New Kittens & Random Stuff

I haven't posted a ton lately, life has been extremely busy.  Work, working out, cooking, and Marina's school keep us extremely busy.  Couple that with taking a bunch of trips to the Boston area, leaves me with little time to blog.  So for this post, I decided to pull some shots out of my iPhone and post them.  

I was in Boston last weekend at my parents, and they recently acquired two new cats.  Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye are the names of the two brothers.  They are so cute and frisky.  Very friendly cats, I totally am smitten by them.

Marvin (left) and Otis (right)

Otis on my lap watching our Yorkiepoo Rosie

Marina is not a HUGE cat person, but I can tell she likes these two

Frisky devil

Marvin and me enjoying coffee and NCAA tournament

Marina and I checked out a local sushi restaurant.  Osaka Japan Northampton.  Prices are quite fair and I had the sashimi lunch special with a buddha roll, we will be back.

Obligatory beer picture.  Fantome Hiver.  Good, but not worth $17.

Tonight, I picked up a bottle of Pretty Things Fluffy White Rabbits.  A hoppy tripel that clocks in at 8.5% ABV.  I really like this beer, it has a great creamy mouthfeel and a hoppy finish.  Very unique.  #1 seed Indiana currently losing dramatically to Syracuse. 

Beer Review: Stone Enjoy By 4-1-13

I was not able to find the last Stone "Enjoy By" IPA beer, and set out to ensure I was able to try this edition.  I was at a local Whole Foods and saw a bunch of bottles and was quick to grab one. I enjoyed that first bottle very much, but the next day I returned to purchase a few more and of course they were gone.  Luckily, I was in Amherst, MA later that week and Russell's Liquors had a good number of bottles on the floor.  Unfortunately my inner Jew did not allow me to buy more than one bottle at $8.45, because the first bottle was $7.49 at Whole Foods.  Either way, awesome beer!

Heavy Tweed Jacket's Magnum Opus on Striped Shirts

Heavy Tweed Jacket is one of my favorite blogs, he focuses on Trad - Classic Traditional American clothing, but curiously is a resident of Japan.  I suppose that is not all that curious, considering how many great trad pieces that I list on eBay end up being shipped to Japan!

Recently he posted an incredible article on the various striped shirts that are available.  I have to admit, this helped clarify the difference between some terms such as "pinstripe" "candy stripe" and "university stripe" although if there is one thing that this article taught me it is that we need not follow a prescription with labeling the type of stripes on these shirts.

Check out the article: HTJ Archives: Shirts of Every Stripe

Trips to Night Shift Brewing and Mystic Brewery's Tasting Room

Having spent the last two weekends in Boston, I felt it was necessary to swing by the local breweries and pick up some libations.  It happened to come to pass that Mystic Brewery was opening it's Tasting Room the weekend before the one that passed, and as a fan of their beers, it was a no brainer for me to swing by.  The night before, I picked up a small 355 ml bottle of Saison Renaud, to whet my whistle.

A Saison, brewed with pilsner yeast, it was a very crisp saison and infinitely drinkable.  Still enough funky Belgian essence to be complex.  A great entry level beer.

The next morning I made it out to Chelsea by 12:30 and there was a small crowd gathered in the tasting room.  We did not have a ton of time to spare, but as I checked out the board, I quickly settled on one choice.

A 32 oz "growlette" or Boston Round of Flor Ventus, an American Wild, made with flowers.  Quite a tasty wild, and apparently it sold out within 2 hours.  Certainly a bargain at $10/32oz.  As a note, I felt that Mystic's beer prices were EXTREMELY fair, and the fact that they allowed 32 oz fills for half of the price of the full 64 oz fill was awesome.

Next I traveled onto Everett and popped into Night Shift Brewing, it is fairly inconveniently located in a small industrial area.  There is not much parking, but I had Marina sit in the car while I ran in and grabbed a 32 oz growler of Night Shift's Viva Habanera.  I really enjoyed this rye beer brewed with Habanero peppers.

I enjoyed both of these beers and the experience so much, I made sure that I made another trip this past weekend.  During the week, I was reading reviews of the event and I came across something from the Beer Nut.  Although I was only there for a few minutes, my beautiful wife Marina was captured in a photograph.  

There she is in the black jacket at the bar.  I am behind the bearded fellow.

Anyways, as I mentioned above, I decided to refill both growlers.  From Mystic, I chose the An Dreoilin Saison, and it was fantastic.

From Night Shift, I chose the Somer Weisse, a lemon ginger Berliner Weisse. Clocking in at 5.2% ABV it was much more of a standard American Wild, either way it was quite delicious and I polished it off rather quickly.

My Favorite Merino Wool Pieces: Ibex, Smartwool, Icebreaker

I am a huge fan of merino wool.  It is warm, soft, comfortable, and stylish.  Not only that, but it is environmentally friendly! Only downside is the relatively high cost.  I think all considered it is worth it, especially if you are careful to shop during sale times!

First item is my Smartwool, gray stripe s/s 

This is a great, versatile piece and I am very happy with it, need to get more short sleeves for the slightly warmer months.

Ibex Zepher Zip - Ibex' thickest base layer.  Very soft! pretty warm and stylish, although it is a little bit big for me as it is a size large.  Certainly not a deal breaker.  Purchased on Black Friday from the Ibex store on Newbury St, Boston.

Icebreaker Mondo Zip Tee - Bright red, a favorite of my wife.  A very slim fitting piece, I think this has to do with the provenance of Icebreaker, people not from North America are just smaller!

Ibex Woolies - Thinner than the Zepher and more appropriate for wearing as a layering piece.  I like the black and white stripe design.  This is also the piece I sleep in most often!

Ibex Shak - given to me by my wife, its one of ATL Essential: Winter Edition because it is such a great piece!  Much thicker, not a base layer in any but the most outlandish locations.  This is an amazing mid layer and can even be worn as an outer layer on milder days.  I tend to pair this with my Smartwool short sleeve.

I sometimes wear synthetics too. Patagonia Capilene 3 and a Regulator Zip fleece mid layer.   Not as warm and tend to get stinky, but I got them awhile ago.

Beer Review: Captain Lawrence Hops n' Roses

On a recent trip down to Westchester County, New York, north of the city, I was able to stop into the Captain Lawrence Brewery in Elmsford, NY.  Had a short chat with the guy manning the bar/growler filling station.  I didn't see any of the beers on tap that I needed a full growler of, but I was intrigued by the little 12 oz bottle with the cool label on the shelf behind him.  He gave me a quick run down of the beer and I was sold.  The price tag was a little bit of sticker shock at $15, and I thought about how I might be better off with something from Drie Fonteinen, but whatever, I had made a lot of money that day!

Got around to drinking it the other day, and it was the only beer of the night.  I cut up some cheeses that I had lying around to cleanse the palate between sips.  I was extremely impressed with the artwork on the bottle as you can see its very psychedelic and colorful.

The beer pours out looking like a kriek, which is odd.  I was a little surprised, albeit pleasantly, because of how pretty the tangeriney/red beer looked.  Minimal head and lacing, looks very well carbonated.

I much prefered the smell of this beer to the taste, although that does seem to be the standard response at online beer review site: BeerAdvocate. The fruit/flowery smell was absolutely fantastic, and I could send the barnyard funk present.  I enjoyed the taste of the beer, but it was definitely closer to a wild than a sour.  There was certainly a bit of a sour tinge, but not enough to satisfy my cravings for a really sour beer.  I did get a bit of the "Roses" portion of the beer although the "Hops" left something to be desired.  I am not a fan of Guns n' Roses, but Hops n' Roses, definitely delivered.

B+