Our Tastes-- Samuel Adams 1790 Root Beer Brew

In June of this year Samuel Adams released a set of beers commemorating the colonial days of brewing called The Brewer Patriot Collection. This is "batch" #4 of the Brewer Patriot Collection. It has a very distinct aroma of clove (just like the gum) and definitely smells like root beer, but this isn't your usual Barq's. Sediment!! But for the life of me I can't describe the flavor. It has a great mouthfeel of smooth velvet, but the taste is just.... root beer with alcohol in it!! Color is a soft brown. Made with "blackstrap molasses, sassafras root bark, dried wintergreen and licorice. All ingredients are authentic to the colonial era and are consistent with the innovative style of New England brewers like Samuel Adams." Food pairings are fried chicken or clams, pizza or as an ingredient in a creamy root beer float with vanilla ice cream (not for the kiddies!!). 5.5%abv and one is definitely enough. Sorry Jim, you're 0-1 buddy, but it is a great marketing ploy and brewing concept. I just can't drink more than one at any given setting.

Brew Batch #18 Merry's Berry

I started to do a Japanese lettuce inspection and let this batch go to vinegar (for personal reasons) much like they let the crop rot in the harbor when screwing with a captain. But I finally got around to bottling this stuff and it really has a beautiful color to it! I lost half a Cong somewhere but I'm sure it's with the blueberries that got skimmed off during primary and secondary. I can tell you that it's a bitch bottling by yourself though, one starts to get rather imaginative with this process when working alone. Oddly enough I thought I had brought 2 cases of old Sam Adams bottles up here but in fact they were old Pete's Wicked bottles.... so apparently I have bottled "Wicked Merry's Berry", seems to fit a little better;) Got 47 12oz brown long-necks with blue turtle crowns and 1 clear. FG 1.002+ 0.002@ 78F. Yeah, I know 6.86%abv...this is why sweet things may get stronger and knock the taste out of your mouth (hee-hee).

"Crikey" No More

Hangin' out with his new baby boy "Bob" in a ritual that his father and grandfather went through, Steve suffered a big "Michael Jackson-like" (Booo), but was one of the biggest animal activists and stupid-asses I have ever had the pleasure of watching. Croc-Hunter was killed when a sting ray's barb pierced directly into his heart releasing a vasodilatory toxin that more than likely killed him instantly. Stingrays are from the family Dasyatidae are part of the elasmobranchs. Common symptoms are syncope (heart block with loss of consciousness) and hypotension. Rarely is a sting deadly but in this case with the enormous size of the ray he was filming and the fact that the 10" barb struck him directly in the left chest caused extensive bleeding. I'll drink Foster's and think of you...

You're Afraid of What?

Cenosilicaphobia--fear of an empty glass. Now this is a true beer drinkers worst fear.