Beer tasting and more body drama

Hi, friends. I hope all is well in your collective worlds. Today is Tuesday and sadly I've been nearly crippled with back pain since Friday. That's the "body drama" I was referring to in the title.

 

So let me back up to explain this. In 2011, I was training with heavy weights (or at least heavy for me). One day at lunch I was working out and did a military press/overhead press with 60 lbs (an amount I was comfortable with). When I went up, I felt a rip from my left scapula ... all the way down to my toes. I put the barbell down. And left the gym immediately. I called the office and told them that I had to have an emergency trip to the chiropractor. I went ... and it didn't help AT ALL. It was terrible ... I couldn't turn my head to the left - it was impossible. 

So I went to the emergency care center. After a shot of Demerol and cortisone, I could move my head but still felt the pain. 

 

Later, the orthopedic guy I went to about it expected that I tore or partially tore the muscle in my back. It improved over time with muscle relaxers. I did physical therapy and had massages (not the good kind, the kind that kick your arse). I even had a sonogram massage. When it got better, I started to seriously pull back on the amount of weight I worked out with.

 

But, even so, I keep experiencing episodes of pain every so often ... and for no apparent reason. That's what happened when I woke up Friday morning. So from Friday to Tuesday (today) I've been doing ice/heat sessions, stretching and anti-inflammatories.   

 

It feels like I've been doing this

 

When actually I've been doing this

 

so there is no real reason for to hurt now. I caved and went to the doctor on Monday. (I am so over doctors ... I have so much body drama lately it is ridiculous). 

They (an orthopedic emergency care center) want an MRI and think that it's a disc issue, which is really scary for me. But I'm so ready to be done with it. I just want to know what it is ... and fix it. I'm tired of it hanging over my head.

 

Meh.

 

Either way. The pain didn't completely ruin our weekend. We were able to do a few fun things. On Friday night, we went to this taco and tequila bar called El Vato (the Dude in English). We'd been there for happy hour but never for dinner. It was delish. And we were able to catch our first football game of the year - Dolphins v. Jaquars. Exciting!

 

We hit the hay early because Josh (as always) had to work the next morning. i took the day to go out to return some things at stores and buy a new night stand from Ikea. I'll tell you one thing ... Ikea on a Saturday is INSANE. But I thought I would outsmart the hapless masses by sneaking through the market place and moving through the store backwards. (For those of you who've never been to the Mecca that is Ikea, you usually go upstairs and flow through the entire store ... there is no beeping to different areas, which is clever -- you have to go through ALL the merchandise and inevitably see things you didn't plan to buy but all of a sudden just HAVE to have).

 

I thought that I was going to outsmart everyone and get through quicker. Ha. I wasn't the only person who had this idea. 

 

  

The people moving backward with me weren't nearly this cute.

  

And no matter how you slice it ... the check out area is always like this

 

 

I did manage to get out of there in record time - 30 mins. Then I ran some other errands and headed back to the city (which doesn't nearly freak me out as much as it used to).

 

You just have to have the proper attitude. Be vigilant, always keep an eye on your periphery and give as good and you get 

 

 

Once I was home, the real Saturday fun began. In an effort to actually find a GOOD American-made beer, I bought several craft brews from Total Wine (after quite a bit of research). Josh and I tried them on the pool deck whilst listening to music and eating cheddar cheese with crackers. And we scored them to see which ones we liked best.

 

So let me share the findings:

 

* (Tasted Thursday night) Ommegang Three Philosophers, Cooperstown, New York - Every site I went to had this one as one of the best beers in the country. A Belgian-style ale (quadruple ale), it's a dark and heavy, almost like wine. It has 9.8 percent alcohol in it. Wowza. 

Online reviewer said: "Pours an orangey brown with a fluffy head reminiscent of Belgian abbey beers. Aroma is an initial wash of dark chocolate malts, hints of cherry and a large banana yeasty presence. Taste is also heavy with banana acting above a bed of forest fruits, dates and caramel. Nice creamy mouthfeel. This was good but yeast seemed to drown out the nuances." 

We gave it a 16/20 ... the only downside for us - it is so heavy. Glass sandwich for sure.

