Idiot’s Delight

New Beers Tried: March

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:43:00 -0400

During March, I tried 28 beers I’ve never had. The highlight was the Pfriem beers I drank during their welcome-to-Seattle events. All of their stuff was good with the Mosaic Pale and Little Saison standing out as favorites. Locally, I was impressed by the Machine House beers I had at their Grand Opening party and Fremont Brewing’s Seattle Beer Week beer. Also, the First Nail (made by Fremont for Pine Box’s 1 Year Anniversary) was a cinnamon-y ass kicker meant to be sipped. I feel sorry for anyone who drank several at the Box’s anniversary party. The hangover must’ve been memorable. Here are the beers I tried:

01. Machine House Gold (draft at Machine House Brewery)

02. Machine House U Name It (draft at Machine House Brewery)

03. Good Life Sweet as Pacific (draft at Tippe and Drague)

04. Pelican Keg Monkey Zwickel (draft at Bottleworks)

05. Flyers Younts Small Beer (draft at Brouwer’s)

06. Pfriem Mosaic Pale Ale (draft at Brouwer’s)

07. Pfriem Blonde IPA (draft at Brouwer’s)

08. Logsdon Cerasus (draft at Pine Box)

09. Pfriem IPA (draft at Pine Box)

10. Pfriem Little Saison (draft at Pine Box)

11. Boulevard Grainstorm Black Rye IPA (draft at Pine Box)

12. Sierra Nevada Blood Shot Imperial Red Ale (draft at Pine Box)

13. Green Flash Hop Odyssey Black IPA (draft at Bottleworks)

14. New Belgium Rampant Imperial IPA (12 oz. bottle)

15. Fremont The First Nail (draft at Pine Box)

16. Fremont Seattle Beer Week 5th Anniversary Organic Session Pale Ale (12 oz. can)

17. Deschutes River Ale (12 oz. bottle)

18. Double Mountain Project 48 (draft at Pine Box)

19. Epic Big Bad Baptist (draft at Pine Box)

20. Maui Aloha B’ak’tun Belgian Stout (12 oz. can)

21. Pfriem Super Saison (draft at Stumbling Monk)

22. Populuxe Burke-Gilman Bitter (draft at Populuxe)

23. Peddler RyePA (draft at Peddler)

24. Urban Family Nelson Muntz IPA (draft at Urban Family)

25. Southern Tier Eurotrash Pilsner (draft at Pint Defiance)

26. Bear Republic Black Racer IPA (draft at The Red Hot)

27. Georgetown Craigalicious Black Lager (draft at Parkway Tavern)

28. Wingman Maori Warrior ISA (draft at Wingman)

Song of the Day: Weeks 1-3

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 17:26:00 -0400

For the last three weeks, I’ve been posting a Song of the Day on my Twitter feed. I’ve managed to do four a week. Here’s a recap of the first twelve:

Week One:

Caballo Tripode (Valencia, Spain) - “El Rey Sayón”

Yellowgoat (Los Angeles, CA) - “Cross Damnation”

Wimps (Seattle, WA) - “Slept in Late”

The Gary (Austin, TX) - “Innocent Bystander”

Week Two:

Krupted Peasant Farmerz (San Jose, CA) - “Memories of Death”

Batillus (New York, NY) - “Concrete”

No Weather Talks (Hamburg, Germany) - “Privilege of Procrastination”

Satanic Threat (Cleveland, OH) - “Small God, Big Cross”

Week Three:

Office of Future Plans (Baltimore, MD) - “Solipsist”

Wax Idols (San Francisco, CA) - “When It Happens”

Tenement (Appleton, WI) - “(Messy Endings) in Middle America”

Cascadia (Vancouver, BC) - “Yours”

New Beers Tried in February

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:43:00 -0400

It’s mid-March, so I guess my new beers tried update for February is long overdue. Here’s what I had, where I had it and a sentence or two about each (which may or may not have anything to do with how the beer tasted):

01. Old Schoolhouse New School ESB (draft at Stumbling Monk) - Had several pints of this over three separate visits to the Monk and was pleasantly surprised by how solid it was.

02. Flyers Low Vis White IPA (draft at Stumbling Monk) - For the most part, I’m not a fan of mixing Belgian styles with IPAs. This did not change my way of thinking on the subject.

03. Rainy Daze Alt (draft at Wurst Place) - I honestly don’t remember how this one was, but I tried it because I was in the neighborhood and it was from a brewery in Silverdale that I’d never heard of. I do remember that I didn’t get a sausage when I was at Wurst and that’s a damn shame.

