I just got done with a workout on the old Kurt Kinetic trainer in the basement that I was planning on doing all of this last week. It looked like the weather was going to be cold/snowy today so I decided I’d test my fitness by doing a hard 60 minute interval to see if I could set a new power benchmark. My goal was to do better than 279 watts average for the entire hour. I warmed up for 20 minutes and then turned on some techno/trance music (it does a good job of keeping me focused) and started pounding out the watts. Here’s the results: Continue reading “My Hour Of Pain Pays Off”
Samichlaus bills itself as “The World’s Most Extraordinary Beer”. That’s a pretty big claim given the number of great beers out there today. My Brother sent me a bottle of it as part of our great Thanksgiving beer exchange (using our parents as the transport service). I finally got around to trying it to see if it lives up to the claim on the bottle: Continue reading “Samichlaus”
Ithaca Beer Company’s Eleven is part of their Excelsior line of specialty beers. Eleven was brewed in honor of their eleventh anniversary. It is aged over roasted coffee. It is probably technically a Milk Stout as they add lactose to the beer which should give it a slightly sweet and smooth flavor. I decided to have it for “dessert” while watching a movie. Here’s what I thought of it: Continue reading “Ithaca Eleven”
One of the best ways to build your fitness and increase your ability to workout better, is by using your heart rate to set your workouts. I’ve been training with a heart rate monitor for nearly 27 years and have found it to be very helpful. Back in the Fall of 2008 I did a series of posts on using heart rate based training to improve your fitness so I wanted to re-introduce you to it here: Continue reading “Get Fit Faster Using Heart Rate Based Training”
Continuing down the trail of Stout reviews I decided to try a Milk Stout from Longmont, Colorado’s Left Hand Brewing. Milk Stouts have a higher percentage of unfermented sugars in them, usually lactose, that help give the beer a sweetness that counters the strong roasted character of Stouts. I haven’t had many Milk Stouts so I was interested to see how Left Hand’s effort tasted: Continue reading “Left Hand Milk Stout”
One of my resolutions for 2010 is to read more. I used to read a lot but have gotten away from it recently. But, my new E-Reader, the Libre from Aluratek, is quickly turning me back into someone who loves to read. I have been interested in e books and e-readers for a number of months and finally got serious about doing some research. What I found was that there are a lot of options in the market and many of them are fairly affordable. I wanted something straight forward that was lower priced and offered a lot of flexibility. My research led me to the Libre. Here is my video review of it: Continue reading “Aluratek Libre E-Reader Review”
Young’s Double Chocolate Stout has been on my “to drink” list for a while. It comes in both nitro widget cans as well as bottles. I have heard that some people tend to like one more than the other. So, I decided to do a back to back review with the can 1st, followed by the bottle to see which is better:
This is a yummy beer! I love chocolate and Young’s Double Chocolate, in both the can and bottle, delivers. The chocolate is more on the bitter sweet side than milk chocolate. It is a bit like drinking a liquid chocolate bar There isn’t much else to the flavor other than some nice roasted malt flavors. The finish is slightly acidic and has a chocolate note. Drinkability is pretty good. So, which is better, the can or bottle? Well, they were both very close. The only discernible difference I could really get was in the “creaminess” of the beer, with the nitro widget can tasting slightly better than the bottle in this regard. Also, the appearance of the canned version was better than the bottle, due once again to the nitro widget.
So, I declare the canned version of Young’s Double Chocolate Stout the winner, by a widget, over the bottle. Both are very, very good so please try them, especially if you like chocolate!
Here Are The Scores:
Can:
1. Appearance- 9 points (out of 10)
2. Smell- 8 points (out of 10)
3. Taste- 17 points (out of 20)
4. Drinkability- 8 points (out of 10)
Total 42 (out of 50) Points- 4 Mugs (The Winner, by a Widget)
Bottle:
1. Appearance- 8 points (out of 10)
2. Smell- 8 points (out of 10)
3. Taste- 16 points (out of 20)
4. Drinkability- 8 points (out of 10)
It was a cold, rainy, and windy night; perfect weather for staying inside and making a nice, hearty stew for dinner. I hadn’t made stew yet this Winter so we decided to do a Beef Stew and pair it with a Stout. I picked up a 4-pack of Guinness Draught in the 14.9 oz widget can, fired up the gas cook-top, and started cooking:
The Beer
Guinness is a decent beer. It has a fantastic appearance (due to the Nitro widget), an average aroma and flavor and pretty good drinkability. Nothing about it is bad at all and it’s an entirely decent beer. Don’t expect any real complexity but do expect a consistent, easy drinking beer. It went perfect with (and in) the Beef Stew I made. I still have 2 cans of the beer in my fridge and I will enjoy them very soon.
