Harpoon sails the East Coast, and ties up for three days in Savannah

Perry Rubber, David Udinsky’s stylish bicycle shop on Chippewa Square in Savannah, served as one of the stops on the Harpoon Road Trip, an epic two-week, 3,400-mile sojourn from Boston to Miami and back that will serve samples of beer, savour local cuisine, and sing the praises of that Massachusetts brewery. Flanked by bikes, bib shorts and a couple of cases of beer, Mike Robinson, Dan Bourque and Carolyn Orth spent about an hour Friday afternoon at Perry Rubber. They handed out small cups of Harpoon’s UFO, a highly regarded wheat beer, and its IPA, an India Pale Ale that has won a wide following. They explained Harpoon’s dedication to crafting fine beers and extolled its emphasis on an active lifestyle. The company sponsors bike rides, road races and other athletic events throughout the year, and in locations all along the East Coast. Besides Perry Rubber, the Road Trip ambassadors will make a number of other calls during their three days in Savannah. They also scheduled visits at Habersham Beverage, The Distillery, Moon River Brewery, the North Beach Grill, Huca Poos, Southbound Brewery, and they also planned to participate in a beach cleanup at Tybee Island and take part in a ghost tour. From Savannah, the Road Trip group will head south to such Florida locales as Key West, Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers, and then will make its way back to Boston. To keep track, follow them on Twitter, or go to www.harpoonbrewery.com and click on the events and festivals button.

Hail to the chief: A hoppy chapter in history

On this Friday, George Washington’s actual birthday, craft beer lovers should lift a glass in appreciation of the first president, a patriot who knew how to brew. According to www.mountvernon.org, Washington enjoyed beer, often from a silver pint cup, with dinner; rewarded his white servants with a quart bottle of beer a day; and produced beer at Mount Vernon with hops grown on that plantation. “Virtually everybody, of all ages and social classes, at Mount Vernon drank beer as a matter of course during this time period,” the website states. That’s, of course, all very noteworthy, but there’s considerable disparity today about whether Washington’s beer was very tasty. A 2011 Wall Street Journal article, in which the homebrewer-author faithfully duplicates the original 18th-century recipe, concludes that it was not. Fortunately, there is a delicious, alternative Washington beer on the market today - Sneak Attack, a distinctive and imaginative saison produced by the history-conscious folks at 21st Amendment Brewery in San Francisco. The artwork for Sneak Attack parodies one of the most significant moments in this nation’s history – Washington’s 1776 Crossing of the Delaware, an audacious assault that changed the course of the American Revolution. In the majestic 1850 painting of this scene, Washington stands boldly at the front of the boat, which is cutting through the ice-clogged river. Standing by his side, and holding an American flag, is Lt. James Monroe, another patriot of note. In the 21st Amendment version, Washington is still wearing a cape and a sword, but the similarity pretty much ends there. Our first president, who was not known for his sense of humor, is shirtless, has an icicle hanging from his hat, a potbelly protruding over his shorts, and a wooden beer mug firmly in his grasp. This all works, in part because 21st Amendment also has Paul Revere, Abraham Lincoln and FDR on the labels of other beers, and also because Sneak Attack is a damn fine saison. Light and refreshing, it’s definitely an American take on this style, with notes of pepper, lemon, cardamom and grass dominating, and would go well with pizza or wings. Sneak Attack is available at Habersham Beverage: Give it a try on George’s 282nd birthday.

Pour a little love into your glass this Friday for Valentine's Day

Beer aficionados will have an opportunity to sip a lot of fine chocolate this Friday in celebration of Valentine’s Day. My favorites for this occasion, or just about any time when chocolate beers are de rigueur, are two from England – Samuel Smith’s Organic Chocolate Stout and Young’s Double Stout, and two from the United States – Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout and Southern Tier Choklat Stout. Though it’s the only one of the four to have a USDA Organic tag on its label, and is suitable for people on a vegan diet, Samuel Smith has been around since 1758, making it the oldest of the four by far. Chocolaty and sweet, it’s a pleasant, rather than powerful, experience. Young’s Double Chocolate Stout kicks it up a notch. Its potent roasted malts produce a multi-layered, bittersweet, dark chocolate richness. For something a little different Friday night, drop a scoop of vanilla ice cream into a pint glass, put the glass into the freezer for about 15 minutes, and then fill it with Young’s. If the evening gets much better than that, I don’t want to know about it. Both Samuel Smith (5% ABV) and Young’s (5.2% ABV) are essentially session beers: The American beers have a great deal more heft, and acquire more attributes as they warm. Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout weighs in at 10% ABV, and is a muscular Russian Imperial Stout. Created by renowned Brooklyn brewmaster Garrett Oliver, it has strong chocolate and coffee flavors and should be brought out at the end of the meal. Pair it with cheesecake or chocolate. As for the Choklat Stout, it’s a 10% ABV double/imperial stout that grades out at 95 percent at beeradvocate.com. Like the Brooklyn, this is a dessert beer. Try it with chocolate cake, or even with some of those criminally-delicious chocolate chewy cookies from Baker’s Pride on DeRenne Avenue.

