Figured I would make something happen

So. I need to say that I have been drinking a boat load of new stuff since my last post way back when, and likely too many to remember and post here. I have been frequenting Poor Henry's, and talking beer and whiskey with the owners son and finding a lot of new stuff. Sour Belgians and hoppy godliness has been the brunt of it, but i had one that was by far the best beer that I have ever tasted. This beer is the Nelson Sauvin Brut, brewed with hops that were grown in between Sauvignon Blanc grape vines, picking up the terroir of the casks they are aged in. The brewers are the boys at Mikeller. These boys really are savants with hops, yeast and malt. The things they do with beer as a side project would make serious brewers wet themselves thinking about how they do it. As far as I know, they are a couple Belgians that brew in the US at the Flying Dog brewery releasing several great things as well as a single hop varietal IPA series that I plan to record and post about at a later date.

Also, a plug for myself. I got an email from the director of my beverage program at JWU, Ed Korry saying that a reporter is looking for a success story from the beverage program and he thought of me. so i sent my info and I got a phone call. About 10 mins later, I got off the phone and didn't think about it until just this morning. Logging onto Facebook, I found I had a wall post from Kimmy Allman, a frosh at JWU that worked at the club the past couple of summers telling me about an article that is being passed around the university, this article being the one I was interviewed for. So, life goes on, I am published here(click) and in a recipe book with recipes that involve the use of tea. I am now out there and hoping shamelessly that someone will pick up on that and think of me and my passion for the industry and give me an offer.
     Cheers to the longshot!

... I need to be better at this

Sooo... after a long hiatus with no real excuse but not getting my rear in gear and also having nothing to talk about, I am back with a bit of a spot for a new app I found and a plug for a friends blog.

Brewster is an app for the Android network that I have started using and feel free to add me to see what i've been drinking lately, download it, and add me, Spaceghostster@gmail.com. It helps me keep track of the beers i drink, new things, old things, stand-bys and amazing tidbits that I happen to find because I say "OOH! A piece of candy!"... or hey, this looks good. Logging beers is easy as opening one, you put in the name, then what you thought of it, then log it. If its not in the system, you can then add the brewery, ABV %, hometown, country, style of beer and additional comments that can be shared with other users as they look through your lists. If you click on a beer, there is a way to find out where the closest person that is also drinking that beer is. Its a cool app that is just fun for the beer drinkers of the world.

That friend I was talking about is Caramelized Love. We are (when we get our acts together) going to be doing some collaborative posts, mostly pairing my drinks with her food and hopefully making some wonderful Blog porn with our pairings. More stuff to come soon, hopefully...

Cousin's 21st leads to a great discovery!

