Bart - The Beer Thrillers https://thebeerthrillers.com Central PA beer enthusiasts and beer bloggers. Homebrewers, brewery workers, and all around beer lovers. Fri, 05 Jan 2024 14:48:20 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 https://i0.wp.com/thebeerthrillers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/cropped-The-Beer-Thrillers-December-2022-Logo.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Bart - The Beer Thrillers https://thebeerthrillers.com 32 32 187558884 Stickman Brews Announces Immediate Closure https://thebeerthrillers.com/2023/10/01/stickman-brews-announces-immediate-closure/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=stickman-brews-announces-immediate-closure Sun, 01 Oct 2023 11:53:00 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=12567 Stickman Brews Announces Immediate Closure

Last night, on September 30th, Stickman Brews announced via their social media pages that they were closing immediately and permanently.

Their Instagram post reads:

Well guys, all things must come to an end. As of just now we are officially closed for good. We’d like to thank all our incredible customers for supporting us these last 8 years, and all the folks who have been part of our team for taking this wild ride with us. Owning and Operating Stickman has been a true pleasure, it’s just time for a new adventure. We’ll miss you guys!

Stickman Brews – Instagram

Stickman Brews was located in Royersford, Pennsylvania.

Recent Scaling Back

Last night’s announcement comes two months after the brewery scaled back their business. Near the end of July – Stickman Brews went through a temporary shut down for roughly ten days. Prior to the shut down Stickman Brews featured a full kitchen and taproom. When re – opening they changed some things; the changes included removing their kitchen as well as reduced hours.

The brewery was eight years old at time of closure.

Beer Busters Podcast

Beer Busters Podcast was one of the first to express their sadness over the closure.

Beer Busters Podcast Facebook Post

You can follow them on Facebook at: Beer Busters Podcast (Facebook). They, along with Bart Kaminski helped release the Double Deuce beer with Stickman Brews that was released in numerous breweries across the state. (I had gotten mine at Boneshire Brew Works.)

Double Deuce by Stickman Brews, Bart Kaminski via his Hop Hedz Gear

(See Also: Bands and Brews for Bart)

No Word On Going Forward

There has been no official word – as of yet – on any plans going forward with the brewery, the beers, etc.

For More Information on Stickman Brews

The following information comes via Untappd. They are already listed as closed, and show 0 unique beers. Listed as a micro brewery from Royersford, PA. They have over 120,000 ratings with a global average rating of 3.82 (as of 10.1.23). Their Untappd description reads: Closed as of 9/30/2023. Stickman Brews produces Americanized twists on Belgian and Farmhouse styles as well as many other popular (and not so popular) styles.

You can find them at the following social media pages:

Brewery News

Interested in finding out about many other brewery openings, new locations, closings, movings, and in general brewery news? You can check out our links below:

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

You can check out our different directories here: Beer ReviewsHike ReviewsBook ReviewsBrewery News, Brewery OpeningsBrewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – FacebookFacebook GroupTwitterInstagramYouTube, and Influence. As well as our brand new Tumblr page. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #7 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #8 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of January 2023.) Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

You can also check out our partnership and affiliation with Pretzels.com, where ordering pretzels and using our affiliate code – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

If you would like to help keep the blog running soundly and smoothly, you may donate to us to help us keep the costs of the blog to a minimum. We greatly appreciate it. Thank you. (Clicking this link will take you to the page to make a donation. Thank you very much for helping us stay afloat!)

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

]]>
12567
Brews and Bands for Bart https://thebeerthrillers.com/2021/08/11/brews-and-bands-for-bart/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=brews-and-bands-for-bart Wed, 11 Aug 2021 22:00:00 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=7900
Brews and Bands for Bart

Block Party of the Summer

How do you recognize one of the baddest and coolest party throwers around? By throwing one of the biggest and baddest bashes ever in his honor! Thats just what’s in store this Saturday at Tattered Flag. We’ve discussed Bartley Kaminski here on the blog before, in numerous different ways, but recently with his passing, and with the event here and various events in the distant past.

This event has been planned out for quite a while now, but has really blown up with Bart’s passing. Tons of breweries adding their names to the list, and lots of other additions, and add – ons and groups adding to it and showing up in various ways to help the cause. It looks to be one hell of a bash, and one hell of a way to salute, and remember Bart and to throw one final rad party in his honor and memory.

Bartley Kaminiski

We talked about Bart before here, and talked about his passing previously here: Farewell to Bartley Francis Kaminski. He founded Kollision Media, Hop Hedz Gear, and has been referred to as “The Willy Wonka of Beer Events”. I could go on and on about him here. He was just a great guy, the life of the party without being too much, and everyone who knew him, or even just met him at one event or the other has amazing memories or stories to tell about him. My buddy talks about Bart’s green – suit or green – man appearance at the Atlantic City Brewfest all the time. There was very rarely an event in the Central PA area where you didn’t see a Hop Hedz Gear stand or Bart himself. And I guarantee you there was at least one person walking around in a tee shirt or hoodie that he made.

I can’t do him justice here discussing his amazing life, but we can do him justice by having one heck of a party in his honor.

Brews and Bands for Bart

The final brewery list for Brews and Bands for Bart posted today (Wednesday 8.11.21)

Look at that line-up! And word is there might be more additions to come and stuff, even though this is the “finalized” list. And I’m sure some might have their own little additions or add ons or secret hidden stashes too.

Here is a full list with all of their Untappd links:

Word is also Lancaster Brewing Company, North Country Brewing, and maybe one or two more will be unofficially added. That is one hell of a lineup right there! With breweries from out of state like Tripping Animals (Florida) and much more.

And let us not forget the bands part of this event as well!

The music lineup for Brews and Bands for Bart at Tattered Flag this Saturday (8.14.21)

Also, as posted by Hop Hedz Gear on social media:

In addition to the 40+ breweries that will be attending the fest, we would like to thank our group of vendors who will be a part of the event! Thanks so Whimsical Wonders By Kris, Thicc Bois Glassware, D&S Cigar Lounge, Dutch Country Soft Pretzels, and Feathers Feed and Jerky. Be sure to stop by these booths, as all sales will have a portion of proceeds donated to the cause!

