I just spent a few minutes reading over some past blogs and saw that Day 14 (Week 2), I was already gaining some key insights. For instance I wrote "I can see a time down the road where I elect not to try certain beer styles because I know I won’t like them." Can anyone say IPA?
I also wondered at times if I would make it to the end. The first time was Day 21. I could see then, having eliminated IPAs and other bitter beer styles, that it would be a challenge. At yet, here I am, Day 236, at 381 beers tasted. Hitting 400 is a guarantee.
That doesn't mean I'm cocky, that 524 is in the bag. 124 beers is still a lot of beers. I have some contingencies, of course, some backup plans, but I need to be careful not to use them too soon, like a street racer hitting the nitrogen a quarter mile before the finish line. Let's just say I'm optimistic. Let's just say that I am already envisioning the finish line even though I am not positive I'll make it.
It's called momentum.
It's not easy finding 12 new beers every week. I take my list with me every week to the store and I still sometimes pick up something I've already tasted. And yet, I'm 40 beers ahead of schedule, 4 weeks ahead of schedule, the same place I was at Week 12 at Week 33. With 19 weeks to go, that's pretty damn good, even though it is far too soon to declare victory.
Momentum.
So let's check out a few stats, courtesy of my friends at ratebeer.com
Most sampled: Amber ale, pale ale, wheat beer.
Favorite stye: Stout & German Hefeweizen (3.44), Brown Ale (3.25), White Beer (3.24)
Least favorite style: IPA(0.95); surprised?
Most tried by country: US (258); next closest: Germany (35) (not even close)
Most tried by state: California (57) and Colorado (50); no one else even close
Best liked by state: Massachusetts (3.19), Colorado and Maryland (3.11)
Best liked by country: Belgium and England (big surprise)
Most sampled by brewer: Boston Beer Company (16) and New Belgium (10); coincidentally, they also happen to be among my favorite brewers
And finally, I am #1549 out of 3468 of the top raters with at least 100 ratings, putting me in the 45th percentile. In other words the upper half of raters. Is that cool or what?
Life is good and so is beer.
"Sagliginiza" which is Turkish for "To your health."
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........381.....236
Remaining......143.....129
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Day 221 – The Power of Madison Avenue
I'm sure we all know that the purpose of marketing is to get us to buy crap, literally and figuratively. Figuratively I'm okay with. If I don't know a product is out there, how will I know about it and how will I know I want to buy it? Literally, I have more of a problem with.
Take beer, for example. I'm not sure why I chose beer, but let's go with that, shall we?
I have rated more than 360 beers in the last 7 months. Before I began this quest, I admit that I had never heard of New Belgium, Left Hand, and Lost Coast Breweries, among others. Yet they have beers that are at the top of my list.
What beers do we see advertised on TV? Besides Bud, Coors, and Miller, I mean? Let's see...Beck's...Heineken...Corona...Stella Artois...Dos Equis. Yeah, right, the Most Fascinating Man in the World, the hispanic dude who says he doesn't drink beer often, but when he does, it is Dos Equis. Well, duh! Of course he doesn't drink beer often. What he drinks is crap! I wouldn't drink beer often if that is all I drank. Kind of makes you rethink the Most Fascinating Man in the World title, doesn't it?
Becks? Crap. Heineken? Crap. Corona? Crap. Stella? Crap.
Sam Adams and Guinness are the only brews nationally advertised that appear in my Top 100. The rest in the upper crust are relative unknowns for the most part. The ones that appear in my Bottom 100? More often than not, nationally advertised brands.
So the moral of the story (blog?) is that Madison Avenue is a one big prostitute. They will take money to promote crap while the really good stuff remains obscure. The second moral of the story? Most beers advertised on TV are crap.
Want a good beer? Try something you've never heard of. Odds are, you can't do any worse than what you're already drinking and you might just find something better.
Life is good and so is beer.
"Salametlikingiz ucun" which is Uyghur for "For your health." What? You don't know who speaks Uyghur? You must be a Bud drinker. It's spoken by a Turkic ethnic group that lives in Eastern and Central Asia. Any sophisticated beer drinker knows that.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........361.....221
Remaining......163.....144
Take beer, for example. I'm not sure why I chose beer, but let's go with that, shall we?
I have rated more than 360 beers in the last 7 months. Before I began this quest, I admit that I had never heard of New Belgium, Left Hand, and Lost Coast Breweries, among others. Yet they have beers that are at the top of my list.
What beers do we see advertised on TV? Besides Bud, Coors, and Miller, I mean? Let's see...Beck's...Heineken...Corona...Stella Artois...Dos Equis. Yeah, right, the Most Fascinating Man in the World, the hispanic dude who says he doesn't drink beer often, but when he does, it is Dos Equis. Well, duh! Of course he doesn't drink beer often. What he drinks is crap! I wouldn't drink beer often if that is all I drank. Kind of makes you rethink the Most Fascinating Man in the World title, doesn't it?
Becks? Crap. Heineken? Crap. Corona? Crap. Stella? Crap.
Sam Adams and Guinness are the only brews nationally advertised that appear in my Top 100. The rest in the upper crust are relative unknowns for the most part. The ones that appear in my Bottom 100? More often than not, nationally advertised brands.
So the moral of the story (blog?) is that Madison Avenue is a one big prostitute. They will take money to promote crap while the really good stuff remains obscure. The second moral of the story? Most beers advertised on TV are crap.
Want a good beer? Try something you've never heard of. Odds are, you can't do any worse than what you're already drinking and you might just find something better.
Life is good and so is beer.
"Salametlikingiz ucun" which is Uyghur for "For your health." What? You don't know who speaks Uyghur? You must be a Bud drinker. It's spoken by a Turkic ethnic group that lives in Eastern and Central Asia. Any sophisticated beer drinker knows that.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........361.....221
Remaining......163.....144
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Day 208 – What a Week I Think I'm Going to Have!
Have you ever had a Sunday evening where you dreaded the coming week? Sure, we all have. Right?
Well, I have one of those coming up and I just have two things to say - I hope I'm overreacting and I can't wait for next Friday evening.
I have an overnight trip coming up where I fly east, give a one-hour presentation to a group of clients, and fly right back home. The presentation won't be bad, but two days away from work for a one-hour presentation means that I have long days coming up, not just the Tuesday and Wednesday when I travel, but the Monday and Thursday as well. Monday is like any Monday, but I also have to get ready to leave for my trip. Thursday morning is the monthly executive meeting where I know one particular part (the last part) will not be a walk in the park. Fun, fun, fun.
It's a good thing I drink.
Speaking of which, a pretty good week. I'm at 343 and going strong, so the four hundred mark is looking pretty good right now. If I was running a marathon, I'd be past the 16-mile marker. Not exactly home free, but getting close enough to think I might just make the finish line after all.
By the way, Abita Pecan Harvest Ale...if you find it, buy it. Excellent ale.
When I first began this quest, it was sort of like the week I think I'm going to have. I questioned whether I would make it to the end or not. And yet, look where I'm at. You have to have faith that things are going to work out. You have to believe that you will make it to the finish line.
Right now, the finish line is Friday evening. It's a good thing I drink.
Life is good and so is beer.
Unfortunately, they don't know that in Qatar where alcohol is forbidden. Bummer. And I thought my week is going to be crappy.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........343.....208
Remaining......181.....157
Well, I have one of those coming up and I just have two things to say - I hope I'm overreacting and I can't wait for next Friday evening.
I have an overnight trip coming up where I fly east, give a one-hour presentation to a group of clients, and fly right back home. The presentation won't be bad, but two days away from work for a one-hour presentation means that I have long days coming up, not just the Tuesday and Wednesday when I travel, but the Monday and Thursday as well. Monday is like any Monday, but I also have to get ready to leave for my trip. Thursday morning is the monthly executive meeting where I know one particular part (the last part) will not be a walk in the park. Fun, fun, fun.
It's a good thing I drink.
Speaking of which, a pretty good week. I'm at 343 and going strong, so the four hundred mark is looking pretty good right now. If I was running a marathon, I'd be past the 16-mile marker. Not exactly home free, but getting close enough to think I might just make the finish line after all.
By the way, Abita Pecan Harvest Ale...if you find it, buy it. Excellent ale.
When I first began this quest, it was sort of like the week I think I'm going to have. I questioned whether I would make it to the end or not. And yet, look where I'm at. You have to have faith that things are going to work out. You have to believe that you will make it to the finish line.
Right now, the finish line is Friday evening. It's a good thing I drink.
Life is good and so is beer.
Unfortunately, they don't know that in Qatar where alcohol is forbidden. Bummer. And I thought my week is going to be crappy.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........343.....208
Remaining......181.....157
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Day 194 – Hey! Maybe it's me.
From the very beginning I knew I was the odd man out. In comparison to other ratebeerians, my scoring differed vastly from theirs, as in polar opposites. What they raved about was unpalatable to my way of thinking. What I loved they thought was passable. Are we even drinking the same stuff, I wondered?
In my last blog I waxed unpoetically about the hopheads and the breweries that fed their passion. I claimed that it didn't take any skill to over-hop a beer any more than it would be to over-sweeten your coffee - just add a bunch more. I still believe that a true brewmaster knows how to add just enough hops to balance out the sweetness of the malt.
But hey! Maybe it's just me. After all, I'm not a brewmaster any more than I am a master chef. Do I criticize Emeril Lagasse for adding too much garlic? Certainly not. So why am I so hard on brewmasters for over-hopping their brews?
Before I answer the question, I wonder if brewmasters follow Emeril's lead by shouting "BAM!" as they throw another handful of hops into the wort. It's something to think about. Now back to the question.
I'm critical of brewmasters because, in my humble opinion, style is based on the malt and brewing technique. The hops are there merely to provide balance to the sweetness of the malt. Overdoing any element isn't difficult and, in most cases, ruins the taste.
Yet the other day I read an article about a beer tasting contest for IPAs, the bitterest of brews. Apparently IPAs are the fastest growing segment of microbrews in this country. Sad. Even sadder is that, according to this article, our palates are growing more sophisticated. (Really? Maybe they're just dying off due to the overhoppiness of beer.)
The saddest news of all is that IPA drinkers were compared to red wine drinkers as far as sophistication goes. Folks like me were compared to white wine drinkers. The message was that a "real" beer drinker appreciates the bitterness of an IPA whereas anyone who likes a beer that isn't overhopped hasn't fully developed the palate necessary to be included in the "expert" category.
Are you (insert crude variation of "fricking" here) serious?
I'm paraphrasing what the gentleman said, of course, but what a moronic thing to say. For one thing it is self-serving. If I bottled fermented donkey pee, what better way to get people to drink it than by criticizing them for not having a sophisticated enough palate.
It's a ridiculous statement. Sophistication has nothing to do with differences in styles. Sophistication has everything to do with differences in the same style. Can I detect the subtle nuances between amber ales? If not, if any amber ale will do, then I haven't developed my palate sufficiently. But to claim superiority of one style over another as a matter of sophistication is idiotic.
But hey! Maybe it's just me.
I made the argument last time (and still make it) that a pint of bitter in England is not bitter at all. It is more so than a pint of stout, but it is still delicious and pleasing to the palate. Now the English have been brewing beer for centuries, way longer than we have been a country. They invented the style, though not in the bitterest of examples. Apparently, however, those hicks haven't developed a sophisticated enough palate to know they are drinking the equivalent of white wine.
I'm sorry, but I don't understand the appeal of hops. It covers up the taste of the malt just like too much garlic masks the flavor of a dish (sorry, Emeril!). You need enough hops to balance the sweetness, but that is it. I don't get why people like hoppy beer.
So, yeah, it is me, I guess. I prefer a beer that is smooth and balanced and flavorful. If that is the equivalent of drinking white wine, then break out the chardonnay. I make no apologies for my preferences and I don't accept the argument that I'm unsophisticated as a beer drinker. Over the past forty years I have sampled more than four hundred different brands of beers of all styles. I may not be an expert, but I'm not exactly a newbie, either.
I'll get off my high horse now. You can have your IPAs and over-hopped pale ales and I'll stick to my hefeweizens and witbiers, my red and brown ales, and my porters and stouts. Life is too short to worry about the bittering of brews.
By the way, I have less than 200 beers to go. In the beginning, I had to drink 1.43 beers per day. Now I only have to drink 1.19 beers a day. Piece of cake.
Life is good and so is (balanced) beer.
"Kassutta" which is Greenlandic for "Let our glasses meet."
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........329.....201
Remaining......195.....164
In my last blog I waxed unpoetically about the hopheads and the breweries that fed their passion. I claimed that it didn't take any skill to over-hop a beer any more than it would be to over-sweeten your coffee - just add a bunch more. I still believe that a true brewmaster knows how to add just enough hops to balance out the sweetness of the malt.
But hey! Maybe it's just me. After all, I'm not a brewmaster any more than I am a master chef. Do I criticize Emeril Lagasse for adding too much garlic? Certainly not. So why am I so hard on brewmasters for over-hopping their brews?
Before I answer the question, I wonder if brewmasters follow Emeril's lead by shouting "BAM!" as they throw another handful of hops into the wort. It's something to think about. Now back to the question.
I'm critical of brewmasters because, in my humble opinion, style is based on the malt and brewing technique. The hops are there merely to provide balance to the sweetness of the malt. Overdoing any element isn't difficult and, in most cases, ruins the taste.
Yet the other day I read an article about a beer tasting contest for IPAs, the bitterest of brews. Apparently IPAs are the fastest growing segment of microbrews in this country. Sad. Even sadder is that, according to this article, our palates are growing more sophisticated. (Really? Maybe they're just dying off due to the overhoppiness of beer.)
The saddest news of all is that IPA drinkers were compared to red wine drinkers as far as sophistication goes. Folks like me were compared to white wine drinkers. The message was that a "real" beer drinker appreciates the bitterness of an IPA whereas anyone who likes a beer that isn't overhopped hasn't fully developed the palate necessary to be included in the "expert" category.
Are you (insert crude variation of "fricking" here) serious?
I'm paraphrasing what the gentleman said, of course, but what a moronic thing to say. For one thing it is self-serving. If I bottled fermented donkey pee, what better way to get people to drink it than by criticizing them for not having a sophisticated enough palate.
It's a ridiculous statement. Sophistication has nothing to do with differences in styles. Sophistication has everything to do with differences in the same style. Can I detect the subtle nuances between amber ales? If not, if any amber ale will do, then I haven't developed my palate sufficiently. But to claim superiority of one style over another as a matter of sophistication is idiotic.
But hey! Maybe it's just me.
I made the argument last time (and still make it) that a pint of bitter in England is not bitter at all. It is more so than a pint of stout, but it is still delicious and pleasing to the palate. Now the English have been brewing beer for centuries, way longer than we have been a country. They invented the style, though not in the bitterest of examples. Apparently, however, those hicks haven't developed a sophisticated enough palate to know they are drinking the equivalent of white wine.
I'm sorry, but I don't understand the appeal of hops. It covers up the taste of the malt just like too much garlic masks the flavor of a dish (sorry, Emeril!). You need enough hops to balance the sweetness, but that is it. I don't get why people like hoppy beer.
So, yeah, it is me, I guess. I prefer a beer that is smooth and balanced and flavorful. If that is the equivalent of drinking white wine, then break out the chardonnay. I make no apologies for my preferences and I don't accept the argument that I'm unsophisticated as a beer drinker. Over the past forty years I have sampled more than four hundred different brands of beers of all styles. I may not be an expert, but I'm not exactly a newbie, either.
I'll get off my high horse now. You can have your IPAs and over-hopped pale ales and I'll stick to my hefeweizens and witbiers, my red and brown ales, and my porters and stouts. Life is too short to worry about the bittering of brews.
By the way, I have less than 200 beers to go. In the beginning, I had to drink 1.43 beers per day. Now I only have to drink 1.19 beers a day. Piece of cake.
Life is good and so is (balanced) beer.
"Kassutta" which is Greenlandic for "Let our glasses meet."
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........329.....201
Remaining......195.....164
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Day 194 – The Power of PI and Hops
Well, I hit another milestone...sort of. 314 different beers.
For math geeks, 314 are the first three digits of PI. So Ratebeer serenaded me with a music video of some women singing the digits of PI. It lasted about a minute and a half, which was about 80 seconds longer than it needed to be. Truly, after the first ten seconds, I'd gotten the joke and was ready to move on.
In the past week I've sampled 16 different beers, well above my average (what can I say? I'm an overachiever). Sadly, not many are worth writing about. Only one was truly bad, however. Pyramid's Juggernaut Red Ale was nearly as bitter as an IPA. If you like IPAs, then try this because you'll like it. Otherwise skip it. I wish I had. It's like that song from Janet Jackson. "Nasty...nasty beer!"
You know, I'm getting really tired of writing "with a bitter finish" in the tasting notes. 10 out of 16 had that characterization. What is it with breweries and their devotees who think hops are the answer? Eat a frickin' pine cone, if that's what you want!
Beer is made of two ingredients - malt and hops. Malt is sweet and hops are bitter. One balances the other. Ying and yang. I don't want sweet any more than I want bitter. I want beer taste that is balanced. As in not sweet OR bitter. That takes skill. It takes knowledge of how sweet the malt is and knowing just how much of a certain hop it takes to counter that. Any moron can throw a bunch of hops into the mix. It doesn't make them a brewmaster.
It has to be an American thing. I encounter bitterness far more often in American craft brews than I do in beers from other countries. Strong and flavorful doesn't mean bitter in spite of what Starbucks says. A pint of bitter in England is not bitter at all. Give me an Adnams any day. Beats the shit out of that Pyramid crap I had to choke down today.
It's not the style, either. Amber ale is well represented in my book by New Belgium's Fat Tire, Lost Coast's Alleycat, Oak Creek's Amber Ale, Eel River's Amber Ale, Bell's Amber Ale, Widmer's Drop Top Amber Ale, Sam Adams Boston Ale, and Prescott's Liquid Amber Ale. Hello? Anyone listening? There's a hop shortage because too many so-called breweries have adopted the philosophy that if some hops are good, a bunch are better. Isn't beer sometimes referred to as liquid bread? Hey! When grapefruit bread becomes popular, you let me know, okay?
Beer snob or voice of the people? Connoisseur or unsophisticate? Whichever, I definitely know what I like and dislike and bitter beer is in the latter category.
To paraphrase Warsteiner, life is too short to drink bitter beer.
"Pohjanmaan kautta " is either Finnish for "Bottoms up" or the noise one makes when drinking some of the horse pee that passes for beer in this country.
Not that I'm bitter, mind you.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........317.....194
Remaining......207.....171
For math geeks, 314 are the first three digits of PI. So Ratebeer serenaded me with a music video of some women singing the digits of PI. It lasted about a minute and a half, which was about 80 seconds longer than it needed to be. Truly, after the first ten seconds, I'd gotten the joke and was ready to move on.
In the past week I've sampled 16 different beers, well above my average (what can I say? I'm an overachiever). Sadly, not many are worth writing about. Only one was truly bad, however. Pyramid's Juggernaut Red Ale was nearly as bitter as an IPA. If you like IPAs, then try this because you'll like it. Otherwise skip it. I wish I had. It's like that song from Janet Jackson. "Nasty...nasty beer!"
