fingers crossed

Two rough mornings so far this week.  Today it was the wind.  I slogged through most of the winter and did okay, but a strong tailwind on the path still made me feel like crap. 

But the trek is riding well, and is now locked up outside the building.  U-lock through the front wheel and frame, with the back wheel chain-locked as well.  Not overly comfortable leaving it out there, but don't really have much of a choice at this point.  If it's going to be 80 degrees this afternoon I wasn't riding anything else.

Current beer-scale: 8.5

when it rains

it pours.

Couple of flats last week, not a big deal.  But I used my back-up tube, and couldn't get a patched one to work on the trek over the weekend.  Okay, I can still ride.

Rode to work this morning, couldn't get into the bike corral.  Turns out, demolition on the building started two days earlier than posted, and the building is closed.  Which is fine, but my lock was in there b/c I thought I had the two days that was posted.  And was still posted on the door when I got there this morning.  Fan-fucking-tastic. 

So I took a nice long walk to Kozy's at lunch, picked up a new lock (b/c there's little to no chance I ever see the one I've been using again) and a few tubes.  Took forever, but I needed to be outside for an hour anyway.  Let's hope the rest of the week picks up a little bit. 

Current beer-scale: 9.2 & rising

dammit!

Flatted for the first time in a long time this morning.  I was close enough to the office that it was a toss up between changing the tube then and there or just walking to the office.  I opted to walk which was probably a mistake.  It only took 10 minutes to change the tube, and 30 minutes to walk the rest of the commute.

Oh well.  It's not like I would have accomplished anything with that extra 20 minutes anyway.  Changing the tube is probably the most productive thing I've done at work in a while.

Current beer-scale: 7/8

Drink ALL the coconut beers

A few days ago, a big motivating factor in getting through the week was stopping at Half Acre and picking up some of their Hot Tropic.  Purely by coincidence, my eyes fell upon a Kona Beer display at the grocer's over the weekend, leading to a purchase of their Big Wave golden ale and Koko Brown with toasted coconut.  Talk about similar beers worlds apart.

First, the tropic.  Not terrible, even if going to Half Acre is increasingly becoming an exercise in patience.  At the end of a long day and commute, if I walk into your store I don't have any objectives other than purchasing beer and leaving, which is impossible in their tasting room.  My favorite part of the experience was the look another customer gave me when the guy at the taps served someone else who came in after both of us.  What can you do?

Tropic was an IPA with toasted coconut, but for all the talk of tons of coconut all it really did was take the edge off some of the hops.  The wife doesn't drink IPA's, but this one was mellow enough for her to try at least.  I love a hoppy IPA, but I want to be able to taste whatever else might be in there, and there wasn't any coconut to be found.  I didn't regret picking it up, and drinking from a half-growler always makes me feel like I'm in a science lab, but HT was ultimately disappointing.

Kona's Koko Brown was the complete opposite.  A brown ale would be pretty far down on my list of options for beers I'd usually drink, but the coconut in this one takes several swings at your taste buds.  There's an initial burst when you first take it in, then a secondary swell that surges back as you swallow.  It actually made me stop and say "whoa," which made the wife laugh.  And even though that kept up through the entire beer, it never got to the point of overpowering the rest of the beer.  A great balance between the sweet and the brown ale.  Can't wait to have the rest of it.

I can't say no to finding new beers to try from a brewer I like, so the Golden Ale came home too.  That one's not terrible either, just not as interesting as the brown.  It's fruity as hell, with a hops backbone that keeps it light.  They were both a fun discovery on a random grocery trip, one of those things that I'll probably spend the rest of the summer looking to replicate.

Current beer-scale: 7.1

Brrrrrr

What the shit April? What did we ever do to you?

Current beer-scale: 6.1

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

So, Half Acre is tapping a coconut pale ale today.  Looks like I have a stop to make on the way home tonite.  It damn well better not be pouring.

Current beer-scale: 8.7

My wife is the best

I took yesterday off to spend the morning waiting for a delivery and the afternoon at the vet and running errands. Joking, I mentioned two of my stops bookended my favorite liquor store in the old neighborhood.

"Sounds like a great idea," she said. "Just don't go crazy."

Is she great or what? Talk about the perfect excuse to try something new. I've wanted to try some crown royal maple for a while, or cabin fever if I could find it. What ended up catching my attention though was some Tap 357, a mix of 3, 5, and 7 year old Canadian ryes with some Quebequois light maple syrup. Cheaper than crown, enough so I could get a six pack and not feel like I went crazy. Alright.

And now, sitting in my new armchair working through my second glass of the stuff, I feel like I made the right choice. I LOVE maple syrup, but was a little dubious about trying some with whiskey. I should have known better. Yes the maple dominates the first impression of the rye, but there's a warmth underneath the sweet that holds on through the finish even as the maple takes a second pass. Whew! Very good. Those Quebequois may be snobby separatists but they do get some things right.

Straight up with a little ice is just fine for tonite, but I'd bet there are some fun cocktails to make with a maple rye too. Next time I'm feeling creative, maybe. For tonite, ice and rye is going to be fine for #3.

Current beer-scale: 4.6

New twist on old reliable

It never hurts to try new things.  If they don't work out, you can always go back to what works for you.  And if what works for you comes up with something new, sometimes that can be great right off the bat.

Microwavable frozen pizza dipping sticks for lunch?  Sounds dubious.  They're DiGorno?  A little less dubious.

Actually, out of the oven these aren't that great but I'll try anything for lunch once.  And turns out these are pretty good.

Again, not much color change, but the taste was palatable.  Sauce got heating with Keurig water.

They took an extra minute to cook up so the middle wasn't frozen, but once they did I think I even liked them better out of the microwave vs the oven.  They stayed soft, the sauce they came with was sweet but not overpoweringly so, and all in all a nice way to break up the day for half an hour.  All in all a big thumbs up.  Now if I can only manage to not get anything on my tie this time.

When did this turn into Leonard's potato chip reviews?

Current beer-scale: 5.1

Hungry birthday boy

"More bread more bread more bread!"

I just missed getting him blowing bubbles in the puddles of water he spilled on the table too. Flipping' hysterical.

Current beer-scale: a back to work tomorrow 7.9