I Have Never Met A Stranger…at the bar.

Recently, I was out with some friends and we went to a great little bar in Decatur Georgia called the Thinking Man Tavern. I was there with people I know and love and we enjoyed conversation and beer and food and it was a great time. Of course, that kind of bar experience is always fun. But I got to thinking about what happens when you don’t have your social network on hand.

Occasionally, I find myself at the bar alone or maybe just myself and Matt.  I treasure those experiences just as much as a great night out with great friends. The reason for that is that beer helps you make friends. Not in an “I’m really drunk so I’m going to fall all over you, stranger” kind of way, but more in appreciation of the art of craft brewing.

Just last night, I found myself on my own for dinner so I went to the Taco Mac closest to my work. It was Thursday, so it was Pint Night and I wanted to get my beer glass.  I sat down at an empty chair at the bar and ordered my requisite Beer of the Month and settled in. I pulled out my iPod and connected to the Internet, perfectly content to amuse myself. But then, the two people to my left started talking about being from Michigan so I politely smiled and told them I was from Michigan as well. I didn’t want to interrupt the rest of their conversation, but occasionally they would draw me back in. We talked about sports teams and colleges and a few other things. But then I started to talk with two guys on my right – a Father/Son drinking team. They were both kind of new to the Beer Club so we started talking about what kind of beers they liked. They were surprised by how much I knew about beer, but that was because I reached the next benchmark of the beer club – I get a tee-shirt and glass mailed to me now. I enjoyed the conversation, truthfully more than I enjoyed the beer…but that is a slightly different topic.

But I got to thinking about how the art of beer seems to bring people together. My last post was about getting to know some other guy at the bar when they sat down at our table because we were leaving. We didn’t end up leaving because the discussion of beer and music was so engaging. You always have at least one thing to talk about – Beer. When you go to places the specialize in craft brewed beers, you tend to meet other people who also like craft brewed beers. Sometimes if you dig deeper you’ll find other things in common with these strangers. And truth is, you will probably never see them again but just that hour or two of great conversation can really make your day.

Now in regards to the beer. I’ve recently tried two local breweries newest additions and one I loved and one…not so much.

At the Thinking Man’s Tavern I was able to try Wild Heaven’snew quadruple called Eschaton. It was absolutely delicious. I try really hard to be able to describe the flavors of beer, but this one was really complex. It was a dark beer, but not overly heavy. It was a sweet beer, but not cloyingly so. It tasted of brown sugar and molasses and some mild fruitiness. Since it is a high gravity beer, it is served as an 8 ounce poor. This is good; I might have kept drinking it because it was so delicious. It is funny – I don’t often find myself describing beer as “Delicious.” Usually I use adjectives like “good” or “tasty”. But for some reason those didn’t adequately describe Eschaton. Wild Heaven is only one of several new breweries taking over the Atlanta market. If you find yourself in our fair southern town, make sure you try the local beer.

But not this one...

I’ll admit, I am a gigantic fan of local Red Brick Brewery. Their Brown is one of my go-to beers. So at the bar last night when I saw they had the brand new Vanilla Gorilla Porter, I wanted to give it a try. I didn’t want just a sample, though she would have given me a taste. I wanted to try a whole one, and get the additional points on my beer club card (which is what put me over the edge to getting to the next level). The bartender described it better than I ever could. It tasted like Bacon and Ice Cream. And not in a good way. There is a trend now to brew Smoked beers, and I have to admit that the flavor is not among my favorites. Vanilla Gorilla, as you might imagine, is a Vanilla Smoked Porter. I think it might have been a fantastic vanilla porter. It might have even been a good smoked porter if you’re into that sort of thing. But the combination of the meaty smokiness and the sweet vanilla was not good for me. Thanks, Red Brick, for trying something new. And the next time you try something new I will give it a go as well. But for now, I’ll just be over here with my Red Brick Brown.

What is in a beer glass?

Besides beer, of course.

