Tough week, time for some Dogfish Head

Yes, you read that right. Dogfish Head. To the uninitiated, it just seems like a silly name for a brewery. I can assure you that Dogfish Head is one of the best breweries in America. These guys have the knack for making great beer anyway they can, with anything they can find. The brewery is so good that I can already promise that they will make repeat appearances in this blog. However, for this installment, considering I have had a crazy tough week, I've chosen one of their signature brews, the 90 Minute Imperial IPA.

But before I go any further, I should probably explain why this post is late (I've given myself Thursday as a deadline). Since I have no editor to answer to, only you, the few scant readers of this endeavor, do I have the obligation to explain myself. As I was driving down to West Orange on a Wednesday afternoon to drop off some party favors for my aunt, my AC, radio, and speedometer suddenly stopped working. I felt my car's usual power ebbing away but I managed to get to my Aunt's place of work before my car completely gave out. As it turns out, my vehicle, my beloved Subaru Forester, had a bad alternator and a dead battery. Needless to say, it formed a great big dent on my wallet to get it to working order. I think you'd agree, that single event would have made anyone's week tough.

Not my actual car, but close enough. 

Now back to the beer. 

That's Sam Flynn in the background. Tron: Legacy!
Oh, and if you can read it, it says 9% Alc. by Volume (that is pretty much two beers in one bottle!)

The Imperial IPA is probably one of the most flavorful type of beer you'll ever encounter. The IPA stands for India Pale Ale. This goes back to about mid-eighteenth century when India was still a British colony. Don't worry, I won't go on too long about its history (though I'd very much want to since I'm a historian by trade). But to finish the point, there was such a demand for export quality, hopped up ales to be imported to India that it became a mainstay in western beer culture. Dogfish Head Imperial IPAs (there are three kinds, 120 Minute, 90 Minute, and 60 Minute) are arguably the best in the United States. 

Look at the color of that ale. I mean, doesn't that just look appetizing?

Now, you probably are wondering why I choose this beverage. I needed something great. Its been a tough week. A crappy week. A sub-par week. A week that I'd rather not remember. But if anything is going to save my week, it is the wonderfully pleasant bitter taste of hops, balanced with a ridiculous amount of barley and notes of genial citrus carefully crafted by some of the best beer minds of our time. It had to be good, it had to be great, just to salvage this week.

OK, So its early. Sue me.

So I find myself itching to add another post before the week is out. Maybe that initial thought of posting everyday with a different beer would have been plausible. I haven't even had the chance to go to the liquor store to peruse their more than competent line-up before my fingers found the keyboard. That means I'm still drinking San Miguel Pale Pilsen. I'm not complaining. Neither should you. I used a different glass this time. And I'm watching a baseball game. 

Yup, that's a Yankee's game. Baseball games are often long and, admittedly, occasionally boring. Especially when its a 1-1 game and no one can seem to hit the baseball. Nevertheless, the addition of an uncomplicated brewski usually brings you home safe (see, baseball analogy... I'm so smart!). It often allows you to mellow out, avoiding a vein-bulging, potentially fatal, rant about how A-Rod automatically chokes when there are runners on base. Too much brew will likely end in a prolonged streaking incident out in the streets while shouting incoherent baseball terms that vaguely sound familiar. So kids, moderation is very important. Don't be Will Ferrell from Old School. No body likes that guy.

That's my wonderful media center provided by (the tv) my wonderful (sic) ex-flame. Poor me boohoo.

San Miguel Pale Pilsen

To inaugurate this new endeavor, it is rather fitting to start from home.

I've been feeling homesick since I arrived back to these United States and figured a little reminder of home wouldn't hurt. This is beer. San Miguel Pale Pilsen. It doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to be imported (though, funny enough, San Miguel is imported since I live here). All it has to do is hit the spot. And this, my friends, always hits the spot. Reminds me of my father, family, good friends. Its been the cause of problems, and the solution to said problems. It has accompanied me through the worst of times and its been there for the best of times. Whether to celebrate or commemorate, the brown bottle that holds this sweet elixir is a clear sign for better things to come.

While there are many Filipinos who live in New Jersey, San Miguel Pale Pilsen is not the easiest of finds in the Garden State. I mean, its not too hard. But it isn't easy. My liquor store of choice these days not only carries this oldie but goody, they also carry San Miguel Light (mehh) and Red Horse which more resembles what they call malt liquor. Red Horse was the beer of choice in college for the sole reason that Red Horse can accomplish more with less bottles than most beers in the market. For me, its not always about how fast you can get drunk. If you can't enjoy the journey, then whats the point?

By the way, that's the blog, in the background. Beerception?

The Beginning

I like beer.

 

Nay, I love beer. 

It is my preferred libation for most occasions. In fact, I am having one, as we speak (or as I write and you read). This does not mean I do not drink other beverages, like water, orange juice, whiskey, Spanish Merlot. I do, sometimes. 

I did not always like beer. I remember thinking after having my first taste of the oft-times golden nectar, "Its too bitter! Who likes this crap?" But as my childish inhibitions left and time went on, I found myself head over heels in love with this liquid mistress. I do not pretend to know a lot about beer, or of how it is made. I know what I know from experience. I'm no brewer, or taste tester, I am but a simple man, who enjoys a beer when he can. 

Now that we have established my affection towards beer, perhaps it is time for me to explain this whole endeavor. I plan to document what it is I am drinking every week. I thought about documenting what it is I drink everyday, however, that will require too much work and it may be the sole reason for my untimely death due to liver cirrhosis. I figure a beer a week wouldn't be too much trouble. I wouldn't run out of material after a couple of months. I will not promise to drink a different beer every week. There will be repeats. I may not be having beer every week. Though it will mostly be beer every week. But its not about a new beer every time. Its really about what I want to drink and why. Perhaps accompanied by a photograph. 

So, here we are. A new endeavor.