Tag Archives: friends

Ofest 2011 – The Aftermath

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bottle capsWell, that’s it then. Don and Max have already departed for home; I’m just waiting to head down to the station to catch my train. Ron (and by extension, his family) is an excellent host.

As always, it was great to see one another and catch up with our lives. We played cards and video games, watched football (the Giants caught a break to be sure), but mostly we talked.

Oh, and we had beer. Here’s the list:

  1. 15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA by Stone Brewing Co.
  2. A Little Sumpin’ Wild by Lagunitas Brewing Company
  3. Anchor Humming Ale by Anchor Brewing Company
  4. Big Bear Black Stout by Bear Republic Brewing Co.
  5. B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher Oatmeal-Imperial Stout by Hoppin Frog Brewery
  6. Captain’s Reserve Imperial IPA by Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
  7. Dirty Blonde Ale by Adirondack Pub & Brewery
  8. Guinness Foreign Extra Stout
  9. Harvest Ale by Southern Tier Brewing Company
  10. Heavy Seas The Great Pumpkin by Clipper City Brewing Co.
  11. Heinnieweisse Weissebier by Butternuts Beer & Ale
  12. Imperial Porter Brewmasters Reserve 2011 by Full Sail Brewing Company
  13. Keller Pils by Southampton Publick House
  14. My Antonia by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
  15. Oktoberfest by Brooklyn Brewery
  16. Oktoberfest by Otter Creek Brewing
  17. Oktoberfest by Sly Fox Brewing Company
  18. Old Horizontal by Victory Brewing Company
    • Aged three years!
  19. Snake Chaser by Lakefront Brewery
  20. Snake Dog IPA by Flying Dog Brewery
  21. Toxic Sludge by Blue Point Brewing Co
  22. Union Jack by Firestone Walker Brewing Company
  23. Vanilla Porter by Breckenridge Brewery
  24. Whiskey Barrel Aged Porter by Brown’s Brewing Company
We don’t try to rate them or anything, but there were a few that stood out. The Captain’s Reserve Imperial IPA and The Great Pumpkin from Heavy Seas were both pleasant surprises.
It certainly was a pleasant way to spend four rainy days. I can’t wait to do it again next year.

There’s something about a train…

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I am currently sitting on an Amtrak train headed north. This is the start of my annual sojourn to catch up with old friends and drink good beer.

You see, Ron and I and the rest of the “Hop Talk Advisory Panel” (aka Max and Don) live pretty far away from each other. The idea of “popping ’round” to have a beer and converse is nothing more than that: an idea.

Oh, sure, modern technology lets us stay in touch better than we ever would have thought possible when we were kids, but it’s just not the same as sitting in a room together, clinking glasses and talking about anything and everything.

Ron is hosting us this year, and I look forward to hanging out in his “Barley Room”. It’s our tradition to each bring four different, interesting, beers to share, and we look forward to seeing what everybody brought. And sampling, of course. But, really, it’s not about the beer; it’s about reconnecting with each other. Life, in other words.

The beer is a nice perk, though.

It’s all about the who, not the what

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Every year for the last fourteen years or so, I have gotten together around this time of year with Ron, Max, and Don. We all live far, far away from each other, and have our own familial and employment commitments, but for one long weekend we leave all that beyond (well, mostly) and catch up on our lives and drink some really good beer.

Well, I’ve just returned from the airport and it’s awfully quiet here. (We’ve waxed on about our Octoberfest weekends before, so I won’t tread over that same ground again.) I was glad to have the entire Hop Talk Advisory Council in attendance. Sadly, tomorrow is back to the old grind.

We had some really interesting beers this time around, and there were a lot that none of us have ever had before. In no particular order:

Notes:

* We shared a 12-ounce bottle amongst us

A D M R – Picked as a favorite by Al, Don, Max and Ron respectively

It’s over

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All good things must come to an end, and so our “O-fest 2009” celebration is over. It was good to see Ron and Max and Don again; it happens all-too-rarely anymore. We stayed up way too late, got up way too early, ate way too much bad food, and had way too much lots of beer. My eyes are dried out from not blinking while driving really, really fast in Burnout Paradise and shooting hundreds of monsters in Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, plus a few other video games and a rousing game of Munchkin. These old bones can’t take sleeping on floors much anymore, but it was all worth it. Don’s friend Vic also joined us for an evening, which was fun and, in the spirit of things, brought four six-packs of his own.

Thanks guys. Let’s do it again next year.

We were only able to get through about half of the beer, so I left with about as much as I arrived with.

