On the verge of 44: Part 1

When you get to be my age, beer and birthdays go hand in hand. You may remember that last year, we spent a weekend with friends in Virginia (start with Day 1 and continue on if you wish). This time around, we decided to spend the few days leading up to my 44th birthday with some friends at a quaint cabin situated on 160 wooded acres* in the middle of nowhere. Nowhere happened to be a stone's throw away from Mercersburg, PA. Like last year, all of the planning was left to my good buddy Deuane. [*Editor's Note: Thanks Deuane!]

By now, readers of the Pour Travelers should be privy to our friends and fellow Team D(r)INK compadres, Deuane and Carolyn (later referred to collectively as D&C). Deuane took care of booking the accommodations, procuring food, and laying out the brewery agenda for the weekend. He even cooked breakfast on Saturday and Sunday morning, and prepared a fantastic Thai curry chicken meal for dinner on Saturday evening. Now that's my kind of getaway!

On Friday after work, Brewslut met me at the brewery for a quick beer before we shuffled off to meet D&C at GearHouse in Chambersburg (although we were only meeting D as C was en route from a conference in Philadelphia and would be joining us at our next stop closer to our destination).

I was excited to get back to GearHouse, and couldn't believe a year had passed since our last (and initial) visit. Unfortunately, brewer/owner David was out of town at a festival, so we didn't get to connect like last time. When we arrived, Deuane was waiting and promptly informed us about the firkin sitting on the bar. Score! I'm always down for "Firkin Friday." We all opted for a pour of Single Speed IPA #6, and this particular one-off, cask-conditioned brew featured blood oranges and whole leaf Chinook hops. It was a suitable way to kick things off into gear (pun slightly intended).

We decided to get some grub this time since we left immediately after work. Brewslut and I split a tasty turkey panini and we each enjoyed a bowl of smoked mac and cheese with ancho chili seasoning. With full bellies, we moved on to our next beers.

For my next selection, I had to get it based on its name - The Barkness. Described as somewhat of an IPA/stout hybrid, this dark, roasty ale is brewed with midnight wheat, caramel malt, barley and flaked oats, then finished with Amarillo and Centennial hops. For lack of a better term, let's just call it a Black IPA. It certainly was hoppy enough, with a dry, piney profile and lots of roasted malt character.

Pleeps shows off his high school yearbook photo pose.

We decided to swing by Flannery's Tavern on the Square in nearby Mercersburg, which was on the way to the cabin. Carolyn would be joining us shortly, and Deuane needed a place with a TV so he could spectate some Final 4 March Madness collegiate sporting event with lots of BRACKETS. You know, the one where the guys throw a brown, round ball through hoops with nets. The beer list was respectable though not impressive. It was, as they say, "do-able." I went with a Troegenator - of all things - which is completely out of character for me. And you know what? I enjoyed the hell out of it! I really have to be in the mood for this rich, sweet, chewy double bock brewed by my employers, but this just hit the spot. Perhaps because it was a cold and windy night and I was wearing nothing but a hoody (well, and pants... duh!)

I checked out the jukebox on the way back from the bathroom and felt we needed some musical entertainment. Deuane was nice enough to provide me with five dollar bills, which afforded me 14 credits in the jukebox. So like a kid in a candy store, I went on my merry way and dove headfirst into my go-to songs. I always need to get my money's worth, so nothing under 6 minutes made the cut. We're talkin' Rush's side-long epic, "2112" as well as the 12+ minute opus and superior live version of "Xanadu" from Exit... Stage Left, "Master of Puppets" by Metallica, the live version of "Victim of Changes" from Priest's Unleashed in the East, Pink Floyd's epic 17-minute track "Dogs," King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man," and a pair of Sabbath ditties - "War Pigs" and "Fairies Wear Boots." This translates to about 78 minutes of pure hard rock bliss!

But I digress. I finished off our visit with a grilled Gouda sandwich and fries and - what?! - a glass of Merlot. "I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!" said Paul Giamatti's character in the hilarious movie Sideways. But I'm not that much of a wine snob. I like me a good red wine every once in a while, and nothing else on the beer menu was jumping out at me.

OK, I better get back to beer. After all, this is a beer blog, right?

Back at the cabin Fri. night, we enjoyed a selection of bottles I drug out from my cellar, including a few vintage treats for this vintage guy!

I wear many different (stupid) hats.

We kicked off with Hummelstown Bock Party by the local Howling Henry, which is situated in Hummelstown. Someone picked up a mixed six-pack for me during the holidays, and we've been working through them. This was easily my favorite of the few I've had thus far. I'm curious to see how this tiny nano brewery develops over the next few years.

