Gettin' Heavy, session notes from the Rogue

"Big beachbreaks, when you get caught inside, they hold you in that zone where
you're stuck inside. So it pushes you out from the beach but in from the back,
holding you right in the impact zone."     -Mark Mathews
Gettin' a little heavy at Holiday's. 66th St., OCMD. 7/26/2018

   Fronts clashed, joined by 15 to 20 knot south by southwest winds to bring heaving seas last week. Surfed last Thursday in semi-clean to choppy swell. Heavy winds. Heavy surf. Heavy rides. Shot out of a late takeoff. Blasted down a thumpin', crumbling, frontside wall as if on asphalt that needed repaving. A spray of foam, like loose stone, thrown up in my wake.  Somehow managed to stay far enough ahead of it to squeeze out about a block-plus joyride. Couple other shorties prior to and on the back end, but that one left an impression so far this season.
   Had the heavily trolled Huk Big Fish Classic going on at the Talbot Street Pier over the weekend. Biggest fish wins as they say. Close to $900,000 in payouts this year. Lotta Blue Fin Tuna brought in. A 404 lb. Blue Marlin took home most of the cash. Wife and I did MR Ducks to catch the weigh in's Saturday.

Excellent "pounder" of backfin crab meat and a poke' bowl combined with several frozen drinks and beers made a heavy duty off and on down-pour bearable. Evening finished off with a first-class OC sunset.

Winning Blue Marlin winched in for the scales.

Trio of Blue Fins. Talbot Street Pier, 7/28/2018.

   As with all things heavy, two "barrel aged" heavy hitters done over the summer so far...both from Grand Rapids' Founders Brewing. Early on it was KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout), an imperial chocolate coffee stout aged in bourbon barrels. Created a big wake at an unwieldy 12.3% ABV. Spring leftover. This black brew would seriously begin to knock you on your ass into the next bottle. First one was a rocker. Poured an opaque black with a thick, deep brown, finger and half head. Aromas of coffee grounds, brown sugar, and husky bourbon. Very viscous going down with the chocolate and coffee hitting up front and the warmth of the boozy liquor in the back. Hoppy bitterness of the 70 IBUs balanced it out a bit. Good sipper after a session in upper 50s, lower 60s surf. Or cooler evenings in late spring, early summer. More booze than I usually prefer. Placed this big wrecker at a B+.

The 2nd set rollin' in featured Dankwood. A fusion of bourbon soaked oak and hops that produced a 65 IBU big heavy that will collapse on your head quick if you don't hold on and pay attention. An Imperial Red IPA that poured a dark reddish-brown with a deep tan, finger-plus, billowy head. Aromas of caramel, pine and light citrus. The taste followed suit with rich malt and dank dark fruit, resin, and spice. Rounded out well with the hoppy bourbon finish. Another that will put your through the rinse cycle at 12.2% alcohol. Boozy but more balanced than KBS. A hop blaster that I rated an A-.

Sun sets on Day 2 of the Big Fish Classic. MR Ducks, 7/28/2018.

Clan Surf- Part Deux, session notes from the Rogue.

Forget the blown chop, it's all about the Clan. Rodeways lineup, 7/18/2018.

   Surf sesh with Navy nephew Benjammin. Yes, Cam's bro. Home for summer R&R. We had set this up over the weekend. Brother was supposed to join. Spent the front half of the week looking forward to it. I was late from work. Bro got tied up at work. Only Ben beat the clock. Life gets in the way. Ben still there when Lisa and I raced up. Already in the water. Rodeways. 30th street. Warm waters. Mid-70's now. On-shores blowing about 10 mph. Sectioned the sets pretty grossly. Very erratic. Maybe thigh-high.Had to work to catch a shoulder. We surfed a bit over an hour or so. Cleaned up, then relaxed and recovered at a local bar and grill. He covered for dinner. Unexpectedly. The kid's grown up.

Tough swell, it was mushbergers tonight. 7/18/2018.

