Celebrating Five Years

Today is the fifth anniversary for the blog. When it started 1,827 posts ago the direction was unclear and with this post once again the direction is a bit of a mystery. Trying to post daily has proven difficult when a fresh topic idea isn’t forthcoming, for that reason the plan is to only post when there is something relevant or fun to say. That might be a reminder of a particular day to celebrate a drink or beverage of a discourse on how ignorant a politician is on the topic of alcohol or firearms. The goal will be for topics to concentrate on firearms and fermentation only occasionally coloring outside the lines. Thank you to everyone who receive the blog via email and to those who visit regularly to read what we have to say.

Cheers to you all!

Upcoming Fifth Anniversary

On February 12 the blog will turn five. We generate about 1,000 new views per month and 135 people following our mindless banter. Every comment is considered and we appreciate you taking the time to read about whatever happens to come to mind that day. We may decide to post less frequent and with more focus after the 12th because some days it is difficult to find an interesting topic while other days it is difficult to stop typing. So if you start to see less posts do not become alarmed, we’ll post when we have something to say as opposed to saying something daily.

No, Shock Top Is NOT Made In Belgium

Last night I overheard a concessions cashier say Shock Top was imported from Belgium and it decidedly is not. I hate it when someone tries to spout facts which are untrue, better to just say I don’t know where it is made than to make something up. I am sure they would like you to believe the beer is imported from far and wide, but it is made in the US to compete with Blue Moon. Of course now they really don’t compete anymore do they – wink wink nudge nudge.

Another Like Us On Facebook Request

We have 131 people following the blog via email, but only a handful of folks who receive it in their Facebook feed. If you are on Facebook, please take a minute to LIKE the page, not a single blog post, but the Facebook page. Thank you for your support, it is appreciated!

Photo Updates – (Like Us On Facebook)

Recently it became clear the links to many of our photos are broken. It is a cumbersome process to go back through all the posts over the past three years to fix the issues. In some cases it may not be possible, but many of the photos are mine and I just need to revise each post. If you find a broken photo link, feel free to post a comment and I will get to it. I’ve gotten about half way through both 2014 and 2012 and will continue to work on it with the goal to have the photo links restored where possible in the next two months.

If you feel so inclined, please like our Facebook page. The button is at the bottom right of the cover photo which is the same photo as on the blog.

Buckwheat beer thoughts

Actually my thought is why bother?

As homebrewer’s we have the freedom to brew with whatever the heck strikes our fancy. Craft brewer’s do to some degree, but they always must have at least one eye on what will sell. Sometimes beers sell because of hype, sometimes because of reputation and people return because of flavor. Everyone’s preference is different and the other night I decided buckwheat rates a solid meh. There is just nothing truly wonderful about any buckwheat beer I have tried and as always, I strive to try them all.

At a local bottle shop I came across a Mikkeller/Three Floyds collaboration named BooGoop. The beer was basically an American barleywine made with buckwheat. I decided to drop the coin (actually several coins!) and purchase the beer after I noticed it was brewed at one of my favorite breweries in Belgium, De Proef. De Proef has made many of the Mikkeller brews and while most are solid, Mikkeller mainly relies on hype from the beer rating sights to achieve their price point. To some degree Three Floyds has done the same with their wildly popular seasonal release, Dark Lord. Anyway, I poured the BooGoop and was immediately struck by how cloudy the beer appeared. The aroma was hop centered, but muted and not bright. The beer was underwhelming, quite hoppy, decidedly alcoholic, somewhat tasty, but certainly not worth the price of admission. The beer was so muted in fact I started looking for what the cause might be and then it hit me, buckwheat!

I got to wondering what other buckwheat beers had I tasted which underwhelmed. The first that came to mind was Sara Buckwheat Ale which is a witbier of sorts (tough to be a witbier without wheat) and is just an ok brew or at least is not wonderful by the time it makes it across the pond. I could not quickly think of another until it dawned on me Rogue makes a Buckwheat Ale and also bottles it as Morimoto Soba and neither, well they are the same, but neither are stellar, at least not to me. Now Rogue makes another Morimoto, the Black Obi Soba Ale, and it is a solid brew, but again, nothing to write home about. A quick scouring of the web only yielded buckwheat in a few other commercial examples and most of the sites spoke about gluten-free which is another group of beverages I do not enjoy, probably due to the sorghum.

So my palate may differ from yours, maybe you love the buckwheat beers and scream out “Otay Panky”, but next time I see one I think I’ll take a pass.

(PS: You know I’m lying, if I haven’t had it before I’ll at least have to take a taste!)