Beer 11, 12, 13...I think - Glam

Monday - As you've read, there was a special meeting of three members of 365Beers of NOSE. The Al's (Al-pine Trout and Al-ex) and I met in the bar at the Mayflower Park Hotel. Earlier, my date (a wine guy, it'll never work out) and I has been out for sushi which in reality was more like out drinking sake. So the Elysian Immortal IPA I had with the Al's seemed completely unremarkable. But maybe it paled in comparison to the stunning company.

Tuesday - I was drinking bloody mary's at lunch and then some kind of Montana moonshine at the company pre-func. So, I'm counting the Sparks I had in between as my bev of the day. Sorry Dicko, that motherfucker was disgusting. And it made my tummy burn like acid for the rest of the night.

Wednesday - Farewell luncheon at Stellar Pizza. The pizza was ho-hum but the Dick's Danger Ale was sublime. From the menu: "between a porter and a pale ale that has a "nutty" finish and is made in small craft batches." It was not only delicious but you could really taste the love that went into making it.

Looking foward to meeting up with the rest of you!

3/3/07

I'm just wondering if anybody else has heard the advertisements for March 3rd being Rolling Rock day? And if so, are you planning on celebrating it?

weather

Holy crap, if you don't live here, you should see the little weather link at the bottom left. It's currently about 1 degree above freezing, and it has rained, hailed, snowed 3 different times, and been sunny today. Sounds like a good day for staying inside, bowling, and having a nice fat 32 oz macro. or two. Hilander Bowl, here I come.

Still Going Strong

Not being one to count boozed-up energy drinks as beers, I will NOT be counting the two Sparks I drank yesterday as my beer for the day.

On Monday, my reuben at Pyramid Alehouse was accompanied by one of my favorites in the Pyramid lineup; the Draught Pale Ale, or DPA. Only available at the alehouse, this nitro-charged pale ale is just plain creamy goodness.

Later that evening, the Goat and I met up with Alex downtown where I followed up with a few of the macro of micros; Red Hook ESB.

Yesterday turned into a bit of a liquid lunch as I tossed back 3 pints of Manny's along with my bacon-wrapped prawns and tots. This was followed up by two cans of Sparks Plus for a pre-func before the meeting. The actual beer of the day though would end up being Abita Turbodog, which Dicko wrote about last week. Yeah, what he said...

Beers in Seattle (5-9)

So, again I am catching up. Good thing is that AT, GG and I got to share a few pints at Oliver's in the Mayflower Park Hotel at the Westlake Center, where I was staying. We had a great evening. And the beer was good too.

I managed to knock back three different beers with the crew. They were:

5. Elysian IPA, Elysian Brewery, Seattle WA (it was good with the peanuts whist waiting for my burger)
6. Guinness (it was extra good with really really nice pour, as usual)
7. Clipper Gold Wheat Ale, Maritime Pacific Brewing Company, Seattle WA (yummy)

Yesterday at lunch, I ate at PF Chang's. I had two beers there:

8. Mac & Jack's African Amber, Mac & Jack's, Redmond WA (good)
9. Pyramid Pale Ale, Pyramid Breweries, Inc., Seattle WA (very good)

GG's date took a picture of the three of us, but it turned out crappy on AT's phone, so sorry, no pictures this time. There will be another gathering up there in the near future, I am sure.

Electrifying

I was reminded yesterday at work that I forgot about a "beer" I had over the weekend and will be counting as my beer 12. A co-worker of mine called me over to her desk and asked if i ever had one of these before. One of these was a Sparks. For those of you that have never had a Sparks before it is essentially a Red Bull that is actually a malt liquor. As discussed in the planning stages of the 365, malt liquors count.... and don't think that I've forgot about you Hurricane Ice 40 ouncer(I'll get you one of these days). Back to the story.... I told her that I happen to be the guy that walks into the local 7-11 on Saturday nights and the guy there says, "Hey Sparks guy!" Sparks is a great prefunk drink, especially when you don't have a lot of time. One because its provides some energy and alcohol(6% for regular and light, 7% for Sparks plus) and two because you can't drink more than one or two w/o feeling confident that all of your teeth are going to rot and fall out of your mouth because it is so sweet. To those of you that are sensitive to sweet stuff, I suggest drinking the Sparks Light, not too bad. So long story, sort a short, I took my co-workers Sparks and drank most it. She wasn't feeling very good anyway so i did her a favor( I finished a whole one over the weekend so i can count it). The Alpine trout tried to convince me to go home a drink a real beer and not count the Sparks, but alas, I am proud of my Sparks. Stay tuned for Smirnoff Ice and Zima.

Nate's Beer #12

For my 12th beer I enjoyed a Loterbol Bruin from the Belgium brewer Brouwerij Duysters. It was one of the beers I discovered during my recent expedition to Belmont Station.

I opened the bottle and poured the beer into a glass. It had a nice dark copper color to it. I took my first sip and let it linger in my mouth. It felt very heavy in my mouth but had good flavor to it. They classify it as a strong dark ale but it didn't taste strong at all, and actually it was a little sweet. Very easy to drink at 8% ABV. I know the label to the right says 10% ABV but that must be on the Belgium version. I'll have to try to find the Loterbol Blonde the next time I'm at Belmont.

RRR #7 Franziskaner

Tonight I had a Franziskaner Hefeweiss at a local bar called Bill Pickles after a rockin concert on campus featuring the Irish legends The Chieftains. It made me realize how not happy I'm going to be midway through our tour de beer since it's likely that in order to get a new beer on record, all of my favorite beers will be gone by then and I'll be onto Natty Ice or some shit like that. It's gonna be some funny shit to see what beers we're touting by like day 360. I'm gonna be hitting the 40's on the corner by then;)

day off

Well, I took a day off yesterday. My liver thanks me. And might again tonight (check back later after practice to find out if I can resist 30+ different beers in my fridge two days in a row) but I am still checking out the site and adding links. I got a few a couple days ago, and a few more today, but please email me if you see one you missed.
eguttormsen@adelphia.net

Also, if you are new and want to start drinking email me too and Nate and I can discuss your makeup beers...

Nate's Beer #11

So last night I had an after-work meeting. One of those great meetings where you sit there for an hour and a half and you don't get paid to listen to the boss talk. It was just as awesome as it sounds.
So after the meeting, I decided I didn't want to drive home only to take a shower, eat dinner and go to bed so I stayed in Longview with a buddy from work. On my way to his place I realized that I hadn't had my beer for the day so I stopped by the local mini-mart. I soon remembered how far superior the beer selection is at mini-marts in Portland.
Since I had just gone shopping at Belmont Station on Sunday, I decided to just grab a single for the evening. And after much deliberation I decided that single was a 24 oz Busch Light. I'm a little sad to cross this old standby off the list so early into this thing, as I was hoping to save the macros for as long as possible. Oh well, it went down smooth (like always). Can't complain about that.

