Monday, January 21st was surely a historic day that I will not soon forget. It marked the birthday of the great civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., it was host to the second inaugural ceremony for President Barack Obama, and it was also the setting for a grand celebration at Pinocchio’s Beer Garden in Media.
On Monday, Pinocchio’s was not only a great place to hang out while watching the ceremonies, but it also gave me a great excuse for guiltless day-drinking. The tap list prominently featured Russian River Pliny the Elder and Hill Farmstead Arthur and Anna, as well as Russian River Supplication, Allagash Bourbon Black, Southern Tier Pumking, Evil Twin Mini Growler, Yards Bourbon-aged Love Stout, Uinta Crooked Line Labyrinth, Bruery Five Golden Rings, Omnipollo Moebius DIPA, Local Option American Muscle DIPA, and many more options. The tap selection provided enough amazing beers to keep you drinking until the days end without even having to check the bottle selection.
My brother Tofer and I arrived at Pinocchio’s Beer Garden around one o’clock to find the place busy, but not overly crowded. I was hoping to arrive earlier, but was stymied by the hour or so it took me to pry my brother away from his Xbox 360. The trick to get him off was simple. After giving him a little time to further the quest he was working on in the game Skyrim I read through the tap list available at Pinocchio’s. He quickly saved the game and was ready before I was.
After greeting the friendly and knowledgeable guys behind the counter I proceeded with a stupid question. I asked for a glass of Pliny the Elder more than three hours after it was tapped. Not surprisingly, that keg had already kicked, but I was relieved to hear that both of the Hill Farmstead beers were still on tap. I started with the Arthur and my brother started with 5 Golden Rings, by The Bruery.
Hill Farmstead Arthur
Arthur is a golden yellow saison that clocks in at 6% abv. The light head gave off the aroma of peppery yeast, citrus, light pineapple, as well as a grassy scent. The beer tasted of grassy, lemon, pink peppercorns, and rye. This beer was pretty hoppy for a more traditional saison. It paired citrusy, crisp hops with light grassy grains for a strong crisp flavor that went well with the peppery yeast. This is a great beer that brings a refined subtlety while still incorporating some more robust flavors.
The Bruery 5 Golden Rings
5 Golden Rings is a big 11.5% abv Belgian Strong Pale Ale with intense flavor. This installment of The Bruery’s ‘12 Days of Christmas’ series brings a nice variety to the taste buds through the addition of cinnamon, allspice, ginger and pineapple juice. It’s a beautiful blend of sweetness, spice, and booze. This beer is truly hard to compare to any other beers out there.
Hill Farmstead Anna
Not surprisingly the second beer I tried was the Anna. This had a little to do with the praise I have heard, but more importantly, I chose this as my second because I feared it would be kicked if I didn’t grab a glass quick. Anna, like Arthur, is also a saison, but this one is a little less traditional and has slightly more alcohol at 6.5% abv. This brew had a lighter shade of yellow than the Arthur and had raw Vermont wildflower honey added. The aroma of this beer was absolutely amazing! It smelled like I had stuck my nose into a fruit bowl from the tropics with a bouquet that included pineapple, mango, and peach. Surprisingly enough, this fragrance did not play as big of a role in the flavor. My first sip brought forward the taste of citrus, grassy, biscuit, honey, barnyard funk, and a slight sour flavor. The slightly sour barnyard funk was quite enjoyable paired with the grassy malts and dry mellow fruity sweetness. This is a delicious, very well balanced beer. If you are a saison fan, these two Hill Farmstead beers are a must try.
Evil Twin Mini Growler
I am a huge Evil Twin fan and had to take the chance to sample this 12% ABV Imperial Stout. This beer poured black with a rich brown head that stuck around. The aroma consisted of cocoa, slight coffee, and roasted dark barley. The flavor was intense and was comprised of cocoa, dark roasted barley, chocolate, caramel, slight dark cherry, and vanilla. Mini Growler had a great dark cocoa flavor that has a real bitterness but it melded well with the alcoholic, dark fruit sweetness. This Evil Twin definitely won’t disappoint.
Yards Bourbon Barrel Love Stout
I am a huge Love Stout fan so this beer was yet another must try. If you are not familiar with Love Stout it is an English Sweet Stout brewed with whole oysters that give it an amazing full bodied silky smooth mouthfeel. This batch has been aged in bourbon barrels and was poured from a nitro tap with an ABV of 5.5%. The nitrogen gave my glass a thick tan head that sat atop the pitch black brew. The head had great retention that stuck around for quite some time. The thick head gave off the fragrance of coffee, molasses, bourbon, and chocolate. After letting the foam settle a bit, I gave it a taste and I was greeted with the flavors of coffee, vanilla, oak, caramel, dark fruits, figs, and subtle bourbon. The velvety mouthfeel is just as present and rewarding with this bourbon barrel aged rendition. I definitely tasted the flavors of oak and vanilla from the aging process, but the bourbon was a little more mellow. I honestly prefer this more in this beer. I have tasted enough bourbon barrel aged beers that have so much bourbon soaked into them that the original beer is lost and only the flavors of bourbon are left; But this beer truly maintains its nuances and produces a broader flavor profile.
Local Option American Muscle
American Muscle sells itself as a “New World Double IPA” but with the immense amount of hops and an abv of 12.5%, it is easy to argue that this beer fits in the ‘Triple IPA’ category. This Chicago brew poured a light golden brown revealing a heavier malt presence intended to balance the massive amount of hop oils in this beer. The nose smelled of citrus, pineapple, tropical fruits, and pine. The taste was aggressive and revealed a hop muskiness, citrus, tropical fruits, pine, floral hops, toffee, dark bread, a slight roasted smokiness. The musky floral hop aroma isn’t exactly what I look for in a hop profile, but the beer is still solid. It hides the amped up alcohol content very well and it is a must try for all those hop heads looking for a new hop-bomb to sample.
Omnipollo Moebius
Moebius is a 5% ABV Double IPA that hails from Sweden. It poured golden yellow, with a small head and decent head retention. This DIPA gave off aromas of pineapple, lemon, grassy, biscuit, and fresh dough. This beer had a great balance of fruity, citrusy, piney, and floral hops which gave it a very full flavored hop profile. The malts and yeast were interesting but subtle enough to let the hops steal the show. This beer really brought a great hoppy flavor without having to beat you over the head with it. If you are a hop head that isn’t as big on the overly aggressive hop-bombs this is the beer for you.
Every beer I had at the event was great and, even though it wasn’t the proper pairing for most of them, these beers went down well with a Pinocchio’s pizza. If you were unable to make it to this event Pinocchio’s Beer Garden has plenty more on the way.
On Thursday the 31st, they will be hosting an Evolution Brewing Co. tap takeover with their Evo rep and Evo founder Tom Knorr. On the following Friday they will be premiering Ship Bottom Brewing Co. with the founder and brewer Rob Zarko. This will be the first time Ship Bottom will be sold anywhere commercially. You can read the Media Dish’s full Q & A with Rob Zarko here.
You can keep updated on Pinocchio’s full list of events on their website or by following them on Facebook or Twitter.
Pinocchio photographs credited to Nina Lea Photography; Farmstead photograph credited to Carl Hungus.
