Brewing 101

How could I be the first to think of this? A brewery ought to open up along the major highway that runs up California's Pacific Coast, probably in the Central Coast, and call itself Brewing 101. The basics of brewing. They could offer many basic styles such as an Amber, Pale Ale, Brown Ale, Porter or Stout, and maybe throw in an IPA.

On the way back from a brief road trip to LA, Half Pint and I took the scenic Highway 101 back to SF, which is how I finally made it to the Santa Maria Brewing Co. It's easily one of the tiniest breweries I've seen. It stands on the north side of a "river" (I've never seen a drop in it) across the bridge that separates it from Santa Barbara County, which is why it's in the more easy-going Nipomo instead of restrictive Santa Maria, evidently. It's for this reason that I think it ought to be called the more accurate name of Brewing 101.

Inside, it's a jovial place with room enough for 

perhaps 3 regulars at the bar--each with non-stop refills of $4 pints, and table space enough for 4-5 regulars to hang out with a pitcher and take-out from the highly regarded "Santa Maria Style BBQ" joint directly adjacent.

Since I was driving and had precious cargo in Half Pint and our dog Patsy, I only had one pint so I had to choose wisely. It was rather hot, so I figured the Wheat Beer was the safest. Let's just say the sample I asked for of the Belgian Brown proved I should've gone for that instead, as the Wheat that day had a slight infection. Not that anyone at the bar, or the jovial bartender John seemed to mind. And should any off flavors abound next time I pop in--and I will--I'll splurge the extra buck for a pint of the IPA. Should go great with a pulled pork sandwich from next door.

If my count is correct, this marks the 45th California brewery I've hit. Only about 200 to go.

SF Beer Examiner posts: Rum Month

So many outlets (mostly online), so little time. When the Examiner rolled out the red carpet for their Rum Month project, I thought I'd be left out in the cold. Being resourceful, I found two ways to incorporate rum into writing about beer.

The first was to write about rum barrel aged beers as well as a beer-and-rum cocktail.

The second was to write about the 3 craft breweries that have launched craft distilleries that produce rums (if you know of any others, please leave a comment or email).

Yo ho ho, indeed.

Session 29: Will travel for beer

Beer by Bart's Gail & Steve ask us Beer Bloggers this month to pontificate about traveling, drinking beer, and melding the two concepts. I know a li'l somet'in'-somet'in' about going on a beer odyssey. Nowadays, I simply cannot travel anywhere without looking for the beer aspect.

Take last week for instance. The plan called for going to Sun Valley, Idaho for a friend's wedding. To get there, Half Pint and I planned to fly into Boise, then rent a car and drive to Hailey/Ketchum. Keep in mind these were Half Pint's friends first, but she allowed me to shanghai the beginning of our vacay by starting things out at one of five brewpubs in Boise. I researched everything about them and intended to hit Table Rock Brewpub, the first in town. I'll skip over the part about us spending 10 hours in SFO and let it be known that we did not get to make it to the brewery. After all, there was still Sun Valley Brewing in Haily.

(Note that the brewery isn't hyperlinked. That's because it's so rinky-dink, it doesn't have a Web site). Tragically, I tried two of their beers, both of which were tainted. I never did get to make it to the brewery, which might be for the best, but despite having a blast with our married friends, I think my trip was saved by the fact that the open bar at the reception featured two macro lagers and Au Naturale Blonde Ale from my friends in-state at Grand Teton Brewing.

The next time I know I'll be flying is in March, 2010. My family is going skiing in Whistler. So while I can't wait to hit the slopes with Half Pint and my nieces, I can almost taste that High Mountain Brewhouse pint of Columbus IPA now.

Brewpub spotlight: Schooner's

With so many brewpubs in the Bay Area, it's an embarrassment of riches. Here's the first of what will be a very long series, this time focusing on Schooner's in Antioch (yes, it's technically the Bay Area). Here's my review, but what it doesn't mention is that Half Pint took me here for my birthday...and that they sold me a growlerful of Vin.de.cation. A growlerful!

Philad'ale'phia

Bryan Kolesar from Brew Lounge  dropped me a line saying he was making it back to the Bay (just in time to miss the National Homebrewers Conference that blew my mind non-stop June 18-20). He asked "is there a venue that could work for bringing in some beers to sample...I've got a box full of local beer to bring."

