Lone Wolf Beer Review: Brooklyn Black Ops

I'm going to do something unheard of... post a lone review. This time, it's of Brooklyn's rare offering Black Ops. I'm going to start posting lone reviews if I don't think I'll have enough to write about, which I'm worried about due to a limited budget. I had heard rumors and whisperings of this beer on the BeerAdvocate forums and decided that I needed to give it a try. It has all the things I like in a beer: high abv, tons of character, high reviews, it's a stout, and it's aged for four months in bourbon barrels. Because I'm STILL without a snifter (damn my clumsy hands,) I was forced to use my Chimay chalices yet again. However, I did it differently this time. I only poured about 2 fingers of beer at a time to attempt to utilize the wide mouth of the chalice. While I note that this is not the same as channeling the scent from a wide basin through a narrow opening, I thought it'd be good for dispersing the scent. It pours straight black with a little bit of brown/tan fuzz which quickly disappears except around the points where the beer makes contact with the sides of the glass. Little to no lacing clings to the side of the glass, but that could be due to the fact that I had such small pours and it wasn't exactly the perfect glassware for this endeavor. Smell reveals bourbon and coffee primarily, like most good bourbon aged stouts, with hints of a sweetness. My girlfriend made the comment that the smell reminded her of something that was associated with ice cream. We finally decided that it was traces of vanilla beans that people have been speaking of in the forums. The initial taste really was interesting. I couldn't decide whether I liked it or not. First sip was very earthy, like smelling sweet soil or pure coffee grounds. That's not to say it's bad, it's just interesting. That is most likely due to the carbonation and whatnot that the special yeast release that's captured within those bourbon barrels. As it warms up, it begins to take the character of Founders Kentucky Breakfast, but less boozy and more fizzy. I must say, throughout the tasting experience, I was reminded of Sam Adams Chocolate Bock, except that this was that idea taken to perfection (I contemplated lowering the review of the SACB down to a 9 or 9.5, but can't justify it. I loved the SACB and think that I would buy it anytime.) This beer is spectacular. As this beer warms, the dark fruits, molasses, and bourbon seep up into your taste buds with a slight hint of the sweet vanilla bean. Throughout the experience there's a slight taste of bitterness and bourbon that makes up the hop signature. Also, people have spoken of its "drinkability," a term that I've began to loath as a result of those atrocious Bud Light commercials, and it is unusually smooth for a high octane brew like this. The long-term hop signature is straight molasses, coffee, and bourbon. Anyways, if you're a fan of bourbon aged stouts, this is absolutely a no-miss brew. The only drawbacks come in its rarity and its price. I payed $24 at Publick House Provisions who claimed they had already sold a third of their only case a day after receiving it (yeah, I was lucky I called.) Anyways, since it's the Christmas season, and I had a little extra money in my wallet thanks to my uncle, I couldn't pass this rare brew up.

My rating: 10/10

Poured: Small amounts into Chimay chalices

BeerAdvocate: Link

Beginning of an affair: Stone Brewery

I'm apparently very very late to the Stone brewery party. I figured this out due to the fact that everyone I ask (that enjoys good beer) has had a brew or two from Stone. For me, it all started about a month ago with an Imperial Russian Stout. I was blown away! I had my fair share of RIS before, but this was absolutely perfect - creamy and roasty without being overwhelming while packing a good punch. Later, I would come to find out not only that this beer would be voted the second best beer ever by BeerAdvocate, but also that their brewery would be voted the best in the world. Two honors that, honestly, I didn't know before having my first 3 stone brews. My second and third came literally simultaneously while back at home visiting my family for the holidays. On tap at the Uptown Grille was Arrogant Bastard, a nice strong ale that I'd never tried before. It was excellent. My dad got a chalice of the Double Bastard, which he enjoyed so much that he stopped on the way home and picked up two bombers of it! I have to say, they brew beer that packs a punch and definitely has character. I'm looking forward to giving some of their other famous brews a try, such as their Ruination IPA, Oaked Arrogant Bastard, and I've heard rumors of some new special brews coming out about now.

That being said, Stone now gives me a top 5 favorite breweries which are, in no particular order: Stone, Southern Tier, Brooklyn, Founders, and Sam Adams.

Also, I'm headed out in a few minutes to attempt to track down the elusive Brooklyn Black Ops bourbon barrel aged stout... it looks like it's got my name written all over it!

This Week in Beer 5: Christmas Edition

This post is going to be all over the place seeing as I wrote this at several different times. First, I hope everyone had a great time with their families or whatnot over the holidays. Secondly, this post is going to be very brief, which is to be expected. Uh, I think that's it. Thirdly, I'd like to quickly declare my undying love for Founders' Red's Rye... it's amazing. If you have a chance to pick up a six and like a relatively hoppy brew that's creamy... you MUST pick some up. Without further ado...

Beer For the Holidays

So I just got back from my neighborhood friendly beer store (which happens to be outstanding,) and this is what I ended up with: 3x4 Pack Founders Breakfast Stout, 6 Pack Founders Red's Rye IPA, 1.94 St. Bernardus ABT 12, and a Southern Tier Backburner Barleywine for me and 4 Pack Dogfish Head 90, 1.94 La Chouffle Houblon IPA Trippel, 1.94 Piraat IPA Trippel for my dad. As you no doubt notice, he has a thing for hoppy beers. It's good to have appropriate glassware again for my beers, as my parents are well stocked with glasses and accessories! (Also, there's a 4 pack of Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial porter in the fridge)

Reviews

I'm always very willing to praise Dogfish Head. Despite their being one of the biggest of the "smaller craft breweries," they also take a lot of brewing risks. Last week, I watched an episode of "How Stuff Works" that dealt with the topic of beer. They interviewed Dogfish Head brewmaster and CEO Sam Calagione several times and followed him and several other employees and the message coming through was that they were proud of their risk taking. I don't mean to blatantly plagiarize, but hey, it makes my job easier. Seriously though, I think really think they're great at the fruity, crazier beers, and am excited whenever they announce one of their projects. Anyways, the brew I'm talking about today is their Midas Touch, a doozy of a 9% ABV little spicy/wine-y/experiment of a beer. It pours a deep amber which, when held up to the light, even may appear a bit purple (while retaining clarity) with about a finger of fine off-white head. Smell is grapes, raisins, lots of tart fruit complexity. Second wiff smells a bit like ethiopian honey wine... probably the grapes. First taste is very boozy, very complex, and very fruity. Second sip is, much like the second sniff, straight honey wine. I really think those who have tried ethiopian honey wine or even mead will enjoy this beer. It's not overly sweet (although my girlfriend maintains it is quite sweet,) but has a lot of initial character. Aftertaste is almost like one you'd expect from a sweet wine. All in all, I'd say an OK beer, but perhaps I'd prefer a good mead or honey wine to this beer.

My rating: 6/10

Poured: Tulip

BeerAdvocate: Link

Following on the Dogfish Head path, let's talk about one of their extreme beers. Extreme, high gravity, high octane... they are all terms that the industry/beer geeks use to describe beers with high ABVs. Dogfish Head's World Wide Stout is definitely one of these. Clocking in at 18% ABV, drinking a whole bottle of this is almost the equivalent of four smaller beers. I've only had the opportunity to try a small batch of these extreme beers (Sam Adams Triple Bock, Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra, Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA,) so perhaps I don't understand what they're all about. As near as I can tell, these extreme beers are meant to be enjoyed in much the came way as a fine cognac; in a snifter at a relatively warmer temperature little bit by little bit. Unfortunately, having broken my snifter recently, the only snifter type glass I have is my Chimay chalice set, so I had to use one of those. This beer poured a dark brown with a small brown head that dissipated quickly. I was impressed how relatively transparent this brew was for being so heavy - the Sam Adams Triple Bock, for example, my girlfriend and I termed "liquid shadows" due to its consistency and the fact that it actually absorbed light. Returning to the DFH WWS, it swirled nicely in the glass, leaving a signature much like something of a cognac or a liqueur. Smell is very boozy; I was distraught just smelling it because you really can't smell much else. On second thought, it smells a lot like soy sauce. Only slightly roast malts buried underneath an ocean of alcohol. In the mouth, however, it's really quite pleasant. Very roasty, and the booze imparts the flavor of dark fruits, much like the other Dogfish Head extreme offerings. The aftertaste burns a little, much like taking a shot or a swig of a poorly mixed cocktail, although the roasty signature left on your tongue. This beer is pretty good, although, at the price I paid for it (over 10 for a 12oz bottle,) I'd have to say that this beer isn't worth the price. Perhaps for some people, as this beer has been very well received in the beer community, but the alcohol content, to me, just comes off as a bit gimmicky. For the money, I'd rather be drinking something a little more flavorful on its own, not as a component of the alcohol.

