Day 452: The Flemish Comma?

I've been slowly coming around to supporting the concept of the Oxford comma. For years, I was anti-Oxford comma. I like a clean page and in fulfilling my desire to have as little extraneous material on a page, the Oxford comma had to go. 

Sidebar: What is an Oxford comma? Maybe you've heard of the serial comma. No? The Oxford--or serial or even Harvard comma--clarifies the meaning of a sentence when the items in a list are not single words. The Oxford Dictionary website used this sentence as an exemplar.

These items are available in black and white, red and yellow, and blue and green.

(The Oxford comma appears after yellow.)

How does Oxford factor into the name? The Oxford University Press, of course! I also believe a far superior illustration of the Oxford comma is represented by this image:

And now you know why I'm now on board with the Oxford comma. I declared my new found passion for it most appropriately on National Grammar Day, which was March 4th. 

And if you don't think comma placement is important, check out the second tweet below. Why no--I don't have time to kill Badger fans. You go to jail for that sort of thing!

And with that, it's time for beer. This one was found at Teresa's Next Door in Wayne (Pennsylvania). 

Surly Bird is a wild ale from de Proef Brouwerij in Belgium. I believe its proper name is de Proef Flemish Primitive. It poured a hazy, deep gold color with very little head. It had aromas of mild funk. The flavor has a lot going on...a mild sourness, a bit of earthy honey and a slightly stronger taste of wine barrels (white wine, if you're curious). It was very nuanced and I want to use the term delicate to describe it. It wasn't light by any means--I'd describe the mouthfeel as medium-bodied. It was absolutely delicious and fun to drink.

Beer stats

Style: Wild ale

ABV: 9%

IBUs: Unknown

Rating: Excellent

Previously reviewed from de Proef (note that most of these are collaborations)

Reinaert Wild Ale, Beer and Ball Gowns (guess who wrote that one!)

Gary's review of Surly Bird

I geek out about a Hair of the Dog homonym

Beer 365: Hair of the Dog, A Homonym

The 9th anniversary of TJ's was a raucous celebration with outstanding beer and good friends. The only casualty of the day was the half of my barbecue chicken wrap that got left behind. I drank a ton of beer for the blog and can't wait to tell you more about it. After six hours of an amazing variety of beer, one would have thought that this morning would have called for a little hair of the dog to get going, but alas it did not. I should probably be worried about that...

Instead I'll tell you about another Hair of the Dog -- the brewery that partnered with de Proef to collaborate on Flanders Fred. This is a beer that I've been stalking for awhile now and was delighted to find it last night at TJ'S.

See what I did there? Hair of the dog. Hair of the Dog. Homonyms!

Gary's second career? Beer model.

Anyway this is an excellent beer and well worth the wait. It poured a deep apricot color and smells of overripe fruit, malt and funk. The flavor reminded me of tea and figs. It was sweet and sour with an almost IPA-like bitterness. Truly amazing. And it looks like it's still on at TJ's. If I weren't still lounging in my pajamas, I'd be tempted to go back for more!

In case you wanted to know more about the collaboration, here is some information: Legendary brewer Alan Sprints of Hair of the Dog joins Dirk Naudts at De Proef to create this unique bottle conditioned beer. Flanders Fred is a blend of Flanders-sourced lambic with a collaboratively-brewed version of the famous Hair of the Dog Fred. Now you know.

Cheers!

Bird, Bird, Bird.... Bird is the Word

Beer #94 Surly Bird / de Proef Brouwerij, Lochristi, Belgium

Keeping my hustle going, so we're back to diving in without much fanfare.  Besides, 80% of the reason you come here is for the beer updates, 20% for the fanfare.  So, think of this post as my 20% off sale - every penny counts in these challenging economic times, folks.

Today's beer is Surly Bird, a Flemish wild ale from de Proef.  This one was on tap at Teresa's Next Door in Wayne, and had a golden honey hue in the glass.  The aroma gave off the scent of yeast, sour citrus, and spice.  So far so good.  I noticed grapefruit, yeast and malt, and honey with sour and tart notes throughout.  In my notes, I wrote down "Very Good!", which is usually shorthand for a beer I find to be very good.  Definitely be on the lookout for this one.

I took a picture, but my occasionally not-that-smart phone didn't save it somehow.  Apologies.

Thing to Think About Today:
I guess if I was a bird, I might be a little surly.  What with all of the flying and the living outside and what not.  To make it easy for you, I'll go ahead and rank some additional surly birds besides tonight's beer, from least surly to most surly.  Now, you'll have a reference available should you need to judge the surliness of any birds you meet.

5. Surfin' Bird

4.  The San Diego Chicken

3. "The Birdman" Koko B. Ware

2.  It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Birds of War

1. The nesting hawks at The Franklin Institute


Stream videos at Ustream

For the past four years, this pair of red-tailed hawk have returned to a nest on a third floor ledge.  Their spot is right outside the window of the board room, and TFI staff have put up cameras so you can watch the birds lay eggs, bring home dinner, fluff up the nest, and feed their young.  Hence, your thing to think about today: Science in action.  Oh, but why do I categorize them surly, you ask?  Just wait until you see what happens to the rodents and pigeons they bring back into the nest, and you'll understand that these birds of prey are bad, bad mofos.

Beer 56: Reinaert Wild Ale or Ball Gowns and Beer

I think one of the reasons I really love my job is the chance to get really dressed up a couple times per year.  Proof: 

OK, so the one on the left was for a Titanic themed event and not anything I'd normally wear.  But check that hat.  You know you're envious.  Especially when you notice me hanging out with Mike Mills in the other pic.  Oh yeah.

Some people are happiest in yoga pants.  Some prefer jeans and a t-shirt.  Me...I want to wear ballgowns ALL THE TIME. (Don't judge.)  I have no idea where the picture to the right came from -- probably one of the Fashion Week Shows -- but I think it's perfect in every way...right down to the shoes, which I'm pretty sure I'd commit a felony to have in my closet.

***

On to the beer.  Tonight we drink Reinaert Wild Ale.  Big shout out to my friend Marisa for supplying this endeavor with some very awesome beers.  This is one of them!  There isn't a good website for this brewery, so I give you the link to what Beer Advocate has to say about it.

It poured a hazy golden straw color.  It smelled of what reminded me of wet wool and something slightly sweet and spicy with that underlying sour scent that inherent to wild ales.  The taste oddly made me think pilsner, which is strange.  There was a nice round flavor (malt maybe?) that had a definite tanginess.  It also hinted at some honey flavor as well.  It didn't finish as dry as I would have predicted but was all around an enjoyable beer.  


As I was trying to track down a website for this brewery, De Proef Brouwerij by the way, I learned it is a small experimental one in Belgium.  Check out the photos on their site...not exactly what you think of when you read small brewery in Belgium.  De Proef is also known for its collaborations, which I will definitely be on the lookout for!


Cheers!