Just have a quick update on food/beer since I posted about it yesterday. Opened up a Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous last night. Generally not a fan of Stone beers, but had this around for a while and decided to go for it. Again, for the third night in a row, had something spicy. This time Jambalaya. Figured that Stone... hops... spicy... that will work!
Yeah.... it didn't. The Sublimely Self Righteous has decent hops, don't get me wrong (90 IBUs), but the alcohol clocked in at 8.7%, which I think is where issues occurred. Just didn't work too well together. The beer itself packed a wallop alright, which I didn't expect because, like I said, it was sitting around a while. The hops probably mellowed a bit from that, but were still pretty strong. Thankfully, for me, they were not the normal piney hop profile that stone uses. Now, that is odd, because looking at BA reviews, piney is a definite part of the profile. I am wondering if that again is from the aging I had on the beer (I think I ended up picking this up over a year ago, maybe longer?).
But, getting back to the pairing, the beer was definitely in your face with the alcohol and I think that that just didn't work too well. Maybe going to have to try something on the opposite end of bitter sometime. Maybe a nice Hefe with spicy food next time around (I could use a break tonight from the spices).
Anyway, I will be hopefully updating this more and more as I find good and bad combinations out there.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Beer and food, who'd of thunk it!
So, I recently read the book "He said beer, she said wine" by Sam Calagione and Marnie Old. Those of you who don't know Sam, he is the owner and founder of Dogfish Head craft beers. He has long been a proponent of beer and food pairing (fyi Marnie is a wine sommelier and wine/food pairing expert). I think he, along with Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn, have done wonders for beer and food pairing.
Having said that, I had never really done too much thinking about what food paired up well with beers. I just drank what I liked regardless of what I was eating. In general, I still think that this is NOT a bad policy.
However, the other night really changed things for me. I was having some leftovers for dinner. In this case I was having dirty rice, spicy and flavorful. At the time I was drinking a Magic Hat HI.P.A. from their fall mix back. Basically I was just drinking it to get it finished as I am not a fan of west-coast styled IPA's. I don't generally like high hops and especially don't care for piney hops. So, without trying, I paired this IPA with a nice spicy dish.
Well, I'll be damned! That worked out really well. The hops did a great job of melding the flavors together and cleansing the pallet. The spices did a great job in toning down the hops. I was really digging this beer at the time. So, the next night, I again was having spicier fare (this time a southwest corn chowder my wife made... oh so good!). I went with the HI.P.A. again and was again rewarded. It matched so well.
So, now I have decided that it is time to really work to find out what I can do with pairing my beer and food. It is a journey I am really excited to try and look forward to documenting some of the things I find as I go right here.
PS - The Magic Hat HI.P.A. is a decent, not great west coast style IPA. I think it is pretty good for the style, but the style isn't my favorite. However, Magic Hat, never really the strongest craft brewery out there, does have a decent drinking beer for those that like nice hops. I recommend at least trying it.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The Ageless Wonder
I was reading a blog post today by Rob Neyer from ESPN about Joba Chamberlain and he mentioned in passing Mariano Rivera. So, as I am wont to do, went and looked at his player card for the year. Another good year from Mo, no surprise. Then I thought to myself, let me look again at his career. I went to his Baseball Reference page.
I must say, it never ceases to amaze me exactly how GOOD Rivera has been during his career. Every single time I look over his career, I stop and just stare at the numbers and my mouth falls open a little bit. This guy is a man among boys, even at the age of 40. It just is unreal. He has logged over 1100 innings in his career with an ERA of 2.21! Think about that. That is like a starter going five good years of 220IP per year with that average ERA. For perspective, Pedro Martinez, during his stretch from 1997 through 2003 (cherry picking a bit, but that was really his peak) averaged a 2.20 ERA. That is often times considered about the best stretch for a starter of all time. Pedro's ERA+ is about a 220 or so, so about 120% better than league average (that is just a quick average in my head fyi from looking at the numbers). Rivera, has a career ERA+ of 205 (105% better than league average). So, I had Pedro's peak part of his career (1408 IP) and Rivera's FULL career (1100+ IP) and they are close, ridiculously close if you really stop and think about it. One guy, from the age of 25 through the age of 40, has had comparable ERA+ for possibly the greatest stretch of a pitcher OF ALL TIME! Stop and think about that for a second. Mo has been incredible. He still is incredible. There is absolutely no sign that he will STOP being incredible. Lot's of cherry picking and stuff here as I said, but really, all you need to do is just go to that link I furnished above and just look at his numbers. Just look. That is all. This guy is ridiculous.
