Austin is to Texas what Sante Fe is to New Mexico and what Seattle is to Washington. It thrives on its artistic personality in both its music scene and other forms of the arts. There is always the next O Henry or Larry McMurtry sitting at a coffee bar or the bar at the historic Driskoll Hotel enjoying a bourbon. So, when asked to be at a conference with my friends at MWM Architects, I of course accepted. The hotel of choice was the Hotel San Jose on South Congress, south of Town Lake (now Lady Bird Lake) which places it in the equivalent of Austin's version of the Left Bank in Paris. When checking into the hotel on Sunday afternoon after setting up the booth at the conference, I mused that I would literally clear the courtyard for us by putting on a Speedo and going out there and finding a seat. The manager looked at me and said, "I doubt that clears the courtyard." I said, "You haven't seen me in a Speedo" (neither have I though) to which he replied, "You haven't seen our courtyard."
There is a point when people seek to be so different than norms within a society that when you see them all in one location, they really become the norm, which means they aren't really all that different, no matter how hard they try. Piercings, tats, painted toenails on a man, colored hair might cause a glance or a look in a mall in a suburb, but here, when everyone is painted up and attempts to demonstrate how far they can push an envelope, it hardly draws attention.
So, in this environment, our team attempts to find a place to eat. Now, when it comes to food, I'm a conventional sort, but in an unconventional area thriving on being different, a steak house or a seafood place are not going to be what image you conjure in your mind. Still, I was surprised when one of the architects said, "There is a great sushi bar not far from here that I really want us to eat at."
Sushi? Really? Is this a joke? Are you videoing my face to post it on social media as a laugh hoping it goes viral? "Oh, they have meat dishes too," was an attempt to reassure me, "But I think you will like it." Since I don't have the car, and (a big and) since they are buying the meal, it would be most ungracious to simply say, "I will stay here and find a taco bar or something," tempting as that may be. So, we go to the sushi bar, us and the younger cool crowd with variations of styles of cool clothing for 20-something young artistic types. I'm not hip (probably never was) and in this environment, my age and my lack of hipness are apparent (when I asked for a fork it really became apparent). So, servings brought in bowls of things not cooked with vegetables and such to our table, along with saki was the order of the evening. I was only comforted with two things, being with friends AND seeing Japanese beer on the menu. I chose the beer and prayed that there be at least two dishes that I didn't have to kill before I ate it or chase it as it flipped off the plate.
Perhaps beer was one of our gifts to the Japanese after World War II, along with baseball. So, perhaps the Japanese gift to us in return was a sushi bar (along with ceasing their warring ways after 2000 years of conquering). Beer one from Japan was White Hitachino Nest from the Kiuchi Brewery in Ibiraki, Japan and the other was Kirin Ichiban from Tokyo, Japan. I have had Japanese beer before, and I will note that it has a distinct flavor. I preferred the Kirin, since it was on tap and came in a draught format. I felt as though I noted a hopiness in both beers but the Nest White specs cite a low bitterness unit (which measures the hopiness of a beer). Kirin on the other hand notes it is a malt. Nest White is 5% alcohol and if Kirin is a malt, perhaps it is stronger. The Kirin site does not mention the level of alcohol. Both beers were good, but just know I won't being going to Spec's to see if they carry it.
In conclusion, I know that I have one year to practice holding chop sticks to not completely embarrass my friends and appear to be a Neanderthal among the enlightened. Most interesting about the sushi bar was the "hot rock" they brought to the table to cook the beef items we ordered off the menu. One of the architects forcefully told me I needed to eat the tuna (not cooked), so I obliged her which leads me to the next interesting item: I cannot distinguish between a slice of tangerine flavoring the tuna and the uncooked tuna. It all looked the same.
"Domo arigato" means "thanks a lot." To some my age or close, it was also one of the worst songs on one of the worst albums ever put out by Styx and was pretty much the end of their days. Thanks for the meal in one of the more interesting places to visit in Texas and domo arigato for the beer.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Get It While You Can and Dig It
Janis Joplin, a Texan and blues rock great, had as her last song on her last album, "Pearl," a song that summed up life in some ways - "Get It While You Can." "Your taking a gamble on a little sorrow, but then who cares baby, 'cause we may not be here tomorrow."
So, during my 12-minute guided tour of Shiner, the tour guide, once done with the growling and ordering of our herd, asked, "Have you had our '106' yet?" Some said yes, like children reluctant to disappoint a strict teacher. "Better get it while you can," was her reply. Now, I'm not so sure that our guide is a Janis fan. Her star has faded with the ages with only us loyal fans still clinging to her great blues voice that could be beautiful one moment and then gravelly the next. However, it did cause me to stop at the local store once home and seize the moment (carpet diem, oh, sorry, carpe diem) when I saw an individual six pack of the product there on the shelf.
