Beer Tasting

So this past Saturday evening offered my a test-run into a little possible side project for me. I put together and ran a beer tasting session, and really enjoyed it.

As nerdy as it sounds, my folks held a show at their house for a local potter. My mom is also a potter (with a degree in fine arts/ceramics from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit) and has a shed in the yard where she throws pots (all joking aside). They invited a very talented local potter, Jon Whitney, who put a beautiful representation of his work on display for purchase. He also borrowed my mom's studio and did a few demos on throwing pots (all jokes aside). Go check out his web site; his art is gorgeous and functional.

To break things up a bit, they offered both a wine and beer tasting. Of course, since I am putting together different programs for beer tastings, they asked me to try it out.

Given the October timeline and theme (lots of German-style food at the party), I figured I'd do a German beer tasting. I chose four very different beers that were different from what everyone thinks of in terms of German beer (Warsteiner, St. Pauli Girl, Heineken): Atwater Brewery's Maibock, Atwater Brewery's Oktoberfest (Bloktoberfest), Paulaner's Hefe Weizen and Ayinger's Celebrator.

This tasting was a come-and-go-as-you-please setup, so I repeated myself a lot. In the future, I'd sort of like to try it all at once. But for a reception-style party, it made a ton of sense to be flexible. As people approached, I did a brief explanation (with a write-up) about the 4 ingredients of beer and their interplay. I also supplied a write-up of each of the 4 beers I brought that was essentially a simplified version of the BJCP guidelines for each of those beers (including appearance, aroma, taste, mouthfeel and overall impression as well as history and commercial examples). Next to each sensory category, I left blanks so people could write their own impressions and the challenge was to see if they could see, taste and smell each of what is prescribed as well as simply be aware of what they are tasting (That's what I tasted...I just couldn't put my finger on it)..

As for order, I began the evening walking people from the Maibock to the Hefe to the Oktoberfest and then the Doppelbock. But part way through it occured to me to swtich it up just a bit. I started people with the Hefe (as the delicate clove and banana esters could go missing if one started with a stronger beer), then the Oktoberfest. Then I gave them the Maibock followed by the Doppelbock on the understanding that a Maibock and a Doppelbock are in the same "family" category in the BJCP Guidelines (a bock is a bock, be it Mai, Doppel, Traditional or Eis) so people could get a sense of the evolution of the bock. People were surprised at some of the similarities between a very light and a very dark beer.

Apparently, my spot was a pretty popular hangout. People left knowing and appreciating just a bit more about various types of beer and at the very least commented that they expanded their horizons of German beer beyond the pilsner.

With one solid tasting under my belt, along with the requisite self-critique of what I could do better, I'd really like to find more opportunities to branch out and do this more often.

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"Make sure your seatbacks and tray tables are in their upright... oh, forget it, we're all going to die anyway"

Travelling is usually an enlightening experience. This was certainly true of my recent three-day trip to visit my sister in New York City. Some of the gems I can share with you:

• If your flight is delayed due to poor weather at your destination airport, but later the airline cancels the delay and declares that they are going to "give it a shot", beware.
• If you are on such a flight, and the pilot orders the flight attendants to take their seats and suggests that passengers tighten their seatbelts, and the flight attendants reminds you that the "barf bags are in the seat pocket in front of you," you're in for a ride.
• People lose ALL sense of humor when their plane hits turbulence.
• New York is an absolutely fascinating town. And by town, I mean large-ass megalopolis. So much to see and do, and not just in Manhattan. I highly recommend it.
• New York cabbies must be some of the most skilled drivers in the world. I imagine it's what the Blue Angels would look like if they were talking on a cell phone in a foreign language while flying.
• If you are a visitor in New York City, you will stand out. There is no way to avoid it.
• The East River has a specific smell. It's like Justice Stewart's definition of pornography... I can't define it, but I know it when I smell it.
• The people of New York have a reputation for being assholes, but I didn't find that to be the case. Except for Jets fans on Sundays. They are, as one might guess, unbridled dickheads.
• Make sure that your flight isn't scheduled for the one day where it might be difficult to get to the airport.
• Arrive early for any flights out of LaGuardia. The security lines can snake back and forth around the entire Departures section. It's like the lines at Cedar Point, only without the fun ride at the end. Unless, of course, you end up on one of the flights I mentioned earlier.
• On a 7:30 a.m. flight, worry more about the 60-year-old guy next to you than the 6-month-old in the seat in front of you. Both of them will sleep through the flight. But only the 60-year-old will snore like a lumberjack the whole way.
• The three days you leave Michigan will always, ALWAYS be the nicest few days of the month weather-wise.

Anyone else have recent travel advice?

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Video of the Week (but not every week) #7

A funny little one never seen before. Say what you want about the beer, but Bud Light commercials are pretty darn funny.

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Beer Prices to Rise!

I can handle $3.00 a gallon gas and another 6% to get my palm read, but for God's sake when will it end?

Now beer is going up?

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The Most Important Issue to Voters is...

Bullshit. The Onion is usually pretty funny, but this is so true. Scary, but true.

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How NOT to judge beer...

Unlike Smitty, I have no official beer-tasting training. I don't know the subtle differences between a bock and a dopplebock. And I don't know the right gravity for an American Pale Ale.

