I have found through much research that I really don’t like the hoppy beers. Tastes too much of soap to me. I like the lagers, I like the stouts, I like hefeweissen, the ambers and the browns. An IPA, though? They twist my mouth in unpleasant ways.

If you’re ever in the DC area, there are a couple of decent brewpubs (District Chophouse, Cap City Brewing, Rockbottom) to visit and the awesomeness that is The Brickskeller.

Sorry for the crappiness of the ‘Skeller’s page. The beer and pierogies totally make up for it.

Oooh, oooh, I wanna play. Here’s what I’m drinking tonight. Shot out on my deck. Hey Bradrocket! We should make this a series!!

Or something…

mikey

Goddam it. Preview is a good thing, but it hates us for our freedom. I’ll try again:

Oooh, oooh, http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1368/616368421_722308711c.jpg“>I wanna play. Here’s what I’m drinking tonight. Shot out on my deck. Hey Bradrocket! We should make this a series!!

Or Something…

mikey

*Sigh*

Whatever.

I’m a cool hard professional. Don’t try this at home…

mikey

I like pussy drinks like mojitos and those 5% alc/vol things you can buy in the grocery store, as VA law prohibits anything stronger from being sold outside the state ABC stores or restaurants.

… Woodchuck Cider is good, though.
http://www.woodchuck.com/
Plus it had that adorable little woodchuck on it that just makes you wanna get shit-faced and call up your ex and tell her what a ho bag she is…
What? Hey, I don’t judge YOU people!

The bottle of Laphroaig made my mouth water; but there is waaay too much ice in that glass. Try a smaller pour, with one very small ice cube (at most).

Last night: a Marc Bredif 2004 Chinon (Loire Valley cabernet franc). VERY nice.

A wag of my finger, though, to ESPN. Are they planning on showing ANY games this year that do not involve the Atlanta Braves? Is it their way of competing with TBS? Just asking.

By the way, I’ve seen the Yankees on TV four times in the last week. It’s true; they really do get just about every call their way, game in and game out. (George Brett was right.) Didn’t make any difference, though; they lost all four games. (Awwww.)

What’s w/ the new graphic/logo dealie in bookmarks & tabs?

Stewardess, I’ve heard it ALL. Hell, I’ve been to Islay. I’ve STAYED in Port Ellen (it was a bet I won, you had to be there). But here’s the thing. I’ve always been kind of protective of my personal tastes, especially when there is a contingent that wants me to “conform”.

Have you ever spent three days and two nights without clean water? Have you ever had to make a decision; do you try not to drink or do you drink the muddy canal water, KNOWING you’ll get sick, and lemmetellya, diarrhea. I’ll save you the trouble. You put Kool-Aid in the muddy water and drink the hell out of it.

See, here’s the thing. I LIKE ice. I don’t agree that scotch “Neat” is a better delivery mechanism. You and your ilk can move along, happy in your correctness. I’ll do what I like, try not to bother anyone, and just behave, ok?

mikey

I’m drinking an absolut martini up (in a rocks glass), very dry, with a mess of feta stuffed olives. A serviceable drink, but not worth a pic upload. Still, drink two and jesus loves me this i know.

Yum… Laphroaig! You tell ’em mikey!
The Brits used to whine and complain about putting ice in a frickin’ gin and tonic, though most have repented the folly of their ways.

I was going to send a picture of this yummy Hacker-Pschorr Weisse I’m drinking, but the battery is dead in the camera. Sigh. I’m not on my porch anyway. It’s hot and muggy here in Misery. I’m in my basement where it’s nice and cool. Building a guitar. And a buzz.

Steady on, Mikey. I’m not a neat-freak, either. Alls I’m sayin’ is if you’re gonna put so much ice in the glass, then you might as well save your money and drink a blend that goes with ice, like Dewar’s or J&B. But anyone whose been to Heaven’s Distillery (pronounced EYE-lah) has my attention; and I’m curious to know if you think Laphroaig is (still) the best value in island whisky?

Personally, I usually alternate JW Black or Glenlivet or Jameson (on the one hand) with island whisky (usually Islay), so that I truly savor the flavor of peat smoke and never take it for granted. Now that the weather’s hot, though, I’ll soon be sipping Maker’s Mark with water and a sprig of fmint. Summer daze. Now if we could just do something about ESPN and those damn Braves.

Cheers.

Too late for pictures. We drank it.

I made a sangria with fresh lemon and lime slices, superfine sugar, rum, brandy and a bottle of chianti. Yum. And pretty too.

I guess the thing is, I don’t know a lot. In fact, I don’t know how much I don’t know! Frustrates me at every turn.

Here’s the tiny thing I know. I like the smokey, peatey, saltniodine character of a real islay malt. I cannot abide blends, and Highland Malts? Though they are popular (Glenlivet?? FKM?), I find them to be more akin to pancake syrup than scotch. Speyside and Campbeltown? Feh. They don’t challenge me.

