Since I started this site last year, I have occasionally played with the "Next Blog" link located in the Navbar at the top of the page. The "Next Blog" link specifically and the Navbar in general seem to be more of the hotly debated features of Blogger. According to the Blogger help page, the "Next Blog" link "takes you to a random, recently-updated Blogger blog." According to other sites, pages linked by "Next Blog" are grouped by common topics. Still others say that the list of other sites linked as "Next Blog" from a specific site is limited and the same sites repeatedly cycle. I have found that to be the case with the "Next Blog" sites linked from my site.
When there was less content on this site, the "Next Blog" pages seemed to be more random. Recently, my site seems to be grouped with mostly beer-related sites, particularly sites of bars of the brewpub-variety and a long list of guys (and a surprising number of ladies) that enjoy beer. (Although I am not religious myself, I am happy to see the Catholic folk are enjoying their beer.) Home brewing is another frequent topic, and more recently, the sites of people who enjoy coffee have been appearing.
As one would expect from the Internet, links can be from far-flung locations. I know a west coast-style brewpub in Brooklyn which I assume is quite similar to these two pubs in the Seattle area. I also know where to find beer in Baltimore. There is a brewpub in Flossmoor, Illinois (it's just south of Chicago), that has its own Mug Club. A few times, the "Next Blog" has been the Local Taphouse Blog which is blog site for two bars in Australia. One of the pubs is in St. Kilda, Victoria, which is a suburb Melbourne. The other is in Darlinghurst, New South Wales, which is a suburb of Sydney. I have never been to Australia, but when I get around to visiting that fine country, at least I will know a couple of places where I can stop for a beer.
Some unrelated sites do appear as the "Next Blog". There is one repeated site that would seem to be either about beer or coffee based on the word "brew" in its title but actually seems to only focus on electronics. Another site is by a guy who enjoys tattoos and cycling. The only thing that he and I seem to have in common is that we have both visited Oregon and Colorado, although for completely different reasons (outdoor sports for him, friends, family and beer for me). This guy also like bicycles, but he is also into beer.
I will end my little tour of "Next Blog" sites with a visit to this site by a Gonzo journalist.
Showing posts with label home brew. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home brew. Show all posts
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
3-2-1 Contacts
As I mentioned in my previous post, I finally got around to getting a new cellphone on Monday. My new LG Rumor Touch was delivered on Wednesday. I was easily able to activate it online. The LG is only my third cellphone with the aged Sanyo RL-4920 being the second. The first was the truly ancient Sanyo SCP-4700 from way back in 2002. That phone was still in my possession until I disposed of it today.
Getting back to a bit more modern technology, I was able activate my new phone on my own online, but I also wanted to transfer my contact list over to the new phone. I needed some outside assistance with that process. This morning, I took both my phones over to the local Sprint shop on Creedmoor Road. After a short wait, I was called up to the counter. While the clerk was intrigued by my vintage phone, that particular location unfortunately did not have the necessary connector to make the data transfer. The guy suggested that I try the location at the corner of Millbrook Road and Atlantic Avenue. I drove over that shop, and after an even shorter wait, the lady at the counter called my name. Again, the clerks were amused by the prehistoric technology. Fortunately though, they had the right connector. However, the first few tries at exporting my contact list were not successful. The lady took my phone in the back and gave the connector on the bottom a few shots of compressed air to clean it out. That must have done the trick because the next try was successful. Importing the list to my new phone was uneventful. Now I am a happy camper with my new phone.
Moving on to another topic, I have just cracked open the bottle of home brew marked with the number 14, and I am pouring the contents into a frosted mug. I have high hopes for this bottle with the highest number, but I am afraid this one will be another disappointment. There is very little discernible head which dissipates quickly. There are a few white specks floating on the top, but that is not unexpected for the bottles which contain more of the carbonation tablets. The taste is about the same slight sourness as the previous bottles. I do not think it is particularly successful. I still have three bottles remaining. Those bottles are numbered 10, 11.5 (which contains a piece of a broken tablet), and 12. The bottles marked 10 and 11.5 have been in the fridge for a while now. The bottle marked 12 was still in the closet until I just moved it to the fridge. Perhaps 12 will be the magic number.
Getting back to a bit more modern technology, I was able activate my new phone on my own online, but I also wanted to transfer my contact list over to the new phone. I needed some outside assistance with that process. This morning, I took both my phones over to the local Sprint shop on Creedmoor Road. After a short wait, I was called up to the counter. While the clerk was intrigued by my vintage phone, that particular location unfortunately did not have the necessary connector to make the data transfer. The guy suggested that I try the location at the corner of Millbrook Road and Atlantic Avenue. I drove over that shop, and after an even shorter wait, the lady at the counter called my name. Again, the clerks were amused by the prehistoric technology. Fortunately though, they had the right connector. However, the first few tries at exporting my contact list were not successful. The lady took my phone in the back and gave the connector on the bottom a few shots of compressed air to clean it out. That must have done the trick because the next try was successful. Importing the list to my new phone was uneventful. Now I am a happy camper with my new phone.
Moving on to another topic, I have just cracked open the bottle of home brew marked with the number 14, and I am pouring the contents into a frosted mug. I have high hopes for this bottle with the highest number, but I am afraid this one will be another disappointment. There is very little discernible head which dissipates quickly. There are a few white specks floating on the top, but that is not unexpected for the bottles which contain more of the carbonation tablets. The taste is about the same slight sourness as the previous bottles. I do not think it is particularly successful. I still have three bottles remaining. Those bottles are numbered 10, 11.5 (which contains a piece of a broken tablet), and 12. The bottles marked 10 and 11.5 have been in the fridge for a while now. The bottle marked 12 was still in the closet until I just moved it to the fridge. Perhaps 12 will be the magic number.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Number Nine
Today, I cracked open the bottle of home brew which I had labeled with the number 9 ("Number Nine, Number Nine") to indicate that I had added nine carbonation tablets. Nine was the least number of tablets that I used in a bottle. As expected, the result is a very flat beer. The taste is also a bit sour, but I believe that would be relieved with more carbonation. The white specks which are remnants of the Munton's CarbTabs were not an issue with this bottle.
Looking back over some previous posts, I noticed that two recent posts had an interesting and not immediately apparent connection. In a post from March 6, I mentioned that I saw the new Tron movie at the local $1.50 theater. Then on March 12, I posted about the bottle of home brew that contained thirteen carbonation tablets. So what, or more precisely who, is the common connection? That would be the lovely Olivia Wilde, of course. Yeah, yeah, it is a bit of a stretch, but it seemed much more interesting before I started typing this. Anyway, she plays the character Quorra in Tron: Legacy. She is probably most well known from the television show House M.D. where she plays Dr. Remy 'Thirteen' Hadley. OK, enough of that silliness, although I did I get through all that without mentioning that her character is bisexual or linking to her photos in GQ, Maxim and others (oh well).
In other news, I have finally gotten around to ordering myself a new cellphone. I have been with Sprint since I bought my first cellphone quite a few years ago. My current phone is a Sanyo RL-4920 which was originally introduced back in 2004 or so. My current contract with Sprint expired way back in 2007, but I have just never bothered to get a new phone by signing up for a new contract. I recently changed my mind, and today, I ordered the LG Rumor Touch and agreed to a two-year contract. By the way, I got the blue one and not the purple one.
Looking back over some previous posts, I noticed that two recent posts had an interesting and not immediately apparent connection. In a post from March 6, I mentioned that I saw the new Tron movie at the local $1.50 theater. Then on March 12, I posted about the bottle of home brew that contained thirteen carbonation tablets. So what, or more precisely who, is the common connection? That would be the lovely Olivia Wilde, of course. Yeah, yeah, it is a bit of a stretch, but it seemed much more interesting before I started typing this. Anyway, she plays the character Quorra in Tron: Legacy. She is probably most well known from the television show House M.D. where she plays Dr. Remy 'Thirteen' Hadley. OK, enough of that silliness, although I did I get through all that without mentioning that her character is bisexual or linking to her photos in GQ, Maxim and others (oh well).