8,9,10,11...oh my

So what to do on a lazy Friday afternoon after getting a gut bomb of dim sum, go with the goat to the bar for a Skull Creek. Yummy. Later that evening I threw down the Horseshoe with the goat at the same bar we went to for lunch. Its nice to have a local place that the bar tenders know your name....or just the next step on my short road to the gutter. Beer 10 was a Blue Moon which went down as smoothly as the Hoegaarden, or like chalk. As for tonight, I "enjoyed" a Night Owl Pumpkin Ale, the last of the 22oz seasonals I purchased. I was surprised how much this beer tasted like pumpkin, if pumpkin tasted like shit. I really had to force those last drops...

RRR - Beers 5,6,7

It was a lazy weekend for me, which included, among other things, the excuse to try a new beer every day. On Friday night, 5 of my friends and I gathered at the Canadian's place for dinner and a spirited teams' match of Trivial Pursuit. You put 6 doctoral students in a room full of Trivia and you can pretty much smell the blood from a mile away. After 3+ hours of playing, the Canadian and I triumphed, though not without a few piss poor answers along the way. Oh well! Anyhow, that night, my brew o' choice was Hoegaarden, a tasty Belgian wheat beer that is now owned by the brewing company InBev, a Brazilian company that produces the largest amount of beer by volume.

On Saturday night, we headed out to TGIFridays for some grub and I got to have one of my favorite domestics, Blue Moon, brewed by Molson Coors. What I love about Blue Moon is that compared to a lot of Belgian style beers it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to buy in a 6-pack or a case.

This evening, as I write this post in fact, I'm sipping a Warthog Ale, made by the Big Rock Brewery in Alberta, Canada. The Canadian (surprise, surprise) got me into this brew and always brings back a case or two when he goes home. It's a tasty ale, so if you like crisp beers, give this one a try. Now that I think about it, Canada is home to quite a few really tasty brews. I think we should write a post discussing our favorite brews from Canada and maybe include a section in our brewery list for Canadian beers, or foreign beers in general. What do you guys think? Also, can one of you add the Big Rock Brewery to our list btw, as well as InBev? Thanks:)

8, 9, 10...

It was bound to happen sooner or later. I got lazy on Friday and decided after several Manny's Pale Ales that it would be my beer of the day. Best to get it out of the way so that I can't use it as a crutch later, I guess.

Anyway, I made up for it on beer #9. I happened to find myself at the Haggen grocery store in Arlington, WA and headed straight for the beer aisle. When I spotted a couple of beers by a brewery called Steffan's Aldergrove in Tulalip, WA, I knew we had a winner. The bottle caps even had the little dimple on top indicative of a hand-operated capping machine like those used by homebrewers. I opted for the Czecko Pilsner Style Lager over the stout. After kicking my way out onto the moonlit lake for a late night fly fishing session, I popped the top and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this relatively unknown pilsner.


Something that's always impressed me is the concept of micro-brew in a can. In Alberta, you can usually find Big Rock beers in cans, which are great for fishing trips when you don't want the extra weight and bulk of bottles. At the same Haggen store where I found the Czecko, they also had Dale's Pale Ale in all of its aluminum-contained glory, making it today's beer of choice. (Side note - Oskar Blues Brewery, the makers of Dale's Pale, make what could very well be the only beer-flavored lip balm.)

Nate's Beer #10

So I've had a couple of choices on which beer I could go with for my #10. It could've been the Guinness I had with breakfast this morning at Katie O'Brien's (killer breakfast by the way). It also could've been the Anchor Steam Beer I have waiting for me in my fridge.
Or it could've been any number of beers that I found at Belmont Station. After spending a little bit of time in there, I realized that this is probably what heaven looks like. I picked up a couple of Sierra Nevada Bigfoots (an '06 & an '07), a Hair of the Dog Rose, an Avery Brewing Co. White Rascal (very cool bottle), a Kona limited release Pipeline Porter, a Shmaltz Brewing Co. He'Brew Genesis Ale, and an 8% beauty from Belgium known as Loterbol. I will definitely be making more trips to the Belmont.
But for my beer #10 I am going to count the 8 Second Ale by Klamath Basin Brewing Co. that I had at the A&L tavern while Dr. Bert was straight up schooling me at foosball. The beer was so delicious although I couldn't properly enjoy thanks to the ass whoopin I took at the foos table. All in all a very nice beer drinkin weekend.

Saturday Beer - Glam

Unused to drinking at home but unable to drink out every night (believe it or not), I finally explored the beer aisle at my neighborhood Thriftway. Not bad. Lots to choose from. Including the six pack of Wee Heavy I picked up.

So now I have a bevvy on bevvies in stock at home. What a concept.

Last night I popped the cap on a Young's Special Londan Ale. At first glance, it was a beautiful beer, deep honey in color. The flavor, initially was intriguing. Something toasty like roast pumpkin seeds or freshly opened jar of flax seed. Overall, however, the Young's couldn't keep my attention. Losing its chill didn't help it any and, with virtually no head nor effervescence, it didn't have a single quality to keep my pallet engaged.

Really not so Special after all.
.

day 9 and 10

Best movie line ever?
"Chicks are for fags."
-Lloyd Christmas (Dumber and Dumberer)

Ahh, the wonderfulness that was day 9 and is day 10. A few Mac and Jacks (already off the list) at Jenny and Brian's wedding reception, followed by McMenamins Terminator Stout, Nebraska Bitter (and as promised, more Ruby and Hammerhead) at the Kennedy School for a joint 30th birthday party, and I find myself not really remembering the ride home. Although the toast Abby ordered for me at Sheri's was just what the doctor ordered.

Then a trivia question I borrowed from the Barley Mill Pub on Friday.
What brand sold just over a billion gallons of beer in the U.S. in 1988?
The answer is Budweiser, which I had today at a bowling tourney (179, 204, 159 thank you very much), followed by some Red Stripe tonight with dinner and the movie Beerfest. Good weekend.

Best Slogan Ever

First off, day 8 was a blur, including a Pyramid Snow Cap at the Blazer game, then a Mirror Pond at Nate's, then splitting 3 pitchers at McMenimans, Jetstream IPA, Ruby (already checked this one off, and will again tonight), and the Hillsdale Porter, then finishing off the night (read, morning) with a Great White from Lost Coast Brewing. All in all, a great night.

But searching for more beers for the list made me realize that I did not yet have
Pabst Brewing on the list, which has been fixed, but I found that Pabst brews all kinds of beers we can't get around here. Road trips may be in my future. That or the lazier way of ordering online. But I found the BEST SLOGAN EVER under Schaefer beer (which is cool cause that is my Grandpa's family name).