You know, I'm getting really tired of writing "with a bitter finish" in the tasting notes. 10 out of 16 had that characterization. What is it with breweries and their devotees who think hops are the answer? Eat a frickin' pine cone, if that's what you want!
Beer is made of two ingredients - malt and hops. Malt is sweet and hops are bitter. One balances the other. Ying and yang. I don't want sweet any more than I want bitter. I want beer taste that is balanced. As in not sweet OR bitter. That takes skill. It takes knowledge of how sweet the malt is and knowing just how much of a certain hop it takes to counter that. Any moron can throw a bunch of hops into the mix. It doesn't make them a brewmaster.
It has to be an American thing. I encounter bitterness far more often in American craft brews than I do in beers from other countries. Strong and flavorful doesn't mean bitter in spite of what Starbucks says. A pint of bitter in England is not bitter at all. Give me an Adnams any day. Beats the shit out of that Pyramid crap I had to choke down today.
It's not the style, either. Amber ale is well represented in my book by New Belgium's Fat Tire, Lost Coast's Alleycat, Oak Creek's Amber Ale, Eel River's Amber Ale, Bell's Amber Ale, Widmer's Drop Top Amber Ale, Sam Adams Boston Ale, and Prescott's Liquid Amber Ale. Hello? Anyone listening? There's a hop shortage because too many so-called breweries have adopted the philosophy that if some hops are good, a bunch are better. Isn't beer sometimes referred to as liquid bread? Hey! When grapefruit bread becomes popular, you let me know, okay?
Beer snob or voice of the people? Connoisseur or unsophisticate? Whichever, I definitely know what I like and dislike and bitter beer is in the latter category.
To paraphrase Warsteiner, life is too short to drink bitter beer.
"Pohjanmaan kautta " is either Finnish for "Bottoms up" or the noise one makes when drinking some of the horse pee that passes for beer in this country.
Not that I'm bitter, mind you.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........317.....194
Remaining......207.....171
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Day 187 – Roll Out the Barrel!
Well, two more milestones bite the dust. I passed the halfway mark in days (182.5) and the 300 mark in beers tasted. When I achieved the latter today, I was rewarded with a video of a guy playing a medley of songs on an accordion that included Beer Barrel Polka and Roll Out the Barrel. Cute, cute, cute.
I have to admit that I'm glad I decided to record the beers I've tasted on Ratebeer.com instead of just in an Excel spreadsheet (I do both). Marking my progress against other raters and being rewarded with silly videos makes it pretty cool. The stats I get from the site are pretty neat as well.
Out of 3420 people who have rated 100 beers or more (uh, uh...99 or less doesn't count), I am 1765th on the list. I'm nearly in the upper half of the 100-beer club. Pretty cool, huh?
The most beer styles I have tasted are amber ales (27). My favorite styles, though, are German Hefeweizen (3.42), Brown Ale (3.29), and Belgian White (3.26). My least favorite are IPAs (0.95...yuck!), Low Alcohol (1.3), and Double IPA (1.6). Whoa, big surprise there, huh?
The most from one country was the US, naturally (127). Out of the US, the most from a single state was California (45) and Colorado (42). Massachusetts had the highest rated US beers at 3.17. I have also tasted more beers from Boston Beer Company (aka Sam Adams) than any other brewer. Belgium, however, had the highest rated beers of all at 3.37. The Netherlands was the worst at 1.77 (yuck!).
Since my last blog, some noteworthy brews you may want to try include Delirium Nocturnum (Belgian Strong Ale), Sam Adams Octoberfest (Marzen), Rogue HazelNut Brown Nectar (Brown Ale), St Peters Old Style Porter, and Bells Kalamazoo Stout.
Since my last blog, some beers to avoid even if you are dying of thirst in the desert include anything from Flensburger and Redemption Red Ale from Reaper Ales (as bitter as my ex-wife).
I'm still more than 3 weeks ahead of schedule and have lots of beer still to taste, so I'm feeling pretty good right now. I am confident I will make it all the way to the end, which is a good place to be at the halfway point. My marathon is still going smooth and well.
Life is good and so is beer!
"Sant Hilari, Sant Hilari, fill de puta qui no se l'acabi" which is Catalan for "Son of a bitch the one that does not finish the cup." Supposedly that is considered vulgar over there in Spain, but it sounds reasonable to me.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........301.....187
Remaining......223.....178
I have to admit that I'm glad I decided to record the beers I've tasted on Ratebeer.com instead of just in an Excel spreadsheet (I do both). Marking my progress against other raters and being rewarded with silly videos makes it pretty cool. The stats I get from the site are pretty neat as well.
Out of 3420 people who have rated 100 beers or more (uh, uh...99 or less doesn't count), I am 1765th on the list. I'm nearly in the upper half of the 100-beer club. Pretty cool, huh?
The most beer styles I have tasted are amber ales (27). My favorite styles, though, are German Hefeweizen (3.42), Brown Ale (3.29), and Belgian White (3.26). My least favorite are IPAs (0.95...yuck!), Low Alcohol (1.3), and Double IPA (1.6). Whoa, big surprise there, huh?
The most from one country was the US, naturally (127). Out of the US, the most from a single state was California (45) and Colorado (42). Massachusetts had the highest rated US beers at 3.17. I have also tasted more beers from Boston Beer Company (aka Sam Adams) than any other brewer. Belgium, however, had the highest rated beers of all at 3.37. The Netherlands was the worst at 1.77 (yuck!).
Since my last blog, some noteworthy brews you may want to try include Delirium Nocturnum (Belgian Strong Ale), Sam Adams Octoberfest (Marzen), Rogue HazelNut Brown Nectar (Brown Ale), St Peters Old Style Porter, and Bells Kalamazoo Stout.
Since my last blog, some beers to avoid even if you are dying of thirst in the desert include anything from Flensburger and Redemption Red Ale from Reaper Ales (as bitter as my ex-wife).
I'm still more than 3 weeks ahead of schedule and have lots of beer still to taste, so I'm feeling pretty good right now. I am confident I will make it all the way to the end, which is a good place to be at the halfway point. My marathon is still going smooth and well.
Life is good and so is beer!
"Sant Hilari, Sant Hilari, fill de puta qui no se l'acabi" which is Catalan for "Son of a bitch the one that does not finish the cup." Supposedly that is considered vulgar over there in Spain, but it sounds reasonable to me.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........301.....187
Remaining......223.....178
Monday, September 6, 2010
Day 174 – You Know Who Your Friends Are When
My personal email account was hijacked yesterday by a Viagra spam program. Everyone on my contact list received an email from me with no text and a single hyperlink. Clicking on that took the person to a website where Viagra can be purchased.
My wife wondered if I was sending her another kind of message.
Really, honey, I told her. It wasn't me. Properly notified I sprang into action, sending out an email to my entire contact list to not open emails from me if they contained no text and a single hyperlink.
This is one of those situations where you find out who your friends really are. I'll give you a hint. They are NOT the ones who ask you to remove their name from your contact list.
Fine. I should have removed you a long time ago anyway.
For the second week in a row, I've exceeded my quota, opening up my cushion once again. I'm now three weeks ahead of schedule. Before then I had six straight weeks of subpar performance which took me from more than five weeks ahead down to two. It's good to see the needle move in the right direction.
So what's been good since the last blog? Lots. A hefeweizen from Stiegl, an amber lager from Abita, an oatmeal stout from Anderson Valley, and two Belgian Whites, one from la Caracole and another from St. Barnardus. All were given high marks.
What hasn't been good? The worst was New World Porter from Avery. If you like IPA's then this dark beer is for you because it is dry hopped. Porters are not supposed to be really bitter. This one was so bitter, I couldn't finish it.
Life is good and so is beer!
"Oogy wawa" which is Zulu for...well, heck, what else can it be? Say "oogy wawa" in a bar after taking a long pull on your first beer and everyone will understand what you're saying. No translation necessary. I guarantee it.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........280.....174
Remaining......244.....191
My wife wondered if I was sending her another kind of message.
Really, honey, I told her. It wasn't me. Properly notified I sprang into action, sending out an email to my entire contact list to not open emails from me if they contained no text and a single hyperlink.
This is one of those situations where you find out who your friends really are. I'll give you a hint. They are NOT the ones who ask you to remove their name from your contact list.
Fine. I should have removed you a long time ago anyway.
For the second week in a row, I've exceeded my quota, opening up my cushion once again. I'm now three weeks ahead of schedule. Before then I had six straight weeks of subpar performance which took me from more than five weeks ahead down to two. It's good to see the needle move in the right direction.
So what's been good since the last blog? Lots. A hefeweizen from Stiegl, an amber lager from Abita, an oatmeal stout from Anderson Valley, and two Belgian Whites, one from la Caracole and another from St. Barnardus. All were given high marks.
What hasn't been good? The worst was New World Porter from Avery. If you like IPA's then this dark beer is for you because it is dry hopped. Porters are not supposed to be really bitter. This one was so bitter, I couldn't finish it.
Life is good and so is beer!
"Oogy wawa" which is Zulu for...well, heck, what else can it be? Say "oogy wawa" in a bar after taking a long pull on your first beer and everyone will understand what you're saying. No translation necessary. I guarantee it.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........280.....174
Remaining......244.....191
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Day 166 – The Inevitable Slowdown, Part II
Okay, it was bound to happen...again. Life intrudes and suddenly the quest gets shoved into the background. In the last blog I wrote (more than a month ago!), I mentioned that my wife and I had bought a house and were moving. And that isn't even the half of it!
Two weeks after moving, I left on a two week trip overseas. I went to India for a week (not exactly a mecca for beer, you know?) and England for a week (a mecca for beer if there ever was one).
So what happened?
The week we moved I was 55 beers ahead of schedule, more than five weeks. Six weeks later I'm 23 beers ahead of schedule. Still more than two weeks ahead of the curve, but I have lost a lot of ground from where I was. That sucks.
I lost ground when we moved (too busy to sample new brews) and I lost ground after we moved (too busy to sample new brews) and I lost ground during my trip overseas (too busy to sample new brews). In India, not only was I busy, but I was too concerned about drinking anything that wasn't pasteurized. In England, I was too busy (period) to sample as many different brews as I would have liked. I did sample a bunch of pints of bitter (the staple of England) such as Adnams, Woodfordes, Oxfordshire, Kronenbourg, and John Smiths, but not much else. Damn! There were several pubs I wanted to visit, but work intruded. I hate when that happens.
But now I'm back on track and anxious to make up for lost ground. Not only that, but I hit a significant milestone...The Halfway Point! Yes, I have sampled more than 262 beers, half of the 524 I am shooting for. As of tonight, I am at 266 and going strong. By the time Week 24 comes to an end, I'll be three weeks ahead of schedule. Oh, and I'm under the 200 days remaining mark as well.
Since my last blog, I have had some great stouts, hefeweizens, and bitters. Samuel Smith, Erdingers, and Adnams are all good choices, although skip the Sam Smiths fruit beers unless you're into chick drinks. Having said that, I sampled a Stiegl Gaudi Radler Zitrone (Lemon) today that I found to be quite good, in spite of the sweet lemon taste. On a hot day with spicy food, I can't imagine anything better.
Since it has been awhile, how about some stats?
The most beer styles I have sampled are amber ales (26) followed by fruit beers (20), pale lagers, brown ales, wheat ales, and hefeweizens (16). My favorites are stouts (3.6), hefeweizens (3.5), brown ales and porters (3.3), and wheat ales and witbiers (3.2). My least favorites are IPAs (naturally), lagers, pilseners, and pale anything. I guess I like the strong stuff that isn't bitter.
I've sampled more beers from the US (182) than any other country. England (23) and Germany (22) are next. Those three countries plus Canada and Belgium top the list as far as ratings go. Mexico and the Netherlands are at the bottom. For US beers I have sampled more beers from California (42) and Colorado (36) than any other state. My favorite states are Colorado, Massachusetts, Arizona, Oregon, and Maryland. Maine, Missouri, and Texas were the worst. In England, North Yorkshire was the most sampled (8) and the highest rated (3.4) of the English counties. In Germany, Bavaria ruled the roost (naturally...who else?).
The average Ratebeerian score given to the beers I have rated is 3.04. The average rating I have given is 2.94. On the Ratebeerian list, I am 1877 out of 3403 raters who have reached at least 100 ratings. I'm debating on paying for a premium membership so that I can get more stats.
Life is good and so is beer!
"Bunden i vejret eller resten i håret," which is Danish for "Bottoms up or the rest in your hair." I'm not sure I want to think about the saying beyond that.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........266.....166
Remaining......258.....199
Two weeks after moving, I left on a two week trip overseas. I went to India for a week (not exactly a mecca for beer, you know?) and England for a week (a mecca for beer if there ever was one).
So what happened?
The week we moved I was 55 beers ahead of schedule, more than five weeks. Six weeks later I'm 23 beers ahead of schedule. Still more than two weeks ahead of the curve, but I have lost a lot of ground from where I was. That sucks.
I lost ground when we moved (too busy to sample new brews) and I lost ground after we moved (too busy to sample new brews) and I lost ground during my trip overseas (too busy to sample new brews). In India, not only was I busy, but I was too concerned about drinking anything that wasn't pasteurized. In England, I was too busy (period) to sample as many different brews as I would have liked. I did sample a bunch of pints of bitter (the staple of England) such as Adnams, Woodfordes, Oxfordshire, Kronenbourg, and John Smiths, but not much else. Damn! There were several pubs I wanted to visit, but work intruded. I hate when that happens.
But now I'm back on track and anxious to make up for lost ground. Not only that, but I hit a significant milestone...The Halfway Point! Yes, I have sampled more than 262 beers, half of the 524 I am shooting for. As of tonight, I am at 266 and going strong. By the time Week 24 comes to an end, I'll be three weeks ahead of schedule. Oh, and I'm under the 200 days remaining mark as well.
Since my last blog, I have had some great stouts, hefeweizens, and bitters. Samuel Smith, Erdingers, and Adnams are all good choices, although skip the Sam Smiths fruit beers unless you're into chick drinks. Having said that, I sampled a Stiegl Gaudi Radler Zitrone (Lemon) today that I found to be quite good, in spite of the sweet lemon taste. On a hot day with spicy food, I can't imagine anything better.
Since it has been awhile, how about some stats?
The most beer styles I have sampled are amber ales (26) followed by fruit beers (20), pale lagers, brown ales, wheat ales, and hefeweizens (16). My favorites are stouts (3.6), hefeweizens (3.5), brown ales and porters (3.3), and wheat ales and witbiers (3.2). My least favorites are IPAs (naturally), lagers, pilseners, and pale anything. I guess I like the strong stuff that isn't bitter.
I've sampled more beers from the US (182) than any other country. England (23) and Germany (22) are next. Those three countries plus Canada and Belgium top the list as far as ratings go. Mexico and the Netherlands are at the bottom. For US beers I have sampled more beers from California (42) and Colorado (36) than any other state. My favorite states are Colorado, Massachusetts, Arizona, Oregon, and Maryland. Maine, Missouri, and Texas were the worst. In England, North Yorkshire was the most sampled (8) and the highest rated (3.4) of the English counties. In Germany, Bavaria ruled the roost (naturally...who else?).
The average Ratebeerian score given to the beers I have rated is 3.04. The average rating I have given is 2.94. On the Ratebeerian list, I am 1877 out of 3403 raters who have reached at least 100 ratings. I'm debating on paying for a premium membership so that I can get more stats.
Life is good and so is beer!
"Bunden i vejret eller resten i håret," which is Danish for "Bottoms up or the rest in your hair." I'm not sure I want to think about the saying beyond that.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........266.....166
Remaining......258.....199
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Day 133 – The Inevitable Slowdown
Okay, it was bound to happen. Life intrudes and suddenly the quest gets shoved into the background. In the last blog I wrote (more than two weeks ago!), I mentioned that my wife and I had bought a house and were moving. Guess what I've been doing the past two weeks?
Which means I haven't had the opportunity to buy new brews or sample new brews, which means I've been drinking brews I have already tried, which means my progress has slowed considerably.
Good thing I had a big lead, huh?
In the two plus weeks since my last blog, I have sampled exactly 12 different beers. I averaged more than that every week before the move! Atrocious progress, to be sure, but I'm back and ready to kick it into high gear.
The only bright spots over the past couple of weeks have been a couple of offerings from Left Hand Brewing. One is Sawtooth Ale (Premium Bitter/ESB) and the other is Black Jack Porter (guess the style). Both highly recommended. The other ten are best soon forgotten.
Our house is very nice and the view is to die for, so I don't regret giving up some of my lead for this. Well worth it, I say. With a several week lead, I haven't really lost that much ground in my quest and I've gained one hell of a location to live. Seems like a fair trade to me.
In a couple of weeks, I'll be heading overseas on a business trip. My first stop is India, not exactly a bastion of beer, but I should be able to sample a selection or two while I'm there. My last stop is the United Kingdom. Yeah, I know. I am going to kick some beer butt there! Hell, seven days of going to pubs? I just hope I can record every beer I try over there.
So, while I have been a bit absent lately, I am far from out of the game. I'm back and more determined than ever to hit my goal.
Life is good and so is beer!
In honor of my trip to India, " A la sature." I have no idea what it means, but hopefully it doesn't mean "death to beef eaters."
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........236.....133
Remaining.....288.....232
Which means I haven't had the opportunity to buy new brews or sample new brews, which means I've been drinking brews I have already tried, which means my progress has slowed considerably.
Good thing I had a big lead, huh?
In the two plus weeks since my last blog, I have sampled exactly 12 different beers. I averaged more than that every week before the move! Atrocious progress, to be sure, but I'm back and ready to kick it into high gear.
The only bright spots over the past couple of weeks have been a couple of offerings from Left Hand Brewing. One is Sawtooth Ale (Premium Bitter/ESB) and the other is Black Jack Porter (guess the style). Both highly recommended. The other ten are best soon forgotten.
Our house is very nice and the view is to die for, so I don't regret giving up some of my lead for this. Well worth it, I say. With a several week lead, I haven't really lost that much ground in my quest and I've gained one hell of a location to live. Seems like a fair trade to me.
In a couple of weeks, I'll be heading overseas on a business trip. My first stop is India, not exactly a bastion of beer, but I should be able to sample a selection or two while I'm there. My last stop is the United Kingdom. Yeah, I know. I am going to kick some beer butt there! Hell, seven days of going to pubs? I just hope I can record every beer I try over there.
So, while I have been a bit absent lately, I am far from out of the game. I'm back and more determined than ever to hit my goal.
Life is good and so is beer!
In honor of my trip to India, " A la sature." I have no idea what it means, but hopefully it doesn't mean "death to beef eaters."
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........236.....133
Remaining.....288.....232
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Day 117 – Moving on Up
To the northwest side of town, where mountain views reign supreme. My wife and I bought a house there and will be living there by the end of the month. We prefer that side of Tucson. There's more to do there.
