Green Flash Palate Wrecker

Pours a brilliantly clear orange with a thick white head. Smells malty with a hint of hops in the background.

Tastes good. Like an American brown on steroids wroth the hops of a double ipa.

Not bad.

Brasserie dieu du Ciel Peche Mortel

Black as night,  with a touch of lacing. Smells like coffee and a slight sweet malt backbone. Great. A bit bitter,  but light to medium in body. Nice strong coffee flavor.

Mikkeller Ov-Rall IIPA

Smells fruity,  hoppy,  and sweet. An overlay of brett funk prelates the nose over the lacy head.

Strong,  but old,  hops mingle with the brett character,  leaving a long lasting taste of brett.

Bit strong on the brett; a good sipping beer. Not worth 7 for a 12oz.

Smuttynose Baltic Porter

Pours a black mahogany with a coffee head which dissipates quickly. Smells malty and sweet. Great taste. Malty but not cloying. Dark but not overly bitter.

This is a good beer. Roasty, toasty, very good.

Brew it.

BFM Biere Ambree Parfumee au Tarry Suchong

Pours a clear dark orange. No head to speak of,  but carbonation on the sides of the glass. Smells a bit sour and a bit funky, wroth a touch of stone fruit or tannic oak.

Definitely low carbonation, definitely can taste the tea, otherwise it is just ok.

Dominion Czech Monk

Pours a slightly hazy golden,  mostly clear,  and a dissipating white head. Smells like a cross between a pilsner and belgian Trippel. Tastes mostly like a light, grainy Trippel, but a moderate to heavy mouthfeel and a stronger than normal bite of noble hops. Czech saaz?

Pretty tasty. The hops make it nicely refreshing.

Two Brothers Hop Centric

Sweet malt nose with pineapplehop aroma on the back end. Sweet and juicy with pineapple as the most identifiable hop flavor. Good balance. The sweet and hoppiness almost seem to come in subsequent waves of flavor.

It is not bad.

Cigar City Brewing Jose Marti

Pours a rich,  dark mahogany,  only discernable from black against bright light. A quickly dissipating chocolate head leaves a nice lace behind. Malt Amd chocolate are in the nose with little of any coffee.

Nice and acidic, sweet and malty,  but not cloying. The aftertaste is lumbering Amd quickly evolves into dark chocolate notes,  like cocoa on your tongue.

Good beer. Brew it.

Two Roads Route of All Evil

Very dark brown,  opaque except for the edges,  but clear there. Nose is perfumery,  woody, spicy. The head has dissipated to leave a light brown heavy lace.

First taste is reminiscent of wood, dirt,  forest floor and a perfume piney flavor. This seems like a strong American Brown kicked up a notch. Bitter overwhelms malt,  chocolate,  and coffee as the dominant mid and finishing tones.

A bit harsh,  but not bad.

Two Roads Holiday Ale

A Biere de Noel, pours a clear light orange with a nice head. Malty nose with a bit of a spice character. Clean dining,  nice malt,  good balance, lingering sweetish finish.

Not bad for a malty beer. Light to medium body.

Stone Gotterdammerung 17

Pours a hazy light orange, with light, lacy head. Citrus on the nose,  mostly orange. A bit of a malt sweetness as well. First taste puts me in the mind of a typical sweeter ipa. Not too sweet,  but it leaves a cloying citrus aftertaste.

Good ipa. I would not get it again.

Anderson Valley Hop Ottin

Candy caramel nose. And the scent of pear.  Pear is the dominant flavor as well. Meh as am ipa.

New Belgium/Cigar city

Smells like nothing.  Tastes like that weird off flavor. There is a bit of heart,  but, meh.

The Bruery Oude Tart

Lactic sour in the nose.

Great sour and oak in the flavor. There is also an oak toffee, in the aftertaste.

Van Honsebrouck Kasteel Rouge

Dark red.  Smells like the cherry drink from Berkeley Plaza Theater. Mmmmmm. The first taste reminds me of black cherry soda. It is good.

It does remind me of alcho-pop, but man is it good.

Great Divide Titan IPA

Good scent, fresh,  but not overly hoppy. Fiat taste reminds me of pine, fresh ipa, and that almost apple flavor of freshness.

Good iPA.

Evolution Craft Brewing Lot 6

Nice California hop aroma.  A nice fresh flavor,  without astringency.
Drinkable.  Pretty good.