Just sayin…

mikey

Mmm, mikey’s pic reminds me that there’s a nice Balvenie Doublewood downstairs that could probably use some company.

Sadly, we don’t have a porch/balcony/veranda here so I guess I don’t get to play the picture game. Pffft.

P.S. I’m sensitive to the Braves ALWAYS being on TV because as a kid when NBC’s Game of the Week with the late Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek was all there was, the Red Sox were on TV from Fenway like every freakin’ week. (Pretty amazing feat, since then as now they only played half their games at home.) The Cali teams I wanted to see, like the A’s and Angels? Fuhgeddaboudit.

I’m glad the Sox won the Series (and swept the Yanks to get there); but I’ve always resented them being crammed down America’s collective throats for so many years. It’s sad to see ESPN doing the same with the damn Braves, who I’ve always disliked, and who aren’t even good this year.

That is all. Let’s see if THAT get’s a rise out of our esteemed hosts, to whom I truly mean no offense. (And I really am glad the Red Sox finally won one.)

Mikey, it sounds like you know more than I’ll ever. (And never having been to war, I’m grateful for that.) I’m totally with you on the peat and sea salt and iodine of the islands; I relish it. But I do like to alternate it with inferior non-island scotch, precisely so that I can use more ice and appreciate the islands (Islay, Skye, Jura, Orkney) all the more.

By the way, my best (and only) scotch story is the night I stayed at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, going to one of its bars (where Churchill supposedly drank) and having Laphroaig, Talisker, and Lagavulin — in that order (the Talisker and Lagavulin were my firsts). What a treat.

That looks like downtown Burlington, VT.

Right now it’s a simple glass of Cabernet, really not worth a picture. Earlier it was a wee dram of Aberlour — couldn’t find the Laphroaig, suspect the spousal unit finished it.

Spent much of last week lolling around in 110-degree bliss — took a short break away from Rainville to go wandering around Joshua Tree — anyway, the preferred liquid there was Arak with just enough ice-cold water to make it milky. Good desert drink.

Mikey: Have you ever spent three days and two nights without clean water?

Indeed I have. 1986. Spent the better part of three days alternately riding/pushing a bus through a mudslide in the Karakoram mountains on my way to a country where I couldn’t buy a goddamn drink. I do have a picture of that. Alas, not digital.

I’m drinking my own brew tonight–a very hoppy ale with a real bite that Strange Forces wouldn’t like. I’m about halfway through the batch, and it’s time to start thinking about brewing again next weekend. My wife wants me to put up an apricot ale or some damned fruit drink.

had a party this weekend–pacifico para todos. the best of the mainstream mexican beers IMHO, although negro modelo is pretty tasty as well (and so is the tres equis they don’t export).

anyone have any clue about mexican microbrews?

and photo from my porch forthwith.

as for what i’m drinking tonight, a fine marlborough NZ sauvingon blanc is doing the trick.

anyone have any clue about mexican microbrews?

I know of Tijuana Beer (Tijuana) and Cucapá Beer (Mexicali). I haven’t tried either.

Since I’m in the same timezone as the Double Super Secret Sadly HQ and timestamp, I’ll try to stay sober for at least the next couple of hours. Seven hours ago I had a nice pint of Guinness, later today I may dip into a St. Bernardus Abt or, for a cheaper choice, a Limfjordsporter (a humble brew, but the best Danish porter widely available).

Mikey, as a scotch purist, I can tell you that you can dump that much ice in Laphroaig 10 all you want. Just please, do me a favor and be judicious if you get a hold of Lagavulin. Not because of any sort of scotch rules — drink what you like, sez I — but because if you dilute too much, you miss the complete kick that hits you about the head like a pan-galactic gargle-blaster.

I say this because I care.

Hahha pan- galactic gargle-blaster, God I love the geeks and nerds 🙂 War,s the cockles of my heart. I tell ya, I don’t drink much scotch, but I do love some Laphroig neat, I totally gid the smokey peatiness of it. It’s just too durned hot and humid, something like 98 yesterday in Memphis so earlier tonight I had a lovely pinot grigio.

I made a kick-butt Jack Daniels brine for a turkey breast I smoked, and it was the best I have ever eaten. So all is well, and I’ll save my single-,alts for winter.

Off topic-
Either conservapedia changed its editing policies, or the nightly editing lockout was really just a limit on newbies.
Or maybe the comment to my talk page by an admin means I’ve been deemed kosher.
I’ve been slowly making legit edits, laying the ground. When’s the general deadline for the contest?

i’m afraid i have to take issue with mikey’s picture too. there’s far too much Laphroig in that glass. You shouldn’t put Laphroaig in a glass of ice, It completely ruins the taste of the ice.
at the moment i’m drinking South African Chenin Blanc out of a five litre draftpak that i half-inched from a flatwarming party. apparently its a “light fruity wine” that’s “a splendid accompaniment to fish and poultry dishes and also an excellent aperitif”. however, they neglect to mention that it tastes like ass.

