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Today's blog is about yesterday's rookie mistake.  So, I bought a sample case of Atwater Brewery beer about a month or more ago.  In the variety pack was a Bloktoberfest beer - clearly Octoberfest otherwise known as a Marzen style beer.  This is a specific style of beer with a great history.  It was a style that was brewed for a large Wedding Party that extended many days back in Germany many years ago.  You can google the history for sure - I'm no historian by any stretch.  The fact is this style has been around for ever.  Apparently, that was the problem with my Atwater Bloktoberfest, it has been around to long!

I had a sip of this beer last night and instantly new something was a miss.  I like a good Octoberfest with the best of them.  I'm not a expert on the style, but they are usually a nice clear brown (red almost) beer, with heavy malt flavors and some hoppy goodness that is used to store the beer for the time needed to drink.  Its usually pretty medium bodied (almost heavy) beer that to me I could drink all day long ( tell me again why I haven't gotten to the 'Mother Land' to experience the real thing again?  At least it is on my bucket list ).  Anyway, this beer poured a really redish brown almost "purple'sh hue" color to it; which was my first what?  Secondly, drinking it had a really OFF taste to it.  Could it have been skunked?  Well, then I looked at the bottle and it was Dated Aug 2011.  Typical lager ales have a shelf life of 3-4 months.  So this beer needs to be finished by October (not really why it is an Octoberfest but of course it is slightly related) to enjoy what this beer was made to taste.  October 2011 has long gone as has the taste of this bottle of beer.  I am not blaming Atwater Brewery for this failure and there for can not judge this beer fairly.  That said, you will see a score on my score sheet with an (*) beside it.  I will be scoring this low with a not at the bottom of the page stating that this beer had been skunked from aging.

Was this Atwater's fault for shipping late?  Was the distributor I bought it at not watching their inventory?  I would guess most likely the distributor was at fault.  They are not my favorite place to get beer.  They definitely do not cater to the better beers but they do carry them.  I just think they do not get the turn around on quality beers at this place and lesson learned by me - I have to be careful what I buy from there.  I do see they have "sales" occasionally on cases that obviously are out of date.  Must have missed this one.  I just hope the other beers I have in this case are not equally skunked.  That will make me a sad beer drinker.  And nothing worse then a sad beer drinker!

 
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I've gone back and made a correction to my home brew score.  I gave it a 3.25 because I "liked the taste".  But after pouring another glass tonight and sampling - I don't think it is very "Irish Red" like, its a bit to dark.  So because of that I had to lower the score.  I gave it a 2.5 - I'm not rating it on the beer itself but mostly if I liked the taste - which I did like the taste but I figured the fact that it wasn't really an Irish Red I guess it should have a few points taken away.  OK, now that I got that off my chest...

Next, boy have I been tired the last week and a half.  I don't know if I haven't caught up on my sleep from last Monday/Tuesday?  I don't know if it is cabin fever kicking in?  I don't know if it is the lack of getting out and seeing the sun?  I don't know if it is the lack of working out (saying that makes me laugh - the lack of... I haven't worked out for like 3-4 months - that sucks).  I have to make some changes.  I think my issues may be all of these things combined.  There has also been some SICK running through the house.  As I sit here and type these they all sound like excuses.  And maybe they are... I have to find the motivation to get myself moving and energized again!

Enough of the excuses - time for the beer - Harpoon - Chocolate Stout.  In general, I like Harpoon beers.  This beer isn't bad - it is really really stouty.  Its a bit heavy, dark, thick, and extremely roasty.  I think the thing I'm having trouble getting past is that chocolate kick it has.  There is a HUGE smell of chocolate in the nose.  I mean huge.  Every time I put my nose to the glass I smell the same smells I get when I go on the Hershey Park Chocolate Tour.  Its a sweet coco smell that is just a bit spicy.  I think I enjoy the smell.  But the flavor that is accompanied with this is not to my liking.  It is a flavor as if you took 3 tablespoons of raw coco powder and tried to eat it up.  Its a bit dry as well.

