The Epitome of Class

That's how I'm defining the latest outing with Sparrow and CapsLock. See, when you're a twenty something, most people get these pretensions of class, and stop doing things like drinking at a playground. I, on the other hand, highly endorse all forms of ridiculosity.

Especially those that start at 11:45pm and end with the three of you drinking wine from a bottle, smoking cigars, and scaring off teenagers. Basically I get a call informing me that drinking adventures are happening. I ambush the car, giving Sparrow a heart attack, and we're off. After grabbing a 6-pack of Sierra Nevada Summerfest, a bottle of some red wine, and a cigar, we're off.

Sparrow and I have a long history of staking out the various little parks/playgrounds in suburbia and spending the early mornings there drinking beer and doing everything from talking deep philosophy to fan-casting our friends in Harry Potter. Also, swinging on the swings. This is a fantastic old tradition of ours, and so we were enjoying this once again, along with CapsLock.

Why do I call him CapsLock? Well, see, everything he does IS IN CAPITAL LETTERS. He doesn't cook breakfast, he COOKS BREAKFAST AHHHHHH! He doesn't do push-ups, he DOES PUSH-UPS GRAAAARRRRRGGHHHHH! He doesn't head-but tables, he HEAD-BUTS THE FUCKING TABLE TO DEATH. He's a lot of fun to say the least.

Now, when we arrived at our old spot, it was already full of teenagers. And while CapsLock and I debated a hostile takeover, we realized there was an identical spot just a little ways away. So a short drive and a walk down a sketchy path through the dark woods (which wasn't actually that bad), we arrived at the other playground. We'd heard voices, but they'd disappeared as we'd gotten close so we figured they'd run off. Except, as I explored the area with my flashlight, I had the sneaking suspicion that several large forms weren't actually part of the equipment.

Starting a conversation with "Hi? We're not cops guys. It's ok" is pretty awkward, but apparently pretty effective, because it quickly defused a weird situation, and let us get back to what was important: the beer.

In between debates about personal philosophy, finishing the cigar, and swigging red wine from the bottle, I was thankful to have on hand my Summerfest. As those who've read this before know, this is one of my favorite beers. It's a great example of a beer that doesn't try to hard, but manages to be tasty and flavorful without being super aggressive. From start to finish Summerfest is a pretty mild beer, but that makes it perfect for a hot summer day (or spring evening as may be the case). It's got a lot of sweet malts with a nice hoppy undercurrent, and the sensation of a cool drink of water without lacking in the flavor department. The malts are grassy and the hops add a nice clean bitterness to the finish.

All in all, one of my favorite session beers for the summer, this was a great beer for a great night. Oh, and someone tell CapsLock that holding a position based on an unknowable factor is ultimately not very useful, even if it is interesting :-P

May your days be hot and your beers refreshing! Cheers!

The thing about spring

A wonderful thing happens during spring, where the cold weather finally flees off back to wherever it comes from (Minnesota obviously). However, I admit to sometimes feeling a little bit lost when my dark, dark heavy beers feel out of place. Those beers make me feel warm and content and full, not light and refreshed. And I love them for that, but come summer time, I'm a little lost.

Luckily, brewing companies recognize this and release all manner of deliciously lighter beers - oftentime a fruity or hoppy beer to compliment the hot weather and long days outside. I'm currently grooving on Sierra Nevada's Glissade, a Golden Bock that is lightly hopped but very flavorful. The nose is hoppy and wheaty, and the flavor goes along with that bring out nice sweet malts to match the mild IPAs. Not the most aggressive, but a really pleasant session beer, this is a good one for the long hot days outside,

I've also been enjoying a friend's leftover Snake Dog IPAs from Flying Dog. I'm not typically a big IPA fan, but this one is light and refreshing and exactly the sort of splash of water I need on hot days. The smell is all hops from the generous head, and the taste just enhances more nice floral hops and citrus fruits. About the depth of my IPA enjoyment, it's still a great beer.

I also feel I should mention another beer I really dug on, although admittedly it doesn't fit with my spring theme. Recently local brewer DuClaw has come out with a beer called Black Lightning. Now, I'm all about storms and lightning, but I was distraught to hear that this wasn't a black ale but a black IPA. I was concerned about the hoppiness of this beer, but my first sip set my heart at ease. The roasted malts and coffee flavors blend nicely with the hops, opposing eachother but creating a nice balance in the process. Definitely an aggressive beer, this isn't for the weak of heart. And like I said, it doesn't exactly make you think of spring, but it's delicious enough to deserve a mention.

Hopefully you're enjoying some of this lovely weather - see you all next time!

Something to distract me during finals

Seriously, this is why I'm writing this. The more I focus on outlining my notes, the stronger my headache grows and the more I suspect my eyes might pop out and go scampering off.

For those of you lucky enough to love things other than the legal profession, you may not know what outlining is. Basically, because law school doesn't give multiple grades, you have one exam. One giant test, covering an entire semester's worth of knowledge, which will determine your grade in this class. Outlining is the process whereby you take the notes you took in class, and turn them into some manner of organized mass about the material for class.

Saintly teachers will allow you to bring these into exams, from whence you can check and receck your definitions of trespass to chattels. Sadly, evil, evil professors will sometimes refuse to let you use these outlines. Or your textbook. In case of that, I recommend lots of studying. Or, if you're me, slacking off with my roommates and having a good beer.

In this case, I would say go for something dark and filling. Your impulse, in these times of lovely weather, may be to reach for something crisp, refreshing, and maybe even a little hoppy. And normally I'd be with you. Currently chilling in my fridge are Flying Dog's Snake Dog IPA, and Sierra Nevada's Glissade. I'm even dreaming a little of Troeg's Sunshine Pils and Sierra's Summerfest.

However! Be swayed not by these tempting brews. You're about to settle in for several hours of mind numbing horror as you re-read, re-interpret, translate, and organize the mass of horror known as your (my) notes. A good beer for this would be Great Divide's Yeti, preferably the espresso aged variety. Lacking that however, I'll go ahead and pimp the beer I'm currently stocked of in my fridge - Breckenridge's Vanilla Porter.

Now, when I first tried this porter, I was sad. It tasted...watery. It was sort of dark and a little roasty, but pretty underwhelming. Especially for a beer performing well in Washington Post's Beer Madness 2011 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/foodanddining/features/2011/beer-madness/). But, as they tell me, patience is indeed a virtue. Like a wonderful flower in springtime, as this beer warmed it's flavors opened up into a wave of delicious tastes. Vanilla bean fresh off the...vine? (orchid seed pod, thanks Sparrow). Chocolate, and wonderful mild chocolate malts. Mmmmmm. Truly a beer for me to brace myself against the madness of outling and help me last long into the evening, tapping frantically.

For those of you done with exams, cheers to you. For those about to take them, good luck. And for those without exams, will kindly die in a fire :-P. Hope you're all having a good spring out there - I'm curious to know if you have a favorite spring beer (Corona, classified as pisswater, doesn't count. Even with lime. Especially with lime). Leave it in the comments if you've got a favorite/have a new beer you think I should try. Cheers!