JOATMON

Tallgrass Beer

2012-05-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

***As of August 2018 Tallgrass has shut down operation indefinitely***

Founded in 2007, Tallgrass Brewing Company is a local treasure of Manhattan, KS. Offering a wide selection of tasty microbrews, Tallgrass has developed a very loyal consumer base that is willing to pay a little extra for great Kansas crafted beer.

Tallgrass was one of the first craft brewers to switch from bottles to cans, for multiple reasons, and it seems to have worked well for them. They have received praise from Esquire, Outdoor, and swept the latest Craft Cans awards. Things are going great for Tallgrass, as it continues to formulate an amazing lineup of delicious beers.

The following is my personal (unofficial) review of the Tallgrass lineup. The great thing about this company is that they don't make a bad tasting beer, and they have something for everyone... well everyone who likes good craft beer at least.

Beer Name
Description
Beer Advocate rating: user score / "bro" score (both out of 100)
Craft Can rating: can scale (out of 5)

8-Bit - push start

The newest brew to the lineup pays homage to a not so distant era of vintage video gaming. With hops bigger than Mario's, this beer packs a punch that gives masochism a good name. 8-Bit smells great right out of the can, you can tell there's a bunch of hops, but a good maltiness also comes through. This is an epic summer beer, with crisp hops, citrusy flavors, and a super balance of bitterness and sweetness. One of my favorites for sure.

Beer Advocate: 86/NA

Craft Can: 4.5/5

Pub Ale - defiantly dark, seductively smooth

The flagship beer of Tallgrass, the Ale is a traditional brown ale. In my opinion, the Ale is the most "ordinary" in Tallgrass' lineup, but it's still delicious. Slightly darker than you might expect, the Ale is a great beer to snuggle up next to a fire with and write a poem about how much you enjoy drinking beer, or something along those lines. I taste malty caramel, with a slight coffee aftertaste, a perfect combo for any alement.

Beer Advocate: 81/82

Craft Can: 4/5

Buffalo Sweat - dangerously dark, authentically awesome

If you want dark beer, you want Buffalo Sweat. What an amazing beer. I don't know exactly how they make it, but I assume it involves large amounts of coffee grounds and dark chocolate fondue stirred in large black cauldron. If recollection serves me right, Buffalo Sweat was the first true wow-factor beer that Tallgrass produced, and was followed by unique brews like Oasis, Velvet Rooster, and 8-Bit. Thats not to say the the Ale, IPA, and Halcyon aren't great, but this was Tallgrass' first "risky" beer in my opinion. Pro tip: if you enjoy belfast bombs (irish car bombs) try subbing in Buffalo Sweat for Guiness, the dark chocolate coffee goodness works great with the sweet creaminess of Bailey's.

Beer Advocate: 85/87

Craft Can: 4/5

Halcyon Unfiltered Wheat - Discontinued

Halcyon (Hal-cy-on) adj. Denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful. Well now that we've established what the hell Halcyon means, we can turn our attention to this insanely good summer beer. Tallgrass' first wheat beer, name "Wheat" ran into many complications that affected quality control and ultimately led to it being scrapped. Tallgrass came back strong with Halcyon, a wonderful, slightly hoppy, citrusy, and lightly malted masterpiece. This is the only Tallgrass beer sold in 12 ounce cans, and is now also sold in 12 packs. So great!

Beer Advocate: 86/94

Craft Can: 4/5

IPA - Discontinued

I'ma be honest. This is prolly my favorite Tallgrass beer. I just love Indian Pale Ale's, which are named after the beer that the british sent to India with a super high hop content in order to preserve it for the long journey. Due to the high hop content, IPA's are bitter, but not as bitter as an extra special bitter (ESB) like Oasis. Tallgrass just nails it with this beer. It's lighter than the the other hoppy beers that Tallgrass makes, but still has great flavor and is more malty than a traditional IPA. The citrus and pine tones make this a great beer year round, I'm always in the mood for this brew.

Beer Advocate: 82/92

Craft Can: 3.5/5

Oasis - Discontinued

The first time I had this beer I absolutely hated it. At that point I was not into super bitter beer, and didn't even like pale ales. Now I love it, but it's so intense that I can only drink it very moderately. Needless to say, this beer lives up to the hype of being a "double extra special bitter". I'd say this is Tallgrass' most floral brew, the aroma alone knocks your socks off. The flavor is insane, with tons of orange peel and a hop-hop-hoppy finish that leaves your mouth wanting more. If you crave bitter beer, this is the brew for you!