04. Alesmith My Bloody Valentine (22 oz. bottle split 2 ways) - Malty, hoppy, pretty good. I could say that about a lot of beers.

05. Engelszell Gregorious Trappistenbier (draft at Stumbling Monk) - Probably should’ve had more respect for this beer from the newest addition to the Trappist brewery club, but I had it at the end of the night after a long day of drinking and dice-throwing. All I remember is that it was too sweet and I wished I hadn’t ordered it.

06. Port Board Meeting (22 oz. bottle split 2 ways) - Enjoyed a glass of this, but it’s not something I’d go back to again since an 8+% imperial brown ale with coffee and cocoa is not a go-to type beer for me.

07. Boneyard Notorious Triple IPA (draft at Pine Box) - Boneyard’s contribution to the Pliny The Younger-inspired hoppy arms race. Yes, it was hoppy as fuck and pretty tasty, but do we really need beers like this? I wouldn’t miss them and would much rather drink a couple pints of the brewery’s RPM IPA.

08. Triplehorn Blockhead IPA (draft at Pine Box) - Not the I-wanna-drink-it-every-day WA IPA I’m always hoping to find, but a pretty solid one from one of Woodinville’s new breweries.

09. Pike How Now Brown Ale (draft at Pike Brewing) - It was a beer I drank after work one day.

10. Fremont Trifecta IPA (draft at Brouwer’s) - I love a lot of what Fremont does and I wanted to love the new house beer they’re making for Brouwer’s/Bottleworks/Burgundian. Thing is, I tasted a touch of butter (diacetyl) in this on the night of its premiere. I’m guessing it needed to rest a bit longer or something like that. I’m sure Fremont will dial it in and subsequent batches will be great.

11. American Flying Monkey Dogfight Pale Ale (draft at Brouwer’s) - Despite the fact that this was made for this year’s Emerald City Comicon, I have nothing bad to say about it.

12. Airways Pilsner (draft at The Dray) - This is a beer I drank after work one day.

13. Cascade Bottleworks XIV (draft at Bottleworks) - I’m counting this even though I drank only 6 or so ounces and that goes against my 10 oz. minimum thing. Hey, they weren’t pouring 10 ounces at a time. I know, I know…I could’ve had more than one.

14. Pike Octopus Ink (draft at Pike Brewing) - Chris from the Red Hot said this was one of the best examples of a Black IPA/Cascadian Dark Ale/American Black Ale that he’s had. Who am I to argue with the owner of one of my favorite bars?

Promising Shows in February/March

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:00:00 -0500

One of my goals for 2013 is to try and see 2 shows a month. Only saw the Spits in January, but there’s plenty of chances to make up for it in February and March:

2/09 - Lozen, Brokaw at Rendezvous

2/11 - Enslaved, Pallbearer, Royal Thunder at Highline

2/13 - OFF!, Negative Approach at Chop Suey

2/13 - Graveyard, The Shrine at Neumos

2/26 - Krieg at 2 Bit Saloon

3/03 - Nu Sensae at Chop Suey

3/08 - Helms Alee, Sandrider at Columbia City Theater

3/15 - Milk Music at Black Lodge

3/21 - Iceage at Barboza

3/22 - White Lung at Chop Suey

3/27 - Today is the Day, Black Tusk, Ken Mode, Fight Amp at Highline

3/30 - Merchandise, Naomi Punk at Barboza

2012 Muriels and 2013 Film Viewing Projects

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:19:33 -0500

If the giant fucking banner didn’t clue you in—the 2012 Muriel Awards have begun. I’m fortunate enough to still be allowed to vote. It’s a pretty good group of critics, bloggers and movie nerds. But, damn, it’s a bit of a sausage fest. I think there are 3-4 women contributors at best? There’s gotta be more female film geeks out there who’d contribute. Someone needs to do some outreach. Anyway, the results for Best Supporting Actor and Actress have been posted. Remaining categories (there are a lot) will roll out throughout the month.

I plan to participate in the Muriels again in 2013, but I also have some separate movie-watching goals dialed up. They are as follows:

1. Watch movies I’ve never seen from my birth year—1969. I’ve got a pretty solid list to choose from here: Watchlist: 1969.

2. Watch Criterion titles on Hulu Plus. I pay $7.99 a month for the service and the Criterion stuff is the main reason. It’s time I start making good use of it. I’ll be keeping a list of what I see here: Hulu Plus Criterion Project: 2013.

