Happy New Year!

[I hoped to publish this yesterday but Blogger FTP is broken. It's been broken for 3 days, which isn't like Google, but I did find a workaround by publishing via the IP.]

Happy New Year everyone! Before you go all wonky on me about the post time, let me say I used future post and didn't write this instead of celebrating. We're actually going super conservative this year because we're trying to save money; a far cry from last year in London. We hope to do something small next year because I'll (hopefully) have just graduated... but this year it's fondue at home.

After reading Jeff's post about his 2008 stats, I decided to do quick year in review. I switched my site usage tracking mid year so I don't have that sort stuff to share (I think only Jeff and I only care about analytics anyway). Since I finally finished tagging all my posts with labels/categories, and had to read all the old posts to do so, I decided to summarize what's happened over the year. I'm pretty sure there are posts for all this stuff if you missed something and really want to read more.

• I posted 103 times. That's 1 every 3.5 days.
• We traveled to England, Japan, California and Hawaii.
• I crossed 5 things off my Life List.
• The Cowboys have broken my heart... twice.
• I had somewhere between 2 and 4 boss changes. I honestly lost count.
• I delved into the world of smartphones with a BlackBerry Pearl.
• I turned 30 and had a great time doing so.
• I took 2,550 pictures with my Nikon D70.
• My Living Healthy campaign continued and I got halfway to my goal of 20% mass reduction.
  
• I sold the Audi and got a new Subaru.
• I competed in my 82nd through 89th amateur car races.
• I served as a best man in two weddings... for the same couple.
• I completed 25% of the requirements for a Masters in IST.
• I developed somewhat of an obsession with Allagash beer.
• We welcomed a new niece to the family.
• We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary.
  

Last night, I had Corsendonk's Abbey Pale Ale and while I'd love to share my thoughts I don't really remember a lot about it. I opened it after homemade fondue and two bottles of wine, so I didn't really pay the requisite amount of attention necessary to facilitate a review. I do remember commenting about unusual amount of carbonation and lacing but other than that, I just remember drinking it and then it being gone. Oh well, I guess there are plenty of internet reviews to fill the gap. It seems to review fairly well, so I guess that means I liked it. What I do know is opening another bottle of Allagash White after this one was a mistake.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! Hopefully you all have a pleasant and enjoyable holiday season; I know I could use it. This post just isn't about well wishes though, I'm going to see how many different tags we can get on this post by talking about unrelated things. Actually, the other two things I'm going to cover are about Christmas presents I got from people... so I guess they are related.

First up, a present from Mike. My recent droning on about beer (at least partially) led to him visiting his local Total Wine store the other day. He saw an Allagash I haven't talked about before, so he called me up to see if I wanted it. At $20 for 750ml, the price was steep but I figured even if I hated it, I could say I had it. In the end, he didn't make me pay for it but said I had to get him something in return. I guess that's a fair deal. First and foremost, I need to say that no beer is worth $20 (for this amount) and Allagash Interlude is no exception. I honestly like the beer, but I can't justify the cost when I can get a bottle of Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Old Tawny for the same price at Costco. (Which I always have open on the counter - those more observant will recognize it from an Italian wedding soup pic.) So you're thinking, enough rambling... what's the beer actually taste like? It smells of cherries or apricot and at first taste, it's very heavy on copper penny. Continue drinking and/or give it some air and the copper eventually vanishes to reveal the closest thing I've had to red wine in a beer. A portion of the beer is aged in French Merlot and Sirah oak barrels , which you can most definitely taste. The finish is fairly dry and were it not for the yeast and carbonation, you might actually forget you're drinking a beer by the time you finish. All in all, it's a complex beer that's really unlike anything I've ever tasted. I'd definitely drink it again, I just don't want to buy it.

Up next is what my dad got me for Christmas. As I mentioned previously, we met up last weekend for our holiday dinner and it was then we exchanged gifts. I was surprised to find that not only did he have my race helmet airbrushed, but did so with an understanding of the things I'm in to. For a baseline, this is the man who bought his 10 year old son Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time. I probably shouldn't even describe it but rather make with the pictures. The basic gist is a gaijin slaying a dragon with my name in katakana on the front (A+ is my blood type - for emergency workers if I'm unconscious). Anyone who knows me, knows I'm nerdy for that kinda stuff. Rock on.