In other news, I have finally gotten around to ordering myself a new cellphone. I have been with Sprint since I bought my first cellphone quite a few years ago. My current phone is a Sanyo RL-4920 which was originally introduced back in 2004 or so. My current contract with Sprint expired way back in 2007, but I have just never bothered to get a new phone by signing up for a new contract. I recently changed my mind, and today, I ordered the LG Rumor Touch and agreed to a two-year contract. By the way, I got the blue one and not the purple one.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Another Home Brew Update
As a reminder, I currently have one-liter bottles of Mr. Beer's Octoberfest Vienna Lager which I mixed up back in January and bottled two weeks later using Munton's CarbTabs to create carbonation. Today, I cracked open the unlucky bottle marked with the number 13. I trouble getting the thirteen carbonation tablets into this bottle and ended up dropping three on the counter. I poured the brew into a frozen glass mug. Even with the thirteen carbonation tablets, there was very little head. There were white specks floating at the top of the beer. The taste was sour but still drinkable.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Another Bottle
I decided to try the second bottle from the latest home brew batch. Next in line was the bottle marked 11 plus a little dot. This bottle has me a bit worried. I added the little dot because I dropped one of the carbonation tabs on the counter. I then picked it up with my fingers and put it in the bottle. There is some concern around the Internet about handling carbonation tabs. Some people suggest using little tongs or perhaps tweezers (sanitized and sterilized, I assume) to get the tablets out of the package and inserted in the bottle. Having neither small tongs nor tweezers (clean or otherwise), I went with cutting a small opening in the corner of the package, placing that opening very near to the top of the bottle, and then sliding a tablet out of the package and into the bottle. I managed quite well with only a few drops. Some dropped tablets hit the floor. I discarded those. However, I decided to use the ones that hit the counter. There was one of those counter tablets in this bottle. As it so happens, the only other bottle that contains dropped tablets is the one with 13 tablets, three of which were dropped on the counter. I am not superstitious, but that 13 bottle might have some surprises in store.
Back to this bottle. The initial pour is completely flat. Again, I believe more time carbonating is required. Surprisingly, the taste does not seem as bad as the previous bottle. The sour taste is still there, but it is much subdued. Or perhaps I am just getting use to the taste with the second bottle. Sourness aside, I do like the Octoberfest Vienna Lager. It has a nice amber color and a malty taste.
While searching the Internet for information on the Vienna Lager, I found out something that I should have realized earlier. This brew can not be a true lager since it was fermented at room temperature. Lagers are brewed at lower temperatures than ales, and they use a special type of yeast. Wikipedia tells me lagers are brewed at around 50 °F as opposed to 64 °F for ales. Lager yeast are mutated bottom-feeding varieties, specifically Saccharomyces pastorianus. Now I know.
Back to this bottle. The initial pour is completely flat. Again, I believe more time carbonating is required. Surprisingly, the taste does not seem as bad as the previous bottle. The sour taste is still there, but it is much subdued. Or perhaps I am just getting use to the taste with the second bottle. Sourness aside, I do like the Octoberfest Vienna Lager. It has a nice amber color and a malty taste.
While searching the Internet for information on the Vienna Lager, I found out something that I should have realized earlier. This brew can not be a true lager since it was fermented at room temperature. Lagers are brewed at lower temperatures than ales, and they use a special type of yeast. Wikipedia tells me lagers are brewed at around 50 °F as opposed to 64 °F for ales. Lager yeast are mutated bottom-feeding varieties, specifically Saccharomyces pastorianus. Now I know.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Home Brew Update
Today, I got around to cracking open the first bottle of the latest batch of the home brew. I selected one of the two bottles that contained twelve of the Munton's CarbTabs. The amber-colored brew is a bit of a disappointment. It is flat which probably means that it needs to sit a bit longer while more carbonation is created. This is not unexpected with the Munton's CarbTabs which I have read take up to three weeks for the carbonation period. There are also white specks in the brew which is also not unexpected with the CarbTabs. The taste is sour which is more disconcerting. A search of the Internet shows several possible answers. Perhaps what I am tasting is just stale beer and additional carbonation will fix the problem. On the other hand, the yeast might have been dead in the packet or perhaps killed by me if the wort was too warm. Or the batch might have needed to ferment a little longer. I will try another bottle in a few days, but I think the odds are that I have myself a bad batch of brew.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
A Beer in My Future
Home Brew Update: I have read in various places on the web that if you use Munton's CarbTabs, some leftover particles of the tablets could show up floating in the beer. Some people suggested simply ignoring the particles while others suggested giving the bottles an extra turn midway through the carbonation period. Today, I gave each bottle of the latest home brew batch a couple of extra inversions. I did notice some particles in the bottles, particularly the bottles in which I put more of the carbonation tablets. There was also some white residue in the very bottom of some bottles. A few taps on the bottom helped with dissipating some of that white film.
I am finally adding a second beer to my list for 2011. I stopped by my favorite wine and beer store yesterday. I was in the store last weekend, and there had just been a run on the draft beer. Their shipment of new kegs had been a little short that week, so they were down to just two taps. Luckily, one of those two drafts was Reissdorf Kölsch, so I was good to go.
This week, the keg situation had been resolved, and there was a brew that was new to me. The new brew was Nostradamus by Brasserie Caracole which is located in Belgium and according to Wikipedia, is an "artisanal brewery". The store had this brew listed on their board as a brown ale. When I think brown ale, of course, I think about Newcastle which is an English-style brown ale. Newcastle is known for a taste that is malty and nutty. The Nostradamus definitely did not taste like that. It is categorized as Belgian Strong Dark Ale, and it is a pretty big beer at 9.5% ABV. The taste is strong and complex, and I probably would have enjoyed it much better if I had not been expecting the smooth malt taste of Newcastle.
I am finally adding a second beer to my list for 2011. I stopped by my favorite wine and beer store yesterday. I was in the store last weekend, and there had just been a run on the draft beer. Their shipment of new kegs had been a little short that week, so they were down to just two taps. Luckily, one of those two drafts was Reissdorf Kölsch, so I was good to go.
This week, the keg situation had been resolved, and there was a brew that was new to me. The new brew was Nostradamus by Brasserie Caracole which is located in Belgium and according to Wikipedia, is an "artisanal brewery". The store had this brew listed on their board as a brown ale. When I think brown ale, of course, I think about Newcastle which is an English-style brown ale. Newcastle is known for a taste that is malty and nutty. The Nostradamus definitely did not taste like that. It is categorized as Belgian Strong Dark Ale, and it is a pretty big beer at 9.5% ABV. The taste is strong and complex, and I probably would have enjoyed it much better if I had not been expecting the smooth malt taste of Newcastle.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
The Carolina Effect
Home Brew Update: Since I expect that I will be spending most of tomorrow sitting on my lazy ass watching the two NFL conference championship games, I went ahead and took care of bottling the latest batch of home brew today. This was my first time using Munton's CarbTabs. According to various websites, the number of tablets to use in my one-liter bottles varied from nine to fourteen. Therefore, I decided to try a little experiment. I have eight bottles. I put different numbers of tablets in the bottles and noted that number on the bottle cap. I expect the bottle with only nine tablets to be flat, while the bottle with 14 tablets will be extra carbonated. Stop by for a taste in two weeks.
This post is a continuation of a topic from a previous post. In that post, I discussed the new head coach of the Carolina Panthers and my prediction for his time holding the reigns. I based my prediction on the records of his three predecessors. While my thought process made sense to me, looking back over the post, I am not sure that I made it clear that I saw a discernible pattern of peaks and valleys in the records of the previous Panthers head coaches. Being the spreadsheet geek that I am, I made this graph of the head coaching records of the Panthers. The basic pattern is a mediocre year with a record around .500 followed by a peak year with wins in the double digits. Finally, there is a two-year decline with a mediocre year followed by a dreadful year and the coach being fired.
Dom Capers had one peak year in 1996 with the Panthers winning the NFC West division and beating the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the playoffs. George Seifert did not have any peak seasons. His first mediocre year as head coach was immediately followed by a two-year decline. John Fox had three peak seasons. In 2003, the team won the NFL South division and made it to the Super Bowl. In 2005, the team made the playoffs as a wild card and went to the conference championship game where they lost to the top-seeded Seattle Seahawks. In 2008, the Panthers won 12 games for the second time in their history and the first since 1996. The team enjoyed a first round bye in the playoffs, but then got destroyed by the Arizona Cardinals in the divisional round with quarterback Jake Delhomme turning the football over five times. The Cards would go on to play in Super Bowl XLIII. My prediction for Ron Rivera's tenure was based on averaging the one peak season under Capers and the three peak seasons under Fox. I gave Rivera a total of six years with two cycles of a mediocre season followed by a peak season and then a two-year decline.
The Panthers even having a mediocre season in 2011 is not a gimme. The team is coming off a dreadful two-win season and in reality, might be looking at one or two rebuilding years before becoming competitive again. Perhaps, a mediocre 8-8 or 7-9 season is out of the question for next season. While change is the only constant in the NFL as it is in life, looking at the team's opponents for next season, it might be hard to find seven or eight wins. The Panthers did not record a win against their divisional opponents this past season. Atlanta and New Orleans should be strong again, and Tampa Bay will be looking to continue their improvement. Hopefully however, the Panthers can steal two wins next season and go 2-4 in the division. The Panthers will play the four teams from the NFC North. Tomorrow, the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears are playing for the NFC Championship. I have to assume those two team will be solid next season. The Detroit Lions have been improving, and much about the Minnesota Vikings is up in the air including where they will be playing their home games. At best, the Panthers might go 2-2 against that division, but 1-3 is more realistic.
