What is a Tommyknocker?
Here’s my ride up to the top. Very zen.
Some people tend to complain about the winter time. Something about being cold, and not much fun. I tend to disagree. Winter time is totally awesome! Not just because that is when stouts and barleywines tend to be released, but also because you can spend some time on the mountains!
Since the snow had been coming down locally since like, oh, October, we had the feeling that this would be a good snow season, and man were we right! This past weekend we went to Loveland Ski Area to enjoy the fresh powder. Loveland is a great place to ride. It usually only takes about an hour to get there.
Three hours later…we arrived. (Who knew all of Denver would think it a good idea to hit the pow as well?)The missus, the kid, and our boards (witness the assembly of my board here.) were ready to enjoy a great day out.
Ignore the fact that PBR is on special…unless you’re a PBR sort of person.
After a few crashes hours, we were ready to head in for an afternoon snack. One of the things we like about Loveland is the fact that they serve Tommyknocker beer up in the lodge. Let me tell you, nothing soothes a sore body better than an IPA. It’s the analgesic properties of hops, I suppose. Look it up, it’s science. I strongly recommend the Pine Bough Pale Ale, brewed to commemorate the Loveland Ski Area’s 75th Anniversary.
A few more tumbles down the mountain, and we were ready to go home. Before our final destination, however, we made our usual stop at the Tommyknocker Brewery in Idaho Springs. The kid loves the mac and cheese (the Kraft kind, mind you), and mom and dad enjoy the beer. It’s right off the freeway, and we can spend some time not sitting in traffic for a while.
What is a tommyknocker, you ask? Well, according to Wikipedia, a tommyknocker is some sort of mischievous mining elf, similar to a leprechaun. From Wikipedia:
Their name comes from the knocking on the mine walls that happens just before cave-ins – actually the creaking of earth and timbers before giving way. To some of the miners, the knockers were malevolent spirits and the knocking was the sound of them hammering at walls and supports to cause the cave-in. To others, who saw them as essentially well-meaning practical jokers, the knocking was their way of warning the miners that a life-threatening collapse was imminent.
But if you ask me, a tommyknocker is a Stephen King creation that scared the crap out of me when I was younger. Anybody else remember this?
From wikipedia
Seriously, Stephen King made a habit of scarring my formative years. I’m looking at you, Pennywise.
Anyway, back to the brewery. Super laid back atmosphere, serving sizes to feed pretty much anyone on this side of corpulent (seriously, I couldn’t finish the nachos), and tasty beer. My go-to is usually the Butt Head bock, where as the missus tends to prefer the Black Strike IPA.
The Legend
While we were there, I enjoyed The Legend™, which was Tommyknockers’ 2oth anniversary imperial brown ale. Brewed and aged with Hungarian Oak, this beer had a bit of bite at 10% abv.
Looks pretty thick, but light on the tongue, which is pretty nice. It’s definitely a beer that will age nicely, and I’m glad that I was able to take home a 4 pack.
Later that night, I had strange dreams about mischievous creatures trying to eat me, and I couldn’t find the keys to the alien spaceship.
No clowns, though. It was like I was back in middle school.
New Years’ Revolution
As the new year dawns, we tend to think about ways we can improve ourselves, either by exercise, or eating better, or some other such nonsense. I say, “screw that!” Let’s turn the world upside down with some revolutionary thinking! What kind of thinking? The absolutely genius kind, of course.
To that end, I have two pretty genius ideas that I’m willing to share with you. Know that by continuing to read, you acknowledge that the ideas contained herein are my intellectual property, and, at the very least, you should acknowledge my awesomeness when you steal adapt my ideas for your personal gain.
Ready? OK. My first idea is:
Suds.
Pretty sweet logo, eh?
Do you hate going to the laundromat? I sure do. You sit and wait, often for hours on end, listening to the screaming kids, the thwopping noise coming from the dryer, and oh my God is that some random pair of tightie-whities? Nobody needs that. However, if you were to be able to enjoy a nice stout while your BVDs rotated through the spin cycle, well, that would be even better. Worried about customers paying in quarters? Use a card system. The only problem will be deciding whether or not to pay for the extra rinse on your pants or to order another pilsner.
