Chaz and AJ Beer

Chaz and AJ Beer
22 oz bottle, $8++, 5.5% ABV

Purchased at Town Line Fine Wine, Stratford

IMG_6353I’m ridiculous.

The mere fact that I have a bottle of this in my house is just stupid. And not just a little bit embarrassing. Christ, the more I write here the more I hate myself.

Fortunately, a good chunk ($3) of the eight bucks I spent goes to some toy drive charity thing in some town south of me. And that, at least, makes me feel better about myself.

Because Chaz and AJ beer was only sold at one store in Stratford. Which means that I loaded Damian in the car and drove through an absolute monsoon down out I-84, down route 8 and then down route 15 and THEN through a large shopping area two days before Christmas to buy this bottle of beer.

And I guess now would be a good time to note that I’ve already had this beer. For it is simply Charter Oak’s 1687 Brown Ale. Which is a solid brown ale, but still, that’s all it is.

Now, I do suppose some heroic licensing arrangement had to be fulfilled to get this thing on the shelves and for that, someone is to be commended. And again, giving 37% of the sale of anything to charity is pretty awesome. Hats off.

Oh, if you’re like me and barely had an idea who Chaz and AJ are, they are the morning duo on WPLR out of Milford. (Yeah, most say New Haven but since I’ve been to the radio park in Milford before, for the purpose of being on some other terrible morning show I’d never heard of, you must understand why I say Milford.)

I’ve heard them. They are decidedly not wacky, so that’s good. They portray the “everyguy” schtick and play some music. I did here one guy on there once explain why sweet potatoes are stupid – they are not sweet, they are generally only eaten on one or two days out of the year, and every “great recipe” for them requires a dousing of sweet fruit or molasses and butter and marshmallows and whatnot. And therefore, sweet potatoes are actually NOT good.

I found it to be an excellent point, that was made over and over every time a caller would offer up their “incredible” sweet potatoe recipe that drowned the sweet potatoes in something delicious.

Charter Oak says:

5139121Charter Oak’s 1687 Brown is an American style which is slightly more robust than the traditional English Brown Ale. This beer will be brewed to a dark copper shade and be somewhat sweet and malty with distinctive toasted flavors from both our premium specialty roasted and chocolate malted barley, also allowing for a faint undertone of caramel. This style is lightly hopped for balance and this ale will prove to be a wonderful selection for a sessionable beer. Our medium-bodied, limited bitterness and hop aroma will make this an excellent choice.

Who writes this stuff?

That description could be used for 50 different beers. Anyway, I still kind of like the Charter Oak Brown Ale. Not many people do, and many have issues with Paper City contract brews, but I still thought it was pretty good. I gave the original an A-, which is a bit lofty. But it IS still a solid B brown ale.

I swear.

Overall Rating:, B
Rating vs. Similar style: B+

Charter Oak Brewery
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