Archive for June, 2010
Beer Review – Chestwick Bitter
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Beer Tasting, Photography, Travel on June 30, 2010
Name: Chestwick Bitter
Origin: England
Style: Ale/English Bitter (3.5%)
Appearance: A clear, dark yellow and golden brown ale, this English ale was poured from the tap producing a nice, soft head, that was small but had a great life span.
Taste: This ale has an intensely hoppy (floral) aroma. It begins sweet, with some notes of honey and caramel but quickly becomes strongly floral and bitter. The hops in this beer are the driving factor in this beers overall flavour. The aftertaste is hoppy, bitter and long lived.
Mouth Feel: A soft, light bodied ale. Like most English beers it was served at slightly below room temperature as this tends to allow the hop flavours to shine through more.
Final Thoughts (4.5 out of 5): Of every beer I tried during my travels in Ireland and London, this was hands down the best beer I had. Best of all I was easily able to recreate a similar beer in my home brewing. I love sessionable English Bitters.
Not far from the Tower of London was the pub I got to try this fantastic English ale.
Routine of the Day – The One Thousand
Posted by bradinator in Fitness, Routines on June 29, 2010
Lets do one thousand reps.
Warm Up – 3 Rounds for Time
- 10 Ring Pullups
- 20 Ring Dips
- 30 Chair Dips
- 40 Jumping Jacks
Final time was 4:40. That is 300.
Routine #1 – 5 Rounds for Time (with 14lbs training vest)
- 20 Pullups
- 30 Pushups (on T-Bar)
- 40 Squats
- 50 Chinnes (2-count)
Final time was 13:33. Thats another 700.
Routine #2 – 21-15-9 for time of
- Burpees
- Push Press @ 60lbs
Final time was 3:21. And thats 90.
Total rep count 1090 in just about 21 minutes.
Beer Review – Whitstable Bay Organic Ale
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Beer Tasting, Hiking, Photography, Rants on June 29, 2010
Name: Whitstable Bay Organic Ale
Origin: England
Style: Ale (4.5%)
Appearance: This is a crystal clear, amber colour. Head is medium, head retention is low.
Taste: The smell is citrus, mainly grapefruits. There are some initial notes of crackers on the first taste, but the beer is heavily bitter and citrusy so they are quickly washed out. There is also something of a rice-like flavour to this beer. The beer finishes with a lingering bitter citrus flavour.
Mouth Feel: Due to the strong bitterness of this ale, its leans towards a sharper mouth feel. Not filling and a medium body.
Final Thoughts (3 out of 5): Its a fine ale, but I still stand by my “organic is bull-shit” stance. The lack of standards and controls for ‘certified organic’ products sullies the whole market. Any company can slap ‘organic’ onto a fruit and no one is the wiser.
You want an organic fruit? Walk into the fucking forest, find a berry bush and pick it yourself. You are not going to find it in a store. Just don’t get killed by the beer who is also enjoying those organic berries.
Organic fruits can be found here. Somewhere...
Routine of the Day – HSPU, Pullups and Tuck Jumps
Posted by bradinator in Fitness, Routines on June 28, 2010
Warm Up – 3 Rounds for Time
- 10 Pullups
- 20 Situps
- 30 Pushups
- 40 Squats
Finished in 4:03
Routine of the Day - Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes of the following exercises
- 7 Handstand Pushups
- 14 Pullups
- 21 Tuck Jumps
Finished 14 rounds with just seconds left.
Beer Review – Bishops Finger
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Beer Tasting, Photography, Travel on June 28, 2010
Name: Bishops Finger
Origin: England
Style: Kentish Strong Ale (5.4%)
Appearance: Pours with a nice, medium head which is foamy and soft in appearance. The colour is a dark, red-brown that reminds me of chestnut.
Taste: There are some metallic odors and definite floral smells as well. This strong ale is rich and malty in taste. There are some fruity notes, which may be apples and some noticeable toffee-esque flavours as well. The beer finishes bitter and citrusy. The aftertaste is strong and long lived.
Mouth Feel: A nice soft, easy on the mouth strong beer. Overall I would give it a medium-heavy body.
Final Thoughts (3.5 out of 5): A very nice ale in a very attractive bottle.
Let's all go kiss a flithy rock!
Routine of the Day – Team: Climbing Mount Oylmpus
Posted by bradinator in Fitness, Routines on June 27, 2010
One person runs, the other does Pushups, Squats or Burpees for max repetitions until the runner returns. Trade positions. Complete as many rounds as you can in 30 minutes or until you are too exhausted to continue. Count the total reps per round.
So literally – Run, Pushups, Run, Squats, Run, Burpees, repeat.
Finished 12 rounds -
- Pushups – 60
- Squats – 45
- Burpees – 15
- Pushups – 50
- Squats – 40
- Burpees – 20
- Pushups – 90 (took his sweet time on this run)
- Squats – 45
- Burpees – 15
- Pushups – 50
- Squats – 40
- Burpees – 15
Beer Review – Big Rock Gopher Lager
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Beer Tasting, Photography on June 27, 2010
This is it. Beer number 500. Five hundred beers I have sampled over the past seven years and liver willing, 500 more are in my future. It seems fitting that beer number 500 is from the same company, that beer number 1 came from. They do not release new beers very often, but today Gopher Lager became available in stores.
Name: Big Rock Gopher Lager
Origin: Canada, Calgary
Style: Lager (All Malt 5%)
Appearance: A clear, golden coloured lager, Big Rocks Gopher produced a medium head on pour which shrank down to a filmy top that managed to live for the entire session.
Taste: The aroma is metallic at best, but its flavour is nothing of the sort. It is a highly bread-like lager, with strong notes of crackers and a bitter finish that is short lived. The flavour seems to improve as the beer warms.
Mouth Feel: Soft on the mouth and surprisingly enough not filling despite its highly carbonated appearance. A medium body, this lager is both refreshing and easy drinking.
Final Thoughts (3.5 out of 5): You would think that beer number 500 would have been a 5 star, but I am a realist. I like all malt beers and Big Rock’s is no exception to this. Gopher Lager has a pleasant palette and is very easy to drink, possibly too easy to drink.
Beer is great.
Look out! Its a Tyrannosaurus Rex!!!