3. Watch a lot of Warner Archive titles. At one time, the lady and I thought about doing a blog where we’d watch and write up as many WA releases as possible. That’s probably never gonna happen, but I still have an ongoing list of stuff that I want to watch: Warner Archive Titles To See.

Enabling Myself One Beer at a Time in 2013

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:56:23 -0500

It’s been a few years since I’ve done this, so why not? I’m keeping track of every new-to-me beer I try this year. The usual restrictions apply. Samples do not count. What does qualify: Pint, schooner, 12 oz. bottle, split of a 22 oz. or 750 ml. Seasonals, different though they may be from year to year, do not count. That’s about it.

I tried 21 beers in January. Nothing life-changing, but a lot of solid stuff. Here’s what I drank (favorites in bold with half-assed observations after them):

001. Cascade Blueberry (draft at Pine Box)

002. Georgetown Le Roger (draft at Beveridge Place)

003. Georgetown Lovely Reida (draft at Beveridge Place)

004. Bear Republic Cafe Racer XV (draft at Pine Box)

005. Local Option Schmetterling Gose (draft at Pine Box)

006. Old Schoolhouse Uncle Big’s Brown (draft at Bottleworks)

007. Fremont Super Duper IPA (draft at Fremont Brewing) - I liked this experimental IPA (with Calypso hops) even more than the regular Fremont IPA. Easy-drinking and low octane with a lot of hop aroma and flavor.

008. Reuben’s Roasted Rye IPA (draft at Reuben’s) - I’ve yet to have a disappointing beer from Reuben’s. They brew a variety of styles that should please almost anyone’s tastes, but I think this may be my favorite of the 5 or 6 I’ve tried. The roasted rye element gives it a little something extra.

009. Urban Family Le Vagabond (draft at Urban Family)

010. Odin Sigrun IPA (draft at Beveridge Place)

011. Bellevue Oatmeal Stout (draft at Beveridge Place)

012. Elysian Doom (draft at Elysian Cap Hill)

013. Reuben’s Imperial IPA (draft at Reuben’s)

014. Avery Nineteen (draft at Bottleworks)

015. Stillwater Premium (draft at Stumbling Monk)

016. Stone Enjoy By IPA (draft at Noble Fir) - I had this at the Noble Fir on the night they tapped their last keg of Pliny. I was one of the only ones drinking it at first, since everyone was shitting their pants about Russian River leaving the market. People came around, though. I heard a couple guys who tried both Pliny and Enjoy By say that the Stone crushed Pliny. Hated to say I told them so, but I did anyway. One dude from out of town went so nuts for it that he called every beer shop in town to secure some bottles. No beer for him. That shit had long since sold out everywhere.

017. Coronado Idiot IPA (draft at Pine Box)

018. Coronado Bada Bing Porter (draft at Pine Box)

019. Naked City Brute Force IPA (draft at Naked City)

020. Machine House Bitter (cask at Pine Box) - Nothing earth-shattering here, but it’s exciting to have a new local spot brewing true English session ales to style. Not sure how they’re going to go over with the go-big-or-I’m-not-interested Seattle beer geek crowd, but I hope they manage to be successful. I know I’ll be drinking their beer when I see it around town.

021. Triplehorn Ol Du Vin (draft at Pine Box)

Remedy 20-Tea Challenge: Still on Course...Mostly

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 18:19:20 -0500

Still doing the challenge, but have to admit the enthusiasm level has gone down a bit. Returning to my old ways has something to do with it. Went out drinking a few times last week and saw a burlesque show. Not as much time to sit at Remedy and contemplate my navel over a pot of tea. Despite the distractions, I managed to try four teas last week. No mind-blowing standouts, but all were pretty good even if nothing came close to the Precious Jade Dew. Up to ten now, so halfway to the goal. Here are last week’s additions:

Brown Rice Tea (#39)

Silver Needle (#20)

Precious Eyebrows (#34)

Iron Goddess of Mercy (#53)

There’s a chance of not making it to 20, but I should come close. Have to make sure to have at least one tea each from the Black, Pu-erh and Yerba sections since I haven’t tried any of those yet.

