HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

Have a good and safe holiday.

RIP: SHELBY

Alas, my daughter’s pet turtle, a red eared slider, who she’s had for 26-1/2 years, since we bought it for her 12^thbirthday.

Suspect it was a respiratory infection, we just saw him Saturday when we were visiting and I thought he looked a bit lop-sided but didn’t think anything of it. He used to like to swim between his basking rocks and the glass in his tank, so just figured it was one of his silly things.

Didn’t see him often, but still going to miss him, hope he’s in turtle heaven…

CHIPZ HAPPEN

Another tasty treat from the monthly LOVE WITH FOOD box; this one is a tortilla chip with cinnamon, lime and cayenne pepper. And it’s gluten free/non-gmo/vegan (not that those really matter to me).

But it does have a nice heat that sneaks up on you from beneath the cinnamon taste and by the time you finish the packet, it leaves you with a nice warmth that lingers at the back of the throat.

If you like the combo of heat & sweet, these are the chips for you – find them and give them a try.

SKUNKY BEER

Wired magazine had a short article today giving a basic overview about how beer gets lightstruck, entitled What’s Up With That: My Beer Tastes Like a Skunk’s Bathwater.

It’s a fairly basic explanation of the process of a beer becoming lightstruck — often called skunky — written after interviewing Roger Barth, author of the textbook, the Chemistry of Beer. The author even takes a little thinly-veiled swipe at Corona. “This could explain why certain clear-bottled brands suggest you squeeze a lime into their beer to mask the skunk before taking a swig.” But it was the final sentence that had me in stitches. “But if you must, for reasons I will never understand, drink a Heineken, I suggest you get it on tap and hide your shame in a dark corner of the bar.”

(With thanks to BrookstonBeerBulletin)

BEER #1200

 With the catchy name of Ommegang Gnomegang, this blonde ale is a smooth drinker, even at 9.5%ABV.

I do like the blonde ale style of beer, and this one is really yummy. The original version was a creation by two breweries, Ommegang in Cooperstown New York, and Brasserie d’Achouffe in Belgium, bottled in a large bottle with a cork. This version is bottled standard, but is still a fine ale.

 And as a matter of interest, Chouffe is Belgian for ‘gnome’, hence the gnomes on the label.

 If you can find it, try it…I got mine at Beer Revolution in Lakeland, FL. If you’re ever in town, stop in and check out their beers. Guaranteed no A-B-Inbev-Miller-Coors…well, you get my drift…

FRITZ MAYTAG ON BEER

“We brewers don’t make beer, we just get all the ingredients together and the beer makes itself.”

(Past President of Anchor Brewing)

REALLY, GEORGE?

'STRIKES BOCK' BEER NAME SPARKS TRADEMARK DISPUTE

Star Wars creator George Lucas and Lucasfilm have filed notice to force Empire Brewing in Syracuse, N.Y., to quit using the name Strikes Bock for a beer it has been brewing for seven years. Empire recently applied for a trademark for the beer, which it previously sold only at its brewpub and now plans to distribute from a larger brewery it is building in Cazenovia. "The thing is the beer is called 'Strikes Bock,' not 'Empire Strikes Bock,'" owner Dave Katleski told a local newspaper, "It's 'Strikes Bock,' by Empire." In its legal argument, Lucasfilm, now owned by the Walt Disney Co., contends that the Empire Brewing beer label could infringe its trademark rights and cause confusion among consumers. One of the company’s arguments is that it operates a vineyard in California, which makes wines that use Star Wars-themed names and logos.

(Because it's so easy to confuse movies and wine with beer...)

TO AMERICA

By Stephen Ambrose:

 ‘Once, sitting with a Sioux man of my age on his porch, I looked at my watch. It was twelve noon.

“ Time for lunch,” I said and started to get up.

He laughed and said, “White man only man I know who looks at his watch to see if he is hungry or not.”’