Dirty Reggae

It’s been ages since I’ve posted anything on here.  I’ve done tons of cool things in my cool, cool city these past several months.

I took Thing 1 (my oldest) to see Neon Trees at the House of Blues  May 27th.  The opening act, Eastern Conference Champions, was  fantastic live.  They ended their set with an incredible jam that ended with all three of them beating on drums.  I can’t describe it, just go see them.  The crowd was really into the Limousines.  They were ok.  Neon Trees were really excellent.  The entire show, all 3 bands, really new how to work the crowd.  I was pleased that Thing 1’s first show at HOB was such a great show.

A few days later, I took Thing 1 back to HOB to see The Maine.  Augustana was the second act.  I love their song, Sweet and Low, but watching them live was boring.  I’ve seen The Maine live before.  They were much more energetic when I saw them at Warped.  I felt like I was watching a different band here.  At Warped, they were easy pop, here they were more country-fried.  I’m not a country music fan.  I found the show to be rather disappointing.

Warped this year was ok.  The change in venue really sucked.  Blossom is impossible to get to.  They have been having concerts there for 600 years and still can’t manage to get cars in and out properly.  There’s no way it should take an hour to go 3 miles.  The concert itself was only ok.  The high points, for me, were the Aggrolites, Paramore, and the Expendables.  It was difficult to get between the stages so I missed many bands that I wanted to see (A Day to Remember, Pepper, Sharks, Lionize).

I went to Taking Back Sunday at HOB in July.  I was so disappointed.  I realize that the original lineup is back together and everything, but I expected that they would play at least one song from their previous album, New Again.  Instead, I think they played music from every album EXCEPT that one.  And New Again is the album that I know.  I could sing every lyric from that album.  It’s the reason I bought tickets.  And the lead singer is a complete douche.  His stage banter is juvenile and boring.   The first act was supposed to be We Are the In Crowd but they cancelled.  I really was looking forward to seeing them.   I do have a suggestion for Taking Back Sunday.  If you are touring with Thursday, you should just commit and have a lineup up that only consists of bands with days of the week in their names.  Resurrect Til Tuesday.  Grab Hey Monday.  The Saturdays are most likely available.

I went the entire month of August without going to a single concert.  I know, I know.  I don’t know how I lasted that long.  The drought ended on September 12th when I saw The Expendables with Pepper at HOB.  The copious amounts of secondhand smoke insures that I won’t pass a drug test for a long time.  The show was good.  I don’t know many songs from either band, but they were fun to watch.  I’m not sure I’d go to see either band again, unless they are part of Warped again.  They are both good, but there are other bands that are much more fun to see.

I finally saw my first show at the Q on September 20th.  Rise Against opened for The Foo Fighters.  I bought my tickets because I wanted to see Rise Against.  I really wasn’t interested in seeing the Foo Fighters.  I figured that FF were past their prime.  First, the Q is a completely awful place to see a band.  You don’t feel a connection with the bands.  Second, Rise Against was Amazing.  And third, and most importantly, the Foo Fighters were amazing.  I wish that they didn’t turn every song into a 20 minute masturbatory experience, but other than that, they were great.  They really enjoy what they’re doing.  Dave Grohl, I think he would’ve stayed on stage all night.  And he did.  Even when the rest of the band left, Dave was out there by himself playing guitar and singing.  They played so long, that I left after the 3rd encore.  I had to get up for work the next morning.

The very next night, I saw Motion City Soundtrack at HOB, in the Cambridge Room.  It was part of their 2 nights, 4 albums tour (or whatever it was called).  The idea was that the band played all four albums in their entirety in order.  I only saw the second night, because I was at the Foo Fighters for the first night.  My husband isn’t really a fan, but I had the best time.  MCS is an incredible band.  The Cambridge room is so small.  HOB should really do something about the ventilation system in there though.  It was stiffling.

This past Tuesday, I made first trip to The Grog Shop to see the Aggrolites.  The Grog Shop is a complete oddity.  It looks like someone’s basement.  It has layers of graffiti on about ever surface.  And then they have a beer list that included enough stuff to keep me busy for a couple of weeks.  Sure it was all bottled, but hey, a girl can’t ask for everything.  I order the peche lambic and it was served in a beautiful snifter.  And I was only charged $6 for the entire bottle.  It was an awesome place to see a concert.   If they could just get rid of the loiterers out front….  Anyway, the Aggrolites were amazing, as expected.  And I think the lead singer, Jesse Wagner, even smiled a few times.  But the most surprising thing was how excellent the opening act was.  Roots of Creation were this completely perfect blend of reggae and electronica (?).  I had to buy their album.

And last but not least, I went to a few Cleveland Beer Week events yesterday.  I wanted to go to many more events, but I can only drink so much beer (I know, I know, blasphemy).

I went to Lilly Handmade Chocolates yesterday for the mead and chocolate pairings.  There were 4 meads and each was paired with a truffle. I like mead but it’s hard to find anything other than Bunratty around here.  Lilly’s had Redstone Meadery Carbonated Mead, Lugashall Christmas Mead, Iqhilika Bird’s Eye Chili Mead, and Dansk Mjod Viking Blod.  The last one, Dansk Mjod Viking Blod was most like the other meads I’ve had.  I preferred the classic mead taste.  And Lilly’s chocolates were really good.  I had not been there before as it’s a kind of crappy neighborhood that I don’t get to often.  I liked it much more than my husband of Thing 2.  I would like to go here again, but I’ll probably find someone else to go with.

After Lilly’s, we went to Deagan’s for the La Chouffe tasting (and glasses).  There were 3 different La Chouffe beers.  First was the La Chouffe, an unfiltered Belgian blonde.  It was good, not nearly as good as Indigo Imp’s Blonde Bombshell.  Then we had Ommegang Gnomegang.  This was a bit hoppy-er than  the other two.  Honestly, the three beers weren’t that different.  The coolest part of this trip was that the beer rep bought us a round. So, we also had the La Chouffe Bier de Soleil.  This was my favorite beer.  Sadly, it is a limited release beer.  I had a great time here.  We got to keep the glasses and the rep gave us hats with bells and a keychain.  I love my silly hat.  I look like an elf.

