Beer Review - Taylor's Grog

Unfortunately, I had this in a local pub this week and forgot to take a picture.  The beer is called Taylor's Grog and its from Greenville, DE.  This is a small, small brewery.  I don't know that I've even ever seen a bottle or a website.  If you're in the DE area, McGlynn's pub in Elkton, MD has it.

Taylors puts out a regular grog and a seasonal one.  I had the opportunity to try both the regular Grog and the Octoberfest Grog.  Both are lagerish beers.  Personally I liked the regular grog a bit better than the octoberfest - this is odd because I am usually all over Octoberfest beers.  I found the Octoberfest to be exceptionally bitey and hard to drink.  It had a good taste - slightly pumpkin but a good deal of spice.  It was just hard to drink - the end really stuck you.

The traditional Grog was delicious.  It reminded me of a really super smooth Yeungling (for those of you unfortunate enough to have never had a Yeungling its a very very good Philly Lager).  It would be super easy to have a few too many of the regular Taylors Grog - it was that good.  Good smooth flavor without being overly hoppy, just enough yeast taste to not be over powering.  Just a really really good lager.  I would recommend this to anyone.

Update: It turns out that this is a specialty beer brewed by Twin Lakes Brewery exclusively for Mclynn's Pub and the Deer Park Tavern.  Guess you'll have to go to try it. :-D

-Later

I love my skis!

Took my skis out today to see if they needed any preseason tuning (they don't - I dinged em real bad at A-Basin end of last season and the repair shop there did a super awsome job so they just need some new wax).  Anyway, made me remember two things. A. I love theses skis. and B. I am so itching to get out there.

Beginning of last season I picked up a new pair of skis - Volkl Kenja's.  I had been skiing on a pair of Volkl AC50's when I was in college.  At the time I was racing and just looking for a good front side ski.  Last year I felt the time was right to get a more bouncy ski.  I always demo before I buy a ski - except for my Kenja's.  I had done a ton of research and got a deal so good on them I couldn't pass it up to wait to demo them.  What a good decision.  I love these skis.  They pack a punch but they are so fun and bouncy and forgiving.  Not to mention they are fully traditional camber.  I know some people love the rocker but it just doesn't feel right to me.  Anyway just a quick post to say I'm totally itching to ski.

-Later

On Sledding

I may have mentioned that I'm a little nuts about snow.  Well personally sledding is one helluva good time on snow.  For the last couple of years a group of my friends and I have rented a ski cabin in the Poconos.  The first year - the cabin was crazy small but decently close to a small sledding hill (read re-purposed ski home trail).  We would go out at night and sled til like 11pm.  Of course - the people in the cabin at the bottom of the sledding hill would come out and yell for us to stop.  But boy was it a blast.

Last year, the cabin, while bigger, was a bit of a hike to the sledding hill.  Not to mention the fact that the dismal east coast snow year prevented most sledding.  So we (mostly me) had the brilliant idea to go sledding down the ski slope after it closed.  I'm not talking one of those nice sleds with runners or even a toboggan.   The concept was to slide down on a thin piece of plastic.  First mistake.  Second mistake - I honestly have no clue how we planned to stop since the green trail we were on ran directly into a blue...  Third mistake - this was March... the east coast snow which had been nice and slushy during the day was a frozen solid crystalline mess by 9 pm.  Clearly this did not end well.  We made it about 100 ft before the sled flipped and we decided to use my face to stop.  Not my best idea but - hey I really like to sled.

Enter this year.  Well damnit sledding we got the ultimate revenge.  Upon lots of discussions on the cost of renting cabins for the season, etc. my boyfriend bought a ski cabin.  And wouldn't you know it - its the cabin at the bottom of that sledding hill.  Now thats what I call sledding karma!

-Later

Beer Review - Beer Milkshake!

Beer Review - Sam Adams Octoberfest Milkshake

Okay so I'm not entirely sure this counts as a beer review.  For one its Sam Octoberfest which is a pretty common beer.  For another thing, it comes from a major chain restaurant.  But I mean come one... its a beer milkshake... how can you not?

