Commentist Beer Barrel: Boots On The Ground – Texas Edition

Note to self:  Next time I take a picture for use as a banner, make sure to turn the damned phone sideways as profile pics don’t upload so good.  Oh well, kill me for having to scroll a bit.

I know I’ve taken a break from Midweek Rations, but I just got home from a very nice evening out so I thought I’d throw a quick post together to share my pleasant mood.  Actually, I surrendered the remote to Dame Nobyl as there isn’t A GODDAMN ON THING WORTH WATCHING ON A SUNDAY UNTIL SEPTEMBER!!!! SO SHE (oops, capslock) so she gets to watch her PBS how-to stuff on the DVR machine for now.  Therefore I’m actually kinda bored and thought I’d share the boredom with you fine folks.

The day started by sleeping my ass in, which is the absolute best way to start any day all opposing opinions are invalid so don’t even try.  The Dame got up earlier and took her dad to breakfast, then called me to ask if she should bring some breakfast tacos home.

He’ll yeah!

 

Fired up a pot of Kona coffee which finished just in time for my egg, potato and chorizo taco (x2) delivery.  She also brought a couple home for The Boy, I just threw the bag into his room and closed the door and listened to the carnage from a safe, secure distance.

The Boy finally made an appearance, we had a father/son bonding day planned by working on his car.  It was due an oil change and tire rotation, something I can do in my sleep but he has yet to master.  I don’t force my children to follow some path I created inspired by my abilities, they need to forge ahead in the direction that fits their strengths.  It worked for my older stepson, who is doing very well and just made me a step-grandpa.  Glad he did follow my lead in that direction and waited until he was 30 before spawning, I only hope his little brother does the same as he is now 20 years old and is a gland with two legs.  I remember those days all too well.

Long story short, we got the job done despite the heinous heat and humidity.  I was impressed by The Boy’s tenacity, he left his phone in the house and did almost all the work.  When I tell him how much this would have cost at a garage he gains a second wind.  He works hard as a waiter at a nearby restaurant, a really nice locally-owned Asian joint, and is also going for a useful degree at a local college, so I have no problem with him still living at home.  That’s a good thing because I’ll have a hard time letting go when that day comes.  I also live through him vicariously at times.  He’s tall, slim and a good-looking kid even though he surprisingly looks a lot like me.  We call it the Liv Tyler syndrome, I’m sure you can figure the rest out from there.  As a result, while at work he attracts more cougar attention than a wounded rabbit, and has collected more than a few receipts with a phone number scrawled under the tip amount.  He has a girlfriend, so I’m at a loss on what advice to give.

I worked in a fucking pet store at that age, if I only knew…

By now I’m sure you’re asking – What the fuck does this have to do with beer barrel?  Calm your ass down, I’m getting there.  The Boy gave the car a test drive then ran off to join his hoodlum friends for basketball and Whataburger.  I took a much needed shower while the Dame made dinner plans.  We decided to keep it simple and take the 5 minute drive to our fave pizza dive.  Another local joint that serves a spectacular pizza along with a beer wall, there own custom brews as well as many of the local microbrews on tap.  As you can imagine, I’m quite the regular.

We ordered our usual, a large Jack’s Special.  Pepperoni, Italian sausage, onion and chopped fresh garlic, all piled up on a crust that seals the deal.  This place has three sizes and one crust, none of that stuffed-deep dish-hand tossed-cheeseburger on the edge crap.  Yes, that exists.

I’m sure that’s what the Italian immigrants had in mind when they landed on Ellis Island all those years ago.

This pizza is so damned good we even eat the bones (edge crust for the uninitiated), it’s all perfectly chewy and just burned enough to be interesting.  We’ve had pizza all over the country, even a few fancy pies made famous on various Food Network programs, but nothing beats our local joint…with one exception.  We took a Mediterranean cruise on our honeymoon countless years ago (she remembers how many) with a stop in Florence, Italy.  There we got a genuine magherita pizza from a little roadside stand.

It was dirt simple.  Crust, tomatoes sliced paper thin, sliced cheese and fresh basil.  That bar will never be reached again, I won’t even try.

Oh yeah, beer.  I didn’t forget.  As I mentioned, this place serves local microbrews on tap, including some from my absolute favorite place.  The banner pic is actually from a sign from near their restrooms.  They didn’t have the Hefeweizen that I like so much, instead they carried a summer porter.  I’m usually not a big porter fan, especially with food as I find them rather heavy; I’d rather not have a meal to drink with my meal. The bartender said this wasn’t as thick as most porters and worth a try, so I ordered the comely bar wench to draw me a tankard forthwith!   Actually, I politely asked the nice young lady to please serve me a glass as she suggested.  I mean my wife was with me you know, as if that would have made a difference.

WOW…I mean, wow!  This beer was realllly good, not at all as heavy as the usual porter.  It had strong coffee notes and a tiny hint of chocolate, but was served cold and remarkably refreshing.  I don’t get as twerpy as so many so-called beer aficionados as far as judging goes, but I do have one requirement that isn’t negotiable, and that’s the beer’s finish.  A nasty aftertaste will ruin an otherwise pretty good brew, and this porter nailed it.  I just wish I could finish as well as this simple beverage.

