May first things

It has been 8 years since my wife Ann died from cancer. I miss her very much and think about her everyday. The grandchildren are growing and Nic and DeDe are older. Nic and Angie have a wonderful family. DeDe is doing well as a wine sales person. I am doing well. I thank the Lord everyday for having known Ann and having two wonderful childrfen with her.

Arborfest was lots of fun. Thom and I played bagpipes and I had an awful lot of Surly Smoke to drink. I think I need to stay away from that beer. Both times I have had it, I have drank way too much of it. It was a good fest. Saw some people I knew, James, Martha, Adam, Carol, Cathie, Jeff, Brian, Bob & Big Frank from Fitgers, Andre, Jeremy, and Brenda from Barley John's, Damian, Bob McKenzie, Mike from Schell's (he's a sales rep). Next day I was feeling a wee bit rough.

I gamed (Guns of Liberty) at Brent's with Mike, Ron (John's dad) & John. It was loads of fun. Especially rolling so well against Brent. My Jaegers chased his rifleman battalion out of the woods. We saw the backsides of those boys a couple of times. We loaded up our left and crushed his right. He called it a draw at the end of the game, however, in any regular set of rules a brigade with most of the regiments at under 50% would be gone from the field. He had one regt. still at full strength and 3 at 25%. The flank was crushed and it was all over except for the crying.

I then went to Townhall and Thom and I played for the blessing of the Maibock. They had a regular blessing service and we piped in the padre. Afterwards, we ate and drank at the expense of the Townhall. It was a good time. Good beer, good conversation and good food all of it made for a very memorable evening.

Sunday, I worked in the yard and then K and I went to the Living Green Expo. We stayed for two hours and left. We madesome contacts and got some ideas. We bought a few plants. I bailed on the piping at the May Day parade with Doug and his group but there is only so much I can do in a day.

We went over to DeDe's where she had made a beautiful dinner for us. We had artichoke dip, crudites, another dip, bread, gnocchi, salad, lovely cucumber infused water, and tomatoes. For dessert, she made us a cheese cake with cherries in Chambord liquer, and drizzled with strawberries liquified. It was so good. Before this lovely dinner, we all pitched in to help DeDe on her yard. Usually, it is me and Damian and Ava helping DeDe but this time we enlisted everyone Nic, Angie, Katherine, Ted, and me. We did a lot of work. Some plants were damaged but the yard is in good shape.

Things Winterfest

Another Winterfest has come and gone. Beers were consumed and they were for the most part really good. Conversation was good. Glasses were dropped. Fun was had by all. It was held at the History Center this year and I am not sure about it. The setting was lovely but it was spread out over two floors and it was crowded. It had problems. I believe I prefer the Landmark Center. Thom and I lead off the fest with bagpipes, the traditional start of Winterfest and the Autumn Brew Review. What is fun about Winterfest is that all the brewers are Minnesota brewers. We have a great group of brewers here and they make world class beers. It is very cool to be here in Minnesota now.

