beer grills money

(Jim Chanos + Michael Burry) vs. Elon Musk

2021-01-12T13:51:00.004-08:00

It's been a long time since I updated. I usually update once a year, but I missed the mark. I figured I should update before everything goes to zero.

I am a fan of both Michael Burry and Jim Chanos, and I seem to have walked into a highly speculative stock, by way of a humourous War of Currents (started in June of 2016).

The screenshots which look like they were taken on a flip phone are the latest. I think something might be off with dividend reinvestment:

The results look pretty lopsided right now...

War of Currents Update

2017-02-11T07:41:00.000-08:00

Been too long. Lazy. Ain't like anyone is be reading this.

TSLA technically in the lead if there were no dividends.

November Update

2016-11-12T07:49:00.003-08:00

Lazy, no clever listicle titles.

War of Currents Septemberuary Update

2016-10-15T08:57:00.003-07:00

Haiku update.

I'm behind a week.
The screenshot will self-describe.
Folly, all I see.

Why Tesla Continues to Live in Edison's Shadow (August War of Currents Update)

2016-09-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

Third update--the longest streak on beergrillsmoney.

Not too much going on here.

Tesla - Always in the news. Updates on Tesla would just be adding to the echo chamber.

Edison - Continues to be boring and not in the headlines, unless you're looking. This was the expectation going in. However, ConEd did come up as I was binging the Netflix Series - The Get Down and they were talking about the 1977 Blackout, and Consolidated Edison was all up in the mix. Not news, but synchronicity nevertheless.

S&P500 - The new leader. Macroeconomic conditions continue to raise concerns, but would have impact to all of the securities in this War of Currents.

Slow and steady is winning the race. Stay tuned for the next installment in this series of bad ideas.

Here's the monthly screenshot. Things actually don't look good overall, but it's clear who be winnin'

The Top 11 Reasons Tesla Will Lose to Edison (July War of Currents Update)

2016-08-07T17:26:00.003-07:00

Here's the July update for the War of Currents experiment. Edison remains in a slight lead. Tesla made up some ground, but then the market was displeased with the incestuous acquisition. The post will be short, but longer than a haiku. This is the most updates since forever.

Election fun continues, and it's no secret that there is a market correlation with elections.

The Olympics have started.

Click baitin' that title!

June War of Currents Update

2016-07-11T05:46:00.001-07:00

As promised, I said I would be providing updates to the War of Currents experiment. A lot has happened since the experiment started (not exhaustive, and in no specific order) a little over one month ago:

The Golden State Warriors wake a sleeping giant
Brexit - Enough to get George Soros all back up in the market and in the news.
Driver dies while Tesla autopilot is engaged.
Police vs. Non-police stuff - Where, somewhat related to the previous, used killer robots.
RIP Elie Wiesel.
RIP Justin Bokma - Probably didn't show up on many people's radar--classic video part (features an Oakland spot, which was rare at the time). He intervened in a shooting and lost his life in the process.

There is an updates page, for which I will probably make adjustments to the time scale as the number of entries grows.

A screen capture from the brokerage account, consistent with the updates page, where Edison is ahead:

There are additional thoughts and randoms to cull, but I figured I would get the update out.

To make the post seem longer, here's the video part which was referenced earlier.

The I-Wish-I-Owned-Multiple-Comapnies-And-Could-Have-One-Buy-The-Other Update

2016-06-22T19:05:00.004-07:00

Just an interesting update, while I still care to update this thing. I don't normally follow the dealings of the real life Tony Stark, or his companies, I must admit that with the advent of the experiment I have been watching a bit more. Supplemental to the foregoing, Google has started to flag Tesla/Musk related articles for me.

I won't echo the news, and will keep it short. One article had an interesting remark:

Musk has said that the directors with personal stakes in the deal will recuse themselves from board discussions at both companies. But the notion that the boards can possibly judge this deal independently is a joke.

Before I get on some resentful hate train, I always think of two quotes:

How can we condemn tyrants, when we are much worse--we have the same impulses, but lack the opportunity to indulge them.

--Musonius Rufus

Extending from that:

Bless that which you want

-- Commonly associated with Huna Philosophy

Or bless that which you (or your id) want, or secretly desire...