When, Where, How

When is this amazing block party bash? This Saturday, from noon to 4PM. Where is it? At Tattered Flag Brewery on South Union Street in Middletown, Pennsylvania (Dauphin County). How do you get tickets? Check out Hop Hedz Gear, or go here: https://shop.hophedzgear.com/products/brews-and-bands-for-bart

(UPDATE: Tickets have sold out. On the day of, they will have roughly 100 tickets for purchase at the door. This will be the only way to attend the event now.)

Tattered Flag and Breweries of PA Collab

“Hard Pills to Swallow” Tattered Flag and Breweries in PA Collab

Make sure to check out the Breweries in PA tent to find the special Hard Pills to Swallow Tattered Flag collaboration that they made just for the event. It is also available in cans, and you can purchase it through the statewide shipping “Supply Drop” that Tattered Flag offers.

More Information, Facebook Event Page, and Beer Thriller Links

For more information, you can read the event page description here:

“As you may know, in late February, Bart Kaminski was diagnosed with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer with Sarcomatoid DIfferentiation. A rare form of cancer that quickly spread to his adrenal gland, lymph nodes and surrounding bone marrow.To support Bart’s growing medical expenses, we are throwing a unique brewfest! It will take place on Saturday, Aug. 14 in the block in front of Tattered Flag Brewery and Still Works in Middletown. The event is $40 (in advance) or $45 the day of the event and that gets you a pint can glass and unlimited samplings. Food will be available for purchase.This event is co-sponsored by The Beer Busters Podcast who will be recording live at the event.We are going to have a fantastic line-up of bands! Noon – 12:45 p.m. – Shannon Bobb acoustic
1:00 – 2:15 p.m. – Colt Wilbur Band
2:30 – 3:45 p.m. – The Martini Bros.Breweries will be announced every few days. Here are the breweries that have already been announced:Artiface Ales & Mead
Big Dog
Boneshire
Breweries Of PA (TF Collab)
Chatty Monks
Dancing Gnome
Englewood
Evergrain
Fahnestock & Baer
Four Score
Funk
Human Robot
Lovedrafts
Levante
Lions Head
Liquid Noise
Mad Chef
Moo Duck
Naked Brewing
Our Town
Pilger Ruh
Pour Man’s
Raney Cellars
REHAB
Root Down
Rotunda
Samuel Adams
Seven Sirens
Shy Bear
St. Boniface
Stickman Brews
Stolen Sun
Tattered Flag
Tripping Animals
Troegs
Wingcraft
Wolf
Workhorse
Yards
Zeroday

Please help us do everything we can to support Bart!

Location: Tattered Flag Brewery
1 S Union Street, Middletown

The Capital Region’s first co-branded and co-located Craft Brewery & Craft Distillery.
@tatteredflagbsw
www.tatteredflagbsw.com

The Event Page can be visited here: Brews and Bands for Bart Event Page.

Some previous links to articles on The Beer Thrillers where we discuss Bart Kaminski:

Some Tattered Flag related articles:

Thank you everyone for reading! And hopefully see you all out and hope everyone finds it in them to contribute and donate. It really does go to a good cause and will help the family immensely. Cheers all!

-B. Kline

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – FacebookFacebook GroupTwitterInstagramYouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

]]>
7900
Hike: Governor Dick Tower Trail (Manheim, Pennsylvania) https://thebeerthrillers.com/2021/07/26/hike-governor-dick-tower-trail-manheim-pennsylvania/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hike-governor-dick-tower-trail-manheim-pennsylvania Tue, 27 Jul 2021 00:48:00 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=7848
The Tower at Governor Dick Park (Manheim, Pennsylvania)

A Need for Meditation, Solemn Reflection, and Tranquility

There are thousands of reasons to hike. And perhaps one of the biggest reasons is for a sense of alone-ness. A sense of being by one’s self, alone, in the woods, to reflect, to meditate, to be lost in one’s own head. This was my aim today. In the morning we said farewell to Bartley Francis Kaminski, at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Palmyra. You can read his obituary here: Bartley Francis Kaminski (1977 – 2021). And you can read my farewell to Bart here on the blog: Farewell to Bartley Kaminski.

I’m not a big fan of funerals (who is?); but they are a necessary ‘part of the process’. Unfortunately in my life, I’ve been to far too many of them. I’ve been pall bearer more than I’ve been a groomsmen. I’ve been to more funerals than I have weddings. I think back to various family members and friends, Mike Drobenak’s, my Great Grandma’s, my Aunt Janet’s, my Grammy’s; last year in February I had two uncles (a Great Uncle on my dad’s side and my mom’s brother in law) both pass away a week apart – and this was before COVID / coronavirus hit.

I grew up with the Hummelstown Cemetery being my backyard (my parent’s backyard connects to it). I walked through it to get to my elementary school every day for school. To say death has been a portion, or thought, or part of my life, might be an understatement. But I also feel like this could be said for so many. Its one of the main leading thoughts for most people. Its one of the driving forces behind all of our decisions. Todd May’s work ‘Death’ is such an extremely good piece of work about death, that is should be read by everyone. Its both philosophical and laymen. Its technical yet beautiful. You can read my book review here on the blog about it: Book Review: Death (Todd May).

So after the conclusion of the ceremony and listening to the bagpipes playing ‘Amazing Grace’ coming to an end, I made my way to my car, and sat for a bit. Needing tranquility, needing to lose myself, I called up my AllTrails app and looked for something close by. I had brought clothes to change into knowing I would need to hike, my hike boots were already in the car, and my current stack of reading books were in the car (my current stack of reading books always travel wherever I go, no matter what).

Governor Dick

I have been to the Tower at Governor Dick easily a dozen or more times in my life. I’ve gone when I was a small child with my parents, I’ve taken my daughters and my ex-wife, I’ve taken my dog Leela, and I’ve gone with Ming. There’s a ton of different routes and paths and trails all leading up to The Tower.

The Tower (Governor Dick Park)

The Tower has gone through some changes over the years, they’ve fully enclosed the top to stop people from rappelling and climbing the walls of the Tower itself as if they were Batman or someone trying to break in or out of a prison. But the climb inside is and has always been the same (to my memory anyway). Claustrophobic, metallic, dusty, dirty, and most likely urine soaked on a platform or too. (Pretty sure that was the case today.)

