Thursday, June 24, 2010




6/5/10

(forgot to post this one, its from a few weeks back)

Green Flash West Coast IPA- Community Beverage, Queens, NY- 12 oz. bottle into Brandy Snifter- Big fluffy two finger head. Nice lacing after it slowly dissipated. Nice carbonation and a bold fruity, hoppy aroma. Poured orange amber color. 7.3% ABV. Very drinkable for me. Strong but not to strong, bitter and dry but the bitterness doesn't linger to long.

I'm listening to Webb Pierces'- Cross Country LP. A distinct cover for sure, from a time when country music was genuinely soulful. I first saw this record in a book, which I believe was about album cover art.. The LP is from 1962 and is pretty much standard issue Honky Tonk/ Classic Country. Webb Pierce's most well known song maybe the classic ode to alcohol and a lovers infidelity, "There Stands A Glass". The cover of the LP says alot about this flamboyant, Nudie Suited country singer. Notice the pistols which replace the standard gearshift and glove box handles. I believe the suit designer Nudie Cohen customized the interior of this car. I've looked for this LP for awhile but resisted Ebay. Luckily I found a fairly clean copy for far less than I would have paid there.

*Footnote- Webb Pierce had a guitar shaped swimming pool in Nashville

Tuesday, June 22, 2010




6/18/10

Langunitas Hop Stoopid Ale- 14th St. Whole Foods- 22oz. Bomber into Pub Glass- Not a big fan of Whole Foods, but I was in Union Square and didn't have time to go to any of my usual haunts. I like the food at Whole Foods, but the crowds in there make it a little hard for me to handle so I don't go to often.I heard they have a good beer selection and it was good but not great. This beer has 8% ABV. Aromas are of citrus fruits and hops. Light orange in color. Average head and little lacing on the glass. Carbonation is fairly strong. A bit bitter but not overwhelming. Not as good as the Sierra Nevada Torpedo I recently tasted but still pretty good. My favorite "hoppy" beer that I have tried so far is Victory Hop Wallop which I didn't have a chance to review here. I think I expected this beer to have similar characteristics, as the Hop Wallop, especially its straw colored appearance.

I pulled Dave Dudleys- Pool Shark out tonight. His calling card song, a hit in 1962, was his version of Six Days On The Road. The song was written by Muscle Shoals songwriter Carl Montgomery and Earl Green. The song has been covered by several artists my favorite version is from The Flying Burrito Brothers. Dudley subsequently recorded a string of "trucker" inspired songs and LP's, which are all recommended, if you are interested in getting into the more obscure corners of classic country of the 60's and 70's. His rich baritone voice is something you don't hear much anymore in popular music but was well suited to the style and the delivery of the songs he sung. Dudley was cut from the same cloth as other great country singers and writers of the time who lurked a bit outside the norm: Tom T. Hall, Porter Wagoner, Waylon Jennings, Bobby Bare, etc. He was a unique singer, writer and interpreter of songs which told colorful stories, more often than not, focused on drifters, truckers, drinkers and men in some way who existed on the fringe. This LP follows similar themes. Song titles include "This Night (Ain't Fit For Nothing But Drinking), A Week In A Country Jail and Whose Arms Did You Fall Out Of Now, to name a few. Not my favorite of his but a good LP nonteless with a great cover!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

I'm gonna miss her bloodshot alcoholic eyes...




6/10/10-

Killer Penguin Barley Wine- Community Beverage, Queens, NY- 22oz Bomber into Brandy Snifter- My first barley wine! Also my first beer to ever have its cap covered in wax, fancy. Fluffy head, good retention and a fair amount of lacing. Reddish brown color. 10.0 % ABV. Fuity but not overpowering aroma. Definitely smell some raisins in there or something comparable. Never smelt those in a beer before. More carbonation than I expected, I actually expected very little carbonation. The beer felt pretty smooth in my mouth and going down. I kind of taste some alcohol in here. I like this definitely some wine qualities to it though I don't drink much wine, but sitting here I get that bit of heat in my throat I associate with wine. My one complaint would be the "raisin-ish" quality to it, kinda weird but I suppose i'm just not used to it, I wish that taste was a little subtler, but otherwise this is an interesting beer. I will definitely like to check out some more barley wines...
As this beer has warmed, the aroma has become overcome with what is described on beeradvocate.com as...dried fruits...whoah.

