The beauty of Elysian’s beers is that they not only have some grate creativity, but they do produce a good number of tribute beers – beers that are clones of very well known, but not necessarily great beers. One they did recently was a clone of Yuengling Porter as a tribute to one of their employees. In case you are not aware, Yuengling from Pottsville, PA, is the oldest continuously operating brewery in the United States, brewing beer back to 1829, and their porter holds a soft spot in my heart as one of the first dark beers that I truly loved 20+ years ago (although calling the beer a porter is a bit of a misnomer, it is actually a black lager and not a true porter). The beer was only available on tap and clocked in at just 25 IBU and 4% ABV.
Raconteur looks very much like Yuengling in the glass – a slightly opaque black, not the deep black that you might expect from a porter. Chocolate malt with hints of grain dominate the nose, with much a more pronounced aroma than the original. There is lots of grain up front on the initial sip with notes of chocolate and caramel interspersed – much bolder than the original, with a long and slightly hoppy finish. You get a great deal of the lager character on this beer, same as the original, but the malt, roasted flavors and hops are amped up making the copy a bolder and better beer than the original while still retaining much of the original character of the recipe. Raconteur takes a stab at an American classic and delivers a fine tribute while taking the flavors from a mass consumption beer to a fine specialty beer.
Raconteur brings me back to my college days and delivers a solid 3 TEP’s out of 5.
Until the Seahawks prove otherwise they’re going to get a steady diet of what they got last night. The Rams defense packed eight players “into the box”, rushed the lanes on either side of the Center, and dared the Seahawks to throw. Teams have been doing that off and on the this year and last year, but I think the rest of the league will watch that game and say “Oh, ok…”
Marshawn Lynch wound up with 8 carries for 23 yards, and a big case of the grumpies.
Wilson was 10 of 18 for 139 yards — 80 of which was on one long touchdown pass. He was also sacked seven times; he’s currently 2nd (worst in the NFL) in sacks as a percentage of pass attempts. Seattle has allowed the 7th most sacks overall, mainly because they rarely throw the ball. They’re on pace to allow 54 sacks. Wilson won’t survive the season if it continues.
It’s a simple, obvious formula for the defense, and it’s something that’s been coming for a while. Wilson is too short to see over the line when pressure comes up the middle. Now we get to see how the Seahawks adjust.
What’s the adjustment?
“Get healthier at wide receiver and offensive line.”
…Ok…
———
They *are* 7-1, however. So there’s that. Just don’t count me among the believers.
I recently got asked for this recipe again and realized that I have made a few tweaks to it from the original. Basically, make a graham cracker crust rather than using a pie crust if you want this to actually look like a cheesecake. It is easy if you have a spring-form pan. I also updated the recipe to use a single type of chocolate rather than the blend that I was originally using.
The Software
13 oz Chocolate – roughly chopped (Dark Chocolate, somewhere around 70% works the best
1/3 cup coffee liqueur or strong coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound Silken Tofu (extra firm) drained
1 tablespoon honey
1 9 inch graham cracker crust or pie crust
The Pie
Pre-bake your crust (if necessary) and let cool. If you need to know how to make a graham cracker crust, check here (just leave out the sugar, you won’t need it). Melt the chocolate, liqueur or coffee and vanilla in a bowl over a sauce pan of simmering water, stirring often. (This can also be done in a microwave, but be careful of burning the chocolate). In a blender or food processor, combine the tofu, honey and chocolate and spin until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour the filling into the crust and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. That’s it. You have dessert. Serve with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, or just eat it as is.
Notes
I personally use a good single origin, 70% chocolate, but if you don’t have access to a really good chocolate shop, you can use pretty good chocolate like Callebaut or Schaffen-Berger, which are available just about everywhere these days (read – most mega marts carry them). Just remember, chocolate is the dominant flavor in this dessert, so go with one that you like the taste of. If you like it sweeter, add more honey, but I would recommend waiting until after everything is combined and tasted. This will set into the consistency of something resembling a dense cheesecake. If you want something more pudding like, I would recommend using a less firm silken tofu.
