Book Review: Summer of Beer and Whiskey, by Edward Achorn

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Baseball, Beer, Book Review, Books, Edward Achorn, MLB, Philadelphia, Reading, St. Louis, Summer

No, this isn’t a beverage post, nor does it reflect in any way on how my summer is going so far.  Newborns tend to discourage that sort of thing.  Rather, this is a book about one of my other summertime favorites: baseball.  

Summer of Beer and Whiskey tells the story of the American Association, a short-lived professional baseball league that played from 1882 to 1891.  It provides an extensively researched narrative covering the Association’s founding and the thrilling 1883 pennant race between the St. Louis Brown Stockings and the Philadelphia Athletics.  As an upstart rival to the National League, the Association sought to re-popularize the sport after a long string of embarrassing scandals caused the general public to lose faith in the integrity of the game and its players.  Standing in stark contrast to the perceived elitism and puritanism of National League President William A. Hulbert’s iron rule, the Association would revolutionize the sport at the professional level by lowering ticket prices, playing games on Sunday, and allowing the sale of beer in stadiums.  These changes did not come without controversy as critics dubbed the Association the “Beer and Whiskey Circuit,” on account of most team owners having interests in saloons, biergartens, malting, and breweries, and accused them of soliciting “hoodlums” and “riffraff” as fans by making games affordable to the workingman.  However, despite this skepticism, the American Association successfully expanded the game’s audience and helped rescue the sport from financial collapse before eventually folding and merging into the National League.

I found this book fascinating and had a hard time putting it down.  I knew pretty much nothing about this part of baseball history and really enjoyed reading about it.  One thing I found interesting was the reign of William A. Hulbert and the absolute power he had over the sport as National League President.  From imposing the Reserve Clause, which would prohibit Free Agency in Major League Baseball for nearly 100 years, blacklisting players from all levels of professional baseball for transgressions against the League, and expelling big market teams for not following his edicts, most notably the Philadelphia Athletics and New York Mutuals in 1876 for having to cancel games and the Cincinnati Reds in 1880 for refusing to stop the sale of beer, he was certainly an interesting figure to read about.  It makes you really see how much power has shifted to the players and the player’s union over the last few decades.

I also enjoyed reading about how much the game on the field has changed in the last 130 or so years.  As a modern fan, many aspects of the game back then may seem nearly incomprehensible.  On the field, things like the absence of fielding gloves and protective gear were probably the most striking examples of these differences.  Needless to say injuries were common and many careers came to unfortunate ends as a result.  There were also a lot of differences in the rules governing gameplay that drastically changed the dynamics of an at bat.  One such rule that particularly amazed me was hit batsmen not getting a free base, a loophole some pitchers would dangerously exploit to their advantage.  These differences, however, are just the tip of the iceberg and there are plenty more that come up as you read through the book.

It was a different world statistically as well.  Just take a look at some of the American Association’s leaders in pitching statistics at the end of the 98 game 1883 season (as listed in the book’s appendix):

Wins: 43

Innings: 619

Complete Games: 68

In today’s era of 162 game seasons, 43 wins is a lofty goal for two years.  Pitching 619 innings is a milestone that would require a combination of exceptional health, skill, and willing management to reach in three seasons.  As for complete games, today’s specialized bullpens have made those a much rarer feat.  According to Baseball Reference, you’d have to go back to 2011 (James Shields with 11) and 2008 (CC Sabathia with 10) for the last two times a Major League pitcher even broke into double digits.

If you are a fan of baseball and its history, definitely consider checking out this book.  Edward Achorn tells a highly entertaining story that does an excellent job bringing this period of baseball history to life in a manner that is both interesting and informative.

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Summer Session: New Brewery Edition – Bone Up Brewing Company, Part 1

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Beer, Beer Review, Bone Up Brewing Company, Craft Beer, Massachusetts, New England

This time I am checking in with a session beer from yet another new brewery in my area, Bone Up Brewing Company.  They’re not quite ready to open their taproom to the public yet (it is located just down the street from Night Shift), but they recently started a limited distribution of their beer to various bars and stores in the area.  I had time to get over to the Medford Kappy’s the day after they got there most recent delivery, and I picked up two sealed growlers; one for now and one to check out in a few days.

