For April 29th! Well, maybe a week later….

Hello to the few who read (us, I mean)!

April 29th is our anniversary, but there was a whole lotta crap that’s been happening so we didn’t get to post. But we did do things! So I will regale you with some of our past happenings.

As some of you know, M has been working on vet school stuff while I’ve been working on med school stuff. IT FCKING SUCKS DONKEY PIG BALLS (OR MOIST FUNGAL CARPET). Anyway, besides the med school stuff, I’ve also been going back and forth to the hospital as my mother recently had surgery. Naturally, her stay at the hospital has made it a little difficult for M and I to see each other, given our still-basically-long-distance-relationship.

But this past week was our 3rd anniversary, and thugh we had nixed our original plans I felt that it was unfair to M. M has been incredibly patient with me for, maybe our whole relationship. She’s stood by me while I was in Pittsburgh, doesn’t judge me for being unemployed, and understands my relative absence. So to make it up to her I “surprised” her by visiting her in the evening of the 29th. (I tried to surprise her, but N sucks at not giving hints away).

And voila, I got to see her smile, we got to eat dinner at a nice place (i wanted a Po’ Boy but they changed the menu :'(), and I think overall she had a good time too. 🙂 If I have any advice to give to the person who feels like he/she is dating up, just remember to show your gratitude (for that matter, this should apply to anyone in the relationship). Don’t take your partner for granted and remember the hard times and the good times they stood by you. Thank them. Spoil them. Kiss them. (maybe NSFW them, if that’s your thing, and you’re consensual, and you guys are cool with that). Everybody deserves a surprise smile. 🙂

no mo’ mooshy stuff

Bell’s Java Stout

                   Ignore Jesus, hail Java!                             (Apologies to my Christian friends, I say ignore Jesus cuz in my room he’s sorta there for obligatory purposes and not cuz i want him there)

Visual: Dark black with a musky yet creamy, brown head. Head is robust and easily formed. Seriously, didn’t try too hard and i got that perfect head.

Smell: Java licorice. Sure, that sounds like a horrible candy, but in stout form y’gotta expect it. Smells like creamy, sweet java, the licorice is more subtly sweet (idk my coffee, so i hope that doesn’t turn people off)

Mouthfeel: Just viscous enough. Less than molasses, like watery maple syrup. Not as thick as its imperial cousins, but thick enough you feel the resistance on your tongue. Still swirls easily.

Taste: Java and licorice again! As expected, though the java easily takes over the experience from beginning to end. Small tinges of hops are present when the after taste subsides. Licorice sweetness leaves a sticky feeling like you’ve just drank some alcoholic syrup. The head defintely had the java flavor more pronounced.

Overall: 9/10. I love it. The java flavor is the main character without a doubt and the fact that it’s a stout just makes it seem like that mind-altering, drugged up coffee you’ve always wanted. Just thick enough to savor in the mouth without seeming like tar. Definitely prefer this over the Atwater Vanilla Java.

(P.S: Anybody have any requests for our pre-review topics? They’re fun to write when we find something really interesting, but I’d like to see if anybody would like us to tackle some relationship stuff that maybe you’ve always wondered about. Please, leave a comment for us. It’d be great! Also, any beers you’d like us to try?)

Birthdays are better with Pokemon, Arthur, and Beer (and an SO if you have that too)

Hi all!

N and I are “briefly” reunited following my GRE. I say “briefly” because I took the liberty of taking a week off work to come visit him, which has been quite enjoyable. It’s also significantly longer than the weekends we’re usually forced to keep our visits to. 

