I sent the following email to the Verizon executives that The Consumerist has compiled explaining the piss poor customer service I have received from their team. I am absolutely appalled that for a company so large, their customer service is so bad. I really wanted to be 100% happy with my FiOS service. That ended when I tried to get a CableCARD installed. Why they have to install them is beyond me. It’s basically a PCMCIA card, like the ones you used to put into the side of a laptop that didn’t have a modem or a NIC. The only step I would need assistance with is contacting Verizon to have it activated, though they could probably activate it at the Verizon store when I picked it up, leaving me to do nothing more than put it in my Tivo. There’s more after the jump…
I was lucky enough to win a travel package for the Alpine Valley Phish shows this summer from CID Entertainment. Unfortunately, I can’t make it. However, my loss is your win!
This Week on Lot, a weekly podcast about the music scene, is re-running the contest for this travel package. The package includes 2 nights in a hotel room for 2 people, shuttle service to and from both shows for 2 people, 2 Phish Alpine Valley t-shirts, and 2 download codes for LivePhish.com. If you’re planning on going to the Alpine shows, this is a pretty good deal.
I just got back from the theatre where I saw Phish 3D. Rather than wait until I lose my thoughts, I figured now would be a great time to write the review having just discussed what I liked and disliked about it with Susan, who reluctantly went with me.
For those of you who don’t know, Phish 3D is a 3D movie that was filmed at Festival 8 in Indio, CA. The three day festival was held over Halloween weekend and included eight sets of music. On Halloween night, the band played the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street in its entirety. And on the final day, they played a full acoustic set.
To make this easy, I’ll use bullet points with explanations of what I liked and didn’t like, along with a letter grade.
- Song selection (B-): There were some good point and some bad points, but overall it was decent. I think they should have shown more from the Exile set. After all, that was the focal point of the festival. Only choosing four songs from that set was a little weak, though the song selections were good. I would have liked to hear more of the “raunchy” songs. I would have liked to have seen more from the acoustic set, though I thought the song selections from that set were just fine. It would have been nice to see McGrupp and hear Trey tell everyone to sit down on the nice soft grass. Finally, the songs from the other sets could have been better. My biggest complaint is that they didn’t show Party Time. The song kicked off the first set of the festival and set the tone for the whole weekend. It was a big party. I would have liked to have seen Fluffhead and You Enjoy Myself. Both songs were high points with fun from the fire towers in the back of the concert field. The only easy going songs they showed were from the acoustic set. It would have been nice to see Joy or When the Circus Comes.
- Song order (C): I don’t know why they couldn’t play the songs in the order that they were played at the festival, starting with the first night and ending with the last. I know it worked out best showing a set opener first, but, again, why wasn’t the first song Party Time? Instead, they started with songs from the last night. They showed the acoustic set before the Halloween set. I imagine that was to put some of the higher points of the movie towards the end, but that goes into the whole song selection. They could have picked more upbeat rockers from the acoustic set.
- Views (C+): While I really liked seeing the stage, I would have liked to have seen more of the audience, especially on Halloween night. Part of what would have made this movie great would have been seeing glowsticks and balloons flying at your head, just like you’re there. It would have been nice to see more views out from the stage as well. They also showed way too much of Trey and Mike finger work on their guitars during the acoustic set. Why this set in particular you ask? Because they were sitting down with their legs spread and the guitars resting on their thighs. What am I getting at? Crotch shots. There were WAY too many of them. One of the parts I really enjoyed seeing was Fishman playing the drums. He’s the one guy who is hard to see from the audience because he’s surrounded by tall equipment and he’s not a really tall guy. It was fun watching him get into it. The last thing that I have a complaint about is the lights. The lights are one of the best things about a Phish show. I don’t know if it was the editing or the cameras, but the lights didn’t really come through in many of the shots. I was really hoping to see some 3D lights. It also would have been nice to have a camera way in the back to film the whole field of people and the speaker/light towers near the back of the audience. Those are a bit part of the festival experience.
- Picture quality (A-): The picture was clear as day. It was better than any of the DVD’s the band has released date. I was very impressed by it. However, for what they were trying to do, this would have been much better in IMAX 3D. I’m sure the movie crew didn’t have the money for IMAX cameras, but that would have really drawn you into it.