Oh, you want proof?

That’s the pizza, and that’s what is left of my beer.

In a nutshell, it was a great way to spend a Sunday.  Not to get too political, but as messed up as this country can be at times, we all too often forget that there are some pretty good things that we take for granted.  I live in a medium sized city, but I have access to the culture, namely the food, of countless nationalities.  This is the type of diversity anyone can truly get behind, I feel bad for the folks who refuse to expand their horizons beyond their own self-imposed restrictions.  It’s a big world and I’ve had the opportunity to see a lot of it, but believe it or not I’ve yet to find a country that is as culturally open minded as the good old USA.  All this noise about MAGA only makes me think of one thing.  Perfect?  Hell no, there is still a lot of work to do.  But like it or not, it can still be pretty great.

Hope you all had a wonderful Sunday too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Romonobyl
Romonobyl is a shameless Cowboy homer who considers himself "one of the good ones" as far as fandom goes. He lives in deep South Texas and worries when German immigrants will be targeted next for ICE raids.
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JerBear50

Corpus, huh? Well, guess I get to have that song rattling around my head the rest of the night. Nice write-up though.

Game Time Decision

Mrs GTD got me a beer of the month club (amazingclubs.ca look for beer) for Christmas this year. I’m a lightweight drinker, so only get it quarterly. But trying to move out of my comfort-zone and get more involved here, I’d be interested in reviewing and posting about a few of the selections.

Game Time Decision

ok, i can drink but don’t. With kids i no longer have the 2 days to recover from tying one on

Game Time Decision

i live in the sticks so almost everything requires me to drive. fml

ballsofsteelandfury

We’d love to post your reviews!

ballsofsteelandfury

That pizza looks to die for. I wish I had a place close by that does pizza that well. My local place is good, but that looks incredible

Unsurprised

You only need delivery if you ever leave.

Unsurprised

This is wonderful. I love it.

To plug my own nonsense, I need to build a plan of attack for the brewers fest in two weeks. If anyone wants to toss in their two cents:

Main beers: http://www.oregonbrewfest.com/beers/

Specialty beers: http://www.oregonbrewfest.com/beers/specialty-tent/

Unsurprised

I want to do a proper writeup and finally do one for last year. My notes, as a recap.

Mexican spice cake. Awesome. Chocolate and spicy and strong like I’ll kick your asS. Best beer. Tapped out at six before I could get a full mug. The Danny Trejo of beer.

Shield maiden sour bit sweet and refreshingly light

Le petit abard – pedestrian ale.

Refresh mint very distinct mint. Strong finish. Would kill with seafood

Kermit is a conventional taste but very good at what it is. It is easily drink able and leaves minimal after taste.

Serpent very powerful. But smooooth. Becomes sweeter and lighter. Pours like strong coffee. After taste of beer. Not chocolate or coffee. Beer

August hef. Reminds me of Pranqster. Huge head. Crisp citrus and tasty. Has that same spicy taste.

Fearless strawberry cream. Lives up to the name. Long line. Popular and good

I could smell the hibiscus beer from the other side of the trailer.

Flaming peach. Pic. Could smell the peppers as my lips hit the mug. Spicy. Peachy. Delicious. Not a casual beer though. Definitely more flaming than peach. I may have given them the best promotion when I took a swig and then coughed it up because it hit my throat wrong. It’s what white people make while Mexicans drink beer to reduce the heat stupid.

Lipstick on a pig. Spicy and deliciously burning. I really like this. It’s crisp and light and delicious.

New Belgium lemon ginger. the juice with booze.

High desert diesel. Strong IPA. Sells itself on being big favors and delivers. But not big after taste. A strong one but not a lingering one. I like this and I don’t usually like IPA except to get drunk. Goes down kind of flat. Like there’s something missing. It’s light as fuck. So it has that going for it. I don’t think I could drink it for flavor alone.

Eight second rye. Very neutral. But strong.

Senor Weaselo

Your plan of attack? Attack!

Low Commander of the Super Soldiers

Here I thought I knew quite a bit of Oregon breweries, but I recognize surprisingly few of the ones on that list.

You can avoid the Belching Beaver IPA, as it’s very average, but I’d be camping out in front of Lost Abbey if I were you. Their Avant Garde is one of my favorites beers, and their specialty selection is incredible! Angel’s Share and Deliverance are top notch barrel aged. Of course,. Ninkasi does great things and I can only imagine how good a 4 Roses barrel aged Otis will be.

Unsurprised

I’ll be sure to find out.

make it snow

Get that Surly Barrel Aged Darkness, for sure. I had the base beer years ago and it’s awesome, and the barrel-aged version gets great reviews.

litre_cola

Well done sir. Now I want a pizza.

theeWeeBabySeamus

Romonobyl: Impressing the ladies with the size of his banner since 2017.

(also, well done)
((also pt deux, now I’m craving beer and pizza ya damn jerk))

theeWeeBabySeamus

You have point.
Counterpoint: Vodka and raw cookie dough.