Ol’ George #18: Poet of the Pints

 Notes on #18:

1. I took the name Ferval of Ferval’s Finest Ale (whatever that may be)  from the character Ferval Lankman, played by Brian Posehn on Mr. Show. Maybe it’s someone else’s name, how would I know?

2. I found a spelling error and tried to correct it, terribly. Then I found another and couldn’t fix it. Please  forgive my spelling errors.

3. Why is Irma giving George that look in panel four? Because she knows that he’s a sarcastic smart aleck. He gives it away in panel three. I never expected to draw George that way. It’s a disturbing look. 

There is a hidden dynamic here, an extra meaning slightly alluded to above. Stay tuned for next week!

4. Ninkasi was the Sumerian beer goddess, circa 3000 B.C. Fun fact: The ancient Sumerians referred to beer as “kas” in her honor. They bartered with beer and that’s how we get our word “cash”. 

Who needs beer reviews when my comics give you beer facts like that!

Schell’s Baltic Porter

 Schell’s Baltic Porter. Limited release (only in the sampler pack). 

6.5 % ABV, August Schell Brewing, New Ulm, Minnesota. 

Clear, reddish brown, sizable, cream-toned head. 

In the nose: cocoa and cream, slightly nutty. Mildly roasty malt.

In the mouth: smoothness on the palate prevails.Mostly malty. Medium bodied. Light fruitiness on top of cocoa & nuts. Low bitterness. Highly enjoyable. 

This Baltic Porter pours a deep, dark black with layers of velvety chocolate and roast flavors that smooth the palate and celebrate the malty character of the beer.

56 Home Improvements West Coast IPA

 56 Home Improvements West Coast IPA.

5.7 % ABV, 46 IBU, 56 Brewing, Minneapolis, MN. 

Clear, golden hued, slim white head. 

In the nose: mildly hoppy, slight sweetness, lacking in the aromatics I want in this style. Some citrus starts to trickle in.

In the mouth: some hoppy flavors, but lacks bitterness. Too juicy, not quite dry enough. Lean bodied, finishing dry and progressively bitter. 

I’m warming up to this one. I’d drink it again, though it disappointed at the start. I like my WCIPAs to tackle the palate from the get-go. 

A super crisp west coast IPA featuring Erebus, Comet, and Chinook hops. Delightfully fruity, floral and dank. A light floral and zesty nose plays well with sweet berry, lemon zest, grapefruit, and resinous flavors.

Ol’ George #17: He’s No Clown

 Notes on #17;

1. I came up with this idea months ago, but I had to do it now for this reason: it was 25 years ago, on February 12, 2000, that Charles Monroe Schulz left this world. 

I found out the next morning. I woke up early that Sunday morning, drew a bath, and got the paper, got in the tub, and read Schulz’ last strip. It was the same goodbye letter as his final daily, published in December 1999, but with a collage of classic scenes surrounding it. Oddly enough, almost immediately after, the announcer on the jazz station playing in the background gave the news. As I say in the tub holding the funnies and started to cry. I’d been following Charlie Brown and Snoopy since I was four years old. 

2. My original idea for this one ended with panel two, but I had a change of heart. I didn’t want to end with a bitter Charlie or with someone being mean to him. I had to give him some happiness.

In the end, Schulz also gave Charlie some happiness. He never flew the kite, kicked the football, won a baseball game or sat down to lunch with the little red haired girl. That wouldn’t be funny, after all. But he did enjoy a relationship with a girl who liked the way he danced, and his dog was always by his side. 

3. So I’m sentimental, so sue me.

Dangerous Man Mango El Dorado IPA

 

Dangerous Man Mango El Dorado IPA. 

6.5 % ABV, 50 IBU, Dangerous Man Brewing, Maple Lake, MN. 

Lightly hazed, golden hued, slim white head.

In the nose: sweet mango first, with citrus below, grapefruit and orange.

In the mouth: sweetness and mango pulp, bitterness on the side. Juicy, then dry in the finish. Medium bodied, fully flavored, a tasty treat.

Hey, I could go for a few more. 

Hoppy, Smooth & Fruity

FLAVOR NOTES

* Hella Mango!

* Candied Lemon

* Undernote of Pine

HOPS

* El Dorado

Yeast

* Dry English Ale

ADJUNCTS

* Mango Puree

Half Acre Sunrise Vallejo India Pale Ale

 Half Acre Sunrise Vallejo India Pale Ale.

6.7 % ABV, Half Acre Brewing, Chicago, IL.

Slightly hazy, bright golden hue, slim white head. 

In the nose: sweet tropical notes, passion fruit, tangerine, touch of citrus. 

In the mouth: soft with minor bitterness. Much less snap to it than I like. Far too sweet for my taste. I got served a hazy without warning. I don’t recall the original Vallejo being quite so New England-esque. 