Next season, the Panthers will also play the four teams from the AFC South division, and they might do pretty well. The Indianapolis Colts should be formidable as long as they have Peyton Manning under center. However, I think the games against the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans should all be winnable for the Panthers. I say that they will go 2-2. Finally, the Panthers have games against Arizona and Washington, both of whom also finished last in their divisions. Those two games could be wins as well, but I say the Panthers will split them. To add it all up, 2-4 in their division plus 1-3 versus the NFC North plus 2-2 versus the AFC South plus 1-1 equals 6-10. I guess that record would be considered mediocre.
On the other hand, both the Falcons and Saints collapsed in their playoff games. While Atlanta, New Orleans and Tampa Bay all had impressive double-digit win seasons, I think there is a good chance that those team are not quite as good as their records indicate. The Panthers were truly dreadful this past seasons, and since their fellow NFC South teams each had two games against Panthers, I think their records are a bit inflated. I call this hypothesis the Carolina effect. Other playoff team also had wins over Panthers, so those wins would have to be discounted as well. I wanted to see if the NFC standings would look different if the 10 losses that the Panthers had against NFC opponents were removed. Once again, I went to a spreadsheet. I used the final NFL standings by conference for 2010 which can be found here. I updated the records to remove wins over the Panthers, and the winning percentages were recalculated for the affected teams based on 15 or 14 games instead of 16.
Based on the result, it turns out that my great theory does not hold water. Removing the wins over the Panthers does not change the conference standings. The top three teams, Atlanta, Chicago and New Orleans, all had victories over Carolina, so discounting those victories was basically a wash. Philadelphia and Green Bay did not play the Panthers, but that did not help them gain any ground in the standings. Of course, it is impossible to say how the standings would be different if the games against the Panthers were replaced by games against better teams. The Packers could not have overtaken the Bears for the NFC North championship, but Green Bay might have gotten the higher wild card seed over the Saints. The Eagles might have gotten the second seed and a first round bye instead of the Bears. Those changes would have drastically altered the face of the playoffs.
This post is a continuation of a topic from a previous post. In that post, I discussed the new head coach of the Carolina Panthers and my prediction for his time holding the reigns. I based my prediction on the records of his three predecessors. While my thought process made sense to me, looking back over the post, I am not sure that I made it clear that I saw a discernible pattern of peaks and valleys in the records of the previous Panthers head coaches. Being the spreadsheet geek that I am, I made this graph of the head coaching records of the Panthers. The basic pattern is a mediocre year with a record around .500 followed by a peak year with wins in the double digits. Finally, there is a two-year decline with a mediocre year followed by a dreadful year and the coach being fired.
Dom Capers had one peak year in 1996 with the Panthers winning the NFC West division and beating the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the playoffs. George Seifert did not have any peak seasons. His first mediocre year as head coach was immediately followed by a two-year decline. John Fox had three peak seasons. In 2003, the team won the NFL South division and made it to the Super Bowl. In 2005, the team made the playoffs as a wild card and went to the conference championship game where they lost to the top-seeded Seattle Seahawks. In 2008, the Panthers won 12 games for the second time in their history and the first since 1996. The team enjoyed a first round bye in the playoffs, but then got destroyed by the Arizona Cardinals in the divisional round with quarterback Jake Delhomme turning the football over five times. The Cards would go on to play in Super Bowl XLIII. My prediction for Ron Rivera's tenure was based on averaging the one peak season under Capers and the three peak seasons under Fox. I gave Rivera a total of six years with two cycles of a mediocre season followed by a peak season and then a two-year decline.
The Panthers even having a mediocre season in 2011 is not a gimme. The team is coming off a dreadful two-win season and in reality, might be looking at one or two rebuilding years before becoming competitive again. Perhaps, a mediocre 8-8 or 7-9 season is out of the question for next season. While change is the only constant in the NFL as it is in life, looking at the team's opponents for next season, it might be hard to find seven or eight wins. The Panthers did not record a win against their divisional opponents this past season. Atlanta and New Orleans should be strong again, and Tampa Bay will be looking to continue their improvement. Hopefully however, the Panthers can steal two wins next season and go 2-4 in the division. The Panthers will play the four teams from the NFC North. Tomorrow, the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears are playing for the NFC Championship. I have to assume those two team will be solid next season. The Detroit Lions have been improving, and much about the Minnesota Vikings is up in the air including where they will be playing their home games. At best, the Panthers might go 2-2 against that division, but 1-3 is more realistic.
Next season, the Panthers will also play the four teams from the AFC South division, and they might do pretty well. The Indianapolis Colts should be formidable as long as they have Peyton Manning under center. However, I think the games against the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans should all be winnable for the Panthers. I say that they will go 2-2. Finally, the Panthers have games against Arizona and Washington, both of whom also finished last in their divisions. Those two games could be wins as well, but I say the Panthers will split them. To add it all up, 2-4 in their division plus 1-3 versus the NFC North plus 2-2 versus the AFC South plus 1-1 equals 6-10. I guess that record would be considered mediocre.
On the other hand, both the Falcons and Saints collapsed in their playoff games. While Atlanta, New Orleans and Tampa Bay all had impressive double-digit win seasons, I think there is a good chance that those team are not quite as good as their records indicate. The Panthers were truly dreadful this past seasons, and since their fellow NFC South teams each had two games against Panthers, I think their records are a bit inflated. I call this hypothesis the Carolina effect. Other playoff team also had wins over Panthers, so those wins would have to be discounted as well. I wanted to see if the NFC standings would look different if the 10 losses that the Panthers had against NFC opponents were removed. Once again, I went to a spreadsheet. I used the final NFL standings by conference for 2010 which can be found here. I updated the records to remove wins over the Panthers, and the winning percentages were recalculated for the affected teams based on 15 or 14 games instead of 16.
Based on the result, it turns out that my great theory does not hold water. Removing the wins over the Panthers does not change the conference standings. The top three teams, Atlanta, Chicago and New Orleans, all had victories over Carolina, so discounting those victories was basically a wash. Philadelphia and Green Bay did not play the Panthers, but that did not help them gain any ground in the standings. Of course, it is impossible to say how the standings would be different if the games against the Panthers were replaced by games against better teams. The Packers could not have overtaken the Bears for the NFC North championship, but Green Bay might have gotten the higher wild card seed over the Saints. The Eagles might have gotten the second seed and a first round bye instead of the Bears. Those changes would have drastically altered the face of the playoffs.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Training Wheels
In my post from last weekend, I discussed using Munton's CarbTabs instead of sugar when it comes time for bottling the batch of home brew that is currently fermenting in the keg. Unfortunately, the store that I visited last Saturday was out of carbonation tabs and drops. I considered ordering the CarbTabs online, but I did not want to pay $5 on shipping for a $3 product. The good news is that yesterday, I was able to pick up a pack of CarbTabs at American Brewmaster which a great beer- and wine-making store located off Capital Boulevard here in Raleigh.
There was one thing that kind of irked me while I was in the store. I was in the line to check out, and the guy manning the cash register got a call from somebody asking about supplies for their Mr. Beer kit. The guy told the person that the store did not carry Mr. Beer products, but the store could help them with some of the necessary supplies. The particular problem is that Mr. Beer kits have a two-gallon keg while most brewing supplies support five-gallon batches or larger. What irked me though, was after hanging up the phone, the clerk snidely (in my opinion) commented something to the effect that the person should get a real brewing kit. I do not think that veteran home-brewers should be critical of the Mr. Beer kits. I think that is similar to making fun of kiddie bikes with training wheels. I hope someday to move up to a more full-functional brewing setup. That might not ever happen, but if it does, the Mr. Beer kit would have been the initial impetus for getting me to that spot.
Moving on to another topic, I have changed the title of my previous post from Thursday twice now. Since this is my site, I suppose I can do as I please. I originally went with just "Same Old, Same Old", but I was not completely happy with that title. The next day, I changed it to ""Same Old Story" which is closer to what I intended. This morning, I changed the title again, this time to "Same Old Song and Dance" which is the title of a Aerosmith song. We know that I like referencing songs. Perhaps tomorrow I will change the title once again maybe to "Same Ol' Situation" which of course is a song by Mötley Crüe.
