Beer shirt Tuesday & Deeper Thoughts

I have acquired three more T-shirts this summer and each is beer related. I got a shirt for the Knoxville area Humane Society which reads "Yappy Hour." This one is from Union Jacks where they were collecting $10.00 per shirt for the Humane Society. Then there is the "Break Fluid" shirt which came from Wal-Mart for $6.00. The shirt has an image of a tub of ice and bottles and cans of beer. Lastly, I found one of those "Life is full of important choices" shirts at the Goodwill Thrift Store for 98 cents. The important choices on this shirt are various beer brands on tap handles. This brings our count to 35 shirts presented and 330 shirts to go...


Also, I found the Jack Handey book. It is actually titled Deeper Thoughts and is the sequel to the book titled Deep Thoughts. Here's Jack's version of Moby Dick;

"I think a good novel would be where a bunch of men on a ship are looking for a whale. They look and look, but you know what? They never find him. And you know why they never find him? It doesn't say. The book leaves it up to you, the reader, to decide. -- Then, at the very end, there's a page that you can lick and it tastes like Kook-Aid."

Enough said.

Four Weeks of Wheat Beer, pt. 2

Up in Crozet, Va. they have a little brewery named Starr Hill and, a couple of weeks ago, I purchased one of their mixed 12-packs. I believe that, normally, the 12-pack should contain three lagers, three IPAs, three pale ales and three wheat beers. I may have missed some promo material or they have a practical joker working in the packing room 'cause this pack contained a lager and a Hefeweizen from the Legend Brewery in Richmond.

I'm not complaining about this situation because this allows me to sample these Legend beers without purchasing the individual six packs or one of those $8.98 mixed six packs that all grocery stores have now. So, I bring to you all the Legend Hefeweizen.

This one pours very clear, it looks more like a pilsner than a wheat beer. The aroma is citrus, coriander and cinnamon. The first sip is like a dry, white wine, very light on the tongue and lightly carbonated.

The wheat and hop bitterness increases with continued sipping, citrus flavoring remains. It's like a Margarita without the balancing orange juice sweetness. I believe I could use this brew in a Margarita mix...

(I'm skipping the numeric rating on this one since I drank it a few weeks ago.)

Daily Affirmation; Who needs Jack Handey part 2

So, I’m driving home from work Monday and I pass a sign on I - 81 which indicates that the birthplace of Davey Crockett is located off the next exit. This of course brings the "born on a mnt. top in Tennessee" theme to mind and I think of how different the trees are now. I doubt ol' Davey would recognize every tree now. Mountain men like Crockett and D. Boone would probably try to make some Mohicans or twine something out of kudzu.

Of course, Boone N. C. is right over the Appalachian range from I -81 and I'm wondering if Boone and Crocket ever met and which one fought and/or died at the Alamo with Jim Bowie. Then I have to think of the Daniel Boone theme song and realize it qualifies as the worst composition ever with an opening line of "Daniel Boone was a man..."

I'm no Sam Clemens but what were the alternatives they had in mind when this line was composed? Daniel Boone was a woman, was a Canadian, was a Martian? Of course Daniel Boone was a man or you wouldn’t have been writing about him! He was a “man” from the pioneer period of U.S. History so we’re not gonna be writing any songs like;

“Daniele Boone was a woman, a might influential woman.
She could bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan
and sheriff Hamblin Co. all three!!”

I don't wanna get on a soap box about this "Theme Song," a product of Disney I believe, I just wanted to share this very random, odd and funny thought . I hope some of you got a laugh out of these ideas.

I will share more of Jack Handey's Deep Thoughts with you when I locate my copy of his book again.

Four Weeks of Wheat Beer

Before we have an official season change, from summer to fall, I better take the time to write about some of the summer ales I've enjoyed this year. I know I have made notes about three different wheat beers and I'm sure I can find a fourth to feature in; Four Weeks of Wheat Beer.

This week’s lucky subject is Satsuma Harvest Wit from Abita Brewery, Abita Springs, La. I purchased this one at Bruisin' Ales over in Asheville, N.C. and need to slow down long enough to search for it in the Knoxville beer market. I bet it is available at Bearden Beer Market, while supplies last.

This cloudy brew has a strong smell of citrus dominated by fresh lemon and the first sip is like carbonated lemonade. The light wheat malts offer a hoppy presence rather than the typical liquid weight of a barley malt. It's like a light beer from South of the Border but with more lemon like hop flavors.

The flavors and carbonation remain strong until the last sip. I suggest pairing this drink with fish, chicken or Alfredo pasta dishes. This is a great, fresh summer ale and I wanna go buy a case or twelve pack of Satsuma Harvest Wit.

I give Abita's Satsuma Harvest Wit a 4.75 out of 5 pints. (Cause they all can't be perfect.)

The 18th of the month is a good day for me

Or, in this case, the 16th of the month is a good time for me to throw some teases on the ol blog. Here's a random idea I've been thinking of using as a soapbox; three things symbolic of the decline of civilization as we know it, flip flops, lounge pants and wife-beater under shirts. Wearing any combination of these pieces of apparel indicates no intention to go to work or accomplish any task that might be considered labor.

I was thinking of this while driving to work today because these are very popular clothing items in E. Tennessee. While thinking and driving I passed by another icon of E. Tn. culture the discount beer and tobacco store. The tobacco must be cheap at those places because they always advertise brands with which I am unfamiliar, like Pyramid or Tahoe. I have occasionally visited one of these shops to get a six pack and a lottery ticket and their beer prices are higher than the price at the grocery store. This confuses me since the shops are called “Discount Beer and Tobacco.” So, I’m gonna ask them. I’ll look at the grocery store price and go to the discount shop, while buying my Miller Lite or Pabst Blue Ribbon I’ll ask the clerk about the discount. Then I’ll take a photo of the shop and share our Southern Culture with all.

On a more positive note, all the way around, I have three summer beers to write about and hope to start these posts next Monday.