A Trio Of Beers From Trillium

A trio of beers from Trillium Brewing Company:

•FORT POINT PALE ALE:

American pale ale that has light, crisp, malt character and an abundance of hop-derived aromatics and flavors from the use of Citra and Columbus. The nose is fresh citrus, tropical fruit, and peach. Flavors of pineapple and mango mix with dank notes of zesty citrus and fresh pine needles. Smooth mouthfeel, gentle bitterness, and dry finish.

ABV: 6.6 %

MALT: American 2-row Barley, White Wheat, C-15, Dextrine

HOPS: Citra, Columbus

•LAUNCH BEER PALE ALE:

Hazy golden in appearance and light in body, this pale ale bursts with floral hop aromatics of honeysuckle and passion fruit. Featuring Mosaic/Citra in the dry hop and a crisp Pilsner malt backbone, Launch Beer has flavors of stone fruit and citrus with a sessionable bitterness.

ABV: 5.7%

MALT: Pilsner, White Wheat, Carapils, C-15, Flaked Oats

HOPS: Mosaic, Citra, Columbus

•STILLINGS STREET IPA:

Stillings Street is hazy, pale orange in appearance with aromatic qualities of kiwi, white grape and lemongrass. Flavors of citrus zest, pineapple and cantaloupe are accentuated with crisp malt character, mild bitterness, and a soft, effervescent mouthfeel.

ABV: 7.2%

MALT: American 2-row Barley, White Wheat, C-15, Dextrine, Dextrose

HOPS: Nelson Sauvin, Columbus

*Quoted sections are shortened versions of the descriptions which appear on Trillium’s website.

24 Hours In Buffalo — Cecelia’s & Blue Monk

For the second half of our overnight in Buffalo, we started Sunday morning with brunch at Cecelia’s.

Cecelia’s a small restaurant located on Elmwood across from Blue Monk. I’ve blogged about it before.

Cecelia’s Ristorante & Martini Bar:

And the exterior:

The last time my wife and I were at Cecelia’s was a weekday, and we ordered off the lunch menu — a salad, pizza, hamburger and other delicious lunch items. However, the first time we ever ate at Cecelia’s was several years ago on a Sunday, and the brunch we had was one of those meals that the two of us have brought up to each other time and time again throughout the years.

Thankfully, we were lucky enough to get seats at the bar this trip. We didn’t have reservations for brunch and there weren’t any tables available.

Since it was 11 o’clock, no one could drink (as per New York State law). But like clockwork, the mimosas started flowing right at noon.

Everyone who orders one of the restaurant’s premium brunch dishes is entitled to a free mimosa.

By 12 o’clock though we were just about done with our meal: a crepe to share and a dish of their eggs Benedict for each of us.

Even though we were each entitled to a mimosa, we passed on them — and that would have been the end of our Cecelia’s experience but I saw a bottle of Strega behind the bar.
The last time I was at Cecelia’s I got to try an amaro is never had for the first time. And so similarly this trip I decided to end my meal with a shot of Strega.

STREGA

Strega is an Italian herbal liqueur that’s been in production since 1860. Like so many bitter digestifs, it contains saffron which gives it its yellow color — though it’s a little less yellow than Galliano.

Although it’s termed a liqueur, Strega is 80 proof (40% abv) and among its 70 herbal ingredients are mint and fennel.

It is slightly sweet, semi-viscous, and has a bold, complex flavor with strong minty or coniferous notes.
Another neat fact about Strega is that it’s the Italian word for “witch,” which made it an appropriate drink for the Halloween weekend.

One last thing about Cecelia’s, as if I haven’t gushed enough, is that I love the natural light they get in their bar from their skylights:

BLUE MONK

Also along this section of Elmwood is Blue Monk.

I had a quick beer at the popular beer bar after Cecelia’s, but we didn’t stay long. We’d purchased some sponge candy at Watson’s and were itching to get back to Resurgence to pair the candy with the brewery’s stout.

My short stop at Blue Monk did yield me two badges though:

  
 

24 Hours In Buffalo —Resurgence Brewing

My wife and I went to Buffalo over the weekend for my birthday.

It was a whirlwind trip, and we managed to pack a ton of stuff in throughout the course of only 24 hours.

The first stop we made was a first-time destination for us. 

We were on the 90 approaching Buffalo and wanted an early afternoon snack, but had no particular place in mind. 

I’d seen friends post pictures of a place called Resurgence Brewing on Facebook so we dialed up OnStar on a whim and took a chance on it:

  

We had such a good time at Resurgence on Saturday that we decided we’d end our weekend there as well, and we did!

When we left Buffalo on Sunday afternoon, we stopped again so I could try the Sponge Candy Stout — and I ended up winning a beer stein as part of a fundraiser being held at the brewery.

  

I love that I’d never had this brewery’s beer before nor had I ever been to this brewery, yet it ended up being the beginning and end to my weekend — a sort of bookend for my birthday. And both visits were exceptional in their own unique ways:

SATURDAY

I had two beers on Saturday, the WNY Fest and the Oktoberfest.

