Saturday, February 27, 2010

Religion, Politics, Haaaa Poon and Facebook Farming


As I was setting at the newly refurbished bar at my neighborhood pub last evening, the topic had moved to subject of politics and religion. Each of us were careful not to incite. I tried to be tolerant with the others' obvious ignorance. I even coincided a few points. We all mutually agreed to cease the conversations. Then all of a sudden one of the other patrons asked a few of the others I was talking to, if they had visited his farm lately. He then proudly announced that he had recently built a cabin on his farm. Their banter crossed me for a few minutes when I realized that there was really no actual farm. "Oh my God! Are you talking about Facebook Farm?" "Oh yes," one of them replied. "I visit my farm every day." That remark was surreal. At least it was to me.


On a related subject I finally got to taste a New Belgium Ranger IPA. It was very very good.

I then had a Harpoon (pronounced Haaa Pooooon) Celtic Ale. Damn it was amazing. I like all of Harpoon's offereings with the exception of their UFO, which is on tap at O'Briens.
Back to farming......
The Third

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Live Beer Tastes



Here at The Brew Chronicles, we are always looking for "the edge". Today The Mrs. The Third and I visited the local grocer. Since it is Fat Tuesday, we decided to purchase a couple of sixers. I bought a sixer of Phoenixx Double Extra Special Bitter {It is winter seasonal inspired by the great ales of the UK but brewed with a distinctively American attitude. English crystal malt gives Phoenixx its subtle toffee and caramel notes, but this ale is about hops. The blend of English hops, highlighted by its namesake, Phoenix, yields a complex hop character that dominates this special brew. ABV: 7.2%, IBU: 50}


The wife purchased a six pack of Bud. As we were checking out we saw some single beers for sale. We purchased a couple of Budweiser Select 55. I have heard about it and I I have seen the commercials but I have never actually tried one. So....... I am going to do a live taste test. I will pop the top on on of the cans, pour it into a clean chilled pint glass and will taste it for the first time. so here goes

2:51 PM.................... putting the lap top down

2:53 PM.................... Ok I have the beer and I am setting back down on couch.

2:54 PM.................... Pouring beer

The color is about the same as Budweiser actually I think it is slightly darker.

2:56 PM.................... First swallow

The beer does not have much of a smell or aroma. The taste is typical of a light beer,

not much, if any hoppy after taste. It reminds me of a beer flavored alka seltzer.

It does have alcohol in it though. According to my beer app (on my really cool Motorola Droid) it packs a whopping 2.4 % abv. The other beer I purchase rates at 7.2% abv which equates to three times as much. I admit that this beer is not all that bad. I probably will never purchase another one though. I like more taste in my beer and this one just does not deliver. Beer geeks tend to stress how certain beers "pair" with certain foods. I usually do not like to drink beer as I eat. I know it is a personal taste sort of thing. I think Select 55 would be one of those beers that I could drink while eating. That is if someone else is buying.

3:08 PM.................... One swallow left.

3:17 PM..................... gone

"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer."
-Frank Zappa

The Third


















Monday, February 15, 2010

Places



As I have stated in previous posts, my grandfather was called Dit by most of his siblings and family. One of my aunts (on my mother's side) used to say he should have been called Did. She made this claim since my grandfather had a tendency to brag about the things he had seen or done. (example "I did......") I must admit I have inherited this trait as well.

Since my blog seems to waffle a lot lately and because I am beginning to think that the current reality television phase will go the same way as TV westerns, detective shows, doctor shows and prime time game shows, I will begin to record some of the places I have been in my life.

It is not meant as bragging or boasting. It is simply a journal.

The picture shown here is a place I really never thought I would actually see. I passed under this arch about 1 am. It was 17 degrees and it was late April. It is a few hundred yards from Red's Blue Goose Saloon, an amazing pub.

National Parks that I have visited:

The Great Smoky Mountains (Tennessee & North Carolina)
Hot Springs (Arkansas)
Death Valley (California)
Yosemite (California)
Sequoia (California)
Redwood (California)
Mesa Verde (Colorado)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison (Colorado)
Grand Tetons (Wyoming)
Saguaro (Arizona)
Kings Canyon (California)
Joshua Tree (California)
Theodore Roosevelt (North Dakota)
Rocky Mountain (Colorado)
Petrified Forest (Arizona)
Everglades (Florida)
Carlsbad Caverns (New Mexico)
Yellowstone (note the above picture) Idaho, Montana & Wyoming)

Parks I have been very close to (less than 50 miles) but not actually visited:


Olympic
Mt Rainer
Crater Lake
Grand Canyon
Lassen Volcanic
Isle Royale
Big Bend
Guadalupe Mountains
North Cascades
Mammoth Cave

See America First

The Third

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Facedbook


The Mrs. The Third has become a computer geek too. She has discovered Facebook. I have avoided facebook. I have no desire for it. If you note. I am somewhat anonymous. I mean I realize that most of you know who I am but I do not post my picture or my name. I am Big Cat, Stormy, or The Third. This morning my loving wife signed me up for a facebook page. Although I did confirm my account with facebook, I posted the following "I am not into Facebook. Do Not add me......but visit my blog Thebrewchronicles.blogspot.com


So, with that said, welcome to the new readers to my blog. I suggest that over the next few weeks, that you visit my blog and begin reading some of my gems I have posted over the past 13 months. You actually may like it. I do appreciate comments.


Whooooo Hooooooo


The Third (Big Cat, Stormy)

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Tweet




In the summer of 1990 I became the owner of a brand new "bag phone" I could talk to my bride as she fixed dinner in Spring Texas while I was driving over a Mojave Green rattlesnake on Horse Thief Pass Road in Kern County California. I had moved to the age of communication. Shortly thereafter, the bag phone was replaced by a Motorola car phone. Over the next several years that phone was replaced by a Star Tak, V-60, Razr, Krazr, Maxx VE, a Nokia brick phone, assorted LG phones, and recently a Droid. My new phone does it all...well accept giving birth to my love child. I have had it for nearly 90 days and I still continue to play with it and I continue to be completely vexed by it. In a word, it is cool as shit.

In December of 2008 I posted my first blog which later became known as The Brew Chronicles. My readership has never taken off. I suppose my writing style is not as good as I imagine it to be. Last month I changed the address of this blog thinking that it would be easier to find. My previous address was pretty ingenious but difficult to remember. One cool thing was that you could actually go to Google Search and type The Brew Chronicles and it would refer you to my blog. Now if you do that, it will refer you to the old address and nothing comes up.



When I purchased my current phone I also purchased a new phone for the Mrs. The Third. On it is has an icon for Facebook. My wife is now adding new friends nearly every day. She has an online farm and bistro as well. I do not have a Facebook page or a MySpace address. I am sticking to my blog. I will sink or swim with it I guess. I did sign up for a Tweeter address. which by the way is "Brewchronicles" I would have chosen TheBrewChronicles but the username was limited to a certian number of letters. I was thinking of changing the address of this blog to Brewchronicles but the name is not available. There is another blog out there called The Brew Chronicles. His last post was nearly a year ago and he has yet to have any followers. I guess I should be happy to have my 4 or 5 readers.

I know squat about Tweeter but as the months roll by I shall become more and more informed. I will keep you up to date as well.



Hello?



The Third