Next, we stopped at McCarthy’s Ale House in Lakewood.  They had Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale.  I thought I’d had this beer before, but after tasting it I realized that I’d had beer aged in kentucky bouron barrels but never the brand Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale.  It was so smooth and slightly sweet.  I love this beer.  And McCarthy’s is a nice bar.  It’s huge.  There are a few spots in the bar that could use some attention, but I would certainly come here again.

Last stop of the night was Fatheads.  I really didn’t need any more alcohol at this point but, you know.  I tried a Stone Vanilla Bean Smoked Porter.  It was definitely smokey.  I couldn’t really taste the vanilla though.  Not my favorite beer of the night.  That honor went to Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale.  I wanted to try several other beers on the menu, but I simply couldn’t drink anything else.

Today I went to my final Beer Week thing.  I headed over to Mike’s Bar and Grill in Berea.  I haven’t been here before either.  It’s small and really really nice inside.  I had lunch with my Green Flash 30th Street Pale Ale.  The beer was way too hoppy.  I hate citrus-y hops.  But my lunch was excellent.  The sweet potato fries were perfect.  And my Philadelphia cheesesteak was huge and yummy.  Nothing was greasy either.  That could have been a really greasy mess of a meal but it was perfect.  My husband’s reuben was great also.  I liked trying the Green Flash beer but wish they’d had something other than the 30th street pale ale.

 

There are so many fun things to do in Cleveland.  I’m lucky that I’m able to do them.  I’m out of tickets and plans for now so I’m going to go plot my next outing.

 

The Airborne Toxic Event at Cleveland House of Blues 2011

I love the Airborne Toxic Event.

The first time I saw them play it was at the House of Blues in Cleveland and they opened for The Fratellis in September of 2008.  They walked out on stage and the lead singer said something like “none of you know who the fuck we are so we’re just going to play”.   Anything else he said was so mumbled that it was impossible to understand.  Stage presence be damned, I liked their music so much that I went home and immediately downloaded their album from Amazon.

The next time TATE came to Cleveland, they were the headliners for the  92.3 Cheap Date in August 2009 (I wrote a blog about the, you can read that here.)  By this time, I could sing almost every song off of their album.  Unfortunately, most of the rest of the audience didn’t know any of their songs save Sometime Around Midnight, which isn’t even the best song off of that album.  Gasoline is.  It made me sad to see everyone just standing there.

I have been waiting for a new album, and the resulting tour for a long time.  I got tickets the day they went on sale and preordered the album as part of that purchase.  I love the new album, All At Once.   I love the single, Changing, and there are so many other good songs on the album (I think the song that I find to be the biggest departure is Welcome to Your Wedding Day).  I would’ve been excited to see them again anyway, certainly, I bought the tickets having only heard Changing (and at that point I think it was still called Something You Own).  But after hearing how great the new album is, I was especially excited.

I was way in the back so my pictures aren’t very good.  If you want a better view, break down and buy tickets yourself next time they come around.

The show just rocked.  These are true musicians.  I was so excited when I saw the upright piano on the stage.  And to see a cello, a bass, a piano, and keyboards with traditional rock instruments is fantastic.  And to see almost all of them can take a crack at the keyboards is so cool.  The band has really grown.  Their stage presence is amazing.  Mikel seemed really at ease, his stage banter flowed naturally.  There was no half-hearted mumbling.  The crowd was very into it.  I was so happy to see so many people singing and dancing.  They played almost every song off of both the albums.  They did a cover of Goodbye Horses.  There was a cool thing where they played the beginning of the song Missy and then broke into I’m on Fire and then Folsom Prison and then I Fought the Law before going back into Missy.  That was pretty cool.  I think that was an encore song.  Anna fell again.  I just have to know, does she fall every show or just in Cleveland?  This time, she fell over, well, I don’t know what she fell on.  She was standing behind the keyboards and then she was lying on the ground behind the keyboards.

Mikel ran up the stairs between songs, hoped out on this ledge on that runs on the outside of the rail to the balcony and sang an entire song up there.  As I was in the back of the balcony, I really appreciated this.  I liked it even better because it showed how comfortable he was.  He just owned every bit of that place, not just the stage.  He is a rock star.  I love that.  Anna stage dived (dove?) and crowd surfed with her violin.  Sweet!  It is so much fun to see people enjoying what they are doing.

When the band played The Kids are Ready to Die, Mikel said that European interviewers kept asking if the song was anti-American.  And his response was “Fuck off.  It’s not anti-American, it’s anti-sending-kids-to-die-for-a-lie”.  And then I knew I was in love.  Go Mikel!  Honestly, I hate that every criticism of America is interpreted as being anti-American.  And I like when musicians use their gifts to address political/social issues.  I hate that my generation seems to have a dearth of political musicians.  Where are our Neil Youngs and Bob Dylans?  Sorry, slight tangent.

The show ended with the song All At Once, which wasn’t probably the best song to end on.  Something with a little more bite would’ve been better.  Maybe the Missy medley?  But All at Once is a bit too mellow with which to end a show.  But that is my only negative comment on the show.  They always sound good and now they have so much fun, they are so into it that they may be my new favorite live band.  I am in awe.

Some random thoughts: I don’t get the umbrella motif on some of the tour shirts and as stage props.  The album is called All at Once.  There aren’t any umbrellas on the album cover.  There aren’t any songs called umbrella.  A clever poster on the band forum suggested that they were leftover from Rihanna.   That works for me.

The umbrellas on the stage were very artfully lit.  And the womens’ umbrella shirt is really nice.  I hate when bands don’t have any good shirts.  I want to buy a souvenir when I go to a good show.  I won’t buy traditionally cut tees (I want something that shows off curves. I work hard enough to have them, I’m not going to hide them in some yucky boxy mens’ tee).  Form-fitting, v neck shirts are great.  I wore mine to work with a black mini skirt.  Most people probably didn’t even realize it was a concert tee.

I feel like I’m watching these guys (and Anna)  grow up.  I can’t wait to see where they go from here.

Cleveland Marathon 2011

Today was the Cleveland Marathon.   I participated in the Half Marathon with a friend of mine.

