Books and Beers Pt. 1

So, earlier this week, for reasons too complicated to go into right now, I was forced to listen to an hour or longer lecture by a policeman. No, the lecture wasn't directed at me, but it might as well have been for all the good it did the kid. Now, policemen might be good at a lot of things, but if this guy was any indication, they are shitty counselors. Instead of droning on for better than an hour, he coulda just said this:

Things don't always go according to plan, so don't burn any bridges, kid.

And then left. The kid might've gotten it or he might not, but at least he would've known what the message was. And it probably would've been just as relevant as whatever the hell he was trying to say to the kid, which I could hardly figure out and I'm not sure what it was except maybe, "If you do bad stuff, people will blather at you for hours on end. So be good, and don't make me come down here and blather at you some more."

So, anyway, speaking of plans, my plans for this evening went pretty fubar pretty quickly, but I didn't burn any bridges, and may have even built one at the Mutiny Now! Bookstore^1 in anticipation of May 1 Day of Resistance. (We'll see how that goes!) I'll revisit my plan and try to bring it to fruition for part 2.

But in the meantime, the best part of this evening was the part that actually went sort of according to plan--getting down to enjoy Double IPApril at The Rackhouse with the guy(s). Well, one guy made it, anyway. A little late, but that's okay, I don't mind drinking alone, and I technically wasn't alone, I was with The Wizard of Lemuria (the one on the right). And how is said wizard? Hilarious! He reads like Kevin^2.So, anyway, Clint gets there after a while and I say "Sorry, Wiz, but I gotta go." And Clint and I start talking about all manner of things personal and professional, mostly professional because we have worked together and continue to work together off and on. It was good to listen to his problems and realize that for all the crap I have to deal with, the best I might be able to hope for is trading SSDD for SSDP. The Sheriff's got his problems, too, right?^3

And it was also good to just drink some beers again. I've been sick for the past few days and an involuntary teetotaler, and I gotta tell you, I am not a Bear Who Could Leave It Alone. So when I got to The Rackhouse, with the smell of whiskey-in-the-making filling my nostrils, I jumped right in with the Palate Wrecker from Green Flash. Now that is good stuff. If you like hops. Very, very hoppy, but a good kind of hop flavor. Intense, but smooth and rich, not like, for example, the Hopbomination, which just made me think of eating a big bag of grass clippings.

Then I enjoyed Lawyers, Guns, and Money from Crazy Mountain, also very hoppy, but to my mind not as tasty. Also, it seemed like the flavor took a turn to the right in my mouth at the tail end. The guy next to me was trying a taste of it at the same time seemed to know a bit about beer, so I asked him about what the taste was doing at the end. "It gets bitter at the end," he says to me. (Thank you, Mr. Beer Man, for that insight--a double IPA that gets bitter at the end, who'd'a thunk it?)

So then I wanted to have some of the Hypothesis from River North. I'd had this before and enjoyed it and wanted to see how a Belgian stacked up against the normal double IPAs, and it didn't fare too well, just a little off for my taste.

And I finished off with an old standard the 7 Seas from Dry Dock. The color of the pour didn't look like what I normally recognize from the bottles, but it matches what's on the brewery's handy menu, so I expect she didn't pour me from the wrong tap while I wasn't looking. By this point my palate was pretty wrecked (it could be my fault), so I don't think I could've testified one way or another, but it was definitely in the same vein and held its own against the others, so I was happy.

And I left happy and Clint and I shared the requisite extra 20 minutes in the parking lot on those 1 or 2 conversation topics that didn't get brought up yet, and I came home. So, not according to plan, but not bad, either.

1--Formerly Ichabod's "Yeah, like seven years ago!" according to the manager. "Welcome back!" he also said in a very un-Denver-like fashion. But he's a good guy. Repaired the binding on the Wiz, knocked a buck off the price, and gave me my 25 cent cheapie for free on top of that. So he'll probably be back in Part 2. Mutiny was so much not a part of the plan, it's represented here by the fragment of a sign reading "Clean Used Books."
2--If you know what this means, it likely inspires either hope or horror, according to your humors. If you don't know what this means, consider this exemplary dialogue: "They'll reward you all right--by feeding your heart to the slith! Know you not that the daotar of the guards, the noble Barand Thon, is the oldest friend of the father of the man you slew?" I knew that! And I bet many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the slor that day, I can tell you!
3--Which I know because the cop just couldn't help but sprinkle them liberally through his diatribe!

Wee Heavy

Dry Dock has created some truly outstanding beers, and I have to say that this is another great one. A truly fine Scotch ale. The taste was really smooth, and despite the significant alcohol content, it didn't have that liquory taste some strong beers get. This was perhaps too smooth, since I gave myself a little hangover from drinking it too soon before bed.

Still, highly recommended.

HMS Victory

I stopped off at Dry Dock to pick out a growler to bring to a poker game. Ran into an interesting guy there--a regular who is also a gamer and a game designer. I tried the URCA, which was good, but could wait because it was coming out in bottles, and the HMS Bounty, which is just not my style, and found that this ESB was the clear winner.

This amberish configuration is hoppy enough that I really enjoy it, but not so much that it's out of the reach of most beer drinkers. It's got a good malt character that helps balance it. Definitely recommended.

Manger Danger

If you live in Denver and like beer, you've probably heard of Dry Dock Brewing. They're the brewery responsible for 7 Seas Double IPA. I stopped in to try some of their seasonal selections, which come out of their Ho Ho Ho Smackdown where all the brewers try to come up with the best beer they can, then pit them head to head. This was the winner & rightfully so--it's the best quad I've had. Strong as you expect, but doesn't taste like it, all it tastes is delicious. The other two entries were not bad. The stout seemed pretty standard & the raspberry beer was a bit too fruity, but this one won on its own merits.

This is a beer I am glad to have had the chance to try, and I am sad for all the people who will never be so lucky.

Keel Haul Kolsch

An okay beer. I guess I just don't get kolsch as a style--it always seems like a bland, almost flavorless beer. Maybe it's just me, but I would certainly welcome anyone who can give me some advice on this style.

7 Seas Double IPA

Dry Dock Most of you will not get the pleasure of enjoying this delicious, unfiltered double IPA. Dry Dock is a tiny microbrewer, more properly a brew pub, that has recently begun bottling some of its product. Not quite as small as the Shmaltz Smallest Brewery in the World, it is still producing very tiny quantities, which is a shame because this one, at least, is a knockout. Truly, it is one of my favorite beers, and probably the first unfiltered IPA I have had the pleasure of enjoying. I always enjoy an unfiltered beer. Unfiltered beers look and taste muddy, gruff, and extra-yeasty. This is fairly light in color for a double IPA, but its taste is by no means light. Highly recommended. I enjoyed this beer on August 30, 2010.