Beer of the Week: Populuxe Xtra Dry Hopped Cask IPA

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Another day, another cask review from our friends at Populuxe. Populuxe, the beer to drink if you are looking to drink cask beer on a Thursday night. This time they decided to double dry hop their IPA with, well, I don’t remember what they hopped the beer with because I forgot to write it down in my notes.

The beer pours hazy orange in color with hops and citrus (mostly grapefruit) dominating the nose. The beer is surprisingly mild to drink – fruity wish very little bitterness up front before moving more toward a solid foundation of grain and then gravitating back toward citrus – reminds me of juicy fruit gum. Smooth with just a hint of hop bitterness and burn, reminding you this is an IPA but it is by no means palate blowing. Smooth and easy drinking, a great version of an IPA that you could easily find yourself having more than one.

The Populuxe XTRA Dry Hopped Cask IPA is gonna move ya with a happy 4 packs of gum out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Boatswain Chocolate Stout

By Iron Chef Leftovers

It may seem a bit strange, but Trader Joe’s actually has a decent beer selection with a combination of some of the larger local breweries like Fremont and Ninkasi (sometimes at slightly cheaper prices than anywhere else) and bigger nationally available craft beers. In looking at the shelves, I saw Boatswain Chocolate Stout at $1.99 for a 22 oz. bottle. I figured, for that price, it was worth giving it a shot, but I didn’t have high expectations for the beer. Boatswain is brewed by Rhinelander Brewing, a company that mostly contract brews for craft breweries. The description of the beer from the TJ’s website:

Cocoa beans were the Aztec’s gold standard – they were used as currency and were the key ingredient in the king’s coveted chocolate drink. No longer used as coins, they are still used to create venerated brews. Case in point: Boatswain Chocolate Stout. As it states right on the front of the label, this bold bomber is “brewed with cocoa powder.” It presents aromas and flavors of dark chocolate and coffee with assertive, tangy hops and caramel maltiness. While it sounds like you might need a fork to enjoy this, it’s actually super drinkable. And it’s a respectable 5.4% alcohol by volume. Brewed for us in limited quantities to assure the quality, this beer delivers craft, without the crazy price – each 22 ounce bottle is just $1.99*.

The beer pours jet black with a light tan head and notes of hops and light roasted malt dominate the nose with mild notes of chocolate and coffee supporting. There are strong notes of malt on the front of the palate before fading quickly into a very mild chocolate flavor, which also makes a very brief appearance, before finishing in a slightly bitter, coffee-like finish that decides to stick around for a while. The bitterness is interesting (it felt like it may have been from hops), and leaves a slight resin burn on the back of the throat, which does throw the beer slightly out of balance. Not a bad beer, but could use a slightly more pronounced chocolate component to balance out the stronger coffee notes.

This isn’t the best chocolate beer that you are ever going to drink, but it isn’t terrible and, considering the price, it might be a good beer to try to introduce someone to the world of darker beers.

Boatswain Chocolate Stout rows into the picture with a creaky 3 skiffs out of 5.

The Blaidd Drwg 2014 Mariners Report

How hard is it to get excited about the Mariners? Well, let’s take a look at their off-season so far:

Signed Robinson Cano – 10 years/$240 million

Signed Corey Hart – 1 year/$6 million

Signed Willie Bloomquist – 2 years(!)/$5.8 million

Signed John Buck – 1 year/$1 million

Signed Franklin Gutierrez (!!!) – 1 year/$1 million

Signed Endy Chavez to a Minor League Deal (YAHOO!)

Signed Scott Baket to a Minor League Deal

Traded Carter Capps for Logan Morrison.

I know a bunch of Mariner fans are really excited by the Cano signing, but, as I have written before, I don’t think that it benefits the team. The Mariners aren’t near contending and I honestly think that they are probably 2-3 years from POTENTIALLY being there, and by the time they get there, Cano will be in the decline phase of his career and that contract is going to look horrible. That contract is so bad that I know Yankee fans who are happy their team didn’t offer Cano anywhere near those years or dollars – and these are people who think Cano is the best player in the league. That should tell you something. It also probably means that the Mariners have given up on Nick Franklin since he no longer has a position to play. So much for the youth movement.

