Me And Frank

People often remark on how much I remind them of Frank Sinatra.  I think I can see why, although I had much better, or at least bigger, hair.

Only In New York

The police had a crackdown on bicycle riders the other day, ticketing them if they rode their bikes outside of the designated bicycle lane.  This despite the fact that the bicyclists were doing so to avoid cars that were illegally parked in the bicycle lane.  It seems that the police ignored the cars but positioned themselves to ticket the bicylists who avoided them.

The irony: There is no law in New York that requires bicyclists to ride in bicycle lanes.

Stimulating The Economy

I popped into the Beer Party™ Headquarters last Friday to work on an economic stimulus plan.

Beer Party™ Headquarters


I was sad to see that in my prolonged absence while I was in Mexico an old friend went missing.

Oh No, Mr. Popcorn Is Gone


I can only hope that it is nothing serious and that his recovery will be complete.

Get Well Soon


Ah, but on to my economic recovery program. How about ordering a $29 bottle of beer? The locally brewed Black Ops.

You Didn't Hear It From Me


The blurb on the back of the bottle plays it close to the vest:

Brooklyn Black Ops does not exist. However, if it did exist it would be a robust stout concocted by the Brooklyn brewing team under cover of secrecy and hidden from everyone else at the brewery. Supposedly "Black Ops" was aged for four months in bourbon barrels, bottled flat, and re-fermented with Champagne yeast, creating big chocolate and coffee flavors with a rich underpinning of vanilla-like oak notes. They say there are only 1,000 cases. We have no idea what they are talking about.

Mine, All Mine


Of course first you have to open it.

So Far, So Good


Hmm, Just A Twist Of The Wrist


Nothing To It


Almost There


Ah, Down The Hatch


Okay, so what's the verdict. Well, it has a bucketful of flavor, that's for sure. Rich and heavy with definite chocolate, caramel and coffee hints. I thought of this as like buying a bottle of wine with dinner, thereby somewhat justifying the cost. It would be better to compare it to a bottle of port that you might have after dinner with your coffee. Or maybe with a cheese plate. Or even a chocolate dessert of some kind.

The Mysterious Chinese Woman and I did order dinner, a catfish salad for her and a rack of ribs for me.

The Mysterious Chinese Woman Surveys The Scene


Bar Man Chows Down On The Ribs


It was a bit of a day of excess. But part of it was intentional. Half an order of ribs is plenty for two, but I always order the whole rack so I can take some home for leftovers. I also ended up taking half of the Black Ops home as well. It was just too much to drink at a single setting. I probably shouldn't have had a Duvel Green to start out with.

The Duvel Green, which is served on tap, was really good. It is a bit lighter and less foamy than regular Duvel but most flavorful in almost the opposite direction of the Black Ops. It is 6.8% ABV and has a nice crisp citrus taste. Goes down way too easy for such a potent brew. The Black Ops is a hefty 10.7% ABV, but you won't be slurking this down like you might the Duvel Green.

When we finished up at Pete's Waterfront Ale House the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I headed back to my place to watch The Shop Around the Corner staring James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan. It is a 1940's romantic comedy that was remade as You've Got Mail. I managed to finish off the Black Ops while watching it, grateful for the high alcohol content. Then I also managed to finish off a bottle of Three Philosophers that my brother-in-law Jim thoughtfully left in the refrigerator for me.

That Which Does Not Kill Me...


That was from Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, a German philosopher. See, Three Philosophers, a quote by a philosopher, even if was one who went insane and committed suicide. And they make you read this stuff when you are in college, go figure. Anyway, the beer did not kill me. It was quite good and was almost necessary after the heaviness of the Black Ops.

Okay, the burning question, Was the Black Ops worth the price. Hmm, not quite sure how to answer that. I am glad I had it, just so I can say that I know what it is like. If I were to go out with a few buddies I might consider buying a bottle to share, particularly with a nice cheese plate. Would I buy a bottle just to drink by myself? No. But that is largely due to the size, it is 1 pint 9.4 ounces. You really do need to share this with a few friends.  Actually, five friends and five ounces each would be just about perfect.

Beer Party Update

In keeping with the values of the Beer Party™ - Our motto is What, we have values - and in the interest of stirring up controversy, I pose this question:

Do you think Republicans are happy or unhappy that the Dow Jones Industrial Average has surged almost 40% since Obama took office?

That;s right folks, the Dow was at 7,949 the day Obama took office on January 20th, 2009 and hit 10,927 last Friday.

Of course I am not going to be so cynical as to believe that any Republicans are actually happy that the unemployment rate has gone from about 7.6% to 9.7% during that same time.

Okay, enough pseudo-politics, tomorrow I will write about my personal attempt to keep the economy rolling by drinking the most expensive beer that I have ever bought.

A Heads Up

If you are lucky enough to live in Bar Man's neighborhood, one in which you can walk to a French bistro, Bar Tabac, so authentic you would swear you are in Paris or to a Spanish tapas bar, La Mancha, that makes you feel like you are in Madrid,  then listen  up.

The Gate, where I hit bar number 500 way back in 2005, is having a cask festival April 9th. 10th, and 11th.  I will certainly try to be there for at least one of those days.

The Brazen Head, that I used to be able to see from my window before they built the Brooklyn Law School dormitory, is having their cask festival April 30th, May 1st, and 2nd.

And d.b.a. Brooklyn, not really in my neighborhood but just a short subway or bus ride away in Williamsburg, is having their cask festival May 7th, 8th, and 9th.

If you are cask ale fan (they even have some lagers now) these are kind of must-attend events.

The Brazen Head is also having a clam and oyster shuck on Saturday, April 10th from 5:00 P.M. to 10 P.M.  These are always great fun with plenty of fairly inexpensive clams and oysters.  I highly recommend that you get there early.  And The Brazen Head usually has two cask conditioned hand pulls available along with 15 micro-brews on tap.

After eight weeks of mostly Corona and Pacifico with an occasional Modelo, Bar Man is ready for a bit of a change of pace.