A 4.0 and More Beer!

Now if only I can manage this for the next year, I'll be golden.

What do we do when we have something to celebrate around these parts? We drink. The night after I got these grades, I decided to open the last bottle from the Magic Mystery Box™; Allagash Fluxus 2008. I should note that 3 of the 8 beers pictured were for wifey, so I didn't down 8 bottles in the last 2 weeks... just 5. This one is a double white so it probably won't surprise you that I like it, a lot. Hops are nicely controlled and the flavor is heavy on the yeast with hints of apricot and ginger. I can honestly say this is one of the better beers I've had in recent history, which is saying a lot given my new found love of sampling beers. The alcohol is almost non-existent and for what it's worth, crept up on me nicely at a mere 8.7%. I guess we can put to rest my previous concerns about tolerance. It's a lot like the Tripel, just not nearly as dry and much more complex. This beer went down easy... really easy... I just wish it wasn't $15 per 750ml. Highly recommended.

Bonus tip: Buy yourself some sopressata and your favorite ingredients for a salad. Pan fry four slices in a large, dry skillet (without overlapping) until they're crispy. Cool them on a paper towel, quarter the slices and put them on top of your salad. Dry frying will actually pull a lot of the fat out and adding the protein to your salad means you can make a meal of it without being hungry in an hour. For good measure, crumble some dry roasted almonds or walnuts on as well. The fiber will not only keep you regular but combined with the protein, will also aide in preserving that full feeling.

Expensive Allagash

My first quad, Allagash Four wasn't quite everything I wanted it to be. The idea of fermenting a beer four times is intriguing but I'm not sure I can tell the difference between it and just a strong, dark beer. The taste is very malty, with a hoppy finish but I want to say the beer wasn't old enough for it's own good. You get the date or raisin flavor but there was a bit of a metalic taste that I didn't enjoy. I wonder if that doesn't go away with age but I've never been in the habit of cellaring beers so I won't start now. I've read some reviews that say the beer is "hot" or tastes of alcohol but I can't say I agree. Maybe it's my newfound alcoholism or just burnt out taste buds as it drank a lot better than the 10% it's sporting. Four definitely has the alcohol, flavor and price tag to prove it went through the uber-fermentation process and someone who is more discerning may find it to their liking. For my money, I'm rocking Allagash's Tripel.

Being part of Allagash's Tribute Series, Hugh Malone Ale sports a pretty hefty price tag. At first taste, I did not like this beer at all. It was hoppy, with a bitter finish and the alcohol actually made me do that exhaling thing people do after they chug a carbonated drink. I thought I was going to have trouble drinking the entire 750ml but after the beer got a bit of air, everything changed. The hops never did fade but the smell of the beer changed to something really fruity and sweet; so much so that I couldn't help but smell the beer between gulps. I actually think the beer smelled better than it tasted, which probably isn't a good thing given the price. Again, I think this one might benefit from aging, but I'm not inclined. For the money, I'd rather buy a sixer of Blue Moon, a sixer of Guinness and combine them for whole lotta Black and Blue.

Semester Celebration Beers

A friend recommended the Unibroue brand, so I picked up a bottle of La Fin Du Monde. I actually meant to get Don de Dieu, which is a triple wheat, but I forgot the name and ended up the triple golden ale instead. Expecting a wheat, I was surprised by the color and amount of hops, but I can't say that was necessarily a bad thing. If I had to pick a word to describe this beer, it would be raw. It has a very distinct yeast flavor all the way through and a slight sweetness that very quickly gets overcome by malt and hops. The alcohol, at 9% ABV, doesn't do a very good job of hiding. The beer is drinkable but it's not nearly as smooth as some other high ABV beers I've had. This beer reviews well and while I'm not a big ale person, the uniqueness of the yeast makes me want to try it again. Besides, who wouldn't want to drink a beer named The End of the World?