Beer Advocate: 86/90

Craft Can: 4/5

Velvet Rooster - seasonal

This beer changed the meaning of beer to me. It's hard to explain, with incredible sweetness, almost a skunky aftertaste, citrus and spice, you just have to try it. VR is a Belgian-style triple, which means something in beer lingo that I don't understand, but I like it! Be careful though, this 16 ounce can packs a punch with an 8.5% alcohol content. According to my calculations, that means one can of VR is equivalent to almost three light beer cans, so that second can is more than just another can of beer!

Beer Advocate: 85/NA

Craft Can: 4.5/5

Analysis: Tallgrass started as a solid brewery that put out traditional craft beers; an ale, wheat, IPA, and even a discontinued light lager called Kold. They started safe and it worked, and allowed Jeff and his company to expand horizons with beers like Buffalo Sweat, Oasis, and Velvet Rooster. Tallgrass realized their mistakes with beers like the original wheat, and made a huge improvement with Halcyon. I'm excited for the future of this company, as it has the ingenuity and guts to go where few breweries dare to go, and they do it well (look at those scores!).

Cheers to Tallgrass! I'm getting so thirsty writing this, I think I'll go pour a pint!

Hawaii

2012-05-17T04:21:00.002-05:00

Aloha,

It's been a while, over a year actually. It's good to be back, blogging to whoever has the time to read this junk. For some reason I got inspired to bring this bad boy back to life. I'm in Hawaii right now performing with the K-State Singers, and oh my goodness this place is great.

If you didn't know, I graduated from K-State and will be going to KU Medical School next year in Kansas City. I'm really excited, but also terrified. This will be the first time I've lived outside Manhattan in almost 17 years. Can't really wrap my head around it.

My buddy Wes Strouts is getting married in two weeks in Maui, so fellow bud and K-State Singer Preston Stephens and I are staying here in Hawaii for a while so we can be there for our roomate, brother, and best friend.

Hmm, what else... not much really. As far as the blog goes, I'm going to try and update it more frequently. Not like this post, because a decent amount of facebook stalking would give you all the above information and more. I'll probably go back to making top 10 lists, definitely be on the lookout for a KC barbeque entry and a Tallgrass beer post in the near future.

Lastly, I need to rename this blog, cause I'll won't be a townie in a few weeks (sniff). If you'd like to, you can suggest a name in the comments below, and I'll take all ideas in for consideration.

Mahalo!

Wake Up

2011-03-07T23:33:00.000-06:00

I have realized that in college, many people listen to many different types of music. When you ask someone what type of music they listen to, the most common response is "everything". What I've found, however, is that this is almost never the case.

I feel that I am someone who has a wide variety of tastes. I enjoy hip-hop, indie, alternative, bluegrass, certain rap artists, classic rock, classical music, show-tunes, mash-ups, and more. I also have a list of music that I don't enjoy that includes twangy country, obscene rap, heavy metal, screamo, mainstream pop, and more.

What I'm trying to say is that everyone has likes and dislikes when it comes to music. If someone claims that they like everything, they clearly haven't listened to everything.

The event that really sparked my interest for this subject was the most recent Grammy's. The indie band Arcade Fire won best album with The Suburbs. One has to wonder if they can still be called "indie" now that they have won the top album honor from America's most recognized music institution, but that's beside the point. Arcade Fire is a Canadian band that uses poetic lyrics and unique rhythm and melody to create a distinctive and at times inspiring sound.

check this out

or this

The lyrics found in most Arcade Fire songs deal with the struggle that comes with everyday life. The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock says that the bands first album Funeral, "gave the public what they did not think they would like." This statement, published in 2007, was prophetic in nature, but we'll get to that later.

Funeral was the bands first and most critically acclaimed album, receiving a 90 on Metacritic, a 9.7 on Pitchfork, which named it the second best album of the decade, and Rolling Stone, which placed it as the sixth best album of the decade.

The bands most recent album, The Suburbs, received less critical acclaim from "indie" sources, but more exposure and broad appeal when winning the Grammy for best album.