Those who knew this was an offer too good to pass up: Jay Hinman, Chris Cohen (nascent homebrewer), Steve Shapiro, Jay Brooks, myself (no need to hyperlink to my blog. You're soaking in it.) Bryan Kolesar, and Damian Fagan. That's a lotta beer bloggers.

Bryan wasn't kidding:

Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA
Victory Baltic Thunder

Stoudt's Heifer in Wheat
Sly Fox Saison Vos

Sly Fox Black Raspberry Reserve 

Victory Hop Devil IPA (actually offered by Steve)

Victory Wild Devil (Hop Devil funkified by Brettanomyces)

Other beers consumed (not shown):

Stone's unreleased 13th Anniversary (hop bomb)

Sam Adams Longshot Double IPA by Mike McDole (hop bomb)

Skyscraper Honeyweizen

Four Peaks Kiltlifter Scotch Ale

A few homebrews

In the spirit of bi-coastal relations, I decided to offer homemade Philly cheesesteaks (three cheers to Half Pint for slaving over a hot stove).

Not exactly a beer-pairing event, more of a get-together over beers I won't see until I make it to PA again, though the chocolate raspberry whatnot in the box of pastries that Damian brought went perfectly with the Black Raspberry Reserve.
No talk of tulip glasses or stemware, no talk of lacing or mouthfeel, just a flood of beer-related banter about beer trips past and future, ideas about the ultimate beer dinners, and beer buds looking forward to the next session.

...Btwn Jesse Friedman from BeerAndNosh

...Btwn Jesse Friedman from BeerAndNosh & Charlie Papazian of brewing legend.

Taking in Tomme Arthur's 'ingredients

Taking in Tomme Arthur's 'ingredients 5-10' session @ Nat'l Homebrewers Conf. Downing generous Lost Abbey samples, sandwiched...

I'm a Beer Runner

Thanks, Tim, for this fun profile as part of Draft Magazine's Beer Runner blog.

Ruthless. Gramma Yaeger, 1919-2009

My grandmother, Ruth Yaeger, died this morning. Less than 2 months ago, I was in LA celebrating her 90th birthday.

She was in pretty good spirits that night with her whole family gathered around including her 2 great-granddaughters. Obviously, there are tons of things I will miss about her, but the one memory that sums her up most is the simple pleasure of taking her to breakfast at Junior's Deli in West LA. No matter how long the wait, we always got a table right away; that's what being a regular for 40+ years will getchya.

She used to order her coffee molten lava hot. We called her Asbestos Mouth. If she were the woman who'd ordered coffee at McDonald's, she would've sued them for serving it too cold.

Though she wasn't a beer drinker, she was my #1 fan and as you can see from the picture, kept my book on her side table along with an empty bottle of beer, one that always made and will continue to make me smile--Ruth from Hair of the Dog Brewing in Portland. Here's what the label says:

All American Ale. Ruth is a light and refreshing American Ale, made with pale malt and crystal hops. She was inspired by my Mother's Mother, Granny Ruth because of her love and support. Don't be Ruthless. Have one on Granny.

In heaven there is no beer. But there sure is piping hot coffee. And some Mallomars. I love you Gramma.

Session 28 Roundup

Greetings fellow Sessionistas. Welcome to the roundup of the June Session, #28, where I asked everyone to think and drink globally. Bottom line, the notion that if you’re going somewhere, you owe it to yourself to drink fresh brews there is a popular one. While it doesn’t seem any participants have visited breweries in Asia or South America (at least not as the farthest one from wherever home is), enjoy these globetrotting beer trips, separated by continent. And as long as we're reminiscing about brewcations, check out Beer By Bart's topic for The Session #29 on July 3.

Australia and Oceana vacation

The Beer Nut in Dublin, Ireland once found himself at the Speight’s Brewery in Dunedin, New Zealand, nearly 12,000 miles from home. He managed to track down a bottle of Speight’s Gold Medal Ale. I wonder if Kiwi hipsters order SGM like Yanks order PBR.

Jay Brooks from the Brookston Beer Blog in Marin County, CA traveled to New Zealand with the fam. That’s where he discovered the Hallertau Brewery and their Brett’ed Porter Noir. While you won’t find this on store shelves, guess who squirreled some back home.

Europe vacation

Stan Hieronymus from Appellation Beer (and The Slow Travelers) of Corrales, NM (near Abq.) had a tough time figuring out which brewery was farthest, finally settling on Birra del Borgo near Rome, Italy. Alas, while his favorite Re Ale isn’t available in Northern California where his slow travels currently find him, North Coast’s Red Seal Ale suits him just fine.

