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Tröegs Brewing Company, Harrisburg, PA
Pale Ale

This “independent craft brewery” produces some of my most favorite beers (Tröegenator, anyone?), and this one is certainly a favorite. It is an American-style pale ale that is nicely hoppy, but not overly astringent. Perhaps that’s because it is only listed as 5.4% ABV, which seems a little low for the mainstream pale ale, in my opinion. That said, there’s a nice floral aftertaste that doesn’t disintegrate into the typical bitterness from other pale ales. There’s a crispness to this beer, too, that really makes it wonderfully drinkable and generally quite refreshing. And with the relatively low ABV, drinking several (six-packs) of these on a warm summer evening doesn’t sound like the next day’s death sentence that is usual with other pale ales. I guess the only complaint I have about this beer is that it is darn hard to find.

M!dd13m4n’s rating – 4 Pints

Tags: Beer Review by Midd13m4n
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Founders Brewing Company, Grand Rapids, MI
Breakfast Stout

As they describe it, a double chocolate coffee oatmeal stout, whatever the heck THAT is. At $15 a FOUR PACK, it better be good, because this is possibly the third most expensive beer I’ve ever purchased (the most expensive was a bottle of 1994 Sam Adams Triple Bock, and second was a 20 oz bottle of Great Lakes Brewery’s Lake Erie Monster). First of all, at 8.3% ABV, it is an uncommon stout in that it packs a wallop. Secondly, its taste is more complex than I was expecting, more complex than the always demure Guinness. Yeah, I can taste the coffee. Yeah, I can taste the chocolaty roasted barley malt. Yeah, I can taste the creamy smoothness of the oatmeal. Yeah, those are all really good things. Individually. But sometimes, lots of good things together doesn’t necessarily make for a really, really, really better thing, and Founders really took a huge gamble with this one. In this case, it makes for an extraordinarily complex stout that really compliments desserts, like cheesecake. It is not a beer you can chug – I tried that; it doesn’t work, nor should you with a $15/four pack price tag. But for sipping, this is one hell of a beer. Is it worth $15 for a four-pack, ask Vincent Vega? I’m still not sure, but I’m sure I will enjoy them while they are available and while the funds are available, too.

M!dd13m4n’s rating – 4 Pints

Tags: Beer Review by Midd13m4n
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Ask DaVe” is an advice and Q&A column for all of our readers. I will do my best to answer all of your questions. If you don’t know what to do, if you want my opinion on something, if you want to know something about me, if you just want to know… please write to me at FupDuckTV[at]gmail[dot]com.

Megan from Kettering, Ohio asks: “Where do we go when we die?”

More than likely one of two things will physically happen to by body when I die. I really don’t want to be buried in the ground. I think it just takes up space and it really doesn’t serve as a good reminder of my for my loved ones. I would rather (A) cremated and have my asses spread around in different places or (B) donate my body to science so that others can learn from what I have to offer. Either choice would be fine with me. I will probably end up choosing the “donate my body to science” route because two of my grandparents have done it and my father plans to do it when he passes on. Some medical students can learn from my body; I won’t have any use for it by then. Typically medical schools cremate the remains after they are done with their studies, so regardless of choice A or B, I’m going to probably end up a pile of ash.

I really don’t care where my ashes end up, as long as it is not in a closet or in a box in a garage. I think I would like to see my family scatter my asses around to places I loved to be at in life: the ocean, the beach, a golf course, a volleyball court, maybe even a movie theater. Again, at that point, my physical location is more for the comfort of my surviving relatives.

So, hear is the real meat of the question… Where do we go in the afterlife? I personally hope that my version of heaven is a bar / sand volleyball court that I can hang out with my friends and family at. I get to play volleyball all I want, hang around hot girls in tight clothes, hang around fire pits at night and by the picnic tables drinking beers and listening to good music. That is my idea of heaven. Maybe throw in a pool and hot tub for good measure.