- Sound quality (B+): The sound was excellent, though the bass could have been turned up a bit (no surprise there, that’s exactly how I feel about the soundboard copies of the show). I did feel that Page was a bit louder in the mix than usual, especially during the acoustic set.
- Overall (B-): It was a good movie, but I didn’t feel drawn into it the whole time. The song selection, the order, and the shots were distracting at times.
Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I’ll explain what I think could have made the movie better. Concert movies are tough. They either really draw you in or really don’t. The one other time I saw Phish in the theatre was for their show in Brooklyn that kicked off their “final” tour in 2004. The difference was that it was a live simulcast. People watching it in the theatre were just as excited as the people at the show. This time was different. It was just a film made at a concert. I think in this case it didn’t have to be 3D. While it was great to see the depth of the stage setup and all that up close, it wasn’t necessary, though, as I said, it would have worked if it was IMAX.
The best parts of the movie were the parts the audience and fans never get to see. I loved watching the band rehearse with the horns and backup singers. The movie needed more of that. I also loved watching the crowd come in for the acoustic set on Sunday morning. That part was fun because it added the excitement of the festival to the movie. What concert movies don’t usually do is give you that full experience of being there. That’s what this lacked.
This movie would have been better off as a documentary. It’s so difficult to make a concert movie out of a three day festival with eight sets of music. Which songs do you pick? What order do you show them? How much of the audience do you show? There needs to be a balance, but if you mess any of that up, it can make what could be a great movie into a mediocre movie. I had really high hopes for this, having been at the festival and dealing with the camera booms going up and down over the audience blocking our view. It would have been nice to have seen people coming in for the Halloween set. Other than the fact that the movie mentioned it was Halloween weekend, you couldn’t tell from watching. They should have setup an area near the entrance to the venue where they could have lights and a camera man filming people coming into the show in their costumes. That would have made the movie and given some people their 15 minutes of fame. The could have filmed people coming onto the site on the first day and setting up their campsites. There should have been more wandering around the campgrounds. There was so much at the festival, I feel this didn’t really capture it, even when it came to the music. Had they included more of this other stuff in the movie and cut out some of the music (they could have cut out AC/DC Bag, in my opinion) it would have really brought you into the festival and drawn you into the movie, like you were part of the experience. I guess if I had to summarize the movie in a word, it’d be flat (kinda funny considering it’s a 3D movie).
I’m not going to tell you if you should go see it or not. That’s up to you to decide. I did enjoy the movie. I don’t know if being there made me a bit jaded about the movie because it lacked that full experience. It really is a toss up. I’m inclined to suggest seeing it in the theatre for that full big screen experience and buy the DVD because I’m sure it will have special features with additional songs and hopefully some of that documentary type stuff I’m looking for.
I am happy to say that after my last update where I had gained back some weight (and lost it and gained it back), I am now completely back on track and trending down. I still haven’t changed a whole lot in my diet. The post-lunch snack is different or eliminated for most days. I have also been grilling more of my dinners, which I think cooks out more of the fat than baking it in a pan. I have been walking to work a whole lot more. As we get nicer days, I get 2 miles of walking. Since the walk to work has me carrying about 12-15 pounds of additional weight from my backpack and it’s entirely uphill, I get even more of a workout in the morning. I’m getting at least 3-4 days a week of walking to work.
I’ve also been having a problem with my hip and back, which has been going on for longer than I’ve been writing about my weight loss journey. After seeing a doctor, I was sent to physical therapy. The PT has helped my hip and back quite a bit, but the therapist said that I shouldn’t use the elliptical machine we just bought a few weeks ago (I’m sure that will change once I get the joint problem under control). What PT has been doing for me, however, is making me more flexible. She has me doing a bunch of stretches and exercises for my back, hip, and legs. While they aren’t the most intense exercises, they do have me working out a bit, especially one that is a modified push up. My triceps are going to be huge!
I recently started to notice that my pants are a little bigger, my face is a little thinner, and my gut and moobs (man-boobs) are smaller. This is the main reason I’m doing what I’m doing. Visible results are the best motivation for this whole process, but it’s taken a few months to see them. I don’t mind though. As long as my weight keeps trending south and my body keeps looking a little better, I’ll be perfectly happy.
