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Monthly Archives: January 2018

Book Review: Oathbringer, by Brandon Sanderson (Book Three of the Stormlight Archive)

30 Tuesday Jan 2018

Posted by mrericness in Book Reviews, Fantasy

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Book, Book Review, Brandon Sanderson, Cosmere, Fantasy, Reading, Stormlight Archive

I’m reporting in this time with the latest installment of the Stormlight Archive, recently released in November 2017.  Before embarking on this 1,200 page adventure I followed the author’s advice in the preface and read a (relatively) short novella titled Edgedancer.  I do highly recommend reading that as well, though my review from here on out will focus solely on my thoughts regarding Oathbringer.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but do have to say that I found it slightly slower to get into than the others.  I think what threw me off initially was Kaladin being apart from the Bridge Four crew.  I’ve grown accustomed to their banter being a major part of the story and its absence gave the early chapters a slightly different feeling than the other books.  However, by the time Kaladin, Shallan, and Adolin arrived in Kholinar the story had quickly ramped back up.  Their subsequent journey home through Shardsmar and the Battle of Thaylen City that closed out the book were both off the charts exciting, ending this part of the story on an exhilarating high.  In the midst of all that action, there was also a pretty major revelation about the history of Roshar and the people who inhabit it.  It certainly changed the perception of some past events and I am very curious to see what additional info comes to light in the next book.

Speaking of Roshar’s inhabitants, the characters were once again strong throughout the book.  The main trio of Dalinar, Kaladin, and Shallan were as engaging as ever, though this time around the arcs of Dalinar and Shallan received the most page time.  It was really interesting to learn Dalinar’s backstory and see how he became the person we presently know him to be following the impulsive violence of his youth and its consequences.  His flashbacks served as an excellent illustration of why the other nations are so reluctant to trust his calls for an alliance.  As for Shallan, she faced some demons of her own this novel.  Determined to repress and escape her own traumas and insecurities, she spent a large part of the book using her Lightweaving skills to create new identities whenever she deemed her original self inadequate.  The progression of her transformations was really quite fascinating to watch as she teetered on the edge of losing herself.

What made this story truly epic, though, was how enjoyable the secondary characters were.  A book on this large a scale can’t get by on its main characters alone and happily this story featured so many other interesting people that I have to force myself to stick with only my absolute favorites here.  Most notable for me, was finally learning more about (and meeting!) the three Shards on Roshar; Honor, Cultivation, and Odium.  Also, much to my delight, both Lift and Wit made a number of memorable appearances and managed to steal whatever scene they were in, regardless of the situation.  Rounding out my list, I am additionally looking forward to seeing what happens regarding the strange spren bonded to Renarin and Venli as well finding out what is in store for the various members of Bridge Four; Teft, Rock, and Moash in particular.

At this point I am sad to say that my time in this universe has to be put on hold.  Looking at the author’s anticipated release schedule, book four in this series isn’t planned for release until 2020!  That in conjunction with the next Mistborn novel being slated for 2019 means I’m going to have to look for my Cosmere fix elsewhere.  I’m thinking Elantris is next.

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Cigar City Brewing – Marshal Zhukov’s Imperial Stout

26 Friday Jan 2018

Posted by mrericness in Beer Reviews

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Beer, Beer Review, Cigar City Brewing, Craft Beer, Florida, Russian Imperial Stout, Stout

The last of my vacation beers that I’ll be reviewing, this was the most notable new (to me at least) brew I picked up while away.  My sole regret regarding this beer is that I didn’t get a better picture.

Beer Name: Marshal Zhukov’s Imperial Stout

Brewery: Cigar City Brewing (Tampa, FL)

Style: Russian Imperial Stout

ABV: 11.2%

Description: Named for decorated WW2-era Soviet general Georgy Zhukov, this Russian Imperial Stout was brewery to feature espresso, chocolate, and dry English hops.  Read all about it here.  The bottle cost me around $20 if I recall correctly.

Appearance: Thick black body topped by a narrow layer of thick dark brown foam.

Smell: Richly sweet backed by a moderate amount of alcohol.

Taste: Rich dark malt and an abundance of sweetness upfront that combined brown sugar, molasses, toffee, and bittersweet chocolate.  There was a roasty, espresso finish that came with a moderate amount of heat.  Hints of dark roast coffee, sweetness, and alcohol lingered a bit at the very end.

Mouthfeel: Thick, full body that had a delightful creamy smoothness to it.  Minimal carbonation.

Hype: I’d heard plenty of great things about this beer over the years so I decided to treat myself with this bottle.

