Re-Runs 'R' Us

Here's what we were on about exactly one year ago today...

A Couple O' Fun Things

I think a couple of o' few things have led to the explosion of craft breweries (read as: GOOD beer) in these United States, foremost among them being our exceptional standard of living and the general mobility of our society. Relatively well-off people who move around a lot… for whatever reason… are exposed to different people and things, not the least of which is beer and people who appreciate good beer. So… tastes change and evolve and almost always for the better. But there's something else in play, too. Snobbery, as manifested by the appearance of "beer reviews" and the like.
 

I used to think this territory was reserved for oenophiles, who tend to be among the most obnoxious folks in the world. But no longer… as we beer drinkers are beginning to encroach upon their territory. Hell, even YrHmblScrb has written a beer review… and if I can do it, anyone can. There's even a "how to" to get ya started, if'n you wanna get into the biz for fun or profit. And here it is… "How to Rate a Beer," by Jim Armstrong. Just a couple of excerpts:

When tasting and comparing many different types of beer, it is helpful to have a standardized way of rating them. If you’re serious about your suds, start taking tasting notes and build a profile of what things you like and dislike about different beer styles. This doesn’t have to be a complicated endeavor, but you have to go a bit further than “I liked that beer” or “that one sucks”.

A good place to start is by breaking down a beer’s rating into several categories. I use the same categories as the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) scorecards – those guys know what they’re doing, and their criteria works for me.

Works for me, too. Well maybe except for this bit:

When you start out, everything will smell like beer, but after doing this for awhile, you’ll be amazed at how many different aromas you can pick up. Eventually, you’ll be able to pick out specific varieties of grain and hops!

It all mostly smells like beer to me. There are exceptions, of course… any fool can smell the difference between stout and lager… but I'd sure like to meet the guy or gal who can differentiate between the different varieties of hops used in the brewing process. Then again, I'm quite sure my senses of taste and smell have been whacked by 40+ years of cigarettes. Still and even… I find that particular statement a bridge too far.

That said… the article is interesting and (I think) useful, if only to explain and differentiate what separates good beer from swill. And while we're on the subject... if you love beer and you've never heard of Michael Jackson (no, not that MJ), you've led a deprived life. The man literally wrote the book on beer.

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So… how did I miss this?

"Did You Know" is only this year's ninth most popular video, according to Viral Video Chart. Number One? Susan Boyle, with a staggering 174,923,055 views since April 11^th of this year. And we've ALL seen that one… right? Which kinda-sorta closes this "Did You Know" loop…

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Today's Pic: A re-run that's in keeping with the lead-off theme of today's post: beer. As in, ♫♪ "These are a few of my favorite things…" ♫♪. Heh.

Well.  We don't change a whole helluva lot from year to year now, do we?  Well, check that.  Our beer o' choice of late is Fransizkaner... and of the four beers pictured above only Mothership Wit is in our fridge, as we speak.

Blogging is taking a back seat to Real Life today and prolly tomorrow.  Our procrastination habit is getting the best of us and we are preoccupied with doin' trip-planning things... which should have been done days ago.  But "never do today what can be put off until tomorrow" is my motto.  Dang it.