Since i'm drinking barley wine I decided to listen to some British music being that I associate barley wine with England. I'm not really pairing beer with music on the blog but in this instance it seemed appropriate. In this case I chose The Kinks- Muswell Hillbillies. I was going to play The Faces, another quintessential English band with a passion for American music. Like many Kinks records there are distinctly British social themes throughout the album but the music definitely has a rootsy American feel. I chose this LP as opposed to The Faces because I haven't had the chance to listen to this album as much as I would like to. This record seems to bridge the 60's Kinks to the 70's Kinks and I have definitely listened more 60's Kinks records than those from later on. This album is very good and actually has some similarities to The Faces style of the time. A British interpretation of American roots music inspired in someway (most likely) by The Band. In addition to the blusey, country vibe of the record there seems to be some vaudevillian and/or musical elements there which can also be found on other Kinks records like The Village Green Preservation Society. Great album cover to, an old English pub with both the young and old mixing it up. Reminds me of one of my favorite bar scenes in a movie from Withnail and I.

Saturday, June 5, 2010



5/29/10

Magic Hat Blind Faith IPA- Community Beverage, Queens, NY- 12 OZ. bottle into a Pub Glass- Little to no head, disappeared almost instantly. Little to no lacing. Avg. carbonation. Some fruity aroma but not very strong. Hazy, amber in color. 5.9% ABV. A little disappointed with this beer, I guess I expected something a little more complex. Pretty bitter, but nothing really balances out the bitterness in my opinion. Still drinkable, but I don't think I would search this one out again.

I bought this beer at a store, Community Beverage, in Queens, NY I just discovered via beeradvocate.com. It's nice to know a beer store like this is in Queens! A little out of the way but not to far from where we live. I was really impressed with the beer selection: bottles, bombers and growlers. Micro and Macro brews. Warm and cold, which is a plus, since I like buy a couple of bottles warm and keep them stashed away in the pantry closet. My only issue is there doesn't seem to be any prices on the beer, unless i'm missing something. I will probably do most of my bottle shopping at Community Beverage from here on out.

As for listening today I put on a new LP i picked up St. Dominic's Preview- Van Morrison. I have been dipping my ear into his catalogue lately. I always liked Moondance, and have it on LP and CD. I also have Astral Weeks and His Band the Street Choir which I never truly absorbed until recently. So now I picked up St. Dominic's Preview and Tupelo Honey, which were both a bit battered but the price was right. So far this album is really good, especially the song St. Dominic's Preview, with some nice pedal steel guitar mixed in with gospel style organ. Sort of a country/soul thing going on, much like the Joe Tex LP I mentioned in a previous post, I really like this! This song alone is worth the price of the LP! I really like the cover to, a simple shot of the Irish Troubadour with his axe.

5/23/10

Founders Old Crumudgeon Ale- Brouweij Lane- Greenpoint, Brklyn- 32 oz. Growler into brandy snifter- hazy orange amber color- some light carbonation- the head disappeared pretty quickly and was pretty thin but I've also had the growler in the fridge for about 2 weeks which is a little long. Smooth mouth feel but not excessively creamy. Sort of a smokey woodish quality? good ale. I think i am tasting the alcohol in this one. I asked the guy in the store for a barley wine and this is the closet they had. The consistency is def what I was looking for but the taste is a little hard for me to pin down. But let me see how it goes when it warms a bit.

