Four beers to savor this fall
A few weeks back I sat dangerously close to a heat lamp in the beer garden at Loaded Question Brewing Co. in Portsmouth, sipping and truly savoring the brewery’s Coffee Tartan, a rich, aromatic coffee porter.
I sat with a couple friends and insisted Continue reading “Drink ’em now”
Argument – There comes a time when a rational adult needs to set aside emotion and accept Reality.
Counter-Argument – What has Reality ever done for me?
OK, it’s October.
October, in a year that has been circling the flush-line since March and promises to circle even faster around the Continue reading “October’s cocktail dilemma – Drinks with John Fladd”
Celebrating the grapes of the Iberian peninsula
Spain is Western Europe’s second-oldest wine producing country, but 3,000 years on, it is producing wines that are among the most modern in Europe.
Wine was made in Andalucia between 1,100 and 500 B.C., initially brought in trade by the Phoenicians and later Continue reading “A visit to Spain”
Stouts, porters and brown ales are on the menu now
That first cool night in September triggers something in beer drinkers, something almost primal, instinctual, thirsting for deep, rich flavors.
OK, I’m just being dramatic.
What I’m trying to say is, when it gets cold out, beer drinkers shift from Continue reading “Dark beer season is here”
Not all of these wines are buttery and oaky
“ABC: anything but chardonnay!” We have all heard it — a wine that is either loved or hated. But offer someone a glass of Champagne, and you get an entirely different response!
Grown in many different countries, the chardonnay grape may Continue reading “The many faces of chardonnay”
The Paisley Jane
At the risk of oversharing, it seems like when it comes to decision-making I have two settings: overthinking or not thinking at all.
Throughout my life, a series of exasperated parents, bemused drill sergeants and my long-suffering wife have asked me, in varying degrees of anxiety, “What Continue reading “Drinks with John Fladd: The Paisley Jane”
Who knew pumpkin beer would be such a win?
I saw a reputable brewing company heavily promoting via social media their pumpkin beer’s availability in mid-August — without irony. Seriously. OK, what I’m trying to say is, they were trying to get me jacked up about pumpkin beer while I Continue reading “Fine, you can have pumpkin beer now”
Campfires, backyard firepits, s’mores — and port
It may not officially be fall, but in some places the trees are beginning to blush and the evenings are now calling for jeans and sweatshirts. The air is crisp and “pick your own” ventures have changed from berries to apples. It is Continue reading “Fall flavors of wine”
The Jungle Bird
He stumbled in off the street, leaving the dust and noise behind.
“Afternoon, Mr. Peterson. The usual?”
“Hi, Charlie. I think I need The Bird today.”
Charlie mixed the drink and slid it to Peterson without a word. He knew from long experience that on Continue reading “Drinks with John Fladd”
Like a root beer float but with actual beer
I know, you can basically taste the pumpkin in the air right now. It is as if someone fired off a giant cannon filled with pumpkin spice the second September rolled around and now pumpkin flavor has permeated every nook and Continue reading “Ice cream and beer”