There was one thing that kind of irked me while I was in the store. I was in the line to check out, and the guy manning the cash register got a call from somebody asking about supplies for their Mr. Beer kit. The guy told the person that the store did not carry Mr. Beer products, but the store could help them with some of the necessary supplies. The particular problem is that Mr. Beer kits have a two-gallon keg while most brewing supplies support five-gallon batches or larger. What irked me though, was after hanging up the phone, the clerk snidely (in my opinion) commented something to the effect that the person should get a real brewing kit. I do not think that veteran home-brewers should be critical of the Mr. Beer kits. I think that is similar to making fun of kiddie bikes with training wheels. I hope someday to move up to a more full-functional brewing setup. That might not ever happen, but if it does, the Mr. Beer kit would have been the initial impetus for getting me to that spot.
Moving on to another topic, I have changed the title of my previous post from Thursday twice now. Since this is my site, I suppose I can do as I please. I originally went with just "Same Old, Same Old", but I was not completely happy with that title. The next day, I changed it to ""Same Old Story" which is closer to what I intended. This morning, I changed the title again, this time to "Same Old Song and Dance" which is the title of a Aerosmith song. We know that I like referencing songs. Perhaps tomorrow I will change the title once again maybe to "Same Ol' Situation" which of course is a song by Mötley Crüe.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The Art of Label
This will be my first post of 2011. I intend it to be a recap of the year that was for my little site, but first, here is an update on the ongoing home brewing experiment. I have been meaning to mix up a batch of the home brew since I got back from China, but I have been busy with work and the holidays. Also, due to extenuating circumstances, I found that I did not have a whisk which is needed during the brewing process or any sugar which is needed for bottling. I took care of the first issue yesterday by picking up some whisks along with some other kitchen supplies including measuring cups and measuring spoons.
Instead of buying a bag of sugar which I otherwise did not need, I decided it was time to try another method for creating carbonation. The two main carbonation options are Coopers Carbonation Drops and Munton's CarbTabs. Based on information from various message boards, I understand the main difference between the two is that the Munton's tabs contain mostly glucose (a.k.a. dextrose or corn sugar) and the Coopers drops are a mix of sucrose (or table sugar, 73%) and glucose (27%). While the Coopers drops are suppose to be faster, I decided to go with the CarbTabs.
I also took the opportunity to visit Fifth Season Gardening Company which is located on Hillsborough Street over near the state fairgrounds. In addition to being a gardening store, they also have an inventory of home-brewing supplies. After mastering the Mr. Beer kit, I think I would like to step up to a more full-function kit such as this one from Brewer’s Best. Anyway, the store was out of both the CarbTabs and the Carbonation Drops, so I had to order some of the CarbTabs. Since I assume they will be delivered within two weeks, I went ahead with mixing up the brew and putting it in the keg. I used the last can from El's original gift which was Octoberfest Vienna Lager. Now I need to look into buying some refills.
Moving on, I am a few days late, but I published my first post on this site one year ago on January 3. No, I did not do anything in particular to celebrate this first anniversary. This post is sort of a follow-on to my State of the Site post from back in February where I summarized the first month of the site. For the full year of 2010, I had 62 posts which is an average of just over five posts per month and over one per week. I got off to a strong start with 15 posts in January and 11 in February. After that, my posting frequency dropped off considerably. I averaged only 36 posts over the next ten months or less than one a week.
I came up with the title for this post before I started typing it. My plan is to examine the labels that I have used so far. Of course, leading the pack is the "beer" label with 37 posts which is a whopping 60% of all my posts. I went back and added a new label for posts that were specifically related to home brewing. There are thirteen posts with the new "home brew" label. This post will be number fourteen. The next highest ranking label is "sports" with 22 posts. Those posts cover a variety of different sports including baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and racing. I also went back and added a new "NFL proposal" label to my four posts (so far) on that subject.
None of the other labels cracked double-digits in posts. Next on the list is the "books" label with six posts. As my Goodreads gadget will attest, I have read several books since my last book-related post in March. I just need to try harder to post about what I have read. The next three labels all tied with five posts apiece and are each related to entertainment. Last month, I had one post labeled with both "movies" and "television", and another post labeled with "music". To summarize, my site is primarily focused on beer, sports and various forms of entertainment.
Instead of buying a bag of sugar which I otherwise did not need, I decided it was time to try another method for creating carbonation. The two main carbonation options are Coopers Carbonation Drops and Munton's CarbTabs. Based on information from various message boards, I understand the main difference between the two is that the Munton's tabs contain mostly glucose (a.k.a. dextrose or corn sugar) and the Coopers drops are a mix of sucrose (or table sugar, 73%) and glucose (27%). While the Coopers drops are suppose to be faster, I decided to go with the CarbTabs.
I also took the opportunity to visit Fifth Season Gardening Company which is located on Hillsborough Street over near the state fairgrounds. In addition to being a gardening store, they also have an inventory of home-brewing supplies. After mastering the Mr. Beer kit, I think I would like to step up to a more full-function kit such as this one from Brewer’s Best. Anyway, the store was out of both the CarbTabs and the Carbonation Drops, so I had to order some of the CarbTabs. Since I assume they will be delivered within two weeks, I went ahead with mixing up the brew and putting it in the keg. I used the last can from El's original gift which was Octoberfest Vienna Lager. Now I need to look into buying some refills.
Moving on, I am a few days late, but I published my first post on this site one year ago on January 3. No, I did not do anything in particular to celebrate this first anniversary. This post is sort of a follow-on to my State of the Site post from back in February where I summarized the first month of the site. For the full year of 2010, I had 62 posts which is an average of just over five posts per month and over one per week. I got off to a strong start with 15 posts in January and 11 in February. After that, my posting frequency dropped off considerably. I averaged only 36 posts over the next ten months or less than one a week.
I came up with the title for this post before I started typing it. My plan is to examine the labels that I have used so far. Of course, leading the pack is the "beer" label with 37 posts which is a whopping 60% of all my posts. I went back and added a new label for posts that were specifically related to home brewing. There are thirteen posts with the new "home brew" label. This post will be number fourteen. The next highest ranking label is "sports" with 22 posts. Those posts cover a variety of different sports including baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and racing. I also went back and added a new "NFL proposal" label to my four posts (so far) on that subject.
None of the other labels cracked double-digits in posts. Next on the list is the "books" label with six posts. As my Goodreads gadget will attest, I have read several books since my last book-related post in March. I just need to try harder to post about what I have read. The next three labels all tied with five posts apiece and are each related to entertainment. Last month, I had one post labeled with both "movies" and "television", and another post labeled with "music". To summarize, my site is primarily focused on beer, sports and various forms of entertainment.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Cruise Brews
Home Brew Update: Obviously, it has been more than two weeks since I bottled the latest batch of home brew. My opinion might be due to my lowered expectations, but the beer is not that bad. It is a little flat and seems a bit sour, but it is drinkable.
Moving on to other news, El and I just got back from a seven-night cruise of the western Caribbean aboard the Carnival Valor. Our "exotic" cruise departed from the Port of Miami. After a day at sea, the first stop on our itinerary was Grand Cayman. The Cayman Islands were part of the British West Indies and are now one of the British Overseas Territories. Grand Cayman was accessible from the ship via smaller tenders. El and I elected to skip Grand Cayman and stay aboard the ship. One of the drawbacks of cruise ships are the large number of people. The Valor has a capacity of 2,974 passengers plus 1,180 crew members. Spending the day on the ship with fewer people was a welcomed change of pace. We did see a fake pirate ship that roams the bay as part of a pirate-themed excursion.
The next day our ship docked at Mahogany Bay on the island of Roatán which is off the coast of Honduras. The area is known for a great strip of beach plus various water-based activities. Our ship shared the day in port with the Carnival Dream which is Carnival's newest and largest ship. El and I disembarked for a short time, but retreated back to the Valor due to the heat and the crowds.
The third stop on our cruise was Belize. El had us booked for a seven-hour tour of a Mayan ruins site. The morning started with a ride on a tender to the port of Belize City. After arriving in port, we were herded onto a tour bus for the ride out to Xunantunich. The main tour guide jokingly told us to pronounce the name of the site like "Tuna Sandwich". The ruins are accessible via a ride across the Mopan River on a hand-cranked ferry and followed by a quick van ride up the hill.
Prior to getting to the ruins, we stopped in a small welcome center which contained a scale model of the site. Then we proceeded to the ruins. There are multiple structures that are part of the site. The most impressive is the large pyramid known as "El Castillo". Our group climbed to the top of temple and were awarded with an amazing view of the surrounding area. The guides pointed out areas that were in Guatemala which is only two miles from the site.