It’s also N’s birthday (I planned my GRE well). N is now an old man so let’s all make fun of him! Bullies………

We did his birthday a little backwards. I got him a present, of course, but he had to out-do me and get me a DS Lite and Pokemon Black. And a fancy case! I was one of those poor deprived children who never got to play Pokemon while growing up. N took the liberty of teaching me a bit over the summer, but I am proving to be a slow learner. Also, N’s memory for this kind of stuff is remarkable, so I have very little motivation to remember it myself. (==_==) I think I’ve asked N “Wait…what’s good against ground types again?” and variations thereof upwards of 100 times in the past 5 days. He also gets final say in what moves I teach my Pokemon because I DON’T KNOW WHAT ANY OF THEM DO. Though I’ve somehow managed to beat five gym leaders already, so I’m doing something right. Or N is…

We also decided to watch a few episodes of Arthur, which has gotten really weird since we were kids. There’s an episode where Arthur is concerned about his weight. And an episode where Muffy and Francine try to get their older brother and sister, respectively, to date (side note: Muffy has an older brother??). Gone are the simple episodes of being teased about your glasses and fighting with your siblings. Though we did admittedly watch a few throwback episodes. 

Of course this was all done while drinking beer. All the beer. Occasionally wine. And of course N had some bourbon too…You’re never too old to relive your childhood while drunk. 

TL;DR: N is happy :DDDDDDD So is M, though she’s sad she’s leaving in 4 hours. 😦

Clown Shoe’s Chocolate Sombrero:

The bottle describes the wrestler as “multi-limbed,” but aren’t we all multi-limbed already?

Visual: Black with a thin head.  The head itself last only about 1 minute anyway (perhaps my pouring is too light? or maybe too hard?) The opacity runs through most of the body with and outer perimeter giving hints of transparency.  The transparency itself is of watered down black coffee (I have used this image way too many times at this point.  Can this just be summated in one word? Dear lord)

Smell: It’s bitter as f***.  But it’s an herbed bitter, not a hoppy one.  It’s reminiscent of the bitter herbal Asian drinks I was forced to down as a child in order to “improve my immune system.” Blegh, and yet maybe it’s my age but the bitters aren’t unappealing.

Taste: I’ve had Mexican hot chocolate maybe once.  For that matter I’ve had Mexican chocolate even fewer times at best.  But this semisweet stout is best described as bitter and spicy.  Its claims of Ancho chile brewing is no false claim and you can feel the chile peppers tingling the tongue as the bitter floods the middle. The sweet accompanies the bitter much the same way as bittersweet chocolate.  There is no richness in this drink, just a sweetly spicy balance of bitters saying “hola” to the tongue.  In terms of viscosity, this is found a bit wanting.  Not as thick as Goose Island’s famous bourbon barrel stouts but it’s thicker than the watery blackwater the Guinness drinkers love.

M’s Turn! ^.^

Visual: A very thin, very black liquid. No carbonation in the body. A very thin head; what’s there is very thin bubbles of a light tan color. 

Smell: It smells strong. I’m not really sure how else to describe it. Very spicy. Something in the aroma is reminiscent of Goose Island’s BCS but I can’t really put my nose on what (haha scent puns haha). Perhaps a similar malt? Or just alcohol.

Mouthfeel: We drank this stout very cold, but it has a very warm mouthfeel. It’s thinner than you’d expect from a stout without completely lacking substance, and you can feel ever-so-slight carbonation. 

Taste: N and I are both similarly lacking in experience with Mexican chocolate/hot chocolate, but this tastes more or less like what I remember Mexican hot chocolate to taste like, just with a lot more booze. It’s not your typical sweet, creamy stout; instead it hits you with spices. Cinnamon and chiles are the most prominent up-front, but they yield to a bitter chocolate finish. 

Overall: A very interesting stout. I don’t think I’ve had a stout as thin as this one, but it’s full-flavor even with a lacking body. Definitely not my favorite, though; the spiciness, bitterness, and heavy alcohol (9% ABV) make it a little hard to stomach. Definitely a beer for sharing, if you were to try it. A bomber like this will be difficult to drink by yourself. Availability is also an issue. I don’t think Clown Shoes is as well known as it should be, and it’s not easy to find. If you like Mexican hot chocolate and getting drunk, though, this is a beer for you. 6.5/10. A little above average, mostly because of the novelty. 

N’s Rating: 6/10 There is a lot to be improved in terms of texture and flavor.  To me, the stout is a bit too watery and the flavors are present but not astounding, welcoming, or particularly striking.  Still, the flavors aren’t bad.  They are acceptable in fact.