Ryan Knock, virgin Sessioner over at Ale Monthly in San Francisco, blogs about his visit to Brasserie St. Georges in Lyon, France, and the beers he enjoyed drinking from towering columns. Viva la girafe! Since St. George Ambree isn’t available back home, Ryan gets bonus points for posting his homebrew clone recipe.

Gail Ann Williams from Beer by Bart in the East Bay (CA), host of next month’s session, eschews Bay Area Rapid Transit for Norway, where she happened upon a quaint brewpub within the Arctic Circle (Oslo Mikrobryggeri). Any chance the British-style beers were aged on Norwegian Wood?

Allyson Shaw from Impy Malting, an ex-pat living in London. After utilizing three methods of transportation to make her way across the Orkney Mainland to Quoyloo (looks like the northernmost tip of the UK) just for some Dragonhead Stout of the Orkney Brewery. She then segues into Pete Brown’s new IPA odyssey, Hops & Glory.

Andy Couch from I’ll Have a Beer and a brewer in Iowa blogs down memory lane about visiting Andechs monastery brewpub in Munich, Germany. Because he preferred their Dunkles Weiss over their Weissbier with apples, and since it’s not available outside Germany, he likens it to the Schneider Weisse Munich Dark Aventinus

North American vacation

Derrick Peterman from Bay Area Beer Runner in San Jose, CA makes his Session debut and knocks it outta the park. Blogging about his visit to Rohrbach’s Brewpub in Rochester, NY, he gets in a history lesson, a gentle nudge that we should all burn off more of our beers, and, in light of not having access to Rohrbach’s Sam Patch Porter, compares it to his local El Toro Porter.

Nemsis from BeerTaster in Ontario, Canada drove 3 days to get to Ottawa to drink up the local pub and brewery culture. While the Pub Italiano was a better experience overall, still, that Scotch Irish Brewery sounds pretty cool and I wish their Natural Session Ale was available south of the Great White North.

Steph Weber from Brew.Cook.Pair.Joy blogs about her pilgrimage to GABF in Denver, CO and taking in a tour of Great Divide while in town. I’m jealous she gets their Espresso Oaked Yeti back near her home in Audubon, PA.

Matt C. from A World of Brews in Bakersfield, CA blogs about visiting Russian River in Santa Rosa, CA—but he was living in FL at the time. He has been to Germany, where he visited the Spaten Brewery giftshop, and calls “Drinking an ethnic beer like a mind vacation.”

Jon Abernathy from The Brew Site in central OR (I believe) has but a fuzzy memory of his visit to Goose Island in Chicago. At 13% ABV for that Bourbon County Stout, I’d have a hard time recollecting much of anything, too.

Since Ray and Mel from Bathtub Brewery in Delran, NJ blog simultaneously, they get 2 destinations. Mel recalled cooling off from the Las Vegas sun with a Gordon-Biersch festbier, which tops even her local Victory Festbier (nor does Victory Brewing make a goat cheese ravioli in brown butter sauce). Ray got some northern exposure at Glacier Brewhouse in Anchorage, AL (where he downed a Kentucky bourbon-aged Scottish Ale).

Al from Hop Talk in the Washington, DC area once earned an all-expense paid trip to Hawai’i. How does it get even better? He stopped in at the Kona Brewery. He says his T-shirt is dyed with their beer, but I suspect those are just stains.

Another newbie, Geoff Kaiser from Seattle Beer News (guess where), has drank at the Nodding Head Brewery in Philly (and stood outside the gates at that “other” Bud in Ceské Budejovice). So what beer did he write about? Lagunitas Pils from Petaluma, CA.

Ethan Cox & Dan Conley at Beer-O-Vision who I believe are from Buffalo, NY almost stroll down memory lane to breweries they visited in Belgium and Scotland, respectively, but instead we watch as Ethan tours SF’s own Anchor Brewery via a bottle of Liberty Ale and Dan pours us a tour of the Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, MD c/o Horn Dog Barleywine.

Steve from All Good Beer in Houston, TX joins the Session by blogging about his liquid breakfast of Geuze from his favorite Brasserie Cantillon in Brussels, Belgium. “Experience standing in a 100+ year old family-owned brewery and sharing a beer with the brewer himself.”