Here’s The Score:
1. Appearance- 9 points (out of 10)
2. Smell- 6 points (out of 10)
3. Taste- 13 points (out of 20)
4. Drinkability- 8 points (out of 10)
Total 36 (out of 50) Points- 3 Mugs
ABV 4.2%
Approximate Calories: 162-194 (14.9oz)
Beef Beer & Barley Stew Recipe
Here is the recipe I used for the stew. You can use barley groats rather than pearl barley in this stew to give the dish a little more texture. Substitute rutabagas, parsnips, or other root vegetables of your choice for the carrots and turnips.
Yield: 6 (big) servings-we got more like 8 out of it.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound beef stew meat
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups coarsely chopped onion
2 bay leaves
2 thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups (1 1/2-inch-thick) slices carrot
2 cups chopped peeled turnips (about 1 pound)
3/4 cup uncooked pearl barley
5 garlic cloves, minced and divided
2 (8-ounce) packages mushrooms, quartered
3 cups water
3 cups low-salt beef broth
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 (12-ounce) bottle dark beer (such as stout)
3 small beets
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
Preparation
Heat oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add beef to pan & sauté 10 minutes or until browned. Remove from pan. Add onion, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs to pan. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Uncover; stir in tomato paste. Increase heat to medium-high. Add carrot, turnips, barley, 4 garlic cloves, and mushrooms; sauté 3 minutes. Add beef, 1/2 teaspoon salt, water, broth, Worcestershire, and beer; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
While stew is simmering, trim beets, leaving root and 1 inch stem on each; scrub with a brush. Place in a medium saucepan, and cover with water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until tender. Drain; rinse with cold water. Drain; cool. Leave root and 1 inch stem on each beet; rub off skins. Cut each beet into 6 wedges.
Combine parsley, thyme leaves, and 1 garlic clove. Ladle about 2 cups stew into each of 6 bowls. Top each serving with 3 beet wedges, about 1 1/2 teaspoons parsley mixture, and 1 teaspoon horseradish.
I enjoy coffee. Most days I have a couple of cups. Besides tasting great, it wakes me up and helps me get going. I love the aroma of a fresh cup of coffee in my hands. Well, in my tour of Stouts this Winter, I’ve had some very good beers that have a strong coffee component. I thought I would try yet another, Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout, brewed by Terrapin Beer Company and made with coffee from Jittery Joe’s, which is based in Athens, GA just like Terrapin:
This beer from Terrapin is amazing! I had this beer a little more than a year ago and remember liking it then but this time around I LOVED it It pours nice with a mocha colored head that sticks around and leaves good lacing. The coffee component of the beer is just about perfect with a smooth roasted coffee aroma that fills your nose right before you taste the beer. There is a strong coffee component to the taste but also a nice malt and slight bittersweet chocolate flavor that reminds you that you are drinking a beer, not coffee. There is no real bitter/acidic flavors, just nice dark roasted coffee goodness. Drinkability is very good, especially considering the 8.1% ABV. The beer goes down very easily and without a bitter aftertaste. I was very impressed with the Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout and I think you will be as well. Try this beer now!!!
Here’s The Score:
1. Appearance- 8 points (out of 10)
2. Smell- 10 points (out of 10)-The first beer to get a perfect 10 for this!
3. Taste- 19 points (out of 20)
4. Drinkability- 9 points (out of 10)
It was a cold rainy night, perfect for a movie. So, after a delicious dinner of pesto chicken and roasted veggies we headed to the basement to watch Spiderman 3 on the big screen. I was looking for some dessert so why not have a beer with Chocolate in the name? I decided to try Rogue’s Chocolate Stout. I haven’t really been disappointed with any of their beers before so I was looking forward to it: Continue reading “Rogue Chocolate Stout”
There isn’t much else to the flavor other than some nice roasted malt flavors. The finish is slightly acidic and has a chocolate note. Drinkability is pretty good. So, which is better, the can or bottle? Well, they were both very close. The only discernible difference I could really get was in the “creaminess” of the beer, with the nitro widget can tasting slightly better than the bottle in this regard. Also, the appearance of the canned version was better than the bottle, due once again to the nitro widget.