"Get your hands on an ice-cold Schaefer and you’ll know why America’s oldest lager is still going strong. Established in New York, New York by Frederick Schaefer in 1842, Schaefer Beer remains proudly brewed in the United States of America and consistently lives up to its famous slogan, “The one beer to have when you’re having more than one.”

We used to drink this on raft trip, and it was actually ONE of the beers to have when you're having more than one, but not THE ONE. Busch Light, Keystone, Olympia, PBR, and a few others were actually the beers to have when we were having more than one, but hey, it takes balls to say you are the best beer to get shitfaced on. Cheers.

edit: Then I found this slogan for Champale, which makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little. Of course I will try to find this and try it, but still, a little breakfast just came up.

What looks like Champagne, and tastes like champagne, yet isn't champagne? If you answered Champale, you're right. It even pours like Champagne. Pale, bubbly and festive. Elegant and sparkling, this fine malt beverage tempts your tastes with four delicious flavors: Golden, Pink, Dry and Red Berry.

"It's the Water"

I've already lost track of what number beer this is but last night's beverage of choice was a cold, cold can of Olympia.
.

And what, I might ask, goes better with Oly than muscle cars?

Nate's Beer #9

So Gus and I were accompanied by his frat brother Garrett and Garrett's girlfriend Sally to the McMenamin's Barley Mill Pub. While we were there we enjoyed a pitcher of Jet Stream IPA, one of Ruby Ale and after midnight we enjoyed a Nitro Hillsdale Porter pitcher. So for Saturday I'm gonna count my Nitro Porter. I'm sure I'll drink more beers Saturday night, but now I won't have to count them. Kind of like my Corona I had at lunch yesterday.

Whiskey Hot at 10.5%

Thursday night, Alpine Trout and I went to a cask night featuring Hale's Ales at the Beveridge Place Pub in West Seattle. I concur with Trout that the malty Wee Heavy is one of the finest beers in existance. So good in fact, that I had two. The second being just as extraordinary as the first.

But earlier in the evening, before the succulent Heavies, something happened that I'd never experienced before.

When I arrived at the Bev, I ordered myself a Piraat Triple IPA. Not knowing a thing about it, I sat down and began sipping. Hoppy (which is not my favorite), but just strange enough to keep my attention. In anticipation of ales being rolled out, I drank the Piraat at a fair clip over increasingly livelier conversation with AT. As nature allows, I excused myself to use the lady's. In the loo I realized I was rather drunk. Gauging by my inner tipsy-o-meter I'd say I was about 3 [quickly drunk] beers into the evening. I wonder what the person in the stall next to me thought when they heard a hushed voice saying to herself, "Oh god, I'm fucked up."

The next day google found this tidbit for me on A Good Beer Blog: (Excellent blog, by the way. Gus, being the wordsmith that you are, I'm thinkin' you'll dig the use of terms like "mousse" and phrases such as "a snow white souffle of a head explodes from the bottle".)

Piraat: Whisky hot at 10.5%. The pour leaves a fine white light foam head. The colour is medium straw and cloudy what with the swirl of real yeast at the bottom of the bottle. The taste is sugary mousse with a fine pale malt seam running through the middle, empire biscuit faintness of cherry. Quite juicy despite the sugar levels. The hops are subdued but spicy, with perhaps a bit of corriander, their aroma sitting below the smell of cotton candy.

10 and a half per cent! Jesus! No wonder.

Nate's Beer #8

Tonight I enjoyed a very nice belated birthday dinner with mi familia. I met my mom, step-dad, grandma, brother and his wife at the Masthead in Longview. It was the shiznitto blitto blam!
I had an excellent prime rib dinner and the meat was so tender that it basically melted in my mouth. But that wasn't even the best part of dinner, oh no. The best part had to have been the pint of Rogue Dead Guy Ale that I had while waiting for my family to arrive and then the pitcher of it that I shared with my step-dad during dinner.
Like Gus, I haven't had me any Dead Guy in a long fookin time. And just like Captain E.O. said, it is in one word "delicious". Good call G.
I'm gonna have to slip a couple of these bad boys into my next six pack of Weinhard's.

Week #1

Well the first week of this thing has just flown by and I have logged many beers. That is right many beers. I am not going to put myself through the stress of trying to drink a different beer everyday.... no no no..... I am just going to try to drink as many different beers as I can in a year. On friday I kicked the first week off with a Red Thistle Ale(#1) from Golden Valley Brewery. It was a little dark for a pre-funk beer, but got me off to a good start. After that and a Henry Weinhard's Blue Bore Ale(#2) and headed for McMenamins Kennedy School to meet n8b and gus for n8's birthday party. While I was there the McMenamins Ruby(#3) and the Hammer Head IPA (#4) were the beers of choice and whent down well with my quesadilla. Saturday night I was off to a house party with my friends Jack&Bunny. Jack bought me an Arrogant Bastard Ale(#5) by Stone Brewing Co. which I eagerly accepted and downed to start off the evening. On the way to the party I stopped and picked up some Pike Kilt Lifter(#6) from the Pike Brewing Co. The Kilt Lifter is a good beer and went down a little too easy (sorry if I made an ass out of myself Jess). After Saterday night I had to take a break. The thought of drinking on Sunday almost sent me to the bathroom (another reason that I can't commit to the whole different beer everday thing). Props to n8b for sticking to the plan and toughing it out. As for the rest of the week I enjoyed some good beers and they are as follows: Tannen Bomb Ale (#7) By Golden Valley Brewing Co., Organic Spring Ale (#8) by Butte Creek Brewing, Thunderhead IPA (#9), McTarnahans Amber Ale (#10), Hop Henge Imperial IPA (#11) by Deschutes Brewery, Full Sail Brewing Co. Old Boardhead Barleywine Ale 06' (#12 and at 9% ta boot), Optimator (#13) and I think that it is by Spaten in Munich, and Golden Brigade Blonde (#14) Bunker Gear Winter Ale (#15) Fire Boat Amber (#16) Pike Ploe Porter (#17) Steam Pumper IPA (#18) all from Fire Station 5 Brewing Co. Tonight I plan on finishing off the last of the Fire Station 5 and going out to find something new and interesting. It is going to be a great year...

Best Beer Ever?

"I wish it were winter so we could make it into ice blocks and skate on it, and then melt it in the spring time and drink it."
- Beerfest

It's not every day you get the chance to drink a beer so rare that only four kegs of it were produced AND have it taste so good that it earns a rightful place in your top 5 beers of all time list.