   The brew by which we made these arrangements courtesy, my Brother. Dogfish Head's Dragons and Yum Yums. A Pale brewed with dragon fruit and yumberry. Some pear. Even black carrot juice (whatever the hell that is...$hit, what the hell's a yumberry?). A collaboration with rock icons The Flaming Lips, this beer has a lot goin' on. Smelled of tropical fruit, light pine, and a hint of grapefruit. Tasted of toffee combined with a tartness up front (I assumed that was the dragon fruit), kinda like cranberry, some pear and grape with a slight bitter juniper-pine finish that landed at 25 IBUs. Poured a ruby-orange with a two-plus finger, almost pinkish tinted head that dissipated quickly. Thin lacing. 6.5% ABV. Had this on tap after a surf earlier in the season. Still was not my summer favorite. An okay brew. I rated a C+. 

Summer House, session notes from the Rogue.

"George Washington could have built his home anywhere on the Eastern Seaboard. He chose the
Potomac River, forever identifying it as the 'Nation's River'"  -Bill Wallen
Summer speeding by on the Potomac, 7/7/2018.

   Getting into the busy season. Company. Friends. Family. All family, really. Keep us very busy. Cook-outs. Seafood. Crabs. Really get off on grilled food. The chicken, seafood (yea crabs!), beef. Beer. Farm fresh produce and fruit this time of year. Cantaloupe and sweet corn comes to mind. Jet-skis. And surf. Gotta have surf.

AC and Tuck: Who's walkin' who? 

Keeping watch over the unknown.

   Chi-town family came in on the front end of July...did a D.C. tour. Assateague. The beach a few times. Bonfires. Ocean Downs for some Horse/Harness racing. Brother from the Zone followed. More cookouts. Burgers. Brats. More beer. Busy start to the peak of summer. This is the time of year I really thrive. Humidity can be annoying at times, I know. But, the water temps brought on by the warm evenings and energizing sun make for an active season.

Family harmony.

Arlington Monuments

U.S. Capitol attitude!

Kiteboard/Sailboard refuge. The winds are ideal along these parts of the Sinepuxent. South Point, 7/8/2018.

Horses and more horses. Assateague with it's island inhabitants. Ocean Downs has it's track incumbents. Competition can be stiff in both districts. Especially among the photographers and highrollers.















   Sis-in-Law brought some serious Illini brew 'cross country. Warrenville's Two Brothers Brewing just introduced an oak-aged IPA called Wooden Wobble. When I think of "oak-aged," warm weather does not necessarily come to mind, but this one paired perfectly with a summer bonfire. Poured a golden amber with a tan, two-finger head. Aromas of oak and vanilla wafted by intermixed with the smoke from burning wood (dramatic music here).

"Aha! Look what I've created. 

I have made FIRE!"  -Chuck Noland

Tasted of nutty pine and spice with citrus, with a mild oak finish. Oak aged beers also tend to come in heavy. Boozy even (which is cool in colder temps). At 6.3% ABV, this one was on point. Didn't heat you up. Just enough bitterness with a refreshing 69 IBUs to make my t-bud's happy. Rated an A-.

Pocket-size swell fronted the Holidays lineup, 7/11/2018.

Probably my favorite brewery outta the Illini state is S.O.B., Solemn Oath Brewery of Naperville fame. A recent release, Gabriel Hounds New-England style IPA was full of the spectral aromas of peach, melon, and orange.

The tastes included lime, orange and passion fruit with notes of caramel in the background. Threw a bitter, face punching fill of Citra and Denali Hops (no IBUs listed) and an unearthly strong oat-malt backbone. Poured a dark, hazy, reddish gold, with a finger plus tan head. Plenty of hop filled carbonation and sticky lacing. Rated this badass an A!

My Bro's playing JP's Wharf in Bowers Beach, DE 7/15/2018

Summer House on the coast. Awaiting our next family visit...

Sunrise on the St.Martin, 7/16/2018.

Across The Front, session notes from the Rogue.

Draggin' across the line tryin' to snag the shoulder; Beryl's tidbits. Rodeways, 7/5/2018.