My rating: 7.5/10

Poured: Chimay chalice

BeerAdvocate: Link

As per usual, I've been searching the BeerAdvocate forums for the newest and best beer. One recommendation I stumbled upon Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale. As a member of the IPA family, I wouldn't have normally purchased such a beer without good reviews. I'm not a huge IPA fan, but can appreciate a good IPA. Anyways, this brew poured a hazy amber with a huge formidable head. I'm talking four fingers of pure hops. When left to sit for a few minutes, this monster died down a bit. Smell was straight hops son, right from beginning to end. Like most good IPAs that I've sampled, it's hoppy, but doesn't sting the tongue, which is nice. In fact, this beer is very pleasant! It counters the hoppiness with some great creamy malts. It rolls down the throat leaving a relatively strong hop signature on the tongue, again, without being overwhelming. I think I'm definitely biased towards a well-crafted DIPA such as Red's Rye, but this is a great IPA that I would say definitely has its place on my regular beer list - especially considering how affordable it is! All in all, I definitely wish I had another one of these, as I would crack it open right now!

My rating: 8.5/10

Poured: Imperial Pint/Session Glass

BeerAdvocate: Link

This Week in Beer 4: School's Out Forever!

It's almost Christmas time again! You know what that means... cooking, extended family, shopping, presents, etc.. This year, I've been lucky enough to receive two early Christmas presents: Rock Band 2 for Xbox 360 + $30 for DLC (which I promptly transformed into songs by Boston, No Doubt [old stuff - Spiderwebs,] Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jimmy Buffet [come on, it's necessary] and The Police) and a bottle of Sam Adams Chocolate Bock! I was far beyond content with Rock Band alone, but the beer was an amazing bonus (see its review for details.) I'm really looking forward to heading back home for the Holidays, although I know what awaits me is going to be nothing short of frenetic. I can't complain too much, my life as a graduate student has hardly been difficult (although, as you've no doubt noticed from the title of this post, I've finished with my in-class requirement! Now, all I have to do is finish my masters thesis... a task that's far easier said than done.) Anyways, I know times have been tough this year with the economy as down as it is, but try to do those that you love a favor this year for the holidays, and unless you have something really perfect picked out for them and on the condition that they like/appreciate beer, buy them a bottle of beer you think they might like! Also, if this means buying a 750 mL bottle for a group of people, or a bottle per person, it matters not. The point is just to share the great beer. For example, last Christmas, I introduced my aunt to Spaten Lager and was quite happy to see the results. She had been a long time Heineken drinker and liked something with a bit of carbonation. While Spaten isn't the best beer in the world, it's one of my personal standbys. Anyways, just do it! After all, what could be nicer than sitting around the first on Christmas night with a few good friends/family passing around a snifter of a great stout or tulip of spiced ale to round out the night? Not much... Also, I recently added a quick at-a-glance section for scores on the right of the page and will update these whenever I review something new. Check it out!

FAQ

My question for the week that I'm answering is: "Why is this 'This Week in Beer 4' and not 'This Week in Beer 3' since there was no 'This Week in Beer 1?'"

Answer: I'm a bit of a slacker, and can sometimes lose interest in things really fast. "This Week in Beer 1" actually did exist, just only as a draft that was subsequently deleted. In fact, that post was originally written about a year ago and was supposed to be a review of Bell's Batch 8000. However, at that point in my life I was more concerned with drinking good beer and not appreciating it which, in retrospect, pains me. However, it did lead me to a point of appreciation of beer, which I can't complain too much about. For any of you wondering what I had to say about the Batch 8000, I loved it. I remember it being very heavy and thick on the tongue with a spicy orange peel and coriander (as advertised on the bottle!) taste. I feel like too much time has passed to remember exactly what I thought of it, but I what I remember was all positive, and I probably would have given it an 8 or 8.5 out of a possible 10.

Cooking with Beer: The Beginning... (Newcastle Pot Roast)

So, I'm not a fabulous cook. Honestly, I've never been in a position where I do a lot of cooking so don't know more than the formulas for a few Casseroles and whatnot. This week, I decided to be adventurous and try cooking with beer! Anyone who knows me knows that my brain works in funky ways - for example, I don't like using recipes unless I absolutely have to; I'd prefer to know how ingredients interact together and then use what I know to cook better food or experiment with things. That being said, when learning how things work together, I have to follow recipes. I found a simple Pot Roast recipe on the internet and decided to give it a whirl. It asked that I cut my pot roast into slices and flash fry them on both sides so that they were seared and released a bit of their juices. After that, I caramelized some onions in their grease and then added some flour to make a roux. To the roux I added about a cup of Newcastle and stirred until it thickened. Basically, all that's left to do then is add the beef back in and cook for 2 1/2 hours until extremely tender. Served with asparagus and slightly drizzled the "gravy" over the final product. This recipe was a fairly big success for me, and I'm happy with it. I'm looking forward to trying some different beers with this recipe (and am always open to suggestions either on the cooking end or the beer end, so please leave comments!) and trying other recipes that use beer. 

Victory Tasting at the Publick House Provisions

I will mention ahead of time how excited I am to attend this event. I am writing/updating my draft on Thursday morning, enjoying my week off and getting a chance to surf the BeerAdvocate forums and reviews for new suggestions. As such, I've been looking through the BeerSpy calendar for events I wanted to attend, and this immediately jumped out at me. I'm a huge fan of their Storm King RIS and have tried others, such as Scarlet Moon and Hop Devil. I'm really hoping to get a taste of their Old Horizontal Barleywine, as I'm a fan of Barleywines but don't really know much about them but have sampled a few which were to my liking. Aside from that, I don't know whether they'll bring anything cool like an aged Storm King or anything although I heard that the representative from Brooklyn Breweries brought some one year aged Black Chocolate Stout and it was amazing. That being said, damn was I jealous! Damn you Thursday night classes and your interfering with beer tasting agenda! I'll update my post as soon as I get back to follow up on my expectations and whatnot (which I'll leave here, and just add the new stuff in.)

Update: So these beer tastings are really nice. They may not be much in terms of production, or planned speeches or anything, but the employees of the Publick House store are always very knowledgeable and friendly, and the representatives sent always know a good amount about the product and are willing to talk about it. I was also happy because they had a solid showing there (Prima Pils, Hop Devil, Storm King, Old Horizontal [yes!,] and Hop Wallop.) The Old Horizontal, which you know I was excited about, was very very tasty. Clocking in at 11% ABV, this was a nice sweet barleywine that I'll definitely be reviewing soon. I didn't try the IPA style stuff, as I haven't been in a huge hop mood lately. I have to say, I'm a heavy beer guy primarily although I can appreciate a good IPA (despite preferring DIPAs.) The Storm King, as always, was delicious and the Prima Pils was a nice light pils. What I liked about it was its kinda earthy flavor, and that it wasn't overly sweet. I look forward to having another one in late spring/early summer.

Aside from that, ended up doing another mix-a-six with Mere, walked out with a bottle of Old Horizontal, Young's Oatmeal Stout, Sierra Nevada Celebration (heard great things about on the BA forums,) Dogfish Head World Wide Stout (which I'm really excited about,) Stone RIS (which looks awesome,) and Dogfish Head Midas Touch (which looks interesting, one of Mere's picks but I always like spicy/fruity beer.) Hopefully I'll have reviews for those in here next week!

 

*I like Southern Tier's Backburner as something I can find regularly, although the best Barleywine I ever tried was the Schlafly Reserve Barleywine that Mere brought back from Kentucky. Others sampled included Nantucket's Baggywrinkle [meh,] Smuttynose Wheatwine [really boozy, but good,] Avery's Hog Heaven [pretty good,] and Arcadia's Cereal Killer [also pretty good])

Deep Ellum

This past Tuesday evening, Pat and I had been invited to a local band showcase over at Harper's Ferry by one of Pat's friends who plays in a band. Beforehand, I asked to stop by Deep Ellum, and I had heard very good things but had never been there. Being at the corner of N. Beacon and Cambridge, it's really close to Harper's Ferry, so that was convenient. The atmosphere is really cool: it's a tiny place maybe 8 tables and 20 bar stools with the longest wall being made of brick and the far wall being covered by a black and white painting. I had heard excellent things about their choices of beer: they have about 20 draft lines that they regularly rotate in and out and also have one beer on cask at all times. I had looked on their website and was excited to get to try a porter on cask, but unfortunately, they had gone through that and were left with a Ridgeway Blue. While a good beer, I was in the mood for some heavier beer (my first beer of the night was an Old Rasputin on nitro.) Pat had the Victory Baltic Thunder (a good choice... I should have gone with one of these second) and Unibroue's La Fin Du Monde. I'd like to come here when I'd have a chance to try some food - Pat and I split a cheese board which was awesome, sporting four hand selected cheeses each with their own accompaniments - but the food everyone was ordering around us looked amazing. That being said, I'd like to get a chance to come back here whenever, it's a really cool, and totally different than I expected (i.e. not a hipster infested trend-hole.) Harper's Ferry, on the other hand, is a bit of a pit. The good thing is that they have some seating and a couple decent size bars, so I don't have to stand up if I want to hear good music. I will say, in terms of music, if anyone is reading this from the Boston area and wants to see some decent younger bands play indie rock, I recommend Neighborhood, Forest Henderson, and High Speed Steal; all fun to see live and play some fun music.