The view at the top isn’t the most exceptional, but in the Manheim, Mt. Gretna area, its a nice and beautiful view. But its just what I needed for self reflection, meditation, and tranquility. A nice little breeze in the air, a beautiful view, direct sun, and I sat there with my back against the wall, reading, meditating, enjoying the breeze, enjoying the freedom, the sun, the peace, the tranquility, and the aloofness, the alone spirit of it all, letting my thoughts of life, Bart, death, and everything else just wash the stress out of me.

Hiking to The Tower

There is many paths and routes to get to the Tower, and you can start at various spots. Most people now usually start at the Conservancy Building (not 100% of the name of it), but its a lovely little spot where you can go inside (I believe it has re-opened ‘after’ COVID) where kids can go inside and do all manners of activities, as well as get to touch different animal pelts, see pictures, videos, brochures, animal bones, etc, etc, etc.

I took a different route this time. The map from AllTrails shows you the route I was hiking: Governor Dick Tower Trail (map). (Sorry, the screen shot isn’t working due to the way they have the map setup as a changeable feature, it turns it full grey in the screenshot. You can see the route I take when I post my route picture in just a bit.) Usually I can screenshot the AllTrails map, but for some reason, they have it on their website as a changeable piece, and so when you screenshot it, it just turns into a grey block. So, unfortunately, that won’t work for me to screenshot and post here. But from MapMyRun, I do have a copy of my hike, and thats practically the same as the AllTrails one.

Governor Dick Tower Trail

Hike: Governor Dick Tower Trail (Manheim, Pennsylvania)
Location: Governor Dick Park (Route 117 Start Point)
Near: Manheim, Pennsylvania
Length: 2.1 Miles (as per AllTrails)
Elevation Gain: 364 Feet (as per AllTrails) (not counting climbing the Tower)
Route Type: Out and Back
AllTrails Map: Governor Dick Tower Trail (Clarence Schock Park at Governor Dick)
AllTrails Description: Governor Dick Tower Trail is a 2.1 mile out and back trail located near Manheim, Pennsylvania that features a great forest setting. The trail is rated as moderate and is primarily used for hiking, walking, running, and nature trips.


Hiking Governor Dick Tower Trail

My MapMyRun map of my hike to Governor Dick Tower and back on the Governor Dick Tower Trail

For this trail to the Tower, you start at a little pull – off along Route 117. Only one other car in the lot which is always nice, lets you know its going to be at least seemingly a relatively empty trail. (My preference anyway.) I arrived around 12:35 – 12:40PM after Bart’s services. Changed and put on my hiking boots and got my backpack loaded up with my books and some waters and Mountain Dews and started on the trail.

And, immediately regretted not having any bugs pray with. The gnats were absolutely… H – O – R – R – I – B – L – E ! Just the absolute worst. Like thick clouds of them the whole way to the Tower. I could swing my hand in front of me, open palm, and I was guaranteed to catch at least three or four of them, and smack another ten to fifteen out of the way. The trail started off as a stone slope upwards towards The Tower. The slope isn’t at too bad of an incline, so its a nice, moderate, relatively easy trail and path up.

Despite the gnats, it didn’t take me very long, maybe 35 minutes at most to reach The Observation Tower. Once there, I climbed up the old metal rungs of the ladder on the upward bound side and made my way to the top. At the top was a couple, sitting, enjoying the view, just holding hands, and I made my way around to the opposite side and sat with my back to the wall of the Tower ladder entrance / exit. I doffed my backpack and pulled out my books. For the next hour or so, I sat here, reading, meditating, thinking of Bart, of life, and of so much more that has been going on with myself, and my family, and just life really in general. In what might possibly have been the craziest years of my entire life – and this is saying something – I just stopped, sat there, read, meditated, and enjoyed the cool breeze at the top of the Tower. The gnats were gone, having left me alone, the sun was hot and shining directly on me, and I felt a very deep, inner sense, full resonating sense, of peace. For once.

Just before leaving and climbing back down, I saw a hummingbird buzz the cage that domes and surrounds the top of the tower. I tried to get a picture, but he flew away too quickly for me. But I did get to see him, buzzing up against the metal, and saw the beauty in his flapping wings. His energy and speed and quickness so evident. His energy reminded me of Bart. I don’t tend to look for portents and omens and all that, or to see signs and stuff, but getting to see the hummingbird did remind me of Bart, interestingly, after yesterday’s viewing and visit, Cliff Plank (current head brewer for Appalachian Brewing Company in Harrisburg) posted on Facebook how he saw an albino squirrel and it reminded him of Bart.

Another couple came up to the top and took pictures and went back down while I was reading. I think it was a daughter in her 20s or early 30s and her father in his 40s or 50s. They both said ‘hi’ and talked about the beauty of the area around them. They have been doing a different hike in a different Pennsylvania county every week, and this was their hike for the week.

While at the top of the tower, the books I was reading were: ‘Death’ by Todd May (I had finished it weeks ago, and you can read the book review here: Book Review: Death [Todd May], but felt like re-reading some passages in the wake of Bart’s passing), ‘State and Revolution’ by Vladimir Lenin, ‘Six Walks in the Fictional Woods’ by Umberto Eco, and ‘The Bomber Mafia’ by Malcolm Gladwell. (I’ll be posting book reviews for each of these in the future.)

Return Trip to the Car

After climbing back down, I hiked back down the slope, taking a slightly different route (the one actually listed on the AllTrails map, which has you take a slightly more scenic route, rather than fully up the rock slope) on my way back to the car. The gnats were present as soon as I got to the bottom of the Tower, and perhaps in even larger numbers. Made it to my car without incident and took off my hiking boots and then drove home, stopping at my parents, getting to see my little nephew and hanging out with him for a bit before he was picked up by my sister and brother in law.

