Launch Prep, the Rogue's notes.

Winter harbor sunset. West 'O commercial district, 2/15/2020.

   Mid-February. Ocean City Boat Show. Got the boat last year. Add the gadgets this year. A season without a depth finder meant cautious travel through our shallow back bays. Especially at low tide. No fish finder either. Hit and miss fishin'. Want to improve the numbers? Need to get closer to the feedin' grounds. Damn though! They are expensive. Pretty much determined, with install will be around $12K plus. Also perused the fishing displays for another rod/reel combo to grow the quiver of equipment. Nice thing about the show...sale specials aplenty. Found a rod. Still lookin' for that fish/depth finder. Got a few weeks left before launch.

Roland E. Powell Convention Center, 41st and Bayside.

   Beer o'clock...couple of recent Midwesterners brought back from the Christmas road trip. I love Black IPAs. Nice seasonable brew. Went searching while we were out there. Southwest Michigan's Greenbush Brewing concocted Anger. Get's ya upset if'n you can't pour another. Cascaded from the can as a silky black-brown with a tan, 2-finger head. Immediately emitted aromas of charred grain, pine, and roasted malt. Very light, classic smell of grapefruity hop. First sip brought tastes of cocoa and coffee with more roasty, toasty maltiness. Vanilla, and resinous pine on the back end balanced it well. At 7.6%, more than two and even a depth finder won't keep you from running aground. 85 IBUs gave it a nice bitter hop finish. B+/A- rating.

And the sign said beer, bait and ammo

Yeah, they got everything in between

Yeah, they got a-anything any old
Beer drinkin', hell raisin', bonafide
redneck needs.     -Kevin Fowler

   Toledo, Ohio's Maumee Bay, on the southern tip of Lake Erie. Home to it's namesake brewery. Glasshopper IPA. Another big 7%'er, this IPA doesn't fool around with plenty of hops encouraging sip after sip. Poured a cloudy, pale orange with about a 1-finger, foamy, white head. Lacing that initially clung, but then seemed to run down and dissipate quickly. Smelled of honey and bread. Tangerine and citrus. Light malt. Going down... notes of pineapple, grapefruit, and orange. Some spicy pine, and a solid malt yang to everything else's ying. 80 IBUs worked their bitter way through the entire drinking experience. Glad my wife grabbed a six of this brew. Very enjoyable. Another B+/A- rating.

The Off Season, the Rogue's notes

Rare "Off" curl. Clean, waist-high winter break off Malibu Beach. 7th Street at the OC, 1/26/2020.  -Malibu Pic

  As I write this, I can say I've been contemplating what we mean by offseason. A central Right Coast resort area during the winter. Empty streets. Empty lineups. Can be hair drab. Rain for a few. Sun for a couple. Temps in the 30s-40s. Day or night. Water's near 40F. Couple, three days with decent swell height, usually due to a passing front. More flat days than not. Lookin' on the swellinfo cam this morning there was about knee to thigh clean rollers, probably six or so out for a surf. Felt the pull, but it don't matter to me this time of year. Too cold for my blood. Not into hoods. At this point, every time you gotta duck dive it's like your head's in a vice, regardless. Fugetaboutit. And trying to stay in any kind of shape? Especially without getting outside (I've forced a run on a few cold nights)? Very painful the older I get. Can't help but feel off. My off season.
  There is one elixir that helps from time to time. Beer. Nuthin' better in the Off season than a double IPA. Takes away the chilly edge. One of my absolute favorite local beers, and a robust Double IPA in it's own right, Burley Oak's 100 tops my list. This time around, triple dry hopped with with Australian Vic Secret hops. A milkshake style DIPA that clocked in at 8.5% ABV, and their hopping process reduced the bitterness to 25 IBUs for a very smooth finish. Poured a milky pale orange with a less-than finger thick, white head. Thin lacing, but plenty of effervescence. Big tropical citrus notes in the aroma...pineapple, orange, some breadiness in the background. Tastes had tons more pineapple, orange, and grapefruit. Zesty pine and resin from the hops. Some light malt. Creamy yet dry. Refreshing. Very smooth. Rated an A.

   The resort coast of southern Delaware is replete with bars and restaurants. Obviously, the brewpubs are my attraction. SoDel Concepts outta Rehoboth Beach runs a good chunk of 'em including their own brew house, Thompson Island Brewery. Wife and I met good friends of ours out there to get the run down and gotta say the place was super. The beer was pretty damn good as well.

After doing a tasting, ended up throwing back a couple more pints and leaving with a four-pack of my own. Good Times Double IPA (again with the DIPA). Poured a very hazy, almost milkshake style orange-amber with a heavy, finger and half thick, off-white head. Smelled of grass and pine with a grapefruity-melon punch. 

Taste was heavy in additional grapefruit, melon, and pineapple. Some biscuity malt. Bitter orange and lemon hoppiness (estimated at 50 IBU) in the finish. Not quite as smooth as Burley's 100, but even at 8% ABV I had no problem drinking another. Rated the beer a B/B+, and will definitely return to the brewery!

"I just did an interview where I
was asked whether I drink beer or
whiskey, and I was sad to reveal I'm
 pounding spring water."
-Brad Delson, Linkin Park