I am suitably impressed. And I don't need to remind you all that I am a Red Sox fan. Eat your heart out Pap, you ain't EVER going to be Mo.
I must say, it never ceases to amaze me exactly how GOOD Rivera has been during his career. Every single time I look over his career, I stop and just stare at the numbers and my mouth falls open a little bit. This guy is a man among boys, even at the age of 40. It just is unreal. He has logged over 1100 innings in his career with an ERA of 2.21! Think about that. That is like a starter going five good years of 220IP per year with that average ERA. For perspective, Pedro Martinez, during his stretch from 1997 through 2003 (cherry picking a bit, but that was really his peak) averaged a 2.20 ERA. That is often times considered about the best stretch for a starter of all time. Pedro's ERA+ is about a 220 or so, so about 120% better than league average (that is just a quick average in my head fyi from looking at the numbers). Rivera, has a career ERA+ of 205 (105% better than league average). So, I had Pedro's peak part of his career (1408 IP) and Rivera's FULL career (1100+ IP) and they are close, ridiculously close if you really stop and think about it. One guy, from the age of 25 through the age of 40, has had comparable ERA+ for possibly the greatest stretch of a pitcher OF ALL TIME! Stop and think about that for a second. Mo has been incredible. He still is incredible. There is absolutely no sign that he will STOP being incredible. Lot's of cherry picking and stuff here as I said, but really, all you need to do is just go to that link I furnished above and just look at his numbers. Just look. That is all. This guy is ridiculous.
I am suitably impressed. And I don't need to remind you all that I am a Red Sox fan. Eat your heart out Pap, you ain't EVER going to be Mo.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Odds and Ends
Ok, just sort of some random pieces Gammons style if you will.
- MLB All-Star game is tonight. I plan on watching it, but do I really care about it? No. Not at all. There is just really nothing else on to watch.
- Cisco Brewing Company, you make some nice beers, and you Cherry Woods was a very nice sour beer, but selling it for 23.99/750ml is a bit on the high side, don't you think? I can get a 16oz at Rose Alley in New Bedford for $8 or so.
- Speaking of Rose Alley, what a GREAT place to get some great beers at good prices. The upstairs has a lot of solid micros which are a bit more common, but the downstairs has your Belgians and super specialty beers. I highly recommend going. Food is pretty decent as well with good prices.
- East Ave Cafe in Pawtucket now has 81 lines for beers. That means you may be able to get 30 good beers there, however, most will be at a high price. The place isn't cheap.
- BBC continues to impress me each and every time I have one of their beers. Had a Steel Rail Pale Ale last night and loved it. The Lost Sailer IPA is good and on nitro is heavenly. Never had an IPA on nitro and this was just a great one in that regard.
- Strasburg has been pretty nice so far hasn't he? Would have been messed up if he had made the all-star team though.
- Sour beers tend to be very nice to drink when it is hot outside. I have had a bunch lately and have started to enjoy them more and more, especially Flanders Red styles.
- Speaking of Flanders Red, had a VERY nice Jolly Pumpkin La Roja. It is classified on BA as an American Wild Ale, but it really seems like a Flanders Red. Another good beer from Jolly Pumpkin.
- My fantasy teams are hurting me. It is tough when I have to count on Jon Garland for production (even if he is having a very good year which I had thought he would).
- Just picked up, or should I say had handed down, an iphone. It is an older one, 2nd gen I think, but it is nice to actually be in the world of internet on the go if I need it.
- Is it bad that when I picked up some bread last week and saw that it was dark wheat, that I immediately thought "ooo, a dunkel weiss!"?
- Red Sox need a relief pitcher in a bad way. I think Scott Downs from the Blue Jays is the perfect guy. Ok, Theo, go and get him!
That is all for now. I won't promise to update this blog more often. That is an exercise in futility, but I am hopeful.
- MLB All-Star game is tonight. I plan on watching it, but do I really care about it? No. Not at all. There is just really nothing else on to watch.
- Cisco Brewing Company, you make some nice beers, and you Cherry Woods was a very nice sour beer, but selling it for 23.99/750ml is a bit on the high side, don't you think? I can get a 16oz at Rose Alley in New Bedford for $8 or so.
- Speaking of Rose Alley, what a GREAT place to get some great beers at good prices. The upstairs has a lot of solid micros which are a bit more common, but the downstairs has your Belgians and super specialty beers. I highly recommend going. Food is pretty decent as well with good prices.