Beer Name: Key Lime White

Brewer: Bone Up Brewing Company

Style: White Ale with Fruit

ABV: 4.1%

Description: Described by the brewers in some detail here through a quirky anecdote, essentially this beer was inspired by key lime pie.  I kind of like the off-key descriptions the brewers give their beers (similar to Stone Brewing but without the direct aggression), though that sort of sassiness will only work in the long run if the beers back it up.  Speaking of, I poured this sample from a sealed 32 oz. growler into a snifter glass.  The growler was filled on 7/22 and I had my first taste on 7/24, so I definitely got to this while it was fresh.  Cost-wise the growler was a pretty reasonable $8.49 with $2.50 deposit on the glass I imagine I can recoup eventually when the taproom opens.

Appearance: The beer had a dark straw/light orangish body topped off with a fizzy white head that dissipated rather quickly down to nothing.

Smell: Citrusy sweetness backed up by a yeasty and bready aroma.

Taste: The beer started out dominated by tart citrus flavors and an aggressive lime zest.  The lime mellowed out a bit as the beer sat for a few minutes, which allowed a subtle bready malt and ever so slightly peppery yeast presence to emerge.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a lot of lively carbonation at the start which served to accentuate the tartness of the lime.  After sitting for a little bit, the carbonation simmered down giving the beer a slightly heavier creamy feeling.

Hype Factor: Curiosity is probably the better word here.  I was pretty excited to sample the wares of a new brewery that is setting up shop in my area.  Even more excited considering the offerings available fit into my session beer theme.

Overall: This was an interesting beer from which to get a first impression of a brewery, but it seems like this might be fairly representative of the brewer’s style.  I think they did a good job with this one and came pretty darn close to their target here.  The beer was very refreshing and definitely well-suited to drink in the hot summer weather.

Brewery Visit: My New Neighbors at Idle Hands Craft Ales

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Beer, Beer Review, Brewery Visit, Idle Hands Craft Ales, Malden, Massachusetts, New England

Having taunted me for months with announcements and signage, Idle Hands Craft Ales finally opened their new taproom in Malden, MA on July 7, 2016.  After being displaced from their original location by casino developers and finding a temporary home with Night Shift Brewing last year, they once again have a place of their own, offering samples and full pours of their beers and even a little bit of food as well.

Their new home is a renovated commercial lot just outside the downtown area, conveniently located next to a Kappy’s just in case you need even more provisions after leaving the brewery.  Stepping inside, you enter a rectangular room where an open floor space has five medium-sized benches stretched out in front of a sizeable bar area.  Visible through a window behind the bar is the brewing floor, through which tanks of beer and brewers going about their business as you drink the end result of their efforts.  The serving area may not be the largest that I have seen, but it does make excellent use of the space giving it an open yet cozy feeling.  A very inviting space in which to have a few drinks.

As for the beer, they had six pouring at the time of my visit and I was able to sample five.Fortunately for me, all of the offerings were of the lower ABV variety so I was able to do my share of enjoying and not have to worry about being out of practice.  Starting things off were two baseball themed IPAs, Two Seam and Change Up #1.  A 4.5% session IPA,Two Seam poured a coppery amber body and had an enjoyable light fruity bitterness characterized by orange zest and pine.  Change Up was a 5.4% IPA and is the first in what will be a line of rotating IPA recipes.  It had a bready malt backbone and a moderate piney grapefruit bitterness.  I liked both, but would give Change Up the slight edge.  For my third beer I sampled a 4.9% Belgian wit called Blanche de Grace.  It poured a cloudy pale yellow body and had a nice mellow wheaty taste backed up by subdued peppercorns and a mix of orange and lemon zest.  This isn’t always my ideal flavor combination, but I found the subtleness of the taste refreshing.  I rounded out my flight with a blonde Belgian ale called Patriarch.  Checking in at 4.8%, it offered a light blend of Belgian yeast, pepper, and cloves upfront with a sweet malt finish.  It was well made, but taste-wise this one just wasn’t really my thing.  I finished out my day with a recommendation from the bartender, a 5.5% kellerbier called Emelyn.  Sweet malts abounded in this beer, with hints of toasted malt and a very mild amount of bitterness lurking in the background.  This was an excellent beer to end on and would call it my co-favorite of the day along with Change Up.