So I went down to Salisbury, Maryland this weekend to make sure my cousin didn't get arrested on his 21st birthday, happy happy btw, and low and behold found a new hidden gem among the microbrews of MD. The first night we were down there, we hit a college dive bar that one of his friends said was good (but it was terrible except for the price) and had a decent time of it playing some pool with a couple trusty Yuengling's in hand. The next day, a buddy of mine came over from DC. After spending most of the afternoon/evening in the car, he finally made it around 10ish. We then proceed to try to find a bar we could get into due to some minor inconveniences on my cousins part. We try one place, shot down, which is probably for the better due to the smell of rotting fish outside. The next place we look again, shot down, and I can't remember if it was worth it or not, but i'm guessing no. The third place, looked like it would have been a good time with about 20 beers on tap and a guy with a guitar in the middle of things. No Dice. We learned this night that a student ID and a draft card are NOT accepted as a valid form of identification. We head to a place we looked up, closed. What sort of bar closes before midnight? Obviously not one worth going to. Around the corner, we see three signs: 'Pizza' 'Cold Beer' and one other I can't remember... So there were people there, and lights on. Good sign. No door man. Good sign #2. Dale's Pale Ale on tap. Thats all the good signs I needed. We all belly up to the bar, except cous (sent him to a table) and we get a round of beers, but only after a round of Jameson. This is great, the boy has a shot, a beer on the way, and we start showing him a good time in the kind of bar people actually like to be in. About the time we all get our beers and sit down, my buddy and I start jawing with the guy behind the counter, as us industry types like to do. Initially, he was trying to get him to sell us some beers so we didn't have to end at the bar that we arrived to around 12. They closed at 12:30, not exactly a lot of time for a great night, but we are very talented. He was very good at being a law abiding citizen, so my buddy starts plan B. I keep talking to the guy and he turns on some lights and we start talking shop. the dim part of the place was actually a small liquor store with an astounding selection of great beers, not the amount of them but the quality of spot-on beers that were on display. Turns out that the Specific Gravity Pizzeria is one of the main outlets of Evolution Craft Beers. This fun little brewery has a bunch of nice brews but the one I was a huge fan of was the Lot No. 6 Double IPA, but that is the sort of thing that was just up my alley. Their line of beers is varied and not all my cup of tea, but the ones they hit that I liked were right in my wheelhouse and the one or two I wasn't a fan of, were great beers, just not my thing. Forgive me for not going into the full analysis of the beers, but after a Dales Pale Ale, a Heavy Seas Thank You, a shot of Jameson, a double of Stoli and a multi-rum shot, I was more enthralled with Devin's beard than I was with thinking about what was in my hand. We all got home safe and sound due to our DD, Ms. Reenapants, most of us made it out of the night without a scratch, but that is a story for a different time and not this place. After saying our goodbyes and delaying the inevitable, we left for home. I got into the driveway and started to clean out the car, and there is a bottle of the Evo Bourbon Barrel Aged Migration series sitting in the back seat. Not only did he pick up the tab at the bar, he left the bottle he bought in my backseat. I'll leave it to the future to let you know if it was left for me as a birthday present or he just forgot it...

A great night and I was happy to spend all that time in the car.  

Sensory wha...?

WSET Wine Sensory Analysis Wheel

Sensory analysis is just what it says it is, an accurate mapping of something done with your senses. These things are often applied to not just wines but beers and spirits as well. I tend to take sensory analysis to a weird point. I once asked a Jets offensive lineman if he wanted a "Big and Brassy" wine or one that was "Soft and Silky." He wanted the soft and silky, for the record. Its not just my terminology that is my own, but the places and ways it hits me, as could be expected since everyone experiences things differently. Just 20 minutes ago, I was drinking a Session lager (previous post So... How Does This Work?) in the shower, before you judge, try drinking a beer in the shower. After almost 2 weeks of trying to figure out this beer, I realized that the main notes in the middle end of this beer are toasted grains, not oatmeal or wheat, but flax and sunflower seed jumped out at me. Professionals say that experience is the best way to learn to analyze drinks and I agree, but I find that memories work best in this. When I smell some things, it takes me back to my childhood, or a specific point in time when I was thinking about something. Every time I smell plaster or drywall, it takes me back to a time I got sick after eating some pizza that my caretaker had brought home, because it tasted like drywall. Let's just say it wasn't a good time. Other times, things make me think of generic things. Most Belgian Saison style ales have started tasting like pineapples and bananas, but other times like in the instance of Kona Brewings Longboard Lager tastes like sunshine and happiness. The senses are weird and wonderfully strange, but i think i might be miserable without them.

So... How does this work?

Session Lager from Full Sail Brewing

I don't know how much of the world cares about drinking well, but i'm going to try to make a believer out of people one cocktail at a time.

My first post I figure should be about things I tend to gravitate towards. I like whisky(ey) a lot, gin, vodka and rums are ok and are great at times, tequila is always suspect, brandies are a situational. Beer and wine are strictly mood/weather based, but most likely good at most times.

Currently, Session Lager from Full Sail Brewing is what i'm drinking. It is a crisp lager that refers to a "session", which is social gathering wherein a group of individuals drink over a period of time without getting drunk, generally. Session beers are usually lower in alcohol, 3-4% but Full Sail did a great job with this beer at 5.1% making it one that if drank in a short period of time could cause some damage. This beer is one to savor and enjoy, extending your session to a bit longer than the normal 3-4 beer time.

You will have to forgive my rigidity for I haven't had much practice at being eloquent, I will try my best to wax poetic. Upcoming will be events, things I find new and/or exciting, things I've tried and liked/disliked or just interesting tidbits that are on my mind.