Don't get used to these updates, but it does look like Edison is taking a clear lead.

Lo-fi update

2016-06-15T05:15:00.001-07:00

I created a low budget update page for the War of Currents experiment. The link can also be found in the title bar above.

War of Currents (Tesla vs. Edison vs. Hometown)

2016-06-07T19:52:00.001-07:00

The Tesla Model 3 pre-order has been around since 2016/03/21 followed by noise, hype, and opinions. One such opinion was that this is was an interest free loan for Tesla, or a very large kickstarter campaign. The popularity of the pre-order is to the point where I know some individuals who have purchased more than one slot. Instead of observing yet another trend, I figured it was time to get going with an experiment. As they say, it's better to be late and sorry.

A quick list of experiments, which were on the I-had-the-idea-at-the-time-and-never-did-it list:

Buy equivalent amount of AAPL with every iPod release (then iPhone).
Spend the same amount on stock as I did at a specific retailer (examples include, AMZN, ZU, NFLX, JWN, WFM,) like a low budget Peter Lynch.
Spend the same amount of money that would go into a FEMBA program into the market, and see what would come out more ahead.
Pick one hyped stock and pick one boring value play in the same industry or related in some funny way (similar to Jason Zweig CSCO/SYY in the Intelligent Investor).
Buy shares of Gimlet when there was a chance.
Go long on everything that these guys messed with.

While not all of these experiments would not have been profitable, but most certainly fun, I have regretted never doing anything. Besides, it's not about profit, but it's about the story of r(iches|uin).

In view of the foregoing, I am finally going to get an experiment going.

The Experiment

Setup

Buy $1,000 (or close to) of Tesla, which would be the same as a Model 3 pre-order.
Buy $1,000 (or close to) of ED, a boring dividend yielding stock. More from the man himself.
Buy $1,000 (or close to) of VOO, the original, more boring, index fund.

What experiment would be complete without comparing against the S&P 500? Also, Hometown Buffett has recommended a number of times going with boring index funds. The aforementioned is also why I didn't buy BRK.

I'm also using a new brokerage, and am unsure if I'll be able to reinvest applicable dividends--grrr.

Points of (intentional) synchronicity:

Off to the races...

During

Try to update monthly, to put this useless blog space to work.

With blog-based experiments, I always like when people post updates and actually stick with them for some significant amount of time (e.g. dshort, Decision Moose, and this guy for awhile).
What's often the case (me) is that people do one big initial post and never update.

When Will It End?

The end of the experiment will be once the Model 3 hits the streets.
There is the chance they will never hit the streets.
It's very likely everything will just go bad.
Being self-aware, I'm sure I will forget about this experiment altogether.

Already letting the laziness kick-in, I will setup an update spreadsheet at some point. In the meantime here is a cropped screenshot of the initial experiment setup.

A post

2015-02-01T06:55:00.003-08:00

every two years.

Who checks this

2013-01-17T20:35:00.001-08:00

Anyone?

BGM international edition...

2010-04-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

Insert blog cliche here: It's been awhile since I posted. No excuses but plenty of laziness.

Today's review is a now tardy, BGM international report/review. I recently went abroad to the land of South Korea for a recent trip. Although I'd like to stay ethnically anonymous in these posts, I suppose it's only avoidable for so long. Then again, I did a post on marinating meat in kimchi juice.

I had an opportunity for lots of B lots of G not too much M. I also took plenty of off-center and macro pictures that are becoming derivatively BGM. My cameras, while cheap, do have non macro modes... I think.

Hit the jump, but beware there are lots of words and pictures.

Korea, and East Asia in general, is known for a rich drinking culture. To drink every night is not seen as a bad thing, but something that is normal as eating food. I'm reminded of the countless documentaries on worldwide alcohol consumption and they say that in countries other than the teetotaling U.S. you hear that drinking nightly is a common occurrence. Korea is certainly no exception. When I say Korea, just assume I mean South Korea, because you know that the only people drinking in North Korea is Kim Jong Il, who is supposedly one of Hennessy's largest buyers.

As a side note, the only reason why I clarify North/South is because that's a common question that people ask, "Are you from the North or South?" It'd be hard for me to be here right now blogging about the frivolities of life if I was from the North.