But I'm also moving on up the list on Ratebeer.com as far as the number of ratings go. You have to have at least 100 ratings to make the list. So far 3340 people have achieved that lofty goal. I am 2034 on the list and climbing with 224 ratings. Tomorrow I will fall under the 300 mark of beers remaining to be tasted. That puts me at the 43% mark in only 32% of the time.
I feel like a marathoner hitting his stride.
Allow me to begin the recap of the past week with the worst beer ever made. I mean, THE WORST! It is worse than any IPA I have sampled, worse than skunky Heineken in all its derivatives, even worse than Wild Blue, AB's abysmal attempt in fruit beer.
It is called Cave Creek Chili Beer. Instead of a worm you might find in a bottle of tequila, this one has a chili pepper in it. Cute, huh? I knew this was not going to go well when I discovered that this beer was #25 on the list of Ratebeer's worst beers in the world. Among all the beers I have tried, this was given the lowest rating by ratebeerians. My rating of 0.7 was accompanied by the text below:
"Pours golden with no head, no lacing, carbonation evident. Smells like pickle juice...which is okay, if you're drinking pickle juice. But beer? Tastes like pickle juice, too, with bite. No way I'm drinking this stuff. Is one sip enough to earn the rating? Man, I could have had a chili dog for what I paid for this."
That is correct...one sip is all I took. I poured the rest down the drain. I hope the drain forgives me.
I had some other stinkers, too, but this was by far the worst. The other stinkers were fine brews in a comparative sense.
So let's talk about some brews that I found to be exceptional. Curim Golden Celtic Wheat Beer was a very good imported ale. So was Eye of the Hawk Select Ale from Mendocino Brewing Co. Another great ale was called Sweaty Betty Blonde from Boulder Beer Company (gotta love the name, don't you?). A local amber ale from Prescott (AZ) Brewing Co. called Liquid Amber Ale was excellent. The name wasn't very imaginative, but the ale was fantastic.
Some darker, stronger beers also made the list this past week. Wasatch Polygamy Porter, 8 Ball Stout (Lost Coast Brewery), and Steelhead Extra Stout (Mad River Brewing Co.) were all excellent brews that I highly recommend. Finally, from Mexico, believe it or not, a great brown ale called Cucapa Obscura. Excellente.
Life is good and so is beer!
In honor of Spain winning their first World Cup, "Arriba, abajo, al centro, para adentro." It means "Up, down, center, inside." Supposedly it is a vulgar term, but I guess you have to be Spanish to know why.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........224......117
Remaining.....300.....248
But I'm also moving on up the list on Ratebeer.com as far as the number of ratings go. You have to have at least 100 ratings to make the list. So far 3340 people have achieved that lofty goal. I am 2034 on the list and climbing with 224 ratings. Tomorrow I will fall under the 300 mark of beers remaining to be tasted. That puts me at the 43% mark in only 32% of the time.
I feel like a marathoner hitting his stride.
Allow me to begin the recap of the past week with the worst beer ever made. I mean, THE WORST! It is worse than any IPA I have sampled, worse than skunky Heineken in all its derivatives, even worse than Wild Blue, AB's abysmal attempt in fruit beer.
It is called Cave Creek Chili Beer. Instead of a worm you might find in a bottle of tequila, this one has a chili pepper in it. Cute, huh? I knew this was not going to go well when I discovered that this beer was #25 on the list of Ratebeer's worst beers in the world. Among all the beers I have tried, this was given the lowest rating by ratebeerians. My rating of 0.7 was accompanied by the text below:
"Pours golden with no head, no lacing, carbonation evident. Smells like pickle juice...which is okay, if you're drinking pickle juice. But beer? Tastes like pickle juice, too, with bite. No way I'm drinking this stuff. Is one sip enough to earn the rating? Man, I could have had a chili dog for what I paid for this."
That is correct...one sip is all I took. I poured the rest down the drain. I hope the drain forgives me.
I had some other stinkers, too, but this was by far the worst. The other stinkers were fine brews in a comparative sense.
So let's talk about some brews that I found to be exceptional. Curim Golden Celtic Wheat Beer was a very good imported ale. So was Eye of the Hawk Select Ale from Mendocino Brewing Co. Another great ale was called Sweaty Betty Blonde from Boulder Beer Company (gotta love the name, don't you?). A local amber ale from Prescott (AZ) Brewing Co. called Liquid Amber Ale was excellent. The name wasn't very imaginative, but the ale was fantastic.
Some darker, stronger beers also made the list this past week. Wasatch Polygamy Porter, 8 Ball Stout (Lost Coast Brewery), and Steelhead Extra Stout (Mad River Brewing Co.) were all excellent brews that I highly recommend. Finally, from Mexico, believe it or not, a great brown ale called Cucapa Obscura. Excellente.
Life is good and so is beer!
In honor of Spain winning their first World Cup, "Arriba, abajo, al centro, para adentro." It means "Up, down, center, inside." Supposedly it is a vulgar term, but I guess you have to be Spanish to know why.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........224......117
Remaining.....300.....248
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Day 109 – Long Time, No Blog
I can't believe more than two weeks have passed since I last wrote here! My social calendar has been more than a bit full, but still, I should have carved out some time to write. My bad.
I would tell you that not much has happened during this time as an excuse, but that isn't true at all. My wife and I have bought a house in the Catalina foothills outside Tucson with great mountain views and a shorter drive to the beer store, which is important. I'm also more encouraged than ever about achieving my goal of tasting 524 different beers in a year's time.
Why is that?
Oh, well, thanks for asking, I'll be happy to tell you.
A couple of reasons actually. First, I stopped by a Total Wine store in Phoenix last weekend and discovered they had a better selection than my local store. This means I have another option besides all the other options when the choices begin running low.
Second, I'm going to be traveling to Asia and Europe on business next month for two weeks. Imagine the number of different beers I can sample over that time period that I can't get here!
It's still too early to celebrate, but I'm feeling better about my chances now than I was when I first started. Beer-wise, I'm about forty percent of the way through the quest in thirty percent of the time. I love having that cushion so that I won't be scrambling near the end. If I can cross the finish line early, that would be ideal.
Some really good beers I've sampled over the past couple of weeks include Taddy Porter from Samuel Smith, Raspberry Brown from Lost Coast, Orchard White from The Bruery, Somer Orange Honey Ale from Rogue Ales, and Santa Fe Pale Ale from Santa Fe Brewing Co. All scored very high and are definite recommendations.
The stinkers include Coney Island Albino Python from Schmaltz Brewing (style was listed as Vegetable and had a sour lemon and pepper taste) and Heineken and Beck's regular and light versions. It is a tribute to advertising that skunky, nasty beer is thought of so highly by the masses.
For my 200th rating, RateBeer presented me with a short video of Kermit the Frog singing and receiving grand applause at the finale. I'm beginning to look forward to hitting milestones just to see what surprise they have in store for me.
As an added incentive, I find that I am climbing up the ladder of raters. The number of people in the 100 Beer Club (100 ratings or more) is 3325. I am listed at 2169, a couple hundred spots higher than two weeks ago. How cool is that?
Life is good and so is beer!
Here's mud in your eye! That is courtesy of our friends across the big pond in the UK. Supposedly it's considered vulgar, but I couldn't tell you why. Maybe it has to do with what type of mud is in your eye?
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........201.....109
Remaining.....323.....256
I would tell you that not much has happened during this time as an excuse, but that isn't true at all. My wife and I have bought a house in the Catalina foothills outside Tucson with great mountain views and a shorter drive to the beer store, which is important. I'm also more encouraged than ever about achieving my goal of tasting 524 different beers in a year's time.
Why is that?
Oh, well, thanks for asking, I'll be happy to tell you.
A couple of reasons actually. First, I stopped by a Total Wine store in Phoenix last weekend and discovered they had a better selection than my local store. This means I have another option besides all the other options when the choices begin running low.
Second, I'm going to be traveling to Asia and Europe on business next month for two weeks. Imagine the number of different beers I can sample over that time period that I can't get here!
It's still too early to celebrate, but I'm feeling better about my chances now than I was when I first started. Beer-wise, I'm about forty percent of the way through the quest in thirty percent of the time. I love having that cushion so that I won't be scrambling near the end. If I can cross the finish line early, that would be ideal.
Some really good beers I've sampled over the past couple of weeks include Taddy Porter from Samuel Smith, Raspberry Brown from Lost Coast, Orchard White from The Bruery, Somer Orange Honey Ale from Rogue Ales, and Santa Fe Pale Ale from Santa Fe Brewing Co. All scored very high and are definite recommendations.
The stinkers include Coney Island Albino Python from Schmaltz Brewing (style was listed as Vegetable and had a sour lemon and pepper taste) and Heineken and Beck's regular and light versions. It is a tribute to advertising that skunky, nasty beer is thought of so highly by the masses.
For my 200th rating, RateBeer presented me with a short video of Kermit the Frog singing and receiving grand applause at the finale. I'm beginning to look forward to hitting milestones just to see what surprise they have in store for me.
As an added incentive, I find that I am climbing up the ladder of raters. The number of people in the 100 Beer Club (100 ratings or more) is 3325. I am listed at 2169, a couple hundred spots higher than two weeks ago. How cool is that?
Life is good and so is beer!
Here's mud in your eye! That is courtesy of our friends across the big pond in the UK. Supposedly it's considered vulgar, but I couldn't tell you why. Maybe it has to do with what type of mud is in your eye?
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........201.....109
Remaining.....323.....256
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Day 91 – One Quarter of the Way Home
Week 13! One fourth of a year! Three months down! Woo hoo!
As is my habit, let's review a few key stats, shall we?
175 different beers sampled. That's exactly one third of the way through the quest in terms of beer. It equates to 13.5 beers a week, which is 45 beers or 4.5 weeks ahead of schedule. At this rate, I will sample more than 700 beers at the end of the year...assuming I can find that many to sample.
To date I have spent almost $290 or $1.65 per beer. My average rating given is 2.94. The average ratebeerian average for the same beers is 3.07.
In the beginning, I was worried about being too conservative with my ratings, but now I'm completely comfortable with my skill as a rater. I've seen too many ratebeerians give a high rating to a beer they profess to hate.
My highest rating was a 4.0 to Bell's Oberon. Okay, maybe that was a homey call. My next highest rating was a 3.9 for Big Sky's Moose Drool Brown Ale. I have seven different brews at 3.8.
My lowest rating was 0.8 to Shipyard's Fuggles IPA. The next lowest was Sierra Nevada's Torpedo Extra IPA at 1.1 (that, by the way, had an average ratebeerian score of 3.8, which perfectly illustrates the hophead crowd I'm up against). At 1.5 was A-B's Wild Blue. At 1.6 was Dogfish Head's 90 Minute Imperial IPA. The 90 minutes refers to how long you can possibly nurse this paint thinner before you cry uncle and pour it down the drain.
I could be wrong about that.
If you happen to notice that three of the bottom four were IPA's, you can probably guess why there aren't any more IPA's on the list.
I've tasted more amber ales (22) than any other style. Not that it's my favorite style, but it certainly is up there. It's just that there have been a lot of amber ales to choose from. The average rating for this style is 2.83, with the highest at 3.7 (Eel River Amber Ale) and the lowest at 1.6 (Stone's Levitation Amber Ale). Other good ones of this style include Widmer Brothers Drop Top Amber Ale, New Belgium's Fat Tire, and Oak Creek's Amber Ale. Others to avoid include Deschutes Green Lake Organic Ale, Nimbus Red Ale, and Breckenridge Avalanche Amber.
Brown ales, wheat ales, and German hefeweizens are tied for the next most tasted style. Interestingly enough, they received the highest average ratings, with 3.25, 3.22, and 3.53 respectively. That doesn't surprise me since I could have told you those are my favorite styles. What did surprise me was that the Premium Bitter/ESB style (7 ratings for an average of 3.03) scored higher than the Belgium White style (8 ratings for an average of 2.99). I would have guessed the other way around by a large margin.
In spite of the name, premium bitter/esb beers are actually well balanced and smooth. The best were Wychwood Hobgoblin (3.3), Bass Ale (3.2), and Redhook ESB (3.2). I wasn't too fond of Old Speckled Hen and Fullers ESB, both very expensive. For the money, go with Bass or Redhook.
For Belgium White, go with Blue Moon (3.4) or Belgium's Mothership Wit (3.3). Avoid Alaskan's White Ale like the plague.
For brown ales, go with Moose Drool, Lost Coast's Downtown Brown, Santa Fe Nut Brown Ale, or Nimbus Brown Ale. Stay away from Newcastle Brown Ale. Not good.
For wheat ales, there's Oberon, Breckenridge's Agave Wheat, North Coast's Blue Star, and New Belgium's Sunshine Wheat. Big Sky's Trout Slayer Ale was not one to remember.
For German hefeweizens, they're all good and none that were bad. If it's an imported hefeweizen from Germany, you can't make a bad choice. Ayinger and Erdinger are two of the best, but Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Konig, and Weihenstephaner are not far behind. From right here in the good ol' US of A, try Flying Dog's In Heat Wheat or Sierra Nevada's Kellerweis.
Rounding out the top styles include fruit beers (12 for 2.78), American pale ales (9 for 2.74), golden ales (5 at 2.66) and pale lagers (5 at 2.12). There have actually been a host of other styles (e.g., kolsch, dortmunder, etc.), but too few of each to be statistically relevant.
On Ratebeer.com, 3300 people have qualified for the 100 Beer Club (100 ratings). I'm 2336 on the list and climbing. If I attain my goal, I would be listed somewhere in the 1100 block. If I maintain this pace, I would be listed in the 900 block.
Everyone needs a goal. Mine is being listed in the top 1000.
Life is good and so is beer!
Fisehatak! That's Arabic and means either "die Yankee scum" or "to your health," depending on your point of view. I didn't think the Arabian people drank alcohol, but then I'm an infidel, so what do I know?
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........175.......91
Remaining.....349.....274
As is my habit, let's review a few key stats, shall we?
175 different beers sampled. That's exactly one third of the way through the quest in terms of beer. It equates to 13.5 beers a week, which is 45 beers or 4.5 weeks ahead of schedule. At this rate, I will sample more than 700 beers at the end of the year...assuming I can find that many to sample.
To date I have spent almost $290 or $1.65 per beer. My average rating given is 2.94. The average ratebeerian average for the same beers is 3.07.
In the beginning, I was worried about being too conservative with my ratings, but now I'm completely comfortable with my skill as a rater. I've seen too many ratebeerians give a high rating to a beer they profess to hate.
My highest rating was a 4.0 to Bell's Oberon. Okay, maybe that was a homey call. My next highest rating was a 3.9 for Big Sky's Moose Drool Brown Ale. I have seven different brews at 3.8.
My lowest rating was 0.8 to Shipyard's Fuggles IPA. The next lowest was Sierra Nevada's Torpedo Extra IPA at 1.1 (that, by the way, had an average ratebeerian score of 3.8, which perfectly illustrates the hophead crowd I'm up against). At 1.5 was A-B's Wild Blue. At 1.6 was Dogfish Head's 90 Minute Imperial IPA. The 90 minutes refers to how long you can possibly nurse this paint thinner before you cry uncle and pour it down the drain.
I could be wrong about that.
If you happen to notice that three of the bottom four were IPA's, you can probably guess why there aren't any more IPA's on the list.
I've tasted more amber ales (22) than any other style. Not that it's my favorite style, but it certainly is up there. It's just that there have been a lot of amber ales to choose from. The average rating for this style is 2.83, with the highest at 3.7 (Eel River Amber Ale) and the lowest at 1.6 (Stone's Levitation Amber Ale). Other good ones of this style include Widmer Brothers Drop Top Amber Ale, New Belgium's Fat Tire, and Oak Creek's Amber Ale. Others to avoid include Deschutes Green Lake Organic Ale, Nimbus Red Ale, and Breckenridge Avalanche Amber.
Brown ales, wheat ales, and German hefeweizens are tied for the next most tasted style. Interestingly enough, they received the highest average ratings, with 3.25, 3.22, and 3.53 respectively. That doesn't surprise me since I could have told you those are my favorite styles. What did surprise me was that the Premium Bitter/ESB style (7 ratings for an average of 3.03) scored higher than the Belgium White style (8 ratings for an average of 2.99). I would have guessed the other way around by a large margin.
In spite of the name, premium bitter/esb beers are actually well balanced and smooth. The best were Wychwood Hobgoblin (3.3), Bass Ale (3.2), and Redhook ESB (3.2). I wasn't too fond of Old Speckled Hen and Fullers ESB, both very expensive. For the money, go with Bass or Redhook.
For Belgium White, go with Blue Moon (3.4) or Belgium's Mothership Wit (3.3). Avoid Alaskan's White Ale like the plague.
For brown ales, go with Moose Drool, Lost Coast's Downtown Brown, Santa Fe Nut Brown Ale, or Nimbus Brown Ale. Stay away from Newcastle Brown Ale. Not good.
For wheat ales, there's Oberon, Breckenridge's Agave Wheat, North Coast's Blue Star, and New Belgium's Sunshine Wheat. Big Sky's Trout Slayer Ale was not one to remember.
For German hefeweizens, they're all good and none that were bad. If it's an imported hefeweizen from Germany, you can't make a bad choice. Ayinger and Erdinger are two of the best, but Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Konig, and Weihenstephaner are not far behind. From right here in the good ol' US of A, try Flying Dog's In Heat Wheat or Sierra Nevada's Kellerweis.
Rounding out the top styles include fruit beers (12 for 2.78), American pale ales (9 for 2.74), golden ales (5 at 2.66) and pale lagers (5 at 2.12). There have actually been a host of other styles (e.g., kolsch, dortmunder, etc.), but too few of each to be statistically relevant.
On Ratebeer.com, 3300 people have qualified for the 100 Beer Club (100 ratings). I'm 2336 on the list and climbing. If I attain my goal, I would be listed somewhere in the 1100 block. If I maintain this pace, I would be listed in the 900 block.
Everyone needs a goal. Mine is being listed in the top 1000.
Life is good and so is beer!
Fisehatak! That's Arabic and means either "die Yankee scum" or "to your health," depending on your point of view. I didn't think the Arabian people drank alcohol, but then I'm an infidel, so what do I know?
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........175.......91
Remaining.....349.....274
Monday, June 7, 2010
Day 83 – Week 12 Nearly Down For The Count
Twelve weeks - 84 days - is nearly in the books. It is one week shy of a fourth of the way home. The good news is that I'm 30% of the way through the beers. That is 159 beers tasted. That's forty beers (more or less) ahead of schedule or four weeks. I'm on cruise control right now and breezing along.
I am still finding some stinkers, of course, but I've also found some real gems. I'll skip the stinkers, but here are some of the real gems. The first is called Moose Drool Brown Ale (you gotta love the name!) from Big Sky Brewing Company out of Montana. This is every bit as good as the best brown ales I've ever had. It is so smooth and well balanced that you'll wonder if your taste buds are deceiving you. I am definitely buying more Moose Drool! Another one is Buster Nut Brown Ale from SKA Brewing. Not as good as Moose Drool, but Buster Nut is close. A third brown ale that is right up there with Moose Drool, however, is a local fave called Nimbus Brown Ale from Nimbus Brewery (those marketing guys are pretty clever, huh?). Very good brown ale.
