Treehouse Brewing Company – And Miles to Go Before I Sleep

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Craft Beer, Massachusetts, New England, Stout, Tree House Brewing Company

One of the other standouts among the goodies I picked up during my visit to Treehouse two weeks ago was this next stout.  As an added bonus on this one, by sheer luck it happened to be released the day of our arrival so it was an unexpected surprise for sure.  I guess we just had good timing!

Beer Name: And Miles to Go Before I Sleep

Brewery: Treehouse Brewing Company (Charlton, MA)

Style: Imperial Milk Stout

ABV: 10.0%

Description: Taking its name from a Robert Frost poem, this rich stout was brewed with “large additions” of chocolate and peanut butter.

Appearance: Poured to a thick black body that settled into the glass beneath a thin layer of short-lived yet dense tan foam.

Smell: A little bit of roast upfront with some sweetness lingering on in the end.

Taste: Light notes of roasted malt upfront followed by moderate levels of creamy chocolate and peanut butter.  It was a nice blend of flavors for sure, but it was a bit surprised they didn’t show up in reverse.

Mouthfeel: Very thick body with low carbonation.

Hype: There was quite a turnout at the brewery by the time we arrived on an early Friday afternoon (maybe an hour or so after opening), and based on social media responses I assume that this brew played a role in that.

Overall: Very good, but perhaps not quite matching the hype and excitement (which after an hour in line is hard to do).  Still, I was quite pleased with this and thought the $13 price tag was pretty reasonable (local beer prices being what they are) for what this was.

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Book Review: Ancillary Sword, by Ann Leckie (Book Two in the Imperial Radch Trilogy)

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Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie, Book, Book Review, Imperial Radch, Reading, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, Space Opera

While preparing my 2018 book awards, one thing that stood out to me was that two of my favorite books from last year were the beginnings of a completed series I hadn’t finished yet.  Rather than let that situation linger on into the new year, I figured I would prioritize tying up these loose ends before too much more time passed between books. This 2014 novel is the follow-up to Ancillary Justice, which took home my award for Favorite Science Fiction Novel last year.

Note: Throughout this post I am going to refer to various characters as “she.”  As I mentioned in my previous review, this is problematic since gender-based identifications are not emphasized in the main character’s society and language, but since she uses female pronouns almost exclusively, so will I.

Ancillary Sword picks up about a week following the violence that broke out in Omaugh Palace after Breq forced the local bodies of Lord of the Radch Anaander Mianaai to confront her dueling personalities.  On the orders of the “good” Mianaai, Breq has been given the rank of Fleet Captain and reluctantly sent off to the Athoek system in command of a light military ship named the Mercy of Kalr.  Already unsure of her assignment, Breq quickly finds her mission to secure the system greatly complicated by long-standing social tensions exacerbated by ineffective and corrupt administrators.  When overzealous security officers accidentally kill a translator from the feared Presger Empire, Breq is forced to confront not only unrest from the local population, but also the prospect of war with an unstoppable alien force.

I thought this was a very enjoyable second act, though it perhaps did not have quite the same epic scope as the first.  While the initial story sent the reader off into a vast empire on the brink of civil war, this one felt more like a side quest designed to get people in place for the final confrontation.  That is by no means meant to suggest this book didn’t have a lot to offer, though. I was excited to see the mysterious Presger more directly enter into the story and there are certainly no shortage of compelling storylines to watch going into the final book.  Also, now that I am accustomed to the absence of gender in this universe, I had fun trying to guess the sex of the characters. I’m still unsure about the main ones, but for whatever it’s worth I am at the moment thinking Breq inhabits a biologically male body while Seivarden and Tisarwat are biologically female.  I think. Following these lines, and considering how much the book avoids gender, I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of Breq arriving on Athoek Station just in time to catch the Genitalia Festival, complete with brightly colored fake penises literally hanging from the walls.  Beyond the comedic aspects, however, this event also served as a good lead in to the story’s more serious themes of how marginalized people maintain their identity and what it means for them to be “equal’ parts of a society in which “equally important, just different always seemed to translate into some “equally important” roles being more worthy of respect and reward than others.”  I’ve really enjoyed the author’s exploration of this topic and look forward to seeing where takes it.