GNOIF #10 recap — Bring Out Your Dead (Death/ Horror/ Zombie/ Vampire themes)
It doesn’t look good for the Heroes (the white figures). The zombies are closing in. Don’t worry though, the Heroes survived.
Games That Got Played: Black Rock City, Dead Fellas, Zombie Fluxx, Last Night On Earth, Mr. Jack Pocket
Games That Didn’t Get Played: Bang!, Betrayal At House On The Hill, Dracula, Family Business, Gloom, Lost Worlds, Mr. Jack NY, Munchkin Zombies, Mystery Of The Abbey, Vampire Hunter, Zombies!!!
The big hits were Last Night On Earth and Dead Fellas. We wound up playing two games of the Last Night On Earth Escape In The Truck Scenario — the Heroes won both games despite some aggressive card cycling from the zombies. In the first game the heroes won easily by drawing two of Just What I Needed, which allowed them to pull the win conditions (Gas and the Keys) from the deck. In the second game we removed two of the four copies of Just What I Needed from play. That seemed to better balance the scenario: The heroes won that game with only four turns to spare.
Looking around the internet, this might be a good alternate way to play the scenario (Boardgamegeek link):
Dave the Knave:
Link to my thread on thezombiegame.com where the scenario card can be downloaded FREE. This was very well received there, please enjoy!
1) Place the truck in the center of Town. Remove all of the Gasoline cards from the Hero Deck. The Gasoline is obtained from a “Well Stocked” Gas Station that cannot be taken over. Place counters 1-6 facedown in random buildings. Roll a d6 to determine the counter that is the Truck Keys.
2) Heroes can replace their move/search roll with a d6 to look for the Truck Keys. On the roll of 1-3 Take a Hero Card. On the roll of 4+ reveal the counter.
-If Hero is killed carrying Truck Keys then their Zombie Hero must be killed to recover them.
3) To fill up the truck with gas a Hero must give up their turn in the truck and discard the Gasoline.
4) Once the Heroes attempt to start the truck, the Hero with the Truck Keys becomes “The Driver” and the”Escape Phase” begins.
-To attempt to start the Truck and begin the “Escape Phase”, the Hero with the Truck Keys must give up their turn at the truck and roll a d6 for each Hero in truck. The truck starts on the roll of 6.
5) Escape phase – The following rule changes are now in effect.
-The Driver always goes first in subsequent human turns. All the driver can do is attempt to start the truck. They cannot fight, shoot range weapons, or use special abilities. If the Driver is ever left alone with a zombie then they are immediately killed and the game is over.
-the sun tracker stops and the 4 Hero death win condition no longer applies.
-Heroes cannot leave the truck but can get on the truck.
-Heroes killed DO become Zombie Heros and Heroes DO NOT respawn.
-Fights on the truck only happen on Zombie turn.
-When Heroes win a fight they knock the zombies 1 space out of the truck (Heroes Choice).
6) Once truck is started all zombies or Zombie Heroes in the truck must be either killed or knocked off the truck by beating them in a fight. No more zombies can get onto the truck after it has started and the Zombie player can not draw new cards.
-Driver now rolls 2 dice at the start of each subsequent hero turn that the humans fail to clear the truck. If the Driver rolls doubles then the truck crashes and the escape failed.
We played four games of Dead Fellas as well. It’s quick and easily accessible, and it’s possible to have a dramatic comeback at the end of the game.
For fun, here’s a list of the games offered over the first ten GNOIFs:
Game
Total Times Offered
Not Played
Played
Agricola
5
1
4
Bang!