Now that spring has fully sprung, I’m planning on going for a nice long bike ride today. I’m hoping to get in at least 10 miles, which isn’t all that much, but I’ll be going with Susan who doesn’t ride as fast as me. I might even go for another one tomorrow depending on whether or not we get everything that needs to get done today finished.
While I still weight myself everyday, I have made Friday my “official” day of record for my weight. As of yesterday morning, I was 233.2 pounds, putting my weight loss at 8.4 pounds. It’s been slow going, but that’s how I want it. I’ve lost weight more quickly in the past and I gained it all back just as quickly. I’m hoping to be under 230 by June. That means I will need to lose an average of just under a pound per week. It’d be more than I had been losing up to this point (on average, of course), but with the nicer weather, more yard work, more walking to work, and hopefully more biking on weekends, I think I can do it.
In the beer community you often hear the mantra “Support your local breweries, drink local beer”. Well, what exactly does “local” mean? It has different meanings depending on who you ask, but that doesn’t mean that only one answer is correct. So… what is local?
Here in Rhode Island, we get beer from all over the country world. Most of it comes from the US. We get a lot from Europe, and even some from as far away as Japan. I’m not talking about beer that’s actually brewed in the US under license from foreign breweries. I’m talking about actually importing the final product from these other countries. It travels pretty far. Most beer geeks (I prefer the term geek) will seek out the best beer regardless of how far it traveled. Many prefer to support their local breweries. That’s where this question of “what is local?” comes into play.
Rhode Island is a small state. In fact, it’s the smallest state. We have four brewpubs and one production brewery. The beer to come out of these places is local beer for us. But being as small as we are, we are very close to many other breweries. Local has many meanings. It can mean in the town, in the county, or in the state. Well, New England states tend to be small. Maine is our only exception, though it’s nothing compared to some of the states west of the Mississippi River. New England has a very strong regional feel to it. When it comes to beer, at least in Rhode Island, local does not mean in the same state. We have to branch out to reach more beer than the five beer producers in this state. Once you add in Massachusetts, you add several more breweries and a whole bunch of brewpubs. Tossing in Connecticut adds in even more. These are all within about a 3 hour drive from most of Rhode Island. I’m not going to stop there, though. Local to me is anything produced in the six New England states. This adds in a ton of breweries from Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire, all of which have several breweries. The reason all of these breweries are local is because they are all within a relatively short drive, a drive that would keep you within many of the larger states out west.
The larger western states might have a different definition of local. They might make it a radius from their location. They might consider it anything within the same county or state. I tend not to think of local in terms of a radius. The biggest reason for that is because of the ocean. While Southampton might be pretty close to RI as the bird flies, it’s not quite as easy to get to as some places farther away in northern New England. This differs from the western states because there’s no ocean between you and the next state. A radius makes more sense. My definition most likely differs from that of people from a place like Vermont where they have an abundance of breweries all over the state. It probably differs from someone from Boston or Portland, ME where there are multiple breweries right in town. Ultimately, local has a different meaning for each person, but it need not mean only beer from your state/county/town.
Let’s consider something else – the purpose of local. Local is used in terms of environmentalism and economics. With environmentalism, it’s used as a way to reduce pollution of trucking goods all over the place. Your “carbon footprint” is lowered by consuming local goods. With economics, it’s stimulating the economy of your location, whether that be town, state, or region. The reason I bring this up is that with beer, it tends to be considered in terms of economics. Drinking local beer supports the local economy and breweries in your local area. It raises an interesting question when it comes to contract brewed beers, such as Narragansett. The company is located in Providence. The money comes into Providence. The beer is brewed in Rochester, NY. Is it local? In terms of economics, yes. In terms of environmentalism, no. Would I consider it local as far as beer is concerned? Most definitely.
