Boring myself with useless Michael Jackson coverage... I decided to finally write up my thoughts on the Harpoon Catamount Maple Wheat. Heeere we go!
I've been a longtime fan of Harpoon as many people in the greater New England area are. I worked not a block from the Brewery in South Boston and we had regular events there over the past few years. In fact, I've met the owners at a few beer release events and they could not be nicer. Their beers by and large are excellent, the Raspberry UFO, the UFO Hefeweizen, the Harpoon IPA, the Munich Dark are consistantly some of my favorites. They also have something called the "100 barrel series" which is kind of neat project that the owners of Harpoon started. Essentially, it's an opportunity for their brewers to take a chance. They make a "small" batch of beer any way they feel fit. If it's any good, they sell it! If it's not... well, I can only imagine that they "dispose" of it any way possible. (CHUG, CHUG, CHUG!!)
By it's nature, the "100 barrel series" is somewhat touch and go. I've had some bad versions, I've had some excellent ones and I've had some that are... well, beer. The Catamount maple wheat falls into the latter of these categories. It's not a terrible beer, but I will say, it's not quite what I expected. When you first open it up, pour it out, it looks to be a good beer. DARK amber color, crisp wheat notes and a good solid head. However, there's one thing missing... the MAPLE! I can understand that they probably used Maple sugar as a priming agent or as fuel for the yeast, however, there is a notable absence of that distinct flavor. I'll admit, I was disappointed. The beer itself is OK, but I probably wouldn't buy it again. Still love the Brewery and everything they stand for and I will definitely try their next experiment, but the Catamount Maple Wheat fell flat.
It's summer, I'm sure that I'll have more posts to give you!
Rob Anderson
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
ACBF Beer Reviews
The Brew:Bless me father... it's been almost a month since my last blog. Again, as Spaceballs 2 was supposed to be "the quest for more money" has kept me from dropping the post I wanted to SEVERAL weeks ago. My previous post had a quick review of the American Craft Beer Festival, but I didn't review any beers! A thousand apologies! I'm going to do an abbreviated version of the review as there was a LOT of good beer there. I tended to avoid some of the local breweries as I plan on visiting them soon enough and I didn't get an opportunity to cover every Brewery I was looking for, however the ones I did hit ranged from remarkable to "did you really think this was presentation-worthy beer??? Thankfully at these events they give you a program which helps to keep track of all the samples you've had. Looking at my check marks, I sampled quite a few. Note for next year: Bring a voice recorder, take notes as I go...
That being said, I'll give a quick review of some of the most memorable beers I had at the ACBF!
In No particular order:
Dogfishhead: What a friggin mob scene around these guys. They were the clear rockstars of the day and thanks to some healthy marketing and a GREAT selection of beers, well deserved. I'd heard a lot of buzz around the beer made from a 3000 year old recipe and I just had to try it. The Midas Touch did not disappoint, sweet, slightly "Mead-y" with a hint of grape, this was an excellent brew. I would imagine, with the addition of Saffron (a VERY expensive herb) that it would be a rather expensive beer. However Well worth it.
The Great Divide Brewing Co.: The Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout. Those of you that know me well know that I LOVE a good stout. This one was extraordinary as far as the style goes. Thick, meaty and thanks to its barrel aged process, the taste had a bit of a smoky flavor to it. VERY interesting and very good. Thumbs up all the way.
Kennebec River Brewery: Kennebec River IPA: Not much to say about this one. Decent beer. I'd have it again! Not too bitter, fits with the style. Well balanced.
Ithica Beer Co: CascaZilla: Yet another example of overpowering hoppiness. It was a little too much for me, frankly. Not a fan.
Schmaltz brewing Co: He'Brew Rejewvenator: Schmaltz is quickly becoming one of my favorite breweries. The Rejewvenator is a Half Doppelbock brewed with Date juice. (If my German serves me correctly... wouldn't this be a full Bock? - Kidding... relax beer geeks and Scholars of Deutch) This is yet another extraordinary beer. Not too sweet and fruity, but just a hint enough to be interesting. As usual, its a well balanced example of what beer should be. My only regret about the beer is that 2oz was clearly not enough. In addition, I didn't realize until FAR too late the founder and owner Jeremy Cowan was the guy serving my beer. At the time, the name looked familiar and like a Putz, I just kept on moving. Sorry Jeremy! I sincerely wanted to shake your hand!
Allagash Brewing Co.: Victoria: By far the most interesting beer of the day. It's an experimental Belgian-Style Strong ale with Chardonnay Grapes. In addition, they used wine yeast instead of brewers yeast. If you have friends who are not fans of beer, but instead are Enophiles (lovers of wine... thank you word of the day calendar) The wine has a distinctive wine-ey flavor and a peculiar sweetness usually only found with a demi-sec wine. Either way, this one's a keeper. You may see it as an experiment, but I'd say your hypothesis was spot on!
Terrapin Beer Co.: India Style Brown Ale: This one was TOO much. They call it a hybrid ale, but it was one of the only beers that I actually poured out. NOT a fan. Poorly balanced, too much hop and possibly of the wrong variety. Ick.
Southern Tier Brewing Co.: Jah-vh Stout & Mokah Stout. Two GREAT coffee flavored beers from this company. Coffee beers tend to go one of two ways with me. Either they're not enough coffee flavor or there's so much to the point of being totally acrid. Both of these were stupendous beers. Well balanced, great flavor. I'm not usually a Chocolate fan, nor am I an expresso fan, but I found the Mokah to be one of the best beers of the day. Good stuff and if I were looking for a beer to go with my pancakes, this would be it! (no I don't drink before noon, for the record...)
Beyond the fact that small brewing companies often pump out a higher quality product, I LOVE them for the names they come up with. Here are my top 5 faves of the day and most are probably funny, only to me because I'm an idiot:
5. The Cambridge House (CT): Breakfast Summer Ale: It drew me in... there's no particular reason as to WHY one would have it with breakfast, but I thought the name amusing enough to try some.
4. Watch City Brewing Company: Hell Hammer Oatmeal Stout: The name is just awesome. (Even though he misprounounced Jeux D'esprit...too picky?) I felt totally bad ass with my miniature beer and extended pinky finger... Good beer, bad ass name.
3. Smutty Nose Brewing Company: The Schmutzig Hopfen Weisse: Funny because I'm a dork and I know that Schmutzig means dirty and I just love the word. Kennen-sie diesen Schmutzig-Damen? (Do you know the dirty ladies?)
2. High & Mighty Brewing Co.: St. Hubbins Abbey: St. Hubbins of course according to Spinal Tap being the Patron Saint of Quality Footware...
