Hows my little snow day!?

SNOW! REAL LIVE SNOW!

It doesn't actually snow way down here in the south...ever, that I've seen anyway. Yesterday work proclaimed a snow day and I said yippie! I got out my skiboards and kite and flew across the park and a corn field until my feet hurt.

After I was sweaty and sore I waited for what seemed like ages for Laura to get home to make some snowmen! While we were building them we realized this was the first time we've had enough snow to actually build one since moving here. Afterwards we shared a bottle of Pamona's spiced apple wine and I smiled.

It is sad that it's supposed to be in the 50s by the weekend so there won't be any left in just a matter of days, but oh well, I guess I'll take what I can get. 

Hows my little BockFester?

Another successful BockFest has come and gone. Now that Laura and I have planned out three of these (as well as attending several other similar events) we are starting to feel a lot less stressed and more like pros.

The day kicked off with the aptly named Mountain Bock Goat Hill Run. Laura, Jason, Diana, and Eric all ran the 10k and Brian, Melanie, and I the 15k. The weather for it was perfect, still a little cool, a nice breeze and perfectly sunny. I found myself quite overdressed but any excuse to wear my plaid tights in a crowded area is welcome. My time was about an hour and 28 minutes. Today my legs are exhausted and sore.

This year was great, the quality of the beer (and food!) was outstanding. My homebrewing friends are definitely getting better and better. After the tasting tally was concluded I officially have a hat trick of last place finishes. This year my beer flavor seemed pretty solid, but due to a poor choice in yeast the beer only fermented out a little over half way leaving it a bit sweet I may have over carbonated it a bit as well which didn't help. Enough of losers, the winner this year and recipient of the travelling trophy stein was Brian Johnson with his Bourbon Barrel WeizenBock. This year the winner actually got a real prize, a five gallon carboy courtesy of Mr. Andy Harvey and Rebel Brewer! It was a steller boozy (yet balanced) beer. A glass of that singlehandedly gave me drunkenness. 

The obstacle course changed again this year and in addition to balancing, jumping, ducking and dodging there was a bat spin included into the mix. For those of you unfamiliar with a bat spin, we had a person put their forehead on the end of a bat while the other end was on the ground and they spun around it ten times. Competition was fierce this year and all of the times were very close. Andy and I the "Dragon Slayers" bested everyone with the quickest time and least amount of penalty beer won the race. Sweet victory.

Proper Bat Spin Form

The weather was wonderful, chilly enough to make the fire a welcome fixation and clear skies. As I write this it looks like we are on track to getting the biggest snowfall of the year, so we hit the window of good weather perfect. Its nice to be snuggled up in the house cozy, tired, and happy the weather yesterday was so great. Altogether there was great food, great beer, great conversation amongst great people. I'm happy everyone came and I got yet another reminder that I truly love my friends, and family. I think the BockFest tradition will continue next year!

Hows my little scout?

There has been lots of talk in the news about how the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) have taken(and reaffirmed) a stance that their leaders may not be openly homosexual.

"While the BSA does not proactively inquire about the sexual orientation of employees, volunteers, or members, we do not grant membership to individuals who are open or avowed homosexuals or who engage in behavior that would become a distraction to the mission of the BSA."

For some of you this might sound like a weird topic for me to address but I've got a special spot in my heart for the BSA. I spent about 10 really fun years of my life actively participating in Boy Scouts. I made it through Weblos, and worked hard at earning my Eagle award, the highest award in scouting. Undoubtedly Boy Scouts was one of the biggest influences on my life outside of my parents and closest friends. I experienced so much, and met so many different individuals that were all taught lifelong skills including first aid, a love for outdoors, and leadership.

I've read that some former scouts have sent their Eagle badge back to the BSA as a protest against their anti-gay stance. This is a sticky issue admittedly for some people, I get it. If a gay man leading a group of young boys and men out into the woods, who is to stop him from praying on these innocent children, taking advantage of their youth and naivety.