No matter how you define “local” when it comes to beer, support your local breweries. They may not be the best breweries or make the most amazing beer, but they are still your local breweries. Show pride in your locale, whatever that may be, and drink local beer. For me, that means drinking a Harpoon, a Smuttynose, or a Long Trail. It means drinking a Newport Storm, an Allagash, or a Berkshire. It means that I support New England beer. It means that when I travel, I try to drink the local beers for that area by visiting a brewpub or ordering the local beer. And if I don’t know what the local beer is, I ask. When asked what I’d like to drink, I’ll ask “what’s local and good?” The waiter or bartender usually knows.
I’ll be in Seattle and Bellingham, WA in June, and I’ll definitely be drinking. So… What’s local and good?
For a while I had fallen off track on my weight loss journey. There were a couple special events that had me eating more than I would normally eat. It caused me to gain about 3 pounds back. I am happy to say that I am under 235 and still losing weight. Here’s what I’m doing to keep the momentum.
The first thing I’ll mention that caused me to gain weight back was extra snacking after work. With the nicer weather, I had started to walk to work (though the rain prevented that for much of the past couple weeks). The extra energy I had been using had caused me to need more calories. Because I hadn’t changed my breakfast or lunch at all, I had started to snack more when I got home. That “snack” amounted to a small bowl of cereal. I’ll admit to having a handful of dry cereal as a snack most of the time. In fact, I’ve been doing that this week. But that bowl was more cereal than would fit in my hand and the milk added extra calories and fat. Sometimes I’d snack on cheese as well. You see… when I get hungry and it’s not time for a meal, I’ll just put food in my mouth. What I’ve been doing lately at work is eating a bag of Sun Chips about half an hour after I have my sandwich and first apple. It gives me just enough substance to make it longer in the day.
As I mentioned, I’ve been walking to work more often. When the weather is nice, the walk is quite nice. I live almost exactly a mile from the door to my building. When I walk, I wear sneakers and carry my lunch and dressier shoes in my backpack. I estimate that I’m carrying about 15 pounds on my back when I walk to work. It’s quite a bit lighter on the walk home because I’ve eaten my lunch and drunk my half gallon of water, but I actually prefer the lighter weight going home. I just want to get home by the end of the day. The other thing about my walk is going to work in the morning is pretty much entirely uphill. Now, it’s not like I’m climbing a mountain, but it’s uphill nonetheless. It adds some extra work to the walk, especially with the added weight. I’ve been managing to get in at least 2 or 3 days a week of walking. The problem comes with summer. When it’s hot and humid, it almost gets to be too much. Last year, I took to biking to work, which is easier than walking, but still causes me to work up a sweat. The problem is, I don’t have much room in my bag for a change of clothes and there is nowhere at work I can shower quickly. I might try to buy some convertible pants that turn into shorts. I’m not sure if I’ll be allowed to wear them to work, but if my boss allows for it, that will be my answer to the heat.
Here’s basically what I’ve been eating lately.
Breakfast: 6:30 am – large-ish bowl of Honey Nut Cherrios with 1% milk (I always use 1%), probably amounting to 3 servings of the cereal.
Snack: 10:30 am-11:30 am – 4-5 stalks of celery, no dipping
Lunch: 12:00 pm-12:15 pm – sandwich, usually ham or turkey with cheese and mayo (not light mayo), and an apple
Snack: 12:30 pm- 1:00 pm – Sun Chips or popcorn or Twix (depends on what’s in the snack machine)
Snack: 3:00 pm – apple
Dinner: 6:30 pm-7:00 pm – pork or chicken grilled or baked, brown rice or a small baked potato with a small amount of butter, large-ish salad with a low calorie dressing
Dessert: 8:30 pm – 2 scoops of Edy’s Slow Churned ice cream or 1 Edy’s fruit bar (the blueberry ones with added anti-oxidants are good)
I drink a glass (about 14 oz) of water after showering after breakfast to take my allergy medicine and a multi-vitamin.
Throughout my workday I drink about a half gallon of water (64 oz).
I drink a glass of water with dinner and another with dessert. Occasionally, I’ll have a glass after getting home from work and maybe half a glass before bed. It equates to between 100 oz and a whole gallon of water a day.