Even before I began my odyssey of beer, I loved bar ware.  I liked the variety of styles and the design of the labels.  Once I began to enjoy beer, I learned that the type of beer glass you choose for the beer style you are drinking really does make a difference.  At least that has been my own experience, but a quick search of the Internet gives you just as many opposing view points.  I enjoy bar ware for a lot of reasons. 

Over the last couple of years we have put together a lovely beer glass collection.  Most of them are free because one of our local bars has Pint Night event weekly. There you can get a free glass for the beer of the month with purchase of said beer, while supplies last.

The first beer glass in our collection was actually for the British beer, Boddingtons.  My husband began to drink Boddingtons and since it is sold in the pub cans, he wanted to drink it from the proper glass once it was poured. They are a tulip pint glass which is also used often for Guinness (which we also have). 

After that, he discovered the joy of Belgian style beer.  Belgian beer bars are known for having a variety of beer glass styles.  Not only do they have a glass for every style of beer, but typically there is a different glass for every single beer they offer.  So we purchased a set of Chimay glasses.  The goblet style is intended for heavy Belgian beers which are usually sipped more like wine. 

At this time, I still wasn't drinking traditional beers. However, I had been introduced to Lambics.  While I can't drink them often any more because they are crazy sweet, they were a reasonable introduction to beer.  I got a set of lambic glasses for Christmas one year. The style is intended to maximize the fruit aromas and flavors. 

However, it was a fateful trip to a Belgian beer bar that opened the world of beer up for me.  I didn't know what to get, so I got a sampler with a lambic (because I knew I liked it) a local beer and the previously mentioned St. Bernardus Abt 12.  From that moment on, I wanted to know more.

That is when I started to learn more about how beer glasses affect the way the beer is experienced.  One of the most interesting glass styles we found were designed for Samuel Adams brewery.

The Sam Adams website gives some information on why this glass was designed.  The shape does several things.  The smaller bottom keeps the beer at the right temperature for longer.  The bell shaped middle collects the aroma of the beer.  The narrow top maintains the head and enhances the hops while flared mouth lets the beer hit the front of your palate to really maximize the malt flavors.  Is this just marketing?  Maybe, but we got the glasses for free as part of a Pint Night promotion, so I'm okay with that.  I do enjoy drinking beer from these glasses.

Wheat beers are also served in a different style of glass.  We have Paulaner and Warsteiner glasses.  They are narrow at the bottom with a wider mouth and are usually larger to make room for the fluffy, creamy head a good wheat beer should have. 

I also enjoy collecting beer glasses from local breweries that I enjoy.  First, it is great to support the local beer industry where you live but also it is a cool keep sake if you eventually find yourself out of that area.  We spend a lot of time in Asheville North Carolina so we are starting our NC Brewery glass collection.

We live in Atlanta Georgia, though, so we have a few more local beer glasses from this area. I really like the Red Brick Brewery glass with the US map indicating "Us" and "You All".  The ones you can't see as well are Terrapin Brewery out of Athens and Sweetwater which is here in the city. 

Part of the beer experience is exploring new beers at a beer festival, and we have kept the tasters that we have gotten from the premier beer festival here in Atlanta - the Great Decatur Beer Festival.  We enjoy attending that with some friends every year.  Collecting these glasses is sentimental.

There are some other beer glasses that are purely sentimental.  Each year we attend a local Canada Day Celebration with a friend of ours who is Canadian.  Each year they give out beer glasses, which supplies last.

And, of course, it is always just cool to drink a beer out of the its own glass.

I hope you've enjoyed this exploration of beer glass styles as well as a the showcase of my collection.  Stay tuned for exciting new beer adventures, beer tasting and beer making. 

PS: Check out the awesome hand knit beer hat that I used in my photo vignette.  It was made for me by a dear friend for the Decatur Beer Festival.  I hope to share more about it.  Perhaps I can encourage her to share it in a guest post.