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.