Sorry for the absence....

Again, I find myself back at the keyboard, apologizing for my disappearance from this blog. Life has been challenging for my family and me this year, and I found I was writing this blog out of a sense of commitment, rather than for my enjoyment. I think I'm at a point where I would like to get back to it. I may not post every day, but I will be visiting here more frequently.

Open house at Lagniappe Brewing Co.

A new brewery has opened up in Minneola, FL, and last weekend I spent some time sampling their brews. The brewery is named Lagniappe Brewing and I enjoyed my afternoon there. Lagniappe is pronounced lan-yap and the general meaning is to "giva a little something extra". Since the open house offered free beer, they are certainly living up to their name already. My wife and I had an opportunity to speak with Brad, the owner and brewmeister - a very personable fellow who deserves a lot of credit for jumping into a new business at a time like this. I wish him all the success in the world.

We were able to sample 3 different beers - Minnehaha Golden Ale, Afterglow IPA, and Locomotive Breath Porter. Minnehaha Golden Ale (named for a local lake) is a very mild, very smooth and easy to drink ale. It would be a great thirst-quencher during the warmer months, which lasts most of the year here in Florida. Afterglow IPA uses a Polish hop variety similar to the Czech Saaz. It's not an over-the-top IPA, and was very enjoyable. The Locomotive Breath Porter was my favorite - chocolaty and roasty.

The brewery is in a good location, not far off the main drag in Minneola, and the owners have done a great job making it attractive and welcoming. The fact that it's only about 3 miles from my home doesn't hurt either. I took some pictures with a cell-phone while inside, but my blue-tooth adaptor doesn't like me, so...

Check out their web-site at www.lagniappebrewing.com. Good luck to Lagniappe Brewing! I'm looking forward to trying out some of their future beers!

I'm back

2009 has started off more difficult than I expected, which explains why I haven't blogged in a while. I kinda lost interest in it. Back on January 17th, my family had to make one of the hardest decisions we've faced in a long time. A week prior, our favorite dachshund Porter injured his back, paralyzing his front legs. We spent a week trying to nurse him back to health, but it wasn't to be. We had him put to sleep to prevent him from suffering any more pain. He was the best dog ever, and we cherish the 9 years we had with him. Needless to say, blogging immediately went to the bottom of my list of priorities. The pain has lessened somewhat, but some reminders still bring tears to our eyes.

Virus False Alarm

Well, it appears that I decimated my blog videos for no reason. According to some info I have received, the problem was due to a false positive from my Anti-virus software. What a waste. Oh well...

Virus problems at Youtube?

I just discovered that a virus had attached itself to each of my Youtube videos in my blog, so unfortunately, I had to delete them all. I don't understand what happened, but I nuked all my funny commercials because I didn't want to deal with a !%#$ virus.

A Week without blogging....

Well, my "real" job dragged me kicking and screaming out of Florida this past week, so I've been unable to do any blogging. Thankfully, I'm back home for the foreseeable future, so my entries should become more consistent again.

Strange Brew Tavern in Manchester, NH

A few weeks ago, my wife and I went on a vacation in New Hampshire, to celebrate our 27th anniversary. We spent a couple of nights in Manchester, and while there, met some friends of ours (two couples) who were also celebrating anniversaries that week. Since one of the couples was honoring their first year of marriage, they went all out and rented a limo for the night. We got to ride along in style, and we had our own official designated driver. After a great dinner at a local wine and fondue restaurant, we headed to downtown Manchester to a bar called "Strange Brew Tavern". My wife and I aren't much for the bar scene, but we decided to tag along. "Strange Brew" was very crowded that night, and had a live blues band performing. The blues band was very good, but the main attraction was the beer selection! They had over 65 different beers on tap - including local microbrews, such as Smuttynose, Woodstock Inn, and Ipswich - as well as imports from England, Germany, Quebec, and Belgium. Their list of bottled beers was even more extensive! Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, we had already had more beer than I normally drink in a week, so I limited myself to 1 beer - Stone Brewing's Smoked Porter. It was nice and roasty with enough smoke flavor to live up to its name. Shortly after finishing our beer, the limo had to be retired for the evening, so we headed back to the hotel. Since getting back home to Florida, my wife picked up a copy of Imbibe Magazine, and found "Strange Brew Tavern" listed as one of the top 100 places to drink beer in America. It's the only 1 on the list that I've been to, so I guess I better start working on the list! If you're ever in Manchester, check it out.

The new issue is here!

I just received the new issue of "Brew Your Own" magazine, the "How-to Homebrew Beer Magazine". As usual, there are lots of interesting articles and recipes. The most interesting recipe I've found is for "Hop Hammer Imperial IPA". If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that IPA's are one of my favorite styles of beer. "Hop Hammer" uses 5 different varieties of hops, and creates a beer with an alcohol level of 8.8% abv. I will definitely be trying this recipe! There's also an article on how to build a great kegerator with 10 taps! It looks like a piece of furniture. If you're a homebrewer, you should take a look at "Brew Your Own" when you get an opportunity. You can even get a free trial copy from their website - www.byo.com.

Birthday dinner at Long Horn

Today was my official half-century birthday, and I celebrated it with my family by having dinner at Long Horn Steakhouse. I think Long Horn is one of the best steak restaurants there is. I've had tough steaks at some pretty fancy restaurants, but Long Horn is consistently good. I was a little concerned when the chain was bought out by Darden, the owner of Red Lobster, but I guess they decided not to mess with success. My only complaint is that their beer selection is sketchy, with Samuel Adams Boston Lager, and Blue Moon representing their most adventurous selections. Fortunately I like them both, and chose a Sam Adams tonight - in the big 25 oz mug. Hey - it's my birthday, right? The prime rib was tasty, although it was cooked a little more than I wanted, and the Sam Adams was ice cold. Sam from the tap is a different beer from Sam in a bottle. They're both excellent, but draft is better. Maybe it's just the presentation, but it tastes fresher, and has more hop flavor and aroma. I had a nice dinner with good company for my 50th.

GASP! No Beer Today!

This weekend has been crazy for my family. My son has moved out of the house to his own apartment, and he will be starting his Junior year of college tomorrow. He was living at home for his first two years, but felt that it was time to step out on his own. Obviously, it's a small step, since he's only an hour from home, but it feels like a huge distance. This event leaves my wife and I as empty-nesters - a title that we're not sure we're ready for. Our daughter was married 10 months ago, so we've had some big life events this past year. With helping my son prepare, move and settle in, we ended up eating fast food most of the weekend, and I think Taco Bell would have had something to say if I brought my own beer with me. So no beer tonight. Maybe we'll be back to something more normal tomorrow.

Schlitz is back!!

As a member of the latter part of the baby boomer generation, I remember Schlitz beer from my high school days. I don't remember much about it except for the jingle - you know - "When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer....". At one time, Schlitz was the most popular beer in the country, pre and post-Prohibition. Unfortunately for the company, they messed around with the formula in the 80's and basically ruined the beer. People stopped buying it, and it eventually just went away. Now owned by Pabst, the original formula has been found, and the brewer is bringing it back from the dead. I think they're hoping that nostalgia will create a market for it again. I think they might be right - I think there will be a market for it at first - folks who used to drink Schlitz are going to want to try it again. I know I'll probably give it a shot when it makes its way to Central Florida. I also know that beer tastes have evolved, and it may not make it in these craft beer times. Only time will tell. In the mean time, here's a classic Schlitz commercial:



And here's the jingle that I remember. I know, I'm dating myself.