(Apparently Casey from Station 26 Brewing tells me that such a place already exists. I dunno. I’ve found Laundry Cafés and Laundry Bars, but not Laundry Breweries. Suds Brothers, however, does exist, but I don’t think that they dabble in detergents.)
Do you find it strange how CrossFit gyms seem to open up right next to breweries? (Maybe it’s the other way around, I don’t judge.) Anyway, wouldn’t it make sense to kind of combine the two together into one megaplex of awesomeness? Yes. My second idea:
Glutes
I’ve been busy designing sweet logos.
Hear me out. After busting out a deadlift PR or finally hitting that 36 inch box jump, you want to reward yourself with a tasty Dunkelweizen.(Deadlift Dunkel – eh? It practically writes itself!) Yes, I know the Paleo-CrossFitter types might not agree, but they can go enjoy a tepid glass of milk. (Free-range, of course.)
This idea is Arnold-approved.
Why go through the hassle of looking for a brewery to celebrate, when you can just cross over to the bar and toast with your fellow lifters! Aren’t really into weightlifting, but want to cheer your friend on? You can do so without feeling out of place, like at so many of those CrossFit gyms where outsiders aren’t welcome. Glutes will be for all. If you really want to branch out and think “outside the box”, then you can make it a Gluten-Free Brewery.
Boom. Glutes is now a play on words, in more way than one.
Yes, I know there are logistical issues, like people maybe hitting the brewery first then trying for a snatch PR, but I’m just the idea guy. We’ll let the legal department figure it out. Maybe you have an ID card that works for both places that tracks time. I dunno, I don’t want to spend too much time on the details. With a monthly membership good for one free beer per visit, it’s sure to bring up everyone’s PR.
What do you think?
Neil Diamond and the Bilbo Baggins Restaurant
Sometimes my travels take me to some interesting places. Last week I had the fortunate opportunity to visit Alexandria, VA. As it was elevenses, I was in the mood to take in some local beer food, and, after some careful Yelping, found The Bilbo Baggins restaurant in Old Alexandria. Wait, a Bilbo Baggins restaurant? How did I not know about this?! Yes. It’s a restaurant themed after The Hobbit. Not like the new Peter Jackson “I’m going to make shit up and painfully stretch things out” Hobbit. No, like “The Hobbit.”
Thankfully, the people at BBR provide you with a map, lest ye wander aimlessly.
Neil Diamond’s “Cherry Cherry Christmas” is the backdrop for my late morning/early afternoon meal. While some may regard Neil Diamond and Smaug in the same light, I didn’t seem to mind the music. Here. Have some Neil Diamond.
OK, first the food.
As soon as I sat down, they offered me what looked like some jalapeño cornbread. I’m not really a bread guy, but I do love my spicy foods, so I gave it a shot. Ooh, definitely spicy. But in a good way. And hey, even if you’re not into corn, it serves some sort of gastronomic purpose, so I ended up taking a few bites. Then I had to check out the menu.
So many cool-named foods: Gandalf’s Pie, Smaug’s Delight, Salad Nicoise. I mean, who thinks of these? I decided to go with Frodo’s Pie: a pizza consisting of spicy beef and pork meatballs, tomato, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. Even Beorn himself couldn’t resist! Light, fluffy thin crust. Slightly taken aback by the spiciness of the sausage – Hobbitses must like their foods spicy. Even though it was only 10″, I could not finish.
Of course, there was a massive beer menu. When I visited, there were about 12 beers on tap, and another 4 pages of beers available for consumption. With so many choices, it was almost hard to decide. Almost.
Yes, it’s called the Hoppit.
