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Monday, January 7, 2008

Echoes of Thunder

Bill asked in the comments about the Baltic Thunder release at the Drafting Room, "how was the event?" Fair question. I'd add pictures, if my batteries hadn't gone dead on me as soon as I turned the damned camera on.

I got to TDR about 11:50, exchanged some pleasantries with various folk at the bar (Deuane, I finally realized who you were, my apologies!), said hi to Mr. & Mrs. BrewLounge (talked a little biz, too, we've got plans), and then got kidnapped by The Big One and The Other One (as Uncle Jack has dubbed them) and joined them at their table. They're right: the bar is high-voltage, but the table's the way to fly.

We sampled some of a long-hoarded keg of Seven Threads, the blended beer made by local brewers for the Craft Beer Conference held in Philly two years ago. A bit sour. "That's O'Reilly's contribution," one of us quipped (no, I'm not saying who), referencing the Sly Fox head brewer's chagrin at not being included in the blend. Then we sampled a surviving keg of Perkuno's Hammer -- sour -- and a surviving keg of Heavyweight Lunacy -- delicious.

I heard the keg of Baltus was much nastier, and we wondered if we were attending the First Unintentionally Sour Ale Festival... Hey, no slant on the Drafting Room at all. We wanted this stuff, and we were willing to pay for it, long after it would have been at its freshest, and to their credit, they warned us. And...like I used to say about bottled German beers: you could still definitely hear the echo of what these beers once were.

And then, yeah, I got a pint of Baltic Thunder. It was good, solid, and wickedly drinkable. If I had a complaint...okay, I do. No, a curiosity: I wonder what it will taste like when the total content is as lively as the August batches I tasted in December (see my notes on tasting the tank samples and blending). It's good now...but that might be even better.

More folks started showing up, but I had to run before the celebs got there: Tom and Peggy, Bill and Ron, and Uncle Jack. Sorry I missed you guys, would have been fun to have all of us together for a big old glass of Thunder.

But I had to get my butt down to Victory to pick up a case of Thunder for later. Talked to some STAG readers while I was drinking a glass of Donnybrook Stout at the bar (hi, guys!) -- still loving that beer -- then hustled home and headed off to a holiday party with the family. A good day, if a long one.

4 comments:

Deuane said...

Hey Lew...no biggie not recognizing Carolyn and I up front! I think you were still in the process of waking up! I have to admit, you looked a bit disheveled!...;-)

A least the old brain kicked in later!

We had a great time at the event...and yeah, some of the old Heavyweight beers may not have been 100% but they still were good! We didnt "risk" getting the Baltus!

Certainly looking forward to Tom's new venture to open up! Good luck!

Bill said...

Sounded great. Thanks for posting this.

Anonymous said...

Maybe it's just me but I think it's odd the first batches of this already haven't aged well.

Maybe the bottles will fare better?

Any rate...glad The Hammer is back in some shape or form. Now I won't have to live off my old Heavyweight stock.

Lew Bryson said...

It's not just you. But it was the first batch, so I'm completely willing to cut some slack. Hell, it might be the beans, you know? As I do when I review brewpubs, I'm taking a wait-and-see attitude.