Brewery Visit: Mayflower Brewing Company – Plymouth, MA

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Beer, Beer Review, Brewery Visit, Massachusetts, Mayflower Brewing Company, New England

Another spot that we visited over the holiday weekend was Mayflower Brewing Company based out of Plymouth, MA.  A long-time favorite of mine, I have been interested in visiting their taproom for awhile now, but it never managed to work out the times we were in the area.  Seems like my luck in this regard finally changed!

The taproom is located in a commercial/industrial park a few exits north of the historic downtown part of Plymouth.  While the surrounding area might have been much to talk about (think sterile, corporate green space), the interior of the taproom was quite nice.  Bright and featuring walls of beautifully repurposed wood, it was split roughly in half between a more traditional bar and tap area and an additional seating section with long benches, extra seating, and space for playing various board games.

Upon arrival I was very happy to discover that they had a very full draft list going that day with more than a dozen beers pouring.  Unable to decide between revising some old favorites and trying out new things, my wife and I split a pair of flights to get a little bit of (almost) everything.  In the interest of time and space I’m not going to run through them all, but instead touch upon a few I found particularly noteworthy.

Ships & Salsa (Vienna Lager, 6.0%): Probably the biggest surprise of the day, this beer started us off on a very high note.  Brewed with flaked a maize and a “massive” amount of agave syrup, this beer had a nice malty sweetness accentuated by a very slight bit of citrus zest.  We imagined it pairing quite nicely with Mexican food

Waggle Dance (Farmhouse Ale, 6.0%): Brewed with wildflower honey, it had a sweet, light funkiness followed by a touch of peppery yeast and honey.  I really, really enjoyed this one.

Boomerang (Pale Ale, 6.0%): Featuring a light, clean malt base followed by a moderate amount of fruity Australian hops, this easy drinking pale ale was a refreshing treat on hot day.

Nitro Coffee Porter: Delivering that silky smooth nitro feel, this one had some excellent notes of rich malts, chocolate, and roasted coffee.  I couldn’t have asked for a better beer to end the tasting with.

As honorable mentions, past review beers X and Leather Bound Books were drinking as good as ever and definitely come recommend as well should you come across them.

At that is where I’ll wrap up our visit.  The beer was excellent, the bartender was super friendly, and the taproom itself was very nice, but I just couldn’t shake the feeling that they would benefit from a more interesting location (easier said than done I’m sure).  It is exciting to note, however, that they will be operating a beer garden in the nearby Pinehills community, effective May 30th, that looks like an amazingly beautiful spot.  Depending on our summer plans we may need to check that out as well!

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Brewery Visit: Barrel House Z – Weymouth, MA

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Barrel House Z, Beer, Beer Review, Brewery Visit, Massachusetts, New England, Townie Frozen Desserts

We decided to take a day trip down to Cape Cod over the Memorial Day weekend and I, of course, scouted out the route for any points of interest (read family friendly breweries) along the way.  One of the names that jumped at me almost immediately was Barrel House Z.  I’d heard plenty of good things about their beers but for some reason had never gotten around to trying any.  What sealed the deal, though, was finding out that our travel day happened to coincide with the brewery playing host to Townie Frozen Desserts.  The pairing of beer and ice cream certainly made for a fun (and delicious!) treat on what was easily the hottest day of the year thus far.

The brewery is located in a quiet industrial section of Weymouth, MA.  The taproom itself was rather modest in size, with the indoor area featuring a bar area front and center and a few benches scattered about.  It was their outdoor area, however, where we spent most of our time. It had a relaxing backyard-vibe (enhanced by a playlist full of familiar classic and 90s rock), and was equipped with cornhole, oversized Jenga (aka building blocks), and additional seating at benches and chairs scattered about the premises.  It was a very laid-back spot with just enough room for the kids tagging along to have some space to play without being disruptive.

And now for the beer!  My wife and I did our own thing for beverages this time out, but our consensus opinion was that everything we tried was in the very good to excellent range.  Our mutual favorites (pictured below) were S’more Money, a 3.9% session stout with fantastic notes of creamy lactose, light roast coffee, and chocolate, and Bamboozled by Hops, a 6.0% IPA featuring a strong, resinous blend of grapefruit bitterness and a satisfyingly smooth, full body that drank like a hybrid west coast/NEIPA hybrid.