Another highlight for me was the characters themselves.  Breq’s arc was particularly satisfying as not only did she make a formidable Fleet Captain, but she used her rank and position to further her tendency, as one character put it, to go “straight to the bottom of the ladder” to find allies among the disadvantaged.  There was certainly a feel good aspect to seeing her unmask an influential citizen and make her face consequences for abusive actions her status would have previously shielded her from.  It was also interesting to see her interactions with the AIs running Athoek Station and the Mercy of Kalr as they added a fascinating viewpoint to the story by making the reader consider the motivations and dispositions of these entities.  Supporting Breq, I found two of her Lieutenants quite engaging as well. Newcomer Lieutenant Tisarwat, on account of her combined inexperience and unique connection to Anaander Mianaai, seems poised to be a fun character to watch.  Likewise, Seivarden, who despite having a less prominent role than I had expected, also seems poised for some big moments in the next book now that her addiction struggles have returned and her (unrequited) feelings for Breq are out in the open.  I honestly did not see that last part coming, apparently I really misread her previously!

At this point I am very eager to pick up the final book in the trilogy.  We have all the pieces in place for a major showdown and I am sure there are more than a few twists and turns ahead.  So far this series has more than lived up its praise and while I am going to be sad to see it end, I really want to know what happens!

Treehouse Brewing Company – Snow

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Craft Beer, DIPA, New England, Snow, Tree House Brewing Company, Winter

Last weekend was pretty eventful in these parts.  Months ago my wife and I had made plans to spend the long weekend in New Jersey and despite the threat of major winter storm we decided to make the journey anyway.  On the way down we made a pit stop at Treehouse Brewing Company in Charlton, MA to pick up some provisions for the hotel and hit up the Cracker Barrel down the street.  Luckily for us we picked a rather fortuitous day to visit the brewery; not only did they announce a couple of releases that morning (more on those later) but they also had this seasonally appropriate brew available as well.

Beer Name: Snow

Brewery: Treehouse Brewing Company (Charlton, MA)

Style: Wheat Double NEIPA

ABV: 7.8%

Description: A double IPA brewed with a “boatload” of Citra, Centennial, and Sabro hops as well as what sounds like a good amount of malted white wheat.

Appearance: Poured a hazy, juice-like yellowish orange body with a thin foamy white head.

Smell: Huge tropical fruit notes coming right out of the can.  Takes on a bit of additional pale malt/light wheat aromas in the glass.

Taste: Straight up tropical fruit juice upfront.  After the initial sweetness the beer took on creamy grainy/wheaty notes in middle before coming to a lingering bitter finish highlighted by citrus zest and perhaps a hint of lime.

Mouthfeel: It had a smooth drinking fluffy, medium body with a fairly moderate level of carbonation.

Hype: Elevated considering the source.  Add in a bit of my own expectations as well given its seasonally appropriate name.

Overall: I thought this was a very good beer that left a very positive impression upon me.  I know I recently lamented being somewhat burned out on the NEIPA style, but between the addition of wheat and the somewhat atypical hop mixture (I don’t come across Sabro all that often) I thought this one distinguished itself from the pack.

Maine Beer Company – Lunch

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Craft Beer, IPA, Maine Beer Company, New England

Checking in this time with a beer that is something of a classic in the New England area.  

Beer Name: Lunch

Brewery: Maine Beer Company (Freeport, ME)

Style: IPA

ABV: 7.0%

Description: Named for a whale well-known off the coasts of Maine, this IPA has long been a popular release throughout the New England area.  More details are available here.

Appearance: Light yellowish/amber body that was cloudy but still able to be seen through.  A fluffy white head persisted throughout most of the pour.

Smell: A big burst of citrus fruit right out of the bottle followed by undertones of piney bitterness.

Taste: Sweet upfront from caramel malts and blend of tropical and citrusy hops.  Followed by a moderate, crisp bitterness of mostly pine accentuated by bready malt notes.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate level of carbonation.

Hype: I’m going to say elevated, but definitely not quite as high as it once was.  The beer’s longevity coupled with its increased availability has reduced the hype factor on this in recent years.  Case in point, I remember this flying off of shelves (when it even got there) several years ago but this latest bottle my mom (who’s not at all into beer) picked up for me from a little shop by her house.

Overall: I really enjoyed this beer, which was no surprise since I’ve done so already many times over the years.  As unfashionable as it may sound, I think may be partial to West Coast style IPAs and this is an excellent example of one.