Jimmy from Hop Wild in North Cackalacky posted a picture of the Steam Whistle Brewery as seen from the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada. Which of their beers did he sample? The only one they brew, Steam Whistle Pilsner.

Bryan from In the ‘Burg, Fredericksburg, VA that is, links to a previous post about Google Mapping “Interesting Stuff” while in Tucson, AZ and winding up at the Nimbus Brewery. Old Monkeyshine anyone?

Another beer blogger from Fredericksburg, VA, David at Musings Over a Pint doesn’t do many beercations, but one favorite destination is Denver’s Great Divide and their Hercules DIPA.

Mental staycation

Mario from Brewed for Thought of Santa Rosa, CA sips from a growler of Lost Coast’s Double Trouble which, at 8.5% ABV, sends him on a journey to Eureka, CA. Sure it’s 4 hours by car, but where we’re going, you don’t need roads.

Session #28: Think/Drink Globally

I’m an avid traveler and an avid beer drinker. So when it’s up to me to pick the topic for the June edition of The Session, I’d hope I could blog about the time I was in Kenya and visited the Tusker Brewery (more specifically, East African Breweries, Ltd.). While I didn’t make it to the brewery in Nairobi, I did wash down some grilled zebra and giraffe with Tusker Lager!

While studying in Russia, I attempted to visit the Baltika Brewery in St. Petersburg with my classmates, but tours weren’t offered at that time. Considering the director was assassinated after my semester abroad, it’s possibly for the best.

So the farthest brewery I’ve been to is Allagash in Portland, Maine. The city is picturesque, though not so the business park the brewery is situated in. I was actually there to interview Karen and David Geary, the once-married still-owners of the D. L. Geary Brewing Co. I think their London Porter is one of the best out there, but I’ve written sufficiently about them.

So back to Allagash. Brewer Rob Tod (that’s me pictured with him) started Allagash a decade after Geary’s in 1995. As such, Allagash was an early adapter in brewing Belgian styles here in the US. My sole familiarity with them before visiting Portland was their flagship Allagash White. Next to Hitachino Nest White, it’s still my favorite Witbier. And finding it on tap for a mere $3 was the bargain of my stop in town. But I also discovered their bourbon barrel aged triple, Curieux, which I’d focus on today, except it was the subject of my Session #24. So where does that leave me? Apropos of a guy who blogs at BeerOdyssey.com, I’m partaking of a brew day with buddies Greg & Ryan and amid our homebrew tastings, we’re popping the cork on my Allagash Odyssey pulled from my Beeradise.

Before I get into my notes about Odyssey, I should note that the kitchen I’m in is rife with a hoppy aroma that contradicts with the Odyssey. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. This beer is a 10.4% ABV wheat beer that’s been aged in both new medium toasted oak barrels (as such, part of Allagash’s excellent barrel-aged series) and part aged in stainless steel for half a year. On tap, I recall it having a much more billowy, wheaty character, but this 750-ml bottle presents a much roastier, toastier flavor. I've noticed that Allagash beers on tap are generally more subdued than bottled. The bottled Curieux is more bourbony; the bottled White is corianderier.  In fact, I dare say I’m enjoying today's Odyssey more. Must be that it’s a new barrel and I guess “medium” toasted indicates toastier than standard toasting (though less so than charred oak).

Does it remind me of some lobster bisque I had back in Portland, Maine? No, main-ly because I don’t dig on lobster. But it’s a great reminder of the zymurgelogical wonders that Rob Tod conjures up and that, even if I can’t track down a bottle of his new Gargamel (a 375-ml corked beer that doubtfully tastes like Smurfberries), at least I know his brett’ed Confluence has made its way to the Bay and that I don’t have to make another 3,203 mile trek to drink fresh Allagash.

Single Minded Pale Ale

Yep, I've gone and done it. Months ago I decided to start homebrewing, mainly to further appreciate how good the pros are. That's still the case, but the first time I had a single-hopped beer--Bear Republic's IPA brewed with Simcoe--it got me thinking about hop varieties.

While it's only my 3rd batch, I'm committed to doing a series of American Pale Ales; same grain bill, but altering the hops each time. I started with a moderately aggressive hop: Centennial. Gimme a month to let y'all know how it turns out.

I also heard somewhere along the way that instead of just composting my spent grains, I could bake them into bread. So I did. The result? I'll be composting it in the morning.

