365 different beers from 365 different breweries in 365 days with random musings on beer, food, music, sports, dogs and anything else interesting along the way
Beer #720 Ritterguts Gose / Brauhaus Hartmannsdorf, Hartmannsdorf, Germany
Previously from this brewery: N/A, this beer is the first out the limo
Hopefully you all survived the mall today. Or, hopefully you realized there's this thing called the internet, and you can buy things there instead of getting into a knife fight over a parking spot at the mall.
Today's beer is an interesting pour; a Ritterguts Gose from Brauhaus Hartmannsdorf. It has a dark gold hue, with virtually no head. There is a light, light aroma of wheat and citrus, and when you drink it you get a tart, slightly funky taste. Interesting that I noticed white grapes more than the salty qualities that are usually found in this style of beer. Solid, easy drinking (4.2% ABV) choice, even if it likely won't be on tap frequently near you.
I didn't get a picture of this beer, so instead, I'll leave you with this picture of Goose from Top Gun, because that's close to Gose and I've been on a Top Gun kick lately.
Talk to me, Gose
This brewery may date back to 1887, but I don't speak German (unlike their website) so I can't confirm that.
Thing to Think About Today:
If you are at the mall today, good luck - and buy me something nice. I leave you with one of my favorite gags from How I Met Your Mother, the episode where they find out Robin had a career as a teen pop idol back in Canada (sort of their version of Tiffany). I leave you with the faux-video from her faux-hit song Let's Go To the Mall.
Beer #718 Newcastle Brown Ale / Caledonian Brewing Company, Edinburgh, Scotland
Previously from this brewery: the others
Hustle day, so I'm keeping this short - and if I can be honest, probably not interesting.
Today's beer is a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale, which I think was left in the cooler at a tailgate. Last season. It pours with a dark amber color with a fluffy white head. There are aromas of biscuit and malt, and flavors of caramel, sweet malt, and a hint of bitterness. This beer is very easy drinking, and while there are certainly more flavorful or complex brown ales out there, this one holds up.
Back when there was sun in the world, unlike winter
It's almost odd to have a beer that comes out of a clear bottle, when you think about it. Thing to Think About Today:
A brown ale... the day before Thanksgiving.... means you get Charlie Brown and the always magical Thanksgiving episode. Should I have posted this tomorrow? Probably, but time doesn't wait for awesome.
Beer #701 Jever Pilsener / Friesisches Brauhaus zu Jever, Jever, Germany
Previously from this brewery: another Jever Pils
I have buried in a folder draft notes on beers I drank last year. I had some extras stashed away as we raced to the finish line of the 366 challenge, and then moved to a review every other day model, so I never needed to dip into my supply. I'll go ahead and break one out now, a bottle of Jever Pilsner that I drank in November. That's November of 2012, for those keeping score at home.
It poured a crystal clear pale gold, with aromas of grain and barley. The taste is simple and clean, with notes of grass, grain, and barley. It's an easy drinking beer, really. But not much there....
Pics from the past
Thing to Think About Today:
With a picture of a beer from 2012, I thought of Mitch Hedberg, a deceased comedian (unfortunately!) who one had a joke, and I'm paraphrasing, "Someone showed me a picture and said, 'here's a picture of me when I was younger.' Isn't every picture a picture of you from when you were younger?"
And that about sums up Mitch Hedberg's sense of humor. Watch some more, if you will.... laugh, please.
Day #699 Anti-Hero / Revolution Brewing Company, Chicago, IL
Previously from this brewery: N/A, this beer is the first out the limo
It's another Friday, and that means you get a beer review. Tonight's offering is a can of Anti-Hero, an IPA from Revolution Brewing. This was another beer acquired in a beer trade with a co-worker. In the glass, this beer pours a dark copper color, with a dissipating white head. There's a pleasant orange citrus aroma, and when you take a drink you find a dry bitterness, with ample lemon and orange citrus, with some floral notes, pine, and malt in there as well. Somewhat light for an IPA, but the citrus flavor actually makes this a really enjoyable beer. Definitely check this one out if you find it near you.