The other problem with all of those signings is that you don’t really improve on the positions that you have deficiencies in. One of the Mariners biggest issues was lousy outfield defense. There is absolutely no way that the Mariners should have every put Raul Ibanez in LF for the 100+ games that he was (the Colossus of Rhodes has more range than Raul) and they had the revolving door in both CF and RF and on occasion were playing 3 left fielders in their outfield at any given time. So what do they do, go out and replace Ibanez and Morse with Hart and Morrison – basically 2 OF who are horrible defensively and probably aren’t any better offensively than Ibanez and Morse. Add to that they still don’t have a centerfielder (I think they have given up on Ackley there too) or a right fielder. Kind of makes you miss the days of Ichiro, doesn’t it.

The catching situation is definitely up in the air. The John Buck signing is an important one because it tells me that the M’s still have questions about Zunino’s ability to hit at the MLB level. Buck isn’t going to win an MVP award, but he is decent enough to catch about 2/3 of your team’s games, so this didn’t strike me as a “sign a backup guy” type move. My prediction is that Buck is your opening day catcher and Zunino starts the year in Tacoma.

The M’s didn’t address the need for another starting pitcher. Sure they have a bunch of young guns in the system, but you never know how those guys are going to hold up over a full season (take a look at Brandon Maurer last year) so you need an insurance policy. The 2 best starters left on the market are Ubaldo Jiminez and Ervin Santana. It is probably going to take a 4 year/ $50 – $60 million dollar deal to land one of those guys and I have the feeling that the M’s will sign one of the two of them and then regret that move by the end of the season. The problem is that neither is consistent enough to warrant the money you will have to spend for them and there is a good chance that neither would be pitching for the Mariners by the end of their contract should they get signed by the team. The M’s need to show fans they are trying to win and the way they seem to approach that is by overpaying for talent. The other option is to sign a scrap heap started (see Joe Saunders last year, that is what the Scott Baker deal is this year) and hope that the young guns actually can contribute. If they don’t, you probably just lost another 20% of your already eroded fan base.

The other two guys whose names keep getting associated with the Mariners are Kendrys Morales and Nelson Cruz. Both guys were looking for huge contracts and neither one is going to get one, so at least if you sign them, you probably can do it on a one year deal. The issue is that you already have a bunch of horrible defense/1B/DH/LF types on the roster and how much of an improvement are these guys anyway over the mass of players you have?

We still have a few weeks before the start of spring training and there is always the possibility that the Mariners will make some unexpected moves, but right now, this looks and feels like a 77-80 win team at best. On the bright side, at least the Astros will keep the M’s from finishing last in the division and I am willing to bet that Zdurencik gets fired if this team is not playing at least .500 ball at the all-star break.

Oh, in case you don’t agree with me, Dave Schoenfield is much more pessimistic about the Mariners outlook:

Yes, signing Cano will make the Mariners interesting at the start of the season. But … well, what else is there? The Mariners are desperately counting on their young players — Mike Zunino, Brad Miller, Dustin Ackley (is he still a young player?), Justin Smoak (ditto) and Michael Saunders (ditto) to improve — and all have huge question marks. They’re counting on two rookies in Taijuan Walker and James Paxton for the rotation. They hope Hart and Morrison are healthy, but even then they’re basically replacing the production Morales provided last year. Cano should be great, but I’m having trouble seeing where the improvement is going to come from unless Walker and Paxton are much better than anticipated.

Prediction: 74-88

The Victorian Kitchen Garden

by A.J. Coltrane

Digging around the internet, I came across The Victorian Kitchen Garden. It’s a 13-episode series that aired on BBC2 in 1987.

From wikipedia:

It recreated a kitchen garden of the Victorian era at Chilton Foliat in Wiltshire, although at the time the series was made Chilton Foliat was in the county of Berkshire. The presenter was the horticultural lecturer, Peter Thoday, the master gardener was Harry Dodson and the director was Keith Sheather…

…The series began in the largely derelict walled garden at Chilton on a freezing January morning and followed Harry and his assistant Alison as they recreated the working kitchen garden.

