10 June 2008

Another busy week

Yet another busy week.

When it's 95° outside, the only thing to do outside besides mow the lawn is sweat. So, indoor projects return to the forefront. I've been slowly working on finishing my basement. In particular, I want to get my "brew room" done so I can get things organized. Just a little more drywall to hang, then it's time to tape, compound, and sand. Thought a little brick wall look would be cool...who knows.



Hopefully by Fall we'll be ready for carpet. And a wood-burning stove or pellet stove. Propane prices are going nowhere but up!

Late last week in my local travels I stopped by my fav bottle shop looking for some Avery Hog Heaven barleywine.  They searched the back room for me, knowing they had some but couldn't find it.  They then figured out that the last time they got some in, someone came in and bought the whole case!  So I asked them to set a few aside for me and a few days later returned with these 3 sisters.  It is by far my favorite barleywine!  Already down to two after the first night, the remaining two snuggled together comfortably in my vintage box for later (as long as I can hold out, anyway).

Last night I decided to hit a local case-and-keg store seeing as how I'm dangerously low on beer; the vintage box is, afterall, for rainy days.  I grabbed a sampler case of Bell's, formerly which wasn't available short of a drive to Ohio or Michigan itself.  And at these gas prices...

Wherever you are, cheers!
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03 June 2008

Week in Review

Lots of chit has happened over the past week. Sadly, my keg of Maibock is almost gone. Good and bad really. Bad, obviously, because it's malty yumminess is almost gone. Good in that Maibocks tend to get sweeter over time, which of course is what you don't want. Some sweetness, yes. Cloyingly sweet, definitely not. So it's just as well. I did take 1st place at a club comp with it (head-to-head with some very good brewers, I might add) and 2nd Best-of-Show at last year's Montgomery County Ag Fair homebrew comp (out of 107 entries).

This morning I got a PDF of the
scoresheet. 42/50 isn't bad! Hopefully later today I'll have some Dunkelweizen brewing. Need to get more beer on tap ASAP. Besides the brewing prospects, the last few days have been eventful. On Saturday we met some friends at the Virginia Wine Festival in Centreville, VA. Being my first wine festival, it was quite a bit different than the beer festivals I'm used to. Samples are limited to a few drops, but you can buy a glass or the whole bottle to enjoy there or take home---something that you don't see at beer festivals. But the samples are MUCH bigger at beer festivals. It was a good time overall, even after the 3 hour drive that should've taken 2 hours except for rain and traffic on I-495 and Rt. 66 in Virginia. Worth it to have a few glasses of wine with friends though.

Lastly, yesterday was our 7-year anniversary. We dated for 3 years before that, so last night we went out to dinner at Mealey's in New Market, MD to celebrate 10 years of not killing each other. I'd been going there since I was a kid and they never cease to impress. Started off with some Cream of Crab Bisque with a glass of Sam Adam's Boston Lager. Then it was Stuffed Rainbow Trout and a glass of Dogfish Head Pale Ale. My wife had the Crab Imperial. Of course dessert was too good to pass up, I had a slice of their Key Lime pie and she had the Crème Brûlée. Perfect.

After picking up the kids from the neighbors' and putting them to bed, we watched the Penguins and the Red Wings. Bunch of BS calls, I might add...high sticking? Tripping? Interference for just barely touching the goalie? Even the announcers said the referees were being inconsistent. Hope they had a police escort home. At any rate, I topped the evening off with a bottle of Victory Baltic Thunder Baltic Porter. Very good, hadn't had it since a few years ago at Victory Brewing in Downingtown. Which reminds me, a roadtrip to the remodeled Mecca of Victory beer is long overdue. Time to grab the calendar.

Cheers!!