Beer Madness Update: Troegs Makes the Finals!

The Washington Post has revealed its Beer Madness finalists: It comes down to Troegs Hopback v. Ommegang Hennepin. Last year Troegs made the Final Four but was shut out of the chamionship.

Beer Madness

The Washington Post unveiled their annual Beer Madness competition this week --  it's a tournament competition modeled on NCAA basketball's March Madness.  The lineup is usually a curious mix of craft & macro, regional & national brands, and this year's bracket runs the gamut from Bud Light Lime to Ommegang Hennepin.  Beers are initially paired according to style, and then the bracket proceeds to mix styles as it progresses.

The Pennsylvania beer scene is well represented, with Troegs HopBack Amber Ale, Stoudts Scarlet Lady Ale and Yuengling's Lord Chesterfield Ale.  In the first round, HopBack and Scarlet Lady advanced, while Lord Chesterfield fell to the unfortunately named Honker's Ale from Goose Island Beer Co. in Chicago.

Last year Troegs HopBack made it to the Final Four, and I'll be cheering them on along with Stoudts this year.

(Hat tip: JR)

Obamagang Follow Up

Tim & I made it to Tria (Washington West) yesterday to sample Ommegang's Inauguration Ale.
Here's what Tim had to say:
"I found it very well balanced, and as not a huge fan of cherries, was
pleasantly surprised that there was just the barest hint of cherry,
and sourness, to balance the richness of the chocolate and roasted
malt flavors."
Here are my thoughts:
Very dark in color but surprisingly light in body. It was pretty easy going for an imperial porter/stout. Very smooth and, as Tim mentioned, just a bit of that sour cherry bite at the end.

I heard that some bars are hoarding kegs of this stuff (possibly to haul out for Philly Beer Week!) and I don't blame them.

Ommegang Inauguration Ale

Brewery Ommegang is bringing out a limited-edition, draft-only beer to celebrate tomorrow's inaugural festivities.  

From Ommegang's press release:

Inauguration Ale (a.k.a. Obamagang)
January - February
6.2% ABV - Draft only

The TTB won't let us call the beer Obamagang on the keg label. So it will be known legally as Inauguration Ale 2009, but the tap handles will be more...um...direct. The style lies between a porter and stout, with a bit of Kriek and a touch of chocolate blended in. It will be on draft only, beginning with the inauguration - in limited areas including DC, NYC, Syracuse, Philly, Chicago and Boston. We will donate a percentage of sales to charities in the respective cities where the beer is sold, and we've asked our distributors to match our donations and pick the local charities. (Also please note that the beer is not an endorsement of Obama.) 

I was going to ask you, dear reader, to help us find bars pouring Obamagang Ommegang Inauguration Ale in Philadelphia tomorrow.  But the Brew Lounge already did!  I need to learn to use the Google better.  

Not on the Brew Lounge list is Tria Café, who will be pouring Ommegang Inauguration Ale starting at 4pm tomorrow. 

If you know of any other bars to add to the list, let us know in the comments.  

Update: The Femme Fermental reports that Teresa's Next Door in Wayne and TJ's in Paoli have it too.