After spending the day working, I walked over to Tyson & Sujata’s (meeting Miranda and Brian on the way, since we live in the same neighborhood) for a party they were hosting to celebrate Tyson’s birthday. Had a really good time (as always) seeing everybody (which I will call ‘the gang’, also known as ‘the kids’ or ‘my special friends’), spending time in his beautifully landscaped yard, sipping on beer (Tyson had picked up a pony keg of Hopworks Urban Brewery‘s Kolsch, which was really tasty for such a summer evening), listening to music, and generally chilling out. Had a great time. Happy birthday T-dog!
Category: Beer
Today after a few coworkers and I walked to the north park blocks for the Portland International Beerfest to sample some delicious beers from around the world. We all left work a bit early to get there in time to catch the ‘happy hour’ price, where we got an additional 5 tickets for the regular $20 entry price (which includes a small, 4 oz glass, 10 tickets, and a guide). While there I got to try out some new beers, as well as use my tickets on things I knew I’d enjoy.
Here’s what I had:
- Two of the newer New Belgium beers I hadn’t had yet, La Folie (very sour and citrus-y, but not bad for a warm day, by the end I kind of liked it despite it’s very sour flavor) and Mighty Arrow (a fairly good if middle-of-the-road pale ale)
- Echt Kriekenbier, listed as a Cherry Flanders Red from Belgium, which was a bit fruity, but really pretty tasty (considering I don’t typically like fruity beers)
- Rochefort 8, a Trappist ale from Belgium, pretty strong (9.2% ABV), malty, and rich.
- Lagunitas Brewing‘s “We’re only in it for the Money“… good beer, and bonus points for a hilarious name, and an even more hilarious title listed under it’s brewing style: Why Does it Hurt When I Pee?
- Chimay Grande Reserve (aka Chimay Blue), something I’d had before, but not for quite a while, so I had some. A really quality Belgian Trappist dark strong ale.
- Coniston Bluebird Bitter, a consistent favorite of mine, and what I kept going back to (both because it was 1 ticket and it’s good). I think I’d like to get this on tap at my kegerator. 🙂
Yeah, it’s been that long. Keep meaning to write, just been busy. Here’s a recap since my last post
July 4th
We held a really small BBQ for the Independence Day. Had a good time grilling meats and drinking beers, and were treated to a show as loads of people in my neighborhood tend to fire off some large, impressive, and very illegal fireworks (in Oregon, anything firework that flies is illegal, as far as I understand it).
July 5th
The following day we went to another BBQ (and housewarming) at a friends house. Learned that a soon-to-be dentist friend has made money from old teeth. If you have teeth pulled with crowns or fillings (and you choose to let them keep the bloody, rotten things) the remaining amounts of gold, palladium, and other valuable materials can be melted down and the value can be exchanged for cash. Since it’s exchanging one form of currency for another, it isn’t taxable. As a result of his schooling, he’s collected a number of teeth to practice on, and found he had enough with said valuable materials to buy himself a plasma TV. Guess it’s an added bonus from that whole dentistry shtick.
July 8th-10th
Some our friends from back east (S & C) came out to visit and stayed with us for a few days. They have a wee little one (about 9 months old), and we hadn’t seen them in quite a while, so it was cool to catch up and meet the little man.
July 10th-13th
Kelly left town for Utah for a few days for a work event. That meant I was bach’n it through Sunday the 13th. In that time I went another BBQ for the friends from back east at Snooks place, and generally just drank a lot of beer.
This past week
Work over the past few weeks has been hectic, and now we’re in the final push for the next release of SuperSweetCo‘s application. Add to that some additional pressure to get things super solid, super quick, it’s made things a bit more stressful around the office. So last night I worked late, am working late tonight, and will likely work this weekend. Oh well, I too want the release to be solid and have all the polish it should. Just wish there were more time. Ain’t it always the way.
Today
Kelly left this morning for another 4 days for another work event (in Seattle, WA this time). I’m sitting in my back yard with a pint of Harp (what’s currently on tap at Ryan’s Pub), and am enjoying the cooler temperatures while I write this and do more work.
And finally… there was some joker on the bus
Today I saw two people with Joker makeup in Portland, not sure if it’s a coordinated marketing thing, or just that I happened to see two hardcore nerdy Batman fans with Joker makeup on the same day, but either way this joker was sitting on the bus when I got on, so when I sat down I had to grab my camera quickly take a photo. He was reading a Batman comic, and had a large box filled with comics, all in plastic sleeves. I will say that this joker was dressed up (and made up) pretty well. The other joker I saw on the street was dressed out of character (black leather jacket and jeans) and the makeup was pretty light (didn’t even have green hair). Kinda funny (and a bit worrisome) to see Joker on your bus. 🙂
Today I went to the North American Organic Brewers Festival. Kelly is volunteering there today and tomorrow, so I thought I’d go and show my support. Which meant going and drinking beer. Pretty hard to pass that up.
The festival itself was a quite a bit of fun, and was fairly mellow compared to other brewfest’s held in Portland. It was held at Overlook Park, a spot I hadn’t been to before (though I’d been by many times over the years). On my way in (after having dropped Kelly off an hour or so earlier for her volunteer shift) I ran into a coworker and his wife, so we hung out for a bit, and later another coworker joined us. The weather here has been scorching hot, so we spent most of our time in the shade of a tree, between picking up samples of delicious organic beers.
After Kelly finished her shift, we went to Rose & Thistle to meet up with Mr & Mrs Ghost Dog, to celebrate GD’s birthday (“I’m 37, I’m not old”). Happy Birthday Ghost Dog!
Had a great time out, despite how disgustingly hot it was (through midnight). I really dislike 90+ degree days, and today was pretty nasty. Gimme 75 degrees and I’ll be happy. Urgh.
I’ll be back at the brewfest tomorrow (Kelly has another volunteer shift until about 5pm) in case any of you can join me. Hooray for delicious, organic beer! Oh, and the cups are made from corn, so they are biodegradable / compost-able. Neat!
Categories
Believe it or not…
The keg of Guinness is dead. My brother and I finished off what was left of it tonight. It died at approx. 10:30pm PST. It lived a short, but mirth-filled life of two weeks, one day, and three hours. I will take your condolences now.
I was surprised at how quickly the keg went, but as I mentioned in my previous post, I was working at it harder than I normal would due to all the rumors of a one and a half, to two week lifespan. While I now have no conclusive evidence to dispell such rumors, I can say that a keg of Guinness on the Nitro/CO2 mix (with a slightly lower than specified PSI) will live at least 15 days. I was hoping to find out exactly how long it would last, and make Guinness-filled stews and cakes with what was left, but the rumors of a ‘life cut short’ caused me to both drink it, and push it on my friends and family, at such a rate that I wasn’t able to find out.
Maybe next time.
However for now, I’m switching back to a beer made for CO2, something that I know will last for a couple months. More importantly, something I won’t feel pressured to drink up so quickly. That’s a good thing all around.