The Whole Enchilada

At one time, my family’s traditional Christmas Eve celebration featured a big dinner. As we all grew older and my siblings got married, we would all enjoy a dinner of steak and shrimp before sitting down to exchange presents. However, those marriages produced children who didn’t want to sit still and be patient as their […]

Outside My Comfort Zone

As I have said several times, the great thing about Beer Appreciation is that it allows me to try some styles I normally couldn’t or wouldn’t try without forcing me to buy a case or spend a lot of money in a bar for a beer I might not like. This week’s two offerings perfectly […]

Wanna Bet?

As the new year approaches, people should have many reasons to get exicted. A new president will take office. The Baltimore Orioles will find new and interesting ways to ruin baseball. And Delaware might give you one more reason (making the list three items long) to visit. The First State has beaches and tax-free shopping, […]

Care For a Smoke?

When I signed up for Beer Appreciation, I knew I would have some interesting experiences. I have no problem trying new beers, but I generally stick with the same styles – lagers, ales, pilsners and IPAs. I tend to forego something totally new. This experience, however, would not afford me that luxury. I paid for […]

ITEOTWAWKI: No Grammy Nods

I didn’t expect R.E.M. to head the list of Grammy nominees this week. I gave up expecting the awards to truly reflect what’s good in music a long time ago. But nothing? Not a single mention for Accelerate? Not one middling crumb of recognition for an album that spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Top […]

Appreciating Beer

The first night I dug into my Beer Appreciation beers, I finished off two good beers – the Sierra Nevada Wet Hop Harvest Ale and the Budweiser American Ale. I didn’t dip into the third one until tonight so I thought this would be a good time to talk a little about them. I really […]

What’s that Smell?

I accompanied my wife on a shopping trip recently. She had to pick up some holiday items so I kind of just hung around the store and goofed off. After I looked at all the stuff that could even remotely interest a guy, I wandered into the scented candle section. I have no idea why. […]

Enjoyable Rehab

On a day where we give thanks, I will give thanks to a very special part of America – Las Vegas. Thanks to the fine folks at Five Hundy by Midnight, I decided to take a gander at a new show on truTV (formerly Court TV) called “Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock Hotel.” I’ll […]