Reviews

After perusing the BeerAdvocate reviews for a while, I stumbled across Unibroue's La Fin Du Monde. It had been lauded as an excellent abbey ale by the Alstrom Brothers, and I'm always down for a good abbey ale. Pat had this over at Deep Ellum, as said above, and it poured an unfiltered apricot with about a 2 or 3 finger golden head. The scent was rather unremarkable: smelled like your typical good abbey or belgian style ale. However, what met my palate was something very very nice. It's an extremely spicy beer! Spicy in the same way Chimay Red is, except magnified greatly. It's nice and thick in the mouth and tastes like the holidays! This beer comes highly recommended to anyone who enjoys a good abbey ale/belgian style ale and wants a little something different from the normal stock belgian experience. I'm hoping they might have a draft line over at the Publick House devoted to this for the holidays - if so, I'm going to have to head over and get one.

My rating: 9/10*

Poured: Abbey Ale Tulip from 12 oz bottle

BeerAdvocate: Link

*I have to note that I did not drink a whole one of these. Rather, I took several sips of the one Pat was drinking and formed an opinion based upon that. We left for the show shortly thereafter, but if we had stuck around for another drink, I would have most certainly had one of these!

I'm a sucker for limited edition beers... or beers with a cool label, fancy cork, foil wrapping, etc. I like when people draw attention to their beers, and perhaps that makes me an easy sell. After all, that's how I became introduced to one of my favorite brews, Southern Tier Gemini; that extremely infuriating gold wax around the cap. That being said, living in the Boston area has allowed me to hear a lot of gossip about the fabled Samuel Adams Utopias and other extreme beers that they brewed.  A while back, I had the opportunity to try their Triple Bock; an 18% abv soy sauce kick in the pants that was too strong and very odd. Later, we came to find out that the most recent batch was brewed in 1997, and due to proper storage/cellaring techniques, many of the unopened bottles were skunked. This afternoon, while picking up a bottle of Newcastle for cooking purposes, I came across another Sam Adams "extreme" offering (although I'd prefer to see it stated as "limited edition" rather than "extreme" as the abv is only slightly above 5%,) the Chocolate Bock. It pours a very dark brown/red (you have to hold it up to the light to see through it, but it's a really pleasant and rich ruby color) with about half a finger of head which quickly fizzles down to swirls. Smell is very rich: smells creamy malts, slight chocolate syrup, a hint of vanilla and a hint of coffee. Very light on the tongue, carbonation and hops fizz slightly. Taste is malty, subdued chocolate, but ultimately mimics the smell - very very good brew. Little to no aftertaste minus a slight chocolate-y leftover. All in all, this beer doesn't disappoint, perfect at what it attempts. Chocolate is just the right amount, not overwhelming. I can't say how pleased I am with this beer. Plus, now I get to keep the bottle, and it's really cool. Ultimately, a great early Christmas present!

My rating: 10/10*

Poured: Chimay Chalice (must acquire a new snifter)

BeerAdvocate: Link

* This beer is far from being cheap. At my local beer store (Reservoir Wine and Spirits,) it was around $17 for one bottle. I did, prior to drinking, start a thread on BeerAdvocate asking people for their opinions of this year's batch, to which they all universally stated that the price was too high for such a beer. However, I honestly felt like I got exactly what I paid for, and would gladly pay this again if I wanted more. In fact, it's a shame that this beer doesn't come in a six-pack.

** This beer is usually pretty well received, but there are reviewers out there that feel like this is just "meh" and very overpriced. The only thing I can think of is that this is due to the ABV of the beer. I don't think there necessarily needs to be a correlation between price and ABV, and obviously others don't as well as long as Lindemans Framboise is still selling. This beer was amazing in just about every way.

Also of Note: This beer is not very true to form. It's less of a bock and more of a cream stout or malty porter. I noted this, but was ultimately willing to overlook it because, honestly, I didn't care.

Not much in terms of reviews this week as I've been a bit strapped for cash with the holidays coming and whatnot. I also apologize for how contentious my Chocolate Bock review was, but I felt like I should address all the possible points that people have been making on the forums in order for people reading this to get adequately acquainted with this brew. Additionally, it's likely that my next TWIB will be a very hurried couple of reviews written at home while attempting to dodge the family for 15 minutes. I guess it's going to be a crazy holiday this year with my mom telling me to expect at least 31 people for Christmas dinner. Holy cow! I'm going to need a couple good beers to get me through that evening (and some good strength and energy... I'm always on dish duty during the holidays.) If I don't get around to posting another update next week, which might be a definite possibility, have some great time with the people you love these holidays!

This Week in Beer 3: Chimay Night

This Week in Beer 3

Another week, another opportunity to share with the world my thoughts on beer and the beer world. This week, I speak about an event that I was quite looking forward to attending (Celebrating 25 years of American distribution for Chimay) as well as anything else that's going on in the beer world. A warning, this is going to be an extremely brief post as I have a paper that is due in about 48 hours that very much needs to be finished. Damn you René Descartes!

 

Chimay's 25 Years

While we were up in the air at first about whether this was going to be an interesting and fun event, our fears were quickly dispelled as soon as we walked in. The Mission on Huntington Ave is an upscale bar, located right at the edge of the "Longwood" district containing most of Boston's medical schools. The crowd was almost exclusively late 20 to early 30 somethings looking to have an after-work drink. That being said, it was crowded, but, luckily for us, not many people knew about the Chimay anniversary. The Chimay contingent basically contained a table full of "young professionals" who were apparently part of their American distribution team and then an older man who, as near as I can tell (he gave me his card, although I don't remember where it is) is a liaison between the monks and the distribution apparatus. I spent about 20 minutes talking to him later in the evening, asking him questions such as "what's it like to work for one of the 'big 7' (trappist monasteries)?" and "do you get a lot of competition from the likes of people such as Westvletern?" Later in the evening, he became a lot more, how should I put it, candid. I guess that's what happens when you spend an entire evening drinking Chimay Cinq Cents at 8% ABV. The highlight of the evening was most certainly the free stuff (hell, that was the whole reason that I wanted to go in the first place!) This older gentleman bought us a round of drinks which came in special anniversary Chimay chalices which he told us we'd be able to hang on to. The deal got even sweeter, the more drinks we bought, the more chalices we could get! Mere and I left with 4 special chalices and Pat with 4 as well. We also got Chimay keychain bottle-openers. All in all, some great beer coupled with amazing free stuff made this a lot of fun. Pat and I went from there to the Publick House where he had a Saison Dupont on draft and I had a Bernardus 12 and a Southern Tier Krampus. This ended up being a bad decision for me; damn was I hungover! Note to self, don't save very high octane sweet beers for the end of the night.

