ex-CIDER-ed

I just saw an article two old friends are starting up GoodRoad CiderWorks in Charlotte. Both gentlemen at BJCP Judges and excellent homebrewers. I see this trend more and more where people take a homebrewing hobby and make it a profession. Generally the results from a seasoned homebrewer are very good and in this case knowing these two gentlemen the cider will be outstanding.

(Note: It’s tough to play on words Cider and Excited.)

Sorachi Ace

Happened to be at a watering hole last night with a Brooklyn takeover. The universal consensus of our group was the Sorachi Ace is just not a beer any of us could get into. I did not have it last night and admittedly it has been almost a year since I had it last, but I pretty much hated it. I think the Sorachi Ace hop is an acquired taste and I don’t think my taste buds will ever get to the point they appreciate that beer. I did see the tap flowing regularly last night so somebody loves it and appreciates it. For me it’s a pass.

 

Stella Artois

Decided it had been a very long time since I had consumed a Stella Artois so last night at the restaurant I had one for old times sake. I’m not sure why I expected more, but I did. It was so boring I’ve almost forgot what it tasted like. I guess it does have a skinch of character in with the malt and corn, but in truth I’d probably prefer a PBR. It was not offensive, it wet the whistle and the best characteristic was a creamy mouthfeel and perfect level of carbonation. Would I belly up to the bar and have one again sometime soon? Probably not, life’s too short to drink boring beer.

Common Sense Buzzwords

I’ve already started to hear the buzzwords coming from gun control activists. You know the phrase, “We need common sense gun control.” I cringe every time I hear it because generally the person making the statement doesn’t have much of it. They are parroting something they heard in the media from the mouth of a politician and we all know the amount of common sense you can find in politics today. The recent murders in California have brought the buzzwords out of hiding and it won’t be long until Senator Frankenstein starts up her rhetoric once again. Keep in mind once you do hear it that magazine restrictions are already in effect in CA and they did nothing to stop the crimes of this deranged individual. His firearms were purchased legally with the required background checks so that did nothing to stop him from obtaining the firearms. So what exactly are these common sense gun control laws people keep mentioning? In the past the battle cry has been background checks and magazine restrictions and neither did a darn thing to stop this crime. Since he stabbed three men to death and ran over several people with a car it seems nothing would have stopped him from committing this crime even if you took the legally obtained and registered gun with a restricted magazine from his hand. Even if gun legislation focuses on the mentally ill, this individual had never been flagged in the system so he would have still been able to pass his background check. I just don’t see any law being devised which would have stopped this crime before it happened.

You Just Don’t Get It Senator

I happened to catch Face The Nation on Sunday and the lead story was the tragedy in California where the lunatic stabbed three people to death, shot and killed three people and then hospitalized 13 others using his car and firearms as weapons. On the report Major Garrett led with the statement made by one of the students murdered in California. In his speech the father blamed the government and the NRA for his son’s death. You may think my post today is about that statement and you’d be wrong. The father is grieving and is looking for someone to blame for the loss of his son. Instead of pointing to the madman in the black BMW he lashed out at the government and NRA.

What I want to focus on today is Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal and his comments. In a nutshell the Senator said legislation which was moving forward several years ago would have stopped this massacre. I fail to see how it would have done anything. The legislation involved those evil black rifles and no rifles were used in this crime. It started with stabbings which presumably used some type of knife and escalated to using pistols and a car for the mayhem. Perhaps he was thinking a magazine restriction would have stopped the violence. The Sheriff reported all the firearms utilized were legal and registered. California has a magazine law which will only allow magazines to be sold which will hold 10 rounds or less. Since our murderer was only 22 he would have been required to have only those magazines in order to be legal and the Sheriff said he was legal. Perhaps the good Senator was thinking of some type of mental health legislation which didn’t pass. No, since there was no such legislation on the table, it could not have been that, so what was he thinking? Truth is, he wasn’t. There was no pending legislation which would have done a darn thing to stop this tragedy. Two of the weapons used by this madman are things almost every person in America has, knives and cars and both can be lethal. He did have three 9mm pistols according to reports, but they were purchased and possessed legally.

What this madman did was kill three people by stabbing them to death and three people by shooting. He injured eight people with his gunfire and hit four with his car. One additional person was injured, but at this time it is unclear how they sustained their injuries. Perhaps Senator Blumenthal didn’t have all the facts prior to his statements, imagine that, someone speaking before they have any clue what they are talking about, but I think he saw an opportunity to forward an agenda and he took it. I believe when all the dust settles off this tragedy the focus will be the guns and the NRA and the rest, knives and his BMW, will be long forgotten.