Otter Creek Kind Ryed IPA

Good fresh hop nose. Nothing in particular other than fresh.  Pretty bitter.

Nothing special.

Dog Fish Head Kvasir

Candy-like sweetness on the nose. Raspberry? Cranberry? The taste is odd watered down cranberries. Not much finish. It is a let down from the aroma.

Meh.

Pub Dog Grand Mariner Saison

Nice spicy saison nose. Moderate body,  lingering bitterness,  moderate spice which doesn't linger.

Not bad at all.

Florida Beer Lager

Yup. It is a lager. Clean nose. Ok flavor. No real gain overtones. Fine, for an American lager.

Goose Island Lolita 2013

Little to no head retention,  but a sparkly effervescence remains. It is a clear orange amber and smells of sour and some hint of berries and a background of oak and maybe wine. First taste is more mellow than the nose would imply,  wroth a nice light carbonation, a vinuous character, a bit of puckering bitterness [oak tannin?], and berries on the finish.

Not a super beer, not one I would get again,  even though it is 15 for 765ml.

Hanssens Scarenbecca Kriek

An expensive,  small bottle. Pours wroth almost no head. A beautiful,  almost bright ruby color.

Nose is sour,  with mostly acetic aromas and maybe a hint of stone fruit. Pretty intensely sour,  mostly acetic,  but a touch of cherry sour backed by the slight tannic or woody or nutty flavor of cherry pit. Body is lacking, and sour notes remain after swallowing. A hint of cherry after taste.

Butternut Squash Soup

Beet, Goat Cheese, & Arugula Panini

How to Make Kale into Food

The kale we got Tuesday was cooked on the stove with a tablespoon of butter, some lemon juice, salt, a little Italian seasoning, and four cloves of garlic. I rolled out Chaves bakery pizza dough, layered on doctored sauce with mushrooms, followed that with the kale, and topped with shredded mozzarella. 8ish minutes at 500 degrees on the pizza stone, and dinner was ready. We were both pleasantly surprised that it tasted good, so apparently that's how you make kale into food.

CSA Week 22

Chard 13.45 oz
Spinach 9.05 oz
Kale 11.25 oz
Turnip 17.70 oz
Daikon 18.75 oz
Onions 17.25 oz
Carrots 26.30 oz
Celeriac 20.20 oz
Black Spanish Radishes 19.35 oz
Jalapeños 0.65 oz
Potatoes 34.65 oz
Beets 25.95 oz

Long Trail Imperial Pumokjn

The nose Smells Brown. There is a bit of malty sweetness, a little spice,  ams maybe some fruit?

This tastes great. It is well balanced with spice and nuttiness.

Good stuff.

Dog Fish Head Pub

Bocce is a very nice, nz hoped beer. It reminds me of a good ipa without bitterness and a great nose.

Kvasir Smells like an amber,  tastes like tart berries. Not bad at all. Not great.

cask 75 is pretty not good. Way to boozy and medicinal.

American beauty is a nice ipa. Moderate hops, slightly sweet and spicy,  good.

The bitches brew is quite tasty. Coffee nose and flavor,  nice and smooth.

CSA Week 21

 

arugula 8.90 oz

lettuce 8.45 oz

spinach 7.80 oz

butternut squash 37.60 oz

broccoli 13.60 oz

carrots 30.30 oz

peppers 8.85 oz

turnips 32.70 oz

daikon 46.40 oz

onions 19.15 oz

 

CSA Week 20

 

lettuce 5.95 oz

spinach 7.25 oz

arugula 5.70 oz

red cabbage 40.65 oz

beets 36.80 oz

onions 32.40 oz

peppers 15.50 oz

fennel 12.75 oz

jalapenos 1.50 oz

daikon 31.25 oz

CSA Week 19

 

I haven't found the notes yet... 

 

CSA Week 18

 

I haven't found the notes yet... 

 

Heavy Seas The Greater Pumpkin

Nice oak on the nose with a touch of vegetable and spice like cinnamon. Hazy orange wroth a quickly dissipating head. Boozy. Lots of bourbon. A bit sweet and spicy.

Ok,  after most of the bottle, it is better. Solo unbalanced,  but in a much more tasty way.

Unita Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin

Good carbonation,  nice light brown head. Nice malty nose with subtle spice, a touch of sweet,  and little noticable oak. Malty,  smooth, very well balanced with a bit of the oak sweet at the end. 