The Hale's Bourbon Barrel Aged Wee Heavy Winter Ale is a brew so good that my not-yet-caffeinated brain cannot even begin to describe it with any justice. This might require a call to the brewer to find out where the other three kegs can be found.

RRR 4 - Sam Adams White Ale

Finally, Ash Wednesday is good for something besides ashes and not eating meat. The Canadian and I headed over to Red Lobster for a little seafood treat on Ash Wednesday and while we waited for our table, I got to try the Sam Adams White Ale, a seasonal wheat beer. I didn't even know S.A. even made a White Ale, but it was tasty. If you like Blue Moon, then give this a go.

beer 7 (ah ah ah)

The count was by far the best character on Sesame Street.

One beer, ah ah ah
Two beers, ah ah ah
Three beers, ah ah ah

So I did the count one better today. The local applebees still has Blue Moon on tap, so that bad boy is off the list. But low and behold, they got Rogue Dead Guy Ale on tap, and I was reminded that it is in fact my favorite beer. It's been so long since I've had it (and I had so many Rogue beers that night that I had trouble tasting stuff for a couple days) that I forgot how much I liked it and haven't had it in over 2 years. But I love it. More than Widmer Hefe and Budweiser. So with 2 new beers under my belt, I went home and did what any sane person would do with work to do. I drank a Red Hook Blonde and a couple Killians and watched the Cougs beat Oregon. OH SHIT YEAH!

Nate's Beer #7

Tonight I started in on my Firehouse 5 brews. First up was the Fireboat Amber and it was purdy damn tasty. And that's all I have to say about that.

Week 1 has been completed!

Thanks to AlpineTrout's generousity, I was able to finish off my first week of 365 today at lunch. He brought in a sixer of Abita Turbodog Beer and shared with Goat and me. Abita is a brewery out of Louisiana and since it is Mardi Gras, what the hell right. Turbodog is a dark brown ale with a little too much chocolate for my tastes, but it went down as smooth as any beer does at lunch time.

So far so good.... 1 week down, yep, just under 2% complete. Abbey, enjoy your neck punch sucka.

beer # uhhh, shit

I know we are only 1 week into this, but when typing the subject, I had to fucking look at a calender to see if yesterday was beer 6 or not. I was bowling (and a shitty 40 or so below my average over 3 games thank you very much) and I enjoyed a 32 oz Michelob Ultra. Because I saw a commercial where athletic people drink Michelob Ultra on lunch breaks while Rollerblading, and since bowling is a sport, there you go. It went with the large all meat pizza I had very nicely.

added those links to the list, and updated the lists in case you haven't seen. and I vote for cider beers to be included (see below post comments).

Also, Abby made a funny joke about N8 and Dr. Bert that I thought I would share publicly.
She asked who went to the blazer game with Nate. I said Ed. She asked "Ed? Nate's on again off again girlfriend?"

A beer that an Alpine Trout would love....

Continuing to drink the seasonal beers I found at a wine bar/specialty beer retail store by my place, the Fish Tale Winter Fish Seasonal Ale was next on my list. Not too bad. Its a pretty pale ale with maybe some honey in there, but I am no expert aka prick that pretends to know that shit. It said on the bottle that they used Yakima hops, chances are from our buddy Wah's farm since he owns that town and all of the illegal workers there.

Nate's Beer #6

Last night was nothing too exciting for me. I didn't have any Belzebuth or anything. I enjoyed a ho-hum Dos Equis Amber Ale last night. Like I said, nothing too exciting.
I did however make a trip to the local Fred Meyer's and grab myself a couple of mixed sixers. I learned a very valuable lesson while I was there. I grabbed a mixed Firehouse 5 and a mixed Deschutes six pack. There are six different beers from each brewer available so I didn't throw in anything more expensive. I was gonna toss in some local microbrew single that goes for $9 a six pack until I noticed the sixth Firehouse 5 beer. My roomie Ed went with me and he grabbed a mixed sixer also. I proceeded to the self check-out while Ed beelined it to the express lane. As I was scanning my beers I had to show my ID to the attending clerk. He checked my ID and then gasped as he noticed my mixed sixers. I explained to him that they were all from the same breweries so it was okay. After double checking my six packs and thinking about the situation, he decided that he should take my beers up to his station and scan them himself, individually. So as I'm waiting for him to finish scanning my 12 different beers, I notice Ed waiting for me at the doorway. I get my beers and walk over to him where he tells me that the lady in the express lane didn't even take a second glance at his beers. Just scanned them up and gave 'em to him. So if you were to throw an expensive micro into a cheaper mixed sixer (not that I would do that) you should make your way to the express lane. You can thank me later (by buying me a beer).
So with those mixed sixers and the beers I had already saved, I should be good for about two weeks. Plus my parents are taking me out to dinner tomorrow night for my belated b-day and I plan on enjoying some microbrew there. And then Saturday night I just may have to go check out the Bagdad theater. I'm thinking I need to cross Hammerhead off of my list. I'm gonna try to drink it all out of the pitcher.

"The Most Unique Ale In The World"

"than whom, Satan except, none higher sat."
- Paradise Lost

An 8.4 ounce bottle? Slightly unique, I guess.

13% alcohol? There are barley wines in the same class.

A 13% blond(e) ale is pretty damn unique though.

This beer packs a wallop. In fact, I haven't even finished it yet. It's tasty and not too sweet, has a pleasant aroma, but it's still a sipper, to be enjoyed infrequently, but still enjoyable. Does that make any sense?

Future beer consumer

Here's a new vid of my son playing his drumset. He'll be 15 months old in 3 days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qE-FNL-Ies

Tiny Wang

As promised, here is the picture that provides conclusive evidence that someone inside Jules Mae had a tiny pecker. I'm pushing 6'2" and 210 lbs, this truck is gigantic and the picture doesn't do it justice. Compensation perhaps?

Beeradvocate.com

This is the best beer site ever.

www.beeradvocate.com

It's free to sign up. Basically, everyone gets together and rates beers. And you get your own personal Beer Mail.

The first Beer Mail you get is the 3rd Annual American Beer Fest, June 15 & 16 in Boston.

Note: I have found the beer I am on a worldwide search for, just like some of you have identified. It is the Whiskey Barrel Bigfoot Barleywine Ale from Sierra Nevada. This Bigfoot is different from the standard as it is barrel fermented in old whiskey barrels. It also carries a ABV of 12.3%, which is a lot higher than the regular Bigfoot of 9.6%. That is stronger than some decent wines I have consumed. I think this beer may get away before I get a taste of it. Apparently, it is only on tap for a limited time at the brewpub in Chico.

Catching up

So I spent this weekend building a fence at my house. Four straight days, Saturday through Tuesday all day long. And it was raining... a lot. And snowing. Days like that call for much beer drinking after dark to ease the intense muscle pain.