I definitely enjoyed my first trip to the new taproom.  My first impression is that they have the start of a great thing going here and I can’t wait to see how the brewery grows into its new space.  Best of all, it’s pretty much right down the street!

Book Review: Leviathan Wakes, by James S.A. Corey

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Book Review, Books, James S.A. Corey, Reading, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, The Expanse

Leviathan Wakes is the first novel in an ongoing series of books called The Expanse, also a television show of the same name airing on the SyFy network.  In my never-ending search for new reading material, these novels seemed to keep popping up wherever I looked.  They earned some pretty high praise as well, having been likened to Game of Thrones “IN SPAAAACE” (emphasis mine) across numerous media outlets and even having the endorsement of George R. R. Martin himself.  Sounded promising.

In this universe, humans have expanded to colonize the planets of the solar system, with the main power centers being Earth, Mars, and a series of loosely organized mining colonies scattered throughout the Asteroid Belt.  Earth and Mars, the respective economic and technological hubs of humanity, are prosperous rivals while the Belt colonies exist more on the periphery, looked upon with derision by many within the two greater powers.  As a result, there is a growing desire for greater autonomy in the colonies, a sentiment encouraged by the Outer Planets Alliance, a fledgling pseudo-governmental organization with a significant portion of its members not above resorting to terrorist tactics to advance their goals.  Leviathan Wakes follows the adventures of two main point of view characters; James Holden and Joe Miller.  Holden is the Executive Office aboard an ice freighter responding to a distress signal from a stricken vessel, only to end up in trouble himself after falling into an ambush.  On the run and in possession of some troubling information, Holden and his crew find allies in unexpected places as they race to stay one step ahead of their pursuers.  Miller, meanwhile, is a detective for a private security firm aboard Ceres Station, one of the Belt’s major population centers.  When given a side job to locate a young woman from a prominent Earth family who has run away to the Belt, he inexplicably finds himself engrossed in the case and unable to let it go even as events develop to push him off of it.  As the paths of Holden and Miller converge, they gradually uncover a conspiracy that could not only lead to war between Mars and the Belt, but also unleash a deadly pathogen on all of humanity.

I had some mixed feelings about this novel.  The first half of the book was a fairly enjoyable, though not exceptional, space opera adventure mixed with a cop/detective drama that didn’t quite seem to pan out.  The characters, with the possible exception of Miller, I found to be fairly typical stock personalities and not especially memorable. One instance where this particularly bothered me was the relationship between Holden and his second in command, a woman named Naomi Nagata.  I liked her just fine, but (MINOR SPOILER!) I felt that making her a love interest/girlfriend detracted from the character’s potential.  Other than providing a good laugh when the crew found out about them, it really added nothing to the story and felt a bit unnecessary and out of place given everything else that was going on.  Also, while I found the point of view chapters a great way to explore the characters, later on when Miller and Holden are in the same place I found the transitions between chapters a bit jarring.  Jumping back and forth in perspective every few pages between two people seeing the same thing and having a conversation with each other felt choppy and interrupted the flow of the story for me.

That said, the book did have a few things going for it.  The action was well done, with hand-to-hand and ship-to-ship fighting sequences exciting and easy to follow.  The political and societal tensions between the different groups of humans, which I had expected to be the main draw of this story, were indeed interesting though a bit underdeveloped.  There were the beginnings of what could be an intriguing and complex universe here, provided it gets developed into something a bit more unique and substantive as the series progresses.  I am curious to see where the story goes, but the sequel really needs to impress me if I am going to continue on from there.

Summer Session: Jack’s Abby – Leisure Time Lager

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Beer, Beer Review, Jack's Abby Brewing, Massachusetts, New England, Session, Summer Session

Leisure time, what’s that?  Here we go with another session beer from a brewery with “Jack” in the name.