Rounding out my day were a pilsner and a Baltic porter aged in rum barrels.  The pilsner was a 5.4% brew named Sunny & 79°.  It was available in both its original (“in the buff”) format as well as aged in tequila barrels, though after sampling both I preferred the original.  It had a crisp, clean light malt base with some light citrus and coriander notes coming on before a dry, gin-like hit of juniper on the end. Finishing off my day was Empty Skies, their 9.0% Baltic Porter.  It offered plenty of sweet malt upfront, followed by a huge rum barrel influence and was quite a beer to end the day on!

This was definitely a great stop on our trip and one that was enjoyed by all.  Honestly, I don’t think we could have asked for more out of this visit; we were able to enjoy some excellent beer and ice cream in a relaxed outdoor space.  What more could one want to start a holiday weekend?

Cambridge Brewing Company – Hop Head’s Guide to the Galaxy

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Beer, Beer Review, Cambridge Brewing Company, Douglas Adams, HHGTTG, Hitchhiker's Guide, Massachusetts, New England, Towel Day

Time once again to wish you all a Happy Towel Day!  For those of you that missed it last year, May 25th has been declared Towel Day in honor of author Douglas Adams.  An homage to his famed Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, it is a day set aside to celebrate his life and works.  Sounds like a great reason to pick up a book and a beer!Beer Name: Hop Head’s Guide to the Galaxy

Brewery: Cambridge Brewing Company (Cambridge, MA)

Style: New England IPA

ABV: 7.0%

Description: A NEIPA that’s been brewed with, of course, an “irresponsible” amount of Galaxy hops.

Appearance: It poured to an other-worldly glowing straw-yellow body.  It was also densely hazy, but if you looked closely you could see little bubbles rising from the bottom to steadily feed the foamy white head.

Smell: Tropical fruits and resinous bitterness.

Taste: Lots of tropical and citrus fruits upfront, blending mango, peach, orange, tangerine, and pineapple into a delightful whirl of juicy flavor.  Hints of a light, cracker malt backbone poked through before coming to a hoppy haze of earthy, piney, and citrus bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a bit less than moderate carbonation.

Hype: It’s no secret that I have an affinity for brews that tie into books.  This reference, however, makes me especially happy as The Hitchhikers’ Guide is one of my all-time favorites and I have a ton of respect for Cambridge Brewing Company, who are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year!

Overall: This was an excellent beer and a fantastic example of the NEIPA style.  I loved how the intense juices mingled with the fairly assertive bitterness to form one delicious whole.  When it comes to making beer, these folks really know where their towel is!

Book Review: Circe, by Madeline Miller

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Book, Book Review, Circe, Feminism, Madeline Miller, Mythology, Reading

I know I’m well past fashionably late in posting about this popular 2018 release, but after months and months of seeing a steady stream of glowing reviews how could I stay away?  Combine that with my general interest in Greek mythology and I felt very confident I had a winner here.

This book tells the story of the nymph Circe, in her own words and from her own point of view.  Daughter of the Titan Helios and the ocean nymph Perse, she is perhaps best known as the sorceress in Homer’s Odessey who transformed several of Odysseus’ men into pigs before eventually playing host to the travellers.  Her mythological presence, however, goes far beyond this appearance, crossing paths with other famed notables such as Daedalus, Jason and Madea, and the Minotaur, just to name a few.  Over the course of this story, the reader is treated to the tragic story of Circe’s life and her unique view of many popular mythological figures and events.

I was absolutely blown away by this book.  The mythology was as interesting as ever (although I would definitely recommend some familiarity with the source material going into this read), but it was Circe’s unique perspective and modern tone of voice that really made this story into something truly special.  By showing a side of the ancient myths that looks beyond the exploits and struggles of their often idealized male protagonists, this novel brought them to life in an entirely new way for me. Although there are many familiar people and places that appear in this tale, this is without a doubt Circe’s story and it focuses on the life of a woman wronged and her determination to carry on as best she can, despite what others may do to her or spread gossip about.  As Circe opines of Homer specifically other ancient poets in general:

Humbling women seems to me a chief past time of poets.  As if there can be no story unless we crawl and weep.