Reviews

Another review offering from the Sam Adams Winter Holiday Pack (I don't actually know what it's called, but I'm going to call it this because, why not?) is the Cream Stout. Pours black with a slight light beige swirly head that dissipates rapidly. First smell is straight coffee grounds, son; it's like sticking your nose in a can of Maxwell House. Second or third smell reveals roasty and creamy rich malts. This is an extremely smooth stout. The coffee taste is combined very well with the roasted malts to leave a very rich and satisfying taste on your tongue. About half way through a glass, it becomes a little more bitter; another ode to the coffee. Lacing on the glass is minimal. A very enjoyable beer, but if you're looking for something to keep you warm on a cold winter night, I'd suggest perhaps something a bit stronger along the lines of RIS or American stouts, such as Old Rasputin (super roasty!), Victory Storm King, Founders Breakfast, Southern Tier Oat, Southern Tier Choklat, etc. This is a solid brew, but far from being the best in the Boston Beer Holiday Pack (that honor belongs thus far to Holiday Porter, which is a hell of a beer from a brewery like Sam Adams. If I can afford another holiday value pack in the next week or so, I'll do a review)

My rating: 7/10

Poured: Chimay Chalice (would recommend wide-mouth/snifter also)

BeerAdvocate: Link

This next review is perhaps the easiest one I could ever write. As most of you know, I'm a huge fan of Southern Tier brews. Weirdly enough, this doesn't make reviewing them any easier. I think it's due to the fact that I set the bar higher for every brew of theirs I drink and like. As such, it becomes harder and harder for them to keep brewing good stuff... or maybe I'm biased, I have no idea, but I'm willing to accept either explanation. Regardless, Southern Tier Choklat Imperial Stout has only one thing to be based on, and that's the "source material," if you will - Chocolate. It pours like oil into a glass, opaque as a wall. The scent is straight Hershey's Chocolate Syrup, son, which made me want to guzzle the whole thing, or perhaps mix it with milk. This was an after dinner drink for us enjoyed after some seafood (and a long MBTA ride home.) It was a good dessert beer, very creamy when swirling around your mouth, even at 11% ABV; by the way, each and every one of those 11 percents are well buried underneath mountains of chocolate. Honestly, drinking this is kinda what I envisioned the experience of swimming in Wonka's chocolate lake would be like... with the added benefit of alcohol! I have to admit, this brew is not for the faint of heart, nor non-chocolate enthusiasts, but it's an honest brew, taking what it's trying to do and doing it perfectly.

My rating: 9/10*

Poured: Snifter

BeerAdvocate: Link

*This beer rated so high as per the last line in my review, namely that it accomplish exactly what it attempted and the presentation was a delicious dessert beer. I could see people thinking it's easily a 3/10 or 5/10 as the chocolate is borderline overwhelming. In this case, I attribute this to the title of the beer, the chocolate bars on the front, the Mayan chocolate currency discussion on the side, etc.

+ Update: There has been some discussion on the BeerAdvocate forums about this latest batch being less chocolate-y and viscous and more bitter, hoppy, and "hot." Having not tried the previous batch, I cannot comment to this extent, but I will note that there the only hoppiness/bitterness detected at all was in the form of an initial "twinge" or "sting" on the tongue which is insignificant at most and imperceptible at least. This is not a bitter brew by anyone's standards - it's sweet and rich chocolate! As to the consistency, again, I cannot comment, but for being such a robust and rich stout, you'd think there'd be a little more there. One cannot, after all, drink something like Founders' Kentucky Breakfast without thinking about how it almost "coats" the mouth and throat. All in all, I still rate this beer highly for accomplishing exactly what it sets out to do... robust chocolate!

Brooklyn is usually excellent in everything they brew. I love their Lager, their pilsner is top notch, and their Black Chocolate Stout is a thing of legends. One brew that I hadn't tried of theirs was the East India Pale Ale. Mere and I bought a six of it and drank it. Here's our original thoughts: we both thought the beer was borderline undrinkable! It pours a hazy apricot with about a finger of light head. The "hop sting" on your tongue is pretty severe even despite it being a lower octane IPA. However, that hop sting is not natural and factors into the taste. At the front of the taste is a taste which we could only characterize as "solvent," perhaps even reminding one of the early days of school and the scent of rubber cement while making projects and whatnot. I would even go so far as to say that it tastes a bit like earwax (trust me, it's been many years since I accidentally put something in my mouth that had been in my ear, but once you get that taste, it's not one you readily forget.) I had hoped that there would be a smooth or creamy aftertaste that would help to cope with the hop solvent, but unfortunately the taste ends as soon as you swallow it with just that caustic hop signature on the end. The mouthfeel, aside from the sting, is pretty consistent and even. All in all, I'd say it'd be an understatement to say I was very disappointed with this beer (and Pat said that this beer "made him angry.")

My rating: 2/10*

Poured: Imperial Pint/Session Glass

BeerAdvocate: Link

*Edit: I have been told later that I shouldn't have expected an American IPA/DIPA when testing this beer and that my lack of knowledge of what a British IPA is tainted my opinion. However, although I go by what a beer advertises itself as, I ultimately judge independently of this. This is why I publish these reviews in my blog and not on some other site such as BeerAdvocate, because I'm being very subjective and speaking to my own tastes. Anyone who reads these review should be aware that they're nothing more than suggestions, and obviously, they should form their own opinions or consult other opinions before purchasing beer, especially expensive beer. That being said, I still stand firm, that this beer had an offensive solvent-esque taste at the front which polluted the hops throughout. Perhaps I had a skunked six-pack of it, but I don't want to jump to that conclusion

Unfortunately, that's all for this week. Now, if you'd so kindly excuse me, I have to get back to proving that Descartes' Discourse on Method is a treatise about communication of ideas and the problems associated with that. As soon as that's completed, Rock Band 2 is on the agenda (early Christmas present ftw!)

This Week in Beer 2: December 1st

This Week in Beer 2: I'm Back!

After a long hiatus in the blogging world, I'm back! What better way to come back than to rant and rave about something that most of you reading this just won't give a shit about - beer! Just kidding, although sometimes I wonder who reads this. This has been a really good week for beer. Between my parents coming into town and a recent beer tasting at Publick House Provisions, it's been really hard to complain. However, the tasting itself was rather underwhelming. My introduction to this event was on the BeerAdvocate beer calendar, and I decided it'd be something that'd get me out of the apartment and out doing stuff, and also give me the opportunity to perhaps try some good beer (and I also figured since I'd be down at PHP, it'd be unacceptable to pass up the opportunity to pick up a mix-a-six grab bag of amazing beers.) As such, I'll comment about this tasting first, then go into other beer stuff.

Features - Merchant du Vin Tasting Session @ PHP

The tasting was hosted by the Merchant du Vin importer, one which is responsible for some good beers (think Trappist Rochefort, Trappist Orval, Trappist Westmalle, the Celebrator line, Ayinger, Samuel Smith, etc.) However, their showcase was very limited: they only had a bottle of Ayinger Ur-Weiss, Trappist Orval, Trappist Westmalle Dubbel, and the famous Lindeman's Framboise. I sampled everything except the Framboise, which I know from experience is little more than Raspberry Soda with no real alcohol (2.7% ABV - for shame!) I always hypothesized that one could never get drunk even if they slammed an entire wine size bottle of Framboise, which I would back up at any given time if someone were to challenge me (those of you who know me know how much of a lightweight I am, and if it even had around 4% ABV, it'd probably be more than significant to get me going - after all, from previous drinking endeavors in my undergraduate career, I knew that 2 or 3 coors lights could get me rolling.) Anyways, it was nice to try the Orval again, the last time I had a bottle of that was over an entree of Pumpkin Ravioli at the Publick House. It's nice and crisp with just a hint of bitter. The thing I always love noting is the head on Trappist ales, they're perfect - never any froth, just comprised of visible bubbles uniform in size. They always leave beautiful lacing on the glasses as well. The Westmalle dubbel was nice as well. Pat, Mere and I split a mix-a-six, settling on 2 beers a piece we'd love to share with each other (Me: St. Bernardus ABT 12, Trappist Rochefort 8; Pat: Delerium Noel, Old Engine Oil; and Mere: Founders Red's Rye, Southern Tier Raspberry Porter) and I coupled in two large bottles: one of Southern Tier Choklat and Dogfish Head Pangaea.

Back to the Roadhouse

With my parents in town and my dad lobbying for a good place to watch the Red Wings play the Bruins, we ended up at the Publick House Roadhouse. As is no doubt evident, I really like anything Publick House related, albeit expensive. They just provide such a complete experience in their restaurants between ambience [dark and intimate with all dark wood, numerous rare and tasteful beer memorabilia from some of the best breweries in the world, and they love their chandeliers] beer selection, and food are usually second-to-none. I've heard good things about Deep Ellum as well in Allston, and I'm looking forward to giving it a shot when I get the chance and have saved up a bit of coin - the only thing worse than having a hobby which centers around good beer is living on a limited budget!

This time around, we were stuffed from having had the best bacon cheeseburger in Boston at Doyle's in JP. Honestly, if you dig mushroom/swiss burgers with bacon, go with the pot belly minus the peppers medium rare, it is, without a doubt in my mind, the best cheeseburger in Boston. We arrived at the Roadhouse a little after 7:30 with the intention of eating late while feasting on an appetizer (BBQ Shrimp) and some great beer. As such, beers were ordered around (Me: Magic Hat Lucky Kat [one of my go-to's for early in the evening,] Southern Tier Choklat, Saison Dupont [thanks to Pat for the suggestion] Mere: Coffeehaus Porter, Founders' Rubaeus, Dad: Rogue 12pa, Smuttynose Wheatwine, and Victory Golden Monkey Trippel. (didn't go with a view to review them, just enjoy them, so only recent reviews in my review section this time.)

