October 12, 2008

Bedrock 66 @ Hoogland and Jimmy Oh's (kind of)

I know the Bedrock 66 shows at the Hoogland aren't a restaurant, bar or a store that sells beer but I did not go to lot of places that qualified. I did go to Jimmy Oh's but nobody apparently knows what beers they have without physically pulling out all the bottles. Big clue here: If you don't know what you have, write it down. I mean, you had a wine list. Therefore I cannot really grade them with any accuracy.

Jimmy Oh's: Incomplete

Anyway Friday night was the Bedrock 66 series show. We had dinner at Cafe Brio since it is conveniently close and I know what I am ordering. Their review still stands but they have added a new seasonal: Unibroue's Ephemere which is a Belgian wit with heavy apple flavor. I found it horrible but I shy from the Belgian styles. The party out-voted me 2 to 1 on its tasty goodness. If you like cider, you like wheat beers or you love Unibroue (Quebec) or Belgium itself, then go grab a bottle with dinner.

Some posts ago I lamented the loss of the Underground City Tavern and its choice musical acts. I was gently reminded that the brains behind their selections is know a part of hosting the Bedrock 66 series of concerts to bring some musical variety to Springfield. Now I knew some of this since I had attended the very first show of the series but slacked off in my determination to support this worthy endeavor. The wife and I had nothing to do on Friday and knowing of this impending date we decided to make a go of it.

The show itself was a double-bill of one, Otis Gibbs, and the ensemble, Boulder Acoustic Society. The show was a blast. Otis Gibbs was an excellent musician who had great tunes on the guitar and whose voice is a fine instrument itself. Boulder Acoustic Society is a melange of violin, bass, accordion and drums. I can't quantify their music but I think I heard elements of classical, rock, bluegrass and gypsy. I heartily recommend everyone to google said groups.

The shows are sponsored by the Boston Brewing Company therefore the only beers sold will fall under the Sam Adams brand. This isn't a bad thing although it does limit choice but Sam Adams does have some range to them while only lacking the depth multiple brewery choices provide.

Bedrock 66 concert series: Acceptable Plus

They don't rate a good since Sam Adams is your only choice but they did manage a short range of beer:

Sam Adams Boston Lager
Sam Adams Boston Lager Light (should you need to concern yourself with calories)
Sam Adams Boston Ale (hoppier than the lager)
Sam Adams Black Lager (a schwarzbier)

They have provided a pretty short list of hoppy to malty and even tosses in a light beer for your light friends. We aren't talking the finest brews of each style but Sam Adams is the most plentiful beers many of us are happy to have. They also work as a nice gateway brewery to lure beer drinking buddies to the Elysian Fields of beer. My only real complaint with the beer selection is that Sammy produces so much more and it wouldn't be that difficult to add one or two more options.

Bedrock 66 concert series: Acceptable Plus

3 comments:

BlogFreeSpringfield said...

Be sure to attend the Bedrock 66 show on January 24.

The last Bedrock show I was at I was drinking SA Brown Ale. Did they not offer it on Friday?

doggettmeister said...

No brown ale this time. Perhaps they replaced it with the black. I doubt they will actually strive to offer more selections since the show was rather small. It probably just isn't reasonable logistically.

I'll certainly see what is up for the Sarah Borges band and Justin Townes Earle on January 24th. I wish that the Bedrock 66 webpage would update as they add acts. I imagine we might have some SA Winter Ale to go with the show although I'd enjoy their Old Fezziwig too.

Anonymous said...

What type of beer would you like to see at Bedrock in '09??

E&F Dist Co.