Anchor 2008 Christmas Ale

I decided to pour myself a finer beer while I had company over watching the Cowboys get decimated by the Eagles. This review’s a little late but I’ve been pretty busy lately. It's a Christmas seasonal so it doesn't matter too much since you probably won't find this in stores anymore. By the time I got around to pouring myself this brew, the Cowboys game was well out of hand and I took decided to drink this to console myself and ease the pain. Besides, I had good company over so the day wasn't a total loss.

I poured the brew into a pint glass and it has a nice dark chocolate color with hints of red on the edges. Really great head on the glass and if you’ve been reading my reviews, you know that’s always a plus for me. It smells like figs, nutmeg and cinnamon; very much in line with the Christmas theme. It tastes of figs too with a sweet, nutty chocolate finish. Very nice lacing left behind on the glass. There’s a sweet malt taste to it as well and not much hops are present. The chocolate taste emerges slightly more as it warms but the flavor doesn't change much throughout. This is a solid seasonal brew. A friend of mine told me he had the 2007 version and wasn’t too pleased with it but this batch seemed to have a very nice flavor. Probably too late to pick one of these up now but I will definitely keep an eye out for next year’s batch. Anchor is a great brewery and I have yet to be disappointed with any of their beers.

Most Listened to on Ipod

I was going through my list of songs because for some reason my ITunes library got erased, not from my hard drive, just from ITunes so I had to re-import all my songs. Made me go through a bunch of options through ITunes I hadn't messed with in awhile and I noticed it keeps track of how many times you've listened to songs. I sorted it by most listened to and here's my list of top ten songs. This doesn't mean these are my favorite songs but they find themselves on various playlists I listen to frequently. Some may make you laugh but it's just the stuff I like:

1. King Without a Crown - Matisyahu Play Count: 60
2. Wonderboy - Tenacious D Play Count: 45
3. Across the Universe - The Beatles Play Count: 38
4. This is Your Life - Fight Club Soundtrack Play Count: 34
5. Tribute - Tenacious D Play Count: 31
6. Hypnotize - System of a Down Play Count: 29
7. Hey Jude - The Beatles Play Count: 28
7. Maybe - N.E.R.D. Play Count: 28
9. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - The Beatles Play Count: 26
10. When You Were Young - The Killers Play Count: 24

Green Flash West Coast IPA

The subtitle to this post would have to be f*ck it Mr. Bucket since I am just going to be putting up the backlog of reviews I have with or without a picture. I will eventually try to put up some sort of accompanying photo of any kind.

I had this very tasty IPA on Christmas Eve at the christening of my uncle's new house in Las Cruces. I use the word house loosely as this is more of a compound than a house, it's that huge. I felt like I was in an episode of cribs. After a long evening of college football, golf (he has his own putting green complete with tee boxes and sandtraps), food and more food, we went into his game house (that's right, game house, not game room; it's seriously bigger than my house) to play some poker. Me rarely ever carrying any cash on me, I had to resort to using the $50 check my grandma had just given me as my present for collateral. Thinking I'm a big shot by asking for $20 in chips, my uncle comes in and busts out with a $100 like nothing. I could tell I was going to be in for a challenge if I wanted to take my loving grandma's check home. Therefore, I decided to open up a bottle of Green Flash West Coast IPA and use it to take the edge off. I'd need any help I could get if I was going to bluff my way out of this one. At the very least, the bitterness of the brew made me hide my goofy bluffing smile with a bitter beer face.

The label says there are 5 different kinds of hops added to this spectacular brew throughout the brewing process and it shows. This beer smells like an IPA is supposed to smell. It started off with a sweet, citrus hop aroma with a piney background that did a poor job of masking the bitterness that was to come. The taste hit me like a freight train. There is a solid, bitter grapefruit hop taste that emerges followed by a puckering piney taste that finishes with a flowery hop and then more bitter hop oil. I can taste citrus, sweet, and pungent hops all along the sipping process. Wow, the bitterness really lingers at the tongue after each and every sip. This is definitely not a session beer but one you grab yourself when you want to take it easy. The bitterness has a sharp bite upfront and stays with you long after you swallow each sip. It's probably one of the most bitter but complex IPAs that I've ever had and I greatly enjoyed the experience! I can't stress this enough but it is far more bitter than your average IPA. I can't get enough of this sweet hop action!! This is not for the faint of hop, I mean heart, and if you aren't a big fan of the style then you should steer clear from this one. On the other hand, if you're a fan of IPAs, you NEED to seek this one out because it is one of the best I've had of the style.

