86 Specials

We haven't had any beer specials for the past week, and I don't believe we're going to have any for the remaining few days of the month. Following the onslaught of St. Patrick's Day, we ran out of our special beers of the month.

For me, it's almost refreshing to not offer a special for once. It gets monotonous pouring the same beer over and over again, and changing the same keg multiple times in one night. I also think it's nice that people choose a beer that they prefer to drink, not just the cheapest one. However, many people disagree with my adoration of the lack of specials. I've had multiple people who have been flabbergasted once told there is no special. They act like I've told them a family member is terminally ill.

All will resume back to normal come April, which is only a few days away. Generally our specials cost around $3. We have quite a few beers on the menu for $4. If that extra dollar is going to break the bank, perhaps you shouldn't be in a bar anyhow, eh?

Hooray beer!

Before I started this blog, I basically just drank beer without thinking too much about it. Nowadays, I feel guilty if I drink a beer with a 'devil may care' attitude. I feel like I should be taking notes, researching the brewery, observing the yeast particles, blah blah blah. But sometimes I miss the feeling of just knocking back a few and getting on with my day. Today, I decided to hell with it; it's beautiful outside, I just want to sit on my porch and drink a beer. That's all.

I opened my refrigerator and reached to the very back where I stored a few Red Stripes that had been left by a friend who stayed with me over the holidays. When she left them, I thought they would most likely sit there and waste space. With all my other options, the likelihood that I would grab a Red Stripe seemed slim. But today, it seemed like the perfect choice.

I grabbed the stocky little bottle and cracked it open. I didn't bother making one single observation or even pouring it in a glass, I just drank it. It's not a bad beer by nature, nor is it anything extraordinary. And for that, I enjoyed it immensely.

4 years and counting

Tuesday night McNellies turned 4 years old, and we celebrated in style with the first Beer University. There was a great turnout, probably 50 or so people eager to learn about beer. We sampled a total of 28 different porters and stouts in a time span of two hours. At the beginning of class, everyone was very attentive, but after about the 10th beer, the room was buzzing (literally). Here's a list of the beers we sampled, in order:

• Samuel Smith Taddy Porter
• St. Peter's Old Style Porter
• Anchor Porter
• Boulevard Porter
• Left Hand Black Jack Porter
• Sierra Nevada Porter
• Samuel Adams Honey Porter
• Rogue Mocha Porter
• Fuller's London Porter
• Guinness Extra Stout
• Murphy's Stout
• O'Hara's Irish Stout
• Old No. 38 Stout
• Boulevard Stout
• Bridgeport Black Strap Stout
• Rogue Shakespeare Stout
• Samuel Smith Imperial Stout
• Old Rasputin Imperial Stout
• Rogue XS Imperial Stout
• Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout
• Great Divide Yeti Oak Aged Imperial Stout
• Samuel Adams Cream Stout
• St. Peter's Cream Stout
• Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout
• Rogue Chocolate Stout
• Mackeson XXX Stout
• Left Hand Milk Stout
• Guinness Draught Stout

Here's a comparison of my first beer notes versus my last beer notes:

























My scanner didn't do the best job of making these visible; but you get the idea. After 28 beers, I have to give myself a pat on the back for even being able to pick up my pen and write anything, regardless how hard it may be to decipher. I believe a good time was had by all, and I look forward to the next "educational meeting."

40 Yo'

What's the absolute worst, most ridiculous, embarrassing beer you can picture yourself drinking? Although there's likely a heap of beers that fit this category, personally I can't think of anything worse than a "beer" that is commonly served in a 40-ounce bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag, sold dirt cheap, and often purchased in nickels and dimes. Yep, I'm talking about the lowest of low: malt liquors.

A malt liquor is an American beer style characterized by high alcohol content, light body and color, and very little hop character. They are brewed with high amounts of malts, heartier yeast strains, dextrose, and corn or rice. Some breweries use special enzymes that make virtually all the sugars fermentable, therefore artificially inducing a higher alcohol content. The average alcohol content of a malt liquor ranges from 6%-9%.