Overall: I really enjoyed this and would say that it lived up to my heightened expectations.  Excellent blend of sweetness, roast, and heat.  Highly recommended for stout enthusiasts, I feel like I got what I paid for with this one.

Swamp Head Brewery – Stump Knocker

24 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by mrericness in Beer Reviews

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Beer, Beer Review, Craft Beer, Florida, Swamp Head Brewery

This next beer was enjoyed outside on a deck overlooking a beautiful sunset with my wife while her dad babysat our little man.  Hurray vacation!

Beer Name: Stump Knocker

Brewery: Swamp Head Brewery (Gainesville, FL)

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.6%

Description: Brewed to be smooth drinking and hoppy, this pale ale received a “generous” amount of dry-hops.  My can was served alongside a chilled glass (which I just rolled with).

Appearance: Cloudy, reddish/amber body with about finger of white foam up top.

Smell: Juicy, tropical fruits mixed with a bit of grapefruit.

Taste: More of the fruity notes present in the aroma, coupled with caramel malt.  Finished crisp, with a subtle blend of earthy and piney hops and perhaps just a bit more grapefruit mixed in.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, medium body with a moderate amount of carbonation.

Hype: I think I’d heard of this brewery at some point, but I’m not aware of any particular hype around this one.

Overall: A nice little brew that made for some easy drinking outside.  It leaned towards one of my favorite flavor profiles with the caramel malt which was a definite plus in my book.  While I wouldn’t quite rank this as a superlative brew to go out of your way for, I would certainly order it again if given the chance.

Cigar City Brewing – White Oak Jai Alai

22 Monday Jan 2018

Posted by mrericness in Beer Reviews

≈ 2 Comments

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Beer, Beer Review, Cigar City Brewing, Craft Beer, Florida, Maggie's Attic

My vacation is officially over and I have left sunny Florida behind.  Although the area we were visiting isn’t exactly a beer mecca, I did manage to find a few noteworthy brews despite not having a lot of time to go seeking them out.  One of my favorite spots near our destination is a little shop called Maggie’s Attic in Mount Dora and I highly recommend checking this place out if you’re in the area.  I’m by no means a regular, but they’ve definitely treated me right the few times I’ve gone.

Beer Name: White Oak Jai Alai

Brewery: Cigar City Brewing (Tampa, FL)

Style: Oak Aged IPA

ABV: 7.5%

Description: A variant of the brewery’s populate Jai Alai IPA brewed with white oak spirals said to impart notes of vanilla, coconut, and (just a touch of) dill.  Enjoyed on draft.

Appearance: Slightly cloudy light amber body topped off by a foamy almost off-white head.

Smell: Juicy citrus notes accompanied by vanilla and a slight piney bitterness.

Taste: It started out with citrus sweetness mixed with subdued piney hops and a mix of light cracker and caramel malts.  Shortly after these initial tastes a light yet distinct vanilla and coconut presence came over the beer.  On the finish a bit of oak came through as well while the vanilla and opening flavors slowly blended together.  Full disclosure: I couldn’t quite pin down the coconut on my own until I read up on the beer that night and had a major AH-HA! moment.

Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium body with a little less than moderate level of carbonation.

Hype: I don’t know how the locals feel about it, but this was a beer that I have heard some buzz about over the years and was excited to have a chance to try it out.

Overall: I liked this a lot and found it to be a really interesting take on an IPA.  The oak and vanilla notes added by the aging process really set this apart as something unique.  I am certainly glad I got a chance to try this.

 

Somerville Brewing Company (Slumbrew) – #ThanksObama

19 Friday Jan 2018

Posted by mrericness in Beer Reviews

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Barack Obama, Beer, Beer Review, Craft Beer, Massachusetts, New England, Obama, Slumbrew, Somerville Brewing Company

I didn’t plan on posting this week on account of having just returned home from vacation, but a local event caught my attention.  From January 19-21, Somerville Brewing Company is serving up pints of their limited release #ThanksObama Nitro Stout and donating a portion of each sale to the Barack Obama Foundation.  Just their way of doing some good in the world and helping lift spirits in these troubling times.  The beer is available at both the main brewery and the taproom at Assembly Square.

Beer Name: #ThanksObama

Brewery: Somerville Brewing Company (Somerville, MA)

Style: Milk Stout (Nitro)

ABV: 5.5%

Description: A nitro milk stout brewed as a thank you to our former President.  Described by the brewers as creamy with hints of chocolate and coffee.  Available on draft at both Slumbrew locations for $8 per pint.

Appearance: Solid black body with a thick, foamy tan head.

Smell: Sweet cream and dark malts.

Taste: A clean, subtle blend of cream, lactose, and chocolate with a hint of lightly roasted coffee on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Super smooth and so light it almost felt like it was floating in my mouth.  Very minimal carbonation.

