It's a gentle madness, but a madness nonetheless. I'll be walking through the grocery store, minding my own business, then suddenly I'll hear the call of the cooler. Double IPA, it whispers. Double IPA. But Marin Brewing Company's Eldridge Grade White Knuckle is not just a DIPA, it's a "Double IPA Ale." Shades of "ATM [...]
Sunday night is upon us, leaving me wondering where the weekend went. I'm not sure I'm ready for tomorrow to be Monday. I had about eight hundred thousand words I was hoping to read. Instead, I read about eighty thousand, maybe I'll hit a hundred tonight. Fortunately, most of those were the right words. So [...]
After I tried Ballast Point's Sculpin IPA, I determined I'd try whatever I could from them. Tonight, Wahoo. What's a Wahoo? Looks like a flying barracuda on the label. Wahoo pours pale, cloudy gold with a thick finger of white, frothy head and cascading lacing. Wheaty--doughy, even--on the nose, with coriander and citrus close behind. [...]
A day spent fretting over a manuscript in need of repairs while Jennifer designed Cthulhu postcards left me wanting a brisk, bold beverage. So we ordered pizza from The New Yorker and hit Petaluma Market, where I picked up a Green Flash Hop Head Red Ale. 45 IBU? Sign me up. Hop Head pours a [...]
The Fifth Street Militia is at it again. Independence Day calls for fireworks, and as always, we're happy to oblige. Here's a peek at our pyrotechnical extravaganza:
Hey, baby. It's the Fourth of July. And I love this country, in spite of a few ridiculously bad ideas (Prohibition, anyone?). After all, change is part of her Promise. So I figured a selection from 21st Amendment Brewing was in order. What better than Brew Free or Die? Rampaging Abe Lincoln on the label [...]
We just got back from Janine's house and a 2nd of July backyard barbecue, and are now settling in and watching the Giants and Tigers on TV. And I had a Shock Top earlier with my black bean burger, grilled zucchini, corn on the cob, salad, and assorted appetizers, which was a nice little summer [...]
"Ooh, Lucky 13's a blonde now," was my thought as I grabbed this off the shelf at Petaluma Market. Only tonight, as I cracked it open, did I notice the ".alt" Usenet flashback aside, I was confused. "But... She's a blonde," I said. Doesn't ".alt" code dyeblack hair and tattoos? In any case, Lucky 13 [...]
It was a hot one today: 91 degrees according to the bank's digital thermometer downtown. At one point we wandered down to Petaluma Market pretty much as an excuse to enjoy their air conditioning. I grabbed the latest pair of Stone Imperial Russian Stouts (next week?), but wanted an IPA tonight. Then I spotted the [...]
Right now, I'm reading the first-draft manuscript of Bradley P. Beaulieu's The Straits of Galahesh, his sequel to this year's critically-acclaimed Russian-inspired epic fantasy novel, The Winds of Khalakovo. Even in its current rough form, this book's awesome, and I'm really looking forward to giving you the opportunity to read The Straits of Galahesh in [...]