Alesmith Brewing Company – Speedway Stout

Tags

Alesmith Brewing Company, Beer, Beer Review, Craft Beer, Stout

This next offering has played a rather influential role in developing my taste in beer over the years.  It was one of the first big stouts I ever brought home and it earned a perfect 5 out 5 bottle cap rating from me on Untappd back in October 2011.  Let’s see how I feel about it seven-plus years later.

Beer Name: Speedway Stout

Brewery: Alesmith Brewing Company (San Diego, CA)

Style: Imperial Stout

ABV: 12.0%

Description: A big, bold imperial stout that is a year-round year and bottle shop staple.  A “healthy dose” of locally roasted coffee is added to each batch to enhance the flavors from chocolate and roasted malt.  More detailed specs are available here on the brewery website.

Appearance: Poured a thick, dark black body topped by a thin tan head that was pretty quick to dissipate.

Smell: An alluring blend of malty sweetness and light roast coffee.

Taste: Slightly sweet throughout, with creamy malts lurking beneath a layer of roasted coffee and dark chocolate.  Ends with a moderate, warming alcohol presence but is still incredibly smooth for a beer this large.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body sits heavy in the mouth with very low-level carbonation.

Hype: Well regarded though not particularly hyped, I was very interested in what I would think of this beer after not having it in a while.

Overall: While the nostalgic glow in my mind is probably not a fair point of comparison, I still thought this was an excellent beer.  It delivered an excellent blend of flavor combined with a perfect mouthfeel and inviting aromas. If you’re into big stouts and for whatever reason haven’t checked this one out yet, do yourself a favor a grab one of these!

Ipswich Ale Brewery – Defrost

Tags

8th Annual Christmas Tree Burn Fundraiser, Beer, Beer Review, Fire, Ipswich Ale Brewery, Massachusetts, New England, Newbury, Winter

My wife and I took advantage of my mom’s offer to babysit last Saturday and went out for our first proper “date night” in quite some time.  Our destination of choice was lovely Newbury, MA for the 8th Annual Christmas Tree Burn Fundraiser.  Braving temperatures dropping below 20°F, we had an excellent time walking the farm, watching an ice sculptor, and, of course, taking in the giant bonfire that sent all the Christmas trees thrown away this year out in a blaze of glory.  

Another point of interest, particularly for me, was a beer called Defrost, a special release local favorite Ipswich Ale Brewery prepared specifically for the event.

Beer Name: Defrost

Brewery: Ipswich Ale Brewery

Style: Weizenbock

ABV: 7.7%

Description: Brewed for the event and to help fight the winter blues, the release notes promise a beer that balances “iconic German yeast flavors… against a complex malt base with notes of chocolate and dark fruit.”  Proceeds of its sale go to benefit the Newbury Volunteer Fire Department.

Appearance: Fresh off the draft lines of one of the brewery’s handy little tap mobiles, it poured an opaque caramel colored body with some light tan lacing spread out across the top.

Smell: Crisp malts mixed with a slightly spicy, wheaty presence.

Taste: Sweet bready malts upfront, followed by notes of dark fruit, wheat, and banana-like esters in the middle.  A very subtle noble hop presence brought it all together with just the barest hint of spicy bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a slightly above moderate carbonation level.

Hype: Relative to the beer scene in general I would say not much, but I was certainly interested in trying this out and the lines for beer suggested that I was not alone in this.

Overall: A very flavorful brew that certainly did its part keeping me warm on a rather chilly evening.  I had a couple of these that night and might even have a few more if it crosses my path again.

 

 

Book Review: The Freeze Frame Revolution, by Peter Watts

Tags

Book, Book Review, Peter Watts, Reading, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, Sunflower Cycle, The Freeze Frame Revolution

Welcome to my first book review of 2019!  This 2018 novella jumped out at me while scanning my TBR list so I figured it was as good a choice as any for where to start my reviews this year.  To note, I found out while preparing my review that this work is part of a collection of a few other novellas and shorts referred to as the Sunflower Cycle.  I don’t feel like I missed anything having read this as a stand-alone story, but since it wasn’t clear to me that this was the case going in I figured I might as well help spread the word.

