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Review: Racer's Pub - A True Watering Hole - Tony Vacek
The second annual road trip to Racers on Harford Road is history. Like last year the turnout was sparse but the beer was extremely good this year. Many a glass was tipped Friday night even one for each of you now reading this who could not attend. Let me clue you in here... Get real close now. The Beer was excellent and the price was even better... You missed a beer drinking deal too good to pass up. Oh well, maybe I will see you next year. I truly hope so!Racers was the same as last year it always seems that very little changes at this place. Thank God for small things that you can count on! The place was once again on the noisy side with the usual free pretzels and free peanuts. Of course there was peanuts you have to have the peanut shells all over the floors.. great place. One item that was different was the crowd. This year there seemed to be less people in the bar which made seating easier than last year. A second item that I noticed the male to female ratio was getting closer. The population seemed to be about 40% female over the time that I was there on Friday. Always a nice touch to see more women enjoying good beer with their male and female friends. The price of beers was $3 for 3 drafts from 10-4 and $4 for 3 drafts from 4-8. On Friday there were 18 selections from which to pick your poison. These represented breweries locally and those across the country. Let’s see there was Devil Mountains Five Malt Ale, Coors Light (what was that doing there?), Clipper City Porter, Oxford’s Aussie Bitter, White Marsh’s Daily Crisis IPA, DeGroens Doppel Bock and Wheat Beer, Brooklyn’s Chocolate Stout, Brimestone Big Strong Ale, Harpoon’s IPA, Boddington’s Pub Ale, a Steam Beer and finally an Imperial Stout. Sound like a good line up that you could at least find three you would like?
Well I started with the Lancaster HefeWeizen. The first thing I noticed was that the golden color was perfect and the yeast was suspended just right. The yeast did have a little bite to it but it was a hefewiezen wasn’t it. The aroma was just how I liked it an almost unprecedented pleasant experience. The mouthfeel was good and the taste even after letting it sit while I tasted the other two beers was still great. Considering our scale at the club of 0-20 this beer came in as a definite 18. I did try DeGroens Wheat later in the evening and found it to be a good wheat but not of the same caliber as this offering from Lancaster. Given the choice go for Lancaster! The second beer of note was the Sierra Nevada’s SummerFest , did I mention that Sierra’s Pale Bock was there also available? The summerfest was crisp and had a good golden color. The head was nonexistent just a wisp of white on the top of the glass. I perceived no aroma from the beer. That first taste it was hops that hit you right in the face. No surprise there, Sierra and hops go together. Good hoppy flavor and just the right bite. How could you go wrong with this offering from Sierra? The alcohol level was perfect; it was there but not too strong. The more I drank of this one the better this one tasted. I also found this one to be very refreshing at the same time. The final one of my initial first three was the Brimestone Strong Ale. I must admit that this one I have tasted before and enjoyed it immensely. By the way I do NOT believe that it ferments up to close to 100 degrees in spite of Fredericks comment. I had to order it and of course saved it for last due to its power. It was clear and amber to dark in color. Once again there was just a wisp of head on the beer. A very clean and neat presentation to the drinker. By being last this beer had warmed to slightly below room temperature. The warmer beer hit me with all its complex aromas and malty tastes. Great beer! The first taste of this I got the alcohol strength and a caramel hint. Strong ale is correct for this beer since it does warm you to your very soul. Damn that cigar smoker who sat down next to me for a moment. He robbed some of my enjoyment of this beer. Oh well.. I did sample a second set of three that were good but for here lets say that they were true to their styles. I have rated them below for you. Try them at your convenience and let me know which ones tickle your fancy...
Lancaster HefeWiezen 18
Brimestone’s Strong Ale 17.5
Sierra Nevada’s SummerFest 16
DeGreons Wheat 15
Clipper City Porter 15