Some other good ones include a Scottish Ale from Odell Brewing called 90 Shilling and a Heller Bock from Rogue Ales called Dead Guy Ale (those marketing guys are pretty clever, huh?). The best of the bunch, however, is an imported German Hefeweizen (from Germany, of course) called Erdinger Weissbier. That was expensive, but well worth the money. Man, was it good!
Of course, I did hit the imports the last week or so. I've just about exhausted the 12 oz American Microbrews. The good news is that there are plenty of good ones left in the larger sizes. The bad news is that I'm going to be paying twice as much for them, so my plan is to buy a few of the larger American brews and the rest imports, which aren't cheap, but aren't bad compared to the larger sizes. That will soften the financial impact of my strategy.
I'm still not 100% confident I'll hit the 524 mark, but I look at it this way. I'm having fun, I'll come close, and I'll have a large list of beers from which to purchase in quantity down the road. To date I have 90 that are above average, two thirds of which I would buy on a regular basis. I have expanded my horizons beer-wise beyond which I would have otherwise and had a great time doing it. Nothing about this is a failure or disappointment, regardless of whether I achieve the end goal or not.
Life is good and so is beer!
Bunden i vejret eller resten i håret! That's Danish for " Bottoms up or the rest in your hair." I'm not sure I want to know what that means exactly.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........159.......83
Remaining.....365.....282
I am still finding some stinkers, of course, but I've also found some real gems. I'll skip the stinkers, but here are some of the real gems. The first is called Moose Drool Brown Ale (you gotta love the name!) from Big Sky Brewing Company out of Montana. This is every bit as good as the best brown ales I've ever had. It is so smooth and well balanced that you'll wonder if your taste buds are deceiving you. I am definitely buying more Moose Drool! Another one is Buster Nut Brown Ale from SKA Brewing. Not as good as Moose Drool, but Buster Nut is close. A third brown ale that is right up there with Moose Drool, however, is a local fave called Nimbus Brown Ale from Nimbus Brewery (those marketing guys are pretty clever, huh?). Very good brown ale.
Some other good ones include a Scottish Ale from Odell Brewing called 90 Shilling and a Heller Bock from Rogue Ales called Dead Guy Ale (those marketing guys are pretty clever, huh?). The best of the bunch, however, is an imported German Hefeweizen (from Germany, of course) called Erdinger Weissbier. That was expensive, but well worth the money. Man, was it good!
Of course, I did hit the imports the last week or so. I've just about exhausted the 12 oz American Microbrews. The good news is that there are plenty of good ones left in the larger sizes. The bad news is that I'm going to be paying twice as much for them, so my plan is to buy a few of the larger American brews and the rest imports, which aren't cheap, but aren't bad compared to the larger sizes. That will soften the financial impact of my strategy.
I'm still not 100% confident I'll hit the 524 mark, but I look at it this way. I'm having fun, I'll come close, and I'll have a large list of beers from which to purchase in quantity down the road. To date I have 90 that are above average, two thirds of which I would buy on a regular basis. I have expanded my horizons beer-wise beyond which I would have otherwise and had a great time doing it. Nothing about this is a failure or disappointment, regardless of whether I achieve the end goal or not.
Life is good and so is beer!
Bunden i vejret eller resten i håret! That's Danish for " Bottoms up or the rest in your hair." I'm not sure I want to know what that means exactly.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........159.......83
Remaining.....365.....282
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Day 74 – What A Day I've Had!
I had minor eye surgery about ten days ago that went pretty well. My first day of recovery was okay, but my second and third were really tough. I was experiencing discomfort in both eyes and I felt like I had a very bad head cold. Then things started slowly getting better each passing day.
A couple of days ago I went in for my one week post-op check-up. I was still experiencing some discomfort in my left eye, so the surgeon snipped a few sutures in my nose holding a silicon tube that provided drainage from my eye and - voila - things were even better.
The calm before the storm, I think they call it.
That night the tube in the other eye came partly out, but not through the nose. Through my tear duct. Not pretty. Attempts to pull it back in from within the nose by both the ocular surgeon and an Ear-Nose-Throat specialist only brought forth excruciating pain and a whole lot of blood. Things are better now, but the last couple of days have not been pleasant at all.
You've heard the phrase "life imitates art?" I've got a new one. "Beer quests imitate life."
The last few days have not been good. Mediocre, I'd say. I haven't tried anything I'd recommend until today. Four Peaks Kilt Lifter Scottish Ale. Very good. Well balanced and smooth. Another winner from Four Peaks is their 8th Street Ale, a Premium Bitter/ESB that was very good. Despite the name of the style, they tend to be well balanced. Finally, from Big Sky Brewing, their Scape Goat Pale Ale. Also very well balanced and smooth.
So, hopefully, I've turned the corner. My eye problems are fading and the beer is getting better. You can't ask for more than that.
Sant Hilari, Sant Hilari, fill de puta qui no se l'acabi! That's Catalan for "Son of a bitch the one that does not finish the cup." Supposedly that's vulgar. It makes perfect sense to me.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........139.......74
Remaining.....385.....291
A couple of days ago I went in for my one week post-op check-up. I was still experiencing some discomfort in my left eye, so the surgeon snipped a few sutures in my nose holding a silicon tube that provided drainage from my eye and - voila - things were even better.
The calm before the storm, I think they call it.
That night the tube in the other eye came partly out, but not through the nose. Through my tear duct. Not pretty. Attempts to pull it back in from within the nose by both the ocular surgeon and an Ear-Nose-Throat specialist only brought forth excruciating pain and a whole lot of blood. Things are better now, but the last couple of days have not been pleasant at all.
You've heard the phrase "life imitates art?" I've got a new one. "Beer quests imitate life."
The last few days have not been good. Mediocre, I'd say. I haven't tried anything I'd recommend until today. Four Peaks Kilt Lifter Scottish Ale. Very good. Well balanced and smooth. Another winner from Four Peaks is their 8th Street Ale, a Premium Bitter/ESB that was very good. Despite the name of the style, they tend to be well balanced. Finally, from Big Sky Brewing, their Scape Goat Pale Ale. Also very well balanced and smooth.
So, hopefully, I've turned the corner. My eye problems are fading and the beer is getting better. You can't ask for more than that.
Sant Hilari, Sant Hilari, fill de puta qui no se l'acabi! That's Catalan for "Son of a bitch the one that does not finish the cup." Supposedly that's vulgar. It makes perfect sense to me.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........139.......74
Remaining.....385.....291
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Day 70 – Week Ten
Week 10 - one fifth of the way home, more or less. Okay, more, but not by much. As is my bent, let's take stock of my progress, shall we?
131 different beers tasted. Works out to more than 13 a week, 3 above the desired goal.
31 beers ahead of schedule for this time milestone or three weeks ahead of schedule for this beer milestone.
Total amount spent: $207.
Average ratebeerian rating of beers tasted: 3.07
Average personal rating of beers tasted: 2.97 (I'm still tougher than the ratebeerians).
Best beer since my last blog: Spanish Peaks Honey Raspberry Ale and Samuel Adams Imperial Stout. Both highly recommended.
Worst beer since my last blog: Shiner Blonde (honestly, can we pass a law that shuts this brewery down?) and Stone Levitation Ale (worst amber ale on the planet).
So, the adventure continues for many weeks to come. It is possible I may slow down by the halfway point, but we'll have to see. Though my blogging has slowed to twice a week, my commitment to the goal hasn't slowed a bit. It's not that I don't like or want to write, but it is difficult coming up with themes every darn day that ties into beer drinking.
What do you want, quantity or quality?
What do you mean, either would be a nice change?
Na zdrave! That's Bulgarian for "to your health."
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........131.......70
Remaining.....393.....295
131 different beers tasted. Works out to more than 13 a week, 3 above the desired goal.
31 beers ahead of schedule for this time milestone or three weeks ahead of schedule for this beer milestone.
Total amount spent: $207.
Average ratebeerian rating of beers tasted: 3.07
Average personal rating of beers tasted: 2.97 (I'm still tougher than the ratebeerians).
Best beer since my last blog: Spanish Peaks Honey Raspberry Ale and Samuel Adams Imperial Stout. Both highly recommended.
Worst beer since my last blog: Shiner Blonde (honestly, can we pass a law that shuts this brewery down?) and Stone Levitation Ale (worst amber ale on the planet).
So, the adventure continues for many weeks to come. It is possible I may slow down by the halfway point, but we'll have to see. Though my blogging has slowed to twice a week, my commitment to the goal hasn't slowed a bit. It's not that I don't like or want to write, but it is difficult coming up with themes every darn day that ties into beer drinking.
What do you want, quantity or quality?
What do you mean, either would be a nice change?
Na zdrave! That's Bulgarian for "to your health."
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........131.......70
Remaining.....393.....295
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Day 67 – On A Roll
For a while there, I was concerned about being able to find enough beers to finish my quest. And, to be sure, I still have a long, long way to go. But I have been on a roll lately.
To refresh your memory, my weekly visits to Shangri-La, otherwise known as my local Total Wine store, had me visiting the Import section because I was having difficulty finding American Craft Beers I might like and hadn't sampled (I don't do bitter). Since I hadn't even hit the century mark at that time, I was worried that I would be able to find 524 beers to sample.
The last two visits, however, have been really good. I've found no less than thirty beers in the ACB section I wanted to try that were not duplicates. Once sampled, I will easily be beyond the one quarter mark of 131. In fact, I'll be around 140 beers tasted and logged. Since I haven't had too many porters and stouts - which I like, but not love - I think I can hit the one third mark (175) without too much trouble before moving on to the imports.
Okay, granted, that still leaves a lot of beer to find and sample. Like 349, to be precise. But I think I can find enough imports to get me the second third of the way, so the last third will be the one where I will face the most difficulty. As it should be.
I still have some plans of attack, however, so I'm still hopeful that I can achieve this wacky and worthwhile goal.
Ratebeer.com, where I record my progression, offered me another funny video yesterday. At the century mark, I was favored with a Homer Simpson video. Yesterday, as I recorded my 123rd beer, they played a Sesame Street video of counting to 3. Clever guys, these ratebeerians. It makes me wonder what else is out there for me to discover.
Okay, so what have I had that's good lately? Well, I did have a fruit beer that was actually pretty good called Blue Paw Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale from Sea Dog Brewing that was NOT a wheat ale with added fruit juice, like some fruit beers are. Like Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, they actually include real fruit in the brewing process, so the taste is there, but subtle. I also had some Sam Adams' products, including their Boston Ale (not their flagship lager; their ale) which was really good and their Irish Red, which is also really good.
The one thing about this quest, however, is the search for the "really good or great that surprises you." Sam Adams LongShot Lemon Pepper Saison is one such product. Didn't sound all that great, but it was. There was a hint of pepper in the drink, but it complimented the citrus and hops so well, it was fantastic. I highly recommend this if you can find it.
I read a story today online today about great American breweries and Boston Beer was one of them. Amen, Brother. You can't beat Boston Beer, can you?
So, I'm below 400 beers and 300 days, both significant milestones, in my book. It's been a fun ride so far and I still have a lot of momentum going for me. I am on a roll!
Budmo! That's Ukrainian for "shall we live forever." We shall.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........125.......67
Remaining.....399.....298
To refresh your memory, my weekly visits to Shangri-La, otherwise known as my local Total Wine store, had me visiting the Import section because I was having difficulty finding American Craft Beers I might like and hadn't sampled (I don't do bitter). Since I hadn't even hit the century mark at that time, I was worried that I would be able to find 524 beers to sample.
The last two visits, however, have been really good. I've found no less than thirty beers in the ACB section I wanted to try that were not duplicates. Once sampled, I will easily be beyond the one quarter mark of 131. In fact, I'll be around 140 beers tasted and logged. Since I haven't had too many porters and stouts - which I like, but not love - I think I can hit the one third mark (175) without too much trouble before moving on to the imports.
Okay, granted, that still leaves a lot of beer to find and sample. Like 349, to be precise. But I think I can find enough imports to get me the second third of the way, so the last third will be the one where I will face the most difficulty. As it should be.
I still have some plans of attack, however, so I'm still hopeful that I can achieve this wacky and worthwhile goal.
Ratebeer.com, where I record my progression, offered me another funny video yesterday. At the century mark, I was favored with a Homer Simpson video. Yesterday, as I recorded my 123rd beer, they played a Sesame Street video of counting to 3. Clever guys, these ratebeerians. It makes me wonder what else is out there for me to discover.
Okay, so what have I had that's good lately? Well, I did have a fruit beer that was actually pretty good called Blue Paw Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale from Sea Dog Brewing that was NOT a wheat ale with added fruit juice, like some fruit beers are. Like Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, they actually include real fruit in the brewing process, so the taste is there, but subtle. I also had some Sam Adams' products, including their Boston Ale (not their flagship lager; their ale) which was really good and their Irish Red, which is also really good.
The one thing about this quest, however, is the search for the "really good or great that surprises you." Sam Adams LongShot Lemon Pepper Saison is one such product. Didn't sound all that great, but it was. There was a hint of pepper in the drink, but it complimented the citrus and hops so well, it was fantastic. I highly recommend this if you can find it.
I read a story today online today about great American breweries and Boston Beer was one of them. Amen, Brother. You can't beat Boston Beer, can you?
So, I'm below 400 beers and 300 days, both significant milestones, in my book. It's been a fun ride so far and I still have a lot of momentum going for me. I am on a roll!
Budmo! That's Ukrainian for "shall we live forever." We shall.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........125.......67
Remaining.....399.....298
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Day 63 – Week Nine and Counting
Well, once again for a milestone of sorts, a minor one to be sure, but every one counts for something. I have completed Week Nine well ahead of schedule. I have sampled enough beers for the twelve week mark. I am averaging over 13 beers a week, three better than I'm supposed to. I am thirty beers ahead of schedule. The average rating for the beers I have sampled from my fellow ratebeerians is 3.06. My average rating for the same beers is 2.98.
I'm feeling pretty good right now.
I still have a long way to go, of course, but I'm 17% of the way through with 23% of the beer sampling goal completed. Within a couple of days, I will be below the 400 mark in beers and the 300 mark in days.
I'm feeling pretty good right now.
In the past two days, I've had some pretty good pale ales and some not so good not pale ales. Acme California Pale Ale from North Coast Brewing and Drifter Pale Ale from Widmer Brothers are both worth trying. A tad on the bitter side, but mostly well balanced, which, if you have been following me for a while, is my preference. However, if you of the same taste as I, then you might want to think a bit about PranQster Golden Ale from North Coast and Glissade Golden Bock from Sierra Nevada. The former was a bit too sweet and the latter was a bit too bitter.
Still, I'm feeling pretty good right now.
In spite of the fact that AZ has become the laughing stock of the country. Whether you agree with the laws AZ has passed lately or not, you have to admit they are pretty far out there. First there was the Birther law, the one where a presidential candidate has to submit proof of citizenship to the AZ Secretary of State in order to appear on the state ballot, in spite of the fact that there is a national agency that certifies such a thing. It is an effort to keep them lying Kenyans out of office, I suppose. Then there is the Immigration Law, giving AZ law enforcement personnel the power of national Immigration police. Papers please?
Then came the call for a law that would require employers to hire Spanish translators for those patrons who don't speak English. Fortunately, AZ did pass a law that banned that outlandish idea. For those people who disagree, I ask one simple question - name me one other country that has that law? Mexico? Sorry, no habla englais. Canada? Try that in Quebec, my friend, and find yourself on the outside looking in. So why here? If we did that for hispanics, then why not orientals and europeans and - oh, wait! - native americans? Can you imagine the price of groceries when your local stop and rob has twenty people on staff in case they are needed to translate?
Give me a f@*#ing break.
Still, I'm feeling pretty good right now.
What? What do you mean I have to translate this blog into Armenian? You can't shut me down for that! I'm an American and I have my rights!
What? What do you mean by "prove it?" I don't know, my birth certificate is around here somewhere...
Fine. I didn't want to be President anyway.
Salud!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........120.......63
Remaining.....404.....301
I'm feeling pretty good right now.
I still have a long way to go, of course, but I'm 17% of the way through with 23% of the beer sampling goal completed. Within a couple of days, I will be below the 400 mark in beers and the 300 mark in days.
I'm feeling pretty good right now.
In the past two days, I've had some pretty good pale ales and some not so good not pale ales. Acme California Pale Ale from North Coast Brewing and Drifter Pale Ale from Widmer Brothers are both worth trying. A tad on the bitter side, but mostly well balanced, which, if you have been following me for a while, is my preference. However, if you of the same taste as I, then you might want to think a bit about PranQster Golden Ale from North Coast and Glissade Golden Bock from Sierra Nevada. The former was a bit too sweet and the latter was a bit too bitter.
Still, I'm feeling pretty good right now.
In spite of the fact that AZ has become the laughing stock of the country. Whether you agree with the laws AZ has passed lately or not, you have to admit they are pretty far out there. First there was the Birther law, the one where a presidential candidate has to submit proof of citizenship to the AZ Secretary of State in order to appear on the state ballot, in spite of the fact that there is a national agency that certifies such a thing. It is an effort to keep them lying Kenyans out of office, I suppose. Then there is the Immigration Law, giving AZ law enforcement personnel the power of national Immigration police. Papers please?
Then came the call for a law that would require employers to hire Spanish translators for those patrons who don't speak English. Fortunately, AZ did pass a law that banned that outlandish idea. For those people who disagree, I ask one simple question - name me one other country that has that law? Mexico? Sorry, no habla englais. Canada? Try that in Quebec, my friend, and find yourself on the outside looking in. So why here? If we did that for hispanics, then why not orientals and europeans and - oh, wait! - native americans? Can you imagine the price of groceries when your local stop and rob has twenty people on staff in case they are needed to translate?
Give me a f@*#ing break.
Still, I'm feeling pretty good right now.
What? What do you mean I have to translate this blog into Armenian? You can't shut me down for that! I'm an American and I have my rights!
What? What do you mean by "prove it?" I don't know, my birth certificate is around here somewhere...
Fine. I didn't want to be President anyway.
Salud!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........120.......63
Remaining.....404.....301
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Day 60 – Life Goes On
Yesterday I wrote from the heart about the loss of a close friend and the burden of letting another close friend, her husband, down. Today I began the road to recovery, a much easier path for me than for Denny.
My wife and I drove up to Mesa, a growing town on the southeast side of Phoenix, to purchase a memorial stone made of flagstaff. It was a two-hour drive there and the same coming back, but it felt good to do something in remembrance of a dear friend.
A part of me yesterday wondered if I should have written my blog at all. I thought it might be best to keep such things to myself. After all, I haven't written much lately. How would anyone know I refrained from writing out of sadness and regret?
