Yorkshire Stingo
Samuel Smith
Tadcaster Brewery
8% ABV

Dark amber to brown-Susprisingly light color, bottle is Dark brown.

Wondrous beer, maybe the most complex I have ever tasted.
I know this flavor from somewhere…Flan maybe? Dry, oakey finish.  I don’t want to say anymore and spoil it for you.  Well done Sam Smith, definitely in my top 5 of all time, (maybe top 1!)
Go find this beer!  Buy two and put one away to age.  This was a limited production, so I don’t know how many are out there. It’s pricey, but when you break it down by each, individual flavor, it’s pretty cheap.  This beer could easily sway the beer vs. wine debate.

Saaalut!!!

10 Extra large, Grade A Bananas!

(Did you ever make an A on a test before the curve?  Do you remember how it felt?  That’s how Yorkshire Stingo feels!)

Today was a pretty good day.  Two out of the three public restrooms I stopped in, had Xlerator hand dryers, (the spelling’s right, I looked it up).  Man I freakin’ love those things!  My hands were completely dry before the timer ran out!  At the second hand dryer, I even had time to notice that if you put your palms loosely together, under the Xlerator, you can make a really funny noise that is appropriate for the surroundings.  The other restroom I stopped in had an automatic towel dispenser which worked, so that was ok.  Of course, the towels came out too short, so I had to get two.  By the time the second towel was dispensed, an older gentleman had rushed past me, gone into a stall and locked the door.  Needless to say, my hands were still a little damp when I left that restroom.

                                              We all feel a little crazy now and then.  Never assume that you’re the one that’s crazy, and everyone else is completely sane.  Everybody’s crazy!  (Some more than others.)  Now, if you KNOW for sure that you are 100% sane, you might be the craziest one of us all!  Work ethic, exercise, religion, booze, drugs, sex, causes, etc., can all help hide away the crazy, but it’s still there.  Stay busy: That helps keep it away.  If you ever take the time to stop and look at it all, you’ll see; but be careful opening that door.  Its like that hall closet.  Once all the shit, that you’ve been stuffing away for years, comes crashing out into the floor, you can’t just shut the door.

A lot of times, when I’m talking to someone, I notice that we are making the exact same gestures.  If my arms are crossed, their arms are crossed.  If my face is resting in my right hand, their face is resting in their right hand.  If my pants are down around my ankles, well, you get the picture.  The question is, who made the gesture first?  I’ve always assumed that I was copying them, and I would quickly change whatever it is I was doing.  But maybe, they were the ones copying me!  Maybe I was winning the subconscious battle and they felt more comfortable with themselves by copying me!  Then again, maybe not.

Stone Levitation Ale
4.4% ABV
Stone Brewing Co.
Escondido, CA

Dark amber color.

Him’s an itty-bitty, teeny-weeny Arrogant Bastard…Ittin’ him.
You’re not foolin’ anybody, Stone Brewery!  Trying to masquerade this huge, hoppy,  flavorful beer off as a low alcohol session beer?   Seriously???
Seriously, this a hopped-up amber ale, that is very well balanced.  It may be a little bitter for non-hopheads, but I think it’s just right.  Maybe a little pricey for a session beer, but you can tell there’s a lot of work behind this one.  I had a draft that was much darker than the bottled one I’m having now, but it was just as good, if not better.

Saaalut!

8.5 bananas!

Heresy Imperial Stout Aged in Oak Barrels
8% ABV
Weyerbacher Brewing Co.
Easton, PA
Color-Dark as night.  I swear I saw two red pig eyes in there looking back at me!

Aroma-Vanilla, a little dark and toasted malt, peppery hops.

Taste – Great stout start, strong vanilla/oak in the middle, good hoppy/coffee finish.  This is good, real good!  Woo!  There’s the alcohol!  Better slow down and savor this one for a while…I’ll get back to you.  Great, full mouth feel.  Good quality oaked aged stout, highly recommended!
Saaalut!
8 bananas.

I don’t know when fist bumping first started, but it is rapidly taking over and killing the high five.  My first exposure to the bump was at a dive bar across from my old apartment.  They had dart tournaments one night a week.  I wasn’t a regular, but I did get to compete occasionally.  We always had a dartboard when I was in college.  I wasn’t great, but and I did score much better at darts than I ever did in my classes.  Anyway, in the dart tournaments, you were randomly assigned a partner.  I knew how to play darts, but I didn’t know the ins and outs of dart etiquette.  Every time I would score well, my partner would give me the dreaded fist bump and say, “Good darts.”  While I was unfamiliar with the tradition of fist bumping, I went along with it just to fit in with the uber-cool dart community.

I’ve since had time to reflect on fist bumping and I am now totally against it.  There’s no worse feeling than going in for a high five and realizing that your partner is presenting a solid fist.  Do you quickly close your hand and stumble into a weak wristed, half closed hand, fist bump?  Or do you hold strong with your high five and awkwardly slap their closed fist?   It’s really a no-win situation.  I have decided that I will remain open handed and gently wrap my fingers around their closed fist.  I will then hold onto their hand and just look into their eyes and smile, until they uncomfortably jerk their hand away.  I believe this will effectively end the fist bump phenomenon, one uncomfortable hand holding exchange at a time.