Unfortunately for me, I will more than likely be heading towards the other end of the afterlife spectrum. Knowing the way I’ve lived my life, hell is more in my future. That is ok though. I figure if I’m bad enough here, the management will make me a middle manager in hell. I want a corner office in hell. It still sucks, but at least I will have others that have to report to me.

What do you think? Is there a heaven or hell? What will your heaven be like? Tell us what you think.

Tags: Ask DaVe by DaVe
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Beer Review – Barbarossa Double Dark Lager (Christian Moerlein)

Christian Moerlein Brewing Company, Cincinnati, OH
Barbarossa Double Dark Lager

It is really nice to see a storied name such as Moerlein recovering (as far as I can tell). This Bavarian-style double dark lager is good. Really good. Unexpectedly good. Honestly, I was expecting roughly barely drinkable, with a flavor of three day old road tar. And I don’t usually have a high opinion of dark lagers. For a double dark lager, I would have expected a bit of a darker brown, but the deep reddish-brown of this beer is still rather inviting. Yeah, I’m a sucker for the dark beer. It has a really nice, smooth introduction to the taste buds, with a pleasant, malty flavor, and even a lighter mouth-feel than an average porter. It is nowhere near as cloyingly sweet as Sam Adams Black Lager which is, in my opinion, down-right undrinkable. There’s even a nice caramel-vanilla undertone that I detected in a couple sips. Hell, even the after-taste impressed me, degrading into a pleasant milkiness, with absolutely no bitterness. I don’t think this beer will be winning over many of the hop-head crowd, but it certainly has earned itself one new fan.

M!dd13m4n’s rating – 4 Pints

Tags: Beer Review by Midd13m4n
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Founders Brewing Company, Grand Rapids, MI
Red’s Rye

What do you get when you combine a hoppy IPA, a red ale, and rye? Simple: you get this wonderful, hoppy red ale that is actually made with rye. Wow – didn’t see that one coming, did you? Ok, the picture on the label looks like a cross between Gollum and Yoda, which is very creepy, but thankfully the beer inside the bottle is no where near as odd. On the other hand, perhaps it is odd, since this was one of the first rye brews that I had the honor of trying. And it is still one of the best. I am going to guess that rye is going to be the next big thing when it comes to craft-beer adjuncts, but that’s another article. The redish color is really something to behold, but the flavor packs such an incredible punch, that the whole package is a shear work of art. When poured in the glass, you won’t be able to take your eyes off the color, but the aroma will beckon you with a subtle grassy/floral scent. The hoppiness has a strong citrus character, almost a flavor like that of grapefruit. That said, the rye imparts a smootheness that is unmistakable, and there’s a hint of that earthy nuttiness from the grain, too. This is probably the perfect beer for those late summer to mid-autumn cookouts, when the nights are cool but not cold, and the fears of recession are still a long way away. Then again, when isn’t it a perfect night for a beer?

M!dd13m4n’s rating – 4.5 Pints

Tags: Beer Review by Midd13m4n
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I think California should be split into three seperate states. The size of California is just too unwieldy. It is the most populated state in the union with about 10% of the nations population (over 36 million). It also hold 55 Electoral Votes in the presidencial election, but is only represented by two people in the U.S. Senate. That is too much for one state to control with too little representation in Congress.

There has been almost 30 serious proposals to split the state up, but of course, none have been successful yet. I’m sure most Californians don’t want the state split up because of all the “We’re number 1″ factors in the state. Or they just want to keep it together “cause that’s the way it has always been.” Poor Excuse!

Keeping California the current size (163,696 square miles) is like leaving Louisiana the size that it was during the Louisiana Purchase (828,000 square miles). It is time to chop it up.

I think the main problem with the split up is not whether or not they should split the state up, but rather how the state should be divided. I think it should be divided up into the three states: Pointless, Useless and Clueless California. You can associate the new names as you see fit.

There are actually some decent cases for spliting up the state. Check out this website for a compeling case: Three Californias.

What do you think? Should California be broken into multiple states? Should other states be broken up? Should we aquire more land from other countries, either through purchase or through force? Should U.S. Territories become states? Tell us what you think.

Tags: Rant by DaVe
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