Beer: Happy Boxing Day with the "Merry Maker"

Nothing says the holiday more than a couple of large cubes of fruitcake washed down with the Sam Adams Gingerbread Stout, the Merry Maker. (Sorry my Classic Moth friends, my only bottle will be devoured tonight. None left for our holiday gathering tomorrow - it's all about me!)

Beer: Ahead of the Curve; Elysian Super Fuzz

Back when I was a young buck, my favorite summer beer after sailing was one of my own concoction. Sort of like a shandy (lemonade and beer) I would mix orange juice and beer. Through experimentation, my taste buds settled on a pilsner type beer (the original Budweiser does fine) - 2/3 of a glass with orange juice making up the other third. Most of my friends thought I was crazy and I could never entice them to try it. Now with the craft beer revolution, some of these brewers are bringing out their own version of orange juice and beer. I decided to buy a 6-pack of the craft Elysian Super Fuzz, a blood orange beer - whatever that means. I was intrigued with what a master brewer would do with this combination. Turns out it didn't taste all that different from my home-grown mix, plus, if you mix your own you can tune the beer vs. orange juice ratios - depending on your mood. But, I'm still curious. If I see another brewer with a beer/orange style, I'll probably give it a go.

Music Videos and Beer

I have had a surprising amount of readers who have complained that I've stopped my regular music video feature, "Music for Fridays" (well, two of you have raised your voices). The simple explanation is that I've found other modes of time wasting on the Net rather than watching music videos. For those who enjoy music videos, may I suggest you make regular stops over at My2fish and Baydog, both still have a regular music video post as part of their blogging repertoire. All is not lost as I still have some music videos bookmarked and one never knows what random research and linking will point to other music videos (see below). Don't despair, Earwigoagin will, out of the blue, have a music post.

Another feature that seems to have disappeared from Earwigoagin is the posts about the beer I have been currently drinking. Nope, I haven't stopped sampling beer - by the time I get around to thinking about the beer I've been drinking, I've gotten confused about what and how did it taste. Better to drink and not worry about writing about it. However, here are some of the recent beers that made a decent impression on my taste buds;

• Smashed Blueberry - by Shipyard - A sweet Scottish ale married with blueberry.
• Sam Adams Winter Lager - A dark, spiced beer with a malt base which fits my taste.
• Sam Adams Imperial Stout - A dark, dark, stout with a distinct licorice flavor.

And courtesy of random Net research, the Bonzo Dog Band, just recently featured in this post, a germane music video to beer (and other drinks to imbibe this holiday season).

And a very merry holidays to all of those out in the bloggosphere. (With these craft beers, you just need to slowly sip just one, roll it around the tongue once or twice.)

(With apologies to John Lennon and Yoko Ono.)

Honey, Did you enjoy your cruise across the lake?

In one of the strangest political, cultural and human psychology missteps, the United States banned the sale, manufacture, and transportation of liquor from 1920 to 1933. What resulted was probably the largest civilian disobedience of a national law in recorded history. Moonshine, brewing beer at home, underground bars - the speakeasy, bootlegging; Americans were going to get their hooch one way or the other.

I've written about the American Canoe Association encampment on Sugar Island, an encampment that achieved great popularity during the Prohibition, not so much for the canoe competitions as for the fact the Island sits about 1/2 mile inside the Canadian border on the St. Lawrence. During the two week encampment, canoeists from up and down the Eastern Seaboard could drink, and drink, and drink. It got so bad, the governing body of Sugar Island set aside a peninsula  on the Island for drinking and all the gambols that are inextricably linked to booziness, the gambling, the running around nude, the decibels, the peeing in the bushes, the fights. They named the peninsula "Buck Point".

And as the following video shows, even the cruising sailboat crowd got into the action.

Let's imagine the skipper's conversation with his wife after he got back from his "cruise" across Lake Michigan;

Wife: "Honey, did you enjoy your cruise across the Lake with Tom, Dick, and Harry?
Skipper: "Yes it was very nice."
Wife: "Well you look very exhausted. Was the weather rough?"
Skipper: (wink, wink) "Oh yes, there were some very rough days"
Skipper: "Listen Dear, how about you and I go look at a new car tomorrow. I've got some extra cash burning in my pocket"

Some Prohibition Footage from Steve Unkles on Vimeo.