1. Foothills Brewing CO: Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout: This was a beer that was outstanding in addition to its truly awesome monniker!
I've had a few great beers in the last few weeks since the ACBF and I'm going to try and review them as soon as I can.
The Music
I have a few artists that I'm going to be looking into, but this week, I'm feeling selfish as I had an AWESOME 4th of July!! The Sutherland Pipe Band was more than gracious enough to have me march with them during their 4th of July extravaganza. It's been a long time since I played the drum and I think I kept up pretty well in practice with the Snare drum, but apparently 80% of the notes is not enough for game day! Instead, I played the tenor drum. Quarter note, Quarter note... Swing the sticks around my head. I have to admit that I was more Flourish than anything but I Kept the beat and marched in step and most important I looked goooood. Although Flourishing is harder than it looks. You have to catch the sticks ON the beat! We played 2 Parades Bourne, MA and Edgartown, MA (Martha's Vineyard). A free show on the boat ride back during the fireworks and late night at the bar. Thanks boys!! All in all a GREAT day! I've added a few pics from the boat show below:
That being said, I'll give a quick review of some of the most memorable beers I had at the ACBF!
In No particular order:
Dogfishhead: What a friggin mob scene around these guys. They were the clear rockstars of the day and thanks to some healthy marketing and a GREAT selection of beers, well deserved. I'd heard a lot of buzz around the beer made from a 3000 year old recipe and I just had to try it. The Midas Touch did not disappoint, sweet, slightly "Mead-y" with a hint of grape, this was an excellent brew. I would imagine, with the addition of Saffron (a VERY expensive herb) that it would be a rather expensive beer. However Well worth it.
The Great Divide Brewing Co.: The Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout. Those of you that know me well know that I LOVE a good stout. This one was extraordinary as far as the style goes. Thick, meaty and thanks to its barrel aged process, the taste had a bit of a smoky flavor to it. VERY interesting and very good. Thumbs up all the way.
Kennebec River Brewery: Kennebec River IPA: Not much to say about this one. Decent beer. I'd have it again! Not too bitter, fits with the style. Well balanced.
Ithica Beer Co: CascaZilla: Yet another example of overpowering hoppiness. It was a little too much for me, frankly. Not a fan.
Schmaltz brewing Co: He'Brew Rejewvenator: Schmaltz is quickly becoming one of my favorite breweries. The Rejewvenator is a Half Doppelbock brewed with Date juice. (If my German serves me correctly... wouldn't this be a full Bock? - Kidding... relax beer geeks and Scholars of Deutch) This is yet another extraordinary beer. Not too sweet and fruity, but just a hint enough to be interesting. As usual, its a well balanced example of what beer should be. My only regret about the beer is that 2oz was clearly not enough. In addition, I didn't realize until FAR too late the founder and owner Jeremy Cowan was the guy serving my beer. At the time, the name looked familiar and like a Putz, I just kept on moving. Sorry Jeremy! I sincerely wanted to shake your hand!
Allagash Brewing Co.: Victoria: By far the most interesting beer of the day. It's an experimental Belgian-Style Strong ale with Chardonnay Grapes. In addition, they used wine yeast instead of brewers yeast. If you have friends who are not fans of beer, but instead are Enophiles (lovers of wine... thank you word of the day calendar) The wine has a distinctive wine-ey flavor and a peculiar sweetness usually only found with a demi-sec wine. Either way, this one's a keeper. You may see it as an experiment, but I'd say your hypothesis was spot on!
Terrapin Beer Co.: India Style Brown Ale: This one was TOO much. They call it a hybrid ale, but it was one of the only beers that I actually poured out. NOT a fan. Poorly balanced, too much hop and possibly of the wrong variety. Ick.
Southern Tier Brewing Co.: Jah-vh Stout & Mokah Stout. Two GREAT coffee flavored beers from this company. Coffee beers tend to go one of two ways with me. Either they're not enough coffee flavor or there's so much to the point of being totally acrid. Both of these were stupendous beers. Well balanced, great flavor. I'm not usually a Chocolate fan, nor am I an expresso fan, but I found the Mokah to be one of the best beers of the day. Good stuff and if I were looking for a beer to go with my pancakes, this would be it! (no I don't drink before noon, for the record...)
Beyond the fact that small brewing companies often pump out a higher quality product, I LOVE them for the names they come up with. Here are my top 5 faves of the day and most are probably funny, only to me because I'm an idiot:
5. The Cambridge House (CT): Breakfast Summer Ale: It drew me in... there's no particular reason as to WHY one would have it with breakfast, but I thought the name amusing enough to try some.
4. Watch City Brewing Company: Hell Hammer Oatmeal Stout: The name is just awesome. (Even though he misprounounced Jeux D'esprit...too picky?) I felt totally bad ass with my miniature beer and extended pinky finger... Good beer, bad ass name.
3. Smutty Nose Brewing Company: The Schmutzig Hopfen Weisse: Funny because I'm a dork and I know that Schmutzig means dirty and I just love the word. Kennen-sie diesen Schmutzig-Damen? (Do you know the dirty ladies?)
2. High & Mighty Brewing Co.: St. Hubbins Abbey: St. Hubbins of course according to Spinal Tap being the Patron Saint of Quality Footware...
1. Foothills Brewing CO: Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout: This was a beer that was outstanding in addition to its truly awesome monniker!
I've had a few great beers in the last few weeks since the ACBF and I'm going to try and review them as soon as I can.
The Music
I have a few artists that I'm going to be looking into, but this week, I'm feeling selfish as I had an AWESOME 4th of July!! The Sutherland Pipe Band was more than gracious enough to have me march with them during their 4th of July extravaganza. It's been a long time since I played the drum and I think I kept up pretty well in practice with the Snare drum, but apparently 80% of the notes is not enough for game day! Instead, I played the tenor drum. Quarter note, Quarter note... Swing the sticks around my head. I have to admit that I was more Flourish than anything but I Kept the beat and marched in step and most important I looked goooood. Although Flourishing is harder than it looks. You have to catch the sticks ON the beat! We played 2 Parades Bourne, MA and Edgartown, MA (Martha's Vineyard). A free show on the boat ride back during the fireworks and late night at the bar. Thanks boys!! All in all a GREAT day! I've added a few pics from the boat show below:
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The American Craft Beer Festival
(L to R: Capt. Bryon, Rob (me), Liam straight from the Dirty Jerz, "Distinctive Shirt" Ken, Dave "check out my Shark Bite" Nicholson)
Ziggy Saki Ziggy Saki Hoy Hoy Hoy!!!