Korea has many subtle rules when it comes to imbibement. I won't waste your time by re-stating what has already been described at sufficient detail at wikipalooza. Some highlights:

- When drinking with people older than you: receive with two hands, cover up your drink, and turn away then drink.

- There will come a time during the course of a dinner when the adult will give you his cup and then you have to take it and then have a shot from his glass. What this means is that for everyone older than you at the table, you will have that many shots as a minimum.

- It seems that the modus operandi is to drink low (15% or so) ABV drinks, but lots of it. Depending on your preferences, this could be more dangerous than drinking lots of 40-50% ABV since it creeps up on you. Some things that creep up on you are bad like a slow speed drive by shooting. But to others, slow and steady wins the race.

- If your glass is empty, it will be filled.

There are some others, but that's the gist. Naturally, the rules appear to get more relaxed as more is consumed. These rules are essentially a systematic path to drunkenness mixed with some Confucian principles. Lots of rules come about to dress up what are normally surly activities

It seems that one of the first questions they ask you there is: "Do you drink well?" That's closely followed by, "Let's have a drink." I have a Great Uncle that said whilst drinking me under the table:

"As long as you do what you're supposed to do, and drink a little, you'll be fine."

Aside from the standard < 5 dollar bottles of soju, I did get to have what I have been looking forward to trying. Andong soju is a type of soju that is at 40%. I was able to try two different types of Andong soju, but I didn't get to photograph one of them. I don't get why people don't drink this more in Korea considering the taste carries far more depth of flavour than the standard garbage soju. Andong soju is very sweet and smooth, reminiscent of a Genevieve gin (without the juniper flavouring of course). I haven't found a place in the states that carries it, but if/when I do, I will be stocking up. When in Andong, there were many stores that specialized in carrying all sorts of liquor like a Mom 'n' Pop Total Wine.

The microbrewing craze is non-existent in Korea, but instead there are many regional types of alcohol with 12 types being designated as Important Intangible Cultural Properties of Korea. There are people that have clubs there like home beer brewing clubs here, but instead they make their own liquors. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to infiltrate this culture. Maybe next time.

I did also get to try another bottle of stuff called shinsunju. Perhaps it's nothing special but the owner of the restaurant that gave it to us had received it as a present and wanted to share it with us. It's a bit sweet to the taste and not too grainy. One thing I did notice about Korea: the countryside is where life is slower, people more hospitable, food fresher, and the liquor sweeter.

In all, my trip was a good one. I'll admit, I did miss good a good solid IPA or a bone-in Ribeye, but everyone has their BGM around the world.

In the airport I hit up some canned Makgeolli to send me off onto what was the most turbulent flight I've ever had. I've never looked but this stuff comes in drink boxes, big bottles, small bottles, gourds or anything else. Sweet and to be consumed with kimchi. Man cannot live on kimchi alone.

How can they not have IPA but they can manage to have hipsters? Oh, the humanity!

Teriyaki drumsticks with yummy veggies

2010-04-06T21:38:00.000-07:00

Tonight I grilled some leftover food from a birthday celebration over the weekend. I had about 10 chicken drumsticks marinating in teriyaki, garlic and black pepper for a couple days. Also had some zucchini and sweet mini bell peppers I needed to get rid of. So much food plus the fact that I got off work late meant it's gas grill night. The Weber Vegetable Basket is a useful tool that lets you grill vegetables without fear of having your food fall sacrifice to the grill gods. It hogs up half of my 3-burner but it's well worth the convenience. For the drumsticks, I kept it on low heat (around 275-300F) for about 25 minutes. The skin came out bronzed and crispy. And since it's not shitty breast meat, it was juicy and tender. However the low heat I needed for the chicken wasn't quite hot enough to char the veggies. O well. And don't forget the Lagunitas!

Hickory Ass Smoked Chicken Thighs (in the rain)

2010-03-31T21:33:00.000-07:00

It's cold, it's rainy and it's late. Not optimal grilling conditions. But it's springtime in California--why the hell not? So I fired up the chimney on top of the Smokey Joe and cooked some chicken thighs (breast meat sucks).

1. Soak a little bit of hickory chips in your favorite liquid. I was drinking Stone Pale Ale again so I soaked the chips in that. I didn't use too many chips since hickory is supposedly too strong for chicken, but it's all I got. I need to find me some apple or cherry chips.

