First on the list, the Switchback Brewing Company came to Portland's Brian Boru's on Friday & the husband, along with his fun co-workers, spoke to Bill Cherry the President & Brewmaster. After a lengthy chat, which included sharing a few brews, the husband came home with a pint glass for me & Bill's business card. He tells me that I'm invited to Burlington to tour Switchback & meet with the brewmaster to interview him for a piece on the blog. Super excited that we might take a 'beercation' to Burlington this Fall & super psyched that my husband is doing PR for my blog--what a win/win!
Next up, yesterday, Saturday, September 17, 2011, was International Zwanze Day & Portland's Novares Res Bier Cafe was one of only 21 places in the ENTIRE WORLD to have a barrel of Cantillon's Zwanze 2011. If you're like me, you have NO idea what Zwanze is or what type of beer it would be considered. Please click the following link, to understand more about Zwanze Day: International Zwanze Day. From what I've learned, based on that site, Zwanze is a collaboration of lambic beer & other ingredients. Lambic beer is a type of beer produced through, "spontaneous fermentation, its characteristics will by definition vary from one batch to another. On top of this, the types of barrels, fruits and hops used during production can sometimes cause the beer to mature in new and unexpected ways."
Ok, enough beer geekiness for you, the bottom line is that by the time the husband & I arrived at Novares Res to celebrate Zwanze Day, the barrel of the 2011 was gone but I was still able to try the Zwanze (2010) Blanche de Quenast & Classic Gueuze both from the Cantillon Brewery in Brussels, Belgium. I have never had lambic or sour beers before and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed them.
Here's a few pictures from yesterday's Zwanze Day in Portland at Novares Res:
Following the Zwanze event, the husband & I grabbed a bite to eat at The Grill Room in Portland. Delicious food & tasty local Allagash Black brew was consumed.
Last but not least, this weekend, I had the cool honor of writing a guest post for the blog Mug of Saint Arnold. My review focused on the Maine Beer Company's amber ale called Zoe.
Cheers to a great weekend! Settling in for a snooze with the little duo on this Sunday afternoon, what about you?
Love the Switchback! I make sure to find it on tap someplace whenever I'm up in VT. I wish it was bottled (is it?) so I could bring some home with me! Looking forward to the interview!
ReplyDeleteScott - Switchback definitely bottles their beers. If you go through Queechee, VT (near the gorge) there is a Cabot "outlet" store, where they have a corner dedicated to local craft beer - which is where I picked up the Switchback Black Lager over the summer.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I DEFINITELY recommend a beercation to Burlington, VT!! Beercations are one of my favorite things to go on with my wife. Burlington is such a cool small city, with lots of great restaurants. Make sure to hi the Magic Hat brewery in South Burlington while you're there - they have one of the coolest tasting/retail areas we've seen to date!
Cheers!
Adam (from Brew England)
Adam - THANKS! I know where you're talking about, but I'm not going up there for a bit. However, I have a couple of trips to Bennington scheduled. If the bottles are there, berhaps they are elsewhere! I'll look for them!
ReplyDeleteWhat time did you get to the brewery and they were out? I'm going this year and we're trying to figure out timing.
ReplyDeleteI think we were at Novare between 3-4.
ReplyDelete