Three cheers for the American Craft Beer Festival in Boston!!! (aka the ACBF also how my alphabet came out later in the the eve...) What a great time! This is the kind of event I've been talking about. Good food, Great Beer and even better friends. Liam, Dave, Capt. Bryon and Ken were my beer bretheren and they did not disappoint. Nor did our female companions, Jen, April and Ashley, you guys were an absolute hoot. It was nice to hang out with a group that TRULY knows their beer and that knows how to have a good time. Capt. Bryon runs a beer blog called www.homebrewer.net and I would HIGHLY recommend checking his site out. He really knows his stuff. Ken, Liam and Dave all have highly refined palates though years of downing suds. Ken's got a real gift for describing the beers and had some great ideas for pairings. Although Dave's best comment of the night was "I just drink the stuff!".
And imbibe we did! The Festival boasted over 300 beers which, if you used the tiny 2oz. glass they give you as part of your $40 entrance fee, it would equate to over 50 beers during the course of the night or 4.68 GALLONS of beer and a quick trip to the emergency room. Thankfully for my sanity, my liver and most importantly my marriage, I had barely a fraction of that and enjoyed myself thoroughly!
As previously stated, there were over 300 beers and just as many flavor variations. There were some great beers, some beers I would file under "M" for "Meh" and others than can be categorized as DEAR LORD did you throw that up already?!? I wish I were kidding, there was one where we blamed Dave for "Verping" (Vomit+Burp=VERP) when in fact it was actually his pre-ingested beer. Holy Horrible... I still get shivers.
A kind of odd observation: the beer community in general seems to have an obsession with how much hop flavor you can pack into a beer. To be totally frank, the beers I found to be the best of the day were well balanced, had something different to them and in general were just interesting. I won't go into much as far as specific beers right now, but I will review a few of my favorites in the coming weeks. I've got more than enough reviews to go over about 2 a week for a while...
I have a few tips for you if you plan on attending either this event in Boston next year or if you plan to attend one of these events elsewhere:
1. EAT FIRST! Food in the festival is often EXPENSIVE. They've got you for three plus hours and its quite pricey. The Seaport district in Boston has a few cheap eat places. The Seaport Bar & Grill, The No Name and Salvatore's are three of my faves, plus historic South Boston (Southie) is really near by and I've got a few hangouts there as well.
2. AGUA! Every few beers or so, grab a quick slug of water. Most of these festivals have cup cleaning areas; Basically bug juice containers full of water... but it's water... drink up. It will not only keep you hydrated, but it helps to cleanse your palate for the next set of beers! Better to taste your beers without tasting all of them at once!
3. Meeting spots: Imperative, especially if you've got some thirsty cohorts with a wanderlust and the attention spans of hummingbirds... We did pretty well with doing our own thing and regrouping to hang out with "The Team". For the most part, we used "Distinctive shirt Ken" as our marker, but I would try this one - Meet by the door leading to the port-a-potties. You're all going to end up there anyway!
4. This one is of vital importance, not only to your well being but to your overall awesomeness. Two words... Pretzel... Necklace. Check out the picture above. Those things were lifesavers, conversation pieces and lady magnets. Dave and Ken, thanks for taking a little arts and crafts time to keep us well fed and dapperly attired! I'm sure that I'll be in more than one blog and a few family photo albums.
Gang, if you've not been to one of these events, you need to check it out. It's a great experience to talk to some brewers and hang out with other beer snobs and of course, try some of the best (and worst) beers in the country. If you are to consider yourself a true beer aficionado, you need to first approach these events respectfully... with all the dignity that a neckware made of bavarian bread products can provide you... But seriously, most of the brewers are actually AT this event and they take great pride in their work. Take your time, taste the beer, ENJOY it. Heaving is kind of a no no, but it happens at these events. If you're drinking for volume, there are happy hours everywhere serving Piels and Pabst and Schaefer. Barf elsewhere friend, you're among beer royalty. Respect.
To all my friends, old and new that made this day a true success; THANK YOU. I really had a great time. To all the Brewers, THANK YOU for all the excellent beer. Even the bad ones have a story. To my wife, who wanted to attend this event but let me go because of some baby sitting issues. It was her fathers' day gift to me: THANKS A TON, LADY! You'll be here next year... I guarantee it!
All told, successful day. I'm ALREADY looking forward to next year!!
To Great buds and Great Suds!
Prost!!
Rob
Sunday, June 14, 2009
The Dirty Ho
So many great things in life happen by asking the question "what if". What if I rub these two sticks together... FIRE!! What if I combine a Tiger and a Lion together? LIGER... Awesome. Such is the question often times when wine makers taste the fruits of their labor and decide... you know what would make this taste better? A different wine! This has happened more and more often with brewers as they've found that a beer that might be average, combined with another beer that is slightly average can actually make a pretty decent beer. The most recent example I can think of the is Rasberry UFO from Harpoon. At an event of theirs about two years ago, (prior to the official release) one of the marketing guys we were hanging out with during the day came up to me and said... "Dude, if you don't like the raspberry beer, try THIS". Offically, about a year and a half ago they took the two beers, the UFO (Unfiltered offering)and the Raspberry Hefeweisen and combined them together to make a beer that I think pairs well with food around the holidays, the Raspberry UFO.
Unofficially this is the case with a lovely little drink affectionately called "the dirty ho". It's an invention thanks to the Sunset Grill & Tap in Allston, MA. I've never been, but they boast the largest beer menus in Boston and one of the hottest pepper sauces on record... what could be bad about that?! My friends Mark & Shaina introduced me to the concept last night and at first, I thought they were going to bastardize one of my favorite beers by mixing it one of my LEAST favorites. Hoegaarden on it's own is a great beer particularly for summer. It's got a lemony zip, it's light, refreshing and just a fine example of a Belgian Witbier. The beer they mixed it with is Lindeman's Framboise Lambic. On it's own it is overpowering with it's cavity creating sweetness and it is a beer I know from experience not one to be had on its own. At first I was honestly not thrilled at the prospect. In general, I hate truly fruity beers as they tend to be syrupy, weird tasting and generally nasty principally due to the use of extract instead of real fruit. A hint of fruit is one thing... a slap in the face is quite another! The way this drink was prepared made the difference. Pour the entire 12 oz Hoegaarden into a true pint glass. (12 oz into a 16 oz glass... do the math!). Pour Carefully as you don't want too much head. (no joke necessary... too easy). Add about 2-3 oz of Lambic, stir sip & voila, a easy, cheap & LEGAL way to get a dirty ho into your house! The taste is hard to describe, but suffice it to say, it tastes better than cheap perfume and shame. There's a hint of Raspberry, but with the acidity and light herb flavor of the Hoegaarten. This is a recipe also reminicint of a drink I had at a Pub in London in the late 90s. 1 oz of Black Currant Liqueur, 1 whole Guinness. It's a pretty good concoction, plus a blood red head on your beer is kind of a cool touch!