I feel fine
I'm talkin' 'bout peace of mind
I'm gonna take my time
I'm gettin' the good sign
Draggin' the line (draggin' the line)
-Tommy James

  Sloppy surf returned this past week. One or two backsides. Most of 'em were across the front. What you get when surfin' the PM. Winds build throughout the day and while dyin' in the evening, at ten knots still puts the swell on a chopping block. Tropical depression Beryl provided the conditions. the 2nd storm of this summer's hurricane season...which started June 1st, by the way. This year has been predicted to be quiet, and Beryl exemplified that. She was pretty much fadin' off the coast. Went after the occasional shoulder, otherwise sectioning close-outs. Not complainin', just facts. Still getting wet, though not enough (not a complaint, more of a self-slam). Water is gettin' quite warm now...'bout mid-70s. Need water time. Some dawn patrol surf. So I say.

  These brews I've been reviewing have been part of my summer showcase. Notice I said part...more coming, and I've had a few repeats as well. No reruns here though. Salisbury's Evolution Craft Brewing kegged Hops Limon IPA in the spring of '17 for the summer sluggers. Had my first not too long ago. Poured an amber haze with a khaki two-finger head. Nice, sticky lacing. Aromas of lemon and toffee. Read a review a while back that described a lemony beer as smellin' like Pledge. I try to avoid that thought. However upon first sip, this one was surprisingly refreshing. Little more candy sweetness than I like, but a nice citrus burst...more lime in the taste...with a bready, malt layer underneath. 6.8% ABV with a li'l quenching tartness makes this a decent summer choice. 65 IBUs gives it a bitter-clean IPA finish. Rated a B/B-.

Say it three times as fast as you can...Schofferhofer. Brewer of the Grapefruit Hefeweizen of summer...from Germany. Poured a very cloudy creamsicle orange with a thin fizzy white head. Lots of grapefruit juice aromas. Actually, kinda smelled like grapefruit juice. Tasted like it too. Bit on the sweet side. Akin to juice mixed with beer, which would put it more in the Radler/Shandy style. Good for the summer. Memorable for this summer. Like I said though...sweet. My wife loved it, which is why we bought the 16 oz. four pack. Also makes a good beer-cocktail mixer...with rum. Good stuff! 2.5% ABV (another reason to add rum). Low, low IBUs...like single digits. Another B/B- rating. 

Slicing Through Heaven, from the Rogue's notes.

Slicing through the end wall of my longest ride of the evening. 30th and Rodeways, 6/28/2018.

   First real swell of this year. My nephew Cameron finishing up his week in the OC before Cali. Joined me for one last huzzah. Buzz-word for the afternoon. Waist- plus that cleaned up as the evening progressed. Spray from the peeling frames left the smell of salt lingering between sets. Got psyched from the first drop. Felt as if each ride became more crushing as I seemed to be improving from takeoff. Netted the longest ride so far. Evening finished off with each wave reflecting the sunset like a distorted mirror of orange, pink, and blue. Akin to slicing through Heaven. Need more sessions like this.

Wide bottom turn. Door closed. 6/28/2018

   Speaking of slicin', couple of juicy slices of summer. Portland, Maine's Peak Brewing put out one of the best sessionable IPAs I have ever tasted. Organic no less. Summer Session. Aromas of piney resin and grapefruit. The taste hit me with juicy lemons and mango with peppery herbs in the back. Stand up taste. Not watered down like other session beers I've had. 5% over and over without the pain. 61 IBUs allowed Peak to crush it. Session poured a hazed golden orange with a finger or so fizzy head. Gave it an A.

You should loose track of your timing

Grab a drink beside me

Down in the islands,

Down in the islands

-Zac Brown Band, "Island Song"

Ninkasi outta Eugene has gotten a foothold on the Right Coast. Pacific Rain was a cooling Northwest Pale pouring a cloudy, yellow-gold in color with a finger or less foamy head. Fair lacing. Distinct aromas of crackers and floral hops. The tasted reflected juicy citrus of the hops up front with a malt yang. Combo semi-sweet and dry in the finish. 5.4% ABV. 50 IBUs. Not great, but a very good, refreshing pale for the summer. Rated this a B/B+.