I started at dinner on Friday evening with my single probably most favorite beer, the great Newcastle Brown Ale. I purchased a sixer earlier last week in preparation for the weekend.

Saturday was a hard day so I decided to polish off a beer I found at the local European Cellar, called Melbourn Brothers. I purchased two 355 ml bottles at $5.50 each. The first was strawberry and the second was apricot. I drank the strawberry first and was plesantly surprised. It was followed by a Newcastle.

Sunday was equally painful so I drank the apricot Melbourn. Much better than the strawberry. Less sweet, more flavor. It too was followed by a Newcastle.

Monday and Tuesday were more of the same, however, I also dipped into my emergency beer stash, which was Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale my Dad brought up for me from Chico.

In review:

#1 Newcastle Brown Ale
#2 Melbourn Bros. Strawberry
#3 Melbourn Bros. Apricot
#4 Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

I'm one behind, so I'll do what I can to make up for it this weekend.

RRR 3- Otto's Apple Barrel brew

Last night, I tried a great Cider brew from an awesome (read: only) microbrewery in State College, Otto's Pub & Brewery. I'm always down with Otto's brew and went with my girls for "Really Cheap Pasta" night last night to celebrate Fat Tuesday and have some brew. Some people don't really consider cider beer to be beer, and I guess technically it's not, but if it's not a beer, what category would you put it into? It was also the first time I've tried a microbrew cider, as you don't typically think of microbrews making cider. But this one was pretty good. About 6% alcohol and not as sweet as Woodchuck or Cider Jack, but better and more tart, I thought. So what is your take on cider beer? Is it beer? Do you like it? Any recommendations? Cause that brew last night put me on a cider kick. Later:)

P.S. Gus, could you add this brewery too, pretty please?!:)

Dicko Day 5

So I figured that I better try to get in some of the Winter seasonals before they go bye bye and the Summer ales roll in. The Anderson Valley Winter Soltice Ale isn't half bad. It had a pretty good flavor with no nasty after taste that I seem to get with a lot of the Winter ales. You know that little tickle on the side of your tongue that makes you flinch.

day Five - Gus

My old friend Red Hook ESB keeps me company after volleyball practice, followed by his Two-A-Day partner in crime Long Hammer IPA.

And more good news, I tried out some Mix and Match at Fred Meyer, and it was successful. The rest of the Firehous 5 lineup, a few more New Belgium, a few Sam Adams, a couple Kilians (4.99 a six pack, even if you slip in some New Belgium...), and even a couple way too expensive 22s of Rogue Dead Guy and Stone IPA for some future plans of 22-Two-A-Days. Can't wait for those. Fuck drinking is fun.

Nate's Beer #5

Tonight at the Blazer game I enjoyed a couple of Pyramid Ale Thunderhead IPA's. Very hoppy, very delish. And the Blazers won and scored over a hundred points. And that means "Free Chalupas". The chalupa was also delish.
But the real treat was the crazy black guy four rows behind us that just so happens to be at every game. I can't understand a fucking thing that this guys says. And that's amazing considering that he's yelling the whole damn game. "HRR GUYAN GUYAN ROOCCTTTRRR" I think was what he actually was trying to convey at one point. That guy takes the Blazers from fun up to outfuckinstanding! Thanks crazy black guy!

Aaaiiiieeeeeee!!!!

Happy Mardi Gras, bitches! Laissez les bon temps roules!

I couldn't find Abita Amber anywhere local on short notice, so I settled for something that has absolutely nothing to do with Fat Tuesday; Murphy's Draught Style Stout.

Day Five - Glam

Working late. Mirror Pond Pale Ale from Deschutes Brewery. Egh.

If this beer were a one night stand I might consider fucking it again in the future. You know, just to see if there was any chance that it might actually be good.

But I'm not hopeful.

Weekend Pictures

Nate at the Kennedy School McMenimans

Erik with beer #1 (and Nate) at the Kennedy School McMenimans

Erik's menu (w/red rocket)

Erik's Sunday selection

also, I have a few wine tasting pics, but as they are un beer related, they are on NOSE .

Four Away

My last beer in the fridge last night. Time to go shopping...

Nate's Beer #4

Yesterday (Monday) was a little rough for me. I didn't get home until about 7.30 last night. After I got home I took a quick shower and then ran to the nearest Carl's Jr. for some six-dollar burger action. As I was finishing my dinner, I glanced up at the clock to notice that it was 8.30 and I had totally forgotten about my beer for the day.
Lucky for me, I had a mixed six-pack stowed away in the fridge for just this occasion. I grabbed a Pete's Wanderlust Cream Ale and checked that bad boy off of my list.
Tonight I'm heading to the Trail Blazer game so I'm thinking I may have to have a Thunderhead IPA while I'm there. Or maybe a Hef? Or maybe a Bud? Decisions, decisions.

Red, Red Rine's Beer's 1-2

Hey all! I know I've been slacking lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been drinking. A very belated happy birthday to my buddy Nate and my cousin Mallory who turned 18 on the 16th as well (don't get any ideas Nate). You'd think that given the fact that Pennsylvania has been buried under snow for the last week, that I'd have time to enjoy life, some brew and blog, but it sadly isn't so. Anyhow, I won't bore you with the details of me being busy with school, etc, but I will give a mini ode to the 2 beers I've had in the last 2 or 3 days: Magic Hat No. 9 and a Corona with lime. For those of you who are not familiar with Magic Hat, this glorious brewery hails from South Burlington, VT and has blessed the world with such brews as "Mother Lager", "Circus Boy", "Blind Faith", and my fave the No. 9. Now the number 9 is technically a Pale Ale, though somehow the flavor defies convention and to me resembles some of the Belgian crisp fruit beers. I actually had the pleasure of touring the factory in October (aka skipping the tour and going right to the unlimited free sampling of the beers. Needless to say, the Canadian and I were there for an hour and a half just drink shots of beer. Good times!

As for other beers, I have a number of salacious brews chilling in my crisper for days to come. I plan on chronicling my adventures with Blithering Idiot and Old Heathen, beers so strong they constitute barley wines and coming from the Easton, PA brewery Weyerbacher. Till then...happy drinking!

P.S. Nate, could you add Weyerbacher's and Magic Hat Brewing Co. to the list of breweries? Thanks!

Monday

Well, I have the day off, so naturally I am trying hard not to work at home today.

Work to the left of me, Beer to my right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

A Bridgeport Ebeneezer Ale, a Redhook Winterhook Ale, and a couple of nice old friends I like to call Black Butte Porter. I know I said Two-a-days, but todays a holiday and I'm working, so 3-a-day it is.

