Marylynn and I went down to Swanzy to meet Bridget for her birthday. We stopped in this place for beer and a birthday snack. Good beer very eclectic. Some are quite high in alcohol content.
Good Beer 2!
good beer
Beer Time
As the weather changes and things get a little chillier, it is time to try a bunch of beers. But I seem to return to an old favorite “Flannel Friday”. This is a great seasonal beer by Harpoon Brewery. When the weather chills and when you first break out your flannels it is time for this flavorful beer. It is a little bit more hoppy than most amber ales. Not too much hops, just enough to be a little different. We paired it with a baked haddock and wild rice dinner. It worked great not too hoppy to drowned that the suttle flavors of the fish and rice meal.
It took me a little longer to find it this year because of a label change from the old orange, yellow, and red to the new blue and green. I’m just glad it is still the same great beer inside.
This is the proper time for pumpkin beer.
I love pumpkin beer. Not all pumpkin beer but a good bit of what’s on the market today. However, I have a strong opinion about when it should be enjoyed. That time is when there is a little bite in the air. That means the end of September and October. When you need to put a flannel on when you sit on the pouch watching the sun go down. I hate that the distributors push sales earlier and earlier in the year in their constant fight for shelf space.
So after a little leaf peeping here is a toast the the proper time.
The smell and taste of evergreen!
Marylynn and I spent the morning moving some firewood from the stacked cord piles in the yard to a holder on the deck. We might get a few inches of snow at the end of the week. We started a fire out back in the firepit with cuttings of evergreen brush we had laying around the yard. The smell of evergreen was everywhere. So I thought I would pair my evening beer choice with what I was smelling.
Something to take off the chill!
This brew is one of my yearly favorites cinnamon and nutmeg. What could be more festive?
Summer is over in New Hampshire!
I went out to fish today. Probably one of my last days in the official trout season. Just a couple more weeks left. It seems that weather and schedules conspire against me.
After a full day of downpours, which we need, fishing was tough. First I went and checked out the Ammonoosuc River up in Bretton woods. Checked a few places where I had done well though out the summer. All washed out. So I moved on to a new location in the Zealand Camp ground area in the White Mountain National Forest. The Zealand River is much smaller than the Ammo and a river I wanted to check out all summer but “you don’t leave fish to find fish”.
This is a beautiful area. I would love to camp here next spring. No fish. The water was still high for a small stream. I was battling high winds and temps in the low 40s. I tried my hand at a very small stream that comes down off the Presidential Range in Jefferson Notch. Mount Jefferson to be exact, Jefferson Brook. The weather had gotten worse. Fog or light rain the dirt road Jefferson Notch Road seemed to be getting slick. The stream is a high gradient pocket waterand water fall stream. I fished a few pockets. It was hard to get any kind of drift in the fast water. The weather got the best of me and I decided to move on and find some fishable water.
I move over to the East side of the Presidentials to Pinkham Notch. The weather was much better on this side of the mountains. Sunny scattered clouds, no rain or fog. It was like the mountains squeezed the rain out of the clouds on the west side. it was still a bit cold and the wind was gusting hard. I did really well here all summer, so I was optimistic. I started fishing where the New River comes into the Ellis River. The water did not seem as high and I could get some good drifts with a heavy tandem nymph rig. I fished down the river for about a quarter of a mile. Drifting my rig through every slot, pocket, and run I could. Not a tap. I tied on a Mickey Finn streamer and worked my way back upstream swinging that streamer through some of the pools and runs. No Luck. I decided to call it a day.
Finished up my day with a local Coffee porter watching the clouds drift by. Hopefully, I’ll be out again next week.
Did I pick this location for the outdoor scenery or the beer?
Marylynn and I chose the White Mountain area of New Hampshire because of how beautiful it is and how we like the great outdoors. Fishing skiing, hiking, and kayaking are all great things to do. Little did I know I chose a beer heaven. Three breweries within 20 minutes of the house. There are many more great breweries throughout the whole state of New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, all very close. Most places that sell beer, which is everywhere, sell all the local beer. We could have easily chosen this place for the beer alone.
3-minute walk
10-minute drive
20-minute drive.
Magically Bullicious is Magically Delicious!
I have been in a rut lately when it comes to tasting new beer. I have been usually been picking up a six-pack of an old stand by to enjoy while unwinding from a day’s work. I picked this up on a whim to enjoy after some yard work. Bolero Snort Magically Bullicious. I might have grabbed it because it reminded me of one of my favorite childhood cereals, but this was good! The brewers did not overdo the mix of ingredients. It was a light-colored stout with coffee, cocoa, vanilla, and milk sugar. I would consider it a dessert beer. Something to enjoy in place of a slab of cake. When you want to have one or two after dinner this beer is a good choice.
Tap 'n' Trout 