Fun Fact Friday!

Good afternoon mai babaies, thinking of past FFFs and considering what is coming up this weekend, I'm sure you'll be able to take a "wild" guess to what this week's FFF is going to be about. The best, un-official holiday of the year that is Super Bowl weekend. While it isn't the best Super Bowl ever, only because the Packers aren't going to win, it is still a festival of joy, beer drinking, and sadness as it is the last football game for seven painful months. For those who don't know, the Packers actually won the first two installments of the Super Bowl, sorry I had to get that in there some how. The game started out to ease the eventual merger between the NFL and the AFL. In the early days, there was the National Football League that was consistently the top pro football brand, and there would also be another league that would last a year or two before financially failing. That was until the American Football League came around and was the NFL's only real viable threat. The original NFL teams consisted mostly of the current NFC teams except for the expansion teams, and three others who moved to the AFC after the merger, to balance the divisions out (The Colts, Steelers, and the Browns). The name "Super Bowl" was coined by the late Lamar Hunt, owner of the Kansas City Chiefs after a ball that his children were playing with called the "Super Ball." The first team from the original AFL to win the Super Bowl was the New York Jets, who beat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III still considered one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history. Today's game is much more than just bragging rights between two similar leagues. Now it is a multi-billion dollar extravaganza. I'm sure everyone knows the $3 million price tag for a thirty-second commercial during the Super Bowl, not to mention the truck loads of merchandise the NFL moves with which ever team wins and the amount of betting that's made on the game. Hell, Vegas even takes bets on whether the coin toss will be heads or tails.

Enjoy the festivities and be safe,

PROST!!!!

FFF Aluminum Can Add On

P.S. I also wanted to add on a fun little factoid to the aluminum can aspect of FFF. Aluminum cans should be cheered, but there is something that must be acknowledged as a trade-off to the new aluminum cans. Before, when you drank beer in college (like my Dad in the 70's), you could line up your cans in a row connected because that's how the old style of beer cans were shaped. If you lined up 4 or 5 of them, put some lighter fluid at the bottom, then inserted a tennis ball all you had to do was drop a match in and you had yourself a cannon that would launch that tennis ball a couple hundred feet. You can't do that anymore, which unfortunately means not as much drunken hilarity. However it may be safer for drunken bozos like us in college. Regardless though, it would have been awesome. That's all.

Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale

Hello all. It's been a while since a posting from me but I am in Chicago now and I am only exposed to the Midwest type brews here rather thank the glory that is the Oregon/Northwest brews. It's been rough, and not being able to be nourished with such warming and heartfilling beer has made winter feel just a little more cold on the inside, but I'm getting by. They do have some interesting staples out here though. Goose Island is a well known Chicago brewery that puts out all different kinds of seasonals and different creations. 312 is one of their more well known ones and I have to say not terribly impressive. Maybe it was the mood or my preference but on this particular day this just wasn't doing it for me.

It was a Sunday evening/afternoon and the Philadelphia Eagles were playing the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship game. The Eagles were getting stomped but about to surmount a comeback that the Cardinals would eventually answer on their own to win the game and go to the Super Bowl. I was sitting by myself but in Chicago that usually means you're going to end up having a conversation with the person sitting next to you (especially during a football game). This was the case. The man to my right tried to talk football with me but he was a little out of it. The man to my left was an Eagles fan (tough day for him) and he expressed to me how much he has always disliked Donovan McNabb. I thought, what an opportunity to try a local brew and write down some sampling notes for the beer blog. I looked at the selection and thought I'd try out 312.

It had an appealing light yellow color that you could almost see through. I took my first sip and was caught off guard. Very bitter, as a matter of fact unexpectedly bitter. I took another sip to confirm, and it was what I would even describe as sour. This was not a good mix with football and Irish soup. It was very light and was not too filling at all. It also had a good crisp finish. In this case the crisp finish immediately removed any lingering sour or bitter tastes. I could see the appeal but given the time and my own preferences it just wasn't doing it for me. I nursed it and finished it as the Eagles made their last attempt on 4th down. While watching that play I could see the Eagles and I had made a similar but different mistake on that day. We both made a bad call.

I think our new brewing system is genius, but I also feel that there is one category that is missing so I'm gonna go ahead and create it right now because I feel that this applies. It's called the Summer BBQ Brew. This is a beer that is generally low in alcohol content but very light and not too filling. Make no mistake, a ball game brew or a throw back can serve just fine in this situation. However, these are beers that taste especially good during that summer time kickin it/relaxing mode and are considered to be a little better quality. A BBQ, a river kick-it or a porch hang out are activities commonly associated with this.

The Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale is a Summertime BBQ Brew. This is a big reason why I didn't find it that enjoyable in the situation listed above. I could see this being comfortably enjoyed in the outdoor patio of a local pub on a hot summer day here in Chicago. The unique crisp finish is what does it. It contributes to the not filled feeling. I don't think it is my favorite because the sour bitterness just isn't my style, but after writing about it some and thinking about the situation it is definitely growing on me. I think I could definitely enjoy it in a few months, but it would not be a favorite.

Enjoy yourselves ladies and gentlemen,
Peace be the journey.

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

OK, I know I've been a little obsessed with DFH lately, but I can't help the fact that they make really good beer. Any way, this nice brew was a very good desert after a nice pasta dinner. I drank it while doing some other writings, on paper even! My eyes are a little burnt out from screens. The 60 minuter is far less intense than the 120 minuter, but that doesn't detract from the quality of either beer. This brew had a very light golden color for an IPA, but still had a typical scent with strong hops. On top of the hop scent, there was a hint of sweet malt that really had me giddy to have the first sip. There was definitely a nice beginning bitterness from the hops, quickly followed by a subtle sweet malt flavor that disappeared leaving a slight hoppy after taste. In the long run, there wasn't much of a lingering flavor making it very crisp.

Beermigos Rating: Burger and a Brew. This was a very lively beer, had some nice tastes to it, but really seemed like it would go well with cheddar and beef. Fairly high in alcohol content, but not quite the absurdity of the 120 minute IPA.

Fun Fact Friday!

Happy Friday to everybody out there, hope your week has been scrumtrulesantly pleasant. The little invention that our fact is about today had it's fiftieth birthday yesterday, and changed the beer industry as well. The product I am talking about, is the aluminum can. Credit the fine people at Coors for inventing this packaging method that changed the shipping capabilities of the beer world forever. Ruben Hartmeister and Bill Coors were the two brains behind the creation of the aluminum can. Now, there were other metallic cans used before the introduction of the aluminum based type, but they were primarily made of tin and steel. There were multiple plates of tin that had to be soldered together, including a steel base, that was a hassle not only to make but also to dispose of afterwards. Coors was met with criticism by the United States Brewers Association, along with other beverage tycoons who didn't want to deal with the change it was going to bring. When Coors thought about it, he couldn't go against the fact that it was going to be cheaper to make, easier to recycle, cheaper to ship, and didn't leave a bad after taste. So if you happen to raise an aluminum can at some point this weekend, hold it a split second longer for the people who brought it to you fifty years ago.

Have a good weekend,

PROST

Palo Santo Wood Malt Beverage

For those consistant readers out there, you will remember a FFF where we talked about the scale used to measure the strength of wood. This is the beer/malt beverage that inspired that FFF. I read about it in the Wall Street Journal, it was a very interesting article, about how this wood was imported from South America to make special barrels because of the woods long lasting scent that would add to the beer's flavor. This is another Dogfish Head Brewery beer that is pretty crazy. It really is just pure malt, there is no trace of hops anywhere. The scent is very malty as well, and has a slight alcohol smell to it. The color is of a pitch black stout while there was very little head at the beginning which had the brownish stout head as well. There didn't seem to be much carbonation when the bottle was opened explaining the low amount of head. They claimed it was a brown ale on the side of the bottle, but it was so thick that it had the feeling of a syrup.



Beermigo rating: Definitley a Onesy Brew. This beer is very unique in it's all malt flavor, yet I don't think it's at the pure nirvana taste to really get your brain flowing with your buds. Alcohol content is at 12%, making it a little strong as well.

New Fancy Pants Rating System

As much as Doug, Pat, and myself have enjoyed putting this collection of reviews together, I've felt there was something missing. I always wanted to have some sort of scale to rate our beers, a little OCD yes, but the problem is there really aren't any beers out there that I don't like. It's not as if week in, and week out we could say "this beer is awesome, this beer is amazing." After a while, it would sound stupid. While discussing this with Doug, we've decided on creating our own scale of the perfect situation for the reviewed beer. Factors that will attribute to a beer's rating are pretty simple; complexity of tastes, alcohol content, and any other natural feeling that comes with the brew. Here are the categories and their generic personalities:

Ball game brew: This beer isn't the most complex beer you will find on the market. Since you're at a ball game, it wont be very high in alcohol content, that way one can enjoy a couple of beers without being too tanked to not pay attention to the sporting event. Drunkenness + foul balls= Bad News Bears, and not the ones Walter Matthau coached.

Throw Backs: These are very similar to the Ball Game Brews, except they'll be a little higher in alcohol content. The primary reason for them having more alcohol is because you'll be more worried about sinking the same cup as your partner in beirut, than deciphering why your team's O-line can't pick up the defense's blitz package in their over front.

The Beer while at dinner with the In-Laws/Girlfriend or Boyfriend's parents: This beer is higher in quality than the first two, but not high in alcohol content. It shows your special someone's parents you aren't cheap, but at the same time you can drink one or two with out being smashed and looking like an alcoholic.