I think the thing about this challenge (if I haven't said it before) is I'm drinking different beers that under the RIGHT circumstance I would LOVE.  I think this is one of those beers.  I think in the right setting, with the right dessert dish or food it was be spectacular.  If I was sitting in Hershey PA, or perhaps Willy Wonka's chocolate factory ( I didn't just hear someone say who is Willy Wonka did I?  I hope not!) and bellied up to the closest bar I think I would fall over backwards for this beer.  It is big and chocolatey.  And that is the name after all.  So, judging this beer becomes tricky.  I think it nailed what it is trying to create.  That said, it isn't really the beer for me for MOST occasions.  Maybe this beer would have been better on Valentine's day with a box of chocolates or a dozen strawberries.  Either way, I recommend trying this beer as it is good, it is complex, it is yummy.  And of course, here it is 9pm and I'm starting to break out of my funk (I'm also half way through this Chocolate Stout).  Time to see if there are any good movies on.  Have a great night and until tomorrow!

 
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Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday to you... Happy Birthday dear Victory... happy birthday to you!

So, yea I heard through the grapevine Victory is now old enough to acquire a drivers license.  16 years old.  Simply amazing.  One thing that really hits home with that number is that I've been at my current company for 15.5 years.  I started out at my company moved to West Chester, PA in June of 1996; just a few short miles from Downingtown.  I knew very little about "craft beer" or microbreweries or anything like that back in 1996.  Quite frankly, I knew little about beer back then other then I liked to drink it.  Apparently, Ron and Bill knew a few things about the brewery industry and made magic happen.  I've made it to the brewery a few times (not near as many as I would have liked); but every time was wonderful... Food was great as was the beer.  Always an issue with me with brew pubs - usually good food or good beer; typically not both - these guys always seemed to make that happen.  Today, I read a little link on their site that tells a GREAT story of their history.  Once again, a brewer (or two) with a big dream make it happen at any cost!  Congrats guys!  Sometimes I miss living out there and Victory is one of those things that make me sometimes wish I still did.

So, tonight I decided to drink Golden Monkey (thank you to my wife for picking it up at Market District this morning).  Their selection of Victory was a bit light - she stated they had V-12 , Golden Monkey and can't remember the third; at least that is all she saw.  I've always been a fan of Victory, and even more so the Golden Monkey.  I'm not just saying that because one of my followers works for Victory!  NO, Really - read above that I have a really LOOSE link to the brewery ;) haha.  In all seriousness, this is a great beer.  It has so many components that I find needed in a quality beer.  First, the pour is strong, and the head is heavy.  It took awhile for the head to calm on the top of the glass with a vigorous pour.  The head sticks to the side of the glass the whole time while you drink this.  Putting this up to my mouth preparing for the first sip you get a huge sweet aroma to this brew.  I'm not great at smells but I would definitely say that I'm getting a huge hoppy aroma to this glass.  Its big and its beautiful.

The taste continues to leave you wanting more.  Its big, its malty, its rich, its spicy.  All the things that make beer yummy!  The hops are balanced in this beer nicely but the malts are the big winner in this glass.  It is big at 9.5% alcohol so I recommend sampling this one lightly.  It is true to the name super GOLDEN in the glass.  Its so pretty with the gold in the glass and silky white head covering the top and clinging the side of the glass.  Even the carbonation in this beer is big.  Ever sip brings large bubbles racing through the beer.  I highly recommend going out and finding this beer.