It’s okay, I can drink it, but I’ll be more careful next time. 

For 2025, we’re introducing the Vallejo Family of IPAs with three distinct beers that explore Southern Hemisphere hop variations of this classic West Coast recipe. It’s Vallejo all year long. First up, Sunrise Vallejo arrives featuring New Zealand hops that elevate this clear, crisp IPA with aromas of sweet melon, berry and dried pine, warming your senses against winter’s cold, dark grip. 

HOPS: Nelson Sauvin, Mosaic, Krush (HBC 586) 

MALT: Pilsner, 2-row 

APPEARANCE: Bright gold

Ol’ George #16: Drunk, Drunk, Drunk

 Notes on #16:

1. All of the previous 15 cartoons were done with pencil sketches first and embellished with felt tip pens and markers. For this one, I used no pencils, only a Pilot G2 .07 gel pen. It’s not my favorite pen, but the one I had on hand. My favorite is the Pilot V5 ( or 7) extra fine rolling ball. However, right now I only have one of those, in red, and George is a blue cat, not red. 

2. This change in style is a tribute to one of my cartooning heroes Jules Feiffer, who passed last month at age 95 (almost made it to 96!) I have no idea what his process was, what pens he used, whether he pencilled, etc., but his work has always been loose and spontaneous. 

3. The title is a nod to the original name for his later self-titled strip, Sick, Sick, Sick, which began initially in the Village Voice in 1956 and went into syndication until 1997. Meanwhile, he produced plays, screenplays, novels and children's books. I became a fan from the I discovered a paperback collection at a used bookstore in the 80’s, scouring shelves on each visit. For years, I could only find a few, but now I have them all. Thanks, eBay!

Ommegang Cooper’s Hop Tripel IPA

 Ommegang Cooper’s Hop Tripel IPA. 

10.5 % ABV, Brewery Ommeang, Cooperstown, NY.

Clear, bright golden hue, slim white head.

In the nose: fruity, citrusy, stone fruit…a bit of bubblegum. 

In the mouth: bitter buzz begins, as well as the alcoholic kind. A touch of the dank, but more of the juicy. All mosaic? Well, all right! I’m getting a bit of Belgian yeast character, but not a great amount. And it’s slowly coming together, getter deeper and more complex as we go, and it just hit me how they spell “tripel “…I seen what you done…this is tasting exactly like that. And I am digging that big time. 

Elevate your IPA experience with Coop's latest drop: Cooper's Hop Tripel IPA. It's not just a hoppy beer, it's a game-changer. Imagine the perfect blend of a bright, single-hop, fruit-forward IPA, and the complexity of a higher ABV, effervescent, Belgian-influenced IPA. With an all-Mosaic hop profile, Cooper's Hop bursts with the flavor of melon and orange peel. Its clean, semi-dry finish makes each sip a high-altitude adventure.

Ol’ George #15: Post No Bills

  

 Ol’ George #15: Post No Bills 

Notes on #15:

1. I’d been obsessed with comics and cartoons for as long as I could could remember, but the comics page was getting boring as I got into my teenage years. Mad Magazine alone couldn’t fill my needs.Bloom County by Berkeley Breathed arrived in our local paper just in time, in 1981, when I was twelve or thirteen. It was the right dose of satire and subversion. I still recall the thrill I felt when the first book collection came out. 

When they introduced that lovable Bill the Cat in ‘82, I was infatuated. I got the first t-shirt immediately, but that was all the merchandise for a bit. That would ruin the joke, after all, for Bill was originally a spoof of the ubiquitous selling of Garfield. 

I drew Bill all the time. In the backgrounds of my high school newspaper comic “Lenny”, signs appeared saying Post No Bills with a picture of Bill. A friend and I did an animation of Bill hocking up a hairball for an art class. When I decorated the window of my favorite used book store for Halloween (an annual tradition in Anoka, Halloween Capitol of the World) with a depiction of ghosts floating through a graveyard, Bill’s tombstone was in the scene.

After Breathed stopped the strip and started up Outland, my enthusiasm waned. When Bill merch appeared, I was up on my high horse, all righteously indignant.

All these years later, I own a Bill doll, bought directly from the cartoonist (along with a signed copy of a two volume complete edition of the strip with an Opus sketch, and a signed/Opused print of a favorite strip). And I again own a Bill t-shirt, but one in a size more appropriate for my contemporary build. 

2. The funniest and cruelest joke about Cathy is courtesy of Bill Griffith, creator of Zippy the Pinhead. “Someone draws that? I thought they dropped string on the ground and photocopied it.”

I can’t complain too much about minimalist cartooning. Much of the blame can be delivered to Charles M. Schulz, and I do not hide my admiration for his art. 

3. Remember, folks: this is not a strip about beer. It’s about a cat who drinks beer at a bar and people, animals, things he meets there. And I hope you find it entertaining.