Lastly, if you're in the Bay Area and interested in single hop beers, there just so happens to be a tasting of Mikkeller single-hopped IPAs. The tasting is this Friday and here's the info.

The coldest beer I ever drank was a Summer Ale in San Francisco

It's seriously in the chilly-50s and cloudy and doesn't feel like the holiday in which we usher in summer. But if we drink like we're Irish on St. Patty's Day, let's drink like it's summer in The City.

Don't forget to subscribe to this blog, and equally if not more important, my SF Craft Beer Examiner page.

Happy Memorial Day.

SF Craft Beer Examiner's 1st post

Whether is boiling or freezing this summer in San Francisco, it's the perfect weather for a beer fest. Or several. Check out a list I compiled here.

If you or anyone you know is putting on beer-related events in the Bay Area or have an idea for something beery and local, email me and I'll see if it's Examiner-appropriate.

Update: Thanks to hamachi for bringing this to my attn. Moylan's Breast Fest on 7/18 in Novato.

This Bud's for 15M of You

I just read this CNN story about pot. I learned many interesting things beyond the fact that there's a government weed lab akin to the Ft. Knox of dope or, since that was used in the story, I'll come up with my own: The Garden of Weed'n. Take this:

Although street marijuana in the early 1980s had an average strength of 4 percent tetrahydrocannabinol -- the drug's primary psychoactive ingredient -- the average was 10.1 percent last year, the government announced.

That sounds a lot like beer. When Prohibition was repealed, beer was mandated to be 3.2% alcohol by weight. Some states still restrict sales to "three-two beer." But 3.2% alc. by weight equals 4% alc. by volume (ABV). In the early '80s, when there were fewer than 4 dozen brewing companies in the US, beer had very little flavor, so it's no wonder Americans started drinking beer with fewer calories and less flavor, ie: Lite beer.

So whereas Bud Light is 4% ABV, it's increasingly popular to find beers brewed to 10% ABV or over such as Pliny the Younger, an uber-hoppy Imperial IPA. It is perhaps no small coincidence that cannabis (pot) and humulus (hop) are cousins within the cannabaceae family.

The article also mentioned that the DEA believes almost 15 million Americans toke up. Frankly, I think that's a low-ball number, but maybe because I walk around in San Francisco. It also stated that some confiscated weed clocked in at over 30% THC, (that tetrahydrocannib-something-or-other). Sam Adams Utopias boasts an impressive 25% ABV. Coincidence?

Well, Well, Well

I finally figured out the URL that I can share that doesn't require membership. Starting last Wednesday, I've been participating in a 2-week long online discussion about Red, White, and Brew. It's hosted by The Well and it's fun, informative, and I'm enjoying the reader participation. Not that you can't ask me any old question about beer, or otherwise, any old time, but why not chime in here.

**Update: here's an easy short URL to send around: http://tinyurl.com/inkwell-yaegar/ 

(nevermind Yaeger is misspelled.)

Beer2Breakers

Today is Bay 2 Breakers, akin to Halloween in San Francisco, minus the trick-or-treating, kids, and bouts of sobriety. It's basically a 12k "race" across town in costume, if wearing anything at all. Half Pint and I live right across the street from the route through Golden Gate Park, so we played some Backgammon and took in the spectacle. While open containers are allowed, bottles are not, so I refreshed myself with the only canned beer I had--someone's remnants from a recent bbq--Tecate. One young man derided me for drinking Mexican beer and thereby not helping the American economy.

Forget for a moment that said whippersnapper was carrying a Hannah Montana ball made in China and wore a T-shirt for a German bong manufacturer touting its outlet stores in Amsterdam, Tokyo, etc. When I informed this patriotic beer-o-phile that the Coors Light he was drinking is, in fact, Canadian, I think I figuratively pissed on his parade.

Sam Adams Headache

During the interim phase of my beer drinking career between finding the cheapest way to get drunk and finding the best tasting beers regardless of cost, I occasionally ordered Sam Adams. There may have been more than one beer from the Boston Beer Co. out there, but all I knew was Boston Lager. But I'd more often than not opt for Grolsch (fun latch-top) or Moosehead (everything from Canada is fun). I found myself telling people "Sam Adams gives me an expensive headache."

I rarely imbibe Grolsch or Mooshead anymore. No Scarcely a good beer pours forth from green bottles. But I rarely drink Sammy either, mostly because while I respect what Jim's doing, I think there are always better examples of his styles.