I have never been into running, and today was my first experience with any serious foot race.

Wow! What a first experience.  They estimated there were 19,000 participants.  Just wow.  I was completely relaxed for the event because I was just there for my friend.   I ran in the 5K on Saturday (completely different vibe, and very cool, but there’s just no comparison to today) and had a personal goal.  Today, I just was there to have a good time, get a little exercise, and cheer on my friend.  No pressure.

First, it took 10 minutes to cross the start line.  There was just such a huge mass of people that it took a solid 10 minutes from the start clock until I crossed the start line.  I really hated this part of the race.  I was way too close to way too many people.  It was claustrophobic.

As soon as I crossed the start line, things thinned out to where I was comfortable and I was able to just enjoy myself.  I am a lifelong Cleveland suburbanite.   I completely enjoyed being able to ambulate through the city.  I’ve been on the closed shoreway before, walking to Edgewater Park to watch the fireworks (before they moved the Fourth of July fireworks to Whiskey Island or wherever they’re held anymore.  But being able to go through blocked off streets in the different neighborhoods was pretty bad ass.

I loved getting to go all the way from Brown’s Stadium to Edgewater on the shoreway.  Going through the part of Cleveland where the shoreway ends, where all the beautiful houses are, was excellent.  I enjoy this by car.  It was way better on foot.

We went through Tremont, the Edgewater neighborhood, Ohio City, downtown (not in that order).   Going over the Hope Memorial Bridge, while it was closed to traffic was extremely bad ass.  I love the sculptures on the pylons.  I call them the Pillars of the King (because I am a geek, it’s a Lord of the Rings reference.  They are the giant statues of the kings of Gondor on the river Anduin from the Fellowship of the Ring movie), but apparently these are the Guardians of Transportation.

It was really chilly today, and at the four hour finish time (by four hours, I’d been done for a long time) while I was waiting, in only my race shirt, running shorts, a sports bra, and my socks and shoes, the rain really started in earnest and it got really, really, terribly cold.  The day turned pretty miserable about then for me.  It was even more miserable before I finally was picked up, able to kick off my soaking wet shoes, and able to put on some dry clothes.

Aside from the crap weather, which is a given in Cleveland, and some poor planning (I should have checked a bag with warm clothes and a cell phone or some money or something), this was amazing.  Seeing everyone else out there, and the big swarm of people behind us, was really inspiring, motivational.   I loved the cheering stations.  Some where race organized and that was cool but the spontaneous ones from people who lived around the route were the best.  The people in Tremont who set up their own water station were so enthusiastic!  You have to love Tremont.

There was a guy somewhere, it’s all one adrenaline-fueled blur, playing Born to Run on his guitar next to the course.  I wish I would’ve been around long enough to hear if he played any other songs or just that in a loop! That was so cool. Unless you’ve done one of these, it’s really difficult to properly convey the just general sense of community and energy and accomplishment.  Anyone who finishes is amazing.  I am in complete awe of the runners.

I met too girls with shirts that said “punk Rock Runners” or something like that.  One had a sequined hot pink tutu.  The other had a sequined black tutu.  They told me they had just run a marathon the previous Sunday!  Those sparkly girls are my new heros. If I ever become a true runner, I’m going to have to rock some silly outfits too.  Right now, I’m just trying not to attract to much attention and keep going.

My friend told me there’s a runner in me somewhere.  She must be buried deep but I want to see if I can find her. I do know that after hitting the finish line for the half marathon, I wanted to keep going.

With that frame of mind, I’m looking into signing up for the full marathon in Columbus.  My friend is already signed up.  And she’s talking about doing a triathlon.  I love biking.  I take 20-30 mile bike rides almost every week when it’s warm enough (and sometimes even when it’s not).  I love swimming.  I’m a strong, not fast, swimmer.  I could consider this.

I’d really like to do a silly race.  The Warrior Dash appeals to me.  Maybe I’ll go down and watch one this year to see what it’s like.  What’s not to love about beer and viking hats and mud?

Right now, I’m really grateful to my friend for motivating me to try these things.  She says I helped her with her time today.  Well, that’s a very small thing.  I was so happy to be her cheerleader and to do this with her.  She rocks.

And so do our medals!  I might never take mine off.  The guitar spins!

Summertime time time and living’s easy

Summer means live music (and outdoors, and naked legs, and naked feet – you have no idea how big a deal those last two are unless you’re a life long Clevelander – and softball, and thunderstorms, and ice cream, and, oops, sorry, daydreaming a but there).   It’s fantastic to see a good band outdoors on a nice summer evening.

So, I am completely devastated that my favorite outdoor venue, Time Warner Amphitheater, has closed.  It was a pain to get to, but much better than the only alternative, Blossom.

But I’m not letting it stop me from getting ready for some good shows that are coming to town.  I would like to say that I’m kicking off my summer concert attendance with Rise Against this coming Saturday.  But alas, I’m going to a wedding instead.  And even if I didn’t have the wedding, I’d be attending a birthday party instead.  😦  I didn’t get to see Rise Against last time they were here (with Rancid, can you believe it.  I’m so upset that I missed out on that show) because someone (who shall not be named) didn’t order the tickets when I asked.

Anyway, I will start out my summer concert attendance next week with…. wait for it….. The Airborne Toxic Event!!! How lucky I am.  It’ll be my third time seeing them.  I am so excited.  They are one of my favorite bands.  The only other bands I’ve seen as much live are Paramore and Flogging Molly (I want to see Flogging Molly when they come but they have Clutch opening for them.  The last time Flogging Molly was here, they had two rather tame opening acts and still someone had to leave the show in an ambulance.  With Clutch opening, I’ll be surprised if only one person leaves in an ambulance.  I don’t want to be anywhere near that show). I’m so glad that they are getting more airplay.  They are so talented.

I have a bit of a lull, I’m going to try and fill it in with other shows, until July though.  But, I will attend the Warped Tour at Blossom in July.  I’m so excited.  I can’t believe there will be so many good bands: Paramore, A Day to Remember, There for Tomorrow, A Skylit Drive, Every Avenue, Go Radio, The Aggrolites, The Ready Set.  I’m not a huge fan, but Big D and the Kids’ Table is fun live.  I don’t know any of their songs, and the singer has some of the worst stage banter, but they  sure are fun to watch.