Reflections, Thoughts, and the End

This was a needed hike. My 2021 has gone horribly awry from where I wanted it to go starting in March. And has not been the year I wanted it to be – at all; to say the least. I haven’t gotten to go to breweries like I wanted, and I haven’t really hiked as much as I wanted, or as I had planned. I’ve felt more isolated this year than in past years – including COVID central 2020. This hike was much needed. It was short, it was one I’ve been to many times, and it was on a day where I needed to reflect, to meditate, and to think. It was a recharging of batteries so to speak. A realignment with all things; instead of the Buddha under the Bodhi tree, I was Ben under the Tower’s cage. Maybe not similar, or an apt analogy, but it is how I spent some of my afternoon; reflecting and thinking, about life, about Bart, about death, about the meaning to things (and the lack thereof). Thought about cancer, about my mom’s cancer battles and the fear of it coming back, of losing my Aunt Janet to cancer, of my Great Grandma’s fight against Alzheimer’s and her loss to it, and so many others that I’ve known throughout my life who passed away to some form of cancer or another.

I think of Albert Camus and his absurdism, of Sartre and his existentialism, Kierkegaard and his thoughts about life and everything. These are the moments people need to make time for more. For reflection, meditation, self thought, to examine one’s own inner thoughts and life, to be a bit more Socratic. And thinking of Bart’s service, and of his life, it made me think about how we all need and should be more like him. Outgoing, cherishing the moments with friends, loved ones, living for the moment, helping others, extolling the virtues of those we are proud of, having fun, doing things out of our comfort zones, living life to its utmost potential. Bart did this, and more.

Links

Here’s some links, both on the blog and outside of the blog to various things related to the hike.

Bart:

Governor Dick:

The Beer Thriller Hikes and Travelogues:

Measure of a Well Lived Life

Be safe out there everyone, get vaccinated, love each other, live life to its fullest. Grow each day. Peace, hugs, and chugs.

-B. Kline

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – FacebookFacebook GroupTwitterInstagramYouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

]]>
7848
Farewell Bartley Kaminski https://thebeerthrillers.com/2021/07/24/farewell-bartley-kaminski/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=farewell-bartley-kaminski Sat, 24 Jul 2021 13:46:02 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=7828
Bartley Francis Kaminski

This might be the hardest post I’ve had to make here on the blog. And to be honest, I’m not sure where to even begin really. At times, even as a writer, I find myself at a loss for words, and this is just one of those times. All I can do is express the most sincerest of condolences to all of Bart’s family, his friends, the community, and everyone who has been touched by his life – and that list is stretching into the thousands. He was a truly remarkable man, and we all lost a friend, we all lost somebody who was always there, always a fighter in the corner, always the hype man, always the party in and of himself. We all lost a part of us.

There is going to be a lot of people who could sum up everything about him better than I could, who knew him better, or longer, can do condolences and obituaries and memorandums better than I, but I will try and express my thoughts and feelings, and my perspective and getting to know him.

Firstly, for those unaware, Bartley Francis Kaminski passed away on July 22nd 2021 due to lung cancer. He fought hard, and he fought in the way we all would suspect Bart would fight – tough, hard, with a smile on his face, a joke, a laugh, and antics. He fought the fight millions have before him, and millions have after him, and its a fight that unfortunately no one has ever truly won. In a way, fighting cancer is a straight up fight with death itself, regardless of the cancer, regardless of the severity, its a fight and a struggle to maintain our humanity, and to maintain ourselves in the most adverse setting, in a setting where we already know the outcome ahead of time, and its a fight more to stay ‘us’ and stay ‘consistent’ than it is a true fight to win. Bart did this, he stayed true to himself, he stayed consistent, and he fought the fight of humanity, the outcome was the same as it always will be in the long run, but his fight was no less valiant, no less hard, no less deserving of our respect; in fact it was all the more hard fought, all the more valiant, and all the more deserving of respect, because he fought in his way, consistent, and he fought it as Bart would. Sadly, but thankfully, unhappily, but mercifully, the fight is over.

Hop Headz Gear logo

Bart was born on June 8th, 1977, and passed from lung cancer on July 22nd, 2021. He recently married his girlfriend Nicole. Bart was the founder for Kollision Media as well as Hop Headz Gear. He was the promoter for events far and wide, and was a selfless promoter for many people. Helping people with disabilities, helping people attend brewfests, and setting up brewfests. If you’ve gone to a Kegs and Eggs, or a Bacon and Brews event, Bart was an integral part of setting it up. If you’ve gone to the Mount Hope (Renaissance Faire) brewfest, the Lititz Brewfest, Ffej of July, the Lancaster Brewfest, the AC Brewfest; you’ve seen his tent, and seen him having a blast. My friends still recall him in his ‘green man suit’ at the AC Brewfest and his antics.

Today and yesterday, hundreds of people expressed their condolences, their gratitude, and their love for Bart on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the myriad of other social medias. I will be posting some here, because they do such a better job than I ever will in expressing the love and gratitude for a man who was such a vital part of the craft beer community in Central PA.

Through these events is how I first met Bart, and I can’t even remember which event was the first one we met at, or exactly how many years ago it’s been now, I wanna say six or seven. It most likely started with buying one of his shirts, and talking beer, and all I know is, that I always looked forward to all of the various events, just to see him, and to cut the shit with him for a bit, to laugh with him, to make jokes with him, to see him smile, to hear him laugh.

I am going to post some of the tributes members of the community have shared about Bart below, with pictures, and then go into the Brews and Bands for Bart event that Tattered Flag is hosting after that. But I will give a quick little rundown for that. On August 14th, 2021, Tattered Flag is hosting an event called ‘Brews and Bands for Bart’ with the money originally going to Bart to help with medical expenses, etc, of his cancer treatment. Now however, unfortunately, that has changed, and the money will instead be going to his family to help pay for costs for Bart. The event will still happen, and will be an amazing memorial to a man beloved by the community.

Memorials and Tributes

Francisco Ramirez of Mad Chef:

Dan Baker and Wayne Baker of Beer Busters Podcast:

You can hear their podcast about the Brews and Bands for Bart event here: Beer Busters Episode 222: Brews and Bands for Bart.

