Thursday, August 2, 2007

Yulesmith

I finally got a summer Yulesmith last week and it exceeded expectations. Its color was a rich British tan and the smell was floral. Alesmith has had carbonation issues in the past. Carbonation was not a problem on this beer as a standard pour resulted in half the glass being head. The head was pure white and it took a few minutes for it to dissipate enough to drink the beer. The hops were prominent, like all good double IPAs, and the finish was balanced not overly bitter. I love the sweet and bitter conflict in a quality IPA. I have two Yulesmith's left and will buy more if the opportunity arises.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Return to Dallas

I had to return to Dallas today and my return flight was delayed. I was in Dallas / Ft Worth Airport's new D Terminal. It sure is nice, a huge improvement from the older terminals. Spacious with shops and restaurants. I looked around trying to find an interesting beer - something more exciting than Bud Light. I found an Irish pub, well, as much of an Irish pub as can be in an airport terminal. Its name was Tigin and it's located near gates D-17 to D-21. It has the staples, Bass, Guinness and Bud Light. The interesting beer was a Smithwick's Irish Ale. It's billed as Ireland’s oldest beer. It tasted OK. It had a mineral aftertaste that's in other British Isle ales. I paid $8.00 for the pint! It was a 20 oz. pint, but still at $8.00, it was outrageous. Smithwick's is owned by Diageo so I guess it's not that interesting.