Category: Monthly Features

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Doctor Who & A Beer

Doctor Who is back! So is David Tennant. Not as the 10th Doctor but the 14th.

And I have just the beer for watching the three specials and then the Christmas Day appearance of the 15th Doctor, Space Time Sipper DDH IPA a collaboration between Tarantula Hill and Casa Agria.

“With an extraordinary hop lineup including Mosaic, Citra, Cryo 586, Simcoe, and Riwaka, this brew is crafted for the ultimate cosmic experience. It’s like sipping on a starlit dream, with the first dry hop showcasing Cryo 586, Citra, and Riwaka, and the second stage burn featuring an intergalactic blend of Nectaron, Simcoe, and Mosaic.”

For a deeper cut, Urban Roots has a barrel-aged beer by the name of Demon’s Run that has brandy barrels in its pedigree. An only viewers and River Song know where the brandy is hidden on the Tardis.

Need another L.A. suggestion? Benny Boy Brewing has a new bourbon barrel-aged Cherry cider coming December 10th, named Madame Ruby. And the new Doctor’s companion is named, Ruby Sunday.

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Sports & A Beer – Trade Demands

As a lifelong Trailblazer fan, this summer of trades has been bittersweet.  Not seeing Damian Lillard in the red and black is weird.  But what is weirder are the trade demands being made.

I love Lillard but telling Portland that he wanted ONLY to go to Miami felt a little hostage-y.  And I wasn’t the only one to think so as the NBA head office fined him and his agent over it.  But Lillard was an absolute angel in comparison to James Harden who is toxic enough that the 76ers didn’t even want him on a team flight and had security bar him from the plane before pawning him to his third team in three years, the Clippers.

I am way more pro player than pro ownership but a player can’t point and expect to go.  Unless.  The preferred team is willing to actually negotiate in good faith.  Now that we have both had a good laugh, here is what should be done by the player.  Let the team you want to leave know that you have a preferred destination but also give them other less liked but OK landing spots.  My guess is that the reception will be a lot better when not demanding with a capital D.  And the fact that there is a list will incentivize team 1 to deal since other teams are in the running.

Trades can be good or bad.  Try to make them better people.

For beer, I would suggest a fun game.  Bring three separate beers from your ‘fridge and see what you can trade for from a beer loving friends stash.  You can even ask for a beer to be named later.  See who ends up with what and who thinks they won.  See if being super extra demanding works to your benefit.

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A Podcast & A Beer – Patented

Most of my podcast recommendations are of new or ongoing series.  Patented is the first one where I found it just as it was wrapping up its run.  Part of the History Hit family of historical podcast, this one was ostensibly about inventions but it was really more about pivotal items or thoughts.

You could get a history of fish & chips and then a show about the patriarchy then one about the thermos.  Wide ranging stuff for sure.  Hosted by Dallas Campbell the show had fascinating tidbits of knowledge though at times the pacing could have sped up.

I would say that you just glance at each topic and see which ones grab you that day and see what you learn.

For beer, I would look for, if you are in Los Angeles, beers from Trademark Brewing in Long Beach since it is the closest to a patent that I could find. For those not near enough, I would look for historical styles and then learn about the twists and turns for that style, or find a flagship beer from a local brewery and learn how that beer, that recipe, came to be.

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Needed or Not? – Beer n Brats chips

Limited time potato chip varietals will never stop.  I like to imagine that there are tubes filled with ten spices and to make a new flavor, in this case, Lays Chip Researchers just re-mixe the spices in different amounts and orders to come up with one that resembles Beer flavor and sausage flavor.  

But why? Are they really selling enough of these to justify the new packaging and clip art? I have the same reaction to Chicken and waffles chips too.

NOT needed. Just get a beer, then sausage then add in chips on the side. Or at least Lays should stick to just Brat flavored.

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A Book & A Beer – The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

Vaster Wilds is in a word, harrowing. Author Lauren Groff has written a colonial era adventure that will leave you knowing for sure that we are really soft here in 2023.

