November 18, 2009
It's fun... in that I get to gross people out with pictures kind of way. Especially those that are afraid of needles that make coffee stir sticks seem tiny. Other ways its a royal pain in the... abdomen. So now I sit and am sore and very uncomfortable. I also am not allowed to eat anything for 24 hours, and I have to go in with an empty stomach. Fortunately the discomfort makes eating not that big of an issue.
On the flip side I also really can't drink anything more than water and some juices. Thus there will be no beer review again this week. I'm sorry. I know that makes two weeks in a row. I really need to make up for it. So I will do what I can.
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November 11, 2009
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November 04, 2009
It came in a brown glass bottle with a brownish label. There is a picture of a mountain man riding a buffalo. The name of the beer is in light brown lettering on it. Under the name of the beer is the following, “Porter aged in Oak Bourbon Barrels. Don’t let its smooth and creamy nature fool you. This porter is a wild ride and buffy-bucking delicious”.
This beer has a dark, black coffee like color to it, with a hint of ruby coloring to it. It is so dark that light barely passes through it. When poured into the glass, a creamy tan head. The head fades slowly leaving a good thick lacing on the side of the glass.
The smell is an enticing combination of chocolate and caramel malts followed by the scent of the oak barrel. The scent sets up the flavor. The taste consists of chocolate malts backed by oak. Some caramel malts are noticeable as the beer washes over the tongue. A good hop finish on it rounds off the beer. There is a smooth aftertaste, just a hint of coffee malt that is pleasant.
This is a medium bodied beer with a nice creaminess to it that coats the mouth. The carbonation is mild and unobtrusive.
This is a very easy to drink beer. A nice flavor, low carbonation, creaminess; it has a complete mouthfeel that makes this a great beer to drink with friends. I could see myself sitting down and sharing a couple with some friends, especially during the winter months. I give this 7 out of 10.
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But thats ok I have more beers to share with ya when I get a chance to try to send them to youOctober 21, 2009
We have our standard 12 oz brown bottle. There is a yellow label with a cartoonish picture of what appears to be a mildly retarded dog. The name of the beer is in some kind of scrawl next to the dog. On the neck label is the flowing dog logo. At the bottom of the main label it has the quote, “Good people drink good beer. “ –Hunter S. Thompson.
It has a nice golden honey color to it. There is a haziness to it that is so thick that you canÂ’t see through the beer. Light passes through, giving it a nice glow. Almost no head formed when poured. I even added a bit of an aggressive pour towards the last quarter of the bottle. What head formed was white and faded quickly to nothing. There is no lacing on the glass.
When you take a whiff of the beer, you get a combination of wheat and grains. There is a banana undertone with just a hint of citrus. The scent is less than pleasant. The taste mainly consists of bananas, cloves, wheat and a slight bitter hop finish. The after taste reminds me of eating Cheerios with green, unripe bananas on it.
It is a medium bodied beer; there is no coating to the mouth. The carbonation is a little heavy for my tastes and bites on the tongue.
This is a standard American Wheat beer done in the Bavarian Hefeweizen style. It isnÂ’t something I would go out of my for, and to be honest, it took drinking half of the beer before the flavor got to something that didnÂ’t bother me. This is definitely not a beer I would recommend to friends or even to a stranger at a bar. I give it 3.5 out of 10.
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October 14, 2009
We have our standard 12 oz brown bottle. There is an olde style series of pictures on it that depict various scenes of horse racing. The name of the beer is in red letters across the top of the bottle, with the word lager in red on a banner in the middle. There is a matching neck label.
It pours a dark copper penny color. When the light hits it, you can see amber flashes. Light passes through it easily, but there is a haziness to it that prevents you from seeing objects on the other side clearly. A ¾ inch head formed. It was off white in color and faded quickly to a film on the top of the beer. There was minimal lacing.
The smell was of rich toasted caramel malts. A touch of biscuity sweetness can also be detected to fully enhance to scent. There is a dry, roasted malt flavor that is balanced by the taste of floral hops evenly. It finishes smoothly. The after taste is a mix of citrus and grains.
It is a medium bodied beer, and is a little bit heavy on the carbonation.
This is a good sipping beer. Sit back, crack one open and chat with friends. It is a good representation of a Marzen-style lager. I enjoyed this beer and could see myself drinking another. I give it 6.5 out of 10.
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October 07, 2009
I had to return to the doctor today. She likes the way things are going and cleared me for the weekend to go to the Fort Obie re-enactment. I still have all kinds of physical restrictions, but she said as long as I don't do anything too physical, strain myself or over do it, I should be fine.