Cointinuing with the tradition, I sampled another of the Allagash beers. I'm on a mission to try all their varities and up this time was the Grand Cru. India pale ales are my least favorite beer but I've seemed to like everything Belgian so perhaps I'll like their pale ale? Allagash seems to do everything well and this really isn'y an exception. It was a lot like the La Fin Du Monde, minus the yeast, so I won't repeat myself. It's a solid embodiment of a winter beer but as I've never really been much a fan, I can't say I'd buy it again. In my opinion, there are much better ways to celebrate Allagash. :-)

First Semester is Over!

Pending my grades, none of which I expect to be failing ones, I'm 9/36ths of my way to a Masters degree. It was about as much work as I expected (read: a crap load) but the semester actually felt like it flew fly by. I learned a lot more in the last three months than I ever thought I would... which is probably a good thing. I now get four short weeks to try and get my education reimbursement before next semester's money is due. On the bright side, I'll get 10k miles for getting an education.

On a somewhat unrelated (relation will become clear in a sec) note, did you know Prohibition ended 75 years ago today? Yeah, I didn't either. Anyway, I decided to celebrate the end of the semester with a trip to Total Wine. You'll have to wait for the reviews to see what the Magic Mystery Box™ holds so until then, here's a teaser. Note there are no duplicates and everything is something I've never had before. Oh joyous day.

I have a problem...

...and it's name is Allagash. We decided to do our regular grocery shopping at Harris Teeter, partly because I found Allagash there before, but also because we've been unhappy with the quality of produce and cost at our usual Giant. Since it seemed the selection at HT was decent, we wanted to do a normal "grocery run" and see how it compared on price.

The good news is based on our very unscientific calculations, we save ~10%. What you buy tends to change with each visit and while this wasn't an "OMG we have nothing!" run, we did need a decent amount of stuff. The bad news is it looks like they're no longer going to stock Allagash. I hadn't planned on buying any beer but happened across these bottles in the Discontinued section. Since they were half price ($3.43 for 750ml), I decided I'd be stupid to not buy them out.

After taking my six bottles of White and one bottle of Tripel to the counter, I talked with the store manager, who said corporate "sets the displays" and therefore determines what's stocked. I told him I could buy it at Total Wine but would rather get it from them because that's part of the reason I was shopping there. He thanked me for my business and took my name/number... saying he had a vendor that would likely special order for him when I wanted. Everyone knows I love quality customer service so we'll see if this guy delivers. In the meantime, I'll have to up my time on the StairMaster to offset the caloric intake.

Even More Allagash!

I'd like to take a quick paragraph and say that I think there's hope for America. We spent the weekend in the more rural counties of Virginia and were downright surprised at the number of Obama lawn signs. We were in the heart of pickup driving, cattle raising, gun toting Virginia and about half the signs (and there were a lot) were for Obama. It's no real secret that I'm a Libertarian that will be voting for Obama because I think the current Republican ticket is something to fear. It was actually encouraging to see that; I think Virginia could actually go Democrat for the first time since Lyndon Johnson.

Now that I've lured you in with beer and waxed politico, I guess I should get to the point. On the way home from the country, we paid a visit to my new friend Harris and picked up a few beers for an afternoon on the couch. Mr Teeter is my new friend because not only did he have a bunch of microbrews in 750 ml bottles, he also had a couple varieties of Allagash. I picked up a bottle of Allagash Tripel, since it's a favorite of mine, and also found one I've been meaning to try, Allagash Dubbel.

The Dubbel is much, much darker than the Tripel and as such, is a heavier beer. It's very malty with a hint of chocolate but like so many darker beers, has a bit too much bitter for my tastes. If I had to put a name on the bitterness, I'd say burnt caramel. I haven't had many doubles in my time, but it's better than the ones I've had. It's drinkable, especially given the 7.0% ABV and I'd probably like it more were I into darker beers. As is, I'd rather have the White or Tripel but don't let that stop you from trying it. Helpful hint: Two 750ml 7-9% beers is just enough for a day of football.

