Michigan Brews

On our hike up in New Hampshire, I mentioned that my uncle brought me some beers out from Michigan.  I sent him on the way with some Jack's Abby Lager and Mystic Saison.  None of these beers are particularly mind-blowing, just solid craft brew.  Below are them in reverse of order of what I liked best.

Bell's Brewing - Amber Ale:  My uncle said that this beer is as ubiquitous in Michigan as Harpoon IPA is in Boston.  I can see why, it is definitely a solid amber ale, great for outdoors and everything else.  With that said, there are many other better Bell's beers (almost all of them).  This bottle was also not particularly fresh, too bad.

Short's Brewing - Pontius Road Pilsner - Another decent beer from a well respected brewery.  They have actually distributed in MA from time to time, but they are known for making all manner of oddball beer.  This beer is actually a pretty straight forward pilsner, definitely an upgrade from the yellow fizzy stuff, but nothing mind blowing.

Founders - Dirty Bastard - Founders is a brewery that is actually 100% available in MA.  I have had this beer before and it did not disappoint, high ABV at 8.5%, this scotch ale is great for the fall/winter.

Bells - Two Hearted Ale IPA - Bell's most famous offering is their IPA.  It is absolutely fantastic, and this bottle was pretty fresh, so it had that great hop character I desire!  If this were available in cans 365 days a year, I could consider an exclusive relationship...

Hike: Mt. Martha, New Hampshire - Twin Mountain, NH

This past weekend my wife and I went up to New Hampshire and stayed at a condo in Lincoln, NH with my uncle, aunt, and my parents.  It was a great weekend, good food, good beer, football, and hiking.  I couldn't really ask for much more.  I haven't done much hiking since Mount Washington in the winter, but I always love it.

We hiked Mount Martha, which is located in Twin Mountain, NH.  It's off Rt. 3 up over the Franconia Notch and is a 40 minute drive from Lincoln.  The hike is extremely reasonable, although you certainly do get a full workout.  I feel bad that we did not take Martha's mile over to Owl's Head, but would certainly consider it in future hikes.

After the hike, we watched the Patriots handle business against Peyton Manning and the Broncos.  We enjoyed a beautiful pot roast dinner that my father and uncle collaborated on.  Delicious.  Washed it down with some great beers that my uncle brought me from Michigan.

Craft Beer: 4 Packs >>>

Ahhhhh the 6 pack, a lofty goal to many fitness enthusiasts and a man's best friend to many others.  The Beer Nut is a local blogger, based out of the Worcester, MA area.  He talks all things craft beer, and I frankly almost always agree with both his tastes and his points of view regarding the industry.  Recently, he posted about his gripes regarding 6 pack pricing.  I tend to agree with this view.  It is neither a large enough quantity to warrant a significant discount or a small enough quantity to warrant the increased price.  Unfortunately, it is the most popular distribution model for craft beer.

I tend to prefer purchasing single bottles or 22oz "bombers" when I only want to try something.  That way, I don't get stuck with 5 bottles of beer that are mediocre.  If I want to pick up something for sessions, I am probably going to go with a craft beer that is available in 12 packs, which offer significant savings for a small quantity increase.  Great for a long weekend, and not so many beers that you are inundated with beer, like with a case of four 6 packs.

However, my personal favorite is the four pack.  It is a large enough quantity that you are able to sample a beer multiple times, but not a commitment to six.  I typically only have one or two beers a night, so this is an appropriate amount for me to sample over several days or even weeks.  I understand that I will be facing a premium, but for the beers that typically come in four packs, which are made with often better or more ingredients and resulting higher gravity, the value is there.  There are tons of $10 six packs that I am not interested in, in the slightest, while a $10 4 pack means just $2.50 for each great beer.  It is the superior distribution model.

I always love the Sixpoint 4 packs, recently picked up several Green Flash 4 packs, and another favorite New England Brewing Ghandi Bot comes in 4 packs, when you can find it.  Let's support this movement with our wallets!