Day Three and Four - Glam

Day Three - Bison Chocolate Stout I was invited to a wine tasting and food pairing event with a bunch of restaurant industry types. Now I don't love wine but I knew the food would be too good to pass up (and it was) so I agreed to come. In fact I brought the port and dessert wine and enough chocolate to satisfy the group three times over.

And I brought the stout, made with cocoa, for myself. Upon opening it my first impulse, after an afternoon of embracing the aroma of the 20 or so wines present, was to put my nose in the pint jar and take a deep sniff. What a mistake.

The foul stench made me rear back from the glass. Something akin to brackish water, stale toilet, or dirty fishtank. The taste was only slightly improved by the addition of a burnt grain flavor. All in all, this beer was an absolute no for me. (The chocolate, on the other hand was quite devine.)

Day Four - Negra Modelo A tried and true beverage. Never misses. The perfect starter while I waited for my friends to show up at El Charro on Hwy 99 near SeaTac. My plate of pollo asada was nothing special but the beer and the company were absolutely stellar.

PBR and the terrorist!

A little something about myself, I like macro brew more than micro brews. I like McDonalds better than that stupid specialty hamburger place you know about in your city. The reason they are macro is because they are good and appeal to the most people. Weird how I can never find anyone to admit that they like it then....hmm. I think that makes for a lot of liars in this world. Being honest to myself, I decided to start off the 365 with a tried and true American classic...PBR, and I'll be damned if it wasn't the best beer I had all night.

The second type of beer I had inspired a brain-teaser in my warped mind... What do terrorist get when they blow themselves up? A Hoegaarden of course! Sounds like 62 virgins to me.. or would that be a prudegaarden.

As the Goat mentioned, we received a free pitcher of cat piss for the third and fourth drinks of the evening. Maritime Pacific Imperial IPA isn't that bad, but my taste buds were starting to turn themselves off.

The Chopper Red Ale from Georgetown Brewery finished me off, I mean finished off the night and who knows what it tasted like, but I'm sure it was no PBR.

Pictures to come tomorrow and there is one picture specifically that I will post tomorrow that indicates that someone in the bar had a really small wang. You'll see what I mean, stay tuned.

Nate's Beer #3

After a little bit of a rough weekend, I wasn't really feeling like drinking a beer yesterday. Thankfully I had saved a Pete's Wicked Strawberry Blonde ale and was able to throw that down pretty easily.
In the future I am going to have to make sure I save some other "easy" drinking beers for days I may be hung-over. I'm thinking I'll probably be holding out on McMenamin's Ruby for as long as possible. What other beers would be good to follow a hangover with?

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Now that I'm back home, I present a recap of the last few days of debauchery south of the Columbia River in Portland.
First things first, did anyone else remember that today is Chinese New Year? The Treasure Island Chinese Buffet in Beaverton was the place to find a nice cold green bottle of Tsingtao (Beer #3).

Now back to Friday... While I had hoped to kick off with a few of the Portland teammates since I was on their turf for the weekend, it didn't quite work out. Instead, I got a little impatient and tossed back a bottle of Mad River Brewing Company's Steelhead Double IPA. At a mere 8.6% alcohol, I thought it would be a good choice to ease myself into this next year of drinking. Anyway, one thing led to another, my friends who had been drinking at a strip club all day returned to the house and described how they had literally had "the best day ever", and we decided to go back out on the town.

Saturday morning. Brain broken. Leftover pizza for breakfast and a drive across the river to beautiful Vancouver, WA for the Tattoo & Piercing Convention where I saw what could quite possibly be the best polo shirt ever.

After watching my friend's girlfriend cry for a half hour while getting her lower back tattoed, we decide to leave her in the company of her supportive friends and head down to the Fly Fishing Show at the Convention Center in Portland. Beers at the Portland Fly Fishing Show were $5 for draft as opposed to the $6 bottles at the previous weekend when the show was in Bellevue. Beer #2 - Bridgeport IPA, a longtime member of my Top 10 IPA list.

more New Belgium

After a few Springboard ales yesterday before the wine tasting, and a Mac and Jacks afterwords listening to a cover band at the Monticello Hotel, I have decided to try and keep up my Two-A-Days as long as I can. Today it is the remainder of my mix and match 6 pack of New Belgium, Fat Tire, and 1554 enlightened black ale.

Also, while looking up Mac and Jacks, I found a washington brewers website with a long list of breweries. This should shoot that 400 strong beer list up over 500 no problem.

Nate's Beer #2

So for my beer #2 I enjoyed an Immortal IPA 22 oz. At 6.3% ABV I had a nice little buzz going at the end of this brew. Final Verdict? A pretty damn good IPA. Thanks to Jack & Bunny for hooking a brotha up...

Gus's first beer

My first beer was in fact a pitcher of beer. McMenimans Ruby tastes great in the bottle, but tastes even better when surrounded by ounces of its friends in a pitcher at the McMenimans Kennedy School. A pitcher of that, then a pitcher of Hammerhead, and 365 is off to a nice start.

I am also jealous of your decisions to bring your personal cameras, while my dumbass brought my work camera. I do not have the cable to download the pictures, so my pictures are waiting til Tuesday.

Plus Abby enjoyed teaching in school all day, then drinking in school all night, so hats off to whoever decided to renovate this school into a giant building full of hotel rooms and bars and movie theatres. When I first walked in I felt like I was in a movie where each time you open a door there is crazy shit going on inside. We opened doors in this order:
Honors - tiny little bar
Gym - wedding reception
Detention - tiny cigar bar
Cafeteria - courtyard restaurant
Girl's Bathroom - brewery
Boys and Girl's locker rooms - bathrooms (including showers)
Classrooms - hotel rooms
Large Classroom - Cypress Room Bar
Lecture Hall - Move Theatre and Bar
Kennedy School

Tonight we are hosting a wine tasting, so I am having a few Springboard Ales with Lunch. Thanks New Belgium. They go nicely with the left over McMenimans Meditaranian Pizza.

I have to go finish cleaning. And drinking. then eating and drinking some more.

Day One - Glam & Dicko at Jules Maes

Anyone who's drunk with me knows I am a creature of singular habit. I like Jules Maes and I like Manny's Pale Ale. One of the reasons 365Beers is enticing to me is simply because I know I should discover the whole world of beer out there. I mean, what if I ended up in a bar that didn't serve Manny's? What would I do then?

So this in not only an endeavor of endurance for me. It is also a challenge of faith. Faith that there are other beers out there that I will enjoy as much as Manny's.

Tonight I found one. Skull Creek Light Lager. It was my first pint of the evening and it was lip smackalicious. Delicate and complex and, even though it calls itself light, it was really more medium. Dicko began the eving with a tried and true friend, a PBR.

.

