Severe Disappointment

Coming on the heels of a presidency highlighted only by incredible disaster (short list: starting 2 wars ending none; converting a robust economy and budget surplus into the worst economy since the depression coupled with record setting deficits; rejecting any attempt at ecological reform; pretending Katrina didn't happen; residing over Abu Grahib and waterboarding) I foolishly hoped I'd never be disappointed by U.S. president again. But I am. It's gutwrenching.

Look closely at the beer summit photo. Yes, he chose Bud Light--the psuedo beer Belgian-owned piss water that gives all beer a bad name.

I have removed the Obama sticker from my car.

Bukowski Falls to 7-2......

....Despite the best efforts of the Maharaja.

Bukowski's, named for the poet and a stone's throw (well, a 15 minute walk) from Fenway on Dalton Street had been undefeated until my last two visits. I should clarify: the Sox had been 7-0 when I had a beer at Bukowski on game day. Bukowski is now riding a two game losing streak after getting beat by Baltimore yesterday. Nonetheless, a couple of warm up Maharajas--the marvelous IIPA from Avery shown here--made for a nice relaxing day at the old ballpark.

I need to find a new pre-game spot and start a new streak.

Which Beer Should He Use?

President Obama has weighed in to an unpleasant situation involving a Harvard professor and the police officer who arrested him on a charge of foolishly attempting to enter his own home while being black. The charges were dropped but some controversy lingers. Obama wisely suggested they talk about it over beer, and offered the White House as a venue. All parties have accepted the invitation, evidently.

First, resolving disputes over beer seems incredibly civilized and appropriate. But which beer is best suited for the task? I'd suggest some ground rules:

1. It's gotta be beer. 5% ABV minimum and no reference to light--including misspellings and euphemisms--in the name.
2. Given that the incident is racially charged to begin with, I'd avoid labels--and choices--that include words like "pale" and "dark" or "best brown" and "white".
3. Although "bitter" may be an accurate description of the dispute, I'd skip the bitter also.

Within those guidelines there are many choices. Which would you pick?

A War Casualty

I am a victim of the IPA Wars. Not a victim, really, because that implies innocent bystander status. I've been a full on participant, and I haven't been winning the war (although some minor skirmishes could perhaps be deemed successful).

Some summary points: I really like the Peak IPA; the Full Throttle remains a favorite; and Pugsley's latest, the XXXX IPA is terrific.

A challenge with IPA consumption is that it can lead to a lack of productive activity elsewhere in life. In that sense, like IPA, life itself becomes unbalanced.

I will soldier on however, and wage the IPA war while striving for productive activity elsewhere in life. As an example of this (moderate productivity) I have now blogged for the first time in months.