Up next was Uncommon Crow from Allagash. This was the unanimous favorite of the four beers we consumed that particular evening. Named so due to a crow's love of blackberries, Allagash ferments this beer exclusively with its house strain of local Brettanomyces yeast. Boasting hints of dark chocolate and an earthy sweet-tart blackberry flavor,  the Brett character is mild to moderate but provided a bit of pucker amid the juicy berry notes.

We followed this up with a 2015 vintage of Victory's Old Horizontal, one of my favorite PA barleywines. I dug this one out the cellar as well. Turns out I had three bottles from what appeared to be the same batch based on the date code. Given it was only aged for about three years, I would have thought this would have held up better. It was definitely past its prime. Some of the hops were still lingering, giving it a somewhat fuzzy (for lack of a better term) flavor. Deuane hated it. With that said, I didn't have high hopes for the 2005 vintage I unearthed in my cellar, which I was saving for the following night. (More on that later.)

We finished the night off with the infamous Russian Imperial Stout, Black Albert from De Struise. By this time, Deuane was fast asleep on the couch, so I had the lion's share of this small 11oz. bottle. He didn't care for it, anyway. Brewslut and I picked this bottle up during our 10th anniversary brewery tour of Northern California back in 2009, and it'd been collecting dust in my beer cellar ever since. After cracking open decade-old DFH 120min. and Sam Adams Triple Bock during my birthday weekend trip last time, I found it only fitting to continue the tradition and bring something equally as old. And with the last drip in my gullet, it was time to retire for the evening.

After breakfast (blueberry pancakes, turkey bacon, OJ and coffee) on Saturday, we were off to the impetus of the trip - Abolitionist Ale Works in Charles Town, WV. This marks only the second brewery we've ever visited in the state of West Virginia. Deuane had raved about this place a few months earlier after a similar trip to the very same cabin. Turns out Brewslut and I shared in his enthusiasm after our visit.

I decided I was going with full pours in lieu of sampler flights, which we usually stick to when traveling. Plus Deuane was doing the driving, so I could delve a bit deeper into the beer selection at each visit. Upon our perusal of the beer menu, I quickly realized that there was much to try. You won't find very many worn-out, pedestrian beer styles here. Instead, we were greeted to a handful of varied farmhouse-style Saisons and wild ales, Belgian styles, and barrel-aged treats. For my first venture, I opted for Pale the Funky (Black & Blue), a wine barrel-aged farmhouse ale with Brett and finished with blackberries and blueberries. One beer in and already off to a great start! This beer boasted a lovely rose-tinted hue and packed a juicy sweet-tart berry flavor with just the right amount of funk. Brewslut went with Let's Gose, a fantastic straight-up German-style tart wheat beer (aka Gose). This sucker was on point!

Pleeps and Zeke enjoy each other's company at Abolitioist.

I decided to go with the lone IPA on the list for my next beer. Alpha Mayle IPA was a solid effort, but a bit too spicy/peppery/earthy for me. Still, I was glad to see something a bit off-kilter versus the same tired "hazy NE-style IPA" that so many breweries have been latching onto recently. My next beer, however, was quite enjoyable. West by Quad turned in an awesome performance! This Belgian-style Quadruple was aged in French oak bourbon barrels and was strong and alluring. The bourbon character was not overly boozy, but rather offered a nice, round vanilla-chocolate flavor. I really enjoyed this one!

I'm usually not attracted to odd-sounding wild ales, but something about my next beer - Beverly Farmhouse Ale - caught my attention. Described as a "wild ale brewed with local cascade hops from Beverley Farms, just a few miles away, and fermented with wild WV yeast then keg conditioned with pear juice," this beer intrigued me... on paper, anyway. Well folks, it delivered! The wild yeast was unique and I swear I could taste a bit of West Virginia in there somewhere. that sounds vague, I know, but sometimes you can just pick out the subtle nuances of a region by the stuff that floats through the air and into a wild fermented beer. This was one of those rare beers.

I also tried a bit of Brewslut's Shenandoah Saison, Abolitionist's house Saison. This variation was aged for eight months in a wine barrel with local plums. You could really taste the plum skins in this one, which was a bit overbearing perhaps but still pretty tasty.

I'm fairly certain this place will be in contention for my Top 10 of new breweries visited in 2018. All of the Saisons were outstanding, and head brewer/co-owner Mike was kind enough to spend some time with us at the bar answering our questions. This place hasn't even been open for a year, so Mike & co. are definitely off to an impressive start. I already can't wait to visit again!

After an extremely pleasant visit to Abolitionist, we were off to nearby Brunswick, MD, for a quick stop at Smoketown Brewing Station, another new-to-us brewery. It was shaping up to be a pretty decent spring day, so the garage doors were open, exposing a beer garden/patio-type space when we arrived. We wandered in and bellied up to the bar, and I was surprised by the diverse list of beers on tap. Everything from pedestrian styles like a Blonde and Hefe to more adventurous-sounding beers such as a Candy Cane Stout. I wasn't sure what to expect, but Deuane did inform me ahead of time not to get my hopes up because it wasn't as good as Abolitionist.