Circe, however, is definitely not one to be humble, no matter what comes her way.  I knew enough about the myths to not expect easy times for her, but that didn’t quite prepare me for how heavy and occasionally depressing this book got in places (indeed, I found the scenes in which she expounds upon her parenting fears particularly moving).  Deeply personal, the story details how she was shaped by the emotional abuse she was subjected to in her father’s court by her mother and siblings on account of her less than Olympian presence and her feelings of isolation following her exile to the island of Aeaea for practicing magic.  As such, there was a lot of raw emotion fueling this story, alternating between Circe’s profound loneliness to her unshakeable determination to exist on her own terms.  Armed with the knowledge that nymphs like her are dismissed as a punchline by the other gods – “an endless feast laid out upon a table, beautiful and renewing.  And so very bad at getting away” – and a strength of character she learned from a chance encounter with Prometheus, she gradually comes to master her skills and find occasional happiness even as events of the mythological world more and more begin forcing themselves upon both her island and herself.  It’s a journey that I found both profoundly sad and empowering, as well as one that I could not turn away from.

Despite all that heavy content, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and give it my highest recommendation.  It more than lived up to all the praise I’ve seen for it, no small feat at this point, and offered a gripping story with an incredible leading lady.  I’ve seen that the author has also written some other books inspired by Greek mythology and I am definitely going to be adding those to my reading pile.  I think I just need a little bit of time to read some lighter fare before jumping in.

 

Random Tag Tuesday: The Gamer Tag

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Civilization, Mega Man, NES, Nintendo, Random Tag Tuesday, Tags, Video Games

Random Tag Tuesday is a new feature I wanted to try out just to mix things up a bit.  The name is a throwback to my college days when Tuesdays were the day for, well, random adventures.  For my blog, it will mean that on any given Tuesday I’ll tackle one of the many tags I always wanted to write about but never got around to.  Please note that most of these will come from my backlog notes and that I am terrible about keeping track of where I find these. As such, I probably will rarely, if ever, tag anyone.  It is not personal.

My first tag in this series is one I show up on my blogroll a few weeks ago and couldn’t resist filling it out for fun.  I don’t think it’s fair to call myself a ‘gamer’ any more (life and other priorities have kind of gotten in the way of that), but I still have a certain fondness for video games that will never die.

Questions:

What is your all-time favorite video game?  I’m never good with these all-time favorite questions.  So many games have filled this spot for me at various points in my life.  Titles like Mega Man 3, Civilization IV, Medieval Total War II (Stainless Steel Mod), X-Wing, Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, Tekken 5, and Skyrim all come to mind as potential answers.  It’s too hard for me to separate them from their time and place for me to pick just one.

What is your current favorite video game? Skyrim.

Source: https://cdn.gamer-network.net/2015/usgamer/skyrimdragon.jpg

What is your favorite video game genre? I’m partial to adventure, RPG, and strategy games.

How long have you been playing video games? 30+ years.  Wow that makes me feel old!

What’s the first game you ever played? I want to say Choplifter on PC.  I don’t know for sure it was the first, but it is one of the earliest releases I remember making an impression on me.  Pac-Man, Super Mario Brothers, Q-Bert, and Windows Solitaire are also in the running.

Source: https://www.c64-wiki.com/images/thumb/5/51/Choplifter-titel.png/300px-Choplifter-titel.png

What game have you clocked the most hours into? It’s probably either Civilization II, Civilization IV, Medieval: Total War II, or Skyrim.  I have no way of knowing many hours I devoted to the first two and I am too afraid to look at my Steam stats to find out about the last two.

What’s your longest gaming session? About 14 hours.  I was maybe a couple of years out of college and really into Civilization IV.  I started playing one evening, one thing lead to another, and at around 3:30 AM I decided that I might as well just keep on playing until it was time to go to work.  Damn those Viking invasions!