Needless to say, my night ended as well as the beer did and not only did I win enough to get my grandma's check back, I took home an additional $45 in profit. Great brews always accompany great experiences.

Top 5 movies of the year

Going along with top lists for 2008, here are my choices for top movies of the year. It can be summed up as the year of superheroes and comedies as two of each category crack my top 5 list. Granted, I don’t watch very many movies so my pool of choices isn’t too deep so it made this list fairly easy to come up with. Not watching many movies also means that the few I do watch are that much more important which is why you won’t find any small artsy-fartsy movies here. (Warning: Spoilers ahead! I’ve tried to keep my summaries as spoiler-free as possible but there were times I couldn’t help myself.)

4) Forgetting Sarah Marshall – This is just a funny movie period. How can you go wrong with any movie that has gratuitous male nudity? Especially funny the first time around when I saw it in theaters; the jokes hit that much deeper when I watched it at home alone the second time around. My reaction to unknowingly pouring myself a bowl of Lucky Charms while I started the movie a couple weeks after going through a breakup of my own was life imitating art. Well-written, likable characters really drive this comedy. Going through what I went through this year, this movie really hits home.

4) Role Models – I couldn’t decide which comedy I liked more this year so I decided to call this a tie with the previous movie. Although Forgetting Sarah Marshall hits closer to home, I didn’t have as many laugh out loud moments as I did with any other movie this year. If you haven’t seen this one yet, check it out. Paul Rudd is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors as he continues to turn in great performance after great performance.

3) Iron Man – This movie rivals Spiderman 2 as my number two greatest superhero movie of all time. Robert Downey Jr. does a really great job capturing all the nuances and quirks of Tony Stark. A great start to what is sure to be a solid franchise leading up to the Avengers movie. The ending battle proved to be a little disappointing to me but everything building up to it was MARVELously done (see what I did there?). I really wanted to see what 2 suits could do in a battle at full power. They will no doubt fix that in the sequel as well as possibly delve into Tony’s demons, most notably his alcohol problem which was hinted at in this movie. Iron Man ushered in the year of quality comic movies and is one of the year's best films.

2) Wall-E – This movie makes everything else on this list seem like a complex drama with a tangled storyline because it is so simple. The first half of the movie goes by with pretty much no dialogue and takes a very fun turn in the second half that delivers a powerful message. The story is fairly simple, characters aren’t complex, there really isn’t much to this movie on the surface but the way everything unfolds makes you really get attached to the characters. Pixar really hit this one out of the ballpark.

1) The Dark Knight – Was there ever a question as to what my number one film would be? There’s little I can say about this film that hasn’t already been said. Incredible story, deep characters backed up by fantastic acting, and it’s Batman for Christ’s sake! People have rightfully raved about Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker, which should earn him an Oscar nomination at the very least, but the character that stood out most to me was Harvey Dent. This is just my personal opinion but his story is such a tragic telling of how even the best of us can fall. The story works on so many levels and is not just a simple superhero story. There are actually some deep philosophical points it brings up. It elevated the superhero genre to an art form and is definitely in my top 5 movies all time. Greatest movie watching experience in my life was seeing this film in Las Vegas at an IMAX theater. The screen was 5 stories high and the sound was so loud yet so crisp, I doubt that experience can ever be surpassed.

Honorable Mention: Quantum of Solace, Step Brothers

Biggest Disappointment: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

My top 5 games of the year (not necessarily released this year but played by me this year):

5) The Orange Box – I start the list off with a title that was released over a year ago on the 360. A really great value for the price since I was able to pick it up for $20 at Circuit City and it contains 3 different games along with 2 mini-sequel chapters to Half-Life 2. I am still working my way through the entire package but what I’ve played so far is enough to put on the list. Portal is one of the most unique games I’ve ever played and Half-Life 2 definitely deserves the critical acclaim it has received. Stay tuned for a full review of the game when I finish the whole thing but this is one to pickup if you can find it for the price.



