Beer Review

What would you think if I offered you a glass of "white lightening"?  You would expect from the name that the liquid you were going to drink was going to smack you in the face, and grab you by your nuts and tear you off your feet right?  Ok maybe I am projecting my imagination of what the name means a bit much onto you the reader.  But what the hell, I think all that stuff when I hear the name "white lightening".

Full Pint Brewing Co. has a Belgian white beer that has just that name.  "White Lightening" smacking you in the junk!  Sorry I had to.  In all seriousness this beer stands plainly enough with an uncompromising name, and honestly the name is what made me purchase this beer to try.

The initial crack of the cap, and the smell following was peppery and bitter as it came out.  After the smell the suds came shortly after in a cascade that I wasn't exactly expecting to attack me before I even poured the beer!  After that slight mishap, I managed to get the rest of this brew into a glass, and saw that this beer is HIGHLY carbonated, produced a large light head and lacing all the way through the pint glass as I drank it.  The color was perfect light golden color, one which reminded me slightly of something that Ernest Hemingway would write about when describing a sun rise.

The bright citrus notes on the initial flavor were chased down the throat with a skillful and clean balance between malt and hops.  Hints of wheat hung in the after taste as it set in my nose because of its sudsy nature.  This is absolutely a German styled white beer, and plays up those attributes that make witbier so good.

Definitely not what the name suggests, this is smooth and gentle, with great body and flavors.  None of which are overpowering.  White Lightening was a joy to drink, however I would recommend that it come in a pint glass to manage better all the head this beer produces.  It is a fantastic stand alone brew, and one that could be drank all night.

"Work is the curse of the Drinking Class" - Oscar Wilde

Beer Review

And now we are back with another review after a little break.  I have a few to post here so these may end up as rapid fire.  Sorry for the slow down folks, bear with me, and I promise we will get back into the swing of things you and I.

Erie Brewing company is one of my favorite collections to drink from.  They have a good selection for every palate, and their beers pair well with food or drinking your face off at a party. 

This sample is the Heritage Alt. from the above mentioned company, and they have done it yet again.  Erie has produced a beer that pushes boldly into both the drinkers and partiers categories, and refuses to budge from both. 

Crack a bottle and inhale deeply.  You will smell bread, freshly baked bread to be exact.  There is very little head or lacing on this beer, which I found to be an interesting characteristic, but it doesn't effect the flavor that spills forth from it's confines.  It's dark red color rolls as smoothly from the bottle as it does the glass.

On first taste, the initial flavor is malty.  Very malty.  It's thick with flavor that holds well in your mouth and coats seemingly all the way down into your belly.  The aftertaste on this beer is sweet and aromatic.  As closely as I can describe as liquid pipe tobacco.  It lingers warmly in your mouth and promises to not overpower, but consistently remind you what it is as you drink it.  You COULD guzzle this beer, by why waste such a wonderful sweet trip through the bottle or glass? 

Needless to say this offering from Erie Brewing is almost a meal in itself.  It has a savory feel to it which would pair well with fresh baked breads or red meat broiled or from the grill.  It stands alone just fine as well, with only a couple of strong flavors, this beer picks a line and sticks with it. 

"A woman drove me to drink, and I didn't even have the decency to thank her."  W.C. Fields

Real men don't cry

Real men don't cry.  Fact. End of story.  No need to elaborate.  Or do we?  On the heels of the worst possible day ever I am sitting here wondering why that phrase even came about.  What tough guy said that so long ago?  And why has it persevered?

I am not afraid to tell you that today was hard.  But only marginally for me.  My wife is stronger than anyone I know, hands down.  See she has literally just lost her mother.  Who was in fact her best friend, secret keeper, advice giver and super human strength giver.  I have that too, but I don't call that person mom, I call that person my wife.  I guess this is more of a rant and a get your feelings out in an anonymous way more than anything else, so here goes.

