The Devil We Know

Weeks ago, while Victory Wild Devil was still on tap, doodled on the back of a Kasteel coaster.

Another Brother

One more old one, of indeterminate age...weeks ago. Acadia Cafe, had my eye on the St. Bernardus Witbier, but Ingrid recommended Franziskaner Weissbier. Hadn't had one in a while, so I went for it. Think I would've enjoyed the St. Bernardus more, but the F. is among the best weissbiers out there. From my bar stool, I did my little take on the Franziskaner logo, ... not intended to be a copy or in any way maintain fidelity to that artwork. The original is a heartier, jolly gent.

Good Ol' Drinkin' Beer

All praise the pale ale, cornerstone of the craft beer resurgence. Beer geeks have tired of them, sure, but who can keep up with those demanding palates? Hey, how about people who just want to drink a damn beer, or three, and don't need to be challenged with every sip? I'm talking about you, most Americans. Those who want flavor, but don't need to be killed with it.
And that's why there is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, the venerable, pioneering ode to Cascade hops. And when it's $5.99 a 6-pack at Zipp's, all the better. It's beer you can drink, when you just want to drink a beer.

Mad Monk, Liquored Up

Thursday night, after work, opened a bottle of one the most expensive bottles I've ever purchased, 16 ounces of Bourbon Barrel Aged North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, for $21. But, me being me, I had to try it, and not regret it. Bought two at Zipp's. This is the first year the fairly new Anniversary Bourbon Barrel addition has mad it out here to Minnesota. It had been in my fridge for nearly two weeks, and I couldn't wait any longer.
The accompanying sketch illustrates the feeling of bliss when it slipped past my lips.

Alveeny, Alvinny

Alvinne Extra IPA, from Picobrouwerij Alvinne of Belgium was one the three Belgian IPAs in the Hop Heads Only event, May 30th. It had to wait behind several other kegs to get re-tapped, and only joined our line up again a few weeks ago. But, it was such a hit there was little left, and this very expensive keg was drunk down in under a week.
It was still on tap last Friday, when I got a surprise visit from Hildegard von Ostraden and here husband Bas. They were in town for several meet and greets and a beer dinner at a certain restaurant, the previous night. I'd met them 4 years ago, when Hop-It was being introduced. They stopped by with Lanny Hoff, Dave Anderson and Corey Shovein on a dreadfully slow Monday. I was only able to get about 3 friends/customers to show. An intimate gathering, and one we all remembered. Including Hildegard and Bas. This time, they arrived before we opened, and brought along Jim Ebel of Two Brothers Brewing, for they were promoting a colloboration between the two, a Flanders Sour brewed at Two Brothers, with Hildegard's input.
I tapped some Mouten (the mentioned sour), but no-one else was in the mood for a drink. Had to have something from them on, (though there was some Red Eye Coffee Porter on tap.) Hildegard was pleased that we had Alvinne on, as she is friends with the brewers there. And through her pronunciation, I stopped saying "Al-veen" and switched to "Al-vinny".
That night, we closed early, due to deadness, shall we say, but I had to wait out the rain, and went to pour myself and Alvinne, when, "Pssshht!!", there it went! Got enough in my glass to do a review, and pulled out some scratch paper for a quick doodle, before heading home. Another face, who would've figured!

Modus Hoperandi

This one, a gift from Derek A, brought back from Coloroado, a hoppy number out of Durango. I scanned the bottle and sketched a possible fourth member of this gang of ska-loving goodfellas.

Shades of Gray's

Another get-it-done posting. At home, having some Pizza Luce'. tossing off a quick doodle while drinking a Gray's Bully Porter (do they know Boulevard has a beer with the same name?). Don't look for meaning, it's just lines on paper.