Anti good photo
Maybe this is a sign of the craft beer explosion, but there is another Revolution out there; the previously reviewed Revolution Cider. Only so many names to go around, I guess.
Thing to Think About Today:
Would you think less of me if I said that the first thing that popped into my head when thinking of what to write here was Hero, by Enrique Iglesias? Well, if you didn't think less of me, you probably should. So, instead of dropping that here, I'll go in a different direction, and leave you with The Greatest American Hero, an old sitcom about (as best I can remember; this came on when I was like 8) a teacher who gets a superhero suit that gives him amazing powers, but unfortunately he doesn't know exactly how to use them. For example, the suit allowed him to fly, but he didn't know how to land. Hey, it was the 80s, people did a lot of drugs. Plus, it had this totall badass theme song, which I absolutely have in my iPod. Good day, all.
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.
Beer # 672 UFO Pumpkin / Harpoon Brewing Company, Boston, MA
Previously from this brewery: Leviathan, Cranberry Ale
Tailgate day. Yay.
Recognizing fall with a pumpkin beer, the UFO Pumpkin from Harpoon. Secret fact about me: I really don't enjoy many pumpkin beers. I can drink a few at the start of fall, but they just don't speak to me. By the time I get around to thinking a pumpkin beer might be delicious (looking at you, Thanksgiving), they're gone from the shelves. And too many have what I consider to be pumpkin pie filling as their main flavor; somewhat artificial, and way too sweet.
This one pours a hazy light amber color with a lingering white head. Aromas of pumpkin and nutmeg (shocking), and flavors of.... pumpkin and nutmeg (still shocking). It's light and drinkable, and to their credit this beer has a authentic flavor instead of that over the top fake sweetness thing I abhor. Top pumpkin beer ever? Not sure, because I've sampled about 4% of the beers out there, but I'm guessing there are others that might be more my style.
Pumpkin
UFO stands for "UnFiltered Object", and is part of their UFO series of beers.
Thing to Think About Today:
Yes, I've shared this song before. But not the live version, with Ylvis backed up by The Roots! Seriously, watch this. Please. Please?
Friday. Yay. At least I have the day off.... you know, minus the time I spent at work from 4:45am to 8:15am. Because that's how I roll, apparently.
Today's sacrificial offering is a bottle of Woody Creek from Flying Dog. This Belgian white has a gold color and a fluffy white head. There are pleasant aromas of grain and citrus, and when you drink it down, you find a very mild hop bitterness, orange, and wheat. There's a touch of coriander in there too, which provides a nice flavor at the finish. Very nice, easy drinking yet flavorful beer. Don't drink Blue Moon. Drink this.
DP Dough in the house
This beer is a seasonal offering. Act now, supplies are limited (especially since this was a summer release).
Thing to Think About Today:
Woody Creek. Wood. For reasons I can't explain, this makes me thing of the Kenny Rogers Roasters slogan, "It's the Wood that Makes it Good." There used to be a Kenny Rogers Roasters in State College, PA up on North Atherton Street that I'd frequent a bit in my younger days. Like most things from my younger days, it's gone now, but the fast food slogan remains seared in my brain, and we'll always have this wonderful episode of Seinfeld to remember it by:
Day #603 Cuvee Brut / Brouwerij Liefmans, Oudenaarde, Belgium
Previously from this brewery: Goudenband and another Goudenband
The second day of the Beercycling trip was spent riding along canal paths, with a stop to walk around the quaint town square in Oodenarde, an awesome picnic lunch in a beautiful park, and a well timed visit to Brouwerij Liefmans.
Hi there!
Hector, our Liefmans tour guide extraordinaire, set us up with a couple of rounds in their tasting room, then walked us through the entire brewery, sharing some very cool perspectives on how they brew beer and what sets them apart from their competition. I loved this tour because it was completely OSHA-free; no warning signs or concerns that you might injure yourself on tiny stairs, low ceilings, hoses scattered about, or any of the other dangerous things we got to hang out with. If I had a Euro for every time I hit my head on something while wandering around breweries in Belgium, I could book another trip to Belgium.