However, Arcade Fire did not have the broad support that its competition (Emenim, Katy Perry, Lady Antebellum, and Lady Gaga) had. For example, this tumblr is devoted to tweets, status updates, and videos of people who didn't even know Arcade Fire existed before winning the Grammy's. The amount of ignorance and hate that some of the comments show is truly disturbing.

For example:

"The fact that Arcade Fire are winning over people that actually made an impact on the music industry is really f***ing annoying."

"@DogBountyHunter It's a weird world we live in when someone called Arcade Fire can win a grammy n Justin Bieber doesn't!"

"what the heck is a r k fire?"

"What... The... f***... Is arcade fire"

"What is an Arcade Fire and why are people excited about it."

The list goes on, just visit the website to read more. I understand that these artists have huge fan bases with very passionate fans, but I find it interesting how Arcade Fire got to the same level of recognition as the stars of pop culture.

According to the book Canuck Rock by Ryan Edwardson, the success of Arcade Fire came from "the grassroots nature of the Internet" which let the band "come to the forefront while maintaining the feel of independence so qualifying of rock and role." In other words, it wasn't just the music that they made, but also the medium that they used to distribute and promote themselves. Television is much more mainstream than the Internet in how it controls what we can view, while the Internet provides a seemingly endless amount of content that has no restriction and little censoring from major media conglomerates.

Because of the international flavor of the Internet, Arcade Fire "made a mark in the United Kingdom and drew the praise of Coldplay, U2, and David Bowie before Canadian radio caught on" (Edwardson, 234). This exemplifies the power and speed the Internet has over more traditional forms of media like television and radio.

The main question that I get out of all of this information is this: Did Arcade Fire become an internationally critically acclaimed band because of their music, because of the medium that they used to distribute themselves, or was it some combination of both, and to what extent? There is no question that the band is extremely talented, but there is also no denying that their popularity coincided at just the right time with the explosion of the Internet.

"The fact that Arcade Fire are winning over people that actually made an impact on the music industry is really f***ing annoying."

Is it possible that Arcade Fire has made more of an impact on the music industry than almost any band in the past decade?

That's what I'm trying to figure out.

K-State Idol Recap

2011-02-15T20:41:00.001-06:00

In case you didn't know, Jake Pritchard and I played Wagon Wheel by OCMS last week at K-State Idol that was put on by the Union Program Council. We didn't place in the top 3, but we did win the text-to-vote "fan favorite" competition. Here are some videos that where taken at the show. Enjoy!

This is the "official" video made by Wildcat Watch, which broadcast the event live.

Here is a video that my friend took with his portable HD camera.

Here is yet another video that a friend made.

Thanks to everyone who came out and supported us and hopefully next year we'll place in the top 3.

Music You Need To Be Listening To

2011-01-21T00:52:00.001-06:00

I love, love, love music. All kinds of music, although I do prefer certain genres over others. I have found myself expanding my horizons drastically since coming to college, but I've also realized that many students don't listen to very good music. Every time I go to a college party people are singing along to the latest rap hit and people can't seem to get enough Lady Gaga.

Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy myself some Gaga and have grown a liking to rap music. I really enjoy Paparazzi and one of my favorite artists is Jay-Z. However, I rarely listen to either of those artists in my free time; there's just too much amazing music out there to focus on such a small sample size.

So, without further ado, I present to you a list of current musicians that I love to listen to (look for a list later on with my favorite under-appreciated oldies). You may or may not be familiar with all of them, and you may not like all of them, but I encourage you to try it out.

1. Yeasayer: These guys describe themselves as, "Middle Eastern-psych-snap-gospel" and they live up to everything you might imagine that to encompass. Caution: Yeasayer is weird, but they are not hard to listen to, as many "weird" groups are. Yeasayer mixes good melody with sharp electronic, strong bass, crisp syncopation, and just flat out originality. They are one of the few groups out there that have their own unique sound, and it's a catchy one at that. Take a listen to their song titled "O.N.E."

2. Eric Whitacre: Whitacre is a choral composer, not a soloist, DJ, or band lead man. His music is some of the most peaceful and inspiring music made in the past few decades. Whitacre is famous for his beautiful dissonance and harmony within his pieces, especially "Lux Arumque" and "A Boy And A Girl". Here is a video of Whitacre conducting a virtually participating youtube chorus (it's pretty darn awesome).

