Nora McGunnigle

I'm experimenting with sexier blog post titles! My second day as a Beer Blogger Conference attendee started out with several dozen other sleepy conference attendees boarding a bus on a drizzly Portland morning. We were heading down to Portsmouth, NH to have lunch at the beloved Portsmouth Brewery (and brewpub).

I may have expressed my excitement previously about my favorite neighborhood bistro, Coquette, having a special dinner with all you can eat fried chicken, greens, watermelon, mashed potatoes, creole tomatoes, cornbread, coleslaw, accompanied by delicious beers. It was pretty much the best night ever. Talked to really nice and cool folks, ate great food (in addition to the above, there were passed apps that included shrimp, deviled eggs, and this amaaaaaaazing boudin wrapped in collard greens and cut up to sort of approximate sushi rolls) and drank some very nice beer that was well suited to the hot summer evening. We were greeted with a Lil' Slammer, which was a cute way to start, and having just walked in from the heat, it went down nice and easy.  Then as we wandered, we found the beer table pouring Stoudt's Karnival Kolsch and Anchor's Brekles Brown. Everyone was super nice, and after talking with a fellow ChowHound (Sanglier) and his guests for a bit, we found...

So, yay, Ohio beer that I can't get in Louisiana! Acquired: Great Lakes Commodore Perry IPA, Chatoe Rogue First Growth Wet Hop Ale, Goose Island Winter Mild, Dogfish Head Raison d'Etre, and a few Goose Island Reserve Ales: Sofie, Matilda, and Pere Jacques. Have not busted into the Goose Island Matilda yet, but here are some quick thoughts on the ones that were sampled: Great Lakes Commodore Perry IPA : a solid, tasty IPA. Hoppy with citrus notes. Very drinkable and a beer I almost always reach for when I come visiting this part of the world. Apparently Great Lakes makes a small batch of a Christmas Ale that is supposed to be amazing, but we couldn't find it. Sad! But we had others to drink so sadness was tempered. Dogfish Head Raison d'Etre : I was feeling nostalgic for this while watching Brewmasters (though I would have been more psyched to see Indian Brown Ale). A Belgian Strong Dark Ale. Dried fruit aromas and sweetness on the tongue, balanced by a nice hopp...

I just saw the lineup for the upcoming Sam Adams Winter Collection 12-pack: And I swooned gleefully! No, not because I am an ENORMOUS fan of Sam Adams or its winter collection. (though growing up in New England, I have a nostalgic affection for Old Fezziwig, most likely because of the AWESOME NAME.) But because the Cranberry Lambic is NO MORE. My attitude toward Sam Adams in general may be neutral (I wish it no specific harm, but I don't care too much for the beer- a couple special beers are OK though- I like that Latitude 48 IPA .) But I will dedicate an entire blog post to this news because indeed, I hated Cranberry Lambic THAT MUCH. It was NASTY. According to the Urban Dictionary : Cranberry flavored urine, served as an alcoholic beverage. Made by Samuel Adams. Comes in holiday pack. Seriously. Everyone hates this beer. It is like the Jar-Jar Binks of the beer world. At Beer Advocate , 876 beer drinkers/reviewers have given it a cumulative C+ (which I think is generous, but...