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Recently, having spent the winter months taking in my share of stouts and porters, I wandered in the shop looking for something a little lighter in flavor. I had a been working on a taste for an IPA that just wouldn’t go away. Looking around, I saw a few new additions to the stock, and Caleb, the beer clerk, came around the corner and immediately started gushing about this amazing Imperial IPA they had called Hopslam. The way he was talking about it, you would think that this was the Jesus beer - i.e., the beer to save all beers. He informed me that it was in limited supply and if I wanted to try it I had better snag some because it would disappear fast. After grabbing a sixer, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t just a little excited on the ride home.

That night proved to be the beginning of a love affair. As I cracked the seal and began the pour, I was greeted with the pleasantries of perfectly balanced citrus and piney scents. After my pour, I was left with a beautiful amber color close to that amazing beverage we here in the south call “sweet tea.” Anxiously awaiting my prize, it took all I could muster to not dive right in. I could tell this was one I would want to savor.

As for appearance, it was beautiful. Again, I was reminded of the freshly brewed frothy glasses of sweet tea I drank so much of as a child. The head, after a good pour, settled to about a half inch on top and didn’t move. It settled down to a slight cloudiness which left it looking almost like a dark amber colored Hefewiezen.

One could almost argue that the smell is as good as the taste. It’s hard to say which. This IPA immediately hits your nose with the perfect amount of pine and grapefruit. First the pine and, after settling, the grapefruit. The closer you get to the glass, the hoppiness comes through. That first taste though, brings on the unexpected.

Honey. For those experienced in the realm of mead, imagine that, with a hint of hoppy bitterness. Sweet, and just biting enough to let you know that its an IPA. By the time it hits the back of your mouth, the sweetness turns into a splash of flavor very similar to that of a fresh ruby red grapefruit. Quite possibly one of the most refreshing drinks of any brew I’ve ever had.

Along the way, these flavors are carried by this lightly bitter, hoppy bite. Being a Double/Imperial IPA, and having experienced a fair share of overly hoppy IPAs recently, I was expecting an overpowering amount of hoppyness. This, however, was certainly not the case and the hoppyness added a crispness which worked to the benefit of the citrus flavors. Overpowering is certainly not a word I would associate with this brew.

The balance between the bitterness of the hops and the sweetness of the honey and grapefruit flavors made this brew go down amazingly smooth, and fast. Which, for those drinking this somewhere other than the comfort of their home, could be a very BAD thing. At 10% alcohol, this brew drank more like its 5% and 6% brethren. I had to stop myself after three, which turned out to be about about one too many and ended my quiet night at home rather early. Advice: Drink slow.

Hopslam is now my standard by which all Double/Imperial IPAs shall be judged. Sadly though, much like many seasonals, one can only rendezvous with this amazing brew during the months of January and February. So, if you like IPAs and see it for sale, drop to your knees and thank God for such a blessing. Then get up and grab it before someone sees you and thinks you’ve lost your mind.

A great article on the link between the big media networks and the government.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/04/20/nyt/index.html

Not particularly eye opening, as most are already aware of the ridiculously close relationship between the media and our government. However, it just proves that the only information you can trust is the information you research and find for yourself, and not what is spoon fed to you through NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CNN, or any of the other major news networks.

I will be adding some content over the next few days. I will be occasionally adding reviews of drinks, music, movies, books, and such. As I post more, new categories will pop up. I may even post more than once per day.

Reasons?

Coming across an exceptionally tasty beverage is always something worth sharing and I’m a bit of a beverage snob so this happens quite often. I enjoy rich, flavorful drinks. I enjoy drinks that exercise more than just one set of taste buds. People can say what they want about beverage snobbery, but when you taste the varying arrays of flavors available in finely crafted coffee, teas, beers, and wines, and you are able to distinguish good flavors from bad, you begin to understand and appreciate the attention to detail and the artisanship behind the craft.

As far as music, being the fan that I am, I figure its time I start engaging with my music in some other way besides listening and thinking. So over the next few weeks, I will begin to post reviews of some of the better (or worse) albums that I have managed to pick up over the last few years. For the most part, I will be sticking to recent albums. However, occasionally, as inspiration hits and I am enlightened as to an older albums meaning, or what I feel is a new way of interpreting the piece, I will be writing about older albums.

Although I will be mostly sticking to music, the same goes for books and movies. I don’t read much for leisure anymore, but when I do it’s not usually the type of stuff that people would find fit for everyday reading. Movies I rarely find time for, but will, every now and then, pick up one or two that have been suggested. If I run across any worth talking about, perhaps they will make their way into a post. These will, most definitely though, be few and far between.

This is all in an attempt to get me writing more, but also to get out some of the ideas and thoughts that I have when I experience these new things. These are all things that I enjoy immensely, and what better way to enjoy them than to share those experiences with others.

The number one reason why George W. Bush, our fine, upstanding model of a President, will not make a public statement about the Chinese government and refuse to attend the Olympic Opening Ceremonies.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/10/95033/2181/104/493151

He knows that he will be a hypocrite, standing against things that he himself has authorized, and continually supports.

The Chinese government is absolutely right when they say that the United States government has no right to condemn them for their human rights violations, when we have our own human rights issues that need addressed. The only difference between the two is that the Chinese government commits their human rights violations in broad daylight, in the public eye, while the United States government hides all of theirs behind dubius interpretation of international law, tricky political jargon, red tape, bureaucracy, and third party non-government contracts.

To refuse to attend the Olympic Opening Ceremonies on the grounds of human rights violations, yet continually sign-off on orders and vetos which explicitly authorize the continued use of torture, would be the political equivalent of the pot calling the kettle black.

Just one more good reason why John McCain has absolutely no business being our next president:

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/28/hagee-mccain-endorsement/

The last thing we need is another president with a misguided ideology and delusions about his mission in office. Combine that with an obvious intent to usher us into another unprovoked war and you have what would likely be the final nail in the coffin of America’s future.

The Chinese government has stated many times over the past few weeks, since the situation in Tibet has intensified, that during the Olympics is not the right time, the right platform, for any people to voice their political views.

Then what about personal views, or human rights views, or the views of the dignity and sanctity of each individual and their right to live as though they ought? When is a good time to talk about that? What about the basics of good and evil, how countries should treat their citizens, or how we all should treat each other? When is a good time for that?

If it were up to the Chinese government, we would never talk about any of these things, and we would let them do to their citizens whatever the hell they want, however the hell they want, whenever the hell they want.

If it were up to the Chinese government, we would let them get away with murder.

Oh, wait, we already do.

Now would be the time, if any, to publicly and globally shame them into doing something about these issues.

Some days I wake up feeling as though I’ve been awake all night, watching myself sleep. As I get up, a feeling that feels something like an out of body experience overwhelms me, and I find that I am watching myself move about through my day.

Chuck Palahniuk’s unnamed protagonist in Fight Club described insomnia as feeling as though everything is a copy of a copy of a copy. I can relate. Although I most certainly do not have insomnia, the feeling of being a copy of a copy of a copy definitely sounds familiar. Except I feel like I am the original, watching the copies do the various things I do on a day to day basis.

It’s hard to explain. Kind of like watching a dream.