After descending from the pyramid, we rode back down the hill and back across the river. Then we jumped back on the tour bus and headed off to lunch. We stopped at a restaurant in a small nearby town called San Ignacio. Lunch was the best red beans and rice that I have ever eaten, but that might have been due to our tired state. We also had chicken and fried plantains. To go along with lunch, I bought us two bottles of Belikin beer. Belikin is known as the beer of Belize. It is a run-of-the-mill lager that normally would have been uninteresting. However, it definitely hit the spot at the time.
After lunch, it was back on the bus for the ride back to Belize City. Outside of the compounds run by the cruise lines, you might expect the areas of Central America and the Caribbean to be in abject poverty and extremely rundown. What I saw of Belize during the ride to and from the ruins was better than that expectation. In fact, I really did not see much difference between outlying areas of Belize and many rural areas of the South.
The fourth stop of the cruise was Cozumel which is a Mexican island off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. It was our second early morning, since El and I had another excursion. After debarking and meeting our group, we were loaded into a taxi for a short trip to a zip-line center not too far outside of the port compound. The guides helped us into our gear, and after a short instructional briefing, we climbed up a wooden tower. I should note here that I am not a big fan of heights. It took some effort to just pick my feet off the ground and start trusting the cable. I finally took that first step, and after that, it got easier.
After returning from our excursion, we found the Carnival Conquest docked next to our ship. The Conquest is one of the Valor's sister ships, and it was pretty impressive walking down the dock with the twin ships on each side. It was reminiscence of walking around the downtown area of a large city with skyscrapers lining the street.
Other than the bottle of Belikin beer in Belize, I did not get the opportunity to sample any local brews. During the cruise, El and I spent most of our evenings after dinner in the piano bar. I downed several bottles of Pilsner Urquell and cans of Boddingtons Pub Ale while enjoying the entertainment provided by Randy on the piano.
Day seven was another day at sea. El and I had a very nice dinner at the steakhouse located on the tenth deck. On the eight day, we returned to Miami, and then flew back home.
Moving on to other news, El and I just got back from a seven-night cruise of the western Caribbean aboard the Carnival Valor. Our "exotic" cruise departed from the Port of Miami. After a day at sea, the first stop on our itinerary was Grand Cayman. The Cayman Islands were part of the British West Indies and are now one of the British Overseas Territories. Grand Cayman was accessible from the ship via smaller tenders. El and I elected to skip Grand Cayman and stay aboard the ship. One of the drawbacks of cruise ships are the large number of people. The Valor has a capacity of 2,974 passengers plus 1,180 crew members. Spending the day on the ship with fewer people was a welcomed change of pace. We did see a fake pirate ship that roams the bay as part of a pirate-themed excursion.
The next day our ship docked at Mahogany Bay on the island of Roatán which is off the coast of Honduras. The area is known for a great strip of beach plus various water-based activities. Our ship shared the day in port with the Carnival Dream which is Carnival's newest and largest ship. El and I disembarked for a short time, but retreated back to the Valor due to the heat and the crowds.
The third stop on our cruise was Belize. El had us booked for a seven-hour tour of a Mayan ruins site. The morning started with a ride on a tender to the port of Belize City. After arriving in port, we were herded onto a tour bus for the ride out to Xunantunich. The main tour guide jokingly told us to pronounce the name of the site like "Tuna Sandwich". The ruins are accessible via a ride across the Mopan River on a hand-cranked ferry and followed by a quick van ride up the hill.
Prior to getting to the ruins, we stopped in a small welcome center which contained a scale model of the site. Then we proceeded to the ruins. There are multiple structures that are part of the site. The most impressive is the large pyramid known as "El Castillo". Our group climbed to the top of temple and were awarded with an amazing view of the surrounding area. The guides pointed out areas that were in Guatemala which is only two miles from the site.
After descending from the pyramid, we rode back down the hill and back across the river. Then we jumped back on the tour bus and headed off to lunch. We stopped at a restaurant in a small nearby town called San Ignacio. Lunch was the best red beans and rice that I have ever eaten, but that might have been due to our tired state. We also had chicken and fried plantains. To go along with lunch, I bought us two bottles of Belikin beer. Belikin is known as the beer of Belize. It is a run-of-the-mill lager that normally would have been uninteresting. However, it definitely hit the spot at the time.
After lunch, it was back on the bus for the ride back to Belize City. Outside of the compounds run by the cruise lines, you might expect the areas of Central America and the Caribbean to be in abject poverty and extremely rundown. What I saw of Belize during the ride to and from the ruins was better than that expectation. In fact, I really did not see much difference between outlying areas of Belize and many rural areas of the South.
The fourth stop of the cruise was Cozumel which is a Mexican island off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. It was our second early morning, since El and I had another excursion. After debarking and meeting our group, we were loaded into a taxi for a short trip to a zip-line center not too far outside of the port compound. The guides helped us into our gear, and after a short instructional briefing, we climbed up a wooden tower. I should note here that I am not a big fan of heights. It took some effort to just pick my feet off the ground and start trusting the cable. I finally took that first step, and after that, it got easier.
After returning from our excursion, we found the Carnival Conquest docked next to our ship. The Conquest is one of the Valor's sister ships, and it was pretty impressive walking down the dock with the twin ships on each side. It was reminiscence of walking around the downtown area of a large city with skyscrapers lining the street.
Other than the bottle of Belikin beer in Belize, I did not get the opportunity to sample any local brews. During the cruise, El and I spent most of our evenings after dinner in the piano bar. I downed several bottles of Pilsner Urquell and cans of Boddingtons Pub Ale while enjoying the entertainment provided by Randy on the piano.
Day seven was another day at sea. El and I had a very nice dinner at the steakhouse located on the tenth deck. On the eight day, we returned to Miami, and then flew back home.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
An IPA and a BIPA/CDA/ASIBA
Home Brew Update: It has been two weeks since I put the batch of Whispering Wheat Weizenbier in the keg. Today, I put the latest home brew in bottles. Same drill as before, another two weeks in the bottles, and then we will get to taste.
On Saturday, I continued my journey down the hoppy trail with two ales heavy on the hops. As I have discussed in previous posts (including the most recent), I have been trying more pales ales, IPAs and even double (or imperial) IPAs despite my general preference for beers with lower contents of hops. I find that some of these brews are strong and hoppy seemingly just for the sake higher ABV and IBU numbers. Those are the ones that I least prefer. Other beers in these categories are smoother and easier to drink. Here we have one of each.
The first brew that I consumed was Islander IPA from Coronado. This will be the second brew on the Beer List from the California brewery after their Mermaid's Red Ale. The website for Islander IPA brags about its "intense hop bitterness" which I found to be right on the money. There were some other flavors, but for me at least, the hops really overpowered any other taste.
To the rescue comes Capt'n Krunkles from Terrapin Beer Company in Athens, Georgia. According to the brewery's webpage, Capt'n Krunkles is the tenth in a line of Side Projects and the first for the year 2010. The brew is called a black IPA which is an oxymoron. How can a beer be both black and pale? Other descriptions for this particular style of beer include Cascadian Dark Ale and American-Style India Black Ale which now seems to be the official name for the style per the Brewers Association. True to the style (whatever it is called), Capt'n Krunkles is a dark pour. The smell is very malty. I found the taste to be a great balance of roasted malts and heavy hops. I enjoyed this beer much more than the Islander IPA.
On Saturday, I continued my journey down the hoppy trail with two ales heavy on the hops. As I have discussed in previous posts (including the most recent), I have been trying more pales ales, IPAs and even double (or imperial) IPAs despite my general preference for beers with lower contents of hops. I find that some of these brews are strong and hoppy seemingly just for the sake higher ABV and IBU numbers. Those are the ones that I least prefer. Other beers in these categories are smoother and easier to drink. Here we have one of each.
The first brew that I consumed was Islander IPA from Coronado. This will be the second brew on the Beer List from the California brewery after their Mermaid's Red Ale. The website for Islander IPA brags about its "intense hop bitterness" which I found to be right on the money. There were some other flavors, but for me at least, the hops really overpowered any other taste.
To the rescue comes Capt'n Krunkles from Terrapin Beer Company in Athens, Georgia. According to the brewery's webpage, Capt'n Krunkles is the tenth in a line of Side Projects and the first for the year 2010. The brew is called a black IPA which is an oxymoron. How can a beer be both black and pale? Other descriptions for this particular style of beer include Cascadian Dark Ale and American-Style India Black Ale which now seems to be the official name for the style per the Brewers Association. True to the style (whatever it is called), Capt'n Krunkles is a dark pour. The smell is very malty. I found the taste to be a great balance of roasted malts and heavy hops. I enjoyed this beer much more than the Islander IPA.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Yet Another Beer Post
Home Brew Update: Today, I mixed up another batch of home brew. I went with the Whispering Wheat Weizenbier this time. Unfortunately, I have little hope for this batch. I sanitized the utensils as usual, but then I kept forgetting and sitting the whisk that I was using directly on the counter instead of the plate that I had sanitized for that particular purpose. Then while I was sprinkling the yeast over the wort mixture, I dropped the whole yeast packet into the keg. I fished the packet out with my fingers which I assume does not create the most sanitary condition.
