Exit 9

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BEER.

I am so so glad this beer is awesome because I've been saving it as my reward for passing my thesis defense.

Oh yeah, I did that today.

Flying Fish's Exit 9: Hoppy Scarlet Ale seemed like the appropriate celebratory beer for the occasion of (nearly*) finishing my Masters at Rutgers, as it is Rutgers' exit and made at least partially in honor of the Scarlet Knights. The Flying Fish exit series have really been genius so far, celebrating my beloved home state and its history and geography, and have mostly really delicious. I regret not trying a few of the earlier releases-- I was not a fan of hoppy beers at that point in my life and turned down things with "hoppy" in the name. SHAME on me. At least I've learned. All part of that transition from being regular old Colleen to COLLEEN, MASTER OF SCIENCE. ha ha. Not.

But seriously, this beer is awesome. It's a really nice red ale with a really great, well-rounded hoppy flavor (not too strongly floral or citrus or whatever else you might associate hops with) without a foul aftertaste. Just straight up crisp, refreshing and lovely. I am a fan.

Oh, and I'm also a fan of passing my thesis defense today. Many thanks to those of you who have been cheering me on and buying me beers (and now owe me a beer, Paul) throughout this chapter of my life. This blog post cannot possibly convey how appreciative I am of all of the positive vibes and support. Please know.

What can this blog entry convey? Exit 9 is totally worth your time. Find one. I'm going to relax and enjoy this one after the crazy week I just had.

*I'm just a few revisions of the thesis paper itself shy of my MS Geography. Yay!

Oatmeal and Beer

I love oatmeal. It's true. I recently learned how to cook it for real, not just make packets of the instant stuff, and I am slightly obsessed. My favorite additives so far are probably either dried fruit and milk, or a little molasses plus a little bit of ground cloves, ginger and cinnamon (which I discovered in this blog entry which also includes a hilarious quiz about oatmeal).

However, what is actually relevant to this blog is that I also enjoy The Oatmeal and just discovered and read this cartoon in particular, which is somewhat of a crass crash course (say that three times fast) in beer.

I'll let you know when I figure out how to make oatmeal with beer. I mean, we all know I enjoy a good oatmeal stout, so why not reverse it?...

Have you missed us? Sorry.

It's been almost a month since there's been a post here.

Sorry.

Paul's been working a lot (although if the government closes down, perhaps we'll get an update from him? Just kidding, I don't actually want that to happen. The shutdown, not the update thing. I'm looking forward to hearing from Paul. Not a government shutdown over this. Anyway moving on...). I have little to no excuse. I could say I've been working a lot, but my work (thesis) is often accompanied by beer... and also, I like to take breaks from said work and do completely unacademic things like write about beer or go on adventures (and then write about them).

So yeah. Sorry.

I'm down to the last dozen Earpeweizens, so if you wanted to try one and haven't yet, you should let me know. (Justin Doyle, yours is in Taylor's fridge. He's holding out on you. Get on that.)

But aside from working my way through my homebrew by sharing it with wonderful friends, I have tried a few others lately--

Dogfish Head Aprihop: I really enjoyed this. The apricot taste was really slight, just a nice highlight to a pretty good IPA. This might be a reasonable way to transition your friends from super sweet fruity mixed drinks into good beer. I want this in the summer. Good work, Sam!

Dogfish Head Squall IPA: You know, I love Dogfish Head. Just as the Aprihop IPA was a hit for me, this was a miss. This is a really florally kinda tasting IPA. I've come to like IPAs quite a bit, but don't need them to taste like flowers. This might be shocking to hear from me, but-- it wasn't hoppy enough. However, if you like beers that taste like flora, you might enjoy this more.

Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale: I had this in a bar just outside of Philly while visiting my big brother. It seemed kind of novel to drink the local beer while watching the local baseball team win and the local hockey team lose. Good beer though. I thought this was pale ale was straightforward and honest, if that makes sense. No gimmicks. Just pale ale. Good.

The Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout: This is one I've walked past many times in the stores, thinking I'd already had it (yeah, you try and keep track of all... how many beers have I tried now?). I finally remembered to check my beer list and discovered that I hadn't. If I had, I think I would have remembered it-- this was great. Dark, strong, really malty. Goodness. Poured like black paint with brown head. My mom's face as she watched me pour it was kinda priceless. I enjoyed this immensely and would totally recommend it to you imperial stout fans out there.


I was kind of hoping that if I had a beer and wrote about something not remotely related to my thesis, it would get me in writing mode and motivate me to accomplish great things this evening. Alas, totally not the case. Guess I better open another one... so I'll write again soon!