Cocktail Confessions

I can’t take credit for this article, though I’d be more than happy to participate in the research if my fellow country men called for it.  I’m actually ‘borrowing’ this from FoxNews online, more specifically from author Richard Goldmsith, so if anyone has a problem with these choices, go write him.

Anyway, without further ado, here’s what Mr. Goldsmith has to say:

In addition to being an occasion to recognize the sacrifice made by so many to keep America enjoying the liberty its known for, Memorial Day also serves as the unofficial beginning of summer. That means one thing – there’s going to be a whole lot of grilling going on this weekend.

Backyard barbecues and beer are a match made in heaven, and it’s rare to find a bag of charcoal that doesn’t have a cooler full of frosty beer sitting alongside it just waiting for friends and family to arrive and crack open a few bottles and cans. The trick for a good host is to make sure you’ve got the right stuff in there, and the right stuff is completely dependent on what’s tossed on the grill.

Typically, traditional American grub – burgers, hot dogs, brats, steak, and even ribs coated in sticky sweet barbecue sauce – calls for lighter beers like lagers and wheat beers. But if you start breaking out some of the more intense international flavors that have hit the flames more often in recent summers, the bulgogis, carne asadas and other heavily spiced cuts of meat, then beers that can bite back make an appearance. IPAs, porters and even heartily-hopped ales are tailor made to cut the spice and clear the palate for the next tantalizing bite. But the best beers to drop in the cooler straddle a fine line between these categories, switch-hitting with the same skill as Mickey Mantle and making every bite better, no matter what it may consist of.

Here are a few that manage to hit it out of the park every time.

North Coast Brewing Co. Red Seal Ale – An American Amber Ale brewed in California, Red Seal breaks out subtly sweet caramel flavors nicely balanced by earthy aromas and a hefty, though not too soda-like dose of carbonation. It pours a gorgeous deep amber red, and drinking it straight from the bottle is all sorts of satisfying, concentrating the citrus and bitter hops that come through on each swallow. The clean flavors pair up just fine with a hot dog or three, but there’s enough body to balance out some fairly significant heat. Just don’t break out the habaneros. That sort of fire will turn most beers, including this one, into a unique form of penance.

Oskar Blues Gubna – Conveniently packaged in a can for easy access, not to mention providing protection for the beer against the sun’s rays and premature skunking, Gubna is an Imperial IPA, a style known for some serious hop-borne bitterness, and Gubna is no exception. Brewed in the craft beer wonderland known as Colorado, Oskar Blues imparted some intense hops flavor into this can. But with surprisingly gentle carbonation and a finish that seems almost oak-aged, featuring a light vanilla note, Gubna is surprisingly easy drinking. It’s a heavy beer, but some spice and citrus do a nice job of breaking it up and balancing out what is an extremely complex brew. It stands up to the heaviest spice you can throw at it and hits back with a punch of its own: a 10 percent alcohol content. A few of these and even the most charred hunk of mystery meat will taste absolutely amazing.

Two Brothers Dog Days Dortmunder Style Lager – The closest beer in the lineup to a traditional summer thirst quencher, Dog Days is Two Brothers’ summer seasonal and combines a light golden body with satisfying yeast and wheat and just enough bitterness stemming from the addition of noble hops to make the mix interesting. It’s straight-up pure unadulterated beer in the grand German tradition. That doesn’t happen nearly often enough with American craft brews. It’s refreshing, with a touch of orange sweetness that sneaks up on you similar to the way a six pack of this stuff will disappear like a ninja without anyone noticing.

Victory Sunrise Weissbier – A well-executed Bavarian wheat beer, Victory replaces a heft dose of malted barley with malted wheat, resulting in a tasty summer concoction with heavy banana and clove flavors. It’s an unfiltered beer, so it pours cloudy and the texture can be a bit off-putting if it’s not a familiar style. But the tangy fruit and clean lemony citrus, offset with just a touch of spicy pepper, are a spectacular counterpoint for heavily spiced sausages and marinated skirt steak. Despite this, it still pairs up nicely with a simple burger or drinks nicely on its own. It has a unique fizzy texture to the carbonation as well, likely from the particulates still floating around in the bottle. It’s the most refreshing beer of the bunch by far but the banana notes can be a bit polarizing, as can the lack of filtering, so it’s wise to keep a few backup bottles handy for those who aren’t into it – leaving that much more for you as you man the flames at the grill.

