(Since I’m without internet at home right now, the following was written on a previous date)

3 October, 2008

I’ve been very excited to try this since we got it in at the store. I enjoy a good cider now and again, but Woodchuck isn’t usually what I consider a good cider. I generally prefer something a little dryer, more akin to Strongbow.

My hope was that Woodchuck’s Limited Release would, at least, provide something a bit more interesting, and it looks like it has.

It is surprisingly good. While regular Woodchuck is often too sweet, the oak aging has toned that down a bit. I’m not sure if oaky is a description I would use, but there is definitely a unique flavor that you don’t find in a cider often.

All said, considering that this maintains the same price point as the rest of Woodchuck’s line, I can see myself picking up some more of it.

5/10

I always have a bunch of links open in my browser. Many of them are about Batman. So here’s some of the ones I’ve got, so I can save them, and not have to worry about keeping tabs open.

Science of Becoming Batman
Russian Intelligence = Batman
Frank Miller’s Goddamn Batman
The OLD Goddamn Batman
The Goddamn Batman on Law and Order
Goddamn Charlie Brown
Goddamn Angel

More of the Goddamn Batman.

At the store I work at, we have at least one customer who flat-out refuses to drink beer produced by the Stone Brewing company, simply because of the pretension. I mean really, they brew a beer named Arrogant Bastard, and don’t even put the name of the brewery on the label - at least not for the current 22oz bottles.

Even if they are pretty damn pretentious about it, Stone has good reason to be proud of their beers.

Case in point: Vertical Epic.

Its easy for breweries to push the limits of extreme beer; more malts, more hops, more more more. But finding where you can be extreme and keep the flavors not only drinkable but highly enjoyable - that’s the real challenge. Oh, and if you can do something really new and interesting with it… maybe you have a reason to be a little stuck-up about it.

Number seven in an eleven-beer series, Vertical Epic ‘08 is possibly one of the most interesting beers I’ve had in a while. Apparently inspired by a Belgian brewer, Vertical Epic is a Belgian-type triple that’s hopped to IPA levels with American hops. Its sounds kind of odd, but intriguing, and I heard nothing but good things from some co-workers about it.

Tonight I sat out on the roof outside my bedroom window in my new house, and cracked open a bottle.
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I’ve alwas been a huge fan of LEGOs, but the extent and skill of some of the custom builders out there constantly blows me away. With all the movie/comic tie-in’s that LEGO has been doing lately, both in their video games and product line it wouldn’t surprise me if they did a series of Watchmen LEGO sets, but Chris Doyle beat them to the punch. He went and created a LEGO version of Archimedes, Nite Owl’s ship from Watchmen, and it’s amazing. The exterior is right on, but more impressive are the details on the interior. You can check it out here:

http://www.reasonablyclever.com/lego/owlship/index.html

So I’ve been hearing good things through the Oade’s grapevine about this one.

Blondes are not usually my type (in more ways than one), but I’m really glad I gave this a shot.

First thing I noticed was the color. Its clear, light, and almost hazeless. Not what I usually expect from a microbrew. There is a really interesting malt aroma that could be called citrusy.

Very little hop bitterness to it. I really like the malt aftertaste that in leaves in my mouth.

For under $2, I can’t complain about this. A nice, light summery beer. I’ll buy it again. Not stunning, but you could drink it all day.

6/10