However, I do know a few things:

• If you hold a beer-judging event, and Old Style, Old Milwaukee Light, PBR, and Coors Lght are involved, you need to reconsider some things.
• If you hold a beer-judging event, and those beers WIN... you need to leave. right now.

And yet, I offer you solid proof that people like Smitty (and soon Colin) need to smack the rest of these amatuers off the stage...

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Schadenfreude

You ever seen someone berate someone else with such exacting language that you can't help but feel rotten....and you're not even the one being yelled at?

Enter Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez (U.S. Army - Retired). Last Friday, at the Military Reporters and Editors luncheon briefing, General Sanchez took the press corps to task first, then Congress and the President. He doled-out shame like candy at Halloween.

For a transcript, look here.

And he is right, in my estimation. He is right to berate the press folks for dishonesty and self-aggrandizement. And he is equally right to dismantle Congress and the Preznit for...well...exactly the same thing.

Some gems:

LET ME REVIEW SOME OF THE DESCRIPTIVE PHRASES THAT HAVE BEEN USED BY SOME OF YOU THAT HAVE MADE MY PERSONAL INTERFACES WITH THE PRESS CORPS DIFFICULT:

"DICTATORIAL AND SOMEWHAT DENSE",

"NOT A STRATEGIC THOUGHT",

LIAR,

"DOES NOT GET IT" AND

THE MOST INEXPERIENCED LTG.

IN SOME CASES I HAVE NEVER EVEN MET YOU, YET YOU FEEL QUALIFIED TO MAKE CHARACTER JUDGMENTS THAT ARE COMMUNICATED TO THE WORLD

Okay. So far, so good. Call them out for their personal attacks. But it gets cooler.

THIS IS THE WORST DISPLAY OF JOURNALISM IMAGINABLE BY THOSE OF US THAT ARE BOUND BY A STRICT VALUE SYSTEM OF SELFLESS SERVICE, HONOR AND INTEGRITY. ALMOST INVARIABLY, MY PERCEPTION IS THAT THE SENSATIONALISTIC VALUE OF THESE ASSESSMENTS IS WHAT PROVIDED THE EDGE THAT YOU SEEK FOR SELF AGRANDIZEMENT OR TO ADVANCE YOUR INDIVIDUAL QUEST FOR GETTING ON THE FRONT PAGE WITH YOUR STORIES! AS I UNDERSTAND IT, YOUR MEASURE OF WORTH IS HOW MANY FRONT PAGE STORIES YOU HAVE WRITTEN AND UNFORTUNATELY SOME OF YOU WILL COMPROMISE YOUR INTEGRITY AND DISPLAY QUESTIONABLE ETHICS AS YOU SEEK TO KEEP AMERICA INFORMED.

Heh. Take that....everyone.

ALL ARE VICTIMS OF THE MASSIVE AGENDA DRIVEN COMPETITION FOR ECONOMIC OR POLITICAL SUPREMACY. THE DEATH KNELL OF YOUR ETHICS HAS BEEN ENABLED BY YOUR PARENT ORGANIZATIONS WHO HAVE CHOSEN TO ALIGN THEMSELVES WITH POLITICAL AGENDAS. WHAT IS CLEAR TO ME IS THAT YOU ARE PERPETUATING THE CORROSIVE PARTISAN POLITICS THAT IS DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY AND KILLING OUR SERVICEMEMBERS WHO ARE AT WAR.

That says it all.

Here's some gems of his assessment of Iraq:

AFTER MORE THAN FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING, AMERICA CONTINUES ITS DESPERATE STRUGGLE IN IRAQ WITHOUT ANY CONCERTED EFFORT TO DEVISE A STRATEGY THAT WILL ACHIEVE "VICTORY" IN THAT WAR TORN COUNTRY OR IN THE GREATER CONFLICT AGAINST EXTREMISM. FROM A CATASTROPHICALLY FLAWED, UNREALISTICALLY OPTIMISTIC WAR PLAN TO THE ADMINISTRATION'S LATEST "SURGE" STRATEGY, THIS ADMINISTRATION HAS FAILED TO EMPLOY AND SYNCHRONIZE ITS POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND MILITARY POWER. THE LATEST "REVISED STRATEGY" IS A DESPERATE ATTEMPT BY AN ADMINISTRATION THAT HAS NOT ACCEPTED THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC REALITIES OF THIS WAR AND THEY HAVE DEFINITELY NOT COMMUNICATED THAT REALITY TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. AN EVEN WORSE AND MORE DISTURBING ASSESSMENT IS THAT AMERICA CAN NOT ACHIEVE THE POLITICAL CONSENSUS NECESSARY TO DEVISE A GRAND STRATEGY THAT WILL SYNCHRONIZE AND COMMIT OUR NATIONAL POWER TO ACHIEVE VICTORY IN IRAQ.

The rest is an elaboration on exactly that point. But be assured, his angst is directed at who was in charge when we invaded...and the Congress that is in charge now. And the Preznit.

There are some keys in his discussion, including disdain for the "coalition" that's been put together. It was hasty, as he put it, and is under-resourced, especially as the coalition members withdraw. And they withdraw, in his estimation, because we have no plan other than individual political gain.

Go read it in its entireity.

Then let's discuss.

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