Racer 5

There’s something about Racer 5 that keeps me coming back for more. It could be the price – typically $5 or less at most of the places I shop – or it could be that it’s the kind of IPA that I could drink one after another.

Either way, I’m a big fan of Racer 5. For the price and great citrus taste, without the pine, it’ll probably be my default when looking for a cheap bomber… however, Stone is now in Kansas City, so that could change real soon. R5, you might be taking a back seat to another Cali brewer.

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Holy Dark and Hoppy Batman!

Goose Island Night Stalker. It was delish!

 

Something smells fishy…

I just got done reading this story on FoxNews about a woman who killed an intruder with her pink .38 special. The image that Fox used was catchy and lead me to read the article… I mean, how often do you see a pink gun?

Ok, so I read the article and immediately a few things start to smell fishy.

• knock on the door at 3am and she goes to answer it
• 25 year old beauty queen engaged to a 43 year old dude
• the guy is an “arborist” and lives in a big house in Tierra Verde, Fla.
• this “arborist” bought his fiance a $60,000 ring. Yes, $60k.
• this “arborist” typically pays for pizza with $100 bills

So these things all start to puzzle me… how many tree trimmers and plant inspectors can afford a luxury home in a place where house prices, for a 2,700 sq foot home, costs about $600,000? Let alone a $60,000 rock.

So then I decide to do some digging. My good friend Google always comes through for me. I start looking for arborist salaries in the Tierra Verde area, but don’t come up with any real results… instead I get more stories, including this one right here, which includes an every-so-lovely image of the happy couple.

That house looks sick. That Rolex is covered in diamonds. That dude… well, he doesn’t look like he could snag a 25 year old former beauty queen on looks alone. Let’s just leave it at that.

I also come away with this article from 8 years ago involving the same guy. Only this time his former fiance loses the $31,000 diamond ring that he flew in from Israel. Oh, but he had to sell his Dodge Viper, speed boat and custom Harley in order to buy the ring and a new house. Once again, I ask the question, how does an arborist have the dough to pay for this kind of swag? The article mentions that he owned his own company, but still, trimming trees and spraying for fungus and bugs doesn’t really add up to this much green.

Ok, so then I make my way back to the article with the lovely couple. You can’t get past the first section without reading this prize winning piece of writing: “Brown lives with her fiance, 43-year-old Bobby Planthaber, in a 2,732-square-foot Tierra Verde home. Next to the home’s front door is a plaque that reads “Phat City”. Surveillance cameras cover the home, inside and out.” Really? You’re that pretentious that you’d have that sign outside your house? Also, you have cameras inside and out? The article also mentions this “It wasn’t unusual for friends to come by at such a late hour.” Which leads me to an equation…

Arborist + Tons of Cameras + People come by late at night = ???

Do you need help solving the equation? I’m sure he does lots of plant work and pruning, but I doubt it’s to oaks, maples, palms or any other kinds of trees.

I’m glad that the Ms. Brown wasn’t injured, or worse, assaulted or killed. But I have to wonder why FoxNews wrote the article and took the approach that they did. They framed it pretty well that it was a home invasion turned shooting, but seemed to focus quite a bit on the big money aspect of this couple. For me, it only made me want to do some more digging. I used to love FoxNews. I used to trust their reporting. Now I wonder what the heck they’re talking about and why they’re choosing some of the garbage that they’re putting up. Oh, and you CNN and MSNBC fans, don’t get all happy and giddy with my take on Fox… CNN and MSNBC are worse than Fox! You don’t have to take my word for it… listed to John Stewart’s take on CNN!

On the other hand… they got me to read the article, didn’t they?!?!

***If you stopped by to read this post, will you please leave a comment that you read it? I’m trying to gauge readership. Thanks!***

 

Southern Tier IPA

First things first… the house went on the market today. After weeks of cleaning, painting, packing and whatnot, she’s finally got a sign in the yard. So raise your glass and hope she sells before the wedding, which is 7 weeks from Saturday.

Now, on to the beer.

First impression… Not bad. It’s quite a bit better then their IIPA. A little piney and could use some more grapefruit or citrus, but is easy enough to drink one right after another.

On a 10 scale of IPAs, I’d give this puppy a 5 or 6. However, I do have a 9.9 to add to my list…

I had a New Holland Imperial Hater IPA the other night at Beer Kitchen in Westport. It was awesome. It was almost Hopslam awesome. Yes, you read that right. It was worth all $9 that the 12oz bottle cost. If you come across it, buy it, you won’t be disappointed.

Well, that’s it for tonight. I better finish up this IPA and move on to my Doodle Dubble, which comes from one of Missouri’s newest breweries, The Doodle Brewery.

Cheers and prost!

 

Southern Tier un*earthly Imperial IPA

I stopped by Hy-Vee liquors on my way home from work today… A very long work day, that is. Have you ever created an eight panel brochure in less than 24 hours? Well, that explains my day.

Moving on. Rate Beer gives this IIPA a 99 score, which is really what drove me to put down the sixer of 400lb Monkey I had in my hand and pick up the 22oz bomber instead. For a little over seven bucks I’m not quite sure it’s a 99 in my book.

Pouring a nice amber (technically it’s burnt orange, but I’m not a UT fan, so I don’t like to refer to that as a real color), a finger-width of head forms with little lacing in my trusty Boulevard chalice. Aroma is hoppy with a bit of citrus, but not heavy on the grapefruit like many IPAs, Double IPAs and IIPAs.

The beer is thick and not as refreshing as an IPA, but that’s not expected with an IIPA. Coming in at 11%, it’s heavy enough to make the bomber plenty for one.

As a concluding thought, un*earthly is a bit too sour for my taste. I’m big into pale ales and IPAs right now, so I’m surprised that I didn’t really like it. Personally, I don’t plan on buying it again. However, if you’re ever faced with the option of being able to order Southern Tier 2xIPA, do it. It’s good stuff.

Until next time, prost!

 

Fresh Hop Pale Ale

A few months ago, back in November, my hometown brewer, Boulevard Brewing Co, released a special brew celebrating their 21st Anniversary, Fresh Hop Pale Ale. As with many of their large-format bottles, it was a limited release.

When the beer first came out, it was quite popular, nowhere near the popularity of the Chocolate Ale, but still garnered a decent following. Personally, I loved it and bought at least half a dozen bottles. I wish I had bought more, but I also wish it had a longer shelf life.

Lately I’ve been drinking tons of pale ales and IPAs, so I was ready to pop the cork on this four month old baby. It was good. Not as great as when fresh, but it still had a strong hop profile, yet had gained bitterness… Not exactly something I was looking for, but didn’t turn me away. During those months on the shelf it had become closer to Blvd’s Single Wide IPA, which is an excellent IPA with a low cost.

Although I didn’t expect the beer to taste the exact same, I was pleased with the outcome. Steven Pauwels said that you shouldn’t sit on one of these, just like the Chocolate Ale, do I’m glad I didn’t wait any longer, but I wish I had at least one more bottle for later.

Prost!

 

I hate painting…

I’m putting my house on the market in a few weeks, which means I have plenty of work to do to get it ready.

Tonight is a painting night, which is something I hate to do. Just thought I would share.