We follow Lamentation Callat or as she is mostly called Zed or just a servant girl following her escape from a settlement that has fallen apart due to hunger and unpreparedness for this new world.

The narrative is her journey away from that horror interspersed with the journey from orphanage during a plague to America which is better but not great. Her mistress calls her the same name as a beloved former dog.

Hunting for food. Dodging men. Trying to stay warm. Staying alive in the wild. Each page makes you want her to find a nice warm abandoned cabin filled with food and clean clothes. But this wisp of a girl is strong.

I will avoid further description to stay clear of spoilers but this is a churn your stomach read that would have been good for Halloween. The last seventy pages flew by with great speed.

To drink, I would go rustic. Rustic pilsners seem to be a growing trend. Or a rustic saison. If neither are on shelves look for something unfiltered to approximate the types of water found in the forest and streams. A third choice would be something from the Bear Republic Brewing portfolio for reasons I cannot divulge.

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The Firkin for October 2023

America has a sweet tooth. And boy, howdy, it is a big one. That craving for sugar is well ensconced in craft beer just like the rest of the U.S. foodways.

Yes, I am calling for at least a moratorium on the hyper sweetened beers. As I have said before and will say again, creativity and boundary pushing is fantastic but we have reached the boundary and it is time to proceed in a new direction.

I am hoping that a new path is already being charted by intrepid brewers and breweries and it will only be a matter of time before that path becomes a clear trend.

But in the meantime, let’s pause it with pancake stouts, stop the sugary seltzers, cancel cacao coffee and eliminate excess eclair beers. We get it. Or at least I do. I want to see what else you can brew.

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Sports & A Beer – College Football Realignment

College football has a great product and loyal tailgatin’ fans but boy do the people in charge seem intent on not being content raking in cash hand over fist.

TV deals have created strange looking for literally greener grass dynamic as teams bolt one conference for another no matter how much air travel that means for the gymnastics or lacrosse teams.

The former Pac12 nee Pac10 is now just Cougars and Beavers. There are two “Big” conferences with more teams than games in a year. Supersized SEC and ACC and rivalries trampled into dust.

But there is a path out of the chaos. It starts with their being one TV deal that is evenly split with bonus money to individual teams that rank in the top 10 and those that make the playoffs. Further, at least half of your games have to be played in your time zone and each university will be required to retain at least one legacy rivalry game.

For example, the mighty Oregon State Beavers would have to play six games against West Coast opponents and their big game against the Ducks. That leaves six games against whomever would bring them closer to the top ten from a strength of schedule viewpoint.

For a beer you could go one of two ways. You can find a beer that has lost its way and find out what can be done to make the beer better or you dan give in to the football fat cats and find the most expensive, barrel-aged stout and cackle like a tycoon.

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Sean Suggests for October 2023

This month, gonna do breweries that have locations in Huntington Beach since I will be there for a brief weekend stay.

Green Cheek Pull’n Levers – 5.3% – “A New Zealand-Style Pils w/ Super Sauvin.”

Riip Beer Co. Pineapple Panacea – 7.3% – “hazy ipa with pineapple. straight from the “fountain of juice”, this elixir is certain to ease your mind and refresh your soul. healthy doses of  cascade.”

Beachwood Mocha Machine Picoso – 9.2% – “It’s our multi-award-winning Imperial Coffee Chocolate Porter roasted with coffee from Portola Coffee but with an added twist of Saigon cinnamon and spicy chilies.”

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A Podcast & A Beer – Strike Force Five

What happens when five late night hosts have no shows to do but want to help out their staffs? You get the rambling and often hilarious Strike Force Five.

There are three episodes that had me laughing uproariously. The game show with questions for the Late Night wives, the Jon Stewart episode and the Letterman episode. Not to say other episodes were lacking funny but for pure full funny hours, those are the ones to start with.

What beer to pair with funny? I do not stay up late, so I don’t have a midnight beer either.

Maybe what works best would be to go out and get a taster tray of five wildly different beers and put your headphones in and sip from each and then pick a favorite.