I decided to pair Frodo’s Pie with The Hoppit from Moa Brewing Company. Apparently this was brewed specifically for the Hobbit Movies. Nelson hops dominate the overall flavor (of course you were going to get NZ hops!), and there is a really good citrus/malt balance. The 8% abv is slightly noticeable, but I thought the spicy/dry fruity hops played well with the sausages, and had this been the end of my daily travels, I might have had another. I mean, the name alone makes it worth drinking. I didn’t see any Smaug Rauchbiers though, as that would have been pretty sweet. Avery Brewing has a beer named after Trogdor, so I guess that’s going to have to be close enough.
My travels through middle earth were over for the day, but should I find myself back in VA, I’ll definitely stop back for some more grub. Now more Neil Diamond Christmas:
The Wingferno, AKA Dante’s 10th Circle
Do not be afraid. Our fate cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.
– Dante Alighieri
Unknown peppers and death? I’m in.
As you age, you do really stupid things to prove your eternal youth. Participating in a fiery-hot wing eating challenge, courtesy of Dry Dock Brewing and The Wing Hut, is one of them. I’m sure trying to consume deadly wings falls somewhere between the 4th and 5th circles of Hell (look it up, people!), but I thought, “eh, why not?” My wife made sure my life insurance plan was up to date to support my decision, and my son wasn’t sure what to think, because what could be wrong with eating chicken wings? They’re like a step below bacon.
Thankfully, I lived! You too can survive such acts of idiocy too, provided you follow my plan.
Pre:
Prepare the lining of your intestines for the onslaught it will encounter. For me, this meant chili with jalapeños, sriracha, and some homemade hot sauce.
Imagine the training scene from Rocky IV, but with hot sauce.
I didn’t eat this every night, but certainly for quite a few. What made things especially nice was a family from New Mexico who gave me a bottle of their family hot sauce. It burned. A lot. I considered that the secret element that would put me over the top. At some point during my training, my son asked, “Dad, what if you fail?” Huh. Well, I can’t fail now. Dad mode kicked in. I might not be able to throw a football very far, or shoot things, but dammit, my stomach can sure take a beating!
During:
Hoppy beers tend to numb my extremities a bit. Secret’s out. I decided to use this to my advantage by drinking Dry Dock’s Double IPA and a Hop Abomination prior to the competition. Maybe it helped. It probably didn’t, but were these to be my last beers, at least I went out on a strong note.
Here is a gallery of what followed (pictures of me writhing in pain were removed at the suggestion of my editor):
Post:
Winner!
Nick brewed a great nut ale for participants of the contest, and while it was quite delicious, the beer just swirled the hot sauce that was sticking to my intestines and reapplied it to unsuspecting areas. Death would have been preferable at this point.
If you can imagine a dwarf (of middle-earth lore, D&D, and Viking metal, obviously) twisting his somewhat war – dulled axe into your stomach joyously, then that would accurately describe the pain I felt. Thankfully, the missus suggested a milkshake, courtesy of Sonic. (Banana FTW!) 30 minutes later, I came to the realization that I had much left to offer this world, and the thoughts of self – termination ceased.
Was it worth it? Sure, I got a sweet t- shirt. Am I going to do it again? No, I don’t need to prove my manhood again. Hell, it took me this long to post about the event.
The Great Pumpkin Beer
It seems like everyone is churning out pumpkin beers these days. While it IS fall, and the pumpkin is a great symbol of our American identity (moreso than smallpox, I suppose), I think we’ve just about hit the saturation point.
That said, I had some pretty good pumpkin beers this year. All suceed in paying tribute to the orange gourd. Some, like Dry Dock and Southern Tier, excel in creating a pumkin pie dessert beer, while others create a more balanced pumpkin experience with their herbal blends. In no particular order my top five this year:
Avery – Rumpkin
Dry Dock – Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Epic – Fermentation Without Representation
Southern Tier – Pumking
Upslope – Pumpkin Ale
Llama Approved!
I wanted to focus on those you can get in store, but for the record, you can find some pretty good ones at your local brewery. Sadly, I’ve also hit some not-so-good ones.
But even better than finding a great pumpkin beer among many impostors is finding a great pumpkin in a sea of mediocre ones. That’s right, I’m talking about going to a pumpkin patch. I recommend Rock Creek Farm. Easy to get to, and prices that can’t be beat. With a stick. With a stick containing a nail driven though the business end.
