Feel The Burn, the Rogue's notes.

Sunset on moving day- Choptank River, Talbot County. 4/24/2020

   Helped the Daughter move into a new apartment over the weekend. Figured it be good. Gyms and beaches are closed due to the"outbreak." Get me a workout in. 2nd floor unit. Do some stairs. Lifting. Hauling. Damn she had a lot of $hit! Felt the burn...in my back. Wife helped organize the apartment. I got to build the furniture after bringing it up. Complete stoke lemme tell ya. Actually, to see the final product was pretty cool, despite my lack of mechanical aptitude.
  My Daughter picked a very good reward for our efforts. Evo Craft's Day Crush- a silky smooth, drinkable, Kettle Sour. Hazy golden pour, with a almost a finger thick, fizzy white head. Fast dissipating lace. Tart, lemony citrus in the aroma, with more citrus...some orange-pineapple... in the flavors with a taste of wheat crackers in the malt background. Pepper and more lemon added balance. Only 8 IBUs of bitterness and a high level of carbonation made this a very crisp sipper. At 4.7%, perfect light refreshment after lugging a bunch of boxes of the stairs. Rated a B.

"The more you weigh, the harder
you are to kidnap. Stay safe,
drink beer."  -Anon.

Pray For Surf, the Rogue's notes.

Where the waves at? Next to nuthin' surf, 94th street crossover.  4/17/2020

  You think that by crying to me
Looking so sorry that I'm gonna believe
You've been infected by a social disease
Well, then take your medicine

  I created the sound of madness
Wrote the book on pain
Somehow I'm still here to explain
That the darkest hour never comes in the night
You can sleep with a gun
When you gonna wake up and fight
For yourself?

-Shinedown, Sound of Madness

   Eerie, the landscape as of late. Everyone seems to be in hiding. By state mandate no less. Still say it's paranoia at work. Volunteered to do the run up the beach to pick up a pizza from Albertino's for dinner. Wife knew why. They do the absolute best brick oven pizza in town. Hands down. Make all their own ingredients including dough, sauce, dressings, toppings, etc. Anyways, runnin' up the beach like that, had to do a surf check. The reason to volunteer. Like I said, she knew. Water's been in the 50's since late March, start of April. Early for our slice of the coast. Usually go to one of the handicapped beach crossovers so I can drive up. Pulled up to 81st street...police cordoned off. 94th and 107th, same. As a matter of fact, the majority of all entrances were taped off. It is thought that as long as you are a local, are exercising...walking, running, even fishing, etc....stay in groups of four or less, and keep your distance it is okay to be on the beach.

Pretty crappy day this day was. Overcast. Onshore winds over 15-20 mph. And the waves were beyond mush. Small slop. Even on a nice day, regardless of the Atlantic's temps, I'd have been pressed to give it go. Assuming I could go. Surfing was exercise last I checked. Hard to say these days. However we've been dealing with not just the surf conditions, but also bay conditions with high winds, and chop on the back waters. Stick's been waitin'. Boat's gassed up. I wanna give it a go. Prayin' for surf. Just grab my stick and paddle out. Launch the boat and drop a line in. Go live and challenge the conditions. And the authorities. Waiting for it all to clean up...even a little.
   Beers to challenge the palette. Couple more Mid-westerners. Still puttin' back those "off-season" brews. Chicago's Maplewood Brewery groomed Fat Pug Oatmeal Stout. Plenty of chocolate and coffee in the aromas as I poured the pint canned pitch black liquid into a Nonic glass. Thin, less than a finger, tan head. Tasted of roasted malts, burnt espresso, and very light sweetness. Finish was not real bitter (26.0 IBUs), but extremely dry. Like an English Stout. Very smooth at 5.9%. Not real creamy. Lacked that finishing punch. Like a pug that doesn't come when you call it. Fair. Better than the surf has been! Rated a C+.

"You know what goes great with the
Corona virus? Lyme disease!" -AP

One of my more favorable Chi-Town breweries has always been Half Acre Beer Company, known for some really creative Pales and IPAs. My recent try was Shores IPA. New England style. Long for hazy...juicy...heavy. Poured an orange-amber, with a near 2-finger, near white, foamy head. Sticky, thick lacing. Smelled of a cornucopia of tropical fruit. Mangoes, pineapples, oranges, lemons, limes. You get the picture. And, of course, that tell-tale grapefruit hop. Upon the first swig, I was surprised at how light it felt. Especially at 7% ABV. Not good. An ass-kicker must always be dealt with accordingly. Slowed down to take in the sweet citrus and tropics. Although more subdued than the aromas. Grapefruit was more prevalent...much more dank in the tasty, hoppy trip of the experience. I'd estimate it exceeded 50.0 IBUs. Juicy through and through. Mouthwatering. The last half of the stem glass didn't last long. Made the surf wait more tolerable. So much for slowing down. Rated an A.

Cure What Ales Ya, the Rogue's notes.

Can almost hear them waves crashin' on the other side. Assawoman Bay, 4/2/2020.

   Pretty mild winter. And we've had some nights in the 50s and days in the 70s. Mix together with salt and we got us a cure for what ails ya. Ocean temps are now touchin' on 50. I'm tellin' ya'll, I'll be in the water soon. I feel it. Nothin' can wash a pandemic away faster than salt. I remember when I worked a sales job where I traveled a lot. Early 2000s before all the bars and such had eliminated smoking. I couldn't wait to get back just to cleanse myself of the smoke. Anyone who's lived with a smoker knows how hard it is to get rid of that. Salt water will do it. Soon as I got home, would grab my stick and head to the beach. Didn't matter about the surf report. And now? I still won't care about conditions (short of water temp). I'm gettin' in the mindset.
  Next, to cure what ales ya. Couple 'o brews that'll accommodate...beginning with Flying Dog. Not much outta this brewery that I don't like. Thunderpeel Hazy IPA. 6.2% ABV and unfiltered for your drinking pleasure. New England style. Poured a very hazy burnt orange into a frosted mug. Nice, foamy, 1-finger, white head, and most excellent lacing. Plenty of aromatic herbal/floral hops in the smell. Grapefruit was undeniable. In the taste were tons of orange, mango, and more grapefruit. Just the right amount of malt to balance. Fantasmic juicy hop finish, though the 35 IBUs did not indicate. Had this last month at a locals favorite: Harborside's rib night. Came highly recommended by our bartender. And I won't need more ribs (which were excellent by the way) to have another. Rated an A/A-.

"When I drink alcohol everyone calls me
an alcoholic. But, when I drink Fanta,
no one says I'm fantastic." -Anony Mous

Tampa Bay's Cigar City Brewing is another that hasn't disappointed. Jai Alai was a prime example. Cubano-style Expresso Brown Ale was a perfecto mundo follow up. Chock full of Cuban coffee beans, this bad-ass poured a mahogany brown with a thick, finger-plus dark tan head. Aromas had smells of strong, freshly brewed Cuban coffee. Cocoa and hints of molasses were also present. But going down, the espresso really came out. Additional tastes of caramel, more chocolate, malt, and vanilla...maybe from lactose. At 5.5% ABV, and very creamy, could easily down another. Finished more like a light stout, but sweeter. Just enough hops - 25 IBUs - to balance the sweet with a 'lil dry. Nice brew. A/A- rating...again.