2. Lightly coat the chicken thighs in olive oil. Then apply the rub. I used kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, onion powder, paprika, oregano, cajun seasoning and fresh minced garlic.

3. Prepare a 2-zone fire for indirect cooking. Toss the hickory chips over the charcoal.

4. Cook the chicken over indirect heat for about 30-40 minutes. I was maintaining a temperature between 350-400. Since I was indirect grilling on a Smokey Joe, there wasn't much room. Every 8 minutes or so I had to flip and rotate to make sure all the pieces were evenly cooked.

Looks good huh? Smells and tastes even better. Juicy, smoky and cooked to perfect doneness. It's 9pm and I'm starved. Chow time!

negative swap spread pale ale...

2010-03-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

I am by no means an expert in the area (or any area for that matter) that is discussed in this post.

I wanted to do a little research into why a negative swap spread is such big news these days. If you haven't heard: check the news.

It's rare for me to post about the non-beer aspect of BGM. This post is going to be a textual romp into nebulousness grounded firmly on cursory understanding.

If I haven't scared you off then hit the jump and read some more.

First: A swap is where you have two parties that enter into an agreement for X time period on some notional amount of money. Party A pays a fixed rate on this amount, while receiving a floating rate of interest, while party B does the opposite (paying a floating rate while receiving a fixed rate). If rates rise then it favours A, and if it falls it favours B. I know this is an elementary explanation (excepting LIBOR etc.), but hopefully it will suffice.

That being said, the spread is the difference between the fixed rate of this agreement vs. a treasury rate of the corresponding maturity. Spreads are typically denominated in basis points (1% = 100 basis points). If the spread is positive that represents the "risk" premium associated with the original agreement. The conventional wisdom is (potentially becoming was) that a US Treasury is risk free or rock solid (the supposed basis of the value of our American dollar). In other words, a counterparty is less likely to pay you back then the government itself.

Recently, the swap spread has gone negative. A negative swap spread is at least a cause for consideration. Whether or not you believe it to be a cause for worry is up to the individual. From what I can tell a few explanations to the negative spread are coming about. Since the root causes these are all speculative, the possibilities are infinite. Any scenario or combination of scenarios could be possible.

Some interpretations:

In light of the conventional wisdom expressed earlier, the immediate conclusion could be that counterparty risk has decreased below the risk associated with sovereign debt. This is due to the government printing out money. In other words, the government is less likely to pay you back versus a counterparty agreement. If this is the case, that is bad; very bad. My guess is that people who adhere to the Austrian school of economics would tend to believe this one.

The media however tried to offer up another explanation which is that it is simply corporations hedging the selling of fixed- rate securities, which is being framed as something benign. I don't know that it's possible though that they could drive up the demand for treasuries that much, but perhaps combined with the printing of money this could be the case.

Another explanation is that this is simply a technical artifact that is precipitated by the government re-purchase of all of the toxic assets, which removed 1 trillion dollars of demand for risk this squeezing the two together. Simply put, a reaction to the injection of capital to re-purchase toxic assets.

Of the explanations I tend to believe that the intuitive one may be the more correct one. Perhaps the creation of artificial money at a breakneck pace is finally bursting at the seams. All the while the continuation steep yield curve exacerbate conditions. If these are in fact signs of a genuine bubble of sovereign debt, then it's hard not to paint a bleak picture.

Regardless of the explanation, it's something interesting that should be noted. What do you guys all think?

New spring season, new grilling toys!

2010-03-21T13:23:00.000-07:00

In anticipation of sunnier days and warmer weather, for the past month I've been dreaming of grilling over the aromas and challenge of charcoal. For the past year I've really enjoyed my Weber Spirit E-310 gas grill. However the more I grill over propane fed flames, the more curiosity builds in me to also discover the darker side, charcoal grilling. You've probably heard all the arguments before--convenience vs flavor, precision vs spontaneity, ease vs raw primal instincts. Because I live on my own I decided on the Weber Smokey Joe Gold. It's the perfect grill for a meal for one (or even up to 4). I chose this over the silver's supposedly superior venting in favor of the gold's portability, in case I ever want to take it camping or tailgating. Also a chimney is a must-have to quickly and efficiently light your fuel. And for the next couple weeks, Costco has a coupon special on Kingsford Competition Briquets. These coals offer a compromise between their traditional briquettes and lump.

