#502

So how does one get to 500 beers since October of 2003?

Having a place like the Fort Street Brewery 15 minutes away helps immensely. FSB, as it is sometimes called, is constantly brewing new stuff. According to their website, they have tapped over 200 beers. That's alot of beer. I was first there in March 2005 (shortly after it opened) and have since tried "only" 24 beers there.

Last night, I had a chance to go to dinner with some friends. #502 was the Brownout and it was, without a doubt, the best beer I have had at FSB.

By the time I got the glass, there was still a bit of tan head left. I am not suggesting the service was bad and it sat there at the bar before it was brought out - I'm saying that the head did not last long (the photo was taken after the head had finally left). The aroma was very sweet while the color was a deep brown. I have had beers that look black and this fell short of that. Deep brown, but certainly not black. On the palate, there was a brief bite of a mild carbonation but that soon gave way to a spectacular and sweet caramel taste. It was noted by both my buddy and I that we expected the beer to be much heavier in body than it actually was given it's color. It was not at all like a porter, but it was certainly heavier than a lager, for example. Not creamy. Not syrupy. Just not light, either.; somewhere in between. The documentation suggests chocolate tones, but I did not taste any (nor did my friend). The finish was slightly dry while the sweetness lingered.

5 out of 5. A super beer.

I'm sad to say that I will never be able to enjoy this beer again. By the time I finished my first glass, my sinuses swelled up. Every now and then, I have a beer that seems to set off my allergies. Sucks to be me....

Knots , Peeps, And Tiny Things

Here are some photos I managed to today at Lake Erie Metropark. The Red Knot, found by Walt Pawlowski yesterday, was very cooperative.

I think the photo shows many of the key field marks very well. The bill is straight as nail with a stout base and a tapered tip. Legs? Yellow/green and short which further accents the dumpy body shape. The primaries are clearly black. The secondary flight feathers, coverts and scapulars have that really cool pale edge providing a very scaly look. That is the key in identifying this bird as a juvenile. Adults in non-breeding plumage would not be scaly. Instead, the whole back of the bird would be a even gray.

By the way, Walt did some research last night. As far as he can tell, there are only 5 records for Wayne County dating back to 1994.

A Least Sandpiper was also feeding on the same vegetation bed.

Also, on a bird note, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird mom is feeding two youngsters in the nest. I waited her out for a bit today. The height of the nest makes it pretty hard to see what is going on. I saw what I thought to be two tiny beaks sticking up out from the nest. My suspicion was confirmed when I noticed tiny little tongues working in and out of the beaks. A few moments later, the tiniest little bird butt appeared on the edge of the nest, followed immediately by the tiniest little bird turd you have ever seen.

After a few minutes of waiting, mom landed on the the edge of the nest, leaned her head over, and started to pump it up and down like a sewing machine (that is what she is doing in the photo). She clearly did this in two different locations. I can't say for certain when they hatched.

Did Knot. Did Too!

The Red Knot is a dumpy shorebird that weighs less than half a pound. Despite its relatively small size, it has one of those migrations that really just blows your mind when you think about it. During the summer breeding season, you can find them on the arctic tundra. Their wintering grounds? For some, it is the extreme southern tip of South America. Those that breed in Russia head "Down Under. " In either case, that's basically the whole globe.

Knowing they spend such a short time here in Michigan, it was a real treat to see one at Lake Erie Metropark today. In fact, a quick review of my notes shows that this was only my second Red Knot ever. At times, the bird was 30 or 40 feet away. It was a spectacular opportunity to study the bird.

You might be wondering "Where the red?". This bird doesn't have it...yet. The red is found on the bird when it is in breeding plumage. This bird was a youngster (literally born a few weeks back). Assuming it survives it's travels to the wintering grounds and back, it will be wearing a some stunning new duds.

Unfortunately, the future of the North American subspecies of Red Knot is looking rather gloomy. It's population has been crashing and it is very possible that extinction on this continent will be reality sooner rather than later. I'm talking in the order of years, not decades...

As an avid lister for some locations, this beauty brings my Lake Erie Metropark total to 243 species, while my Wayne County creeps along at 268 species.

#500..........and #501

In life, one often has moments that are memorable.

Last night was certainly a memorable moment: I HAD MY 500TH SPECIES OF BEER!

I thought it would be good fun to have a milestone beer at the Oak Cafe. It is only a few minutes away so friends and co-workers could easily attend. Plus, they have a stunning selection of beer. A nice atmosphere is a fine thing, too! I had been there on a weekend evening many years ago and the place is just insane. So, I thought a weekday evening would do the trick. At least 20 people were there. The more the merrier!

I actually ordered two different beers before I found one they had in stock. While I could have gone with a number of beers, I opted to go with the Chimay Red or Premiere. I have had the Triple Ale and the Blue before, so this completed the trifecta. I admit, though, that my notes were not complete and I needed the help of both the server and a beer guy who was there to get me through. I certainly did not want to have a goof on my 500th beer and accidentally order I beer I already had!