Jon bottling beer

In my post published April 14, Brew Bakers (Part I) , I was able to share with you the experience of my friends and I actually brewing our respective beers.  It was a few weeks later that we made a reservation (April 2nd) to go back and now bottle our beer.

Unfortunately, due to unforseen personal reasons, Brian couldn’t make it that day but our mutual friend Jon would be able to step in for him and pick up the slack.

Brew Bakers happened to be much busier this particular day as they were hosting a children’s ‘root beer’ making birthday party along with pizza’s and a lot of anxious kids.  I can’t blame them for their excitement.  How many kids get to brag that they made their very own soda pop and then bottle it at a brewery and have artisan pizza to boot?  I know I would have enjoyed this as a kid myself.

There also seemed to be a large number of tasting patrons this day as well.  That is, not really making any beer, but just came in to sample various bottled creations up at the bar.  Something I’d also do more often if I lived a bit closer myself.

We had an intial start time of 2pm, but because of some paperwork snafus, the birthday party, and overall general bee hive of activity that day, we really didn’t get to start before 2:30 and some change.  So what did we do as we patiently waited?  Have some more samples of course!

Finally when a bottling station opened up, Sam was up first.  Seeing that he only had a 1/2 order to begin with and already a 1/2 hour behind schedule, we all chipped in to label his bottles. 

The bottling process itself is a bit mechancial and repetitive.  You place two (2) 22oz bottles in an upright stainless steel case with a plexi-glass front.  Once the front slides down, using a pnuematic control you begin to fill your bottles first with CO2 for a count of 5-Mississippi.  Then you flip the switch in the other direction to begin pumping your brew from your plastic fermenation keg into the actual bottle, about half way up the neck.  Once filled, we remove the bottles and then using a hand cranked capping device, we place the virgin zinc bottle caps on top and crimp in place.  Voila!  Rinse and repeat until all your bottles are done.

When the second bottling station opened, I began to ‘birth’ my 72 bottles, two at a time.  I didn’t have my labels with me this day as I opted to make mine at home with the artistic help of my friend Joe.  Once Sam was done with his 1/2 order, Jon was able to start on Brian’s beer.  I’m sure Sam volunteered to go first because this allowed him to get another ‘mac & cheese’ sandwich like we had before, (although it wasn’t as big as last months offering to his chagrin).

Towards the end of Jon’s and my bottling endeavors, we started to come up just a tad bit short in a full 72 bottles each.  I barely managed to squeak by….my last two bottles only filled about 2/3rds of the way up.  However, Brian’s lot came up short a whole 6 bottles.  The nice thing about Brew Bakers is that they guarantee a complete experience, and seeing that we paid for a full batch, they made good on their promise and allowed Jon to hit the fridge and pick any 6 bottles he wanted to complete the order.  So in a way Brian may be the luckiest of the bunch…he ended up with 66 of his own bottled brew and 6 various other home made beers that he could sample on his own.

We also learned that they have discounted brewing services on Thursday’s, so next time around I’ll be sure to book an appointment for a Thursday afternoon….allowing me to leave work early for a day and make some brew at a fration of the price.

Now as far as labeling goes, I had my friend Joe Tingle use his Photshop skills and come up with a label under my direction and our joint creativity.  He came up with the words “He-brew” one evening as we joked around and an image of Charelton Heston as Moses from the classic movie ‘The Ten Commandments’ came to my mind…hands outstretched before the Red Sea.  In each hand a 40oz beer.  I sketched out the design and left it up to Joe to come up with a prototype mock up.  His first pass at the label showed a lot of promise and I knew we were on the right track.  With a few additional suggestions from me, some changes to color, font size, and effects, the label was born.  When Joe emailed me the final .JPG file, I was ecstatic to go to our local office supply store and buy the appropriate Avery labels for my color ink-jet printer.  After an initial few test prints of diffrent qualities and sizing, we finally had our finished labels:

In the coming weeks, we plan on hosting a joint BBQ at my house where we’ll sample each others beers along with various sausages, hot wings, and other goodies.