I’ve watched the first two episodes. I’ve found a few things interesting about the show:

1. It’s four-season gardening at the 56th parallel. They’re way north of us *and* well inland, and yet they’re still able to have a productive space without electricity. I’ve already gotten ideas from the little bit that I’ve watched.

2. Harry Dodson was an old man at the time, and he was familiar with gardening techniques that went back to the 19th century.

3. The show doubles as a look at Victorian era life.

Beer of the Week: Terrapin Moo Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Chocolate and beer is a great combination if done correctly, otherwise you end up with a sweet mess that is neither good chocolate or good beer. I think that the best chocolate beers are the ones that use either really high percentage dark chocolate or cocoa nibs, since you get all of the complex flavors of the chocolate (and the beer) without adding much in the way of sugar. Terrapin, a brewery out of Athens, GA, does this, adding nibs and shells from a wonderful small chocolate maker out of Nashville, TN, Olive & Sinclair (these guys are really great, I highly recommend trying their stuff), to produce their one of their seasonal offerings – Moo Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout. The beer is not available in the Seattle market, but intrepid internet searchers can find it and have it shipped.

The stats from Terrapin’s Website:

ABV: 6.0%

IBU: 30

OG: 16.1

Malts: 2-Row Pale, Flaked Oat, Crystal 85,Chocolate, DH Carafa III, Roasted Barley

Hops: Nugget, Willamette

Other: Olive & Sinclair Cocoa Nibs, Cocoa Shells, Lactose

The beer pours jet black with a light brown head. Cocoa nibs, malt, roast, chocolate and light vanilla all appear on the nose. The beer drinks lighter than you might expect, starting off with a light malty sweetness before moving into deeper flavors of roast and cocoa nibs with an ever so slight bitter bite (think really high percentage dark chocolate). The beer then moves to a more classic chocolate profile with long dark chocolate bar and vanilla notes before finishing with a creamy, chocolate-like finish in both taste and texture – it reminded me of the mouth feel of melting chocolate. The finish is long, lingering and pleasant and more of the fruity notes of the chocolate begin to show on the finish as the beer warms. Not as chocolate forward as many chocolate beers but well balanced and layered with the complexity of a well-made chocolate bar, allowing you to appreciate both the chocolate and beer notes.

Terrapin Brewing’s Moo Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout comes in from the pasture with a perfect 5 bovines out of 5.

UK Restaurant Thefts

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I have head of thieves breaking into restaurants to steal booze, money and food (yep – there is a major black market for spendy ingredients), but furniture, and just the furniture, that is a new one:

A Thai restaurant has been “left one chair” after almost all its furniture was taken in an “unusual burglary”, police have said.

Thirteen tables and 25 chairs were taken from The Thai Cafe in Saltford, near Bath, between 12 and 15 January.

Police said there was “no clear explanation” for the theft, but the items may have been stolen “to order”.

Really? They left one chair? Why?

It gets a little more odd:

Mr Appleby, who took over the restaurant 10 years ago, said the theft was “weird” as no wine, beer or spirits had been taken.

“The chairs were quite old, 12 to 13 years old, they came with the cafe,” he said.

Hmmm. Maybe it is the New Yorker in me, but this sounds a bit fishy.

Beer of the Week: NW Peaks Cave Ridge Rye

By Iron Chef Leftovers

For our loyal readers, I am going to take us back on a trip to January in my beer of the year post:

This really was a challenge – I had about 15 beers that I scored 5 points so I took down my list from there to 4 contenders for the best. It was actually going to be 5, then I realized that the one that would have been in the 5th spot has not yet had a review posted, so, it is an early contender for 2014 (and no, I won’t tell you what it is).

Well, I am ready to reveal what that 5^th beer is since this is the review for it. In some ways it is better that the review slipped to 2014, it would not have won in 2013, but it is really the front runner for 2014’s title of beer of the year.