Smoketown Brewing Station in Brunswick, MD

After perusing the beer menu for a minute, I settled on the whimsically-named Backyard BBQ, a German-style Rauchbier. Most folks would have found this overly smoky, and I understand it's an acquired taste for most beer drinkers. I happen to enjoy a good smoked beer every now and again, and this provided a welcome change from all of the farmhouse and wild ales we'd just consumed at Abolitionist. This one was pretty mediocre, unfortunately. While still drinkable, it was heavy on the liquid smoke character versus a really good smoked malt flavor. Perhaps they really were going for the "backyard BBQ" vibe with this one. I mean, it was drinkable but I probably wouldn't have ordered another one. The body could have been a bit chewier too. This one fell into that sparse gray area of "underwhelming" and "drinkable." Our "big ass pretzel" with three varieties of mustard dips was quite enjoyable and "big ass" as described!

Waiting for our "big ass pretzel."

My next selection was much more enjoyable. I inquired about a beer called Walter's Spirits, as there was no other description available save for an 11+% ABV. Turns out this was a bourbon barrel-aged porter. Named after the fabled ghost of Walter Rice, a former firefighter at the firehouse-turned-brewery, Smoketown aged this porter in bourbon barrels from A. Smith Bowman Distillery in Fredericksburg, VA. Although a bit on the boozy side, this was pretty enjoyable.

Speaking of enjoyable, this place also provided much entertainment in the form of "people watching." For example, there was a guy lollygagging around the brewery and outside on the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets, kind of sliding around like a retarded James Brown on depressants. Brewslut bestowed upon him the comical nickname of "Feets on Fire." After basking in his presence for a while, we were all convinced there was a meth lab right around the corner. Moral of this story? Lay off those drugs, kiddies.

There were also four ladies at the bar playing Justin Timberlake and other assorted horrible pop and hip hop songs on the jukebox. I enjoyed a bit of lighthearted flirt-talking with them, which helped pass the time in a fun way. They were dancing, having a good time, and drinking the lightest beer offering available.

Cushwa was another place that came with a high recommendation from Deuane, so we decided to visit last June when we headed down to Bristow, VA, to see Iron Maiden. We were glad we did and were excited to return this time with D&C. Cushwa has been busy churning out some tasty NE-influenced IPAs. We'd enjoyed a beer called Jello last time around. Sadly, it wasn't available during this particular visit, but there were still plenty of hoppy offerings to satisfy any lupulin lover.

Inside Williamsport, MD's Cushwa Brewing Co.

I started with Fog at Daybreak, a pale ale described as a "hop cocktail of Simcoe, Mosaic, and Amarillo." Weighing in at 5.6% ABV, this one drank like a session ale but packed the hop aroma of a DIPA. Think sticky and resinous with notes of tropical fruit. This one was very well executed. Brewslut kicked off with After School Snack, a PB&J-inspired ale. This dark golden chestnut-hued beer boasted a pretty authentic sweet, peanuty flavor with fruit jam in the finish. You know, just like mom used to make. I was more of a toasted (aka "grilled") cheese sandwich kid myself. My grandma made me one every day after school. PB&J beers have become much more popular over the last year or two. We definitely come across them more often in our travels these days. This was one of the better ones we've encountered.

Up next, I went with Natural Progression, a NE-style DIPA hopped exclusively with Mosaic. With a namesake derived from its aroma and flavor profile, the term “mosaic” implies multi-faceted, exquisite, and complex. The same can be attributed to this particular hop variety. The result is a tasty DIPA rife with bright citrus, a mélange of tropical fruit, pine resin, and some faint earthy, herbaceous notes. Sticking with the hoppy beers, my next choice was Synonomous, a softer NE-style IPA hopped with Citra and El Dorado. This hop combo delivers an almost Juicy Fruit gum flavor. Obviously, the aroma is heavy on the citrus due to the use of Citra hops, but El Dorado sneaks in hints of hard candy akin to watermelon Jolly Ranchers. Despite the gum and candy references, this wasn't overly sweet and proved to be another nicely done IPA.

I ended our visit with a taster size portion of False Dichotomy, yet another NE-style IPA. Might as well try it, right? Brewed with a hefty dose of Spelt malt, this sucker is hopped with an assortment of varieties including Simcoe, Amarillo, Motueka, Kohatu, and Vic Secret. This varied hop combination elicits tree fruit and grapes, and provides a dry finish on the palate. And by this time, I was pretty much spent. The well was dry... right Pleeps?

Sorry Pleeps... all gone!

Stay tuned for more more hijinx back at the cabin and Sunday in Frederick, MD. Until then, this is Gandalf signing off...

Is that Gandalf?