Oh, the Pete's I've known

Okay, so by beer of the week, I actually meant, sometimes I will write a beer review.

I have had the good fortune to know many wonderful Pete's in my life. First, there was my Uncle Pete. Technically, he was my dad's uncle, the husband of my grandmother's sister. (I know, you totally read this blog for the family tree, right?) Affectionately known as Buggo, he loved to sit in his chair and watch Western movies and never failed to make everyone around him laugh with a (sometimes delightfully tiny-bit off-color) joke. Everyone loved Uncle Pete.

The next Pete who came into my life was not a human, but a joke, told by my dad:

Dad: Pete and Repeat are sitting on a bench. Pete fell off and who was left?
4 year old me: RePete!
Dad: Pete and Repeat are sitting on a bench, Pete fell off and who was left?
4yom: ReRete!

Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, until I was crying and my sides hurt from laughing so hard. I couldn't understand WHY on EARTH, when I said ReRete (a name that seemed like the formal of Pete, kind of like RuPaul) it caused my dad to say the first part again. (In other words, I was not yet familiar with the definition of "repeat.") And if there's anything hilarious to a small child, it's repitition.

And that brings me to the final Pete I know well (omg, I really hope I'm not leaving out a close, intimate Pete) - my friend who covets the ranch dressing hose. He's kind, generous, loves food and drink in large quantities, and his biggest joy in life seems to be helping people move. He has also made me laugh until my sides hurt.

So, I guess that's the thing with Petes. They make you laugh. Which is why I was so disappointed in the Peter's Brand beer pictured above. It did not make me laugh. Or even smile. It did remind me of something one would drink at a flip-cup table - and flip cup can be fun.

Peter's Brand, by United Export Brewery
Pluses: It comes in 16 oz. cans, which is a nice size. Nice head, neutral smell. Available cheaply at Trader Joe's.
Minuses: Tastes like bitter Busch Light. I wanted to like it. But I didn't.

Recommendation: If you're throwing a beer blowout for someone named Pete - IT WOULD BE PERFECT. Otherwise, eh, pass.

Beer, beer, beer of the week! It's the beer of the week!

I like beer. This is probably obvious from the pumpkin beer tasting during squash week, but I thought I'd mention it again just in case anyone out there forgot. So I'm going to try to introduce a new regular feature about some funky, interesting, or seasonal offerings from the many great microbreweries out there these days. If you have any suggestions of beers I should include in the new "Beer, beer, beer of the week! It's the beer of the week!" feature, please let me know in the comments.

Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer
21st Amendment Brewery

Watermelon? In a beer? How crazy is that?! I first had this out at The Black Squirrel in DC, and was so excited to see it my local liquor store I may have squealed a tiny bit. (Brief shout out to the staff at Cleveland Park Wines, who can and will order anything you want - including the Scottish beer for my wedding - and will also make the beer truck driver move when he is blocking your car in its parking space. Thanks Santos!)

Back to the beer - it's an extremely refreshing, light, crisp wheat beer with the perfect hint of watermelon. It has a slightly sweet finish, but nothing that should scare you off. It's a good sweet. (If you're weirded out about fruit in your beer, think of Magic Hat #9. That's brewed with apricots.) It's the dead of winter, but I can't wait to have this at a picnic in the summer.

Recommendation: A must try. But maybe wait until a really hot day.

And the winner is!

I know I've been a bit delinquent in announcing the winner of the House of Mango Hands 2009 Pumpkin Beer Tasting. If you're hazy on the contestants, you can catch up here, here, and here. I'm very pleased to present the gold medal to...

Will Stevens' Pumpkin Ale, by Wolaver's!

This was a fun challenge for me, comparing the subtleties of so many different kinds of pumpkin beer. Maybe it will be a yearly feature, as there are many more brands of pumpkin beer that didn't make it into our brackets.

I know there were a few people pulling for the Punkin Ale by Dogfish, and I agree that it is a damn fine brew. But in the end, the Wolaver's was the unanimous winner, with a lovely wheaty undertone and the perfect pumpkin and spice notes. Plus, the Dogfish was $10 for four beers, and I found a six-pack of Wolaver's for $8.49. More beer for less money! Who isn't a fan of that?

So, as this competition comes to an end, I leave you with a little song that I learned from my old friend Dean. It goes like this:

Beer
beer
beer
biddly beer
beer
beer

Now try singing it in rounds with a friend!

Final first round bracket

And introducing the final two competitors in the House of Mango Hands pumpkin beer tasting of 2009!

Ichabod, by New Holland Brewing Company
First of all, this beer has a headless person on their label. Good thing this was a blind tasting or I may have been swayed. (I'm such a sucker for good packaging.) This beer had a mild nose, and was darker than all the other competitors. It was yeasty and tasted like a brown ale with a minor pumpkin flavor, subtle spice, and mild hoppiness.



Will Stevens' Pumpkin Ale, by Wolaver's Brewing Company
The beer had a good nose of spice and was a beautiful caramel color. It had a pleasant taste of pumpkin pie, yet was also reminiscent of a wheat beer. A very nice incorporation of pumpkin without being overwhelming.


Winner: Will Stevens'

Battle of the brews, bracket two

Pumpkin beer tasting continues here at the House of Mango Hands.

The second bracket contenders are:

Punkin Ale, by Dogfish Head Brewing Company
This beer has a lovely rich amber color, with a pleasant nose of vanilla, but had no head when poured. It had a slightly hoppy flavor, with subtle pumpkin notes. Tastes mostly of beer with just the right hint of pumpkin and spice. Overall, a nicely balanced fall beer.




Pumpkin Ale, Smuttynose Brewing Company
An unfiltered beer, the Smutty had an intriguing citrus nose with a lovely thick head. It was high on the hoppiness scale, and while it had a slight spice note, tasters had a hard time detecting any pumpkin flavor. Overall it's a good beer, but it could not hold its own in a pumpkin contest.

Winner: Punkin

Round One - Fight!

We here at the House of Mango Hands are doing a pumpkin beer tasting. I bought six different brands of pumpkin beer that will be blind taste-tested to determine the king (or queen) of squash beers. Beers will be paired up for an initial head-to-head competition. The winner of each match will move on to compete in an Ultimate Cagefighting Championship. And by that I mean a final tasting to determine the winner.

Each beer is covered with a paper bag, and poured into a pint glass to observe color, head, and smell before tasting.

I present to you the first two contestants:

Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale, brewed by Michelob Brewing Company.
It had a lovely deep color, but mysteriously did not have much of a smell. The head was a bit thin. It was watery, and tasted mostly of cinnamon and cloves, with little to no pumpkin flavor. The House of Mango Hands would not recommend purchasing this beer. Although we do have 5 left, so if you come to visit we'll probably make you drink one.


Post Road Pumpkin Ale, brewed by Brooklyn Brewing Company. It was nearly identical in color to Jack's, but had a nice thick head and a pleasant odor of spice. The beer was full bodied and had a nice balance of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and vanilla spice flavors. A hint of pumpkin flavor came through, without being overpowering.

Winner: Post Road.