Saturday, December 30, 2023

Season Of Inspiration, the Rogue's notes.


"Whether spending Christmas in the snow or on the beach, the most important aspect is celebrating in a way that brings joy and meaning to you and your loved ones." - Souf Tihhi

Sunrise break on 62nd Street. The OC, 12/19/2023


     Fell a hair behind on posts towards year end. Call it lack of incentive. Lack of inspiration. All brought on by lack of surf time. However, it's Christmas. The season of inspiration. Inspiration everywhere. 'Specially on the shore. Nuthin' beats the Christmas season to inspire a better self into the New Year.  As a side note... hard to beat an early AM surf check to inspire a better day. Enough deviation. The weather has turned. Nights becoming clogged with the chill of winter. Had to carefully time putting up the outside lights this year to avoid either a freezing, or a soaking. Took a couple days, spaced out. When done, always worth the effort. The Pines and the OC already had their holiday luster goin'. Lights. An essence of this time of year that is always memorable for me. Father putting up our lights. Grandfather taking us on an early version of a light tour. Yeah, definitely a favorite part of the season.

Inlet lot.









Entrance to town.
Pier rides. 

presented Three Scrooges Winter
Ale. 5% ABV. 18 IBUs. Dark red
pour with aromas of nutmeg, cloves
and oranges. Taste had notes of 
cinnamon and nutmeg, anise, caramel, 
and ginger dancin' with the orange. 
Decent, but not a very warming beer. 
Rated a C+/B-.


Pines Southgate.

White Horse Park, Ocean Pines.








 


Surfin' Santa!





Ringing in the season was
Michigan's star Founders 
Brewing with The Cranfather.
 Cranberry Old Fashioned style
Bourbon Barrel Ale. 11.1% ABV.
Approx 30 IBUs. Deep mahogany 
pour. Cloudy to the point of being
opaque. Stone fruit, citrus, cran-
berry, and bourbon scents. Flavors
of orange, cherry, dates, and fig.
And of course, bourbon. Play on
tart and sweet. Perfect holiday
offering. Gave it an A rating.
   Music. also a big part of the season. Granddaughter's first concert. A child's version of Christmas provides inspiration to everyone in earshot.  
Center of attention.
     Annual trip to Chicago. Our Lake Geneva, Wisconsin connection pulled up stakes and moved south. Gulf Coast Florida. Story/post for another time. So our first stop was Northville and the subs of Detroit for a few. Then on to Oswego and the southwest subs of Chicago. Mild holidays. No snow during travel. Less stress. Joyous. Family. All about family. All in the Family. Inspiration to heal. Inspiration to celebrate. Stoked! 
Colorado. Not much
more festive than Candy
Cane beer. Make it a nitro.
For a foam topper. Very
creamy. Defined by the
 peppermint. Little coffee.
Some chocolate. 9.5% 
warming effect. Nice
hopped finish at an est.
30 IBUs. Solid B rating.
Northville, MI base station.












More Colorado brewed.
Holidale. Whiskey Barrel Ale.
10.7% ABV. 22 IBU. Sweet,
earthy aromas. Flavors of
nutmeg and cinnamon. Oakey.
Boozy. Rich. Dark brown
pour with a finger brown
head. Everything expected
in a Christmas brew. Gave it
a B+/A- rating.

Guarding the loot (or waiting for more?).


For Kings Not Gods.
Resist Spirits, Kentucky.
57.35% ABV. 114.7 Prf.
Bitters. Luxardo cherries.
A genuine holiday Old
Fashioned. AAA Rate!











of Travers City, MI. Blitzen
Festivus Ale in honor of the
Michigan Wood Elf. Dark
amber pour with a thin tan
head. Malt and rye make up
the toffee and spice aromas
and flavor. A bit more rye
than winter spice. 6.8ABV.
55 IBUs. Rated a B/B-.



Hopvine Brewing - perfect holiday watering hole.

Hopvine Cuban Rolls










KrumpasBock. Odd Side
Ales. A Bock Lager of
German heritage. Poured
an off-brown with a thin, 
fast dissipating head. Notes
of malt and caramel in the
smell. Tasted of toasted malt,
nutmeg, and more caramel.
At 7.2%, could actually
bring out Krampus. Rated
a solid B. 











