Friday, July 10, 2015

Total computer malfunction.  'Virgil's Haunts' will be delayed at least for a few days. Sorry.

A Bunch of Stories...

I'm back.  My writing over the last several months has been very sketchy. The desire to have my stories available on Amazon for anyone to read has consumed me.  The road has been tedious, at times difficult and confusing, but on June 25th, my first story went live on Amazon.

There are many more to come.  Please enjoy and feel free to leave any and all comments. Thanks.
A new story from my twisted catalog should be for sale on Amazon.  The story is called Virgil's Haunts and will be followed in two weeks by a story called Death Waltz.

Enjoy.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Friday, March 28, 2014

Seven Weeks...

Seven weeks...where does the time go?  Believe it or not, my absence was for a good reason.  Since January I have been writing like a madman.  I've probably put down over three hundred pages--not sure how good some of the stuff is, but at least I'm writing.

AND MY FIRST RELEASE, "9 OF A KIND" IS FINALLY IN THE LAST STAGES OF EDITING!!!

A quick writing update without the caps.  My book of short stories has changed drastically since I first envisioned the selections seven months ago.  Stories have been deleted, others added or edited, and two have actually spawned companion stories.  I might just be my own worst enemy when it comes to deciding when a story is finished.  Damn.

Fear not folks, I have not forsaken my love for craft beer.  For now, I'll skip my rant on beer snobs, beer geeks, and beer assholes, in favor of giving you a quick rundown of ten recent beers that I sampled.  Some were great, others were clunkers.  Here goes.

1. Sierra Nevada's Ruthless Rye IPA (draft) -- solid IPA -- rating 4
2. Troeg's Nugget Nectar (draft) -- better on draft than bottled -- rating 4
3. Sierra Nevada's Snow Wit White IPA (bottle) -- easy drinking IPA -- rating 3
4. Sierra Nevada's Torpedo Extra IPA (bottle) -- tasty and hoppy -- rating 4
5. Sierra Nevada's Nooner Session IPA (bottle) -- malty hoppy goodness -- rating 4
6. Sierra Nevada's Blindfold Black IPA (bottle) -- like drinking a hopped up coffee -- rating 4
7. DuClaw's Dirty Little Freak Coconut Caramel Chocolate Brown Ale (draft) -- the name lasts longer than the muddled taste -- rating 2
8. Tongerlo Prior Tripel Belgian Triple Ale (bottle) -- excellent, but strong -- rating 4
9. New Belgian Spring Blonde Ale Belgian Ale (bottle) -- OK at best -- rating 2
10. New Belgian Snapshot Wheat Beer (draft) -- thin and lacking -- rating 2

OK, so I like everything that Sierra Nevada makes (including their Summerfest which grew on me slowly). 

I'd love to write more, but it is Friday and there is beer to drink.  Cheers!!!

Monday, February 10, 2014

Better Late Than Never

Hello beer fanatics, it's Monday and I'm finally posting what I had promised to post three days ago.  Better late than never.

First, let's talk about some craft beers.  I'll start with a new release from our friends at Sam Adams.  Their new beer, a west coast style IPA, is called Rebel.  I sampled this beer twice on draft and thought it was quite good.  The beer arrived in a Sam signature glass--the color was bright amber, clear, with a fair amount of bubbles, topped nicely by a thick white head.  The beer smelled of piney citrus with heavy notes of grapefruit.  The taste was bitter and typical of an IPA.  At 6.5% ABV this was a solid beer.  It's not the best IPA, but I would drink it again.

The second beer was enjoyed during the Super Bowl.  Rogue's Yellow Snow IPA is also another example of a quality beer from a great company.  The beer was sampled (I drank the whole thing) from a 1/2 gallon growler (their packaging) on that boring Sunday.  The beer first, then the Super Dud.

Rogue's Yellow Snow IPA was poured into a SPG and was a cloudy crisp yellow, with a nice off-white billowy head that yielded thick lacing.  The smell and taste were both of floral and citrus notes with a mild sweetness in the background.  Pleasant beer and easy drinking--I did finish the half gallon.  Also, if you check out any of Rogue beers, you'll find out about IBUs, degrees Plato, and Lovibond.  It's complicated...Google it.

The Super Bowl.  A football fan's best and worst day.  If your team is in it and wins it, oh happy days.  If not, you still want a good game, with good commercials, and a decent halftime show.  If you watched the game, as I did, then maybe you might agree with me.  One word, horrific.

Game was a snorefest, halftime sucked, and the commercials were just OK at best.  If it wasn't for the company of my wife and brother, great wings and chili, and lots of craft beer, I would've never made it through the day.  That's that.

The last beer I want to tell you about is Iron Maiden Trooper ESB English bitter.  This is a solid British-style beer.  A little thin in smell, taste, and even the finish, but I love Iron Maiden (the band), so I forced myself to give this a decent rating.  Bias is a bitch.

My ratings for these three beers...Rebel IPA 3, Yellow Snow IPA 3, and Iron Maiden Trooper a 3.  I guess I'm in a generous mood.

Next time, beer snobs, three brews I'm looking forward to, and a writing update.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

The Return of Craft Beer Friday

Hello to all.  CBF will make a triumph return this Friday.  Super busy the last few weeks, churning out what I hope are four really good stories so far this year.  Friday, I'll be talking about a new beer from Sam Adams, a beer called Yellow Snow IPA, and a few others, including a beer from one of my all-time favorite bands.

A hint on that last beer, Up the Irons!!!

I'll also talk about beer snobs, a horrible Super Bowl Sunday, and a few new beers on the horizon.  See you Friday.  Drink up...