We then moved on to a Diamond Knot Brown Ale (molassess-y and not very interesting) for me and a Hoegaarden Belgian White Ale for Dicko. Despite - or perhaps because of - the Hoegaarden being served in its own signature glass with a slice of orange no less, it could not escape being dubbed "horse semen ale" by Dicko. And he oughta know. I tasted the light fruity Ho for myself but it must be the exact spectral opposite of the burnt-sugar Diamond Knot. The clash of flavors on my pallet tasted like a blood feud in a stock yard - stupid and shitty.

Diamond Knot Brown Ale (foreground) and Horse Semen Ale with Orange Slice

.

Sometime during the second round, we came up with the prost of the evening: Here's to good sex with crazy bitches.

.

Shortly thereafter, Angel (the bartenderess) bestowed an almost full pitcher of Maritime Pacific Imperial IPA. I hate this beer. I always have. It tastes like the smell of cat piss. But, when it's free, it tastes a little better. Like the piss of purebred cats.

There was another prost after that. Something involving the comparison of a horse breeder's vagina sleeve to Dicko's wife. Which, I think was supposed to sound complimentary in Dicko's favor but actually kinda didn't. I'm sure you had to be there to appreciate the hilarity.

We ended the evening with Georgetown Brewing Co's Chopper Red Ale for Dicko and a Red Menace BIG Ale for me. Unfortch, I had eaten the Jules Mae's salmon burger and was so incredibly full I couldn't finish my Red Menace. Well, wouldn't you know, the whole purpose of employing the buddy system was utilized this very first night. Dicko wouldn't let me leave the table until I swallowed every last drop. What a pal. I would have wasted that hyper-hoppy red ale.

So okay, for me the stand alone beer of the evening was the Skull Creek Lager. If I were in a fine drinking establishment and there was no Manny's to be had, I would order a Skull Creek as a strong alternate.

And speaking of Alter Nates...Happy Birthday n8. May you sleep well tonight and wake up awash in the dew of your 30's.

Nate's Beer #1

Seattle's own Pike Brewing was gonna represent with their Naughty Nellie "golden artisan ale" but I'm super clumsy and knocked the bastard over. And it just didn't feel right starting this whole she-bang (great word!) off with a knocked over brewski.

So instead I am consuming a 22 oz of Eureka, CA's Lost Coast Brewery & Cafe's Great White Beer. The label describes it as follows "This light, citrus like beer is made with two-row malted barley, unmalted wheat, coriander, a secret blend of Humboldt herbs(????? I LIKE), crystal clear mountain water and ale yeast." Humboldt herbs huh? Outfuckinstanding!

On the lower right corner you'll see the top of the birthday card my loving aunt sent me. The inside says "It's a big joke until it happens to you". How true. It's like I'm holding a little cardboard Yoda in my hands.

Anyways Gus and the wife are gonna head down and we are gonna go enjoy some Ruby Ales at the McMenamin's Kennedy School. Great Success!

Preparation is key!

As I mentioned in a previous post, preparation is key. What I didn't mention is that if you don't prepare, you may also tear a muscle. Drinking a lot of beers everyday will take discipline, it will take determination and its going to take a whole lot of limber muscles. Please refer to the chart I have posted to ensure that safety comes first in this endeavor.

Like a Kid on Christmas Morning

I had to exercise enormous self-control to keep from cracking a beer at 6 o'clock this morning.

Safeway

While the Safeway on the way home from work doesn't sport the biggest beer selection, I did find a new wonderfulness this afternoon while making last preperations for 365. They offer 10% off when you buy 4 six packs or more, similar to their 10% off if you buy 6 or more bottles of wine. That combined with a little mix'n and match'n, netted me 14 different beers plus 10 extras to drink the next couple days for only $25.61. My garage is now sportin 36 different beers to get the first month or so of this thing started off right. I of course will have to keep shopping to replenish the "extras*" but I shouldn't have to choose between skipping a day or going to the store for at least a couple months.

*extra is defined as the beers consumed that you have already had one of during 365. For example, I estimate I will have at least 20-50 "extra" budweisers over the life of this contest.

I'm getting a little ancy for tomorrow. Not that I haven't already been drinking for 3 weeks, but I'm ancy to actually start checking them off the list.

Tommy Boy

Why do I feel the urge to get hosed down and sing "I'm so Excited?"

Road Trip (for some)

It's time to plan the second trip for 365 (the first being to Portland for Nate's birthday to kick this think off Friday).

http://www.elysianbrewing.com/Events.html

Winter Brew Fest in Seattle Feb 24th. Whose comin with me???
(Thanks for the links Alex and Trout)

The Holiest of Ails

Sir Bedevere: "What makes you think she's a witch? "
Peasant: "Well, she turned me into a newt!"
Sir Bedevere: "A newt?"
Peasant: [meekly after a long pause] "... I got better."

Scuttlebutt

I used to work down the street from this brewery and my coworkers and I would frequent the restaurant for lunch. Later, they began bottling their beers and selling locally, so even though I now rarely find myself near the brewpub, I can still toss one back and reminisce from time to time. Ah, the memories...

Sierra Nevada

Sierra Nevada is perhaps the greatest brewery on the face of the planet. Not only do they make seven different brews regularly, but they now have six specialty drafts that can only be found at the brewery and in select locations throughout the country.

www.sierranevada.com

Here's the big list and my take on each beer:



The original. Excellent example of a true pale. Crisp, full and lots of hops. This beer is responsible for me learning to love the taste of beer. What beer did that for you? Best with typical BBQ items; cheesburgers and hot dogs.

This beer took me some time to get used to. Heavy barley flavor and creamy. Very good, but cannot be consumed in large quantities. Good with seafood or steak.

Simply put, in college, we purchased more kegs of Wheat than any other Sierra Nevada beer. It wasn't even close. Excellent flavor, unfiltered, easy to drink and a pleasant alcohol content. The coach really likes this beer. Best keg party beer ever.

As good as Guinness or better, depending on the year. Very nice alcohol content at 5.8%. Very rich and creamy. Also cannot be consumed in large quantities. Goes really nicely with typical deep fried pub food like jalepeno poppers or shrimp.

The greatest barleywine ale ever made. Head and shoulders above Hair of the Dog Fred, and I love Fred. SNB suggests like snack foods with Bigfoot, but I've found that eating anything along with Bigfoot is doing a disservice to the greatest 9.6% barleywine ale in history. The first time I tried this beer I almost gagged the flavor is so robust.




There are two other regularly offered SNB beers that I will not go into much detail. Summerfest is a great light ale like Pale Ale but it is a Pilsner. It is pretty good. Celebration Ale is their traditional holiday beer with a very nice 6.8% alcohol level. Great for cold winter nights. Limited availabilty at Fred Meyer up here. I try to buy a six pack every year, but I have missed a couple years here and there from 1996 until now. You can't go wrong with it in any year.