Remedy 20-Tea Challenge: Jade Oz (#51) & Roasted Qilan (#55)

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 13:51:27 -0500

I learned a few things about Remedy Teas this past weekend. First, the place can be just as annoying as any hipster douche coffee spot. My lady and I went on Saturday afternoon to share a pot of tea instead of doing the usual to-go cups. The place was packed and there was a definite feeling of insufferable entitlement in the air. Everyone, including the scruffy wannabe-punk kids in front of us in line, annoyed the shit out of me. Maybe I’m just a disagreeable asshole, but I didn’t enjoy being there. The other thing I learned about Remedy is that they don’t really have 150 teas. Over the weekend, I came across three teas I wanted that were out of stock. I don’t know if this is Remedy’s fault—some teas sell out and others are seasonal. But I’ve gotta admit, I was pretty disappointed that I won’t be able to try Iron Goddess of Mercy this month. With a name like that, I was expecting great things.

On to the teas I did try. It was an oolong weekend. On Saturday, after being denied the Iron Goddess, we shared a pot of Jade Oz on the tearista’s recommendation. It was good, splitting the difference between the subtle flavors of a green tea and the bolder punch of a black tea. It definitely leaned toward the more delicate green tea side. On Sunday, I went with the Roasted Qilan. It was alright, roasty and whatnot, but I think I liked the Jade Oz better. Overall, I think I like greens more than oolongs. I suspect I’m gonna prefer green tea to black tea as well. We’ll see.

Remedy 20-Tea Challenge: Precious Jade Dew (#37)

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:53:02 -0500

With the first sip of tea I had last night, I had one of those moments where you know, instinctively, that you’re tasting something amazing. You feel it in your gut or whatever and instantly think “Wow, this shit is fucking good. Really good. I don’t think I’ve tasted anything like this and I really like it.” I didn’t need to sip the tea several more times, roll it around on my tongue and intellectualize about what made it so great. I just knew it was other-level good.

The tea in question was Precious Jade Dew. For more about what makes this tea extraordinary, check out a post on Tired of Ramen with commentary from the founder of Remedy Teas. When December’s tea experimentation is over, this is one I’ll be returning to again and again. Hopefully, there are more wow teas like this to come.

Remedy 20-Tea Challenge: Digestive (#7)

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 01:36:02 -0500

I went into Remedy the other night and asked the girl behind the counter: “what tea do you recommend for farting? I’ve been farting a lot tonight and my girlfriend said I can’t get back in the apartment until it stops.” Without hesitation, she rang up the herbal blend known as Digestive. What a tea. It cured my digestive issues and saved my relationship.

Ok, that’s total bullshit. I could never ask someone for fart tea with a straight face, especially not when I’m stone cold sober. But yeah, my stomach was kicking a bit and I figured I’d try a tea from Remedy’s Wellness section.

The Digestive is a blend of peppermint, anise, fennel, ginger, licorice, vanilla and calendula. It’s in the vein of a digestive tea you can get at a grocery store—Tummy Mint or some shit like that. The difference is there’s more going on in Remedy’s version and it’s better. It damn well better be at $2.75 a mug.

Remedy 20-Tea Challenge: Rooibos Pure (#110)

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 18:26:26 -0500

When I went out for tea last night, something occurred to me. What’s gonna happen when this cold/sinus nastiness is over and I feel good? Am I really gonna keep trying new teas every day? Won’t I just retreat to the comfort of drinking beer in bars? I realize I haven’t thought this thing through. Oh well, guess I’ll deal with it when the time comes.

Yesterday’s tea was Rooibos Pure. I’d had rooibos before and I liked it, but am pretty sure I’d only experienced it with stuff added. This time, I wanted to taste it straight up. Rooibos is made from a South African plant in the legume family. It’s caffeine-free and, like green tea, chock-full of antioxidants. According to Remedy, their pure rooibos tastes earthy “with hints of vanilla nuttiness.” There’s something odd about the flavor of this tea at first, but it’s pretty subtle and not unpleasantly odd,… just different from the tea flavors I’m used to. I liked it well enough, but may not venture into the rooibos section again this month. The greens and oolongs are where my interest lies.

Remedy 20-Tea Challenge: Gunpowder Pearl (#35)

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:07:09 -0500

Ok, I guess I’m really doing this. Spent about 15 minutes studying the menu (they’re numbered from 1 to 150 and grouped by tea type) before I went to Remedy last night. Walked in still having no idea what to get, but narrowed it down to a green tea. Finally settled on Gunpowder Pearl, a “roasted, slightly smoky tea” with a “rich, full flavor.” My crack research staff tells me this tea gets its name from the gunpowder-pellet-like appearance of the tea leaves.