Moving on to beers brewed by others, El and I visited our favorite local watering hole yesterday. First up for me was Hazed and Infused from the Boulder Beer Company. I have previously had Boulder's Mojo IPA and Mojo Risin' Double IPA. Those previous Boulder brews sported hoppy tastes. Hazed and Infused was no different, but it was much more drinkable. H&I was not as over-the-top hoppy as the IPA and DIPA.
Next up was a big beer. In fact, the brew is one from Smuttynose Brewing's Big Beer Series. At 12% ABV, Gravitation definitely fits the bill. Gravitation is a Belgian-style quad or quadrupel. There were lots of strong flavors, but it was hard to get beyond the strong alcohol taste. Let me just say that half a pint was quite enough.
Now it's back to Boulder Beer for a not-super-hoppy beer. Their Kinda Blue is a blueberry-flavored wheat beer. I have tasted blueberry beers before, most recently Sweetwater Blue. As I stated in that previous post, I enjoy wheat beers, but I generally do not care for super-fruity wheat beers including the Sweetwater brew. Surprisingly (although I guess not so much based on the name), Kinda Blue did not seem to have a super-blueberry taste. It was just a very drinkable wheat beer.
Next is a solid porter from Otter Creek. Stovepipe Porter is dark brown in color. El particularly enjoys porters and stouts. She had a taste of this one and seemed to enjoy it. I agree with her.
El and I ended the night at the local Irish pub with some friends. While there, I enjoyed a couple of pints of Smithwick's which is one of the Guinness brands. Smithwick's is pretty much the definition of an Irish red ale. The amber-colored brew had a nice malty taste.
Moving on to beers brewed by others, El and I visited our favorite local watering hole yesterday. First up for me was Hazed and Infused from the Boulder Beer Company. I have previously had Boulder's Mojo IPA and Mojo Risin' Double IPA. Those previous Boulder brews sported hoppy tastes. Hazed and Infused was no different, but it was much more drinkable. H&I was not as over-the-top hoppy as the IPA and DIPA.
Next up was a big beer. In fact, the brew is one from Smuttynose Brewing's Big Beer Series. At 12% ABV, Gravitation definitely fits the bill. Gravitation is a Belgian-style quad or quadrupel. There were lots of strong flavors, but it was hard to get beyond the strong alcohol taste. Let me just say that half a pint was quite enough.
Now it's back to Boulder Beer for a not-super-hoppy beer. Their Kinda Blue is a blueberry-flavored wheat beer. I have tasted blueberry beers before, most recently Sweetwater Blue. As I stated in that previous post, I enjoy wheat beers, but I generally do not care for super-fruity wheat beers including the Sweetwater brew. Surprisingly (although I guess not so much based on the name), Kinda Blue did not seem to have a super-blueberry taste. It was just a very drinkable wheat beer.
Next is a solid porter from Otter Creek. Stovepipe Porter is dark brown in color. El particularly enjoys porters and stouts. She had a taste of this one and seemed to enjoy it. I agree with her.
El and I ended the night at the local Irish pub with some friends. While there, I enjoyed a couple of pints of Smithwick's which is one of the Guinness brands. Smithwick's is pretty much the definition of an Irish red ale. The amber-colored brew had a nice malty taste.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Another Beer Update
It has been two weeks since I put the third batch of home brew in the keg. For the third batch, I went with Classic American Blonde Ale. Today, I put the home brew in bottles. Check back in another two weeks for an update on the final product.
In my last post, I attempted to catch up on beers that I have recently tried for the beer list. Since then, the backlog has grown even more, so here are some more brews. First is St. Bernardus Tripel which came in a big bottle from the cooler at our local wine and beer store. At 8% ABV, the tripel is sort of the big brother of the witbier from St. Bernardus, a bottle of which was included in the six-pack that El gave me awhile back. Of course, a tripel is a type of abbey beer known for their higher alcohol content, and I definitely needed to sip this one. It is a very fruity and drinkable beer.
The next addition to the list is Mojo IPA from the the Boulder Beer Company. On their website, Boulder Beer claims to be Colorado's first microbrewery. I generally do not care for very hoppy beers such as standard pale ales and India pale ales (IPAs). I though Mojo was a typical hoppy IPA which I had to soldier through.
Continuing the IPA theme, I recently tried a pint of 90 Minute IPA from Dogfish Head which is another super-hoppy brew. In fact, 90 minute is quite possibly the definition of an Imperial or Double IPA. I think it is over-the-top in regards to the hoppiness, and like the Mojo, I really had to muscle through the pint.
I also had another brew from Dogfish Head. Their unique Palo Santo Marron is an unfiltered brown ale aged in a gigantic tank made out of Palo Santo wood (bursera graveolens) from Paraguay. At 12% ABV, it is another slow sipping beer like the St. Bernardus Tripel. This beer is pretty hoppy and aged in wood, so I should not have liked it at all, but surprisingly, I found this beer to be enjoyable.
Finally, I had some Reissdorf Kölsch on draft which I previously had in a bottle. Kölsch is one of my favorite types. I enjoyed Reissdorf from the bottle, and it is even better straight from the tap.
In my last post, I attempted to catch up on beers that I have recently tried for the beer list. Since then, the backlog has grown even more, so here are some more brews. First is St. Bernardus Tripel which came in a big bottle from the cooler at our local wine and beer store. At 8% ABV, the tripel is sort of the big brother of the witbier from St. Bernardus, a bottle of which was included in the six-pack that El gave me awhile back. Of course, a tripel is a type of abbey beer known for their higher alcohol content, and I definitely needed to sip this one. It is a very fruity and drinkable beer.
The next addition to the list is Mojo IPA from the the Boulder Beer Company. On their website, Boulder Beer claims to be Colorado's first microbrewery. I generally do not care for very hoppy beers such as standard pale ales and India pale ales (IPAs). I though Mojo was a typical hoppy IPA which I had to soldier through.
Continuing the IPA theme, I recently tried a pint of 90 Minute IPA from Dogfish Head which is another super-hoppy brew. In fact, 90 minute is quite possibly the definition of an Imperial or Double IPA. I think it is over-the-top in regards to the hoppiness, and like the Mojo, I really had to muscle through the pint.
I also had another brew from Dogfish Head. Their unique Palo Santo Marron is an unfiltered brown ale aged in a gigantic tank made out of Palo Santo wood (bursera graveolens) from Paraguay. At 12% ABV, it is another slow sipping beer like the St. Bernardus Tripel. This beer is pretty hoppy and aged in wood, so I should not have liked it at all, but surprisingly, I found this beer to be enjoyable.
Finally, I had some Reissdorf Kölsch on draft which I previously had in a bottle. Kölsch is one of my favorite types. I enjoyed Reissdorf from the bottle, and it is even better straight from the tap.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Beer Update
On the home brew front, I have just finished putting my third batch in the keg. For this round, I chose the Classic American Blonde Ale which is suppose to be a light-bodied, easy-drinking brew similar to lager. Now for two weeks in the keg and another two weeks in bottles, then this batch will be ready to drink.
On to another beer-related topic, I did not get the chance to add the letter 'E' to my Beer List as l discussed in my previous post. However, I did add a few new beers to the list. The first one was Seven Sisters, an abbey style ale from Highland Brewing over in Asheville, North Carolina. I have several abbey ales on the Beer List, and the style tend to be varied and complex. Seven Sisters is specifically a dubbel (or double ale) which relates to its strength against other abbey-style ales. A Dubbel would be less strong than a Tripel (or triple ale).
I previously added Sünner Kölsch to the Beer List based on a visit to El's and my favorite German restaurant, J. Betski's. Kölsch is traditionally served in a specific type of glassware, a tall slim glass. At J. Betski's, the Kölsch glasses have a logo for Reissdorf, but in this case, I had a bottle of Reissdorf Kölsch from our local wine and beer store. Kölsch is one of my favorite types of beer with its crisp, slightly fruity taste. It is a lighter beer that would be very good cold on a warm day. I enjoy both the Sünner and Reissdorf versions of this style.