Seems like this entry has been at least a month, if not more in the making.

At the beginning of this year, I outlined a ‘bucket-list’ of things I wanted to accomplish this year, and I started out with a bang the first two months.  I have lost close to 25lbs already, made at least 10lbs of two sausage varietals from scratch, built the basic framework for a 3.5′ x 6.5′ N-scale benchwork in my spare bedroom, and even attempted to get my friends together to rent a 31ft RV to go camping (that failed miserably, but not because I didn’t try).

Another item on my list this year was to brew a fresh batch of beer.  Well, I finally made the appointment back for March 12th of this year up at Brewbakersof Huntington Beach.  If you’ll recall, I mentioned that back in the spring of 2005 I made a large batch of ‘Frankie Beer’ (sure, it’s not the most creative of a names….it was named after my Mini-Schnauzer) and it was a hit with my neighbors, friends, and family for the 4th of July weekend back then.

Well here I am, almost six years later and I managed to get my good friends Brian and Sam to join me this time around for the experience.  We had a great time together; we tasted some phenomenal beers whilst brewing our own, had some delicious beer bread to take home from the used mash of our efforts, had a gut-busting grilled-macaroni & cheese sandwich, and of course just had a great time hanging out for the afternoon.

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It’s a tad bit more expensive than I remembered, but isn’t everything 6 years later?  Then again, Brewbakers has everything self-contained, meaning no large mess or epic scale clean up at my house at the end of the day, and all the tasting of fabulous brewed beer our fabulous hosts could pour down our gullets.  I swear, I think we were starting on a decent buzz even before we picked up our first bowl of grain!

Sam made a Chocolate Stout, Brian – a whisky inspired ale, and yours truly attempted a Honey Amber Ale.  By far, Sam’s recipe and efforts were the most complex….he had at least 6 pounds of various grains, chocolate, hops and more for his creation whereas mine was probably the simplest (although I added a tad bit more honey and cut back slightly on the hops to alter the flavor towards the sweeter side of things).  Brian and I each made an equivalent of close to a keg’s worth (72 x 22oz bottles), whereas Sam made 1/2 a batch (36 x 22oz).

It’s a really fun and educational process to boot, (so kids, tell your mom you wanna make beer..it’ll advance your knowledge in the history and science!).  Once you pick out a recipe that sounds good to you…many mimic the taste of many popular craft beers, or you can bring your own in as well, you’re given a kettle station, stainless steel bowls, measuring devices and scales and off you go.

Once you pick your toasted grains and measure them all out, you’ll need to mill them to help break them apart and remove some of the chaff.  Then into the kettle of boiling water where you’ll steep it every so often for the next 1/2 hour or so.  Towards the end of the rolling boil time limit, that’s where you’ll add you liquid ingredients such as honey, adjunct, molasses, etc. and give it a thorough stirring with large paddles.  Next, we hit the fridge unit and dig out our fresh hops to add and let sit a bit longer.

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Soon enough our respective brews are pumped out of their brass kettles into a plastic lined barrel where we then add our last, yet most vital ingredient: live active yeast cultures.  Once our yeast is added in to start the fermentation process, our plastic barrels are sealed up and stored away in a temperature controlled room where they’ll sit for 3-4 weeks before we come back to bottle.

From start to finish the process takes just around two hours.  Brewbakers has this down to an efficient science as they need to clean up the kettles, counters, etc., and get ready for the next round of scheduled appointments.  That being said, we were there closer to 3.5 hours, spending the first 30 minutes or so sampling various beers already on draft.  And while we were brewing and steeping our grains, we had one of the best grilled sandwiches ever.  The gooey mac-n-cheese on grilled beer bread was just divine.  All three of us had it and walked away more than satisfied.  If you’re still hungry, Brewbakers also makes their very own soft pretzels and rolled out pizza.