Of course, due to an injection given to me with a needle longer than my hand jabbed into my stomach. Yea, I have pictures if you want to see my pasty white belly with a really big needle sticking out of it! She wasn't too thrilled with me taking a picture while she was doing the procedure. But hey, those that know me, know that I don't care. Anyway because of that I had to be on fluids only for 24 hours. Which really sucks, because I was just starting to get used to things that didn't taste like fruit, chocolate or vanilla.
Either way, things will start getting back to normal hopefully in a couple of months.
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October 01, 2009
I also returned to work this week. Wow, that was much more difficult than I anticipated. I figured I had been sitting around the house doing nothing but playing on a computer; I might as well go back to work and do it. So I returned a couple of weeks early with the doctorÂ’s blessing. The first day wasnÂ’t so bad. I was tired and a little sore at the end of it, but I felt okay. Tuesday was a little harder. The fatigue and soreness presented itself much earlier in the day.
Yesterday was awful. I woke up sore and tired, the whole time I was at work I was sore and I even took some Tylenol while I was there to help reduce the discomfort. I generally do not like taking pain killers, even as weak as aspirin, but I needed something to help me to be more comfortable. Fortunately I was able to leave early so I could rest and take it easy.
This morning when I woke up, I felt fine. The soreness had gone away. I was still tired, even with going to bed early. This whole sleeping on my back thing is difficult. IÂ’ve always slept on my side or stomach, and I just canÂ’t do that right now. If it doesnÂ’t start hurting right away, it does after a while. Hence I end up lying on my back again.
IÂ’m really ready for all of this to go away so I can get back to feeling normal, but I have a feeling that there will be months of this left before I get back to that point in my life.
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September 24, 2009
If I could stand to be off of work longer, I would, but it will be nice to get back to some resemblance of normal. IÂ’m still going to have issues for a long time, but I wonÂ’t be in as much pain and discomfort.
Speaking of pain and discomfort, I still have quite a bit of discomfort. The only time I have pain is when I do something stupid. Like say jumping out of bed in the middle of the night or because the Packers intercepted a ball. (yea, that one really hurt).
I have a re-enactment this weekend, but based on the DoctorÂ’s and more importantly, KtrevaÂ’s orders I wonÂ’t be attending. ThatÂ’s another one thatÂ’s gone bust. In two more weeks I have Fort Obie, hopefully by then IÂ’ll get he clearance to go.
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September 16, 2009
I’ve had multiple conversations with people that involve around how much head should a beer have? A beer being poured into a glass should have about a 1 to 1.5 inch head. Of course what usually follows is, “why?” There is a twofold reason as to why you want the beer to have a head. One is that it directly impacts the scent and flavor, the second is just aesthetics.
Head forms on a beer when air and turbulence is introduced into the body as it is being poured. It releases the Carbon Dioxide, or in the cases of beers such as Guinness Nitrogen, causing the beer to foam up. The head releases the natural aromatics of the beer, helping you to smell them better. These scents then, in turn have an effect on the taste. Also the head washing across the tongue has a direct impact on the mouthfeel of the beer. Is it creamy, effervescent, does it bite the tongue? These all have a direct impact on how much you, the drinker, enjoy the beer.
The secondary impact of the head is the aesthetics. Think about all the beer commercials you see on TV, they show the beer being poured into a glass, with just a touch running down the side of the glass. It looks cool, crisp and refreshing. Most people do not want to see a beer that has no head on it, it looks flat and unappealing. If it has too much head it looks like it is over carbonated or that you are going to be drinking foam before you get to the beer. Marketing companies have spent a lot of time researching to figure out what looks most appealingÂ… just think on it.
So how do you get “the perfect head”? First you have to start with your glassware. See, I told you it was important. Try to get the best glass for the type of beer you’re drinking. Make sure it is clean. You don’t want any residue of anything inside the glass that can alter the flavor. This includes detergent, oils, food particles, dust, residue of previous beers, ETC. Whether you are pouring from a tapper or a bottle the rest remains true:
1) Hold the glass at a 45 degree angle.
2) Pour the beer aiming for the middle of the glass.
3) When the beer gets to about the halfway point, return the glass to the upright position, continuing to pour in the center of the glass.
4) Keep an eye on the head. If you are getting too much, decrease the rate of the pouring. If you are getting too little, donÂ’t be afraid to be more aggressive and pour harder. Some beers, like lambics and English bitters have difficulty forming head and need to be poured more aggressively. On the other hand, your standard American Pilsners (Miller, Budweiser, Busch, Coors, Etc) can create too much head of agitated, so you may need to pour slowly.
As a word of warning, if you are drinking a beer that is known for its yeast, you may want to pay attention to your pour so that you donÂ’t accidently pour the active yeast into the glass. Unless you like it that way, and there is nothing wrong with it.
Viola! ItÂ’s as easy as that.
HereÂ’s to a perfectly chilled beer in your future!