Most of you know, my father passed away when I was 7 years old.  If it seems like eons ago to read it, you should be me telling it.  I think about it, and looking at it I see an unwinding path spread out behind me.  One of first pitches, first kisses, losing my faith, gaining it back again.  Even finding the woman who made me love more completely than I thought I could.  Then it dawns on me.  All those firsts, and I never had a dad to share any of it.  Sad?  Naw, I am used to it.  I have accepted it.  He wasn't there for the birth of my children, he wasn't there to see me get married.  Hell I am the one who walked my sister down the aisle for her wedding.  Every plod forward, and every slippery misstep, I have had one less person to see or share it.  I always kind of carried a chip on my shoulder about it.  Until today.

I saw something today for really the first time in my life.  I saw a woman whom I love dearly lose everything that I never had.  And you know something?  It broke my heart.  I always looked at people who were sad at losing a loved one later in life like they were being selfish.  After all they had so much  more time with that person than I had with my loved one.  But today I saw what it really is.  Loss.  And for all the thoughts we have, all the justifications, it comes down to that word.  Loss.  I watched my wife talk to me about everything from the mundane to the fantastic, almost magical memories of her mother.  And they all hurt her.  Which in turn hurt me.  Yeah I am a tough guy, or maybe not so much.

What could be worse than that?  How about telling your children about that loss.  It is something everyone who has children will inevitably will do.  A horrible fraternity that no one wants to be a part of, yet sadly we all become members.  I watched my daughter who is a year younger than I was when this happened to me find out about her Grammie.  How powerless I felt, I can't describe.  To hear her cries and know that she is justified in feeling what she felt.  To not know how to stop her hurt.  Then to see my wife and son, in the same basic state, and not be able to help them from hurting.  So much of it I couldn't stop.  So much I just couldn't fix.  You're God Damned right I broke down and cried.  My hurt was theirs.  I am still unable to fix it.  All I can do is try to talk them through it.  But I know that is futile and not working.

So tell me again that real men don't cry.  Go ahead.  I think they do.  But I don't think real men cry when they themselves hurt.  I think they cry when their loved ones hurt.  When they can't help, or fix the broken feelings others they care about have.  I love my family.  I love my mother in law.  And I am hurting, but not for me, not for my sadness about what happened to her.  No I am hurting more for my wife and children, and my father in law.  They are why I hurt.  But they are also why I walk away and cry by myself.  They will not see me break.  They can't.  I won't let them.  Be strong, stay strong, it is ok to cry, just do it by yourself.  Cause others need you to be the rock that you are.  Others are going to look to you in times like this to be that steadfast strength.  Don't falter, you never know who is looking to you for strength.  It might even be me.

Beer Review

Trippy.  That is what comes to mind just LOOKING at this bottle of brew from the Magic Hat company.  Their psychedelic offering called "Vinyl Lager" is yet another seasonal beer offered by a company that has a good and solid line of beer to sample from.  From their # 9 flagship, to the seasonals like the Vinyl Lager, they produce just plain good beer.

The fragrance of barley pours out as you pop the cap on this beer, inviting you to inhale deeply.  The medium note of color is amber, and the lacing is marginal when poured into a glass.  This beer however does not need a pint glass to release its flavors and smells.  It does just fine ice cold out of the bottle too!

This beer brings to the table a middle of the road malt and hops balance.  It ventures neither way too far, which produces a nice smooth drinkable taste, however is almost completely unadventurous in flavor or feeling.  (Those who have had it, think Yuengling lager)  Don't get me wrong I did enjoy this beer, and I don't want you to think that I didn't. 

It was a smooth finisher and crisp in the hatch and I would consider it a good seasonal spring beer.  But nothing really seems to stand out on it.  There are very subtle hints of toasted barley and what could be brown sugar.  But that is just the thing, for all its smooth and light feel, and it's skillful balance, it seems to have no identity.  It waffles here and there seemingly afraid to offend someone who might not like it.  So this beer errs on the side of caution rather than stand out as a brew that has a definitive taste.