The food was very good. I've heard the reviews rolling in of this place and they aren't very positive. Despite that, as stated above, even if the food wasn't spectacular, the Publick House crew craft a very compelling package in a restaurant that would bring you back to try it again in some time, not that they ever settle or are satisfied unless that package is complete [if you don't believe me, just talk to the employees there, they're really tough on their work.] I ordered the Pork Ribs and they were just ok, but everyone else's food was spectacular. My dad had the Catfish fingers, which were outstanding; mom had the Goulash which was great (and was even better as leftovers!); I forgot what Mere got, in retrospect, but I remember it being good. The jalapeño cheddar cornbread was great that came with all the meals, and the BBQ sauces were all very sweet, but at the same time brought the heat. Overall, I'd say the experience was a 7 of 10 given that my entree was just ok, but everyone else enjoyed a delicious dinner. My dad commented afterwards that it was one of the best days for eating he'd ever had - Doyle's in the afternoon, Roadhouse in the evening, can't complain at all!

Reviews

I recently fell in love with the St. Bernardus ABT 12 on draft at the Publick House over the weekend with my parents. It's perhaps the most dangerous beer in known existence for me, as it's 10% ABV but tastes so sweet that you'd never know it. That's not to say it's fruity throughout as a Lambic or Fruit Beer would be, but it's just sweet enough. I'd say the only fruit tasted in this one is a hint of Banana Bread... Aside from that, pours a mid-amber color with about a finger of off-white perfect head. Taste is sweet, but not saccharine; just right. For those of you that don't really care for Abbey trippel and dubbels as they are too sweet, give this a shot, because I think it's the best of the sweet without being out of hand. The aftertaste is the only remotely boozy bit, but it's so subdued that it doesn't even matter. Out of a glass, didn't disappoint, although not quite as crisp as the draft lines at PH. Oh well, can't complain about a brew that apparently used to be brewed with the same recipe as and out of the same abbey as the infamous Trappist Westvleteren Ales. 

My ratings: Draft 10/10 - Bottle 9/10; 

Poured: At PH: St. Bernardus Chalice; At Home: Chimay Chalice

BeerAdvocate: Link

The Founders Red's Rye was perhaps the perfect hoppy beer for me: it really blended two things exceptionally - a brilliant amount of beautiful hops (that didn't get out of control, I've had plenty of IPA, Double and Triple IPAs that kick my ass with hops, and it's not much of a pleasant experience - the hops here knew their limits and stayed perfectly within them, not even pushing it, but don't get me wrong, the hops are far from subdued in this brew) and a full-bodied taste. I know it seems very "mainstream" to use the phrase "full bodied," but I mean it in the purest sense - the taste didn't live and die by the hops, as said above, it was a very robust beer in and of itself - the kind you could almost envision without the hop taste at all (if that makes any sense, which I'm really not sure whether it does.) This beer is just short of perfection, and has everything I'd ever look for in an IPA. 

My rating: 9.5/10 

Poured: Session/Imperial Pint Glass.

BeerAdvocate: Link

Also of note: It goes extremely well with a creamy havarti cheese (no gimmicks [drink], just the creamy havarti.)

Dogfish Head as a brewery, on the whole, specialize in a few things; beer geeks will know this already. They specialize in IPAs and fruity beers. That being said, I get excited whenever they come out with a new fruity beer to try as they seem to know exactly how to brew the perfect "off-center ales." Over the years, I've tried tons of their beers: IPA 60, 90, 120; Raison D'etat, Raison D'extra, Fort, Chateau Jiahau, Indian Brown Ale, Punkin, etc. Of those, I liked the IPA 90 Minute, Fort, Indian Brown, and Chateau Jiahau the best - and the Raison offerings the least. Pangaea is a beer which perhaps is more of a gimmick (drink) than anything, boasting to have acquired at least one ingredient from each of the seven continents in the world. That being said, I really wanted to try it; I'm a sucker for good marketing ideas. Anyways, this beer also boasts a strong ginger taste, which I was excited to see in a beer. We cracked it open (as the third beer of the night) and gave 'er a shot. As advertised, very gingery, but I like that - in my opinion, it is on the burden of the brewer to properly use sugar/saccharine sweetness in sweet beers, that's one of the reasons I'm not a fan of Lindeman's Framboise is that it's overly sugary as opposed to malty which usually a good fruity beer does. It poured an opaque apricot/light orange with a nice off-white head. Was very tasty. Ginger all the way. If I was going to draw an analogy, I'd say that ginger is to Pangaea what Orange Peel and Coriander are to Chateau Jiahau. Tastes sweet on the tongue, hits with some complexity on the aftertaste. At the same time I was indulging in a very garlicky pizza, which perhaps brought the ginger out a bit much, but all in all, good brew. Not one I'd buy on a semi-regular basis, but good nonetheless. Of the strong beers they brew, I don't know if any would be able to top the Fort and Chateau Jiahau. 

My Rating: 7/10; 

Poured: Tulip (mine, although the other two were poured in Chimay Chalices)

BeerAdvocate: Link

The Old Engine Oil was a beer that I'd encountered in a store close to my parents' home back in Michigan. It was billed as being a black ale, and knowing at the time how much I enjoyed black lagers, stouts, porters, and the like, my wonderful girlfriend suggested it. I don't remember whether we ended up getting it or not, it was in early August before I shipped out to Boston for the last full semester of my graduate career (i.e. the end of the semester in which I'm writing this.) Anyways, this time around it was picked up by Pat after reading the label and description. I was excited to try this for real this time. It poured black with a slight dark tan swirly head. Upon holding the glass up to the light, the beer is not opaque, but a very very dark ruby red, a beautiful color for a good beer! Roasty, warm, and tasteful, this beer didn't let us down. It's rather subdued for a dark beer, being only 6% ABV, but that doesn't detract from the experience, and perhaps is better because it brings out the smokey flavor a lot more without mashing your face in with booze. If I was forced to draw a comparison, I'd say a mix between Victory's Storm King RIS and Sam Adams Black Lager/Cream Stout - in this case leaning more towards the latter in style, but with the robust roast and flavor of an RIS. 

My rating: 8/10 

Poured: Snifter (other was in a Chimay chalice)

BeerAdvocate: Link

Also of note: it goes extremely well with Rogue Chocolate Stout Cheddar, which was provided thanks to Pat.

These were the only beers I feel I have the capacity to review based upon their position in the evening. After all these, we had the Delerium Noel, and it seemed excellent, but I admit our overindulgence would taint anything I'd have to say about it. Still in the fridge are the Choklat, ST Raspberry Porter, and Rochefort 8, which will probably go down tonight! Stay tuned next week, I'll review them, and anything else of interest in the beer world! Thanks again to PH and Merchant du Vin for the tasting! Next week I'll be talking about the event on Thursday, December 11th to celebrate Chimay's 25th year importing to the US... we'll see if they have any tricks up their sleeve!

Moston Bearathon

Here in Boston, apparently everyone makes a big deal out of the Boston Marathon. I've never experienced this before, so I can't really speak about the scope and scale of this outside of what I've witnessed here. Having tons of work to do, I needed to escape the narrow confines of my distracting apartment and escape to the library for one day out of what will become a week of work.

First thing of note is that conveniently enough, the Marathon has managed to close off my apartment from Campus. Well, that's what I thought until I realized that despite police every 50 feet, I could cross the road when there was nobody passing that was participating in the event. Secondly, doesn't it seem a bit... oh, I don't know, morbid perhaps, inappropriate at least, to have the 23rd mile of the Marathon, which is close to where I live, run past one of the largest cemeteries in Boston? It's almost as if the event planners are saying "You're sooo close! But hey, if you can't finish, we can just stick you in the ground right over there." It's weird, I don't know... maybe I'm just weird. Third, what I most don't understand about this event is why it means that everyone is out drinking and partying at 10 AM? Don't get me wrong, I love that shit, and I'm all for cracking one open on a nice spring day and chilling outside, but, for every one of me there are, there has to be someone doing something else, doesn't there? Not here. Almost everyone (that I can't see here from my wonderful view out of the BC Library) is outside grilling stuff, drinking, whistling and screaming whenever someone strides by, carrying bags of chips (yeah, apparently Lay's is the official sponsor of fatasses everywhere who love to sit around and watch the Marathon from the convenience of... any place that means they don't have to run) etc. Don't worry, I'm not bitter about the fact that I can't be partying with everyone else... well, not much at least :/.