4) Gears of War 2 – An epic game if I ever played one. Does everything better than its predecessor which is a great game in its own right. See elsewhere on the blog for the complete review. I will continue to get mileage out of this game at the various LAN parties we are sure to have throughout the New Year.



3) Smash Brothers Brawl – Quite possibly the game I’ve played more than any other on this list. I remember playing the bootleg at my house before it was released in the states and being in complete awe along with everyone in the room as I pumped up the volume and watched the intro video. I don’t think there was a dry pair of fanboy pants in the room. Then playing through the co-op campaign with Travis until 6 in the morning the night it came out. Smash Wednesdays were grand duels and I was fortunate enough to keep the title once in awhile against such severe competition. I still go back and pick it up now and then to play online with Anabel’s little brother and teach that Pika-spammer a lesson.



2) Shadow of the Colossus – The oldest game on this list released back in 2005 is still good enough to come in at #2. See the full review for this as well elsewhere in the blog but this is another game that just begs to be experienced. A rumored current-gen remake would be must own on day one.



1) GTA IV – What can I say about this game that hasn’t been said? Expansive game world, great characters, tragic story, and un-ending game play. It says a lot about a game when you can turn it on, play for a couple minutes without really doing anything and still have a blast. Beautifully designed city allows you to do almost anything you want. Want to be a player and have multiple girlfriends at the same time? Go ahead. Want to pick up chubby black hookers and pick what “service” they provide you then run them over when they’re done and get your money back? Knock yourself out. Want to just run around and cause chaos to see how many cops you can take with you to hell? Sure, why not. Want to jack a helicopter, fly to the highest building in Liberty City and jump to your glorious death? Be my guest. That’s just scratching the surface. Follow the story and you will be in for some great story telling from the beginning plus you’ll have fun along the entire way. In addition to all of that, Rockstar included some of the funnest multiplayer in any game I’ve played. You’re free to do all of the above with your closest buddies. Play a game of cops & robbers and you’re sure to have a blast. One of the best gaming moments I was fortunate enough to witness this year was watching Travis commandeer a car, pick me up, chase down a car of robbers and single-handedly take them out while driving. I could only watch this gaming god in awe with an open mouth and moist panties. With the release of bonus content early next year, I will eventually go back and replay the whole thing again.





Honorable mention:

Mega Man 9 – Great game that takes me back to the days of my NES. Definitely the toughest game I’ve played this year as I have yet to beat the entire thing. Pick this one up for $10 on Xbox live or Wii Ware.



Mario Kart Wii – Fun multiplayer game but still a letdown from previous iterations. Still worth enjoying with friends on one screen or over the internet every once in awhile.



Zack & Wiki – An innovative puzzle game on the Wii that was entirely glossed over in 2007 and I picked up for cheap as well. It’s very challenging and definitely a head-scratcher at certain points and a great game to play with a significant other. You definitely feel a sense of accomplishment when you finish some of the tougher levels. I played through most of it with Anabel but had stop abruptly near the end when we stopped seeing each other. I still plan to go back and finish the quest someday. Will possible post a review here at that time as well.

Pork Chops

Just thought I'd put up a pic of the best-tasting dish I've made to date. Decided to try my hands at pork chops and potatoes. Of all the ways to make pork chops, I went with baking them. Coated them with olive oil, seasoned them lightly and they came out amazing. As for the potatoes, my mom recommended I try scallions and I'm glad I did. Boiled them in a mixture of oil, butter, milk and seasonings until tender then sprinkled some cilantro on top to complete the look. Very proud of the appearance and taste of this dish.

Sorry about reviews

Sorry about the lack of beer reviews lately. As you may know, I like to take a picture of the brew I'm consuming to capture the environment and situation as I drink said brew however my camera phone is currently out of order. Since that's the only camera I have, reviews will be put on hold until I can get a new phone or find someone else to take pics for me.