A Lil Sumpin' Sumpin', notes from the Rogue

6/21 - a Lil Sumpin' there.

Just enough out there to catch a lil sumpin' sumpin' on low tide. Knee to an extreme occasional waist...maybe thigh high set here and there. The Solstice has arrived though! I have finally shed all rubber for the summer. Water in the low 70's. No backsides, but grabed a rail on a few rights with the T&C. I like it!

Late night. Met up with some family a Smitty McGees after the evenings surf. Very nice time. Always cool to hear my Uncle's war stories and about my father. My brother and his family and my sister-in law up from FL. as well. Good times. Good times.

Believe me, he's smiling

This posting's short and sweet. Gettin' up early for a sweeet vacation in Colorado. But, I depart with a lil' diddy on Lagunitas Brewing Company's A Little Sumpin' Wild Ale. A Belgian style IPA packin' a wallop with 72.5 IBUs and 9.4%ABV. The nose is full of citrus and pine as would be expected. Pouring a bright coppery haze with a bit more than a finger's head. Nice lacing with every quaff. Hint of spice in the taste with some sweetness to go with the crispy bitter bite expected in the finish. Great drinkability...bold but not too heavy, though a tad boozy (Surprised? No.). I gave this one an A-.

"I would not have thought of eating
a meal without drinking a beer."
-Ernest Hemingway

Crabby Father's Day, notes from the Rogue

10 years past, Dad and Daughter out to eat...time flies!

   Father's Day was quiet, couldn't surf (see Sunday's post), both kids working.  But yesterday, I got me a me a great present.  Dinner with my daughter!  And she treated to all-you-can-eat crabs specifically.  My son and daughter are both grown, with restaurant jobs right now...which on any holiday keeps them busy, so to have this opportunity to spend one on one with my little girl and some great seafood was pure jam.  Red Roost in Whitehaven, MD. The place is out in the middle of nowhere...literally.  Even at 24, my daughter rang off several "are we there yet?" 's before we finally drove into the lot.   But the converted chicken house brings the people in...which says a lot about its offering. Crabs and beer, summer's here!

Evo's Summer Session and Crabs...a real summer session!

 

   The night's pairing with crabs was Evolution Craft Brewing's Summer Session Ale. I've had this one at their tasting room as well.  Pours a hazy pale gold with a finger and a half pillowy white head and weighing in at 4.6% ABV.  Plenty of lacing left behind (even in a plastic cup). With 25 IBUs to lift it, the taste was of sweet grains with a light hop background.  A slightly above average wheat and rye beer that meets the purpose... refreshing after any summer session; mowing the lawn, afternoon surf, all-you-can-eat crabs with your daughter.
The evening got an A+ and the brew a C+.

The Big Dump, notes from the Rogue

A head for perspective, and an empty lineup...The big dump. 6/17

   This f*#king sucks.  It's a 40 minute trek to the ocean from my abode.  Checked the reports...all of 'em.  15-25kt. ENE on-shores, sectioned, disorganized slop.  Strong south moving currents.  Tide coming in. Chest to occasional head crap.  I've always said, you gotta go to know for sure.  Did it last Sunday, did it again today.  Those damn surf reports are pretty F'in accurate.  One extreme to the other...last week, not $hit, this week, big, windblown, sloppy $hit. No real surf time for 2 weeks now.  Aggravating. Very.
   A nice beer to drown one's irritating circumstances in is Flying Dog's UnderDog Atlantic Lager.  An American Pale Lager that taps the scales at only 4.7% ABV, you can throw back several to get the mood swing started.  Pours a slightly cloudy gold with a 1 finger cream head.  The smell of saltines...not salty, but crackery with excellent lacing.  Very smooth taste, not real light, but not overly heavy either, with a nice hop blend (28 IBUs), to give this a strong clean finish.  Probably one of the best of what I'd term this Summer's lawnmower style beers that I've had so far. While today's surf gets an F (as in F*#ked), I give this brew an A!

"You're not drunk if you can lie on

 the floor without holding on."

                         -Dean Martin

Bad Sesh- Nice Pics, notes from the Rogue

Duck! 6/7

 

Section anyone? 

   Thursday, a serious session interruptus; thunderstorm hauls ass through the territory enough to shorten my water time...not that what was left amounted to much...mid-low tide, 15mph off-shores, knee to thigh left-overs.  65F water though...rubber top with trunks...love it!

Late cleaning.