Wading through a sea of pipsqueaks and pumpkins ain't easy.
Some of you might say that you can just go to your local grocery store and buy a pumpkin. Shame on you. I think Dave Mustaine eloquently wrote about you in “Countdown to Extinction.”
So back to the pumpkin:
I’m a purist when it comes to pumpkins. I believe a properly picked pumpkin should be both spherical and appropriately colored (a majority of orange, and a hint of green to take you through the Day of the Dead.)
More like Hardy than Laurel.
All that is left to do is to crack open a Rumpkin and sit by the porch to wait for the Great Pumpkin. At the very least, he will commend you on your sincere beer selection.
What say you? What’s your favorite pumpkin beer?
Imperium! A homebrew recipe.
I haven’t posted in a while. My basement flooded in “The Great Flood of 2013”, and I’ve been a little busy with that. (I’m mostly done. Mostly.)
However, GABF is right around the corner and I’m planning on hitting several events: a face-melting concert spearheaded by TRVE and 3Floyds, Left Hand Brewing’s 20th anniversary party (I got tickets!), and multiple vertical/horizontal tastings throughout the city. Liver be strong!
Until then, how about a homebrew recipe? This is an Imperial Southern Brown named, Imperium. If you’re a fan of either ancient Rome or Fear Factory, then it makes total sense.
13 lb Pale Malt (2 row)
2 lb Brown Malt
.25 lb 120L
.25 lb 80L
2 lb Country Made Syrup
What is Country Made Syrup?
This.
I found it in The South. Not sure what an acceptable substitute would be.
1 oz. Phoenix hops @ 60 mins
0.5 oz Phoenix @ 30
0.5 oz Phoenix @ 15
Anyway, we did a 90 minute boil to get an OG of about 1.092. For something this massive, we pitched it right on top of a yeast cake created by a fresh hop (starter beer?) at 60°. Yep. Low and slow. It still nearly exploded, so make sure you have a blow off!
A few weeks later we were at 1.012 and ready to bottle! So, um, not quite a fall beer, as it will hit its peak sometime in January or February. Next time we will age with bourbon.
Try it out!
The Morning After
Sure, we’ve all had those nights where we’ve partied a little too hard and ended up doing something we regret (like have a Yeti Chug Challenge – don’t ask) and have to pay for it in the morning. No, this is not a political piece, but rather a practical post. Especially considering that it is the eve of Labor day weekend, in which the government decided to give you an extra day off so that you can imbibe barbecue and enjoy those last few days of summer. Thanks to the unions!
Stapleton knows how to throw down!
So anyway, back to my point. You spent all night traveling to different breweries (based on their closing times), or you had a craft beer fest with your friends. The next morning you wake up and feel like you’ve been either hit by a truck, or at the least, you have moth-mouth. What to do? Well, have no fear. I’ve created a matrix of several energy drinks, some which claim to be great at recovering after a night out…so to speak.
I did avoid drinks with high fructose corn syrup, because I don’t like it, and it’s probably not good for you. Yes, I understand that most of the other ingredients aren’t very good for you either, but that’s not the damn point of this post. I judged the drinks on:
- Taste/Flavor
- Effect
- Caffeine Content
- Additional “Nutritional Value”
So here were the contenders:
-
- Fill the fridge, you drunkards!
The first two on my list were pretty self-explanatory, since they market themselves as recovery drinks anyway. Then I decided to throw in Go Fast, since it seemed pretty wholesome, as far as energy drinks go, and the XYIENCE drink, well, it was on sale. Having had a Full Throttle earlier in my youth and deciding that it tasted like ass, I did not include it for this study. Please don’t send me any notes about Team Realtree or the crap that you find on sale at 7-11. Also, don’t ask about RedLine or SpeedStack, because that’s some hardcore shit, and this is a family show.
