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!!
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!!
Founders - Breakfast Stout - Double Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Stout