Admittedly, I wasn't sure on this thing.  Its a beer milkshake - which is awsome - but its also a beer milkshake which is.... well... weird.  Now I like Sam Adams Octoberfest - in general I like most octoberfest type beers.  And I like vanilla ice cream and I like caramel and whipped cream.  But together? I wasn't so sure.  And the verdict? It's okay.  Worth a try because it's so out there but not worth getting a second time.  You can in fact taste the beer - but really from the beer you get the alcohol taste and a really strong yeast/bread taste.  It tastes faintly of Octoberfest but mostly of yeast with a strong after taste of "oh shit that is alcohol".  Vanilla? Not really in the flavor at all.  The consistency is also a little.... off.  Maybe it's because it does taste a bit like beer and you never want your beer to be thick or maybe there's some sort of wierd chemical reaction but for me at least, the consistency made it a touch hard to stomach.  The best part is the caramel and whipped cream - that at least tastes like you'd expect.  Overall - not horrible but really not anywhere near my favorite.

-later

Out with the old...

Heading up to Ian's cabin today (the ski cabin in the Poconos).  The cabin came furnished and well some of the furnishings were ummmm iffy...  Getting rid of the couch - its supper uncomfortable and kind of sketchy.

New couches should be here tomorrow.  And I gotta say... my butt can't wait.

-Later

When's It Gonna Snow?????

I'm into snow.  Like really into it.  I can't get enough of it.  I'm an avid skier and snowboarder.  Will never pass up an opportunity to sled or throw a snowball or even just jump in a pile of snow.  Seriously... around snow if you didn't know I was 25 you'd think I was 5.

Two weeks ago there was a hurricane.  West Virginia got feet of snow. Me? I got nothing. Nada. Zilch.  Not even a flake.  Last week a Nor'Easter hit NJ.  My parents got a foot of snow.  Me? Struck out again.  And I'm feeling it - I got that snow itch.  Can't wait to break the boards out and get back on the snow.  It needs to snow! Anticipation sucks.

-Later

Kickstarter - JS Joust

So there's this game... Have you heard of it?  It's called Johann Sebastian Joust and it's freakin awsome.  Its a game that's been played at game cons all over - including PAX.  Basically you use a playstation move controller and try to get your opponents to move their controller too fast (thus getting "out) while protecting your own - all while set to music.  Want to know more? Check out their website : http://www.jsjoust.com/

So this game hasn't been for public release yet.  This is a shame cuz it's wicked cool.  Now JS Joust is partnering with 3 other awsome games in a Kickstarter project called Sportsfriends in an attempt to release versions to the public for PC, Mac, PS3, etc.  You should totally check it out and support them!

-Later

My Fat Cat

I have a cat.  I love having a pet there when I get home or when I just feel like talking to someone.  I got Misty almost 3 years ago.  She's an awsome cat - more like a dog - she even fetches.

Well for a while I had been just leaving food down for her.  I was always a dog person growing up and never had a cat.  I always assumed that you put the food down, the cat eats till she's full, and then goes about her day.  Well it turns out that Misty doesn't have an off switch on the food thing.  She got to be around 16 lbs (she isn't a large cat so this was almost twice what she should be).  Since I can't always be home at the right time to feed her and sometimes am away for the weekend I needed something that would feed here at a specific time and the right amount.

Enter the SuperFeeder.  This thing is awsome - it has yet to fail and is a mechanical engineers best friend.  Even better - I can precisely set how much and when the cat gets to eat.  I honestly think she likes it too - she always knows when her food is coming now.  Only problem is the result is this:

The cat now camps out in front of the feeder like that for at least an hour before each feeding - seriously she doesn't move an inch.  Its hysterical.  Anyway hope you got your laugh for the day.