Source: https://forums.civfanatics.com/attachments/civ4screenshot0038-jpg.489002/

Who is your favorite game developer?  I can’t say that I have one currently.  I do, however, have some very fond memories of many Konami and Lucas Arts releases.

Who is your favorite hero character from a game? Mega Man!

Source: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c9/26/f8/c926f862b0a7311c9c324920760f1562.png

Who is your favorite villain? I’m bad at these favorite questions and can’t say that I have one.

Who is your most hated character of any game? The Cherubs from Toe Jam & Earl.  There’s probably a more worthy choice out there, but these guys were made to be annoying (and I still remember them 20 or so years later).  Lalalaaa…

What gaming systems do you own? PlayStation 3, Sega Genesis, Game Boy Advance, and an “enhanced” NES Classic.  I suppose my desktop PC counts here as well. Most games these days I either play on my computer or the NES Classic.

What was your first game system? Original NES.  I got one for Christmas when I was probably 5 or so and was super into it all the way through college.

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/NES-Console-Set.jpg/220px-NES-Console-Set.jpg

What’s your favorite gaming system and why? For game quality and practicality I’d say my PC.  For nostalgia I’d say NES.

Do you prefer to play guy characters, or girl characters? Depends on the game.  When its an option, I usually model characters after myself.  In a fighting game or something like that I go with whoever’s move list works best for me.

Have you ever been to a gaming convention? Technically no.  I’ve been to plenty of cons dedicated to steampunk, science-fiction, horror, baseball cards, or geekdom in general but none of them were video game specific.  I have gone to some of those dressed as Mega Man though!

What’s your best memory of a video game?  Going to an arcade for a friend’s birthday and four of us teaming up to beat the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade Game.  I’m sure I’ve done more impressive gaming-related things since, but it’s hard to beat that feeling of accomplishment as a kid.

Source: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gC1njgfJqy0/hqdefault.jpg

What’s your worst memory of a video game? Any time a game crashed on me I guess.  From scrambled pixels to blue screens of death to scratched discs, I’ve seen it all over the years and it absolutely sucks to lose your place in a game due to technical difficulties.  Beyond that though, despite cursing at many a screen over the years, I can’t say that I associate anything truly bad with a video game.

Which video game character do you see yourself as, or if you had to be represented by a video game character, who would it be? You’d think I’d have an amazing, bad-ass answer to this one, but I’m not sure that I do.  Kind of an anti-climactic way to end this, but there you have it.

PS: Special shout out to all the folks I grabbed my images from.  Thank you!

Game of Thrones: Brewery Ommegang – Fire and Blood

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Brewery Ommegang, Game of Thrones

And here we have my final Game of Thrones beer!  It seems only appropriate that I hung on to this beer until the very end, though in all honesty my uncertainty about drinking a pepper-based beer had something to do with that.  I won’t say a thing about the episode since I feel like a beer review isn’t an appropriate venue for spoilers, but I am quite ready to talk about the beer!

Beer Name: Fire and Blood

Brewery: Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, NY)

Style: Red Ale with Ancho Chillies

ABV: 6.8%

Description: Long-time readers of the blog may recall that I got this bottle back at the end of 2017 as part of the same gift set that also contained the glass I’ve been using for these posts.  Named in honor of the House Targaryan motto and Dany’s three dragons (these were relatively happier times), this red ale stays true to its inspiration by featuring wheat flakes, rye, and de-seeded Ancho chili peppers to spice things up a bit.

Appearance: It poured a dark reddish-brown body that was topped by a thick layer of fluffy, light tan foam.

Smell: Sweet, with lightly toasted malt and a hint of hot pepper on the edge.

Taste: Light to moderate dark fruit sweetness upfront, followed by lingering notes of lightly toasted malt and rye.  There’s a clean yeasty presence at the end that nicely accentuates the slowly appearing spice from the chili peppers.  A very complementary blend of flavors overall.

Mouthfeel: Roughly medium bodied with slightly above average carbonation.

