Speaking from a guy’s point of view, we’ve all been there before. There’s that hot chicka that you want to get in bed with and maybe start a long term relationship. She says she’ll leave her boyfriend but in turn you have to get rid of some of your friends. You oblige and start talking about the future. She says how great it will be to have some bling because you’re much better off than her now ex. You go to a formal, show her off, have a few drinks, whisper sweet nothings into her ear and she grabs your stick and pucks. You go back to your place for a night of sweet loving and try moves that you heard a friend tried the night before.  In the morning you wake up and find a note saying “last night was great but it’s not for me.”

Marian Hossa is that chick. He never had any intention of staying here. He packed up his bags and left you for the homecoming king. After reading todays article from Gene Collier I realized that not only is Hossa a tramp but also a whore. 4 teams in 4 season (and 5 after Det folds next season). To break it down for our old school 80’s movie geeks, what Hossa just did is like Real Genius when the middle aged chick tries to sleep with 15yr old Mitch because he’s the #1 brain in the college only to find out that closet dwelling Lazlo was the true #1. The Pens are Mitch.

Honestly, Shero knew this was a possiblity when he sent Colby, Eric, Angelo and a draft pick for Hossa and Dupuis. In the end Hossa was a great bullshitter. He had the fans and management thinking that he was a sure thing. How do we ease the pain? Have a drink and find someone better or go back to an old favorite. Worked for me

While we’re all still jaded lets look at some of Hossa’s comments shall we…
“I know it’s a short term, but we never talked about a one-year [deal] with Pittsburgh. We just talked about a long-term deal.”

Dumbass. You DO realize that the Pens are building a franchise here, not a one time sympathy date. You’d think that long term would be a great offer to any player. Thank you for leaving though because now we can bring in Naslund, Jagr or any other talented RW who isn’t pre-occupied looking at the lady in the red dress.

“I totally believe Detroit has the kind of team that can win it again.”
They can win it again someday, just not now. Last back to back was 96/97 - 97/98 and Detroit did that with Scotty Bowman running the show. You REALLY think that Mike Babcock has the testicular fortitude to repeat? HA!

Have fun with him Detroit. Marian, when you come back crawling to Pittsburgh next year with “I’m sorry baby, I made a mistake. please take me back.” don’t be surprised when the Pens tell you they’ve moved on.

Yeah, go ahead and make the jokes. It’s inevitable at this point. I did it myself. Old Chub holds a place near and dear to my heart. Back when SIDT started we did a show about a favorite drinking game of ours called Beer Hunter (click here for details). I know, I know, it’s supposed to be played with junk beer but hey, we’re the craft beer guys. Why WOULDN’T we use a good beer?

Last week while at 3 Sons I picked up a 6 pack for home since it’s been awhile. I’ve had my share of Scottish ales and wanted to revisit the first one I ever had. If you’re unfamiliar with a Scottish Ale there is usually a higher malt flavor which is the shining star of this style while carrying a low hop profile. If you want to know why, this is caused by the wort carmelizing after a long boil. Hey, you asked. The ABV in Old Chub is 8% but in other Scottish Ales can reach as low as 4. Most of the ones I drink are a high 6 to a low 7.

The can I had poured a dark copper hue and finished with a solid 2 finger head which stuck around until midway through the drinking. There was a fair balance of malt in it but not to the point that it made my mouth fill with sweetness. I did have some lingering malt aftertaste but not enough that it bothered me.

Old Chub is made by the Oskar Blues Brewery in Colorado who have become famous for successfully distributing craft beer in a can. Previously this was unheard of but these guys got the system down without the use of that bullshit “venting” system that Coors has.

Overall this is an A from me. When I get a grading system down I’ll have to figure out what that is. Maybe the Fonz.

Oh and for the record, you college kids or jagoffs who shotgun beer cans, don’t try it with any of the Oskar products. You’ll fail miserably. We tried for the sake of science once… ONCE!

cheers!

When started “Should I Drink That” we figured that if a few people downloaded our show we would be happy. We just wanted to talk about craft beer. In the 2 years since we’ve had our fair share of local publicity, made it on G4 Tech TV, nominated for awards and started writing craft beer related articles.

A little over a month ago when we got the call about DRAFT I had to take a few minutes to let it sink in. All I knew was that they needed a hi-res picture and we may or may not be in an article they’re writing. Podcasts don’t get nearly the respect they deserve in most circles so when something big comes along in the field you’re broadcasting about it’s pretty special. Yeah, I geeked.