Lisa:

Karl Larson:

David Rotunda:

Tattered Flag Brewery:

Kevin Keller:

This is just a small example of the outpouring of love and gratitude for Bart. And I think they all do an amazing job of showing the sheer amount of love, gratitude, respect, and admiration everyone had for him, in a way I can’t even begin to express. My apologies to anyone who thinks this is inappropriate or if I left anyone off, or if anyone doesn’t want their tribute shown (message me and I will remove it), but as I struggle through this, and struggle for the words and ways to try and express my own gratitude, admiration, and love for Bart, I find using the blog, and writing, and reading everyone else’s tributes and memorials and thoughts on him, is the best way for me to work my way through it all, and hopefully for others as well.

Brews and Bands for Bart

Brews and Bands for Bart

We’ve mentioned this before here on the blog, and on Facebook, but it needs to be mentioned as much as possible. As this is now going to be one hell of a memorial and party in the honor of Bart; and there is no greater way to pay him tribute than to have one hell of a party.

For tickets and more information, please go to Hop Headz Gear, and directly here: Brews and Bands for Bart – Tickets.

Obituary:

You can find an obituary for Bart here: Bartley Francis Kaminski.

Services:

Viewing:
Sunday
July 25, 2021
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Rothermel-Finkenbinder Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc.
25 West Pine Street
Palmyra, PA 17078

Mass of Christian Burial Monday
July 26, 2021
11:00 AM
Holy Spirit Catholic Church
300 West Pine Street
Palmyra, Pennsylvania 17078

I want to once again express my most sincere condolences to Bart’s family, Nicole, to all of his friends. I can not express how much he has meant to myself, to this blog even. I remember talking to him about it at an event shortly before starting it, and how much interest he expressed in it, how he said he would read it, and just the hype he brought to anyone’s ideas. If we all just lived life to 1/3rd the fullest that Bart did, this world would be such an amazing place, full of love, happiness, and everyone working together and showing each other such gratitude, appreciation, and interest. The man was a ball of energy that he exuded on everything. I think my favorite quote about him was, “If you were around Bart and not having a good time, you had no one to blame but yourself.” And nothing could be more true.

Hopefully I will get to see you all at Brews and Bands for Bart. In the meantime, make sure to show love for each other, to think about how Bart lived, and fought, and let’s all be a bit more like him. Cheers everyone.

-B. Kline

]]>
7828
Beer Review: The Growfather (Stickman Brews) https://thebeerthrillers.com/2020/11/17/beer-review-the-growfather-stickman-brews/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=beer-review-the-growfather-stickman-brews Tue, 17 Nov 2020 22:17:20 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=5134

The Godfather: “You don’t even call me Godfather.”

Like I said before, I can’t turn up a good pun beer, especially when its a Godfather themed beer pun. How can you resist when the name of ‘Growfather’ the hop cone looks great on the can and kind of works in a reverse way of the puppet look from the novel, the font is the same / near same as the book and movie, and its by a good brewery like Stickman Brews?

Make an offer he can’t refuse

Its like the can made me an offer… and I couldn’t refuse it. (I know… I know… low hanging fruit, but I couldn’t turn it up.) This is just one of those iconic lines, like Vader telling Luke he’s his father (oh my god… spoilers!), like a little boy telling Bruce Willis he sees dead people… (The Fifth Element?), etc. Its constantly punned, constantly quoted, and done. I couldn’t refuse doing it either.

It’s Strictly Business

There’s nothing personal about doing the joke, its just strictly business. …oh no… I went and did it again, reaching out and hitting the lowest hanging fruit on the tree. Like picking the hops near the bottom of the vine instead of at the top. Ugh. Sorry…. maybe I’ll grab some coffee and come back and re-start this beer review….

The Godfather wants some coffee

Sigh. Oh, sigh. Well, lets move on, shall we? Maybe I can right this review and get it going correctly so my family doesn’t turn against me…

Never take sides against the family

Well…. I’m done. Thats it. I give up. I just can’t do this review. I… just… this just keeps going on… and on… and on…. and on…

Ah hah! Gotcha. You thought I was going to keep the gag going didn’t you? That I would just keep continuing doing .gif /memes of The Godfather indefinitely didn’t you?

How did things ever get so far?

Alright, alright, alright. I’m done. Lets get to reviewing this beer shall we?

The Growfather by Stickman Brews

Beer: The Growfather
Brewery: Stickman Brews
Style: IPA – Imperial / Double New England
ABV: 8%
IBU: None
Untappd Description:

Just what you would expect from George Martorano, The GrowFather. This Double IPA is crazy dank, full of orange, citrus, and peach notes from all Pacific Northwest hops. Full bodied and smooth, with a silky mouthfeel from oats.
* Contains lactose

Stickman Brews is a micro brewery from Royersford Pennsylvania. They make some tremendous beers and their beer can art is usually stick figure drawings, typically done by Bartley Kaminiski. He does work for Pizza Boy, Hemauer, etc, and does a wonderful job. He also runs Hop Hedz Gear and does a lot of promotions and events for breweries and places. Great and funny dude too. Not sure if he did the work on this logo, but if he did, kudos and job well done.

As you can see from my picture (which I took in front of my hops even though they are done for the year, I didn’t take them down… until after I poured this glass, and then got to work on taking them down and chopping up the vines and composting them), this is a beautifully golden hued Double IPA in the hazy New England vein. Its opaque and hazy, its bright orange and golden, and it had a wonderful smallish head that poured out nicely and gave it a gorgeous froth top. Carbonation was on point for the can.

This has a wonderful hop aroma right out the gate, as soon as you crack it open and pour it. Pacific Northwest has some of the best hop smell and is a favorite hop for me. You get citrus, orange, and peach. Sometimes with the right conjunction with other hops you can really use Pacific Northwest to bring mango out too (from the other hop variety) and give it a wonderful peach / mango aroma and flavor. For this – (The Growfather) you get a lot of orange and peach with some citrus. There is no earthy, grassy, or piney hop notes, and its very heavy orange, peach, citrus. Gives it a very dank and powerful and hop dense aroma.

