Friday, February 4, 2011

Friday, Beer and Karma

No run yesterday. Call from the elementary school, Jack had a head-ache, so no go. Which was fine since that 11 miler on Wed. was nails. Really solid. The best part is my body feels strong. I'm starting to recover faster from these runs.

The boy is home sick today so I got in 10 miles by 7:00am. 10 miles, 1500ft of climbing.
Warm-up 1 mile, 6 miles at 7-8% (10min/mile) 1500ft., felt really easy. Yum. Cool-down 3 mi.

I could actually live with 10-15 mile runs every other day, some harder than others with climbing/intervals/etc. But recover between them (no runs). I'm not doing that, just saying.

So a little thought or two on beer. I really like beer. I have been taking it easy lately. After I drank my last little batch of brews, I didn't re-stock. So I haven't had beer on the premises. Not a bad call. We like to get a bite now and then, so I'll have a beer or two with dinner and then that's it. And we haven't eaten out much these days, so the beer in-take has been pretty minimal.

But then I got an itch this last week. On an off day, I wanted a beer. So I went down to Pizza Port Ocean Beach. I was craving a solid cali IPA. Perhaps a big DIPA, but again a big cali hop bomb. I turned around after studying the boards because the selection sucked. I could have gone Jetty IPA, but I wanted more. And I guess I wasn't that thirsty, so I left.

Up the street is a bar that has a nice tap selection. It's a dive. But they always have 2-3 Alpine taps. Enough said. So I belly-up, and ask what Alpine they got. "We're out." WTF. I had a Ranger IPA and it tasted like water. I left after that. Big disappointment.

I was getting some groceries at Ralphs which has the worst beer selection, but they had Firestone Double Barrel Ale for 6.99 for 6. Picked one up. Not IPA, but a good deal?
No. Thirst was not quenched.

Bad luck on the subject of beer.

So yesterday I had had enough. I don't want to drink anything but what I want. I picked-up a 6 pack of Firestone IPA and a 22 of Green Flash Imperial. I know what I like and it looks like it's up to me to get it myself.

So, now I have some beers on the premises. And given a loooong run on Sunday, homemade chili and a hopefully good Superbowl, I might add a few gems to my little stock, sit back and chillax at Matt's Pub. Sigh.

Karma at the Superbowl. . .

Bill Romanowski, who's a certified nut (which doesn't really support the credibility of this take, granted) has an interesting take on the Superbowl. He says the Packers will win because Ben Roethlisberger has a little bad karma coming his way. As we know, Ben served a 4 game suspension for some bad behavior in a bar with an young lady. He wasn't arrested, but clearly he was up to no good (perhaps sexual assault), so the league suspended him. With that, even though he's served his suspension and has worked-on his image (getting back to the superbowl has helped), there are those that might think he's got some "pay-back" coming.

I tend to believe this kind of stuff. I think the Steelers are the better bet in this game. But you just have to wonder a little about that big picture, the metaphysics, etc. Ben has done some bad things. That we know. Does he win the Superbowl despite that kind of lascivious behavior?
It just doesn't seem to work that way, does it?

On top of that, there's a lot of talk about Aaron Rogers. He's the burgeoning Green Bay QB who is set to win his first ring. I'm one of those skeptical of all the hype. I need to see some results before the coronation.

But karma comes in here as he is a good guy and he's replaced a legend there in GB. That "replacement" has a whole bunch of history and drama. But Rogers has finally replaced Favre, and Favre's legacy has been tarnished because of all of his questionable behavior. He's not, as it turns-out, a very solid character.

So on two counts, the karma is with GB in in this Super Bowl.
Should be interesting to see how it turns-out.

TGIF. Beer me.

Update:
For those not interested in the SB cuz it's lame:
I would make the kind of argument I make to Jehovas Witnesses about Christmas that I would to most (especially men) about the SB. It's a tradition that involves hanging with people you like (family in my case), watching our culture show it's private parts, and drinking a few beers and eating some yummy homemade junk. Word.

One last note:
I think I hit Mission Bay tomorrow to watch the Open Men's XC national champs. The weather will be ridiculously good and the entry list looks nice. Watch-out for a guy I met a few years ago and follow on Twitter: Ben Bruce.

8 comments:

  1. Damn. You might have an alcohol problem (in a perfectly acceptable elite level of beer snobbery kind of way though) if Ranger tastes like water. I have felt similarly but only when I start out with something extra hoppified and then move down. I had the Mendocino White Hawk IPA last night, not bad but they need to put it in a can. Since I am relatively new to the IPA scene, do you think that IPA's have really taken off lately? It seems like it's more popular than ever.

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  2. I did start out hoppier (I had a Green Flash West Coast IPA first - which is pretty hoppy), so my problem isn't as bad :)

    I think it has taken-off. San Diego's micro-beer community has really taken-off and still is. Ranger is new (I think) from a mainstream brewery who seems to have recognized the trend.

    You see Bud and some of the crap brew behemoths doing some kind of "ale." So yeah.

    I guess the point of my beer post was I like what I like and am over "trying something new."
    Of course i have invested some time/money in finding-out what I like (and I am, in the end, open to new stuff . .. who's kidding who).

    I was telling JW the other day that Ranger may be my favorite "daily" beer (if I had one). It's solid. I was just being pissy the other day.

    Keep up the good work, my friend.
    And thanks for stopping by.

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  3. All I know is that IPA is the shit. I grew up on Coors (redneck farm boy) and the stuff now is an abomination. I decided too that if I'm going to drink beer I will absolutely buck up and pay an extra ~3$ to drink something that I love. I'm still in the new stages and am still trying every thing I can get my hands on, but Ranger is still my go to beer for sure. A little weak in ABV though. I can get Raging Bitch Belgium IPA for cheaper and it is 8.3%. The Belgy style though has a wheatish taste that I'm not a fan of. Hopefully you'll get the chance to try GZ's home brew EPO IPA. One of the best beers I've ever had hands down.
    You too keep up the good work!

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  4. I've had one of GZ's beers a year or so ago. It was really good and the word amongst you all is that EPO is really really good.

    I am the same on the ABV point and the wheatish taste. However, I have paid a little more for a nice Belgian like Duvel (the big one that has a cork), poured it into a champagne glass and my wife loved it! But yeah, IPA is the shit.

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  5. Damn! I need to keep a Hercules DIPA bomber stashed away for posts like this.

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  6. Cheers, Mr. Vertical.

    Get on up!

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  7. I'm suprised Stone IPA isn't your Go-To IPA; your "forgot I had that pack in my closet" beer.

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  8. Stone and Ranger are good go-to's. At costco i can get a case of stone for $25. And maybe i can find Ranger on sale for about $7/6. For a go-to/daily type of beer, price has to come into play. Along with quality.

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