For the first couple sips, I felt like that person who’s never had an IPA and is given an over-the-top bitter example for their first one. This tea stomped on my fucking tongue and kicked all the feeling out of it. Who knew a green tea could be so potent? After a few minutes of sipping, I got used to the flavors and started to enjoy it. It was just like the menu had promised, richly flavored with a little smoke. Not a bad start to my tea education.

December Challenge Will Be a Remedy of Sorts

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:52:00 -0500

The original plan for December’s challenge was to write about my 20 favorite 2012 LPs, with a song from each. I still like that idea, but it’s too ambitious to tackle right now. I’ve listened to more than 150 albums from 2012, and while I have a pretty solid 10 picked out, I have a lot more work to do. I’m gonna put that off until January.

In place of the music challenge, I’ve decided to do something a little odd. November was a month of excessive drinking and poor eating, even by my standards. My immune system held up until I got back from SF last week. Then I got taken down by some sort of respiratory crud. When I get sick, I shelter my broken, middle-aged body from the poisons of my usual lifestyle. No beer, no booze, no smokes, no shitty food. Instead, I pursue healthier options like fruits, vegetables, vitamins and tea.

I’m not a huge tea guy, but I like the occasional green tea, matcha, rooibos or whatever. There’s a place near my apartment called Remedy Teas. I’ve only been there a couple times since they opened several years ago, but I like it. There’s a laid-back, non-snooty feel, a little more welcoming than your average hipster coffee joint. More important, they have 150 fucking teas. That’s a lot of tea. That’s enough damn tea that I could easily try at least 20 of them this month, right?

Yup, December is the Remedy 20-Tea Challenge. Laugh it up. Toss me as much shit as you want. I’m committed to fucking teas this month. So…which one of my drinking buddies is gonna join me for a spot of tea and some finger sandwiches?

30 Beers Challenge Concludes With a Whimper

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 15:45:07 -0500

Today’s the last day of the month and I’m done trying new beers. The drinking part of the challenge was met and it wasn’t difficult. Thanks to a weekend in Portland and 5 days in the Bay Area, there was never a doubt that I’d reach my goal. Unfortunately, the writing part fell by the wayside again. Not happy about this, but I’m determined to keep trying. I’m still hopeful that one of these projects will inspire me to write.

Here’s the rest of the new beers I drank this month starting with #13 (my five favorites from this group in bold):

13. Port Fallbrook Estate Pale Ale (pint at Urban Family Public House)

14. Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme (12 oz. draft at Urban Family Public House)

15. Breakside Smoked Apple Ale (pint at Breakside)

16. Upright Pearwood Smoked Lager (pint at Grain & Gristle)

17. Amnesia Trail Hazer (pint at Saraveza)

18. Boneyard Aleias India Wheat Ale (pint at Lardo)

19. Boneyard Stallion Strong Pale Ale (pint at Horse Brass)

20. Bison Gingerbread Ale (12 oz. bottle at The BeerMongers)

21. Mad River Rorshach IV (pint at Pine Box)

22. Alaskan Hopothermia (pint at Wurst Place)

23. Almanac Biere de Mars (12 oz. draft at Corner Store)

24. Magnolia Gris Gris (12 oz. draft at Magnolia)

25. Dupont Speciale Belge (12 oz. draft at City Beer)

26. Calicraft Cali Colsch (22 oz. bottle split 2 ways at City Beer)

27. Almanac Extra Pale (pint at Sycamore)

28. Ruhstaller Hop Sac (pint at Beer Revolution)

29. De La Senne Band of Brothers (12 oz. draft at The Trappist)

30. OBC Sticky Zipper (pint at Homeroom)

31. Triple Rock Cross-Check IPA (pint at Triple Rock)

32. Russian River Row 2, Hill 56 (pint at Russian River)

33. Russian River Erudition (12 oz. draft at Russian River)

30 Beers (#12): Seven Seas Hop Prophet

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 19:41:36 -0500

I’m at The Noble Fir drinking this fresh hop pale from the good folks in Gig Harbor. It’s dry as hell, maybe too dry (I think beer douches call it astringent). It also has that armpit/locker room hop flavor that some people hate. I don’t mind it so much. Maybe the last fresh hop beer I’ll drink this year….