Beer, fresh from the tanks...
One of the beers sampled was the delicious Cuvee Brut, which poured with a dark red color and a thin white head. When you take a sip, you get a great blend of tart and sour on your tongue. Not as tart as I expected, but it did have a ton of wonderful cherry notes. You find some earthy, oak flavors hiding out in there as well. This is a great summer beer; refreshing and enjoyable. Hector was also a bit of a pusher, as he made sure glasses didn't stay empty too long...
Good lookin'!
While there, we also drank an Oud Bruin (delicious), a Goudenband (previously reviewed and really delicious), and a Fruitess, which was a fruit beer on the rocks (too sweet to be delicious). And, to top off an already awesome brewery visit, Hector gave everyone a bottle to take home as gifts! Belgium... so friendly.
Thing to Think About Today:
Almost all of the bike ride was spent on paths along canals or through farm country. Having grown up in a not urban environment and having attended college in a not urban environment, farms and cows aren't anything new. However, I did enjoy the quiet calm I felt riding through farms and pastures. I also got a kick out of seeing the wildlife as we rode through - including these two cows who were quite literally mooing outside my window during a stay in the tiny hamlet of Zwalm.
Sup, yo?
For every cow I saw - and I saw plenty - I wondered if they understood English, or Flemish, or French, or some combination of all three. I close things out with the best European farm animal translation video I've ever seen, courtesy of the show Family Guy. The cows never answered back when I would bellow, "SHAZUUL!" at them. Maybe they spoke German?
Day #599 V Cense / Brasserie de Jandrain-Jandrenouille, Jandrain-Jandrenouille, Belgium
Previously from this brewery: IV Saison, which was just ok.
Hard to believe it's Wednesday again. Today's review comes from another beer poured at Moeder Lambic pre-cycling. I chose a big bottle of V Cense, a farmhouse ale from Jandrain-Jandrenouille. This beer was totally a "roll the dice" beer, as I had ordered something else that was out of stock, and told the waiter (who certainly knew his stuff) to bring me whatever he thought might be close to what I wanted. It arrived nestled into a wicker basket, and we'd find that many big bottle purchases (750ml) arrived with such fanfare. To show them off? To keep them cool? Don't know. Didn't ask.
In the glass, there was a bright amber color and monstrous fluffy white had. There were aromas of malt, bread, and spice, and when you take a sip you get more of the same. A dry beer with some malt sweetness, a bit of peppery spice, touches of lemony citrus and hints of tartness. Solid choice, although not a world class offering in my book.
Wow, this picture SUCKS
Their website is so bad it's actually kind of funny. Click here, and see why. Okay, fine, I'll just tell you in case you're lazy. It's just a picture of the label from their IV Saison. Nothing else. Why? No idea. Why do they number their beers? No idea. I do know that this brewery is in a town smack dab in the middle of Belgium, so there's that.
Thing to Think About Today:
So obviously that website needs some work. Wait... did I just say work? Let's think about combining work with my bottle of V and let Dolly Parton close out with her rendition of 9 to 5 from a recent episode of The Today Show. Congrats for getting through another day of work... one day closer to retirement!
Happy Sunday! Keeping that hustle going, so tonight it's another review coming up from The Brewer's Art in Baltimore, this time a bottle of La Petroleuse, a Biere de Garde. This one pours with a light amber hue and a lingering white head. There are aromas of faint citrus and bread, and you find flavors of biscuit, lemon, apple, and peppery spice, with a dry finish. You definitely notice the alcohol, but it's not an unpleasant sensation. This is an excellent beer for summer weather, and definitely a great example of the Biere de Garde style. Find a bottle and buy it if you can.
Doesn't that look nice? It does.
A portion of the proceeds for this beer go to causes that support women's entrepreneurship. Once again, beer drinkers are saving the world!
Thing to Think About Today:
Can I write a post about Baltimore that doesn't reference The Wire, greatest television show ever? I can, but why on Earth would I want to? Baltimore and The Wire are downright inseparable in my mind. I'll let Detective Kima Greggs send us home for the night with her rendition of Goodnight Moon. Bal'mer style.
