Beers on our Minds (aka BOOM) – Session Black

The members of the Delicious Attack trio have been avid beer samplers for many years now, constantly searching for the next best brew.  For a long stretch we were hooked on heady stouts and powerful porters.  Then came ferociously hoppy IPAs and robust barleywines.  Our palates changed quite dramatically and we moved on to sour ales and gueuze.  I’m not sure if it was a matter of circumstance or maybe a need for something new after assaulting our gullets with highly-acidic brews, but about a year and a half back we changed our focus a bit and set our collective gaze on rum, bourbon, mezcal, and whiskey.  Now, I must make note that we had always sampled spirits during our beer days and certainly maintained an interest in beer during our spirits phase, though we do seem to have obsessive and compulsive tendencies…and not to mention competitive natures.  Our competitive natures are WAY better than yours, FYI.  Anyway, I digress.  Back to the matter at hand.   The other day while having a couple of drinks out at The Butcher Shop in the South End of Boston, I decided to mix it up and try a beer I had never had/seen before.  The beer was called Session Black and is produced by Full Sail Brewing Company, located in Hood River, OR.  I’m going to go pretty far out on a limb here, but it was one of the top 5 best beers I have EVER had.

Grin and Pear it

Being a resident of New London, CT from August 2002 through May 2006 gave me ample opportunities to explore the various food purveyors, restaurants, wine shops, brew pubs, vineyards, and fish shacks dotted throughout South East Connecticut.  While a few places stood out, like Stonington Vineyards, Brie and Bleu, and Thames River Wine and Spirits, there is one gastronomic institution that cannot be overlooked.  In the town of Mystic resides B.F. Clyde’s cider mill, the oldest steam powered cider mill in the US.  Clyde’s sells a number of cider-based products, including some outrageously good cider donuts, along with a countless array of spreads, dips, dressings, and pickles.  However, the pièce de résistance is the hard cider sold in the cellar of the barn.

Jelen Pivo

Overcoming my initial failed attempt to purchase a bottle of Jelen Pivo, I slipped one into my shopping basket at a Voli supermarket last week and made it through the checkout. In light of the fact that I will move out of my apartment and into a new one across town tomorrow, I decided to celebrate my last day living in Stari Aerodrom by cracking the Jelen Pivo and writing this review.

Jelen Pivo is a 5% a.b.v. lager brewed in the style of a German pilsner. It is the unofficial national beer of Serbia.

In appearance, Jelen Pivo is extremely pale in color. It pours with a sizable, very white head of foam that dissipates relatively quickly. There is minimal lacing on the glass as the head shrinks down to form a film on top of the beer.

Go Dark and Unfiltered for your HEALTH

Yes! Wine is not the only alcoholic beverage that offers some health benefits. In addition to reducing the risk of cardio-vascular disease (a quality of all alcoholic beverages, in moderation), BEER contains vitamins, flavonoids, and antioxidants.

Here’s the catch: you must pour out that mass market “Big Beer” (i.e. Coors, Miller, Budwiser, etc) and pick up a craft brew! While I will spare you my full rant on the superiority of craft beer, know this: craft beers have far greater health benefits. Moreover, craft beers that are darker, unpasteurized, and unfiltered, are better yet.

Nikšićko Pivo

Shortly after I arrived in Podgorica, I found myself staring into a florescent-lit cooler at a small market nearby my apartment. I had sampled a Nikšićko Pivo on my first day out and about, and was in search of something different. I found it. In a cooler packed with bottles and cans of Nikšićko, half a shelf was filled with bottles of Jelen Pivo, the national beer of Serbia.

Bringing my bottle of Jelen to the cash register I was greeted with a wagging finger. Not yet proficient in Montenegrin, I was unable to understand the cashier, and opted to place my bottle of beer next to the register and take out my wallet. No sooner did I release the bottle of Jelen from my grasp, then it was picked up by the attendant, brought back to the cooler, and exchanged for a bottle of Nikšićko.