Author: AJ

Beer of the Week: Machine House Brewery Imperial Oatmeal Stout

By Iron Chef Leftovers

unti50tledI really do love oatmeal stouts, especially in the winter. The beer is hearty and warming and really just fits the bill with what I am looking for in those situations. One thing that I can say that I have never tried is a cask version of an oatmeal stout, but Machine House Brewing took care of that for me.

The beer pour jet black in color with deep chocolate and espresso notes dominating the nose, coupled with secondary notes of vanilla and malt. The beer has an interesting first sip – not as heavy as I was expecting with mild coffee notes appearing first before switching to a distinctive oat profile. I wasn’t sure of what to make of this at first – this was a very pronounced flavor, similar to uncooked rolled oats. The beer finishes long with hints of chocolate and dried cherries and just a hint of vanilla, coupled with the oat profile. That is when I got it, the oats blended with the deeper flavors to produce a rich profile with a slightly gritty mouth feel making the beer deep and complex but at the same time balanced and easy drinking. I would have liked more coffee/chocolate notes from the beer, but it was a cask and the amount of depth that this one contained made me want to go back for more.

Machine House Imperial Oatmeal Stout races in with 4 thoroughbreds out of 5.

Back In My Day

by A.J. Coltrane

Excerpts from Ken Pomeroy:

I’ve tweeted about this a couple times, but it’s worth documenting in a more permanent location: This season, free throws were shot at a better rate than in any previous season in the history of college basketball. To date, my calculations indicate that D-I teams have made 69.82 percent of their attempts from the free throw line. According to the NCAA record book, the previous best was the 69.7 percent made in the 1979 season.

It’s an odd phenomenon, but analysts, journalists, and coaches appear to be programmed to bash fundamentals. That’s another subject deserving of its own article, but criticizing modern free-throw shooting has always been a dubious exercise within that realm. After all, that’s one fundamental we can measure, and free-throw percentage has essentially been constant for the last 50 years.

But my perception is that most people in the game feel like free-throw shooting was better way back when. And if people can’t get that right, one should be skeptical when other fundamentals are criticized. Are players really worse at setting screens, or scoring with their off hand than they were 30 years ago?  I think it’s reasonable to wonder whether we’ve been lied to all along about those things as well.

At least in one respect, the modern player is more fundamentally sound than he’s ever been. And that might be the one subject that’s more boring to write or talk about than random variation. Even in the short time we have left this season, we may hear someone else lament about the state of free-throw shooting. This is one case where that person will not just be wrong, but as far from the truth as one could possibly be.

Bold emphasis mine.

 

My feeling is that college players execute fundamentals as least as well as they once did, when they choose to. Given the free throw shooting numbers, I’d think that jump shooting is as good or better than it’s ever been too. It’s just that today’s defenses are now way more athletic and sophisticated. The court is only so big, the athletes playing on it have gotten bigger and longer over time, and it’s hard to shoot well with a hand in your face all the time.

This may be old fogeyism, but I think the player development system (read: AAU ball) encourages the best players to look for their own shot, and doesn’t reward things like setting screens, blocking out, or sharing the ball. There are more “combo” guards today than there have ever been — primary ball handlers who are programmed to shoot first and think about distributing the ball (or anything else) second.

I think the change in emphasis is what’s bothering the fossils.

Mad Libs: The 2014 Mariners Starting Rotation Edition

By Blaidd Drwg

Let’s play a game of Mad Libs:

The Mariners 2014 rotation to start the season will be Felix Hernandez, Erasmo Ramirez, James Paxton, (Insert name of failed M’s prospect) and (Insert name of another M’s failed prospect).

Remember, Iwakuma and Walker are out for at least the first 2 weeks of the season. The Mariners released their scrap heap recalmation candidates, Scott Baker and Randy Wolf on Tuesday and they were the 2 most likely guys to start for the Mariners coming out of spring training. I am guessing that the other 2 spots are going to go to Hector Noesi and Blake Beavan, and yes, I am serious about that. They would only have to make 3 spots assuming that Iwakuma and Walker are back when they are supposed to be back (the M’s schedule in the 2nd week of the season has enough off days that they don’t need a 5th starter), but there is a huge risk to this team gaining any real traction if they have to slog through 3 potentially disastrous starts. Other than 3 games in Miami and 2 in NY, all of the rest of the games in the first month of the season are against AL West opponents, and only 3 of the 22 games are against the Astros.

If the M’s don’t get back Iwakuma and Walker when expected and/or Ramirez and Paxton are not as good as advertised, this is going to be a long season yet again – the M’s have absolutely no depth in their starting rotation right now. I bet the backup plan is to trade Nick Franklin for a middle of the road starter if someone flames out.

Beer of the Week: NW Peaks Stuart Stout

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I believe in the 150+ beer reviews that I have written, I think that I have only once reviewed a beer multiple times, Elysian’s Dark O’the Moon. Well, I am doing it again, this time with NW Peaks Stuart Stout. The beer only gets brewed once a year, so I felt it was a good time to review it again, especially since there were probably minor tweaks to the recipe.