For anyone wanting to master charcoal grilling, I recommend this cookbook: Weber's Charcoal Grilling: The Art of Cooking with Live Fire. In addition to recipes on all meats, veggies and desserts, this book offers essential techniques on everything you need to know about grilling and barbecuing over charcoal. I use it more as a reference manual but it also offers a wide selection of tasty recipes. This is actually the second rec on this blog for this book.

The first recipe I tried from this book is Mike's Rib-Eyes with Award-Winning Rub (by Mike McGrath). The rub consists of kosher salt, coarsely ground black pepper, dried oregano, dried thyme, paprika and minced garlic. Eager to try the hickory chips I got, I also threw a handful of soaked ones on the charcoal. I left the steak on the grill about 8 minutes and it cooked to medium. I should have cooked it about 6 minutes since there isn't much distance between the charcoal and the cooking grate on the Smokey Joe. But boy did it turn out delicious. The smoky flavor and aroma is something you can't get anywhere else. The hickory and charcoal added a touch that I've never experienced on a gas grill. With all the different rubs, meats, woods, sauces, and charcoals out there, the potential is limitless. I can't wait to fire up the SJG again.

Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale

2010-03-21T00:18:00.000-07:00

The lengths that the hops had to travel for this beer are almost as long as its name. The hops come all the way from New Zealand, blended with North American malts to make a damn fine pairing. This beer pours a murky dark amber with ample thick head--the kind that clings to the glass and just doesn't quit. It has a slight citrus taste which leads to a bitter hoppy finish. Very well balanced and enjoyable. 24 oz of 6.7% ABV is givin' me a buzz. Mission accomplished. Kudos to you, SN!

Deschutes Inversion IPA

2010-03-07T21:15:00.000-08:00

Better known for its Mirror Pond Pale Ale and Black Butte Porter, Deschutes Brewery from Bend, OR puts out some decent IPAs. We tried the Red Chair last week during our tasting, and tonight I present their Inversion IPA. The bottle has cool little hops brailled (I couldn't think of another word) on the glass [see fuzzy pic to right]. The Inversion pours a dark amber with little head. Smell and initial taste are very caramel malty. The aftertaste is a sweet citrusy. Probably one of the sweetest IPAs I've had. It isn't until the after aftertaste that the subdued bitterness of the hops appears. A good beer to just chill to on a hot day. Too bad it's a wintery Sunday night.

I think we might have to do an OR brewery tour someday. So many breweries to visit, so little time. So when's that Marin/Sonoma trip, boys? Let's take baby steps first.

Firehouse Brewing IPA

2010-03-06T20:53:00.000-08:00

Since my co-blogger is stuck with crappy lagers from a foreign land, I'm left here to hold down (or up) the fort. During our SD brewery tour a few months back, we had a chance to visit Firehouse Brewing. It's a small brewery that caters mostly to local bars and restaurants. This brewery was started by a couple firefighters, hence how they got their name. Now there's also a Firehouse Brewing in South Dakota and a Firehouse Grill and Brewery in Sunnyvale, CA. I don't think any of the three are affiliated with one another--just a common name I guess.

On to the beer. This IPA pours golden and clear. It smells pretty fruity, not much hop at all. There's a medium hop taste upfront, but there's barely any aftertaste. It's almost like an IPA light if one ever existed. On our visit there, I remember the brown ale was pretty tasty. They make quality beers but there isn't anything special to separate it. If they had it around at more places, I'd get it once in a while. It's always good to support the little guys too. Who's down for SD brewery tour part v. 2010?

