Holding Steady in Birmingham, AL

So, I’m sitting on a couch that’s covered in pillows and blankets that were used this morning during the few hours of sleep I managed after 5am.  I think the weekend messed up my ability to sleep like a normal human being or maybe it just messed me up.

Either way, it’s over.  I’m now in Columbus, Ohio.  There’s an upcoming wedding.  I have little to say about it or Columbus or about anything in general, but there was the weekend, the weekend where Hector and I flew from Denver, CO to Birmingham, AL to see The Hold Steady.  Like we’re a couple of college kids. Like we don’t even remotely know how to act like adults.

Did anything amazing or life-altering happen?  Nope.  We pretty much just drank too much, saw a sweet show, and met some new friends.  So what’s the point?  I don’t know.  I’m really really tired and thought maybe I’d do a public service announcement kind of deal about Birmingham.  The announcement is real simple:  Birmingham is actually pretty cool.

Magic in the Air, the Brews, the Zoo

2010 Denver Brew at the Zoo.

Frankly, a long, overwritten blog post about last night is probably unnecessary; I took tons of photos and think the photos do the night much more justice.  But I’ll give a little summary, show the highlights.  Why not?  I need to do something while I nurse this hangover (a result of The Shoe, not this event).

Last night, Olive, Hector, and I went to the Denver Zoo for the 13^th Annual Brew at the Zoo.  It’s officially Denver Beer Fest week and there are tons of beer events (biggest being GABF), but Brew at the Zoo is probably my favorite.  Olive said, “Beer, ribs, and Elephants.  F#@*ing Awesome!”  My sentiments exactly.

All Together Now

Beer Bloggers Conference 2010 Virtual Colorado Beer Tasting.

So, the first ever Beer Bloggers Conference is leading up the first ever Virtual Colorado Beer Tasting.  Here’s what they have to say about it:

The tasting will take place Thursday, September 9th, at 7:30 PM Mountain Standard Time. Beer drinkers, beer bloggers, and beer journalists across the continent are invited to purchase your favorite Colorado beers, crack them open all at the same time, and then write, blog, Facebook, and Tweet about them.

So that’s what this is.  My choice:  Left Hand‘s Oktoberfest, a Marzen Lager.  Here’s a picture:

We Care a Lot… About Beer

Faith No More’s Introduce Yourself Through Beer

If it’s a sunny, Summer day and I’m driving and I have the windows down and I’m moderately pissed off that I’m driving and I don’t want to be pissed off that I’m driving, I listen to one album—Introduce Yourself by Faith No More.

This is the album before the album with the song that has the video that ends with the flopping fish (Epic). This is before Mike Patton, before Faith No More experiments with hints of country (great stuff), does music for Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey (the better B&T movie). This is the time when I spend countless hours watching MTV videos (when they still played videos) and we know all the songs and are influenced and corrupted while we lie on the floor in a daze or rock out and smack each other in the face with pillows on the couch.

The year is 1987. That whole rock rap thing hasn’t really taken off yet. The music world doesn’t have Rage Against the Machine, 311, or Kid Rock (though, Beastie Boys have released License to Ill). With the rock airwaves dominated by cheesy, hair bands, we’re waiting for the Pixies and Nirvana and all that Seattle stuff. But there’s no reason to wait for that. We already have Faith No More.

A Wee Homebrew Debacle

Brewing Scottish Ale without a recipe or a clue.

According to BeerAdvocate.com, “Scottish Ales traditionally go through a long boil in the kettle for a caramelization of the wort. This produces a deep copper to brown in colored brew and a higher level of unfermentable sugars which create a rich mouthfeel and malty flavors and aromas. Overall hop character is low, light floral or herbal, allowing its signature malt profile to be the highlight. Smoky characters are also common.”  Some of their top-ranked examples include:  Old Chub, Dark Island, Blackfriar, and Duke of Winship.  (A full description and competition guidelines can also be found here.)

I’m not super familiar with this style of beer and I definitely didn’t set out to make it, but after a trip to my favorite homebrew store, Stomp Them Grapes, I sort of found myself on the path to do just that.

Whoa, Lines

A perspective of the 1st Justice League of Street Food Bash

Over the past few weeks, I became overly excited for the Justice League of Street Food‘s first-ever Bash/Party/Pig-Out-Session.  I looked forward to delicious food, my favorite beer, hanging out with friends, and experiencing something new, something different.  Sadly, that’s not exactly what happened.

Gunning for the GABF

World Wide Stout - By Bernt Rostad

Beers I Must Try at the Great American Beer Festival [Note:  List updated with Reader Suggestions.]

I will be the first beer blogger to admit it–I don’t particularly love the GABF. But it’s not because there’s anything wrong with it; in fact, strong arguments can be made in its case. It’s because I don’t go prepared. I find myself aimlessly wandering from line to line, trying whatever beer in whatever order. The beers are always delicious, but I never remember or learn anything, and after an hour or so, I think to myself, “Can I just sit down at a bar and have a full pint of beer?”

But not this year.  This year, I’m going prepared.

Beer Full of Miracle

Genesis’s Foxtrot Through Beer [Originally posted at Jenn and Beer.  Thanks Jenn!]

I recently started an unprecedented, wholly unnecessary experiment to pair beer with song.  It’s simple.  I pick an album, go through each track, and determine what beer would be best with it and why.  This is attempt #2.

For today’s album, I’ve chosen an old favorite.  It is going to be great, a real hootenanny (no, it’s not by The Replacements), and should go over really well.  I say this because everyone, I mean every single normal person I’ve ever met on the face of this planet (with the exception of Jared & Jason Prosek), has never heard of it.  It’s called Foxtrot from1972 by little known band, Genesis.

Fan Appreciation

2010-08-07:  Great Divide Smoked Baltic Porter Release Party

When I think of parties, I think cheap keg beer in a cramped kitchen, bad hip-hop warbling tinny speakers, people sprawled out on couches.  Or… hors d’oeuvres, wine, cocktail dresses, Matchbox 20, and white linen.

What I don’t think of is this:  a party at a brewery in a large, open space with big, bold beers that you won’t get anywhere else.

I’m at Great Divide.  It’s Friday evening.  The entire brewery is open to the public.  It’s a party to celebrate the release of a new seasonal, Smoked Baltic Porter, and to feature their 16^th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA.

11 Songs, 10 Beers

The Hold Steady’s Boys and Girls in America through beer.

Friends know I’m a huge fan of The Hold Steady.  I probably think about their music too much.  Hector and I are flying to Birmingham in September just to see them.  We were at their Ogden performance in June, and I’ve seen them two times before—once in Chicago at the Pitchfork Music Festival.

While jamming out on guitar to the song Chips Ahoy, a question popped into my mind:  What beer, if I were drinking, would I want right now?  In other words, what beer goes best with this song?

An answer didn’t immediately come to mind, but an idea did.  Could one perfectly pair a beer with a song?  Could I pair a beer to each song off of an album, or more specifically, a Hold Steady album, or more specifically still, the album Boys and Girls in America?