Rockin with Sam Smith

I recently went to a Guitar Hero/Rock Band party. It was a lot of fun, never had played the games before. Knowing that a little fermented courage would boost my overall performance (vocals, guitar, bass, and drums) I stopped by Bob's Liquor Store - Bob wasn't there.

As I was leaving the house the little woman, looking out for me I guess, asked how many I would drink this night and what time I would be home. "Two and not too late". Walking around the store it hit me, I didn't say how many OUNCES I would drink. So I started looking at the tall boys. I stopped at Samuel Smith's India Ale and the Porter. I went for it.

At the party, I rocked. I was on a mission, I had to deliver. I had to jam on every instrument, drink the two beers, and still be home at a decent time.

What I remember:
Both beers were good. I'll get another India Ale before the Porter. I drank them too fast.
I was good at the bass, ok at the lead guitar, struggled with the drums, and just nasty on the microphone.
The rest of the party people seemed to be enjoying themselves...I couldn't tell, I was too busy rockin

Wild Game in a Bottle

Is it a Duck or is it a Rabbit? I guess it depends on what mood you are in, or maybe what you are eating for dinner. I was having neither, but instead layed on a hard bed in a cheap hotel room in Asheville, NC. Duck-Rabbit brewing co. sits comfortably nestled in the Smoky Mountains in Farmville, NC.

I had never had anything from this brewery nor had i heard of them. But, that's the great thing about traveling--getting to try new things. The label is intriguing in its own right with the long standing picture that looks like both a rabbit and a duck, depending on how you look at it. This particular one is a Milk Stout, and the lable boasts that they are the dark beer specialists. Some research revealed that they only brew dark beers...amber ales, brown ales, porters and stouts.

A full glass is coal black and has a very light aroma of cream and sugar. This is a very rich and sweet stout. It is very similar to the Left Hand Milk Stout, but is a bit heavier and the flavor lasts longer. This beer tastes like blended up roasted nuts, malt, and chocolate. If it could be a solid, it would be a batch of brownies.

I enjoyed this enough to grab a sixer to take home. I am finishing the last of them right now. I consider it my afternoon snack which puts it into a particular category of beers for me. Just yesterday i had a Founder's Porter which i would consider in the same genereal league.

Is this beer good or very good? I suppose it depends on how you look at it.

Slackin'

To follow up on the Baker's comment to the previous post...yes, I'm slackin. Maybe we all are. I'm feeling lazy about it all. Right now there's a Schlafly Saison in the big fridge just calling my name. I've ignored it for a week already. What's up with that? I did have a Schlafly Octoberfest. Not bad. It was over dinner (food with chatty wife and kid) so I don't remember much.

Unplugged fridge

In my basement I have MY fridge, a dorm size fridge for my beers and chilled mugs. The past few months I've noticed that there was not much happening with the fridge -a few Buds, a Sam Adams, and some Schlafly. Now it's just 3 Buds (actually 2, 1 was used for a BBQ marinade last Saturday). In an effort to conserve energy...I unplugged the beer fridge. When spring arrives with all the parties I'll plug her back up. It seemed to be a waste of cool air, all those nice frosty mugs and only 2 beers. I knew I wouldn't be buying more on a regular basis to justify the beer fridge. It was a hard decision.

A BEER AS RED AS PISSY WASPS AND THE CRAZIEST CONVERSATION I'VE EVER HAD ABOUT A PEACOCK TATTOO

i tried a pint of this mothertrucker at the flying saucer in austin last night. earlier in the day, i checked the bar menu on the saucer's homepage and found them serving the kaiser - one of avery's bomber bottle exclusives - on tap. i sketched a note in my pocketsize moleskin and fantasized all day about getting my mouth on the kaiser. 

when i finally made it to the saucer, i could not find a seat in the place. no tables. no barstools. the patio was filthy with yuppies hauling puppies on leashes. so i copped my squat 

near a bloke on a sofa. he said it was cool. i believed him. my waitress introduced herself as marcy. very sweet kid. her right bicep plumed with bold aqua-blue peacock feathers. great tattoo work. the words beneath the feathers looked like "MAD COUNTY," scrawled out in a fancy script. later i asked her if she had a crush on flannery o'connor. she seemed to think that was hilarious because she laughed with her head back and her hand over her mouth. i thought the whole display a bit exaggerated, but i had already paid the bill. after she recovered from her laughter, she said she had never heard of flannery o'connor. i told her i was sorry to hear that. then she said showed me that the words said, "MAD BEAUTY." she then said, "i think that peacocks are the perfect balance of pure beauty and zero aggression, kinda like me."

go head, girl, go head get down. 

back to the kaiser: holy smokes, a full day's longing was ne'er spent in vain. this stuff came out in a brandy sniffer blazing as orangey-red as a glass full of pissed off wasps. the kaiser is no joke, nor is it any old octoberfest: this bastard is an IMPERIAL octoberfest. who ever head of such a thing? well, avery brewing company heard the void and created a gnarly glass full of pissed off wasps. 

at 9.3% ABV, this beer is a solid 10 german war helmets out of 10. huge malts. huge spices. red and orange and swirling leaves. wasps and piss and vinegar go into this beer. it felt like sipping Rage Against the Machine's debut album. angry and f-bombs and still kinda beautiful at the same time. the perfect balance of pure beauty and hella lotta aggression.

go head, girl, go head get down.