What’s on Tap Tuesday – Feb 13, 2018

Posted on February 13, 2018 by John Kevin Hickey

     Welcome to the 1st of hopefully many “What’s on Tap Tuesday” posts.  This week’s post includes a few recommendations from sunny southern California.  Enjoy!

     When visiting one of the Vintage Daughters in the fair city of San Diego, I had the opportunity to try several of California’s craft brews. As big and as populace as California is, it isn’t regarded as being a beer mecca like Oregon or Colorado are. Never the less, there are some excellent breweries here. One thing I have noticed about California beers, especially down here in San Diego, is the proliferation of IPA’s. If you enjoy drinking cough syrup, San Diego is the place for you.

     For those who don’t enjoy IPA’s, here are a few tasty beverages from the land of Milk and Silicone:

     Ballast Point California Kolsch German Style Pale Ale: What should be obvious by now is that I am not “hop” head. While I enjoy a pleasing mix of malt and hops, I do not enjoy overly hopped and bitter beers. Ballast point has an Imperial Red Ale called the Tongue Buckler that comes in at 108 IBU’s. Blech! Better to drink NyQuil in my opinion.

     Ballast Point’s California Kolsch is a much more pleasing 23 IBU’s. It’s ABV is 5.2%, so it’s a perfect beer if you want to have 3 or 4 in one sitting. While its lower bitterness gives it a more lager like experience, there are hints of citrus in the aroma and taste that gives it a mild flavor usually missing from a lager. Overall, a mellow and enjoyable beer for non-hop heads.

I give it 4 belches:

     Karl Strauss Red Trolley Ale: Founded in 1989, Karl Strauss Brewing Company was one of the first craft brewers established in the San Diego. Still going strong, Karl Strauss now has restaurant/breweries at eight locations in Southern California. In addition, they also have a beer garden/tasting room by their main brewery in San Diego.

     Red Trolley Ale is the brewery’s red Irish ale. However, it is not what you would consider a traditional Irish ale. It’s brewed with caramelized malts to give it a toffee flavor. Apparently, they also add currants and raisins to increase the fruity esters. Overall, this gives Red Trolley Ale a pleasant flavor with a medium mouth feel. It finishes off smooth, with no bitter after taste.

     Red Trolley Ale comes in at 5.8% ABV and a very mellow 17 IBU’s. I’m giving Red Trolley Ale 4 belches, because for once I feel that it might be just a little too mild. I know, hard to believe this is me saying that.

     Coronado Brewing Co. Orange Ave Wit Wheat Beer: Readers of my blog know that I am a big fan of Blue Moon’s Belgian White ale. Blue Moon is what got me started down the path of craft beers. With Coronado Brewing Company’s Orange Wit is the beer Blue Moon should have made! If I can find Orange Ave Wit back in Denver, it will replace Blue Moon as my go to beer from here on out (NOTE:  I have found several liquor stores in the Denver area that carries Orange Ave Wit. Go to Coronado’s website and click on the “beer finder” tab to locate them).

     Orange Ave Wit is brewed with orange zests, coriander and honey, all of which gives it a very flavorful yet not overpowering taste. For those who like triple IPA’s, you’ll want to stay away from this brew! To give you an idea of what I am talking about: my youngest daughter, who cannot stand most beers, has given Orange Ave Wit her official blessing and will continue to drink it from this day forward.

     Orange Ave Wit has a light mouth feel and has moderate carbonation. It’s ABV is 5.2% with an IBU rating of 15, making it a perfect recovery beer after mowing the lawn on a hot summer day or after a 20 mile bike ride. Heck, in my opinion it’s a perfect beer for anytime. .

     As for the brewery itself, Coronado Brewing Co. was founded in 1996 in on Coronado Ave in San Diego. They currently have 3 locations in the San Diego area. Not to fear IPA lovers; Coronado Brewing has four year-round IPAs including one infused with guava, as well as two seasonal IPAs. Heck, they have an amber ale called Mermaid’s Red that comes in with an IBU rating of 46. I haven’t tried Mermaid’s Red, but it sounds like this red would make any hop-head happy.

I am giving Orange Ave Wit 5 belches:

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Weekend Bookshelf 02-11-2018

Posted on February 11, 2018 by John Kevin Hickey

“A room without books is like a body without a soul”
Marcus Tullius Cicero

     OK, here it is, the inaugural Weekend Bookshelf.  Welcome!  Every week I will be discussing and reviewing books, along with some (hopefully) profound insights about things book related.  My plan is to post the Weekend Bookshelf every Sunday morning.  Comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Modern Literature

     In my younger years I was big into fiction and literature, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve come to the realization that I don’t read much fiction anymore. Not sure exactly why that is. I used to read a ton of science fiction in my teens and twenties. There was a period in my later twenties and in to my early thirties that I read a lot of the American classics and a few contemporary (at the time) authors. My favorite classic authors were Hemingway and Steinbeck. I liked Steinbeck’s short stories anyway, not such a big fan of his novels. Jim Harrison was my favorite modern author.

