This piece of ribaldry came from a TDE reader: This dark, medium bodied ale offers the drink-ability of a much lighter beer. The inviting chocolate and malty flavors fade into a slightly dry, silky smooth finish. Why have just one? 4.0% alcohol by volume. Via.
I'll have to try it. I don't care for chocolaty beer, but I like polygamy (just kidding, Marie; I just like non-binding, 15-minute, temporary polygamy).
I assume it's not a coincidence that the brewery is located in Utah. Then again, Mormons don't drink. But wouldn't you have to be drunk to buy more than one wife?
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From the same brewery: Apricot Hefeweizen. "Brewed with a hybrid Bavarian yeast strain that imparts the defining flavor notes of licorice, clove, and banana. Add to this natural apricot flavor, and you have one astonishingly refreshing beer." For some reason, that sounds halfway decent. Intellectually, it makes me want to vomit, but intuitively, it sounds alright. There's a liquor store about twenty miles from my house that stocks an astonishing variety of beer. I'll have to try to score some apricot next time I'm there.
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I assume all my readers know that Mormon monks aren't the only ones that make good beer. Just in case, I figured I should mention a Catholic beer. I read about it here.
"St. Bridget, a legendary Irish saint, created a sensation by turning her bathwater into beer. What better way to celebrate her worthy miracle than with our zymurgistic tribute to her feat: St. Bridget's Porter. St. Bridget's is a smooth and elegant brown porter. Brimming with coffee and chocolate characteristics from dark barley malts, St. Bridget's is carefully hopped to provide the perfect complement to its malty robustness. This beer is a “must have” beer for all porter lovers. Prepare yourself for a religious experience."
What's with all the chocolate taste in these beers? It simply churns my stomach ("But apricot doesn't, Scheske?! Just admit you're a flamer!").
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Literary drinking quote of the week:
My story begins as do most traditional well-written Russian stories, with the phrase, "I was drunk that day."
I saw that quote in New York magazine. They didn't cite the work. I flipped through ten of Chekhov's better-known short stories, and I couldn't find it. I searched the phrase on the Internet, and got nothing Chekhovian. I guess I'm a little skeptical, though it seems to me that I've seen it before.
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Related but not drinking-related: This is a picture of Chekhov's birthplace. I found it at Wikipedia. It might be the quaintest building in Russia. Given Russia's dilapidated state, that might be like being the liveliest corpse in the morgue, but it is a charming building.
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Why isn't this magazine offered in my kids' magazine sale fundraiser? All About Beer. Six issues (one year) for $20. Not bad for a specialty rag, and it looks like it has some good stuff, like this article: "We've seen other fads come and go; retro beer, though, seems as permanent as a tattoo. And not just PBR. Rheingold, National Bohemian, Utica Club, Ballantine, Narragansett–they're all names from the '50s that have attracted new fans a halfcentury past the brands' prime. The question is, why?"