Well, I've made up for some lost time on my posts! Next blog, Dogfishhead's Raison D'etre!
REMINDER: Get your tickets for the American Craft Brewers fest in Boston! I'll be there with several of my brew loving friends!
Slainte!
Rob
Unofficially this is the case with a lovely little drink affectionately called "the dirty ho". It's an invention thanks to the Sunset Grill & Tap in Allston, MA. I've never been, but they boast the largest beer menus in Boston and one of the hottest pepper sauces on record... what could be bad about that?! My friends Mark & Shaina introduced me to the concept last night and at first, I thought they were going to bastardize one of my favorite beers by mixing it one of my LEAST favorites. Hoegaarden on it's own is a great beer particularly for summer. It's got a lemony zip, it's light, refreshing and just a fine example of a Belgian Witbier. The beer they mixed it with is Lindeman's Framboise Lambic. On it's own it is overpowering with it's cavity creating sweetness and it is a beer I know from experience not one to be had on its own. At first I was honestly not thrilled at the prospect. In general, I hate truly fruity beers as they tend to be syrupy, weird tasting and generally nasty principally due to the use of extract instead of real fruit. A hint of fruit is one thing... a slap in the face is quite another! The way this drink was prepared made the difference. Pour the entire 12 oz Hoegaarden into a true pint glass. (12 oz into a 16 oz glass... do the math!). Pour Carefully as you don't want too much head. (no joke necessary... too easy). Add about 2-3 oz of Lambic, stir sip & voila, a easy, cheap & LEGAL way to get a dirty ho into your house! The taste is hard to describe, but suffice it to say, it tastes better than cheap perfume and shame. There's a hint of Raspberry, but with the acidity and light herb flavor of the Hoegaarten. This is a recipe also reminicint of a drink I had at a Pub in London in the late 90s. 1 oz of Black Currant Liqueur, 1 whole Guinness. It's a pretty good concoction, plus a blood red head on your beer is kind of a cool touch!
Well, I've made up for some lost time on my posts! Next blog, Dogfishhead's Raison D'etre!
REMINDER: Get your tickets for the American Craft Brewers fest in Boston! I'll be there with several of my brew loving friends!
Slainte!
Rob
Saturday, June 13, 2009
A Goy and his beer...
How do brewkateers!?!
It's been a few weeks since I posted a blog as sadly legitimate employment has kept me rather busy! I have, however run into a number of beers and some music in the mean time that I think you need to hear.
I'm dedicating this post to my good friend Matt, who, not only adopted a puppy this week (Ms. Roxxee Ketchup), but ALSO found out that his wife is pregnant!! Way to go boyo!! Congratulations!
First and foremost in my mind is a beer that upon initial inspection seemed to be a kind of gimmickey brew, but I decided to give it a go anyway. Cutsie packaging and a bold statement of being the "Chosen Beer" made me an instant skeptic. Oy Vey!! I'm schvitzing here! He'Brew's Genesis Ale by the Shmaltz Brewing Company was more than a surprise. It is a remarkably well balanced beer in the fact that it's not too heavy, not too light, the right balance between sweet, nutty malt and a light hop finish. The deep amber hue was pleasing to the eye, however the head left a bit to be desired as its small overly uniform bubbles fizzled out a bit quickly. I'll chalk it up to environmental differences between NY and MA! In all, this was a most refreshing beer and frankly, I was a bit disappointed that I didn't trust the beer enough to buy a full sixer of it. Lesson learned!
In pairing this with food, I tried to think of a traditional Jewish meal. It's only fitting given the back story of Owner/Proprietor/Brewer, Jeremy Cowan and of course the theme of the beer. Now, as a "Goyam"(someone who is not of the Jewish faith), I can't say that I'm familiar with anything outside of the Traditional Sader or Matzoa ball soup. Not to say that the Genesis Ale won't go well with Hebrew Nationals (no ifs ands or butts har t har har)... It was an excellent pairing and a personal favorite, by the way, as that was the meal I had with this beer! However, fear not those of you who are not among the chosen people! The internet has come to our rescue! The recipe listed below is going to go extraordinarily well with this beer.
Lamb Shanks with Portobello Mushrooms and Dried Cranberries.
http://homecooking.about.com/od/lambrecipes/r/bllamb13.htm
This meal is going to match well in the fact that A. it's down home food for a down home beer. B. It's Kosher (I think...) And C. The pairing is such that it matches the sweetness of a well carmelized crust and rarely cooked lamb shank, the meatiness of not only the Lamb, but the portobellos. In addition, this beer trends towards the sweet side and I think the dried cranberries will balance that off well with a bit of tartness.
I think a sign of care in a brewery is oddly enough the care that they take in their website and by extension, their client relationships (aka you and me!). This is a site built for Beer Geeks and is, as an added bonus, a thoroughly entertaining site. The funniest part for me is that they're in their 13th year of brewing and to celebrate, they're having a Bar Mitzvah. Hilarous. The description of the beer on the website, might as well be a recipe. They give you the type of grain they use, the hops, (which I'll have to try the Warrior hops... I've never used those in my own personal brews). I was really impressed with the site and the beer and frankly I'm excited to see what their newest offer, the "Rejewvenator" has to offer. It's a belgian style ale with pomegranite... interesting! All in all Mr. Cowan, you've exceeded the hype. A hearty McGoy cheer to your brew. L'Chaim!
http://www.shmaltz.com/
ON TO THE MUSIC:
Dave Matthews Band: Whiskey River and the Groo Grux King
I'm going to start out with a disclaimer. My wife exceeds my fandom 10fold, however, I am a DMB fan... have been since highschool. Saw them at Fenway, saw them both times in Hartford when the riot police showed up firing rubber bullets (Riot at a Dave Concert? Really?!) I've put in my time and I'd see them again in a second... great show and definitely worth the ticket price. I still enjoy their music and it always reminds me of summer. But I digress! I can say honestly that there are 3 to 4 decent songs on Whiskey River. Those songs that are good are REALLY good. The others, frankly are filler in my opinion, perhaps they'll grow on me in time but for now... Eh... As always, well executed from a technical standpoint. Interesting musically, but not overly moving. The album all told is over produced and is at times a bit too much. The better tunes are stripped down, change tempo and theme as any good "Jam Band" does. They SING to you, they make you feel and dance. What would a hippie dance to, besides... well everything? For me, those songs on the album are "Funny the way it is", "Why I am" and "Alligator Pie (Cockadile)"
There's a banjo in several of the songs, however I don't think it's Bela Fleck... he might have added more to it... but he might also have overcomplicated some already decent songs. Favorite on the album is a song that reminds me of the second song on the first Rusted Root album. "Alligator Pie" is a chugging Louisiana style Cajun butt kicker. It's a great driving song, but I do have to watch the gas pedal!
