camping @ Kualoa

Regulars and Randoms...

5'8 Dano Fish

5'8" Dano fish.
Robot art by Jay Acuna.

Had a fun time surfing with Jeremy for a few days. Shane came up on Saturday. Waves ranged from knee high to double overhead.

Here's Jeremy's competition page from the MSA.

San Onofre Tuesdays

Some fun day surf at San O.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHNCDsZaXCM

Holy Beer Update

Since my last review, I've probably tried close to every single craft brew represented at tht Foodery... There's too many to list, so stay tuned. I'll post when I get a chance.

Peace on earth...

Mangjulio, where have you been?

Yeah, I've been gone for a while. These blogs are a waste of my time, but I appreciate those who keep coming back to see if it's being updated...

Merry Christmas!!!!

Killing me softly- IPAs

Avery Maharaja Imperial IPA- 19.5
Rogue Morimoto Hazelnut Brown Ale- 18.5
Bear Republic Racer 4 IPA- 17/20. I didn't dig the taste
Moylan's IPA- 18.5
Alesmith IPA- 19
Stone Runiation IPA- 19.7
Val Dieu Brown- 18
Wild Goose IPA- 16
Stone Vertical Epic 6.6.06
Brewer's Arts Resurrection Ale- 18
3 Floyd's Dreadnaught IPA- 19.5
LaRulle Tripel- 19.7
Unibroue Peche Mortal- 19.7. A great coffee stout
Victory Midnight Wit- 18.5. Nice session bear. Banana and coriander teasers
Harpoon Hefeweizen- 17.5

Mas Cervezas!

Stoudt's Double IPA- 17.5/20 Unbalanced, alcohol too dominant. Not really hoppy. Great color, though.
Allagash Grand Cru- 18.5/20- Cold weather spices
Sly Fox 113 IPA- 19/20-
3 Floyds Gumballhead- 19/20- A wheat beer that should be an IPA
Stoudts Weizen- excellent for this style. wonderful on tap at White Dog. 19/20
Legacy Midnight Wit- watery, watery on tap at White Dog. 16.5/20
Clipper City Red Sky at Night (Saison)- had at Tria- 16/20
Lancaster Milk Stout- 17.5/20. A Poor Man's Mackeson's XXX
Dogfish Head Chicory Stout- Chicory in beer? 17.5/20
Lagunitas IPA- great session beer. 18/20
Mackeson's XXX Milk Stout- Perhaps my current favorite for this style, for the milk chocolate taste and drinkability. 19.5/20

SIMCOE hops, genetically engineered for your taste

An interesting article by the Philadelphia Daily News about Simcoe hops, a genetically infused version of West Coast Cascade hops. A wonderful addition to any crafted beer, especially die-hard fans of American style IPAs. I just had the Weyerbacher Simcoe Double IPA, and it was marvelous. 19.5/20.

Joe Sixpack | Hybrid-hop Simcoe is hot

Its popularity comes from citrus aroma, strong but pleasurable bitterness

FORGET cascades hops. The newest beer craze is Simcoe.

Cascades, of course, is the classic West Coast hop, the small, vine-grown bud that gives beer its aroma, its bitterness, its spice. For 20 years, the fresh, aromatic, grapefruit-like Cascades virtually defined American-made craft beer, and it still reigns as one of the biggest sellers.

But six years ago, agriculture scientists in Washington State introduced a hybrid called Simcoe, and brewers have been boiling it big time ever since.

Yards Brewing, in Kensington, used it in its reformulated Philly Pale Ale recipe, and watched sales rocket. Troegs Brewing, in Harrisburg, adds it to Nugget Nectar Ale. In Delaware, Dogfish Head Brewing's Sam Calagione said his brewers were using Simcoe before it even had a name, when it was known only as "Experimental Hop No. 555." Today, he said, Dogfish Head tosses a "load" of it into 90 Minute IPA.

Even savvy homebrewers are onto Simcoe. "There's a latent buzz around it," said Jason Harris, of Keystone Homebrew Supply in Montgomeryville. "Simcoe's made a huge impact."

Simcoe is so hot, Weyerbacher Brewing in Easton just named its newest beer after the plant: Simcoe Double IPA.

What attracts brewers - and drinkers - to the variety is a distinctive citrus aroma combined with a high alpha-acid content that imparts a strong but pleasurable bitterness.

Because of those qualities, it's an especially popular ingredient in the new wave of extra-hoppy ales known as Imperial India Pale Ales. It provides a nice kick without a harsh slap to the palate.

"It probably got the most fire going with it three or four years ago when it showed up in some of the lively hop monsters from the West Coast," said Jim Boyd, general manager of the craft-brewing program at Yakima Chief, the Washington-based hops conglomerate that distributes Simcoe. "Almost every single one of them is using Simcoe."

Indeed, you'd think that Simcoe was created especially for these hop-happy ales. But in fact it's the big, bland lagers that drove its development.

The factory breweries that produce these beers don't much care about the variety of hops they use. Sean McGree, vice president of the hop division at Brewers Supply, another hops producer in Yakima, Wash., said: "To them, hops aren't flowers, they're a commodity. They use computers to dose hop extract into brewing kettles. So they're really just buying kilos of alpha acid... Often, the types of hops they use is a decision made by accountants, not brewers."

