Kent D

psst...don't tell anyone but I like the PBR, also. Have a bunch of old beer signs I bought at garage sales, and just kind of fell into the brand. But I haven't figured out what the little card game is that's under the cap...

(Okay, I got some test-posting out of the way in the beer forum before I climbed in here where the big dogs eat...) I grew up watching Julia and Graham Kerr and a couple of locally-produced cooking shows, and always enjoyed Justin Wilson and Jeff Smith (yes, he had his demons, but he made an entertaining show that I learned a lot from). Currently, I enjoy the work of Anthony Bourdain (would love to see HIM do a cooking show!), Alton Brown, and...I'm afraid to say it...Rachel Ray, although I'm sure that she's going to be so totally overexposed with her coming projects that I shall change my tune very soon. No one in my family can understand my obsession with Ms. Ray, and I'm not really sure why, either. Maybe it's because she saturates the Food Channel, and you can't get away from her for more than an hour or two at a time. I'm rather ambivalent about Bobby Flay and Emeril. I don't dislike them, and I wouldn't kick them out of my kitchen, but... Oh, and a short list of dislikes. I don't know why, but I can't stand Mario Batali. I think it's because he seems to be lecturing everyone on why Italian food is the greatest food on the planet, and makes his audience appear to be uneducated. And that Gordon Ramsey on "Hell's Kitchen" -- okay, we got it, you're a tremendous, pompous, overbearing, loudmouthed a$$. Why do we need you to inflict yourself upon us every week?

Oh, good, they've determined that their consumer's want a beer with some flavor added! When I have to buy a A-B product, I look for their Michelob specialty brands like the Pale Ale or Black and Tan. No, it's not a real pale ale or real black and tan, but it tastes okay and if you show up with some at a party, it looks better than walking in with a sixer of Milwaukee's Best. (Although I was at a party with a keg of Milwaukee's Best, and it wasn't that bad for discount beer...)

Well, there's not much in the way of a flavor profile for Rolling Rock, so I doubt that AB can mess up the recipe too much, but after I drank my last Rolling Rock last night, I'm swearing off the brand in protest. For a couple of months...unless it goes on sale and I'm short on cash. I just think it's a shame about all those workers in Latrobe, but it's not like this sort of thing doesn't happen in every industry every day.

Shiner's (Bock) pretty popular in Wichita, you can get it on tap some places, and a 12 pack goes for $10-$11. You can also get the Shiner Blonde Ale consistently, and it's good for summer drinking. We can also get the Leinenkugel line-up down here, but we can't get the Yuengling, which my Dad used to carry-on a case of it when he flew back from business trips back East. Seems like even the most ordinary beers become special if you can't get your hands on them.

Last night I had my last Rolling Rock (unless I see some on sale this weekend). I'm concerned because A-B just bought the brand and allegedly bought the recipe, but I've always seem to find when a big brewery buys a little brewery, what starts coming out in those boutique bottles is the same flavor as everything else in their portfolio. I hope I'm wrong, because I've always enjoyed picking up a "box of Rocks" in the summertime. But being a holiday weekend and all, I think on the way home I'm going to go looking for that Sam Adams collection, or barring that, maybe some Boulevard from Kansas City. My brother's got me hooked on them.

Icch -- I ordered a Kaiserdom Rauchbier off a "world of beers" menu a few years ago, and it too every drop of intestinal fortitude to get the bottle down. (The fact that they were charging $7/bottle helped a little!) It just had an overwhelming taste of creosote (sp?), and was totally unpleasant. I would consider trying another smoked brew if I had some assurance that it wouldn't taste like the last one I tried, but I'll probably not go out of my way to find another one.

Say, those look yummy! Must find some before the 4th, so I can have a nice patriotic brew while endeavoring not to blow my fingers off lighting fireworks. (Yes, I know that alcohol and explosives don't mix -- I'm ever so careful, but it's thirsty work.)

Well, if I happen to be reading the label and it says "New and Improved -- contains wattleseeds!", I'm not going to necessarily stop drinking the ale. I'm always looking for a new flavor note in my beer/ale just for variety's sake. But if I'm in the marketing department, I'm going to be looking for a better name for it than wattleseeds.