Thin Ice, notes from the Rogue

"Eat. Sleep. Carve. Repeat."  -Anon.

   It's February. It's the Midwest. It's cold. 16 degrees as I formulate this write-up. A quickie post on last weekend's lake sesh. We headed up to Lake Geneva, WI for an over-nighter; checked out out their Winterfest celebration. Eating. Drinking. Ice carvings. Ice Bar...like a bar made of ice, sponsored by SKYY Vodka. Drinking. Ice boat races. Skating. More eating. Continued drinking. Fun trip. Needed a little letting go. Breaking the stress barrier. Speaking of breaking barriers, seems through the years visitors were allowed to park on the lake (usually sub-zero temps and the place gets packed). But at a toasty 40 degrees during the day, and water resting on the ice surface, you would think most would pass on the idea. Guess some of the tourists didn't take this into account when they ignored the "Park at Your Own Risk" signs. Between the heat of the day and the weight of the vehicles, the ice barrier broke. Tow and salvage crews worked most of the afternoon into late night, as temps dropped, to pull them out before the ice released it's grip and they slid fifteen feet to the edge bottom. Talk about a gnarly ride. Cold. Not cool.

There's your sign...

   A fitting couple of brews put back this weekend (Super Bowl too... another beer incentive). Wisconsin's New Glarus Brewing has an excellent "No Coast" Pale Ale called Moon Man. Named after the brewery's cat, this is a smooth session ale at 5% ABV with a brisk shove from five different hops, a malty follow through, and a crisp bitterness in the finish. Light gold pour with a finger head and good lacing. 35 IBUs attests that this is a very relaxing beer. Rated an A-.

"The energy put into surfing frigid

 waters is going to make this IPA

 taste that much better with dinner"  

-Alaskan Brewing

Alaskan Brewing Company hailing from Juneau... yep... Alaska. Puts out an excellent IPA called Icy Bay. Like I said, fitting. Made from the waters of the glacier itself, Icy Bay has 65 juicy IBUs of hop goodness that provides a nice citrus/pine taste. Pours an orangy-gold with a two finger off white head. 6.8% ABV will make you feel the buzz of the ride on a few of these. Plus, I like the label. Rated an A+.

Stoked carve.