Hype: Same as usual I guess, though I did want to go out strong.  Personally I wasn’t very excited about this one going in since I’ve had some less than stellar experiences with hot pepper beers.

Overall: Despite my initial (and long-lasting) reservations, I actually quite enjoyed this. The peppers were definitely present in the beer, but they didn’t dominate the taste instead serving more to enhance the finish and “edges” of the sip.  I don’t know if my experience would have been any different had I drank this with less age on it, but as it was I picked a very nice beer to end the series with.

 

Idle Hands Craft Ales – Bluma

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Craft Beer, Idle Hands Craft Ales, Malden, Massachusetts

Checking in from the better late than never department here at BeerRantsAndBooks headquarters, I enjoyed this next beer at the annual Idle Hands Maifest event two weekends ago.  It was an outdoor, all ages (at least until 6:00) happening that featured polka bands, food trucks, games, and, of course some great beer! Fortunately the rain held off that that day and the family was able to spend some much needed time outdoors for a couple of hours.

Beer Name: Bluma

Brewery: Idle Hands Craft Ales (Malden, MA)

Style: Maibock

ABV: 7.1%

Description: Listed here as a sweet, bready lager with some spicy herbal notes and citrusy hop finish.

Appearance: Poured to a cloudy light orange body with a thin, slightly off-white head.

Smell: Light blend of sweet and bready malts.

Taste: Some sweetness to start, followed by bready malts and very subtle notes of lager yeast.  The finish brought on mild hints spicy and floral hops that mingled nicely into the aforementioned malts.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

Hype: I figured this was would at least be something pretty solid to make it the star of the event.  It’s not really a style that people line up for, but this is also the kind of beer that Idle Hands typically nails.

Overall: I enjoyed this and found it to be a great beer for drinking outside in a festival atmosphere.  Nice clean malt profile and perhaps a little sneaky at 7%!

Game of Thrones: Trinity Brewhouse – Samwell Tartly

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Craft Beer, Game of Thrones, Providence, Samwell Tarly, Trinity Brewhouse

With the penultimate episode now in behind us, it seems like a good time to lighten things up a bit (no pun intended).  I actually came across this next beer by complete chance while out with the family for Mother’s Day dinner.

Beer Name: Samwell Tartly

Brewery: Trinity Brewhouse (Providence, RI)

Style: Kettle Sour

ABV: 3.7%

Description: Kettle Sour brewed with raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries.  Named, of course, for Samwell Tarly – the loveable Night’s Watchman and scholar.

Appearance: It arrived with a murky, red/dark grapefruit colored body with a thin line of white foam across the top.

Smell: Lightly tart with a very subtle funk on the end.

Taste: Very sweet with a tart berry background.  The berries definitely came through loud and clear and this one, with plenty of raspberry, strawberry, and blackberry on display.  There was a bit of cream and light funk in the background.

Mouthfeel: The body was a bit thicker than I thought it would be with a light bump of carbonation on the finish.

Hype: I had no idea this beer even existed until I saw the beer list.  Once I saw the the name I had to order it.

Overall: It good, though not something I was particularly excited by.  I’m not really into this style all that much anymore so I’m sure that plays a role here as well.  Light tasting with a huge berry presence, this would be very well suited to a sweltering hot day or on ice at the beach.

Book Review: The Dark Forest, by Liu Cixin (Book Two in the Remembrance of Earth’s Past Trilogy)

Tags

Book, Book Review, Liu Cixin, Reading, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, The Dark Forest

Getting back into the reading side of things, the next series that I want to finish off this year is Liu Cixin’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy.  Published in 2008 (and translated to English in 2015), The Dark Forest is the sequel to Three Body Problem, an immensely popular Chinese hard science fiction novel that also just so happened to be runner up for my favorite sci-fi novel of last year.