If you turn to page 22 of the July/August issue of DRAFT pictured above, on the bottom you’ll find SIDT. At first I was hesitant when I heard it was about the  DFH 120 Chug video but after I got my hands on a copy I realized it was a very well written piece. DRAFT had roughly 250,000 subscribers so the boost in traffic to our site has already been jaw dropping. Timing for this also couldn’t have been any better with the cover showing rockstars of the industry Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head and Jim Koch from Sam Adams. At the release of this issue we also released our 40th episode which features the GREATEST CONTEST EVER by a podcast. I guess you could say the stars aligned just right this time.

I want to thank all family, friends and fans who have supported us (those who said this was a fad last summer I say… HA! blow me where the pampers is) and helped us become the quality show we are today. Now go out to your local Barnes & Noble, Borders or anywhere you can find craft beer magazines nationwide and buy the issue

cheers!

I’m ready to ditch the PS2 and upgrade to a new gaming unit. I mostly play NHL/MLB/NFL games on my PS2 right now but I think with a better gaming unit I would broaden my horizons. I don’t own many games and usually trade them in when a new one comes in so I’m not worried about still playing them. I’m also online quite a bit and would like to use it also as a surfing tool, gaming online, DVD player and whatever else i can geek out over to take advantage of my HDTV. Oh yeah and I love Guitar Hero.

My question is what should I get? Are refurbished machines worth the money?

Let me know in comments!

Yinz Team is hardcore softball n’at!

Check out the highlights from our last game and more proof why we’re crazy insane!

We had traveled up this weekend to help my mom out around the house. Arrived late Friday night and spent it watching Lifetime movies. I went to bed early. Saturday we got an early jump on the day. It was the yearly Wesleyville block sale so the streets were crowded and I knew that if I needed supplies this is the time to get them. I laid 3 bags of mulch in the yard and headed to WalMart for more when Mother Nature would step in. As I’m loading my trunk with mulch the skies turned black and began to pour down rain. For me it was no big deal but for all of those people with yard sales, they were screwed.

The skies opened up long enough mid-afternoon that I was able to finish the yard work, fix some doors and cook dinner. The fist pic above is the dinner Lushie and I whipped up for mom. Aside from everything that went on with Erie County Farm we were able to pull out a tasty meal.  For the record I was hellbent to get seafood so I sucked it up and went to Giant Eagle. There were 2 Delmonico steaks with crumbled Gorgonzola cheese, 2 fillets of salmon, 1 pound of shrimp, 4 mushroom caps, asparagus and small red potatoes. Everything we made turned out perfect and then the monsoon came back. Thankfully the cable didn’t go out as we sat in front of the TV for the remainder of the night.

Sunday came and I spent the morning working on my mom’s computer while she and Lushie chatted on the deck. Looked like it would be a perfect day for a drive so mom treated us to Sara’s. When I lived in Erie I avoided the place like the plague. Having been removed from it for 10 years I go back every chance I get. My dad was a regular there so when I found out they used to announce “turn the flames on high, Mr. D wants his dog” I couldn’t help but smile.  The second pic is of the footlong and rings I ordered (dad’s favorite).

The day wouldn’t be complete without a trip around Presque Isle. Lushie always jokes that she’ll never go in the water but I think all of that will change soon when we take Bella up there for her first ever visit to a  beach. I also know that I’ll be on sand castle detail. At least when we have kids I’ll have enough practice

I could tell you about what happened at the Country Fair across from Frontier Park but I won’t. I’ve bitched enough about the freaks I encountered and besides, I didn’t get a pic of this one. I will say this, once you prepay your gas and pump it, don’t come back in saying you deserve a discount. Get in your car made of bondo and quit holding up the line.

Big contest coming up on SIDT that I’ll announce here also. Yeah, it’s that cool. Plus making it into a national publication for doing apparently what I do best. Drinking a 20% ABV beer very very fast.

cheers n’at!

I want to start by saying yes, I know it’s a business. The owner is free to run it as she sees fit because hey, it’s her money. As a consumer I’m allowed to disagree with things. I don’t have to go back if I don’t like something. That’s not the point of what I’m going to say. You deserve better when you spend your money.

Erie County Farms has been a staple in Erie for decades. Growing up it was THE place to go for meats, produce and seafood. Pittsburghers can think of it as Erie’s version of Wholey’s.  I’ve always held this business in high regards when speaking of places I loved about Erie. Eventually the business moved from a mammoth storefront on 26th St. to a smaller storefront in the Liberty Plaza off of the bayfront.