The urgency of getting a review out was in case you read it and decide you want to try it. Get it while you can because even Spec's here in Lubbock, America only had one six pack of it as well. I opened one bottle just for this moment, poured it, and then took a clean whiff of the stout. FYI - It is a chocolate stout and the aroma is prevalent. In cigar language, aroma is only one part of the experience, and in this case, the aroma is deceiving. As the Shiner website notes, "it has a soft, creamy head." Indeed. You can taste the cocoa and it has a distinct aroma of chocolate, but it doesn't interfere with the stout. In fact, I'm wondering how a stout would taste with a Hershey's now.
St. Arnold's has their annual Winter Stout out at the same time (two Texas beers) and it, too, has chocolate as part of its recipe. The chocolate is much more subtle than Shiner's, but the stout holds its own cleanly and remains a great beer. You can learn more about it on their website.
So, Shiner 106, a Chocolate Stout in honor of its birthday. Yes in my book. Alcohol of 5% by the way. St. Arnold's Winter Stout. Seasonal ale. Yes as well. Alcohol is slightly les than Shiner, but so what? Both are now available, and as Janis said, "Get it while you can." Although I'm certain "it" wasn't beer to Janis. IT is beer to me, so we know what the definition of "it" is. Or as John Lennon once sang, "Dig it. Dig it. Dig it. Dig it."
So, during my 12-minute guided tour of Shiner, the tour guide, once done with the growling and ordering of our herd, asked, "Have you had our '106' yet?" Some said yes, like children reluctant to disappoint a strict teacher. "Better get it while you can," was her reply. Now, I'm not so sure that our guide is a Janis fan. Her star has faded with the ages with only us loyal fans still clinging to her great blues voice that could be beautiful one moment and then gravelly the next. However, it did cause me to stop at the local store once home and seize the moment (carpet diem, oh, sorry, carpe diem) when I saw an individual six pack of the product there on the shelf.
The urgency of getting a review out was in case you read it and decide you want to try it. Get it while you can because even Spec's here in Lubbock, America only had one six pack of it as well. I opened one bottle just for this moment, poured it, and then took a clean whiff of the stout. FYI - It is a chocolate stout and the aroma is prevalent. In cigar language, aroma is only one part of the experience, and in this case, the aroma is deceiving. As the Shiner website notes, "it has a soft, creamy head." Indeed. You can taste the cocoa and it has a distinct aroma of chocolate, but it doesn't interfere with the stout. In fact, I'm wondering how a stout would taste with a Hershey's now.
St. Arnold's has their annual Winter Stout out at the same time (two Texas beers) and it, too, has chocolate as part of its recipe. The chocolate is much more subtle than Shiner's, but the stout holds its own cleanly and remains a great beer. You can learn more about it on their website.
So, Shiner 106, a Chocolate Stout in honor of its birthday. Yes in my book. Alcohol of 5% by the way. St. Arnold's Winter Stout. Seasonal ale. Yes as well. Alcohol is slightly les than Shiner, but so what? Both are now available, and as Janis said, "Get it while you can." Although I'm certain "it" wasn't beer to Janis. IT is beer to me, so we know what the definition of "it" is. Or as John Lennon once sang, "Dig it. Dig it. Dig it. Dig it."
Shiner Brewery in Shiner, Texas
1978 - 1982 were the years of college for me. In that time, having joined a fraternity, we were treated (due to a drinking age of 18 and then 19) to visits from distributors. For us in Seguin, the distributor was a man named Schroeder who dealt in beers such as Miller Lite (growing in popularity at that time), Lone Star (made at that time in San Antonio), and other beers as well. Schroeder was a great guy who gave us beer routinely, held events at the distributorship, and even took us on a road trip in a distribution van to San Antonio for a personal tour of the Lone Star Brewery (he may have regretted that at the end of the day but that is another story).
Shiner was not in our vocabulary, and there was some disagreement between Texas Tim and me about why that was. I seem to recall having read somewhere that Shiner was not a popular beer until it began to offer the Bock brand to people as a "craft beer." Bock is clearly its most popularly produced brand. Tim says it was not popular because it was cheap and lumped in with other cheap (inexpensive) beers, but that would have made it popular to college students who were not out to drink beer because they had refined tastes. The dispute stood between Tim and I, and we did not allow it to darken the day.
Shiner must be very popular now, distributed throughout the US in various markets, and the Bock brand is its most popular. The brewery was completing a production expansion as we visited and was building a new visitor's center. Since Monday was a holiday, the tourist crowd and the college crowd, clearly off for the day, were in force interfering with the retired "out on holiday" crowd. The number clearly threw the tour guide off as she barked orders for us to assemble correctly (you are given a "label" from one of Shiner's beers and are to go on the tour with the same group with that label - birds of a feather kind of thing). It clearly rankled her that some of us may not be in the correct group, so she made it her mission during our time there to rectify who was to tour with which guide.