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September 15, 2009
High: Football is back in season
Low: Ktreva is effectively a widow until after the Superbowl.
High: The Packers Beat the Bears
Low: Urlacher is out for the season. (yea, he's a Bear, but I don't like seeing non-primadonna players getting hurt for the season.)
High: There were a lot of really good close games.
Low: There were a lot of one sided blow outs.
High: Detroit seems like they want to keep their losing streak going.
Low: I've been tired hearing about He Who Shall Not Be Named (F@vre) for four years during every game. It seems to have gotten worse this year.
High: All the football foods are being made.
Low: I can't eat any of them.
High: Cheerleaders
Low: They still have clothes on.
High: Raiders looked like a professional team last night.
Low: They were robbed of a Touchdown due to bad officiating.
That being said. it was a great opening weekend. We have 16 more weeks of regular season to go! YAY!
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September 13, 2009
On the list of acceptable pureed foods, was scrambled eggs (with out having to actually have to pureeing them in a blender). Thus I had scrambled eggs for breakfast. Man, did those taste good! Clone and I got into a little debate over how to eat eggs. See, I like my scrambled eggs with Ketchup on them, he thought that was disgusting and had no problem making a face demonstrating his oppinion. He then followed up with telling EXACTLY how he thought about it. Clone, "Dad, that's disgusting! Ketchup doesn't go on eggs, it goes on hot dogs!"
For lunch I tried something different. I pureed myself some tuna. Yea... pureed tuna salad. Commence to making icky faces now. To be honest, after four weeks of eating nothing but protein shakes, jello and broth... it was fantastic! A little bit of onion, tuna, fat free mayo... a ton of salt and pepper, pureed and strained... Fantastic. If only I could have had crackers, it would have made an excellent dip!
Tonight's dinner, pureed buffalo chicken! That's right... I'm pureeing Buffalo Chicken. Don't you judge me!!!!!
So with all this pureed food, I'm curious. What do you think of Ketchup on your eggs?
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September 11, 2009
May all of you find peace.
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September 09, 2009
I'm at a complete loss. I had no idea anyone stopped by. I've been home all day. I can' drive, I didn't leave the house. So unless it was at a time that I went to the bathroom, I'm not sure who it would have been.
They didn't leave a card or a tag or anything identifying who it is.
So, to whomever... Thanks!
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His question to me was: What is your take on (the Sam Adams specialty glass).
I actually own one of these glasses. IÂ’ve had it since June 11th those of you that know me, know how I got it, but IÂ’m not saying. IÂ’ve used this glass on multiple occasions and after seeing all the brewha (lol sorry, pun intended) that the Boston Beer Company was making over these glasses, I really feel the need to pipe in on it.
First off, I take glassware for beer very seriously. Anyone that has been to one of my parties, a bar or to my home will vouch for that. I have an extensive collection of glass ware. I have everything from different styles of glasses to pint glasses with different logos on it. At my New Years Eve party I always give out complimentary glassware every year for the visitors to keep. Each year itÂ’s a different style. At the beer tasting, I give out a packet of information IÂ’ve put together regarding beer, one of the sections is glassware. Which I took from Beer AdvocateÂ’s Beer 101 section Glassware for Beer (Best glassware reference section IÂ’ve found)
IÂ’m not going to double up and repeat a lot of their work. Go read what they have to say about glassware. I will, however, throw in my opinion. Glassware is important to your beer experience. Beer is much more than just drinking it for the alcohol effect. If that is what you are doing, go get a case of Natural Light in cans and enjoy. If you want to truly enjoy a new beer, you need to drink it from a glass. A glass will let you see the color, pouring it forms a head which opens up the flavor and scents enhancing the taste. The proper glass for the style of beer you are drinking can have an effect. If you are drinking a beer from a bottle, you are not getting the full experience.
With all that being said, let us get back to the subject on hand, The Samuel Adams’ “Perfect Pint Glass”. The glass holds 16 fl oz. This is fine if you are pouring your beer from a 12 oz bottle. It gives you a good four ounces for a proper head. However, if you are drinking from a tap or a pint bottle, you need an empirical pint glass of 20 fl oz. Since Sam Adams obviously wants you to drink their beer, and they only bottle in 12 oz, they made the glass the appropriate size for them and the majority of other beers on the market.
The shape of the glass is like a combination of a standard pub glass (like the Miasmatic Review Enabler glass, itÂ’s a type of pint glass) and a tulip glass. According to the informational website they have all kinds of information as to why the glass is shaped the way it is. IÂ’ll be honest; IÂ’m not sure how much accuracy is in what they say. ItÂ’s almost like two execs for the company were talking up their favorite glassware and decided to come up with their own based on non-scientific opinion. I know they claim to use Sensory Experts to help design the glass, IÂ’m just not sure how accurate what they claim is true. ItÂ’s not my area of expertise.
