Beer Review! Sam Adams 26.2

Usually after running a marathon I indulge in several rounds of beer and nachos. This year, because I was pretty darn dehydrated, I decided to play it safe even after finishing 7L of sports drink. Still, there was no way I could pass up trying Sam Adams special 26.2 Boston Brew which they made special for the marathon. Since they only distributed this beer to a limited number of Boston spots, I figured a review would be in order so those of you unable to make it to the Hub over Patriot's Day weekend could live vicariously through me.

26.2 is a Gose beer, a relatively obscure style closely associated with the German city of Leipzig. One thing that makes this style so special is that it departs from the standards of the Reinheitsgebot (the German beer purity law).* Gose is a top-fermented beer, brewed with more than 50% malted wheat and finished with malted barley. So far, sounds pretty standard, right? Well, in addition to hops, the beer is spiced with coriander and salt--yes you read that correctly, salt. It's also relatively low in alcohol, with the 26.2 interpretation coming it at 4.5%. Now you see why the Sam Adams folks figured it would be a good post-marathon beer!

I had this beer on tap at Fenway during the post-marathon open house so I was drinking from a plastic cup. It had a nice light golden color and was a little cloudy (though since my cup wasn't completely clear hard to say how much of this was the cup). I could certainly smell the coriander, but also some citrus rind. Anyway, I was far more interested in drinking this one than smelling it--I was still very thirsty.

At first taste you certainly notice the citrus notes and the breadiness of the wheat. Next, though, you notice the salt which gives the beer a nice dry finish. This is really perfect on a hot day and Monday was a very hot day. The brew was moderately carbonated which helped to add to the overall refreshingness (that's not a word, but I'm using it!).

My overall verdict? If you're in Boston in the next few days and see this on tap, it's certainly worth a try.


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* The Reinheitsgebot was a Bavarian law while Gose hails from Saxony. That means Gose brewers weren't subject to the law's restrictions until the unification of Germany by which point the style was so established as to be effectively grandfathered in.

Random Friday Post: Crazy Cheese!

I never said this blog was only going to be about running, but if you thought that would be the case, allow me to disabuse you. I am a three dimensional person (most of the time) and there is more to me than my love of distance running (most of the time). Today, I want to talk about one of those other loves: cheese. [Note, however, that if you read all the way to the end of this post you are a brave soul I promise to tie this whole thing back into running.]

I'm not going to go into some culinary diatribe on the ways in which unpasteurized Italian blue has changed my life, or tell you that each time I indulge in St. André I feel I like I should immediately go to confession. No, I want to talk about a particularly eccentric cheesemonger here in New York.

One of my favorite grocery stores here in New York is West Side Market. Each of their three locations has prepared food (for that post-run refueling), plenty of Powerade (for that post-run rehydration), and a good beer selection (for that post-run dehydration). But only one location, the 14th St store, has "The Doctor," a rock 'n' roll cheesemonger whose real name is Peter Daniels.

What makes him such a rockin' duke of dairy? Well, it could be the classic rock he sings along to while slicing and packaging cheese. It could be the fact that he dresses more like a roadie than a counter clerk. But the real reason is the awesome labels he puts on his cheese. Check out a few great examples and that promised running tie-in after the jump.