LDR Thoughts and Halloween Treats

Nothing makes me not want to write a post more than N telling me to write a post…because I am apparently a toddler. 😛 Sorry N. 

So N and I spent last weekend in Pittsburgh, and it was freaking marvelous. This fantastic thing happens when you’re in a long-term long-distance relationship and you see each other in person for the first time in a long time. You both tend to revert back to a start-of-the-relationship mindset: you dress to impress, make sure your hair looks good, check your teeth for spinach, etc, etc. But instantly after being reunited you both realize that the other could be wearing a burlap sac for all you care because holy crap we are next to each other for the first time in months. And then you melt back into your usual comfort levels around each other in a matter of minutes. It’s a fun transition.

I don’t want this post to be all about the brief reunion, though. That wouldn’t be fun for you, and I’d get a reputation of being a softie or something. So I’m going to awkwardly transition into the proper blog topic for today. 

As you probably know, yesterday was Halloween, and most people my age celebrate by going to parties. However, I did not go to a party yesterday, as a friend dragged me to this bar he likes called Lockdown. 

Lockdown is this heavy metal themed bar, though I hesitate to call it that now, as they were playing The Killers and Toto last night. My friend insists it was done “ironically” but I’m not so sure. Regardless, their music usually covers everything from Iron Maiden to Rage Against The Machine to this weird folk metal band whose name I don’t know but the singer has crazy eyes and looks like he’s done a little too much crack in his life. The food menu is short but impressive, and even boasts a home-made veggie patty (which the vegetarian will say is the best veggie burger she’s ever had). 

The really impressive thing about this bar, though, is the beer menu. I forget exactly how many taps they have (forgive me, as I was drinking last night), but it’s at least 8. Their drafts are always changing and they offer a variety, from IPAs to stouts. The most impressive drink currently on draft is called Not Your Father’s Root Beer, which is beer brewed to taste exactly like root beer, and believe me, it does. It will also destroy your liver, as it’s 19.5% ABV. Tasty but deadly, especially if you’re my size. 

They have an impressive bottled list as well, which boasts a surprisingly large collection of Belgians. They also have a nice variety of ales, in every hue imaginable. And I’m impressed with the fact that they have FIVE STOUTS on the menu. Most bars will only have Guinness, if any, so my expectation with stout selections are low. 5 stouts on a menu is mind-blowing. 

Yesterday, I tried the Eugene Porter from Revolution, which was on tap until about an hour after I got to the bar, so I was lucky to get it at all. I would have taken a picture, but Lockdown is the kind of place where Instagramming your food is an offense punishable by death. I didn’t dare risk it. Also, this review is coming to you guys from notes I took on my cell phone and is being written 24 hours after I drank it. This will be the worst beer review you’ve even seen. I’ll make it up to you. Somehow. 

Appearance: jet-black body with a small creamy white head. 

Aroma: Smokey chocolate! Is that even possible? I could smell the smokiness to it, but I was also getting some chocolate. 

First Taste: Creamy head gives way to some strong but balanced roasted malts, with sweet chocolate and a smokey, semi-dry finish.

Overall Impression: This is the first beer I’ve had in which the chocolate flavors actually taste sweet instead of bitter. That might be helped along a bit by the roasted malts, which were present throughout. The finish is just dry enough to leave you wanting another sip. Very well-balanced, very smooth, and at a mere 6.8% ABV I could have drank this all night. However, other than the sweet chocolate there wasn’t much to make it stand out amongst porters. It’s very tasty, but not very impressive. I give it a 7/10.

Also, if you’re in the Chicago area and want to check out Lockdown, it’s on Western and Augusta. Tuesdays are half-price burgers, Thursdays are half-priced drafts, and if you mention my name you’ll get a weird look from the bartender because she doesn’t know who I am. =P If only they’d give me a discount for referring y’all…

N has midterms and stuff and is otherwise stressed, so send him good luck! It might be a while before he can post. I may post again. I don’t know. We don’t have a schedule. Also am I doing tags right?