A Monkish Pallette

Returning and Redirecting, again

2006-12-15T14:21:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the prodding. I've finally got my new blog close enough for public consumption, so if you don't mind changing your links yet again, meet me over

here.

OGAle?

2006-10-08T07:22:00.000-07:00

I've been looking for alternate employment, with varying degrees of intensity, for a year now. Up to this point, I haven't even been able to land an interview with anyone! It's quite possible that I'm barking up the wrong trees, and that I am a hard-headed baffoon that needs to greatly expand my horizontal options. It's also quite likely that God's providential Hand has not desired to guide me onward, at least not just yet.

On another sphere of cerebellum, I have witnessed a small handful of youngsters (late 20s) feeling quite burdened by a lack of once-and-for-all peace as it relates to either ending or committing to a serious relationship. I have offerred counsel to these friends, of course, in hopes of getting their poor arses off the proverbial fence, but over time it seems that the fencetop has a tractor beaming energy which eventually pulls said arses back atop the the accustomed perch. Why I am not surprised?

Because I've got my own saddle sores. I like having the idea that someday I will begin a miniscule brewing business, but I don't want to take the necessary risks to make it a reality. I swoon over the romantic ideal of creating something beautiful and life-affirming with my own hands and heart and brain, something that I link so concretely with my own path along Christ's Way; and yet I get frozen feet when it comes to putting a real business plan together, talking with other young entrepreneurs, doing cost analyses, calculating loans, etc. Would this ale-making enterprise be a great source of joy or a black hole of woes? What dualistic folly we've created. Like love and soul mates, there is no such thing as one without the other...

Oktoberfest Review

2006-10-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

In Munich, Oktoberfest 2006 is already over -- being celebrated during the 16 days leading up to the first Sunday in October. But us 'mericans tend to postpone such festivities until later in the month. As the "bier specialist," please allow me to give a quick review of the Oktoberfest lagers that I have sampled this year:

The American versions I have tried, Sam Adams and Saint Arnold's, are far sweeter than the authentic German versions. I find the U.S.-types cloying and far too reminiscent of caramel corn. The exception is The Kaiser, which is an "imperial" version made by Avery in Colorado, intensifying the malt effect with a whallopping 9.3% alcohol that is well-balanced with just enough hops to keep some needed structure.

As for the Germanic biers, Texas carries 4 labels that have tents at the Munich event: Spaten, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, and Hofbrau. Spaten is the darkest and sweetest, Hofbrau is the lightest, and Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr are the most interesting. The last two may, in fact, be the same beer, as they are now brewed in the same brewery. In our store, the Hacker-Pschorr is showing cleaner flavors, as it has the most recent born-on date. The real winner, though, is Ayinger. Not old enough to have a reserved place at the festival, this brewery concentrates on making world-class beauties. Their Oktoberfest is remarkably nuanced, offering the pallette several distinct aromas and flavors from a handful of varying specialty malts. It finishes dry and clean, leaving you curious and aptly motivated for your next sip (gulp).

So, while you're enjoying the falling leaves and crisper air, and before you get haunted by the retail assault of everything-Halloween (too late), take a moment to drink in some malty German goodness and toast the God of the harvest. Prost!

ACL, Final Evening

2006-09-27T15:39:00.000-07:00

Feeling slightly more fatigued, I again hit the festival in the late afternoon after a day of physical work at the ol' Central Market. Sans Jolie, me and Chris and Alyssa headed for the finale:

The Flaming Lips have been around, apparently, but this was my first time to observe their scene. For pure visual stimulation, few bands could compete -- there were live dancing Santas and Roswell Aliens, inflated versions of the same, multi-colored plastique adornments, and the lead singer arriving inside a large transparent beach ball. The music was, um, okay too, I guess.
Went back for another fish taco and hooked it over to get ready for Muse. While there, we watched the last 4ish Ben Harper songs, and lamented that he was far better than the Lips. He finished with an energetic version of "Get Up, Stand Up" with Damien Marley in tow.
Muse. Where shall I begin? If one was to take all the elements of 80s music (mainly metal, European pop, and even a little Prince / Madonna) and throw them into the proverbial melting pot, then time warp into the present whilst completely avoiding the entire decade of the 90s (especially grunge, alt-country, indie, etc.) you'd get something quite Muse-like. Loud digitally processed neo-metal anthems, one after the other, that sound golden and flawless. If I hadn't grown up in the 80s, I would have been as enraptured as the rest of the 25-and-under crowd! A-muse-ing, for sure.
Tom Petty looked pretty happy from the half-a-mile-away-from-the-stage vantage point. The rains came down pretty hard after the cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well." This was our cue. Good night, ACL. Thanks for the fun musical samplings. And especially for bringing Van Morrison unto my doors.