I will not cover the six specialty drafts, because I have only tried three of them at the brewpub in Chico. Those were Crystal Wheat, Brown Ale and India Pale Ale. I certainly do not have enough experience with them to provide you, the avid beer drinker, with a legitimate opinion. They were all tasty, though. If they are ever released commercially, they will be successful and well received.


Happy drinking!

Sam Adams

If someone tells you that you cannot have something, what is that you immediately want?

Sam Adams Has a line of 6 Extreme beers, 3 or 4 of which are not sold in our states, and 1 that is only sold at the brewery in Boston. I don't like being told I can't have something, especially beer. Anyone planning a trip soon that might be able to get some of these beers for the group? I was considering visting Ginapalooza in D.C., my cousins Hilda and her husband Matt in New York, and my Aunt and her family in Maryland, and I think I may have to add Boston to the itenirary. A beer that is only served in one place? I want that.

Brewery List

Started the links list to the left under the archive. Please comment with your additions and I will get them on the list. Where possible provide websites that link to the list of beers for each brewery. Gracias.

It's 5:30 on Friday...

"...And like that, he was gone." (movie?)

Widmer bottlecaps

If you didn't read before, I love the Prosts under the Widmer caps. The Hefe Abby had last night said "To Not Being That Guy!" That's post worthy.

And Abby came up with a few submissions. Would you vote for these?
"To Your 3rd Grade Teacher!"
"To Hot Teachers!"

Hopefully between the last couple we have sent in, we will get our Prost in print...
Submit Prost
Prost Archive

And holy crap, The belmont station looks awesome. I wish I owned that place. http://picasaweb.google.com/hopstar/TheBigMove

We Have Company

Although he called me a "snot nose no panties", I'll give a shout out to my buddy Peter.

Canada Day. Good call P.

Heaven Isn't Too Far Away.....

From my apartment that is, and it's name is Belmont Station. Here is how they describe themselves at http://www.belmont-station.com "Belmont Station is Portland's premier bottle shop. We were the first bottle shop to showcase Oregon's impressive microbrews, and we take pride in being part of the beverage industry in Oregon -- built with passion by some of the greatest icons in the American craft beer movement."
And this is how they describe their beer selection. "Over 700 legendary bottled microbrewed and imported beverages, religiously rotated, stored in coolers and all lighting in the store is UV filtered to protect the freshness of the beer."
You can go onto their page and check their beer list. It's so extensive though that it's broken up into eight parts. All I can say is wow. Well wow and that I'm very thirsty now. And a little aroused. And wow.
Big thanks to Mary Sue for the tip. You are a saint, not unlike Dorothy Mantooth.
Only one more week til "Go Time". I hope you are all ready.

(God I love Warrant)

That's a whole lot of Beer

So I was talking to my roomie Ed last night about this whole 365 beer challenge. I was saying how at first I was a little worried about finding enough different beers, but after seeing the selection at the local stores and then Ed telling me about all the different brew pubs like this one, I have no worries whatsoever now. I can't wait for this bad boy to get going next week so I can start listing out all the crazy brews I find in PDX. It's starting to shape up to be a wonderfully drunken year.
Ed was telling me that his only worry is that he wouldn't be able to get a different beer every day and that he was just gonna see how many different beers he could put away in a year. After some discussion on the topic, we decided that 500 would be attainable. It would be a challenge but I think it's possible. Ed said he's game to try. He's planning some different trips to some breweries and plans on taking full advantage of their sampler offerings.
On another note, we need somebody to set up some sort of spreadsheet/chart that we can all use to mark our progress. Hopefully Smooty will come around and use his computer and bo staff skills and get us a little chart action going on. Dicko, try to smack some sense into him.

Thursday Poll and the quest

Thursday Poll:

What's Better?

Dick's Burgers

or

Dick's Beer

Also, in regards to the quest, I emailed Stone Brewing to start trying to find a bottle of Vertical Epic Ale, and here is what I received. It looks like I am going to need some help from my Portland connection Nate to get one of these beauties, as my attempt to get one sent to me has failed. I'll get you beer for your birthday, if you get me this for mine...

Erik, thanks for the email and the kind words about our beers. We never get tired of hearing from the people out there that are passionate enough about our beers that they take the time to write and tell us how they feel...and ask good questions.

Well, I cannot really promise you to get a single bottle of a specific beer from us...but I can give you some info on how to make that happen. Each year we list the exact places that are scheduled to get our Special Releases, including the Vertical Epic Ales. What you'll need to do is check out the link when it is released, then get to the closest place to where you live and buy some...easy as that.

Here is the link to the main page, and last years Distribution List:

www.stonebrew.com/epic/

stonebrew.com/epic ReleaseYear=2006

Good Luck, we really appreciate the support and keep on spreading the words of Stone and the Arrogance!

Cheers,

chris.cochran@stonebrew.com

www.stonebrew.com

arrogantbastard.com

Sign up for the Stone Brewing eMail Newsletter for info on special events and releases: stonebrew.com/newsletter/index

Cure for the Common Hangover

Last night I went out and subjected myself to unbridled gin consumption. Then I though it would be a good idea to stay up until 4am. I've managed to drag my shaking carcass into work (only 10 minutes late!) but it's going to be a bumpy day. Thank Zod they're serving blueberry pancakes this morning. Once I get this food in me, followed by a coke and a fistful of pharmaceuticals, everything should be okay. For a few hours at least.

So I'm thinkin'...what's your sure fire cure for hangover? I'm not talking about mild case of brown bottle flu, I'm talkin' hungover like a horse. I'm partial to a bowl of chili with raw onions. Don't know why that works for me, but it does. Usually an Emer'gen-C packet, three ibuprofin, and a glass of water does the trick. Especially if I remember to consume them before I go to sleep. Which, let's face it, I never do. Sometimes nothing helps and I'm left to spend the day on the couch, eating Doritos, and watching movies from the home library. Really, how many times can I watch Pitch Black or the Matrix or - if the hangover is particularly bad - the entire LOTR trilogy?

So, what works for you? Oh, and any wise acre who says he or she doesn't get hangovers is dead to me.

Who would you most like to have a beer with?

Well, I have two people I would most want to share a pitcher with:

and

The first is obviously Robin Williams with his "I love New York" in Arabic t-shirt.

The second dude is Danny Carey, who is the drummer for Tool. He is followed closely in third place by the drummer for Meshuggah, Tomas Haake.

All three are huge beer drinkers, especially Haake. And his name sounds like a good beer. Not Haake Beck, which is not beer. Like Haake Bock. That would be way better.