Here’s a (more-or-less complete) list of what we brought, in no particular order:

  • Ithaca Cascazilla
  • Green Flash IPA
  • Victory Moonglow
  • Lake Placid Ubu Ale
  • Stone Levitation Ale
  • Unibroue Trois Pistoles
  • Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen-Weisse
  • Fort Collins Chocolate Stout
  • Troëgs Dead Reckoning Porter
  • Troëgs Java Head Stout
  • Rogue Morimoto Imperial Pilsner
  • Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA
  • Flying Dog Canis Major mixed pack
    • Gonzo Imperial Porter
    • Kerberos Tripel
    • Double Dog Double Pale Ale
    • Horn Dog Barley Wine
  • Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils
  • Goose Island Honker’s Ale
  • Southampton IPA
  • Newcastle Brown Ale
  • Guinness Stout
  • Guinness Draught
  • Paulaner’s Octoberfest Märzen
  • Blue Point Toasted Lager
  • Morland Old Speckled Hen
  • Smithwick’s Irish Ale
  • Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA
  • New Holland Ichabod Pumpkin Ale
  • Arcadia Jaw-Jacker Ale
  • New Holland The Poet Oatmeal Stout
  • Captain Lawrence “Smoke from the Oak” from Apple Brandy barrels
  • Southern Tier Crème Brûlée Imperial Milk Stout
  • Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout

O-fest 2009

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Today begins the “official” (note inappropriate use of air quotes) start of our annual Oktoberfest celebration. We’ve been doing this for years and this is the one weekend a year that we carve out for ourselves. It has become harder over the years as each of us has gotten married, had kids, bought a house, et cetera. We’ve also gotten farther apart physically; the closest any of us are to the other is at least a two-hour drive.

Our general modus operandi is this: We each bring our computers and network them up for some digital mayhem. When we’re not doing that we’ll play cards or watch a movie, or even go out in the world to get some of the local cuisine (boy, I miss New Jersey pizza) or something crazy like tour a brewery. But—and this is why I’m writing this—we each bring four (or so) six-packs of some interesting beer (or some bombers, or growlers, or whatever) to share.

Over the course of this long weekend we’ll catch up on the goings-on of our lives, have a lot of laughs, and drink some pretty good beer.

Oh, this is also a meeting of the Hop Talk Advisory Council. They’ll be helping me with my Beer-a-Day project for the next few days.

Who is this guy, and why is he brewing beer in my kitchen?

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Christopher Vigliotti says "Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

This is Chris. He seems to know everyone in Brunswick, Maryland. He’s our preferred portrait photographer. He’s a ColdFusion developer (like me) and started working with me a few months ago so we occasionally commute together. It seems like every time I turn around he’s there.

He’s either becoming a good friend or he’s a stalker.

Of course, it seems that very often the conversation turns to beer. Chris is a curious guy and likes to ask questions. And me, I’m not much of a conversationalist unless the topic is something I’m passionate about.

Beer would qualify as one of those topics.

So, I’ve been lax in my efforts to brew at home, and Chris expressed (multiple times) that he’d be interested in trying it out. We found some compatible open slots on our calendars (not an easy task)  and today we brewed.

I’d forgotten how fun it is. I had an old pale ale recipe that I’d done as my second-ever batch several years ago, so I tried to copy that. We went shopping for supplies this morning (the Flying Barrel opens at 10 AM on Saturday, by the way)  and spend the rest of the morning and the early afternoon brewing. Chris also brought over a bunch of his photography equipment and took some pretty cool photos. (I’ll be sharing them in the next weeks and months.)

And, of course, while you’re brewing beer you should be drinking beer. Chris and I sampled a Tripel and a Dubbel, and boy were they tasty. A good time was had by all. I’m looking forward to transferring to the secondary fermenter next week. And sampling more beer.

Too busy having fun

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Ron lives 400 miles away from me. Max 320 miles. Don 225 miles.

As you might expect, that sort of precludes us from nipping down to the pub together on a regular basis.

While Don is still a carefree bachelor, Ron, Max and I are all married, each with two children.

So taking off for a weekend every few weeks isn’t really an option either.

But, every year, once a year, we work really, really hard to get our schedules in synch, our spouses mollified, and a little time off from work.

For years now, the best time to do this has been in October. So, for over ten years, we’ve been getting together for a long weekend in the Fall. We’ve been gamers forever, so we bring our computers and network them together for some good electronic mayhem. (We’ve been doing this since the time of Doom, when networks were in their infancy and hardly anyone had heard of the Internet.)

We also each bring four (or more) six-packs of something interesting. We’ve even been known to take notes and rate the beers we liked.

We cook meat over fire. We eat potato chips and Doritos. We order in pizza and hot wings. We usually manage to pop out to a brewpub or a good beer bar at least once. And, of course, we drink that “interesting” beer and sit and talk about what we’ve been doing all year.

Last year I hosted the guys. This year Ron’s hosting. He’s worked real hard to have a new family room ready in time for us. (He has been posting about it on his personal blog, and it’s fascinating reading.) He also says he has a couple of “surprises” for us. Woo-hoo!

It’s also this weekend. As such, Ron and I will be rather scarce ’round these parts until at least the middle of next week. We’ll try to pop in now and then, but content will be light for the next few days.

