So I'm leaving PA...

So I'm leaving PA and heading off to Wyoming. More specifically Jackson, Wyoming. Today is also my birthday! So, Tony's girlfriend brought me a 6 pack of my favorite beer... Yuengling. I don't know if she knew this but I will probably not be able to get it while in Wyoming. So this gift means a lot to me.





Yes this beer is not one of those nice micros that we've been posting about but I feel it deserves a spot on here. It is my go to beer for nights out. It is a nice lager that is cheap and tasty. It's also in my stolen Yuengling puppy glass. Well expect a nice start to updating more regularly cause I will be drinking a lot more beers that are unknown to me!!! Cheers mates and enjoy a cold one for me!

Location:Morris St,Clymer,United States

I'm a Liar...

Apparently I'm a liar. A bad one at that. I'll spare any half-hearted apologies and get get on with things.

I've had a few beers and a few adventures over the past week, but I've decided this post to be one of reflection. A year or so ago I was keeping a pretty strict beer journal. I tried to write down a few words about a bunch of beers that I was sipping. What I'm going to do now is just pick some of the ones I gave a higher rating to and go from there.

I'm going to start off with Shiner Bock. I picked up a mixer six-pack of Shiner blends a long time ago. And I really enjoyed most of them. They aren't the fanciest of beers, but that isn't always something you want or need. This bock doesn't have the highest of ratings on beeradvocate.com, but according to my beer journal, I still dug it. I haven't had it in a while, but thinking about it makes me want to revisit it as soon as I finish the Troegs mixer I have sitting in my room. Overall, I gave Shiner Bock an 8/10. I enjoyed it's malty tastes and look forward to having it again.

Next in line is a brew I was saving for my giant of a friend. Why? Because it is called Skullsplitter. It poured a nice red with an almond colored head. In the smell of it I got lots of sweetness. The taste was also interesting. It is 8.5% alcohol, so it had that familiar alcohol burn that also intensified the flavors. Overall, I really enjoyed it and gave it a 9/10.



Lastly, I am going to share a brew I enjoyed that comes right from Pennsylvania herself. Slab Cabin IPA from Otto's Pub and Brewery in State College was a treat. Now, I've only been to the restaurant twice and haven't had the pleasure of tasting this brew on tap, but I've had several of their other offerings and have yet to find a brew of theirs I don't enjoy. Luckily, bombers of their year-round and most of their seasonal offers hit the local grocery shelves. The food is great, and the brews are fantastic. One day, I'm going to go to one of their "firkin Fridays" where they open up a cask of aged ale. Sounds fantastic. I really need to go back there.

And on that note, I'm done.

It's Christmas for Christ's sake!

Although I don’t normally believe in New Year’s Resolutions, perhaps I should make an exception this year regarding this blog. I’ll consider it. But don’t count on any resolutions from me. That way, if and when I do eventually stop updating, I can’t say I ever made any promises not to do that. Sure, that may make me callow, but I take solace in the fact that no one probably reads this anyway.

And now for something completely different, I’ll actually talk about beer.

Tom got me a growler from Marzoni’s Brick Oven & Brewing Co. in Duncansville, PA. The name of the brew was Mark’s Mash Hopped Pale Ale. I enjoyed this beer but should probably preface this write up explaining why it’ll be a little lacking. I wasn’t aware that Tom was going to call me out to review this until I was on my last glass after drinking this growler slowly all day on Christmas. I was drinking out of a cheap plastic cup (not even a Solo cup), and had drank so slowly that it was a little flat by that glass. If I had thought about it, I would have made some notes on the first pour, but that’s not what I did.

I also got zero pictures. Which is ridiculous considering I was visiting my 14 month old nephew and his brand new 2 week old brother. I don’t think anyone in my family took pictures. That is heresy in this day and age, but I suppose we were all just relaxing. Plus, after people started digging into the cheesecake I baked no one could move.


(that's a growler, boys and girls. A half gallon of yeasty delight)

From my week old memory, and a few handy notes typed up on Google Docs, I enjoyed this beer. When there are empty glasses or bottles it means that I enjoyed it. Mark’s Ale poured a rich gold with hints of red with a nice thick white head. The mouth-feel was good. Not too thin and not thicker than a beer of this style should have been. It had a nice even carbonation that wasn’t overwhelming. I never really thought about that before, but sometimes a beer that is overly carbonated is less enjoyable to me.

I don’t have much on smells. I know I sniffed at the first glass, but several hours later when I was trying to sniff the last for this write up, there was not much left to smell. I don’t think I have a very sensitive nose. Most beers of similar styles smell similar to me. Reviews on Rate Beer did say that it had a nice crisp hoppy smell with citrus tones.

For me, this beer had a nice malty start. It had a nice amount of hops flavor that was more floraly than bitter, which I was definitely digging. A slight bitter finish ended this beer well. Overall, I found this to be a very drinkable brew. I’d love to head back up there to find another brew to try.

I give it 4 out of 5 whatever I end up using as an image for my ratings.

So I found another beer that I took a picture of and will share a little bit about cause I rember it.

This is the Rogue Brewery's Chatoe Rogue's Dirtoir Black Lager. It was their first run at this beer utilizing all of their own Hops and Malts. This is where if you can see it on the bottle it has GYO. Simply meaning "Grow Your Own" It's certified organic and very limited. I got my hands on this beauty at Dee's Six Packs and Dogs in Regent Square, Pittsburgh. This beer as you can see is as black as night and has a nice tan head that stuck around for the majority of the time in the glass. It had a right chocolaty malt flavor with a nice bite of hops to round it out. The flavors of this full beer stuck around after every sip. All in all this beer is great and for being a limited thing and their first run, they did an amazing job and can not wait to see what is next.