Hype: After spending a week in a fairly conservative part of central Florida, I was looking forward to this release.  It seems to have been well received in solidly Democratic Somerville as well (predictable Facebook trolls aside).

Overall: I really enjoyed this.  Featuring a superb mouthfeel and a subtly delicious flavor profile, this now ranks among my favorite examples of the style.  Go on and check this out while it’s available!  And, as the event declares, we miss you Barry!

Vacation!

15 Monday Jan 2018

Posted by mrericness in Uncategorized

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Beer, Florida, Funky Buddha Brewery, Vacation

I’m in the middle of a family vacation and won’t be posting this week.  Sending some warm vibes and relaxation instead.  Cheers!

Book Review: Barbary Station, by R.E. Stearns

12 Friday Jan 2018

Posted by mrericness in Book Reviews, Sci-Fi

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Barbary Station, Book, Book Review, R.E. Stearns, Reading, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction

My first review of the new year!  I’ll be starting things off with a science fiction novel published in October 2017.  I came across this title in a Tor Publishing newsletter a few months back and bumped it up towards the top of my reading list after finding the initial reviews intriguing.

Barbary Station is the story of two aspiring engineers, Adda Karpe and her girlfriend Iridian Nassir.  Faced with an abysmal job market and the prospects of soul-sucking corporate contracts they make a rather unconventional career choice and decide to become space pirates.  Fortunately for them, Adda’s brother Pel just so happens to be a member of the most famous and prosperous pirate crew in the solar system.  With him as their contact, the couple hijacks a colony ship and triumphantly sets off for Barbary Station, an abandoned space station that serves as home base for the pirates.  Upon arrival, however, they quickly realize that pirate life is not be as glamorous as they thought.  Instead of lounging in luxury suites, the pirates instead live as squatters desperately trying to avoid the wrath of aegiSKADA; the station’s unpredictable and ruthless security AI that is determined to wipe out any uninvited guests.

I had mixed feelings about the novel. The story had a great premise: the AI was an intriguing adversary and there was definitely enough suspense to keep things interesting. Adda and Iridian were also quite likeable, although I favored Adda on account of her dogged aversion to people and psychedelic approach to computer hacking.  Additionally, I found it refreshing to have someone other than a straight white dude as the lead in a Science Fiction novel (the book has received quite a bit of praise for including gay women of color as protagonists).

I think where this book stumbled a bit was in failing to live up to its lofty potential in terms of both story and characters.  I found the author’s writing style a bit hard to follow at times and often had trouble following action sequences or visualizing certain scenes; both things that definitely prevented me from getting as into this as I could have.  The story also felt rather superficial at times and I found myself wishing it would have dug deeper into the world and the other people around our heroines.  It often felt like Adda and Iridian were the only sufficiently developed characters and that everyone else existed only to either fill space or provide those two with other people to interact with.  I didn’t really get a good sense of who any of the other characters were or how they fit into the dynamics of the group they were a part of.

All that considered I would rate my experience with this book as a positive one, though not without some hiccups.  I’d say this is worth checking out, but I wouldn’t recommend dropping everything to do so.

Knee Deep Brewing Company – Stoutello

10 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by mrericness in Beer Reviews

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Beer, Beer Review, California, Craft Beer, Knee Deep Brewing Company, Stout, Stout Season

It’s always nice when Santa leaves a beer or two under the tree.  He certainly outdid himself this, though most of the offerings probably aren’t going to show up here for a little while.  This one, however, had caught my eye before the Holiday began so it got to be one of the first I opened up.

Beer Name: Stoutello

Brewery: Knee Deep Brewing Company (Auburn, CA)

Style: Milk Stout

ABV: 6.0%

Description: Per the website, this stout was brewed with cacao nibs and lactose.

Appearance: Poured the expected black body with a foamy light tan head.

Smell: Roasted hazelnut coffee.

Taste: Started out with a mix of hazelnut and bittersweet chocolate before taking on a creamy roast coffee taste.  The finish was fairly dry and dominated by a strong roasted/smoked hazelnut presence that stuck with me for a bit after the sip.

Mouthfeel: Body was on the thinner side of medium and slightly slick.  Minimal amount of carbonation.

Hype: I wouldn’t call it hype necessarily, but I did see a lot of this beer on social media, mostly from bottle shops advertising their wares.  I am guessing this was in large part due to the attention grabbing little critter on the can.

Overall: This started out promising but quickly lost me pretty quickly on account of the very strong finish.  Just too much hazelnut flavoring for my tastes and it blew away all the other aspects of the beer.