Day #525 Blonde Ale / Thomas Hooker Brewing Company, Bloomfield, CT
Previously from this brewery: A Blonde and a Munich Style Golden Lager
Rather "blah" day today, for some reason. I think I was expecting the weather to be glorious this weekend, and it's not, and now I'm dissatisfied. I rarely check the weather, so did people at work talk about sunshine coming to town? Did I just assume the weather would be amazing because it was a Saturday, and Saturdays are made for nice weather? I went into today with dreams of sunshine and bike rides and walks with the dogs and beers on the deck... and I ended up taking a two hour nap this afternoon because I couldn't think of anything better. Don't get me wrong, I love a good nap on the weekend. I was just hoping for sunshine (and naps).
Tonight's beer is the Blonde Ale from Thomas Hooker Brewing. Out of the bottle, this brew is a pale straw color with no head. The aroma is a mild bit of grain and wheat, and the taste has some lemon, but mostly grain and cracker, with some mild bitterness and nutty flavor. In the spirit of full disclosure, this isn't the greatest beer in the world, but a decent choice when you're looking for something light with a good flavor. This blonde is definitely light, with an ABV of just 4.6%.
Don't let the lack of rain right now fool you!
Thing to Think About Today:
If I'm enjoying a blonde ale, I hereby think we need to close out with an homage to blondes. I present the always hilarious, always awkward, always good Flight of the Conchords and Leggy Blonde. Goodbye to all the blondes (and sure, the non-blondes too) out there. Enjoy your night!
Day #419 Green Peppercorn Tripel / The Brewer's Art, Baltimore, MD
Previously from this brewery: we both sampled Resurrection as our first review of the adventure!
I hereby declare the weekend open for business, and hope you join me in celebrating its arrival.
With the new big-ass tv sitting in the living room, I'm genuinely looking forward to depositing myself on the couch this Sunday for the Super Bowl. Yes, the game itself is over-hyped and I don't have much rooting interest, but I'm still on board. Side note: there will be buffalo chicken dip involved, and this makes me delirious with glee. With the Super Bowl in mind, I'm going to review a beer from Baltimore today, and one from San Francisco on Sunday. Will the better beer determine the outcome of the game? Yeah, probably not, but stranger things have happened, I guess.
Representing the Charm City is the Green Peppercorn Tripel from The Brewer's Art, located on Charles Street in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore. This beer is a clear, bright gold color with a lingering thin white head. Your nose finds the aroma of yeast, spice, and fruit esters. When you take a sip, you meet up with a good dose of yeast, banana, bread, and some green apple, with a bunch of peppery spice throughout. It has a nice, even, dry finish, but not as much sweetness or clove as you might find in a Belgian tripel. This is a fine beer and one I encourage you to sample, particularly if you like a peppery bite in your beers. It checks in at a potent 9.2% ABV, so watch yourself. Don't want to drink too many and pass out before the halftime show.
I do love the 32oz Growler from Whole Foods
For those of you wondering, Charles Street separates Westside and Eastside Baltimore; very important for those of us who watch The Wire. Maybe this is where the co-op met to discuss business?
Thing to Think About Today: More clips from The Wire? Yes, more clips from The Wire, because this is my favorite show of all time. ALL TIME! To close things out today, I leave you with the 100 greatest quotes from the series. To no one's surprise, this video isn't remotely safe for watching at work, unless you work for a company where it's completely kosher to curse at will in your cubicle. You feel?
Day #413 Four / Freetail Brewing Company, San Antonio, TX
Previously from this brewery: my review of Woodicus, and Marci's review of Ananke
Another Saturday has arrived at Blog Named Brew Manor, and I feel very comfortable in my own skin so I feel no shame in telling you that I spent a fair part of my morning catching up on missed episodes of Gossip Girl. Sure, other grownups might be doing home improvement projects today, or whatever normal grownups do, but I prefer to spend my day off binge watching a show aimed at tweens. What can I say, I like what I like.