2
1
1
Betrayal House Hill
3
1
2
Black Rock City
2
1
1
Caesar and Cleopatra
2
1
1
Cards Against Humanity
3
0
3
Carcassonne, Castle
1
1
0
Catan, Settlers
3
3
0
Catan, Starship
2
2
0
Citadels
2
1
1
Dead Fellas
2
1
1
Dominion
4
1
3
Dracula
2
2
0
Family Business
3
3
0
Fjords
1
1
0
Flash Duel
1
0
1
Fluxx
1
0
1
Fluxx, Eco
1
1
0
Fluxx, Pirate
1
0
1
Fluxx, Python
1
0
1
Fluxx, Star
2
0
2
Fluxx, Stoner
1
1
0
Fluxx, Zombie
2
1
1
Fluxx, Any
9
4
5
Forbidden Island
3
0
3
Gardens of Alhambra
4
2
2
Gloom
5
4
1
Guillotine
3
0
3
Hector and Achillies
1
1
0
King of the Elves
2
2
0
Last Night on Earth
3
1
2
Lost Cities
3
1
2
Lost Worlds
1
1
0
Magic The Gathering
2
0
2
Mr. Jack, Pocket
7
5
2
Mr. Jack NY
4
4
0
Munchkin
1
1
0
Munchkin, Zombies
2
2
0
Mystery of the Abbey
5
3
2
Omega Virus
1
0
1
Pirate’s Cove
2
1
1
Poo
2
1
1
Run For Your Life Candyman
1
0
1
Revolution
2
2
0
RoboRally
2
2
0
Rocketville
5
1
4
San Juan
1
1
0
Small World
1
1
0
Stone Age
1
0
1
The Worst Card Game Ever
1
1
0
Ticket to Ride Card Game
4
2
2
Ticket to Ride Europe
5
2
3
Vampire Hunter
2
2
0
Zombies!!!
1
1
0
The list is 53 games total, 124 “Total Times Offered” (in other words, we’re offering 12.4 games per night). “Played” is 53 also (a coincidence), so we’re playing an average of 5.3 different games per session.
Most played games:
5 nights played – Any Fluxx
4 nights played – Agricola and Rocketville
3 nights played – Cards Against Humanity, Dominion, Forbidden Island, Guillotine, Ticket To Ride Europe
Populuxe Brewing decided to venture into the realm of pumpkin beers, albeit with a bit of apprehension, with their Pumpkin Spice Porter. Given my love of their base Porter and my overall love of pumpkin beers, I had to give this one a shot. Pumpkin Spice is a bit bigger than their regular porter, clocking in at 6.9% ABV.
The beer pours very dark brown but not completely opaque with notes of clove, cinnamon and nutmeg coupled with a nice roasted malt background on the nose. The beer starts out on the roasted side of the flavors with hints of chocolate before progressing into the spice realm –a nice lineup from cinnamon to cloves to allspice, each distinct without being overpowering or palate deadening. The spice balances rather than dominates the roasted notes, bringing a pleasantly warming feel to the beer – nice for sipping on a chilly fall day. The spices are well-integrated into the beer and the alcohol is barely noticeable with being warming rather than burning. The only thing really missing is a nice background pumpkin flavor – that would have brought this beer to a higher plane.
Populuxe Pumpkin Spice Porter hangs out in the pumpkin patch for a limited time with a solid 4 gourds out of 5.
A trip to Reuben’s yielded a few new beers, one of which was a new hefeweizen. Hefe is not a style that tends to be my first choice when ordering, but is definitely a style I do enjoy and appreciate. Being a new Reuben’s brew also means that I needed to try it. The beer brings in a miniscule 14 IBU and a healthy 5.4% ABV.
Hazy pale yellow in color with heavy notes of wheat and light notes of lemon, apple, pear and banana. Very crisp to drink, the beer starts out with a strong wheat flavor before mellowing out and transitioning into strong flavors of banana and ginger (mild spicy notes, but not a hard ginger flavor) before finishing slightly sweet an clean with a lingering banana note reminiscent of banana bread (I keep looking for some nut flavor in the beer) and just a hint of spice. A very hearty hefe, much deeper than what you normally get from NW breweries, and one that I am not sure that most hefe drinkers would appreciate, but one as an advanced beer drinker that you would appreciate.
Reuben’s German Hefeweizen bunches into the picture with a slippery 3 banana peels out of 5.