This is an absurd stance to take. For example, I really love the company of women. In fact I'm currently in a loving and (ahem) relationship with one. If someday I was asked to lead a girl scout troop into the woods to teach them about camping, lighting fires, tell them ghost stories, and help demystify the world around them, I would. Granted it wouldn't be a first choice of weekend fun but I would do it, while never even considering the darker realms of what could happen. But by the logic of the BSA I would probably take innocence away from at least several families before the weekend was up...since I prefer females sexually.

The point is, just because someone loves a certain type of someone doesn't mean they'll make a move on every person that fits that description. I would even ventrue a guess to say that the majority of people have some pretty good judgement, especially considering minors.

So really the BSA is thinking that having a gay leader is more like a sexual predator with a hidden agenda. In truth there isn't a difference between a openly gay Boy Scout leader and a straight one. Both are leaders to boys who might need a father in their life, or strong guidance, someone to tell the truth to, someone who can teach them right and wrong, a person who honestly cares about them, a person who wants to help another person reach their goals however minor they may be. Like everywhere, there are a few bad eggs in every lot, some men do require young boys to satisfy them. In reality there should be a convicted sexual predator screening for leadership, not a homosexual screening.

Like everything else just because a few bad people have done something wrong dosen't mean that the rest of the good people in the world should bear their shame. There are plenty of gay and straight men in the world more than willing to help mold another young person's life into something that instills exactly what the morals of the Boy Scouts stand for.

I am proudly against this stance or any stance that doesn't give equal rights to a person who wants to love anther person of their sex. Witholding the rights of fellow Americans because of something as simple and free as love is wrong. Leading, marrying, and every other right that every American is granted in our country is an easy and just decision. Allow it.

Hows my little sucker?

I don't know what's worse, spending money on a product that plainly misused Comic Sans, or getting duped into buying a Wine called STRAWBERRY Blush and assuming it was more than 0.5% Strawberry Wine!

Ugh.

Hows my little Indy traveller?

For Laura's birthday this year I decided to keep things local-ish and simple. After discussing several options we decided to head over to Indianapolis to drink our way around the city. I had heard of several wineries and breweries in the area and we decided to make a day of it. I think easily one of my favorite things about visiting new fermenteries is comparing them to others we've been to. We discuss after almost every place, what's working, whats not, what we liked and what we didn't, not to mention we like talking about the different drinks we had a each place.

After my second and more successful shot at chocolate crepes we headed to Chateau Thomas Winery. Maybe I've been brainwashed but I think its absurd for midwestern wineries to be making wines using grapes from California. We've been to a couple of wineries like this now and they always say its because grapes don't grow here. Which is obviously BS otherwise there wouldn't be a growing and thriving local wine scene in the Midwest, this industry has done a fine job of embracing their locally made/grown roots. Anyway, I could go on about this. Altogether I wouldn't go back, their wines were comparable to the same varietals (grown in the same place!) I can buy for $8-$12 from any store, so whats the point?

Our next stop was New Day Meadery. This place stole my heart quickly. Their small 50's modern design worked well for their location and style the brand fits into, something different. And boy did they nail it. They have a few hard ciders, several experimental carbonated meads, and a few traditional still meads. The place was very inspiring because of all their different ingredients they were using in their mead (honey wine). I was shocked and excited when I saw they were making mead with hops. They had two on the list, one was actually really close to tasting like a lighter beer. Ah! mmm... I wish I could live closer to this joint so that I could visit more often, I think next time I'll get a keg to go.

After that we headed over to flat 12 brewing, which leaned towards the hoppier side of life, Laura and I usually don't prefer those beer styles, although we still found one that was delicious enough to fill a growler. The real highlight from that stop was the Meatery across the street. It smelled heavenly. We tried a couple of sausages and walked out with bacon, braunschweiger, Italian sausage, and andouille sausage. Since we hardly ever buy meat this was a real treat and it made me wish I lived near a butcher that employed the creative portion of their brain. The Smoking goose was Laura's favorite stop by a long shot. We will return again if we're ever in town.