Since seeing the birthday today, this has been a nostalgic day for me for the east side of PA.  It happens from time to time.  I'm actually drinking this beer out of a Manayunk Brewing Co. glass.  It has been years since I've even thought of this brewery.  I had gone a few times back in early 2000.  I remember a bar in Manayunk that was call "Flat Rock".  Man, its been even "longer" since I've thought of that place.  I remember this was one of my first introductions to the city of Philadelphia - and any large city in general to be honest.  It was a bit "rich" for my blood back then (and maybe even still to this day).  But one thing I know is this place definitely knew its beer; or at least they had a HUGE selection as I remember it and always made me "feel a little funny inside" going into this place - this was before I knew I had a fascination with quality beer.  Ok, I think my wife and I may need to plan an adult night/weekend out east here soon.  Drop the kids off in York with my parents and spend some "quality time" out East... Where  to go?  Where to stay?  What to do?  SO MUCH TO SEE AND DO and SO LITTLE TIME.

Thanks for listening.  Until tomorrow.  Good night.

 
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From the dictionary.reference.com:
se·duc·tion   [si-duhk-shuhn] Show IPA noun 1. an act or instance of seducing,  especially sexually. 2. the condition of being seduced. 3. a means of seducing;  enticement; temptation
Don't you love it when the definition has the word plastered all through it?  Enticement or Temptation seems to meet the needs well.  Well, in that case the art of seduction has changed a bit in my years.  With a 6 year old and a 3 year old in my world the art of seducing has become a nice bottle of Ommegang for dinner with some cheese fondue.  But in a lot of ways that is all we need.  I had an incredible Valentine's Day dinner with my three beautiful girls.  We sat at the table and talked about our day over a fresh pot of cheese fondue.  While mommy and daddy sipped on the bottle of Seduction.  It was heavenly.  We laughed and had fun talking about our day.  My girls are my life.  Everything I do is for them, they give me so much in their smile and hugs.  Though there are many days I'm exhausted from being a parent and husband; I wouldn't change it for the world.  The challenges are over come together.  The mountains we climb together.  I wouldn't want to take this journey with any other persons in this world.  Thank you Andrea, Jordan and Brecken for such a wonderful world I live in.

So, tonight's bottle is a blended Belgian-Style Porter.  Very true to style this beer pours a black color in the glass.  The head of the beer is a dirty light brown and skimming 1/4" across the top of the glass.  This beer is bottle conditioned and there for has some sediment at the bottom of the glass.  Pour gentley as I don't think this is like a nice wheat beer.  Though the sediment will not hurt you, I'm not sure it does much to compliment the taste either.  This is a strong porter with deep chocolatey taste.  It really complimented the cheese fondue that we had for dinner.  Its roasty almost burnt coffee flavors were a perfect partner to the cheesy goodness coming from the pot.  The beer has a bit of a spicy note to the sip that I'm having trouble deciphering.  Maybe that spicy note is the tart cherries the bottle speaks of on the label.  At 6.8% alcohol there is a nice warming quality for this cold Valentine's Night.  I think I'll cuddle up with my wife and enjoy the quiet living room since the girls just heading up stairs to bed.

Over all a great selection, though not a "personal" top favorite of mine but I think it is a pretty decent beer over all.  Porters are not one of my favored beers of choice though they do hold a particular spot in my fridge.  If you see this beer out and about and are looking for a nice sweet chocolatey malty good brew to accompany a dessert or a nice cheesy fondue this may be the beer for you.

I hope you all have had as great of a Valentine's Day as I did with my family.  We had a nice night (actually a great past few days to be honest).  I love this feeling I have right here right now.  I'm in love with my wife, in love with my children and in love with my life generally.  There are a few major changes I'm looking to make over the next year or so - but right now - I have my family!  And they are good!  God is good.  Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy reading as much as I'm enjoying the challenge to myself.

