Spring Brake

Spring is in the air here in the South Plains of West Texas, and as such, God (or nature, or Vishnu, or whomever else you the reader hold in esteem) has put a brake on the weather of Artic nature.  I am convinced that this was the time of year that settlers in their horse-drawn wagons came to the area and said to themselves, "Beautiful, this is God's country.  Let's make our homes here," not realizing God would then release the brakes around mid-April and give us a solid month or two of hurricane force winds.  He had them fooled, and as more advanced and high-minded folk, He (or she, or it, or whatever gender/non-gender you assign him or her) has us fooled as well.

We took advantage of the break last week, appropriately named "Spring Break," and our family came together on several occasions to observe the rituals of the cold snap lifting, the geese beginning their long migration north, the whir of lawnmowers starting up, and other familiar sounds of the thaw. 

Each Texan is granted a God-given right, ordained by God himself (Leviticus 7), to offer meat for sacrifice via burnt offering and then partake in that offering afterward.  Consequently, every Texan worth his or her weight in salt has a smoker of equal or greater proportions to a small house in which to smoke and consume meat in all categories - beef, poultry, pork, fowl, fish, assorted vegetables such as corn on the cob, onions, and creative dishes known or unknown to the end user of the product such as various forms of road kill and other such desired plates.

The days, now the same length as they were before but categorized as saving daylight (please explain that to me logically), gave ample time to smoke an abundance of meat over the break.  The beauty of a finely smoked piece of meat (piece weighing less than a ton but over five pounds) is that the time and duration of the smoke is equal to the merriment that surrounds the day.  In all, we spent about five days in and around three different cookers - a new gas grill, a smoker, and then a friend's smoker - enjoying such things as steak, chicken, brisket, pork spare ribs, and pulled pork.

Average Guy cannot underscore the importance, then, of how to fill the time while the meat is on the smoker/grill - dominoes, cards, chatting around the table, cigars, wine, and of course the staple to any diet with such things as smoked meat - beer.  Now, high-minded educated types (not Average Guy) have a table of foods that mix properly (etiquette) and worthily (taste) with beverages - wines and beers.  Rogue Ales (I'm now a citizen of Rogue Nation by the way - even have my freshly minted ID card) even is kind enough to use a legend and figures on the side of each beer telling you what this blends well with.  I do enjoy a lighter beer during the smoke, perhaps even a mass-produced kind that is light bodied and not leaning too much on flavor, maybe even best served cold. However, in the event a cigar is lit while the meat is smoking, a lager becomes the choice (although lagers are not light-colored beers alone).  With it being Spring Break, a St. Arnold's Spring Bock (seasonal) became that beer of choice.  Bock, as was mentioned earlier, means "ram" in German (see Shiner Bock).  This is a full, rich dark-bodied beer that flows smoothly and is pleasing in many ways. 

With my son back at college, my daughter back on full schedule, my wife back teaching in the classroom (supporting my lazy self), I hope to begin a more consistent review of brew for you.  May I recommend, though, the finer things in life like a good day, nice weather, the aroma of smokes in the air (wood of choice, meat, and cigar), and all the other things in life that make it good.

Until next time, I am just the Average Guy seeking the perfect beer one beer at a time for you.