So that’s about it for this update. As I hit another landmark (probably sub 230), I’ll post more info. I feel like I’m going to hit a plateau soon. I’m hoping I can get down below 230 for my plateau. That’ll put me at a 10+ pound loss before I have to really work for it. My other concern is muscle mass. I’m relatively built and have more muscle mass than I did when I last hit my goal weight. It’s possible I won’t get there, but if I can reduce the amount of fat, I’ll be extremely happy.
I forgot one thing in my long guide to St. Patrick’s Day…
Don’t Drink The Green Beer!
Trust me on this one. It’s not good and it’s definitely not Irish. You’ll just look like an idiotic frat boy, and you don’t want to look like one of those, do you, bro?
… and you know what that means, right?
If you guess a bunch of idiots will get drunk over some fake holiday, you’re correct. Everyone is not Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. If you wanna get drunk, go for it, but at least do it on actual Irish beer or beer brewed in the proper style. Here’s a little guide to help you decide what to drink and what not to drink.
First, here’s a little info on the two major Irish beer styles.
Irish Dry Stout – You see the word “stout” and automatically think Guinness. Yes, Guinness is a stout, but it’s a certain type of stout (there are multiple). Irish Dry Stout was basically brought over to Ireland from England. It’s not an originally Irish beer style but it has become synonymous with Irish beer. Irish Dry Stouts tend to be a bit drier in flavor. They’re usually lower in alcohol (between 4 and 5% ABV). You’ll notice some slight roasted flavors, a little cocoa, and some coffee. No, coffee and/or cocoa are not added to the beer. These are flavors given off by the dark roasted malts used to brew the beer. When the uninitiated think “stout”, they think “bitter”. These are not bitter beers in the grand scheme of things, though they might be bitter compared to Bud Light.
Irish Red Ale – This style is lesser known. You’ve heard of Killian’s Irish Red. That’s not an Irish Red Ale. Heck, it’s not even an ale. But a real Irish Red Ale is a lighter beer. It actually is a bit red in color, though it’s really more of a deep, dark amber that gives it that red-looking color. The beer tends to be a bit sweeter, though, again, if you’re used to Bud Light, it’s going to be bitter. It’s definitely sweeter than the stout and not quite as dry. The flavor should have a slight hint of hops to it, and be mostly malt. It may have a slight toasted quality to it. This is my pick for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, if I celebrated.
Now here’s a little guide to the beers you’ll come across (obviously written more from a New Englander’s perspective) and what you should and should not drink to properly celebrate this “special” day.
Killian’s Irish Red – Don’t drink it. Why? Because it’s not Irish. Oh, but Killian is an Irish name, right? Sure, that may be true, but it’s brewed by Coors and was never an Irish beer. But it’s still an Irish style of beer, right? Wrong. It’s a lager… a pretty crappy one at that. It pretends to be an Irish Red Ale, an actual style of beer that happens to be pretty tasty when made properly. This is not an Irish Red Ale. If you’re going to drink crappy lagers, at least drink a crappy Irish lager, like Harp.
Harpoon Celtic Ale – Drink it. Why? Because it’s tasty. This one actually is an Irish Red Ale. It’s also brewed in Boston, a city known for being very Irish. Support your local-ish brewery and drink a real Irish Red (even if it’s not from Ireland).
Guinness Draught – I’m gonna catch some flack for this one, but don’t drink it. Why? Because it’s not that good, and you wanna be original, right? If you’re gonna drink a Guinness, make it an Extra Stout. You know the beer. It’s the one that comes in the normal bottle without the widget that releases nitrogen. It’s the better of the Guinness stouts that are available in the US, and it’s actually quite good. But if you really want that smooth creamy feeling of the nitrogen, keep reading.
Beamish Irish Stout – Drink it. Beamish is a lesser known cousin to Guinness. It’s still an Irish Dry Stout, but it has a whole lot more flavor to it. The only problem with Beamish is that it’s harder to find either on tap or even in the big nitro-cans. But if you find it, drink it. It’s tasty with some nice chocolate and roasted coffee flavors (they’re not strong and over-powering, but just right). The beer is smooth and creamy and the best of what I call the “Big 3 Irish Stouts”. In Providence, I’ve seen it on tap at Local 121, but I haven’t been there in a while.