Anyway, back to the results:
Rockstar
- Taste/Flavor
- Surprisingly tasty. It tasted like I was actually drinking lemonade. Easy to down first thing in the morning, due to its lack of carbonation
- Effect
- Not really much of a buzz, which may or may not be good depending on what you’re looking for. If you need a slap upside the head, this is not the drink for you. But if you need something with a little more lasting power, then I’d go for it.
- Caffeine Content
- 160 mg
- Additional “Nutritional Value”
- Well, it has milk thistle. And according to this article, milk thistle is good for your liver. It also has L-Carnitine, which allegedly helps convert fat into fuel, in addition to your usual over-dosage of B-Vitamins.
Monster
- Taste/Flavor
- This did not taste like real lemonade. This did not even taste like fake lemonade. There was some attempt at some time to make it taste like lemonade, I’m sure, but they likely moved on to spend more time on marketing.
- Effect
- Initial buzz and hyperactivity for a while, then a crash a few hours later. If you need a jolt to get you going, you could do worse. It did warm up my stomach for a bit, so there’s that. Whatever that means. Maybe that’s where the Monster comes from.
- Caffeine Content
- 162 mg per can
- Additional “Nutritional Value”
- Well, no milk thistle, but yes to L-Carnitine and B-Vitamins. Similar to Rockstar in that regard, I suppose.
Go Fast
- Taste/Flavor
- I usually don’t like carbonated drinks (um, besides beer.), but I found the flavor to be rather smooth. Even more so if you go for the coconut drink. Probably the best tasting of the bunch.
- Effect
- Nothing too jarring. It did its job, and I didn’t get the shakes. I guess it left me pretty even-keeled. That was nice. Says the missus, “it was nice, but if you’re asking someone who drinks two pots of coffee a day for their opinion, well, it’s not going to go well.”
- Caffeine Content
- 120 mg.
- Additional “Nutritional Value”
- 75 mg of milk thistle, combined with B-Vitamins. Big fan of the milk thistle, because it’s probably the only thing that might really be of value.
XYIENCE
- Taste/Flavor
- Well, the “Cran-Razz” tasted like it sounds. Fizzy, and like cranberries. Probably not as bad as the Monster, but pretty far down there. It’s endorsed by the UFC? Maybe they don’t really care what things taste like as long as it helps them
caress opponentsbeat the shit out of their opponent.
- Well, the “Cran-Razz” tasted like it sounds. Fizzy, and like cranberries. Probably not as bad as the Monster, but pretty far down there. It’s endorsed by the UFC? Maybe they don’t really care what things taste like as long as it helps them
- Effect
- Left me very jittery, but kept the buzz going for quite some time. Probably the best choice if you’re looking to keep it going, or if you’re looking to ease off of meth.
- Caffeine Content
- 11.5 mg per oz. Huh. Time for a little math. 11.5 x 16 = 184. Oh balls. 184 mg. That explains quite a bit. Good thing I saved this for last, or else it might have ruined the effect of the others. Pretty much the highest out there, unless you go for the “2X” brands, or, like the missus, go through a pot of coffee a day.
- Additional “Nutritional Value”
- L-Carnitine. Inositol. Glucuronate. The usual.
Final Verdict:
It’s a tough call, but I guess it really depends on what you’re looking for. If you want flavor, the easy choice is Rockstar Recovery. If you want effectiveness at the slight expense of flavor then XYIENCE is the way to go. Monster? If it had some milk thistle, then I guess I could justify it’s mediocre taste, although many seem to like it.. Go Fast? Overall, a very solid entry. Not spectacular in any way, but also not going to let you down.
If I had to pick a winner?
Fill the fridge, you drunkards!
It was close, because Go Fast had the best overall combination of everything, but the Rockstar Lemonade flavor put everything over the top. But just by a wee bit. I wouldn’t disparage you for choosing the Go Fast. (Especially the Coconut Flavor).
Now go and enjoy your weekend! I know I will.
You’re welcome. (For those of you in the Denver market, it’s on sale at Soopers.)