The story begins about three years after the events that ended the previous the previous book.  Now aware that there are only 400 short years left before they are confronted by an invasion fleet from Trisolaris, the nations of Earth have begun coming together to dream of ways that humanity might survive the encounter.  There are no easy answers, however, as the Trisolarians possess vastly superior technology and already have some rather formidable advance forces in place on Earth. Desperate to develop any sort of defense, the United Nations and newly formed Planetary Defense Council nominate four prominent individuals, called Wallfacers, to secretly develop strategies for survival.  Granted unprecedented authority and resources, they are given nearly free reign to direct their projects. Though each is controversial in their own way, it is the shocking selection of a “cynical and irresponsible” astronomer/sociologist named Luo Ji that may ultimately make the greatest impact.

Like its predecessor, I found this book absolutely fascinating to read.  It takes its name from one particularly bleak interpretation of the Fermi Paradox and again leaves the reader with plenty to think about in regard to life, the universe, and, well, science.  The story moved along at a steady pace, switching between a variety of characters and locations as the story progressed. Particularly notable moments for me were seeing the Wallfacers confronted with the truth of their plans (which felt oddly reminiscent of a Bond villain’s reveal in reverse) and the palpable tension leading to humanity’s first encounter with a Trisolaran probe.  This latter event was probably my highlight of the book and even though it turned out more or less how I thought it would, I found this section riveting all the same. I’ll admit there were a couple of other plot points about which I had to try not to think too hard about, but on the whole the entire story was incredibly engaging.

I also found the scientific aspects of the story quite intriguing as well.  The first two thirds of the book focused on near-future tech and cutting-edge theory, presenting a very thought-provoking mix of ideas.  The ones I found most interesting were the space elevator and alternatives to consumable fuel about which I of course did some additional (non-required) reading.  The final third of the book, which thanks to the wonders of cryo-preservation, takes our main characters 200 years into the future, was equally intriguing. I don’t want to say too much, but here I found developments like nearly limitless, renewable power and having everything around you connected to a network fascinating concepts, though also a bit terrifying in the case of the latter idea.  Surely though, it will be the major advances in spaceflight that have the biggest impact going forward.

And finally, some thoughts on the characters.  The book had a deep, well developed cast that succeeded in putting a human face on all the ideas and theory discussed above.  Luo Ji, was easily my favorite of the main characters. Something about seeing such a brilliant yet disinterested person granted so much authority really entertained me, and it was most certainly noteworthy that he was also the only Wallfacer who actually succeeded at creating a (relatively) low-cost, viable plan that he was able to keep hidden across centuries.  I loved seeing him paired with bodyguard/kindred spirit Shi Qiang, another favorite of main and the only character from the previous novel to return in a regular role.  The dynamic between the two was incredibly entertaining and really brought a solid human element to the story. As for the other lead, Zhang Beihai, a political officer in the PLA Navy and eventual Space Force, he was in contrast a much more serious and determined individual, though he certainly had plenty of surprises in store for the reader as well.  I definitely found him much more interesting as the story went on.

I am now very eager to jump into book three and find out where this journey is taking us.  Since this installment actually ended on a somewhat positive note, I am really curious what the final chapter has in store for the beings of Earth and Trisolaris.  With a few big plot points potentially left on the table, namely the existence of other “hunters” and the rather ambiguous resolution to one of the other Wallfacer’s plans, I’m sure there is plenty of great story yet to come.

Game of Thrones: Brewery Ommegang – For the Throne

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Brewery Ommegang, Game of Thrones

Time again for my weekly post-Game of Thrones beverage review!  We’ve got another good one this week.

Beer Name: For the Throne

Brewery:  Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, NY)

Style: Golden Strong Ale

ABV: 9.5%

Description: This golden strong ale was fermented with Pinot Grisio and Viognier grape juice and bottle conditioned with champagne yeast.  Read more here.

Appearance: Golden/amber-colored body with a thick white foamy head.

Smell: Sweet grapes with a dry white wine finish.

Taste: Mildly tart and crisp, with notes of grape, oak barrel, and white wine.  The finish has a peppery/floral yeast presence and is also quite dry.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with an elevated amount of carbonation.

Hype: I am still excited by these beers.  They’re a nice treat to enjoy alongside the final episodes of an excellent show.

Overall: I found this one to be quite enjoyable.  It drank like a golden ale/white wine hybrid and was very nice to take my time with throughout the length of the episode.