Murphy’s Irish Stout – Drink it. Murphy’s is probably the second most well known of the “Big 3″ and, in my opinion, the second tastiest. It’s easier to find than Beamish, though still not quite as easy to find as Guinness. If you’re in Providence, Murphy’s Deli downtown usually has this on tap.
Murphy’s Irish Red – Drink it. Coming from an Irish brewery and being an Irish Red Ale, it’s one of the most authentic Irish beers you’ll come across. Enjoy this one.
Smithwick’s – Drink it. Again, this is an Irish Red Ale, though a very dark version of one. Also, this beer is not pronounced like it looks. Say “Smidick’s” and you’ll be pretty close to the proper pronunciation. This one is brewed by the same people who make Guinness and Harp Lager (that’s right, Guinness is no longer an independent company). If your choice is this or Guinness, make it Smithwick’s.
Harp Lager – Toss up. I’m not a fan of Harp. It’s an Irish beer, but it’s not an Irish style. It’s a lighter lager and lacks much flavor. If you need to drink a lager because you can’t stand the bold flavors of an ale (and trust me, the beers I’m listing aren’t overly bold in flavor, but more nuanced), drink it. If you want to drink real Irish beer, go with an Irish Red Ale.
Samuel Adams Irish Red – Drink it. This is a quality Irish Red Ale from one of the best known breweries in the country. It’s brewed to style, it’s inexpensive, and it’s also somewhat local.
O’Hara’s Irish Red Ale – Drink it. This is another example of an Irish Red Ale that’s actually from Ireland.
O’Hara’s Irish Stout – Drink it. This is an Irish Dry Stout from Ireland. It’s tasty, though not as good as Beamish or Murphy’s.
I’m sure I’m missing a whole ton of other beers from around the world, but this is my blog and my guide, and I admitted it’s very New England-centric. Whatever you do, have a safe St. Patrick’s Day, and try to break from the norm. Try something different. It might just surprise you.
I finally got around to watching Beer Wars tonight, thanks to Netflix and Tivo. I’m going to start off by saying that I’m very glad I didn’t pay whatever the outrageous price was to see it in a theatre. It wasn’t that good. I am glad I saw it, but I won’t be buying the DVD, regardless of what kinds of extra features there are.
The movie is narrated by Anat Baron, supposedly from the beer industry (she ran Mike’s Hard Lemonade). She seems pretty knowledgeable about the industry, at least from the perspective of an independent company (even if it is a malternative, or alcopop), but her narration feels like it is better placed in a movie for children. The production quality is pretty bad and the animation used is just plain silly and could have been left out. It just gives the whole movie a very simplistic, and not in a good way, and childish start and finish.
The basic premise of the movie is that the big three American brewing companies (of which there is now one as Miller and Coors merged and Anheuser-Busch is now owned by Brazilian/Belgian InBev) will do whatever it takes to keep their products on top. The advertising is explained from how they go about placing their products on store shelves to how much money they spend on television and print ads.
The movie explains how the three-tiered system works, but with such little detail that they could have kept that part out. The only thing explained is how big the distribution lobby is and how well they keep the outdated system, which is ultimately responsible for preventing consumers from being able to choose what they drink, in place. She breezed over it with such broad strokes, there wasn’t enough detail to explain why the system was put in place to begin with and why many consider it important still, and by that I mean people outside of the distribution lobby.
The movie follows Sam Calagione and Rhonda Kallman with great detail and Jim Koch with lesser detail. Sam is the founder of Dogfish Head, one of the largest craft breweries in the country. Rhonda used to work for Boston Brewing Co. with Jim Koch, the founder. She left and started Moonshot, a caffeinated beer. The best parts of the movie were seeing how Dogfish Head is run and how they fight to stay on top. Rhonda basically runs a beer marketing company. She isn’t a brewer and doesn’t run a brewery (the two beers she “makes” are contract brewed in PA). While I understand her inclusion in the movie for the advertising and marketing perspective, they could have gotten that from a real brewery that doesn’t make gimmick beers – her other beer, Edison, is a light beer. Sam explains how he prefers to keep growth small even though he has investors pushing him to go public. He wants to avoid that so he can concentrate on making great beer rather than keeping shareholders happy. It’s a real story of someone who went into great debt and took great risks to keep his business going strong in the face of big marketing money and legal attacks from the Big 3. Unfortunately, however, Anat chose to spend the most time following Rhonda, for whom I really had no sympathy. Perhaps it was because they both had been in the “beer” industry promoting alternatives to actual beer.
