G&T

Jim, that is awesome beer awesomeness. Wild ales are so amazing and I really want that Rodenbach if I ever find it. Flemish sours are a favorite but I want more more authentic than Ommegang Zuur. Meanwhile, I have been trying my hand at syrups, and orgeat is the current experiment. I made a batch last week that was very strong on almond flavor. That's not a bad thing but I found it over powering. It lost that mysterious quality and just became a pile of almonds in my drink. I also got poor yield trying to strain it. So this time, I increased the water and sugar by 50% and I will reheat the batch to help loosen it up. I hand chopped this batch of almonds to make straining easier. So far it tastes nice but it has 2-3 hours to sit. I don't have rose water, but I have orange blossom water which i used in making a damn fine grenadine. I think those are more aromatic anyway. Anyway, it's a fun hobby.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 21, 2011 -> 10:32 AM) Colin Cowherd chiming in this morning that should the Bears beat GB on Sunday, they would be the worst Super Bowl team ever. He then backed off a bit... And said the 05/06 Bears team might be worse... Colin Cowherd is the worst radio personality ever. He sucks. You shouldn't listen or care.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 17, 2011 -> 05:00 PM) I'm pretty sure he will have a good day. I think if the Bears are going to win, it's going to have to be at the hands of Jay Cutler. He's going to have to do some things that not a lot of teams have done against the Packers' defense. I think the game is going to be a lot like the first game was, except that the Packers aren't going to commit 20 penalties, so the Bears are going to have to play better. I'm going to guess 28-27 Bears. No the Bears have to run the ball and control time of possession. Cutler will need to make some big throws, but the running game is where this game has to be won. The Pack has averaged 19 ppg against teams with top 10 rushing defenses based on rushing ypg. And that's including 45 points against the Giants and 2 drubbings of the Vikings. Just taking out the Giants game the average drops to 16 ppg. If you start looking through the numbers it becomes clear that the Pack is a defensive team with a one dimensional offense. They will likely struggle to score points against the Bears (as has been proven on the field). They are beatable if you don't allow big plays from Rodgers and maintain balance. The one case where that formula didn't work was against the Jets and that's because Sanchez threw 2 picks. That's where Cutler has to be smart.

So far, the bye week hasn't proven all too helpful. The Steelers got it together, but they came out ice cold. Atlanta isn't even giving GB a game. If the Bears come out slow, that could be a problem.

Wow. Has there ever been a more dominant quarter in football than what the Steelers are showcasing right now?

QUOTE (NIUSox @ Jan 15, 2011 -> 04:43 PM) In the past week I have updated from a tube tv, xbox, and regular cable to a 1080p LCD tv, PS3, and a HD DVR and have been beating myself over the head for not doing it sooner. We didn't make the switch until September and added an internet enabled blu-ray with Netflix. It's incredible and somewhat life changing.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jan 15, 2011 -> 03:20 AM) Rogue Dead Guy Ale is skyrocketing up my favorite beers list. I introduced it to about 10 people today and they all loved it. I have to try that. I love the style but whenever I go to the beer store I completely forget about it.

2009 Honda CR-V. Bought new and already have about 30,000 miles on it.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jan 11, 2011 -> 10:10 PM) I don't think Verizon's network is going to have problems handling the extra traffic. They've been dealing with high-bandwidth smartphones for a couple of years now so they don't have to scramble to keep up the way AT&T did, they've been able to build up their network more or less in peace. Also depending on where you live your iPhone might be nerfed on Verizon's network since technically AT&T's network is about twice as fast. Although this was already true. Ultimately, it's not that Verizon will actually have problems, it's that a small part of the population will complain like hell about the suddenly slow network and make Verizon look bad.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Jan 12, 2011 -> 07:05 AM) Two more days until I can partake in some Spotted Cow. I gotta bring home a case this time. I accidentally forgot the spotted cow I got at home. I am not happy.

I just drank an Alpha King without feeling the awful stomach ache that can come with massive hoppy beers. This beer was undrinkable to me a couple weeks ago. I'm basically pounding this by my standards. G&T a hop head? Could it be?

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 10, 2011 -> 08:55 AM) I'm sure if they beat the Falcons Saturday they will cheer on Seattle. They may argue that the Bears suck, but I would think they would rather play Seattle at Qwest than the Bears in Soldier Field. Bears are 10 point favorites Sunday. SeaChickens getting no love from the oddsmakers away from Qwest, and suddenly the Bears getting some respect from Vegas. Bears were 6.5 point favorites the first time around in October... Considering the Saints got 10 points on the road, it isn't really a lot of love to give the Bears 10 points at home. Frankly, I'm as nervous about this game as any. It rides on whether Cutler can be good enough and not turn the ball over. Doesn't matter who they play.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jan 9, 2011 -> 08:46 PM) Could be very possible that I'm just not a fan. Kind of a shame, because I really want to be. I had big expectations. Well give it another shot since you have them anyway. Try some hoppier beers which will be far more assertive. That might be your fancy.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jan 9, 2011 -> 08:31 PM) Tries it. Didn't make a huge difference. Still just seems really, really bland and flavorless. Closer to mineral water than anything else I can describe. I've got for 4 more bottles, so I'll give it a shot tomorrow. Could be a bad batch. It's not a bad batch. They are far too consistent for that. Make sure to get enough yeast out that the beer is opaque in the glass. It's very possible that you don't care for white ales. There's nothing wrong with that. Then, years from now, you can't get enough of them. Beer is wonderful.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jan 9, 2011 -> 08:02 PM) The last week, I tried: Sam Adams Winter Lager Smithwick's Rogue Dead Guy Ale Hoegaarden Just cracked open my 1st Hoegaarden and I'm not a big fan thus far. Just seems really bland. But I'll have another before I make a final judgement. The other 3 I really enjoyed, especially the Dead Guy Ale. Did you follow the instructions to swirl out the yeast?