As always, DMB has put together an okay album, I'll listen to selected tracks, but it will never be Remember Two Things or Under the Table and Dreaming. As Primus says, "they can't all be Zingers".
Good luck, good Pickin' good brewin'
Rob Anderson
It's been a few weeks since I posted a blog as sadly legitimate employment has kept me rather busy! I have, however run into a number of beers and some music in the mean time that I think you need to hear.
I'm dedicating this post to my good friend Matt, who, not only adopted a puppy this week (Ms. Roxxee Ketchup), but ALSO found out that his wife is pregnant!! Way to go boyo!! Congratulations!
First and foremost in my mind is a beer that upon initial inspection seemed to be a kind of gimmickey brew, but I decided to give it a go anyway. Cutsie packaging and a bold statement of being the "Chosen Beer" made me an instant skeptic. Oy Vey!! I'm schvitzing here! He'Brew's Genesis Ale by the Shmaltz Brewing Company was more than a surprise. It is a remarkably well balanced beer in the fact that it's not too heavy, not too light, the right balance between sweet, nutty malt and a light hop finish. The deep amber hue was pleasing to the eye, however the head left a bit to be desired as its small overly uniform bubbles fizzled out a bit quickly. I'll chalk it up to environmental differences between NY and MA! In all, this was a most refreshing beer and frankly, I was a bit disappointed that I didn't trust the beer enough to buy a full sixer of it. Lesson learned!
In pairing this with food, I tried to think of a traditional Jewish meal. It's only fitting given the back story of Owner/Proprietor/Brewer, Jeremy Cowan and of course the theme of the beer. Now, as a "Goyam"(someone who is not of the Jewish faith), I can't say that I'm familiar with anything outside of the Traditional Sader or Matzoa ball soup. Not to say that the Genesis Ale won't go well with Hebrew Nationals (no ifs ands or butts har t har har)... It was an excellent pairing and a personal favorite, by the way, as that was the meal I had with this beer! However, fear not those of you who are not among the chosen people! The internet has come to our rescue! The recipe listed below is going to go extraordinarily well with this beer.
Lamb Shanks with Portobello Mushrooms and Dried Cranberries.
http://homecooking.about.com/od/lambrecipes/r/bllamb13.htm
This meal is going to match well in the fact that A. it's down home food for a down home beer. B. It's Kosher (I think...) And C. The pairing is such that it matches the sweetness of a well carmelized crust and rarely cooked lamb shank, the meatiness of not only the Lamb, but the portobellos. In addition, this beer trends towards the sweet side and I think the dried cranberries will balance that off well with a bit of tartness.
I think a sign of care in a brewery is oddly enough the care that they take in their website and by extension, their client relationships (aka you and me!). This is a site built for Beer Geeks and is, as an added bonus, a thoroughly entertaining site. The funniest part for me is that they're in their 13th year of brewing and to celebrate, they're having a Bar Mitzvah. Hilarous. The description of the beer on the website, might as well be a recipe. They give you the type of grain they use, the hops, (which I'll have to try the Warrior hops... I've never used those in my own personal brews). I was really impressed with the site and the beer and frankly I'm excited to see what their newest offer, the "Rejewvenator" has to offer. It's a belgian style ale with pomegranite... interesting! All in all Mr. Cowan, you've exceeded the hype. A hearty McGoy cheer to your brew. L'Chaim!
http://www.shmaltz.com/
ON TO THE MUSIC:
Dave Matthews Band: Whiskey River and the Groo Grux King
I'm going to start out with a disclaimer. My wife exceeds my fandom 10fold, however, I am a DMB fan... have been since highschool. Saw them at Fenway, saw them both times in Hartford when the riot police showed up firing rubber bullets (Riot at a Dave Concert? Really?!) I've put in my time and I'd see them again in a second... great show and definitely worth the ticket price. I still enjoy their music and it always reminds me of summer. But I digress! I can say honestly that there are 3 to 4 decent songs on Whiskey River. Those songs that are good are REALLY good. The others, frankly are filler in my opinion, perhaps they'll grow on me in time but for now... Eh... As always, well executed from a technical standpoint. Interesting musically, but not overly moving. The album all told is over produced and is at times a bit too much. The better tunes are stripped down, change tempo and theme as any good "Jam Band" does. They SING to you, they make you feel and dance. What would a hippie dance to, besides... well everything? For me, those songs on the album are "Funny the way it is", "Why I am" and "Alligator Pie (Cockadile)"
There's a banjo in several of the songs, however I don't think it's Bela Fleck... he might have added more to it... but he might also have overcomplicated some already decent songs. Favorite on the album is a song that reminds me of the second song on the first Rusted Root album. "Alligator Pie" is a chugging Louisiana style Cajun butt kicker. It's a great driving song, but I do have to watch the gas pedal!
As always, DMB has put together an okay album, I'll listen to selected tracks, but it will never be Remember Two Things or Under the Table and Dreaming. As Primus says, "they can't all be Zingers".
Good luck, good Pickin' good brewin'
Rob Anderson
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Arcadia Ales Hopmouth DOUBLE IPA
After a long day of spending way too much to keep my poor 10 year old car running and and mowing the dirt-patch I call my lawn, It's now time (at 8:30 PM mind you...)to sit down and relax.
My local Packey has a fairly wide selection of seasonal beers and in addition, they sell a lot of the micro-brews by the bottle. For someone like myself who likes to experiment with a variety of beverages, this place is spectacular. Tonight, I've picked out two beers, and for once, I grabbed them partly because their packaging made them stand out from their competition. I didn't buy these beers particularly for the taste or because I had heard anything about them in any of the beer press. Having been a marketing major in college, I do have a natural tendancy to take into account packaging so today, I'm running a little experiment. Does the beer live up to the extensive work that was put into making the beer even MORE appealing? In addition, I'll be doing a first for Brew n'Music, I'm going to give you an "As it happens" review: from Pop of the cap to the last schwag at the bottom of the glass, you'll get a play by play of my impressions as they happen.