ACL, Night Two

2006-09-21T16:29:00.000-07:00

I had to work Saturday, but I got off in time for Jolie, Alyssa, Chris and myself to enjoy plenty:

The Raconteurs were the highlight of the weekend for me. This is partly because of my familiarity with their debut album and partly because Connor and I "jam" to their songs nearly every day. Mostly, though, I find great pleasure in the way they take obvious rip offs of all things 70s and manage to meld them into very listenable and current pop-rock. Notable mockeries included Rush, Black Sabbath, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and even Sonny and Cher's rendition of "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"; and especially the gritty organ work of Deep Purple. The surprise discovery that Jack White is an incredibly charismatic and energetic performer, his acid balanced beautifully with the baseness of his vocal and 6-stringed counterpart Brendan Benson, certainly didn't hurt either.
Heard aproximately two songs from Iron and Wine backstage at the Heineken VIP area. Like the beard, love the music -- just wasn't in the mood for chilled lullabies at the time...
Felt quite conflicted about my opinion of Explosions in the Sky. If I had been drawn in, I'm sure I would have felt differently. They made interesting background music for our fish tacos at any rate.
Watched the collection of 73-year-old wrinkles known as Willie Nelson from an acre away. Similarly to Van Morrison, I would have like to have heard a more dynamic backup band. Still, it's pretty cool to see hoards of youngsters singing along and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Always On My Mind remains a beautiful ghost of a song; and his last two ditties about being old and being an outlaw were a hoot. No surprise he got caught with mushrooms and reefer in Lousiana 2 days later.

ACL Repor(t), Night One

2006-09-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

In my college days I had a weekly routine of going down to the Sound Warehouse and spending about an hour perusing the aisles and listening to the newest releases at the headphone station. I rather enjoyed feeling like I was "in the know" about the latest bands and music trends, and I got extra thrills from being the first to introduce my friends to a great new album, etc. The energy do keep this up waned years ago, and I am all the more aware of my musical ignorance now that I'm living in Austin -- no worse, living with 4 zealous local musicians in Austin!

For all of Austin's City Limit-ations, I must admit that it affords geezers like myself the opportunity for a brief Cliff's Notes cram session of the latest and greatest musical endeavors. Here are some bulletpoints from my Cliff's Notes (talk about a cheat sheet):

Okkervil River, an emerging Austin band, presented the most provocative set of the weekend. Their blend of wordsy folk and Alarm-esque emotional outbursts (even Roger Waters-like at times) set a high standard -- maybe too high -- for the following three nights.
Gomez sounded pretty good from backstage. A bit predictable, but having the right sound for festival fun.
Thievery Corporation made the people dance with a stage full of rhythmic energy.
Despite being disappointed that Van Morrison had an elderly "adult contemporary" band (rather than a hoppin' soul band) as accompaniment, and the utter lackluster quality of the first few songs, I had all kinds of happy vibes watching the legend warm up and let his soul come forth from his powerful pipes. His voice is still most assuredly a remarkable force for good, and his cool, understated presence commands devotion, even while he is hidden beneath a rimmed hat and shades. For over an hour, my mind reverberated on one theme: this music is pure. Van is indeed the Man.

G-L-O-R-I-A

2006-09-15T12:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight will be a musical milestone for me. Since high school Van Morrison has been one of my monolithic favorites, and I made a vow of sorts to see him if he ever got within striking distance. For 17 years, the striking distance never came. VM has a way of only playing about 5 gigs in the U.S. every five years, and they are always northerly and westerly of my global positioning. Early this past year, however, Van the Man dipped down into Grand Prarie, Texas in the midst of his little tour outing. I tried, but I just couldn't find a way to make it happen, driving all the way up there on a Monday night by myself. I felt like I had let myself down.