As for the tour and Shiner Brewery - On the bright side, it is free and they do give you four free beers. On the down side, it takes longer to organize the group than it does to take the tour and the beers are about four ounces in size. While it is cool going to Shiner, and while it is cool to say you've been to the brewery, you really are not enlightened about the beer, its composition, or that kind of thing because you view the brewery from a platform and are informed about all phases of the brew process - from start to finish - from that platform. In the middle of our tour, Texas Tim looked at me and confessed, "It really isn't a very good tour." Timing is everything in Texana Tours, so this fact, stated deep into the tour, was a moot point. However, had I known that at the start, I still would have gone.
In short, go. In short, shop at the brewery gift store. There is much to see in Shiner, including the brewery, but don't go to the brewery expecting to buy a glass and have them fill that instead of the small cup (St Arnold's style where a purchased mug becomes your glass for the free beer) or go to a place where you can buy the product (winery and distillery style). I was disappointed but can say I've been, and I do enjoy Shiner Bock (bock meaning ram in German but I learned that before the tour).
The picture below is of my tour guides you've read about - Jeff and Tim from left to right - at the Piano Bridge. They are a couple of good guys really, and it was good to be with old friends. Not pictured was David from Hallettsville. He has a furniture store to run in Hallettsville - named Ehler's there on the town square. He's also good for a story or two, although Texas Tim owns that department, and he will tell you where there is some good local cuisine in the area.
Shiner was not in our vocabulary, and there was some disagreement between Texas Tim and me about why that was. I seem to recall having read somewhere that Shiner was not a popular beer until it began to offer the Bock brand to people as a "craft beer." Bock is clearly its most popularly produced brand. Tim says it was not popular because it was cheap and lumped in with other cheap (inexpensive) beers, but that would have made it popular to college students who were not out to drink beer because they had refined tastes. The dispute stood between Tim and I, and we did not allow it to darken the day.
Shiner must be very popular now, distributed throughout the US in various markets, and the Bock brand is its most popular. The brewery was completing a production expansion as we visited and was building a new visitor's center. Since Monday was a holiday, the tourist crowd and the college crowd, clearly off for the day, were in force interfering with the retired "out on holiday" crowd. The number clearly threw the tour guide off as she barked orders for us to assemble correctly (you are given a "label" from one of Shiner's beers and are to go on the tour with the same group with that label - birds of a feather kind of thing). It clearly rankled her that some of us may not be in the correct group, so she made it her mission during our time there to rectify who was to tour with which guide.
As for the tour and Shiner Brewery - On the bright side, it is free and they do give you four free beers. On the down side, it takes longer to organize the group than it does to take the tour and the beers are about four ounces in size. While it is cool going to Shiner, and while it is cool to say you've been to the brewery, you really are not enlightened about the beer, its composition, or that kind of thing because you view the brewery from a platform and are informed about all phases of the brew process - from start to finish - from that platform. In the middle of our tour, Texas Tim looked at me and confessed, "It really isn't a very good tour." Timing is everything in Texana Tours, so this fact, stated deep into the tour, was a moot point. However, had I known that at the start, I still would have gone.
In short, go. In short, shop at the brewery gift store. There is much to see in Shiner, including the brewery, but don't go to the brewery expecting to buy a glass and have them fill that instead of the small cup (St Arnold's style where a purchased mug becomes your glass for the free beer) or go to a place where you can buy the product (winery and distillery style). I was disappointed but can say I've been, and I do enjoy Shiner Bock (bock meaning ram in German but I learned that before the tour).
The picture below is of my tour guides you've read about - Jeff and Tim from left to right - at the Piano Bridge. They are a couple of good guys really, and it was good to be with old friends. Not pictured was David from Hallettsville. He has a furniture store to run in Hallettsville - named Ehler's there on the town square. He's also good for a story or two, although Texas Tim owns that department, and he will tell you where there is some good local cuisine in the area.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Painted Churches and More
If you've read about Texas Tim in these last two blogs and tried to Google the name or looked on social media to find him, just know right now you will have no luck. It's not that Texana Tours isn't something he enjoys, but technology, much less social media, have not met up with him. Computer? An old rebuild from Jeff, rancher and driver on this tour, that he hasn't plugged in yet. Hand held device? See the answer to computer and deduce from there.
No, Texas Tim relies on word of mouth, or when he hears someone say they would like to visit a place, he offers to go along, although we believe it is to see it himself and less to tell the traveler about it. Texas Tim has developed an "ambitious" business plan, but as he notes, getting too involved in a business at this point in life may interfere with his own travels. So, after a hefty breakfast in Flatonia (working man's breakfast for us ranch hands on Jeff's ranch), we embark to see the painted churches, safe in the assumption that church is over for this Sunday.