From the NW Peaks website:

Since Mt Stuart is one of the most noticeable, bold, non-volcanic peaks in WA we tried to make the beer bearing its name similar. Stuart is medium-full bodied stout that is roast forward. The end result is a rich, deeply roasty interpretation of the style that starts smooth and ends with a slight lingering bitterness from the roasted barley . A fine beer to drink anytime, but best enjoyed in front of a fire on a cold rainy winter evening.

 

untitle8dThe beer pours jet black in color with a tannish-brown head and shows significant amounts of chocolate and coffee on the nose with backing hints of caramel, vanilla and malt supporting. The beer states out with notes of caramelized sugar before quickly moving into deep roasted flavors of dark chocolate and dark roasted coffee before beginning its finish with a very pleasant bitterness (think black coffee) with notes of vanilla and caramel coupled with a very long and mildly boozy dark chocolate finale that keeps lingering in a pleasant way. Layered and complex and creamy and unctuous, this beer is very drinkable and works well either with food or on its own.

NW Peaks Stuart Stout does it again with a solid 4 self-affirmations out of 5.

Vegas Thoughts, 2014

by A.J. Coltrane

I had pretty much the same year that I had last year — 22-14 (61.1%) on straight bets. I lost the one money line that I chose to play:  Providence were 4 point underdogs against UNC and +170 on the money line, meaning that if Providence won outright then the money line paid loosely twice what the “cover” bet would have paid. Providence lost by two, and covered, but I’d bet on them to win, so…   [insert raspberry sound here]

I also tried to get the +150 money line bet on La Tech against Georgia in the NIT, (and I would have won), but the slowpoke working the sportsbook decided he needed to restock pens instead of taking bets, and we missed the cutoff to place a bet on the game.  [insert another raspberry sound here]

This year’s VCU (misunderstood by the public) team was Colorado. Colorado were mild underdogs against Pitt. They trailed 46-18 at the half and went on to lose by 33. There are a few like that every year that are real head-scratchers, but they’re a big part of the success I’ve been seeing the last few years, so I’m not complaining.

Also, people had no idea that Tennessee is really pretty good.

Final note:  I *could* have gone 22-12 (64.7%) this year, but I ignored the beautiful fairy in my ear telling me to lay off of Ohio State vs Dayton. Twice. Once before my defensible-but-not-awesome-Ohio-State 1st half bet, and again at halftime before an even more ill-advised 2nd half bet.  “Ohio State is playing as badly as they can play. They can’t play worse than this!”

Nope. But they can play equally badly in the second half.

——-

For Fun. Here’s what I think I like Thursday and Friday:

Thursday:

Dayton vs Stanford, Over 133.

Baylor +3.5 vs Wisconsin. This is the game that I’m the least “sold on” for Thursday.

Florida -5 vs UCLA. (Though UCLA is better than people think, still.)

Arizona -7 vs San Diego State

Friday:

Michigan -2.5 vs Tennessee. (Sorry Tennessee, we had a good run!)

Iowa State vs UConn Under 146. The game that I’m the least “sold on” for Friday.

Louisville -5 vs Kentucky

Virginia +2 vs Michigan State. (The Virginia +115 money line looks like a good play too. Either/or would be fine.)

 

For the purposes of the “For Fun  Bets”, I unpacked and unfolded my NCAA notes. The compacted smell of Vegas cigarettes wafted out. Now the notes are sitting on the couch, stinking it up. Yay Vegas.

Beer of the Week: Machine House Brewery Gold

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Machine House brewing in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle is fairly new to the scene and very unique among Washington breweries – they produce all English style beers and all of them are served either on a beer engine or on cask. This means that you are going to get beer that is warmer, less hoppy, less fizzy and low alcohol – a nice change of pace from the high ABV, high IBU beers that you typically find around Seattle. As an added benefit, their tasting room is interesting, located in an old warehouse space, just across the street from Full Throttle Bottles.

From the Machine House website:

Gold – 4.5% ABV

A pale-straw coloured ale, again with English hops in the ascendancy. Reasonably assertive bitterness balances a slightly sweet malty finish.

unti50tledThe beer pours golden in color with an off-white head and shows strong notes of English yeast, grain and dried fruit on the nose. The beer drinks slightly bitter on the first sip with a tea-like quality (from the hops) followed by a nice yeast and grain middle and finishing clean with touches of dried apricot and peach and just a minimal amount of hops. The beer is slightly sweet, but not cloyingly so and well-balanced and easy drinking. It is a nice change of pace from the heavier beers that I had been drinking and a great experience to have a beer you don’t readily find in Seattle.

Machine House Gold strikes it rich with 3 prospectors out of 5.