So, in true "I'm a grad student" fashion, I'm locking myself in the Library until I'm at least finished with my 6-10 page Locke paper, and possibly doing as much research as I can stand for one day on my 35 page Security Studies research paper. The only good thing about today is that the library's not crowded, so I can barely hear anyone else doing anything - definitely a good thing considering my attention span (after all, I'm supposed to be writing my Locke paper, right??)

-B$ out

Great comment

I was looking at one of the blogs I read regularly, a sports blog called "Deadspin," and I came across this comment, and I loved it - read the side, the "Latest Comment" - you have to click on the picture for a larger view...

The Absurd: A comparison of Haruki Murakami and David Lynch

Me writing about literature is both new and novel, we'll see how well I manage to tackle the subject before feeling like I'm doing a complete and utter disservice to literary works on the whole. This morning, I made the mistake of watching David Lynch's Blue Velvet. It is a mistake only insofar as the time was concerned. At 9:30 in the morning, most people have just woken up and are most certainly not sitting down in their favorite chair to "enjoy" a David Lynch film. It was a good movie, definitely was very Lynch-esque. Anyways, both Haruki Murakami and David Lynch have something in common: their use of the absurd. The way I understand it, they're both trying to do the same thing, but due to the difference in mediums (between literature and film) the aim appears as different.

Let's first look at Murakami. I'm not going to fill this post with spoilers, although I'm going to need to include a few things from various novels of his. The nature of literature is such: literature requires trust on the part of the reader. The author is presenting the reader with words, however pretty or woven together they may be, they're still words. The reader trusts the author to imbue these words with a special ability which allows them to translate to images in the mind of the reader. In this way, every individual experiences a piece of literature differently - everything from the appearance of the characters to the way they talk, the surrounding environments and the like are conceptualized differently by every reader. In this way, novels and literature are merely guidelines - the true value of a piece of literature is in the ability of the individual to take what they're reading and translate it into compelling pieces. That being said, Haruki Murakami is a master of making the absurd and bizarre seem commonplace. In fact, its so compelling most of the time that you don't realize what was awkward until after you've finished reading one of his novels and are reflecting on it. Take, for example, Kafka on the Shore: one of the central characters has the ability to converse with cats. He also finds himself in several bizarre scenarios that are taken totally on face value simply by the reactions of the characters and the way in which he describes these situations. It can be said that most of his "bizarre" sections are merely metaphors, but even if that's the case, they're presented in such a way that they could pass as non-unusual situations.

I know I said I would talk about David Lynch films, but the only movie that I saw which came close to accomplishing in film what Murakami suggests in writing, although still changed by virtue of it's medium (which I'll mention below) is Terry Gilliam's Tideland. I have to credit the DVD version of this film, however, because it features Gilliam explaining to his audience how to properly "watch" the film. It's quite incredible to watch the film having not heard his intent, because it really is a completely different movie. Anyways, the point I was trying to make is that, when this film is viewed with Gilliam's note, it accomplishes the exact same thing: perfect seamless use of the absurd and making it seem like nothing special, bizarre, or unusual. However, if viewed without the note (and if you don't pick up on it through the course of the movie, which is entirely possible) that is definitely not the case.

The nature of films replaces that inherent "trust" which the reader has for the author for a sort of contempt. For most film viewers, they come into the film experience with a preconceived notion of what they'd like to see based upon the information known about the film. It is for this reason that not everyone watches every movie that comes out; not to mention the sheer quantity of watching that would require is simply untenable, but that's beside the point. This contempt is to be expected, the filmmaker is presenting the audience with a finished piece of work that stands as their interpretation of something. As audience members, we are required to watch, and may make comments about the form and function of ideas throughout the course of the film, but cannot have any role in the creation of the movie. In this sense, it stands to reason that readers really fulfill, at least partially, the role of author and audience in relation because of the need for them to interpret the work. David Lynch movies seem like the film version of what Murakami attempts to accomplish, but this contempt makes it hard to stomach, even for his most avid fans.

I may try to flesh this out some more later, it was a gut-check reaction from Blue Velvet.

The Language of Music

I've decided it's pretty necessary to take a break from the videogames posts and attempt to write about something which is very dear to me: music. This could be a long and meandering post, but if you try to bear with me, I'd like to attempt to explain my relationship to music to all who are willing to listen. Also, as a musician myself, my relationship with music changes when interacting with a musical instrument, but that's part of the way I think about music and will be spoken of as well. I'll put the name of songs, artists, albums, or whatnot in parenthesis for ease of reading.

I have a decidedly unusual love for music. I have always known this, but I began to realize it more when taking a car ride with my girlfriend. She had noticed this and decided to ask me about it because I think certain songs speak to me in ways that they don't speak to anyone else. I gave her a somewhat slapdash answer because I'd never thought it through, but there's a lot of truth to what I said then, and I'll think through it and relate it to you, with the use of songs (just as reference, I don't expect anybody to have heard or have these songs on hand at any given time.)

The start of my answer to her was about the role of instruments in a song. I recognize every musical component of a song as an instrument - this is something that many people don't acknowledge simply on the basis that vocals are commonly thought to be something different than an instrument. A good exercise for anyone seeking to try to understand what it feels like should try the following: take a good hip-hop song, not some Top 40 song that's bass heavy or pointless, but something that's a carefully thought through piece of art constructed out of an artist's love for the genre, say (The Roots - Act Too... The Love Of My Life.) The theory behind hip-hop or rap is that the vocals are used as a purely rhythmic instrument or component of the song. Granted, I always preference the sound of vocals more than the message, which is almost impossible for some to even conceptualize, but I've always thought if the voice is an instrument, it should be such, not purely an outlet for a message. This is not to say that there's not a time and place for pure messages, or beat poetry, or whatnot, but if you're trying to do music, please, treat the voice as an instrument. Anyways, back to hip-hop, the way that Black Thought and Common use their words is as another instrument - and there is an equality among instruments.

This is something else that I look for in music, the interplay between instruments is something I heavily preference. It may seem like something that's never overlooked in music, but how often have you heard a song where the focus is on the vocals,a catchy guitar riff, or beat and the rest of the song relies upon that to get it through. An examples - think anything that's been pop-rock and popular for the past at least 5 years - a simple chord structure with someone doing their best Eddie Vedder impression over it, or Scott Stapp, or whatever. The focus of the song is on the vocals, any guitar solo or fancy drum work that occurs is just to trick people into thinking this isn't the case, but it is. This isn't to say popular music is always bad and incapable of interplay - think (My Chemical Romance - Welcome to the Black Parade;) it's the kind of thing you'd see on an attempt to recreate (The Beatles - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band) in the modern era: a bit of theatrics, a bit of desperation, a bit of anxiety, it's all done very well and put together equally. There are two songs I like to cite when thinking about interplay between instruments as I don't think it could get any better: (Sufjan Stevens - All Good Naysayers...) and (Radiohead - Idioteque). I know the second is an odd choice due to the use of synths and sequencers or whatever, but, much as an earlier song on (Kid A) suggests, (Everything's In It's Right Place.) As I'll explain, I also become very emotionally involved with music - every individual component speaks to me in some way in well-constructed music. (Idioteque) to me suggests urgency while

Music speaks to me in emotions. That may make no sense, so I'll explain in terms of making music, then expand to listening to music. I think of chords, licks, solos, etc. as having a context or a connotation: for example, I will play one line, and if I'm really into it and can feel it, it can bring me close to tears. A good example, if I was had been involved in writing (Genesis - The Cinema Show,) they'd probably have to invest in several boxes of kleenex for the section between (2:46 and 4:35.) It's almost pure beauty - like several tiers of icicles dripping musical drops on an icy cave floor, and the woodwind instrument that comes in sounds like the natural call of some animal. It's a perfectly written section of music; nothing could be more contextually perfect. Two more examples: the first, (Everything But The Girl - Mirrorball [Dj Jazzy Jeff Sole Full Remix]) This song manages to establish the perfect emotions of sadness, melancholy, and hopelessness, but package it in a user-friendly shell. The piano line that is reiterated in the background sounds to me like tears (or raindrops, suggested by my girlfriend but equally somber and sad - she might have a better suggestion due to the frequency of the notes and it's role.) It reckons to memory someone who's trying to keep composed and appear like they have it all together, but are severely hurting on the inside - it's another song I believe is contextually perfect. The second song (Coheed and Cambria - The Willing Well II: Fear Through...) has a section that manages to be accomplish something that I really struggle to define. The first section like this appears at (:44 to :51.) The song gets into this groove that they manage to achieve a perfect balance of instruments and it just makes you move, it's weird but awesome. The bass line cradles the bottom while the guitar adds thread to the loom, and the layering of Claudio's voice adds a perfect counterbalance. Oh yeah, not to mention his background vocals are just haunting.

