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I don't have much to say about last night.  It was Monday.  And work was work.  Actually work was quiet because it was President's Day.  I guess that is something I could have wrote about here.  But I'm not all that political of a guy.  I remember one time in my school years having to memorize all the President's in order.  There is a skill I haven't seem to need since I've graduated and entered my professional career.  I guess I may have the chance to jump on some game show some day in my life and have a chance to win $1 Million and that will be the question that I'll loose on.  That would be a sad day.  But I could see it happening.

That said, I don't even have a way to "tie this beer" to Monday, or President's day or anything.  Sadly, the Heineken Site suggests this Tarwebok Beer to be drank in Autumn.  As a result, I may not be buying my beers from this distributor any longer.  I'm not sure if this is correct but there is a really crazy date system with Heineken and the number on my bottle is 1189528r1014.  I googled this and if I'm doing the math right this bottle was brewed on Aug 8 or 9 of 2011.  Now, this is a dark wheat and some answers.yahoo.com page stated that the drink by would be 9 months past that.  If I'm "still doing my math right" that means this beer should technically still have been good?  Either way, that was a lot of math and a lot of calculating and work to place on the consumer if you ask me.  When I own my BREWERY my beer names will be "DRINK ON MM/DD/YYYY" for every beer!  You will not have to guess, play games, you will just know.

Now, that said above I guess this beer was still "good".  I wasn't a huge fan of it but actually the more I drank it last night the more I started to enjoy it actually.  It is a traditional wheat bock beer.  The beer pours a nice crystal clear glass of brown beer.  The beer has a bit of light dirty white head to it.  I got a bit of fruity smell from the nose and definitely smelled the wheat/malt smell coming from the glass.  I was reviewing my notes from last night and even still today I'm confused if I liked it.  There was a huge amount of honey burnt caramel taste to the brew.  I almost think that I'm drinking this beer the wrong time of year and/or wrong occasion with the wrong food pairing.  As I listened to my notes I was stating how this was definitely an interesting and complex beer.  It had some spicy notes to it and came across as sort of a scotch or bourbon type beverage.  The carbonation was not extremely huge.  It was a medium body with that honey like texture to the drink.  In general I didn't care for this one but I think it was one that could probably grow on my if I gave it a chance.  Just not sure I will give it a chance.  To many other good beers out there that I do like.

Thanks for listening.  On to Fat Tuesday's post!

 
As I sit back and think about my last 60 hours, it can't help me to think of the quote in the recently article of BeerAdvocate Magazine from Matt Keasey Owner/President/Head Brewer of Spring House Brewing Company: "I hate my job!"  I don't have the magazine in front of me this second so I may be para-phrasing.  But as with many owner/operators of micro breweries he hated his "9-5".  I do as well.  When I was growing up, I wanted to be an pilot or an artist.  Honestly, I looked into Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and also submitted a few of those "turtle/pirate" drawings from the back of some of those magazines back in the '80s.  Are they still around anymore?  You know the ones I'm talking about right?  Draw our best picture of the following picture, mail it in with a few comments and they will talk to you about your desires.  Ok, so maybe you don't remember.  Anyway, so what happened to those dreams?  Well, Embry-Riddle locations were a bit far away and a bit expensive.  And the artist dream sort of made me start thinking about my future and the fact there is no money in art until you are dead, mostly.  In general, you can't make a lot of money in art unless you are really good and/or hit it really big.  So my thought was - choose this profession because you have a passion for it.  So, instead I decided I liked and was experienced with computers.  I liked tinkering with them and maybe that should "be what I be when I grow up".

Time warp ahead 16 years, I've been at the same company (which in this field is a bit unheard of - maybe I'm doing that wrong) for that long.  I've changed positions, and had a few promotions but nothing major.  I'm still doing the basic same thing I was doing 16 years ago.  And to think about it - so are the other 10'sh people in my group.  I think in general there are some happy, some working and some extremely unhappy.  I don't know, I'm a father of two girls and a mortgage payment.  I do this job because it pays the bills.  This thought ALWAYS makes me sad and disturbed.  I used to like the job.  I like most of the people that I work directly with.  And I'm one of the fortunate ones that my customer base is not that terrible to often.  But I still hate it.  And for the last 60 hours or so, that is MOSTLY what I did.  I did get some sleep Tuesday night (actually like 8-9 hours).  But Monday to Tuesday I got about 1 hour of actual sleep IF I got that in about 36 to 39 hours.  That is SORT OF CRAZY.  Oh, and I don't get over time;  I don't know - sometimes I wonder why I do it.  Then one of the girls will walk in the room and I remember again, I want them to have a good/great life - at any expense.  So I continue for now... till the right opportunity comes along for me!  Lets hope it comes sooner rather then later.