Sometimes life gives you a sign, however. I was thumbing through the channels last night in search of something to watch and came across the movie Julie and Julia. I had seen it before, of course. It was the catalyst for undertaking this quest and writing this blog. It is what JNJ stands for, a tip of the hat to the original. I tuned in at the scene where Julie is preparing Beef Bourguignon for someone of note. She falls asleep before it is done and ends up burning it. The next day she calls in sick to work and prepares the dish again, only to have the person cancel at the last minute. From there Julie and her husband get into a fight. She blogs about the disaster and almost blogs about the fight, but deletes the text after recalling her husband's admonition not to.
The point is, not all of Julie's blogs were upbeat and lighthearted. She had to deal with real life while going through her quest as do I. So, in the final analysis, I don't regret blogging about the loss I felt. It was necessary, a process we all go through from time to time. I just did it more publicly on this occasion.
Today I began the road to recovery. I had a couple of old favorites, Sam Adams Boston Lager and Sam Adams Light. Personally I prefer the taste of the Light to the original, but both are very good. It was a step in the right direction for me.
Here's looking at you, kid.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress..........116.......61
Remaining.....408.....304
My wife and I drove up to Mesa, a growing town on the southeast side of Phoenix, to purchase a memorial stone made of flagstaff. It was a two-hour drive there and the same coming back, but it felt good to do something in remembrance of a dear friend.
A part of me yesterday wondered if I should have written my blog at all. I thought it might be best to keep such things to myself. After all, I haven't written much lately. How would anyone know I refrained from writing out of sadness and regret?
Sometimes life gives you a sign, however. I was thumbing through the channels last night in search of something to watch and came across the movie Julie and Julia. I had seen it before, of course. It was the catalyst for undertaking this quest and writing this blog. It is what JNJ stands for, a tip of the hat to the original. I tuned in at the scene where Julie is preparing Beef Bourguignon for someone of note. She falls asleep before it is done and ends up burning it. The next day she calls in sick to work and prepares the dish again, only to have the person cancel at the last minute. From there Julie and her husband get into a fight. She blogs about the disaster and almost blogs about the fight, but deletes the text after recalling her husband's admonition not to.
The point is, not all of Julie's blogs were upbeat and lighthearted. She had to deal with real life while going through her quest as do I. So, in the final analysis, I don't regret blogging about the loss I felt. It was necessary, a process we all go through from time to time. I just did it more publicly on this occasion.
Today I began the road to recovery. I had a couple of old favorites, Sam Adams Boston Lager and Sam Adams Light. Personally I prefer the taste of the Light to the original, but both are very good. It was a step in the right direction for me.
Here's looking at you, kid.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress..........116.......61
Remaining.....408.....304
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Day 60 – A Note of Sadness
I received some very bad news a few days ago. A dear friend died unexpectedly back in Michigan. It was a shock to everyone, of course, but none more than her husband. He called to let me know and I immediately told him my wife and I would be heading back to stand by his side. Unfortunately that was before I knew when the funeral would be. It was also before I checked the airline schedules.
The funeral, I found out a few hours later, was in two days, not much time to make arrangements, but I tried. Not to make excuses, but it is a long trip back to Grand Rapids from Tucson. There is at least one stop, sometimes two, and with the three-hour time difference, the trip pretty much consumes an entire day. The soonest we could have gotten in to GR was late Thursday night. Her funeral was Friday morning.
That, of course, assumes there were seats available. Have you tried to book a flight that leaves the next day? There aren't that many flights any more. I couldn't find us a flight. So, with a heavy heart, I had to break my promise to a dear friend.
I still feel bad about that. Almost as bad as I feel over the loss of his wife and our friend. I couldn't be there for him. Others did, but not us. Time and distance waits for no one and we have to live with that.
I'm so sorry, Denny. For your loss and for breaking a promise. I wanted to be supportive. Instead I violated a trust. I hope someday you will understand and forgive us.
Tomorrow we're going to drive north to Phoenix where a monument business we know is located. We're going to have a large piece of slate engraved with a heartfelt sentiment to give to our friend, a remembrance that he can keep with him from those who loved him and his wife, gone from this world far too soon. It won't make up for our absence, but perhaps one day it will provide the comfort we couldn't give to him on a day when he needed it.
Obviously I don't feel much like celebrating or writing about beer, so I'll close for now. Life does and will go on, but I need a few days.
In loving memory of Norma Taylor.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........114.......60
Remaining.....410.....305
The funeral, I found out a few hours later, was in two days, not much time to make arrangements, but I tried. Not to make excuses, but it is a long trip back to Grand Rapids from Tucson. There is at least one stop, sometimes two, and with the three-hour time difference, the trip pretty much consumes an entire day. The soonest we could have gotten in to GR was late Thursday night. Her funeral was Friday morning.
That, of course, assumes there were seats available. Have you tried to book a flight that leaves the next day? There aren't that many flights any more. I couldn't find us a flight. So, with a heavy heart, I had to break my promise to a dear friend.
I still feel bad about that. Almost as bad as I feel over the loss of his wife and our friend. I couldn't be there for him. Others did, but not us. Time and distance waits for no one and we have to live with that.
I'm so sorry, Denny. For your loss and for breaking a promise. I wanted to be supportive. Instead I violated a trust. I hope someday you will understand and forgive us.
Tomorrow we're going to drive north to Phoenix where a monument business we know is located. We're going to have a large piece of slate engraved with a heartfelt sentiment to give to our friend, a remembrance that he can keep with him from those who loved him and his wife, gone from this world far too soon. It won't make up for our absence, but perhaps one day it will provide the comfort we couldn't give to him on a day when he needed it.
Obviously I don't feel much like celebrating or writing about beer, so I'll close for now. Life does and will go on, but I need a few days.
In loving memory of Norma Taylor.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........114.......60
Remaining.....410.....305
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Day 56 – Week Eight...Doing Great.
Today is another milestone of sorts. The end of Week Eight. Day Fifty Six. 105 beers down. Another couple of weeks and I'll be under 400 and 300, respectively. Cool beans.
By the way, tomorrow it's only supposed to reach 78 degrees here in Tucson. In Michigan, I would have been cheering. In Arizona, that seems cool to me somehow. Slowly but surely I'm becoming a Tucsonan. I'm so proud.
Since I last wrote, I haven't had any really good beers. Total Wine had the last of the seasonals (as in...brrrr...winter) on sale, so I bought a bunch. The Winter Bock from Gordon Biersch wasn't bad, but the Powder Hound Winter Ale from Big Sky Brewing was, well, more like Easter...HOPPY! I was able to choke it down, but barely.
I had a Fireside Nut Brown Ale from Leinenkugal's (out your way, Derek!) that was decent - a bit too much maple for me - but the Trout Slayer Wheat Ale from Big Sky Brewing was pretty bitter. Hmmm....I'm detecting a trend here. I can understand the English Strong Ale (Powder Hound) being hoppy, but the wheat ale? C'mon, give the hops a break when it comes to the wheat stuff!
Fortunately, I'm nearing the end of the winter stuff and will soon move on to the imports. Call me a traitor, but I'm finding the imports to land more often in my wheel house. Not that American Micro Brews don't make some good stuff... they do...but a number of breweries here think that if some hops are good, a boat load is better. The imports tend to be more balanced, which is more to my liking.
Of course, when I say imports, I'm referring to crafted brews from Belgium and Germany. I haven't tried anything from, say, Poland or Upper Volta. You know, the places not exactly known for their beer heritage. Still, eventually I'm going to have to try some of that. Just as soon as I run out of brands from countries I trust.
Op uw gezondheid! That's Flemish for, well, supposedly Cheers, but who knows? It almost looks like something you'd say when someone sneezes. Even so, that works.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........105.......56
Remaining......419.....309
By the way, tomorrow it's only supposed to reach 78 degrees here in Tucson. In Michigan, I would have been cheering. In Arizona, that seems cool to me somehow. Slowly but surely I'm becoming a Tucsonan. I'm so proud.
Since I last wrote, I haven't had any really good beers. Total Wine had the last of the seasonals (as in...brrrr...winter) on sale, so I bought a bunch. The Winter Bock from Gordon Biersch wasn't bad, but the Powder Hound Winter Ale from Big Sky Brewing was, well, more like Easter...HOPPY! I was able to choke it down, but barely.
I had a Fireside Nut Brown Ale from Leinenkugal's (out your way, Derek!) that was decent - a bit too much maple for me - but the Trout Slayer Wheat Ale from Big Sky Brewing was pretty bitter. Hmmm....I'm detecting a trend here. I can understand the English Strong Ale (Powder Hound) being hoppy, but the wheat ale? C'mon, give the hops a break when it comes to the wheat stuff!
Fortunately, I'm nearing the end of the winter stuff and will soon move on to the imports. Call me a traitor, but I'm finding the imports to land more often in my wheel house. Not that American Micro Brews don't make some good stuff... they do...but a number of breweries here think that if some hops are good, a boat load is better. The imports tend to be more balanced, which is more to my liking.
Of course, when I say imports, I'm referring to crafted brews from Belgium and Germany. I haven't tried anything from, say, Poland or Upper Volta. You know, the places not exactly known for their beer heritage. Still, eventually I'm going to have to try some of that. Just as soon as I run out of brands from countries I trust.
Op uw gezondheid! That's Flemish for, well, supposedly Cheers, but who knows? It almost looks like something you'd say when someone sneezes. Even so, that works.
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........105.......56
Remaining......419.....309
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Day 54 – Where The Hell Have I Been?
Whoa! How time flies, huh? It's been two weeks since I last blogged. Miss me? All two of you, I mean? My humble apologies...I have taken on a lot lately and the Beer Blog was the thing that went first. Not the beer quest, mind you, but the writing is time consuming and at the end of the day, I haven't had the creative energy to wax poetically about beer.
As Dennis Quaid said in Independence Day, "Hello boys! I'm baaaaaaccccckkkk!"
The last time I wrote I was concerned about reaching the end game (524 different beers). Well, the concern is still there, but I'm plunging bravely forward. I visited other stores in the Tucson area and found one that had a tad better selection than Total Wine, but not by much. At TW, I'm hitting the imports already and haven't hit the twenty percent mark yet. Still, I'm going to see how it goes as I move forward. Seasonals are always popping up and I haven't hit the brew pubs yet, so I'm not giving up hope yet. If I have to, I'll choke down some IPA's, assuming I get close enough to my goal to make it worth the effort.
The last time I wrote I had 74 beers sampled. I'm proud to say that I have hit the century mark. At Ratebeer.com, this is a significant milestone and I was rewarded with a video of Homer Simpson singing "When I Was Seventeen." Pretty funny and worth sampling 100 different beers just to see. Now I get a crown by my username on the site, one of thousands to have one. I feel so proud.
If you're keeping track (I am), I am just shy of 20% of the beer goal in 15% of the time. I only needed to have 78 beers sampled at this point, so I'm 23 ahead of schedule or more than two weeks. Cool.
So what good beers have I had? Hmm, 27 beers since I last wrote. Instead of a sentence or two about each, how about I just break them down in a list by Delicious, Acceptable, and Don't Bother.
Don't Bother
None! Avoiding the over-hopped beers and fruit juice-spiked ales, I've elevated my game, so to speak.
Acceptable
Acai Berry Wheat (Eel River Brewery), Single Track Copper Ale (Boulder Beer Co.), Fire Rock Pale Ale (Kona Brewing Co.), Blue Paddle Pilsner (New Belgium Brewing), Polestar Pilsner (Left Hand Brewing), Sam Adams Summer Ale (Boston Beer), Dundee Honey Brown Lager (High Falls Brewing), Czech Style Pilsner (Gordon Biersch), Shiner 101 Pilsner (Spoetzl Brewery), Sam Adams Imperial White (Boston Beer), Red Tail Ale (Mendocino Brewing), and 1888 Bock (Leinenkugal).
Delicious
Haywire Hefeweizen (Pyramid Breweries), Pass Time Pale Ale (Boulder Beer Co.), Bell's Amber Ale (Bells Brewery), Scrimshaw Pilsner (North Coast Brewing), Drop Top Amber Ale (Widmer Brothers Brewing), Blue Star Wheat Ale (North Coast Brewing), Tire Bite Golden Ale (Flying Dog Brewery), Alaskan Summer Ale (Alaskan Brewing), Sam Adams Cherry Wheat (Boston Beer), Yellowtail Pale Ale (Ballast Point Brewing), Konig Ludwig Weissbier (Konig Ludwig Schlossbrauerei), Hacker-Pschorr Weisse (Paulaner Brauerei), Ayinger Brau-Weisse (Brauerei Aying), and Downtown Brown Ale (Lost Coast Brewing).
Salud y amor y tiempo para disfrutarlo! (A tip o' the hat to my hispanic friends in honor of Cinco de Mayo).
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........101.......54
Remaining.....423.....311
As Dennis Quaid said in Independence Day, "Hello boys! I'm baaaaaaccccckkkk!"
The last time I wrote I was concerned about reaching the end game (524 different beers). Well, the concern is still there, but I'm plunging bravely forward. I visited other stores in the Tucson area and found one that had a tad better selection than Total Wine, but not by much. At TW, I'm hitting the imports already and haven't hit the twenty percent mark yet. Still, I'm going to see how it goes as I move forward. Seasonals are always popping up and I haven't hit the brew pubs yet, so I'm not giving up hope yet. If I have to, I'll choke down some IPA's, assuming I get close enough to my goal to make it worth the effort.
The last time I wrote I had 74 beers sampled. I'm proud to say that I have hit the century mark. At Ratebeer.com, this is a significant milestone and I was rewarded with a video of Homer Simpson singing "When I Was Seventeen." Pretty funny and worth sampling 100 different beers just to see. Now I get a crown by my username on the site, one of thousands to have one. I feel so proud.
If you're keeping track (I am), I am just shy of 20% of the beer goal in 15% of the time. I only needed to have 78 beers sampled at this point, so I'm 23 ahead of schedule or more than two weeks. Cool.
So what good beers have I had? Hmm, 27 beers since I last wrote. Instead of a sentence or two about each, how about I just break them down in a list by Delicious, Acceptable, and Don't Bother.
Don't Bother
None! Avoiding the over-hopped beers and fruit juice-spiked ales, I've elevated my game, so to speak.
Acceptable
Acai Berry Wheat (Eel River Brewery), Single Track Copper Ale (Boulder Beer Co.), Fire Rock Pale Ale (Kona Brewing Co.), Blue Paddle Pilsner (New Belgium Brewing), Polestar Pilsner (Left Hand Brewing), Sam Adams Summer Ale (Boston Beer), Dundee Honey Brown Lager (High Falls Brewing), Czech Style Pilsner (Gordon Biersch), Shiner 101 Pilsner (Spoetzl Brewery), Sam Adams Imperial White (Boston Beer), Red Tail Ale (Mendocino Brewing), and 1888 Bock (Leinenkugal).
Delicious
Haywire Hefeweizen (Pyramid Breweries), Pass Time Pale Ale (Boulder Beer Co.), Bell's Amber Ale (Bells Brewery), Scrimshaw Pilsner (North Coast Brewing), Drop Top Amber Ale (Widmer Brothers Brewing), Blue Star Wheat Ale (North Coast Brewing), Tire Bite Golden Ale (Flying Dog Brewery), Alaskan Summer Ale (Alaskan Brewing), Sam Adams Cherry Wheat (Boston Beer), Yellowtail Pale Ale (Ballast Point Brewing), Konig Ludwig Weissbier (Konig Ludwig Schlossbrauerei), Hacker-Pschorr Weisse (Paulaner Brauerei), Ayinger Brau-Weisse (Brauerei Aying), and Downtown Brown Ale (Lost Coast Brewing).
Salud y amor y tiempo para disfrutarlo! (A tip o' the hat to my hispanic friends in honor of Cinco de Mayo).
Goal...............524.....365
Progress.........101.......54
Remaining.....423.....311
Monday, April 26, 2010
Day 41 – The Big Challenge
First, sorry for the big gap in writing. My social calendar has been a might full and the opportunity to write has not been good. Hell, I didn't even have a beer yesterday!
Second, I'm a tad worried about my quest. Oh yeah, sure, I'm way ahead of schedule and my motivation is still quite high, but my latest visit to Total Wine has me a bit concerned. You see, I had some difficulty picking out 12 new beers. Okay, the single shelves were a bit...how shall we say it...under-represented. They weren't as full as I've seen.
Still, I'm not even 20% of the way home and I'm already running into difficulty? My decision to stick to beer styles I like, while still the correct one, is coming back to haunt me. There are a large number of IPAs and other hoppy styles that I'm avoiding, limiting my choices. Out of the 443 American micro-brews TW purports to carry in single quantities, I'm guessing that there may be as many as half I don't want to try. If true, I shouldn't be having any difficulty now when I haven't even hit the century mark yet...but I am.
Go figure.
I always knew I would have to open the door to imported brands. Even if I tried all 443 American micro-brews, that would still leave me a tad short of the mark. But, heck, TW only has 222 imported beers listed in single quantities, so even if I was willing to try all 222 imports (unlikely), I still need to sample over 300 American micro-brews.
Can you say 'dilemma?' I knew that you could.
That's not to say I'm giving up. Not by a long shot. There are other beverage stores here in Tucson and a host of bars and brewpubs, not to mention the possibility of opening up the styles a bit. I may be a little too restrictive right now. So there is still hope.
But....
Well, this is making the challenge all the more difficult. To perk up my spirits (figuratively speaking, of course) I'm going to visit some other stores this weekend and check out their selection.
Hopefully that light at the end of the tunnel isn't the one over the operating room table.
Good news, I will make my quota tomorrow in spite of the full social calendar interfering with my quest (all they had was BMC Light!). So what have I had since my last blog?
Well, first, I cheated. I had a Bells Oberon, a great wheat ale from my old stomping grounds in Michigan, which wasn't new for me, only for the purposes of the quest. I had a nut brown ale from Oak Creek Brewing (not bad, not great), an amber ale from Boulder Beer called Sundance (not bad, not great) and an unusual amber ale from Eel River that was great, but different. It seemed to have a hint of melon in it, which really added to the appeal (pardon the pun). I had a Blond Doppelbock from Capital Brewery (decent) and a Rising Moon Spring Ale from the Blue Moon label of Coors that I really enjoyed.
Alright, call me crazy, but I really like the off brands from Coors like Blue Moon and Killians.
So, let's see what the weekend brings.
Gezuar! (That's Albanian for whatever it means in Albania, but is supposed to be similar to Cheers).
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........74.......41
Remaining......450.....324
Second, I'm a tad worried about my quest. Oh yeah, sure, I'm way ahead of schedule and my motivation is still quite high, but my latest visit to Total Wine has me a bit concerned. You see, I had some difficulty picking out 12 new beers. Okay, the single shelves were a bit...how shall we say it...under-represented. They weren't as full as I've seen.
Still, I'm not even 20% of the way home and I'm already running into difficulty? My decision to stick to beer styles I like, while still the correct one, is coming back to haunt me. There are a large number of IPAs and other hoppy styles that I'm avoiding, limiting my choices. Out of the 443 American micro-brews TW purports to carry in single quantities, I'm guessing that there may be as many as half I don't want to try. If true, I shouldn't be having any difficulty now when I haven't even hit the century mark yet...but I am.
