What's the Reverend been drinking?

Hmm...  Let's see...

On the 4th of July I started off with a little Chimay Première (Red) as I had to use a splash or two in a BBQ glaze.  I remember drinking that and thinking "What the heck am I doing?" as I was barbequing pork tenderloins with a chocolate glaze sauce while it was 109.5 degrees on my deck.  That was some darn good pork!!  When it was all said and done, my family and I headed over to friends of ours.  We've been going over there for the past three years for a 4th of July gathering and swimming.  While there I had something from my favorite American Belgium style brewery - Brewery Ommegang.  Now, it was HOT on the 4th this year.  I have three bottles of their limited edition beers.  I did bring two but only had one - Aphrodite.  This was perfect for a hot day.  On the pour it looked a little red and the head had a rosy tint.  Brother Chris said he could taste the pear but for me the raspberry came across.  That might have been due to the tartness imparted from the Brett yeast.  Refreshing to drink but could hit hard if you drink the entire 750 ml as it weighs in at 8.9% ABV.  I'll comment more on Ommegang's Limited Edition releases in another post.

A few parties ago I finally decided to open up my Samuel Adams Utopias!  Oh my!!!  Zero carbonation, smooth going down with a little alcohol burn.  Some people have said it was more like drinking bourbon.  I'm glad we had a shot!  Oh...  The we?  I'll say something about that in my next post.  Regardless, I then took Brother Chris through all three colors of Chimay: Première, Triple, and Grande Reserve. 

I'm feeling kind of bad because I've not really been keeping up with my "study" of what I drink, when I drink it, and where I drink it.  I'd been doing that to track my habits and preferences.  Plus, as various as my tastes are, sometimes it's good to have something to prompt the memory.  For example, I knew I had a Samuel Adams Porch Rocker (similiar to Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy) and a few others but I'm not sure what the others were.  I do remember Grant's peppers lined with cream cheese wrapped with bacon and smoked!!

Well, that's enough for now.  More later.