Ol’ George # 27: Zip a Tone

 

Notes on #27:

1. If this one reads like a non-sequitor, then I have done my job. I first encountered Zippy in a B. Dalton Bookseller in 1985 when I bought a copy of “Are we Having Fun Yet? Zippy the Pinhead’s 29 Day Guide To Random Activities and Arbitrary Donuts.” I’ve spent the past 40 years keeping up and catching up. He’s been around since 1971, and still going!

2. George’s beer, Old Crab is a nod to a barleywine of long ago, Rogue Old Crustacean. And that George is a big Ol’ Crabbypants. 

3. I won’t explain Zippy’s dialogue. If you know him, you get it. Laundry is the 5th dimension! Zombies rule Belgium! Frivolity is a stern taskmaster! Legalize Loni Anderson’s hair! 

Ol’ George #26: Brew Monk

 

Notes on #26:

1. I have a long history as a fan of American jazz composer & pianist Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917-1982).  I put a lot of back story in my review of North Coast Brother Thelonious in my blog post back in 2012. Go check it out. 

2. I once had a Brother Thelonious glass sent to me by the brewery (along with a tap handle, coasters, t-shirts, and an CD of a band they put together, the Brother Thelonious Quintet!) and it did indeed say Straight No Chaser on it.  When it broke during a move nine years ago, I paused in sentimental contemplation, whereupon my friend remarking that he heard me say that I have too many glasses as it is. Yeah, but that’s one I wanted to keep. I can’t find a replacement anywhere, but I’ll keep looking. 

3. Flatted Fifths aren’t really the main thing to think of when it comes to Monk’s music, but it sounds funnier than dissonance, angularity or atonality.

4. The “you’ll flip” quote appeared in the documentary “Straight No Chaser”, but I haven’t seen it in a while. Can’t find it on YouTube. So, I got it partially wrong, so what. He actually said “I Mean, for real!” I bet he said it a lot of ways. 

5. Is George a jazz lover?  Of course he is, he’s a hep cat! (My first cat was named Hepzibah so I could call her “hep cat.” Hepzibah is the name of the French skunk who dwells in the Okeefenokee swamp in Walt Kelly’s “Pogo”. And the bar George drinks at is named for him. Full circle!)

Back Channel Sky Crasher West Coast IPA

 Back Channel Sky Crasher West Coast IPA .

7.5 % ABV, Back Channel Brewing, Spring Park, MN.

Clear, bright golden hue, slim white head. 

In the nose: bold and booming with citrus notes and stone fruit. Apricot and peach mingle pineapple and orange. Highly aromatic. 

In the mouth: hop assault on the palate, but too lean in the bitterness to truly make a mark as a West Coast. Medium bodied, mostly crisp and clean. but needs a bit more in the dry department. Not a truly successful attempt, I’m afraid. 

Citrusy // Piney // Resin

West Coast IPA

Ol’ George #25: How to Draw Ol’ George

 

Pizza Port Endless Shoreline India Pale Ale

 Pizza Port Endless Shoreline India Pale Ale.

7 % ABV, 65 IBU, Pizza Port Brewing, Carlsbad, CA. 

Clear, bright golden hue, large and lasting ivory head.

In the nose: bold citrus with a pinch of pine. 

In the mouth: fresh, fruity, and dry. Moderate bitterness, but plentiful hops. Medium bodied, long hop forward finish. Citrus tones meet with stone fruit. Easy drinking as she goes. 

I like this one fine, but it won’t replace Swami’s. 

Endless Shoreline IPA captures the essence of sun-soaked days with a refreshing burst of earthy tangelo and bright Meyer lemon. Brewed with Riwaka, Waimea, NZ Cascade, Crystal, & Columbus hops - the mid-palate reveals a tropical blend of sweet citrus, lush mango, and juicy papaya, transporting you to a beachside paradise. The finish is dry and crisp, leaving behind subtle hints of peppery lemongrass and a touch of slightly sticky resin. Just like the shoreline that stretches beyond the horizon, this IPA offers an experience that feels endless with every sip.

Bad Weather Sweater Weather Winter Warmer

 Bad Weather Sweater Weather Winter Warmer.

8.1% ABV, 35 IBU, Bad Weather Brewing, St. Paul, MN.

So much weather in that name. 

Winter is gone, but it ain’t spring yet. Birds are here, but they ain’t chirping. Grass is here, but it ain’t green. No flowers, no leaves on the trees, and we’re still wearing sweaters. Perfect time for the last can of this. 

Clear, dusky brown, voluptuous head, cream toned. 

In the nose: vanilla hits first, followed by cinnamon. Whither coconut? We’re getting hints.

In the mouth: again, vanilla is largest, the rest follow. Big malt, but maybe not robust enough. This is delicious, but I beg for more body. Not hating’, just saying. 

