well, crap

 Geez, that didn't last long...

Broken Foot and a return to keeping a blog.

It's been quite a while since I was blogging on this platform. It looks as if I am now the brotherhood. I am a society unto myself. Many of the people who were active in this blog have either moved away or have simply moved on.

The main reason I wanted to pick this back up was because I've broken my foot, and I wanted to begin keeping track of my life and my thoughts. I also wanted a pretty safe place to write, so here we are.

Last night I stopped taking pain medicine around 7 PM. Up until that point, I had been taking a percocet every 4 hours for pain. (I broke my foot and I've had surgery to correct it.) Around midnight I woke up with what felt like swollen extremities and a fire like pain in my foot that just wouldn't quite. My nurse had suggested I wait till my pain got around a level 4, but she was not suggesting I start that process as soon as I did. I wanted to see how bad the pain was, so I cut myself off for about 6+ hours, and quickly realized I was not ready to ween myself off the pain meds just yet.

So, this is it. I'm going to start keeping a blog, and it won't necessarily be about beer. Just about me now.

Tommy Knocker - Butt Head Bock Lager

2 Monks out of 10

This is my third Butt Head, (not all at once) and it is somewhat of a disappointment.  I've not had many of the Tommyknocker brews but I've noticed that they've recently reworked their packaging.  Before you had an almost Mother Goose illustration of a bunch of gnomes or  "tommyknockers" playing around a mine.  They have since ditched that, and have created a fresher, hipper look.  A somewhat distressed background of a muted forest green type of color, & on the bottom of the bottle we have a mountain scape in an iron ore kind of red, with a stylized Tommyknocker staring us down with a big mustachioed grin.  I think its an improvement, but I was always partial to Mother Goose, so there is a part of me that will miss the old design.  However, I won't be missing it too much, because this is probably the last Butt Head I'm gonna try.  It pours a kind of dirty brownish red color, and creates a small head when poured.  A high gravity beer at 8.2% and the IBU is conveniently listed on the front of the bottle as well at 33.  We need to have a sour unit measurement, because this lager leaves a slightly sour taste on my tongue.  Some slight chocolate undertones as well, but nothing as overpowering as the overall disappointing taste it leaves me with.  I'm hoping that the other beers in this gathering are better.  I've struck out the last two times I've bought something new.   It is not absolutely  undrinkable, but I won't be drinking it again.

LA 31 Biere Noire

This my fellow onions was and is a strange and mysterious brew.  Being generally open minded, especially when speaking of spirits, I decided to give this particular beer a solid shot at glorifying my gullet.  I found this at Bruno's on 31 in Hoover, AL.  Not to be confused with the now famous 31 in Louisiana.  I'm not really sure why the reference to, what seems to me to be, an ambiguous road in cajun country.  It's very possible that it is the same 31 that runs through Alabama.  But, that is a meaningless question, and certainly not the one that we are here to discuss.  Our question, first and foremost is...how good is this strange and mysterious brew.  I've got a mixed touch about this particular beer.  There is almost no information about it on the internet.  No ABV is listed anywhere that I can find, and the one I'm drinking right not leaves me with a bit of a sour after taste.  It pours out a very dark brown, and the head seems to rise up and fill the room, no matter how carefully you pour it.  The silking seems to hang around and cling to the glass, which, I should like to think, is a good indication that I'm in for a tasty delight.  The first one I had the other night gave me the same bad impression that this one is leaving me with.  I did have one in between these two dismal disappointments, that I rather enjoyed.  Mind you, it was not one after the other.  In fact it was a single beer a single night.  The second beer I had from this pack had hints of coffe and chocolate and was quite a winner.  I was hoping that it was supposed to be decanted, so I carefully poured and left bit of an unfiltered swallow in the bottle.  Well, it didn't help, but I do think I see some debris down in the bottom. I'm not sure if this wasn't a bad batch.  I'm not satisfied with the 3rd one.  It seems to sit unusually heavy, and there is a bit of a bitter bite to this ale.  As I said before, the ABV is unknown, but I'm going to assume it's a high content beer, because every time I have one, I start to hear the familiar ol' hum in the amplifiers.  Lazy Magnolia distributes this beer and that could be the biggest disappointment within this whole endeavor.  LM typically has a great selection, however, the only thing that tell me Lazy is the distributor label.  I've got one more, and I'm hoping it's better than this one, but so far this has been a quite disappointment.  If I'm grading this on a 10 monastic monk system, then I'm giving LA 31 a 2.  So this might be second only to the infamous "Estrella Dam" way back when we started this whole endeavor.  Adios Amigos, I'm holding my nose and sucking it down!

Religion, Violence, History and the Old Testament

• The story of Jeptha is descriptive, not necessarily prescriptive.
• The Old Testement stands in contrast with a Greek perspective.
• Bible doesn't promote a lazy attitude toward the world

Checking out the "Center for Public Christianity". Listen to the MP3.

Birra Moretti's La Rossa!

Let me give out this disclaimer.  I'm really thirsty.  I just got finished putting trim down in my old sanctuary, and I was parched beyond patristic levels of acceptability!  So now that I've got that out of the way, I can honestly say that I'm loving La Rossa as if it were my own Rose!  A sturdy amber color and great lacing, the beer makes me salivate like a sailor stepping onto dry ground in a meat market.  This is a double bock, and one of the more enjoyable ones at that.  7.2% ABV isn't too high for my tastes.  As many here at the Red Onion have noticed 6 or 7% is a great sweet spot for beer.  This one is a little malty, but I wouldn't expect anything else from a dobblebock!  Worth a shot, and you can find it a most Publix Grocery stores, so Moretti is waiting for you right around the corner.  7.2 Monks and it's growing on me!

Dad's Little Helper Black IPA

Dad's Little Helper from Rogue made me want to break out all my neck ties and sing a song and dance.  One of the best black IPA's I've ever had.  It's only the 2nd and the first was a growler from a home brew kit, so there.  It's delicious.  Worth driving to Kellyton Alabama to get this mean double deuce.  Thanks Dunkelstien!

O'Fallon's Black Hemp

Nothing about this that struck me as being overwhelmingly impressive.  Too many samplers that night, that is for sure.  Seemed like it had a bad aftertaste.  All I know is that when I tried to do a Christian deed and I offered to finish my Monastery brothers Black Hemp in exchange for a Samuel Smith, he graciously took me up on the offer and O'Fallon fell back into my hands.  Probably won't get this again.  3 Monks out of 10.

Old Engine Oil Black Ale

Greetings and salutations from Mustachio! Dunkelstein and I are trying out this porter. The label says "Viscous-Cholatey-Roasty". It's defiantly roasty and bitter. It's not quite as chocolaty as I would like, but it's a pretty good porter. Not what I was expecting. Chicory is the words that Dunkelstein is using to describe this beer. Neither he nor I are thoroughly impressed with it. Don't get me wrong. It's pretty good. 6% ABV and a nice silky head I'll give this one 6 Monks.

Orval Trappist Ale

Orval isn't happening for me. It's got a great head, and a silk that lasts. Pouring a rich brown with a pale head the taste leaves something to be desired. Too much carbonation, and a kind of champaigny taste. Not the best Trappist beer I've had. I don't think I'll ever get this again. 4 monks.