May 6, 2013

JUST ICE - KOOL & DEADLY Probably one of my favorite rappers of all time. He never had great commercial success but that had nothing to do with the quality of his albums. This was his 2nd album and some in the hip hop community consider it an all time classic. This is just great street hip hop. Solid lyrics and great production. I consider him one of the best lyricists of all time and this is a must have for any hip hop fan. Only 9 songs, but all good and when its over you will hit play again.

ROGUE ALES - SANTAS PRIVATE RESERVE ALE  Starts with a malty aroma with a little sweetness, but not much there overall. Taste has the sweet malty flavor up front followed by a little fruitiness and pine taste to finish. For a holiday themed ale, its just ok, i was expecting more of the holiday spice, but it just wasnt there.

1mile on treadmill and 1 hour on bike

May 5, 2013

ERIC CHURCH - SINNERS LIKE ME  This was quite the debut album. I consider myself more of a rock guy, but my tastes run the full spectrum and this is a great listen. It mixes country and rock quite well. I like the fact that he wrote or co-wrote all the songs, too many "country" artists dont (check your liner notes people). For a debut, every sing is good. How 'Bout You, Two Pink Lines, and Guys Like Me were all radio hits, but dont sleep on the rest of it, its solid throughout. Great lyrics, and great country-rock.

BRECKENBRIDGE BREWERY - OATMEAL STOUT DARK Starts with a dark roasted coffee aroma. Taste is a nice mix of the oats and blend of chocolate and coffee. Its a nice smooth and silky drink although a little thin for a stout. The creaminess is the strong part, i would like it to have a little more flavor, but overall its very drinkable. Its probably best as an after meal drink.

3.5 miles on treadmill

May 4, 2013

SHERYL CROW - TUESDAY NIGHT MUSIC CLUB  Her debut album, and probably still my favorite of hers. Solid music, mostly great lyrics, although occasionally goes to far in trying to be deep or relevant. Basically, a bunch of musicians got together on Tuesdays to just play music and this album came from those sessions. Some of her best songs to this day are on this album: Leaving Las Vegas, Stong Enough, Cant Cry Anymore, and I Believe. Great album, still a fun listen almost 20 years later.

NEW GLARUS BREWING COMANY - SPOTTED COW  This is a really nice drinkable beer. There is nothing really mind blowing about it, but is just a pleasant solid easy drinking beer. Smell and taste are sweet with a touch of honey and citrus. I really cant pick any one thing that makes this stand out, but for some reason it just does the job. Beer snobs probably under appreciate this one because of that, but they shouldnt pass on it.

3.5 miles on treadmill and 30 minutes on bike

May 3, 2013

SLAYER - SOUTH OF HEAVEN  Picked Slayer today due to yesterdays news that guitarist Jeff Hanneman died at the age of 49, RIP Jeff. One of the heaviest bands out there, the kings of speed metal. This album was a little bit of a departure from their first three albums in that they slowed down the tempo a little. A lot of fans were disappointed  in it, but its probably my favorite album of theirs. Every song is solid and i like the more melodic approach on it. Mandatory Suicide, South Of Heaven, and Live Undead are the hilites for me. This is head banging at its finest.

SURLY BREWING COMPANY - HELL LAGER  My first Surly review, got a few more coming. Nice light hop aroma with some floral notes, but not a lot therr. Taste is a little better. Light pils malt and light citrus and floral flavors. Just plain light, a very easy drinking beer, its crisp, sharp and smooth. Nothing really outstanjng, but still,  this is just a really good beer for the style. Nice job Surly.

3.5 miles on treadmill.

May 2, 2013

THE REPLACEMENTS - DONT YOU KNOW WHO I THINK I WAS? THE BEST OF  Not much needs to be said about this one. One of he best bands to ever come out of Minnesota. This has most of their big hits, but mostly covers their later career after the Let It Be album. I would have liked to have seen a few more cuts off the earlier albums even though they were not as commercially popular, but its still a fun listen. One of the bands i wish i would have got a chance to see live, but never did. I do have about 50 live bootlegs of some of their shows, so i can still listen to those and pretend i was there.

BROOKLYN BREWERY - BROOKLYN LAGER  This is a nice lager, straightforward, smooth, and very drinkable. It has a nice floral aroma and is well balanced with a nice hop bite. Nice and malty without overdoing the sweetness. This is just a solid choice for lager fans.

1 mile in treadmill and 45 minutes on bike

May 1, 2023

KENNEY CHESNEY - LIFE ON A ROCK This is the new one from Kenny that came out yesterday. I listened to it twice today and in all honesty am not that impressed. A couple of good songs, but the rest are just average to me, not one of his better efforts. While i enjoy the island vibe throughout the record, none of the songs really stand out to me. Hopefully it will grow on me after a few more listens. Check out Pirate Flag, Coconut Tree, and Life On A Rick, i think those are my favorites.

BOULEVARD BREWING CO. - PALE ALE  Poured this one into a glass to drink. Nice amber color and had a nice cramel malt smell up front and finished with some floral hops. Its easy to drink and is vry light, but thwre is nothing outstanding about this one, just a middle of the road ale.

3 miles on treadmill and 30 minutes on the bike

APRIL SUCCESS

Yesterday concluded month 2 of this little experiment and we will call it a success. April was a little tougher as i was in Atlanta for The Final Four for a lokng weekend. While the beer and the music were no problem, i found it harder to find time to get the mile run/bike in, but i know we did a ton of walking, so i am considering that good. I know the hotel to the bar we adopted as home for the weekend was 3/4 mile walk each way, so a minimum of 1.5 miles each day plus all the other stuff we did.

For April, my $50 donation went to The One Fund - Boston. For those that have been matching my donations or would like to contribute, please visit: https://secure.onefundboston.org/page/contribute/default

Excited for some warm weather finally in May, to get the bike out, and to enjoy some good beers outside. Last weekend i went to a Wild and Twins game and spent some time Saturday morning accumulating some more beers. I now have roughly 100 different ready to try, so here's to May!