Maybe in hindsight this is what Magic Hat was going for.  I cannot say I was disappointed in it, on the contrary I enjoyed it!  I would call this a drink all day kind of beer, and might just go buy a six pack and do that this afternoon.  Damn it, maybe this is the most ingenious thing that the M.H. brew masters could have done.  I find myself wanting another, though I just don't have the slightest idea what the hell makes me want it!  Well played Magic Hat.  Well played.

" I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, That's as good as they're going to feel all day."  - Frank Sinatra
"The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind."

"The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind."
-Humphrey Bogart

Beer Review

So here is another review.  Recently discovered this beer and to be honest with you out there, it caught my attention solely due to its name.  "Rooney's" is emblazoned with a red keystone on the cap and the signature beer is an Old Irish style Ale.

 Rooney's as the name would imply is a Pittsburgh company run by the legendary football owners of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Now being a huge fanatic of said team, I must admit that my initial wanting to sample this brew was bastardized.  I gave it a whirl because of the name, and my sports fandom roots.  It won't happen again.  Allow me to explain.

I was shown promise when first cracking the beer open and pouring it into a glass.  The smell was deep and malty and the color was dark red.  Just as an Irish ale should be.  There was little to no lacing on the glass however and the "suds" seemed to be holding back on the pour.  All appeared to be mostly in order for something that screams championship brew, but looks are deceiving.  Come to think of it, smells can lead you down the wrong path too, but that is another blog entirely.

The first swig of this ale brings notes of caramel and malt, which are promising, however then the peppery aftertaste hits you.  That is a mixture that seems to square peg round hole you.  It just doesn't fit.  Then the  hops kick in.  It has a definite sense of hops, with a dash of hops, and a slight variation of hops.  This combined with the pepper, smack you in the face malt, and over the top caramel flavors, it makes for a confusing ride down the throat.

So as I look back on the glass, I am glad I sampled this offering from a hometown brewery.  At the very least I can say that I've checked this one off of my bucket list of beers.  After that however, I don't believe I will be having another go on the Rooney wagon.  Unless that is it is stopping at another Super Bowl.  GO STILLERS!!

Beer Review

The French.  Tell me what you think of when you read that statement.  I can tell you honestly I never thought of beer that's for sure!  I thought of snobby ultra cool, slick haired smelly dudes with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths saying things like "HAW HAW WEE WEE" and "Jew are an EEDIOT, you SILLY AMERICAN!".   I know, I know that is very closed minded of me, that I am being stereotypical.  But admit it, you were thinking the same thing.  Every frenchie sounds like Pepe Lepew, and wears one of those bight colored mushroom hats (berets).  HA! Yes these are the things that float in my head, you should see what I think about you!

Ok, enough slander against France and her people, lets have a bit of a history lesson.  The beer I sampled was an offering from Flying Dog called Garde Dog.  It is modeled after a type of beer known as Beire de Garde.  Which is a french beer that is produced primarily in the Spring months.  It is a small business in France, and is known mostly as a "farmhouse" brew, but is also being picked up and supplemented by small companies.  This is the first time I have ever heard of this type of beer, let alone a state side offering, so I have no other comparisons to others I can make.  That being said, I was pleased with this brew.

This beer pours out into a glass producing a full head, but drinks fairly lightly.  It has a color that lends itself to a blonde ale with its lighter color and white lacing.  Malty for a lighter beer it finishes cleanly and is very smooth.  If you close your eyes you can almost feel yourself standing in a flowering meadow with its floral hints within the little hops it does display and its citrus smell and aftertaste.  It seems to me to have a very organic taste to it that isn't over powering, walking a fine line between good taste and robust "notice me" flavors.

All in all this is a good beer to try.  It is good out of the bottle, but I would recommend pouring into a pint glass and savoring it a little more.  However if you are a drunk like me drinking it from a glass or a bottle is good just as long as you are pouring down your gullet!