 
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Tonight's Ale was brought to you buy The Pine Restaurant in Kennedy Township.  I met the owner or manager (I didn't catch which tonight).  My apologies - I should have definitely paid better attention to that.  Ms Ashley I believe someone was calling her.  I'm terrible with names - either way, she was very nice and was excited to hear of my challenge on 365.  Tonight is a relatively small post as I have a lot going on to prepare for tomorrow - Valentine's Day.  I'm not sure who came up with that holiday but honestly!  I'm still not a big fan!  I love my wife, I love my daughter's, I'm just not sure I need a day to prove that?  Isn't it valentine's day all year long?  Anyway, the Pine is a great place.  And I have to say my last few visits have seemed to be better then a few years back.  Maybe they are turning a new leaf with all the new construction they are doing.  Check them out if you are every i

So, tonight I drank Lancaster Brewery - Winter Warmer.  I loved this beer.  At 8.9% this was not a beer to mess with!  No, this warmed your insides on a cold winter day just as the name suggestions.  It is extremely complex spicey brew with a lot of richy Malty Sweetness cutter through ever sip.  The beer was not light or thin - It was a medium to heavy brew that really stuck to your ribs.  I must say one of these beers and I definitely could feel the affect of alcohol that bursting through.  This beer was off the tap and head a thick two finger head.  I would suggest this beer to any of my "strong ale" drinking friends.  On Lancaster's page they describe this as an "Olde Ale".  Rich, thick, malty and spicey; with a HUGE kick of alcohol!  Please enjoy this one responsibly!  But enjoy it none the less.

OK, off to help my wife with some chores and then to bed.  Another long day ahead of me tomorrow!  I have a "valentine's"'sh beer on tap for tomorrow - any guesses?  Actually, I've not looked into the beer at all but the name says a hot and spicey evening is in store - just what you are looking for on Valentine's day right?  Good night, sleep tight!  Until the morning!

 
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So, I'm made the jump - I've decided to use home brew as a beer of the day.  Why not right?  I brew it (or a friend does) and I enjoy it - why not include it in here.  I will make it a point to add the recipe to this link so that you have some idea of what was done with it.  I'm not the most organized home brewer.  I also have not entered any of my beers in any competitions though I've thought about it.  Anyway, I brewed this beer a few months back in October 2011 and everyone loved it.  I have yet to do a "repeat" beer so I thought why not try to duplicate my process.  I'm still awaiting some feed back from my fans but I'm not sure I succeed in "duplicating" that October brew.  It is GOOD but definitely for some reason not the same.  My organization is horrible so I'm not sure if I made any major differences between this brew and the one from October.  Here is the recipe:

6.5 lbs of Dry Malt Extract - light
6 oz Roasted Malt
6 Oz Crystal 40L
6 Oz Crystal 120L

.5 oz Northern Brewer hops for 60 minutes
1 oz East Kent Golding Hops for 30 minutes

Irish Ale Yeast WLP004.

In 2011 my original gravity was 1.054 and it was final at 1.011 where I kegged it on 11/13/11 (made it around 5.5% alcohol).  I brewed it on 10/22/11, transferred to secondary on 11/1/11 and then kegged it on 11/13/11.  Put about 25 lbs of C02 on the tank for 3 days (shaking the keg every day at least once) and it was good to go.  The beer I had in 2011 poured a nice brownish red pour.  The head was HUGE in the glass and it was awesome to watch the carbonation settle up from the bottom of the glass and settle on the top almost like a "fine" Guiness Stout type pour.  I don't remember the taste well enough to explain but everyone loved it.

This time I used the SAME recipe as above to the best of my knowledge.  I brewed it on 1/14/12 and the O.G. started at 1.056 (so very close to original).  Transferred to secondary on 1/29/12 at a gravity of 1.015 and kegged on 2/8/12 with a final of 1.013.  The final is about .002 higher then I like but I decided to keg away (I'm impatient).  This beer pours a very DARK brown almost black.  I do not see much "red" in the glass with the exception of the glass getting a bit empty at the bottom and able to see through it a bit.  Maybe this is just a bit more 'unfiltered' then its predecessor.  There is a huge malty flavor to this beer for sure.  The sweet/sugary goodness comes through.  I almost get a 'honey' like sweetness to this beer.  The hops are very mild and in the background and you don't get much from them but a balanced beer.  Over all, I'm happy with this beer but it is a bit "darker" from the one I had before.  I have not had many people try it as it was ONLY ready to drink as of last night.  The future of this one is unclear till a few of my friends let me know their thoughts.

