Monday, March 1, 2010

...Coming In Like a Lion

Oh February... where hast thou gone?

I find myself beginning the last month of the first quarter (in business parlance) wondering how I got here.  Where did January and February go?!  Granted, articles were written, festivals attended, events and new discoveries and so on.  But can it really be March, 2010 already?

Apparently it not only can be, but it is.  So be it.

Since this blog is not only about beer, here are some thoughts and musings of the past 2 months:

I have been reading Sam Calagione's Brewing Up a Business and am very impressed.  I am a big fan of Dogfish Head Brewery, and really like most of their beers.  It is very eye-opening to see things down the right way and have them equated with a successful business.  I have seen many other companies doing the opposite, and they are miserable places to work.

More people seem to be taking notice of the difference between "beer geeks" and "beer snobs".  I talked about it in a Hop Press article a few months back, but have now seen it pop up in other articles and as a topic of discussion.  Beer snobs do a disservice to the industry they purport to love.  Beer geeks uplift it.

The Winter Olympics were a lot of fun to watch.  I would love to visit Vancouver again some day now that I am an adult.  I really enjoyed the opening ceremonies and most of the games I watched.  However, NBC's decision to air the majority of the hockey games - including the USA v Canada (preliminary) game - on their cable channels was a huge disservice to their non-cable audience.  And then to go a step further and offer it streaming online was great... until you discovered that even online, you had to be a cable subscriber.  NBC = FAIL.

Olympics II: The men's hockey tournament was exceptional.  Even though the USA lost, the level of play was a joy to watch from every team.  And the level of class each team displayed regardless of victory or defeat should be a model for athletes world-wide (including prima-donna Russian figure skating men).  Call Alexander Ovechkin a show-boat, but you didn't hear him bad-mouthing Team Canada after losing.

January and February are typically cold months everywhere in the northern hemisphere, even in Florida.  However, in the past 15 years that I have lived here, I have never experienced this many "cold" days.  By cold, I mean in the 50's or below.  Now, before those in snowy climes start guffawing and pointing and shaking their heads, it should be pointed out that people live in Florida mostly because it does NOT get snowy and icy and frigid.  People who live in those Hoth-like locales are there by choice.  I am tired of being cold all the time.  But it does make for good stout, porter, and barley-wine drinking weather.

I have sampled the Three Halos Rum Porter now a few times since bottling.  This most recent test revealed a really, really good beer.  Not as much rum flavor as I had hoped, but its there.  Cheers, my friends.

My journey up to Dunedin Brewery for the Stogie and Stout event was excellent.  I fell in love with stouts while living in Sonoma, and they were my beer of choice for many years.  I was reminded why at the S&S.  Full, rich, dark, and flavorful... I need to remember that its not always ONLY about hops...

The coming weeks hold several beer-related events and happenings which will be detailed out on Examiner.com and the Hop Press.  I am also going to try to be more present here on Beer for the Daddy.  Until then, relax and have a homebrew or craft beer...

1 comment:

  1. Message from Hoth--We're having a gorgeous day here. 40-45 degrees and sunny as can be.

    Love this post and all that it touches upon, but I'm most excited to hear that the Three Halos is wonderful. I want some!

    ReplyDelete