QUOTE (zenryan @ Jan 8, 2011 -> 07:58 PM) lol at this dumbass. What a moran. Awesome.

CNN is taking feed from an Arizona station with the call letters KGUN. Seriously?

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Jan 7, 2011 -> 11:58 PM) I don't keep any calvados on hand here either, so I always have to sub Applejack when calvados is called for as well. Depending on whether it is the base spirit or the modifying agent, I might add a bit of good brandy to the mix as well to try to approach some of the depth the calvados would bring. Is your Applejack the normal 80-proof or are you lucky enough to get the high-octane Laird's Bonded up your way? 80 proof. I didnt really look that hard though. I was happy enough to get this at the strip mall liquor store near my house on a snowy eve. I considered subbing brandy but I wanted to try the Applejack.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Jan 7, 2011 -> 11:29 PM) Yay Wray&Nephew and Jasper's Mix! A match made in heaven. I love Jasper's Punches. I could slam those all night. I also made the Apply Toddy. I went directly against Imbibe and used Applejack since I don't have access to a better apple brandy. Suspecting that might be a problem I kept the liquor to 1.5 oz for me and 1 oz for my wife (which worked well). I was right as the alcohol was fairly apparent. However, I didn't strain the pulp from the apple and we both felt that made the drink better and it covered the booze pretty well. A smoother alcohol would work better, but some extra sugar would probably work too. Overall, definitely drinkable, and despite some overt alcohol, it was something I want to try again. Lots of variables and plenty to play with.

First thing, those in Chicago have to get some Two Brothers beers. I had the Cane and Ebel tonight and it was excellent. The golden ale is also very good. The French Country Ale probably would be good fresh, but mine was oxidized. Second, I mixed up a Jasper's Punch but didn't want to make the a full batch of mix. I went with: 1 oz lime 1 oz turbinado syrup (I'd go with Demerara but its pricey) bitters and nutmeg to taste 2 oz Wray&Nephew The syrup may be a bone of contention but I wanted to try turbinado for a fuller flavor and I knew it wouldn't dissolve otherwise. I think it turned out very nicely and I find the mouthfeel to be pleasing and not noticeably thicker (the Jaspers is a syrup anyway). I really like the turbinado. Last, it's snowing and there will be about 6 inches by morning. I am going to try to make Apple Toddies using the Imbibe recipe if I can walk and operate an oven.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 5, 2011 -> 01:44 PM) I don't think so. Isn't it tampering if you contact the player? I'm pretty sure teams can't publicly discuss players under contract with another team. What's the difference between contacting directly and publicly making a statement?

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 5, 2011 -> 01:39 PM) That whole video was broadcast well after the trade. Who knows if they edited it to reflect what really happened. Perhaps they had discussions about flipping him but since it didn't pan out they only showed the clips as we saw them. Wouldn't it be tampering if they were on a TV show saying that they wanted Dunn?

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 5, 2011 -> 11:29 AM) If KW traded for EJax with absolutely 0% intention of keeping him, instead of just brokering a 3-way deal with WAS & ARI, then that's a borderline fireable offense. It could have been a calculated risk. He certainly wanted to trade for Dunn, but if that didn't happen, he was stuck with good pitcher that wasn't a 1 year rental. The only way this deal is a "fireable offense" is if they couldn't get Dunn because of EJax's salary hit. But that didn't happen.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jan 4, 2011 -> 03:19 PM) Found a liquor store that had Bourbon Country Stout. $50 for a bottle. No thanks. WHAT?! That's ludicrous. It's supposed to be like $20 for a 4 pack. Just last Christmas there was a ton of it at Binny's and now it's $50 a bottle? I can tell you one thing, it isn't worth $50. It's a good beer, but I would never buy it again at the normal price. Also, there were various Bourbon County stouts this year included one made with vanilla and some that were aged longer. It could have been one of those.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Jan 1, 2011 -> 08:04 PM) Very nice! Did the Pisco sour have an egg white froth with a bit of Ango bitters sprinkled on top? If so, you had it done right. I'm all out of Pisco after mixing up a few Pisco sours for some partygoers at a friend's New Years party. Unfortunately no. I knew they weren't going to make it with the egg whites but they definitely had the bitters. I want to try one done right.