Beer Club

#beerclub

That is the Twitter hash tag that is used every Monday night at 8 pm CT.

What is #beerclub you ask? Nothing more than a group of people from around the country who pick a beer to drink each week and talk about it on Twitter.

Some people may think it is silly or stupid but I find it a good way to try different beers each week and get other people's opinions on them.

This week's beer is Hinterland Brewing's Winterland. It was a good beer. Creamy and dark. Something that I am learning to like. I normally do not care for the roasted malt/coffee flavor but am getting used to it and as the beer warms up the other flavors that come through.

Last Saturday, was #beerclubfieldtrip to one of my favorite local bars, Romans' Pub. A nice corner type bar that has a good selection of craft beers on tap. It was recently named one of America's 100 Best Beer bars. A nice honor for Mike.

One of the best things about the #beerclubfieldtrip was meeting new people. There ended up being about 15 people who showed up, including two from Sheboygan. I have talked to most of them on Twitter now for at least 6-8 months. It is nice to put faces to avatars and twitter handles. It was hard to not call Joel, WinecellarofWI or Sara, Sp0on. Altho' I think they would both answer to that name.

It was alot of fun talking and learning about different beers. Over the past year I have been trying different styles of beer and learning to taste the different flavors in them.

A perfect example is from last Friday. I had a Magic Hat's #9. I was asked what flavors I could taste in it. It took a few minutes for me to place the flavor but it was apricot. Sounds weird I know but it was really good. And at 5.1% you can drink them for a longer period of time. It also helps when your friends know you well enough to guide you towards beers you may like or drink the ones that you try and don't like.

I can't wait for next month's #beerclubfieldtrip to Sugar Maple on Feb 19th. Won't you join us?

They Are Just Words

Yesterday, it was announced that NewSouth Books was changing the "N" word in the novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain to the word slave.

Supposedly, it was done so that teachers could use the book in the classroom without the fear of offending someone. I agree that the "N" word is really not an acceptable word in today's society. but to remove it from a book that is considered a literary classic. Stupid!

I think that it is just ridiculous. That is not how Twain wrote the book. I think that in this day and age everyone is a bit too politically correct. Next thing you know they will be beeping out some of the words that Fred Sanford or Archie Bunker used to say in the very funny 70's TV shows because in today's society they can be considered offensive.

I wonder how long it will be until other great works of fiction are altered because the terminology used in the books may offend someone.

A Run for the Roses

Yesterday was the Rose Bowl.

It was a game that I thought the Badgers should have won quite handily. Yes, TCU had a #1 ranked defense, but we have Nick Toon and John Clay.

Alas, it was not meant to be.

The players looked like they were not prepared. Several dumb penalties early on. They played like they were not in sync. Dropped passes and some wrong routes being run.

But our defense held TCU in check. They didn't let the game get out of hand and become a blow out.

We had a shot to tie the game up late in the game. A missed 2 point conversion was the difference.

Games like this would have drove Randy nuts!!

Thanks Badger for a great season. It was fun to watch.