The final addition to the list is Samuel Adams Noble Pils, this year's spring seasonal offering from the Boston Beer Company. Noble Pils is a traditional pilsner-style lager. It is yet another refreshing, easy-drinking beer to add to the list.
On to another beer-related topic, I did not get the chance to add the letter 'E' to my Beer List as l discussed in my previous post. However, I did add a few new beers to the list. The first one was Seven Sisters, an abbey style ale from Highland Brewing over in Asheville, North Carolina. I have several abbey ales on the Beer List, and the style tend to be varied and complex. Seven Sisters is specifically a dubbel (or double ale) which relates to its strength against other abbey-style ales. A Dubbel would be less strong than a Tripel (or triple ale).
I previously added Sünner Kölsch to the Beer List based on a visit to El's and my favorite German restaurant, J. Betski's. Kölsch is traditionally served in a specific type of glassware, a tall slim glass. At J. Betski's, the Kölsch glasses have a logo for Reissdorf, but in this case, I had a bottle of Reissdorf Kölsch from our local wine and beer store. Kölsch is one of my favorite types of beer with its crisp, slightly fruity taste. It is a lighter beer that would be very good cold on a warm day. I enjoy both the Sünner and Reissdorf versions of this style.
The final addition to the list is Samuel Adams Noble Pils, this year's spring seasonal offering from the Boston Beer Company. Noble Pils is a traditional pilsner-style lager. It is yet another refreshing, easy-drinking beer to add to the list.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
The Cougs
Beer Update: I am currently giving the High Country Canadian Draft a second taste. I poured from the bottle a little fast and right down the middle of the glass. That generated a good bit of extra head which has really helped reduce the strong taste from the first bottle.
Moving on to another topic, Charlotte, North Carolina is getting a new minor-league hockey team starting next season. At least the team is new to them. The AHL franchise that is currently playing in Albany, New York as the River Rats has been sold and will be relocating to Charlotte. The AHL is similar to Triple-A leagues in professional baseball. The Rats are affiliated with the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes who helped orchestrate the sale and relocation of the team in order to have their AHL affiliate closer to their home in Raleigh, NC.
Of course, the team isn't exactly new to Charlotte since the new team will be taking the name of the city's current ECHL franchise (think Double-A in baseball terms), the Charlotte Checkers. It remains to be seen what will happen with the city's ECHL franchise. The current team owner purchased the River Rats and currently has the ECHL team on the sales block. The team is affiliated with the New York Rangers, so one thought is the team will move north, possibly somewhere in New York state to be closer to the Rangers. One possibility is Utica, NY which has been home of previous minor league teams. Another interesting possibility would be to move the team to Albany which would result Charlotte and Albany having exchanged their hockey franchises. Perhaps, the team could even be renamed the River Rats. However, the city of Albany is busy trying to lure another AHL team to the city.
Back to the new hockey team in Charlotte, I am glad that the ownership elected to maintain the Checkers nickname. However, I am disappointed that the team will still carry the name of Charlotte instead of taking this opportunity to change the name to Carolina. I think it would help differentiate the old ECHL team with the new AHL team. Professional sports teams in the Carolinas need to attract fans from both states. This is particularly true for teams located in the city of Charlotte which is close to the border with South Carolina. An easy way to show that a team represents the whole area instead of a single city is use Carolina as the team name.
I think that could also be applied to the professional basketball team located in Charlotte, the Bobcats. When the city was first awarded an NBA team back in 1988, the Charlotte Hornets were the only game in town. With the excitement of the area's first major-league sports franchise, it really didn't matter what the team was called. However, things changed when the area received a second major-league franchise in 1995. In an effort to attract fans from both states, the new NFL team elected to use the name Carolina instead of Charlotte. The Panthers also decided to hold their training camp in Spartanburg, SC at Wofford College. The team even played their first season in South Carolina at Clemson University.
The Bobcats are in the process of being sold, so perhaps the new ownership will consider changing the name of the team from Charlotte to Carolina. I would like to see the team resurrect the Carolina Cougars from the old ABA. The Bobcats already have Larry Brown as head coach. Brown coached the Cougars back in the 70s. Unfortunately, the term "Cougar" has a negative connotation and is now used in the name of two television shows, one hosted by Vivica A. Fox and the other starring Courteney Cox. Then there is John Mellencamp who has spent years trying to drop "Cougar" from his name. I just mention that because whenever Mr. Mellencamp is coming to town, El wants to buy front-row tickets so she can yell things like "It's the Coug!" just to see if she can get a reaction from Mellencamp.
Moving on to another topic, Charlotte, North Carolina is getting a new minor-league hockey team starting next season. At least the team is new to them. The AHL franchise that is currently playing in Albany, New York as the River Rats has been sold and will be relocating to Charlotte. The AHL is similar to Triple-A leagues in professional baseball. The Rats are affiliated with the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes who helped orchestrate the sale and relocation of the team in order to have their AHL affiliate closer to their home in Raleigh, NC.
Of course, the team isn't exactly new to Charlotte since the new team will be taking the name of the city's current ECHL franchise (think Double-A in baseball terms), the Charlotte Checkers. It remains to be seen what will happen with the city's ECHL franchise. The current team owner purchased the River Rats and currently has the ECHL team on the sales block. The team is affiliated with the New York Rangers, so one thought is the team will move north, possibly somewhere in New York state to be closer to the Rangers. One possibility is Utica, NY which has been home of previous minor league teams. Another interesting possibility would be to move the team to Albany which would result Charlotte and Albany having exchanged their hockey franchises. Perhaps, the team could even be renamed the River Rats. However, the city of Albany is busy trying to lure another AHL team to the city.
Back to the new hockey team in Charlotte, I am glad that the ownership elected to maintain the Checkers nickname. However, I am disappointed that the team will still carry the name of Charlotte instead of taking this opportunity to change the name to Carolina. I think it would help differentiate the old ECHL team with the new AHL team. Professional sports teams in the Carolinas need to attract fans from both states. This is particularly true for teams located in the city of Charlotte which is close to the border with South Carolina. An easy way to show that a team represents the whole area instead of a single city is use Carolina as the team name.
I think that could also be applied to the professional basketball team located in Charlotte, the Bobcats. When the city was first awarded an NBA team back in 1988, the Charlotte Hornets were the only game in town. With the excitement of the area's first major-league sports franchise, it really didn't matter what the team was called. However, things changed when the area received a second major-league franchise in 1995. In an effort to attract fans from both states, the new NFL team elected to use the name Carolina instead of Charlotte. The Panthers also decided to hold their training camp in Spartanburg, SC at Wofford College. The team even played their first season in South Carolina at Clemson University.
The Bobcats are in the process of being sold, so perhaps the new ownership will consider changing the name of the team from Charlotte to Carolina. I would like to see the team resurrect the Carolina Cougars from the old ABA. The Bobcats already have Larry Brown as head coach. Brown coached the Cougars back in the 70s. Unfortunately, the term "Cougar" has a negative connotation and is now used in the name of two television shows, one hosted by Vivica A. Fox and the other starring Courteney Cox. Then there is John Mellencamp who has spent years trying to drop "Cougar" from his name. I just mention that because whenever Mr. Mellencamp is coming to town, El wants to buy front-row tickets so she can yell things like "It's the Coug!" just to see if she can get a reaction from Mellencamp.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Lesson Learned
Beer Update: On Sunday, El and I cracked open the first bottle of the second home brew batch, and each of us had a pint. Honestly, it was a bit strong. El felt that it needed aeration and even grabbed a stirrer to help with that. Hopefully, the other bottles will be more drinkable.
Also on Sunday, El and I had dinner at Savoy, a local French restaurant. We have dined there before, and it was quite enjoyable. For those that may not know El, she is quite a foodie. One of her favorite foods is foie gras, and Savoy is one of the few restaurants in the area that have foie on the menu. We were both looking forward to dinner and to some succulent foie gras in particular. Unfortunately, we have repeatedly discovered that Valentine's Day is the absolute worst day for dining out. In the past, we have encountered poor service, limited menus, and lower-quality food (even resulting in a possible case of food poisoning). Alas, this year was no different. Instead of their full dinner menu, Savoy offered a limited fixed-priced menu which did not include foie. I asked about substituting or adding a dish of foie, but neither was allowed. I assume this was due to the large number of diners. On our previous visit, we had plenty of attention from our server as well as other waitstaff. On this visit with a packed house, our server barely had any time for us. The food was still good, although the desserts were a bit disappointing. The bottle of wine (Guido Porro, I believe) was nice though. All in all though, it was another disappointing Valentine's dinner.
