Beer Snob: Peanut Butter Jelly Time

     I enjoy flavored beer and experimental beer. I also love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I could live on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Growing up my family would take an annual summer vacation trip to Myrtle Beach, SC. We would get out early every day and I would spend the morning fighting waves, tides, and my younger cousin Daryl. After a long morning of beach activities the family would head back to our modest accommodations where I would enjoy a lunch of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a Yoohoo chocolate drink. Six days of beach festivities meant six days of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and six days of Yoohoo chocolate drinks.  My point is that I know a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich when I see it (a statement that comes as a surprise to no one reading this blog since you have topless pictures of me).

     So when perusing the aisles at my local beer shop I came across Liquid Lunch from Terrapin Beer Company, I had to give it a try. I mean, right there on the label, the beer is described as a peanut butter and jelly porter. You have already read about my experience and love with peanut butter and jelly. You should also know that I'm partial to dark beers. Brown ale is probably my favorite but I also really enjoy porters and stouts. You can keep your overly-hoppy, grapefruit filled Indian Pale Ales. Give me a beer that is more reminiscent of motor oil, like a porter. My expectations were high for Liquid Lunch. I was hoping to get the best of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a porter.

     I was shattered the moment the dark liquid hit my taste buds. My childhood came rushing back as the distinct flavor of robitussin overwhelmed my senses. No peanut butter. No jelly. No porter. Just flashbacks to being force fed the world's worst tasting cough medicine, receiving Vick's vapor rubdowns, then climbing under a blanket to weather the illness while watching The Wizard (which starred Fred Savage and I had taped onto VHS from  HBO during one of the free HBO weekends) for the 700th time (Super Mario Brothers 3!!!!!!). Maybe the manufacturer of robitussin was trying to make a medicine that tasted like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich so kids would be less resistant to choking it down. Well, robitussin failed at producing a peanut butter and jelly flavor and so did Terrapin.

     Just so you don't think I'm a hater of Terrapin Beer Company, you should know that I have had other beers from that brewery and have enjoyed them immensely. Terrapin's Liquid Bliss is a chocolate, peanut butter porter that tastes like a peanut butter cup in liquid form. It is just outstanding. The Road Warrior is not only an indie movie starring a not-yet-public-antisemitic Mel Gibson but it's also a refreshing kolsch-style beer that is perfect for any sunny summer day. Terrapin's Pumpkinfest is a subtle pumpkin beer that doesn't have overwhelming pumpkin spices and is nice on a crisp fall evening. The point is Terrapin can produce some good brews.

     I can say with certainty that unless I catch the croup I will be avoiding Liquid Lunch in the future but I won't be holding the beer against Terrapin. They can't all be winners and I applaud the effort just not the results. I'll be picking up a Terrapin Pumpkinfest this fall.

     P.S. My local beer shop is The Wine Cabinet in Reston, VA. Yes, I do know it is call The Wine Cabinet and I don't care. The folks at The Wine Cabinet carry a nice supply of local and non-local craft beers so until someone opens a all-local craft beer store in my basement I will continue to patronize The Wine Cabinet.

     P.P.S. I have a basement and I'm not opposed to working with entrepreneurs who want to lease my basement for a all-local craft beer store. All renovations, zoning, parking, and other business related construction will be your responsibility. Let me know if you are interested.

Beer Snob

     I am a beer snob. One of my favorite things to do is to find a beer that I have never tasted, give it a try, rate it, check it in on the Untappd app (where you can chronicle each and every beer you have), and obtain badges on said app. Whenever I have to travel to a new place I make sure to seek out the most local beer available and give it a try.  In my opinion, the boom of the craft beer market has been the best thing to happen in the world since my birth.

     The picture to the left is my most recent sampling. I nice offering from Adroit Theory Brewing in Purcellville, VA called The Devil Made Me. A little background on Adroit Theory Brewing.  This brewery is made for beer snobs like me. As stated on the website, Adroit Theory is a nano-brewery. It is an extremely small brewery that makes beer one keg at a time. That means whatever you are drinking is always unique and always in limited supply which is a beer snobs dream come true.  You can get more info on Adroit Theory here.


     This particular brew is a smoked porter with serrano peppers. I know that may sound odd but that is what Adroit Theory is all about, experimenting with the odd. Adroit Theory even has a beer brewed with Rocky Mountain Oysters (look it up, kids).

   The beer doesn't disappoint with its smokey flavors. It is a wonderfully flavored porter that would work well with any steak you can sit next to it. The real surprise comes on the back end (a tasting term used by both wine and beer snobs meaning the aftertaste without having to say aftertaste because aftertaste sounds gross). The peppers really come through and you can feel the heat in the back of your throat. It isn't an overwhelming sensation like biting into a death-by-heat buffalo wing but a subtle flavor that I really enjoyed.  All in all, if you are a fan of dark, smokey beers then you will definitely enjoy this brew.

     I'm sure you noticed that the glass is not from Adroit Theory. The glass is courtesy of The New Albanian Brewing Company located in the very, very small town of New Albany, Indiana which is located just over the river from Louisville, Kentucky. Rizzo and I picked up this glass during one of our A Christmas Carol trips. This is another great brewery but unfortunately the beer isn't available in Virginia so you'll have to pay a visit to Indiana to give it a try and check them out here.