Inventory Reduction 2/26/10

2010-02-28T22:09:00.000-08:00

After hoarding way too much beer for one man to safely finish over the last few months, I had to reduce inventory. So I invited a few beer buddies over for a tasting. I had originally planned to taste around a dozen beers, but we ended up only trying 5. Pretty sad night. Two guys bailed last minute. We probably shouldn't have pregamed during spaghetti dinner. And I think we were trying to be responsible drunks (?). On the menu was a few familiar brews and a couple new ones. We had Deschutes Red Chair IPA, Anderson Valley 20th Anniversary IIPA, Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Extra!, Left Coast Hop Juice DIPA, and Stone Arrogant Bastard. I'd have to say the best of the night was the Lagu. I don't even know what kinda ale it was, but it was the tastiest of the bunch. The Anderson Valley needed more hop. The Left Coast was real flat, something I'd expect from a juice, not a beer. Maybe that's why it's called juice, or maybe it was a defective bottle. I still have a lotta beers to try so we'll probably do another of these nights. Gotta reduce then reload. And we were bumpin Tupac, Julie Plug, and Outlawz/Tupac. That explains why Tupac had comments in our Google spreadsheet tasting notes.

2010 Russian River Pliny The Younger

2010-02-16T19:51:00.000-08:00

calm before the storm/the perfect storm

On Tuesday, February 16, 2010 I had the opportunity to go to Hollingshead's in order to try out the Russian River Pliny The Younger. Of all of the beers reviewed here, this beer above all should need no introduction. Pliny The Younger comes out once a year in early February and with each year the brew disappears even more quickly. This year the brew disappeared within 10 hours at the Brewery when originally projected to last longer than a day. Some even drove across the country to get a taste and were out of luck (Pliny Kaput!). Vinnie from Russian River offers an insightful perspective and has commented on in great deatail.

Caution: Lots of pictures and words after the jump.

Due to the fact that Russian River does not make a bad brew, Pliny the Younger has become hailed as 'the holy grail' of IPAs. It would be foolish not to admit that the limited nature of the beer also contributes to its greatness. The beer is so famous that when talking to other hop heads about beer, it's very common for the question to arise, "have you tried Pliny the Younger?" Having had Younger is an experience that is bragged about as if you're coming back down the mountain with 15, crash... 10 commandments (if you didn't get the reference).

I was unable to attend San Francisco Beer Week this year so I had to go about hunting around down here for PTY. Thankfully Hollingshead's got what was reported to be the largest supply of Pliny The Younger in Southern California. When I called them they told me that about a hundred people had called before me. Combined with the fact that the release coincided with a holiday, I figured the Pliny supply would vanish quicker than anticipated.

We arrived at Hollingshead's about 45 minutes before the 10am tapping. There were about 5-6 people already waiting around and talking about beer. By the time we were within the 10 minute mark there were at least 50-60 people waiting in line. If you've been to Hollingshead's you know this means elbow-to-elbow.

The clock finally struck 10am. Once we got our hands on the ale we found a table and had a sip...

What I am about to say will be viewed as heresy or unappreciative by some, but let me say up front (people never read disclaimers) that I do love everything Russian River makes, and the following comments in no way mean that I did not like Pliny the Younger.

The first word that came to mind after the first sip was "hype". For me personally, I hate waiting in lines or taking part in over-hyped events (see: Avatar). Waiting for Pliny The Younger did nothing but raise my expectations of this beer. I know it's not fair to the brewers but it's just the laws of cognitive sciences/development. I know good things come to those who wait, but like tube socks, I simply dislike waiting in lines for anything. I chose to wait in the name of good beer.

After seeing the line go out the door, the comments from the Hollingshead's guy was: "I don't know why people love this stuff, it tastes like grapefruit juice to me!" I'm sure he was joking as the fellows at Hollingshead's know Vinnie and the Russian River guys well. I, along with other who heard the comments would certainly agree with the off-the-cuff assessment.

The Younger is a heavily citrus driven bitterness with not an extreme amount of complexity. Despite being technically high in IBUs and hop concentration, the beer is dangerously smooth. The finish is not over powering and the palate is not ruined afterwards. This is an IPA that is extremely drinkable. Of the triple hopped IPAs this is by far the most drinkable one I've had.

This is an excellent beer along the lines of the AleSmith YuleSmith (drinkable and tasty IPAs). Despite being a triple IPA it is not a kick-you-in-the-balls bitter. I believe the accomplishment in this brew is how they managed to triple hop and dry hop four different times, and not make it come out like a liquid hop pellet (which actually is something I'd like). This is something that is very enjoyable and not something you have to fight (I have a bias towards brews that put up a good fight).

