BWBB

Hey everyone,

Geez, already time for another BWBB?! Where does the time go? I have a couple of thoughts on Andy's comment from the last blog, but I'll save those for a different time...hopefully later this week. (I'm also still bitter because Andy's fantasy team seemed to score multiple cheap tds yesterday against my team...but I'm over that.)

Side note: Huge Michigan victory this weekend. What a crazy/awesome/rollercoaster of a game. Phew!

Moving to the beer. Saturday night, I went to Sugar Maple. This is the same bar that had the Local Acre launch party. It's a cool place because it has 60 American craft beer taps, and they are constantly rotating in new stuff. One of their newest taps is from Furthermore, which is a brewery in Spring Green, Wisconsin. I am not overly crazy about the few Furthermore beers I have had, but they aren't bad either. Regardless, I decided to try their latest brew, Hopperbolic.

The details of the beer are a little unclear. A quick google search doesn't reveal much information at all, other than the fact it's an IPA and it's new. I also learned at Sugar Maple that it's made with hops from Gorst Valley. Gorst Valley is trying its best to popularize the use of Wisconsin grown hops in Wisconsin beer. Gorst provides varying amounts of hops to breweries such as Lakefront, Furthermore, Capital and Potosi. The trend of utilizing local ingredients in beer seems to have really helped Gorst Valley, and I anticipate we will hear more from them in the future.

Needless to say, I was pretty excited to try Hopperbolic. It pours a pale copper color. The aroma is mildly hoppy but not strong by any means. The first thing I noticed when taking a sip was how "light" the beer is. Depending on your perspective, that might be a good thing; but for me, it fell short. Hopperbolic also isn't all that hoppy. The prevailing flavor is an odd spice that I can't put my finger on. The spice flavor is not bad, but it's just a bit unexpected from an IPA. In contrast to most IPAs, this brew doesn't taste all that strong. It tastes more like a regular pale ale, than an IPA. On a positive note, the beer is certainly easy-drinking. It might be a good starter IPA for someone who is trying to experiment a bit. For me however, it was just fine....not bad, but not great.

Because of my ambivalence, I am going to give Hopperbolic 5 pints out of 10. I could drink it if necessary but would not choose to do so. I appreciate Furthermore's effort though.

I will hopefully have a non-beer blog up at some point in the near future. This weekend, C and I are going to see one of my favorite musicians, Josh Ritter, in Madison...maybe I can get some good pictures up.

Until next time...

BWBB

Hey everyone!

I promised a new BWBB, and it is finally here. This, however, is a very special edition of the BWBB. First, this is my 50th blog! When I started, I thought I might hit 10 blogs....20 was probably stretching it...but 50?! Second, this isn't just one of those BWBBs where I drink some beer and give my thoughts; this BWBB was more of an event. So with that kickass intro, here it is:

I'm not sure how many of you remember, but one of the very first BWBBs featured Local Acre from Milwaukee's Lakefront Brewery. I was a big fan. The concept behind Local Acre was to brew a beer that used entirely Wisconsin ingredients. The barley and hops came from Wisconsin farmers, which is rare nowadays. Most brewers in the United States use hops from the Northwest. I read somewhere that a region of Washington produces about 75% of the hops grown in the United States. So beers with local hops are hard to find. The disappointing thing about Local Acre was its limited supply. A few months ago, Lakefront just ran out, and liquor stores slowly sold their remaining supply. It was a sad couple of weeks. One night Local Acre was on tap at Tess, and the next it wasn't. But, in life's typical fashion, good things were just around the corner.

Friday night, Sugar Maple (this cool bar in Bayview that has 60 American Craft taps) had the Local Acre Wet Hop release party. Wet Hop is basically what I have dubbed "Local Acre 2.0." The concept, idea and style of the beer are similar to Local Acre 1.0 but with some slight modifications. Still using all Wisconsin ingredients. Still a high alcohol content lager. Still only available on tap or in 22oz bomber bottle. And still really delicious.