Go figure.
I always knew I would have to open the door to imported brands. Even if I tried all 443 American micro-brews, that would still leave me a tad short of the mark. But, heck, TW only has 222 imported beers listed in single quantities, so even if I was willing to try all 222 imports (unlikely), I still need to sample over 300 American micro-brews.
Can you say 'dilemma?' I knew that you could.
That's not to say I'm giving up. Not by a long shot. There are other beverage stores here in Tucson and a host of bars and brewpubs, not to mention the possibility of opening up the styles a bit. I may be a little too restrictive right now. So there is still hope.
But....
Well, this is making the challenge all the more difficult. To perk up my spirits (figuratively speaking, of course) I'm going to visit some other stores this weekend and check out their selection.
Hopefully that light at the end of the tunnel isn't the one over the operating room table.
Good news, I will make my quota tomorrow in spite of the full social calendar interfering with my quest (all they had was BMC Light!). So what have I had since my last blog?
Well, first, I cheated. I had a Bells Oberon, a great wheat ale from my old stomping grounds in Michigan, which wasn't new for me, only for the purposes of the quest. I had a nut brown ale from Oak Creek Brewing (not bad, not great), an amber ale from Boulder Beer called Sundance (not bad, not great) and an unusual amber ale from Eel River that was great, but different. It seemed to have a hint of melon in it, which really added to the appeal (pardon the pun). I had a Blond Doppelbock from Capital Brewery (decent) and a Rising Moon Spring Ale from the Blue Moon label of Coors that I really enjoyed.
Alright, call me crazy, but I really like the off brands from Coors like Blue Moon and Killians.
So, let's see what the weekend brings.
Gezuar! (That's Albanian for whatever it means in Albania, but is supposed to be similar to Cheers).
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........74.......41
Remaining......450.....324
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Day 37 – Local Bounty
If you had told me three months ago when I lived in Michigan that in April the temperature would be in the mid-sixties today, I would have been thrilled. Today in Tucson, however, I thought it was nippy enough to be wearing a jacket instead of the short-sleeved polo I had on.
You just can't please some people, huh?
Tomorrow it is going to be back into the seventies and mid-eighties by Saturday. Now that's more like it.
I have discovered that there is more to the Southwest than just the weather. There are some pretty good local brews as well. Yesterday I had a really great Nut Brown Ale from Santa Fe Brewery that made me wish I had bought more than one. Today I had a nice hefeweizen from the same brewer. I also had a really nice amber ale from Oak Creek Brewing Company (up Sedona way) that was on par with Fat Tire from New Belgium Brewing. Speaking of my new favorite brewmeister (New Belgium, that is), yesterday I had their Abbey Trippel (no, I did not spell it wrong), which is a Belgium ale that was quite delicious.
The past four days I've had seven beers that have averaged 3.5 on my scale. In other words, some really good stuff. Three of them were local brews and they more than held their own.
Damn! Nice weather AND really good beer.
I guess you can please some people.
Salud!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........68.......37
Remaining......456.....328
You just can't please some people, huh?
Tomorrow it is going to be back into the seventies and mid-eighties by Saturday. Now that's more like it.
I have discovered that there is more to the Southwest than just the weather. There are some pretty good local brews as well. Yesterday I had a really great Nut Brown Ale from Santa Fe Brewery that made me wish I had bought more than one. Today I had a nice hefeweizen from the same brewer. I also had a really nice amber ale from Oak Creek Brewing Company (up Sedona way) that was on par with Fat Tire from New Belgium Brewing. Speaking of my new favorite brewmeister (New Belgium, that is), yesterday I had their Abbey Trippel (no, I did not spell it wrong), which is a Belgium ale that was quite delicious.
The past four days I've had seven beers that have averaged 3.5 on my scale. In other words, some really good stuff. Three of them were local brews and they more than held their own.
Damn! Nice weather AND really good beer.
I guess you can please some people.
Salud!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........68.......37
Remaining......456.....328
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Day 35 – Ups and Downs
The (my) Detroit Red Wings lost Sunday. Boo. They won today to tie the series. Yeah!
The temperature today in Tucson was in the upper 80's. Yeah! The temperature Thursday will be in the mid-60's. Boo. I thought only the weather in Michigan fluctuated like this. Go figure.
Sunday I had a couple of below par beers. Boo. Yesterday and today I had above average beers. Yeah!
What, you ask? I'm so glad you did.
Yesterday I had a German Hefeweizen from Flying Dog Brewery called (appropriately enough) In-Heat Wheat. The best of this style to date. I also had a porter from Breckenridge Brewery called Vanilla Porter. Again, the best of this style to date. Yeah!
Today I had a Belgian Strong Ale from Dogfish Head Brewery (hmm...a couple of breweries named after dogs) called Raison D'Etre, a play on words due to the use of raisins in the product. Best of this style to date. And finally I had a really great brown ale from a (fairly) local brewery Santa Fe Brewing Company called Nut Brown Ale. Not original in name, but the best of the style to date. Yeah!
Hmm...I sense a pattern here.
So, no surprise here, but things go in cycles. Some days, peanuts. Some days, shells. That sounds familiar for some reason...
Ups and downs. Shells and peanuts. The circle of life.
Today is the end of Week 5. Yeah! I ended up rating 14 beers. Yeah! I'm even farther ahead of schedule. Yeah!
Sometimes, the ups exceed the downs. It is what I live for.
Mabuhay! That's Tagalog (Phillipines) for "Long life." If it's not, I visited the wrong web site.
Cheers!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........65.......35
Remaining......459.....330
The temperature today in Tucson was in the upper 80's. Yeah! The temperature Thursday will be in the mid-60's. Boo. I thought only the weather in Michigan fluctuated like this. Go figure.
Sunday I had a couple of below par beers. Boo. Yesterday and today I had above average beers. Yeah!
What, you ask? I'm so glad you did.
Yesterday I had a German Hefeweizen from Flying Dog Brewery called (appropriately enough) In-Heat Wheat. The best of this style to date. I also had a porter from Breckenridge Brewery called Vanilla Porter. Again, the best of this style to date. Yeah!
Today I had a Belgian Strong Ale from Dogfish Head Brewery (hmm...a couple of breweries named after dogs) called Raison D'Etre, a play on words due to the use of raisins in the product. Best of this style to date. And finally I had a really great brown ale from a (fairly) local brewery Santa Fe Brewing Company called Nut Brown Ale. Not original in name, but the best of the style to date. Yeah!
Hmm...I sense a pattern here.
So, no surprise here, but things go in cycles. Some days, peanuts. Some days, shells. That sounds familiar for some reason...
Ups and downs. Shells and peanuts. The circle of life.
Today is the end of Week 5. Yeah! I ended up rating 14 beers. Yeah! I'm even farther ahead of schedule. Yeah!
Sometimes, the ups exceed the downs. It is what I live for.
Mabuhay! That's Tagalog (Phillipines) for "Long life." If it's not, I visited the wrong web site.
Cheers!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........65.......35
Remaining......459.....330
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Day 33 – Loyalties
Another nice day in paradise, sunny and warm in the upper 80's. Being a meteorologist in Tucson can't be that difficult. Day to day, it's a simple copy-and-paste of yesterday's forecast. How tough can that be? You'd have to predict snow in July to get yourself fired.
I thoroughly enjoy living in Tucson, more so than I did Michigan, which was cold and gray far more often than it was sunny and warm. Sports-wise, though, it's going to take me a while to embrace the Arizona teams. Phoenix is playing Detroit in the Stanley Cup playoffs and I can't help but root for my Red Wings. Hell, I grew up watching Hockey Night in Canada with my dad. How can I root for a team from the desert? Loyalties.
I noted with interest two nights ago that there were a lot of red jerseys in the crowd when they played in Phoenix, but nary a Coyote jersey in Detroit. Loyalties again. Transplants from Michigan to Arizona have red (wings) in their blood. I don't suppose there are too many transplants from Arizona to Michigan, huh? No, probably not.
Okay, so the Wings lost. I'm still a die-hard fan. Not to be critical or anything, but I did notice that the Wings gave up less goals with an empty net than they did with Howard in goal. Something to consider...
By the way, on the local news tonight, the lead story for sports was (1) University of Arizona softball, (2) UofA baseball, (3) Phoenix Suns basketball, and (4) the Coyotes win over Detroit. In Michigan, it would have been the opposite. Of course, we all have our priorities and perspectives.
I'm finding myself in a similar situation with beer styles. I love wheat beers. I love ales. The ratebeerians? Not so much. I drank a wheat beer today from Breckenridge Brewery called Agave Wheat that they rated 2.9. I thought it was a full point above that and said so.
Loyalties.
At first it bothered me that my taste was so far off from the majority's. Now, not so much. It's the style I love, so why pretend otherwise? Litebeerians don't apologize for their preference. Ratebeerians, dominated by hopheads much like Congress is dominated by Democrats, don't apologize for their preference, either. So I see no reason to apologize for my preferences.
Loyalties.
Next I tried a brown ale from Avery called Ellie's Brown Ale. This was a nice brown ale, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the wheat ale. It was a bit malty for my taste. And the last beer I tried was an amber ale from Breckenridge called Avalanche Amber. I tend to like amber ales, but this one was below average. It wasn't that it tasted bad. It was that it tasted, well, like not much. There wasn't a lot present in the aroma or taste. It was like beer-flavored water.
Loyalties.
So, what does loyalty mean, exactly? I had three beers today whose styles I profess to love. One I gave a high rating to, the second a medium rating, and the third a relatively low rating. Should I have given all three a high rating because I favor the style? Or rate them individually on their own merits?
Like my favorite sports teams - the University of Michigan, Detroit and State of Michigan teams - I can still root for them, but I have to be honest about them as well. I love Michigan football, but they suck right now. I love the Red Wings, but their defense is porous and they won't reach the finals this year. And I love wheat beers and ales, but they have to be good for me to give them a good rating. Today, I had a mixed bag.
Wait until next year. Wait until tomorrow. The only constant is change...and loyalty.
Prost!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........61.......33
Remaining.....463.....332
I thoroughly enjoy living in Tucson, more so than I did Michigan, which was cold and gray far more often than it was sunny and warm. Sports-wise, though, it's going to take me a while to embrace the Arizona teams. Phoenix is playing Detroit in the Stanley Cup playoffs and I can't help but root for my Red Wings. Hell, I grew up watching Hockey Night in Canada with my dad. How can I root for a team from the desert? Loyalties.
I noted with interest two nights ago that there were a lot of red jerseys in the crowd when they played in Phoenix, but nary a Coyote jersey in Detroit. Loyalties again. Transplants from Michigan to Arizona have red (wings) in their blood. I don't suppose there are too many transplants from Arizona to Michigan, huh? No, probably not.
Okay, so the Wings lost. I'm still a die-hard fan. Not to be critical or anything, but I did notice that the Wings gave up less goals with an empty net than they did with Howard in goal. Something to consider...
By the way, on the local news tonight, the lead story for sports was (1) University of Arizona softball, (2) UofA baseball, (3) Phoenix Suns basketball, and (4) the Coyotes win over Detroit. In Michigan, it would have been the opposite. Of course, we all have our priorities and perspectives.
I'm finding myself in a similar situation with beer styles. I love wheat beers. I love ales. The ratebeerians? Not so much. I drank a wheat beer today from Breckenridge Brewery called Agave Wheat that they rated 2.9. I thought it was a full point above that and said so.
Loyalties.
At first it bothered me that my taste was so far off from the majority's. Now, not so much. It's the style I love, so why pretend otherwise? Litebeerians don't apologize for their preference. Ratebeerians, dominated by hopheads much like Congress is dominated by Democrats, don't apologize for their preference, either. So I see no reason to apologize for my preferences.
Loyalties.
Next I tried a brown ale from Avery called Ellie's Brown Ale. This was a nice brown ale, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the wheat ale. It was a bit malty for my taste. And the last beer I tried was an amber ale from Breckenridge called Avalanche Amber. I tend to like amber ales, but this one was below average. It wasn't that it tasted bad. It was that it tasted, well, like not much. There wasn't a lot present in the aroma or taste. It was like beer-flavored water.
Loyalties.
So, what does loyalty mean, exactly? I had three beers today whose styles I profess to love. One I gave a high rating to, the second a medium rating, and the third a relatively low rating. Should I have given all three a high rating because I favor the style? Or rate them individually on their own merits?
Like my favorite sports teams - the University of Michigan, Detroit and State of Michigan teams - I can still root for them, but I have to be honest about them as well. I love Michigan football, but they suck right now. I love the Red Wings, but their defense is porous and they won't reach the finals this year. And I love wheat beers and ales, but they have to be good for me to give them a good rating. Today, I had a mixed bag.
Wait until next year. Wait until tomorrow. The only constant is change...and loyalty.
Prost!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........61.......33
Remaining.....463.....332
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Day 32 – Monthly Memories
Yes, sports fans, it has been exactly one month since I started this quest and what an adventure it has been. From St. Paddy's Day to Post Easter, I have tasted 58 different beers in 32 days. I wished I could say "consumed" because that was my original intent, right along with restricting myself to American craft brews. The latter ended on Day 1 (One?) when I had an import from Mexico. The former ended four days later with Wild Blue. I just could not choke that one down. Since then there have been three others I couldn't finish, all of the IPA's. Sorry, just not my style.
So, out of 58 beers, four were only sampled, not consumed to the last drop. It bugs me only because I feel that the professional judges, who have tens of thousands of ratings, get to that lofty perch only because they don't drink all the stuff they rate. They sample a couple of ounces and move on. As a serious beer drinker, I want to consume the beers, not sample and move on. So, it bugs me that I can't say I've drank all the beers I've rated.
We'll let that be our little secret.
I have to confess that my progress as a beer rater is coming along as smooth as the black ale I had today from New Belgium (quickly becoming my favorite brewer). I'm feeling much more comfortable with the rating system and tasting notes than when I first started. For the thousandth time, I'm no expert, not even close, but I can see where I am getting more confidence in the ratings I provide. It's all a matter of experience, just like anything else.
At this point in the quest, I should have sampled at least 46 different beers and I'm 12 ahead of that pace. I'm pretty pleased with that. At this rate I'll reach my goal 2 months ahead of schedule. I can't say that I can maintain this pace, but it's nice to have an early cushion. I may need it.
Spoiler Alert! Sharp left turn approaching!
I found out tonight that I have more than one reader of my blog. That's good. It's also frightening. My wife is a follower of my blog (she has to; it's in our marriage contract), but I've been writing as if no one else is interested. It's been a liberating frame of mind because it's like confessing - no other human being knows what I'm thinking/feeling.
Son of a gun, but is someone eavesdropping on the confessional? It's okay. More than okay, really. It's nice to know that someone else besides a person who is (basically) obligated to follow my blog is doing so. It's just, well, heck...scary. Like breaking wind at work. At home? No big deal. At work? Geez Louise, they know I had beans for lunch? Perish the thought. Same here.
So, Big D, anyone else, I hope I can continue to entertain and (maybe) enlighten you. It's more pressure, but also more fun. It's that whole hope/dread thing. I hope a million people read my blog, but I dread having that responsibility. Dang, I'll bet that's how a columnist feels.
Okay, time for the recap of yesterday and today. Two New Belgium's yesterday and one today (see Favorite Brewer above)...Sunshine Wheat and Abbey Dubbel last evening and Enlightened Black Ale today. All were really good, but I have to give a big shout out to EBA. Man, that was good stuff, among the best ever for me. The other two were from Lost Coast Brewery, Great White (witbier) and Alleycat (amber ale). The former was somewhat of a disappointment because this is one of my favorite styles and the latter was everything you want an ale to be. Five beers, two days, average 3.4. That's some Good Drinks (my apologies, Alton B).
Na zdraví! (That's Czech for "to your health").
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........58.......32
Remaining.....466.....333
So, out of 58 beers, four were only sampled, not consumed to the last drop. It bugs me only because I feel that the professional judges, who have tens of thousands of ratings, get to that lofty perch only because they don't drink all the stuff they rate. They sample a couple of ounces and move on. As a serious beer drinker, I want to consume the beers, not sample and move on. So, it bugs me that I can't say I've drank all the beers I've rated.
We'll let that be our little secret.
I have to confess that my progress as a beer rater is coming along as smooth as the black ale I had today from New Belgium (quickly becoming my favorite brewer). I'm feeling much more comfortable with the rating system and tasting notes than when I first started. For the thousandth time, I'm no expert, not even close, but I can see where I am getting more confidence in the ratings I provide. It's all a matter of experience, just like anything else.
At this point in the quest, I should have sampled at least 46 different beers and I'm 12 ahead of that pace. I'm pretty pleased with that. At this rate I'll reach my goal 2 months ahead of schedule. I can't say that I can maintain this pace, but it's nice to have an early cushion. I may need it.
Spoiler Alert! Sharp left turn approaching!
I found out tonight that I have more than one reader of my blog. That's good. It's also frightening. My wife is a follower of my blog (she has to; it's in our marriage contract), but I've been writing as if no one else is interested. It's been a liberating frame of mind because it's like confessing - no other human being knows what I'm thinking/feeling.
Son of a gun, but is someone eavesdropping on the confessional? It's okay. More than okay, really. It's nice to know that someone else besides a person who is (basically) obligated to follow my blog is doing so. It's just, well, heck...scary. Like breaking wind at work. At home? No big deal. At work? Geez Louise, they know I had beans for lunch? Perish the thought. Same here.
So, Big D, anyone else, I hope I can continue to entertain and (maybe) enlighten you. It's more pressure, but also more fun. It's that whole hope/dread thing. I hope a million people read my blog, but I dread having that responsibility. Dang, I'll bet that's how a columnist feels.
Okay, time for the recap of yesterday and today. Two New Belgium's yesterday and one today (see Favorite Brewer above)...Sunshine Wheat and Abbey Dubbel last evening and Enlightened Black Ale today. All were really good, but I have to give a big shout out to EBA. Man, that was good stuff, among the best ever for me. The other two were from Lost Coast Brewery, Great White (witbier) and Alleycat (amber ale). The former was somewhat of a disappointment because this is one of my favorite styles and the latter was everything you want an ale to be. Five beers, two days, average 3.4. That's some Good Drinks (my apologies, Alton B).
Na zdraví! (That's Czech for "to your health").
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........58.......32
Remaining.....466.....333
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Day 30 – Gettin' Stronger Every Day
Back in the 70's, that was one of my favorite songs...
Why yes, I was only three...how did you know?
Alright, back to the subject. I have lamented ad nauseum about how low my ratings have been for weeks now. Five days ago, I thought I had hit upon the reason and vowed to change. The results?
Drum roll, please.
3.1 over the past five days versus 2.73 for the first 25 days. My overall average is now up to 2.8. I'm getting better every day.