The first beer, I'll actually not be reviewing this week... althought I've heard a LOT about it. "He-brew" is a beer that has gotten a lot of press and next weekend, I'll see if it lives up to the hype. Stay Tuned!
The beer I WILL be reviewing this week is the Arcadia Brewing Company's Hopmouth Double IPA. This is, based on the label made by the "Brew Crew" and is part of their Big Beer Series. We'll see... I'm to assume that the "Double IPA" is simply a result of a LOT of additional hops being added during the brewing process and perhaps dry hopped at a later date. Either way, this should prove to be an interesting challenge.
Packaging: Green label, Celtic Designs and a "hop monster" face adorn the label. Ooooooo! Spooooky! I can only assume this to be the "Hopmouth" monster that the villagers have been grumbling about. I will do my best to vanquish this beast... and perhaps it's brothers and sisters!
Initial Pour: The beer is well carbonated, small bubbles percolate to the surface, making a pleasant, white, however not overly thick head. The head opens in a way I found to be somewhat perculiar... It seemed to spread almost from the center out both up and down instead of growing from the water line up... weird. Color is a dark deep tan/amber and considering that it's an IPA, it seems fairly dark for this type of beer.
Smell: Hop notes are clearly evident, however not overpowering. There's a hint of caramel as well. Interested to see what the first sip brings.
First Taste: Oddly sweet at the first note and then bitterness hits the tongue with a crisp and hoppy freshness. The Hopmouth has a thick mouth-feel without being syrup-like in consistancy.
Second Sip: (no I won't be doing EVERY sip...) Whooo! Put some STANK on it, Ike! My tongue just took a quick whoopin' of hops. If you're a hop head, this is a beer for you. In general, despite its hoppiness, it does have a balance which again, the sweetness makes this a pleasure to drink.
I don't think I can tell you much more about this beer from here. It's a slightly heavy beer. Hoppy bitterness counterbalanced with a sweet grain flavor. Bottom line, it's a good beer. I would say that you should be EXTREMELY ready for the kick this thing's got.
Food Pairings: Hmmmm... Still trying to figure this one out... You could go one of two ways with this. Pair it with something sweet and subtle OR fight BACK with equally strong flavors. Lemon Rosemary Chicken for some reason keeps hitting me as appropriate. There's also a recipe for baked chicken with a brown sugar breading that could hold up well enough to a powerful beer like this. My wife experimented with this recipe the other day and it was top notch. This beer would also be well served against appetizers such as a strong sausage, salami or pepperoni, and a sharp maple cheddar. Long story short; a STRONG beer like this needs strong flavors to match up to it.
Overall impressions of this beer are good. The beer stands up to its packaging and certainly makes good on it's claims of A. Being a "Hop Monster", B. Being a BIG beer and C. CERTAINLY "Goes Big".
If you have a chance, check this one out, you'll not be sorry!
The Arcadia Brewing Company
Battle Creek, MI
www.arcadiabrewingcompany.com
Brew Well, Be well,
-Rob Anderson
Next week: He-brew!
My local Packey has a fairly wide selection of seasonal beers and in addition, they sell a lot of the micro-brews by the bottle. For someone like myself who likes to experiment with a variety of beverages, this place is spectacular. Tonight, I've picked out two beers, and for once, I grabbed them partly because their packaging made them stand out from their competition. I didn't buy these beers particularly for the taste or because I had heard anything about them in any of the beer press. Having been a marketing major in college, I do have a natural tendancy to take into account packaging so today, I'm running a little experiment. Does the beer live up to the extensive work that was put into making the beer even MORE appealing? In addition, I'll be doing a first for Brew n'Music, I'm going to give you an "As it happens" review: from Pop of the cap to the last schwag at the bottom of the glass, you'll get a play by play of my impressions as they happen.
The first beer, I'll actually not be reviewing this week... althought I've heard a LOT about it. "He-brew" is a beer that has gotten a lot of press and next weekend, I'll see if it lives up to the hype. Stay Tuned!
The beer I WILL be reviewing this week is the Arcadia Brewing Company's Hopmouth Double IPA. This is, based on the label made by the "Brew Crew" and is part of their Big Beer Series. We'll see... I'm to assume that the "Double IPA" is simply a result of a LOT of additional hops being added during the brewing process and perhaps dry hopped at a later date. Either way, this should prove to be an interesting challenge.
Packaging: Green label, Celtic Designs and a "hop monster" face adorn the label. Ooooooo! Spooooky! I can only assume this to be the "Hopmouth" monster that the villagers have been grumbling about. I will do my best to vanquish this beast... and perhaps it's brothers and sisters!
Initial Pour: The beer is well carbonated, small bubbles percolate to the surface, making a pleasant, white, however not overly thick head. The head opens in a way I found to be somewhat perculiar... It seemed to spread almost from the center out both up and down instead of growing from the water line up... weird. Color is a dark deep tan/amber and considering that it's an IPA, it seems fairly dark for this type of beer.
Smell: Hop notes are clearly evident, however not overpowering. There's a hint of caramel as well. Interested to see what the first sip brings.
First Taste: Oddly sweet at the first note and then bitterness hits the tongue with a crisp and hoppy freshness. The Hopmouth has a thick mouth-feel without being syrup-like in consistancy.
Second Sip: (no I won't be doing EVERY sip...) Whooo! Put some STANK on it, Ike! My tongue just took a quick whoopin' of hops. If you're a hop head, this is a beer for you. In general, despite its hoppiness, it does have a balance which again, the sweetness makes this a pleasure to drink.
I don't think I can tell you much more about this beer from here. It's a slightly heavy beer. Hoppy bitterness counterbalanced with a sweet grain flavor. Bottom line, it's a good beer. I would say that you should be EXTREMELY ready for the kick this thing's got.
Food Pairings: Hmmmm... Still trying to figure this one out... You could go one of two ways with this. Pair it with something sweet and subtle OR fight BACK with equally strong flavors. Lemon Rosemary Chicken for some reason keeps hitting me as appropriate. There's also a recipe for baked chicken with a brown sugar breading that could hold up well enough to a powerful beer like this. My wife experimented with this recipe the other day and it was top notch. This beer would also be well served against appetizers such as a strong sausage, salami or pepperoni, and a sharp maple cheddar. Long story short; a STRONG beer like this needs strong flavors to match up to it.
Overall impressions of this beer are good. The beer stands up to its packaging and certainly makes good on it's claims of A. Being a "Hop Monster", B. Being a BIG beer and C. CERTAINLY "Goes Big".
If you have a chance, check this one out, you'll not be sorry!
