Friday, November 15, 2013

Fermentation Friday: First Look at Bluejacket!


"Fermentation Friday":  An semi-regular look at the holy fermented trinity:  beer, wine and cheese.

As the holder of a Nats season ticket package of one type or another since Day One, I've spent plenty of time lamenting the fact that there's not much to do around the ballpark except go to the game. Sure you can hike to Barracks Row, but that's a haul. This year, that finally changed with the opening of a Gordon Biersch near the stadium. And while that's fine (and certainly better than nothing), what I've been really watching with great anticipation for the better part of two Nats seasons is Bluejacket Brewery.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

The Accidental Wine Collection

Yep -- 178 bottles. How'd that happen?
I don't think either one of us ever set out to be wine collectors. Sure, we like wine, and we've purchased and consumed our share. But there was never one epiphany where one of us woke up, turned to the other and said, "Honey, I think we should start a wine collection."

Wine collections are for rich people. They seem decadent, and maybe you should be spending your money on something else. Once upon a time we bought plenty of wine, but most of it was from Trader Joe's or Planet Wine's $15 and under rack. And we didn't collect it. We drank it. In many cases, it went straight from the shop to our bellies without spending much time in a rack. I used to use our lone 16 bottle wine rack to store other things, like large format beer bottles and cider, and there was usually plenty of room.

But somewhere around the mid- to late-2000's something started to change.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Fermentation Friday: Port City Brewery

"Fermentation Friday": A semi-regular look at a member of the holy fermented trinity:  beer, wine and cheese.


I remember visiting my brother and sister in law in San Francisco a few years ago. Cam (my bro in law) and I got to yammering (as we usually do when we're together) and drinking (ditto) when the subject turned to beer. San Francisco, and California in general, has a famously thriving craft beer scene. Lots of hops, lots of options, and little reason to look very far for good beer. He asked me what our craft beer scene was like out in the DC area. "We don't really have one," I said. Sure, there were some Pennsylvania beers, Dogfish Head (of course) and a few other odds and ends. But nothing compared with what they have out there.

That was a few years ago. I'm happy to report things have definitely changed. Right in my own backyard.