Have no fear, I also like beer, so today's review is a look back to Texas, with a review of Four, a brown ale from Freetail Brewing. This beer sports a mahogany hue with ruby hints and virtually no head. Your nose finds aromas of cocoa and malt, an the taste gives you notes of dark chocolate, spice, and caramel malt sweetness, with some hops balance to keep things honest. Like caramel? Like chocolate? Like beer? Do you find yourself in or near San Antonio (because the distribution network for breweries in Texas is fairly awful)? Then please order this beer, and you can thank me later.
Glamour shot
This beer is named in honor of Freetail's fourth anniversary. No idea if they intend to name a beer after every anniversary going forward, but then again I never really asked.
Thing to Think About Today:
Okay, so why do I watch a show aimed at the demographic a solid generation younger than I am? Two reasons: Chuck Bass and Chuck Bass (okay, fine, Chuck Bass and the lovely Leighton Meester, who plays Blair, Chuck's love interest). Bass, played splendidly by Ed Westwick, is the dapper, debonair, confident, Scotch drinking, risk taking, scheming, ignored son of a billionaire, who manages to run a business empire and be the biggest playboy in town, all before his 21st birthday. In other words, he's just like me!!!
The highlight of any episode? Chuck uttering his catch phrase, "I'm Chuck Bass....", which at various times serves as a means of introduction, a command, a threat, and the most succinct version of, "Do you know who the fuck I am?" I've ever heard. His highlight reel, for those unfamiliar, is how we're closing out today.
Day #377 Hog Heaven / Avery Brewing, Boulder, CO
Previously from this brewery: The Maharaja, White Rascal
It gives me great pleasure to report that I am done working for the year. Well, technically I'm in the office on New Year's Eve, but that's more of a social call than anything. Feels nice, as I haven't had time off at year end in a number of years. I will use some of the down time to keep working through my awards list for the year. Beer of the year, brewery of the year.... all the heavy hitters still to come.
So far, the Mayans seemed to have missed on the apocalypse thing (although the night is young - they didn't pick an hour), much to no one's surprise. However, on the odd chance that this was the end of the road, I was preparing myself by getting closer to heaven. No, not the mythological awesome place in the sky - a bottle of Hog Heaven from Avery Brewing. This barley wine is a bright, dark amber color (apologies for the bright/dark paradox there), almost like the color of tea. The picture below doesn't do this beer justice, so I apologize for that. The aroma is light, with plenty of hops and citrus. The taste is dry, with pine, tons of caramel, and a honey sweetness. More hops than your typical barley wine, which is just fine in my book. The beer got better as it warmed a bit in my glass, but regardless of the temperature it was straight up delicious. I mentioned when I reviewed The Maharaja that I intended to add more Avery to my line-up, and Hog Heaven definitely reinforces that opinion. Find it and drink it, you won't be disappointed.
Hog wild!
This brewery started brewing in 1993, and their increasing popularity has led to a number of expansions since then. Of particularly interest to me, Avery has been barrel aging beers since 2003.
Thing to Think About Today:
If I think about Hog Heaven... then clearly I'm thinking about Pigs In Space, an always classic skit on The Muppet Show. You can never have too much Muppet Show, quite frankly. And to tie up everything today with a nice, neat bow? This episode is about.... the end of the universe! Oh, you silly Mayans. Better luck next time, fellows.
Beer #363 Malheur 12 / Brouwerij de Landtsheer, Buggenhout, Belgium Beers to go: 3
An exciting night here at Blog Named Brew Manor. Bought a new dog bed for the hounds, got a pizza for dinner. The life of an internationally famous beer blogger is one of luxury and splendor, I assure you.
Tonight's beer is the Malheur 12, a Belgian Quad from Brouwerij de Landtsheer in Belgium. Poured into a tulip glass, this beer has a deep, dark brown color with virtually no lingering head. The aroma has malt, toffee and sour cherry notes, and when you take a sip you get a silky, smooth texture, with plenty of dark fruit, toffee, sweet malt, candi sugar, and a touch of spice. Very nice, very enjoyable beer, and very much potent at 12% ABV. Find one, but probably you should limit yourself to just one. Trust me, I'm a doctor.