Getting a lil' bit, 6/7

 
   Sunday- hot, humid, and amidst truck problems gettin' down there, shit waves.  The on-line report rang true this time around: trace ankle high.  Low tide doesn't help.  In water for short time (very short...like 15-20 min short) before calling it a day on account of no push on anything that remotely resembled a wave.
  Got some nice pictures though.

How much?  Squat!  6/10

To catch a June-Bug

  The latest offering is Burley Oak's Assawoman Amber, a 74 IBU IPAish deep mahogany ale that measures  6.9% on the ABV scale.  Yeah, Burley stays true to it's motto, "Small batches- Big beers" with this one.  Pours cloudy with an off white one finger head.  You definitely smell the Cascades in this one, not quite the piney citrus nose I like in an IPA, and it does not have the bitterness the IBUs would indicate. Decent bite with a hint of malt in the finish.  The brewery is full throttle...always give 'em an A.  Love the name...after our aptly named bay, the "Big" Assawoman!  I give this a B+.

"Give me a woman who loves beer, 

and I will conquer the world."

-Kaiser Wilhelm II

Sunday Surf, notes from the Rogue

Clean onshores, 6/3

   With onshore winds blowing 10-15mph, and the tide coming in (low tide at 1pm), this afternoons surf was clean but small.  Knee to thigh with an rare waist set from time to time.  Finally able to hit it with a long sleeve rubber top and trunks and deal.  Water is finally in the rising 60's.  The wind didn't help none, but it was very pleasant.  Forced into a few backsides by the lineup.  Really need work here.  Frontside takeoffs coming easier with less rubber.  Line-up was me and a couple of other dudes until about midway thru (4pm), when it seemed the day shift let out and the lineup increased 4x. Did I mention this was a "surf designated" area (began Memorial Day weekend)...22nd street...the Stowaway Grand Hotel.  So, as the lineup grows, so does the competition for waves.  Summertime in the OC.
  On the drive home I picked up a new chair courtesy of my son...moved out of his Ocean Pines residence to take root in Baltimore with his girlfriend.  A mini life guard stand complete with umbrella.  Able to squeeze it on my deck. Not bad.

Just add brew.

   This afternoon's ware was an offering from Maui Brewing Company- La Perouse White, a hazy straw-gold witbier inspired by the surf sanctuary of La Perouse Bay in Maui which tends to get Big in the Summer.  Pours cloudy with little lace but a big 2 finger white head.  Does just what a witbier is meant to do, refreshes.  Bubbly and light at 5.2% ABV but low on the IBUs at 12.  Not much of the expected orange or lemon zest, but still evenhanded with the coriander.  Nice touch. I could certainly throw back a few more after a surf  like today's...or cuttin' the grass.  Gave this one a B (picture includes a glass from a Jacksonville Brew Pub I visited a few years back).

                "We're wanted men, we'll strike again, 

                but first let's have a beer."

                                                          -Jimmy Buffett

Time To Strip, notes from the Rogue

   So hard to work thru trashy surf in a full suit.  Work is what it is too.  Constant shifting to find the point. A wall that sections right in front of ya...while you're pullin' in from the bottom.  Frustration.  And guess what- no matter how much you cuss the Atlantic, you're the one who will have to work for it. Getting down to the beach once a week don't help none...still my problem.

Lotta foamie finishes, 5/24

 










   This week it has warmed, waters in the mid-60s, Air in the upper 70s.  Swell still kinda small yesterday at knee to thigh, and high tide flattened it further into the evening. But now it's time to strip.  Was in a shortie...and by next week, I'll be workin' on less rubber than that. Mobility baby, and more time.  Gonna hit it on the weekend at some point.  Hell with quality, I desperately need quantity right now.

Knee maybe, but warmer color.  5/31

   This post's beer brews locally "16 miles from anywhere," in Georgetown, DE. Old Court Ale is named for the Sussex County Courthouse located in said township; an American Pale Ale that has light aromas of pine and hops.  Supposedly starts out with a sweet malt taste, though I wasn't feelin' it. Pours a dark amber. Decent carbonation, not great. Decent lacing, not great.  Light tan, one finger head.  Light hop bitterness in the aftertaste.  6.1% ABV, 28 IBUs...just did not feel as big as Pales usually do to me. Average at best, which is about like the surf as of late.  I rated this one a C.

"Milk is for babies.  When you grow up, 
you have to drink beer."

-Arnold Schwarzenegger