Kate the Great!

It is Kate the Great Day, a day set aside to celebrate the creation of a fantastic beer, rated a perfect 100 by Beer Advocate (http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/596/23030) , and ridiculously expensive to find on EBay.  My buddy Wayne scored 30 scratch tickets for the opportunity to buy a bottle of beer, and had 3 winners.  Portsmouth Brewery sold 15000 tickets at $2 a piece (proceeds went to charity), and did it to stop folks camping out for days in advance to get the beers.  So I drove out the night before, stopping at McNeill’s (they had a couple of bourbon barrel aged beers on cask) and Harpoon (love their new restaurant).  I couldn’t sleep, even with my own bed at the best rest stop in New England (thanks Nana!), so I got up early to pick up Wayne and start our day.

It was cold, real cold, but the weather was clear.  Wayne offered me some toe warmers since we were going to be standing outside for a while.  I declined (boy am I tough), and we headed over and got in line just before 7AM.  There were a ton of people already in line (85 at one count, but it ballooned up with “friends” when we got closer to the opening bell), and our spot was around the corner on Ladd St., right next to the drain spout (you can see it on Google maps).  It was cold, but Wayne had brought the warmers (God Bless you Wayne), and I had brought a Mikkeller Barrel Aged Beer Geek Breakfast (how appropriate).  We waited for four hours to get in, and the owners and brewers stopped by (some with free hot pretzel balls) as well as an actual beer reporter (http://digboston.com/taste/2012/03/honest-pint-kate-the-great-day-2012/), although Wayne and I didn’t make the article.  When the doors opened, they were letting in parties slowly, and stopped right before we could get in.  Our guess was that the tables were gone, so instead we headed downstairs to the lounge and camped out next to a counter where we could put our food. 

We had time before the formal tapping, so I got a pint of their Le Chat Noir on cask, this batch brewed with bouillon hops.  We watched the room fill up, chatted with other “enthusiasts” including one of the head brewers.  We got an order of chicken nachos (truly one of my favorite meals of all time), and later tried their spicy curry thai mussels (also tasty).  The waitresses were hopping, the beer was flowing, and we were all waiting for our first taste of this year’s Kate the Great.

The beer was poured, and the waitresses ran around making sure that everyone in the place had their beers as fast of possible (no asking this crowd if they wanted one).  They are in 10 oz snifter glass ($8 apiece), presumably to appreciate the aroma as well as regulate how fast folks sampled this 10% ABV Russian Imperial Stout.  The glass was a souvenir glass with this year’s logo, Catherine the great twisting of the cap with her teeth (painful since the beers aren’t twist offs).  The beer was dark and luscious, truly awesome with a fantastic mouthfeel that was thick and delicious.  The alcohol was definitely present in the taste, and the dark roasted malt comes out in spades.  I loved it, and we each got a few more to enjoy the beer with the room full of fans.  We hung out for over three hours, but I needed to head home and I couldn’t “enjoy” the festivities as much of several folks around us. 

We got our bottles to go (could have used some of their better staff in this area), and decided not to get the souvenir t-shirt since they had their logo “You’ll twist you’re a*s off.”  It was a great day, a good time with a good friend, and an excellent beer to mark off my list.  They only make so much due to the cost and complexity of the beer, and the kegs were kicked around 6:45PM.  One day dedicated to a single beer, and I thought it was well worth it. – 5994/12039

“The road through life is long and rocky.  Take plenty of beer.” – Sign at Portsmouth Brewery