I thought I would be able to give a bit of a description on how beer is brewed and this blog is already getting long.  I'll keep it short and simple for now and get more in depth later if possible.  The bottom line is that you get some malts.  These malts are then 'cracked' through a grinder very lightly then steeped in a bath of water roughly 155 degrees.  There is a ton of science here (a few degrees higher and lower causes different things to happen.  Which is good on certain levels).  You are steeping these grains to convert them to a sugar.  There are different kinds of sugars and at the proper temps you can get those different sugars out for fermentables and flavoring.  I will not get into the "all grain" versus Dry Malt Extract (which I am still using DME) here, but suffice to say, ALL GRAIN - you do this 155 bath for 2-3 hours with a lot more grain.  If using DME you will remove the grain bag from the water and add the DME and bring water to a boil.  From there, you will start adding hops.  Once again, you add hops at "different times" of the boil to extract different needs like bittering, flavoring, and smell, these typically get added at the beginning (60 minutes of boil), some where in the middle (30 minute boil), and end like 10-15 minute boil.  Take this off the stove and CHILL as quickly as possible to roughly 68-70 degrees for Ale Yeast and colder (usually 40-55 degrees) for Lager Yeasts.  Once at that temp - add yeast, put an airlock on and allow the YEAST to eat the fermentable sugars till their heart is content.  This is another incredibly scientific process.  The bottom line here though is - Yeast eats sugar and farts CO2 and produces the glorious Alcohol of the beer.  In general, it is a beautiful process.  There is much much much more to it but this is a very high level look at it.

Cheers!

 
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OK, so the easy part of this challenge for me has been to FIND THE BEER and DRINK THE BEER.  The more difficult part has been to blog about it.  It started out fun and exciting and I was really paying attention to grammar and spelling.  Writing and reading was some of my worst subjects in school (in case it hasn't shown).  Well, I'm challenging myself to improve my skills and I'm not sure how well that has been going.  But hopefully not so bad.

This Saturday's beer is a "special" beer for me.  My father has recently been diagnosed with a "gluten allergy".  As far as I know - it is not Celiac.  He doesn't always get the specifics on his medical conditions so to know the exact diagnosis is tough.  His comment to me has been "Well, I stopped eating 'gluten foods' and I'm not on the toilet any more..." - " to me that is all I needed to find out."  Ok, enough said, he avoids it at all costs and has been feeling much better all along.  He used to drink beer, A LOT.  No, not exactly like I did - he didn't really drink it for the "flavor".  He drank it for the feeling - which isn't always good!  Luckily and thankfully for me and my family my father has kicked that habit or way of life and has a much more controlled out look on beer.  I don't think I've seen my father drunk in a few years.  And I know I haven't seen him obnoxiously alcoholically drunk in probably 10+ years.  This makes me extremely happy and proud and I love him more for figuring it out and getting his life straight with that.  He still will enjoy a beer with me on occasion - maybe even two in a night if he is feeling a bit more feisty but that is it.  Now, for the celiac/gluten allergy issue that is something that I think is going to be a bit tougher for him to kick.  I've been seeing gluten free offerings coming out for some time and what better time to try one then when my dad was in town.

We chose the Tweason'Ale from Dogfish Head together as it sounded the most "appealing" to my dad.  I was a bit confused by this as my dad was a 'beers beer kind of guy!"  He drunk Miller Lite pretty much exclusively.  So, flavor was never something he strove  for in a beer.  This beer's label talked about "strawberry's and honey" and this sounded pleasing.  So, we went with it.  We brought it home and I poured a glass.  I was expecting to find some 'differences' with a gluten free option but I wasn't sure what they would be exactly.  Well, they came fairly quick and in my opinion were quite obvious.  The first difference I noticed was the pour was thin with little head.  It was a light transparent red in the glass.  I noticed some carbonation in the glass.  It wasn't very explosive carbonation and showed by little head in my glass.  From there I smelled the beer, and it was definitely different then most beers I've tried.  I got a strong medicinal smell to the beer with definite hints of strawberry.  I didn't notice a malty beer quality to the smell which was not that surprising.  On sipping the beer, the flavor once again was unique.  The medicinal/strawberry smells carried over into the taste for sure.  I actually seemed to get a "cherry" flavoring to it.  I made a note that it was a cherry seltzer water flavor to it.  The texture was definitely light to the mouth feel.