 * (Tasted Thursday night) Holy Mackrel Golden Ale, Fort Lauderdale Florida - We wanted to try this one since it's made right up the road from us. It's lighter than the other but still packs a punch with 8.5 percent alcohol. Although honestly it didn't feel that high. It didn't get many good reviews online. One of the beer aficionados noted: "You get the touch of sour and some banana in there. The flavor is really unbalanced. The funk and sour comes out really strong. This is really a challenge for me to sip." So yeah not good. We gave it a 15/20. Definitely going to let the Belgians try this one ... for no other reason than it's a Florida beer.

 

 

 

* Ommegang Belgian Pale Ale, Cooperstown, New York - This was Josh's favorite. And I liked it as well. It's a full-flavored beer but it's not overwhelming and it's lighter than many of the Belgian style American beers we've tried. I would compare it to Leffe (a real Belgian beer). It only has 6.2 percent alcohol which is the only downside. As far as taste, it had a bit of hops and was also a little fruity ... citrusy. It got great reviews too. Here's one: "The BPA from Ommegang was terrific. The pour was nice and has an orangeish hue to it. There was a nice frothy head that lingered as well. The aroma was fruity with hits of citrus and light hops. The flavor was also light and crisp with a nice minimal hoppy after thought."

We'll def. be offering this to the Belgians. We rated it an 18/20. This was the highest one. 

 

* Ommegang Abbey Ale, Cooperstown, New York - Another good one. It was one of my favorites. Josh didn't like it as much. It's amber and packs a punch with 8.5 percent alcohol. It's rich and fruity but not overpowering. Review from Beer Advocate: "Pours a deep burgundy with a fine, khaki 1 finger head. Sweet fruity aromas with bubble gum, clove, honey and licorice. Very complex and intriguing. Rich malts and candi sugar. Spiciness at the back of the palate with clove and black pepper. Hints of earthy tones hiding behind candied fruit flavors. Starts off sweet but fades to mostly dry with yeasty notes in the finish. Medium body with surprising levels of carbonation slightly reminiscent of sparkling wine. Slight warmth from alcohol. Another Ommegang, another stellar beer. Abbey Ale is complex, super tasty and an excellent American interpretation of Belgian styles, exactly what you expect from this brewery."

Yeah what they said. We gave it a  16/20.

* Pranqster, Fort Bragg, California - This is a golden ale with 7.6 percent alcohol. It wasn't my fav. but Josh liked it (it's hoppy). There are fruity notes to this one too but it's mostly been described as "sweet banana, pear and bubblegum-like esthers. Doughy, bready grains mix with a yeasty, clovey malt." It's a filling beer. We gave it a 15/20.

* Victory Golden Monkey Ale, Pennsylvania - This was my favorite. And I have friends who ADORE this. I see why. It's light and crisp ... but it offers up 9.5 percent alcohol. It is made with "imported malts and Belgian yeast." Reviewers say it has "considerable depth of character with abundant, herbal, fruity notes ... makong this one to savor."

Josh didn't love it (probably becuse I did). No it has some spice to it. He doesn't dig spice. We gave it a 16/20.

 

* Key West Sunset Ale, Melbourne Florida - Yeah it's not made in Key West. AND that's not the only think that's misleading about this brew. It's an American amber ale. I wasn't a fan. It tastes like flavored water. Josh liked it though - probably just because it was like having a Bud Light after all of these heavy beers. This one didn't make the cut. 13/20.

 

 

 * Dogfishhead, Indian Brown Ale - Josh really enjoyed this one. I didn't like it because it's too hoppy. It is described as "a cross between a Scotch Ale and an India Pale Ale ... well-hopped and malty." 12/20.

 

SO after all the tasting this is what we came up with as winners (i.e. worthy American brews for the Belgians):
1. OmmegangThree Philosphers
2. Ommegang BPA

3. Ommegang Abbey Ale

4. Victory Golden Monkey Triple Hop

5. Holy Mackerel Golden Ale 

6. Possibly another Dogfish 

7. Sweetwater 420 (it is made in Atlanta we have drank this a lot)

8. Possibly a Sam Adams

But the search will continue. It's a hard job but someone has to do it. We only want the best of America beers. We want to show them that it's not all Budweiser and Natty Lite.