As I was worked my way through my second glass I had "The Bernie" sandwich which is pastrami + Danish Bleu Cheese + Mayo on Squaw. I've never had melted Bleu with pastrami but the sandwich was outstanding. The savory of the pastrami worked well with the cheese and the sweetness of the squaw. This ended up going well with my Pliny the Younger (light, crisp, and flavourful) and wrapped up my tasting session nicely.

In a way I was letdown by this beer not because of taste reasons, but because I hate being part of a hype-based echo chamber. It's funny because I had a conversation with someone at a neighbouring table who waited with me in line earlier. In giving quick descriptions we both simultaneously came on the word "hype" and how it does factor into the beer whether or not you want to admit it. Although we were in agreement, someone overhearing our conversation said "No, it's because it's good." Again, I'm not saying that it's a bad brew.

While Pliny is a good beer, it is limited. With all things that are limited, a feedback loop gets established where good beer feeds into buzz (about the beer not from the beer), and the buzz in turn feeds back into the good beer. This feedback loop can be dangerous because it can create this mentality where dissent is seen as ludicrous or disrespect etc. Maybe I'm not just talking about beer anymore....

I'm sure the number one question you're wondering is: Why don't they just bottle this stuff?

Vinnie (from Russian River): Many have emailed me asking why we don’t bottle the Younger; we still brew all the Pliny the Younger at our brewpub. Our bottling equipment is at our production brewery and we do not have a way to transport carbonated beer to our production brewery for bottling. If we decide to add another fermenter to our production brewery later this year we will have more flexibility and would hopefully make a larger batch their while still brewing some at our pub for the pub.

Maybe one day hop heads around the world will get their wish and it will be bottled. Until then, if you have a chance to drink this beer I highly recommend it. If you don't want to wait in lines and be part of "hype" then there are plenty of gourmet IPAs that are tasty and easy to drink. As one reviewer stated:

Pliny the Younger is the Apple iPad of beers – with all the hype, it can’t possibly live up to your expectations. Yes, it’s a very, very good “triple IPA” (if there is such a thing, but that’s a sacred cow for another time.) Could I pick it out of a line-up from other beers at the festival, or even guarantee that it’d be my favorite? No way.

I don't agree fully with the assessment because Apple is nowhere close to being a Russian River(!) haha, but the comment about it not being distinguishable from a line-up is one that rings true. Above all, be careful because PTY is easy to drink and this one could have you on a sidewalk heaving high IBU chunks.

Concluding this long review: this is not an aggressive brew, and I don't believe it was designed to be, but for a triple this is an extremely well balanced citrus-driven IPA. Try your best to not let the hype affect your thinking. So if you're capable of turning off your many years of evolutionary brain development with regards to expectation and hope; please do so before drinking this beer.

2010 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale

2010-02-11T19:48:00.000-08:00

The 2010 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale needs no introduction to beer fans around the world. This time I won't subject you to mindless drivel regarding the history of Bigfoot Ale. The conclusion is simple: The 2010 Bigfoot is a great Barleywine that you should stock up on.

The 2010 Bigfoot Ale is strong and hoppy up front but leaves quickly leaving a very crisp/citrus finish. The "boozy" flavour kicks in towards the end and doesn't overpower as I remember in previous years. The crescendo of strength is not too intense, but it still remains dynamic.

If memory serves me correct (and it rarely does), I would say the 2010 Bigfoot Ale is lighter than the previous iterations. I don't mean to say that that that the 2010 is a letdown. I believe this means is that the 2010 should age well and show a great evolution of taste.

Like the beast it was named after, some people have reported having a hard time finding the 2010 Bigfoot Ale. The Bigfoot Ale is seasonal, so stock up while you can. However, don't overcrowd your fridge because Sierra Nevada has some awesome brews lined up.

As part of their 30th anniversary the folks at Sierra are joining forces with notables like Fritz Maytag and coming out with brews that I'm certain will satisfy.

A quick summary/schedule of the announced special ales.