Enjoy the weekend. I know I will.

Session #5: Atmosphere – by Ron

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July 2007

The Session #5 – Hot in the Kitchen

Beer is better when shared with a friend.

That pretty much sums it up for me. I love beer, but it becomes a whole different experience when it is enjoyed in the right atmosphere, and that usually means with someone else. I’m reminded of the lyrics from Rush’s Chain Lightning…

sun dogs fire on the horizon
meteor rain stars across the night
this moment may be brief
but it can be so bright
reflected in another source of light
when the moment dies
the spark still flies
reflected in another pair of eyes
- Neil Peart

I’ve already blogged about one of my most favorite traditional atmospheres in which to enjoy a beer and it is with the family (and sometimes friends) while on vacation at our humble bungalow at the New Jersey shore. I wrote about in a 4 part series called Inspired by Blue Claws, a Snake Dog IPA review, the sacred social hour, Grandpa’s Crabs, & Catching the suckers… please check it out.

The Session - Beer Blogging FridayI have a whole slew of additional, perfect atmospheric conditions, in which the experience of enjoying a fine beer is greatly heightened by the situation and company. Some of the best are spontaneous, like the time my buddies and I ended up grilling bratwurst for dinner on the deck at midnight at last year’s Octoberfest. But, today I want to tell you about my most cherished atmosphere… and it all started with chicken marsala.

Life is busy for us all in this day and age. Not many families get to sit down for dinner to eat together during the week because there is soccer practice, music lessons, dance class, etc; plus working late, traffic jams, etc; you get the picture. We are all busy in our own ways and so often we don’t get a chance to pause and savor the moment.

That’s why I cherish the times when my wife and I get to cook dinner together. It started just after we were married and both working when one evening we took the time to make chicken marsala together. We were just getting out of the college days of macaroni & cheese with English muffins type of gourmet food when we decided to try and make real meals. It happened that we’ve never tried making chicken marsala before.

We sipped our beers while we prepped the mushrooms and chicken, saving the marsala wine for the meal. The beer was probably something like Sam Adams Lager, but the brand of beer didn’t matter, it was good. Cooking together turns out to be one of the few times that we spend quality time together. We talk, we communicate, we create great food… we relax.

It is the prep and cooking portion that is the best with the smells and tastes… the time working together. We didn’t have kids at that time and so today things are even busier, which is why I cherish the times we get to create a great meal together even more so. Oh, and in this perfect atmosphere, it can get quite hot in the kitchen.

Go and enjoy a beer with someone you love…

An embarrassment of riches

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My wife and I recently had a bit of a housewarming party here in our new place. Mostly we figured on having a few of our new, local friends over for a simple barbecue. We didn’t really expect any of our family and friends “back home” in New Jersey to make the four- to five-hour trip, but several did. So many, in fact, that we weren’t sure where we were going to put them all.

As usual, my wife went all out. I won’t say she’s like Martha Stewart, but it seems like that sometimes. In addition to the standard BBQ fare of hot dogs, burgers, and tuna pasta salad, she made empanadas, Santa Fe chicken salad (grilled chicken over greens, corn, black beans, peppers and onions with a barbecue sauce vinaigrette served with fried and salted tortilla strips), and her not-quite-famous sangria. She is an excellent cook; it’s no wonder I can’t seem to lose any weight.

My tasks were simple: choose the music to play and pick out the beer. For music, I chose from our CD collection discs that were fun and interesting, avoiding anything too hard or soft.

Choosing beer was much the same exercise. None of the people we were having over are what you would call “fans” of beer. Oh, sure, most of them would drink it, but they wouldn’t really taste it. Of course, being who I am, there was certainly an expectation that there would be beer there outside of the mainstream.

I skipped my local beer retailer. In spite of his decent selection of craft brews, I’ve been burned too many times by beers that were left on the shelf too long and should never have been sold. (Tip: never buy dusty bottles.) I made the trek up to Westridge Liquors which has an even better selection and does a better job keeping fresher stock.

I know why Ron refers to his local retailer as the “candy store”. That’s exactly what I felt like, knowing that I had to get a bunch of different interesting selections, and seeing that I would only be getting a fraction of what they were offering. After several admonishments from my wife to not get anything too exotic, I settled on several interesting and some middle-of-the-road brews. All were lighter styles (the weather was forecast to be in the nineties; who wants to drink a porter in that?) but would be suitable for a variety of palates.

The party was a success, of course. Everyone had a good time. I even think we were outnumbered by the children for a while. I was asked a couple times for recommendations, and all seemed to be spot on as I received no complaints. I think I may even have created a new fan of Tröegs Sunshine Pils. I went overboard with the beer, as we barely made a dent in it. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. There were no leftovers of my wife’s delicious food, and we all had plenty to eat.

An afternoon and evening surrounded by new friends and loved ones we’ve known forever, eating great food and enjoying excellent beer, is time well-spent.