No-Fuss Roasted Potatoes

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Potatoes are not one of my favorite things to cook or eat since they act as more of a flavor vehicle for what they are cooked in rather than having a great deal of inherent flavor on their own. Mrs. Iron Chef however loves them so I do occasionally make them, but I am constantly looking for new ways to cook them.  I came across an easy, no-fuss, one pot recipe on America’s Test Kitchen that I figured was worth a shot. Basically it calls for braising the potatoes first and then searing them, but it didn’t involve even taking them out of the pot, and only a couple of ingredients, so it really doesn’t get too much easier than this.

The Software

1 lb. Red Potatoes, roughly 1 to 1 ½ inches in diameter, washed and halved

1 cup water

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

2 teaspoons of salt

3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, in 6 pieces

1 tablespoon, fresh squeezed lemon juice

 

The Recipe

Arrange the potatoes in the bottom of a skillet (don’t worry about over-crowding, it won’t matter, I used a 10 inch, straight sided skillet) so that all of the cut surfaces are in contact with the surface of the pan. Add the water (it should come up about half way on the potatoes, add more water if necessary), butter, salt and garlic to the pan. Turn burner on high and heat the skillet until the water comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cover for about 15 minutes. Check if the potatoes are cooked after 15 minutes (a knife inserted should pull out easily), if they are not, cover until they are. Once the potatoes are done, remove the lid and remove the garlic to a bowl. Increase heat to medium high and continue cooking until the bottoms of the potatoes are golden brown – all of the water will evaporate leaving just the butter (this should take 10-15 minutes depending on your stove). While this is happening, mince the garlic and combine with lemon juice. Once the potatoes are done, remove from heat and toss in garlic and lemon. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

 

Notes

I would recommend using a non-stick skillet for this process to keep the potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan. The recipe scales easily, just put enough potatoes to fit in the pan and add enough water to come up half way on the potatoes. You probably won’t need to add more butter unless you use something larger than a 12 inch skillet. Fresh rosemary, sage, thyme or oregano would work well with this recipe. Just mince them and add them at the end with the garlic.

Beer of the Week: Populuxe Burke-Gillman Smoked Tea Bitter Cask

By Iron Chef Leftovers

imagesCAAR87MMYes, I figured that since I posted the Sorachi Ace Bitter, it was time to post the Smoked Tea Bitter review. This cask version used a scant one ounce of Chinese smoked black tea in the cask, something that is probably not a traditional cask ingredient, but definitely something that piqued my interest.

The beer pours the color of iced tea with significant notes of smoke on the nose with backing notes of dried fruit and malt. The beer starts out lightly tannic with hints of malt and hops before crossing into deeper tea notes before the smoke component shows up. The smoke starts strong with forest fire qualities (in a good way) before mellowing out into a pleasant campfire background without ever really disappearing. The beer finishes with a distinct black tea character showing light tannins and mild notes of dried fruit with notes of smoke and hints of caramel. The beer drinks like a light rauch beer without the heavy malt and smoke qualities, making it easier to drink. It is surprisingly balanced and deep without being ashtray like or losing the qualities of the beer in the process, and I found myself wanting to go back for another pint. It is definitely not a beer that you would enjoy if you don’t like smoked beers, but if you are looking for something very different, this would beer to try.

Populuxe Burke-Gillman Smoked Tea Bitter Cask races in with 4 mountain bikes out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Populuxe Burke-Gillman Bitter with Sorachi Ace Cask

By Iron Chef Leftovers

imagesCAAR87MMI have had some great cask beers, some good cask beers and some mediocre cask beers. The style of the beer almost doesn’t matter, some of the best casks I have had over the last couple of years have been non-traditional cask styles or casks with really non-traditional ingredients.  Populuxe has been on a roll with putting out their Burke-Gillman Bitter in cask form – a traditional beer done in a few non-traditional ways. (I have to get around to posting the Smoked Tea Bitter review). I usually try to post my reviews in chronological order, especially for one-off beers since there is no hurry to go out and drink them. This is an exception – the latest version of the Burke-Gillman Bitter, dry hopped with Sorachi Ace and Horizon hops will be available at the Cask Festival on Saturday, March 22nd and this is one that is worth seeking out there.

The beer pours cloudy brown in color with nice notes of caramel and orange with just a hint of grassy note and very light roasted notes. For a cask beer, this one has big, complex flavors. The beer starts out with a medium caramel profile with hints of roast before the hops start to kick in. The Sorachi brings a very light herbaciousness to the party and the Horizon brings a nice orange kick and just a touch of bitterness. These notes intertwine with the caramel and remain throughout the beer all the way to the finish making for an almost hard candy like profile as they are joined with just a touch of sweetness from the malt. The finish is very long for a cask beer and is incredibly pleasant and smooth. The beer drinks extremely easily and at less than 5% ABV, it goes down way too easily, leading you to want pint after pint.

Populuxe usually does a great job with their casks, but this one may be the best one they have ever done.

Populuxe Burke-Gillman Bitter with Sorachi Ace Cask lays down its cards with a perfect 5 Royal Flushes out of 5.

Get this beer early at the Cask Festival – it is worth the experience.