Tuesday, January 26, 2010

A Post about Beer.

I realized that I have never really done a post about my favorite beers. Why? No clue. I'm slacking, clearly. I was never a beer person, in fact the very smell made me a little sick to my stomach. Then one night I was at a get together and I had a beer, I actually can't even remember what kind it was...It was in a green bottle which leads me to believe that it was cheap and probably not something that I would order now. But I will be forever grateful to that beer because after that I fell in love. My family loves wine and I spent the last few years going to vineyards and tasting and learning about different wines. I enjoy it, but not completely. In fact, I'm actually sort of a wimp when it comes to wine--I favor the whites and blushes. But with beer, I just started trying different ones and completely fell in love with it. I can pick out the flavors and understand it so much more then I can understand wine. I came to realize the I love hoppy beer. If it's got a nice bitter flavor then I'm sold. I also really like stouts and porters which probably comes from my love of coffee...that's a completely different story. The only type of beer that I have tried and have yet to get into are the sours. I just can't enjoy them. I tried I really did...
I started home brewing which has been a great new hobby and really educational. I find that for me, I need to do something or make something if I really want to learn about it. It helps me understand it so much more and I can appreciate it better. I don't really know where I'll go with brewing, but for now I'm just enjoying new styles and slowly trying new things. Thus in a round about way, bringing me to the actual point of my blog post: Some of my favorite beers. Not an exclusive list, but more of a "this-is-what-came-to-me-off-of-the-top-of-my-head..list". It's not exactly well rounded because I don't have all of my favorite types included, but they are for sure my go to beers and a few new ones that I've recently tried and enjoyed.

#1. Three Philosophers. This beer is so enjoyable to drink and is really well rounded. There are no over powering flavors which makes it a great beer to enjoy with food in my opinion.
#2. Moylans Hop Sickle Imperial Ale. I about died and went to heaven the first time I had this beer. Oh man. Probably by far the hoppiest most hop-tastic beer I've ever had. A real kick in the pants.
#3. Pliny The Elder. This is a beer that I just recently tried. My friend and beer lover Jake told me about it originally. On Sunday I went to Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach, and noticed that they had it on tap...HELLO! Had to get it. It has a flavor that I can't quite pin point...but I like it. Maybe one of the best IPA's I've ever had. There's talk of a Pliny the Younger coming out soon and I'm pretty stoked to find it on tap somewhere.
#4. Bear Republic Racer 5 India Pale Ale. Juuuust had this beer tonight actually. They had it on tap at Belmont Brew Company in Long Beach. Jake told me about this one too! A really nice Pale Ale. The bartender had me try their house pale ale, but realllly wasn't digging it. The house Pale was very bitter but in a bad way... Now don't get me wrong, I love bitter but it didn't have enough flavor or aroma to back it up. It was almost watery bitter...ew. But this one was spot on. Really flavorful and enjoyable.
#5. Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. HAD TO INCLUDE THIS! Probably up there in my top 3 all time favorite beers. So full and wonderful and chocolaty. I just brewed a russian imperial stout and I'm really excited to try it. I bought a 4 pack of Rasputin to taste with my home brew so I can compare and contrast. Pretty excited about that.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head

When it rains, it pours. And it floods. And I play in the puddles and make rainy day mixes.

1. Kettering..........The Antlers
2. My Halo...........Atlas Sound
3. People Are Strange..........The Doors
4. Knotty Pine.............Dirty Projectors+David Byrne
5. It Never Entered My Mind...........Chet Baker
6. Lullbye.........Azita
7. Nude.............Radiohead
8. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.......Burt Bacharach

Check out our rain puddle pictures on Blinking Against The Brightness.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Finally


My Christmas present from Mum and Dad. I thought the day would never come.

Sunday Afternoon Fun


After I spent the day thinking about photos and the significance of having a photo in your hands and not just on a computer screen, I decided to go through some of my boxes of pictures I had taken when I was younger. Most of my childhood photos are at my parents house in Oregon, but I managed to hang on to a few, and mostly ones that I took on my parents camera, or my Cannon point and shoot. Which speaking of, I found my old camera and brought it back to Long Beach with me, so if I can just get my hands on some film then I'll be golden. It's a newer cannon, and it's nothing fancy and definitely not ironic or vintage in any way, but it takes great pictures and I would love to start having some hard copies lying around, maybe throw together a few albums. Facebook albums just aren't cutting it for me lately. Maybe I'll get hooked and I'll become an obsessive scrap-booker. Like the kind that go to the monthly get togethers and join scrap booking societies. Sort of like tupperware parties for paper, stickers, and fancy scissors! Anyways, here are a few from my collection, enjoy.



Snap Shots

This weekend was filled with antique shopping and exploring the local flea market in Long Beach. I didn't really have a mission in mind, but I was able to collect a few gems in the form of photographs. These are a few of my favorites.


Not bad eh?