From the NW Peaks website:

Cave ridge, fresh hop, rye. Cave ridge rye features fresh simcoe hops, imparting a beautiful/delicate piney aroma and acidity in the beer. To feature the simcoe hops, we put the hops on top of a light, dry pale. We used ~35% rye, which aids in drying out the beer, but also adds a little complexity complementing the simcoe. Some might find this a strange pairing, but they work really well together in Cave Ridge rye.

The beer pours a very pale yellow in color with strong notes of berries, grain and mild notes of rye on the nose. The beer starts out quickly with a quick hit of hops showing some light resin and pine before moving into heavy rye notes with a mild fruitiness before finishing off with a tinge of very pleasant bitterness, pine needles and more rye dryness at the very end of the beer, showing notes of raspberry on the finish as the beer warms. Layered and complex, the beer doesn’t have the strong bitter/citrus hop character of most fresh hopped beer, but is much deeper and show how the hops can play with several other complex players, making a the hops an important member of the symphony rather than the star of the show.

NW Peaks Caver Ridge Rye stirs the cauldron and makes a prediction of 5 oracles out of 5.

The Super Bowl Winner Will Be…

By Blaidd Drwg

…the Denver Broncos.

Sorry Seahawks fans, you won’t win because of one simple factor – you lack a player from Boston College on your roster. Denver has 1.

Think I am joking? Looking at Super Bowls that have occurred in this century, the team with more former BC Eagles on their roster has won 7 times and lost 4 (there were 2 years in which no BC players appeared on either team’s roster). This is actually how I determine who I root for in the Super Bowl (and the playoffs in general) if the Steelers aren’t playing or the Patriots are playing (can’t root for them as a Steelers fan). It has served me pretty well.

What, you expected some deep statistical analysis?

Beer of the Week: Epic Ales Bottom of the Sea Batch 1

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I like beers that are different; it makes drinking beer fun since I don’t tend to get caught in a style rut. I also, when I am in the mood, love sour beers since they tend to jumpstart the palate and, when they are done right, are as complex and deep as any beer out on the market. Epic Ales out of Sodo in Seattle cover both of those points – they make beers that are definitely different and they do a bunch of sour based styles. On a trip to Bottleworks, I noticed Bottom of the Sea – a beer brewed with oysters and wasn’t a stout. Actually, I had no idea what style it was until I opened it – it was a gose, an obscure German sour style. I figured that for $5 for a 22 oz. bottle, it was worth the shot. The beer is just 5% ABV and a minuscule 10 IBU.

The beer pours jet black with a creamy brown head and shows lots of malt and barley on the nose with light amounts of roast, hints of what reminded me of pilsner yeast and a vague smell of salt air. On the palate, the beer betrays its dark color by showing light on the palate with a hint of sourness upfront that gives way to salty malt and grain, before finishing with a long sour cherry, light roast and mildly salty ending. As the beer warms, the oyster component becomes more pronounced – more a briny sea water type taste than a fishy one and the sour component becomes more subdued. It is very complex and layered and brings to the table flavors that you would not regularly find in beer, especially the combination of cooked oysters and sour.

This is definitely not a beer for everyone. Heck, it isn’t a beer most people would enjoy. I will be honest, I thought the beer was good, but I struggled to finish off the 22 oz. bottle. I wish that is was available in a smaller bottle size. If you are feeling adventurous, find a couple of likeminded friends and give Bottom of the Sea a shot. You might find you like it.

Epic’s Bottom of the Sea (Batch 1) attaches itself to a rock with a solid 3 Ostrea conchaphilia out of 5.

Useless Super Bowl Trivia

By Blaidd Drwg

Interesting but useless: The top 3 passing games by yardage in Super Bowl history all belong to Kurt Warner, with games of 414 yds (SB 34), 377 yds (SB 43) and 365 yds (SB 36). No one else has topped 360 yards in the history of the game.

Even more interesting is that Warner and Craig Morton are the only 2 QB’s to ever start the SB for 2 different teams (Peyton Manning will be #3). They managed to combine to go 1-4 in those starts (Warner 1-1 with the Rams and o-1 with the Cardinals and Morton 0-1 with both the Cowboys and Broncos). Raise you hand if you had any idea that Craig Morton was the starter for any Cowboys Super Bowl (he started SB 5).