Then, just an hour ago, I bought tickets for Taking Back Sunday in July.  I’m completely stoked (yes, I said stoked, I am old.  Blow me).  Taking Back Sunday got me through many a late night at work.  Now that I’m not working crazy hours, I want to listen to them in a more happy setting.

So, I’ve only got 3 sets of concert tickets so far, but that’s a good start.  Indians are winning and I’ve got some tickets for one of their games.  And I’m going to see my friend’s band at least once.  The summer is shaping up nicely!

Fuzzy Wuzzy

I was at Fatheads Friday night.  I’m still wishing they had that Gouden Carolus Cuvee.  Alas, they do not.

They did have their #1.  It tastes completely different than last year’s and the year before’s #1.  Apparently, #1 is the first beer brewed at Fatheads and they only make it once a year.  The first time I had it, it blew me away.  Last year I loved it too.  This year, I am unimpressed. Oh well.

So, next I tried Ayinger Brau Weisse.  Delightful.  I just love unfiltered wheat beers.  This was lovely and I would definitely get it again.

Then there is the pizza.  I would never suspect that a place like this would have good pizza.  Nothing against Fatheads.  The rest of their food is really good.  I just wouldn’t expect them to have solid pizza.  But they do.

I originally ordered Avery’s Collaboration Not Litigation Ale.  I had this a few weeks before at Fatheads and it was amazing.  But they had just run out 😦  There are too many beers to try to be upset for long.

Right around beer two, I need food.  And there was food.  I love Fatheads smokehouse wings.  The beastie sauce is very good.  I like the killer sauce the best.  But I understand not everyone likes a fire in their belly.  Fatheads smoked wings are the shit.

Then there was the pizza.  I wouldn’t expect a place like Fatheads to have good pizza.  This has nothing to do with the quality of anything they have.  The rest of their food is really good.  I just wouldn’t expect them to have good pizza.  Oh, but they do.

pulled pork pizza

It has beans and, I don’t know, by the time I finished I was very drunk.  That doesn’t make the pizza any less good.  Even drunk, I know good food.  This was completely amazing.  If I’m going to blow my training diet, this is the way to do it, Fatheads wings and pizza.  It was so good, I don’t even feel guilty.

The biggest surprise of the night, however, wasn’t the food, it was the last beer.  Fathead’s Fuzzy Wuzzy.  I didn’t pick this beer, it was my husband’s.  He almost didn’t get any.  It had a delicate peach flavor and was crisp and light and I wish I had brought the growler because I so would have filled it with this.  But that just means I have to go back for more.  That and I never got to try Fathead’s Udderly Smooth Milk Stout.  Maybe I could go back tonight.  I did 8 miles or training yesterday and another 8 today, that deserves a beer or three, right?

Grown Up Night Out

I went to Third Friday at 78th Street Studios last night.  It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to go and I was pleasantly surprised at the new additions.  The last time I’d seen the place, the second floor was just being shown to potential renters.  Now it’s full of studios. 

It has been so cool to see this place grow.  The first time I ever went to one of the events, there were only maybe 4 or 5 galleries and they got together to have an open house.  It was Friday night and Saturday afternoon.  It eventually became a quarterly thing.  Now it’s once a month. 

And there are so many people now. Unfortunately, more people also means more d-bags but that’s comes with the whole art gallery scene anyway.

One of my favorite spots is Kookon Arts Gallery.  And the Gary Spinosa sculpture is still there.  If you haven’t seen it, you should.  It’s this massive wooden and bronze (?) sculpture.  It evokes thoughts of ancient temples and pagan gods.   The first time I saw it, I was totally awe struck.  My reaction is no less intense after half a dozen viewings.  I’m very sad that the other Spinosa works have been sold or sent back or wherever they went.  I love that there are still several Alfredo Arreguin works. 

The Keri-Lee Studio is an interesting place.  I love the 3 dimensional works she produces.  She uses such bright colors in most of her work.  This time, she had this giant gnome she was making for an exhibit at the Holden Arboretum called Gnomes and Gardens.  I wanted to touch the gnome so much.  She had so much detail.  And the texture.  Oh, it was so hard not to touch.

The Charmaine Spencer Gallery is really interesting.  She always has these huge sculptures.  They’re all very organic looking. 

One of my new favorites are Julie Morgan’s studio.  Her artwork is amazing.  The lines are clean and seductive.  Sleepwalker is intense.  I want this piece.

Oh, and the shared space for Dana Oldfather and, well, I don’t remember the other artist in this space.  I really appreciate Dana Oldfather’s work.  I’m glad to see it at 78th studios.  Her work reminds me a bit of Darren Waterston‘s work.  Her spot was very much a place to be seen and many people were there to introduce themselves, especially as her work is receiving so much attention lately.

I had such a good time there.  I can’t wait to go again.  Maybe next month.

Me and my incredibly lucky date ended up at Fatheads (hooray) because there’s no better way to follow up art than with craft beers. 

I started with Collaboration not Litigation.  It’s a blend of two Belgian ales, one from Avery Brewing and one from Russian River Brewing.  It’s was very nice.  The lucky guy had Fathead’s Sorcerer.  I didn’t appreciate Sorcerer the first couple times I tried it, but it’s definitely a nice beer.  I’ll have to put this into my rotation of fall back beers at Fatheads.  I usually go with Bumbleberry and Gogglefogger when I can’t think of anything else. 

I followed up with New Holland’s Dragon Milk.  I’ve wanted to try this for ages but haven’t seen it on tap.  It was really boozy and strong and I liked it very much.  I couldn’t drink more than one at a time though.  The date had a Bear Republic Scottish Wee Ale.  Yummy.  I want another.

The bartender, after seeing the types of stuff we were trying,  was kind enough to give us a sample of Lagunitas Gnarly Barley Wine.  It was athe least offensive barely wine I’ve ever had.  I didn’t even shudder when I tried it.  Actually, this would be one I could drink an entire glass of.  That’s rare for a barley wine.  I always like to try them but I just can’t drink them.