So, three days no beer posts; what did I drink - I'll review them to the best of my memory.  I apologize the blog got off the beer subject the past few days but I'll try to make up for it... I promise.  For now, lets see, so Sunday nights Super Bowl night I chose to drink the Sam Adams Alpine Spring.  Their spring seasonal beer of choice.  I chose this because the hostess was nice enough to save me one and was awaiting my thoughts on the beer.  Without saying much, she passed me the beer and I poured it into the glass.  Now, the party hadn't started yet so I was able to really check out the beer a bit better then if the party was in full swing.  So it poured a very unfiltered yellow maybe a little brown.  Initial smell was that of what I've found of lagers, I think this must be something to do with the yeast.  The first few sips come across a little citrusy and bitter - almost a little offensive on the first bite.  After the first sip is able to settle down the hatch the after taste seems to start mellowing through your mouth.  After the second or third swig of this beer I started thinking it wasn't as bad as I initially thought.  Lesson learned here is the adage - "Don't judge a beer by its first sip."  Actually it wasn't near a beer as I initially thought.  It was almost even a little refreshing.  I think I'll call this a 2.75.  Its above average and could be drank again but would definitely need the right time/event.  Probably a little warmer outside and some flag football might be perfect with this beer.

On Monday, I had started working and basically drank a beer because I said I would for this challenge.  I went with the Heineken Light.  I'm never a huge person to "analyze" light beers.  There just isn't usually enough about them to discuss.  Basically, I think it is one of 2-3 three levels: drinkable, barely drinkable, and god awful disgusting.  I actually put this in the Drinkable.  Honestly, this was a wee bit more enjoyable then the regular Heineken in my opinion.  The Heineken I drank was sort of offensive, where this light was a bit more crisp.  It was a bit sweet and a little hoppy for a light beer.  And was light and sort of refreshing.  That night we had a veggie burger dinner and light (maybe my wife is trying to tell me something) but the beer went well with a "burger"'sh meal - I could imagine a MEAT BURGER and this beer would pair well together.  I would say try this beer.  It was definitely drinkable and I actually enjoyed it.  I have also been diagnosed with Sinusitis so maybe the sickness is/was having some role in my liking of this beer.

On Tuesday when I drank my beer I would have been awake for about 34 hours from straight through hell'sh go live.  This day I chose to reward my hard work with a better quality beer and went with a can of Oskar Blues Old Chubs Scotch Ale.  This was a great beer.  When I poured it from the can it pour very soda like; in this I mean it was very carbonated and dark in color.  When I held the beer up to the light I picked up multiple colors, black/brown/red/maroon (remember I've been awake for a very long time).  I was impressed and shocked by this color.  The beer was malty and sweet smell to it.  When I tasted it, it was an incredible roasty carmaly goodness to the beer.  There was a small hint of hoppiness to it that balanced out the sweetness.  I let the beer warm and slowly enjoyed this beer one sip at a time. I likened the beer to a nice scotch like drink.  It was not extremely carbonated and extremely carbonated.  I really enjoyed the light to medium body mouth feel.  I gotta say, this was an incredible treat after such a long work "day".  I think the nice thing to mention is, YES this is a CANNED BEER.  It seems that in some of my reading "Canning" is back in the beer world and no longer a "CHEAP BEER" quality.  Many microbreweries are starting to looking into this for the great qualities that come with it.  It is cheaper to ship, easily recyclable, and actually contrary to popular belief tastes GREAT!  I had a Dale's Pale Ale a few years back (maybe 6 or so) because it was "in a can" and the guy said, yea try it - its great... its not a "cheap beer".  He was right Oskar Blues do great things to canned beers.

So, tonight's beer of choice - Founder's Breakfast Stout.  I had high hopes of saving this for a Saturday morning and chugging it down for breakfast and then having the post up on here by 10am.  Well, that didn't happen.  Once again, I felt like I needed to reward myself so I chose to drink this beer.  This beer is beer.  It pours a big DEEP Brown almost black.  The head does not stick around long and as this beer warms in the glass the taste just gets more and more complex.  The complexity of this beer is right on the label - it is labeled as a "Double Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Stout".  If that isn't a mouth full the beer definitely is.  There is SO MUCH going on in this beer it is hard to discuss.  The huge chocolatey malt that comes from this is intense and not for the weak at heart.  It is big and strong.  You definitely get the creamy "oatmeal"'ness of the beer for sure.  And well, the coffee - I get so much of it and it is 10:20pm on Wednesday night - this beer best not keep me awake (which would be damn near impossible how tired I am).  This beer has a little bit of spiciness to it.  I almost smell a pancake/syrupness in the glass (which I know sounds weird but that is what I'm picking up on right now).  This beer is actually making me hungry for a hearty breakfast.  I enjoyed this beer with the wonderful "valentines day sugar cookies" my wife is working on for her new foody blog she started at http://butterisbetter.weebly.com.  Check it out in your spare time!  Anyway, I really like this breakfast stout but I will tell you - I wouldn't be able to drink more then one or two in a sitting.  It is big and complex.  Enjoy at your own risk.