I’m not smart enough to figure out how to stop something like this from happening. I’m sure someone out there is saying get rid of all the firearms. Even if that happened three men would still be stabbed to death and four hit by his car. Maybe we should get rid of knives and cars? Was this the legislation you mentioned Senator?

Memorial Day 2014

Civil War – 620,000
WWI – 116,516
WWII – 405,399
Korean War – 36,516
Vietnam – 58,209
Iraq – 4,488
Afghanistan – 2,120

Never forget the reason for Memorial Day and all those who fought and died to give you the freedom you enjoy today in America! If you know a Veteran, tell them thank you for your service, if you are a Veteran, I thank you for your service.

Victory Hop Ranch

I’ve had a bottle of Victory Hop Ranch Imperial India Pale Ale sitting in my fridge for quite some time. I must admit that lately Victory beers haven’t blown my socks off the way they did at one time. I can remember when HopDevil was the juice and it was hard to keep your socks on while having a glass. Then it seemed to fade into more of a run of the mill IPA. Well Hop Ranch isn’t blowing socks off either, but the beer is no slouch. At 9% ABV it packs a hidden punch and the malt hop combination is well done so while you aren’t picking hop pieces out of your teeth it also isn’t too sweet from the malt. It’s like Goldilocks finding her perfect Double IPA and she thinks it is just right. The hops are Mosaic and Azacca and I’m not too familiar with either hop varietal. Mosaic I know and that is probably where the beer grabs it’s mango and citrus attributes. Azacca was previously known as hop #483 and it has a high AA% (15%) and can be used as both bittering and flavoring. The list of characteristics includes tangerine, grapefruit, pineapple, pear, stone fruit, tropical fruit, light pine, and light spice. I really enjoyed this beer, it did not have too much of anything and was well crafted. If you see it out and about give it a whirl, you will not be disappointed.

 

I’d Probably Go To Jail

I saw a report on Inside Edition of the dangers of limousines and they featured one limo which caught fire with a group of ladies out for a bachelorette party inside late last year. All five young ladies perished in the flames and smoke and from what I saw on a video shot by people passing by no one was assisting them to get out. I’m not delusional enough to believe had I been on that bridge I could have saved them, but I darn sure would have tried. I was trying to think what I might have had handy to break the glass further up in the limo and you can probably see where I am heading already, a gun. In watching the video it appeared the front of the limo was not engulfed in flames and the glass could have been breached using a blunt object or a few well placed rounds. I’m sure an act like that would have landed me in a chair somewhere asking some questions, but if it got even one of those ladies to safety it would have been worth it.

It’s easy to armchair quarterback something like this after the fact and more difficult when you are in the situation. In truth I’ve pulled someone from a burning building once and not long ago came across a house on fire and ran around the neighborhood asking others to evacuate. I’m not a fireman, but it’s what I would expect someone to do for me. So yet another reason to carry a firearm with the end result to protect life and limb.

One final though about whomever shot the YouTube video. It appeared you sped away instead of trying to help. Shame on you.

AleSmith In NC

As I was tooling around the beer store to pickup some beer for a neighborhood party yesterday I happened upon a small display of AleSmith and almost soiled myself. I can recall when the closest place I could find it was in Arizona and somehow I always seemed to come up with bottles of their beer. Imagine my shock when I spy Speedway Stout, cases of it, sitting out for all to see. I don’t think I had ever seen a full case of that beer before. So I grabbed an IPA and a Stout and pinched myself a few times to make sure I was awake. It’s not so much that the beers are now in the RTP area, it’s that I no longer have to go searching across the country just to get a bottle of their beer if the mood strikes. It does take a small bit of the fun out of the hunt, but now I can gather instead of hunt. It’s a beautiful thing!

 

Suppose you put up a Gunbuster sign and the criminals came calling

I’ve long said that a sign does little to deter a criminal. A local restaurant proved my point recently. Three armed men went into The Pit in Durham and robbed the restaurant. The restaurant is clearly posted no weapons are allowed and more than that, no concealed firearms. I guess the criminals didn’t get the memo, welcome to Durham!

Side Note: Why is a new restaurant’s sanitation grade only a 96?