3. Girl Talk: You probably have heard of Girl Talk if you're in college, or have at least heard his music. Girl Talk is actually Gregg Michael Gillis, and he specializes in a type of music called "mashup" in which he takes multiple songs from popular artists and mashes them up into something completely new. There are a lot of copyright issues and legal stuff that results, but that didn't stop his album "Feed the Animals" for being named number four on Time's Top 10 Albums of 2008. Here's a sample from his most recent album "All Day" titled "Triple Double". (*caution* some lyrics are not appropriate for the ears of children... or mothers. Hi mom.)

4. Bon Iver: Justin Vernon (lead man for the band Bon Iver) is like my hero. Just look at the man-

Anywho, Vernon is an acoustic singer-songwriter who's low register and incredible falsetto combined with passionate guitar skills make for a great artist. Vernon recorded the majority of the bands debut album "For Emma, Forever Ago" during a three month stint in a remote cabin in Wisconsin. Without further ado, I give you "Skinny Love" performed by Bon Iver at a David Letterman show.

5. Janelle Monet: Wow. What an amazing creation of God. Monet is a Kansas City, Kansas native that is currently becoming the next big thing. Janelle combines amazing vocals, R&B, soul, indie-pop, and dance-punk into a great new thing. The multiple Grammy-nominated artist also has awesome dance skills, and to top it all off, she is absolutely gorgeous. Here is a song titled "Tightrope" from her third album "The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III)".

Here's a list of other artists I'm currently listening to if you're interested in looking them up: Arcade Fire, Cee Lo Green, Ben Folds, Leonard Bernstein, Daft Punk, Pheonix, Old Crow Medicine Show, Chris Tomlin, Freelance Whales, fun., Gorillaz, Jukebox the Ghost, Local Natives, Keane, Sam Cooke, Harry Chapin, Animal Collective, MGMT, The Flaming Lips, Grizzly Bear, Lupe Fiasco, Neutral Milk Hotel, Sigur Ros, Sufjan Stevens, and TV On The Radio.

Top Restaurants in Manhattan, KS

2011-01-04T23:40:00.002-06:00

The following is my list of the best restaurants in Manhattan, KS in alphabetical order. What's your opinion? Leave a comment and vote in the poll!

$ = entrees under $10

$$ = entrees in the $8-20 range

$$$ = entrees from the $15-35 range

Coco Bolos ($$): Probably the most popular restaurant in Manhattan, and for good reason. Bolos has amazing tex-mex dining with great daily specials. You really can't order a bad dish, from the fire-grilled pizza to the delicious "south of the border" section. Oh, and don't forget the $5 carafes of sangria on wednesdays and the $5 carafes of margaritas on thursdays.

Favorite Dish: Tijuana Trainwreck

Harry's ($$$): The original. The classic fine dining of Manhattan. Harry's is the perfect mix of classic americano style food and old-town atmosphere. Harry's restaurant is famous for it's steaks, from the prime rib to the filet, the steaks here are awesome. Don't forget about the amazing famous meatloaf either.

Favorite Dish: Any steak. nom nom nom.

Hillside Cafe ($): The best mexican restaurant in Manhattan. Ya, I said it! Much better than La Fiesta, Los Potrillos, and Los Cocos, which are all basically the same restaurant. Hillside is a small family restaurant up by Miller Ranch behind Briggs auto. The first thing you notice about Hillside is that they don't have free chips and salsa, which apart from ruining your appetite, is not a tradition in authentic mexican restaurant. If you do order the chips and salsa though, they are easily the best in Manhattan, along with all of their dishes. White flour tacos are the bomb, and try the potato taco, a traditional lenten meal in Mexico. Tamales are freshly made on only Fridays and Saturdays, so try to plan your trip accordingly.

Favorite Dish: White flour potato taco with two tamales, rice and beans

Awards: "This is the best Mexican food I've had east of the rockies" - Bobby Torres (real life Mexican)

So Long Saloon ($-$$): The best burger joint in town, So Long has a wide selection of original hamburgers like the bacon, egg, and cheeseburger called "Resist Temptation". Aside from the burgers, So Long has the best appetizer in town, the Chipotle Raspberry Black Bean Dip. Yuuuuuuuum. The chicken wings are also stellar. Their famous drink is the pineapple beer, which I've heard is delicious.