Cooper River Fall 2011

The more astute among those of you who still read my drivel after all these years; you may have noticed that I haven't been sailing my Classic Moth that much...... and you're right! I last raced my Maser in June and neither my Maser or any of my project Classic Moths have been dipped in water since.... that is until last weekend. My job as a sailmaker for the US Naval Academy went away in July, it was a temporary assignment after all, and I, in trying to navigate what is indeed a difficult job market, I haven't been able to wrap my head around racing my Classic Moths. There have been other distractions as well; a wedding and other temporary work. Well, last weekend I bundled my trusty Maser onto the trailer and made the trip up to Philadelphia with my Mothboater travel mate, John Z. The river provided a nice 5-7 knot, typically fluky breeze, the temps were close to 60 F, the sun was out, not a cloud in the sky, a gorgeous afternoon. We raced 6 short races, I finished 3rd out of 5 and had a blast. After the racing, as is the custom, the Mid-Atlantic Mothboaters spent time sampling weird and wonderful beers, orchestrated by Mike and Barbara Parsons. We had the Dogfish Pangea, a spicy beer with a strong orange taste, Fegleys Imperial Pumpkin, my review of which has been relegated to my Pumpkin Beer post , Samuel Smith Winter Ale with a typical English maltiness and my cheaper but still tasty, Farmhouse Ale Stout. A picture from left to right; George, who is the author of the blog Mid-Atlantic Musings, Mike, a friend of Mike's who only likes watered down lite beer but we still let him join the party, Barbara, who brought out the Imperial Pumpkin Ale, and the blogmeister, still sporting his zinc oxide sun screen. (John Z is behind the camera.) One of the neat things about Cooper River is that it has the feeling of being in a quiet suburban setting but you can see the skyline of Philadelphia poking out above the treeline. Here is the skyline behind the massive rowing center building on Cooper River. In my dotage, I pick my fall days I want to go sailing and you couldn't pick one better than this.

Tis the season for Pumpkin Beer

My posts on beer now go back into the Internet dark ages (at least 6 months ago). What drags me back to posting about beer? Tis the season, the season of the true, blue American pumpkin beer. (I can almost hear my international readers say "Ewww!"). I've made it my mission this year to taste as many pumpkin beer varieties as possible, mainly so that Ed and Mike and John and I can pontificate about beer tasting when we have no clue about what a true beer connoisseur should say (Mike brought a beer to the Classic Moth midwinters that he said tasted like PEZ (a hard candy with tart bite that most often is dispensed in an odd container; have to say I agreed with him).

So far my Pumpkin beer tastings this year;

Heavy Seas Great Pumpkin Ale - Clipper City

Good tasting ale. Just the right amount of pumpkin flavor. Slight hop finish. Golden color, good head

Southern Tier Pumpking

Vanilla notes overpower the pumpkin

Smuttynose Pumkin Ale

Too hoppy. Again overpowers the pumpkin.

Dogfish Punkin Ale

Darker Malt base with pumpkin and spices coming through nicely

Saranac Pumpkin Ale

Golden color. Almost perfect blend of pumpkin and spice flavors.

Shocktop Pumkin Wheat

As you would expect from the wheat base, a lighter beer with a fizzy head but the pumpkin taste doesn't take second fiddle. Very tasty.

Blue Point Pumpkin Ale
I can taste the pumpkin, I can taste the beer; however I can't taste the connection between the two. The bottle mentions spices, maybe.... but not enough for my palette to pick them up. Update: Had this in combo with some spicy food and it complimented it nicely.

Starr Hill Boxcar Pumpkin Porter
This porter pours fizzy and the carbonation remains strong in the first taste, obscuring any flavor.

Cape Ann Brewing Company Imperial Pumpkin Stout
The stout overpowers the pumpkin here, so much so that I can't really identify the pumpkin.

Flying Dog Ales Imperial Pumpkin Ale "The Fear"
Can taste the pumpkin in this one but, for my taste buds, this ale just didn't stand out.

Fegleys Devious Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Barbara Parsons from up Philly way had me sample this. The initial carbonation was a problem but if you let the beer air out for a while it changes everything. Pumpkin taste definitely there with spices, I detected a strong vanilla tone. Top notch especially if you let the beer sit for a while after opening.

Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale
This beer has a strong reputation among pumpkin aficionados. I had one that was just transported down from Maine. Very tasty but I can't remember anything else about it.

Tastes vary widely on music and beer. So, swill down a pumpkin beer and post a comment. I'm waiting for Ed to weigh in with his choices and I'm hoping to cajole some tastings from Mike as well.

Beer; Headless Horseman, Betsy Stanford and Dillon Clock Stopper

Ed Salva, one of the charter members of the Classic Moth beer tasting wing, sends this little beer tidbit along..........

"Had an interesting concoction called a Headless Horseman - half guiness / half pumpkin (I used post road). Was very tasty."

If you don't feel like mixing up a Headless Horseman there is always Fisherman's Imperial Pumpkin Stout . Also, a very tasty all in one combo where the pumpkin mellows out the stout.

From todays WaPo Metro section there is the story of 107 year old Betsy Stanford who attributes some of her longevity to this following stout concoction............

"She admits to a particular fondness for a smoothie made of Guinness stout mixed with the nutritional supplement, Ensure, a drop of vanilla flavoring and a sprinkle of nutmeg "if [the stout] is too bitter""

Wow! thats a new one!

And finally George Albaugh points out what he thinks is a very notable name for a beer, the Dillon Clock Stopper from Worth Brewing Company. I agree about the name. Looks like a very interesting lager (with corn - now that's no surprise!) from Idaho.

Correction: George correctly pointed out that in true dyslexic fashion I switched IA into ID and that Worth Brewing Co is actually located in Iowa.

Last Regatta of the Season; Cooper River Frostbite

The Classic Moths participated in the Cooper River YC November Sunday Frostbite series this past weekend. New travel partner this time. George Albaugh offered up his double deck trailer and I got to ride in luxury in his Volvo station wagon the three hours up to Cooper River. What a glorious day. Weather was more like early October with temps in the mid 60's F; warm enough so I sailed in shorts. Winds were light and typical Cooper River fluky. I think I might have leaned out on the high side twice. There were four Classic Mothists; Mike Parsons, the Wizard of Cooper River, won for the day but most of us had our moment in the sun at one point. We shared a short windward/leeward course with the five Sunfish while the 20 or so Lasers had their own course upriver from us.

Most racers launched their dinghies at Cooper River over a wooden bulkhead. On my turn, my Classic Moth went in the water smoothly. It was so calm, I decided to take about 15 seconds to park my dolly, expecting my Moth to be waiting patiently on my return....... but NOooo!, "Starkers" had floated off just barely out of reach of a Laser sailor launching next to me. I watched as "Starkers" drifted lazily downwind for a good 20 yards and made a decision to commandeer the aft deck of the Laser in an effort to chase her down. Initially 'Uva" (good natured German Laser sailor) refused me boarding rights to his Laser but I settled that by plopping back on his aft deck and pushing off. We drifted after my wayward Moth as I arranged my knees to allow him to steer. Luckily "Starkers" remained upright and the transfer was made with no issues.

On retrieval, a worn forestay rope gave way as I yanked on it to get "Starkers" on the dolly. After a few anxious moments as the mast swung to and fro, I was able to retie the forestay. I'm sure my launching and retrieval shenanigans provided a good measure of amusement to some of the spectators that day.

Pictures from Ed Salva (who had a win and several strong races that Sunday). The Moth fleet after haul out on Sunday afternoon (as always, click on the picture for higher res image).............

And to our apres-sailing beer. Mike Parsons on the left brought out a bottle of the Troegs Brothers Javah Head Stout which the blogmeister on the right is enjoying mightily......... And if you like coffee flavored dark beer, may I also highly recommend Wolavers Alta Gracia Coffee Porter .

2010 Classic Moth Nationals; Beer Tasting Saturday

As promised, Saturday night beer tasting........

First beer up was another Ed pumpkin pick, Pumking Imperial Pumpkin from Southern Tier Brewing . Not as pumkinny as the Shipyard version, but more spicy and delicious in it's own way.

Mike and Barb followed with Pangea by Dogfish Head . Brewed with ingredients from all continents, the ginger definitely comes through as a aftertaste, at the back of the mouth. There's more going on that I missed at the taste test. I need to find a bottle of this to sip and contemplate.