Enter redemption in the form of the Austin City Limits Festival.

Van Morrison will take the stage tonight a mere three miles from my house! [That's striking distance even by Hezbellah stadards.] Jolie bought me a single one-day pass for my birthday a few weeks ago, willingly taking on the kiddos so I could make my pilgrimage. And now her charity is being rewarded, because I recieved two 3-day VIP passes this week from Heineken as a thank you for my diligence as the beer specialist at Central Market! My Mom and Dad will be here within the hour to take care of C 'n C for us today and tomorrow night. Bonus: our Abbey-mate Evan will be sitting in with Okervill River at 5:00 this evening!

P.S. I know Van is old and fat, but this is the equivalent of seeing the Irish Johnny Cash near the end of his prolific career.

Recent Brewings and Such

2006-09-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

I received many beer-related gifts for my birthday -- 4 books, a magazine subscription and many dollars in gift certificates for homebrew supplies! This week I added the cash from my parents to the gift certificates, and bought myself a powerful outdoor propane burner. Today I brewed outside for the first time in my fledgling career. As long as it's not typical Texas summer weather, this is most definitely the way to go. Faster, easier to clean up, and not in the way of Jolie in the kitchen; plus it hearkens back to a more primitive and artisanal mode of brewing, the scent of boiling malt and hops drifting forthwith into God's nostrils.

The brew of the day was Grazter, an antiquated smoked beer from Polish tradition dating back to the 1500s. This was brewed in honor of Jason's familial roots, and will be enjoyed at Friedrichfest, a combination of our 2nd Annual Abbey Oktoberfest and a money-tree-raising shower for what will be by then the newlywedded couple. I've never smoked grains before Wednesday night, and I'm looking forward to tasting this strange concotion in a few weeks.

I'm also in the final stages of a Trappist-styled Trippel that was brewed for Jason and Tinamarie's actual wedding. It has been conditioning for 6 weeks now, and I think I'll go ahead and send it to the kegs next week to give it time to carbonate and settle out by September 23rd. This is my second "original recipe," the first being mentioned in the next paragraph...

I brewed my first totally un-borrowed recipe in late June, three days before Camden was born. My aim was (is) to tailor a Trappist-influenced ale with the realities of Texas summer heat, creating something relatively light and quenching with the complex fruit notes that typify Belgians. It's been a long and impatient quest, but I believe the final version that we have been enjoying around the Abbey this week met the aim beautifully. I am pleased to have the Abbey Normal prototype accomplished. Now on to the tweaking phase.

Carpetgrass

2006-08-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

Also known as "Saint Augustine grass," though I can't tell if this is because it originated in North West Africa or because it was cultivated in the U.S. near St. Augustine, Florida. On a more allegorical level, the name is apropriate for some of the grass's physical properties -- it spreads everywhere with little effort, easily chokes out weeds as it thickens, and is resistant to chinch bugs. The same could be said of the saint himself. His articulations have covered a thick layer of green upon the foundation of the Christian faith, and his intelligence and rhetorical skill stamped out the "heresies" of his day and continue to thrive under the would-be attacks of modern theological critics.

For my own part, I have gone through several positional stages with him: I read Confessions early in college and found tremendous encouragement and admiration; I gained further allegiance through my keen interest in Martin Luther, and to a lesser degree the Calvinist (more Jonathon Edwards) interpretations of predestination; during my "deconstructive" phase, I found Augustine to be improperly authoritarian and a burden to my understanding of the apostle Paul; later sub-phases of detoxification uncovered more discontent, blaming the old Saint for much of the shameful activity of Christian history, and even feeling sympathies for Pelagius' theology.

This week, however, in preparing for his feast day, I found less ire and more pathos. Perhaps this is because, after over a year of miscellaneous feast days, I have realized that all of these canonized saints are a mixed bag of heroicism and failure. The bigger point is to place ourselves in the greater narrative of God's ongoing activity of redemption, and to discover ourselves in these stories of inspiration and disappointment, always all the more eager to place ourselves at the mercy of Christ, who is alone able to produce good out of our feebleness.