 

2017 Night Shift Barrel Society Release #4 – Hamlet

08 Monday Jan 2018

Posted by mrericness in Beer Reviews

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Beer, Beer Review, Massachusetts, New England, Night Shift Barrel Society, Night Shift Brewing

With this review, it’s time to finally put 2017 to bed.  Released in the final days of December, this is the last ever exclusive beer brewed for the Night Shift Barrel Society.  It’s been a fun few years, so let’s see how it all ended.

Beer Name: Hamlet

Brewery: Night Shift Brewing Company (Everett, MA)

Style: Dark Sour Ale

ABV: 9.0%

Description: I present to you, for one last time, the brewer’s notes: Brewer’s Notes: pours a deep, enticing shade of mahogany; vibrant aromas of port and earthy dark fruit; flavors of fig, dark raspberries, and pale chocolate, with an assertive tannic backbone.

Appearance: Deep, dark reddish-brown body topped off by a thin, bubbly layer off-white foam.  It doesn’t affect the beer any, but worth noting is that both my bottle labels looked like the machine they used to apply them misfired a bit (the good side of the neater bottle is shown above).

Smell: Very reminiscent of red wine, it was equal parts sweet and dry with a little bit of funk going on in the background.

Taste: Started out with a berry-like sweetness that blended red and white wine influences before settling into a more earthy, dry character.  The finish brought in a subtle layer of funk and a little bit of warmth.

Mouthfeel: Fairly thin bodied with a low amount of carbonation, comparing this to wine again seemed like the right call.  

Hype: I had high hopes for this.  As I said throughout the 2017 series, I was looking for them to end things with a bang.

Overall: Overall, the beer the was pretty good.  I enjoyed it and found it to be an excellent representation of the barreling process applied.  That said, I couldn’t help but feel like they played this way too safe.  Given the number of beers Night Shift has brewed using the red and/or white wine barrel approach (going all the way back to 2014’s Farmer’s Duel) I felt like I’ve had this before.  Between that and the sloppy application of the bottle labels (which I’ve noticed in a few Untappd photos as well), I couldn’t help but feel like they mailed this one in a bit.  As such I found this to be a somewhat disappointing ending to a special release series that from its inception was designed to showcase what initially made the brewery stand out – creativity.

Brewery Ommegang – Game of Thrones: Winter is Here

04 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by mrericness in Beer Reviews

≈ 1 Comment

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Beer, Beer Review, Blizzard, Brewery Ommegang, Craft Beer, Game of Thrones, Massachusetts, New England, New York, Winter is Here, Winter Storm

Just so happens Mother Nature presented me with the perfect occasion to dip into one of my Christmas beers.  You may have heard that my area (I’m located just north of Boston) is currently getting hit with a blizzard, so I’m at home looking for ways to pass the day.  After seeing this bottle sitting in the refrigerator, I felt inspired to go out and brave the elements.

Beer Name: Game of Thrones: Winter is Here

Brewery: Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, NY)

Style: Double White Ale

ABV: 8.3%

Description: You can get plenty of details from the press release that announced the arrival of this brew, but to sum it all up this was a white ale brewed with pilsner malt, white wheat malt, and soft red wheat flakes, hopped with Saaz hops, and spiced with white pepper, sea salt, coriander and sweet orange peel.  My bottle was part of a gift set that included one other Game of Thrones-themed beer and the nifty glass shown above.  Since this was a present I don’t know what the exact price was, but I saw it around my area very reasonably priced in the $20-25 range depending on the store.

Appearance: Cloudy, pale gold/straw-colored body with lots of happy little bubbles running up from the bottom.  About a half finger of thick white foam up top formed from a gentle fill, more when poured more aggressively.  

Smell: Light floral spices.

Taste: Started out spicy with notes of coriander, clove, and pepper.  That was soon joined by an underlying sweetness that combined honey, wheat, and a slight floral presence, all of which very nicely complimented the spice.  The finish was dry and gave rise to a bit of Belgian bubble-gum yeast as the initial spices faded.  Smooth and refreshing throughout, this drank like a much lower ABV offering.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and moderately effervescent.

Hype: Moderate.  There is definitely some anticipation around Ommegang’s GoT series, usually peaking around season premiers and finales.  While that excitement seems to be a bit more measured in the show’s offseason, I was personally really excited about this gift.

Overall: It was really tempting to just kick back with this and drink it like the light Belgian pale ale/witbier it smells, looks, and tastes like.  It didn’t take long, however, to realize that this packs a bit more of a punch than you typically encounter with that style.  At least I got a chance to warm up a bit after coming back indoors!  I really enjoyed this as it blended light and refreshing tastes with a hearty and warming kick that served me perfectly on a snowy winter day.

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