Within the last year my mom told tell me that the store is only opened 2 weeks out of the month and that a schedule is available so you know in advance. As luck would have it, ECF was always open when I was home (as with this past weekend) so I honestly forgot about it. For some reason on this trip it started to get under my skin about the hours.

We walked in and the place is a madhouse. While outside I managed to get a cart which was stroke of luck because there were none left inside. The floor plan of the store its good in theory but the flow of traffic to get around is worse than sitting on Parkway East during rush with 1 lane open. You absolutely can not move. There is nothing to guide the formation of lines besides the bodies of people in front of you. I went up to the deli counter and took what I thought was a number for the deli. It said 54 while the digital counter was on 2. The lady next to me came up and gave me her’s (4! woohoo) because she was tired of waiting. SO you’re supposed to take a number but the ticket machine on the deli isn’t the one you’re supposed to use? wtf indeed!

My advise for ordering at either the deli or the cheese, know what you want right away. I knew what I was shopping for but unsure of the brands. Since I jumped far on the list I had to scramble.  The boards with items available all mesh together. Old school black board with white font withe the ease of reading an eye chart. The positive side to this is that every employee I have ever encountered at ECF has been extremely nice to work with. The guy I had could tell I was a deer in headlights so offered suggestions on brands.

Lushie and I bobbed and weaved through traffic over to the produce and meat counters. As you can see from above, the meat selection is vast and fully loaded. When the butcher is at the counter you can have custom cuts made and personalized orders. After picking up the steaks things turned and I became irritated. I went over for corn and as the crate was opened this lady in black (pictured above) came hauling ass over with arms wailing. She elbowed her way in and started taking corn and picking through what others had. Then she yelled at a worker that the corn wasn’t fresh enough for her and demanded a supervisor. I said something to her but she just mumbled as she passed me.

I wanted seafood and they’ve always sold fresh seafood here… until now. The only alternative I had was frozen items in the cooler. Not what I wanted at all. I asked around for any place to buy fresh seafood and was told to go to a supermarket. Erie is a port city who takes pride in the lake. Why the hell is there not a fish monger somewhere? Seriously. Every restaurant has fresh Erie perch or some fish on the menu so why can’t I buy it?

I try not to compare Erie to Pittsburgh because they are 2 completely different cities but I must say Erie needs Wholey’s. As a consumer you are getting the shaft from having only one option for quality fresh products under one roof. The most popular answer to my question about seafood was “you should go to Giant Eagle”. Nothing against the big bird but I don’t want a chain. You deserve to have a locally owned place to shop that respects its customers with providing a quality establishment and the best possible selection. As one customer in line said “she’s only open when food stamps and social security checks come out.”

Take some of that time trying to figure out how to bring in tourists and focus on the best resource for marketing, your residents.

What do you think? Where do you go in Erie?
If there are places to shop at they need to get a web presence.

I’ve heard there comes a time when you stop for a second and realize that something you created (besides life) has grown larger than you ever expected. At that moment everything clicks.

I’m having this right now and I must say, it’s pretty fucking cool.

more later…

This past weekend my cohort in craft beer went to Baltimore for the 2nd annual Gravy Fest. Since I was stuck here in Pittsburgh finishing my last final he was nice enough (I bugged the hell out of him) to pick up a growler from DuClaw for me.

Apparently the bartender mucked up the order and instead fo me getting an imperial pils I lucked out with a delicious chocolate raspberry stout. I’ve had quite a few of these from other breweries but none pleased me as much as this one. The aroma on this one was a noseful of raspberry and chocolate bliss. The raspberry in taste though once wasn’t in your face dominate. The chocolate was barely noticeable but the characteristics of a stout were dead on.

Overall it’s a good stout but after having other beers from DuClaw it’s not worth driving to Baltimore for. Now if I’m already there that’s another story. i could drink a lot of it.

Website: www.duclaw.com
Style: Chocolate Rasberry Stout
Color: Black
Hop Variety: Goldings
Grains: Pale malt, Roasted barley, Caramunich malt, Chocolate malt
Bitterness: 30 BU’s
Gravity: 12 plato
Alcohol Content: 4.6% abv

$48 on aplusrstore.com

What I love about bbq season here in the mid atlantic region is when the grilling and bbq magazines surface. Most importantly is Bon Appetit. As with previous years, this one is packed with good recipes and sweet and funky gadgets. 2008 looks like the Notebook Portable Grill is the must buy for me. I’ve been trying to find a decent portable charcoal grill for years that was, well, portable and not a chore to carry. From what I read in the magazine this should hold about 6-8 burgers which is idea for a small tailgate.

so, has anyone tried this yet?