Real Time

Ommegang Rouge, tremendous Flemish Red, at Frisco Grille

Ommegang Night At Frisco Grille

Columbia's Frisco Grille will have an Ommegang (pint) night this coming Wednesday March 25th, featuring Rare Vos and some other offerings.

They're just coming off this Wednesday's excellent Rogue pint night with eight Rogue beers (I also escaped with a pretty cool Rogue t-shirt courtesy of the great Frisco folks).

Brew Review: Ommegang Three Philosophers

Ommegang is America's foremost Belgian-style brewer. They are good, and every beer fan should be tasting some of what they offer. Tonight's offering was another solid example of the unique craftwork achieved in the Belgian style.

The Three Philosophers is their "Quadrupel" beer. Their description says:

Created by blending a rich, malty, Belgian-style ale with authentic Kriek, a classic cherry-Lambic from Belgium.

Got it? Oddly, if this was purely a Belgian-style ale I wouldn't have enjoyed it. The blended beers did much to make this an interesting beer. Overall I wasn't blown away and there are some things less enjoyable that can be noted, but overall the craftsmanship stands out.

I did things a little different tonight, pouring the 12 oz bottle into a 10 oz specialty glass from Stone Brewing (obtained at a "Double Bastard Ale" event at their brewery/restaurant a while back). It poured a cloudy gold to brown color, with minimal head that acted up a bit before rapidly dissolving. There was some light carbonation, but the beer was still active and alive without a heavy bubble presence. Hmm ...

The best thing about this beer was its aroma. It smelled like cider, raisins, apple, spice, and a lot more I couldn't quite pin down. It was intoxicating and I spent a good deal of time taking that all in. That's fairly unusual so far in my beer tasting experiences, so I made the most of it.

As far as taste, it had a certain weird thing going on at the back of my tongue, it was sort of harsh and that was a bit of a fight. Still, the taste was more mild than the aroma and had to be appreciated with a little bit of time. As several reviewers at Beer Advocate noted and the bottle advises, this should be served at about 50 degrees. It certainly improved as I let it warm up. The cherry Lambic part of this brew was quite mild initially, but presented in earnest once it warmed up. That helped things quite a bit, and should provide guidance for the next go-round.

Overall this beer rated a 4.11 by Beer Advocate readers, well above average.

Stocking Up: The Perfect Pour

Jackpot!

That's how I feel after entering Columbia's The Perfect Pour last weekend. Their beer selection is fantastic, a better version of what I've enjoyed at west coast beer/liquor chain Beverages & More (BevMo) which tends to have an impressive beer collection.

TPP's entire back wall is at least eight feet high loaded with beers from literally every style imaginable. Trying to name the collection would take forever, but trust me all but the most fussy beer nuts would enjoy their selection. From the outside it doesn't look like much, as the tiny doorway wedged into its strip center hides a decent-sized interior. They also carry a modest wine selection, some liquors, and have a respectable fridge keeping various beverages cold.

The place still smells brand new, like that construction dust smell that you either love or hate. Everything is clean and orderly and I found at least one member of the staff to be quite helpful. This store is actually a second Perfect Pour, as they own another shop somewhere else in Maryland that escapes me right now.

Their website offers nothing right now, but I did sign up for their email list. They advertise various beer and wine tastings, usually on Fridays and Saturdays according to the white board near the door as I left with my clutch of beers. On the day I went, they were pouring a Victory Prima Pils and some other Victory offering I've since forgotten. I tried the Pils and found it above average, but it's not a style I enjoy much. Still, that's a nice gesture to get a taste of a good label beer without having to make a purchase and discover it's not very good.

Speaking of tasting, the best feature of The Perfect Pour and something I took advantage of is that they allow you to buy individual bottles from within their six-pack collections. I've heard of this at Trader Joe's (but not in Maryland stores per ridiculous state law --- yet another item to be addressed later), but never seen it in action. Naturally, I grabbed a generic white six-pack holder they offer customers and selected six beers to take home. Oh, and two bombers of other brews to be listed in a moment.

Again, this is a welcome (and in my mind, wise) gesture from the Perfect Pour. Most of their beer selections are available in various four and six packs on the back wall. An employee tipped me off to this individual bottle purchase option, saying it's a way to try other beers without getting stuck with an entire sick pack. Please take advantage of that policy if you find yourself at The Perfect Pour. I wish more beer/liquor stores would be so considerate.

Feel free to argue with me about this, but for now The Perfect Pour's Columbia location gets a high grade from me. They give beer fans options, decent tastings on certain days, a clean store, helpful staff, and a vast selection of good beers. It's basically all you can ask for in the states other than making a stop at those mythical bars and beer stores with selections you wouldn't think possible.

Ok, so my beer haul from that night (remember last week, "what's in your fridge?"):

12 Oz Bottles

Lancaster Hop Hop IPA (PA)
Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA (PA)
Urthel Hop It Blonde Ale (Belgium)
Ommegang Three Philosophers Belgian Style Blend (NY)
Troegs Troegenator Doublebock (PA)
Smuttynose Robust Porter (NH)

22 Oz Bombers

Southern Tier Unearthly Imperial IPA (NY)
Avery Collaboration Not Litigation Ale (CO)

All of the following will be new tastes, outside of the Collaboration, which I've had multiple times on tap at Stone's World Bistro & Gardens in beautiful San Diego, California.

Map It (For some reason Marie Curie Dr. isn't on the various map services. It's across from the Costco/in that center if you take the 95 South and exit onto the 175 East, first right and then another right)

(Image: Clara Natoli/MorgueFile.com)

Can't Get Enough Victoria

It's pricey, but Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia (on Snowden River Parkway) is easily my favorite haunt. Victoria is part authentic upscale pub, part newfangled pub grub restaurant. I'll have more to say on their menu and the overall look and feel of the place later, but for now: beer.

The beer and food menu changes fairly regularly, but I swiped a paper copy of their menu this weekend so this should be up to date. In total they usually carry about 18 draft beers and another 40 or so bottled beers. Some of the draft and bottled selections (Miller Lite, Coors Light, Bud, Sol) take up space where a better beer could go, but at the same time not every customer wants craft beer. I've made my peace with that.

What they do offer is a real selection. I went with the family for a casual lunch on Saturday and we traded tastes of the Brewer's Alley Kolsch (eh), Ommegang Witte (bottled) Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball (just arrived on tap), Clipper City Baltomarzhon (drink locally!), Stone Arrogant Bastard (representing my old home San Diego) and Fisherman's Brew (Cape Ann Brewing Co./Mass).

Good times.

We paired those with servings of their fantastic poutine and also their rosemary duck fat fries.

What's interesting about Victoria is that many of their draft pours come in either 10 or 20 oz servings. This takes some getting used to, but they also supply sturdy goblets and nonics to sip from.

In time we'll discuss Victoria further, including their fun happy hour beer list and late night experience.

Map It