Author Archives: Tasha

The DuClaw and Antijenic Drift.

Man, horrid title misspellings right after National Grammar Day? What is the world coming to?

Of course, I didn’t misspell anything in my post’s title. Not one word. Honest.

“The DuClaw” being, of course, the brewery in Maryland, not the seemingly unimportant part of a dog’s paw (dewclaw), and “Antijenic Drift” being my very dear friend Jen, not a discussion of the arms race between our immune systems and pathogens.

Beer and friends. My life could be a lot worse.

You guys may recall a post from about two weeks ago concerning the possibility that I might not make it to DuClaw while in Baltimore. After writing that, I realized I genuinely wanted to make a point to visit the brewery and try the Bad Moon Porter again.… Continue reading →

I just spent $40 on bad beer. Intentionally.

And I’d thought it was going to cost me on the order of $100.

Okay, technically, I spent that $40 on a class about bad beer, thus so it’s really on the expertise to learn how to recognize specific “off” flavors.

I’m really looking forward to this. Tasting beer is absolutely one of my favorite things, which is why I genuinely love the bars and taprooms that offer 4 oz pours of all their beers. I get to try many different beers without getting hammered to do so. (Confession: I kind of hate being drunk.)

This was something of an impulse buy. I’d heard about a few seminars like this popping up around Chicago, but typically I’d hear about them after the fact or while I was already booked.… Continue reading →

Samples Lead Me Astray. To Surreality and Greatness!

Yesterday, I got two beer samples and, based on those samples, ordered a beer. The one on the left.

I received this snifter.

I briefly noted that my snifter’s beer appeared darker than the sample I’d gotten, but I’ve noticed that can happen on rare occasions. I’m not really sure of the optical physics of why a larger portion of beer can occasionally seem so much darker than a sample, but probably someone out there can explain it. Maybe I’ll poke a friend into doing so, if I can.

I also noticed the head was rather reduced in the full pour. I didn’t think much of it, until I sipped the beer. At which point I was tasting a fabulous beer, with some lovely wine barrel characteristics, that managed to be both like and unlike the sample I’d had.… Continue reading →

CSA Delivery Tomorrow. Got Back in Town Last Night.

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  • Monday, February 25, 2013
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Bill and I got back from Baltimore late last night. I think we walked in the door about 11:45 pm or so. We got home, had a little snack, and collapsed into bed.

We were lucky[1] this time around. The CSA only delivers bi-weekly during the winter, and so we left just after a delivery and the next delivery will be tomorrow night. Thus, we didn’t have to make any special arrangements for our food. That was nice.

However, it makes me want to hold off on grocery shopping. At least until the delivery hits. I have gotten a “sneak peek” of what we’ll be getting, but past experience has made me quite wary of relying on the sneak peek email. Sometimes they just can’t get you a thing they expected to pick, or sometimes you plan for a pound of turnips and they give you three baby turnips.… Continue reading →

First Loves and Geographic Separation

I’m in and around Baltimore, Maryland this week. I think I’ve mentioned it before, but if I haven’t, I lived in Baltimore (Hampden!) for about six months, and I lived in the area for a little over three years. Thus, whenever Bill has a conference in the area, I tag along to visit everyone and everything[1].

Or almost everything. The last time or two we’ve come, I’ve missed visiting one place. I realized I have a solid chance of missing the same place, but I really hope I don’t. It’s my first beer love, DuClaw Brewing.

When I lived in this area, I largely didn’t drink. I didn’t like the taste of anything containing alcohol, and didn’t usually feel inclined to try anything alcoholic anyway[2].… Continue reading →