When	Name	Type
Mid-March	Fritz and Ken’s Ale	Imperial Stout
Mid-May	Charlie, Fred and Ken’s Ale	Imperial Helles Ale
Mid-July	Jack and Ken’s Ale	American Barleywine
Mid-October	Our Brewer’s Reserve	Oak Aged Ale (Oak-Aged Bigfoot + Celebration Ale + fresh Pale Ale

Of those scheduled for release I'm most excited to try the Mid-October Brewer's Reserve, followed by the Barleywine.

Fridge space management is a fine art, choose wisely!

BGM field trip

2010-02-06T09:22:00.000-08:00

(Courtesy of Hollingshead's)

If you like pictures and less text, then you came to the wrong place today...

It's not often I take the beer tasting game off-site given the premiums associated with it. I try to make it a worthwhile outing if I'm going to be tasting outside the home. Hollingshead's Deli in Santa Ana is widely accepted as the nexus of quality beer in Orange County, CA. They know their beer there, and you'd be hard-pressed to not taste/find a beer that they could recommend to you based on your likes. After viewing their tap list on their website, I was excited to try some IPAs I had not tried before. However, some that were advertised on the list weren't on tap (maybe gone already?).

What I ended up tasting was a mix of things I've tried vs. things I haven't. First off I tried the Karl Strauss Big Barrel DIPA which I could have sworn I reviewed here. Add one to the, "need-to-review" list. This is a great double IPA with strong citrus and crisp bitterness (characteristic of San Diego IPAs). Not a bad way to start of a session!

Next up I had the Stone Ruination IPA, a San Diego area staple. There isn't much to say that hasn't been said about this beer. If you're new to the IPA world and you just can't get enough, you need to get on this. Coming in at 100+ IBU this should satisfy your desire for hoppy goodness. You'll have to pardon the reversion to cell phone pictures; I didn't want to make people uncomfortable setting up shop.

The third brew was a new one to my play list.--The Avery IPA. There was some consternation among the owners of Hollingshead's whether or not this was an Imperial or not. It didn't taste like one (at about 69 IBU). Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of the bottle to do more research. I don't believe I've tried anything by the folks at Avery up until this point. They make a great solid brew. It wasn't in my opinion as bold or citrus driven as a prototypical West Coast IPA. This could very well be in part to a ruined palate via preceding beers.

There were some other notables taken in which were the AleSmith Wee Heavy Scotch Ale. I didn't get enough of a taste to give a proper review, but it's worth a second look. Also, there was an appearance of the Gouden Carolus Noel Belgian Strong Dark Ale. This was a thick full-bodied sweeter Belgian (when you're already knee deep in IPAs, everything tastes sweet afterwards). Both brews will have to be filed under the "Tasty, let's circle back and review at some point".

The finisher was a favourite of mine, the Moylan's Triple Hopsickle.

In terms of content, this post doesn't have much. If anything, it must be annoying reading snippets about different brews. Lessons learned: it's always hard to balance comfort zone (Hoppy IPAs) versus expanding my tastes (Belgians, Stouts etc.).

If you're wondering, what is IBU? IBU stands for international bittering units scale. This is an attempt to quantify the amount of bitterness brought to the table by hops, but offset by malt. So really you could end up having a beer with a higher IBU but taste less bitter than one with a lower IBU depending on the amount of malt used (this is where the knowledge of the types of beer is important). The formula and more information can always be found on Wikipedia.

There are some beers like the Hop Stoopid (review) that come in over the technical 100 IBU limit. There are some folks like those at Norway's Nogne O that like to push the limits of brewing and come up with beers with extremely high "theoretical" IBUs.

In the end, quantitative analysis of taste, or particular taste, is always going to be something that's hard to do, but gives a good baseline.

Upcoming events: SF Beer Week

2010-02-05T00:53:00.000-08:00

SFBeerWeek.org kicks off this weekend running from Feb 5 - 14. One of the main events will be held this Saturday, Feb 6, at the Bistro in Hayward. Pliny the Younger will be in attendance as well as many other potent, widowmaking Double IPAs. There's supposed to be a 70% chance for rain that day. I have another prediction for you--there's a 100% chance I'm gonna be sloshed. With beer celebrations happening all day/week/Bay Area long, we're taking full advantage of this excuse to partake in this debaucherous drinking orgy. That's triple redundancy for ya because I'm that certain it's gonna be wild and (un)forgettable. AleSmith, Russian River, Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas...for me this is heaven.