The Arcadia Brewing Company
Battle Creek, MI
www.arcadiabrewingcompany.com
Brew Well, Be well,
-Rob Anderson
Next week: He-brew!
Friday, May 1, 2009
A Selfish Irish Evening
Holy crap, gang... Behold my rant and ramble!
What a WEEK! I'm fairly certain that my legitimate job is sucking my will to live... And yet, here's the weekend!!! It's been here waiting for me all along like a faithful puppy! Down boy, DOWN!!
Tonight I've dedicated myself to all things Celtic! The ethnic people, not the team... depressing loss to Chicago last night! I'd rather not think about it until they're back in Boston. I've got Guinness in hand (see comments at the bottom of this post), I'm searching out Bagpipe music both Uilleann (Irish Elbow Pipes) and the Highland Pipes and I'm thinking about how I'm going to make money brewing beer and playing music. Ah, the Irish American Dream! Over the past few years, I've made it my mission to learn everything I can about my Gaelic Roots. To BORE you with my family history, My mother, my Dad's Cousin, also named Robert and I have all done our part to try and trace our roots back to their places of origin. We've gotten about 17 generations back on a few sides, but recordkeeping in Ireland and the UK tends to get a little dicey the further back you go thanks to the climate, church fires and an apparently genetic issue of poor penmanship. All I'm going to say is be glad that I'm typing this blog.
My mom's parents are both the children of Irish immigrants from I belive Killarney and Kilkenny. This makes the trace back fairly easy should I someday need to prove my overall Paddy-ness. In fact we still have some somewhat distant relatives still over there. My dad is roughly 3/4 Irish with names like Mahoney and Sheehan to his credit and the rest is Scots/English and possibly French Canadian my ancestors having allegedly been "Two Steppers" or those coming from Ireland to Nova Scotia and parts of Southern Canada on their way to Boston. It at least explains my love of Hockey... My Grandfather's Father was the son of a rubber factory worker from Woolich U.K. a small industrial town outside of London and his son, my Great grandfather was a prominant Accountant here in Boston. His wife was a the young daughter of Irish Immigrants and their wedding was somewhat of a scandal for the time as my Great Grandfather was Protestant (he "converted") and his bride Irish Catholic. That story is another one for another time, frankly it's full of intrigue and I've been facinated by it! Their son, my grandfather, partly as a result of the strained relationship with his father, always sided with his Gaelic roots and to that point, I think that my family and I have always sided with the Irish. Let's face it, the reputation for merry making is just CLEARLY on the side of the Irish. However, my last name is predominatly Scottish. Anderson is the 4th most popular name in the US and it's only fair to give the scots their due.
"SCOTS ARE A PEOPLE, SCOTCH IS A DRRRRRINK! IF IT'S NOT SCOTTISH, IT'S CRAP!" - Mike Meyers
Getting all that out of the way, I've been interested in Gaelic Culture really since grade school, but having a daughter made me really want to get into keeping the traditions alive. The Gaels are a beautiful people with an extraordinarly skill for telling stories, have BEAUTIFUL art work (i.e. the book of Kells) emoting through music and dance and celebrating in the face of adversity, vis a vis 800 years of English oppression.
I've been told I'm a naturally musical person and frankly it comes easy to me, mostly because I enjoy playing and I spend a LOT of time attempting to practice. In the last few years, I've learned to play the Bodhran (Irish Frame drum), a few Irish tunes on the guitar & piano and most recently, the tin whistle, the Kerry Low Whistle and starting in January '09, I joined the Sutherland Bagpipe Corps in Newton, MA. (AYE!!) My sister, Kathy has joined me on all but the Bagpipes and she's been a remarkable partner in crime!
Kathy and I so far have gotten serious on several Irish Tunes and despite a few squeaks, we've come a LONG way in a very short period of time. The two of us come from a long line of musicians, My great grandfather, Jack Sheehan was a well known local pianist in the East Boston/Medford/Sommerville area, My mother is a champion Accordion Player and my Grandfather was a clarinet player for the Boston College Marching Band. So pedigrees in place, Kathy, my sister Marie and I have all taken Piano lessons in the past and Kathy and I play fairly well by ear (its a blessing and a curse, I've gotten quite rusty at reading music). Kathy and I have found Irish music to be great fun, but the techniques involved to make it sound typically Irish are quite difficult. The cut and hit for example on the tin whistle sound REALLY cool, but are somewhat difficult to master... we're getting there!
The following songs we've gotten quite good at and plan on including Mom ASAP. My hope is that we take these tunes and post them on you tube at some point in the somewhat distant future.
-Star of the County Down
-Mairie's Wedding
-Saddle the Pony
-The Silver Spear
-The Red Haired Boy
-Ah Ha's "Take on me" - Seriously... too funny.
My bagpipe lessons have been going slowly but well. I play about 12 instruments in total and the Pipes from a technique standpoint is the most difficult I have learned yet. I've made some decent progress in the past few weeks, however I will probably not be off the practice chanter and "on the bag" for several months. This is a competition piping group and they take playing VERY seriously. Mistakes are tolerated... but only during practice! The two tunes I know by heart at the moment are:
-Scots what Ha'e
-The Brown Haired Maiden.
My ultimate goal, and I know this is going to sound silly, is to play Gordon Duncan's version of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck". It's a REALLY good version and I'm all about it. However I'm working to learn this right. Check out the link below... awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EwDlUHoDFo
I have so many bad habits on so many other instruments and it does affect your play. Better to learn it RIGHT the first time!
Back to the beer!
So, this isn't JUST a music blog, let's talk for a second about Guinness! Some say it tastes like burnt toast, others, like my father-in-law, have more colorful language for it... I think my love of dark beers and the naissance of my beer geek-dom started with Guinness. Thick, frothy, opaquely BLACK and with the absolute perfect mix of flavor makes it one of my favorite of the commerical beers. There's not too much hop, not too much malt and it's got a dry almost charcoal taste that makes is a joy to drink AND to cook with. Guinness Pie, Steak & Guinness and oddly enough it goes well in chili balancing out well with the 100% bitter Cocoa that I usually put in mine. I've heard it makes a decent dessert as well. I honestly can't think of a thing this classic beverage wouldn't go well with, perhaps other than breakfast cereal.(although....). There are other Stouts, Murphy's for example is a fine beer. However none inspire a love of Hibernia (The Roman name for the Erin Isle)quite so much as "The black stuff". Call it motor oil, call it tar, call it what you will. I call it plain old delicious!
I know this one was an "All about me" blog, and I thank you for reading up on the things I'm passionate about. I want to thank Arthur Guinness for the beer, my ancestors (thanks Mom & Dad!) for their inspiration, my sisters and most importantly my wife for putting up with my Bagpipe lessons!
