St. Patty's Day

This year, Dan, Julia, and I decided to spend St. Patty's Day at Stewart's Pub. We've had quite a few good brews there, and they put together a special menu for the day that included Irish food, 5 different kinds of stouts, and 10 kinds of car bombs. Mix that with an Irish band and Irish dancers, and you've got a pretty good night. It was extremely busy and loud, but we did eventually manage to get a table. Despite having been there a few times within the last year, it wasn't until last night that I realized that Stewart's is where I had my first beer. The only reason I realized it was because we sat on the other side of the bar from where we usually end up, and I noticed a particular gaming table that sparked the memory for me. Putting 2 and 2 together, I'm pretty sure that their Highlander Stout is the brew I tried that struck me as so bitter and hard to get down.

By the time we got there, they were sold out of the Irish Cream Stout, leaving the Highlander Stout, Coffee Stout, Vanilla Stout, and Peppermint Stout to choose from. I started the night off with the Coffee Stout, which tasted exactly like it sounds. Julia got the Vanilla Stout, and the sip I tried of it had a much lighter body and was significantly sweeter. With my meal I decided to go back to the Highlander Stout for a second try (take a look at my first blog entry for a bit of background). I was blown away. The body was smooth and creamy, with a nice balance of malty sweetness and roasted bitterness. There was just a hint of alcohol in the flavor, but nothing significant. I'm pretty happy about it, as it really shows I've grown since then. Let that show you all that just because you think a beer is too strong at first, doesn't mean you'll never be able to appreciate it.

- Adam