Beer Review of the Week: Swamphead Brewery: My Thai

Swamphead Brewery, (Gainsville Florida): Found at the ABC Stores Growler Section.     

This week we stay in the state of Florida and travel over to Gainsville... and sampled Swamp Head Brewery's My Thai, A decent beer with some surprise as you let it warm up.

Aroma: Hard to tell definitely some pine, its a bit yeasty, but overall:l pleasant.

Appearance: Nice solid looking IPA. Not much head. Looks like Amber Honey.

Flavor: This beer tastes good around 50 degrees... the flavors come out and then whop there it is a tickle to the back of the throat from the Thai Chilis. Yum. The Kafir lime does coat the mouth well. And the Ginger adds just the right balance to give it more than a yum. This beer builds into a beautiful shenpa (the process of getting hooked), and then is savored the more. This beer deserves kindness and patience as the craftsmanship is truly present. Someone whom does not appreciate finesse will miss the beauty of the overall beer. It is a subtle beauty that in time was worth the patience.

Compared to the Jai Alai by Cigar City brewing it took more time to enjoy... but once I got that flavor... it truly is a memorable beer.   Served with a burrito from Chipolte.

Beer Review: Cubano Style Espresso Brown Ale

It was short of a masterpiece; but the attempt to be different and hold to the traditional brown ale style kept it afloat.

Appearance: Dark brown, not much head, it looked lively and inviting.

Smells: The scent of this beer was everything good about Tampa; espresso coffee, delicious pastries at Segundo Bakery, or just a Tampa style Cuban Media Noche- The scent invited me to Ybor City.

Taste: The Espresso really does not linger like a good coffee should, as the brown ale tradition was favored over any of the other flavors. I was hoping for more of a stout beer than this brown ale. Because a stout or a porter, can go heavier in flavor and not affect the overall beer style. I think they did a fine job of maintaining tradition with an updated twist.

Mouth Feel: The taste at first lingered on the front of the palate only and slowly worked its way to the back. I was hoping for a coated feeling from the espresso.

As I drink more of this from my growler the taste becomes ever so nice. It still is not in the 4-5 Outstanding. But its better than an average beer. Also I loved that Ybor attempted to take a brown ale and work it with heavy flavors. Does any one else do this? Or has any one attempted to do this? So I think they deserve a special mention for being daring to try and innovate the industry. But a 4-5 makes me want to shout out loud and share the good news with everyone else, this beer did not raise my shout out loud meter.

Note:

I am exploring beer and will share a number of beers in the future.   I think it is fun to learn about micro beers and then attempt to share them with my readers.   I hope you have fun reading my blog as much as I enjoy reporting the beer.  

Mazol Tov,
Gregorio Roth

If One Is to Read Steinbeck, (Besides the Grapes of Wrath)....

Travels with Charley... the book is truly one that is under-rated for its depth and beauty shared. I even named my dilapidated van Rocinante... I listened to the book while traveling between Washington via Oregon and Colorado... it was a great book for my travels. The book set the tone for the whole trip

Brick + Mortar - Old Boy (Animated Video)

I love the sense of wonderment this video shares... the kid side of the artist shares throughout....

Fluxx: The Review

Played Cards (Fluxx) with my friend Michael Anderson... The game is a simple game to learn because every card has its own set of instructions.  The best way to learn is to jump in and begin to play.  Or you can watch the Will Wheaten hosted video on Table Top.

 We played three different versions:  
The Wizard of Oz Fluxx, Cthulhu Fluxx, and the Monty Python Fluxx .   I think each set is geared towards a certain type of person:   The Cuthulu- The dark and brooding;   The Wizard of Oz-the classically suave; and the Monty Python-the 70's good timer.

  All three were great fun.

Jaws by Peter Benchley


Jaws, like Moby Dick, is a book about vicious people, more than enraged sea animals.


View all my reviews

Top Five: Which is Scarier the Shark or .... (In Jaws (the Book)).

1. The shark or the homophobic brawny townies.
2. The shark or the snow-birds need to keep up with the Jones.
3. The shark or a little whinny kid bored on the beach because there is nothing to do on the beach.
4. The shark or the money spent by the snow-birds.
5. The shark or gazpacho sprinkled with marijuana.  (It's breaking the law.... he he he).

Commentary on Entertainment's List of 50 Cool Reads

We the Readers Demand a Recount

Entertainment's List of 50 Cool Reads.
Check the list before reading my comments.

There are way too many safe books here.  Why is the Great Gatsby on this list? Why 1984? They are examples of great books ruined by good intentioned teachers.   Teachers in high-school kill books when they force the books down students throats.  There meaning becomes something to memorize instead of internalizing, and taken into our hearts.  Cool books are ones that help guide us... through different perils in life's great passing.    Where is Stephen King, Clive Barker, Tony Robbins, Maxine Hong Kingston, or Che Guevera?  Or even Henry Miller?   I think that the biggest problem is any book that is forced on us the reader to read, especially in Highschool, or Junior Highschool, should be excluded.  Cool books are ones that we, the readers, find on our own, or from liking one book and then checking out another one.  Or even the covers.  Or being featured by great readers who say, "Son this book is awesome, I sure hope you check it out. " 

Zinio and Esquire:
I was thankful that the Polk County Library Collective has Zinio.  Zinio is a great way to check out magazines at home.   The browser has a number of great magazines including: Backpacker, Esquire, Oprah, National Geographic, Apple, Cosmopolitan, and ESPN (to name a few). This month, August 2014, Stephen King has published a short story for Esquire, check it our today.