     Now I read zero contemporary literature. None. Nada. Zip. As far as other fiction goes, I am down to about 2-3 current sci-fi authors and maybe one or two mystery writers.

     Perhaps my lack of interest in modern literature stems from some of the literary works of the authors who supposedly represent “my” generation:  the tail-end Baby Boomers. Authors such as Brett Easton Ellis (Less than Zero) and Jay McInernery (Bright Lights, Big City) were called the “voices” for those of us who came of age in the late 70’s and early 80’s. What horsecrap.

     My problem with these guys is that almost all of their writing is set in big coastal urban areas (mostly New York, but sometimes in Los Angeles) and are very nihilistic. Nothing quite like reading about rich city kids with no sense of purpose whining about how life is such a bitch.  Steinbeck told the stories of Americans from all strata of society. Hemingway wrote about disaffected Americans buffeted by the changing cultural norms of post WWI society. With “On the Road”, Jack Kerouac captured the frenetic energy and expanded opportunities of post WWII America. My generation’s “representatives” wrote about cocaine binges and drunken orgies. Not a whole lot there for me to relate to.

     Or maybe it’s just that the majority of modern literature is just plain crap. Who knows. Either way, my reading these days is primarily non-fiction: history, travelogues and biographies. Which brings us to this week’s book review, a comprehensive history of the U.S. Army in the European Theater of the Second World War.

From the Nightstand:

     I recently finished Rick Atkinson’s Liberation Trilogy (An Army at Dawn, The Day of Battle and The Guns at Last Light). Outstanding read! Mr. Atkinson’s trilogy is a sweeping history of the U.S. Army in the North African and European theaters during the WWII.
An Army at Dawn starts with the lead up to the Allies amphibious landings (code named Torch) at French North Africa. It shows how woefully unprepared the soldiers and their military leaders were during the early years of America’s involvement in the war. Gradually the Army learns hard lessons on how to win a war in the harsh environment of North Africa.

     The Day of Battle picks up after the North Africa campaign is won, and covers the Italian campaign. Starting with the initial landings at Salerno in 1943, the book closes when the Allies liberate Rome on the fifth of June, the day before the Normandy D-Day landings. This book describes how the Army had to learn new lessons (and re-learn lessons taught in North Africa at a terrible cost), as well as dealing with the growing strain on the Alliance as America took a larger role in running the war.

     The Guns at Last Light, as you can imagine, starts right before the D-Day landings in France and goes to the end of the war.

     Mr. Atkinson covers a lot of ground in the trilogy, from military movements to the (outsized) personalities of military and civilian leaders of all the major combatants. He is both fair and at the same time unsparing. He gives credit to leaders such as Eisenhower, Patton, FDR and Montgomery for their outstanding qualities, but doesn’t hesitate to draw attention to their flaws and weaknesses.

     He brings that same attitude to the Army itself. He describes the heroism and sacrifice of those who fought, but also points out the stupid mistakes and missed opportunities that the Army made over and over again. The U.S. Army went through a lot of growing pains during the war. It went from being the 17th ranked army in 1940 (behind Poland) to the second largest land force in the world by 1945 (only the USSR’s army was bigger). The soldiers and their leaders had to learn lessons the difficult and bloody way; by hard won experience.

     The only flaw in these books in my eyes is the way quotes are attributed to enlisted personnel. For obvious reasons the names of major military and civilian leaders are attached to their quotes. Further down the chain of command, the first time an Army officer is quoted, his rank (Major, Colonel, etc.) is given along with his name and often a very brief bio is included. Where he was born, who he was married to and maybe his career inside or outside of the military. From that point on, his name is given next to his quote.

     Enlisted men on the other hand, with the exception of famous ones such as Audie Murphy, are simply their rank. No names, no background. Just faceless exposition: “a Private said [something pithy]” or “a company 1st Sergeant said [something profound]”. As a former enlisted man, I found this irritating.

     That’s a minor complaint. I highly recommend this series because of it’s in-depth and easily readable history of the U.S. Army in the North Africa and European theaters. If I had 4 thumbs I’d give it 4 thumbs up.

On the Bookshelf:

     I currently am reading far too many books at the same time. I’m knee-deep into “The Mighty Eighth”, “The Rise of Athens” and “The Worry Trick”. I’ve also got “Dodge City” and “Wings over Water” sitting on my nightstand partially read. Because I’m jumping from book to book none of them is getting finished.

     Still, there will always be books on my shelves or the bookstore’s shelves or the library’s shelves that catch my covetous eyes. The book that is currently drawing my attention is one I’ve had for a couple of years but haven’t gotten to yet. It’s John Steinbeck’s “The Log from the Sea of Cortez”.