First, though, Tim wants Jeff to see a house in Flatonia. An old house with a front porch that wraps the house in the old turn of the 19th century into the 20th century style. I later learn that Texana Tours has a schedule that it routinely ignores and sometimes goes out of its way to add and enhance your tour enjoyment. We reach our first painted church and stop to look. On the outside, it is a regular church, but once inside, you learn the Czechs and Germans brought items from the old country as they founded their communities, including altars and such. The concept is simple, but breathtaking in its beauty such as this example from St. Cyril and Methodious in Shiner, Texas.
No, Texas Tim relies on word of mouth, or when he hears someone say they would like to visit a place, he offers to go along, although we believe it is to see it himself and less to tell the traveler about it. Texas Tim has developed an "ambitious" business plan, but as he notes, getting too involved in a business at this point in life may interfere with his own travels. So, after a hefty breakfast in Flatonia (working man's breakfast for us ranch hands on Jeff's ranch), we embark to see the painted churches, safe in the assumption that church is over for this Sunday.
First, though, Tim wants Jeff to see a house in Flatonia. An old house with a front porch that wraps the house in the old turn of the 19th century into the 20th century style. I later learn that Texana Tours has a schedule that it routinely ignores and sometimes goes out of its way to add and enhance your tour enjoyment. We reach our first painted church and stop to look. On the outside, it is a regular church, but once inside, you learn the Czechs and Germans brought items from the old country as they founded their communities, including altars and such. The concept is simple, but breathtaking in its beauty such as this example from St. Cyril and Methodious in Shiner, Texas.
All you see around this altar is hand-painted, from the mural to the stencil. I was impressed, as were clearly Texas Tim and Jeff or they wouldn't have taken me to this and four other churches on the tour. There are seven in all, but with our schedule, or lack of one, we made our way around the area much like Magellan circled the globe, with a meandering here and there that got us exactly where we wanted to go. We hadn't even made it to Shiner but after a day full of wandering and exploring, we were exhausted. Shiner Brewery would have to wait until tomorrow, but we were content to once again go to the Jeff's ranch and enjoy a fire with friends. Dave, another frat brother, came and joined us each night. Monday, I would finally get to see the Shiner Brewery.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Texas Tim's Texana Tours
The premise of the tour was to "see the seven painted churches in Texas and to tour the Shiner Brewery." The clear draw to Average Brew Guy. The tour, taken over two days, finally met most of its objective if the objective was to look at houses, stop at obscure places, get some tea, get back on the road, look at more houses, and see a church every now and then."
"Most people who take my tours say they like it better when I'm not on it." Thus was my introduction to the Texas Tim's Texana Tour on Saturday as we sought to view the Central Texas Hill Country sites in and around the towns of Shiner, Hallettsville, Flatonia and La Grange.
Texas Tim, as he calls himself, is an old fraternity brother of mine from the days of our youth at the "stately college on the plains," Texas Lutheran College (TLC), now university. A fellow history major and retired educator as well, Texas Tim has made a life of traveling internationally as well as in the US during his lifetime, seeing much of what the world has to offer. As he notes, in his early days of travel, he designed a course at TLC to tour the Civil War battle fields with a group of guys from the college. It was during a time called "interim" where you only took one course and had some time off.
I was aware of this course, and when I signed up for his tour this past week, I should have paid heed to what happened on his Civil War Battle Field Tour back then as a precursor for our trip. In short, the classmates on the tour held a coup and tossed his idea out the window after two battlefields and went to Disney World instead, somewhat of a backlash it may seem.
Tim has a nose for locales that are not just out of the way, but they aren't even registered on Google Maps. Consequently, the first stop on the tour was a local tavern in Moravia appropriately called Moravia. This was originally a Czech settlement and town dance hall, meeting place, and beer tavern in the 1800s. Today, it is a beer place on an FM and county road crossing, somewhere between here and there, after a turn or two and putting a wet finger out of the car window to test direction. Tim's driver for the event, another fraternity brother named Jeff (also a retired educator), kindly obliged Tim at every request.
This was Saturday, the supposed start of the tour, and the Shiner Brewery was on the schedule, but as we pulled out of the "parking lot" in Moravia, Jeff suggested to Tim that we go back to Jeff's ranch and relax. Relax in this environment is a relative term since I didn't know I was stressed, but Jeff and Texas Tim assured me that we would eventually get to the churches, the "Piano Bridge" (tossed in at no additional charge), and then the pinnacle of the tour, The Shiner Brewery. Of course, for what I was paying, I realized Tim's tour's motto, "Sit Back and Enjoy the Ride" was exactly what I was going to do.