 I would say this is a good "sit and sample" beer, with good taste, and many subtle notes to figure out, but it is not a "sit and tune yourself up" brew.  As always though, ENJOY!

"Beer, it's the best damn drink in the world." - Jack Nicholson 

You might think me racist

Ok, here is the deal, I have been sitting here for the past few days debating on whether I would want to write this blog or not due to the sensitive nature of the subject.  That being said I have also thought that it is a direct injustice to not voice an opinion in a nation where freedom to do so is paramount.  So here goes nothing, or everything depending on where you are standing.

Trayvon Martin has been on the lips, minds and hearts of every person from every walk of life for a moment now.  And I do not disagree with this.  My thoughts and prayers go to  his family in this certainly horrible time.  I pray that truth and justice are served in this incident, and I have to have faith that it will.  As I sit here drinking my coffee, writing this blog, I cannot begin to wrap my head around losing one of my children.  I like mostly everyone else who isn't currently dwelling under a rock have read at least a portion of the story or timeline, or saw the news blips.  I am not writing this to talk about gun control, the Castle doctrine, or anything involving the "right" or "left" way of thinking.  I consider myself a conservative, but for the direction of this blog that should have no bearing on what I want to say.

I suppose we can really start the meat and potatoes of this blog with a question.  Why is Trayvon Martin important?   Or better phrased, why is the case of Trayvon Martin important or relevant?  Quick everybody look! Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton just lost their minds at those last two questions!

What I am really getting at is this specifically.  Since reading about this incident, social and traditional media has exploded in theories and opinions.  None of them particularly bright or even helpful for that matter.  I took to the world wide web in search of information about the incident.  Then quickly became disgusted with myself.  I wanted to look up and become more educated on a tragedy.  I didn't necessarily want to try and help in the matter, more to the end that I had a macabre and insatiable appetite for the information.  About one child.  Then I began to feel heavily the truth of what I was experiencing.  I felt awful for this kid and his family, which I still do, but not because it was right to feel that way, but rather because the media MADE me feel that way.  I saw a black kid murdered, and the race baiters and popular opinion told me to feel badly about it.  Told you that you might think I was racist.

But here is the rub.  Upon further thinking of the matter I AM sad.  I DO feel terrible about this incident.  But unlike before, I don't feel bad because it was a black kid killed, I feel badly because it was a KID killed.  The senseless loss of a life is tragic enough let alone a life cut so short because it belonged to a young person.  So it got me thinking, why Trayvon Martin?  I agree completely his name should be out there, and his story told, but there are COUNTLESS others whose stories we have never heard, nor will we ever hear.  Not unless we go looking for them ourselves.  Is it because he is black?  I thought we were a more forward thinking society than that, so that can't be the issue.  Is it his age? 17 if I am not mistaken right?  No I see nothing their either.  WHAT MAKES HIM SO DAMNED IMPORTANT?  Why are we as society looking at this more closely than many many others that have come before him?  Jesse Jackson can you answer this?  Maybe you good Reverend Al?   I refuse to make this case important solely because Trayvon was black, or because the media who has portrayed him as an 8-12 year old through pictures, tells me to.  To me that is racist itself.

Racism is defined by Webster's as : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.  This could go either way if you ask me.  If I believe I am superior because of my color, then I fit this definition.  HOWEVER, if I place more importance on someone ELSE because of the color of their skin then there again, I fit this definition!  

I am not claiming to have the answers, I am not some hyper intelligent Liberal, or for that matter Conservative.  What I am saying is that our values are askew.  We have come to accept what the media feeds us as fact, letting our own values and beliefs fall by the wayside.  We give into what we are told, not what we have learned for ourselves.  That inherently leaves us prey to the pitfalls of being mindless drones,  blindly following a media, or Government to that end, into whatever the "others" see fit.  Be it what we give a damn about socially, or mainstream media attempting to ignite a race war.  


"If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values - that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has spiritual control."  Martin Luther King Jr.