It’s been a beautiful summer day. I read a few short stories for pleasure, walked Maddie down to Wickersham Park and back, and wandered downtown with Jennifer to check out the annual sidewalk sale. Now, we’re settling in for the night and watching the Giants/Brewers game on TV while I crack into a Black Diamond Wheat Wacker India-Style Wheat Ale, apparently an “experiment in the Belgian fashion.” Wait, what? Is it a wit? Is it an IPA? Is it some unholy offspring of the two? Only one way to find out. Continue reading →
Posted by Ross E. Lockhart in Reviews
It’s a gentle madness, but a madness nonetheless. I’ll be walking through the grocery store, minding my own business, then suddenly I’ll hear the call of the cooler. Double IPA, it whispers. Double IPA. But Marin Brewing’s Eldridge Grade White Knuckle is not just a DIPA, it’s a “Double IPA Ale.” Shades of “ATM machine” or “PIN number.” But with that fistful of medals on the label, I won’t begrudge them a little redundancy. So long as the beer lives up to its “white knuckle” promise… Continue reading →
Posted by Ross E. Lockhart in Reviews
Sunday night is upon us, leaving me wondering where the weekend went. I’m not sure I’m ready for tomorrow to be Monday. I had about eight hundred thousand words I was hoping to read. Instead, I read about eighty thousand, maybe I’ll hit a hundred tonight. Fortunately, most of those were the right words. So I’m pouring a “modern all-malt trippel dry-hopped and bottle conditioned” for words spilled and all those words yet to be read. Continue reading →
Posted by Ross E. Lockhart in Reviews
We’re over at Jan and Randy’s for veggieburgers and the baseball game. I’m having a New Belgium Lips of Faith Super Cru. Continue reading →
Posted by Ross E. Lockhart in Reviews
After I tried Ballast Point’s Sculpin IPA, I determined I’d try whatever I could from them. Tonight, Wahoo. What’s a Wahoo? Looks like a flying barracuda on the label. Continue reading →
Posted by Ross E. Lockhart in Reviews
A day spent fretting over a manuscript in need of repairs while Jennifer designed Cthulhu postcards left me wanting a brisk, bold beverage. So we ordered pizza from The New Yorker and hit Petaluma Market, where I picked up a Green Flash Hop Head Red Ale. 45 IBU? Sign me up. Continue reading →
Posted by Ross E. Lockhart in Reviews
Hey, baby. It’s the Fourth of July. And I love this country, in spite of a few ridiculously bad ideas (Prohibition, anyone?). After all, change is part of her Promise. So I figured a selection from 21st Amendment Brewery was in order. What better than Brew Free! or Die? Rampaging Abe Lincoln on the label may have influenced that decision. Continue reading →
Posted by Ross E. Lockhart in Reviews
We just got back from Janine’s house and a 2nd of July backyard barbecue, and are now settling in and watching the Giants and Tigers on TV. And I had a Shock Top earlier with my black bean burger, grilled zucchini, corn on the cob, salad, and assorted appetizers, which was a nice little summer session beer, but I wanted to wind down with something a little more aggressive. Good thing I had something from Port Brewing on hand. Continue reading →
Posted by Ross E. Lockhart in Reviews
“Ooh, Lucky 13’s a blonde now,” was my thought as I grabbed this off the shelf at Petaluma Market. Only tonight, as I cracked it open, did I notice the “.alt”. Usenet flashback aside, I was confused. “But… She’s a blonde,” I said. Doesn’t “.alt” code dyeblack hair and tattoos?
In any case, Lucky 13 .alt is a “specially brewed Hi-Gravity Auburn offering.” Still doesn’t make sense she’s a blonde, but what the heck… Continue reading →
Posted by Ross E. Lockhart in Reviews Tags: Beers with Pinups
It was a hot one today: 91 degrees according to the bank’s digital thermometer downtown. At one point we wandered down to Petaluma Market pretty much as an excuse to enjoy their air conditioning. I grabbed the latest pair of Stone Imperial Russian Stouts (next week?), but wanted an IPA tonight. Then I spotted the umlaut. I’m a sucker for an umlaut. Continue reading →
Posted by Ross E. Lockhart in Reviews
It’s been a beautiful summer day. I read a few short stories for pleasure, walked Maddie down to Wickersham Park and back, and wandered downtown with Jennifer to check out the annual sidewalk sale. Now, we’re settling in for the night and watching the Giants/Brewers game on TV while I crack into a Black Diamond Wheat Wacker India-Style Wheat Ale, apparently an “experiment in the Belgian fashion.” Wait, what? Is it a wit? Is it an IPA? Is it some unholy offspring of the two? Only one way to find out. Continue reading 