When making music, I operate almost exclusively on this attachment of emotions to music. Granted, I'm not so spectacular at writing music, but the few songs I've written have maintained a certain feeling throughout the entire song according to how I feel emotions and they flow through music. My "channeling" of emotions leaves much to be desired in terms of song-writing, but I feel more satisfied with my work when I follow this because it feels "congruent" or perhaps "coherent." It's kinda sad, it makes writing music appear on paper to sound as if writing an assignment for class, but it's far from it in interest.

I'm sure this is incomplete, but I look forward to adding new posts that would be semi-reviews or additions to this post in different ways, maybe explaining how certain songs speak to me more or whatnot.

-B$ out

Phil Harrison Resigning? Confusion will be my epitaph...

It's finally here: Sony's Swan Song for the Playstation 3, and no, I don't think it's going to be a great new exclusive series. Phil Harrison, shiny head behind so many videogame conference speeches not only belittling the competition, but also introducing all the Deus Ex Machina designed to catapult the PS3 to the front, is resigning. Rumor has it (according to Kotaku) that Mr. Harrison is joining third party software developer Atari. I think this is terrible for Sony, perhaps an action which is as good as a political concession speech about the inferiority of the PS3, and I'm about to tell you why. (Hint: it has to do with Sony's credibility)

The Console War Begins - First, we all know that Sony has struggled. Microsoft took a big risk releasing the Xbox 360 much earlier than the other two current generation (if you consider horizontal innovation to be a possible form of measure instead of standard "raw power" benchmark used by the industry, then the Wii would count) systems. However, Microsoft was able to all but kidnap the vast majority of third party support by displaying the system's power and potential. It boasted the same type of technology as the Playstation 3 - a cell processing unit capable of an exponential increase in processing power and system multitasking over the previous generation of systems as well as integrated internet technology, high definition graphics, and a legitimate branch out to other media outlets (TV shows, movies, music, etc.) They came in early, stole the game market from under Sony's feet, and have sat there laughing ever since, knowing that they have been victorious over the console which might eventually bring us Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4 (the two "big" PS3 exclusive games prior to launch of the system, but if you think about it, their predecessors were not key exclusive games, nor did they look half as good as the prospects for the Xbox. Sony would have been smarter to get Square-Enix into motion earlier [prior to system launch] and get the ball rolling for Final Fantasy XIII trailers; a game which now may not be exclusively a PS3 title seeing as how Squeenix has openly criticized the PS3 for underperforming and has called it a failure of Sony's marketing team.) Also, it's laughable that Sony is not able to outperform a company who has released millions of defective units - several people (myself included: #3) are not on their first console!

The Third Party Vicious Circle - For Sony, this is one of the key reasons why the PS3 hasn't gone anywhere. Third party software developers, (think Epic, EA, 2k, Rockstar, Bioware, etc.) were convinced that the hardware of the 360 was the easiest to develop games for and given their presence in the market early, would develop for the 360. Also, the gamer base was seen to be diverse enough to provide these companies with enough means to develop exclusive game and exclusive series for the 360; some of these at the detriment of Sony's previous third party base due to the overwhelming triumph of the Playstation 2. Anyways, now the situation is that software companies will not develop exclusive titles or series for the PS3 because they don't see it as profitable enough. The irony is that the Ps3 is underperforming due to a general lack of exclusive titles and series, making the problem fatal for Sony. In a market where game companies are largely living "game-to-game," no developers (with the exception perhaps of EA, who is absurdly large) can afford to take a risk on a PS3 exclusive series. Proof of this, by the way, can be seen in all the gamers choice awards where the choice for best Playstation 3 game was none other than Call of Duty 4 - A Multiplatform game!! Xbox 360's game of the year was Bioshock, native to the Xbox and PC (not mutiplatform.)

So wait, what does Phil Harrison have to do with this? - Phil Harrison was the man who introduced many of the games designed to lift the weary heads of PS3 owners (that bought the system exclusively - many of the PS3 owners also own either a 360, a Wii, or both due to their financial capacities) is moving to a third party software developer? This is the man who introduced Little Big Planet, a game which was supposed to be the next big thing for the PS3 (which, quite frankly I have no idea why - it looks like some puppets running around, the game looks like N+ except far less minimalist and infinitely more hype) and he's jumping ship? With Kaz Hirai leaving earlier this year for another internal position and now Harrison, Sony's executives have all but said "Ok, so this one was our fault, we get it, we're slowly going the way of the HD DVD" and acknowledging their shot credibility. The people you see introducing games at confrences now won't be the same ones you've been seeing in the past. Why is that, you may ask? Because they've either left or been "redistributed" because they were failing miserably at their mission and although the Mythbusters can raise a sunken ship with ping pong balls, Sony's not going to be able to salvage the PS3 with anything short of a purely unadulterated (except for graphically, obviously) Final Fantasy VII remake. Isn't that sad, a remake is the only thing that could, while perhaps not "save" Sony, buy them time and perhaps credibility to gain some of their third party support back. Either that or they're going to have to give up on the PS3 and get ready for the next round.

Wii Review: Endless Oceanic

Against my better judgement (yeah, I'm a total game snob,) I decided to risk being bored and humiliated by purchasing "Endless Ocean" for the Wii. The following led me to purchase the game: Step 1. Read the Penny Arcade comic "Endless Oceanic." Step 2. Look the game up on Metacritic. Step 3. Think Step 4. Purchase... It is worth noting that Endless Ocean garnered a score of 72 out of 100 on Metacritic - pretty good.

The game is about, yeah, scuba diving. You're a diver on the an Island who is asked to perform several tasks for the head of a local marine research organization for Alfred Thorman. These tasks range from "topographical surveys" (as near as I can tell, getting in the water) to acting as a diving guide for several people who demand to see one particular fish. There's also a plot element centering around a mysterious species of aquatic life that has to do with a member of your "crew."

The one thing of note is that this is really two different games on one disc - one occurs on the boat and the other occurs in the water. The game that occurs on the boat is awful, nothing more, nothing less. The graphics are terrible, the jet ski noises are not believable, nor do they alter in volume as they drive away, nor does it create any ripples in the water. Further, the character you play emotes in very mechanical awkward motions that are completely unrealistic.

Under the water, the game is completely different. The one thing this game really has going for it is that it's almost like an exercise in zen - it is one of the most relaxing game experiences ever. The graphics are far superior - not quite up to par with this generation of systems, but still pretty alright (I would liken it to a PS2 game.) The game itself is almost like the traveling element in an MMO, which I think is kinda relaxing and monotonous as well. This is a very niche game, but if you're down to try something different and relaxing - something that's barely even a "game"- this game is something you'd like. I have played about 10 hours of the game, which was enough to finish the "plot" element, but the game, as near as I can tell, will continue for as long as you'd like to play it - which is kinda nice. Oh, one thing to note, the soundtrack goes well with the game... at first... but it gets old really fast. You're going to want to make sure you have a SD card reader to load MP3s on, which the game includes support for.

Graphics - 6
Music - 7
Sound Effects - 9
Originality - 8
Replay Value - 5
Overall Composite - 6.2

Frontline: Fuel of War MP Demo Review (Xbox Live)

So I recently downloaded and decided to play the new multiplayer demo for Frontline: Fuel of War. I heard that this is the second incarnation of the demo, the first being what I read to be an awful single player experience. However, not having played it, I had to venture out into the Frontline universe alone.

That being said, there's one thing I can can definitively say about this game: it makes you feel small. Not small like you're walking next to Yao Ming small, but small as in insignificant, like how one feels sometimes when gazing into the stars. I say this because, as near as I can tell, I made absolutely no difference to my team no matter what class/role I played. I played two maps (I think the only two on the demo: Oil Field and Streets) and this is true of both of them, but in different ways. Oil Field is a massive vehicle map. As such, tanks, APCs, Helicopters, and Humvees were scattered throughout the map. The driving system is clumsy at best; I spent most of the time either getting blown up by enemy airstrikes or running into inanimate objects... always time well spent. Running on foot is like playing Final Fantasy XI and traveling without a chocobo... oh yeah, and way before you reach your destination, you die and have no idea how. The map Street is designed for combat on foot, but it doesn't change the fact that there's something about the game interface or environment or engine that makes you individually feel like you're totally insignificant. Perhaps I'm terrible at the game... I'm totally open to that option. I guess in that respect the game reminds me of Tribes, except that Tribes had one element that this game is still critically lacking: fun.