We adjourned to Jeff's ranch, checked on the cattle, built a fire, put on some music, and I served up some Baldner Select Pecan Ale. They appeared to like it and we enjoyed the fire. More later about the churches and the tour of Shiner Brewery.
"Most people who take my tours say they like it better when I'm not on it." Thus was my introduction to the Texas Tim's Texana Tour on Saturday as we sought to view the Central Texas Hill Country sites in and around the towns of Shiner, Hallettsville, Flatonia and La Grange.
Texas Tim, as he calls himself, is an old fraternity brother of mine from the days of our youth at the "stately college on the plains," Texas Lutheran College (TLC), now university. A fellow history major and retired educator as well, Texas Tim has made a life of traveling internationally as well as in the US during his lifetime, seeing much of what the world has to offer. As he notes, in his early days of travel, he designed a course at TLC to tour the Civil War battle fields with a group of guys from the college. It was during a time called "interim" where you only took one course and had some time off.
I was aware of this course, and when I signed up for his tour this past week, I should have paid heed to what happened on his Civil War Battle Field Tour back then as a precursor for our trip. In short, the classmates on the tour held a coup and tossed his idea out the window after two battlefields and went to Disney World instead, somewhat of a backlash it may seem.
Tim has a nose for locales that are not just out of the way, but they aren't even registered on Google Maps. Consequently, the first stop on the tour was a local tavern in Moravia appropriately called Moravia. This was originally a Czech settlement and town dance hall, meeting place, and beer tavern in the 1800s. Today, it is a beer place on an FM and county road crossing, somewhere between here and there, after a turn or two and putting a wet finger out of the car window to test direction. Tim's driver for the event, another fraternity brother named Jeff (also a retired educator), kindly obliged Tim at every request.
This was Saturday, the supposed start of the tour, and the Shiner Brewery was on the schedule, but as we pulled out of the "parking lot" in Moravia, Jeff suggested to Tim that we go back to Jeff's ranch and relax. Relax in this environment is a relative term since I didn't know I was stressed, but Jeff and Texas Tim assured me that we would eventually get to the churches, the "Piano Bridge" (tossed in at no additional charge), and then the pinnacle of the tour, The Shiner Brewery. Of course, for what I was paying, I realized Tim's tour's motto, "Sit Back and Enjoy the Ride" was exactly what I was going to do.
We adjourned to Jeff's ranch, checked on the cattle, built a fire, put on some music, and I served up some Baldner Select Pecan Ale. They appeared to like it and we enjoyed the fire. More later about the churches and the tour of Shiner Brewery.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
France and the French
I must confess up front that I like the French people. They helped us fight a revolution against Britain. They recognized us immediately as a nation. They were the country that shaped Thomas Jefferson, who spent a considerable amount of time there. They recognized our liberty with that gift that still stands - The Statue of Liberty - which stood in contrast to the Twin Towers that were clouded with debris and smoke from the terrorist attack.
They have art and wine and beautiful cities and country side. I have had the privilege of going to Paris and going to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa. And, I have been privileged to see the Normandy Cemetery with the thousands of crosses and stars of David lined up in final formation. Hit by Hitler's armies early in World War II, the French resistance was a tribute to bravery in the middle of a violent war. We don't always agree with the French, but they are an independent nation entitled to make independent decisions as they see fit.
So, Average Beer Guy decided he was going to sample some beer from France to put on these pages in dedication to them as a way of providing a tribute after the terrorist attack on the magazine. There is plenty of French beer, but Lubbock is not necessarily a big importer of it. I went to Crickets, with probably the largest selection of draft beer here in Lubbock, and the closest I could get was Belgium and Stella Artois. Really, Belgium? No thank you.
So, logically I chose Montana and Moose Drool Brown Ale because hey, it was there. Moose Drool is a product of Big Sky Brewing Company. Having rated brown ales before, my like of the beer has been stated, but Big Sky has made a good brown ale that was good and among many this craft brewery has developed. Apparently, I have some opportunities to learn more with this brewery. This one is milder in terms of alcohol - 4.1% - than others, so it isn't necessarily a really strong beer, but it has good flavor.
Crickets, for those of you not from Lubbock and of Buddy Holly history, was the name of his band (Buddy Holly and the Crickets), and the bar/restaurant is really a pretty good setting to enjoy a fine ale. They serve it at recommended temperatures - around 50 degrees or there about - so the flavor comes through and did not disappoint with Moose Drool
I like Crickets and I liked Moose Drool. I am guessing the name means the beer is so good that even moose drool and not that this is what they gathered to make this beer. You never know. What I'm beginning to learn is that marketing in the craft beer market is tied to name and beer.
