One Lucky S.O.B.

We headed into the District of Crime Columbia Wednesday evening to watch the Hokies play in the ACC Tournament. Arriving early, we opted for dinner at the Green Turtle in the Verizon Center. Since I had plenty of time before the drive home, I hoped to enjoy a beer with dinner. The menu listed a "Flying Dog seasonal." Our waiter said he thought it was the K-9 Winter Ale, which didn't interest me. He returned to the table to let me know it was Lucky S.O.B. Irish Ale. Lucky me!

I opted for the smaller 16 ounce serving. However when the beer arrived, our server informed me the bartender accidentally poured the large serving, and it was mine at the smaller price. Lucky me!

Lucky S.O.B Irish Red Ale was first bottled by Flying Dog a few years ago and I've enjoyed it often since, but I don't recall that I've had it on draft until now. Lucky me! The ale pours a deep, reddish-copper color with a frothy beige head. Strong caramel and bready notes great the nose. The flavor is rich with toasted and caramel malts. There's a crisp hop bitterness and a touch of sweetness in the mix. The beer finishes with a lingering bitterness. The low 5.5% ABV and moderately light body left me fit to enjoy the game, even when combined with a large buffalo chicken sandwich for dinner.

I enjoy Irish/Red Ales this time of year. The Flying Dog interpretation is well done, with a balanced but full flavor profile. It was a good opening salvo for this season of Irish Ales. Lucky me!

Flying Dog Mango Habanero IPA

One of the latest "things" in craft brewing is the "habanero IPA." It's not a trend I object to in the least. Recently I've mused over offerings from Starr Hill and Ballast Point. Now Flying Dog Brewery has gotten into the act with their own habanero and mango flavored IPA.

Fever Dream Mango Habanero IPA is a new addition to Flying Dog's year-round lineup. I received a sample bottle from the brewery and couldn't resist trying it out the same day!

Fever Dream pours a dark orange color with a robust and persistent off-white head. The aroma is tropical fruit and earthy malt. If I concentrate it's possible to pick up some faint pepper aroma. The flavor starts out with a tropical fruit and bready malt base, followed with a citrus rind bitterness. Rising up from those initial flavors is a capsaicin warmth. The hot pepper aspect starts out quite subtle, the heat building with each sip. After a few sips, a warm tingling sensation remains in the mouth — present but never overpowering. The habanero pepper creats an unmistakable tingling on the palate. Along with the lingering warmth, there's a hint of bitterness left behind as well.

I enjoyed this beer quite a bit. The heat was enough for this spicy food junkie, but it's not overwhelming at all. Fever Dream is a permanent addition to Flying Dog's offerings, and we should be seeing it show in the stores soon.

Flying Dog is also releasing a series of seasonal warm and spicy beers in their Heat Series. I'm looking forward to those as well. I have a bottle of the February release, Oaked Chipotle Ale, waiting in the wings for review so stand by for news on that one soon.

This bottle of tasty brew was an unsolicited review sample from the brewery. The drinking was done of my own free will.

Tuesday Range Fun

Recently I came across this "Establishing Your Baseline" drill from The Tactical Professor. This 50 round drill can be done with a wide range of targets, and is suitable for shooting at an indoor range. The general drill is you load your magazines to five rounds, and repeat the same 10 round sequence at 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15 yards. All strings are fired from low ready, and there's no clock. The shot sequence is as follows:

1) One shot at center, follow through for 1 second, back to low ready.
2) Two shots at center, follow through for 1 second, back to low ready.
3) Three shots at center. You will be at slide lock after 2 shots,  reload to fire 1 more.
4) Four shots at center to slide lock.

I'm always looking for different drill to make the best use of the indoor range, so I decided to try it out this week on a IDPA practice target.

What hits count for score is left to the decision of the shooter; after all you are establishing a baseline for comparison later. My intent was to count hits in the -0 and -1 zones, though my goal was to get all -0 hits. Obviously I didn't meet that goal. That one flier is especially annoying. 