-Later

Angry Birds Star Wars

I have to admit, when I saw that there was going to be another installment of Angry Birds I wasn't remotely interested.  Sure the first game was awsome, but it quickly lost its shine and I found my self quickly bored with the other games - Space and Seasons.  Seasons seemed especially lack luster to me.  I assumed that Angry Birds Star Wars was just a way to cash in on two franchises   The release date coinsiding so nicely with the recently announced merger of Lucas Arts and Disney only seemed to confirm this.  But I downloaded it to my tablet anyway - because I mean it is Star Wars.

Guess what? It's actually fun.  It somehow seemed to re-energize the Angry Birds franchise for me.  The birds' new powers are surprisingly inventive and the storyline stays close enough to the original Star Wars (the best one) to feel comfy and nostalgic.  I love the characters - especially the Chewbacca bird, but I've always been a Chewy fan.  I actually haven't been able to put the game down.  This isn't to say it's perfect - I'm running it on my Toshiba Thrive and its a little jumpy in spots.  Now I didn't splurge for the HD version - why pay money when I wasn't sure I was going to like it - so I don't know.  That may fix the problem.  Eitherway, Angy Birds Star Wars is a shockingly great way to spend an afternoon.

-Out

Hurricane Sandy Part Uno!

When I started this blog I really had no intention of making it all macabre with this Hurricane Sandy shit.  And really, the starting of this blog has nothing to do with the timing of Hurricane Sandy.  It just so happens that its on my mind and I really want to share it.

I've mentioned that I'm from the Jersey Shore.  Well, I may have moved to Maryland (after college and some career hopping) but my family didn't.  I'm from a small town on the Jersey coast called Manasquan.  Google it if you want to know where it is.  My Grandma and my two Aunts live 5 or so miles up the coast in Belmar.  I don't know if you've watched the news, but Hurricane Sandy demolished the New Jersey Coast.  Its seriously bad up there.  My whole family made it out fine - but some of the area, including my Grandma's house did not.  I've been trying to figure out how to do this - this really affects me in two ways.  On one hand, there's some serious destruction up there - all the places I frequented as a kid, the places I go when I go home - they're gone.  On the other hand, this affects my family very personally since my Grandma's house - the only house I've ever known her in - is in bad shape - condemned - floating out to sea - not looking good.  I think I'm gonna split this into a few parts.  The first about the general state up there and the last couple about my family.

I was up in the area last weekend (5 days after the hurricane).  I got to tour the area or at least as much of it as was physically possible.  Its bad up there.  No power, a lot of roads aren't cleared of sand, trees, chunks of boardwalk.  Most of the public water is contaminated.  So many people are displaced.  And now to top it off, I hear from my mom that there's over 8 inches of snow on the ground.... great....  Anyway here are some pictures of my tour de destruction.

Ocean Avenue In Sea Girt - Keep in mind this is 5 days after the storm and there's still that much sand.

Ocean Ave in Sea Girt Again

Sea Girt - Broken Board walk and the massive pile of sand they took off the street.

Sea Girt

Sea Girt

Sea Girt

Sea Girt Boardwalk

Sea Girt Boardwalk

Wreck Pond decided to create a brand new inlet and went out to sea.  Here they are trying to fill it back in.

Wreck Pond

Wreck Pond - oh yeah... to the right... that's the freaking street.

Boardwalk in spring lake - not where its supposed to be.

What's left of the boardwalk in Spring Lake

Spring Lake

Spring Lake

Spring Lake

Spring Lake

Chunk of boardwalk - three blocks from where it should be.

Spring Lake

South Pavilion in Spring Lake

What's left of the boardwalk...

So in order to get this pics I had to ride my bike in - you still can't drive there.  Oh yeah... and in a car to get into any town - you need to prove to the national guard why you need to be there.  Anyway... more to come in Part Dos!

Hot Tub Duck!

So as a precursor... I got my engineering degree from Stevens Institute of Technology.  Its a great place, I absolutely loved it, and I go back whenever I get the chance.  Almost all of my friends are also engineers from Stevens (or honorary engineers with some relation to Stevens).  Stevens mascot is the Ducks.