As for the French, the irony of a magazine that is so harsh that even with a First Amendment in the US, we would have sued, countersued, and found a way to drive it out of business for not being PC. In France, who doesn't have a first amendment, it has a dedicated following. After the attack, even those who didn't read the magazine came out close to the scene of the crime, criminals still on the loose, and held up pens as a reminder that "the pen is mightier than the sword." Ideas matter. They were also the people who said, after the attacks of 911, "Today, we are all Americans." "Je Suis Charlie" is similar to that in meaning, "I am Charlie."
As for now, I am Average Guy.
They have art and wine and beautiful cities and country side. I have had the privilege of going to Paris and going to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa. And, I have been privileged to see the Normandy Cemetery with the thousands of crosses and stars of David lined up in final formation. Hit by Hitler's armies early in World War II, the French resistance was a tribute to bravery in the middle of a violent war. We don't always agree with the French, but they are an independent nation entitled to make independent decisions as they see fit.
So, Average Beer Guy decided he was going to sample some beer from France to put on these pages in dedication to them as a way of providing a tribute after the terrorist attack on the magazine. There is plenty of French beer, but Lubbock is not necessarily a big importer of it. I went to Crickets, with probably the largest selection of draft beer here in Lubbock, and the closest I could get was Belgium and Stella Artois. Really, Belgium? No thank you.
So, logically I chose Montana and Moose Drool Brown Ale because hey, it was there. Moose Drool is a product of Big Sky Brewing Company. Having rated brown ales before, my like of the beer has been stated, but Big Sky has made a good brown ale that was good and among many this craft brewery has developed. Apparently, I have some opportunities to learn more with this brewery. This one is milder in terms of alcohol - 4.1% - than others, so it isn't necessarily a really strong beer, but it has good flavor.
Crickets, for those of you not from Lubbock and of Buddy Holly history, was the name of his band (Buddy Holly and the Crickets), and the bar/restaurant is really a pretty good setting to enjoy a fine ale. They serve it at recommended temperatures - around 50 degrees or there about - so the flavor comes through and did not disappoint with Moose Drool
I like Crickets and I liked Moose Drool. I am guessing the name means the beer is so good that even moose drool and not that this is what they gathered to make this beer. You never know. What I'm beginning to learn is that marketing in the craft beer market is tied to name and beer.
As for the French, the irony of a magazine that is so harsh that even with a First Amendment in the US, we would have sued, countersued, and found a way to drive it out of business for not being PC. In France, who doesn't have a first amendment, it has a dedicated following. After the attack, even those who didn't read the magazine came out close to the scene of the crime, criminals still on the loose, and held up pens as a reminder that "the pen is mightier than the sword." Ideas matter. They were also the people who said, after the attacks of 911, "Today, we are all Americans." "Je Suis Charlie" is similar to that in meaning, "I am Charlie."
As for now, I am Average Guy.
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Why Can't People Talk Write?
Just where do they learn to talk? Really? And just who are they talking to when they talk like this? Who am I talking about when I say such things you ask? Experts. Connoisseurs. The learned (ler-ned).
No, really, you tell me if you understand this from the February 2015 Cigar Aficionado Magazine. In it, we are treated to the Top 25 Cigars of 2014 (written by David Savona who is a true aficionado and true to his craft, but each review is probably from a rater - who compiled the notes from experts who smoked and then made notes/rated each cigar individually). So, here we go with the cigar rated number 4, a Cuban (what good does knowing this help me since I cannot get them right now anyway?) named a Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Especial (Tubo): "The cigar is very, very rich, with varied notes that include coffee, earth and cocoa powder, and a touch of graham cracker." It gets better, the number 5 cigar, the Rocky Patel Royale Toro is right next to it, and it says: "The Royale is a rich, spicy smoke, with pleasant hints of chocolate." I saw another one that describe the flavor as "leather." Leather? Like baseball glove leather? I don't understand.
I've had the privilege of meeting Rocky Patel on several occasions, and even the maker of a cigar doesn't talk like this. Instead, when you walk up to him and ask, "Which of these would you recommend?" he doesn't go down a list of attributes that confuse, he just asks, "What do you like ordinarily?"
So imagine my surprise the other day when I went to the local bar that allows you to smoke cigars (a dying breed sadly). I pulled out my cigar that is spicy with a hint of oak, and asked the wait staff what kind of beer was on special today. "Every beer is $2 today." Every? I asked. Yes, except our coffee porter. Oh, now see, there they go. Even the wait staff is talking like that. Coffee porter? I asked. Yes, it's a seasonal beer, she replied. Oh, never mind then. So, I asked if could try that.
Folks. Let me tell you now that I stumbled on to, quite by accident, a beer that was absolutely wonderful. Real Ale Brewery in Blanco, Texas (Fireman's 4 is one you may know), has produced an absolutely wonderful porter that is strong and yet does not have the bite that a stout or porter may possess. The seasonal beer, Real Ale Coffee Porter, is a very nice surprise that I did not expect. God certainly ordained that I have this beer since it was too cold to have a cigar outside, so my trip to a place I don't frequent was accidental. Finding this seasonal beer, then, was ordained by God Himself.