The Burger and a Brew Beer: This kind of beer is typically a micro brew that tend to be higher end, but because of the special with the burger, it's too good of a deal not to get. The alcohol content can vary, but the most important thing is that the taste must flow with beef, tomato, lettuce, onion, and a bun. Cheese optional.

The Onesy Brew: These fine specimens are very complex, and should really be enjoyed slowly to appreciated the beautiful concoction of malt and hops. The beermigos have enjoyed many of these at Monday night bingo at Sam Bond's (highly recommended), but be careful, three or four of these may put you in a situation where it might not be a good idea to bike back home from bingo.

The Debating the Meaning of Life with your own Beermigos Brew: This is a very rare craft of beer. It is in the upper crust of taste complexity, all the meanwhile still being very smooth to allow clear thoughts. Typically these beers bring to mind Benjamin Franklin's quote, "beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." Once done acknowledging that masterful quote, your own philosophy begins to pour out just as smoothly as the beer that started the mood.

Fun Fact Friday!

Happy Friday to everyone out there, hope you have some awesome plans for this weekend because I sure don't. WOOO HOOO! Enough with the negative Nancy-ness and on to a headline that forces a double take. Pablo Cayo of Peru fought the law, and the law was on his side. Mr. Cayo was recently fired from his janitorial job, for being drunk while at work, took it to court and won his job back. The top court in Peru felt that the firing was un-just because, "...even though Cayo was drunk, he did not offend or hurt anybody (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28660054/)." Sign me up for that union. Can you imagine all of the additional Beermigos entries we could make if we were aloud to drink on the job? That my dear Dames and Sires, is the true Audacity of Hope.

Have a good weekend,

PROST

Yellow Snow IPA

Boy, all of the sudden I've been throwing back nothing but IPAs. Maybe it's because the weather has been pretty damn nice for this time of year, but who knows. I happened to enjoy this brew made by the fine folks at Rogue this weekend, while catching up with some old friends. The one competitive advantage Rogue has, with out sounding too business-y and serious, is their bottles. I freaking love every single one of them. This particular bottle had a snowboarder with a dog on the front of it, the dog being the best part because it looked like little ol' Duffers.

The scent to this beer was full of flowery life, I absolutely loved it. While expensive compared to most beers, Rogue is consistent at pumping out fantastic beer, and this was no exception. The first, and lasting taste is a definitive hop bitterness. While not over powering to the point of obnoxiousness, the bitterness dominates from the first sip to the last but still finishes smooth. I enjoyed the Yellow Snow a lot (ha yello.... OK I know, childish) it wasn't trying to be over fancy, it just said to your taste buds, "I'm an IPA, I'm damn good, and leave a nice lingering bitterness. Hope that's cool." What, you don't imagine conversations between your tongue and beer? Weirdo.

PROST

Fun Fact Friday!

Good Friday to everyone, hope your new year is going well so far. It's been a while since we've pumped out a fun fact, so here we go with the new year in new facts! This week Slovakia changed their currency from the Koruna (did their bills come with lime? Ha Koruna, Corona, OK that was really dumb) to the Euro, making them the sixteenth country in that region to run off of the Euro. There are actually 27 total members of the European Union, but only sixteen of them use the Euro for their currency. The reason for using the Euro is to try to create a common market, and a customs union. Which is pretty interesting because the two concepts contradict each other. On one hand they want to be able to freely trade within the nations that are apart of the EU, yet they want to have a unified tariff system for the rest of the world that isn't apart of their club (reminds me of my youth, and all those times I wanted to go play with the big boys... single tear.... brings back tough memories... OK enough of the side commentary, this is getting ridiculous). To have your country accepted into the EU, one must fulfill the Copenhagen Criteria; meaning that you must have a stable democracy ruled by law, an internal economy that can keep up with EU standards, and follow the laws of the EU. One last little side bit, their anthem is "Ode to Joy." Kinda random.

Have a great weekend. PROST

Inversion IPA

Happy New Years everybody! Sorry that there were no reviews for the past two weeks, we decided to take a little vacation. Over the vacation there was definitely some beer drinking, so I'm not short of reviews. This Inversion IPA was crafted by the fine folks at Deschutes Brewery. I'm a big fan of Deschutes' Black Butte Porter and Mirror Pond Pale Ale, so expectations were a little high for this beverage. Inversion had a true IPA color of a dark golden hue. I didn't have access to a glass, so unfortunately I didn't have the greatest ability to get a good sniff of it's aroma.

The taste, of course, was excellent. The Inversion was different from most IPA's I've had recently, in that there was a predominant malt taste with a slight hoppy finish. My taste buds were indicating mostly Cascade hops, fitting considering from where the beer is from. Deschutes continued their high reputation in my mind by creating this sweet beginning taste, with a nice, subtle bitter finish.

PROST!