Beer Madness 2010
The Madness begins anew, and alas, I am not a judge again this year. This year's competition goes global, featuring 32 beers from 22 countries. Previous competitions were more localized to beers that were at least readily available in the DC area. So, let's take a look at the contenders.
The Lager bracket features a diverse lineup of international stalwarts (Stella Artois and Heineken), Asian up and comers (Tsingtao and Singha) and last year's lager winner The Raven. The favorite would have to be Pilsner Urquell, one of the purest examples of lager brewing out there.
The Dark bracket at long last includes Guinness, but is extremely competitive. Kostrizer Schwarzbier, Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout and Brooklyn Brown are strong contenders.
The Pale Ale side has some intriguing first round matchups. Newcomer Nogne O takes on stalwart Fuller's ESB and Chimay Red goes up against Smithwick's Irish Ale. Any one of them could win the region, but my favorite is still Troegs Hopback.
Finally we have the Freestyle bracket, with everything from fruit to funk. This is always the most interesting bracket to me, and it's unfortunate that two beers like Ephemere and St. Louis Framboise have to go up against each other in the first round. I think Ephemere takes the region, but watch out for wild card Hitachino Nest White Ale.
Final Four prediction: Pilsner Urquell, Brooklyn Brown Ale, Troegs Hopback, and Ephemere. Winner: Troegs Hopback.
Summerland
Summerland by Michael Chabon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
After reading his Pulitzer Prize winning "The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" a while back, I knew Michael Chabon was a talented author. Here, he has created at once an ode to baseball, a fantastic tale of fairies and giants, and a creation legend. Oh, and it's a "young adult" novel too, so it's extremely readable. This is the one I'll be giving to my kids to read when they think I'm crazy for going off on the designated hitter rule. Again.
Next up is Chabon's Manhood for Amateurs.
Scott Pilgrim (Volume 1)
Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What do you do when you've been slacking off with your reading due to the Olympics and other stuff? Graphic novels and young adult books!
I really wanted to run out and get the next volume of this series after reading the first one. This graphic novel sets up as almost normal (20-something slacker in a band obsessing over UPS delivery girl), but then blasts off into the bizarre (he has to defeat her 7 evil ex-boyfriends in battles, and there are also inter-dimensional portals involved). Too cool for words.
North Coast Pranqster
Golden orange color, head is mostly just light carbonation, doesn't stick around much.
Light aroma, not picking up much. A bit of spicy pepper almost, with some banana too.
It's got a bit of bite to it, but definitely cloves and some fruitiness to lighten things up too. The sweetness is what lingers on the palate, which is a good thing. Good Belgian flavor overall.
Overall rating: 4.05
Lowboy
Lowboy by John Wray
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It took me a while to finish this one, what with the Olympics going on and all, and I do wish I would have been able to read it at a better pace. But even so, I felt it was pretty fantastic. The pacing of it, and the way the author handles the characters, and schizophrenia in general, I just loved all of it. It is a little out there though, getting into the head of a schizophrenic, of course. But it really is the voice that makes the book work so well.
Olympic Curling Preview
The long awaited curling competition gets underway today at the Vancouver Games. The men's side begins at 12 eastern on USA (and online) against Germany while the women will start off against Japan at 5pm on CNBC.
On the men's side, the clear favorite is defending world champion Kevin Martin. Martin is one of the best curlers in the world, if not the best right now. The US men, frankly, have little chance of winning it all. They're just too young and inexperienced, but hopefully they will be able to build from here and get even better. With some luck, they might be able to squeeze into the medal round, but I'm predicting a 6th place finish. Also, watch out for the Norwegian John Daly-style pants. Stylish!
For the women, Debbie McCormick has been there before. She won the world championship in 2003, and is ready to go in Vancouver. She should at least make the playoff round. However, the other teams in the field are strong as well. I look for Canada to win gold against China, and Sweden to take the bronze.
Curling is one of the high points of the NBCOlympics.com coverage. You can watch every game live online, so be sure to bookmark the curling page and come back at noon Eastern time today to check out the action. You can also check out FULL event replays of the men's downhill, among others. This way you can watch all the important runs, and not just what NBC thinks is important. They even bookmark the videos to mark the spots when the Americans are featured. Pretty cool.
Bell’s Sparkling Ale
Pale gold color. Average head with a little lacing on the glass.
Yeasty, sweet aroma. Definitely throws me into a Belgian state of mind.
Very fruity, very sweet taste. There is a little bit of peppery bite, but the orange sweetness tends to dominate. Smooth going down too.
Wish I could be more descriptive, but getting over a minor cold is killing me. Even so, my senses were awoken by this beer. Very good.
Overall rating: 4.3
The Unnamed
The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I see that I previously gave Then We Came to the End 4 stars, though it was probably more like 4.5 stars. So it may be hard to rate this higher than that, but I do think it comes close. Joshua Ferris steps out of the office, literally, and takes us on a road trip without the cars. But despite the focus on the "unnamed" disease afflicting the main character, what drew me in was the intensity of his focus on the people. Tim, the hardworking lawyer beset by his walking spells; Jane, his devoted and loving wife, who picks him up while trying to deal with her own problems and her own life; and Becka, his teenage daughter wanting his love and attention. The hardship his disease causes all these people and how it affects their lives is what really makes the novel work.
There was enough in here that I thought didn't quite work that I can't quite give it five stars, but make no mistake: it really is a standout novel.
Terrapin Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout
My wife's observation: "So what's the latest motor oil you're drinking?" That describes the look pretty well. Black as night, the head was about a finger, hung around for a while, but didn't leave any lacing for me.
Aroma really pops with the coffee. Good coffee too, not something that's been burning on the hot plate of your mechanic's all day.
Pretty straight forward flavor too. More coffee, a bit of burnt malt. Searching for something else, but not coming up with anything. Only the slightest bit of alcoholic warmth at the back of my throat, which is a good thing.
Unfortunately, the burnt flavor is what lingers to me, with that little alcohol burn too. I personally couldn't drink more than one of these at a time, that coffee is really almost overwhelming. I'd go with the Founders Breakfast Stout myself.
Overall rating: 4.05
Under The Dome
Under the Dome by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
You have to give Stephen King credit: he knows how to give his fans what they want. In the case of Under the Dome, he gets right out of the gate with some nice slicing and dicing, a few explosions, and keeps the pedal on the metal from there. Now, his critics would probably complain about the nice, neat ending, where the bad guys get theirs, and the good guys, minus a few casualties, "win," but I'm not one of those critics. This book may not have the classic horror aspect of some of his other books, but the absolute horror of human nature put under stress is far scarier than a lot of his classic horror.
Up next is The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris, book #4 of my 50 book challenge for 2010.
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