Rogue Post, or Don't Cry Over Spilled Beer

I bragged about my pretty bottle of Rogue Imperial Stout that I had waiting for me at home. I came home BEFORE 9 PM! OK, not because I'm balanced, but because someone has to let the dog out, and no one else is in town. But I digress. I was so looking forward to cracking open that Imperial Stout. Seemed like a wonderful thing to do on a cold and lonely Wednesday night. I even took a picture with the crappy camera phone and everything. (Side note, remember how I bitched about needing a new camera? And then I got one? Yeah. guess where it is? With The Husband. Out of town. For biz. Explain to me again why everything becomes "ours" once you are married?) ANY way.

I poured. I drooled. I plugged in my laptop power cord, set my beer on a side table, settled in for a loser's night of excel, powerpoint and tasty beer. But then. THEN. I watched one lonely hyper dog get tangled in said cord and knock over previously mentioned side table, sharing my precious stout with the not-so-appreciative carpet. Nooooooo! Dammit. I didn't even take a SIP, people. This was tragic. I almost cried. But I was too busy cleaning up the floor before my dog got tipsy.

I had about 2/3 of another pint left. I drank it like it was the last water available on earth. Slowly. Carefully. While glaring at the dog. Poor little dude.

I poured this from the ceramic 0.75 litre bottle (2007 Edition) into a pint glass to produce a thick tan head of about 1-1/2". The beer is DARK. And sticky. And has an incredible aroma of chocolate and coffee and caramel. The head had incredible retention. The taste is not as sweet as some of the beers I have been drinking lately, but has a caramel sweetness contrasted with an espresso bite. I wish I had more. But I managed to restrain myself from doing anything disgusting to the carpet, even though that would also result in getting very interesting search traffic. That's the amount of self control I have. Impressed?

Wexford Irish Cream Ale...and Friends!

I have 2 cans of this deliciousness sitting in my fridge, waiting for me tonight. It means I have to share one with The Husband, but since he is actually in town for ONE! MORE! WHOLE! NIGHT! I'll be ok with it. I already drank the first 2. :)

I love creamy ales. I love nitro pours. I love the fact that the thing in the beer can that creates this is called a widget. (I say that word too many times a day at work already. Different context.) I love watching the beer swirl around and generate a giant fluffy white head that reminds me more of a latte than a lager. The Wexford pours a light amber, with a thick, off-white nitro head, that leaves mild lacing along the sides of the glass as I sip. The scent is sweet, mild, and maybe a little malty. The first thing I notice isn't taste as much as the overall feeling this beer has. It is slippery and smooth and creamy and feels like dessert. It tastes very mild, almost buttery. I heart it. It makes me want to eat at O'Dowd's, though. Sigh, I will eat a boxty again soon, I am sure.

Other random items:

It's snowing here again. It's kind of pretty, but it is cold. And getting colder by the minute. Barack Obama is landing in front of my office somewhere around 5 pm. This is the view from my office window. Yes, it is the downtown airport. In the snow.

I have a big bottle of Rogue Imperial Stout, also in my kitchen, pending a review later in the week. That is thanks to my superfly Saturday brunch date that convinced me to eat crepes, get my toes painted in January, and then totally derailed me in Cellar Rat. I have a wonderful friend.

How are you holding up?

Torn from the Times Online:

It’s official: today is the worst day of the year. Hang on – wasn’t that supposed to be last Monday? A psychologist has calculated the most depressing day with a formula that includes “lousy weather, post Christmas debt, failed new year’s resolutions and the desperate need to have something to look forward to”. Incidentally, this is also the most depressing week of 2008. We don’t care any more – we just want to go home.

So I am just checking in on my peeps. You doing ok? Getting enough sleep, not letting the zero degree weather kill your spark, are you? Work isn't TOO overwhelming, is it? We're super busy, but we can see the light. If you need something to look forward to, let me list a few positives coming up here in the middle of the middle of the middle:

1. The projected high for this Saturday is 46 degrees, and that is the same day as the SCION OPEN Snowboarding Tournament over at Snow Creek. You know you want to get out and enjoy a little of this winter weather, just not when it is below 10 degrees! It's going to be awesome, with Miles Bonny spinning, snowboards flying, and a few adult beverages and a snack waiting for you after you finish skiing, boarding or even sitting in a tube, riding down the hill. I'm definitely tubing this year!
2. One last appeal, as if you needed more – the Weston brewery O’Malleys is a hop skip & a jump away from Snow Creek. After an afternoon of skiing/tubing, what could be better than a Weston Brewery Irish Cream Ale. Uh, nothing I can think of! Ha ha ha. I will be there most of the day, so give me a shout if you’re headed out there.
3. AND, it is supposed to be 52 degrees here by Sunday!
4. Boulevard's Irish Ale should be available by now.
5. If you are in advertising in KC, and live in a cave or something, let me remind you that the Addy Awards are on Feb 16th. If you don't know, it's like an awards show & prom all rolled into one event. Hilarity ensues.

Beer snobbery is spreading

I was racing into the office today, running late, as one certainly isn't capable of showing up to work EARLY after a 3 day weekend, when I heard the local radio station DJ say something that actually interested me. Normally I listen to my own music, or surf stations anytime someone starts talking, but I stopped button pushing when I heard the DJ admit that he is a total hop-head. (Listening to Dick Dale on 96.5) And that he is actively organizing a strike team to go capture all of the available Bell's Hopslam 6 packs from the ONE store in this whole city that sells it. (They limit to one 6 pack per person.) What I did NOT get out of this limited conversation snippet I heard during my 12 minute long commute, is WHAT STORE IN KC CARRIES BELL'S HOPSLAM?

Still funny, 12 years later

Lee posted this, and I laughed. Because I was 19 when The Onion first published it. I loved and still love The Onion. And my friends looked like this. Hell, I looked like this. I drank microbrews because that is what my non-greek, art school, flannel wearing, indie music loving, grubby concert attending, coffee barfly, hacky-sack playing, hippie-grunge-wannabe older friends drank. So I had access.

Two thousand and eight?

Happy New Year! Yeah, ok, I am a little late on that. A little late on a lot of things, I am afraid. I still have a Mexico mindset, which apparently means saying "Gracias," to the gas station clerk after receiving my change, and avoiding my endlessly buzzing smart phone by imagining having another something-made-with-tequila and just not worrying about it right now. I had some beer, I did. Sol, Dos Equis, and Tecate. But mostly I stuck to the fruity confections that seemed most appropriate to the locale. See? It looks slightly out of place, doesn't it? Like it should be a giant glass rimmed with salt and a slice of lime festively garnishing the side. Not a lonely little beer can, sweating in the sun.

I am sorry that I missed the beer blogger meet up. Hope you all had a blast. When I saw that you guys left me a voicemail, I was half hoping it would be psuedo-drunken slurring. And then I remembered that we're grown ups, and it is just really really nice to be missed. I can't promise no more trips to Mexico, but I am wishing really hard that I get to meet you all for reals sometime.