My Saturday entry was Ommegddon by Brewery Ommegang . Ommegang is famous for their Belgian brews; I was expecting a light fruity beer but to me it had almost a barleywine taste. Again, a delightful tasting brew; worth finding another bottle.

Ed sprang another beer on us, supposedly another Belgian brew, but this one tasted like vinegar. This was one beer that just didn't work. Luckily I can't remember the name.

2010 Classic Moth Nationals; Beer Tasting Friday

In the past year, the Mid-Atlantic Mothboaters have instituted a post-race ritual at the major Classic Moth regattas. We have a beer tasting. About four of us bring a craft beer (or two). This may be a beer that is one of our favorites or it may be a beer we know nothing about. We start by discreetly sipping and then pontificating. Not unlike the most effete wine snobs, we wax lyrical on the malts vs hops, the finish, the floral or citrus notes...... stuff we really don't know anything about. This seriousness rapidly degenerates when we then we ask for seconds and thirds and slurp it down....you get the idea. Great fun. At this years nationals the beer tasting extended over two nights and featured a wide assortment of craft brews.

Friday night........

Ed started us out with Smashed Pumpkin Ale from Shipyard Brewery of Portland Maine. This is one PUMPKIN beer! The most pumpkin flavor of any pumpkin beer I have ever tasted. A real surprise and one I'll try to track down locally.

Mike and Barb switched gears with a Triple IPA, Hop'Solutely from Fegley Brew Works . I'm more of malt man than a hop head but you could tell this was one powerful hoppy beer.

Your humble scribe followed with a black IPA, Dogzilla by Laughing Dog Brewing of Idaho . I had chilled it which didn't do it any favors. Following the fruitiness of Mike and Barb's triple IPA, the heavy malt of Dogzilla seemed severe almost bitter. Maybe not the best way to showcase one of my favorite but different beer tastes going.

Finally John Z brought Three Philosophers from Brewery Ommengang of upstate NY . Following my black IPA, Three Philosophers had a distinctly cherry syrup sweetness (it's blended with cherry lambic). You could almost say this is a desert beer.

I'll cover Saturday's tasting in another post.

Beer; Wolavers "Will Stevens" Pumpkin Ale

I'm usually not a big fan of pumpkin beers but Wolavers Pumpkin Ale has a nice head and a just right blend of ale and pumpkin taste. The one seasonal beer I've taken a liking to this year.

Beer; Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest

This one is very tasty, if you like hoppy beers.

Beer - Winter Ratings

I have a box in a corner of my workshop which contains my beer stock. Right now, the box is empty, except for the forlorn empty six pack boxes. What better blog topic than to inventory the boxes and write about the beer I have been imbibing over the last three months. I did the requisite Google search on my favorite beers before I wrote this post and quickly realized I am not an expert. I can't wax lyrical about hoppiness, yeast, malts, heavy, light .... I just like what tastes good to my palate.

The explosion of microbrewerys has put a ton of diverse beers out there. It helps that three of my favorite microbrewers, Victory, Troeg Brothers, and Lancaster are more or less local, located in the state of Pennsylvania.

I like dark beers and this winter was one for Stouts.

Top of the list for the last two years has been Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout ..... one very dark beer and very smooth. Not far behind is Victory Brewery's Storm King Stout.

Another perennial favorite is the Troeg Brothers, Troeganator Double Bock.

For my Ale, I have returned to a British brew, Old Speckled Hen, which I first tasted in a North Yorkshire pub several years ago. Here is how one expert, Mr Beerhunter described Old Speckled Hen;

Yeast produces different flavours according to the density of sugars with which it is required to work. At this gravity it creates a beer with a complexity of gently pear-like fruitiness and dryish, nutty maltiness. The hop bitterness in the finish is relatively restrained.

Whew! .... and to me it just tastes good.

And last, my wife bought some TommyKnocker's Nut Brown Ale which came highly recommended. Very drinkable but a little too sweet to be one of my top picks.

I just bought some Pilsner which was a mistake as I always consider that a hot summer drink (when I do like our custom of very chilled beer .... though my winter drinking has been at the cool temperature of the workshop) I have occassionally committed heresy and mixed my Pilsner or IPA 50/50 with orange juice as another summer drink.