Went to the Gnome with Barry tonight. Don't go there on a weekend night, it's way different.

Basically he just wanted to give me some stuff to scan, but we ended up hanging out for a few hours, i.e. for two pints of Surly Hell and a pint of the new Bermuda Triangle, a tripel from Flat Earth.

I'd like to try it again as a first, rather than last beer, but it was still pretty decent. It didn't seem as malty or complex as most of the tripels I've had, but it's nice to have another beer I like from Flat Earth.

Labels: Bermuda Triangle, Flat Earth Brewing, Hell, Surly Brewing

Yesterday Jess, Rachael, Markie and Our Bold Hero went to Stub and Herb's for drinks before Project Runway. They have a great happy hour, but Ben advises you to stay away from the BBQ wings. So stay away.

I started off with a Surly Hell lager, a great session beer (we almost got a pitcher), but after that I caved and ordered a Leinie's Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout.

I've been trying really hard to drink seasonally... but it was overcast! That's almost like fall! It was foolish though, since most of the other craft beers were $3.50 for happy hour and these were like $5 apiece. Not a huge waste of money, but still.

So good. Rachael, not a huge beer fan, said it "didn't taste like beer" (this is a compliment), but a whole glass was too much for her to finish... which meant another glass for me. I really liked it, but since I seem to like all Imperial Stouts, who knows how it stacks up.

I'd love to have a tasting, but Graham made a good point recently about how Pepsi generally wins tastes tests even though people, when they want to drink more than a sip, are happier with Coke. So maybe I'd just end up with the sweetest Imperial and not the best. Then again, it would be fun.

Markie and Jess were overjoyed when I mentioned that this place still served Coffee Bender. To each his own. I didn't so much as try a sip, so my worst decision yesterday would have to be drinking some wine during Runway. I like having something to sip on while I watch t.v., but it could just as easily have been water.

I'm still working on avoiding that last, pointless glass of alcohol after a night at the bar.

Bonus Big Eddy story: When I was last in Chippewa Falls, home of Leinenkugel's, a clerk at the liquor store explained that Big Eddy was contract-brewed in Madison and currently not available — Leinie's was going to tell them as soon as it was. She was a bit... surprised when I mentioned that a bar in Minnesota has had it on tap for months.

Labels: Big Eddy, Hell, Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing, Munich Helles Lager, Russian Imperial Stout, Stub and Herb's, Surly Brewing