30 Beers Challenge--Yes, I'm Still Doing It

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 17:39:00 -0500

To no one’s surprise (especially my own), I’ve been holding down the drinking part of the 30 Beers challenge while neglecting the writing part. No way I’m going to write “reviews” of the ones I’ve had so far, but here’s the list:

1. 21A Zambo Imperial Red (10 oz draft at Bottleworks)

2. Logsdon Kili Wit (750 ml bottle split two ways at Bottleworks)

3. Timmermans Pumpkin Lambicus (12 oz draft at Pine Box)

4. Perfect Crime Smoking Gun (11.2 oz bottle at Stumbling Monk)

5. Lagunitas Fusion 10 (pint at Pine Box)

6. Bainbridge Puget Sound Giant Hoptopus (pint at Pine Box)

7. Gigantic The Royale (22 oz. bottle split 2 ways at home)

8. Gigantic Black Friday (pint at Brouwer’s)

9. Speakeasy Scarlet Red Rye (pint at Brouwer’s)

10. Pike Rye-nstone Cowboy (pint at Brave Horse Tavern)

11. New Belgium (Lips of Faith) Imperial Coffee Chocolate Stout (22 oz. bottle split 2 ways at home)

Favorites have been Logsdon Kili Wit and Gigantic The Royale. The only one I wouldn’t drink again, ever, is Timmermans Pumpkin Lambicus.

I’ll try and do individual tumbles for the final 19 beers, but there’s no guarantee I’ll follow through with it.

Gigantic The Most Interesting Beer in The World

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 11:36:00 -0400

Started off the 30 Beers challenge at Brouwer’s last night…or so I thought. This doesn’t count since I already tried some of it from a growler a friend brought back from Portland in September. I didn’t know what the beer was called when I had it back then and it didn’t register that this was the same one I’d already tried. Fuck it, might as well leave this up. I worked so hard drinking it and taking a photo.

The Most Interesting Beer in The World is Gigantic Brewing’s fresh hop beer, a 5.5% pale ale made with Cascade hops. It’s a solid pale ale with a decent amount of fresh hop flavor. It’s too bad this beer didn’t make it up for the Fresh Hop Throwdown at Noble Fir in late September. I think it might’ve done well in the blind judging.

A lot of people seem to think the name of the beer is genius. I guess it’s pretty clever and funny, but getting inspiration from a Dos Equis commercial isn’t exactly genius. Also sort of clever and funny but not genius—whoever came up with the idea to assemble the beers in the photo in a sort of cock-and-balls formation.

31 Days of Horror Ends, 30 Beers Challenge Begins

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 13:41:00 -0400

I finished October’s 31 Days of Horror challenge a few hours before midnight on Halloween. The full list of films is up on Letterboxd. It felt good to reach my goal, even if I didn’t follow through with my plan to write about each film. A lot of my picks were memorable and there were only a few that weren’t worth watching. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little burnt out on horror. I’ve heard that some people watch over 100 during the month. No way I could do that.

For this month’s challenge, I’m heading back to familiar ground—beer. The plan for November is to try 30 beers I’ve never had. This challenge should be easy considering how much beer I drink and the fact that I’ll be spending four days in the Bay Area after Thanksgiving. To take me out of my comfort zone and make me work a little harder, I came up with some guidelines:

1. Draft over Bottles: Of the 30 beers I try, 25 must be on tap. It would be too easy to go somewhere like Bottleworks and buy a bunch of beers and sit at home and drink them. Where’s the fun or challenge in that?

2. Limit the Hops: Of the 30, I’m only allowing myself 6 IPAs/pale ales (if you’re into percentages, that’s 20%). These are the styles of beer I drink often and sometimes to the exclusion of others. The point of the challenge is to try new stuff and to drink out of my comfort zone, so 80% of the beers I try will be about something other than hops.

3. Samples Don’t Count: I love that a place like Uber Tavern does 4 oz. pours so I don’t have to commit to 12 ounces of a heavy-hitting 10+% beer, but it wouldn’t be much of a challenge to go around drinking tiny samples of shit. For draft, I’ll need to have at least a schooner or goblet or whatever glass the beer comes in that’s 10 ounces or more. For bottles/cans an entire 12 oz or a 50/50 split of a 22 oz or 750 ml.

I’m ready to crush this challenge. I may even reach my goal before I head to San Francisco on 11/23.

31 Days of Horror (#31): Messiah of Evil (1973, Willard Huyck)

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 12:35:28 -0400

31 Days of Horror (#30): Dead Alive (1992, Peter Jackson)

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 12:34:31 -0400