JimTheBeerGuy wrote:One person I met last night, Steve Mosqueda from the Drinking and Writing Theater, presented a 5 minute preview of a film they made and it looks like it'll be fun to watch. It's a documentary about doing a 4-day bar crawl along the full length of Western Avenue that they say will be finished and coming out in March. After the preview I got a few words in with him 'cause I was curious not only about the 4-day, 24 mile pub crawl as a whole, but especially how it went going through Beverly.

Looks like this preview is up on Youtube now in case anyone is interested.

I made it to Haymarket yesterday for food and drinks and am already planning a return visit. We ordered a good section of the beer menu and quite a bit of food. First, the food: we had the bratwurst sandwich, fish and chips, sausage sampler, and the mac and cheese with bacon add-on. The mac and cheese with topknot of thick cut lardons was so good that we ordered a second round. I was really impressed with the sausage sampler - three distinct sausages, all juicy, with 2 mustards, baguette and red cabbage slaw. The slaw had a surprising depth of flavor. It was one of several details that made me realize that someone is taking special care in the kitchen. The bratwurst sandwich was very tasty. The fish and chips was perhaps my least favorite, but it still went down plenty easy with all the beers. Onto the drinks - I had a Bloody Martyr (bloody mary) which came with a housemade pickle and 4 oz. pour of pilsner. This was a great bloody mary - packed with horseradish - and it went down in a matter of minutes. We had the Alarm double IPA, a couple rounds of the Mother Jones dubbel, and a couple rounds of something called Fear. Across the board, I thought these beers were very drinkable. I was very impressed with the Haymarket, and the packed house would seem to indicate that they've hit on something good here.

Three of us managed to go through their entire house beer list (no dinky taster sizes either) and the consensus was that they ranged from ok to good. Nothing stood out as wonderful, nor were there many real duds.

The blue cheese pizza was pretty good.

Haymarket continues to be hit or miss for me. Current taplist is fine, though most of their beer is 7% and up. I guess that's what guest taps are for. I came in tonight primarily for Indignant, their first (I think?) barrel-aged stout. It's pretty damn good - strong bourbon flavor off the bat, though not as hot as, for example, Goose's Bourbon County. Strong chocolate flavor past the bourbon, nice btterness and carbonation, too. I think there were plans to bottle this release but they fell through. Growlers are available, though, for ~$40. overall, it's worth trying but I wouldn't bend over backwards to get it.

I also went through their Barney IPA (fine, really, but it lacked body), Angry Birds IPA (really nice, a rye-based Belgian IPA) and the Mathius (good, overall, but it kind of tasted muddled). Food was 'meh' and overpriced - house special The Riot (spicy pork patty with pulled pork, giardenera and mozzarella) was one-note, and the pulled pork was thin on flavor and texture. Including fries - thin, McDonalds-type and better-than-decent - it was $14. I'll stick to small plates if I come back. Service at the bar was a little too sporadic for my taste.

Haymarket continues to be hit or miss for me. Current taplist is fine, though most of their beer is 7% and up. I guess that's what guest taps are for. I came in tonight primarily for Indignant, their first (I think?) barrel-aged stout. It's pretty damn good - strong bourbon flavor off the bat, though not as hot as, for example, Goose's Bourbon County. Strong chocolate flavor past the bourbon, nice btterness and carbonation, too. I think there were plans to bottle this release but they fell through. Growlers are available, though, for ~$40. overall, it's worth trying but I wouldn't bend over backwards to get it.

I also went through their Barney IPA (fine, really, but it lacked body), Angry Birds IPA (really nice, a rye-based Belgian IPA) and the Mathius (good, overall, but it kind of tasted muddled). Food was 'meh' and overpriced - house special The Riot (spicy pork patty with pulled pork, giardenera and mozzarella) was one-note, and the pulled pork was thin on flavor and texture. Including fries - thin, McDonalds-type and better-than-decent - it was $14. I'll stick to small plates if I come back. Service at the bar was a little too sporadic for my taste.

You can take the brewer out of Rock Bottom but you can't always take the Rock Bottom out of the brewer.

Anyone been lately? Anny favorites?
I'm going to try to grab a couple growlers to bring home Friday after work. I have 2 I'm leaning twards...

Haymarket wrote:Speakerswagon Pilsner ABV: 5.8
Haymarket Pub & Brewery

Stand on the wagon and speak up! Demand delicious, fresh, hand-crafted pilsner brewed with imported pilsen malt, loads of Saaz hops and authentic lager yeast! Crisp and clean and hoppy. Fight for your right!

Haymarket wrote:The Saison Also Rises ABV: 6.5
Haymarket Pub & Brewery

This traditional straw colored Belgian Farmhouse ale is brewed with pilsen malt and authentic yeast from one of Belgium's classic saison brewers. Malty yet dry, spicy and floral notes make this complex ale super drinkable and a conversation starter.

Mathias is my favorite beer I've had from Haymarket. The saison is pretty decent. Oscar's Pardon is a nice sessionable beer.

I'll look at the Mathias - thanks!

Went earlier this week for lunch and really enjoyed the Mathias: big, piney and sweet. I really like the clear pricing on multiple sizes for beers, makes it a nice spot to sample. Guest taps selection was varied and interesting.

mtgl wrote:My impressions line up with Jimthebeerguy's: the Belgian pale was decidedly young, and with Amarillo hops, side by side with the also-Amarillo IPA, it was all washed out. Likewise, what should have been good Belgian yeastiness lost out to the dubbel, which was a bit thin but compared pretty nicely to the Bernardus 8 I had the night before.

I was impressed with the knowledgeable, friendly service and the guest draft roster at Haymarket, along with the inexpensive pours to facilitate personalized tastings. If only more of their own offerings were that substantial. The (Bieber's) banana hefeweizen was both prickly and watery, and just not stylistic. The IPA was sulfurous and bitter, and not complex and fun-bitter like it could or should be. The Rive Gauche was at least interesting, yeast-fragrant, citrusy, and refreshing. My experience lines up with the comments above on everything tasting young. The Sun King guests were stronger - the Wee Mac was a welcomed counterpoint. Haymarket's Mathias has been good on other visits - if I'm missing something else (seasonal or otherwise) to keep an eye out for, please point me in the right direction.

With all of the craft beer events going on last week, I managed to try a couple of Haymarket beers that were really good. Almost worth seeking out (if you like seeking out specific beers). I thought Angry Birds (Belgian-style rye IPA) was great, though I am biased towards rye beers anyway. Nice Belgian punch from the yeast with a decent amount of spice and citrus on the nose. Good body, too. Another hit was the Janna Montana -- and based on the description, I never would have thought it would be any good. Haymarket calls it an imperial Belgian black IPA. And it's been aged in bourbon barrels (of course). I wouldn't say that I was necessarily able to pick up on each of those components -- ie. I didn't necessarily get any specific Belgian-style flavors, etc. But all together, it was delicious. Boozy without being a thick, sludgy mess with a decent hop kick, too, to keep things tasting bright. Good carbonation, too. I also made my way through a decent amount of Mathias, too, and it struck me as being almost as good as Three Floyds' Dreadnaught (my personal favorite DIPA).

But were these enough to really change my mind about Haymarket, in general? Not so much. The food needs to improve (though maybe it has - someone just told me they brought in a new chef recently) -- but even then, it's not a terribly convenient location for me and I'd just as soon visit Revolution (brewery opens on Wednesday, fyi! 16 taps!!).