30 and 31

I haven't talked about beer here in a while. Hell, I haven't talked about much of anything because I'm a terrible blogger. So I thought I'd take some time to blog late on a Friday afternoon and avoid doing some work.

Last week on my Friday off I bottled the hard cider I brewed. It's number 31. Yep, I've made 155 gallons of beer, mead, and cider at home! Anyway, the cider was made from a kit I got at a brew store and it turned out pretty good. The flat cider I drank last week was pretty tasty at least. Not too sweet and not too dry. We'll see what the carbonated product tastes like next week.

And speaking of flat, Rudd Beer IV (#30) was flat down at the beach on Memorial Day weekend. But it has carbonated up nicely and has turned into a pretty good beer. I don't know who kept all that was left over from the beach, but if you haven't had a bottle lately, you should try it. I don't know if it's the carbonation that has changed the flavor or what. Carbonation really does change the perceived taste of any drink. I've told Casey and Dennis this so many times that they probably want to shoot me, but the bubbles actually activate pain receptors on your tongue. If you don't believe me, stick you tongue in a carbonated beverage for about 10 or 15 seconds and see what happens. I think that "bite" from the pain receptors firing may have offset the bland sweetness of #30 when it was flat.

In conclusion, there is a new brewery we need to tour down in the greater Fuquay-Varina area. Check out Aviator Brewing Company. I've heard good things about them from a few people but haven't taken the time to drive by and drink some of their beer. Maybe we can get a group together to go on their tour one Saturday.

Project Natal

Wow! Somebody here at work showed me this the other day. All I can say is wow!

The Year 3000

Conan brings a new take on an old classic with the Year 3000 on The Tonight Show.



That last joke is awesome!

A matter of taste

I have made the world's most tasteless beer! If you doubt me, try a bottle this weekend. I bottled Rudd Beer IV on Friday and, based on the sample I tasted, I'm not sure it's even beer. It could just be a golden colored water. It makes Coors Light taste like a full flavored pilsner. Hopefully it will be carbonated enough by this weekend. That's my only worry at this point. Well, that and how it tastes!

I think I was so worried about the hop rate after the disaster of Rudd Beer III, otherwise known as Barely Adequate, that I erred on the other side and made the beer too bland. It weighs in at about 4% alcohol so it will do the job even if it is like having sex in a canoe.

Rudd, if you don't like this beer, I can't help you!

Funny sites

I've found a couple of funny sites over the last couple of weeks that have been making me chuckle.

First, www.fmylife.com. This is a site where people post little blurbs about the bad things that happen to them. I know it's bad to laugh at other people's misfortune, but hey, they put the stuff out there to share. If they didn't want you to laugh at them then they shouldn't have posted!

Second, www.textsfromlastnight.com. On this site people post funny and weird texts they send or receive. Here you'll find gems like...

---

(831): Hey, what are you up to?
(802): Drinking wine with the guys and watching 7 Pounds.
(802): Looking back I guess I could have changed that to beer and Die Hard.

---

The Mission

I like my satellite radio. I hear all kinds of things. I'm not sure if I ever posted this, but about 6 months ago I was listening to an outlaw country station and heard a song called "Fat Girls and Weed" by Renegrade Rail. It was pretty damn funny. But I digress...

Listening to some of the alternative rock stations, I've been hearing a song called "The Mission" by Puscifer. Check out the song...it's kind of catchy



Puscifer is the brain child of Maynard James Keenan of Tool and A Perfect Circle. (A different Brother Maynard than the one from Monte Python or the one who lived in 702C Sullivan for a while.) Puscifer is his little side project where he collaborates with different artists. The first Puscifer song I heard was Cuntry Boner. There is a reason you won't hear this on regular radio. The lyrics are definitely NSFW, unless you have headphones!

One thing I found very interesting is the girl singing in "The Mission" is Milla Jovovich. Yes, the same Milla Jovovich from Dazed and Confused and The Fifth Element. I had no idea she was interested in a singing career.

Cheerwine

I like Cheerwine as much as the next man. Probably a lot more, actually. I like stopping at Wendy's pretty much anywhere west of Asheboro because they have Cheerwine. And after all, it is one of the primary ingredients in the greatest mixed drink of all time, Andrew's Asshole!

I don't know if Cheerwine is trying go national now, but I saw an advertisement for it on Hulu.com the other day. This article from the Salisbury Post says that Cheerwine will also start running ads on MTV, VH-1, and Comedy Central.

I will say that the ad I saw looked like somebody on crack made it. The ad referenced a website called www.itsasoftdrink.com. The website also looks pretty crack-tastic. Saying it's a soft drink and then producing ads and websites that look like a drunk guy made it isn't exactly reinforcing the soft drink angle!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta run get some Passport Scotch and Canadian Mist.