- East Ave Cafe in Pawtucket now has 81 lines for beers. That means you may be able to get 30 good beers there, however, most will be at a high price. The place isn't cheap.
- BBC continues to impress me each and every time I have one of their beers. Had a Steel Rail Pale Ale last night and loved it. The Lost Sailer IPA is good and on nitro is heavenly. Never had an IPA on nitro and this was just a great one in that regard.
- Strasburg has been pretty nice so far hasn't he? Would have been messed up if he had made the all-star team though.
- Sour beers tend to be very nice to drink when it is hot outside. I have had a bunch lately and have started to enjoy them more and more, especially Flanders Red styles.
- Speaking of Flanders Red, had a VERY nice Jolly Pumpkin La Roja. It is classified on BA as an American Wild Ale, but it really seems like a Flanders Red. Another good beer from Jolly Pumpkin.
- My fantasy teams are hurting me. It is tough when I have to count on Jon Garland for production (even if he is having a very good year which I had thought he would).
- Just picked up, or should I say had handed down, an iphone. It is an older one, 2nd gen I think, but it is nice to actually be in the world of internet on the go if I need it.
- Is it bad that when I picked up some bread last week and saw that it was dark wheat, that I immediately thought "ooo, a dunkel weiss!"?
- Red Sox need a relief pitcher in a bad way. I think Scott Downs from the Blue Jays is the perfect guy. Ok, Theo, go and get him!
That is all for now. I won't promise to update this blog more often. That is an exercise in futility, but I am hopeful.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza
Been meaning to put this review up for a couple of weeks, but haven't really had the chance to sit down and write it up. Had the notes all put together, but now here we go.
A couple of months back, my friend from Cleveland sent me a bottle of Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza. This was recently voted as the #1 Belgian Strong Blonde Ale on the NY Times tasting. Surprised me when I heard that but made me want to try it for sure. So anyway, Dave (my friend) sent me the bottle and it took me a while to sit around and really get the time to do a nice tasting with this beer. This is actually a Biere de Garde from what I can see. ABV is 8%. IBU's.... no clue. The bottle was a 750ml bottle, batch 467 on the bottle.
The beer poured a cloudy golden color into my Duvel tulip glass. You cannot see through it at all. Lots of fluffy white head that fades away in about five minutes or so. It leaves lots of spidery lacing on the glass when the head fades however.
First sniff is spicy and citrusy. Seems to have a lot of peppery smells coming off of the beer. First taste and my initial thought was bitterness with a LOT of green apple flavor. It took me a while to realize as I was drinking the beer that this was not in fact bitterness, but was instead the sour apple flavor which sort of hit me in a way that made me think bitter. Definitely not the case though. The sour apple flavor though is very pronounced. The carbonation is nice there like a good Belgian should have. The carbonation has a nice tingle on my lips. The body ends up being pretty decent too. The beer itself is rather light but the carbonation adds enough to make it a nice body.
The alcohol, even at 8%, is not super pronounced but it definitely there making this a little less drinkable (at least as far as that is concerned). There is a bit of hops bitterness that comes out more as it warms up as well. Also as it warms up there is a definite lemony flavor that comes out.
Overall, I would say that this beer is very good, but not as good as I would have expected. Being voted a #1 Belgian style beer makes me think it would be amazing. But, I don't think it quite hit that mark. The apple flavor in this beer just sort of overwhelmed anything else that was there. If you like apple, this is the beer for you. If not, you may want to steer clear. Jolly Pumpkin does make excellent beers and this is a good one. I would give this a three out of five stars on my tough grading system. I would definitely have it again, but I wouldn't have it too too often.
A couple of months back, my friend from Cleveland sent me a bottle of Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza. This was recently voted as the #1 Belgian Strong Blonde Ale on the NY Times tasting. Surprised me when I heard that but made me want to try it for sure. So anyway, Dave (my friend) sent me the bottle and it took me a while to sit around and really get the time to do a nice tasting with this beer. This is actually a Biere de Garde from what I can see. ABV is 8%. IBU's.... no clue. The bottle was a 750ml bottle, batch 467 on the bottle.
The beer poured a cloudy golden color into my Duvel tulip glass. You cannot see through it at all. Lots of fluffy white head that fades away in about five minutes or so. It leaves lots of spidery lacing on the glass when the head fades however.