I went to the website for my usual "here are the specs for you beer types who like those kinds of things" readers. Let's just say they make great beer and don't keep a well-maintained website. So, if you are going to focus on something as a craft brewery, focus on beer-making. The Internet is highly over-rated anyway.
To finish the story, the cigar was a medium body cigar, not too lite and not too strong, and went well with this fine ale. To think, this was all by accident, and it turned out to be a great find.
No, really, you tell me if you understand this from the February 2015 Cigar Aficionado Magazine. In it, we are treated to the Top 25 Cigars of 2014 (written by David Savona who is a true aficionado and true to his craft, but each review is probably from a rater - who compiled the notes from experts who smoked and then made notes/rated each cigar individually). So, here we go with the cigar rated number 4, a Cuban (what good does knowing this help me since I cannot get them right now anyway?) named a Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Especial (Tubo): "The cigar is very, very rich, with varied notes that include coffee, earth and cocoa powder, and a touch of graham cracker." It gets better, the number 5 cigar, the Rocky Patel Royale Toro is right next to it, and it says: "The Royale is a rich, spicy smoke, with pleasant hints of chocolate." I saw another one that describe the flavor as "leather." Leather? Like baseball glove leather? I don't understand.
I've had the privilege of meeting Rocky Patel on several occasions, and even the maker of a cigar doesn't talk like this. Instead, when you walk up to him and ask, "Which of these would you recommend?" he doesn't go down a list of attributes that confuse, he just asks, "What do you like ordinarily?"
So imagine my surprise the other day when I went to the local bar that allows you to smoke cigars (a dying breed sadly). I pulled out my cigar that is spicy with a hint of oak, and asked the wait staff what kind of beer was on special today. "Every beer is $2 today." Every? I asked. Yes, except our coffee porter. Oh, now see, there they go. Even the wait staff is talking like that. Coffee porter? I asked. Yes, it's a seasonal beer, she replied. Oh, never mind then. So, I asked if could try that.
Folks. Let me tell you now that I stumbled on to, quite by accident, a beer that was absolutely wonderful. Real Ale Brewery in Blanco, Texas (Fireman's 4 is one you may know), has produced an absolutely wonderful porter that is strong and yet does not have the bite that a stout or porter may possess. The seasonal beer, Real Ale Coffee Porter, is a very nice surprise that I did not expect. God certainly ordained that I have this beer since it was too cold to have a cigar outside, so my trip to a place I don't frequent was accidental. Finding this seasonal beer, then, was ordained by God Himself.
I went to the website for my usual "here are the specs for you beer types who like those kinds of things" readers. Let's just say they make great beer and don't keep a well-maintained website. So, if you are going to focus on something as a craft brewery, focus on beer-making. The Internet is highly over-rated anyway.
To finish the story, the cigar was a medium body cigar, not too lite and not too strong, and went well with this fine ale. To think, this was all by accident, and it turned out to be a great find.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Hey Porter, Hey Porter
I grew up in the wrong era. Fedoras, Big Band music, and travel by train would have been more my style. I traveled by train twice when I was a child. Once to New Orleans and once to Minnesota. I traveled again in Europe when in college. It was an enjoyable experience that took you through some of the more scenic routes of both our country and in Europe. While on the train to Minnesota, I vividly remember the porter. The porter was an employee of the railroad on the train who was there to serve the people in whatever fashion and was there to move things, hoist things, and to help.
Johnny Cash sang the song, "Hey, Porter," in which he asks the porter how much longer before "we cross the Mason Dixon line," and to tell the engineer to slow it down, because he wants to "take a stop and look around."
So, we come to the porter beer, so named for both its strength and, as lore has it, usually enjoyed by the porters. Porters who worked the docks loading and unloading. I can't do anything about the era I was born in (well, I do have a fedora), but I can do one thing: enjoy a porter beer.
London, it appears, is the home of porters. I must confess, I have really enjoyed porters since last May because it was the first beer I brewed at the house. I brewed it for two reasons: the taste of the sample at the brew house, and the experts said start with a dark beer when you begin brewing. In order to see if I had developed a porter of quality, I went to Spec's to find porters that would give me a sample when mine was ready. I chose Samuel Smith Taddy Porter.
We've sampled the Samuel Smith Brewery before in previous reviews, but the porter was my first from this brewery from England. The porter is, including the one I brewed, very dark, almost impenetrable by light, giving it almost a stout-like appearance. The taste is different from the stout, however, in that it has little "hoppy" flavor to it. According to Smith, the porter was first brewed in the 18th century (1700s), and given the audience it was named for, may have been a working man's ale.