Also on Sunday, El and I had dinner at Savoy, a local French restaurant. We have dined there before, and it was quite enjoyable. For those that may not know El, she is quite a foodie. One of her favorite foods is foie gras, and Savoy is one of the few restaurants in the area that have foie on the menu. We were both looking forward to dinner and to some succulent foie gras in particular. Unfortunately, we have repeatedly discovered that Valentine's Day is the absolute worst day for dining out. In the past, we have encountered poor service, limited menus, and lower-quality food (even resulting in a possible case of food poisoning). Alas, this year was no different. Instead of their full dinner menu, Savoy offered a limited fixed-priced menu which did not include foie. I asked about substituting or adding a dish of foie, but neither was allowed. I assume this was due to the large number of diners. On our previous visit, we had plenty of attention from our server as well as other waitstaff. On this visit with a packed house, our server barely had any time for us. The food was still good, although the desserts were a bit disappointing. The bottle of wine (Guido Porro, I believe) was nice though. All in all though, it was another disappointing Valentine's dinner.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Need a Holiday?
The second second batch of home brew has been in the bottle for two weeks now, but I haven't yet had the opportunity to have a taste. I put two bottles in the fridge. Once I crack open the first bottle, I'm sure I will post about it. Instead of staying home and sampling the home brew, El and I ventured out. I had the next to last half pint of Aventinus Eisbock and then a pint of Victory's Storm King Imperial Stout. There was a two-pint limit on the eisbock due to its higher alcohol limit. I'm sure that helped drained the keg since limiting something usually makes it more desirable, but it also helps that it's a good beer. I thought my second beer, the Imperial Stout, was much more hoppy than the standard stout. Meanwhile, El had a flight of red wines. Three of which were Mourvèdre wines. We ended up bring home a bottle of 2004 Jade Mountain Mourvèdre.
Of course, today is Valentine's Day, but today is the first day of Engineers Week. In honor of George Washington, a trained surveyor, Engineers Week is celebrated the week of Presidents Day which is tomorrow. On Wednesday, some technical-minded coworkers and I will be visiting a local middle school for Engineers Week to encourage students to study science and math and consider careers in engineering and technology fields.
Today is also the first day of the Chinese New Year which is known as the Lunar New Year in other Asian cultures. According to the Chinese zodiac, 2010 is the year of the tiger, and according to Wikipedia, this is specifically the year of the Metal Tiger. That reminds me of the World War II German tank. To summarize, if your sweetheart happens to be a metallurgical engineer who went to say Clemson University, or some other engineering school that has a tiger as their mascot, then you can wish them a Happy Metal Tiger Engineers Valentine's Day. Otherwise, let's just stick with "Happy Valentine's Day".
Of course, today is Valentine's Day, but today is the first day of Engineers Week. In honor of George Washington, a trained surveyor, Engineers Week is celebrated the week of Presidents Day which is tomorrow. On Wednesday, some technical-minded coworkers and I will be visiting a local middle school for Engineers Week to encourage students to study science and math and consider careers in engineering and technology fields.
Today is also the first day of the Chinese New Year which is known as the Lunar New Year in other Asian cultures. According to the Chinese zodiac, 2010 is the year of the tiger, and according to Wikipedia, this is specifically the year of the Metal Tiger. That reminds me of the World War II German tank. To summarize, if your sweetheart happens to be a metallurgical engineer who went to say Clemson University, or some other engineering school that has a tiger as their mascot, then you can wish them a Happy Metal Tiger Engineers Valentine's Day. Otherwise, let's just stick with "Happy Valentine's Day".
Monday, February 1, 2010
State of the Site Address
Beer Update: Yesterday, I did get around to consuming the last bottle of the first home brew batch. Last night, I put the second batch in bottles. Check back in two weeks for an update on the High Country Canadian Draft. ("O Canada, not my home nor my native land.")
Today is the first day of February, so I thought I would discuss the first month (give or take a day or three) of this site. Including yesterday's post, there were a total of 15 posts during the month of January. Seven of those posts were on the topic of sports with six of those being on football, particularly the NFL. The other sports post was on theme music for baseball players. There have been five posts that covered beer. (This post will be number six). Four of those posts were on the home brew with the other post about receiving beer-related gifts from El's family.
Quite unexpectedly, there have been 13 comments on my posts with only four of them being replies from me. Of course, Jennifer Love Hewitt (and her chest) generated the most discussion from my vast audience. My posts on sports are completely uninteresting, and my ventures into controversial fields seem to be duds. All in all, I would say things are going wonderful. Thanks for reading... or not reading as the case may be.
Today is the first day of February, so I thought I would discuss the first month (give or take a day or three) of this site. Including yesterday's post, there were a total of 15 posts during the month of January. Seven of those posts were on the topic of sports with six of those being on football, particularly the NFL. The other sports post was on theme music for baseball players. There have been five posts that covered beer. (This post will be number six). Four of those posts were on the home brew with the other post about receiving beer-related gifts from El's family.
Quite unexpectedly, there have been 13 comments on my posts with only four of them being replies from me. Of course, Jennifer Love Hewitt (and her chest) generated the most discussion from my vast audience. My posts on sports are completely uninteresting, and my ventures into controversial fields seem to be duds. All in all, I would say things are going wonderful. Thanks for reading... or not reading as the case may be.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Read a Good Movie Lately?
Beer Update: There is only one liter left from the first batch of home brew. That bottle needs to get emptied, so I can get the second batch bottled tomorrow. I'm sure that I can take care of it somehow.
We got a bit of winter weather around here yesterday evening, so I skipped the regularly-scheduled neighborhood gathering. El saw her plans canceled due to the weather, so we stayed home and watched DVDs. One of the DVDs recently delivered from Netflix was The Lives of Others, a 2006 film from Germany. The setting for the movie is East Germany several years prior to the fall of the Berlin wall. The plot of involves a playwright named Georg Dreyman and the intelligence officer from the state security agency, known as the Stasi, whose assignment is to listen in on Dreyman and his girlfriend in their bugged apartment. While monitoring and reporting on the couple, the officer, who is also a professor at the Stasi training school, gets caught up in their lives.
The playwright Dreyman is played by Sebastian Koch who I recognized from a Dutch film that we saw a few months ago. In Black Book, Koch played a Nazi SS officer during World War II. He is the target of a spy for the Dutch resistance whose family had been gunned down by German soldiers while she and they were trying to escape from the Nazi-occupied country. The black book from the title of the film contains the list of Jews that an informant has turn over to Nazis.
I think both The Lives of Others and Black Book fall into the spy or political thriller category, and I enjoyed both movies. However, both films are in German (and Dutch for Black Book), so we watched them with English subtitles. The problem that I (and I think most people) have with subtitles is that I am busy reading the dialog instead of actually watching the movie. I end up feeling that I missed a large part of the movie. A lot of DVDs offer the option of overdubbing, but I find the mismatch between the actors and their overdubbed voices even more distracting and annoying than subtitles. Regardless of subtitles or overdubbing, I am sure that some of the dialog gets mixed up in the translation to English, the same way that some of the jokes, puns and snappy one-liners from American movies must get garbled when those films are translated from English to other languages.
We got a bit of winter weather around here yesterday evening, so I skipped the regularly-scheduled neighborhood gathering. El saw her plans canceled due to the weather, so we stayed home and watched DVDs. One of the DVDs recently delivered from Netflix was The Lives of Others, a 2006 film from Germany. The setting for the movie is East Germany several years prior to the fall of the Berlin wall. The plot of involves a playwright named Georg Dreyman and the intelligence officer from the state security agency, known as the Stasi, whose assignment is to listen in on Dreyman and his girlfriend in their bugged apartment. While monitoring and reporting on the couple, the officer, who is also a professor at the Stasi training school, gets caught up in their lives.
The playwright Dreyman is played by Sebastian Koch who I recognized from a Dutch film that we saw a few months ago. In Black Book, Koch played a Nazi SS officer during World War II. He is the target of a spy for the Dutch resistance whose family had been gunned down by German soldiers while she and they were trying to escape from the Nazi-occupied country. The black book from the title of the film contains the list of Jews that an informant has turn over to Nazis.
I think both The Lives of Others and Black Book fall into the spy or political thriller category, and I enjoyed both movies. However, both films are in German (and Dutch for Black Book), so we watched them with English subtitles. The problem that I (and I think most people) have with subtitles is that I am busy reading the dialog instead of actually watching the movie. I end up feeling that I missed a large part of the movie. A lot of DVDs offer the option of overdubbing, but I find the mismatch between the actors and their overdubbed voices even more distracting and annoying than subtitles. Regardless of subtitles or overdubbing, I am sure that some of the dialog gets mixed up in the translation to English, the same way that some of the jokes, puns and snappy one-liners from American movies must get garbled when those films are translated from English to other languages.
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