The book focuses on Sunday Azhmundin, a member of the crew serving aboard a spaceship called the Eriophora.  Tasked with sowing the galaxy with transportation gates, Sunday and the rest of the crew have spent most of their 65 million year mission in stasis, being woken only for short, sporadic intervals over the millenia whenever the ship’s AI, dubbed Chimp, determines human oversight is required.  Despite their interrupted lives, discontent is brewing among the crew. The mission has gone on far longer than intended and the lack of contact from other humans has raised questions about the fate of humanity. More immediately troubling, however, unknown creatures called Gremlins have begun emerging through newly completed gates to attack the ship seemingly at random while some onboard suspect that Chimp is deliberately withholding information from them.  As a result, a small but determined segment of the crew is starting to doubt the mission to the point of suggesting the human crew assert their independence from the AI and take control of their own fates. But how can they mutiny when they are only awake a few days out of every century in unpredictable groups under constant surveillance?

I really, really enjoyed this read and made short work of its 140 or so pages.  The scenario presented was fascinating and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.  It was quite a ride navigating the mysteries surrounding the ship while trying to decide between the relatively sympathetic outlook Sunday had toward Chimp and the more hardline stance taken by Lian Wei and her followers.  Despite it all, I think I was more inclined to share Sunday’s outlook; they were all prisoners in a cage, and despite Chimp’s apparent position of authority it arguably got as raw a deal as anyone else. The ending, which I won’t spoil, offered quite the potential twist as did the bonus story I found online by piecing together the message hidden by red letters spaced throughout the text.  When I first saw them, I worried they were formatting issues with my e-book, but once I became aware of how the conspirators were communicating with each other I decided that I better start paying attention. For anyone that might have missed these while reading, the hidden message sends you here.  Be warned, however, that link contains spoilers and probably won’t make much sense unless you’ve read the novella.

I highly recommend this book to all the science fiction fans out there, though perhaps you might be best served by starting with the other works in this series.  They just so happen to be freely available on the author’s website, so I’ll likely be checking those out very soon as well.  As is often the case, I crossed one book off of my TBR pile only to replace it with a few more titles from the same author.  My thought is that if I enjoyed jumping in on a running series of shorter works this much, how much more might I enjoy starting a larger work from the start?

Lagunitas Brewing Company – Imperial Stout Ale

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Craft Beer, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Stout

My first beer review of 2019!  Hoping to get things started off on the right foot, I turned to this offering from my old friends at Lagunitas Brewing Company.  The weather outside right now screams stout, so who was I to argue?

Beer Name: Imperial Stout Ale

Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company (Petaluma, CA)

Style: Imperial Stout

ABV: 9.9%

Description: Billed on the website as imposing “dark, thick, and scary” brew, this beer is said to feature plenty of roasted malted barley to impart a rich, smoky depth.  The bottle additionally tells a rather tongue in cheek tale of a proletarian toiler who may have imbibed a bit too much for his own good. Despite having spent a pretty good amount of time studying the Russian Revolution, this is quite likely the first time I’ve seen the word “buxom” applied to it!

Appearance: Poured to a dark black body. Up top some off-white lacing formed around edges, but I couldn’t convince a head to form.

Smell: Mild sweet malts with some coffee in the background.

Taste: Moderately sweet upfront with creamy, with light notes of roasted picking up as the beer went on.  The finish was a touch hot with a mild lingering bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus bodied with low carbonation.

Hype: Despite the respect and recognition given to this brewery (by most) as an entrenched elder statesman of American “craft” beer, their regular releases don’t tend to generate a lot of hype.

Overall:  Although it might not pack the wow factor of some flashier brews or barrel aged offerings, this was a very solid beer.  As an excellent representation of the style it gave me exactly what I wanted/expected.

2018 Year in Review Part Two – The Beer

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Blog Life, Year in Review

For Part Two of my 2018 retrospective I am going to look at the beverage portion of my blog.  I feel like I occasionally struggled in this area last year and there were at least a few times I got pretty burnt out on reviewing beer.  After some reflection on why this was happening, I realized that I was spending too much time chasing beers solely for making a review and not paying enough attention to what I actually wanted to drink.

I blame no one but myself, but I think NEIPAs in particular got me into that situation.  Yeah, they’re popular and tend to have names that sound like they’d be fun to post about, but the reality is that there are a lot of incredibly similar, perfectly-fine-but-not-inspiring examples of this style that are for the most part indistinguishable.  At one point I felt like was just writing the same review over and over again and quite honestly failed to find joy in it.

To break myself out of this rut, I started revisiting some old favorites and even (gasp!) sat back and drank some beer without having any intention of reviewing it.  I’ll say it now that some of the best beers I drank last year didn’t even come close to making the blog. In previous years I would have been incredibly disappointed by this, but with my current mindset I couldn’t be happier with the results.