No records today since I'm watching old Mets promotional films on SNY and my wife is typing a paper. However I am leafing through a new book I bought the lllustrated History of Neil Young. Nice book of photos and some text covering his whole career up to the present. It is a nice companion book to his career spanning bio Shakey.

* As a side note to my last post I got a chance to listen to the other Incredible String Band LP- Hard Rope and Silken Twine. It was alot better than I expected, and actually enjoyed listening to it. The songs were a little more focused, and the voacals were not as "whimisical."

5/20/10



5/20/10

Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale- Brouweji Lane- Greenpoint, Brklyn- 32 oz growler- Poured in to 10oz Brandy Snifter- Nice, fluffy head. Described as a dark/black hoppy ale. Medium carbonation, cola colored. 8.7 ABV. Good lacing. This beer is unlike any I've had before. It looks like a stout or a porter, which I generally don't drink, except for Guiness. Definitely has hoppy-ale qualities but also choclatey, coffee qualities to it. A bit rich for me. This beer is definitely out of my comfort zone. I don't forsee going back to it, that said, its an interesting beer but I prefer the Stone IPA to this. My experience with porters is very limited but this is what I imagine they are like. I prefer lagers, pilsners and etc. But this is a cool beer to try.

I'm listening to an Incredible String Band Double LP- 'U'- I found for .99 in a thrift store in Astoria while I was waiting out a rain storm. Also, like the beer, out of my comfort zone. I have read a bit about them over the years and they seem to have a following among some new folksy type bands. Not bad for .99 cents but I wouldn't buy it for much more. As the name implies there are some nice string instrument arrangements: mandolin, banjo, guitar, 12 string guitar, etc. But the vocals are not my bag, a little two whimsical / Tiny Tim'ish for my liking. I also picked up another Incredible String Band LP- Hard Rope and Silken Twine- also for .99. This LP has a pedal steel player listed on the back so maybe I will be able to get into that one a bit more. This all said it was strange to find these records at this particular store which I go to from time to time. Mostly classical, perry cumo and 70's crap. I also picked up John Denver's Greatest Hits, two high-ball glasses and my new Brandy Snifter. Total about $6.42

5/6/10


5/6/10

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Double IPA- Quick Mart- Rego Park, Queens- 1 12 oz. bottle poured into pub glass. 1/2 inch head; nice lacing after a few sips. Orange/amber color. Nice carbonation, fruity aroma. Good taste, with a strong hoppy character. Very drinkable, smooth for me. Generally I am not a huge Sierra Nevada fan, and didn't have very high expectations for this beer. Last weekend I tried Sierra Nevads's Summefest and was unimpressed. I love a good summer ale, and theirs was average to good. This beer, though, is excellent!
Nice LP on the turntable, Country Soul- Joe Tex, Atlantic Records! Just picked this up and I have to say its fantastic!! Soul singer doing country covers recorded in 1968 at American and Columbia Studios in Nashville, doesn't get much better than this for me! Songs include The Dark End Of The Street, By the Time I Get To Phoenix, Ode to Billie Joe, etc.! Damn, this is good. Nice arrangements of country songs with Muscle Shoals and Stax style'd arrangements. A little light on gritty guitars, but the organ makes up for that. This is my first Joe Tex LP but I will be keeping my eye out for more!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010



4/25/10

Greenport Havre Rogue- Purchased at Brouweji Lane- Greenpoint, Brklyn- 32 oz. Growler- described as a Belgian style beer, poured into a pub glass with a small head; very little lacing on the glass; reddish tobacco color; avg. carbonation; strong tasting beer with a smoky quality, can't really put a finger on the taste. Not your average beer.
Listened to one side of Rita Coolidges' first lp with various studio musicians i.e. Clarence White, Leon Russel, Booker T. Jones Donald Duck Dunn, includes cool versions of Crazy Love by Van Morrison and Born Under A Bad Sign by Albert King!
Also, Dr. Feelgood's- Malpractice, glad I found it in the bargain bins on the floor, great record, though a bit scratched up!