Beer of the blog #3 OK so not bad for being alone in a hotel room with a car full of beer, I'm only on #3. Continuing with my nostalgia trip of the original US micros I'm drinking a Bigfoot Ale from Sierra Nevada. This may have been one of the original US extreme beers at 9.6 % a.b.v. As with the Liberty ale it has gone from the extreme to mainstream. I'm not sure how this beer ages, this is a 2007 vintage and as such is very green, alot of green apple(acetaldehyde) flavor, and the hop flavor is a bit on the harsh side. Most modern US barley wines would fight this with a huge malt punch, not Bigfoot. It does have a fair hop presence as you would expect for a Sierra Nevada beer. Personally I would age this beer for a few more months were I not trapped in a hotel room in Iowa. Now that we are beginning to see some Western wildlife in the midwest(cougars, people escaping the madness that is the west coast for a better life, etc) no doubt the Bigfoot is not far behind Oh wait what's this? http://www.angelfire.com/mn2/mnbf/main.html

Beer of the Blog #2: OK it's 5.30 now and I've only made it to beer #2. So while enjoying learning about the 8 fold path of Budhism where better to drink a beer from than from the centre of trend based spiritualism San Francisco. Yes whether it's creating counter culture musicians who later become the boring mainstream (yay flowerpower), or creating a foil for the right wing nut jobs like Mr Bill O'Reilly you can always rely on folk from San Francisco to show a detachment from reality, which is the ultimate point of spirtuality in the end so I gues that makes sense.
Anyway what does that have to do with beer, well I am currently drinking an Anchor Liberty Ale. This was at one stage one of the single most hoppy beers out there. As such it became a favorite of many drinkers. Then along came Alpha King and the rest is history. In some ways this beer is like the eightfold path, it is neither the indulgent path of too many hops, nor the self deprivation of too little hops. Maybe drinking beer can be a spiritual experience.

Stranded in Mason City,IA

Could be an interesting day, it 2.45 pm the interstates are closed because of snow, and I am in the days inn in Mason City. So the question is what the hell am I going to do for the next 18 hours until the interstates hopefully reopen in the morning. Lots of internet trawling, no doubt a strength session of push ups, plyometrics some blogging, ..... oh but wait I made my monthly stop at John's Grocery in Iowa City last night, I have a months supply of very fine beer in my car. Hmmmm

Beer of the Blog #1 Vyskovske Pivo Pilsner. The Czechs invented golden lagers, the Germans stole the yeast and became world famous for making them. Recent years have seen the begining of some redress for this crime. This is a stereotypical example of the style, which is not a bad thing. A touch of diacetyl to smooth out the bitterness, some Saaz, or at least bohemian hop charecter and as with all imported beers a touch of oxdation. Still a solid beer, if it were fresher I would drink a lot of it. I am still looking for some signs of this Anheuser Bush/Budvar distribution deal, if it brings my fovorite Czech beer into the country in a fresh condition I may forgive the Busch babies for the sin of Winter Bourbon Ale.