Magic Hat, Ravell

I try to keep a Magic Hat mixed 12-pack in the house at all times. At the moment I still have the remains of a few of the Winterland 12-packs which each include 3 bottles of Ravell. I didn't know what to expect when I poured this brew into the pint glass. Ravell is very dark which indicated that I'd be reviewing another Porter.

I managed to pour some of the ale straight into the glass and it produced an average beige head. This disappeared quickly but Porters aren't highly carbonated beers. I anticiaped lots of chocolaty flavor but I got a mouth full of coffee instead. But, I've learned that, Ravell is a vanilla porter not a coffee porter. In Ravell the vanilla translates into coffee flavors for me. As the drink warms the chocolaty flavors appear.

Ravell is a well crafted, well balanced porter. The roasted malt dominates the flavor to the end but a skilled application of hops keeps the drink chewy without becoming too sweet. I give Ravell a 3.95 out of 5 pints.

Here's a photo of a guitar painted as a Magic Hat promotional item. I love these old el cheapo guitars and I love the random images I find when searchin' the entree'-net.

Paperback Friday: Joanna Russ & Theodore Sturgeon

And Chaos Died
Copyright 1970, Joanna Russ
An Ace Book. All Rights Reserved.
Original cover price: $.75.

To Sidney J Perelman and Valdimir Nabokov.

I have had this book for years, and years and read it long ago. I purchased it for two reasons; the cover art really leaps out at me and, at the time, I was pretty unfamiliar with female Sci-Fi writers. It is one of the few books that I have never returned to the used book stores but I still have only read it one time. I think it's about time for a review.



The Female Man
Copyright 1973 by Joanna Russ
A Bantam Book / February 1973
This book dedicated to Anne, to Mary and to
the other one and three-quarters billions of us.
Original cover price: $1.25.

I'm pretty sure I purchased The Female Man at the Friends of the Knox Co. Library Sale where I also found a copy of the Philip Jose Farmer novel Flesh. Someday I'll share the contents of both of these books with the blog-o-sphere.



Sturgeon in Orbit
Copyright 1964, Theodore Sturgeon
First Jove/HBJ edition published: January 1978
To the most patient of all editors, who is out-shown by Perkins only for his lack of a wolf, Don Bensen and his lovely wife Anne.
Original cover price: $1.50.

This is a collection of five short stories originally published in the pulps from 1951 to '55.



Next time I'll be featuring some Brian Stableford book covers.

Paperback Friday: Fletcher Pratt

Theses came from McKay Used Books and cost 65 and 75 cents respectively, they have not been read yet. I am glad I scanned these book covers as the cover for Alien Planet is now damaged due to the overly sticky price stickers from the book store. Now the green chicks torso and right arm are missing from the cover of the book!






Alien Planet; Kidnapped into Utopia
Copyright 1932, Teck Publishing Co.
Copyright 1962, Inga Pratt
An Ace Book by arrangement with
Thomas Bouregy & Co. Inc.
Second Ace Printing: January, 1973
Original cover price: 75 cents.








Invaders of Rigel
Copyright 1960, Fletcher Pratt
Bouregy Edition Printer: April, 1960
Airmont Edition Printer: January, 1964
An Airmont Book published by arrangement with Thomas Bouregy & Co. Inc.
Published simultaneously in the Dominion of Canada by the Ryerson Press, Toronto.
Published in the United States of America by the Colonial Press, Inc., Clinton, Massachusetts.
Original cover price: 95 cents.


Next up on Paperback Friday will be Joanna Russ.

Climb to T-shrit Tuesday

During the late 90s one of my main forms of entertainment was going to see the band Widespread Panic. I managed to pick up a few t-shirts then too. The one on the right has lyrics from the song Climb to Safety. Notice J.B., Panic's front man, is wearing a baseball jersey in the image on the t-shirt. I can't recall which song the lyrics from the shirt on the left are from?


Here is the first t-shirt that Sally ever bought for me. Appropriately
it says, "Rock n Roll will never die."


That's 48 shirts displayed and 317 remaining.

Let's visit my old friend Jack Handey and his book Deeper Thoughts again;
"Weather they ever find life there or not, I think Jupiter should be considered and enemy planet."

I wonder what Jack thinks about Pluto defrocked status? Perhaps I can find his e-mail address and ask him.

Flying Dog, Road Dog Porter

Let's get back to sampling some beers; There are two breweries who's beers I constantly keep in stock, these are Flying Dog and Magic Hat. I'll should be writing about these two breweries for a few weeks to come. It's about time for me to restock my supply of Flying Dog drinks which I usually buy in the mixed twelve-pack, which is marketed as Stray Dogs. I still have a few stashed away which I hope to share here.

Today I'll share my thoughts on Flying Dog's Road Dog Porter. Road Dog, like many dark beers, has a sour smell. (Maybe my nose has a limited range of smell references?) It pours a dark brown body with a good foamy beige head. The first sip reveals the flavors of the dark malts that are already apparent to the eye. I also detect a taste very similar to prunes in the mix.

The malty texture and tastes remain throughout until the last few sips turn a bit more bitter. Flying Dog has produced a good, if not great, Porter which is a mouth full of chocolatey malt flavor. While not as creamy as a Fuller's Porter, Road Dog is more economical and a admirable example of an American Porter.

I'm givin' Road Dog Porter 4 out of 5 pints.

Two by Frederik Pohl

I found these a various used book sales and haven't gotten around to reading either one of them. The art work is certainly indicative of the type of genre fiction which I intend to archive with this project.

The Best of Frederik Pohl
Copyright 1975, Frederik Pohl
Introduction: A Variety of Excellence copyright 1975,
Lester del Rey
Book Club Edition: March, 1975
First Printing: June, 1975
Cover art by Dean Eillis
Ballantine Books, A Division of Random House, Inc.
201 East 50th St. New York, N. Y. 10022
Simultaneously published by Ballantine Books, Ltd.
Toronto, Canada












The Space Merchants, Frederik Pohl & C. M. Kornbluth
Copyright 1952, 1953, Rediffusion Television Ltd.
A condensed version of the novel appeared in Galaxy magazine
under the title Gravy Planet.
First Edition: May, 1953
Ninth Edition: August, 1976


Next up for Paperback Friday is Fletcher Pratt.

Let's get ready for T-shirt Tuesday!

Here we have a shirt I bought this past winter. Blue Mountain Pizza is in Weaverville, N.C. where some of my in-laws live. I have only eaten there a few times but I love the place. Plus, it was Christmas time and I was in the spirit of giving, things to me and my money to others.


Here's another shirt I bought last fall. We live about fifteen miles from the Bass Pro Shop in Sevierville, Tn. and we finally went to the place last fall. My conclusion, they didn't have a thing that I couldn't find at Wal Mart. But, I don't hunt or fish so I probably missed a few exclusive items. I'll blend in with the natives with my Bass Pro Shop shirt.
45 shirts displayed, 320 theoretical shirts remaining.

So, I was wrong about Jack Handey . He's not Al Frankin at all, he's a real guy that helped Steve Martin write jokes. Steve introduced Handey to Lorin Michaels and the rest is television and publishing history. Jack's wife is actually named Marta too.

"I think a good gift for the President would be a chocolate revolver. And since he's so busy, you'd probably have to run up to him real quick and hand it to him."

I am afraid to comment on this one, due to the impending election and all.