So, I have noticed that I am a complete and utter failure when it comes to updating this blog. I had this big plan to constantly update it and share my knowledge and love for the beers I have been consuming throughout the days. This was also going to be a reference to what I have and have not drank. So, starting today I will try to have a continuous update weekly and my partner in crime Kait (cappy) give her input to the world of beers. I know for a fact that we are having a beer and whiskey session in the next week so that may be the first joint effort on a post. And I know she has a SHITload of good beers to throw some words down about. Well until then I'll leave you with a picture from my latest venture of local Brewpub drinkery.

Here is the 8 6-oz. samples of all the beers offered and made at Marzoni's in Duncansville, PA. The 6 beers in the holster are the standard year round beers made and served at Marzoni's. The two sitting on the table at Mark's Mashed Hop IPA and their Baltic Porter. Kait will have to give a run down on the IPA since I purchased her a growler of it. But yes all of the beers here are excellent and the food is just as good. If you are in the Altoona area hit this place up! More to come soon!!!! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Once More With Feeling...

Tom and I aren't very good at this whole "blogging" idea. Sure we love beer and the good times that associate with it, I think we just have a hard time sitting down and writing about it.


My plans for tonight, however, just begged to be written. After a long week of working, I had ideas. A movie, a beer or two and perhaps a few homemade cherry bombs would cure all the ails of the week.



Tonight I am enjoying a bomber of Rogue Dead Guy Ale. I remember the first time I had this beer. I was completely unaware of any craft beer. I drank PBR and Yuengling because they were cheap and Guinness when I wanted to feel classy. I bought a six pack of Rogue on a whim, both because it was actually in a local six pack shop, and I needed something for a byob basement show at a friend's house. Everyone else, used to 40s and Natty Ice, scoffed at my gross beer. I think there's even a picture somewhere on facebook with me sipping a brew that is captioned "dead guy ale, gross." I enjoyed my six pack and got thoroughly drunk. Judge ye not, I'm five feet tall and if I'm in the mood I get drunk good and fast. Since then, I've always been trying new beers. It was a gateway drug for me, and I'll always be glad of my decision to spend a few more dollars to take a chance on something new.



As a companion to my beer I will be partaking in some homemade cherry bombs. It was an experiment so I only bought a tiny jar. I made these with two kinds of rum. Maybe a shot of Sailor Jerry Rum, just to finish off a fifth, and filled the rest with Kraken. Kraken is interesting. Super cool bottle design, horrible smell, nice taste. Easy on the wallet as well, which never hurts. I essentially dumped all of the syrup. In my next batch I think I'll leave a little more, just for a bit of extra sweetness, and if my luck holds, the next batch will be dangerous. I'm hoping to get my hands on a fifth of Everclear this summer. I have family in Tennessee, and it seems to be the vacation destination this summer. I know this is a beer blog, but hell, what is life without some spiked fruit in it? If I can get some hypodermic syringes, I could have oodles of fun with some oranges. Imagine that in a wheat beer. Good times.

I almost forgot to mention that I opened my beer with this bitching mermaid bottle opener my mother bought for me from some craft store that resides in a remodeled barn. It isn't the best opener, the tab is thick, so you have to use a lot of pressure to get it under the cap. I excuse this on the basis of form over function. It's heavy and iron and I can't wait to make up some bullshit story about how it's a family heirloom of some kind. Yes, I'm that kind of person.

Now before I get too long winded, I'm going to pay attention to Gangs of New York, drink my beer, eat my liquor and munch a bit on some sour cream and onion chex mix. Once the weekend comes, I am truly living the good life.

First Snow

Today it snowed for the first time. I didn't get to see it, but I heard it happened, so that's good enough to me. To commemorate this event I decided to crack open a Russian imperial stout I've had in the fridge. Well I have a lot of beer in the fridge that needs drinking, but this was in the front, and I wanted an imperial today.

I reached in my fridge and pulled out Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout by North Coast Brewing Co.

On a cold wet miserable day, this is just what the doctor ordered. It poured black. Blacker than black. More black. Ebony. Holding it up to the light delivered no refracted copper or mahogany tones that are found in some stouts and porters. The head was this rich dark tan color that was thick and foamy that laced nicely as I emptied the glass.

The smell hit me in the face as soon as I cracked the cap on the bottle. Strong roasted smells. Coffee, caramel, barley, chocolates. A rich smell that I could put my nose in all day.

The taste hits you in the face. That first pull is akin to someone setting off a roman candle in your mouth. Big flavor. Strong roasted barley tastes with a slight sweetness that tastes like caramel. Maybe a little fruity. It finishes with a super strong bitter coffee flavor that just pulls it together. I barely drink coffee anymore, and tend to miss it, and this type of beer is right up my alley. That coffee taste stays with you. It also gives you a very nice warm alcohol burn on the way down. Not too overpowering. It has a pretty light to medium mouthfeel that means I could probably drink a few of these and call it a pretty good night.

This beer kicks ass. I would suggest it to anyone that can handle imperials. Not that long ago, I couldn't handle this type of brew, now I search it out and love it. This style of beer is as close as we get to the ambrosia of the gods. This particular brew lives up to that standard. Go get yourself one today.