On Tap: Moon-shine

Well, I’ve been fairly busy at work recently so this week’s edition of On Tap is a couple days late and for that, I apologize.  Before we get to last week’s beers, I thought I’d throw out some more “fun facts”:

• The Czech Republic consumes 156 liters of beer per capita, more than any other country, followed by Ireland and Germany.
• Long ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim of their beer mugs or ceramic/glass cups. The whistle was used to order service. Thus we get the phrase, "wet your whistle".
• Last week I wrote that the strongest beer in the world was Sam Adam’s Triple Bock at 17% ABV.  I wasn’t even close.  After some research I learned that currently, the strongest beer in the world comes from Brouwerij't Koelschip in the Netherlands.  Their Start the Future beer is 60% ABV…that’s 120 proof for those of you playing along at home.

Ok, enough of that; onto the beer.  My favorite beer of the week came from the Blue Moon Brewing Company.  The beer in question was their Winter Abbey Ale.
  

Having tried and enjoyed their Belgian White, I had high hopes for this beer and it didn’t disappoint.  The beer has a nice mix of malt and wheat flavors with a slight toffee aftertaste.  It was smooth and had almost no bite.  If you’re just starting to get into beers, this is definitely a good one to try.

The big loser of the week came courtesy of Unibroue, a Canadian brewing company.  The beer in question: La Fin du Monde.  The beer is a triple-style golden ale and came highly recommended from the attorney in my office.  What I didn’t know was that the term “triple-style” roughly corresponds to the potency, in terms of alcohol by volume, of the beer.  La Fin du Monde in particular is 9% ABV, and it shows.  Besides the alcohol, the only thing I could taste when I nursed this beer was the strong malt flavor.  It was all just too much, and I ended up only drinking about half of my beer.

That’s all for this week.  Join me next week when I hope to discuss the following beers:

Ommegang Three Philosophers

Unibroue Blanche de Chambly

Lytro

I happened to be perusing the inter-web (as I often do) and I came upon this neat little camera:

Lytro 

Rather than try to explain what it does in detail, I’ll just give you a brief synopsis.  The camera’s main draw is that it utilizes a new technology that makes it possible to focus pictures AFTER you’ve already taken them.  You can focus and re-focus on different parts of a picture as many times as you want.  This sounds great to someone like me who is forced to rely on auto-focus for my camera (cameras, if you count my android, which I do!).  The camera has a kind of funky shape; I wish they had a model that looked more like your standard camera, but oh well.

In case you’re interested, here is a review from Engadget that I thought was fairly helpful.  While the camera’s technology is pretty cool, it is also apparent that it is not without flaws.  If you’re considering getting one, just remember that it won’t replace you current camera(s) by any means.  However, there is a camera for every occasion and I can certainly think of some situations where this little guy would come in handy.  Now if only I had the money to buy it.

The Beauty of Sadness

“Great men are always of a nature originally melancholy.”

                                                                                - Aristotle

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always found that the most beautiful things to me are usually pretty sad.  Lots of people have asked me, “How can you find that beautiful?  Doesn’t it just get you down?”   The answer, quite simply, is yes, of course it gets me down, but that doesn’t mean I can’t also appreciate the inherent beauty.  Some of the most beautiful things can bring me to tears and make my heart feel like an under-inflated balloon.  Those moments, to me, are when you know the art is real.  Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy art that makes me smile and laugh, but rarely will art such as that resurface in my mind for days, weeks even.  In that respect, there is no comparison to the beauty of sadness.

Perhaps it’s the feeling that others have suffered as well; that you are not alone.   Whatever the case may be, I think I will always prefer, artistically at least, the melancholy to the joyful.

This is one of the saddest songs I know.

Album Review: Port of Morrow

The Shins’ (James Mercer’s) new album is here!  It’s been 5 long years since their last full length album was released and a lot has changed with the band.  Gone are Martin Crandall, Jesse Sandoval, and Dave Hernandez.  Newcomers include singer/songwriter Richard Swift, Modest Mouse drummer Joe Plummer, Yuuki Matthews of Crystal Skulls, and Jessica Dobson.  Indeed, the only original band member remaining is Mercer and well, he IS The Shins.

I have to admit, when the single, Simple Song was released ahead of the album, I had high hopes.  And while, this album is clearly the weakest Shins album so far, it is still better than 90% of the crap on the radio and there are some gems to be found.  Overall, the album has a very mellow tone; you won’t find many poppy, upbeat tunes (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing depending on your mood).  One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is Mercer’s songwriting ability; he can still weave lyrics together that will make you feel as though you’re floating through an eerily beautiful dream.   Here are some of my favorite tunes off the new album:

Simple Song: “Girl, what a gift you tell me with your tongue and your breath goes in my lungs”

It’s Only Life: “Died in the womb you’ve been cornered by a natural desire.  You wanna hop along with the giddy throng through life.”