In any event, the drill was fun and took very little time. I'll try it again in the near future with a little more focus. I finished up my time shooting another 50 rounds of just body and head shots at 10 yards. For that set I kept it to just three -1 hits. That was enough to give me a smile to get through the rest of the work day.

The Obligation of Immigrants

Here's what Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say about aid to immigrants.

The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin. Public authorities should see to it that the natural right is respected that places a guest under the protection of those who receive him.

Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants' duties toward their country of adoption. Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.  --Catechism of the Catholic Church #2241 

The Social Justice Warriors, even many Catholic Bishops, often forget that last line when pushing for open and unlimited immigration. 

Adventure Brewing Hop Hash IPA

This week's email update from Adventure Brewing grabbed my attention with the mention of Hop Hash on tap at the brewery. Checking further, the beer's description read, "This experimental IPA uses two experimental hops from OregonValley and a special “hop hash” that is a gooey, resinous and super concentrated lupulin punch." That was enticing enough for me to drive up to the brewery for a growler fill to enjoy over the weekend.

Arriving at the brewery, I decided that it would be prudent to try a pint before getting my growler filled.

Hop Hash IPA pours a bright and clear amber orange, with a moderate off-white head.  A fresh citrus and sweet malt aroma greeted my nose. The flavor is a west coast-style citrus hoppiness, with a "juicy" and resinous mouthfeel. The finish is mildly bitter. There's a fresh hop feel to the light bodied beer.

The trial pint being found more than acceptable, I had my growler filled. Not being one to let the brewery-freshness wane, I cracked open the growler shortly after arriving home, just in time for some exciting Hokie basketball.

The Clinton Machine

I grabbed this screen shot just 13 minutes after the polls closed in Virginia on Tuesday. The editors at The New York Times wasted no time in standing behind their endorsement.

Click to embiggen

Before ANY precincts had reported results, Hillary Clinton was declared the winner on the Democrat's side. They were at least waiting for actual results before reporting on the Republican race.

At the Range, Beating the Snow

This is winter's last hurrah (we hope.) After a few days of nice weather one more snowfall is coming, but we still managed to get out to the range for a bit of shooting on Thursday.

I was looking forward to this week's outing as I just had the factory SIG Night Sights put back on my "usual" gun and wanted to check them out. The other pistols I shoot regularly all have night sights or white dot sights, and I've been noticing those sights were getting easier to see than the fiber optic setup on this gun. I don't think my aging eyes are working as well with the extra thin front sight.

No sooner did we get to the range, I realized I forgot to load the supply box with the staplers into the car. Once again range improvisation came into play — a roll of pasters found in my range bag provide a means to mount the targets.

The "new" sights worked out well, and we had a fun and satisfying couple hours of shooting. Just a little over an hour after we started, there was a distinct drop in the temperature and the sky was turning grey. Indeed, the snow started falling not too long after we arrived home to relax with a post-shooting craft beer, in a fitting logo stein naturally.

Nursing My Beer

It's been a low-key, lazy kind of week around the homestead. (Hence the dearth of musings.) We had plans to visit Capital Ale House for a Bell's Hopslam tapping last night, but instead decided to simply relax at home. Turning on the VA Tech basketball game, I realized I was still in the mood for a big IPA-type of beer. Lucky for me, the downstairs beer fridge accommodated.

This 16 ounce can of Oskar Blues Deviant Dale's IPA was hidden in the back of the fridge. The pine and citrus hops balanced with the sweet malt backbone make for a strong, flavorful sipper. And sip I did. At half time, I realized I had only consumed about half the beer. By the end of the game, I still had a mouthful in the glass.

I hadn't intended to nurse the beer, the good thing about "big beers" is they taste better at room temperature than straight from the fridge. I was able to savor the flavor throughout the evening and never had to get up and go find another beer. That's a lazy evening!