Brew Brain Blog

Alright, back on the horse. It has been a while since my last formal beer review, so here we go.

Tonight I popped the cap on a bottle that’s been sitting in my beer ‘fridge for far too long. Time to break out the Rogue Shakespear Stout. I’ve heard good things about this beer, so I was looking forward to trying it. Why I waited so long, I have no idea.

PHOTO WILL GO HERE

I let the bottle sit out on the counter while I attempted to stack some donkeys on the poker tables. I like my dark beers to be cool to the touch, but not too cold. I just find the flavors don’t pop very well if the beer is too cold. Same it true to an extent with the lighter beers, but warming is mandatory for the dark ones.

The pour yields a very attractive dark brown body with a nice mocha head atop. Light barely forces its way through just enough to give off a bit of a ruby hint around the edges. Looks good enough to drink!

The scents on this puppy are classic stout. Coffee, chocolate and rich roasty scents abound. It smells great.

And now the taste test. Wowzers, is this ever a tasty beer! The first sip convinced me that this is the finest stout I’ve ever tasted.

The flavors are a perfect blend of smooth earthy toasted grains and a bit of espresso with a dark chocolate finish. I cannot get over how smooth this puppy is. It’s just perfect. Absolutely perfect in every way. I can’t imagine tasting a better stout. I really can’t. I wish I had another. I want nothing more than to screw up tomorrow’s work day right now.

The mouth feel is right on the money. It is nice and medium thick on the tongue with perfect carbonation. The hops on the back end compliment the grains so well I can’t stand it. You know how you just want to smush a golden retriever puppy? That’s how I feel about this beer.

Overall, A++++++++++++++. I don’t know what else to say. Now go get you some!

Enjoy your beer,

BrewBrain

The poker was much better in April. Well, it didn’t end with a spectacular bang; it was more of a sickly whimper. But, it’s better than barely eaking out a win like I did in March. Here’s a chart:

The big disappointment is the 100NL tables. I played four different levels during April. In 1,223 hands of 25NL I won $8.15. In 2,704 hands of 30NL I won $278.80. In 13,013 hands of 50NL I won $771.45. In 14,990 hands of 100NL I lost $211.25.

I just can’t seem to get anything going at the $1NL tables. I’ve been coolered every which way, and if I have one more person tell me in the chat window “good call, got lucky” after they nail their 3- or 5-outer, I am going to have to puke on my keyboard.

That said, I’m not running so bad that I’m losing my shirt. I’m in the midst of a modest break-even streak, so I shouldn’t complain too loud.

So, clearly, I’ve got what I need to buy all the equipment I need for a kick-ass kegging system. However, I’ve decided to shoot for bigger things. I have a goal of working my way up to the 5/10 NL tables - the $1,000 max buy-in tables - by the end of the year. I need $25K before I take shots at those tables. Along the way, I have to start beating 1NL, then I have to beat, in order, 2NL, 4NL and 6NL. Each will likely be tougher than the last. It is a tall order, but I believe I’ll make it.

Rakeback is just awesome. I made an extra $500 in essentially free money. It will be a much larger number in May as I’ll be playing $1NL and higher. In April I played $.25 - $1NL. Don’t play poker on the internet without it. Click the banner in the upper right of the screen or at the bottom of this page and sign up to play through RakeTheRake if you want to play. You can read more about rakeback in this post.

I really wasn’t expecting much from the Giants this year following the exit of Barry Bonds and the supposed lack of young talent in the organization.  I thought the young pitchers would be very impressive, which they definitely are, but I am now very hopeful that we may have a few young position players to cheer on for years to come. 

They seem to have the right team shape now as far as I’m concerned.  The names may ultimately have to change, but I think the style of play is headed in the right direction.  In that ballpark, speed will be very important.  They definitely have that.  In fact, they set a new April team record for stolen bases.  If they can get these young speedsters on base more consistently and find a way to drive them in more often, they’ll be golden.  They won’t have to score seven runs a game to win, but getting four or five with some regularity would be nice.  I love the effort I’ve seen every game so far.  This has turned out to be a fun team to watch.

With any luck, some of these old farts will play well enough to be of some value to contending teams.  It would be nice to get something for Aurilia and Durham.  I would love for there to be some payoff for having them take playing time away from the young guys.  We’ll see. 

Barry Zito was moved to the bullpen.  I wonder if most fans are like me.  I went from very pissed off at him to feeling badly for him.  This has got to feel horrible.  I hope he can pull it together.

Well, once again, the idiots who run the shop have decided to spit in the face of their customers.  Read this garbage:  AssHats.

I love college football, but I am done with it.  I know lots and lots of sports fans.  I know precisely zero who like the current structure for deciding a champion. 

You’d think they’d have learned their lesson two years ago when Boise State won the national championship.  If they had had a decent playoff structure, they may have been happier with their end of season trophy holder.  Oh, you didn’t know Boise State won?  Well, they did.  Following their win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, the most entertaining and exciting sporting event ever held and witnessed by me, I voted and they won, so there.

I need a good reason for picking Boise State?  Well, I have one.  They went undefeated during the season.  Oh, but BOO FREAKING HOO, they didn’t beat anyone, right?  Well, probably true.  Enter Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.  Boom!  BrewBrain National Champs.  Ship it!

As a Giants fan listening to six Reds runs cross the plate in the first inning, I hereby call on Barry Zito to do the right thing and put us all out of our misery.  He would be a decent high school pitcher right now.  Barry, do the right thing and retire immediately.  Void your contract and just leave.  Do not come out for the second inning today.  Please.