If you have been hiding under a rock, the Patriots got flagged for a penalty on a FG in overtime, which ultimately lead to the Jets kicking the winning FG. The Jets tipped the refs off that the Pats were using a play which one player pushed another into the line, which in the 2013 NFL rule book, is a penalty. I see no problem with a team telling the officials to watch out for something that the other team is doing illegally. It happens all of the time in baseball with pitchers.
This link has video of 2 ESPN idiots analysts arguing that the penalty should not have been called.
I don’t give a crap about the spirit of the rule. The actual rule is this (Rule 913 from the NFL Rulebook):
(2) Team B players cannot push teammates on the line of scrimmage into the offensive formation.
Penalty: For unnecessary roughness: Loss of 15 yards.
Based on the rule, it is a penalty. I don’t care what Skip Bayless or anyone else thinks the rule means. This is pretty clear. It mentions nothing about 2nd level.
Just remember, the Patriots won a playoff game a few years ago because the refs called a play based on the letter of the rule rather than the spirit. Perhaps you remember the Tuck Rule in the game against the Raiders? This is only a big deal because it is the Pats and Jets, two teams that hate each other. If this was any other 2 random NFL teams, this story would have already been put to bed.
I am not sure why I waited so long to review this beer. I wrote about the beer here a few months back, and, in case you don’t want to go back and read it, the short version is that this recipe is generally considered to be the first American microbrew. It was available in 12 oz. bottles and ran about $9 for a 6 pack. Some additional info on the beer here:
Jack McAuliffe’s pioneering spirit paved the way for the American craft beer revolution. We’re rereleasing his original Pale Ale, with its distinct American hop character for the first time in 30 years in honor of Jack and his contributions to craft brewing. Cheers!
The beer pours golden in color with a fizzy white head. There are major grain notes on this beer – from a foot away, I immediately thought of a baguette when I smelled it. Upon closer inspection, grain dominates the nose with hints of hops and a touch of yeast interspersed. A very crisp and refreshing beer that is light on the palate – mild grain dominates and is followed by just a very light touch of hops, finishing long with a strong grain profile. Has some very lightly roasted character and very mild hop characteristics, such that you might not recognize this beer as a pale ale, but enough punch from the yeast that you know this beer is not a pilsner of lager. More of the pale character shows through as the beer warms but it is light enough on the palate that you can enjoy several in one sitting.
The beer is a study in how far craft brewing has come from its infancy in the 1970’s and New Albion Pale is a beer that every craft brew drinker should have at least once, just so that you can appreciate a time when that beer was so much different than anything else on the market.
New Albion Pale Ale waxes nostalgic with a solid 3 antiques out of 5.
Here’s the latest. It’s a 48″ x 48″ x 56″ plant house. I had been shopping for either a tall cold frame or a small greenhouse. This one is right in between those two things. It cost ~$60 which is about as much as I wanted to spend on an experiment. The Amazon reviews are pretty ok, though it really is strung up tight. Note the support poles that are bending from the strain. Maybe the plastic will loosen over time.
It snugly holds three EarthBoxes. In theory a 4th could be squeezed in along the back if the the other three boxes were pulled all the way to the front of the house. There’s no bottom to the unit, so it just drops right over the boxes.
(L-R) Pak Choy, very small romaine, and spinach.
Hopefully we’ll get some fresh greens over the next couple of months. At the very least it should allow for some earlier planting in the spring.
The beauty of Elysian’s beers is that they not only have some grate creativity, but they do produce a good number of tribute beers – beers that are clones of very well known, but not necessarily great beers. One they did recently was a clone of Yuengling Porter as a tribute to one of their employees. In case you are not aware, Yuengling from Pottsville, PA, is the oldest continuously operating brewery in the United States, brewing beer back to 1829, and their porter holds a soft spot in my heart as one of the first dark beers that I truly loved 20+ years ago (although calling the beer a porter is a bit of a misnomer, it is actually a black lager and not a true porter). The beer was only available on tap and clocked in at just 25 IBU and 4% ABV.
FlatbreadGarden 