We also had two snacks while at Resurgence on the first day, a chip-and-dip with a peppers-and-cheese sauce as well as an order of pretzels which came with its own trio of other dips.

Perfect food for a beer-drinking afternoon, but grab plenty of water — most of those dips were spicy.

Saturday was Halloween and we were too early for the brewery’s costume contest (and we weren’t in costume yet), but one of Resurgence’s staff members was an excellent Ace Ventura.

Before leaving, I bought a six-pack of Resurgence’s IPA (which I still have yet to try) — and on our way out we sat by the outdoor fireplace which the brewery has in its closed-off backyard. It was a great way to spend a beautiful October afternoon.

SUNDAY

After brunch at Cecelia’s and a quick beer at Blue Monk, we bought sponge candy at Watson’s and then headed back to Resurgence for the brewery’s Sponge Candy Stout (pictured at bottom):

 
Top left is the Oktoberfest and top right is the WNY Fest.

Both days had their own unique energies at the brewery — Saturday was all abuzz with holiday joy and twentysomethings playing brewery games (cornhole, Connect Four, Jenga). On Sunday there were people there for the football game and also to support the fundraiser happening. 

Anderson Valley’s Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout

BEER ME: Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout

I was at Southern Tier last night, and one of the two beers I had was this Oatmeal Stout from the Anderson Valley Brewing Company:

 
The following info comes from the Anderson Valley Brewing Company’s website:

DESCRIPTION: Deep ebony color, voluptuous mahogany head and bold, roasty flavors. Aromas of freshly baked bread, espresso, and dried cherries plus toffee flavors and a creamy mouth feel.

ABV: 5.8%

BITTERNESS: 14 IBU

MALTS: Pale Two-Row, Crystal (40L & 80L), Roasted Barley, Munich, Chocolate, Oats

HOPS: Columbus, Northern Brewer

Otter Creek’s Double Dose IPA

BEER ME: Otter Creek’s Double Dose IPA

This annual release by Otter Creek is a collaboration with Lawson’s Finest Liquids:

  
DESCRIPTION: 

ABV: 

BITTERNESS: 

MALTS: 

HOPS: 

Saying Goodbye To The Beach

I got to Atlantic Beach last Sunday afternoon and immediately cracked a Presidente. 

It’s been a long and busy but enjoyable week. I left Saturday and got back home around 3 a.m. Sunday morning. 

Some of the beverages I consumed:
•Plantation rum
•Hoppyum IPA
•Sisters of the Moon IPA
•Scrimshaw Pilsner
•Fernet-Branca at Arendell Room
•Evan Williams
•Basil Hayden

Morning Beer — Foothills Brewing’s Hoppyum IPA

Beer on the beach. Is there anything better?

  

My Favorite Southern Tier Beer

Today was quite warm and felt like an appropriate end to August here in Western New York.

Tonight though I’m sipping a fall beer and thinking of the coming season:

Harvest is easily my favorite beer by Southern Tier. Some people fiend for Pumking and others I know like to nurse Old Man Winter on long, cold, snowy nights. But for me, few of their beers taste better than a Harvest — especially outdoors as the summer weather cools and autumn arrives.

And what makes Harvest even better!? A shot of Jameson right in the glass:

  

Deschutes Brewery’s Fresh-Squeezed IPA

  

Notes From The Farm To Table

Last night I tended bar at the Athenaeum’s Farm-To-Table Dinner.

Although I was tending bar, I was only making three specialty cocktails — all from a limited menu of drinks which used locally-sourced ingredients:

  
The meal was prepared by Chef Travis Bensink of the Athenaeum Hotel’s Heirloom Restaurant and Chef Julie Scheira of Forte in Jamestown.

I feel really lucky today to have been a part of the event yesterday. I learned a lot and met a lot of great people. The chefs helped me throughout the process, from the first brain-storming sessions to the last-minute details of setting up. My wife was super supportive and helped me throughout the several hours of set-up yesterday afternoon.

There are a lot of great local businesses which specialize in certain food items, and it was nice to see the spotlight on them. For myself, I was just really happy to have a chance to challenge myself and work within a different set of parameters doing stuff that’s a little atypical of traditional bar service.

But enough blathering. Here are a few more photos from the event:

  
One of the courses came paired with a beer from Five and 20 Spirits & Brewery:

  

In addition to the theee cocktails I was making before the dinner, I did create a cocktail to pair with the chicken & waffles course.

I’ve got to give a big thanks to the Southern Tier Brewing Company for giving us a firkin of their one-off kettle sour beer, which used all local ingredients.

The beer was so tart and funky that I wanted to use it in a rum sour, which I made with blackstrap rum, lemon juice, lime juice, falernum syrup, simple syrup and, of course, a hefty pour of the kettle sour beer from Southern Tier Brewing Company.