I don't think it is all due to how I was scoring the beer, however. That was part of it, but my beer selection also played a role as well. I didn't have any restrictions when I first started, so my share of beers in styles I did not favor played a role, too. I had a few IPA's and some other hoppy styles that led to some pretty low scores. When balanced against the ones I liked, the limited range in scoring balanced everything out.
I'm more selective now at TW (Total Wine, for the uninitiated, the fabulous store where I get all my beer). The latest batch is loaded with wheat beers and ales of all sorts with nary a hoppy attitude present. Oh, and no fruit beers, either. I thought I liked those because I had such a good experience with Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, but the ones I've tried since have not measured up. I'm taking a sabbatical from them for a while. No, they aren't hoppy at all. They're sweet, which is just as bad. I need balance.
So, between being more liberal in my scoring of beers I like and selecting more of the styles I like, I'm confident my scoring average will rise.
True story...at work we have a series of internal company initiatives to revitalize specific areas of business. I'm on one team and we are hosting a contest to get employees engaged. They have to answer three questions correctly to be eligible to win.
What are the three questions?
Well, we haven't decided yet, but I flashed back to a Monty Python movie where three questions were asked of wacky knights attempting to cross the Bridge of Death. Answer the troll correctly and the knight would be allowed to pass safely. Answer incorrectly, however...
The three questions were:
1. What is your name?
2. What is your quest?
3. What is the airspeed velocity of an unladened swallow?
It brought a smile to my face for quite some time. I just don't know if people would get the joke if I suggested these questions. After all, that movie was made in the 70's when I was three.
Okay, the last two days I've only tried two beers. The first...yuck...a fruit beer from Abita called Purple Haze. Jimmy Hendrix would sue them if he were alive today. Not good stuff. The second was a pretty good Belgian White from New Belgium Brewing called Mothership Wit (short for witbier, another name for Belgian Whites). That one made my day. It even topped my Monty Python recollection.
Oh, by the way, I passed the 10% milestone in beers (52.4) far in advance of the same milestone in days (36.5) by about a week.
Prost!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........53.......30
Remaining.......471.....335
Why yes, I was only three...how did you know?
Alright, back to the subject. I have lamented ad nauseum about how low my ratings have been for weeks now. Five days ago, I thought I had hit upon the reason and vowed to change. The results?
Drum roll, please.
3.1 over the past five days versus 2.73 for the first 25 days. My overall average is now up to 2.8. I'm getting better every day.
I don't think it is all due to how I was scoring the beer, however. That was part of it, but my beer selection also played a role as well. I didn't have any restrictions when I first started, so my share of beers in styles I did not favor played a role, too. I had a few IPA's and some other hoppy styles that led to some pretty low scores. When balanced against the ones I liked, the limited range in scoring balanced everything out.
I'm more selective now at TW (Total Wine, for the uninitiated, the fabulous store where I get all my beer). The latest batch is loaded with wheat beers and ales of all sorts with nary a hoppy attitude present. Oh, and no fruit beers, either. I thought I liked those because I had such a good experience with Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, but the ones I've tried since have not measured up. I'm taking a sabbatical from them for a while. No, they aren't hoppy at all. They're sweet, which is just as bad. I need balance.
So, between being more liberal in my scoring of beers I like and selecting more of the styles I like, I'm confident my scoring average will rise.
True story...at work we have a series of internal company initiatives to revitalize specific areas of business. I'm on one team and we are hosting a contest to get employees engaged. They have to answer three questions correctly to be eligible to win.
What are the three questions?
Well, we haven't decided yet, but I flashed back to a Monty Python movie where three questions were asked of wacky knights attempting to cross the Bridge of Death. Answer the troll correctly and the knight would be allowed to pass safely. Answer incorrectly, however...
The three questions were:
1. What is your name?
2. What is your quest?
3. What is the airspeed velocity of an unladened swallow?
It brought a smile to my face for quite some time. I just don't know if people would get the joke if I suggested these questions. After all, that movie was made in the 70's when I was three.
Okay, the last two days I've only tried two beers. The first...yuck...a fruit beer from Abita called Purple Haze. Jimmy Hendrix would sue them if he were alive today. Not good stuff. The second was a pretty good Belgian White from New Belgium Brewing called Mothership Wit (short for witbier, another name for Belgian Whites). That one made my day. It even topped my Monty Python recollection.
Oh, by the way, I passed the 10% milestone in beers (52.4) far in advance of the same milestone in days (36.5) by about a week.
Prost!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........53.......30
Remaining.......471.....335
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Day 28 – Marathon Mile Marker Two
Today is a milestone of sorts – the end of Week Four (4?). I’m 1/13th of the way through my quest. In a few days it will be one full calendar month since I began and other minor milestone events are lurking. I have likened this undertaking to a marathon, which means I am at the second mile marker. I still have a long ways to go, but I’m feeling good at this point in the race. I’ve hit my stride, my pace is better than expected, and the road ahead looks flat and smooth.
Milestones are not just good points to mark progress and look ahead. They are good places to reflect on the journey made. That reflection may not always be positive, but you can learn so much from the retrospective. What did I learn? How has my life changed? What should or would I do differently?
Fortunately this has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. Well, yes, good point. How can trying 51 different beers be bad? True, some haven’t been all that pleasant to taste, but some have been absolutely outstanding. It has been a lot of fun and I can see this becoming a regular habit for me long after the quest is done. Maybe not 500 different beers a year, but certainly more than a handful as I have done in the past.
On the other hand, I voluntarily purchased 51 different beers at a cost of just under $100 from a retail store that is a forty minute drive away, rate the beers on Ratebeer.com, and write a blog about my adventures. So, this isn't exactly a breeze, either. It has taken commitment and sacrifice and personal effort for no tangible gain other than the experience.
I think what has surprised me the most is the blogging. This is my 21st blog in 28 days. Due to professional and social commitments, I'm not able to write a blog every day, but the irregularity of it all could make it easy to just stop doing it altogether. I could continue the quest with the exception of the blog. I only have one (1?) follower at this point (and I'm married to her), so who would know?
Not to put too fine a point on it, but I would. That would be, well, cheating if I stopped blogging. It was part and parcel of the quest. To shed the most difficult part of the challenge would not be fair. So, the only days I have missed were the days I was not home.
The committed writing of the blog is not the biggest surprise, however. It is the content. I vowed not to make this a simple rehash of my ratings. I wanted to weave personal accounts into the tale of my quest and I think I have achieved that goal beyond expectations. None of the 21 blogs were a singular recounting of the beer tasting. I've written about philosophical and thought-provoking ideas that related to my quest. Think it's easy? Try it sometime. Come up with a new topic (almost) daily that ties into a main theme, but integrates your own beliefs and ideals. Spice it up with a bit of humor, when possible, and try to keep it fresh above all else.
That is what has surprised me the most - that I have done exactly that 21 times in a row. Can I do it for a whole year? I don't know. But, like the marathon, I'm pleased to be at Mile Two and going strong.
Yesterday I was so out of pocket I didn't even have a beer at all. Today, however, I had two, bringing my weekly total to 13 and the overall total to 51, one point four shy of the 10% mark with more than a week to go to reach the 10% mark of days. I am WAY ahead of schedule. I could take a whole week off and still be more or less on track.
Anyway, today I had a really nice hefeweizen from Left Hand Brewing Co. called Haystack Wheat and a decent amber ale from Anderson Valley Brewing Co. called Boont Amber Ale. All things considered, I'd rather have the wheat (whoa, big surprise there, eh?) beer than the amber ale, but either would be fine with me any day of the week. My picks are getting better, but more on that for next time.
Skaal!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........51.......28
Remaining......473.....337
Milestones are not just good points to mark progress and look ahead. They are good places to reflect on the journey made. That reflection may not always be positive, but you can learn so much from the retrospective. What did I learn? How has my life changed? What should or would I do differently?
Fortunately this has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. Well, yes, good point. How can trying 51 different beers be bad? True, some haven’t been all that pleasant to taste, but some have been absolutely outstanding. It has been a lot of fun and I can see this becoming a regular habit for me long after the quest is done. Maybe not 500 different beers a year, but certainly more than a handful as I have done in the past.
On the other hand, I voluntarily purchased 51 different beers at a cost of just under $100 from a retail store that is a forty minute drive away, rate the beers on Ratebeer.com, and write a blog about my adventures. So, this isn't exactly a breeze, either. It has taken commitment and sacrifice and personal effort for no tangible gain other than the experience.
I think what has surprised me the most is the blogging. This is my 21st blog in 28 days. Due to professional and social commitments, I'm not able to write a blog every day, but the irregularity of it all could make it easy to just stop doing it altogether. I could continue the quest with the exception of the blog. I only have one (1?) follower at this point (and I'm married to her), so who would know?
Not to put too fine a point on it, but I would. That would be, well, cheating if I stopped blogging. It was part and parcel of the quest. To shed the most difficult part of the challenge would not be fair. So, the only days I have missed were the days I was not home.
The committed writing of the blog is not the biggest surprise, however. It is the content. I vowed not to make this a simple rehash of my ratings. I wanted to weave personal accounts into the tale of my quest and I think I have achieved that goal beyond expectations. None of the 21 blogs were a singular recounting of the beer tasting. I've written about philosophical and thought-provoking ideas that related to my quest. Think it's easy? Try it sometime. Come up with a new topic (almost) daily that ties into a main theme, but integrates your own beliefs and ideals. Spice it up with a bit of humor, when possible, and try to keep it fresh above all else.
That is what has surprised me the most - that I have done exactly that 21 times in a row. Can I do it for a whole year? I don't know. But, like the marathon, I'm pleased to be at Mile Two and going strong.
Yesterday I was so out of pocket I didn't even have a beer at all. Today, however, I had two, bringing my weekly total to 13 and the overall total to 51, one point four shy of the 10% mark with more than a week to go to reach the 10% mark of days. I am WAY ahead of schedule. I could take a whole week off and still be more or less on track.
Anyway, today I had a really nice hefeweizen from Left Hand Brewing Co. called Haystack Wheat and a decent amber ale from Anderson Valley Brewing Co. called Boont Amber Ale. All things considered, I'd rather have the wheat (whoa, big surprise there, eh?) beer than the amber ale, but either would be fine with me any day of the week. My picks are getting better, but more on that for next time.
Skaal!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........51.......28
Remaining......473.....337
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Day 26 – The Powers of Deduction and Other Ramblings
My mind is constantly mulling over the big questions? What is the meaning of life? Which came first - the chicken or the egg? What is my wife really thinking?
When those central questions of life aren't being worked on, my brain goes in search of other important topics. Lately it has been contemplating the user community on Ratebeer.com.
For the uninitiated, Ratebeer.com is a website where people can rate beers they have tasted. It employs a variety of mathematical techniques to provide some balance, but the overarching goal of the site is to have people record how much they personally liked a beer (as opposed to professional judging, which scores brews based on how they are supposed to look and taste). Anyone can join, of course, and provide their input.
So who are these people?
I think the ratebeerians (my term, not theirs) can be divided into three groups. The first is the professional judge, the second is the serious beer drinker, and the third is the casual beer drinker. How do I know this? Would you believe it is due to my impressive powers of deduction? Oh, you wouldn't. Um, would you believe it is because I have incredible insight into the psyche of the beer drinking population of the world? Ah, not buying that, either, huh? How about I took a wild assed guess?
Okay, moving on...
Here is how I arrived at my conclusion. I looked at the number of ratings provided by ratebeerians. Some number in the thousands. Like, fifteen thousand plus. Some simple math will tell you that even the most rabid beer drinker isn't going to search out and consume 15,000 different beers in the amount of time this site has been in existence. While the internet has been around since the seventies, it didn't become a commercial commodity until the mid- to late-nineties. Thus Ratebeer.com hasn't been around for more than 15 years. Probably closer to ten is my guess.
My quest is 524 beers in a year's time, and while I'm ahead of the curve, it does take a concerted effort to keep on track. Someone would have to undertake this quest, double it, and do it for 15 years in order to reach 15,000 different beers! The only way someone could do this is if they were a professional judge. Judges can sample a lot of different beers at a competition. If they're good and they keep busy, it is not out of the realm of possibility that they would sample in excess of one thousand beers a year.
I rest my case.
Oh, wait, I have two more groups to justify. Silly me...
Some people have ratings in the high hundreds to low thousands. These folks are the serious beer drinkers. Some could be judges, too, I suppose, but I tend to believe these are the people who are serious about trying different beers at events and places they visit. They are also serious about logging their experiences on Ratebeer.com. Someone with ratings in the hundreds would more likely not be a professional judge, but a serious beer drinker with a lot of experience who could be a judge. This is where I aspire to be.
Finally, there are people with only a handful of ratings, comparatively speaking. Granted, they could be a professional judge or a serious beer drinker who is new to the site or simply not interested in logging for posterity's sake their impressions of a beer. For the most part, however, I believe this is a novelty for those who have only a few ratings. They are like I was - a beer drinker who regularly consumed the same brand with the occasional foray into new beer territory. To them, beer is an alcoholic beverage to be quaffed, sometimes in great quantities. It isn't a world unto itself. This isn't a criticism, but an observation from one who was among the many.
Yeah, I've had some brews that I couldn't drink. But I've also had some beers that are much better than what I consumed on a regular basis. My world has change as far as beer drinking is concerned and I doubt I will ever go back. It would be like ordering the same meal everyday when there are so many different cuisines beckoning to you.
So what difference does it make, even if I am right about the three groups? None. Not a wit(bier). My thought, however, was that it would be nice to know which group a rater fell into when I peruse their reviews. See, a judge will rate a beer differently than a serious beer drinker and the same down to the casual beer drinker. True, I can look at the number of ratings they have submitted (I do), but it would be interesting to see the breakdown of a beer by group. In other words, for Beer X, how did the three different groups score it?
Could be an interesting topic over a beer, huh?
So today, the first beer I had was a really great altbier from Alaskan Brewing Company called Alaskan Amber. Truly one of the best beers I've ever had. It is everything I look for in a good beer. For a change, the ratebeerians thought so, too.
The next was a decent brown ale called Turbodog from Abita Brewing. This leaned more toward a porter or stout than a brown ale, but definitely drinkable.
I saved the least for last. It was a style called barleywine from Anchor Brewing Company. I had never had this style before and may not for a while. This was, well, different, and I'm still trying to decide if it was a good different or a not so good different. The ratebeerians loved this stuff, of course, but the jury is still out for me.
Too bad I couldn't see the ratings by group.
By the way, I exceeded my quota for the fourth straight week. Pretty exciting, eh?
A votre sante!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress..........49.......26
Remaining.....475.....339
When those central questions of life aren't being worked on, my brain goes in search of other important topics. Lately it has been contemplating the user community on Ratebeer.com.
For the uninitiated, Ratebeer.com is a website where people can rate beers they have tasted. It employs a variety of mathematical techniques to provide some balance, but the overarching goal of the site is to have people record how much they personally liked a beer (as opposed to professional judging, which scores brews based on how they are supposed to look and taste). Anyone can join, of course, and provide their input.
So who are these people?
I think the ratebeerians (my term, not theirs) can be divided into three groups. The first is the professional judge, the second is the serious beer drinker, and the third is the casual beer drinker. How do I know this? Would you believe it is due to my impressive powers of deduction? Oh, you wouldn't. Um, would you believe it is because I have incredible insight into the psyche of the beer drinking population of the world? Ah, not buying that, either, huh? How about I took a wild assed guess?
Okay, moving on...
Here is how I arrived at my conclusion. I looked at the number of ratings provided by ratebeerians. Some number in the thousands. Like, fifteen thousand plus. Some simple math will tell you that even the most rabid beer drinker isn't going to search out and consume 15,000 different beers in the amount of time this site has been in existence. While the internet has been around since the seventies, it didn't become a commercial commodity until the mid- to late-nineties. Thus Ratebeer.com hasn't been around for more than 15 years. Probably closer to ten is my guess.
My quest is 524 beers in a year's time, and while I'm ahead of the curve, it does take a concerted effort to keep on track. Someone would have to undertake this quest, double it, and do it for 15 years in order to reach 15,000 different beers! The only way someone could do this is if they were a professional judge. Judges can sample a lot of different beers at a competition. If they're good and they keep busy, it is not out of the realm of possibility that they would sample in excess of one thousand beers a year.
I rest my case.
Oh, wait, I have two more groups to justify. Silly me...
Some people have ratings in the high hundreds to low thousands. These folks are the serious beer drinkers. Some could be judges, too, I suppose, but I tend to believe these are the people who are serious about trying different beers at events and places they visit. They are also serious about logging their experiences on Ratebeer.com. Someone with ratings in the hundreds would more likely not be a professional judge, but a serious beer drinker with a lot of experience who could be a judge. This is where I aspire to be.
Finally, there are people with only a handful of ratings, comparatively speaking. Granted, they could be a professional judge or a serious beer drinker who is new to the site or simply not interested in logging for posterity's sake their impressions of a beer. For the most part, however, I believe this is a novelty for those who have only a few ratings. They are like I was - a beer drinker who regularly consumed the same brand with the occasional foray into new beer territory. To them, beer is an alcoholic beverage to be quaffed, sometimes in great quantities. It isn't a world unto itself. This isn't a criticism, but an observation from one who was among the many.
Yeah, I've had some brews that I couldn't drink. But I've also had some beers that are much better than what I consumed on a regular basis. My world has change as far as beer drinking is concerned and I doubt I will ever go back. It would be like ordering the same meal everyday when there are so many different cuisines beckoning to you.
So what difference does it make, even if I am right about the three groups? None. Not a wit(bier). My thought, however, was that it would be nice to know which group a rater fell into when I peruse their reviews. See, a judge will rate a beer differently than a serious beer drinker and the same down to the casual beer drinker. True, I can look at the number of ratings they have submitted (I do), but it would be interesting to see the breakdown of a beer by group. In other words, for Beer X, how did the three different groups score it?
Could be an interesting topic over a beer, huh?
So today, the first beer I had was a really great altbier from Alaskan Brewing Company called Alaskan Amber. Truly one of the best beers I've ever had. It is everything I look for in a good beer. For a change, the ratebeerians thought so, too.
The next was a decent brown ale called Turbodog from Abita Brewing. This leaned more toward a porter or stout than a brown ale, but definitely drinkable.
I saved the least for last. It was a style called barleywine from Anchor Brewing Company. I had never had this style before and may not for a while. This was, well, different, and I'm still trying to decide if it was a good different or a not so good different. The ratebeerians loved this stuff, of course, but the jury is still out for me.
Too bad I couldn't see the ratings by group.
By the way, I exceeded my quota for the fourth straight week. Pretty exciting, eh?
A votre sante!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress..........49.......26
Remaining.....475.....339
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Day 25 – Like a Broken Record
Sunny and mid-eighties today in Tucson...again. Yesterday? The same. Tomorrow? The same. The next six days? The same. It's like a broken record that is stuck on your favorite part.