Because I grew up near the port of Houston, worked on it periodically, and lived in a working man's neighborhood, I think I developed a fondness for it when I learned its history. If the review is based on its taste, then I have to confess it has quickly become one of my favorites. I can certainly say the Samuel Smith Taddy Porter is one worth trying. Mine was too, of course.
If you hear of a way to travel back in time, let me know. My decades are calling me.
Johnny Cash sang the song, "Hey, Porter," in which he asks the porter how much longer before "we cross the Mason Dixon line," and to tell the engineer to slow it down, because he wants to "take a stop and look around."
So, we come to the porter beer, so named for both its strength and, as lore has it, usually enjoyed by the porters. Porters who worked the docks loading and unloading. I can't do anything about the era I was born in (well, I do have a fedora), but I can do one thing: enjoy a porter beer.
London, it appears, is the home of porters. I must confess, I have really enjoyed porters since last May because it was the first beer I brewed at the house. I brewed it for two reasons: the taste of the sample at the brew house, and the experts said start with a dark beer when you begin brewing. In order to see if I had developed a porter of quality, I went to Spec's to find porters that would give me a sample when mine was ready. I chose Samuel Smith Taddy Porter.
We've sampled the Samuel Smith Brewery before in previous reviews, but the porter was my first from this brewery from England. The porter is, including the one I brewed, very dark, almost impenetrable by light, giving it almost a stout-like appearance. The taste is different from the stout, however, in that it has little "hoppy" flavor to it. According to Smith, the porter was first brewed in the 18th century (1700s), and given the audience it was named for, may have been a working man's ale.
Because I grew up near the port of Houston, worked on it periodically, and lived in a working man's neighborhood, I think I developed a fondness for it when I learned its history. If the review is based on its taste, then I have to confess it has quickly become one of my favorites. I can certainly say the Samuel Smith Taddy Porter is one worth trying. Mine was too, of course.
If you hear of a way to travel back in time, let me know. My decades are calling me.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Ordinary Average Guy
So sang Joe Walsh once in a song . So, in this new year, I've taken up what appears to be an activity that you look at and say, "Brew review? Doesn't that come to you like breathing? What's to review?"
The truth is that conducting a search in Google to find an estimate or exact number of beers available to the average guy is not easy. Sure, you can find top rated beers or bottom dwellers, but not an exact number of beers out there.
So, if you couple that fact that the amount of beer available is limitless and divide that times a limited amount of time on earth, you begin to see that the average guy, limited by time on earth and a large number, needs to have some kind of funnel to narrow the search. To exacerbate the problem (make matters worse if you live in East Texas), you are probably like me in that you have an average salary in your average life that can only be spent on so much. That means, perish the thought, a limited amount to spend on what appears to be a limitless supply.
To the point, Average Guy Beer Review is committed to steering you in the right direction when it comes to beer. That means highlighting beers you may not know about and informing you on some you may have heard of. Now, since all tastes are not the same, my taste may not equal your taste, which means my analysis may not be yours, but that is what is cool about the world of beers and brewing. We learn to exist on the same planet with different tastes.
So, Average Beer Guy and the average guy who writes it is committed to you the loyal reader and to those who may be new to the site: analysis that is friendly to the reader, not complicated; helping you in your selection of beers from across the country and globe; providing some good reads for just before bedtime to help you doze off; and, hopefully to bring us together in the world of brews.
Hope you had a Hoppy New Year with some of your favorites. We did here.
Average Beer Guy
The truth is that conducting a search in Google to find an estimate or exact number of beers available to the average guy is not easy. Sure, you can find top rated beers or bottom dwellers, but not an exact number of beers out there.
So, if you couple that fact that the amount of beer available is limitless and divide that times a limited amount of time on earth, you begin to see that the average guy, limited by time on earth and a large number, needs to have some kind of funnel to narrow the search. To exacerbate the problem (make matters worse if you live in East Texas), you are probably like me in that you have an average salary in your average life that can only be spent on so much. That means, perish the thought, a limited amount to spend on what appears to be a limitless supply.
To the point, Average Guy Beer Review is committed to steering you in the right direction when it comes to beer. That means highlighting beers you may not know about and informing you on some you may have heard of. Now, since all tastes are not the same, my taste may not equal your taste, which means my analysis may not be yours, but that is what is cool about the world of beers and brewing. We learn to exist on the same planet with different tastes.
So, Average Beer Guy and the average guy who writes it is committed to you the loyal reader and to those who may be new to the site: analysis that is friendly to the reader, not complicated; helping you in your selection of beers from across the country and globe; providing some good reads for just before bedtime to help you doze off; and, hopefully to bring us together in the world of brews.
Hope you had a Hoppy New Year with some of your favorites. We did here.
Average Beer Guy
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