Dirty Dozen
The website for this brewery has some info, and Google manages to translate it to a readable version of English, but there wasn't much detail on the history of the brewery. From other sources, it seems to be a newcomer in Belgium. Do you know more about this brewery than I do? Leave a comment, so that I may get my learn efficiently on.
Thing to Think About Today:
As tonight marks the last Friday of the 366 beers from 366 breweries challenge, I thought I'd go ahead and drop in a great Friday reference to close things out - Friday Night Lights. This television show tells the story of Dillon, Texas, a small town where high school football is king, and for better or worse, life revolves around the success and failures of their squad. I was fortunate to play varsity basketball in town where high school basketball was immensely popular; a town where the residents came out and packed the gym on Friday nights. I guess that happens all over small town America, but it all becomes very real and important to those involved when you run out of the locker room tunnel with the Rolling Stones absolutely blaring over the sound system and more than 3,000 of your classmates, friends, family members, and neighbors screaming at a pitch found somewhere in the neighborhood of '11' on the volume dial.
In fact, this season marks the 20th anniversary of my senior year Hazleton Area team, which won a Wyoming Valley Conference title and a District 2 AAAA gold medal, and went all the way to the state championship game. I bring this up today because the Standard-Speakerjust published an article recapping that fateful season, and I'd often think back to my days of playing high school sports when watching Friday Night Lights. (If you take the time to read the article, you'll quickly find out that I was better at hard work and enthusiasm than I was at actually playing basketball. Not everyone gets to be the star of the show. Someone has to be Landry, I guess.)
Unfortunately, real life sometimes gets in the way of the fairy tale, as our magical season ended with a loss (to a prep school who could recruit students, including kids who lived in New York - just saying) in the final game. That loss was a tragic enough event in the life of an 18 year old who lived to play basketball and wasn't going to be playing in college, but a wonderful silver lining was the amazing people of our town, who held an impromptu parade at midnight to greet our bus as it entered the town, with a police and fire escort to our gym, where a pep rally was held to congratulate us. Us being a bunch of kids who just lost a basketball game, keep in mind.
Friday Night Lights explores the positive and negative aspects of high school sports in a way never before done on television. But it's more than just a show about sports - in fact this program is one of the best dramas I've ever seen. Check the clip below for some perspective, and hopefully take a moment to appreciate high school sports for the positive force it can be - an opportunity to unite and stand together in your community, as young men and women learn lessons about teamwork, character, and how much better it feels to win than lose. Although it does help if Minka Kelly is one of the cheerleaders in your town, I suppose. Good night all, see you tomorrow.
Beer #361 Skull Splitter / Orkney Brewery, Quoyloo, Scotland Beers to go: 5
Oh, hello everyone. Thanks for stopping by! I had assumed that instead of being on the internet tonight, you'd be out enjoying the anniversary of the Twenty First Amendment to the Constitution being ratified, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment - you know, the one that banned alcohol. Yes, at one point in time this country decided it would be a GREAT idea to outlaw the consumption of alcohol. Thankfully, cooler heads eventually prevailed, and here we are today. From reading up on breweries over the past year, it's clear that Prohibition did nothing except create a vibrant and sometimes comical black market for booze. I mean, doctors were writing prescriptions for bourbon, for crying out loud. Wait... that's actually a brilliant idea, because if I can get a prescription for bourbon, I could pay for it pre-tax with my FSA card. Yes, let's bring this back, people!
Before your parties celebrating the repeal kick too far into high gear, let's review the beer for the evening, the awesomely named Skull Splitter from the Orkney Brewery in Scotland. This beer has a dark amber color, with a thin white head. There are aromas of malt and citrus, and the taste gives you a really nice mix of tea, sweet malts, caramel, and dark fruits (maybe plum?). With a name like Skull Splitter, I was expecting this beer to completely knock me senseless - I mean, I've drank some big, potent beers this year, and none of them had the audacity to name themselves after the act of splitting my skull. And despite a relatively high 8.5% ABV, this beer is not as skull-splitting as the name suggests. It's actually quite enjoyable. If you find a bottle near you, go ahead and order one.