Having spent most of my life in Michigan, it seems strange to see so much sunshine. It seems unreal that I'm wearing shorts and tee shirts in March and April. And if you don't know this, mid-eighties in Tucson is very pleasant. Our windows are open rather than shut to keep the conditioned air inside. In Michigan, temperatures in the mid-eighties is usually accompanied by humidities in the same range, making even the shade uncomfortable. But here in Tucson, if you're not in the direct sun, it's very comfortable in the shade.
I've been here for almost three months now, but I still can't stop talking about the weather. First thing out of my mouth when I talk to someone back home is the weather report. I'm like a broken record that way.
It's no different than the difficulty I have with scoring the beer I drink. I've written a few times about my struggles with this, namely that my scoring band is very narrow. The last time I had opined that with a focus on beer styles I tend to like, the score would go up. Okay, it's only been a few days, but the average score of the beers I've tried since I wrote that? 2.74. My average for all beers is 2.73. Hmm...not much of a bump, is it?
Like a broken record, I keep trying to figure out why this is happening. Is it due to inexperience? Probably. Could it be due to the fact that I haven't tasted any great beers yet? Maybe, but doubtful (see question #1). Could it be my interpretation of the scoring system is narrow? This last possibility bears closer examination.
The Appearance rating is from 1 to 5, so I'm not too concerned about this one. Of course the contribution of this factor will be narrow because the range itself is. The same is true for the Palate rating, so we can disregard this one, too.
Aroma and taste, however, is from 1 to 10. More variability to impact the final calculated score, so let's look at the guidelines. The upper and lower boundaries are pretty self-explanatory. A 1 or 2 is "awful" and "definitely unpleasant," respectively, while 9 and 10 are "exceptional (rare)" and "one in a thousand, at most." An 8 is "something special; a beer out of the ordinary." That, too, seems to be a value that isn't given often because "out of the ordinary" is extraordinary. So what's left? A 5 is "ok, but not really good." A 6 is "good, but nothing special." And a 7 is "really nice."
A breakdown of the aroma and taste ratings I've given is somewhat revealing. Out of 43 beers I've rated, the average aroma rating is 5.62. I've given out six 5's and five 7's, but a whopping (24) 6's. For taste, the average is 5.44. For this one, a bit more balance. Eight 5's and the same number of 7's, with (21) 6's. Obviously, I'm either evaluating a large number of average beers or I'm being too narrow in my ratings for these two areas.
The final factor is Overall, which goes from 1 to 20. The guidelines are similar, only doubled. If 8 and above is rare, then 16 and above would be as well (it is). If 3 and below is bad, you would expect 6 and below to be the same (it is). So if my average rating is a 6 for aroma and taste, would 12 be my average for overall?
Close...9.9. However, the distribution of ratings is centered around 12 and drops off on either side.
So I think the reason for my "consistency" is becoming a bit clearer. Inexperience rating beer is certainly a main factor, but along with that is my literal translation of the guidelines. I'm not being as liberal in the higher ratings as I could be, which is why the final calculated ratings are hovering around the same values.
I definitely need to give the record needle a nudge. No time like the present.
Fortunately I started out with a really nice Belgian ale, which is among my favorites. If I had started out with a lager that had been on the hoppy side, I might have given it a bump just because. I didn't need a reason to bump this one. Avery Karma Ale is a classic Belgian ale that really delivered. Beautiful color, aroma, and taste. High rating for this one.
The next one? Not so lucky. I chose a Belgian White because I love this style. Unfortunately, this one from Alaskan Brewing Co. called White Ale was either skunky old or just poorly brewed because it was not good. I couldn't have nudged this one up if I wanted to.
Observer's Note: Far be it from me to criticize anyone's ratings on Ratebeer.com. I am no expert, as I have stated repeatedly. But any overall rating of 2.5 indicates an average beer to me. One person rated this last beer a 3.0 - better than average, to my way of thinking. Yet his remarks clearly indicated he did not like this beer. So am I being too critical or are others being too generous? It's a mystery.
The last one was much better. Widmer Hefeweizen was a solid unfiltered wheat beer with character and taste. I gave this one good marks, too.
So, now that I'm more aware of my averaging tendencies, I'm going to make a concerted effort to be more generous to those beers I really like. Maybe I'll get my average up to 7.5.
Ha! Like I haven't heard that before.
Cheers!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........46.......25
Remaining......478.....340
Having spent most of my life in Michigan, it seems strange to see so much sunshine. It seems unreal that I'm wearing shorts and tee shirts in March and April. And if you don't know this, mid-eighties in Tucson is very pleasant. Our windows are open rather than shut to keep the conditioned air inside. In Michigan, temperatures in the mid-eighties is usually accompanied by humidities in the same range, making even the shade uncomfortable. But here in Tucson, if you're not in the direct sun, it's very comfortable in the shade.
I've been here for almost three months now, but I still can't stop talking about the weather. First thing out of my mouth when I talk to someone back home is the weather report. I'm like a broken record that way.
It's no different than the difficulty I have with scoring the beer I drink. I've written a few times about my struggles with this, namely that my scoring band is very narrow. The last time I had opined that with a focus on beer styles I tend to like, the score would go up. Okay, it's only been a few days, but the average score of the beers I've tried since I wrote that? 2.74. My average for all beers is 2.73. Hmm...not much of a bump, is it?
Like a broken record, I keep trying to figure out why this is happening. Is it due to inexperience? Probably. Could it be due to the fact that I haven't tasted any great beers yet? Maybe, but doubtful (see question #1). Could it be my interpretation of the scoring system is narrow? This last possibility bears closer examination.
The Appearance rating is from 1 to 5, so I'm not too concerned about this one. Of course the contribution of this factor will be narrow because the range itself is. The same is true for the Palate rating, so we can disregard this one, too.
Aroma and taste, however, is from 1 to 10. More variability to impact the final calculated score, so let's look at the guidelines. The upper and lower boundaries are pretty self-explanatory. A 1 or 2 is "awful" and "definitely unpleasant," respectively, while 9 and 10 are "exceptional (rare)" and "one in a thousand, at most." An 8 is "something special; a beer out of the ordinary." That, too, seems to be a value that isn't given often because "out of the ordinary" is extraordinary. So what's left? A 5 is "ok, but not really good." A 6 is "good, but nothing special." And a 7 is "really nice."
A breakdown of the aroma and taste ratings I've given is somewhat revealing. Out of 43 beers I've rated, the average aroma rating is 5.62. I've given out six 5's and five 7's, but a whopping (24) 6's. For taste, the average is 5.44. For this one, a bit more balance. Eight 5's and the same number of 7's, with (21) 6's. Obviously, I'm either evaluating a large number of average beers or I'm being too narrow in my ratings for these two areas.
The final factor is Overall, which goes from 1 to 20. The guidelines are similar, only doubled. If 8 and above is rare, then 16 and above would be as well (it is). If 3 and below is bad, you would expect 6 and below to be the same (it is). So if my average rating is a 6 for aroma and taste, would 12 be my average for overall?
Close...9.9. However, the distribution of ratings is centered around 12 and drops off on either side.
So I think the reason for my "consistency" is becoming a bit clearer. Inexperience rating beer is certainly a main factor, but along with that is my literal translation of the guidelines. I'm not being as liberal in the higher ratings as I could be, which is why the final calculated ratings are hovering around the same values.
I definitely need to give the record needle a nudge. No time like the present.
Fortunately I started out with a really nice Belgian ale, which is among my favorites. If I had started out with a lager that had been on the hoppy side, I might have given it a bump just because. I didn't need a reason to bump this one. Avery Karma Ale is a classic Belgian ale that really delivered. Beautiful color, aroma, and taste. High rating for this one.
The next one? Not so lucky. I chose a Belgian White because I love this style. Unfortunately, this one from Alaskan Brewing Co. called White Ale was either skunky old or just poorly brewed because it was not good. I couldn't have nudged this one up if I wanted to.
Observer's Note: Far be it from me to criticize anyone's ratings on Ratebeer.com. I am no expert, as I have stated repeatedly. But any overall rating of 2.5 indicates an average beer to me. One person rated this last beer a 3.0 - better than average, to my way of thinking. Yet his remarks clearly indicated he did not like this beer. So am I being too critical or are others being too generous? It's a mystery.
The last one was much better. Widmer Hefeweizen was a solid unfiltered wheat beer with character and taste. I gave this one good marks, too.
So, now that I'm more aware of my averaging tendencies, I'm going to make a concerted effort to be more generous to those beers I really like. Maybe I'll get my average up to 7.5.
Ha! Like I haven't heard that before.
Cheers!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........46.......25
Remaining......478.....340
Friday, April 9, 2010
Day 24 – Peanuts or Shells? It’s Up To You.
A popular saying onboard ship when I served in the Navy was “Some days, peanuts. Some days, shells.” That would usually be followed with a “Today is a shell day” because no one would think of the saying if they were having a peanut day.
Well, today started off as a shell day for me. I awoke with a headache that worsened as I drove to work, hitting every red light and getting stuck behind slow-moving semi-trucks and soccer mom vans. Then I sat through a ninety-minute meeting where an auditor presented his findings to management. Being a shell day, it wasn’t a particularly rosy report.
The headache, of course, faded in the background. The longer than usual drive meant I got to listen to an extra song on my mp3 player, which turned out to be one of my favorite Bob Seeger tunes. The audit findings? Good for my department because it provided us the mandate to make some long desired changes to business processes. The cherry on top was a meeting scheduled for 4:30 pm on a gorgeous, sunny Friday afternoon that was rescheduled to Monday morning.
Peanuts or shells?
It really depends on how you look at things. Granted, sometimes there just isn’t a bright side to a bad situation no matter how hard you try to find it. Or perhaps there is, but it’s buried so deep it isn’t even worth the effort. And truthfully, sometimes we just like to wallow in self-pity. We all have days like that.
Some people have lives like that.
And yet, we’ve all seen stories of individuals who refuse to let a bad situation affect their outlook on life. You might even know someone like that. They can’t control the things that happen to them, but they can choose how they react to them.
That is what I did today.
Beer-wise, this was a two-peanut day. I tried two different Leinenkugel's - Sunset Wheat and Classic Amber. The former claimed to be a wheat ale, but tasted more like a fruit beer. Not bad, but not great (one peanut). The latter was better, though not by much. A so-called premium lager, it looked great, but tasted so-so (one peanut). So...two peanuts.
Unfortunately, I had to work late due to fallout from the auditor meeting and I got behind a bunch of cell phone talkers on my way home. Shell day?
You decide.
Cheers!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........43......24
Remaining......481.....341
Well, today started off as a shell day for me. I awoke with a headache that worsened as I drove to work, hitting every red light and getting stuck behind slow-moving semi-trucks and soccer mom vans. Then I sat through a ninety-minute meeting where an auditor presented his findings to management. Being a shell day, it wasn’t a particularly rosy report.
The headache, of course, faded in the background. The longer than usual drive meant I got to listen to an extra song on my mp3 player, which turned out to be one of my favorite Bob Seeger tunes. The audit findings? Good for my department because it provided us the mandate to make some long desired changes to business processes. The cherry on top was a meeting scheduled for 4:30 pm on a gorgeous, sunny Friday afternoon that was rescheduled to Monday morning.
Peanuts or shells?
It really depends on how you look at things. Granted, sometimes there just isn’t a bright side to a bad situation no matter how hard you try to find it. Or perhaps there is, but it’s buried so deep it isn’t even worth the effort. And truthfully, sometimes we just like to wallow in self-pity. We all have days like that.
Some people have lives like that.
And yet, we’ve all seen stories of individuals who refuse to let a bad situation affect their outlook on life. You might even know someone like that. They can’t control the things that happen to them, but they can choose how they react to them.
That is what I did today.
Beer-wise, this was a two-peanut day. I tried two different Leinenkugel's - Sunset Wheat and Classic Amber. The former claimed to be a wheat ale, but tasted more like a fruit beer. Not bad, but not great (one peanut). The latter was better, though not by much. A so-called premium lager, it looked great, but tasted so-so (one peanut). So...two peanuts.
Unfortunately, I had to work late due to fallout from the auditor meeting and I got behind a bunch of cell phone talkers on my way home. Shell day?
You decide.
Cheers!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress...........43......24
Remaining......481.....341
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Day 23 – Fruit Beers: Chick Beverages or Serious Brews?
The other day I raised the question of whether fruit wheat beers were “for women only” or a style worthy of consumption. I can’t speak for brewers, of course, but some notable companies make award-winning fruit wheat beers, so I’m inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Whether this style is intended more for the feminine market or not, I tend to like the beers I’ve tried. This might not say much for me as a beer drinker. Put another way, perhaps it says it all. I don’t like IPAs, but I like the fruity stuff? I can see the beer geeks rolling their eyes right now. Even the BMC pack might be looking a bit haughty at this point. “Swill?” they might say. “At least my beer doesn’t come with little paper umbrellas.”
I don’t care.
That’s right, you heard me. I. Don’t. Care. I stopped caring half a lifetime ago. There was a point in my twenties when I did care. I wanted people to think I was sophisticated, so I drank scotch as a way of expressing that to others. I drank it on the rocks. No water or carbonated mixer. Just scotch and ice.
I started with Cutty Sark, which I thought was good stuff. It tasted like turpentine. So I moved up to Chivas Regal, thinking the upper shelf variety would be infinitely better. It tasted like regal turpentine. So I moved up to Johnny Walker Black. Ha! Now I would know the true meaning of smooth. Now I would be the sophisticate I pretended to be.
It tasted like top shelf turpentine. Yuck!
So here I was trying to choke down some pricey paint thinner while everyone else was having a good time consuming what tasted good to them. No one effing cared that I was drinking scotch. One person one time made the comment “hard core” when I placed my order, but that was the end of the recognition. And I’m not all that sure it was meant as a sign of respect.
That is when I wised up. I liked beer, so I gave up liquor (almost) completely and stuck to beer. At the time I drank Coors when I could get it (this was back when the brand rarely crossed the Mississippi) or Strohs (local brew) if I couldn’t. Then I tried Miller Genuine Draft and loved it. That was my brand for quite some time before my palate demanded more taste.
So here is where I’m going with this conversation. I have a wide-ranging appreciation for beer. I like red and brown ales, porters, stouts, and many different lagers. I like beers that are balanced – not too sweet, but not too bitter, either.
My preference, however, is for wheat beers. Whatever style it may be, if it is brewed with wheat, I tend to like it. So why would I not like fruit wheat beers? As long as the fruit doesn’t overpower the wheat, I’m fine with it.
It’s no different than those individuals who order mocha-choca-cappa-lattes instead of coffee or the folks who add cola to Jack Daniels (you know who you are). You drink what you like, not to impress others, and if someone doesn’t like it, fuck ‘em if they can’t take a joke.
So feel free to look down your nose at me for liking Sam Adams Cherry Wheat more than Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA. To each his own, I say. You can have my share of the really bitter stuff and I’ll take your share of the really good stuff.
Which leads me into what I tried today. Not good. Not bad, but certainly not good. The first fruit beer was from Leinenkugel's (courtesy of MC of BMC fame) called Berry Weiss. Looked like a wine cooler, smelled like a wine cooler, tasted like a wine cooler. If you like wine coolers, it was pretty good. If you're looking for any beer taste at all, move on. This was like that Wild Blue (from B of BMC fame) I tried a couple of weeks ago. If you have any respect for beer at all, pass on that as well.
The second was from Sea Dog Brewery called Apricot Wheat Beer. I had tried their Raspberry Wheat Ale a couple of weeks ago and thought it wasn't bad. This was a little worse than that, but better than the wine cooler masquerading as a wheat beer. At least there was a hint of wheat in the taste.
I'd still rather drink one of these two fruit beers than an IPA, but I wouldn't sing their praises, either. Maybe there's hope for me yet.
Cheers!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress..........40.......23
Remaining.....484.....342
Whether this style is intended more for the feminine market or not, I tend to like the beers I’ve tried. This might not say much for me as a beer drinker. Put another way, perhaps it says it all. I don’t like IPAs, but I like the fruity stuff? I can see the beer geeks rolling their eyes right now. Even the BMC pack might be looking a bit haughty at this point. “Swill?” they might say. “At least my beer doesn’t come with little paper umbrellas.”
I don’t care.
That’s right, you heard me. I. Don’t. Care. I stopped caring half a lifetime ago. There was a point in my twenties when I did care. I wanted people to think I was sophisticated, so I drank scotch as a way of expressing that to others. I drank it on the rocks. No water or carbonated mixer. Just scotch and ice.
I started with Cutty Sark, which I thought was good stuff. It tasted like turpentine. So I moved up to Chivas Regal, thinking the upper shelf variety would be infinitely better. It tasted like regal turpentine. So I moved up to Johnny Walker Black. Ha! Now I would know the true meaning of smooth. Now I would be the sophisticate I pretended to be.
It tasted like top shelf turpentine. Yuck!
So here I was trying to choke down some pricey paint thinner while everyone else was having a good time consuming what tasted good to them. No one effing cared that I was drinking scotch. One person one time made the comment “hard core” when I placed my order, but that was the end of the recognition. And I’m not all that sure it was meant as a sign of respect.
That is when I wised up. I liked beer, so I gave up liquor (almost) completely and stuck to beer. At the time I drank Coors when I could get it (this was back when the brand rarely crossed the Mississippi) or Strohs (local brew) if I couldn’t. Then I tried Miller Genuine Draft and loved it. That was my brand for quite some time before my palate demanded more taste.
So here is where I’m going with this conversation. I have a wide-ranging appreciation for beer. I like red and brown ales, porters, stouts, and many different lagers. I like beers that are balanced – not too sweet, but not too bitter, either.
My preference, however, is for wheat beers. Whatever style it may be, if it is brewed with wheat, I tend to like it. So why would I not like fruit wheat beers? As long as the fruit doesn’t overpower the wheat, I’m fine with it.
It’s no different than those individuals who order mocha-choca-cappa-lattes instead of coffee or the folks who add cola to Jack Daniels (you know who you are). You drink what you like, not to impress others, and if someone doesn’t like it, fuck ‘em if they can’t take a joke.
So feel free to look down your nose at me for liking Sam Adams Cherry Wheat more than Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA. To each his own, I say. You can have my share of the really bitter stuff and I’ll take your share of the really good stuff.
Which leads me into what I tried today. Not good. Not bad, but certainly not good. The first fruit beer was from Leinenkugel's (courtesy of MC of BMC fame) called Berry Weiss. Looked like a wine cooler, smelled like a wine cooler, tasted like a wine cooler. If you like wine coolers, it was pretty good. If you're looking for any beer taste at all, move on. This was like that Wild Blue (from B of BMC fame) I tried a couple of weeks ago. If you have any respect for beer at all, pass on that as well.
The second was from Sea Dog Brewery called Apricot Wheat Beer. I had tried their Raspberry Wheat Ale a couple of weeks ago and thought it wasn't bad. This was a little worse than that, but better than the wine cooler masquerading as a wheat beer. At least there was a hint of wheat in the taste.
I'd still rather drink one of these two fruit beers than an IPA, but I wouldn't sing their praises, either. Maybe there's hope for me yet.
Cheers!
Goal...............524.....365
Progress..........40.......23
Remaining.....484.....342
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