The Met Bar, Chestnut Hill

For a date night on a Friday, Dane took me out to The Met Bar in Chestnut Hill. The Met Bar is part of the larger Metropolitan Club,  an upscale restaurant. I pass this place every day on my way to and from work, and it looked like a great lounge and restaurant. After a particularly long week, we headed over for cocktails and dinner. I did my research on the menu before going, and I was definitely excited to try some of their offerings.

We got to The Met Bar around 7pm, and the bar area was busy. Luckily there was one open table which we quickly grabbed and started looking over our options for cocktails. I went with the Design-Your-Own-Cocktail option, choosing the type of drink (martini, margarita, caipirhina, etc.), the flavor (mango, passion fruit, guava, peach, pomegranate), the style for serving (straight up, on the rocks, frozen), and if you want the glass rimmed (sugar, salt, coconut, or nothing). My choice was a passion fruit martini and it was delicious. Dane went with Glenlevit whiskey on the rocks.

whiskey on the rocks

passion fruit martini

There was a menu with entrees and more of a bar menu, which is what we chose to order from. The bar menu had upscale versions of familiar comfort foods. We are both huge popcorn lovers, so when we saw popcorn with truffle oil and sea salt, we immediately ordered it. And then we devoured it. That popcorn was one of the most delicious things I have every tasted. The truffle oil was amazing with the sea salt, and the popcorn was perfect. The night could have ended with with my cocktail and popcorn and I would have been the happiest.

now i want popcorn. great.

But there was more. Dane got the Met Burger and I decided on the Kobe Beef Hot Dog. Perfect bar food, with a gourmet additions. The burger had aged cheddar cheese, and the hot dog was made with Kobe beef and featured homemade relish. Not to mention the hot dog was the size of my head.

delicious burger

wasn't joking. literally the size of my head. and this was after i ate a 1/3 of it.

Cocktails were around $9, not unexpected for this loungy atmosphere. I thought the bar menu was incredibly reasonable. The popcorn was only $6, and our dinners were under $15 each. All in all, we will definitely go back to The Met Bar, if nothing else, but for that popcorn.

Taste Testing: Winter Ales

This is the second in our series called “Taste Testing” for our blog. We’re looking to compare our favorite things to find the best of the best! Send us your suggestions of what we should test out!

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Continuing with our Taste Testing series, I thought Winter Ales would be a good second installment because I am a good blogger and always keeping others in mind. Totally not because I wanted to try 5 new types of beer.

Anyhow, if you know Dane and I, you will know we are loyal Sam Adams fans. We live within walking distance of the Samuel Adams Brewery and have gone on countless tours with friends who come to visit. We both love the Winter Ale, but thought our biases may have kept us from trying others. Perfect way to have some friends over, enjoy some new tastes, and see how our favorite seasonal beer stacks up.

Our contenders were (in the order they were tasted):

Smuttynose Winter Ale, Sam Adams Winter Lager, Wachusett Winter Ale, Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, and Full Moon (from the Blue Moon Seasonal Collection)

This testing panel was composed of Dane, Jayneel, and Steve. I did not rate the beer, but I did serve it so that it would be a blind taste test for the three judges. They really concentrated on this more than I thought they would. Tasting beer is obviously fun, but they even asked at one point if they were allowed to talk about each beer. I thought it was really funny. Seriously guys, lighten up. You’re drinking beer!

these guys took their tasting responsibilities very seriously

Each beer was rated on a scale of 1-5 (1 being awful and 5 being perfect) in three categories: Color, Aroma, and Winteryness. Yes, Winteryness, which we decided included taste and whether or not it was a beer you’d want in the winter time. Was the flavor right for the season? Was it one of those beers that could warm you up? I never claimed this was very scientific, but the rating system worked for us. Each beer ended up with a total out of 15 for each judge for the Overall Appraisal.

a beautiful rainbow of beer

Now for the results.

#5  Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Some people absolutely love this seasonal, but it ranked lowest in our taste test. It had the strongest aroma and taste of hops, and though at least one of the judges liked that taste it ranked low on the Winteryness scale. The floral aroma reminded us more of a spring ale. As Jay put it “Hop hop hop! Hoppity hop!”.

#4  Smuttynose Winter Ale

The color of this ale was darkest of the bunch, which was initially appealing to everyone. However, the flavor seemed toned down but with a bitter after taste. Sometimes that’s great for a beer (it’s what keeps you drinking) but in this case it wasn’t something th

at worked and took away from the Winteryness.

#3  Wachusett Winter Ale

We liked the Wachusett, just not quite as much as

the top two. It had a stronger bitter aroma, but a nice blend of sweet and bitter tastes. As one taster noted “The Jessica Alba of the taste test; lovely all around and one you would go back for.” This particular taster took the time to compare each beer to a recognizable female celeb (cough coughSTEVEcough).

#2  Sam Adams Winter Lager

I was very surprised this came in second, as it’s been my favorite seasonal beer for a few years ago (but as I said earlier, I fully recognize my biases). It has a sweeter aftertaste and tasted more filtered and clean. It went down much smoother than some of the other samples. Tasters also liked the caramely color and nice mix of spices that you can definitely taste.

#1 Full Moon

This seasonal ale from the makers of Blue Moon has very distinct wintery flavors that made a nice taste and smooth aftertaste. Tasters liked the darker color for a winter ale and the slightly hoppy aroma.

Congrats to Full Moon for coming out on top of this taste test. I was surprised this came in first, never having tasted it before. Really, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of these. It’s all about your taste and your definition of wintery.

Cheers!