Black Ops

Remember my little hey-let's-break-the-law-and-send-booze-thru-the-USPS episode? My sister-in-law returned the favor by sending me some Brooklyn brew. I received a bottle of Brooklyn Brewery's Black Ops Imperial Stout last week. I waited for the right moment to break it open, which turned out to be Sunday, the night before my husband and I had to return to work after 10 consecutive days of vacation. Aaaannnnnd, thud. But I slept very well.

Regardless, a strong imperial stout was perfect for the winter evening, and this is definitely a STRONG one. According to Beer Advocate info, Brooklyn Black Ops was aged for four months in bourbon barrels, bottled flat, and re-fermented in the bottle with Champagne yeast. There were 940 cases produced. The label looks much prettier in RL than here in the picture I ripped off of someone else's Flickr.

I kept the 750 ml bottle on my kitchen counter top for more than a day, so it was definitely room temperature by the time I poured the dark, motor oil colored stout into 2 pint glasses, and waited for the abundant dark tan head to settle down before we tried it. The first whiff seemed to contain some of the bourbon barrel character, but to be honest, mostly all I smelled was raw alcohol. Well, it is an 11% ABV beer. It kind of intimidated me, but only because it was a school night. The taste starts with dark roasted malts, chocolate and coffee flavors, maybe a little vanilla, a little bourbon burn, and ALCOHOL. A mostly direct quote from my husband went something like this, "This might be a great evening after all." I refrain from conjecturing what he meant by that.

All I know is that he polished off his glass long before I did. This was a sipper for me. Good, smooth, with the alcohol burn becoming less apparent with each gulp, but still a sipper. I couldn't really imagine having too much of this, but one pint was perfect. I had to get up early in the morning for the first time in almost 2 weeks. Blerg.

Beer knurds

I spent some quality time with my bros and their ladies this weekend, and in our typical fashion there was sushi and good beer involved. I dragged them all through the P&L district Sunday evening, which was bumpin and loud and full of line-standers, to get to the Flying Saucer, which while busy, was kind of an oasis for our sort. The 6 of us perched on stools at the bar and set up shop. My youngest bro discovered Delirium Nocturnum and my middle bro split a Boulevard Long Strange Tripel. He and his wife live in NYC, so I did my part to spread the BLVD gospel. I slept very well last night. Now it is Monday evening, and I need to go on a total beer hiatus for a week. ~sigh~

Fit me with an ankle bracelet or something

I think it's just the time of year when I fall off the face of the blog. It seems to be fairly consistent. It's not like I got off the grid entirely. You social media 2.0 peeps know where to find me. It's just spring time. Dusting off the old, prepping for the new, outdoor activities, talk talk talking, whatever. I'll be at the Saucer this weekend, with the broseph. I'll take some new beer inspired pics. He'd kill me if he knew that was posted anywhere. he looks a little - umm - special needs, in that one.

Happy long weekend to you all!

The Generation Gap

Permit me a non-beer post for a moment. It's rare, so let is pass.

Old people forward email jokes.
Middle-aged people put them on their blog.
Young people post them on their friends' walls.
And kids? I have no idea what they do, except maybe recite jokes for which they can't remember the punchlines while surfing around Club Penguin or something.

My Dad forwarded me this. He thinks it is quite funny, I assume. I don't see it as all that funny. Because anyone who knows anything knows that you take your blackberry into the restroom at work, not a laptop. Now I can't decide what part of that whole thing is more pathetic.

Employee of the Month

This is the level of dedication we expect from all staff!

From,
Management

Blood is thicker than beer...wait, what?

My Dad got married this weekend, so I had the privilege of having both of my brothers, one sister-in-law and one long time girlfriend over to my house last night. This required beer, so we ran to the friendly neighborhood liquor store. We picked up a selection of things, but the most popular by far was the six-pack of O'Malley's Irish Cream Ale. I only got one myself. And when it was gone, everyone begrudgingly drank my youngest bro's Warsteiner. His girlfriend liked the Schlafly's Raspberry I had left in the fridge, so overall, we cleaned out my beer stock.

But back to the Irish Cream Ale, brewed by a little local brewery in Weston, MO, that recently reopened. I had been to the underground pub in Weston before, but they didn't have the brewery back up and running when I was there. If you have a chance to go, you should. It is quite the experience, sitting in the giant cellar, listening to live music bouncing off the stone walls. When you order an Irish Cream Ale at a bar in town that serves it on tap, you get the whole nitro tap experience, like with Guinness. This is my best Caffrey's replacement! Much more so than Boddington's, love it as I do.

Moms Day Hiatus

I'm going on my own mini vacation, and vacation to me always means fresh seafood, time spent on the water, and grabbing a new beer or two. It's Mother's Day weekend, and I am going to visit my own little madre. As additional benefits there will be the Long Island Sound, my brother and sister-in-law, my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. I'll try to grab some interesting beer to talk about here. In the meantime, have a great weekend, and do something nice for your mom, the mother of your children, or yourself if you are a mom.

Where Is My Mind?

I'm geeking out to The Pixies and The Flaming Lips. How you doin'?

Seeing my brother for an hour this weekend made me realize how much I miss the punk. I hate that half of my family lives 2,000 + miles away. We didn't even get to have that beer. No beverages, no conversation, no time. I wish I had more frequent flier flights. I'd be up there far more often. Far too often, I am sure. Holidays are making me very sappy. I rocked out with John Denver & the Muppets while making grandma's fudge recipe this weekend. And drinking a lovely thick porter. Hell to the yes, that's me. Shut up.

Random.
Ready?Set.Go!

I think that this is cool.
I ordered this for the husband at the last minute.
Who else wants to go do this?
I am going to be here in one year.
I got these fancy chocolates today, and I'd prefer to look at them than eat them.
Anyone else noticed that holiday sweaters are everywhere?

I'm gonna sip Sam Adams like it's my birthday

My father-in-law and step-mom-in-law gave me beer for my birthday. A whole lot of beer. This beer. Because they had read my review. How crazy is that? I laughed and laughed. And I drank one last night. So lovely.

Salsa de Noche

It's Cinco de Mayo. Ole! It's also my brother-in-law's birthday. Happy Birthday, little dude. I can't believe it's still going to be another year before you can have a beer on your birthday. ~sigh~ It's ok, I promise to drink one for you today.

Actually, since it is Cinco de Mayo, I am temporarily abandoning my beer platform. There are frosty margaritas for everybody right here. It's not Beer Friday yet, so I don't feel like counting up everyone's points. You lucky visitors, Margarita Thursday is for EVERYONE!


God, I could use a drink.