Badass Viking? Check.
This beer takes its name from Torfinn Hausakljuv, who was nicknamed "Skullsplitter". Hausakluif was the 7th Viking Earl of Orkney sometime around 950 AD, and will go down in history as having one of the most badass nicknames in the history of time. In case you were wondering (and you were), the Orkney Islands are due north of the Scottish mainland. This brewery was founded in 1988, and later merged with the Atlas Brewery in 2004, and was taken over by Sinclair Breweries in 2006.
Thing to Think About Today:
In honor of the Constitution, let's spend some time in civics class tonight, and learn a great lesson on how how a bill becomes a law. Yes people, Schoolhouse Rock! is here with I'm Just a Bill. Get your learn on, and have a very good evening.
Beer # 359 Prometheus / Elysian Brewing Company, Seattle, WA Beers to go: 7
Watched a movie last night, and now I have a song stuck in my head. Ordinarily not a problem, because between Google, iTunes, and a hundred shady websites that post, um, "borrowed" mp3 files, one should be able to listen to identify, download, and then play said song on repeat until something else gets stuck. Easy, right?
Yeah, except for the fact the soundtrack for this movie doesn't exist, and 30 minutes of furious searching turned up very little other than people posting, "Gee, I wish they'd release this song so I could download it" on movie and music websites. So, on the off chance that any of you have crazy connections to the record industry and can lay your hands on a production copy of this song, I'm looking for Closing Time by Feist, which is a cover of a Leonard Cohen song.
It was playing during a scene in the film Take This Waltz, which stars Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, and Sarah Silverman and explores marriage, decisions, happiness, and other emotional things. Pro? Michelle Williams completely naked (and didn't I just write about how Michelle Williams was no slouch in the looks department? Why yes I did!) on numerous occasions. Con? It's actually not a very good movie, unless you really love Seth Rogen trying (failing) to be a serious dramatic actor or you enjoy overly emotional drama.
So, I still have this very interesting cover of a cool old song stuck in my head, but I'm left with this very poor quality mp3 (same as this video, with some movie dialogue they couldn't strip away) for my listening pleasure. Crud. Check it out, at least you get a sense of what this is supposed to be....
Best to wash away this failure of my song searching with some beer, and tonight I'm going with a big bottle of Prometheus, an IPA from Elysian Brewing in Seattle. It pours with a clear copper color with a lingering white head. Fantastic aroma of pine and citrus. You get the taste of hops immediately, with plenty of grapefruit and pine. There is a good amount of caramel malt in there to balance things out, and you get a wonderful, dry, bitter finish. This beer is part of their Manic IPA series, which allows them to, "indulge in our hop obsession." Works for me! All IPA fans should search this one out.
This chick is on FIRE
Elysian opened for business in 1995, and they now have a number of locations throughout the Seattle area. They also do frequent collaborations with New Belgium Brewing, another favorite of mine.
Thing to Think About Today:
While I continue to search away for a quality copy of the song running through my head, let's give credit to Leslie Feist and let her close things out. And because I'm just an overstuffed child, let's finish up with a unique take on her soulful 1,2,3,4.... performed with the Sesame Street crew. What? Yeah, I went there. Teach your children to appreciate good music, people. Do it!
Beer #343 Chang / Cosmos Brewery (Thai Beverage), Bangkok, Thailand Beers to go: 23
By the time you read this, the Penn State vs. Indiana game has kicked off, and I'm likely enjoying a great day in the parking lot - and hopefully in the stadium, too!
Today's beer is another one of those macro brews, but a macro coming from a strange place that I'm not likely ever going to visit. Today's beer is Chang, from Cosmos Brewery, which is owned by Thai Beverage, in Bangkok. In the glass, you see a clear, dull gold, and your nose finds a sweet aroma, maybe of rice. The taste has some grain and rice, and some sweetness, and not a while of much else, really. Unless you have some burning desire to cross off a beer from Thailand on your bucket list, go ahead and skip this one.
