Kudos to the City of Chandler for attempting to have a random Saturday ROCK THE BLOCK in Downtown Chandler, but man, to the random attendee...it appeared to be a pathetic attempt at throwing a party. It was advertised as having a 15,000 SF kids play area and "beer gardens". We never did find the kids play area, unless you were counting the area where the cheap carnival rides and mechanical bull were located ... which doesn't translate to "kids play area" in my book. We did find ONE beer truck with 5 different kinds of beer (Coors Light, Blue Moon, Miller Light, SanTan Epicenter), each selling for $5 in a plastic cup. Really? You've gotta be kidding me --- the SanTan brewery is 50 steps in the other direction!!!
So...rather than pay $5 for beer in a plastic cup and be confined to a fenced off area in a parking lot with no sources of entertainment for adults OR kids, we wondered over to the brewery. Unlike many people, The Husband and I both are not huge fans of SanTan Brewing Company's beers. We both really want to like them because it's the only brewery near our house, but we are almost always disappointed with their beers. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying that they're BAD because they aren't bad by any means. They're just not as good as I want them to be.
Lucky for us, SanTan had a good selection of non-SanTan beers on tap, including the Smidy Stout from Oskar Blues. The description on the SanTan menu read:
If you're going to write the description yourself for all to see -- you should take a
second to make sure you spell the name of the beer and the name of the
brewery correctly...or at least consistently.
A stout made with a lager yeast? The Husband's decided to try it and see what this is all about...
Smidy Stout (4.8% ABV)
Oskar Blues
Colorado, USA
Recommendations: I'm had no idea you could make a stout with a lager yeast, but this tastes great. Clearly I have a lot to learn for my home brewing to evolve to great levels. This was a fantastic choice for a chilly fall afternoon sitting on the patio watching the storm clouds roll in.
Score: 3.75 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system
My first thought after pouring and tasting this beer was: syrup. It felt like I had sweaters on my teeth after just one taste. Ugh. I was not excited to finish my glass so I picked up a few things around the house and avoided it for a while.
When I rediscovered my beer a bit later, I tasted it again. MUCH BETTER. To my surprise, the beer was no longer the consistency of syrup on my tongue but somehow it was now magically lighter and creamier. Smoother. Quite delicious even.
Voo Doo American Stout (8.5% ABV)
Left Coast Brewery
San Clemente, California
Recommendations: take a sip after you pour it straight from the fridge. If you don't love it, wait a few minutes and give it another try. Have a cracker or a snack handy to nibble on while you enjoy this one.
Score: 4.5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system
For the past few months, I've been looking for some "fresh" hopped beers. I read an article about the style and wanted to see what all the buzz was about. Saw this on the shelf at Total Wine and snatched it. Waited for a chill night on the couch and then popped it open --- HOT DAMN.
This is one of the cleanest beers I think I've ever had in my life. Even The Husband, who is currently as congested as can be, noted how clean and refreshing this was after the first sip.
Fresh Hop Pale Ale (6.1% ABV)
Great Divide Brewing Company
Denver, Colorado
Recommendations: awesome. If you can find it, buy it. Drink one as soon as you chill it. If you have access to this on tap, consider yourself lucky and order one. Thank me later.
Score: 5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system
Regardless of who I voted for and who you, the phantom beer blog reader, voted for in the 2012 election, I think that we can all agree that a viable third party would benefit many of the voters in this country.
Both President Obama and Governor Romney spent much of their time
campaigning in an attempt to try to appeal to and ultimately capture the
independent vote...which clearly indicates that this is a growing group
of voters. There are many issues where I agree with the Republican
party and there are many issues where I agree with the Democratic party
and there are many issues that I believe shouldn't be issues that
require the President of the United States to address or regulate.
Despite the fact that I cannot identify myself 100% either
party, every four years I am forced to cast my vote for either a
Republican or a Democrat, both of which are generally either giant
douche bags or turd sandwiches.
True, there is often a third-party candidate on the ballot but often this candidate never seems to win. In fact, the last time a third-party candidate received a vote from the electoral college (don't get me started on this) was 1832.
Furthermore, to date, there have only been three Presidents in office without a major party affiliation: George Washington, John Tyler, and Andrew Johnson.
And only one of those was elected by the people, George Washington, who
served his entire term as an independent. Both
John Tyler and Andrew Johnson were not elected to President but rather
were Vice Presidents who ascended to office upon the death of a
president. After the transition to President, both men evolved into
independents because they were unpopular with
the party they were previously affiliated with. John Tyler was elected
on the Whig ticket in 1840 with William Henry Harrison but was expelled by his own party. Andrew Johnson was elected with Abraham Lincoln on the National Union ticket in 1864.
Third Party Candidate Imperial Amber Ale (10% ABV)
Clown Shoes Brewery and Three Heads Brewing
Ipswich, Massachusetts and Rochester, New York
Recommendations: solid brew. Strong. Pour into a glass and allow it to warm to somewhere between fridge temp and room temp. Think about what it is that matters to you and then the next time you are asked to vote --- vote for what you believe in. And if that means voting for a third party candidate (and throwing your vote away) -- then do it. The system, and the country that we all claim to love so much, will never change if we all continue to grit our teeth, hold our nose, roll our eyes, bitch and moan and then cast our vote for either the turd sandwich or the giant douche because we know one of them will win anyway.
Score: 4 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system
