Two Friends

Well, well, boys and girls, it appears as though Todd (for all of this girlfriend talk) has been spending a lot of time drinking in front of a computer monitor.

That is a recipe for a computer full of viruses.

I wanted to take this opportunity to announce the opening of the micro-est of microbreweries:

Two Friends Brewery was started in 2009 by one person in his now-estranged roommates' closet. In early-November of 2009, the entire brewing operation was moved from that closet to a communal closet because someone wanted to live in the (now-defunct) brewery.
With the change of scenery, Two Friends brewmaster released his first ever beer-that-doesn't-suck.

"Big, Sloppy Belgian" is a classic Belgian strong ale: a malt-forward dark ale with a pleasant sweetness and notes of licorice and darker fruits is shaded by an eggshell-white head and contains enough alcohol to lower the inhibitions of even the most guarded 18-year-old.

BSB is only available on-tap at Adam, Mike and Kevin's apartment. (You will have to move the cookbooks if you want to pour yourself a glass.)

Friend-of-the-brewery and artist-in-non-residence, Haas, is mocking up the brewery's logo. Merchandise (including t-shirts, full-zip hoodies, glassware and personalized autographed 8x10 glossies) are available by mail-order.

Please etch the item you would like and your size (if clothing) and gender/measurements (if glossies) on the underside of a LG 55-inch 1080p Backlit LCD HDTV and send to Seattle, WA. Please include $5.75 for shipping and handling.

Two Friends will be having monthly releases of its new line of product, including seasonals. Look forward to our upcoming signature Pale Ale "Knapped in the Closet: An American Ale-gory" and our "Tap It, Don't Whack It" Chocolate-Orange Porter.

Tastings will be held every night that it gets dark before 4 pm in front of the brewmaster's virus-infected computer.

Friends-of-the-brewery are always welcome to visit. Fun is mandatory; clothing, optional.

Winter Seasonals and a pleasant surprise.

So, I know I haven't had to say to much about beer in the last 6 months, but I had several occurances last night that I feel obligated to report:

First, Jubelale 2009 is back and better than ever. I'm predicted that this will be the Winter Ale of the year. It's much smoother and not nearly as offensive as it's predecessors. That is, you'll actually want to drink more than one of these at a time. It kind of has a hint of the Snow Plow of yore in it as well. Highly Recommended.


Second, the world of beer is changing before our eyes: Moose Drool and Fat Tire now comes in cans, Budweiser makes a Hefe, and it seems harder and harder to find legitimate "Microbrews."

Good beer in cans, to me, is a good thing. Now I don't have to drink Cole Smead's piss when I'm camping or hiking. Cans around going to make the hung-over pack out much easier. They're also easier to recycle. As Indy Z put it, "Victory!"

I know we all scoff at Bud's attempts to appeal to a market with a finer pallet, but what if they make something that actually tastes good? Given, it's unlikely, but that would really fuck with my beerality if it happened.

Lastly, it seems like the growing microbrew industry is it's own worst enemy. How can Widmer, Belgium, Pyramid, and Alaskan still qualify as microbrews when they produce millions of gallons a year? My only hope is that they don't sacrifice quality for market share as they grow from a nationwide into a global product. Thoughts?

Well, I suppose my semiannual update is slightly overdue. It’s winter here. Again.

The summer blazed by with my brother’s weddings in China and Oregon. Fairbanks enjoyed one of the driest, hottest summer’s on record. We even broke 90 for a day in July. Schmidt made a brief return to the frontier and had enough time to slay a couple dozen salmon and check out my new house. That’s right, I moved again. I counted the other night and I think this is the 13th time I’ve moved in 5 years. Fuck, this is getting old.

Anyway, the new place is awesome and even has running water, which I reckon means that I’ve moved in the early 20th century. I still have an outhouse, but I’m not complaining. I’d rather not deal with a sewage leak in the house at -40F. There are photos on Facebook if you want to get a better look.

I recently had an old friend, Rachel, visit me in Fairbanks. She was on her way to Dutch Harbor to work on the latest season of Deadliest Catch. She’s a real special gal that I met with studying in St. Andrews. We hadn’t seen each other in over two years so it was great to reconnect. I’ll be spending a week visiting her in LA over New Years. Sorry, Eli, this means you missed your window and I’m off the market again. I hope you guys get to meet her some day. If anyone else is in LA area the 31st through the 9th of January, let me know.

As for beer news, I’m still waiting for most of the winter seasonals to arrive. It seems like it’s taking long this years, doesn’t it? I’m more concerned about Powderhound and Jubilale returning than I am about getting my H1N1 vaccine.

I did go to a local Oktoberfest about two months ago and had some really tasty beer and grub. You know what goes better with an Oktoberfest beer better than anything? A scotch egg is what. It’s a hard-boiled egg coated with a sausage/breading mixture and deep-fried… on a stick. A gut bomb for sure, but Drunkard McSloppy is a huge fan.

Coming up to present, I just spent last weekend in Hawai’i for the 3-day Hopu ultimate coed tournament.

I’ve decided that arranging my vacations around Frisbee tournaments is a stellar way to travel. Three days of lodging, food, beer, and fun in paradise all covered for about a $100 fee. That’s hard to beat. And it’s not like any of it was skimped. We had Indian, Thai, and Hawaiian food catered for us and the beer never stopped. If you ever get a chance to get something from the Big Aloha Brewing Company, DRINK IT. DRINK IT ALL. Forget about Kona Brewing, Big Aloha is to Kona as Lacht Neppur in Waitsburg is to Widmer. This is an annual tournament, so if any of you are interested, we should do it next year, maybe hop on a spirit team, and stay longer than just the weekend. There were a couple of Whitties (Matt Stenovec and Molly Smith) down there already, so maybe we could put together an alumni team?

Now I’m settling in for another long Winter. I’ll be stirring in my den around April. Be thinking about coming up next Summer. I may be moving on next Fall…