Fermentation Festival – It Stinks! (In A Good Way)
Obscure Jon Lovitz reference
So there’s a fermentation festival you say? Sauerkraut and Kimchi? Sounds great! Wait, why would someone celebrate fermentation? I say, why wouldn’t someone celebrate fermentation?! I mean, fermentation not only creates probiotics via kombucha and/or kefir, but it’s also responsible for the creation of beer, and according to this study, beer is totally good for you. So we should celebrate it!
mmm! Pickled stuff!
We decided to take a family trip out to the Fermentation Festival, on 36th and Federal today. There were food trucks, breweries, and distilleries, as well as good old fashioned fermenters. Whether it was someone like Happy Leaf Kombucha giving lessons on how to properly cultivate your own kombucha (which is easier than you think – they even had a starter pack!), MMM Local providing pickled goodies, or food truck El Toro the Tot supplying kick-ass tots (seriously, they’re the best tots I’ve ever had – my kid made a “squee” noise when he found out they would be at the Fermentation Festival), the FF had something for everyone.
Oh, and there were breweries. Brewery Rickoli, City Star Brewing, Grand Teton Brewing (a favorite of ours), 12° Brewing, Kokopelli Brewing, Großen Bart Brewing (coming soon to a town near you!), Verboten Brewing, and, one of my favorite breweries in Denver, TRVE. There were distilleries, pickleries (is that even a word?) classes on cheese-making, beer-making, and pickling.
The best part? It’s still going on tomorrow. Go there. It’s totally fun. If you see Nick @trve, tell him I sent you. It’ll make me that much cooler.
-
- Barrel-Aged Double Oatmeal Stout from Verboten. Hell yes.
-
- My son ate the tots way before I could get my camera out. This is all that was left.
-
- A well-balanced sour.
-
- Well, we just had to stop back at TRVE on our way back home.
BTW, if you’re a CVLT member, you can expect notice about getting first dibs on bottled/tapped Vexovoid sometime soon, likely to be handed out around mid-September or so.
Third Stain’s The Charm
This weekend I was driving through Stapleton (because I love dodging kids running through streets – seriously parents, do better) when I drove past a yard sale. Sure, most are generally junk sales, with scratched up copies of Captain and Tennille mixed with busted Power Rangers. This time, however, I found the following:
Hmm…we could use a large solid oak table, but upon further inspection, it looked like it needed some work. A lot of work:
Ah, yard sales. I ask the price, he tells me, I chortle. I give him a counter price, he guffaws. The nice thing about yard sale items is that you can eventually haggle to a price at which both sides feel they’ve screwed the other made a fair deal. Did I mention it also came with 8 solid wood chairs? That’s right, 8! And they all match!
Once the negotiations were over (pretty sure I won. It was early afternoon on the second day, aka desperation time in yard sale speak) and I had loaded the entire ensemble into my Element (yes, it all fit) it was time to get to work.
-
- Well, first you need a good sander. This isn’t a task to be done by hand. I know, I tried and gave up after 3 minutes. Luckily, I remembered I had this in the shed.
-
- The old stain was removed. I should not have done this indoors. I should have also worn a mask. Ahh, fresh and clean. Oh, a word of advice: use a fine grit to sand down. It’ll be worth it later. Again, I learned this the hard way. I always learn things the hard way.
-
- Don’t ask why there are so many stains. Fine – I’ll tell you. It’s because I had to go to the Home Depot THREE different times to get the right stain. First one – too light. Second one – too dark. Third one – just didn’t care anymore. Luckily, it was nice.
-
- Hey! Look how shiny this is! I’d give a shout out to Minwax for their fine products, but they didn’t sponsor my blog. Oh, wait, I guess I just did. Dammit. Well, Minwax still makes a good product.
Ah! Three days later, due to the various curings of stains and clear coats (how many coats does one need on a table anyway?), I’m ready to enjoy my table. As it is a fine summer day, the natural choice would be to break out one of my homebrews. I brewed this last winter to be enjoyed this winter, but I decided to crack one open to test it out.
Mmm….lactosy old ale.