It was a lovely evening.  I might just let that guy take me out again.  🙂

99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall

I recently made my first visit to McNulty’s Bier Market.   I had no idea that Bier Market was all Belgian beers.  That’s pretty cool.  I really love a good Belgian-style wheat beer.  The beer menu is interesting.  It’s not as large as some other places I frequent (cough, cough “Fatheads, Buckeye Beer Engine” I say quietly behind my hand).

When I walked into the restaurant I was impressed with the decor.  There is a large table in the center of the dining area on a raised platform.  The table has high-backed bench seating and a frame like a four-poster bed complete with chocolate brown sheers.  I want to come back with friends and sit there! It’s really just a gorgeous spot.

I didn’t go on a truly personal visit.  It was for a Professional Association outing.  The event was called a beer tasting.  Hey, if beer’s involved, I’m probably in.  Anyway, the event I attended was held in the Speakeasy which is below the Bier Market.

There were 5 beers on our tasting list.  Now, I have (very, very slowly) developed a great appreciation for craft beers.  I’m certainly more than a casual drinker but I’m not an expert on beers.  Our list was so disappointing.  For a beer tasting at a place called Bier Market our tasting list was:

1. Stella Artois
2. Brooklyn IPA
3. Sierra Nevada Seasonal Ale
4. Breckenridge Christmas Ale
5. Left Hand Milk Stout

At least have one odd ball beer.  Really, the number one beer on the list was Stella Artois.  You can buy that at any gas station anymore.  Boring.  And really, Brooklyn, Sierra Nevada, Breckenridge, and Left Hand? And when I see the Left Hand brand I just have a dirty thought.  Like a half-remembered teen-aged masturbation joke.

I get having the Christmas Ale and Seasonal Ale.  I wish they were from some more interesting breweries though.  And I do have to complement them on having good Stella Artois.  This must not be a big seller at places I’ve had it because it always has a stale taste and it was rather pleasant to drink here.

There was a little table in the corner with what should have been finger food.  The purpose of this event was to network.  Unfortunately, the food choices were really poor.  There was what looked like it had been a meat and cheese tray, which 1/2 hour into a 3 hour event was depleted to the point that I’m guessing it was a meat and cheese tray. The only other foods were french fries and pizzas.  The fries were really good, cooked with huge, beautiful sprigs (is that the right term? branches?  haha) of rosemary.  They had spiced ketchup and mayonnaise for dipping.  But there were no appropriate serving utensils to get the fries on your plate.  It’s was incredibly awkward. The pizzas were delicious, but caused more social awkwardness.  First, they were not cut all the way through, in fact, it was as though they’d been lightly scored rather than cut into individual slices.  I had to use my hand to tear a piece off.  And I checked every pizza (visually, I wasn’t touching all the food) to find the most cut looking piece.  Then, the pieces were just to large.  It’s hard to be dainty and network jamming a huge piece of pizza in one’s mouth.  They were also very crispy, so when you’d bite into them, they’d kind of crumble everywhere.  Again, this would be just fine sitting at a table with close friends (who know your table manners are normally quiet acceptable).  But this event was for networking.  The food choices should never cause social awkwardness at a networking function.

I expect much more thought and planning from this type of establishment.

I absolutely can’t wait to return for a pleasure visit.  The food was really good.  I hope they have the St. Bernardus Belgian Quadruple Ale on draft when I go.  I’ve not had that before.  And I love a draft lambic.  Yummy.

Bier Market is opening a brewery across the street.  That should make the neighborhood a little more lively.  Now, if only they could buy the property on the corner of the alley that I had to walk past (by myself) to get to and from the parking lot.  The dark area with all the posts to hide behind made me uncomfortable as it seemed to be populated by shady characters.

Cleveland Beer Week – Part Deux!