Beer Name: Leisure Time Lager

Brewer: Jack’s Abby Brewing

Style: Pale Wheat Lager

ABV: 4.8%

Description: Listed on the brewery website as a lager brewed with “wheat and a blend of spices including lemongrass, coriander, orange peel, and chamomile.”  I emptied a 12 oz. can into a pint glass for this review.

Appearance: It poured a cloudy, semi-see through straw yellow body with a frothy white head that dissipated rather quickly.

Smell: Slightly sweet, mixed with lager yeast and a faint bit of tea on the finish.

Taste: A little bit of sweetness upfront, primarily in the form of orange and lemon zest.  From there the beer picked up a wheaty, yeasty taste before finishing with a subtle mix of light malt, chamomile, subdued floral hops, and just a bit more citrusy sweetness.  Really nice blend of flavors that complimented each other well.

Mouthfeel: Just barely medium bodied with a decent amount of carbonation.  Went down nice and easy.

Hype Factor: No particular hype here, I simply picked this one up to get re-acquainted with a core offering from another one of my fantastic local breweries.  

Overall: Very tasty and really easy to go through quickly right from the start.  It had a  great blend of flavors and was both refreshing and relaxing to drink.  I could see this being an excellent beer to have in quantity for some outdoor day drinking on a hot summer day.  Nicely done, one of my favorite session beers so far this summer.

Book Review: Children of Earth and Sky, by Guy Gavriel Kay

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Book Review, Books, Fantasy, Guy Gavriel Kay, Historical Fiction, History, Reading

This book had been on my library wait list for so long I forgot exactly how I came across it.  What I do know is that I had really been looking forward to it; I’d been wanting to get into another historical fiction and I had heard a lot of great things about this author.

Set in a fictional world based on Renaissance-era Europe roughly 25 years after the conquest of Constantinople, the events of the novel are shaped by two particular conflicts.  The larger and most influential of these conflicts is the ongoing religious strife between the Jad-worshipping countries of the west and the Osmanli empire in the east.  Looming over the events of the book is a large Osmanli army marching westward with the intent to capture key fortresses from a powerful Jaddite emperor.  The secondary conflict is that the prosperous merchant city of Seressa is trying to gain support in wiping out the Senjans, a formidable band of raiders preying upon ships bound for Seressini ports.  These conflicts unfold and are explored through the lives and adventures of four main point of view characters; Pero Villani, a struggling artist from Seressa, Danica Gradek, a Senjan raider, Damaz, a young Osmanli foot soldier, and Merin Djivo, a merchant from Dubrava, a smaller trade-based city and semi-rival to Seressa.  As their lives and work thrust them into these great events, each character is taken on an adventure that will forever change their lives.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and thought it was well worth the wait.  The world depicted within was beautifully complex, believable, and populated by a host of interesting characters.  There was a lot of warmth, adventure, and mysticism relayed through the telling of this story that really drew me in.  I also had fun piecing together the real-world locations fictionalized in this narrative.  I will admit though that I’d never heard of the uskoks, Croatian raiders that operated in the Adriatic Sea, who served as the inspiration for the Senjans, nor did I realize that the Jaddite emperor’s domain was based on a Prussian court (thank you author’s notes).  You didn’t really need to know any of this to enjoy the story, but I appreciated having a mental map and additional context to work with even though the name changes freed me from worrying too much about how events fit into the actual historical record.  For these kinds of books I like to do outside research either during or after my reading, and certain types of inconsistencies can bother me and detract from the experience.  This fictionalized world also allowed the author to introduce a few fantasy elements into the story without them seeming out-of-place or forced.  I thought these were a nice touch as they added an extra element of wonder and mystery to the world and were applied quite sparingly so as not to drastically reshape or alter the larger narrative.

Having completed this book I am now quite interested in reading more from Guy Gavriel Kay.  While it might not fit snugly in either the fantasy or historical fiction genres, I enjoyed the writing style, subject matter, characters, and most of all, the story.

Summer Session: Brewmaster Jack – Jan

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Beer, Beer Review, Brewmaster Jack, Massachusetts, New England, Summer Session

This was a special beer for me.  No, it’s not an elusive whale or some crazy Untappd milestone.  This is the first I’ve had since my son, incidentally named Jack, was born last week.  With sleep at a premium, let’s continue on with my summer of session beers!