One of the best things about Brewbakers is its atmosphere.  Everyone is there for a good time, usually creating beers for birthday parties, anniversaries, special events, etc.  They also let kids come in and make root beer, and next door, if you like wine, there is a separate establishment that will guide you through making your own wine.  The staff at Brewbakers are fun, energetic, and friendly.  But still the best part to me is perusing the homemade labels.  See, since this is your beer, you also get to flex your creative muscles and design your own labels.  For a slightly extra charge Brewbakers will print out a few sheet for you, provided you send them a digital .jpg file, but I’m no stranger to this.  I have a color ink-jet at home, and just need to buy the appropriate Avery labels and make my own. 

Anyway, the walls are littered with examples and past pride and a real treat to look at.  Some are tame, some a bit more risque, most are funny or a clever play on words.  Some look like they were done in 10 minutes while others look like real pieces of art, but they all have a certain amount of charm in their own right and you cannot get bored discovering all these little slices of peoples lives captured in these micro-events of a 3″ x 4″ label.

Next…returning in 3 weeks for bottling!!

Two Australian companies claim to have developed the very first space beer, news.com.au reported Tuesday. Perhaps we are one step closer to Romulan Ale after all.

Saber Astronautics Australia has teamed up with the Four Pines Brewing Company to develop the very first beer that can be consumed safely in space in preparation for the supposed space tourism industry that is expected to start very soon. While perhaps a novel idea, I can’t help think this is slightly premature and more of a marketing gimmick than anything else.

Jaron Mitchell, founder of Four Pines, said the creation of space beer was an event for the history books.

“Wherever humans have journeyed to throughout history in the last few thousand years, we first worry about water, food, shelter and clothing,” he told Aussie news website news.com.au. “In many cases beer is the next consideration soon after the above four.”

“This is a modern day voyage, similar to the voyage and creation of the ‘pale ale as prepared for India’ in the 1800s, or what is now referred to as the India Pale Ale.

The brew gets its name “Vostok” after the first manned spaceflight back in 1961.

Apparently, according to the article, human biology changes in zero gravity conditions. The tongue swells, the senses dull — altering the way food and drink tastes.

“We also wanted to make the beer good to drink on earth as well. So the idea is you can drink this beer anywhere in the universe,” said Dr Jason Held, director of Saber Astronautics Australia.

Saber picked a high-flavored beer as a baseline recipe to ensure that space travelers could enjoy the full flavor of the smoky Irish-style stout, no matter how long the flight duration.   Too bad they didn’t spend as much time or effort on the logo (looks pretty lame if you ask me…but chances are, you aren’t).

Four Pines Brewing Company is a microbrewery, bar and restaurant based in Manly, Sydney.

Mark your calenders, and for good reason too.

We all know what September 11th means and stands for.  There’s no denying it’s a pivotal and defining moment in our nations history no matter what ethnic or religious background. 

While there are indeed multiple ways to show your respect, mourn, and remember your own way there is also an annual event held at Hidden Valley Park in Irvine, CA.  It’s near Wild Rivers and the old Verizon Amphitheatre where the 405 and 5 FWY’s meet.

The Orange Country Brew Ha Ha is an event to help show appreciation to our firefighters for both serving and protecting us.  It’s a beer festival where a portion of all proceeds collected will be donated to benefit The Fallen Firefighters Foundation, a non-profit organization that is leading the effort to honor America’s fallen firefighters.

There is scheduled to be over 50 of both San Diego’s and Orange County’s finest breweries.  This should include a selection of over 100 (yes one hundred) crafted beers for your tasting and enjoyment.  Hours are from 12pm to 3pm, Saturday, September 11.  I believe parking is free and the park is very nice, large, and secluded from civilization.

General admission is $35 in advance ($40 at the door, cash-only), so go ahead and buy online.  VIP is $45 and includes 2 extra tastes, VIP parking, 1 hour early entry, and a free beer appreciation seminar (?).  There’s also a $60 Gold VIP deal too, but you can go to the website to check that out and what you get.

No one under 21.  They will have designated drivers available for a $10 fee.