Oh, there’s a top choice. I may live in Arabia, but I’m Scottish, so you get my official seal of approval for drinking one of the top 5 whiskies out there. But is that a bloody glacier in there? Jesus, man, what are you doing? 2 cubes is sufficient; let them melt slowly, cooling the amber drink a little, while letting the meltwater slowly release those wonderful volatile oils and cogeners. Mmmhmmm. (and don’t anyone tell me scots don’t have ice in whisky. You have a point, in that it’s so bloody cold there you don’t need any … but remember we add icy cold tap water to our malts, jost a drop, but it does work to cool a room temperature glass down a few degrees.) In a hot country, however, neat whisky is an emetic, not a beverage, and needs a cube or two to be palatable.

On another Scottish note, try and find Deuchars IPA: overhopped, refreshing, fruity. Quite possibly Britain’s best pint.

AC

Since we are talking Scotch and beer, I recommend Traquair, a terrific ale made in a Scottish manor house. The House Ale is a dark ale with a bit of fruitniess, and their Jacobite Ale has some coriander to spice things up.

Mikey, that’s a great way to spend the day. My personal favorites are Macallan and Dalwhinnie, but the beauty of Scotch is that every distillery brings something different to the table.

Cheers, mikey, on the only Scotch one ever needs.

I wasn;t drinking this weekend. Busy breaking the lawnmower.

But come Thursday, it’s Milwaukee’s Backyard Party- Summerfest.

Mostly the beer is american swill, but some microbrews are available, and it’s 100,000 of your closest friends sitting by Lake Michigan for eleven days striaght, listening to a several hundred bands from all over the world, enjoying the sun and watching the girls go by (or guys, whatever)

So by 1 PM Thursday afternoon, that’s where I’m gonna be. for about a week and a half.

Billy, sounds good. Come Sunday, I’ll be here getting pissed off Danish swill with 100k of my good friends and listening to about 170 bands. Mmm, festival season.

On another Scottish note, try and find Deuchars IPA: overhopped, refreshing, fruity. Quite possibly Britain’s best pint.

De gustibus etc. but I really must beg to differ. Sure, if you love IPAs, Deuchars may be to your liking, but to me it’s just way too fruity and overhopped, which may be refreshing at the first swig, but gets bland and dull as cider after the second. But then I’m not a great fan of IPAs in general.

Mmmmmm! Tell Mikey I will have what HE is having. Gods, please bring the weekend quickly—it is Monday here.

Deuchars seconded here. I had seven pints of the gorgeous stuff yesterday. It’s the king of IPA’s. Orkney Brewery’s Skullsplitter and Northern Light are better Scottish beers though.

Twisted Thistle IPA from Belhaven. For some reason it seems to travel better than the Deuchars, and reaches the South Pacific in better condition.

Some folks have nasty weeds growing around the edge of their backyard. I have an uncontrollable mint grove that refuses to recede. I make mint syrup and mix a few drops with Knob Creek and add some sprigs and a coupla cubes. It’s a fine fine cocktail on a hot summer night. But it’s dark in Colorado right now and the flash glares out everything in the glass, so I’m not going to take a picture – pretty as it is.

I NEVER put the drink on the same surface as the computer. Y’all is just asking for trouble.

I’m not a fan of hoppy beers, but here in the Emerald City, you can’t spit without hitting some place that serves or brews hoppy pale ales. If you ever come out this way, I can suggest some.

Re: Laphroaig. That’s about the only Scotch I’ll have. One of the state-run liquor stores near me actually sells the cask-conditioned Laphroaig. If you like the reg’lar stuff, you’ll really like that.

Being a good Polack, I’m more of a vodka man. I do like whiskeys, but I tend to go for the Canadians (Crown, CC Reserve) or Irish whiskey (Redbreast, Tullamore Dew). Every now and then in the summer, I’ll go for a bourbon.

When he was 19 my future husband, A.A., was visiting relatives in London, just a few years after the War. His uncle gave him entry to his club, and one late afternoon A.A. dropped in, sank into a huge red leather Windsor chair in a high ceilinged Regency room, and asked the waiter for a gin & tonic. This was brought in an oversize wine glass, at perfect room temperature. So he asked for some ice. The waiter stiffened visibly, excused himself, and disappeared into the kitchen. A moment later he returned with a small silver bowl on a silver salver containing precisely one ice cube, which he dropped into the glass with silver tongs. It went “fsss” and disappeared in about four seconds.

A.A. was far too intimidated to ask for more, especially as this whole performance had been watched coldly from another chair by an elderly member with a white walrus mustache. This personage called the waiter over and whispered a question, whose answer was a murmured, “American.” The Colonel gave a that-explains-it eyeroll and went back to his Times. A.A. finished up and slipped out as silently as possible.

It sounds like P.G. Wodehouse, but it really happened.