With that being said, I did what all good beer drinkers do, I ran some experimentsÂ…. By drinking beer (back in July).
I drank three different types of beer out of this glass to see if there was a noticeable difference. I compared these three to the same out of a regular pint. I did one beer a night with a pallet cleanser between the Sam AdamsÂ’ glass and the standard pint. The beers used for the experiment were Miller Lite (shut it!), Sam AdamsÂ’ Blackberry Wheat and St. PeterÂ’s Cream Stout.
I came to the following conclusion. There was no noticeable difference between the Sam AdamsÂ’ glass and my Miasmatic Review Enabler Glass. The scents, flavor and overall drinking experience was not enhanced or diminished by drinking from the special glass.
Overall, in my opinion, if you just wanted the glass to add to your collection like I did, go for it. It is a unique looking glass and is a conversation piece. If you were planning to buy one, or already did because you thought it would enhance your beer drinking experience, I think you will be sadly disappointed.
Mark, I hope that answers your questionÂ… and then some.
If you have an beer related questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
HereÂ’s to a perfectly chilled beer in your future.
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September 05, 2009
If I wasn't in a condition that limited me from doing so, I'd be having a Bacon Explosion or two today.
Since I can't make one today, I'm promising to all that come to my full recovery party that I'll make at least two!
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The other big step is that I can advance from clear liquids today. I get to go back to non-clear liquids like protein shakes! Wait, I've developed a hatred of protein shakes. That's okay, they aren't fruit flavored, thus they are better than juice and condensed rubber Jello that Ktreva made. (Thank god for premade jello cups!) Things should start getting a little better. I'll slowly start graduating into more and more solid food. I do believe the next big step in a week is baby food.
BLECH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Right now my abdomen itches like crazy. I just want to scratch at it, but I can't. So I'm going to sit here and try not to think of what feels like a dozen tiny ants crawling over my stomach.
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September 03, 2009
That, however, is not what this post is about. My wife is many things, but a wonderful cook is not one of them. Don't get me wrong, she has some items she makes that no one can compete with, Scotch Eggs, Biscuits and Gravy, Deer Pot Roast, Ballindalloch Chicken, and a few more. I generally do the majority of the cooking in the house. When she has to cook, most of the time it's boxed or ready made meals.
With me being down she has to do some cooking, and one of the items that I can eat is Sugar Free Jello. She picked up packages of it for me and made 4-5 different kinds on Monday. When I went to eat some.... it was tough. It didn't want to cut with the spoon.
Then when I finally was able to get a bite sized portion of it, it needed to be chewed. I'm not talking about the mashing it up with your tongue chewing, I mean I had to use my teeth to actually break it up. Normally with Jello I just mash it between my teeth with my tongue, but this stuff was resistant! My overly sharp molars were having trouble breaking this stuff up into smaller bits. It was like chewing steak fat, peach flavored steak fat! MMMmmmm, peachy steak fat!
I tried letting it set out so it can warm up and possibly soften, that failed. I tried mashing it up with a spoon before putting it in my mouth. That failed. Nothing seemed to work.
Ktreva is upset because it turned out bad. Yes, she knows I'm posting about it. She's urging me not to eat it until she can make more. I'm not actually sure what is going to be different the next time. Until then, I need to eat it as I really don't have anything else... and the fridge is filled with various flavors of Ktreva rubber Jello.
So if anyone stops by and see's me chewing on something. Trust me, it's just the hardest damn Jello this side of Atlantic.
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September 02, 2009
Well I can also feel gas moving through my colon. And that isn't pleasant. To make maters even more complicated. Every 8 seconds I feel like I need to pass gas, I really need to run to the bathroom, because if I don't, I'm just going to end up having liquid colon squeezings running down my leg. That means I have to hold a lot of this gas in until I can get to the bathroom. Yea, that's not comfortable at all.
On top of everything Ktreva and the Boys can hear the gas moving through me. It's rather loud!
Well, I guess this is better than pain.
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September 01, 2009
They gave me anti-constipation medication just in case I don't have a bowel movement in 48 hours. I hadn't taken any, but at 4:30 this morning I the exact opposite problem of constipation. I woke up and felt gas moving through my colon. Then I blew arse. Okay, bowels are moving, that's a good sign. A couple seconds later I thought I was going to blow arse again, but instead it felt, uh... fuller. so I got up as fast as I could and made my way to the bathroom.
I had just made it to the toilet when the flood gates of hell opened up and I drained what seemed like a gallon of liquid sewage. It came out with enough force that I do believe that I was lifted off of the toilet by about an inch. I could have shite through a strainer and not hit the wire.
It's been a constant painful waddle to the bathroom every 30 minutes or so.
I think I'd prefer the constipation.
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August 31, 2009
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