Purple Haze	Tuesday was our last planned outing for beer week (come on, that was 3 days in a row for me.  My liver said that if I didn’t give it a break, it was going to wait until I passed out and make a break for it!). We planned it as a pub crawl of a sort.  Only, our pubs were cities apart! We started at Deagan’s Kitchen and Bar in Lakewood.  This place is really new.  It’s in the old Barnacle Bill’s (and it had a few incarnations before it became Deagan’s). We sole reason for stopping was Abita‘s Purple Haze on tap.  $5, keep the glass.  We knew nothing about Deagan’s other than their website is under construction.
chips and guacamole at Deagan's (we'd already eaten a ton of the cilantro from the top	The place is gorgeous.  Low key, spacious, slightly dimmed lighting.  Perfect date place. We got there during happy hour so our Purple Haze was only $3.  And it was taco night, $2 meat tacos, $3 for seafood, $3 chips and guacamole. The Purple Haze is maybe the best new beer I’ve tried in ages.  The only other beer that I’ve had recently that was so completely different and good was Fathead’s Gogglefogger.  It’s an unfiltered raspberry wheat beer. The texture is thick and amazing and distinctive.  The raspberry is very subtle.  I just love this beer. The beer has a purple haze to it.  Really.  So the beer is totally yummy and pretty! ❤ ❤ ❤ The guacamole had like a inch thick of baby cilantro on top.  Fresh cilantro is just a beautiful thing.  The guacamole was chunky and the ingredients were really fresh.
guacamole - the cup was filled to top with cilantro	The chips weren’t traditional corn chips, they were more like pita chips, but they were really nice and seemed to be house-made.  I think maybe they were fried wheat tortillas. I really do wish I had taken the picture before we’d eaten so much of the guacamole.  I was amazed at the amount of fresh cilantro that they used at Deagans. Since this was our first time at Deagan’s and we weren’t sure about it, plus we were going to make some more stops afterward, we only ordered one order of guac and chips and 2 chicken tacos. The chicken tacos were amazing. The meat was grilled and had just the nicest flavor. The taco was a soft taco and had been lightly toasted on the outside.  It was just perfect.
taco night chicken taco (I was hungry, next time I'll take a pic before I've started eating)	Inside was rice, pico de gallo, the chicken, and loads of lovely, lovely cilantro. I am so so very sad that I didn’t try the other tacos.  I think there were 5 kinds.  I must go back and try them all. We had 2 beers, 2 chicken tacos, chips and guac and 2 glasses for $13.45 ($18.45 with the tip). Deagan’s is a fantastic date place but it’s accessible enough that I can picture taking my kids (yeah, my kids are supremely spoiled). Our next stop was Royal Park Fine Wine on 82 in Strongsville.  The reason for this stop was that they were supposed to have Rooster Fish beer on tap.  I’ve never had Rooster Fish, and it’s always best, when possible, to try a beer when it’s on tap. So, we drive all the way from Lakewood to this wine store in Strongsville and there’s a big banner in the front for tasting of different beer.  We walk over to the taps (this was the first time I’d ever seen beer taps in this type of store – they had beer, wine, and liquor) and ask the worker about Rooster Fish beer and he has no idea what we’re talking about.
the gooey innards	The kid asks us some goofy questions (did it say those [Rooster Fish] in the window? was it for today?), you know those kind of questions (don’t you know what it says in the window of the store you work in?  no, it wasn’t listed for today, but we’re assholes so we came in today and expect you to make it happen). Finally he offers up ‘maybe it’s at our other store’. We didn’t bother to go to there other store.  The event was listed at the store we went to(I even went back and double checked the address at www.clevelandbeerweek.org).  I had no idea there was another store.  I went way out of my way to go here and the listing was wrong and the workers looked at me like I was incompetent.  How flipping annoying.  It was a good thing I was going out to drink more!
Brew Kettle host?	Our next visit was to The Brew Kettle for a rare keg tapping.  Every night for beer week, they had a different rare keg tapping.  This night was a 2009 Jackhammer Barley Wine. The only thing I knew about the Brew Kettle is that I one can brew their own beer here.  I was only very vaguely aware that they had a restaurant. I’ve even passed it.  It’s really unimpressive from the outside.  It’s in this tiny 3 storefront strip. When we got here Tuesday, I realized that right next door was my childhood dentist (and when I finally was seated inside and read the menu, I read that the place opened in 1995!  I definitely was still going to that dentist in 1995.  I can’t believe that I never ventured over, or took any notice whatsoever).  Go to him, he’s really nice.  Dr. Kenneth Kurz.  It was really weird when I finally changed dentists and had a hygienist clean my teeth.  Dr. Kurz did the cleaning himself (I don’t know if he still does).
Jackhammer Barley Wine	I can appreciate the craftsmanship involved in making barley wine. I love to try them. But it’s one of those things that make me involuntarily shudder after I take a sip. After barley wine, I needed more food. Lucky for me, Tuesday night is wing night at the Brew Kettle. $4.99 for an order of wings (regular price $7.49). Dry rub,of course. Those were some excellent wings. They had a wonderful flavor. I would’ve been pissed to pay full price for them though. As person who remembers 10¢ wing nights, paying $7.49 for 5 wings would’ve pissed me off. I realize these wings were huge but I’m old and crotchity. I mean, I know those 10¢ wings were the size of the ones House Of Blues serves and charges equivalent of $1/each (they have HUGE balls at HOB, charging outrageous prices for shit food & hairspray tasting drinks in the club), but it’s just the idea.
dry rubbed smokehouse wings at the Brew Kettle	The only bad part of the trip was that our bill was incorrect when we received it.  We did get charged full price. The waitress corrected it quickly. The total bill was $12.92 ($17.92 with the tip). I liked this place, but not as much as I like some places that are closer. If I’m out this way, I’d stop again though.  And I’d definitely recommend it to other people going out here. We had planned out trip as three stops, and I’ve already told you how our original second step went.  So we picked an alternate 3rd spot, Fatheads (duh). Fatheads had a some beer and food pairing dinner but they also had St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout pint night.  When you bought the beer, you got to keep the glass.
beer samples at Fatheads	I’ve picked up quite a few glasses in the past few weeks. So we ordered the Stout and and three samples Fatheads beers that we hadn’t tried before. First was Alpenglow Weizenbock. It had a lovely banana flavor.  It was somewhat similar to the Gogglefogger but not as sweet. Next was Autumn Fire Smoked Lager. It had a light smoke. It was nice to try. It wouldn’t be my first choice for a reorder, but wouldn’t say no to one.
St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout	The last sample was the Phantom Pumpkin Ale.  It has very light hints of cinnamon and pumpkin. Really excellent. Really complex flavors.  I must have it again. I think a growler of this would be an excellent idea. The St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout was strong and really good. I swear the smell reminded me of caramel. The description said espresso and chocolate. I can definitely taste the espresso. I could not taste the chocolate. Bitter chocolate maybe. I like this beer a lot. I never used to drink beer.  The first beers that I tried that I liked were all stouts.
not-trying-very-hard pumpkin decoration at Fatheads	While we were drinking, I was perusing that beer menu.  I found Fathead’s cask conditioned Battleax Baltic Porter aged in Kentucky Bourbon Barrels. I have had beers aged in kentucky bourbon barrels before (do you need to say Kentucky bourbon? Isn’t bourbon ONLY from Kentucky? Would you say scottish scotch?) and enjoyed the flavor imparted by the bourbon. Oh, holy f$*k! It was like drinking shots! Made me shiver. I’m gonna hurt tomorrow. My husband’s afraid of it! He asked the bartender if anyone was aware that you were supposed to take the bourbon out of the barrel before you added the beer. The menu says it tastes of dried fruit and toffee. My ass. It tastes like it could knock me out. I don’t kno what you call that flavor. I think it could mess you up just by smelling it. I finished it though.  To do otherwise would be criminal.
Fatheads Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Aged Battleax Porter and Aventinus Weizenbock	My husband ordered the Aventinus Wheat Dopplebock.  It competes with Fathead’s Googlefogger, which is one of my fav beers ever. Have had other Aventinus beers, I believe I’ve had a Weizenbock from them and I remember really liking it After all this, it was imperative that we get more food.  We got an order of chips. I like Fathead’s chips but they need some sort of dip.  And more salt.  They just never have enough salt. Husband says they’d be perfect with bbq sauce. I can see that. We used ketchup. I like ketchup, it worked well as a condiment for these chips, but it would’ve been better if the ketchup had been Hunts. Heinz ketchup in comparison. Our bill before tip for 3 beers, 3 beer samples, a glass, and order of chips was $23.91 ($30.91 w tip). Three bars, great craft beers, yummy food for less than $70.  Not bad.
Fatheads chips	Total tangent. Random unintentional eavesdropping provided this: ‘it tastes a lot better than it smells’ to which I can only reply ‘bwah ha ha ha ha ha!’