I Survived (Plus More Beer)

First and foremost, if you're part of Cohort XIX and you googled me, hello. As one of my discussion topics in class would suggest, it's not hard to find me or people I'm related to via my last name. You did indeed find the person you were looking for so welcome to my slice of the information superinterweb. This site serves both as a hobby to help me stay current on internet technologies and as a way to communicate with friends and family about my goingson. Have a look around and feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email.

For everyone else, I've officially survived the first weekend of grad school. While there is still a lot to learn about the process, the unknown is now known and the learning can begin in earnest. Two classes a day is going to make for long days but the good news I don't have to switch from work to school mode in the same day. Speaking of good news, while getting a few supplies from Office Depot last night, I swung by Total Wine (will always be Total Beverage to me) to pick up a few beers for celebratory purposes.

First up was Duvel, one of Mike's recent recommendations. The suggestion was based on my proclivity to enjoy Belgians and Duvel being a Belgian golden, is a step into another branch of them. It's relatively smooth and drinkable given the 8.5% ABV, which probably makes it a favorite for a lot of Belgian lovers. The aftertaste of hoppy bitterness, while nothing like that of an IPA, is just a bit much for me. It's not a bad beer, but I can't say it's something I'd seek out again. Like others, I wanted to like it but can't say I'm a huge fan.

The second suggestion was for Aventinus Weizenbock but I didn't buy it because I realized I'd had it before. (Side note: Nice suggestion Mike, evidently it was my favorite in that review.) Instead I picked up Allagash Tripel Ale, since I previously enjoyed the Allagash White. I'm not going to beat around the bush, this beer gets added to my list of favorites. It has a bit of fruit and honey but isn't nearly as sweet as some of the other golden ales. The hops are balanced perfectly for my taste and the 9% ABV makes for a whoppin' good time. I really like this beer and will be buying it again. Please try it and let me know your thoughts.

Labor Day Beer Reviews

The first weekend home in two months means not getting dressed, grilling a rack of ribs on the charcoal and drinking beer. I've really started to figure out the whole charcoal thing as the ribs were the definitely the juiciest and most delicious thing I've cooked on either grill. I also mananged to make one helluva salad, something that I didn't really think was possible, so it was a tasty meal all around. Combine that with a lot of time spent on the couch watching television and you have the perfect way to celebrate the holiday.

The Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse is right up my alley. It's a wheat, which I really dig, creamy and tastes of cloves and a bit of honey. I've had quite a few hefeweizens in my day and this is probably one of my favorites. I wouldn't think I'd like such a prominent clove taste in beer, especially a wheat, but I really like it in this. There's also some citrus but not so much that it tastes like someone fruited your beer. (A bad habit with wheats, I think.) Some reviews I've read complained of too much carbonation but I don't agree. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes wheat beers and will definitely be buying it again. It's a good summer beer, now that it's over.

I can't say I'm as much of a fan of Young's Double Chocolate Stout. I'm not really a huge fan of stouts but have been known to enjoy the creamy or honey versions of them. I figured the chocolate was a gimmick but decided to try it anyway. There's definitely an initial taste of dark chocolate, then a strong stout and the aftertaste reminds me of a bitter chocolate. I think the combination works with the stout and I really want to like the beer, but I don't. I love dark chocolate (the darker the better) but I just can't get over the bitter aftertaste. If I really enjoyed stouts, in all their forms, I'd probably love this... but as it is I'm not a fan. If you've had it, or buy it any time soon, let me know what you think.

Restaurant: Tuscarora Mill

I recently found myself having dinner at Tuscarora Mill (Tuskies to the locals) in celebration of a birthday. I've been there before, as has pretty much anyone who lives or works in Loudoun County, but this particular meal calls for an official review. Rather than blather on about the various nuances of the dishes, I'll try and touch on the main things that I care about when visiting restaurants. It's actually kinda hard when you've been somewhere a handful of times but I'll persevere.