Oh this tastes just like a good New England double IPA should right out the gate. So bright and flavorful and tasty immediately. Hop explosion full of orange, peach, and citrus immediately hitting your tastbuds as soon as you take the first sip. This is smooth and easy to drink too. I crushed it while working on the hops, cutting down the vines and my hemp string, and cutting and chopping them up for mulching and composting. (I had already picked the hops, had just left the vines up a bit longer for nourishment.) This wasn’t overly strong, but it wasn’t light easy. But it was certainly smooth. You felt the 8% at the end, but not while drinking. The peach and orange and citrus really go well with the silky smoothness and it has no true hop bite, just a lot of hop flavor. It is dank and the aroma on this is just wonderful too. You get more peach and orange I feel than citrus, but that’s not a bad thing in my perspective for the beer. It is just a really well crafted double imperial IPA – New England style – beer, and it is really tasty, really smooth, really enjoyable. Summer time, winter time, fall time, spring time, this is a great beer year round.

My Untappd Rating: ****.25
Global Untappd Rating: 4.03 (as of 11.17.20)

Alright, the review is over, its time to stop, and smell the roses now…

Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses

Ok…. and on that note, thank you everyone, you’ve been great, this has been a wonderful evening, make sure to tip your waiter or bartender and drive home safely now!

Thank you for the dinner

Edit note: I started this review before leaving for the trip, and finished it now, so I updated the Untappd (global) rating to today’s date. I also want to let everyone know I am working on the full Indy trip articles and they will be coming out slowly. It is also still November, so I am still doing an article a day. Hopefully you enjoy. You can find the Indy articles below, as well as some recent beer reviews, and all of our social media pages. Thank you and cheers!

-B. Kline

The Trip to Indianapolis:

Also, be sure to check out some of our other beer reviews in recent history:

You can check out the tabs at the top of each page to visit our BEER REVIEWSBEER EDUCATIONTRAVELOGUES, etc. Be sure to check out all the latest beer reviews, as we’re pumping a lot out in recent time.

Also, tonight I will be on Knights of Nostalgia with Drew playing Konami games, so be sure to follow, watch, like, and check us out. We will be drinking, playing games, and talking it up, so make sure to watch!

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – FacebookTwitterInstagramYouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

]]>
5134
Beer Review: Flavor Guided Juice Missile (Tattered Flag) https://thebeerthrillers.com/2020/07/10/beer-review-flavor-guided-juice-missile-tattered-flag/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=beer-review-flavor-guided-juice-missile-tattered-flag Fri, 10 Jul 2020 17:40:16 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=3863
Flavor Guided Juice Missile by Tattered Flag in collaboration with Hop Hedz Gear

This is part two of our Tattered Flag and Hop Hedz Gear collaboration releases beer reviews. The release was three beers – Going Rogue, Flavor Guided Juice Missile, and Flavor Guided Juice Missile DDH with Guava. This is the second of the three beer reviews, the first we tackled was Going Rogue, a raspberry sour. This – (the regular version) Flavor Guided Juice Missile is a DIPA (Double / Imperial IPA). We will cover the DDH (Double Dry Hopped) with Guava version next time.

If interested in more information on Tattered Flag and Hop Hedz Gear’s can release, check out my review of the Going Rogue.

To watch the awesome video Bart did as part of Hop Hedz Gear and his work with the Tattered Flag guys, check that out here:

I also want to say thank you to Justin for dropping the 4-pack of beers off to me while we were chilling at Boneshire Brew Works the other day. Nothing beats fresh off the canning line; day of canning beers. One of my favorite aspects of helping the canning line is standing there tilting a few back while getting some work done.

Tattered Flag beers

Now that we got all the official and important information out of the way, lets get to the beer review.

Flavor Guided Juice Missile by Tattered Flag

Beer: Flavor Guided Juice Missile
Brewery: Tattered Flag
Style: IPA – Imperial / Double – New England
ABV: 8.1%
IBU: (None Listed)
Untappd Description: Double NEIPA brewed with a monster amount of wheat and oats hopped and Double dry hopped with Amarillo, Denali, and Cashmere Cryo hops for big notes of earthy berries up front complimented with a crisp melon and citrus finish.

Like a typical IPA from Tattered Flag, this is a bright, juicy, NE-IPA that is delicious and tasty.

Appearance is a good hazy, normal looking New England IPA (or IIPA / DIPA). Orange – yellow with a golden hue, hazy, thin white foamy head. Good carbonation, good texture, and good appearance.

Nose is nice and hoppy as well, just like a good IPA should always be. This has got a very powerful citrus punch to it, you get a bit of a cantaloupe and melon rind. A good New England IPA / DIPA always has that juicy, tasty, silky like smell to it, where you can taste the haze and the juice and the hops before you even sip it. Just making you want to take that first sip. Always love taking a good strong sniff of a NE-IPA before even sipping. Just like a roasty stout, you just know exactly what you’re in for as soon as you take a sniff of a NE-IPA.

And exactly how it smells, is exactly how it tastes. Juicy, hoppy, citrusy, notes of the cantaloupe, melon, and melon rind really light this up. Its strong too, tasting more like a 9.5%+ beer than an 8.1% ABV, but even still, 8.1% is good enough for most folks to get them in trouble after a few. The mouthfeel is spot on with this, slick, and easy sipping, light, but you get the weight of the ABV, a full bodied beer that feels right as you drink. This is a great example of the NE-IPA style, its a strong drink but good for the summer heat all at the same time, juicy and tasty and not holding anything back.

My Untappd Rating: ****.50
Global Untappd Rating: (none yet, first to drink it, as of 7.10.20) EDIT: 4.11 (as of 7.13.20)

Cheers everyone, make sure to check out the other parts of this review series. Hope you enjoy! And make sure to go and grab the beers at Tattered Flag. They won’t last long I’m sure!

-B. Kline

Tattered Flag and Hop Hedz Gear Beer Release:

]]>
3863
Beer Review: Going Rogue (Tattered Flag) https://thebeerthrillers.com/2020/07/09/beer-review-going-rogue-tattered-flag/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=beer-review-going-rogue-tattered-flag Thu, 09 Jul 2020 17:46:27 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=3844
Going Rogue by Tattered Flag in collaboration with Hop Hedz Gear

It’s not every day I get to review beers that aren’t even released yet, so this is a fun change of pace. Yesterday (Wednesday, 7.8.20) was my first day off work since starting back up, and my plan was to stop at Boneshire Brew Works for a beer or two (they had Rotunda’s Wootenberries sWheat Tart – which was actually the plan for today’s beer review) and then run my errands. I had the Rotunda sWheat Tart, then the Sly Fox and Stoudt’s Black Lager collaboration, and then Justin – the head brewer at Tattered Flag stopped out to join me at Boneshire Brew Works after he got done at work.