So when I popped into BevMo (what? it's right next to the post office and I needed to buy Mother's Day cards in a hurry! Yes, they even had ones for my grandmas!) I walked out with the Sam Adams Long Shot mixed pack to try Tasty's DIPA, Alex's Bock, and the Cranberry Wit. I also got the Imperial Series' White and Stout since I've never had an imperial white and I love imperial stouts.

With dinner, Half Pint & I shared one bottle of the Cranberry Wit then a bottle of the Imperial White. Altogether, I had one full bottle.

I woke up in the middle of the night with a raging headache as if I'd consumed my entire haul.

After several Google searches for things like "Sam Adams, headache" and "whenever I drink Sam Adams I get a headache" I discovered I'm not the only one in this boat.

Is there some secret ingredient I'm allergic to even though I don't have any known allergies? Is it merely psychological? Does Jim Koch have a vendetta against me (even though I nominated him for the Mt. Rushmore of Beer in my book)? If anyone has any answers or theories, I'd love to hear 'em.

The Session #28: Think/Drink Globally

No doubt we're all big advocates of supporting your local brewery. It's the right thing to do and a tasty way to do it. Since it is my pleasure to host this month's Session, I nearly had us blog about our local breweries, but after doing my homework by going through all the past topics of The Session, I noticed that Gastronomic Fight Club covered that exactly 2 years ago.

American Craft Beer Week is May 11-17. But us beer bloggers know that craft beer is to be supported year-round, and that it doesn't just come from America. So, in honor of Global Craft Beer Forever, I pose everyone writes about the farthest brewery (including brewpubs) you have visited and specifically the best beer you had there. Again, not your favorite or any old brewery you've been to, but the one that is the longest haul away, be it by airplane, car, ferry, rickshaw, whatever. (If you blog about beer but have never been to a House of Brewing, get on it!)

Then, the last part, since this exercise gives us an excuse to drink beer, do one of the following:

• if you brought home a bottle while visiting the brewery and have it secreted away, crack it open.
• if you don't have any left from that visit but the particular beer is available where you live (or if not your fave from said brewery, another brand from it), go get one.
• otherwise, find a local beer of the same style and do a little compare and contrast.
  

Blogs go up on Friday, June 5. Post your link on this post, or the blog I'll be posting, or just email it to brian@beerodyssey.com.

Cheers!

Session #27: Beer Cocktails

Joe & Jasmine of Beer at Joe' s ask us for this month's Session to pontificate on beer cocktails. Considering I am about to head to the great American cocktail city, New Orleans, this may be an apt topic. Having said that, aside from the one Joe pointed out, Black'n'Tan (Guinness floating on Harp or some such combo), I'm not a beer cocktail person. I don't even care for Snakebites (Guinness floating on hard cider). Hell, when drinking spirits, I usually opt for single-malt scotch or bourbon with a splash of water over something with fruity vodka mixed with fruit juice and/or soda and/or bitters. 

But there IS one beer concoction I can get into. Beer floats.

The funny thing is, I don't really go for root beer or vanilla ice cream, but gimme a root beer float and I'm in heaven. So since I like stout more than root beer, it only makes sense that a stout float is a thing of beauty. Someone once made me a float with Young's Double Chocolate Stout, a dash of raspberry liqueur, and vanilla bean ice cream, and it was tasty and refreshing. But I'm not in the habit of buying Young's. And while I do have a Beeradise full of various stouts--regular, coffee, imperial...all the way to Founder's Breakfast Stout (double chocolate coffee oatmeal stout) and Mikkeller's Beer Geek Brunch-Weasel (made with the world's most expensive coffee, kopi luwak).

I chose none of those. Instead, I opted to use my homebrewed Latte Stout (made with lactose and coffee). Tasty stuff, but believe me, it's not that carbonated, so it's not like I'm ruining the brew. I didn't have any straight up vanilla ice cream in the freezer, but Half Pint did kindly bring me a pint of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Macadamia Nut, which is half choc/half vanilla, and I just ate all the chocolate-covered Macadamias before floating it.

The result? Not too shabby! I mean, it's no Bobby Flay, but as Half Pint said of it, "What's better than coffee, ice cream, and beer all rolled into one?"

So is it a beer cocktail or really just beer dessert? It's both! Drink up.