Beer for the God of War

Late review today. It's Friday, my boss is in another State...and I have had client meetings all morning. Stupid clients.

Anyway, I grabbed a bottle of Jolly Pumpkin's Biere De Mars. I'm really bummed that Beer Advocate redid their graphics so I can't download the bottle pics any more because this one is awesome. It's a big magnum, bottle with a picture of an angry God of War blowing a holy hell of a storm. Beautiful. I'd get a tattoo of it.

This is a Biere De Garde style, or more directly translated, a beer that you store. It's another one of those unique French-style beers farmers would brew and store to drink with dinners after a hard days work. It's got its differences from the Franch Farmhouse Ales (saison), which is a much more subtle style than a biere de garde, which is a heavier hitter a little closer, to me, to a gueuze or lambic whereby the saison is closer to a standard Belgian ale.

Love 'em both.

Anyway...Biere De Mars, aged in oak barrels like every other beer at Jolly Pumpkin.

The beer poured a deep, cloudy ruby-red-and-amber color with a thin but substantial finger-sized fluffy head. It had some nice brown highlights and even a sort of light-diffusing effect that I really liked (maybe it was my glass...).

The aroma is really hard to describe, so here it goes: candied sour cherries, brown sugar and a bouquet of flowers strained through a wool blanket. Sounds unappetizing? I assure you, it's actually not. The blankety aroma is actually an earthy pungency that underlies all of the other sweet/sour/floral aspects. It makes for an intriguing beer, but definitely not one for a beginner.

The flavors you get right off the bat are not "flavors" per se but senses. Tartness and sourness. This big cherry flavor is nice and sweet, but it sibsides to a true sourness. Not like the Sour Patch Kids sour that's simply tart, but a real sourness. The sour taste (Brettannomyces bacteria) lingers throughout the beer, but there wasn't quite enough of a malt backbone to substantiate it. It was heavy on the sour and light on the balance.

It was very nicely carbonated and left a smooth feeling on the palate despite the sour bite.

Again, this beer is not for someone you're trying to introduce to big beers. This one is even big for big beer drinkers. I really honestly regret not having cellared this beer. If I was thinking well, I'd have cellared this beer for at least 6 months if not longer to get some of these huge flavors to mellow and some of the all-but-hidden caramel character to come out a bit more. Live and learn; I went back to Oades Big 10 to find another bottle to cellar, and they had run out temporarily. I just haven't made it back yet to see if they have any more.

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Better Late Than Never

Like nearly a month ago, Mike tagged me with another meme. I blew this one off forever because he did it on beer review day and nothing but sickness or the birth of twins shall take me from my weekly review.

But now I'm at a loss for a post today, so I will finally make good on being tagged. Sorry for the delay, Mike.

1) Ten years ago I was...

Working a job in the legislature nobody else wanted. I worked for a particular Senator that eventually got himself expelled from the Senate. I left his office when I saw the beginning of the horrendously fast downwared spiral, and got a job, via the contacts I made while working in Hell, with the American Cancer Society.

I had also met, dated and did outrageous things with the woman who in less than 2 short eyars would become my wife.

I also, 10 years ago, brewed my first batch of beer. It was a hefeweizen from a kit at Michigan Brewing Company. So I guess Happy Anniversary to my more-than-a-hobby!

2) Five things on today's to-do list:

* Pick up Smitty Jr. from daycare before 5:30 though the House of Reps is in session late tonight.
* Feed Mrs. Smitty, me and Smitty Jr. in enough time for Mrs. Smitty to feed the Wonder Twins. Feedings take 2 hours at the Smitty household.
* Fight sleep so I can spend a few minutes of solitude with Mrs. Smitty.
* Maybe think about bottling that damn Doppelbock that's just sitting in a my lagering fridge at 40 degrees for the past 8 weeks.
* Clean the new floors in my basement.

3) Things I'd do if I were a billionaire:

* Buy the Detroit Lions and fire everyone. Every fucking last soul. Then sell it to Mike Illitch, proud owner of the Red Wings, for $1. He seems to have his shit together as an owner.
* Go learn how to brew Belgian beers from the monks. Just take the Hell off and go brew.
* Do super eccentric shit like...buy an entire company like Price Waterhouse Cooper and make everyone wear huge pink bowties every Wednesday.
* Start an endowment fund for the American Cancer SOciety so it can essentially fund itself and not have to struggle sometimes for local programming.

4) Three bad habits:

* Drinking too much delicious, high ABV beer (had to rip this off of Mike's blog).
* I pick my nose when I drive. Endlessly. It just helps pass the time.
* First thing in the morning, like an alarm clock, I fart. It's how I verify I'm awake.

5) Five places I've lived:

* Redford, MI.
* Dearborn, MI.
* Lansing, MI.
* Camp Pendleton, CA.
* A Ship in the middle of the Meditarranean.

6) Six jobs I've had in my life:

* Ice Cream Scooper
* Infantry
* Bookstore manager
* Graphic Designer (in the time before awesome graphics design programs)
* Legislative Aide
* Lobbyist

So there you have it. Fellow keggers, you're tagged, unless you've already been tagged.

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McCain is kind of like Jesus?!?!?

Crooks and Liars has a poorly written piece on a recent speech by Georgia Republican Party chairwoman Sue Everhart.  The content of the speech was disturbing to say the least:

Georgia Republican Party chairwoman Sue Everhart said Saturday that the party’s presumed presidential nominee has a lot in common with Jesus Christ.

“John McCain is kind of like Jesus Christ on the cross,” Everhart said as she began the second day of the state GOP convention. “He never denounced God, either.”

Everhart was praising McCain for never denouncing the United States while he was being tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

“I’m not trying to compare John McCain to Jesus Christ, I’m looking at the pain that was there,” she said.