First sniff is spicy and citrusy. Seems to have a lot of peppery smells coming off of the beer. First taste and my initial thought was bitterness with a LOT of green apple flavor. It took me a while to realize as I was drinking the beer that this was not in fact bitterness, but was instead the sour apple flavor which sort of hit me in a way that made me think bitter. Definitely not the case though. The sour apple flavor though is very pronounced. The carbonation is nice there like a good Belgian should have. The carbonation has a nice tingle on my lips. The body ends up being pretty decent too. The beer itself is rather light but the carbonation adds enough to make it a nice body.
The alcohol, even at 8%, is not super pronounced but it definitely there making this a little less drinkable (at least as far as that is concerned). There is a bit of hops bitterness that comes out more as it warms up as well. Also as it warms up there is a definite lemony flavor that comes out.
Overall, I would say that this beer is very good, but not as good as I would have expected. Being voted a #1 Belgian style beer makes me think it would be amazing. But, I don't think it quite hit that mark. The apple flavor in this beer just sort of overwhelmed anything else that was there. If you like apple, this is the beer for you. If not, you may want to steer clear. Jolly Pumpkin does make excellent beers and this is a good one. I would give this a three out of five stars on my tough grading system. I would definitely have it again, but I wouldn't have it too too often.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Kid Wonder?
Ok, so it has been a while since I have talked about my beloved game of baseball (an April like the Sox had takes a while to get over, not to mention my fantasy teams tanking so far). Well, it is time to go back to it and what better topic of discussion than the one that is on nearly everyone's tongue, Stephen Strasburg. It was announced the other day (hat tip to MLBTradeRumors) that Strasburg will be debuting in the majors on June 8th against the Pirates. My guess is, this will be the highest rated Nationals/Pirates game of all time. Just a guess, but one I feel pretty confident on betting the house on. Someone has to pick this game up right? MLB Network at the very least. ESPN quite likely. Fox? Probably not which is just as good since I have had enough of Buck and McCarver until I am forced to listen to them during the next Saturday Yankees/Red Sox game.
Anyway, Strasburg will be up, he will be pitching, the flashbulbs will be popping. And you know what? I don't think Stevie is going to disappoint. Sure, he won't go more than five innings (and at that point, you will see a Grand Canyon like dip in the numbers) but it will be an amazing five innings. I do not expect him to get shelled as we are talking about the Pirates here, McCutcheon notwithstanding. But my oh my, this kid has dominated the minors so thoroughly that there is no reason he can't dominate the next rank of the minors.... I mean the Pirates. And he will truly be special to watch. He won't post eye-popping numbers all in all this season (aside from K/9 which will be pretty sick), but he will be good and he will be a must see. I am going to be watching it. I am sure lots of people will be. Pay attention everyone. This is going to be special.
Anyway, Strasburg will be up, he will be pitching, the flashbulbs will be popping. And you know what? I don't think Stevie is going to disappoint. Sure, he won't go more than five innings (and at that point, you will see a Grand Canyon like dip in the numbers) but it will be an amazing five innings. I do not expect him to get shelled as we are talking about the Pirates here, McCutcheon notwithstanding. But my oh my, this kid has dominated the minors so thoroughly that there is no reason he can't dominate the next rank of the minors.... I mean the Pirates. And he will truly be special to watch. He won't post eye-popping numbers all in all this season (aside from K/9 which will be pretty sick), but he will be good and he will be a must see. I am going to be watching it. I am sure lots of people will be. Pay attention everyone. This is going to be special.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
What a list
Ok, just a quick note here. Came across this list of the "best" beers for calories and crap. I am a fan of healthy foods and things. In fact, my wife and I have been working hard at that, eating better, going to the gym a lot. We are doing really well with it as well. But, let me ask you this: If you can have only a couple of beers, why the hell do you want to have MGD 64's? Stupid articles like this only showcase one thing, calories. They take ZERO account of taste or flavor. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine is #40 on this stupid list. Really? Seriously? Well, no shit! It's a freaking barleywine. It isn't SUPPOSED to be good for you. And if anyone can drink more than one of those at a time, I will be impressed (or more likely not).
Anyway, my rant is complete. I hate lists like this when it comes to beer products. We KNOW alcoholic drinks aren't good for us. That is the point to some degree. They are things we enjoy once in a while, like chocolate cake.
Stupid.
Anyway, my rant is complete. I hate lists like this when it comes to beer products. We KNOW alcoholic drinks aren't good for us. That is the point to some degree. They are things we enjoy once in a while, like chocolate cake.
Stupid.
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