Needless to say, I never ran my errands.

Justin left around 8:45ish or so, and I ended up leaving a bit after around 9-930ish. After that, I went do D. Scott’s place to drink some of the new beers and hang out, we enjoyed the Going Rogue sour and the Flavor Guided Juice Missile (regular version). We watched the latest Halloween (from a few years back) and Friday the 13th, Part V.

My beer at Boneshire Brew Works with the beers Justin dropped off for me.

Justin was telling me it was a long day of canning at Tattered Flag and doing the behind the scenes stuff for Bart’s Hop Hedz Gear promotion with the beers. Speaking of that promotion, you can watch their video here:

Bart does a great job of being entertaining and funny with his promotions, in-person and online. So always be sure to check him out and check out his store – Hop Hedz Gear.

The four-pack of beers from Tattered Flag that Justin dropped off

So, this friday (tomorrow – 7.10.20) Tattered Flag is releasing three of those pictured; the ones done in promotion with Hop Hedz Gear. They are: Going Rogue (Sour Fruited), Flavor Guided Juice Missile (IPA) and Flavor Guided Juice Missile DDH w/Guava (Double Dry Hopped IPA). Mercenaries of Juice will get released the following friday (7.17.20).

Going Rogue by Tattered Flag

Beer: Going Rogue
Brewery: Tattered Flag
Style: Sour – Fruited
ABV: 6%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Sour ale conditioned on raspberry puree, cinnamon, vanilla, and lactose.

Apologies for the bad picture above, but it was a long night and D. Scott’s basement (where his studio is set up and the TVs are) has some poor lighting when we’re not doing the streaming or podcasts or YouTube videos. But, anyway, this is a pretty reddish / pinkish to purplish sour. Big foamy head to it, lot of carbonation, with a nice dark sour look to it. Creamy appearance. Nice carbonation. Nice interspersed bubbles.

The nose for this is very heavy raspberry. With hints of the cinnamon sticking out as you take your first whiffs before sipping. You get a sense of the lactose, but nothing definable as far as that goes. The majority of the aroma on this bad boy is the raspberry, and its very powerful and upfront, like a good sour should be.

This is a delicious sour. Its tart, not extremely sour, but just downright tasty. The cinnamon hits a bit hard, so if you’re not into that ‘bite’ this might be off-putting, but its not major detraction or problem even for non-cinnamon fans I would think. The raspberry is incredibly tasty and the most potent part of this beer. This tastes and feels like a big strong beer, but its only 6% so it’s actually quite a bit lighter than you would think. The vanilla and lactose rounds it out nicely, smoothing the cinnamon edges, and making it a smoother and slicker beer. This will make for a wonderful four pack of sippers on the porch in this hot weather. You and a buddy could each crack two of these and enjoy a nice hour or so of socially distanced time together on the porch in the hot sun discussing if there will be a baseball season this year or not (and discuss how bad the Phils will do, at least we know they can’t lose more than sixty games this year). From appearance, to nose, to taste, this is a great beer.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global: I was the first to check it in, so there’s no other ratings yet.

Be sure to be on the lookout for this tomorrow at Tattered Flag. Released with the two Flavor Guided Juice Missiles as well. This will be a great release, and make sure to check out the video Bart produced for Hop Hedz Gear. This will definitely not be a release you will want to miss out on.

I want to thank Justin for the beers, was a nice surprise and drop, and was great hanging out with you at Boneshire. Always great to get beers fresh off the canning line. I will likely have the review of the Flavor Guided Juice Missile tomorrow to accompany this review. I was thinking of doing this as a multi-beer review, but I figured I’d split it up into a few beer reviews due to their release and all. So be on the lookout tomorrow for the Flavor Guided Missile review. Also, since I switched it up, be on the lookout in the near future for the Rotunda Wootenberries sWheat Tart review as well.

I do also want to point out that I edited the home page and start of the blog. So please be sure to check that out at HOME PAGE and let us know what you think of the changes. The top is now more navigable and there’s more easily accessible links, as well as links right to our social media accounts. Also, the font has been changed, and I hope its more readable and flowing. Not that there was anything wrong with our old font or that it was unreadable, but I just like this new font a bit more. But all the same, let us know what you think of the changes. Good or bad. Love to hear from you guys. Thanks!

Cheers all!

-B. Kline

]]>
3844
Beer Review: Irish Car Bomb Nitro Stout (Rotunda Brewing Company) https://thebeerthrillers.com/2020/03/16/beer-review-irish-car-bomb-nitro-stout-rotunda-brewing-company/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=beer-review-irish-car-bomb-nitro-stout-rotunda-brewing-company Mon, 16 Mar 2020 13:09:05 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=2605
There is nothing quite like starting your day off with 9AM Irish Car Bombs…. unless their Rotunda Brewing Company’s Irish Car Bomb Nitro Stouts!

Its March 14th, Pi Day, and doom and gloom, national hysteria, societal collapse, is all impending and collecting around the fringes of our collective consciousness. The end is nigh. What do you do? …Simple. Irish Car Bombs at 9AM awaiting Kegs and Eggs.

Now, obviously, this is not a “traditional” Irish Car Bomb. BUT…. it is called Irish Car Bomb (Nitro Stout) and it is better than a Guinness at being the same thing. You could easily do the ‘real’ Irish Car Bomb with this beer, and it’d be better than using a Guinness (also a lot more filling, richer, and probably lead to even more car bombs than the traditional Guinness approach).

For those not in the know, an Irish Car Bomb is a drink / shot. You have a full pint (or for some a half-pint) of Guinness. You then drop a shot of either half and half of Bailey’s and Jameson or straight up Jameson into the pint, and chug all (both pint and shot) as one. Its delicious, its tradition, and its pretty much the only way I do shots anymore unless harassed and harangued into doing some by co-workers when out and about at dive bars with them. (See Tuesday night / Wednesday morning for proof of that.)

But, this could easily replace the Guinness in those shots, and would be much better. Its smoother, tastier, creamier, more delicious, all around better than a Guinness while being pretty much the same thing.

