Craft Beer of the Week: Train Wreck

A good thing about writing a weekly craft beer feature, obviously, is getting to try new drinks. Maybe the worst part, or at least something I’m not always happy about, is when I’m drinking the beer and writing the piece before noon.

Train Wreck, an Amber Ale from Mt. Pleasant Brewing Company, is 8.2 percent alcohol by volume and is probably best not drunk before noon. And yet, that is exactly what I’m doing. I write this having not showered or gotten dressed. This morning, I have had a bottle of beer before a cup of coffee. Don’t tell my mother.

Made with maple syrup and honey, it might be as good a breakfast beer as any. Take note, you unemployed masses: this is a beer you can drink with your yogurt. I can’t endorse drinking before noon, and I wonder how well any beer could really be paired with waffles, but with this one I’m tempted to try.

The drawback, though, is its high alcohol content. Unlike many of my peers, I am no champion of tolerance. I get drunk fast which, wanting to keep a healthy liver, is a good sign, I suppose. Nevertheless, that this beer could (and does — I can feel it coming on now) give me a buzz too heavy to get the full enjoyment out of my morning paper turns me off to the whole idea.

Coffee might solve the problem. At the same time, the thought of drinking a cup of coffee after a strong beer terrifies me: having the bladder of a small child, I’d spend the whole day unable to go farther than a few yards away from the bathroom.

Perhaps it’s best to forget it altogether. My advice: have this drink at the bar, with friends. The idea of a beer with breakfast and the morning newspaper, from a certain angle, sounds appealing. But really, it’s just an indicator of a drinking problem.