OK, so this caught me up I think - Sorry for the book.  And since it is a book and I am tired - I'm not actually going to proof read this.  Please excuse any grammatical/spelling/errors in any way.  I'm usually a bit more cautious about this but just do not have the energy.  Hopefully tomorrow night I'll be back to the regularly scheduled program!  And as always - THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!!
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Founders - Breakfast Stout - Double Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Stout
 
So, Friday evening got away from me quick and as exciting as it was I had ended up crashing way earlier then I ever have before on a Friday night.  I did have a chance to drink a beer or two before crashing so have no fear.  But frankly, I didn't get a chance to take any good notes from it or take a picture.  So, today's review is coming from a beer I am drinking last night and am "re-drinking" today to get some inspiration.  Unfortunately with Heineken - I think I'll need more inspiration then a next day sampling can bring.  I seem to remember back as a kid when Heineken was a "PREMIUM QUALITY" beer.  Granted, that was back before micro-brewery and craft brewing was what it is today. So, maybe the competition today is to much to large to have Heineken compete.  One thing that surprises me is investigating this label - it states that the beer should be served at 40-45 degrees.  Who knew?  I'm always so used to drinking this straight out the fridge.  Maybe that is a reason this beer does not tickle my taste buds as it might.

The Heineken beer pours a very bright yellow.  The head holds a very thin head.  And the carbonation is not bubbling through this glass as I've seen from other brews.  The smell is a slightly metallic smell.  I almost get the sense that I'm drinking a beer from a can but this is most definitely a bottled brew.  I think as I'm doing this I'm learning that my aversion to certain beers may be the "LAGER" that I once held high in my heart.  It seems that the lager style beers have some off smells flavors that I am not particular too.  If you are not aware yeast is a major part of beer - it is actually the second component next to the barley sugars that creates the alcohol.  In the brewing process when the brew is left to ferment the yeast is a living organism that sits in the pot of sugary goodness and goes to town.  The by product of fermentation is two part; part 1 is carbon dioxide; part 2 is alcohol.  Now, this was something that wasn't readily known in the beer world until honestly quite recently, like the last 100 years or so.  Now, yeast... one of the greatest godly inventions out there (arguably) comes in two general styles when it comes to brewing.  Ale and Lager yeasts.  Can anyone tell me what the major difference is between these two?  Well, if you want to get all scientific - I have no idea.  I really wish I would have studying harder in high school and college when it came to science.  What I know is the major difference is the temperature at which these yeasts function and the area that they work.  Lager yeasts work at much lower temperatures in the range of 38-50 degree.  Ale yeasts on the other hand work at a higher temp, usually in the 60-74 degrees and are top fermenters.  In general, it is easier to work with Ale yeasts when home brewing because you just need a cooler basement.  With Lager Yeasts, you have to get creative and find a way to get your wort to be in the 40 degree temp for roughly 14-21 days, not always a easy task.

As I was saying, lately Lagers do not seem to agree with my tastes.  This one is no different.  It isn't an offensive taste.  It isn't even like a really economy taste beer that has that CORN mash taste.  No, this beer comes across with a light hop flavor to it.  I guess I can get some malt sweetness in the taste.  There is some sort of "off flavor" to me.  It honestly tastes like that 'can taste' so many people complain about when drinking beers from a can.  I don't particularly no if the 'can taste' is real or perceived; and reality is that 'can taste' typically comes from low end beers and/or the big 3 company.  So, it is really hard for me to pin point exactly what that is.  I'm sure there are experts out there that no exactly how to explain it.  This Lager is really light in texture and just not a lot of body to really give it any shock and awe.  Now, I know I know, We are not always looking for a shock and awe style beer.  That said, if you aren't looking for a shock and awe style beer, if you are into a lager style taste, maybe this is just your beer.

Cheers and salute!  I'm going to pour my self a glass of Paisano Red and prepare for today's blog selection._