Momentum

Steve Kamb, the fantastic blogger and world-traveler behind Nerd Fitness, posted an article yesterday that really hit home with me. Titled "The Mario Kart Guide to Momentum," Steve talks about how lately he has been slacking on strength training.  I can relate to that, as I have recently moved, continued studying for my CFA, helped house and cat sit for 2 weeks, and my gym membership expired.  In addition to that, my eBay business has been doing quite well, all on top of my normal hectic work schedule!

For all that, I have continued to stay on track with my diet and eating habits, as the article says, this is the equivalent of capturing coins.  Diet is responsible for 80-90% of your weight loss/gain, and like getting the coins consistently, it will get you most of the way there.  However, to really get an edge, you need to hit the boxes and powerups, which he considers strength training.  I have been trying to stay active by walking and being on my feet on the weekends, but that's really just like grabbing coins, or leaving banana peels (maintaining).  I need to get back to my strength training routine to build muscle and burn up some extra calories.

I totally recommend you check out Nerd Fitness, as it is a great site, and this article in particular showcases the tone and content of the blog.  My wife and I are also huge fans of Mario Kart, particularly the N64 and Wii versions!

Although I have been keeping up with my mostly paleo diet, my notable exception is good craft beer.

Green Flash Le Freak: a little heavy for a Belgian IPA at 9.2% ABV.  Excellent beer, but a little too much for a weekday.

Green Flash Friendship Brew with St. Feullien: Interesting "Black Saison" seems a little hot, could maybe use a few more months of age.  Don't know if it will last that long though!

Sixpoint Brownstone: Hoppy brown ale, fantastic beer.  Good deal at $10/4pk

PICKUPS: Hermes & Vineyard Vines Ties

Although I never wear ties, I love picking them up.  I hope to be able to transition out of the back office world of ill-fitting polos fairly soon, but who knows.  While I see good deals, I have to pick them up!

Many of my items come from thrift stores and eBay, I simply can't afford retail for the type of stuff I like. In addition, I am a member of several forums in which the members post their recent finds.  There is a number of sales and trades behind the scenes via private message as well, and I tend to partake if I spot something I like, and the price is reasonable. 

Both of these ties came from such transactions.  The first is a wonderful Hermes from a thrift store in Colorado.  A forum acquaintance sold this to me for the reasonable sum of $50.  This is the most I have ever spent on a tie, but I really like the graphics, and Hermes ties tend to retain their value.  I would have preferred navy blue, but this forest/army green is quiet pleasant as well.  This tie is in absolutely MINT condition as well.

 

The second tie came from another forum acquaintance located in the Chicago area.  It is a Vineyard Vines tie, which I mentioned as one of my summer favorites in a recent article.  It features a lovely bee graphic in a beautiful aqua color. A great tie!

Moving...Again

I have been fairly quiet over the past month, and I apologize for my absence.  I have been extremely busy in my private life, and both my eBay business and blogs have suffered.

There are a bunch of reasons.  Most importantly, I moved from Enfield, CT to South Hadley, MA.  We moved because it is closer to my wife's school and it is much cheaper than the location where we were before.  In addition, it is quiet, in a great town, a different apartment.  Hardwood floors, a large living room and kitchen are the benefits, while a small bathroom, smaller kitchen and old neighbors the downside.  Second, I have been studying hard for my CFA exam that will be coming up in December.  It requires a ton of hours on a daily basis, and both my healthy routine and the rest of my life has suffered.  It should pay off in the end.  Finally, work has been busy, so some of my spare time for blogging has dried up. 

Moving was a pretty fun experience.  Two of my good friends came, and although it was a rainy day, we were able to move all of the big furniture.  It's great exercise as you are carrying, coming up and down stairs, and working as a team.  I consider it extremely paleo style excercise, because it is quite primal in nature.  It is remniscient of a barn-raising, as you get a group of people together doing physical activity for the good of one of your community members.  I am definitely indebted to both of my friends!

I have drank a ton of great beers lately, although I have tried to keep that to just the weekend.  My weight loss and body building have been at a moderate standstill, but I don't think I am gaining anything back.  I will continue to try and make progress and meet my goal of 190lbs by the end of the year