Hear The Call, the Rogue's notes.

"...Surfing in cold water is always a challenge. No matter how good your wetsuit is, nothing beats jumping into the water with just a pair of boardies." -Nomad
Rubber required- chilled thigh to waist barrels, 40th Street break. 2/29/2022

  Hear the call. CV-19 Variant numbers have been dropping. Schools are easing mask requirements. Bars and restaurants are reopening. Finally, the Seaside Boat Show has been revived. Time to lighten up. Come together. Feel the Stoke... again. And, for those core enough to brave the lower 40's water temps- the Atlantic that has been providing consistent surf through February. A chilled 10-15 knot wind this week. Not too many out over the weekend. To see the swell. To hear that call. My inner voice is screamin' for Spring! Hope the weather and temps turn soon. 

Inventory down, but attendance up. 2/19/2022

   Couple beers to aid in the wait. Could hear the call. A German import. Der Schwarze (be with you). A Bock. Call it a heavy lager. Hailing from Boblingen, Germany. Kraftbierwerkstatt basically rents space from local breweries to craft their beers. Der Schwarze, or Black Buck poured a dark ruby-brown Thin, not quite finger thick off-tan head. Thin lacing. Scents of rye malt, cocoa, and caramel. Going down- flavors of chocolate, toffee, rye toast, maybe cherries. Light bitterness (14 IBUs) and strong malt finish. 6.2% alcohol provided a little kick. Very similar to a Brown Ale to me. Overall, it did not jump out. However, not bad. Rated a B-/C+.

   Hacienda Beer Company. Another Wisconsin, USA pick. Milwaukee. Door County. Closer Everywhere Juicy IPA. 7.1% ABV. 50 big IBUs. Poured a very hazy yellow-gold. About a finger of white fluff for the head. Thin lacing. Aromas included strong tropical juices such as pineapple and orange, pine, and malted toffee. Flavors of resinous pine, more juicy citrus, guava, and a noticeable toffee-sweet malt backbone. Tasty, but strong. More bitter than sweet finish. 4-pack of pints. Couple will do ya. Gave this NEIPA a solid B+.

Hear the call! The Pines, 2/2022.

Afternoon Stretch, the Rogue's notes.

Feelin' the need. A call to the Ocean to start it's own warming trend. Clean and green, Rodeway's and 29th. 2/12/2022

There's a little old town
And it's tucked away on an island on the sea
So far away from everything,
Where time it don't mean a thing.
-Stick Figure, "Fire On The Horizon"

     Finally. Skies have cleared. Snows have melted. Had us a weekend warming trend going on in our town by the sea. Only way to extend the weekend, slow time... on the beach. Grabbed an acai bowl at Pablo's, then to the 'front.

Nice waist -plus day. Clean front and backsides. Water still in the upper 30s F. Only for the core. As a matter of fact, some core surfers taking advantage of the stoked conditions. Took the pooch for a walk on the boards, then grabbed our beach chairs and got us a front row seat at Rodeways break on 29th street. Watchin' a few fun and long- boarders slide across the clean walls. Can't say I wasn't hankering to join 'em. But damn...39 degrees. All that rubber. No thank you. As the afternoon stretched, the chill set in. One by one the lineup emptied. Sign to stretch it further. Go get another fueling.

     Headed over to Coastal Salt on the Boards at 16th. Got us some seafood nachos. Shrimp. Lump crab. Pico. Warm tortillas. And beer. Of course. Gotta have beer with nachos (or a martini, as the Wife ordered up). The afternoon's selection brewed by Ashville, NC's Wicked Weed. Coastal Love Hazy IPA. Appropriate, eh? Poured into a frosty shaker glass. Hazy. Pale yellow-orange. Big, 2- plus finger, fizzy white head. Orange citrus, strawberries, and pine hit my head. As I drank, the citrus and hoppy grapefruit made a bright showing in the flavors. Slight candied sweetness. But, at 6.3% ABV, it seemed just a tad weak. Thinkin' a few if these would sneak up on ya. Estimated at 50 IBUs. Sales proceeds benefitted the hurricane relief efforts down South. Decent NEIPA. Gave it a B.