What better way to enjoy woodwork than with an oak-aged homebrew? This Mexican style old ale, Viejo Añejo, was infused with oak spirals aged in Añejo tequila. It’s hop profile is similar to that of popular Mexican ales. Not a hop/malt combination you’d expect, but very smooth nonetheless. It’s amazing what a blend of Maris Otter, Torrified Wheat, Crystal Malt, Chocolate Malt, and Lactose will do. Apologies to those of my friends who are lactose-intolerant.
Also, note the kick-ass aluminum cup from Elevation Brewing in Poncha Springs. (More about EB, Poncha Springs, and Salida next time!)
Made by Pinemeadow Green, they’re great for camping. Personalized growlers available online? Sweet.
Glamping in Burney: Winners and Losers
The porter sits alone.
What better way to start the summer than with a quick camping trip to Burney, CA? It’s a chance to commune with nature, fish, ride the ranger down some dirt roads, and drink some Northern California/West Coast beer that I don’t often get the chance to consume.
The theme of this blog’s post will circle around the idea of winners and losers.
[Shooter]
I tell you, the real winner today is the city of Burney. Every time I come it gets harder to leave.
[/Shooter]
Winners:
Nature
We were camping, if you call living in cabins on some private property “camping”, just outside of Burney. Every day involved looking at these views via hiking or ranger riding.
Winners:
Good Food and Good Beer
Camp food is all sorts of awesome. Of course, it can go horribly wrong, as you will later see, but for the most part, it’s hard to mess up camp food. Make sure you start with bacon, then you cook whatever else you want to eat with the bacon grease, throw some Tapatio on it, and you’ve got magic. This is what one should eat every day. Every. Flippin. Day. (Apologies to the vegans…kinda.)
Stock photo from craftbeer.com
The next biggest winner was Eel River Brewing. They’re the first certified organic brewery in America, which means that it’s super good for you to drink their beer. On this vacation, I enjoyed two classics: Raven’s Eye Imperial Stout and Triple Exultation Old Ale. Both were equally delicious, but I think I had to give the nod to the Old Ale, as it was deliciously malty and it’s balanced hop profile made for a wonderful afternoon riding the Ranger. Don’t worry, I wasn’t driving, but the Triple Exultation DID fit nicely in the cup holder.
The Raven’s Eye tasted like a classic Imperial Stout. Rich, malty, super-dark. I couldn’t taste the alcohol at all, and it generally tasted like a mix of dark fruit and dark chocolate. Yes. Find this at your local store and purchase it.
Hell or High Watermelon from 21st Amendment (not pictured). Another winner! Summertime is generally light beer time, and this watermelon wheat beer did not disappoint. I had quite a few. This is something you should pack with you when going fishing.
Losers:
Bad Camp Food and Bad Beer
Pretty much anything goes when camping, and as previously mentioned, sometimes ideas don’t turn out that great. You’ll see.
-
- Animal Style fries from In-N-Out seemed like a good idea at the time.
-
- Barbecue Pork and Guac burritos seemed like a good idea at the time.
-
- Roasted wieners are always good. When their internal temperature is measured by Kelvin, it’s a bad thing.
-
- Sorry guys, I know you tried.
I want to explain the last one a bit. I don’t like trashing craft beer. At all. Brewing beer is hard work. Things can go wrong in so many different ways – trust me, I’ve ruined a few batches. Brewers take a chance when they sell their beers out into the world, and in a sense, they send out a part of themselves with each batch. That being said, when you can it and sell it to the masses, you can expect that some will not agree with what you’ve created.
I was not pleased with 21st Amendment’s Barleywine. I thought it was a way too thin/watery, and the hop profile could have been better. Giving it a maltier backbone would certainly be a strong step into improving the beer. Not that I’m an expert, but I do like to drink/brew, so I think that counts for something.
So as to not end on a downer, I wanted to show you our whip for the week. Right, kids still use “whip” to refer to their mode of transportation, don’t they?
This counts as a steel horse, right?
Pretty cool, I know. You might notice the lawn chairs in the back, you know, for when more than three people want to ride at the same time. Here’s a word of advice. Don’t do it. I’ll just leave you with that.
Have a great week!
Hops Spring Eternal 