Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Ohio State President Hates Boise and TCU

So it appears E. Gordon Gee is simply one of the loud-mouth, empty-headed, greedy money-hogs that run and back the corrupt BCS system. So then let me ask you Mr. President, if you play so mahy fine schools why do you schedule so many non-AQ teams and DI-FCS teams on your schedule? The emporer hath no clothes...

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5845736

Friday, November 12, 2010

Beer Review: Arcadia Ales IPA, Battle Creek, MI

Good Evening Friends and Enemies (Because I know you both read this).
I hope your week has gone splendid. I figured it was time for a quick beer review. I grabbed some Arcadia Ales IPA earlier in the week to enjoy. Attached is a photo and my brief thoughts.


A- Deep but bright amber hues come through the small wine glass on this one. There is a chill haze, but the beer is hazy enough without any chill (which is a good thing). A small white head rises a finger-high and gently falls. Lacing is surely present.

S- The fragrance on this one is fantastic. I could easily put it up to Two Hearted. Tons of citrus notes flood the nose. I am picking orange, grapefruit and even some tangerine notes. If you explore it deeper the next waft has a little edge to it, like the smell of fresh-cut grass and a few pine needles. A beer that already has a great nose is made infinately more pronounced with the right glassware kids! Shaker pints are great, but to do a tasting of a floral beer you need to use a wine glass or something similar. The nose on this beer is fantastic, do they make an air freshener of this??

T- Oh my, while the citrus is there in fine form, it is not over-powering not does it bully out the other flavors of a great American IPA. You oddly enough get grass and pine on the very front, and then a wallop of citrus and more earthy grass. More pine rounds out the flavor on the finish. This beer certainly can hold it's own against the best American IPA's these days. The flavor continually stays with you as well, but not in a bad way. Great balance!

M- Good mouthfeel for an IPA. Good carbonation and no unusual oddities that shouldn't be there.

D- This beer is 6% by volume and a couple of these are certainly easy to enjoy on a night out or while watching the game.

I'd recommend you grab some of this, you can find it at most any Meijer in Michigan!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

The First Step

Well, I did it today. I set up an appointment with GVSU to look into the viability of adding to my current undergrad degree to become an elementary teacher. I need to re-activate as a "degree seeking undergrad" even though I already have my bachelors degree. I need to go through some seminars in December, talk with the CLAS department, financial aid and a whole sleu of other people and departments before this is final.

However, that said, I am hoping this is the 'come to Jesus" career moment I have been waiting for and maybe a ticket for me to get out and explore the world more.

Who knows, I am just hoping for the best.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Beer Review: Jasper Ridge Brewery, Ishpeming, MI - IPA

Hello there fellow beer enthusiasts. So a friend picked me up a growler of IPA from JasperRidge Brewery in Ishpeming, MI while swinging through the U.P. of Michigan this weekend. Being from a growler it had nothing on it about the specific beer. I found nothing on Beeradvocate.com and since their website gives no info about their beer I'll do this as is, here it goes!





A- Pours a slightly hazy rusty/golden color, with hints of deep amber throughout. An inch-high head forms and slowly falls over time. Lots of bubbles and lacing present.

S- Wow, is this beer ever floral! For an IPA this is what I love. I can pick up flowers, honey nectar, pineapple, earthy/grassiness, and tons of odd citrus notes that go flowing through. They present themselves, and then quickly morph into other scents that fade and change just as quickly. It's really a deep nose on this one. I keep getting pulled back to that honey note, it just keeps presenting itself. The nose here is almost that of a Two Hearted Ale from Bells, but a lot less piney.

T- While the pine scents are somewhat masked in the nose, the pine flavor hits your right up front. There a nice citrusy notes all over the mouth. Foremost of these is grapefruit, there is a little orange in there but it's not very pronounced. Yhere is a flowery and sightly grassy flavor lurking in there as well. The flavor is wonderful, however it is sadly not as pronounced or deep as any of the IPA's from Bell's, Founders or New Holland.

M- The mouthfeel here is very good. The beer has some weight and depth to it, as well as having a good, mouth-coating texture. It is not cloying in any way.

D- Very drinkable beer. I could easily enjoy some of these any time of year.

Overall, if you're going through the Western U.P. make sure to try and stop by Ishpeming to get your hands on some of this. I'd love to try the other styles as well.