Some extras you can look forward to:

• Over 100 craft beers
• Commemorative festival glass
• Ten 4oz tastes (you can buy more tastes)
• Beer tasting seminars
• Free parking, soda, and water
• More, but too boring for me to list..

American wheat ale, or American light wheat as it’s also known, is perfect for the hot summer months

This all-American version of a German-style hefeweizen originating in the Pacific Northwest ranges from pale to golden in color and can be quite hazy if not filtered. It has a long-lasting head with a crisp and refreshing taste, and somewhere between a light to medium body.

Unlike their German weizen counterparts, you will not find the telltale flavors and aromas of banana and clove because they are fermented with normal ale yeast. Still, there might still be some fruitiness in the aftertaste coming from ale fermentation.

This style is often served with some kind of citrus fruit wedge to cut the wheat or yeast flavor but is not really needed to enjoy the style.

Its average alcohol by volume (ABV) range is 2.8-7.0 percent

Topher Tastes It

1. Bell’s Oberon Ale from Bell’s Brewery, Kalamazoo, Michigan
(5.80 percent ABV; Available: Summer Seasonal March 30th till October. Current Distribution Area: AL, FL, IA, IN, KY, MI, MN, MO, NC, ND, OH, PA, VA, WI Available in Bottles and on Tap)

Loved it.

I poured it from a 12-ounce bottle into a regular old American pint glass, and the first thing I noticed is that it had a nice, thick, almost eggshell-color head and stayed on the beer till the end. There was a hazy pale yellow color to the body of the beer.

Next, it had a somewhat sweet smell that reminded me of the smell of homemade wheat bread. It wasn’t overpowering, but it was there.

The taste … now, this is where this beer shines. There is a defined crispness to with a citrus flavor and a little bit of that wheat beer flavor in the end.

2. Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier from Boston Beer Co., Boston, Massachusetts
(5.50 percent ABV; Available: Year Around. Available in Bottles and on Tap)

This one’s from the kings of the craft beer movement.

I had this beer on tap, poured into a American-style pint glass.

The beer had a nice straw yellow color, with the creamy-looking head that did not last long on the two pints I had. That was OK, because I did not let this beer stay that long in the glass.

Yes, there are blackberries in this beer. You can smell them the second you get it in front of you. There is also a slight spicy scent mixed in with the blackberries, but I was not sure what spices I smelled.

The taste was a bit malty on the first sip, but again, the blackberries showed through and gave the beer a light but distinctive fruit flavor that I quite enjoyed – very light and easy to drink.

3. Terrapin Rye Pale Ale from Terrapin Beer Co., Athens, Georgia
(5.50 percent ABV; Available: Year Around. Current Distribution Area: Ga, Fl, Tn, Al, Va, Pa, Nc, Sc Available in Bottles and on Tap)

This is the beer that launched Terrapin. Back in 2002 the Rye was the first beer John and Spike brewed…at the time it was only available on draft only in our hometown of Downtown GA. That year it won the gold medal for American Pale Ale at GABF.

They brew this beer with 10 percent rye, but it is good American pale ale all the way!

I had this poured from a bottle in to the standard American pint glass, and it had a great honey yellow color that almost bordered on copper at times. The head was a cream color and was not as thick as I would have liked.

I smelled the hops and some spiciness right off, and there was also a hint of citrus in there to round it all out.

The rye is there, full and up front in the flavor of the beer, and a bit of sweetness also. I had an ending of the hops coming through as an aftertaste, but it was all well-balanced and really a great-tasting beer.

It was a very good beer that puts a different twist on the standard American pale ale style. It’s very drinkable, and I would not have a hard time sitting around and drinking more than one in a row.

There you go, some good beer and some good info.  As always, go out and try some new beers (in moderation) and remember that the best beer in the world is the beer you like to drink!

I received a pleasant surprise today; I got a call from my good friend Brian who wanted to see if I was up to meeting him for lunch since he was going to be in the area.  Knowing that the only thing I had with me today was a microwaveable cup of soup and a very generic roast beef sandwhich I made myself this morning, there was really no arm twisting involved.

