Fredbeer. That’s how I’ve always known this classic Portland microbrew. You could easily swap classic for potent because holy crap this baby’s got bite…it’s tempting to order Fred on the rocks. The aroma is rich and amazing, scented smoothly of light malts. Fred pours a rich, beautiful head that lasts and lasts. The body is a a bit heavy, giving it a slightly syrupy character. My first tastes of HOTD’s Golden Special Ale, I find that the strength is a bit of an affront.

St. Peter’s English Ale comes in a sweet old-style medicine bottle. This organic ale from England opens with a nicely rounded bitterness and has an interesing fruity finish. It drinks clean, not syrupy at all, and has a nice light carbonation with the medium body. This beer is less sweet than typical English ales, and a bit more bittered than I typically find in the genre. No complaints here.

Storm is a next step in evolution of computer virus. Basically, it’s more organized than your typical trojan horse or virus, having three (?) different roles: breeder, brain, and drone (my terminology). The drones are the most common, and basically install on your computer and await instructions from the brain. The breeders try to spread, and the brain acts as a command and control center. The scary part is that lying dormant, this thing has access to pretty much everything (secure or no) you do on your computer or the internet with that computer.

After quite a bit of work I’ve got a new version of beerdrinker.org ready to rock. Some of the new features are pretty obvious…a new banner and some random photos. But there are other new features. I’ve included a feed of my latest ficlets so at least you can tell I haven’t been slacking too much if I haven’t been posting. Then there’s the beer grab bag on the right, so if you’re ever thirsty and not sure what to consume, just checkout that doodad and let you thirst be forever quenched.

Upgraded the site, and got a new theme, and made a new banner…it’s just a trial run, but let me know whatcha think (I know, I need to clean it up a bit). cheers.

It’s been an interesting Fall so far. I’ve got a few fairly exciting projects in the works, and there’ve been some bizarre twists, so I’m not going to put anything on digital at this point. But looking out the window, my mind wanders. The squirrels have been extra-busy this Fall. I’m thinking that’s an indicator that winter is coming early, and it’s going to be pretty serious about it when it shows.

Lazy Boy…just jumped out at me tonite as I picked up some veggies to make a lentil curry. “Locally Brewed,” they claimed. Where the heck is local because I’ve never heard of you. Everett, WA. I guess it’s kind of local. But what about those guys getting their Vermont bottle deposit back? Enough of that crap…I’m caring about what’s inside the bottle. A lightly amber-hued IPA is what I found.

For weeks I’ve been anxiously watching a space on Alberta at about 10th. They were working hard to convert a pretty dismal spot into what would clearly become a bar. It looked like they were pouring some serious heart and soul into their work. A buddy of mine was at Binks having a pint when he saw someone he knew walking past. Not uncommon in NE Portland, except that he knew him from Georgia.

N and I braved the I-5 bridge into Vancouver Friday night to see the Smashing Pumpkins play the Clark County Amphitheater. Perry Farrell opened with his new band Satellite Party, and they were good and fun. I kept thinking…wow, I’m watching Perry Farrell sing Jane Says or Pets or whatever. But the Pumpkins hit the stage and they absolutely killed it. Heavy, heavy shredding guitar. Huge rhythms with their classic psychedelic licks.