Powerful beer,  tasty,  though a bit sweet.

Moderately good.

Two Brothers Sidekick Pale Ale

Nice fruity hop aroma,  a bit juicy. A nice straw color with a fine,  medium head. A bit of grain,  followed by moderately high hop flavor. Not overly drying, short finish. 
Nice pale.

It's Good to be Home

And by "home" I mean "somewhere in WV."

Happy Halloween Birthday

Sierra Nevada DevEstatetion

Clean hop nose, bit of dark roast. Dark mahogany you can barely see through. Stays roasry at first, then changes to an intense,  clean bitter. Just enough sweetness to balance,  not much is noticable.

New Glarus Black Top

A very deep red, almost ruby, and a great hop nose. A nice hop flavor and a touch of roast on the finish.

A very nice moderate black ipa.

Cigar City Brewing the Last Spoke

Pours a brownish orange with moderate haze and a smallmouth amount of lacy head. Smells malty and a little like chocolate,  with hop undertones.

New Glarus Moon Man

Sweet fruit hoppy nose. Light golden color with a hint of orange. High carbonation.

Moderate mouth feel,  not much bitterness, but a bit at the end.  Pretty good, but sort of bland for my tastes.

CBC Sgt. Pepper

This is a very good beer alk the way through. Peppery on the nose and palette, billowy white head.

Make this.

Rock Art Farmer's Simcoe IPA

Pretty good,  well balanced ipa, but not much Simcoe.

Meh. Drinkable.

Jester King Das Wunderkind

Nice golden color. Smells cleanly sour with a hint of lemon. First taste shows complexity,  depth,  and awesomeness. There is a hint of funk, a moderate sour, and a bit of grain.

Very good beer.

CSA Week 17

 

 acorn squash 51.90 oz

tomatoes 19.55 oz

celery 23.35 oz

peppers 16.35 oz

carrots 22.85 oz

arugula 7.20 oz

salad greens 10.20 oz

spinach 10.75 oz

green beans 9.15 oz

eggplant 13.45 oz

leeks  16.95 oz

CSA Week 16

 

tomatoes 30.65 oz

salad greens 7.70 oz

jalapenos 1.60 oz

cabbage 68.05 oz

beets 15.25  oz

peppers 8.80  oz

winter squash 50.70 oz

radishes 11.80 oz

shallots 6.90 oz

mint 1.35 oz

broccoli 11.75 oz

red onions 4.60 oz

 

What's that? You want some scale because the cabbage looks oddly large? Well that's because it is oddly large. I have no idea what we're going to do with this one...

 

Surrounded!

FFF Dreadnaught

Leek Potato Soup

 

This is more or less based on Alton Brown's recipe, but I made a few changes and of course used what I had on hand from the CSA boxes. I'm more into hearty/chunky soups, so I threw out the idea of making a pale blended soup and kept the general flavor profile of Alton's recipe.

 

Ingredients, +/- since I didn't do too much measuring of spices and veggies

13ish ounces leeks with greens, tips trimmed, cut into bite sized pieces and washed

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Heavy pinch kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning

1 to 1.5# potatoes, cut into bite sized chunks

1# carrots, scrubbed and cut to bite sized

1 quart chicken stock, a little of it smoked

1/2 teaspoon white pepper 

black pepper

marjoram

probably garlic

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup buttermilk (made from powdered was fine)

 

In a 6-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the leeks with some salt and saute until a bit browned. Add the other veggies and spices, then bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat until potatoes are fork tender, then turn off and added dairy.

 

 

I wasn't sure what to expect since I messed with Alton's recipe, but I was quite pleased with the results. I would definitely make this again.

CSA Week 12

 

leeks 18.75 oz

zuchini 16.50 oz

carrots 25.45 oz

garlic 2.55 oz

corn 62.55 oz

tomatoes 31.45 oz

cucumbers 17.10 oz

onions 20.65 oz

kale 6.85 oz

jalapenos 1.60 oz

eggplant  7.95 oz

 

CSA Week 11

 

cherry tomatoes 11.35 oz

jalapenos 1.50 oz

fennel 27.50 oz

carrots 33.45 oz

zuchini 4.20 oz

peppers 10.95 oz

squash 13.70 oz

potatoes 34.40 oz

cucumbers 16.75 oz

kale 10.50 oz

garlic 1.85 oz