, cushioned and prepared for travel – I was so amazed.

Dec. 23 – Winter Ale  (Smuttynose Brewing Company)

Dec. 24 – Olde Frosty IPA from draft in a growler (Selin’s Grove Brewing Company)

Dec. 25 – Harveys Christmas Ale (Harvey & Son Ltd.) – A pleasant way to celebrate Christmas.  A little like horehound candy in a glass!

Overall, this was a fun little experiment.  I don’t think we actually cleared out the basement, but we had a nice selection of beers to enjoy throughout the season.

Now…off to San Diego to start of the new year!

Countdown to Christmas – Week 3

The third 7 days on the Advent Calendar of Beer

Dec. 15 – Old Fezziwig® Ale  (Samuel Adams) – Winter Warmer

Dec. 16 – Carolina Winter Porter (Carolina Brewing Company) – an American Porter created with Simcoe hops.

Dec. 17 – Christmas Ale (Corsendonk) – Belgian Strong Dark Ale

Dec. 18 – Winter Ale (Wyerbacher)

Dec. 19 – Cherry Vanilla Maple Porter (Brutal Deluxe Brewing) – our 2006 homebrew Christmas beer.

Dec. 20 – Anise Spruce Ale (Brutal Deluxe Brewing) This the second of two Christmas beers we brewed in 2007, and it’s possible there is a better name and I just don’t know it.  We were really looking forward to the spruce essence, but the star anise completely overpowers it – a bit reminiscent of NyQuil, unfortunately.  Hopefully it will mellow with time, but not in time for Christmas.

Dec. 21 – Gray’s Wassail (Gray’s Brewing Company); Olde Frosty IPA from the Firkin  and Solstice Dubbel (Selin’s Grove Brewing Company) – yes, it was a busy day of beer drinking on Friday. D had the Gray’s Wassail at home because he had to work, while I took the afternoon off and camped out at Selin’s Grove for six hours. 

I can’t speak for his Wassail, but I thoroughly enjoyed Olde Frosty IPA from the firkin! It was tapped at 3:30 PM, and kicked in 1.5 hours.  I had the honor of finishing off the last 1/2 pint! It had a piney hop character with hints of caramel sweetness, and the flavors of the wood really came through (apparently it was only in there for 4 days.) This is a beer I’ve looked forward to tasting all year, and I wasn’t disappointed. I brought home a growler of Olde Frosty on CO2 for D to try, and it will be interesting to compare.

Also, Selin’s Grove brought out the Solstice Dubbel on this special day, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The Pumpkin Ale was still on (but I bet it isn’t any longer), so I had a 1/2 pint of that, as well as a glass of Razz Merry.  My holiday favorites – all in one place!