In all honesty, I had no idea what the term "wet hop" meant until Friday night. Basically, the vast majority of hops are harvested, dried and then shipped to breweries around the nation. The idea behind "wet hops" is to get the hops from a local source and skip the drying. Wet hops usually have to be used within hours of harvesting otherwise their quality quickly deteriorates. Obviously, this poses many difficulties for brewers. But, people claim that wet hops have a fresher hop flavor and aroma. If Local Acre is any indication, these people are right.

I apologize for the poor picture quality above, but it was the best I could do with my phone in a dimly lit bar. $4 for the pint, and today I saw the 22oz bottle at Whole Foods for $4.99. Wet Hop is a bit less hazy than its counterpart, but it still pours a dark copper color. The aroma is extremely hoppy. I believe the beer is still around 7.0% ABV; however, it does not taste overly strong and is easy to drink. As far as flavor, Wet Hop still tastes like an intense lager, but the hop flavor is very pronounced. In that way, I think 2.0 is a bit of a step up from 1.0. The taste of Wet Hop is super fresh. No bad aftertaste that sometimes plagues hoppy beers. I was ecstatic that 2.0 lived up to my hopes. I will certainly be buying numerous 22oz bottles of Wet Hop before it inevitably runs out. I urge you all to do the same.

I am going to give Wet Hop 9 pints out of 10. Awesome.

To be fair, I should also mention that Sugar Maple was releasing another beer on Friday night as well. The beer called "Hop Harvest" is from Central Waters Brewing Company in Amherst, WI. Obviously, I had a pint of that as well. I've never had any
Central Waters beer before, and unfortunately, I don't think I'll be going out of my way to have any more. Hop Harvest is brewed as an American Pale Ale. It has almost no aroma and is equally lacking in taste. I did not enjoy it. I am giving Hop Harvest 2 pints out of 10. Fortunately, Local Acre Wet Hop more than salvaged the night. A brew that is certainly worthy of the 50th blog.

Until next time...

Sufjan

Hey People,

I was thinking the blog is a few days overdue for a Bi-Weekly Beer Blog. So I sat down with every intention of busting one of those out...but, then I thought about my recent beer consumption and was a bit discouraged. Since the last BWBB, I haven't had too many beers worthy of their own blog. Friday night, I purchased a six pack of New Belgium's Ranger IPA; it wasn't doing it for me. Then Saturday, C and I went to a wedding. Obviously, no new beers there. But, I promise a really awesome BWBB soon.

Realizing the BWBB was out, I started brainstorming blog ideas. Not surprisingly, Michigan Football came to mind. That wound is just too fresh though. All I'll say is that I am hoping/optimistic that we will come to play on Saturday for homecoming. I've still got loads of confidence in Denard. But no Michigan blog...at least not right now.

Running low on ideas, I started looking around Alterra, and I realized that the music coming from my laptop was making my wait for C to finish school exponentially better. AND that's where Sufjan comes in.

As some of you may know, Sufjan Stevens has been a pretty big staple on my ipod since freshman year at Michigan. That year, he put out his album entitled "Michigan." That album is one of the best of the decade. Then, he put out Illinois, which had most of the great qualities of Michigan but pushed the envelope. It incorporated solid "folk" songs with huge orchestras, horns, drums etc.

Since then Sufjan has had a few projects. He put out an album of outtakes and extras from Illinois (which is actually solid on its own). He oddly(?) made a Christmas album...haha. Then he did some collaborations. Well, yesterday, he released The Age of Adz (pronounced "odds"), and I just finished listening to the entire album for the first time. The last song is a 25 minute epic that basically blew my mind. The ten songs leading up to that are all amazing. The album is definitely a blend of the straightforward songs from Michigan, the complex arrangements in Illinois, and new electronic elements. It's unlike many other albums out there, but in a cool, genuine way. Honestly, in one portion of the 25 minute last song, it almost sounds like hip hop. And I mean the most awesome hip hop imaginable.

If you want to listen, I believe the whole album can be streamed here

I welcome anyone's thoughts. Like I said, expect a BWBB soon and obviously, Go Blue!

BWBB

Hey Folks,

Yep, I am finally getting the chance to sit down and write another BWBB. I apologize for the delay. Sometimes, life gets in the way.

