Ballast Point Victory at Sea

HAVE YOU HAD THIS BEER?

Ballast Point Victory at Sea is described as a "Coffee Vanilla Imperial Porter". Its new to the NY/NJ market, but I had the chance to get a sneak peek of it when I visited Ballast Point back in November.

So, have you had this beer? If not, you need to remedy that. Especially if you're a fan of coffee and/or vanilla flavors. And Porter. And Beer. And being alive. There's your tagline.

Victory at Sea: "If you like being alive, you like this beer".

Beertography of the Week

This week's User Beertography comes from ABROAD! Mr. Chris Halbach recently visited the Blue Tongue Brewery in the Hunter Valley wine region outside Sydney. Unfortunately, according to Chris, the photo was much better than the beer itself. Apparently Aussies have a thing for ciders at the moment and for the most part aren't about drinking craft beer. This actually lead me to check out reviews of Australian breweries on beeradvocate and I couldn't find all that much in the way of stellar. What are the great breweries and beers in Australia?

As always, keep those beer photos comin' to beertography@gmail.com. As a reminder, if you've already sent in your beertography, its still got a shot at making next week's post!

Samuel Smith's Organic Lager

Samuel Smith Old Brewery
England
Euro Pale Lager 5% ABV

Occasionally when I visit my parents in South Jersey, they like to surprise me by buying some beer to try "for that website of yours". Awesome. When it first started, it was a case of Michelob's faux-craft brands (which ended up taking a long time to plow through..not very good). Things have changed for the better though. Recently I've had Stone's Lukcy Basartd and Empirial IPA waiting for me. Then the other day I was surprised to find Sam Smith's Organic Lager. They picked it up because they're into the organic movement...and hey, organic + beer sounds perfect!


This pours suuuuper clear and smells of cloves with a hint of banana. Its got a super light mouthfeel and I detect either Saaz or Noble hops. Mmm. A slight metallic finish. Nice head on it that recedes but never entirely. This brew has a decent malty-ness to it despite its low ABV. Very refreshing and strikes me as what Bud/Miller/Coors light lagers should strive for. Plus, its organic so that's a plus. Here in NYC, you can find it at a lot of bodegas. Next time you see it, get a bottle and let me know what you think!

A Few Select Shots from BrewYork 7

Recently, the epic BrewYork meetup raged on yet again and massive amounts of top-notch craft beer was consumed. In case you've forgotten, BrewYork is a collection of beer bloggers and industry pros in the NY/NJ area that seek to advance the gospel of craft beer.


Too much good beer to fit in one photo.

A little closer now.



Must...kneel...before...insane...beer.

Mr. Charles Decker showing off his Surly Smoke.

Matt & Bob opening a bottle. No big deal.

You can't have a BrewYork without one mishap. Even if it doesn't involve a slingshot.

Check out some of the other BrewYork'ers recaps:

David Flaherty of Grapes and Grains
Mike Kivowitz of New Jersey Craft Beer
Andy Zenyuch of River Crew Brewing Co.

Beertography of the Week

This week's fantastic shot comes to us courtesy of Josh Belisle of Wichita, Kansas. Above you'll see beers from Dogfish Head, Hopping Frog, Rogue, Avery, Coney Island, Paulaner, Mikkeller and Big Sky Brewing. As always, don't forget to click to embiggen/drool over. Thanks Josh!

Got a great shot of beer or something beer-related? Send it in today and you could be featured next week!