Nora McGunnigle

IN IT TO WIN IT! Good times last night. The thing about ACBW isn't just the beers that are on display, but it's the event itself. There are people new to beer, brewers, brewery sales reps, industry folks, and beer geeks all coming together to celebrate American craft beer and it's just a lot of fun and the opportunity to listen to and talk with some very cool people. It's part of the celebratory nature of the week, and is incredibly energizing for me.

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...

Back when we lived in Massachusetts, we'd go to a Belgian- and hophead- heavy bar in Brookline called the Publick House . This place was actually a hike from where we lived in Salem, so when we went, one of us would partake of the high gravity beers and one of us (whoever was driving the 30-40 minutes back home <cough> Tom </cough>) would enjoy the only session beer available, O'Hara's Irish Stout.  It's 4.3% and actually, probably our favorite Irish stout out there, regardless of ABV.  (I like it better than Guinness, better than Murphy's. Hmm, gotta try some Beamish again someday soon.) Brewed by Carlow Brewing Company, and purchased at Stein's this evening, the O'Hara stout is as dark as a ginger's soul and twice as tasty. Poured beautifully into a Sam Adams fancy glass with a good inch of latte colored head, Excellent roasty malt flavors, smooth creamy mouthfeel, finishes dry and crisp with a touch of hop bitterness at the end ther...