We agreed to meet at Beach Pit BBQ located in Old Town Tustin.  Years ago the location was known as the Tustin Garage, and as the name suggests, was a place for auto and tractor repair.  Its been since retro-fitted and now sports a restauraunt that’s decked out is something akin to Texan and Route 66 decor on the inside.  The menu is a bit limited in choices for they only really serve ribs, pulled pork, sausage, salads, cornbread and sides, but then again, it isn’t meant to be a huge dinner place.

It’s fairly sizeable inside and open.  They have a small bar with a few flat panel televisions that usually are tuned to a sporting events.  It’s basically a beer bar only, with a few domestics in either bottles or cans, but also some craft beers on tap.  Today we both partook in a pint of Karl Strauss amber lager.  I normally would never drink during the work day, and haven’t in many years, but when the boss is away…..Anyway, the lager was very nice and somewhat light tasting with no bitter aftertaste.  It clocks in at 4.2% as well.  For those that are interested, they do indeed serve a standard fare in wine.

My lunch was the special: Grilled cheese sandwhich with pulled pork on Texas toast.  It comes with a side of seasoned fries for $6.95.  It was pretty darn good, and don’t think I didn’t slather on a little spicy BBQ sauce to boot.

Brian had a small platter of ribs, and although they counted five, they were huge.  He only actually ate four.  We also shared a basket of fried dill pickles.  He took the rest home with him with the left over rib.  Now I’ve had better fried dill pickles elsewhere, but these weren’t bad, they were actually just right and hit the spot.  They come served with a side of ranch.

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They have all the traditional BBQ sides, including cole slaw, mac ‘n cheese, baked beans, corn on the cob, potator salad and blueberry cornbread to name a few.  Deserts include ice cream sundae’s and banana pudding.   Additionally they have fried okra bits, sweet potato fries, pulled chicken, and more.

It’s a decent place for lunch with the guys, having a beer after work, or maybe a casual meal with the family.  They have four locations in So. California I’m aware of and its a fine little place.  Now, is it 100% lip licking traditional BBQ?  Not really, there are other venues like Bad to the Bone (SJC) and even Lucille’s I personally think is better, but overall, if you’re looking for a simplistic BBQ experience then Beach Pit is just fine.  I’d give it 3.5/5 stars, and 1/2 of those stars is based on teh decor, otherwise I’d give this place a 3/5.

I’m usually pretty good at creating my own content here, but I came across an interesting article over at FoxNews.com and thought it deserved a little attention here.  I’m cutting out some of the fluff, but you get the meat of it.  If you want to read the full article as it was written by Elena Ferretti, go ahead and click here.

Article

It’s axiomatic: from summer barbecues to Octoberfest, beer makes the party. Lucy Saunders takes it a step further. Beer, she says, makes the meal when the meal’s cooked with it. And she’s talking more than beer-battered onion rings.

She’s talking Cheddar Ale Spread with ancho, chipotle and pale ale, and Chocolate Malt Ganache. Saunders, author of “Cooking With Beer,” “Best of American Beer and Food” and “Grilling with Beer” also runs Beercook.com, whose emphatic motto is: “Because beer is Food!” Beer, specifically craft beer, she says, is for far more than just quaffing.

Most people understand – intuitively if not practically – that cooking with wine infuses food with depth, distinction and subtlety. Some dishes use the harder stuff, too; think Penne alla Vodka, or Bananas Foster aflame with rum. Beer hasn’t (yet) become part of our pantry, says Saunders, because while cooking with beer has been part of culinary history for centuries, “it’s been under-appreciated as it’s generally been the province of home cooks, via hand-me-down recipes.”

A craft beer’s flavor is determined by how barley is treated during malting, the process of germinating barley to create a high-starch content seed. The starch will eventually be converted into a fermentable sugar. The ‘maltster’ heats the grain to stop seed growth, which retains the starch content, then roasts it to develop various flavor characteristics and color, similar to the process of roasting coffee beans. Briess Malting in Wisconsin, says Saunders, is the last independent specialty maltster in North America and makes an incredible range of specialty malts for brewing.