Speaking of class/role - I think their idea is kinda neat. It's not too far off the beaten path with games like Team Fortress having been around for ages and games as such, but the differentiation between class and role - the ability to chose a role independent of a class - is something worth noting. The closest thing I would be able to relate to it is perhaps being able to choose your weapons and perks separately before each spawn in Call of Duty 4. However, the downside is that there is a loading period between the selection of said call/role and spawn which is pretty weak. No other game has a non-mandated respawn time (think Halo, there's a forced respawn time, or perhaps team hardcore on CoD 4.) Your classes are pretty standard - Assault rifle, LMG, SMG, Shotty, Sniper, Rockets. The roles are where the game gets interesting, there's a soldier role that allows you to deploy varying degrees of manned/unmanned sentry turrets after a certain amount of time, a drone tech role that allows you to use UAVs, an air support role that allows you to call in varying degrees of airstrikes on a certain location, and an EMP tech role that allows you to disable equipment and not appear on the map. Interesting, we'll have to see how it plays out in the actual finished version of the game.

My final words: if this game is going to compete with the juggernauts out there like Call of Duty, Halo, and Orange Box, it's gonna have to cut the loading time out prior to respawns (or at least disguise it by making it seem forced,) perhaps manipulate the engine so the game feels more responsive to the player, maybe decrease the map size and cut the player limit (which is currently capped at 50 - sure it feels epic, but it doesn't come expenses free.) On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 4 - it doesn't do anything particularly well and doesn't really keep my interest long.

In Defense of Mass Effect

In a previous post I commented on not having played BioWare's latest release, Mass Effect. Recently, I had (am having) the opportunity to correct that having borrowed it from a friend. I was planning on writing a sort of review of this game while being in the middle of it anyways, but ever since I saw the Fox News report about Mass Effect, I have wanted to write this even more.

I will say very bluntly that there I harbor little respect for Fox News. They hold no actual journalistic integrity as their so-called "reports" are merely re-processed information from various surveys that have been pre-packaged with opinions. These opinions are usually less-than-savory and find ways to argue against what most people would consider "common sense" properly understood: a set of basic pragmatic ideas that allow the world to function through the acceptance of compromise. Fox News, instead of finding "news" even stoops low enough to discard any hope of compromise (not in a political, partisan-hackery sense; in a pure and simple social sense) and embrace the spirit of endless criticism. Now, I'm all for debate strengthening the integrity of a subject or concept, but there's always a threshold. Individuals able to think for themselves would be the easy solution to correcting the sway that Fox News has on the general public, but in a world that lives paycheck-to-paycheck and is concerned with the bottom line, that's not always possible. Anyways, enough about Fox News and the system they've played upon to ensure their longevity, turning to the report.

In Fux News' report, they alleged that there was a sex scene with full nudity and it was able to be fully controlled by the player. This statement is as incorrect as it is uninformed. It is easy to jump on the bandwagon, much like the "psychologist" does when asked what she feels about the game, and regurgitate numbers of surveys that prove that men have hormones, and unfortunately, that's just what happens. A member of the gaming community is opposite her and addresses the claims that both she and the Fux News host are claiming. He has played the game, he knows the situations in the game. To reinforce his position, the sex scene does not, as most people know due to leakage of the sex scene's footage on YouTube and other popular video hosting sites, show anything past a partially naked alien butt and alien side-boob. Additionally, it is quite tricky actually accomplishing the "romance subplot" and occurs no sooner than about 15-20 hours into the game. It is blatantly apparent that Fux News wants to comment on the "Lesbian" nature of the sexual encounter, but knows that they don't have a strong enough case, so they jump back on harassment of a game, a game that's rated appropriately and deserves, beyond anything, immense praise.

Mass Effect is more than an RPG, it's a world. A world that spans the confines of the Milky Way and forces us to challenge what we conventionally think about Science Fiction by building the occurrences in a completely rational and believable light. This is bolstered by the Codex of Commander Shepherd, the player-controlled main character of the game. The codex weaves together information about what is seen and what is inferred in this extremely compelling plot. Codex entries range from technical information about somewhat plausible theories of space travel to the evolving meta-political situation with regards to humans, other races of aliens, and a confederation which serves as the "United Nations" of most of the "civilized" galaxy. Even these concepts, whether the authority of the confederation should be taken into account not only are pervasive throughout the political story woven through the codex, but factor into decisions made by the player in real-time. Mass Effect is so compelling as a storyline, that it becomes a philosophy; it becomes, in some ways, a normative look at humanity's future and in others warnings based on human decision theory.

Decision theory actually becomes a large part of the gameplay. The player is asked to choose between several options during everything ranging from normal conversations to stand-offs, their response determines not only the course of action taken in any given situation, but in the entire game. To compare this with other games that have allowed users to make decisions revolving around whether to "diffuse situations without violence or draw a weapon and let the bullets speak for themselves" is a complete disservice to the game. It's so much more than that, and in the process, it manages to capture a good representation of the human essence. Returning to the "romance subplot," although it may seem a bit strange in the course of the plot, it is nonetheless compelling as an actual relationship; contrary to what everyone has heard about this game, it's not just sex, it's an actual bond thats forged between two people. The videogame advocate was so right when he stated that Mass Effect should be the standard for how videogames portray intimacy because it rejects the conventional "women-as-objects" stereotypes - something that the psychologist would have probably embraced had she played or even seen footage of how the relationship plays out in the context of the struggle for survival (as it were, she merely responded something witty and "intelligent" to the degree of "I let the numbers do the talking for me.")

Given that, I'm completely immersed in the environment, which is far more detailed and rich than most anything encountered, and if not, at least far more compelling. Honestly, aside from a few very basic logical miscues and some almost insignificant game flaws (most of them are barely even noticable,) it is, for sure, one of the best games I've ever played... and I'm not even finished with it! I have to say, if you're a fan of Battlestar Galactica or Firefly or any other somewhat compelling Sci-Fi series and you're prone to stay up late watching to see what happens next, pick up a copy of this game... but don't rush through it. This game is best enjoyed savored.

That being said, I'll probably have more to say after I've finished the game, which shouldn't be too long now.

-B$ out

Beer! The Brews I sampled while on vacation

I'm going to try to keep this as organized and as short as possible... but there's really not going to be any order aside from which beers come to mind... hopefully I'll keep it organized by brewery. To make this list, either myself or my girlfriend would have had to drink one of these beers.


Dogfish Head
-Raison D'Extra
-Chateau Jiahu

Pyramid Breweries
-Pyramid Hefeweizen
-Pumpkin Ale

Chimay
-Red (Premiere)
-Blue (Gran Reserve)
-White (Cinq Cents)

Boston Brewing Company
-Sam Adams Black Lager
-Sam Adams Triple Bock
-Sam Adams Winter Lager
-Sam Adams Cherry Wheat

New Holland Brewing Company
-Dragonsmilk Ale

Bell's Brewing Company
-Batch 8000
-Two Hearted Ale
-Oberon Ale
-Winter White Ale
-Java Stout

Fletcher Street Brewing Company (Alpena, MI)
-Celebration Ale (Growler)
-Maple Porter (Growler)
-Thunder Bay Bock (Growler)
-Lumber Lager Red

Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
-Calabaza Blanca Witbier

Great Lakes Brewing Company
-Burning River Ale

Brouwerij Huyghe
-Delirium Nocturnum
-Delirium Tremens

Spaten Brewery
-Spaten Premium Lager
-Spaten Optimator

Hoegaarden Brewery
-Hoegaarden Ale

Rogue Brewery
-Juniper Ale
-Mocha Porter

Goose Island Brewing Company
-Bourbon County Stout
-Oatmeal Stout

Lexington Brewing Company
-Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale

Sapporo Brewery
-Sapporo Reserve

Ridgeway Brewing Company
-Insanely Bad Elf Ale

St. Peter's Brewing Company
-St.Peter's Cream Stout

Belhaven Brewing Company
-Belhaven Scottish Ale

Moorhouse Brewing Company
-Black Cat Ale

Paulaner Brewing Company
-Paulaner Salvator Doppelbock

Breckenridge Brewing Company
-Vanilla Porter

Hieniken Brewing Company
-Hieniken Lager

Magners Brewing Company
-Bulmer's Irish Cider