Favorite Dish: Aloha Burger

Awards: Best Hamburger (Resist Temptation) and Best Beef Appetizer (Sliders) - Kansas Beef Council

Silver Spork for Best Burger - GO! 24/7 entertainment magazine

The Chef ($): The best breakfast place in town (and according to the Food Network, in Kansas). The Chef mixes classic breakfast food with a touch of tex-mex and gourmet. The trendy diner appeals to college students and the bright atmosphere and full bar appeals to older generations. The chorizo sausage is made on-site and is featured in many of the dishes, including the award winning Buenos Dias Frittata.

Favorite Dish: Dang Quesadilla

Awards: Best Breakfast in Kansas - The Food Network

The Little Grill ($-$$): Jamaican jerk food at its most authentic. The owner, a native Jamaican, is also the cook and if you're lucky, he's also the live music. The jerk chicken and the jerk porkchops are for real, along with with the rest of the Jamaican fare. They also are known for their rum-punch, so try that out when you go. Their is almost always live music, and the atmosphere makes you feel like your on the beach in Jamaica, even though you're next to Tuttle Creek. This place is a hidden treasure, be sure to check it out before your stay in Manhattan is over.

Favorite Dish: Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Be sure to leave a comment, vote in the poll, and tweet to your friends!

Top 10 Stumbles of 2010

2011-01-03T00:23:00.002-06:00

Hello world, my name is Hazen Short and I'm starting a blog. I've grown up with this internet thing my whole life and have some interesting opinions on how it influences our culture and ourselves.

But that's not what this post is going to talk about. I thought it would be better to start things out on a lighter note, so I've compiled a list of my top 10 stumbles of 2010. A "stumble" is made by using the internet extension called Stumble Upon. SU allows users to choose specific interests and then "stumbles" them to random websites that they will enjoy.

The following links are my top 10 "likes" of these stumbles, in no particular order.

10. Amusing Ourselves to Death - I wrote a paper on this concept for a class this year. The comic depicts the future worlds of Aldus Huxley and George Orwell, and compares them to our current culture. Dr. Michael Wesch covers this subject in his class Introduction to Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University.

9. Hack Your Brain - This article explains how we can trick our brain several ways. From sleeping only 2 hours a day to controlling your dreams. It's also very entertaining, as you can expect from cracked.com.

8. Grow Cube - By far the best game I stumbled upon this year, Grow Cube is an innovative game from the Grow series, which requires creativity along with persistence to win. I think I like the Grow series mostly because there is a definitive way to "end" the game.

7. Live to be 100 - Technology, Entertainment, and Design aka "TED" is by far the most informative and interesting video website on the web. This particular video describes what it takes to live to be 100, given by Dan Buettner of National Geographic.

6. The Year in Medicine - As a pre-med student, I found this very interesting, and I feel that everyone should be aware of what the future holds for healthcare. Notable discoveries were breakthroughs in HIV/AIDS treatment.

5. 35 Albums - Disclaimer: If you prefer country music or pop music, this will not interest you at all. BUT, if you like bands such as Arcade Fire, The Velvet Underground, and the Flaming Lips, this link is for you. I'll have to admit I didn't know all the bands on this list, and I don't agree with all of the writers opinions, but it is a very impressive and diverse list of awesome music.

4. On the Issues - I have a big beef with how Americans view politics. Or rather the lack of vision they have with politics. This site is an excellent way to become an informed, responsible voter. You may be surprised that MSNBC and FOX can be very misleading with how they portray candidates.

3. Inception: Explained - Inception was my favorite movie of the year, and until I read this article, I didn't even know what the movie was about. I didn't want to agree with the article because I had my own theory, but there really is no other explanation that makes sense. If you haven't seen the movie, don't read this.

2. Some People - Web comics are usually overly satirical and vulgar (and hilarious), but this one stood out to me. Some People actually makes you think, and realize that your actions really do matter.

1. Free Movies - OK, well maybe they aren't "movies" as you were thinking. This website is loaded with free documentaries, ranging from Sicko to Who Killed the Electric Car, which can educate and entertain you for days. It's like Hulu for curious people.

Hope you enjoyed these links, please leave comments below!