Saunders, a Midwest native who, in addition to teaching, runs water conservation workshop for brewers and cheese makers, says she has a “palate for grains” and has loved the taste of beer for as long as she can remember. It started with her mom’s Cheese and Beer soup (beer, caramelized onions, asiago, cheddar and parmesan), Carbonnade (a jaw-dropping ale, beef and onion stew and a major Belgian culinary contribution along with waffles and chocolates) and her dad’s beer-based steak marinades.

The first commercial cookbooks, including some with recipes for cooking with beer, appeared in England during the Tudor era, late 1400s to mid-1500s. That was due not to beer’s ubiquity but to Gutenberg inventing the printing press in 1440. Previously, cookbooks were hand-written and used primarily by monasteries and the upper classes, says Saunders, who majored in Old and Middle English. Instead of a term paper she translated Tudor recipes, cooked and catered a medieval feast for her professor and other students and “hired frat brother friends as serfs to serve dinner.”

Americans’ love affair with craft beers started in the 1980s for a few reasons, says Saunders. By the mid-70s many states lifted a Prohibition-era ban on home brewing allowing people to recapture a forgotten craft. Also, in the late 70s and 80s, study-abroad programs proliferated and students started tasting European beers that had been crafted from long-standing brewing traditions, introducing their palates to flavors other than Budweiser and Miller Lite.

Saunders says that craft brewing combines the artistry and creativity of cooking with the rigors of science. It’s about fermentable sugars, final alcohol content, color and mouth-feel, and evoking flavor and aromatics from grain’s entire taste spectrum. “It’s a continuous learning and creativity curve. That’s the allure. It’s a great challenge and when the results are delicious they are shared and enjoyed. It’s why it’s here to stay.”

DJ Hero

Eh, well, not because I’m an advocate of throw away episodes, but once in a while it’s just kinda nice to put something out there to let the masses know you’re still alive and kicking.  It also helps in remembering how to craft and use technology so you don’t forget it so easily if you don’t do it too often.

Like most things that I really get excited and interested in, it appears that putting this podcast together is a bit harder than I first anticipated.  Not so much from a  technical aspect, but more of getting actual content down and getting guests to commit.  It’s been much more difficult than I ever would have surmised to get friends and neighbors to agree on a time to sit and chat, and every time it seems we plan on something it generally gets delayed for one reason or another.

That’s not so much the case in point here.  As I stated in my last post, I’ve been under the weather as of late.  I can’t remember the last time I has such a bad cough or case of bronchitis that has more or less just put me out on my butt.  My throat has been a bit raw and I’m all jacked up on various OTC medicines…none of which seem to be doing me much good by the way.  The nagging and uncontrollable hacking at all hours has been very frustrating to me, and while I’m not 100% right now, it seems I’m finally on the tail end of a good eight day cough fest.

Episode 13 is a bit short, clocking in at just about twenty one minutes and it just informs you up on a few recent things in my life

Stone Smoky Porter

like Christmas goodies such as DJ Hero, my new Blu Ray player, some movies and Netflix we’ve been watching (like season 1 of Dexter), and of course Stone Brewery Smoky Porter (5.9%).  Speaking of DJ Hero, that game is bad ass.  As a child of the 80′s and really into old skool hip-hop/rap and more current euro dance/techno, this game is right up my alley.  Some of my friends have laughed at me spinning a plastic turntable and making up DJ names for me, like DJ Wingman (thanks Chip).  I hope the game does well enough to spawn some additional DLC because I just love it.

Show Notes:

Intro – “Come Again” by Beastie Boys & Daft Punk (as heard on DJ Hero)

2:08 – Cornocopia of OTC drugs I’m taking including Emergen-C bullshit.

6:30 – This & that and a little fluff.

7:15 – Stone Brewery and porter talk.

8:05 – Blu Ray and movie talk (Star Trek, Paranormal Activity)

11:45 – Microsoft + Xbox RROD blues 

12:29 – Dexter: clean versus ‘R’ versions for Showtime and CBS

13:49 – Xmas continued + DJ Hero

18:39 – SkurvyMonekys.com podcast discussed

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (19.3MB)