First whiff gives aromas of malts,
pecans, and piney hops. Boulevard
Brewing's Nutcracker. A cryptic
Winter Warmer at 7.8% ABV. Flavors
of roasted nuts, caramel, spice, and
lightly sweetened cherries. Citrus
notes on the back end. Only 38 IBUs
considering the overly strong bittered
finish. Amber-brown, hazy body
with a finger plus, dense beige head.
Fair cheer for the holidays.
Rated a B-/C+.



Midwest tradition. Oswego, IL 12/25/2023.

An IPA befitting of the the 
Fest I Val! War Pigs Brewing
produced Blinding Light Show.
A tropical celebration of light. 
Perfect for the Season of Lights.
Smelled of oranges, lemon,
melon, and pine. Tasted of pine-
apples, mangos, and more
resinous pine. Balancing malt
backbone similar to a wit beer.
Clean, crisp finish. 67IBUs.
Dangerous at 7.8%. Rated
a joyous A.

















Family and giving= always stoked.


Jolly Pumpkin's Noel. Oak Aged
Wild Ale. Dark mahogany pour.
Thin white head. Stone fruit, cranberries
cloves, and nutmeg, swirled in the flavor.
Tart. Bitter. Aromas were of cherries,
grapes, and oranges tempered with oak.
9% made it a sipper. 22 IBUS provided
a bitter, dry finish. 'Lil inspiration on a cold
Christmas holiday night. Deserving
 of an A rating.

"Cheer up, dude. It's Christmas!" -The Grinch

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Full Plate, the Rogue's notes

"Time to eat too much, and engage in heated political arguments with my relatives." - SDC
Road to abundance; Beauchamp, 11/2023.
      Thanksgiving. The spirit of the full plate. Dinner with family. Abundance on every table. Dinner in Smyrna with Family- Brothers, In-Laws, Niece, Nephews, Wife, Kids, Granddaugters (all three of 'em!), pooches. Tons of food. Plenty of drink. Tree lighting and ice sculptures in Berlin. Winterfest in the OC. Pretty busy long weekend. Only minor sin - skipped the Ocean. For family you can do that. Always comes first. It's the season that emphasizes it. Face it. Family fuels the Stoke.

Old Jubilation. Avery
Brewing's Strong Ale.
Pretty sure the 8.3%ABV
helps with that. Poured a
deep reddish mahogany. 
Dense, tan head. Smelled
of burnt toast, raisins, and
 toffee. Flavors blended
roasted malts, sweet brown
sugar, and chocolate
covered caramel. Warmer
without being boozy. Slight
45 IBU hopped bite in the
finish. Good pick for the
holidays. Rated a B+.








Hotel Atlantic - the anchor and master over the town Christmas Tree lighting.
Main Street- Berlin, MD 11/24/2023.
     Gettin' to be an annual tradition. Ice Ice Berlin and the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremonies. Small town pomp & circumstance. Family loved it. Decorations. Santa. The Grinch. Ice Sculptures. Sip and Shop...yeah, sippin on a beer, or a cocktail while Christmas shoppin'. Nuthin' loosens up them purse strings quicker. Literally everything and everyone all lit up. Kinda. Wasn't all that loose. But... definitely fun.


The Pin! Ohhhh Nooooooo!

























Dinner and a trip up North later... the OC's Winterfest of Lights. Now THIS is an annual tradition. Mexican. Daughter and Granddaughter love the food. Definitely needed to walk it off. Northside Park provided the best of both worlds. A tram for those who wanted the fast track. Walking paths for those who ate Mexican. Scoped out the tons of light displays. Fair night in the lower 40s with light winds. Walk fast. That was the key. Great weekend closer.





















Had to fit this one in. Troeg's
Mad Elf Grand Cru. Seasonal
special closer (yes Virginia,
you can have two closers). An
interesting red tint to the finger+,
fizzy head. Clear, ruby pour.
Lots of cherries and dark choco-
late in the aromas. Anticipated
more of the same in the taste.
Man! Are those cherries tart!
Malted chocolate. Hint of spice
and molasses in the finish. The
15 IBUs are misleading. Or maybe
the tartness added to the bitter-
ness. 11% ABV meant don't drink
 the entire 4-pack in one sitting. 
A dangerous cousin to Mad Elf.
Not bad. Rated a B/B-.







No slowing her down!
      Session's end. It can get pretty hectic around our family during the holidays. Well, anytime we all get together. Laughing. Yelling. Joking. Whining. Ball bustin'. Talking over. Pushing over. But, it's all in love. Loaded with Stoke. Abundance in blessings. A full plate.

"Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. 
Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas.
No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, 
four-alarm holiday emergency here!" 
-Clark Griswold