secondGemini

the end is nigh? nay.

Allright.... Portland beers!  I've got a few to get into and talk about.  This one being the first.

Brewed by 10 Barrels Brewing out of Bend Oregon.  Ok, I guess I should specify.  Beers that were brought to me FROM Portland.  Not necessarily made there.

The "Apocalypse" IPA is a very drinkable citrusy IPA.  It doesn't do for me what many truly Cascadian or "North American" style IPA's do.  To my taste, this is more of an English style IPA.  It's still got a decent hop to it, but on the nose I got a very bready/biscuity aroma.  It's a little softer compared to something like Sierra Nevada's Torpedo, or my favourite local IPA the Driftwood Fat Tug.

This beer still has it's redeeming qualities though.  It poured just a gorgeous thick, cloudy, dank orange colour and has a nice long finish.  Which I love.

To called it "Apocalypse" to me, is a bit over stated.  It doesn't have the IBU's listed, but I'd say somewhere in the range of 50-60.  That still is quite bitter, but some IPA's are REALLY pushing it.  80 -120 IBU's.  (International Bitterness Unit).

But with all the adjectives and jargon aside.... am I enjoying it?  Hell yes.  Could or would I drink it all night?  Definitely not.

Would I buy it again?  For sure!  Why?  Because I am fully enjoying the process of tasting, photographing and writing about it.  And to drink this beer again would simply bring me back to this moment.

hey baby...

So after a 8 hours of driving and shooting yesterday, I went back to the office for another 4 hours of sorting, numbering and photoshop processing.

So here I am.... on my DAY OFF, taking pictures and playing in Photoshop.  Ok, seriously.... what is wrong with me?  Nothing I say!  Because I'll be damned if I'm taking pictures of somebody's dingy breakfast nook.  No sir.  It's 11:30am, and it's time for a delicious treat.

And as a true Cascadian, I am enjoying a delightfuly crips, pale copper coloured, piney IPA from the Bay Area.  This is a beauty.  It truly reminds me of my days at the beerstore.  Which, I loved now that I'm not doing that job anymore.

I actually ordered the Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin' months ago when I was doing the import beers.   And due to shipping across the border, availability and crazy weird rules at the LDB, I think these are the ones I ordered.  hah!  Well, it was a good call on my part.

We had carried the Lagunitas IPA before, and it was fantastic as well.  However the Sumpin' Sumpin' has a deeper hue and a much longer finish.  Allowing the gentle orange citrus aroma to tease your olafactory system as the beefy hops sit on the back of your palate begging you for another pint.

.... plus a pin-up girl.

Nice.

frying panoramic

Every so often I simply get the keys to an empty house to photograph it.  I do my work, then take a second to sit, relax and enjoy getting to work in some great locations.  AND i always have a camera!

I stitched this little beauty together the other day.  It shot it with my super wide 10mm to take in as much as humanly possible. 

After I took all these photos, I loaded them all into photoshop and stitched them together manually.  I've seen some cameras that stitch everything together for you on the spot!

I have to say.... this kind of thing has me torn.  Is it a rad toy?  for sure.  Do I want one?  yeah kinda.  But as a photographer, I kind of like the fact that taking a shot like this, or any funky filtering or effects takes some skill. 

Now granted, I suppose if you're truly serious about it and or do commercial stuff involving photography, Photoshop still really is the only way to go.  Or at least some sort of relatively high end photo manipulating software.

So, now that I've written about it and read it back to myself..... go ahead and enjoy the auto stitching cameras that do everything except your dishes. 

I'll probably get one myself eventually .... however, nothing matches the power of my DSLR, and my ever so slowly growing collection of glass.

 

Jenga is....

..... so much fun, you'll crap your pants.

worth the wait

Part of my severance package from Spinnakers was this very rare Hefeweisen made by Brooklyn Brewing.  What's particularly special about it, is that it was a collaborative effort between Garrett Oliver (Brooklyn) and Hans-Peter Drexler from Schneider Brewing in Germany.  The pioneering brewery of the Wheat Beer.

I was truly honoured to receive this.  Not only is it autographed by Garrett Oliver, but it had been cellaring for 2 years.  With many beers, this would be a little too long.  It would spoil, be flat etc.  However, this gem was 8.5% and that's definitely enough to keep things in order inside the bottle. 

This fine brew smelled exactly the way I was hoping it would when I opened it.  It poured a very rich opaque orange and had a good solid head with excellent retention.

Right away I loved this beer.  Before it had even hit the back of my palate I was in love.  First off because it was hot the day we had it, and that's just how it should be when enjoying a Hef.  Rich, thick, heady, wheaty and a little citrus right in there as well.  (I am not prejudiced against the orange slice, but it just didn't feel right to do it with this one.)

But this is what they call a "Hopfen-Weisse", so as the sunny wheaty/citrus flavours slightly dissipated, and the beer rolled over the back of my tongue where you tend to taste bitterness the most..... *BOOM*  Hops!

maaaan oh man.... what a treat.  Just beautiful all around.

Plus, I couldn't help but enjoy this a little more because of its rarity.  It felt like I was enjoying something that very few people have ever enjoyed, and never will again.  THAT my friend, is a treat in itself.

A big thank you to Jami who gave this to me.  It was amazing, and I'll never forget it.  She said I shouldn't drink it.  Hah!  No chance.

I'm very excited for Beerfest this year, as Brooklyn Brewing will be there.  I plan on talking to them as much as I can, getting some great shots for Beertopia!

But until then.....this is going down as one of my favourite beer drinking experiences.

 

all said and done

Ahhhh.... Feels good to have all the wedding stuff over and done with.  It was a positively brilliant time!  I was completely spent afterwards.

As best man and MC, it was a bit of a workload, but by all informed accounts I nailed it.  Good thing, because it was startin' to stress me out just a bit. 

Now that all the wedding responsibilities aren't hanging over my head anymore, I can focus on things to come.  Sarah and I have a few plans for the rest of the summer.  Hoping to get to Saltspring for a weekend, and up to Qualicum for a bit too.

There's also Hawk and Steel's debut gig on Tuesday night.  I'm psyched for that.  We sound deadly tight in rehearsal, so I'm looking forward to ripping it up. 

With Jeff moved out now as well, I can get back to doing some massages.  I'm happy to be able to continue doing it, as I'm no longer trying to pin my full time employment on it.  I can just do treatments as I please.
Sweet!

That said.... I think it's time to go outside.