Our next stop was our favorite brewery stop of the whole visit, Bier Brewery. Of the 12 beers we sampled we enjoyed all but one. Which made it hard to choose just one for our growler. Since our stomachs were empty at this point we didn't hang out for the desired pint. One new Stainless growler later we took off feeling quite happy, and a bit sad since we don't ever find ourselves in that part of Indy ever.

After that we split a flight from Brugge Brassier. They are in the hip neighborhood Broad Ripple. The beers were unique and intriguing, one was pink and made with boysenberry and another that was had was a boozy 12%er with cardamon. That was neat because the spice completely hid that boozy character. I'll be excited to go back sometime to eat and drink.

Our last brew stop was at Thr3e Wise Men in Broad Ripple. This is a brewery that needs to get more taps going. With 6 taps, two of them IPAs and a Coffee Beer we were limited to a brown ale or two lighter styles. They two beers that we tried were solidly good which is why I wanted more. Laura and I split some appetizers here and relaxed for awhile before we left with our third growler for the day.

We finished Laura's Birthday with a wonderful dinner at The Iron Gate in Crawfordsville and enjoyed some of my recently thawed birthday cake at home in our new feeties. Altogether it was a grand day.

There were multiple points in the day were I happily reaffirmed why it is I married this wonderful 29 year-old. We get along so good, we have so many similar interests, and we both love to eat, drink, and smile. Cheers!

Not a bad haul for the day!

Hows my little Whiskey Traveller?

I think one of my favorite things about having several whiskeys on hand is trying them back to back. You can't really appreciate subtle flavors until you try some different ones right in a row. This session was a fun one with a few surprises and only one returning bottle from the last tasting. About six months ago I had a bunch of Rye whiskeys that I'm still kicking myself for not tasting side by side.

 I tried to line them up from most mild to the most bold/harsh. I was pretty close but there were a couple of surprises.

Beer Barrel Bourbon.
Its got a creamy aroma and its taste is smooth, a pleasant burn finishes it.

Laura's Take:
Actually kind of enjoyed it, sweet and smooth.

Wathen's Single Barrel Kentucky Bourbon.
Really easy to drink, especially for being 94 proof. It smells nice and goes down easy, maybe a little too easy...

Laura's Take:
Little to no burn.

Gentleman Jack.
Smells like banana cream pie, tastes like a fake banana runt, but like whiskey. Not a lot of burn so it could be a good go to for on the rocks when out and about.

Laura's Take:
A screwcap? Pleasantly surprised, better than expected.

Cabin Fever.
I picked this up yesterday for $20 just to mix up my taste buds. My first reaction was is this even whiskey? It smells like butterscotch and goes down like dessert. If you can find this at the store buy it and it will be a great aperitif.

Laura's Take:
I would have a glass of this on ice! (a whiskey first for Laura!!)

(Ri)1.
This should be about how any 'average' whiskey should smell, slightly oaky with a hint of booze. There is a whole lot of burn with this one. Not my favorite.

Laura's Take:
That one tastes like medicine.

Four Roses Single Barrel 2011.
This still has lots of great aroma's after almost two years. The first instant I though wow the Ri is more harsh than the charcoal and booze struck and I immeadiately wished I had ice. Still a great drink but best diluted a bit.

Laura's Take:
It burns too much, but warms her tummy.

Booker's Bourbon.
At 63% this is a monster. There is hardly any aroma which either means the Ri burnt my nose or  its fairly light. As I was swishing it around my mouth I thought, hey this is really nice, a bit sweet and really smooth. Then it started to burn, sort of like a strong horseradish mixed with tobasco. The charcoal comes through light and nice.

Laura's Take:
I feel like I can breathe fire.

This was fun! I had no idea what to expect with the Cabin fever, mostly I was thinking a crummy alcoholy thing with a disappointing maple flavor, instead I got dessert! This isn't for everyone but if you're open to new things you might enjoy it. The Beer Barrel Bourbon was not like I remembered it in the glass. I think maybe the creamy flavor stayed behind in the two small sips I had, still its delicious. A few weeks ago we had it next to the dragon's milk beer that gives this whiskey its name, I highly recommend it if you can find it. It belonged after the Jack in smoothness but certainly before the (ri).