Slainte!!
Rob
What a WEEK! I'm fairly certain that my legitimate job is sucking my will to live... And yet, here's the weekend!!! It's been here waiting for me all along like a faithful puppy! Down boy, DOWN!!
Tonight I've dedicated myself to all things Celtic! The ethnic people, not the team... depressing loss to Chicago last night! I'd rather not think about it until they're back in Boston. I've got Guinness in hand (see comments at the bottom of this post), I'm searching out Bagpipe music both Uilleann (Irish Elbow Pipes) and the Highland Pipes and I'm thinking about how I'm going to make money brewing beer and playing music. Ah, the Irish American Dream! Over the past few years, I've made it my mission to learn everything I can about my Gaelic Roots. To BORE you with my family history, My mother, my Dad's Cousin, also named Robert and I have all done our part to try and trace our roots back to their places of origin. We've gotten about 17 generations back on a few sides, but recordkeeping in Ireland and the UK tends to get a little dicey the further back you go thanks to the climate, church fires and an apparently genetic issue of poor penmanship. All I'm going to say is be glad that I'm typing this blog.
My mom's parents are both the children of Irish immigrants from I belive Killarney and Kilkenny. This makes the trace back fairly easy should I someday need to prove my overall Paddy-ness. In fact we still have some somewhat distant relatives still over there. My dad is roughly 3/4 Irish with names like Mahoney and Sheehan to his credit and the rest is Scots/English and possibly French Canadian my ancestors having allegedly been "Two Steppers" or those coming from Ireland to Nova Scotia and parts of Southern Canada on their way to Boston. It at least explains my love of Hockey... My Grandfather's Father was the son of a rubber factory worker from Woolich U.K. a small industrial town outside of London and his son, my Great grandfather was a prominant Accountant here in Boston. His wife was a the young daughter of Irish Immigrants and their wedding was somewhat of a scandal for the time as my Great Grandfather was Protestant (he "converted") and his bride Irish Catholic. That story is another one for another time, frankly it's full of intrigue and I've been facinated by it! Their son, my grandfather, partly as a result of the strained relationship with his father, always sided with his Gaelic roots and to that point, I think that my family and I have always sided with the Irish. Let's face it, the reputation for merry making is just CLEARLY on the side of the Irish. However, my last name is predominatly Scottish. Anderson is the 4th most popular name in the US and it's only fair to give the scots their due.
"SCOTS ARE A PEOPLE, SCOTCH IS A DRRRRRINK! IF IT'S NOT SCOTTISH, IT'S CRAP!" - Mike Meyers
Getting all that out of the way, I've been interested in Gaelic Culture really since grade school, but having a daughter made me really want to get into keeping the traditions alive. The Gaels are a beautiful people with an extraordinarly skill for telling stories, have BEAUTIFUL art work (i.e. the book of Kells) emoting through music and dance and celebrating in the face of adversity, vis a vis 800 years of English oppression.
I've been told I'm a naturally musical person and frankly it comes easy to me, mostly because I enjoy playing and I spend a LOT of time attempting to practice. In the last few years, I've learned to play the Bodhran (Irish Frame drum), a few Irish tunes on the guitar & piano and most recently, the tin whistle, the Kerry Low Whistle and starting in January '09, I joined the Sutherland Bagpipe Corps in Newton, MA. (AYE!!) My sister, Kathy has joined me on all but the Bagpipes and she's been a remarkable partner in crime!
Kathy and I so far have gotten serious on several Irish Tunes and despite a few squeaks, we've come a LONG way in a very short period of time. The two of us come from a long line of musicians, My great grandfather, Jack Sheehan was a well known local pianist in the East Boston/Medford/Sommerville area, My mother is a champion Accordion Player and my Grandfather was a clarinet player for the Boston College Marching Band. So pedigrees in place, Kathy, my sister Marie and I have all taken Piano lessons in the past and Kathy and I play fairly well by ear (its a blessing and a curse, I've gotten quite rusty at reading music). Kathy and I have found Irish music to be great fun, but the techniques involved to make it sound typically Irish are quite difficult. The cut and hit for example on the tin whistle sound REALLY cool, but are somewhat difficult to master... we're getting there!
The following songs we've gotten quite good at and plan on including Mom ASAP. My hope is that we take these tunes and post them on you tube at some point in the somewhat distant future.
-Star of the County Down
-Mairie's Wedding
-Saddle the Pony
-The Silver Spear
-The Red Haired Boy
-Ah Ha's "Take on me" - Seriously... too funny.
My bagpipe lessons have been going slowly but well. I play about 12 instruments in total and the Pipes from a technique standpoint is the most difficult I have learned yet. I've made some decent progress in the past few weeks, however I will probably not be off the practice chanter and "on the bag" for several months. This is a competition piping group and they take playing VERY seriously. Mistakes are tolerated... but only during practice! The two tunes I know by heart at the moment are:
-Scots what Ha'e
-The Brown Haired Maiden.
My ultimate goal, and I know this is going to sound silly, is to play Gordon Duncan's version of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck". It's a REALLY good version and I'm all about it. However I'm working to learn this right. Check out the link below... awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EwDlUHoDFo
I have so many bad habits on so many other instruments and it does affect your play. Better to learn it RIGHT the first time!
Back to the beer!
So, this isn't JUST a music blog, let's talk for a second about Guinness! Some say it tastes like burnt toast, others, like my father-in-law, have more colorful language for it... I think my love of dark beers and the naissance of my beer geek-dom started with Guinness. Thick, frothy, opaquely BLACK and with the absolute perfect mix of flavor makes it one of my favorite of the commerical beers. There's not too much hop, not too much malt and it's got a dry almost charcoal taste that makes is a joy to drink AND to cook with. Guinness Pie, Steak & Guinness and oddly enough it goes well in chili balancing out well with the 100% bitter Cocoa that I usually put in mine. I've heard it makes a decent dessert as well. I honestly can't think of a thing this classic beverage wouldn't go well with, perhaps other than breakfast cereal.(although....). There are other Stouts, Murphy's for example is a fine beer. However none inspire a love of Hibernia (The Roman name for the Erin Isle)quite so much as "The black stuff". Call it motor oil, call it tar, call it what you will. I call it plain old delicious!
I know this one was an "All about me" blog, and I thank you for reading up on the things I'm passionate about. I want to thank Arthur Guinness for the beer, my ancestors (thanks Mom & Dad!) for their inspiration, my sisters and most importantly my wife for putting up with my Bagpipe lessons!
Slainte!!
Rob
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