I think Tony over at the Rambling Prophet 2 has a great analysis:

Well, like my dad said several times when I was growing up; "Son, now you've seen stupid."

I don't know whether to be offended or just sad. I hadn't thought I would vote for McCain and if party officials are saying this about him, my decision just got easier.

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The Long Shot Review

Went to part-time Around the Keg contributor Greg's house this past Monday for some dinner. Every meal we don't have to cook is one more day of dishes that doesn't pile up around here. He grilled a mean burger that includes a 3:1 ratio of ground beef to Jimmy Dean's ground sausage. Nice.

Beside for minor condiments, I brought a 6-er of the Sam Adams Long Shot winners along with me so we could try them. This year, there were two: a Grape Pale Ale and a Weizenbock. Actually, the two winners were the Weizenbock and a DIPA, but Sam Adams can't brew the DIPA until the hops it needs are back in stock (damn shortage), which is expected in 2009. The second brew is actually the winner of the Sam Adams employee homebrew competition. Thus, given that there are 2 reviews, I will shorten them a bit.

Sammy A employee Lili Hess's Grape Pale Ale was chosen at the Great American Beer Fest last Fall. It poured a lovely bright copper color, picking up some golden straw when held up to light, and yielding a moderately thick eggshell-white head. It left a slight bit of lacing down the glass as I quaffed.

The aroma was so light it was hard to detect. I got some buscuity and caramel aromas, some grassy notes and "fruit" without being able to pin it specifically to grapes. The taste was much better than the aroma connoted. Great Pale Ale maltiness was backed up by floral hops...and grapes. Really pleasant, actually. The grapes came forward as the beer warmed but never over powered the beer like that awful, nearly unspeakable AB attempt at a blueberry lager. This was simply a hint of grape in the background that blended well with a solid if not great Pale Ale.

At the end of the day, I could drink a few of these, but wasn't blown away by it by any means. It is a basic, very good pale ale with an interesting twist that didn't get out of hand. That said, I liked it better than Dogfish Head's Red and White (witbier with red wine in it). It was, however, popular with the wives.

Rodney Kibzey's winning Weizenbock was a beer for the ages. This was an outstanding weizenbock. Mr. Kibzey hails from Illinois, but for some reason, Warren, MI was claiming him as a native son.

His beer poured a solid, cloudy brown with copper highlights. Beautiful, cloudy wheat beer with a nice, thick creamy head to it. Big spicy notes on the nose, with copious clove, cinnamon and a hint of banana.

The taste was everything that the aroma held and more. Along with the big spices, there was a hint of bubblegum but most astonishingly a gingerbread taste that really sent this beer over the top. It was full-bodied without being chewey (wheat beers are like that), deep but refreshing.

A special bonus: I drank it along with Mrs. Greg's apple pie. Ask Greg: I wept openly at the combo. This beer is a real pleasure and comes highly recommended. Especially with a good, cinnamon and sugar apple pie.

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Making The Band

I checked out George's site today. It is by no means a meme, but it was cool enough that I wanted to share.

You get to make your own album cover with your own band. Big fun to wyle-away your day.

Here's how you play:

1. Click on this link. The title of the page is the name of your band.

2. Click on this link. The last four words of the final quotation on the page are the title of your album.

3. Click on this link. The third picture is your album cover.

4. Take the pic, add your band name and album title.

Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you: Paraphlebia!

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Flag Pins: Put To Rest

I think this guy, Roland Martin over at CNN.com, has the funniest-looking head ever.

But that funny head of his finally said something I agree with: enough with the flag pin nonsense.

Since it is clear that our nation is paralyzed and so not able to close our borders, feed the homeless, develop businesses in the inner cities and save people from having their homes taken by foreclosure due to ruthless mortgage companies, all because some folks don't wear a flag lapel pin, we need to lead a national movement to demand that Congress and the states make requiring officeholders to wear a flag lapel pin the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

That's right, folks. If Obama or McCain can't see fit to wear their patroitism on their proverbial sleeve, then we can't trust them to make the right decisions.


Martin nails it:

"That's what zealots do. They take something so simple, so personal, so voluntary, and absolutely lose their mind, trying to force someone else to do as them, and everyone else be damned...When I'm on the golf course and I slip my wedding ring into my golf bag, the Rev. Jacquie Hood Martin is still my wife...I may not be able to fit into the shirt I pledged in, but I will be a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. until the day I die...I am an unapologetic Christian, but you won't see a cross dangling from my neck or a James Avery charm bracelet on my wrist. Why? Because my love of Jesus Christ is in my heart.[emphasis mine]

Just like "patriotism" and loe of America. It's inside you, or not.

He closes well in his brief op-ed. But for God's sake, indeed, this part of the debate and all of the attention drawn to whether or not someone wears a flag pin is indeed just a distraction from members of Congress having to actually defend their shitty, partisan voting records.

I hope we have finaly hit rock-bottom. Then there's finally nowhere for our debates and priorities to go but up.

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Back In The Saddle Again

Well, the twins are born, Mrs. Smitty and I are managing well and I am finally able to get some sleep, as today is my first day back to work. Long legislative committee hearings on irrelevent topics are prime nap material.

This also means I'm back off the wagon and the beer reviews will pour. I got my hands on a case of this year's Sam Adams Long Shot winners...a weizenbock and a grape pale ale. Reviews this Friday, as usual.

Bob, great post last Friday that Sopor and Infamous Roger turned into a keg sanitization discussion, which was actually totally awesome because now that our basement remodeling project is almost done, I'm taking the plunge to stop filling 50 thankless fucking bottles of beer every time I brew and will be filling 1 single keg instead. Jesus why did it take this long to fianlly get fed-up with bottling beer???

Cheers!

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