One of my favorite parts of the arrival of spring, is the similar change in beer styles that become available. Don't get me wrong, I love a good stout, but after a long winter with plenty of chocolaty, creamy stout (OK I kind of want one now, damn it) it's nice to start turning to the citrus smelling perky IPAs that come with spring. I was at the favorite watering hole with some buds, kickin' back with some beers and testing each other with trivia quizzes we had made for each other. All of my questions had to do with sports, Seinfeld, or Arrested Development seeing that those three things with beer are all I need in life, it was a pretty damn good night. Then came the beer selection of Hop Monkey. My goodness, did I make one hell of a choice.
The fine folks up at Laurelwood Brewery up in Portland blessed me with this beer, and I can't thank them enough for it. It's color was of a lighter yellow, not quite lager yellow, but a couple of shades above. The head was pure white as to be expected, and the smell was simply fantastic. A very citrusy, alive smell that had me giddy to begin drinking the beer. The taste, oh the taste, was quite possibly the best balanced IPA taste I've had in a long time. A quick punch of hoppy bitterness, with a slight twinge of malt, and then finishes concisely with one last burst of hop goodness. This beer was so crisp, I feel like I could drink this beer after a marathon and quench my thirst. I could not put this beer down, I drank it so damn fast I went and got another one just to experience it all over again.
Beermigos Rating: Pondering the Meaning of Life with your Beermigos Brew.
I absolutely love this beer. From the first sip to the last gulp, the Hop Monkey is in my top 5 beers of all time. I would highly suggest it if you come across it. It is so crisp, complex, and finishes so clean it is perfect for getting one in the mood for good weather.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Fun Fact Friday!
Good Friday to you readers (literally) hope all is well. My bad about two FFFs in a row, I've been meaning to review this fantastic IPA I had the other day, but haven't got around to finishing the review. Anyway seeing that it is Good Friday, making Sunday Easter, I figured I would drop some knowledge about a mythical creature that seems to have very little to do with the actual holiday. I am speaking of the Easter Bunny.
While the early Christians were trying to spread their religion through out Europe, their biggest opponents were the Pagans. In efforts to ease the transition from Paganism to Christianity, many Pagan holiday dates were kept around the same time, but were given different Christian meanings. The Pagans would celebrate natures re-birth with a festival that appreciated the Goddess of fertility and spring, known as Eostre or Eastre. Two prominent symbols of fertility were the egg and the hare. The first documented appearance of an Easter Bunny like character was in Germany around the 1600's, when the character Oschter Hawes would deliver colored eggs to well behaving children. Eventually when settlers came to the US, so did the Easter Bunny.
Interestingly enough, the Easter Bunny isn't as popular in every Christian state as it is in the US. Australia didn't have any rabbits in their natural habitat, so when they were brought from Europe, they destroyed many crops and other wildlife making them a complete pest. So instead the Aussies have the Easter Bilby, which is an indigenous marsupial.
Enjoy the weekend,
PROST
While the early Christians were trying to spread their religion through out Europe, their biggest opponents were the Pagans. In efforts to ease the transition from Paganism to Christianity, many Pagan holiday dates were kept around the same time, but were given different Christian meanings. The Pagans would celebrate natures re-birth with a festival that appreciated the Goddess of fertility and spring, known as Eostre or Eastre. Two prominent symbols of fertility were the egg and the hare. The first documented appearance of an Easter Bunny like character was in Germany around the 1600's, when the character Oschter Hawes would deliver colored eggs to well behaving children. Eventually when settlers came to the US, so did the Easter Bunny.
Interestingly enough, the Easter Bunny isn't as popular in every Christian state as it is in the US. Australia didn't have any rabbits in their natural habitat, so when they were brought from Europe, they destroyed many crops and other wildlife making them a complete pest. So instead the Aussies have the Easter Bilby, which is an indigenous marsupial.
Enjoy the weekend,
PROST
Friday, April 3, 2009
Fun Fact Friday!
Happy early April to everyone, we're getting closer day by day to warm weather full of hikes, swimming and bike rides and I'm sure you're all as excited as I am. Anyone in the US, and in many other countries, over the age of five will know that the beginning of April is a fun day for those merry pranksters inhabiting the world. This particular April Fool's day I was neither duked, nor did I play any sort of prank. It's a big stepping stone in my maturity level, NOT. I figured I would search the interwebs to find a good prank that is worthy of special mentioning. There were plenty of good ones from the BBC doing a special report on Swiss Spaghetti trees, to finding the corpse of the Loch Ness monster, and the left-handed Whopper Burger King was releasing for their customers. But being a blog about beer, I decided that this story was best:
In 1998 the good folks at Guinness issued a statement that they were going to be the official sponsor of the Old Royal Observatory's Millenium celebration. The Observatory is located in Greenwich, London, and had agreed to change England's name of time from the Greenwich Mean Time to the Guinness Mean Time. The Observatory would recognize this change, start counting seconds in "pint drips," and it would all go back to normal at the end of 1999. Apparently The Financial Times didn't find that appropriate, and criticized the beer makers, until they realized it was a joke and retracted their statement in the next issue. Oh those wacky beer makers, you just never know with those guys.
Enjoy your weekend,
PROST
In 1998 the good folks at Guinness issued a statement that they were going to be the official sponsor of the Old Royal Observatory's Millenium celebration. The Observatory is located in Greenwich, London, and had agreed to change England's name of time from the Greenwich Mean Time to the Guinness Mean Time. The Observatory would recognize this change, start counting seconds in "pint drips," and it would all go back to normal at the end of 1999. Apparently The Financial Times didn't find that appropriate, and criticized the beer makers, until they realized it was a joke and retracted their statement in the next issue. Oh those wacky beer makers, you just never know with those guys.
Enjoy your weekend,
PROST
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