True to Dogfish's style they brew "off-centered" beers.  This beer is no let down to that note.  It gets its gluten free recipe from the use of sorghum.  I checked online and found a few places that has good information on sorghum.  Check out This Site and Here for some more info on Sorghum and its background.  It is the replacement of the gluten-riden malt that hides out and is a KEY role in beer.  The note that I made while drinking Tweason'Ale was that it had an 'alcohol free' beer quality to it (not taste though please don't confuse that).  None alcoholic beer has never had a good taste to me.  But when you are drinking it you can tell or think - this just isn't beer.  Tweason'Ale definitely lacked that malty medium body quality that I've grown to love in a beer.  I would put this beer as a strawberry blonde type brew with a lack of something.  Please try it out... and if I was gluten free and had to find a brew to drink I would DEFINITELY go back for more of this beer for sure.  I think I'll rank this as a 2.25 as the way of beer goes - but if I had issues with gluten I may rank this beer much much higher since I would not have many options to choose from. 

 
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One thing about this challenge that is becoming more and more obvious is if I do not drink beers side by side as a challenge it is "hard" to determine what I like/not like about it.  For example, last nights Troegs HopBack Amber Ale vs tonight's Dale's Pales Ale.  I remember drinking last night's beer and not enjoying it.  It was to hoppy.  But tonight, Oskar Blue Dale's Pale Ale is much much nicer.  It is sweet and malty and caramel.  It has a hoppy flavor to it but is so balanced that I don't really mind the difference in the two.  If I look at this beer it doesn't look quite as red.  This is a little more brown/yellow with a hint of red.  It is nice and mellow.  It is not light at all, but is more medium bodied with a hint of spice.  In my opinion this is a nice Pale Ale.  Dale must know Pale Ale for sure.  As to me this is what it should taste, but last night's beer was way to hoppy and I'm not sure how to compare the two.  I may have to have a Dales and a HopBack side by side.  But then I think . o O ( HopBack doesn't call itself a Pale Ale - so should I compare the two?  and maybe I should not ) O o. but they seem so similar.  Oh the complexity of just a little bit of grains, hops, water, and yeast.

So, Yea - this is a can of beer.  My old man is visiting from York this weekend.  He was a Miller Lite man.  That is all he drank.  And yes, when I started drinking "new beers" and craft brews ( which UNOFFICIALLY started probably back when I was 18, 19 or 20 - I do not condone underage drinking in any way that is why my face book page is restricted to 21 +)... my new "craft" beers back in 95 & 96 were/is considered "HIGH TEST" in his words.  I always laughed because to me, sure the high alcohol was a quicker means to the "drunk" 'but it tasted better also.  It was more to it then the light beers and "stuff" he always had in the house.  He wasn't the only one.  Hell, I knew nobody back then that I was hanging out with that was really enjoying good/different beers.  Everyone had their ONE beer and that is what they drank.  But I was always enjoying different flavors/styles/seasons of beers even back since the beginning.  I even remember my first taste of Dales Pale Ale came from Bocktown Beer and Grill from Robinson, PA.  It was a newer BEER bar close to my house that opened a few years back (roughly 2009 or so I believe).  The resident 'beer guy' suggested I try it - when I asked him about why a "can of beer" would be as expensive as some of the counter parts that I was familiar with.  I took a few home and fell in love.  It was greatness. 