In short, the Chimays are brewed by Trappist Monks in Europe. Basically, they eat, sleep, and pray. As a result of the their celibacy, they need other things to do with their free time, so, they brew beer and have been doing so since the 1850's. With a century and a half of experience, the final product is pretty damned good.

All in all, it was a great beer. The color was a deep brown. I botched the pour, so the beer did not develop much head. The smell of spices was clear. On the palate I thought it was a bit creamy with a subtle combination of fruits and sugars. The finish was dry and lingering.

The bottle was rather large, so I made sure I got some extra glasses and gave some sips to some friends. All agreed: it was a fine drink.

The bottle now proudly sits on my display shelve next to my Mason duck decoy, civil war bullets from Antietam, a post-Civil War bayonet and a sailboat made from whale baleen (you can get one too in Barrow Alaska!). Okay, I'm eclectic.

I also had a chance to polish off #501. A co-worker was there and insisted I have the the Third Coast Ale from the Kalamazoo Brewing Company. In fact, he insisted that I should have it for my 500th beer, but I opted out. So, #501 it was.

First things first, it is not a run-of-the-mill ale, but a barley wine. Apparently, because it is made with grains, it is a considered a beer (wine, of course, is made with fruit). In the US, it must be labeled accordingly (ie: a beer). All in all, it was obviously a beer made for sipping and drinking. It was more like an after-dinner drink. I liked it.

For now, I will simply opt out of officially giving this beer a review here. While it was good, I was distracted by the time I had it. Talk, laughter, food, drink, and all the things that go along with a night out at the bar took their toll. It was "Paul time", not "Paul-Beer Snob time".

I had a great evening. Thanks to all who made it!

Time Machines

Buried on the back shelf in a booth at your local antique mall, next to the "Jeff Gordon Lane" street sign, a rusted wrench, and some overpriced piece of shit wicker basket with more cobwebs than plastic flowers, sits a time machine.

These time machines have key internal parts made of metal. The outside? Sometimes metal, as well. Maybe it even has intricate designs cast into it. Other time machines are simply wood, old and aged. While a few designs literally have a switch to turn them on, many of the more primitive models have nothing more than a simple handle.

You should give that grinding handle a few cranks (carefully) and see where you go...

Often, one is left to their imagination. No, not a crazy stupid imagination; a logical one. Basically, where has this mill been? Who used it last? Or even more cool, who used it first? (Think about that for a minute when you pick up a mill that was crafted in 1872.) How many owners did it have? What happened to the flathead screw? Where did that huge scratch come from?

Of course, before one can know some of the history of the mill, they have to know some of the identity of the mill. Looking at it from through the eyes of a novice collector, they are the ultimate puzzle. Sometimes, they equal the puzzle you would buy for a toddler. (You know the kind: "Hey, Jimmy, it's a puzzle of a cow. It has five pieces! Think we can handle it?!") For example, if you're lucky, there might be a label on it that says "Sun No. 109". Wow, that's easy. It is the Sun Novelty Works Mill No. 109. Hardly a cerebral challenge.

On the other hand, sometimes, its like those damned puzzles where all the pieces are the same shape and have printing on both sides. On a mill, the label may be long gone and you find yourself with a ruler taking measurements, looking at the details on the ornate cast iron lid and comparing the shape of the knob on the mill with line drawings in the MacMillan Index. Of course, you may never confirm anything. Its true identity could remain a mystery. If you never solve it, so be it. Life goes on. If nothing else, they look neat in your kitchen and make you look sophisticated. (On the other hand, you might look like a total idiot when you tell people it cost 150 bucks and you don't use it.)

What is the future of coffee? Right now, it is kind of bleak I'm afraid. A lot of bad things are happening in the world of coffee, but most people are oblivious to it. Precious bird habitat is being destroyed at an astounding rate for beans that suck. Corporate thugs make huge bucks by playing on the ignorance of the consumer while simultaneously selling them stale sludge. Yes, there are people out there making a solid effort to inform more people about coffee, but we need more people to be less ignorant quickly. There has been a resurgence in the past years for better coffee. It turns out, believe it or not, that the good coffee we want to drink today is what everybody was drinking 100 years ago.

That brings me full circle. If I put good fresh roasted coffee beans in my mill and crank it, I am doing exactly what that unknown person was doing a century ago (or more!). I am hoping for a good cup of joe. So where they. They likely had a home that they enjoyed and needed to attend to. So do I. They had a job so they could pay their bills. I do, so I can, as well. Depending on the mill, over 100 years could separate me from it's first owner.

But, if you think about it, in a weird sort of way, the only thing that separates us is...well, a hundred years...plus or minus a decade.....

A hundred years? That's nothing if you have a good handle on your time machine.