Cleveland Beer Week – Part 1

I am so excited about Cleveland Beer Week. And of all the events, and there are sooooo many, the one thing I did NOT want to miss was the Dark Horse Brewery breakfast at Buckeye Beer Engine.  So, Sunday, October 17th, at 10 am in the morning, I pulled into the Buckeye Beer Engine parking lot to attend (having purchased my tickets weeks before).

warm Beignets with caramel espresso glaze	Who knew, but there is a basement at the Beer Engine.  And it looks like someone’s basement.  They use kitchen cabinetry behind the bar, there are beer signs decorating the wall, and the paint looks like some clearance rack special light green. The crowd skewed a little more male (and in the parking lot, I was the only girl, I was slightly concerned) but there was a good cross-section of people from late 20s to mid-to-late 50s. There was supposed to be a speaker from Dark Horse there to open the breakfast and introduce every course, but he was late.
Dark Horse Perkulator Coffee Dopplebock	That’s alright though. The first course was called Beignets. I just always called them fried dough.As there was a bit of sauce on them, I tried to use my knife and fork.  Yeah, forget it.  They were so perfectly fried, it was impossible to cut them without crushing them, which would be criminal.  So I broke down and used my hands. The beer really did compliment them well. Once the brewery rep showed up, right before the third course, he explained that Dark Horse used fair trade, shade grown coffee and had it roasted at a local coffee roaster. It was a good first beer of the morning.
Second Course - Dark Horse One Oatmeal Stout paired with steel cut oats w/house butter, brown sugar and tarragon	The second course might have been my favorite (although I loved everything, really, I was overwhelmed by how fabulous every pairing was) because of it’s simplicity.  Oh, also because you can pretend steel cut oats are healthy. It was funny to hear the chef describe his pairings.  He was incredibly charming. He mentioned that the butter was house-made and then said something about the not being that big of a deal.  Then he went on to give directions on how to make homemade butter and a prank they play on new kitchen workers where they have them put the cream in a food processor, send them off on another task and watch the worker come back and be confused as to who put the butter in their cream in the food processor.  Very cute. I was skeptical that the tarragon would work well with this dish, but it did  When we have steel cut oats at home, we use buttermilk and brown sugar.  If I’m feeling really decadent, I add dried fruit (usually cranberries, but sometimes cherries, acai, blueberries, or whatnot) and pecans or walnuts.  When I’m really lazy, I’ve just added some trail mix (Trader Joe’s Omega Trail Mix is pretty good for this).  Oh, and sometimes we add fresh ground flax seed to the oats. So the taste of these steel cut oats was so light and clean.  I loved it.  I know, I’m getting all misty about stupid oats but it’s good to find pleasure in simple things. Halfway through this course I realized I was half in the bag already.  I think it was about this time that the chef came out to explain the course (he came out after people were eating each course as he was busy plating in the back) and he had this bit of wisdom: You can’t drink all day unless you start in the morning. What a wise man!
Third Course - a blend of Dark Horse Too Cream Stout and Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout with blueberry ricotta cheese with stout syrup	The third course was a very close second favorite.  They were ricotta (pronounced rigott if you’re Italian) blueberry pancakes.  They were so incredibly creamy it was hard to believe they were solid pancakes. The chef explained that he had reduced a gallon of stout to about 1/2 cup and added it to the syrup.  That was some damn good syrup. Again, we have pancakes at home, but we make them healthy.  They’re made with whole wheat flour and we add fresh ground flax seeds and fresh ground chia seeds and wheat bran.  They are so healthy, and they really do taste good, but it’s not like eating a regular pancake.  So, it’s such a treat to eat more traditional versions of these foods.  And this was so far better than traditional. The beer was a blending of two Dark Horse beers made to tone down the blueberry (which is Dark Horse’s best seller.  I mean, if a beer is your best seller, maybe it’s good just the way it is).  It was funny that the chef and the Dark Horse rep were almost apologetic about having used a blueberry stout. I like blueberry beer.  My favorite Fatheads beer is the bumbleberry (blueberry).  It’s excellent.   Why apologize for your product (unless it’s defective and harmful).  Is there a known carcinogen in the beer?  Are you using substandard ingredients? Don’t put down the blueberry.  The blend was really nice, but now I need to go find the blueberry to try it.
Fourth Course - Dark Horse Fore Smoked Stout paired with pastrami and applewood smoked bacon hash with a poached egg	A very interesting thing that the Dark Horse rep told us was that the beer we were served had been purchased 3 years prior and stored by the Beer Engine.  So we had lovely aged beers for this breakfast.  What a treat.  And the beers were truly lovely.  I need to find out where they sell Dark Horse beers in Cleveland. Another cool thing the rep said was that Dark Horse is a 7 barrel brew house but they produce 5000 batches each year. That’s a lot of brewing. Also, he said that they go crazy doing everything in-house with a very small staff. For instance, the fourth course included a smoked stout.  He said that most breweries use peat for their smoked beers, it’s cheaper to buy than to make, but that Dark Horse prefers hardwood smoke. So, one of the employees, his job was to smoke the malt.  That’s all this guy did for a month and a half was stand out back and smoke the malt. The food was a smoked pastrami which was then put through a meat grinder with bacon and potatoes to make the hash.  It was topped with a poached egg.  The only thing I would have done differently was leave the yoke runny so that it could run over the hash. I wanted to lick the plate here. I really had to think about how gauche it would be if I did. I rarely allow myself to eat these kinds of foods, at least, not all together.  I certainly can’t deny myself the beauty that is bacon, but I eat it in small quantities, infrequently. But I savor it when I do indulge.
Fifth Course - Dark Horse Plead the 5th Imperial Stout paired with house made sage breakfast sausage with spaetzle and eggs	The fifth course made me sad because that meant the meal was coming to a close. The Plead the 5th was a strong, heavy beer.  12% alcohol.  It was good this was the last beer; it would’ve been too heavy any earlier. Now, spaetzle doesn’t seem like it would go with eggs but let me assure you that after eating it, I know that this is how spaetzle is meant to be eaten. The spaetzle was cut into strips.  The eggs were scrambled but not dry and there was some cheese involved. The only complaint I have in this whole breakfast was the sausage in this dish.  I am not very fond of sage, particularly in my breakfast sausage.  I prefer an apple pecan type of breakfast sausage.  Sage just kind of smacks me right in the face.  And this sausage had a lot of sage. I mean, I still ate it.  But, given the choice, I would’ve had a differently seasoned sausage.
Dark Horse keychains, hard to tell but one's silver and one's black	During the fifth course, the chef recommended that we don’t go home right away.  He strongly suggested that we stick around the bar for the next couple hours, drinking of course, then go home to take a nap.  Then, we should wake up with a slight hangover so we will need to start drinking again. I like that chef. There were Dark Horse glasses, but the beer engine didn’t order enough so they saved them for the beer trivia thing they were having a few hours later.  They did have these keychains. Every key ring should have a bottle opener.  How else can one drink and drive? (I’m sooo joking.  I really don’t recommend drinking and driving). Several people were going upstairs to the bar between courses to get more beer.
Bell's	I didn’t do that, but, being the obedient girl I am, I did stick around at the bar and order another beer. I actually was hoping that they would have Founders Breakfast Stout.  But they didn’t They did have Bell’s amber cask ale. So I ordered one. It was room temperature, because it was delivered through the beer engine. I thought that beer engine was just a name, but it’s a thing.  It’s like a pump.  The line’s not pressurized.  I don’t know exactly what makes it special, maybe I have the whole description wrong, but I have a picture of it.
the actual beer engine	I only stayed for one more beer, I had other things to do.  But we did order a growler so that we could somewhat follow the chef’s recommendation.  I didn’t go home to take a nap, I had other obligations.  But after my other obligations, I sat down, watched the TIVO’d Browns game (like I needed to watch the Steelers hand them their asses) and drank the growler full of Beer Engine Saison de Maison. It was a nice beer.  Relatively light and smooth.
the boot, 2 L of beer-y goodness	The picture to the left is The Boot.  This coming Saturday, the Beer Engine is going to sell boots full of beer.  The boots are 2 L.  I forget how much they cost. The glasses next to the boot, I have two of those.  They were $12 each.  They are 1 liter and were full of the Octoberfest beer of your choice (from a select list).  I chose Bell’s Oberon. The 1 L glass was hard to finish.  The boot just dwarfs it.  I would need to bring 3 friends to finish that.  I mean, I’d give it hell (trying to finish it myself) but I would need to be carried out and taken immediately to a hospital for alcohol poisoning.
Hobgoblin "glass"	My husband didn’t ordered the Hobgoblin.  It came with the lovely glass I have pictured to the left. It’s incredible.  And a perfect Halloween decoration.  It’s on my mantel with the papier mache pumpkins we painted. What an incredible morning. The Beer Engine is having another breakfast this coming Sunday with Founders beers.  I just can’t go.  Too many calories.  Oh, but I want to do it. Tonight, Monday the 18th, the Beer Engine had a Unibroue tasting.
Buckeye Beer Engine Growler - smaller and more expensive to fill than a Fathead's growler	4 Unibroue beer samples with four glasses for $14. At the breakfast, we were told that the Beer Engine had only purchased 40 sets of the glasses. So, with permission, I stopped on my way home to try and get the glasses (I’m amassing quite a collection). I was lucky enough that I got 3 of the 4 Unibroue glasses, but I had to pick an alternate glass (they gave me 3 to chose from). The beers were good, I’ve had them all before. The promotional materials say that it was Blanche de Chambly, Trois Pistoles, Maudite, and La Terrible.  However the bartender said that it was La Fin du Monde not Blanche de Chambly. The glasses were the four listed, but by 4:15 pm, when I got there, they were already out of the Blanche de Chambly glass.  I chose a Hennepin glass instead.  It’s pretty.
Unibroue tasting - La Fin Du Monde, Maudite, Trois Pistoles, and La Terrible	My liver is going to take a few days to recover. Unfortunately for my liver, I have a whole beer crawl planned for tomorrow night. More beer, more glasses, more hazy memories. Life is good. As much as I’d like to celebrate every day and night of beer week, my liver and my wallet cannot manage it. But tomorrow, I will give it hell! And this weekend, I hope that the Ohio Craft Brewer 12 pack is available.  I think Santa will be putting it in someone’s stocking.  And while I’m doing this bit of Christmas shopping, I’m hoping to find some Dogfish Head Punkin ale, Founder’s breakfast stout, and maybe a nice lambic for myself.