Comparison sake:
Guinness Draught:
Style: Stout – Irish Dry
ABV: 4.2%
IBU: 45
Untappd Description:

Swirling clouds tumble as the storm begins to calm. Settle. Breathe in the moment, then break through the smooth, light head to the bittersweet reward.

Unmistakeably GUINNESS, from the first velvet sip to the last, lingering drop. And every deep-dark satisfying mouthful in between.

Pure beauty. Pure GUINNESS.

Guinness Draught is sold in kegs, widget cans, and bottles. The ABV varies from 4.1 to 4.3%. Guinness Extra Cold is the exact same beer only served through a super cooler at 3.5 °C
Global Untappd Rating: 3.79 (as of 3.16.20)

Rotunda Brewing Company’s Irish Car Bomb Nitro Stout:
Style: Stout – Irish Dry
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: No IBU
Untappd Description: (Blank)
Global Untappd Rating: 4.31 (as of 3.16.20)

So stat wise; you go from a 4.2% to a 5.5% ABV. No mention of IBU in the second so can’t really compare. And also no description, so if your looking for information on the beer going in, your getting a blank. But I can tell you… which one is better. So thats just what I’ll do.

So lets run this beer down and drink up for St. Patty’s Day and for The End of Times. So cheers to the end of all things and for the doom of society!

Irish Car Bomb (Nitro Stout) by Rotunda Brewing Company

Beer: Irish Car Bomb (Nitro Stout)
Brewery: Rotunda Brewing Company
Style: Stout – Irish Dry
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: None Listed
Untappd Description: (blank)

First off, you can tell this is creamy. Just look at that picture! Nitro is one of the best things that has ever happened to beer, and this proves why. It provides a wonderful robust creamyness to this already good looking beer. It is dark, Razor Ramon hair black, midnight black, your ex’s soul black. It has a super rich, creamy head to it. The whole appearance of this looks frothy, rich, creamy, decadent. (Don’t worry, it lives up to it.)

Aroma is malty, rich, and creamy. You are going to see the word ‘creamy’ a lot in this review. Maybe I should have led off about that getting people to do a drinking game everytime they see the word creamy in the review. An Irish Car Bomb (shot included) everytime they read the word creamy in this review? ….Ah you poor schmucks would be dead by the end of the review then! Anyway, back to the aroma….. this has a deep malt smell, roasted malt, with vanilla, the nitro brings out that and the deep roasted malts and also highlights the caramel malts a bit as well. All around this smells as delicious as it looks… and it certainly does…. look….. creamy.

Creamy. Creamy. Creamy. Creamy. This. Is. Creamy. Oh… did I mention; that its creamy? You guys still alive out there doing the drinking game? Because if so…. its creamy. Despite its 5.5% ABV, this is a strong, dark, deep, rich, full, and filling beer. Its basically brewed on the same premise as a Guinness draught. To be filling, full, and a damn good stout. The ABV doesn’t matter because the beer itself is so full and rich. And with the nitro, it makes it so creamy, and even more rich and full. This is both a beer you could drink TOO many of and also not be able to drink TOO many of. Depending on time of day, mood, food, stomach, etc. You get the dark, roasted malts, the caramel malts, the roast and darkness of this brew really kick into ultra-drive as you drink it down. The richness from the nitro lending a strong sweetness to it is very nice. It does differ from Guinness where there’s not really a lot of bitterness to this. It might be more malty, and it might be more high ABV, (4.2% to 5.5%) but its certainly a lot sweeter. Not in a bad way, but for a traditional Irish Dry Stout some might prefer some level of bitterness to this, where here its pretty more nonexistent. This is a full, and delicious beer, as it warms you get even more essence out of it, and it just broadens and opens up more, offering the fullness of its vast flavors and ingredients. This is a wonderful beer at 9AM to start your day with breakfast, and even better to be the kick-off lead-in beer before doing a Kegs and Eggs mini-brewfest! (It certainly helped stave off the gloom and doom anyway!)

My Untappd Rating: ****.50
Global Untappd Rating: 4.31 (as of 3.16.20)

Like I said, March 14th (Saturday), was the Kegs and Eggs (2020) brewfest and event at The Batdorf and Rotunda Brewing Company in Annville, Pennsylvania. I am working on the write-up of the event as we speak, and it might get posted tomorrow, or Wednesday. Currently, my job is still open (the only Casino in the state to still be open despite the pandemic going on), so I am still working. I don’t know when I’ll be shut down, if I’ll be shut down, or whats going on. There’s a lot of uncertainty at my job right now, especially since we’re the only ones still open. Ohio Casinos are shut down, Maryland casinos are shut down, the other PA casinos have voluntarily closed…. but we are still open. Financially, health, ethically, there is so much uncertainty at our job right now. Getting to work on the blog is providing a nice escape and stress release for me.

So you can look forward to seeing a Kegs and Eggs (2020) event write-up by myself. I hung out with J. Doncevic, D. Scott, and we caroused our way through sampling from a myriad of breweries in a confined space. Also hanging out with guys from Rotunda Brewing like Kevin, Bryan, and hanging out with Bart from Hop Headz and so many more great people.

I have talked to Karl Larson recently, and he has expressed interest in writing for the blog. So he might start writing soon… or he might not. Either way, no pressure on him. He does have a fantastic Wee Heavy for me to try and review for the blog, that he’s won a National Award for, so I can’t wait for that.

I think I will also be trying to wrap-up my Coronavirus / COVID-19 article. And give ways to help out local breweries. As they are going to be hurting the most from all of this. So please, if you are able to support your small time local breweries (like Boneshire Brew Works, Moo-Duck Brewery, Rotunda Brewing Company, ZeroDay Brewing, etc.), please find ways to help them out where you can. We all need to stick together to get through this.

Also, if you’re new to the blog, please follow us on FACEBOOK and TWITTER and INSTAGRAM. Also click the FOLLOW and SUBSCRIBE here on the blog. And don’t hesitate to leave feedback in the COMMENTS or through our CONTACT PAGE directly. We love to hear from you guys!

Thank you for reading, cheers, and Happy Stone Cold Steve Austin Day!

-B. Kline

]]>
2605