This comforting ale is made with toasted coconut, Saigon cinnamon, and vanilla bean. Also a dash of malted Kernza that aids in the cinnamon flavor of the beer. Kernza is a perennial grain that has been gaining popularity amongst brewers due to its sustainability.  Flavors and aromas of coconut, caramel, cinnamon, vanilla and toast. Medium bodied with a sweet/warming finish. Pours a clear reddish amber with a brown head. Enjoy by the fire or while watching the snow fall outside.

Dual Citizen WaveRacer West Coast IPA

 Dual Citizen WaveRacer West Coast IPA. 

7.1 % ABV, Dual Citizen Brewing, St. Paul, Minnesota. 

Clear, bright golden hue, large and lasting milky white head.

In the nose: citrusy, sliver of pine, tiny tropical tones. 

In the mouth: big blast of bitterness plays on the palate, tantalized the tongue. Nice and dry. Slightest sweetness, but bitter wins out. Light bodied, easy drinking, with never-ending hoppiness. 

I think I like this one. 

Citrus Zest • Floral • Berries

A sunny West Coast style American IPA. 

Surly Niiice Beer

 Surly Niiice Beer. Tastes. Like. Beer. 

Available on tap or 16 ounce 12-packs. 

(Or is it “Surly This Beer is Niiice” as on the label and some tap menus?)

4.5 % ABV. Surly Brewing, Twin Cities, MN.

Clear, bright golden hue, slim white head.

In the nose: grainy, corny, beer-y. 

In the mouth: exceptionally simplistic, light. The light end of a golden ale, the say, which is very in-Surly. Quaffable, for sure, with real flavor to be found. Surly Furious, that made sense. Gotta put one out to please the plebians, I guess. 

Well, that makes two new Surly beers in a row that were clearly not made for me. 

C’est La vie. 

Balanced and approachable, not too hoppy, not too bland, this refreshing ale isn't just nice, it's NIIICE! If you want to call it a beer-flavored beer, go right ahead.

Ol’ George #24: Barley Whine

 Ol’ George #24: Barley Whine

Notes on #24:

1. I’ve been a fan of Bigfoot Barleywine-style Ale for probably 25 years, maybe more. They’ve been making it for 42. I will never forget the first time I tapped it, around 2008, at the Blue Nile. A man at the bar recognized the SN tap handle and said “oh, yeah, Sierra Nevada, I like them, I’ll take one.” Thinking it was the pale ale, I assumed. “This might not be what you think it is,” I told him.”No, no. Yeah, yeah, I’ll take it.” I poured his snifter and watched the confusion as he tried to make sense of this hoppy, nearly 10 % Barleywine. I tried! 

Amazingly, in those 42 years, they never changed the label illustration once. 

2. There is a disruption in continuity here. Normally, Chester drinks Grain Belt Premium, the friendly beer, as did his real life inspiration. But, after hearing of  the unexpected, untimely death of Falling Knife’s Tom Berg, I decided to pay him tribute by having Chester drinking a Tomm’s Lager, in his honor. I didn’t know him well, but he was always nice to me, although he took exception to my views on hazy IPAs, their stock in trade. Sorry, I just don’t dig them. I don’t think I have had a Tomm’s either, not being a lager lover. Maybe I’ll pick up a 4-pack to cheers the man, who left us too soon. 

3. Where did Chester go in the last panel? Out for a smoke, duh. Why didn’t he take his beer? I don’t know! Truthfully, I just wanted to draw Irma rolling her eyes at George’s smartassery.

4. Introducing a character so much taller than the others is difficult. That’s why I chose that age-old cartoon technique of having a character fall backwards out of the panel in response to a punchline, known as a “plop”! You never know when I will use it again!

Ol’ George #23: Everybody Plays the Fool

 

Ol’ George #23: Everybody Plays the Fool

Notes on #23:

1. George wants to play an April Fool’s Day joke on Irma and pretend that he’s given up beer for wine, and along the way make fun of the way wine people anthropomorphize wine with their descriptions. The style known as pèt nat, or petillant naturel (naturally petulant) is one example of this. In fact, I found that expanded on in this precocious piece I just found online. “ By nature, pét-nats are casual. They’re easygoing. They didn’t brush their hair when they got up, and they threw on yesterday’s jeans because, really, who cares?”

It’s also done a lot in descriptions. I recall someone (a friend? Someone from TV/ movies?) making fun of this by saying/quoting something like “it has an impudent nose” or some such. And I wondered where I had heard this and googled the phrase “impudent wine”. The first hits were for a French wine called L’Impudent.

It dawned on that we can mock such language, but it won’t change anything. I wrote this one and I chose not to check and see if there are any Insolent, Sassy, or Obsequious wineries out there. 

Does beer do this? A little, but maybe it’s more of a French thing. 

2. This is the second strip without any beer in it. The first was #2, for George hadn’t ordered yet. Balonious would be having a beer, if George wasn’t taking up Irma’s time with his smart assery.