Citizen, defined

Citizen is a word used on a somewhat regular basis.  I'm sure I defined it a million times in my 8th grade Civics class with Ms. Burnett who was probably 99 years old in 1995 and I'm pretty sure she wore cutoff condoms on her fingers because they were so cracked and dry.  But when I sat down tonight to write about being a citizen, I couldn't define it in words.  I know what it means ... but I couldn't define it.  So, thanks to Al Gore and the interwebs, I looked it up.

According to Business Dictionary, citizen is defined as "a person who is entitled to enjoy all the legal rights and privileges granted by a state to the people comprising its constituency, and is obligated to obey its laws and to fulfill his or duties as called upon. Also called national."


I toyed with the idea of turning this into a discussion of the electoral college and how I think it's bull$hit because I feel like my vote, as a resident of the State of Arizona, is worth less than that of someone in my previous home state of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Lucky for you the anonymous reader (does anyone actually read this?) I decided against it because tonight, for the first night in many nights ... I can watch TV without listening to political ads.  So I think I'll do that instead if there's anything on other than election coverage and lame shows like "Dancing With the Stars" and "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo."  Hopefully I've got some old episodes of "Mad Men" saved on the DVR.

The Citizen (7% ABV)
Belgian-Style Pale
DC Brau
Washington D.C.

The side of the can teaches me that only 49 years ago, "In 1963, the citizens of Washington DC won the right to vote for the president and vice president of the United States, with the ratification of the 23rd amendment to the Constitution."

Recommendations: so far everything I've had from DC Brau has been worthwhile.  Support them if you can.

Score: 3.5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system

Thanks to John and Sarah for sending this our way!!

Presidential-style fermentation

A month or so ago while I was roaming the aisles of Total Wine after work one day (as I often do), I saw this bottle on the shelf.  AHHHHH-HA!  Perfect.  While it broke my price per bomber rule of thumb (i.e. more than $10 for a bomber is too much unless it is a gift), I grabbed it with the intent to put this little gem in the closet and drink it during one of the upcoming debates. 


According to the CEO of DC Brau, the name of the beer "commemorates the fact that D.C. residents have no say in Congress, and Utah beer drinkers feel they have little say in its Mormon-dominated state legislature."  According to Epic's outside sales manager, "Utah’s beer tax amounts to a 72 percent markup and 'strong' beers — those over 4 percent alcohol by volume — can only be sold through Utah’s state store system."

Fermentation Without Representation - Imperial Pumpkin Porter (8% ABV)
Epic Brewing and DC Brau Brewing
Salt Lake City, Utah and Washington D.C.

I read somewhere that this beer is made with 200 pounds of real pumpkin per batch and that the breweries hand cut a bazillion vanilla beans by hand to throw in the batch.  Talk about labor intensive.  Perhaps that's why they wanted $13.99 for a bomber. 

I was a little intimidated by the combination of an imperial porter and a pumpkin porter but wow, the amount of flavor that these two brewers managed to cram into one glass of this beer is quite outstanding.  The pumpkin, the spice, the sweet, the chocolate (?) and then there is still somehow a clean and dry finish at the end of each sip.  It is a little boozy tasting at first but that decreases as the beer warms slightly.  All in all, this is one awesome beer.


Recommendations: If you like porters and pumpkin-flavored beers, then you should buy two or three of these when/if you see them for sale.  Save it for a nice chilly evening.

Score: 5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system