Happy National Margarita Day!

You may prefer tequila to beer, but that doesn't mean we can reach out the hand of congratulations! 

Caribbean Chocolate Cake

Caribbean Chocolate Cake

Sampled at ChurchKey, Washington, DC. Nicely poured and sampled beer. Not a Devils Food, but a rich German chocolate, minus the nuts and stuff. Really good.

12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

Sample Rustico - Alexandria. While in the title this is listed as bitter, it is listed as unsweetened chocolate in other areas. It should be bitter chocolate because that is the flavor that is running throughout beer. The oats make in odd digestive track, almost as if they were selected for another purpose. It may be a 12th anniversary selection, but there needs to be more accurate labeling to start.

Ryan and His Gosling

Sampled at Rustico. It had some taste, but this was quickly covered by at taste from the base. Successive taste were just the same - it would start to have some taste, but quickly overridden.

Well It is Sticke - Uerige Sticke

Uerige Sticke

The Sticke is a pretty normal beer. A nice taste, but nothing extraordinary. The body is nice, but again, it is normal. A solid, normal beer. A little taste from the entry, but that is taken down, to you guessed it, normal.

Meridian Pint lives up to the billing!

Meridian Pint lived up to its billing for another week. Pivo Pils, Christmas Morning and Seduction all lived to their reputations for another week. Christmas Morning and Seduction really stood out from the masses, especially Christmas Morning. Kudos, Meridian Pint, you came through in spades.

Moonlight Meadery Seduction

Usually, mead comes as a strong flavored sweet wine. Good in limited batches. But this mead is a different case. Chocolate, vanilla, and coffee is hitting all the right flavor pallets backed by a sweet wine base. The result is a sweet wine is multiple with flavors. Really close to a perfect wine as you are going to find.

Hardywood Park Christmas Morning

This imperial stout really took me by surprise. This is Hardywood Park Gingerbread Stout, which was already good, combined with Mexican Chiapas coffee beans. The taste is just fantastic, with the coffee beans sitting on top. Really blows the gingerbread stout away!

Firestone Walker Pivo Pils

Just sat down at Meridian Pint and ordered a Firestone Walker Pivo Pils. It a good beer, not to hoppy, and really very drinkable. Imagine a summer day, you have been working in the yard, and you are ready for that initial Pilsner. That is what you asking for with Pivo Pils.

Wednesday and it's Meridian Pint

Well, the plan last night fell through with far too much time taken up at DRP, so tonight I am going exclusively to Meridian Pint. They managed to serve up a pretty good steak last time, so it is time to trust them again with my appetite. Cmon, Meridian Pint, make a believer out of me again!

The Heir Apparent is Apparent

Chocolate is in everything now a days. You blink and another product boasts chocolate. Beer is no exception and it covers the range of chocolate anointed little goodies. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate across the range of tastes, real and imaginary. Where will it all stop? Well, it won't with the Heir Apparent and that is an odd thing because this is the one that is tastes like chocolate has none in it.

Lickinghole Creek's Heir Apparent

The Heir Apparent brewed by Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery (4100 Knolls Point Dr, Goochland, VA 23063 V: (804) 314-4380) is actually Mexican spiced rather than chocolate, but you would not know it. As a matter of fact, it tastes like it is flavored  with milk chocolate, but there is not a bit of milk or chocolate in the batch. I went back to the webpage to get the recipe because I did not believe it and that is when I was taken aback. But in addition to the lack a milk chocolate, is that the Heir Apparent is also an Imperial stout. Most Imperial stouts come mixed with the dark chocolate or a heavy dose of milk, but this one coming with a Mexican spice adds to the unique flavor.

Yes, it is sitting with an 11.3% ABV, its an Imperial stout, it taste like it has milk chocolate in it and yet it is light, bubbly and does not have an ounce chocolate in it. It has all of the Imperial stout characteristics too without some of the laborious tasks I take for granted drinking stout. This glass of Imperial stout comes as close as anything to being a perfect glass of beer, but it is the initial mouthful that will sell you on it.

My Untappd rating:  4.5 stars

Skal!
Brian