Here are my notes about the beers I sampled last night in the order of the program. The grading system is three points with 3 being the best and I would buy it, 2 I would drink it, and 1 give it to a friend (just kidding) flush it.
AUGUST SCHELL: Hopfenmalz 2 1/2 pts. I really liked the malt profile in this beer, very drinkable. U bier(cask) - 2 1/2 I liked the unfiltered pils a lot. Pils is not a favorite style of mine so this is big.
BARLEY JOHN'S: Schwartzbier - 2 pts. Changed from when I had it on my birthday, not as tasty as I remember. Dark Knight Returns - 2 1/2 pts. This is a winter by the fire beer to savor for the whole evening. Winter ale - 2 1/4pts. I enjoyed it more than the Summit Winter ale, a good beer.
BRAU BROS: Sheephead ale - 2 1/4pts. They use their own home grown hops. It is a darn good beer. Vanilla Bean Cream Stout(cask)- 2 1/2pts. This is a very nice session beer, tasty, nice vanilla & choco notes.
COLD SPRING: John Henry - 1/2pt. As Thom noted, neither imperial or a stout. There was something missing from the taste. Very disappointing.
FITGER'S: Gale Force Cranberry Ale - 2pts. This is best when fresh. This had age and was totally different from the fresh product. Bourbon Barrel Aged Edmund Imperial Stout - 2 3/4pts. I love their stout and this was really, really good. Procrastinator Dopplebock - 2 1/2pts. A very good dopple, lots of malt and flavour. Collaboration Cherry Grand Cru - 2 1/2pts. I really liked this one as well, however, I really liked the Grand Cru (TownHall) by itself. Fitger's Framboise - 2 pts. Tart, sour, but very tasty and I believe with a little aging will be outstanding.
FLAT EARTH: Winter Warlock Golden Barleywine - 2 1/2pts. Really good, a very tasty and drinkable barleywine. Cygnus X-1 Xanadu - 2 3/4pts. orange infused porter, a chocolate bar with orange peel. YUM YUM!
GRANITE CITY: Oak Aged Scottish Ale - 2 3/4pts. I really liked this beer, a good session beer. Low gravity, 4.5% so it was a rare one amongst all of the big boys. I enjoy their Scottish ale.
GREAT WATERS: Brother Stiffe's - 2 1/2pts. Really good. Betelguese - 2 3/4pts. Chocolate porter really well made and tasty. Yuletide - 2 1/2pts. This wheat surprised me with how well balanced it was. King Boreas Imperial Witbeer - 2 3/4pts. Another really good and drinkable wheat beer. Three Horizons Belgian Pale Ale - 2 pts. Good beer. Pup Tent Stout(cask)- 2 3/4pts. This was a really really good stout and the passion fruit was well balanced. Mon Cheri(cask) - 3 pts. Vanilla cherry stout with good balance and taste, nothing was overwhelming.
LIFTBRIDGE: Imperial Stout(cask)- 1pt. Disappointing. Facemeltor Barley Wine(cask) - 1pt. Great name, disappointing beer. Belgian Biscotti - 1pt. I ate a biscotti with it. The biscotti was better than the beer. Farm Girl Saison - 2 1/2pts. A good tasty saison even after an evening of drinking it tasted good.
McCANN'S: Apicot Coriander Ale - 1pt. Too fruity by half.
ROCK BOTTOM: Tripel Framboise - 2 1/2pts. Good balance for the fruit and the beer. Smoked Porter - 2 1/2pts I really like smoked porters. Hop Bomb Double IPA - 2 1/2pts. This was a very drinkable IPA, well balanced with a good amount of malt to offset the hops.
SUMMIT: Winter Ale(cask) - 2 1/4pt. My favorite Summit but it tasted a bit astringent in the finish. Extra Pale Ale(cask) - 2pts. Good EPA but dry hopped with Amarillo hops, not my favorite.
SURLY:Bourbon One - 2 3/4pts. This one won the Snowshoe award. I thought the Darkness was better. TWO - 2pts. A bit tart, this was tastier when it was fresh. Three - 2pts. Darkness - 3pts. I enjoyed this beer very much. The best stout of the night. Smoke - 2 3/4pts. Really good but not like it was straight out of the tanks at the Darkness fest. Mild - 2 3/4pts. I love a good mild and Todd does a great job. Brackett - 2 1/2pts. This was a very good beer/mead.
THE HERKIMER: High Point Dunkel - 2 pts. good dunkel. Bock - 1 pt. Forgettable.
TOWN HALL: Twisted Reality Barley Wine - 2 1/2pts really good. Batch 1000 - 2 1/2pts Souped up Masala Mama, good. Chipotle Wee Heavy - 2 pts. Takes your taste buds for a ride.
Grand Cru - 3pts. Another one of my favorites of the night. Coconut Milk Stout - 2 pts. Too sweet, too much coconut. Kentucky Dessert(cask) - 2pts. Too much bourbon in my stout.
VINE PARK: Black Magic Imperial Stout - 2pts. Good stout with coffee and chocolate notes.