Pretend this beer never happened
Thing to Think About Today:
You know who makes me laugh? Ken Jeong, who is hilarious and plays the equally hilarious character Senor Chang on the NBC comedy Community. He's waaaay better than Chang beer, that's for sure. Senor Chang, the floor is yours:
Beer #339 Up the Creek / Thomas Creek Brewery, Greenville, SC Beers to go: 27
And so ends another season of old man basketball. A disappointing first round loss sends us home for another long, cold winter. Or, at least until the league starts back up again in February. As I sit here and type this, I can't even remember the last time a team I played on won the last game of the season and took home a championship. College? Back in the glory days of the Saullo-Serany League in high school (won my freshman and senior years, thank you very much). Need to start working the free agent market to see what we can do to add to the roster. I'm tired of watching someone else cut down the nets. Hypothetically speaking, that is - they don't let us cut down the nets.
Tonight, I drown my sorrows in beer, a bottle of Up the Creek, a double IPA from Thomas Creek Brewery. You see a bright, clear dark amber, with persistent off white head. The aroma is a blast of hops; tons of citrus and pine greet your nose. The taste has a good balance of caramel, sweet malt and hops, and a boozy warmth that sort of makes it feel like a Belgian quad. The boozy warmth makes sense, as this beer packs a wallop with 12.5% ABV. I think the booze sort of hides some of the citrus you expect in an IPA, although there is a nice and dry bitter finish. A rather good double IPA for those hop fanatics out there. Find it, and then drink it.
Big, big beer
Thomas Creek is family owned and operated, and started commercial production in 1998. In addition, they employ two brewery dogs (Barley and Porter), border collies who work to greet visitors and clean up spills.
Thing to Think About Today:
I will admit this fact without shame or embarrassment. I used to religiously watch Dawson's Creek. Yes, the over dramatically acted story of teens growing up and finding love, laughter, disappointment, and life lessons in the town of Capeside. James Van Der Beek in all his glory. I admit I watched this with ulterior motives, and that would be my super enormous crush on Katie Holmes (back before she took the plunge and found Tom Cruise and Scientology, anyway). I mean, who out there would fault me for that? No one, that's who.
Katie, you left your toothbrush at my house again!
While we're on the subject, Michelle Williams was no slouch either. Anyway, with a beer from Thomas Creek in hand, let's all remember the good old days of the WB, and crushes long gone:
Beer #336 Swamp Ape / Florida Beer Company, Melbourne, FL Beers to Go:30
As you see, the countdown is officially on!! We're now just 30 beers away from crossing the finish line, which is very exciting. If anyone out there knows someone at a publishing company who might want to buy the rights to our novel, please send them my way. I really need to figure out a way to pay for all of the beers along the way.
Today is a PSU game day, and I'll be watching at a tailgate fundraiser. This is important because I'll be watching on a thirty foot screen, which is a completely surreal way to watch football. And what goes better with football than beer?
Today's beer is the Swamp Ape, an Imperial IPA from Florida Beer Company. When you pour it, you see a hazy honey amber color. The aroma is floral, with citrus and pine, and is that hint of smokiness perhaps? When you take a sip, you get some honey sweetness, malt, and a dry, bitter finish. This beer confuses me, because I swear upon all that is holy I picked up a bit of bacon flavor in there. Maybe I'm wrong, what do I know. If you're in the market for an Imperial or double IPA, you can give this one a shot, but you might be better off with beers from Hopping Frog, Dark Horse, Central Waters, Bell's, or Weyerbacher, to name a scant few.
I do like the packaging. That ape means business.
If you're ever driving from Daytona south to West Palm Beach along US 1, feel free to stop in and pay these guys a visit.
Thing to Think About Today:
So, I've never run across a swamp ape, but I do fondly recall Grape Ape. Who's with me on this? Kids today don't need all of these strange new shows (the Wiggles? Seriously?), they need some Hanna-Barbera and Warner Brothers cartoons.