     I mentioned above that I am a fan of Steinbeck’s short stories. I am especially fond of “Cannery Row”. One of my all time favorite fictional characters is Doc, the intelligent and enigmatic marine biologist central to the story.

     Doc was based on real life marine biologist, Edward F. Ricketts, who was a friend of Steinbeck. In 1940, Steinbeck and Ricketts took a sardine boat called the “Western Flyer” on a 4000-mile journey down along the Baja Peninsula and into the Sea of Cortez, ostensibly to collect specimens from beaches and tide pools for research specimens. “The Log of the Sea of Cortez” is Steinbeck’s journal of their adventure.

     Once I finish up a few of my current reads, “The Log of the Sea of Cortez” will be the next book to find a spot on my cluttered night stand.

From the Readers:

     So, read any good books lately?  Any you might want to recommend?  Feel free to leave a comment.  If you’re shy, you can send me an email at Mrvintageman2@gmail.com and I’ll pass along the recommendation for you.

     Have a great week!  Remember, stay safe out there.

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February Blues

Posted on February 10, 2018 by John Kevin Hickey

     About 12 years ago I was diagnosed by a military doctor as possibly having SAD, or Seasonal Attitude Disorder. I had an epiphany this year that the doc was incorrect. I believe I suffer instead from JAFSAD, or January And February Suck Ass Disorder. A politer way of phrasing is to say that I am annually afflicted with the January blues and the February blues.

     I’m separating these two blues into two different categories because for me they tend to have different “flavors”.  January is an existential, soul sucking month from hell. Perhaps someday I’ll write about my battle with the January blues. However, today is all about the February blues.

      For me February just a long, tedious and depressing slog. It’s winter when the month begins and it’s still winter when it ends. Nothing seems to change. Admittedly, the daylight hours are getting longer, but they aren’t getting longer fast enough. The sunlight is still weak and watery,  the skies are often cloudy and gray, and the only holidays to relieve the boredom are Valentines day and Presidents day. Yippee-fricking-yay.

     I don’t like to ride my bike in the cold and the ground is frozen so not much to do in the garden.  I’ve never enjoyed skiing or snowshoeing.  So I don’t have many reasons to get outside.  It’s 28 (sometimes 29) Mondays in a row.

     A buddy of mine once suggested they should just combine January and February into a single month call Januabruary. (Hat tip to Dave S). Which, interestingly enough, is pretty close to what the ancient Romans did. They blocked off the days from winter solstice to the spring equinox into one, long miserable slog.  Life began again the day Spring arrived.

     Ok, so enough of the bitching. What can those of us who suffer the February blues do to alleviate our symptoms?  Here are a few things that I find help me:

  • The most recommended treatment for SAD and the winter blues is exercise. Exercise, exercise, exercise. Preferably outside in the sunlight if at all possible. I try to do some sort of physical activity nearly every day. I say “try”, because I am not as consistent as I would like.
  • Engage in hobbies. I may not be able to do much in the garden now, but I do like to draw out new garden beds or ponder ways to tweak my older beds. I research bike events I would like to ride when the weather improves.  Writing helps as well.
  • Drink beer. Ok, no, most mental health experts disagree with this. They say that drinking too much alcohol may make depression worse.  So I only drink one or two beers a day, and only a few times a week.  But I find that a tasty ale every now and then helps me to relax and lighten my mood.
  • Reading. Lots of reading.
  • Doing mindfulness meditation at least 10 minutes a day.
  • I take vitamin D3 supplements during the winter.  There are some studies that claim vitamin D may help SAD sufferers.  There are other studies that claim many Americans are vitamin D deficient because they’re inside all the time, and so they don’t get enough of the “sunshine” vitamin. I decrease my intake of these supplements in the summer because I get enough vitamin D by being out in the sun a lot.

     Also, there are a couple positive events in February that can help sufferers deal with the winter blues. The first is Groundhog Day. How is this a positive you ask? Because, whether the goofy little rodent sees his shadow or not, there is only six more weeks of winter left. Basically, Groundhog Day is a celebration that WINTER IS HALFWAY OVER! Now that is something to cheer about.

     Here’s another positive – toward the end of the month you may notice a promising sign that Spring is on its way, if you know what to look for.  I’ve noticed this phenomenon for many years and it cheers me up every time. But you have to actively seek it out.  During the last week of the month, on a sunny day, go outside at noon and just soak up the sun. Go out there with the right frame of mind and you will soon come to realize that, for about an hour or so, that it looks and feels almost like a bright spring afternoon.  Proof that Winter is finally loosening its icy grip.

     Anybody else dealing with the SAD or the winter blues?  If so, what do you do to help manage it?

 

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