Even this weekend, my dad looked at me as I opened a can of Oskar Blue's and said "is that a beer?"  To him, I am constantly opening his eyes to the varieties and styles of beers out there.  He usually hates every beer I let him try but he tries most of them as a nice gesture of appreciation.  I may be wrong but I think he was sort of confused by the CAN of beer that he was not familiar with.  In general, CANS of beer are very recognizable - Coors, Miller, Bud, American, ect.  This was a "colorful can".  I read an article recently that a company out of Colorado is starting a Canning Beer Business.  I think this is genius - my hat goes off to them and I hop they can make this work.  In googling for that article about the company out of Colorado I ran across THIS ARTICLE that is really interesting about the first canning of beer.  In general, I think the idea behind can's is "affordability".  I'm not sure that changes today.  The problem is people have this "affordability" directly related to "taste" and that simply isn't reality.  Canned beer can be and should be good.  If it is a can and it isn't good.  Leave it alone. 

Enjoy canned beer!  I know I am right now.

 
So, the weekend is finally here.  What a week it has been!  Anyway, well here I at a place I find myself from time to time.  It is Friday after work, I have a sitter and and am exhausted.  I want to go out to "BE OUT".  But A does not seem interested in going anywhere.  How is it there are times we just do not sync up?  Seems like her week was just as hard as mine, and though I love hanging out with my family and relaxing as much as the next guy, sometimes getting out and having a beer and some apps at the bar is a needed vacation.  This is one of those times where I feel like that but A and I are not sync'ing in this thought process.  Guys seem to be wrong about these thoughts often.  Amazing I've gotten to where I am in life being as wrong as I feel like I am so often.  Its not a fight.  It isn't argument (at least not in my mind - I am not sure about what A is thinking now - I have given up trying to read her mind because I ALWAYS think completely wrong).  Ultimately, I want to do what makes my wife happy, always.  So, I guess that is staying in Friday night and falling asleep around 9pm on a Friday night when we have an available option to go out and be adults.  Sometimes I'm just confused because when presented with an option to escape if only for 2 hours the choice always seems to be weighted to the not escaping side.  Im exhausted, as I know she is.  It was a hard week.  Just seems like going out is the thing to do... conjure up the energy and get it done..  My view of this whole thought process is probably skewed as well I'm sure.  The funny thing is we are probably both right.  And we both have valid points but I never have the energy to explain mine and I just go with the flow.   So now, we have to determine what the best option for dinner is, do we order Pizza or subs or Wendy's or what?  I don't know?  Either way, I'm sure we'll have a good night!  Just getting to make a decision is always a tricky issue here.

So, for last nights beer I chose to drink Troegs Hop Back Amber Ale.  This was a nice beer.  But this beer is one of the beers that makes me remember back why I sort of got over hopped in the past.  This is their signature beer so I know it is a top seller.  And I know that people LOVE hoppy IPA style beers.  I guess this is an Amber not a Pale Ale.  Not sure exactly what makes this "different" if it really is different at all.  It is very hoppy.  There was a small amount of caramel malty flavors going on to balance it out but for me it wasn't quite enough.  This beer did pour a nice amber red color.  The texture was a medium body.  One nice note about this beer was that the more I drank of it the more the hops seemed to numb my taste buds a bit and I enjoyed more and more sips of it.  So, this is a hard beer for me to judge.  First impression, it was a bit hoppy for my likes.  That doesn't necessarily mean I want to rank it low either as I said the flavors did seem to work towards the end.

OK, so now I have to figure out what we are doing for dinner.  Andrea is finishing up her cupcake business purchase.  And we are sitting at table deciding what will be our dinner order.  Also, I guess I should start thinking about which beer will be reviewed tonight.  I hope to be able to blog that one tonight as well.

PS.  Seems to be the story of my week - this image is side ways because Weebly is being a little picky for me.  Oh well, I'll go with the flow.

PSS.  So did some quick editing about 3 hours later - and got the image SHIFTED!  Whatever?
 
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