Malt liquors tend to have a bad reputation. Probably due to a combination of the horrible taste, and the fact they're the beverage of choice for the homeless and unemployed. The seedier the neighborhood, the more crushed cans of Steel Reserve scattered about street. A larger bottle with a high alcohol content sold at a low price = more bang for your buck.

I was inspired to write this blog after a night at Arnies, when my friend suggested I order a Mickey's. I didn't know what Mickey's was, and come to find out, it's a malt liquor. It was served in a small squatty green bottle that looked more like ginger ale than beer. The label read "fine malt liquor;" what an oxymoron. The suggestion was made not because of the quality of the beer, but because there's a riddle on the bottom of the cap. Their website is pretty flashy as well, so at least I got some entertainment from it, but the beer...not good.

For some reason, we have 40 ounce bottles of Old English stocked at the pub. I assume we carry them as a bit of a joke, kind of like the domestic tall boys. Strangely enough, some people get really excited when they see them. And when one person orders one, they tend to turn into some kind of a fad. As if one person walking about the place with a forty in hand doesn't look ridiculous enough, I suppose other people spot them and think, I too, desire to look like a tactless imbecile. I guess if you want to get a laugh from your beer choice, this is the one to order.

Beer University

On Tuesday, March 11 at 7pm, McNellies will host our first ever Beer University class. This is a new bi-monthly event, presented by Elliot Nelson, McNellies owner and beer maestro. The class will span a few hours covering the intricacies of Stouts and Porters, a subject inspired by the St. Patrick's Day season.

During the course, we will sample somewhere between 20 to 30 beers. You'll get to extend your enjoyment beyond the sensory pleasures of drinking beer to learning about the different beer styles, brewing techniques, history of breweries, packaging and labeling, and many other tidbits of information that you probably never thought about. If your memory is anything like mine when alcohol is involved, I'd recommend taking notes if you want to remember anything the next day.

When I was hired at McNellies, I was "required" to go through a beer class. Standard protocol. It was then that I realized that my job was pretty damn cool. If only all my college requirements could have been so fun. But nooooo, instead I was required to take courses such as statistics and micro-economics, something I've used again....uh, never. Learning about beer and drinking beer seems far more entertaining than trying to calculate the standard deviation from the square root of the variance.

So, join us one week from today to learn about something fun that you may actually deem useful. Impress your friends and make some new ones. Practice drinking good beer for St. Patrick's Day. Seating is limited, so be sure and reserve your spot as soon as possible.

Cost of a college education: $35,000
Cost of Beer University: $30
A night at the pub getting hammered and calling it educational: priceless.

The Countdown Begins

St Patrick's Day is coming soon, and unless you live under a rock, you already know that it's a pretty big day for McNellies. You may have noticed regular ads in the Urban Tulsa throughout the year reminding you to “get your liver ready” for the big day. You only have two weeks left to prepare, so don't let yourself down.

To celebrate the holiday, McNellies will have the streets will be blocked off (nothing really unusual for downtown these days), a huge inflatable Guinness pint will grace the front of the building, beer tents will be set up outside, and bagpipers will be marching through playing their festive tunes. Enough people to form a small army will flock to the pub in their favorite green clothing, and everyone will joyfully exclaim how proud they are to be "Irish."

The funny thing about St. Patrick's Day at McNellies is that we rarely serve any good beer. The tall boy domestics are (sadly) the biggest sellers by a long shot. Last year I recall looking at the boxes upon boxes of Anheuser-Busch products and thinking we couldn't possibly, POSSIBLY sell all that crappy beer. Yet, to my utter surprise and horror, we sold every single one, even ran out. I'm not sure which was more disturbing: the thought of having to look at a horde of green Bud Light cans for the months following St. Patrick's Day if we didn't sell them, or learning that when the masses are faced with a huge selection of good beer, they opt for Bud Light.

St. Patrick's Day at McNellies may not be the best day for people to see what the pub is really all about (read: beer), but it will be a guaranteed good time for all those who wish to paint the town green in spirit of the best holiday of the year.