Having said that, reviewing beer is something that will still be a central part of my blog, but it may look a bit different going forward.  I was already not one to chase the latest and greatest (not to mention rarest) brews available, nor do I have the luxury of regularly hitting up breweries.  Instead, I am going to focus more on personal tastes and quality over my previous desire for quantity. It may mean fewer posts, but I am confident it will be a better experience for me.  I’m sure my wallet and waistline won’t mind, either.

Let’s close with a look at my top five most-viewed beer reviews from last year:

• Trillium Brewing Company & J Wakefield Brewing – Affogato
• Trillium Brewing Company – Dialed In, with Pinot Gris Juice
• The Alchemist – Beelzebub
• Stone Brewing Company – Fruitallica
• Central Waters Brewing Company – Barleywine Ale

With the exception of the final spot, I probably could have guessed these results.  That the top two spots went to releases from the popular brewery in my area was certainly no surprise, and the brew taking top honors was certainly much sought-after.  The same could be said for Beelzebub and Fruitallica was a national release from a well-known brewery with some crossover appeal on account of the name. And that leaves the Central Waters Barleywine which was my one minor surprise.  To my knowledge this isn’t a particularly popular beer, but considering how good it was, I am certainly happy it got the attention.

Well, there you have it.  My 2018 year in beer. I hope you all join me for a few pints in 2019 as well!

2018 Year in Review Part One – The Books

Tags

Blog Life, Book Review, Book Tag, Books, Year in Review

It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone, but here we are in January 2019!  Before I get started on a new year of book and beverage posts, I wanted to take a look back at my 2018 WordPress experience.  Since my blog has a bit of a split personality between book and beer reviews, I’m going to do this in two parts. Today we’re looking at my year in books.

Honestly I feel like I had a pretty solid year on this front.  I put more effort into being a “book blog” this past year and am happy with the results.  While I didn’t read as many books as I would have liked (and really, who does?), I don’t feel like I squandered any opportunities to do more.  I did the best I could in the time I had and I’m happy with that. I read some excellent books this past year and had a lot of fun doing so.

I didn’t set any personal reading goals, but easily my proudest moment as a reader this past year was seeing my love of books passed on to my son.  He’s two and a half now and very much into being read to. Not only will he ask people to read books to him, but if they’re too slow to do so he will grab the book himself and push the issue.  It’s adorable and impossible to resist, especially now that he has a very clear idea of what he wants. Warming the heart even more, his favorite book by random chance happens to also have been mine when I was his age – Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go!

As for the site, you can probably tell by my end of year awards that I certainly lucked out I my selections.  I also mixed up my reading list a bit more than I had last year, both in terms of not reading only within a series as much and by selecting from a more diverse list of authors.

I’ll close this post by looking at my top five most viewed book reviews last year:

• Communion – A True Story, by Whitley Strieber:  The “true” story of the author’s attempts to confront and explain his thoughts and feelings surrounding a series of alien abductions that took place in the mid-1980s.  Honestly, I am actually kind of surprised that this was my most viewed book review. I originally posted it in October 2017 and it didn’t really get a lot of traction at the time.  I feel like it’s also pretty obscure as well, so I don’t really know what to make of this.

• Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72, by Hunter S. Thompson: I expected/hoped that this post would do well in an election year.  It’s actually kind of sad how relevant this book still is and I certainly didn’t pull any punches (towards either side) in the quotes I selected back when I reviewed in October 2016.

• Men without Women, by Haruki Murakami: I suppose this one makes a bit more sense since Murakami is a pretty popular author who had a new release this year.  Originally posted in August 2017, this post sees some pretty regular traffic despite this not exactly being my favorite Murakami work to have reviewed.

• The Collapsing Empire, by John Scalzi: Again, this one makes a lot of sense to me since the sequel had a very successful release in late 2018.  Initially posted in mid-2017, this is another review that seems to get regular attention.

• Radio Free Boston – The Rise and Fall of WBCN, by Carter Alan: Rounding out my top five, I was happy to see a post from this year make the list!  WBCN was the radio station I listened to during my middle and high school years and I had a lot of fun reminiscing about those times while learning a bit about the station’s history.

So there you have it, my 2018 year in books.  Join me on Friday as I indulge in a similar exercise for my year in beer!