September: “Under our softly burning lamp she takes her time, telling stories of our possible lives.  And love is the ink in the well when her body writes.”

No Way Down: “Out beyond the western squalls, in an Indian land, they work for nothing at all.  They don’t know the mall or the layaway plan.”

Another interesting note about the album, the cover art was created by Jacob Escobedo.  At first glance it appears to be just a person standing atop a mountain; however, after closer examination I noticed that the “mountain” (specifically the right side) kind of resembles a human face in profile.

New Poem: Anatomy

I wrote this today after listening to some of The Shins new album on the way to work.  Not sure if it's finished but whatever.  Enjoy!

Anatomy

Quiet lives will creep inside
Our solitary sockets
Trapping time and old intangible knives
Inside some ticking lockets.

The dust-borne dreams will hide
The fated fact that growth
Makes even the simplest of cells divide
And spit the sallow yoke.

But the whir of wings within
Will give flight to sinking stones,
Strip fear of all its blood and marrow,
And give you hollow bones.

On Tap: Smorgasbord

This past week was filled with several new and exciting brews.  But before we get into that, I thought I’d share with you some fun “facts” I found on the internet.  I have no way of verifying any of these, so no idea if any of them are actually true, but they sure are fun!

• The first consumer protection law ever written was enacted over beer by Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria in 1516. It was a purity law limiting the ingredients of beer to barley, hops and water.
• Sprinkling a little salt on your napkin before you set your glass down will keep your beer glass or mug from sticking to it.
• The oldest known written recipe is for beer.
• The powers that be at Guinness say that a pint of beer is lifted about ten times, and each time about 0.56 ml is lost in a beer drinker’s facial hair. That’s a lot of wasted beer!
• Samuel Adams Triple Bock is the strongest beer in the world with 17% alcohol by volume. The strength is achieved by using champagne yeast.

Ok, onto the week’s winners and losers…sort of.  Last week was a good week, in terms of beer, and I am happy to report that I thoroughly enjoyed all three beers I tried.   The first one I sampled was Kona Brewing Company’s Longboard Island Lager.  I enjoyed this beer Tuesday night with some pizza and my DVR.  I can safely say this was the best lager I’ve had so far; it had a deep, rich flavor that made it very easy to drink.

The second winner of the week was a German beer by the name of Augustiner Brau Munchen.  This one and the Longboard were both from my most recent Wegman’s six-pack.  I originally picked this one out because it had foil over the bottleneck and I thought it looked fancy (what can I say, it doesn’t take much).  There were no subtle notes with this beer, just good beer flavor, with a smooth finish and not too much hops.  

The third and final beer(s) of the week was Harp Premium Lager, which was the brew selected for the St. Patrick’s Day party at my work on Friday.  This one is a little difficult to describe, other than it was crisp and refreshing.  It was easy to drink more than one and I had to be careful not to overdo it with this beer.  The last thing I need is to make an ass of myself at work (no beer necessary for that).

Well, there you have it.  Join me next week when I hope to discuss the following brews:

Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale

Dogfish Head Tweason’ale

Desperately Seeking Stuff

It has recently occurred to me that making lists of the things I like/want is FUN!  In the past I’d see things I thought were cool and then simply forget about them.  There are a number of reasons for this; either I figured I’d never be able to find it, or I’d never be able to afford it, or I’d look like a doof if I got it.  But no more!  I’ve started trying to keep lists of the things that interest me (having a smartphone with a notes app has made this much easier).  Not all the stuff is crazy expensive/unattainable, but there are a couple items that I don’t see myself ever really owning; that doesn’t mean I want them any less!  So, without further ado, here is what I’m coveting at the moment:

Cardigan (ala Kurt Cobain):  I know winter is almost over, but I’ve wanted a cardigan for a long time, but have always been too afraid to buy one.  I swear I will remedy this one day.

Emo glasses:  I’ve always felt I had kind of a plain face, and I think sporting a pair of funky glasses from time to time will help break up the monotony.  I ordered these yesterday and can’t WAIT for them to get here!

White belt: Who doesn’t need a white belt!?  I don’t own many belts and I definitely need to change that.

Facial hair:  Ok, so I know most women don’t really dig the scruffy look, but I kind of like it (and not just because I hate shaving).  The problem is my facial hair comes in somewhat patchy in spots so I could never grow a full-on beard, but part of me wishes I could.  Maybe I’ll splash some Rogaine on my face and see if that helps.