Rule Britannia still holds true, at least in one beer magazine

Browsing at the magazine shelf at Barnes & Noble last week, I came across a cover that was impossible to resist, even at $14.99: “Craft Beer – 365 Best Beers in the World.” Inside, it’s well designed, has appealing art work, and contains interesting, often even compelling, articles and interviews. The authors, two Brits, have impeccable credentials, but their sampling and travel budgets much have been small because of the 365 “best beers” some 200 are from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This seems, at best, something between disingenuous and dishonest. In the “welcome” section, they proudly write that this collection represents “about as close as it gets” to a list of the best beers in the world. The U.S. is included, but it’s a far, distant second, with 70 some selections. Belgium has the third most choices, and the rest were parceled out between Germany and 15 or so other countries. U.S. craft beer devotees will immediately notice the absence of such stalwarts as Bell’s Hopslam, North Coast’s Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, and Russian River’s Pliny the Younger, or the Elder. The authors and I do agree on a couple of matters, including the naming of the Westvleteren 12 as the world’s best beer. And, I learned that the Brits have some great names for their beers, including the Bloody ‘Ell Blood Orange IPA, the Dark Side of the Moose porter/stout, and the audacious Tactical Nuclear Pigeon, a 32% ABV (yes, that’s correct!) strong ale put out by the crazy folks at BrewDog. Still, the $14.99 would have been better spent on some good American beer.

How to survive pour weather

While much of Savannah runs around in various stages of panic as the Blizzard of 14 approaches, I can remain calm, maybe even jocular. Why? I have seven growlers carefully arrayed in the beerafrator, surely enough to get me through what, if local television coverage is to be believed, is a storm of epic, perhaps even biblical, proportions. My wife and daughter bought several of these – Jailhouse Breakout Stout, Victory DirtWolf Double IPA and Jekyll ‘Merican Amber – for me during their recent three-day shopping campaign in Atlanta. I purchased the others – Highland Cold Mountain Winter Warmer, St. Feuillien Saison, Blanche de Bruxelles Biere Blanche and Dogfish Head Hellhound on My Ale – at our local Beer Growler, which is located on the ground floor of Drayton Tower. If we’re snowed/iced/overbloviated in and have to await rescue, I’ll save the Hellhound for last. It combines three of my great loves – beer, blues and history – and does so with incredible style and panache. It was first brewed in 2011 to commemorate the 100th birthday of celebrated Mississippi bluesman Robert Johnson. It boasts 100 IBUs, rates at 10 percent ABV and contains a delightful Dogfish Head touch – dried lemon peel, an homage to Blind Lemon Jefferson, Johnson’s friend and fellow bluesman. Bring on the blizzard! At least until the weekend, when it’s supposed to be in the 70s, and I can get back on the bike.

Catch the Tour Down Under

For those of us who love cycling, this week represents a rare opportunity to see a stage race on television. The 2014 version of the Tour Down Under, which is, of course, contested in Australia, will be shown on a daily basis on NBC Sports (channel 220 on Direct TV; channel 33 on Comcast). The segments will air at 4:30 p.m. today through Friday; at 2 a.m. Saturday; at 11 p.m. on Sunday; and a highlight show will be broadcast at 10 p.m. on Sunday, 9 Feb. 14. Many of the sport’s big names and big teams are on hand, and the venerable combination of Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen will handle the commentary. The network also has ambitious plans for the rest of the season. Other events on its schedule, which runs through October, include Paris-Roubaix, Fleche Wallonne, Liege Bastogne Liege, Tour of California, Tour of France, U.S. Pro Cycling Championship and the UCI road cycling championship. Questions? Comments? Drop me a line at cyclechuck@comcast.net.

Climbing the Muur