Laugh all you want - but that duck with the glowing red eyes is Attila.  Now one thing about most Stevens grads - we are crazy loyal to the school.  So recently my boyfriend bought a ski cabin in the Poconos.  For a few years now a group of us Stevens grads have been renting a season ski cabin up there - purchasing one was the logical next step.  Now we are all into Stevens - so much so that we came up for a name for ourselves last year.  Ready for it? We call our ski cabin the "Snow Ducks".  Anyway, so the cabin that Ian bought has a hot tub.  The only logical conclusion?...

WE TOTALLY HAD TO BUY THIS!

Told you I was a geek!

-Later

Beer Review - Agave Wheat

I had this idea that once a week, I would try a new beer and post a review of it. Sort of like a beer of the week type thing. I was thinking Saturdays would be a good day for that.  Feels like it needs a better name than "beer review".  I'm open to suggestions - leave your ideas for names in the comments section.  Anyway without further ado I present:

Beer Review: Breckenridge Brewery Agave Wheat!

I think I've mentioned that I'm a skier.  Every year I try to make sure I take a week long ski trip with my Dad.  The last two years we've gone out to Breckenridge Colorado - excellent skiing fyi.  The first year we went we actually got to go to the Breckenridge Brewery.  Honestly the food was so-so.  Nothing to write home about.  But the beer - the beer was great!  Since it was winter and Agave Wheat tends to be more of a summer beer for them we really lucked out when they had the last of this on tap.  I was super stoked to find this in the local liquor store here in Maryland tonight.  (I have something about actually having to have the  beer in hand while writing this review)

Agave Wheat is an unfiltered wheat ale that's been brewed with agave nectar.  It has an ABV of 4.2%.  First off, I love this beer.  Its got a great taste without being so over the top heavy that you can only have one.  I suppose that's why they call it a wheat ale instead of labeling it as a hefewiezen or something.  This beer is super smooth - very little bite.  And despite the agave nectar its isn't overly sweet.  In fact it has a bit of a tang to it.  Having had it both out of the tap and out of the bottle I have to say - you really don't lose much in the bottle.  It has a mild fruitish taste - I assume this is the agave flavor but having never had just straight up agave I can't be positive.  In the finish you can really taste the wheat - but again it manages this without that heavy, bready feeling.  Overall, this is a super refreshing, crisp beer.  I highly recommend it - its been a favorite of mine for two years.

-Later

First Post!

The interesting thing here is that while I have no freakin clue what to say in this first post, I have tons of ideas of what I want to write about later.  Well I guess I should start off with this: Hi! and welcome to my blog.  I'm Sam.  I'm living in Maryland now but I grew up at the Jersey Shore - no, not that Jersey Shore.  I'm an engineer, self-proclaimed geek, on-snow-as-much-as-humanly-possible skier, gamer, extreme thrill junkie, amateur beer brewer, music-listenin, book-readin, trick-playin specimen of humanity.  I also have some pretty cool friends - we go on adventures and get into all kinds of trouble - its a damn good time.

So what can you expect from this blog?  Well I'm a total nerd so without a doubt there will be some cool sciency/engineering stuff on here.  Skiing is my thing - so there will definately be some ski reviews, resort reviews, snow condition reports, and general snow related stuff.  I'm a gamer- PS3, 360, PC, Android, hell even board games - you name it, I'll play it.  Expect some opinions on games that are out there.  Beer reviews - those'll be on here too.  I have this crazy idea to try a new beer every week and write about it.  I'm into music and books so most likely there will be some ideas about those here too.  And there will absolutely positively be adventures in here.  Seriously - some of this shit, you just can't make up.  Don't come here expecting good spelling or proper gramer - I'm an engineer people.

One more thing - the name of my blog is WhatzUpDoc.  No, I'm not a doctor, and I'm definately not overly obsessed with looney toons - couldn't tell you the last time I watched them.  When I was a kid I rode horses - a lot.  My horse's name was Doc.  Everyday I walk up to him and ask him what's up.  I guess this blog is my way of just letting the world know "What's Up".

-later