Anyways, this week's beer is Staghorn from New Glarus. With Octoberfest coming around, it seems like every brewery is coming out with their own version of an Octoberfest....only problem is that most of them are not good. Honestly, I'm never a big fan of seasonal brews, but Octoberfests really seem to be the worst. With that being said, Staghorn is really good. I bought a six pack two weeks ago on a whim. I saw it sitting in the cooler at my favorite liquor store and thought, "New Glarus makes good beer. So if I am ever going to like an Octoberfest, this is probably it." And yes, I was right.

When you pour Staghorn, it's color is a bit surprising. It has a noticeable amber/red tint to it. Much more than you typically see from other Octoberfests...although most are actually reds. It is 6.25% ABV, so in the mid to high range for an Octoberfest. It doesn't really pour with much head, but that was ok in my opinion. I would also say that Staghorn is pretty heavily carbonated. If I had one criticism, it would be over-carbonation. The amount of bubbles consistently rising from the glass was a bit much for me. But overall, the appearance is good.

As for smell, I didn't think the beer had any extreme odor. You can definitely smell the roasted aspect of the malt. That was the only odor that really struck me.

When I first tasted Staghorn, I was really impressed with the amount of caramel flavor. The sweet caramel was balanced well with a nice spicy finish, and the spicy finish didn't have any of the bitter aftertaste that sometimes ruins Octoberfests. Additionally, Staghorn is distinctly hoppy compared to the majority of Octoberfests...and you know I'm a sucker for hops.

One additional note: Staghorn is incredibly easy to drink. It doesn't have that heaviness that leaves you feeling full.

Overall, it's a really good Octoberfest. Probably my favorite ever. I should also note that I have had both Flying Dog's and Sprecher's Octoberfests in the past few weeks. And, Staghorn blows those two away. It's really not even close in my opinion. For that reason, I am going to give Staghorn 8 pints out of 10. New Glarus is always making consistently awesome beer, and this one is no different.

Interesting side note: I recently saw a sign for Spotted Cow and it said, "Only Available in Wisconsin." So I looked into that claim, and sure enough, New Glarus does not distribute to anyone outside of Wisconsin....How crazy is that?!?!

Ok, that's all for today. I'm glad I got to sit down and write another blog.

Until next time....

Michigan Football

Hello Folks!

As most of you know, I absolutely love Michigan Football. It's probably some combination of my own personal experiences in Ann Arbor and the thoughts of my father's and grandfather's experiences there as well. When I walk around AA, I feel my family's history. I remember the thousands of miles Christina and I walked together...before we really even knew one another. And I know that the University and its people stand for the important things in life. I hope someday my kids will feel the same way. With that being said, here are pictures from last weekend's opening of the NEW Big House...definitely one of the best sports experiences of my life.

The New Big House

Quick Recap of the festivities:

Brock Mealer led the team out of the tunnel. An awesome, moving moment. To see Brock's story click here

A pair of flyovers...see picture evidence above.

30-10 victory. Enough said.

Denard. 197 yards rushing. 186 yard passing. One of the best individual performance I have ever seen at Michigan Stadium. Wait to see what he does against ND.

The new stadium. It looks great. I love the facade, all brick. Classy as hell. The boxes look good too. The stadium is deserving of college football's all-time winningest program. Lastly, I would say that it still feels like the Big House. It's just a newer, classier, more modern Big House. Tough to complain about any of it.

ND Preview:

Who really knows what to expect? How good/bad is Uconn? How good/bad is Purdue? Today, we will find out a lot. I don't see any way ND can stop DRob or our rushing attack. At the same time, I don't see any way we can stop their passing attack. Our secondary is too young, and theirs is too talented. So the game probably comes down to which team can score the most and not turn the ball over. I have confidence in us. I expect a big day from Denard and our receivers because ND will be forced to stack the box and try to stop the run. By the end of the season, people will respect him as a passer, and that starts today. Also, our dline will get decent pressure. This will sorta mitigate their passing attack. I am predicting a 35-28 victory for the good people. It should be an exciting game. Happy Watching!

As always, Go Blue!