Had the movie followed real breweries who were faced not only with the challenge of running a brewery and all the issues surrounding that, but also the issue of marketing against the norm, it would have been a whole lot better and held a lot more weight. I would have liked to have heard more from Jim Koch and how he grew the Sam Adams brand to become the largest craft brewery in the country. I was a bit surprised he was just glanced over. The movie also briefly discussed Yuengling, the oldest brewery in the country, but failed to really get into details about how they lasted through prohibition to remain in operation.
It’s worth watching if you want a broad overview of the beer industry and what small breweries are up against. It’s not worth buying. The only reason I watched it was because Netflix had it. If I gave things a star rating, this one would have 2 stars out of 5.
I haven’t written a beer review in quite some time. That’s not because I haven’t been drinking great beers, but rather because I tend not to think of it or the beers just weren’t worth writing about (or they’re stuff I drink all the time). I’m also drinking less as part of my weight loss program. Well, Thursday night was a Long Trail tasting at Nikki’s Liquors. In fact, it’s Long Trail Month at Nikki’s with all Long Trail beers on sale all month long. Six packs are only $6.99 and the bombers of the Brewmaster’s Series are $1 off. It’s totally worth it.
Long Trail is one of my favorite breweries. It’s a very underrated brewery in my not-so-humble opinion. They make two Altbiers, which is two more than most breweries make. I love German ales, which tend to be lesser known styles. That gives Long Trail extra points in my book. Anyway, talking about Long Trail isn’t the point of this. They recently released a new year ’round beer – Pale Ale. I’ve had everything they’ve released and they’re all solid beers, though the Belgian White and the Blackberry Wheat leave a bit to be desired. They dropped their spring seasonal, the Hefeweizen, from their repertoire and added the Pale Ale. I love their IPA, which is made in a traditional English style. It’s well balanced and more malty than most American IPA’s. It’s a great IPA, though most hopheads turn their heads because it’s not in-you-face hops. It’s not meant to be. Well, hopheads can rejoice. Long Trail’s Pale Ale is, oddly enough, hoppier than their IPA, at least in flavor.
The beer pours a crystal clear light amber color with a nice one finger head. It has an immediate and lasting aroma of Cascade hops – a nice citrus scent. As you drink the beer, it leaves a nice lacing down the side of the glass. Upon first sip, I get the immediate flavor of those hops – a grapefruit flavor. It has a nice crisp, clean flavor that lingers just enough to savor while not leaving a long-lasting aftertaste. It’s quite refreshing. It was hard to let this one warm up too much, but as it did, I got a bit more of the malt balance. This is more definitely an American Pale Ale. While it’s not punch-you-in-the-face hops, it’s all about the hops. As I finish it, I am left wanting another.
The easiest way for me to describe this beer is through its similarity to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It is a very similar beer, but quite different in many ways. The flavor profile is almost the same, but where they differ is in the body. This one is a little lighter, but in a good way. Where SNPA is heavier in all aspects of the beer, this one is crisp, clean, and refreshing. Don’t get me wrong, I love SNPA, but Long Trail Pale Ale definitely edges it out simply because I want more and more. The crispness and the lack of the lasting aftertaste make it that much better. While many call SNPA a “near-IPA”, this one falls perfectly in the APA category and sits tall there. Many beer lovers, especially hopheads, tend to dismiss the APA category. I mean why get an APA when you can get an IPA? Isn’t an APA just a light version of an IPA? It’s not, and Long Trail Pale Ale is a perfect example of why you would want an APA over an IPA.
The distributor said the beer falls at about 5.2% ABV. It’s a very easy drinking, but very satisfying beer. I bought a six pack. I already drank two of them. I wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of it don’t make it through the weekend. Do yourself a favor. Find this beer. Buy this beer. Drink this beer… especially if you’re in RI. The discount at Nikki’s is a great deal.
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