I am grateful for the life and work of Augustine. May his patronage assist me as I try to craft ales that fill others with beauty and delight, and as I try to understand God and to speak the best words to Him and about Him.

Please allow me to roll out some quotable carpetgrass:

Charity is no substitute for justice withheld.

Don't you believe that there is in man a deep so profound as to be hidden even to him in whom it is?

Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others.

God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.

I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are wise and very beautiful; but I have never read in either of them: Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden.''

If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.

Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.

Love, and do what you like.

Pub Grub Class

2006-08-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

I had a lot of fun last night co-teaching at the Central Market Cooking School. This was my second time to provide beer pairings for a pre-planned menu, and to describe the brews for the class. It's odd, but the lift I get from turning a 50-year-old woman on for the first time to the idea of beer being a being a serious beverage is very reminiscent of the feeling I used to get when one of the students in my youth ministry would get turned on to experiencing God in worship!

I think I am particularly motivated to help others understand something that may come as a surprise to them. I used to love finding the hardest passages in Scriptures to preach on, or to find some hidden or obscured layer of meaning and explicate it, rather than capitulating to the standard, cliched ideas. I guess, in some ways, this blog is another example of the same phenomenon -- feeling "called" to invest myself in such magniloquence in order to create the space for potential "aha!" moments that can often be cloaked by the well-intenioned norms of the staus quo.

Anyway, last night's class was traditional English pub foods and I stuck to an English Ale theme to go with them. A lot of folks were pleasantly surprised at how good beer can be, and the pairings turned out to be right on:
Mussels in Champagne & Cream Sauce
Rogue Shakespeare Stout
This is the most awarded stout in the world, a take on the Victorian era oatmeal stout, with a strong presence of American West Coast hops. Ebony in color with a rich, creamy head, and earthy flavor that comes from oats, and a mellow chocolate aftertaste. A classic partner with oysters or mussels, as well as stews, burgers – even pizzas or green salads.
English Beer & Cheese Soup
Samuel Smith’s India Ale
A hopped-up version of English Pale Ale, due to the need of a longer-lasting beer for English vessels sailing to Bombay. A dark golden hue, a restrained maltiness, and an emphasis on the aroma and flavor of mellower English hops. Great with cheddar, coconut curries, cheeseburgers and fried fish.

Fish & Chips with Malt Vinegar
Old Thumper
An ESB (Extra Special Bitter) brewed in Portland, Maine. Dark gold to copper in color with a bready and nutty malt flavor and a balanced hop aftertaste. Great with swiss cheese, fried foods and roasted chicken.
Traditional Shepherd’s Pie
Fuller’s 1845
Based on the original Fuller’s recipe from 1845, this is a sweet strong ale. Deep maple syrup color with sweet fruit aromas and earthy, peppery accompaniments to the malt. Great with shepherd’s pie, prime rib and farmhouse cheddars.

Bailey’s Chocolate Mousse Torte
Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout
Inky black with 7% alcohol. A nose of dark French chocolate, vintage port, passion fruit and anise. A velvety, lush mouthfeel with an espresso bite and a long finish. Delectable with serious chocolate desserts, shortbread cookies, carrot cake or a cigar!

It's As Good a Day As Any Other...

2006-08-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

for changing blogs again.

After all, it IS my birthday, and I AM too old to care how annoying it is to keep up with my ever-changing blog scenarios. So, for those Dan Brown or Nancy Drew fans that have been willing and able to keep up with my trail of clues, here shall my personal blog thoughts reside for the time being.

As to it's content, I feel a bit freer to handle a wider range of topics. I'll continue to pursue ideas that relate to working out my faith and it's monastic expressions, but I'll also take more time to record the amazing tastes I've been experiencing as a beer and wine sales representative. And I've got a nagging itch to air out my political critiques, too.

Speaking of beer, I've got a 15.5 gallon keg of Real Ale's Rio Blanco Pale Ale on ice in preparation for a little birthday gathering tonight. If you're reading this, you're certainly welcome to come on by!