Shiva Blast

Beer #677 Shiva / Ashville Brewing Company, Asheville, NC
Previously from this brewery: N/A, this beer is the first out the limo

Hustle day today, so I'm getting down to business with a can of Shiva, an IPA from Ashville Brewing, a newcomer to the blog.  This one came courtesy of a friend who lives in South Carolina, but made his way up to watch the PSU-Michigan game last weekend (Thanks, Jeff!).  Beer always makes a great gift.

This beer shows off a dark gold hue, with a fluff white head.  There's a big grapefruit aroma, and when you take a sip you initially get more orange and grapefruit citrus flavor than pine, but the earthy pine and some good quality bitterness make their way on the finish.  Some malt in there to balance things out and round everything into shape.  Really solid choice, and always fun to try a beer from a new (to me) brewery.

Shiva, The Destroyer

This brewery also appears to be a restaurant, thereby combining two of my favorite items: beer and food.

Thing to Think About Today:
When I saw this beer name, I immediately thought of Shiva, a recurring character on the absolutely funniest (see also: only) show about fantasy football on television, The League.  A show about friends who delight in tormenting each other over the the highs and lows of their fantasy football league.  One of my favorite shows out there due to the completely absurd comedy, useful insults, and catch phrases.  I also like it because I met the cast in the Nashville Airport once, but that's another story for another day.  Check out some of the best of Rodney Ruxin in this clip below, then go start catching up on Netflix.  You won't regret it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFjcZpJ3YPk

"FOREVER UNCLEAN!"

Duck, Duck, Brown

Day #668 Brown Ale / The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery, Farmville, NC
Previously from this brewery: Hoppy Bunny Ale and a Milk Stout

Just getting down to business. Today's beer is a Brown Ale from The Duck-Rabbit.  This one pours a dark brown color and gives off a toasted malt aroma.  When you take a sip, there's a good bit of bitterness throughout, much more so than most brown ales.  On the other hand, just like most brown ales, there's ample toasted malt with some nuttiness and hints of chocolate and caramel thrown in for good measure. Definitely a good fall beer, something for when there's a bit of chill in the air and the smell of damp leaves in your nose.

Duck....duck.....duck.... rabbit.

Thing to Think About Today:
It's important to know that I'm nostalgic.  It's important to know that the saddest song ever is Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks.  It's important to know that I used to listen to this song frequently as a child, which, along with my fondness for Owl at Home, a children's book about an owl who made tea using his own tears, may explain a lot about me.  Or maybe not, who knows.  Anyway, this one came on my iPod today, so here you go. Worth a look just for Terry's 70s afro alone, whether you're sad or not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM3gFcG8EWA

"Now that the spring is in the air / with the flowers everywhere / I wish that we could both be there"

We Goin' Sizzler...

Beer #297 Hoppy Bunny American Black Ale / The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery, Farmville, NC

Why does this picture have to do with beer?  Um, keep reading.

Today's beer is the Hoppy Bunny American Black Ale from The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery.  This one has a dark, nearly black hue with hints of ruby and a tan, lingering head.  The aroma is of toasted malt and floral hops, and when you take a sip you get a thin mouth feel, with a solid toasted flavor, along with notes of chocolate and a dry, bitter finish.  Probably a little too toasted for me to include in my regular rotation, but certainly a good option for fall.  If you love stouts and dark beers, definitely check out Duck-Rabbit.

Just ducky.

Duck-Rabbit has been open since the mid-2000's, and was opened by a former professor of philosophy.  Wondering where the unusual name and/or unusual logo comes from?  I'll quote from their website here: "A version of the duck-rabbit diagram, which looks like a duck or a rabbit, depending on the viewer's perspective, appeared in a philosophy book Paul admires (Philosophical Investigations by Ludwig Wittgenstein). He liked the idea of using a logo with ties to his former life."  Now you know.

Thing to Think About Today:
For whatever reason, when I see the name of this brewery I instantly say (shout) in my head, "THE KING AND DUCK!"

This likely means very little to you, and certainly has no connection to this brewery.

However, if you were a huge fan of the 1992 comedy classic White Men Can't Jump, then we may be on to something here.  This movie tells the tale of two basketball hustlers who make their living winning playground games for money.  The unlikely duo of Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson join forces to become a team, leveraging Harrelson's, um, tremendous white-ness as their chief tool in luring in victims to challenge them for money.

Along the way, they get the chance to make a huge score and take down the top street basketball team on the West Coast - that's right, "The King" and "Duck".  In that game, Harrelson throws down a dunk off a lob pass from Snipes, proving that he once and for all CAN dunk.  Seriously, if you like to quote movie lines, this movie is a must watch, because while this movie didn't invent trash talking, it certainly made it into an art form.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4aNy-3n1GU

"I'll tell you what. Why don't we take all these bricks and build a shelter for the homeless, so maybe your mother will have a place to stay."

Beer 33: Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout

This sums up my day today. 

I got shit done.  I kicked ass and took names.  I'm rolling in catnip.

***

I shall reward myself with Installment #2 of the Milk Stout series.  Tonight we feast on Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout.  It hails from Farmville, North Carolina and boasts that it is proudly hand-made in small batches.

It poured dark as night and the light tan head quickly dissipated.  First sniff made me stop and ask Gary, "Does this beer smell like meat?"  I'm a wishy-washy quasi-vegetarian currently on a poultry bender, so sometimes I have a challenging time identifying meat smells.  The meat smell passed and a good swirl released caramel, milk sugar and a hint of smokiness.

It drinks with a sweet smokiness and has more carbonation that I'm accustomed to in a milk stout.  It finishes with a little bit of bitterness.  Overall a solid example of milk stout.