It's kinda a pain to get to during rush hour since it's in downtown Leesburg... especially if the cops have a "Driver's License checkpoint" set up along the way. Besides that, the location definitely has a sense of history. Like several other restaurants in LoCo, it's housed in a historical building of one form or another. The largely wood interior is classic in that anitque way and it avoids the manufactured feeling other resaurants have. The atmosphere isn't so stuffy that you'll feel out of place in jeans but it's upscale enough that you can take a date there all gussied up.

Our server was pleasant, very knowledgable about the menu/ingredients and seemed to actually enjoy her job. She wasn't working there because she couldn't do anything else... well, she might be... but she did a good job of faking it. She seemed to take pride in the service she provided and the food the chef prepares. (Which is a lot more than I can say about that god-awful Clydes in Ashburn. It was great when it opened but the service has really hit the shitter as of late.) She was almost too pleasant, and by the end of the night I kind of wanted her to go away, but I shouldn't complain about that.

As usual, their beer selection is pretty good. If you like beer, be sure to head over to my post about their beer selection from 6 months ago. I chose this option (again) and chose the Fullers London Pride (again), Hofbrau Hefeweizen and had the bartender pour me something I forgot. The beer was tasty as usual and the ability to choose a flight is one of my favorite things about the place. Bringing me a half glass of Lagunitas Censored unprompted and without charge didn't hurt either.

The food was really, really good. I can't remember it being as tasty as it was on my previous visits. I expected a decent meal but both the wife and I were surprised at the quality of every single course. I rarely have a hard time figuring out what to order because I know what I like. Somehow, Tuskies managed to get a lot of what I like on the same menu so I had a tough time picking. Below is what I ordered; it was all great. Cheap? No, but I don't feel like I got ripped off.

HUDSON VALLEY FOIE GRAS | $17
Pan Seared with Roasted Peaches,
Pistachio-Onion Marmalade, Grilled Ciabatta

WARM GOATCHEESE SALAD | $10
Local and Organic Lettuces, Poached Pears,
Walnuts, Tomatoes, Aged Sherry Vinaigrette

BEEF AND BEEF | $24
Grilled Tenderloin Tips and Braised Short Rib
Gorgonzola Mousse, Truffled Grits,
Bacon Braised Brussels Sprouts

Besides our usual sushi joint, I think it may be our new go-to place for a nice meal out. We don't go to expensive dinners but a few times a year and it's nice to know there will be a place that can provide when we need it. It's expensive but not "OMG WTF!" and accessible to most local professionals, I believe. I really think it's one of the jewels of the Loudoun County restaurant scene.

Beer Reviews

I don't consider myself a beer aficionado and I definitely don't experiment to the extent Mike and Mike do. Yesterday, however, I found myself with the opportunity to try six previously untested beers. We had our holiday lunch at Tuscarora Mill, which stocks quite a few microbrews and offers flights of 3 for a reasonable price.

I opted for two rounds, but only five of the six are on their current menu so one is lost in anonymity. I'm somewhat picky when it comes to beer but I'll try to offer whatever notes I can to help you decide what to ask Santa for. I should probably note that I like wheat beers and cream ales/stouts the most so keep that in mind.

Allagash White (Maine) - This was my second favorite of the group. I'm a big fan of wheats and this one is really clean and smooth. It has almost zero aftertaste, which I liked. This is what you should be drinking instead of light beer.
Aventinus Weizenbock (Germany) - This was the best of the bunch. It's 8% ABV, isn't the slightest bit heavy, has a touch of fruit and there's neary a hit of hops. A winner in my book.
Bells Best Brown Ale (Michigan) - Dark malts with a slight bitterness. I wasn't crazy about it.
Fullers London Pride (England) - Creamy with a just enough bitterness too offset it. Amazingly, I'd never tried Fullers despite numerous trips to England, including driving by the brewery once. I have Boddingtons in the home fridge and this is obviously is along those lines. It wasn't the best when compared to the other 'specialty beers' but I could see this becoming a long time favorite of mine.
North Coast Red Seal (California) - Heavy on the hops and definitely not my style.