Victory at Last

First, let me say, this has been sitting in the draft folder for ages.  I just finally decided to add the pictures and publish it.

 

According to an Indigo Imp Facebook post, the limited edition Small Batch Sample Pack that I was so coveting was sold out, my husband found one at Simone’s Beverage (in Lakewood).

Honestly, I’m a little pissed.  I looked for the damned thing several times (including at Simone’s) and came back defeated (but not empty-handed.  There’s no way I’m returning from a beer run without some sort of beer). But I wasn’t pissed enough to abstain from drinking from the sampler.

We’ll start with the Candyman.  It’s nice.  I’m not sophisticated enough to say it has hints of whatever with undertones of whatever.  Really, I wish I was.  I’m getting older, but I never seem to get any more sophisticated.

Next we tried Firebrand.  We’re drinking it with an orange slice. Actually, we drank them all with orange slices. I can tell you that it’s a little more bitter than I would prefer.  But it was my favorite.

Devil’s Wit reminds me a bit of Stella Artois.  I really am not a fan of Stella Artois. But, to each his own.  It’s not bad, just not my taste.

I’m glad I got to try them all.  None of them make me as happy as Blonde Bombshell. But really, I would’ve been very sad if I didn’t get to try these.  I’m like a child, I must try!And really, the Blonde Bombshell set the bar sooooo high, it would be really silly of me to expect anything to surpass that.