Country AND Western

Beer #661 Adriaen Brouwer / Brouwerij Roman, Oudenaarde, Belgium
Previously from this brewery: Another Adriaen, plus an Ename Cuvee (with a very nice picture of Flash right before he passed away) and another Ename Cuvee

You would think by now, this blog would write itself.  Nope.

Tonight's beer is one that I opened a few weeks back, mostly because I was sick of seeing it sitting on my beer shelf on the garage.  This strong dark ale from Brouwerij Roman poured with a dark mahogany color and an off white head.  The aroma is malty and bready, and there are flavors of caramel malt, plum and other dark fruits, and some warm spiciness.  Not a bad beer by any stretch, and one I'd have again, perhaps more so in the winter months.

Beer

This beer is named for Adriaen Brouwer, a famous Flemish painter born in the town of Oudenaarde. Beercycling made a quick stop in Oudenaarde to walk around the town square, a brief break on the way to Brouwerij Liefmans.  Nice place.

Thing to Think About Today:
So last night I watched the final episode of Breaking Bad, one of the two greatest shows in the history of television.  Is it better than The Wire?  Maybe not, just because I loved the way David Chase told the story of inner city Baltimore, touching on education, drug corners, local government, corruption, and blue collar workers.  He was a magician at making you realize the bad guys weren't all that bad, and the good guys weren't always that good.  Interestingly, Vince Gilligan of Breaking Bad pulled a similar trick, making you empathize for characters with huge moral flaws.  However, I will say confidently the last Breaking Bad episode (and truth be told, the entire last season) better than the last season and last episode of The Wire? By all means yes, and that's all I'll say about that, as I don't want to spoil anything.

So I leave you tonight with a country song, the one playing in last night's episode after Walter White found an old Marty Robbins tape in the glove compartment of his Volvo.  In a show where there were no throw away lines or scenes or images, this was a great way to start the last episode.... if you know the story the song El Paso tells.

I have been accused by many of not liking country music, and that's just not true.  I love old country music; Johnny Cash and Roger Miller are among the top played songs on my iPod.  Sadly, it's the new stuff that I just can't possibly relate to or appreciate.  However, a song about a guy who would rather risk everything to be with his loved one - in fact, would rather be shot dead - even if that meant just one kiss before he expired?  That's real country & western music, friends.  That's what it's all about.  The rhinestone suit is just a bonus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkdp0FPXnxU

"Maybe tomorrow a bullet will find me / Tonight nothing's worse than the pain in my heart"

Goodnight, Readers

Beer #582 La Petroleuse / The Brewer's Art, Baltimore, MD
Previously from this brewery: Resurrection, more Resurrection, Green Peppercorn Tripel, Le Canard

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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46W2nenbRTo

Super Bowl Edition: Bal'mer

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?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Sgj78QG9Bg

"Look the part, be the part, motherfucker."
- Prop Joe

Quoth the Raven...F$&K

Beer #256 The Raven / Baltimore-Washington Brew Works, Baltimore, MD

Today sucked and I'm not getting into the details.  Moving right along, nothing to see here.

I'm drinking The Raven from Baltimore-Washington Brew Works.  It pours with a bubbly copper color and a lingering white head.  The aroma is light, with some sweetness, and there's a nice flavor of barley, and grain, with a bit of sweetness from the malt.  In all, if you're looking for a lager, this is a nice choice and worth a sample.

The label isn't quite glued on right, but the beer was good.

This beer got its start overseas in Germany, where it was first brewed.  Production moved to Baltimore in 1998.  Obviously, this beer is named in honor of legendary author Edgar Allen Poe, one of Baltimore's most famous residents. But let's keep it real, Baltimore - Poe also lived in Philadelphia, and you can still visit his former home on Spring Garden Street.  While Baltimore does happen to be where he wrote The Raven, it's also where he..... married his 13 year old cousin.  Just saying.

Thing to Think About Today:
Yeah, I could put some of Poe's work in here, as it's obviously legendary for a reason.  Instead, if it's another Baltimore beer, it's another clip of the greatest show ever to grace a television screen, The Wire.  Let's go with possibly the greatest scene from this show, where McNulty and Bunk re-examine an old crime scene, and use a rather limited vocabulary in the process.  I hereby announce this video not safe for work, unless your employer loves profanity.  So watch it at home, people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN5eYFH8HZ8

Barksdales, Bunk, Bubbles, and Barleywine

Beer #106 Heavy Seas Barleywine / Clipper City Brewing Company, Baltimore MD

Good productive Sunday - made my wife breakfast, wrestled with the dog to give him his eye drops, went to the gym, and hit the grocery store.  Need to pause here for a second, as I saw the cops take a guy out of Wegmans in handcuffs, which I found both sad and hilarious.  Shoplifting?  Stolen credit card?  Can't say, but he got a free perp walk through the front of the store.  That guy definitely isn't enjoying the rest of this sunny Sunday afternoon, like I am.  Dinner is in the oven, and at long last a beer is in my glass.

Tonight Marci and I are both drinking the Heavy Seas Barleywine from Clipper City.  This one is part of their Mutiny Fleet, a series of limited edition releases.  It pours a dark mahogany with ruby hues and a sparse tan head.  Your nose picks up aromas of rich malts and.... maybe leather?  The taste gives off notes of toffee, raisins, candi sugar, and roasted malt with a buttery sort of undertone.  It checks in at 10% ABV which is definitely noticeable.  Solid beer, and I would definitely like to see how this beer changes with aging in the cellar (we had the 2011 vintage).

Ahoy!

Thing to Think About Today:
Finally, after 105 days and with a Baltimore beer up to bat, it's time for you think about the GREATEST television program in the HISTORY of television: The Wire.  That isn't hyperbole or a random adjective here; this show is by far and away the best programming I've ever seen in my life.  Marci and I have both sprinkled in some Wire quotes here and there, but now is the time we think about it in earnest.

Created by David Simon and Ed Burns and shown on HBO from '02 - '08, The Wire showed life in Baltimore from many perspectives, focusing on one main theme each season (the drug trade, the docks, the police/City Hall, the schools, and the print media).  The writers/creators had an amazing ability to make every character both loveable and deplorable, often at the same time.  Good guys did bad things, bad guys did good things, friends became enemies, enemies.... well they formed a co-op but mostly stayed enemies.  Characters were woven in and out across the seasons, and you saw them evolve (or not) over time while life around them largely stayed the same due to the dysfunctional systems of local politics and street life.  With a few exceptions, most of the actors were relative unknowns, but were near flawless in their character portrayals.

You are doing yourself a terrible disservice by not watching the show.  Fix that by adding it to your Netflix queue, and see what all of the fuss is about.  You'll be glad you did.  Check this NSFW clip for a too-quick look at what you're missing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9feD6MDcM1E 

"And I keeps one in the chamber, in case you ponderin'...."