Beer Name: Jan

Brewer: Brewmaster Jack

Style: Czech Pilsner

ABV: 4.5%

Description: Described on the brewery website as a light and delicate traditional lager made from their favorite yeast strain offering a “crisp, clean, and refreshing” taste.  It came in a 12 oz. bottle which I poured into a snifter glass.

Appearance: The body poured a nice golden amber color, topped off by roughly a finger’s worth of foamy white head.  Lots of lively bubbles running up from the bottom of the glass.

Smell: Sweet, with a light malt base underneath.

Taste: Similar to the smell, the beer was sweet up front, with a bit of a tangy apple presence giving this flavor added prominence.  Transitioned to grainy, light Pilsner malts with an extremely subtle hint of earthy hops towards the finish.  The aftertaste was slightly tangy again, with light malt and yeast mingled in.

Mouthfeel: Thin, light body with a pretty heavy level of carbonation.  Happy little bubbles throughout.

Hype Factor: Not a lot of hype attached to this beer, but it was consumed under some pretty special circumstances.  It was also nice to open up a cold beer on a warm day after going without for a few weeks.

Overall: Despite having a similar flavor profile to the brewery’s Stray Dog amber lager, a brew I was somewhat ambivalent about, I kind of liked this beer.  Once again, I’m not entirely sure if the tartness was intentional or not, but it did work out pretty well in combination with the lighter malts.  I’d drink this again, but wouldn’t go out of my way to do so.  I think for this brewery I far prefer their more hop forward offerings and rye porter though.

Book Review: The Android’s Dream, by John Scalzi

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Book Review, Books, John Scalzi, Reading, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction

I had been meaning to read more from John Scalzi ever since picking up Redshirts and Human Division a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoying them.  He’s also a fellow (albeit significantly more popular) WordPress blogger whose updates on things like new books, politics, and pictures of his cats make slow mornings at work all the more bearable.  Imagine then my surprise that while scrolling through my library’s listing of ebooks on the heels (hoofs?) of finishing Wild Sheep Chase I came across a book he wrote involving sheep.  It seemed too good a coincidence to pass up.

Set at an unspecified point in Earth’s future, humanity has joined an interstellar alliance known as the Common Confederation.  As relative newcomers, Earth is still in a probationary period and nominally under the protection of another lesser power, the Nidu.  Not everyone within the Earth government is happy with the terms of this arrangement, however, and when an elaborate prank meant to sabotage a trade meeting leaves both target and perpetrator dead, a crisis erupts.  On the verge of a war it cannot win, the Earth’s only hope for peace is to provide the Nidu ruling family with a living sheep from a rare and endangered genetically modified strain called Android’s Dream.  Tasked with this mission is State Department employee Harry Creek; former child prodigy, disillusioned war veteran, and, most recently, professional bearer of bad news.  What follows is his wild, humorous, and occasionally violent race through a convoluted web of interdepartmental warfare and alien politics to find the sheep that will save humanity.

Despite the homage to Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and my own tie-ins to Haruki Murakami’s Wild Sheep Chase, this novel was decidedly different than either of these other works.  Fast paced, light-hearted, and full of humor, I found the story incredibly fun and a nice change of pace after the more serious books I’ve been reading lately.  From the zany antics of the first chapter to a steady stream of more nuanced wit and cynicism about politics and religion, I had a smile on my face the entire time I was reading this.  My favorite part of the story was easily the Church of the Evolved Lamb.  Premised as the only organized religion officially recognized as originating from outright fraud, the church got its start when a con artist tried to dupe an affluent elderly woman out of her fortune.  Not fooled by his plan and deciding to have a little fun, she agreed to donate money provided he complete a progressively arduous series of tasks, ranging from the creation of large volumes of prophecy and scripture to complex building projects.  With practitioners split between those who believe it inadvertently stumbled across something truly holy and those who take joy in the prospect of delivering upon its promises entirely through human agency, the organization certainly made quite an impression.

I would recommend this book to any readers with a healthy sense of humor.  It definitely reinforced my desire to read more from this author.