Here's to the new boss...

She's not the same as the old boss, but she's much like him. I picked her up from the side of Asheville Hwy about a month ago. Sally says she's not sure why she is here and I said, "to avoid being road kill and, or procreation." We have named her Iris. She is almost exactly the same size and age that Pal was when I got him.

I took these photos a few weeks ago, when Sally was visiting North Alabama. In the second photo, I imagine Iris is saying, "where is the nice lady?" She was probably saying, "Why's this glass (window) between us?"

Que the Who, Here's to the new boss...!

Yazoo Brewing, Hefeweizen

Here's another brew from one of the many craft breweries of the South Eastern U.S. Yazoo Brewery is just down the road, in Nashville, Tn. Recently, I was delighted to spot Yazoo Hefeweizen in the cooler at my favorite pub and have since purchased a few to enjoy at home.

 Right out of the bottle this smells of flowers and Bananas. I have often heard of banana used in descriptions of Hefeweizen but have never experienced this level of detail in the style until now. After the pour the banana smell tapers off a bit, but the bananas are certainly apparent in the first sip.

Yazoo Hefe pours with very little carbonation, creating a thin, short lived head. The color is, very clear for the style, golden orange. The body of the beer flavor is, appropriately, reminiscent of fresh bread. Perhaps banana bread as banana flavors play hide and seek with my taste buds.

Yazoo Hefeweizen is one of my new favorites, I have to give it a 4.75 out of 5 pints, at least. 

Magic Hat Howl, Black Lager

So I've been writing about Magic Hat beers for nearly two years and still haven't written about #9, Vinyl, Wacko or their winter seasonal offering, Howl, Black Lager. Lemme get with the program!

With Howl and Ravell, Magic Hat is really leaning in the direction of dark beers and this is great too. Howl shares many of the flavor characteristics of Ravell but is a bit heavier on the tongue. My first impression of Howl leads me to believe that I'm drinking a Stout, this is no simple Black Lager.

The beer pours with plenty of foamy carbonated goodness. The first sip is a heavy coffee and dark chocolate flavor with just a bit of sweetness. Howl stays thick and malty through out and remains tart and stout as well. I'm tellin' ya, this one is a Stout! By comparison, Ravell has a  lighter mouth-feel and is more similar to other black lagers I have had.

Howl's not a beer that I'd hunt for in a six-pack but I'll  continue enjoying them when  Winterfest 12 Pack season returns. I'll give Howl a 3 out of 5 pints, while it was a great representative of it's style, perhaps I just drank it out of season? (Or, perhaps I should have enjoyed it with some chocolate chip cookies?)

Magic Hat, Encore IPA

I have been trying to write about this beer all year. It is very difficult for me to come to terms with a beer that mostly tastes like citrus juice. IPA is not one of my favorite styles but I  still enjoy it occasionally.

Magic Hat Encore pours with a good to great foamy head. I even over flowed the glass, and I haven't done that in ages. (I borrowed the photo from the entree-net, thus the lack of head in the photo.) The smell is yeast and citrus. The first sip is, what I associate with IPAs, grapefruit. The fruity and hoppy flavors dominate until the last sip. Encore's as good an IPA as I require and I give it a 4.5 of 5 possible pints and a Hats Off to Magic Hat.

Eulogy for a domestic pet

Warning: Sad Content Follows

 How do we eulogize a pet, how do we eulogize anyone? Our pets are friends and family and certainly earn their share of emotional attachment. So, the loss of any pet is not easy or pleasant to discuss but, invariably, as with much of life's unpleasantness, these things must be discussed.

Thus, I share with you all the passing of our FRI family cat  from this mortal coil. It seems he, Pal, developed cancer. Pal was a rescue cat and I am certain that his short life was much more pampered and joyful than any enjoyed by his litter mates. He met and loved many people during his short life and was known by many who had never met him.

In the words of Johnny Allen Hendrix, "Fly on my sweet angle. Fly on through the night."

2005 -- 3.24.2012

If he were still with us he would give me the very look in the photo, as if to say, "get on with your beer writing funny man."

April Twools!

That's two and fools combined, not an implication that this post is about tools. Although, it certainly could be and yes, I'm posting this photo all over the internet. (With similar comments.)

Cypress Mulch, that must be what the kids call it these days? With as much mileage as I'm getting out of this photo, I should give Kudos to the artist who painted these pallets of mulch in Lenior City.

Whatever happened to April Fool's?

Is April Fool's Day just an occasion for school boys? Do we out-grow the recognition of April Fool's Day as we become adults? There's no easy way to celebrate April Fool's, nothing simple like putting on a green shirt for St. Patrick's Day. Which brings up another point; they say that St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland which is obviously not the case. If St. Pat had driven all the snakes out of Ireland than James Joyce would have had a very different social landscape to memorialize.

I will add, it is no fun when April Fool's is on Sunday because any possible jokes and gags that might arrive at work are abandoned. Hopefully regular, foolish, postings will resume soon.