The goal, then, was to develop a hop variety with high alpha-acid content to reduce the acreage needed to grow the fast-spreading vines. The problem, though, was that once they're boiled in the beer-making process, high-alpha hops often produce harsh flavors.

Scientists at Select Botanicals, the Washington firm that propagated Simcoe, solved that problem by developing a variety with lower cohumulone, the acid responsible for the astringency of hops.

Jason Perrault, the company's vice president of research and development, said it took 10 years of pollination, crop development, harvesting and analysis till Simcoe was ready to be released in 2000.

Perrault said the company is still waiting for interest to grow among the big brewers. But he's heartened by the early acceptance by small brewers. "We've found that craft brewers are so much more willing to try something new, to give it a shot, to be a trend-setter," he said.

Mostly, brewers use Simcoe in combination with other hop varieties.

Dan Weirback, of Weyerbacher Brewing, said he first used Simcoe when his brewery sought to reformulate its Hop Infusion Ale, a beer with seven different hops.

"Simcoe had this wonderful flavor of West Coast hops. It's almost like a Cascades hop on steroids - it totally blew us away when we used it," Weirback said. "We thought, 'Man, wouldn't it be great to make a beer that would be dominated by Simcoe?' "

That was the start of Simcoe Double IPA.

Naming it after the hop variety was a no-brainer, said Weirback, because Simcoe is already recognizable among savvy craft-beer drinkers.

And it may just be the start of a new trend. After all, winemakers commonly label wines with their grape variety (e.g., Chardonnay, Merlot). So why shouldn't a brewer name his beer after its hops variety?

Especially when it's something as flavorful as Simcoe hops.

A sampling of Simcoe

Want a taste of Simcoe hops? Here's a sixpack of other beers that feature the distinctive flavor:

Philly Pale Ale, Yards Brewing, Philadelphia.

Pliny the Elder, Russian River Brewing, California.

Big Fish Barleywine, Flying Fish, New Jersey.

Dreadnaught, Three Floyds Brewing, Indiana.

The Maharaja, Avery Brewing, Colorado.

Titan IPA, Great Divide Brewing, Colorao.

"Joe Sixpack" by Don Russell appears weekly in Big Fat Friday. For more info, see www.joesixpack.net. Send e-mail to joesixpack@phillynews.com.

First Quarter Rotation: In the Jukebox

Now Playing:
1. Band of Horses- Everything All the Time
2. Belle & Sebastian- If You're Feeling Sinister
3. Fila Brazilia- 95-99: The Remixes
4. Tommy Guerrero- Loose Grooves and Bastard Blues
5. Charlie Byrd- The Guitar Artistry of Charlie Byrd
6. Groove Armada- Back to Mine
7. Galvanize- The Chemical Brothers
8. Thievery Corporation- Versions


Recommended Singles:
1. Cut Chemist- The Garden
2. Band of Horses- The Funeral
3. The Who- Baba O' Riley
4. Shuggie Otis- Strawberry Letter 23
5. The Killers- All these Things that I've Done
6. Massive Attack with Mos Def- I Against I
7. The Strokes- 12:51
8. Maroon 5- Sunday Morning
9. Bob Marley- One Drop
10. Morphine- Candy

Recommended Listening:
1. Os Mutantes- Technicolor, or Soul Jazz Records Presetns Tropicalia
2. Kruder & Dorfmeister- The K&D Sessions
3. Zero 7- Simple Things
4. Coldplay- X&Y
5. "Chris (Sabrina's Ex)"- Texas (unavailable)
6. Thievery Corporation- The Mirror Conspiracy, or anything on www.eslmusic.com
7. The Velvet Underground- Peels Slowly and See (Box Set)
8. Kid Loco- Jesus Life for Children Under 10 inches
9. Tommy Guerrero- Another Late Night, or Loose Grooves and Bastard Blues
10. The Postal Service- Give Up
11. The Skatellites- Foundation Ska
12. Daddy G- DJ Kicks

More ales

Stone Vertical Epic- 19/20!!!
Anchor Porter- 18/20
Lancaster Milk Stout- 17.5/20
Duvel Blonde Ale- 18/20
Organic Wild Hop- 16/20
High and Mighty Pilsner- 18/20
Boon Framboise-18/20
Lindeman's Kriek- 18/20
Rodenback Grand Cru- 18.5/20!!
Anderson Valley Hop Ottin- 18/20
De dolle Arbier-18/20
Heavywieght Perkunos Hammer- 18.5/20
Arran Blonde- 17/20
Dogfish Head Aprihop- 17/20

Happy Easter

Wise indeed.

Smuttynose Robust Porter- 18/20
Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale- 17/20
Smuttynose Old Dog Brown Ale- 17/20
Smuttynose Lager-17/20
Troegs Pale Ale- 16/20
Left Hand Jackman's Pale Ale- 17/20
Victory Prima Pils- 17.5/20

Slash!!!

That would be 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 fins out!

If you live in Honolulu, don't go in the water!

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Shown in this Dec. 2005 Star-Bulletin photo, Oliver Johnson has flesh-eating disease and is fighting for his life after falling into the polluted Ala Wai Boat Harbor.

Man dying after fall into polluted Ala Wai

34-year-old mortgage loan officer Oliver Johnson has flesh-eating disease

>> State reopens Waikiki beaches
>> Few diseases after rain, spills

By Rod Antone
rantone@starbulletin.com

A 34-year-old mortgage loan officer is near death with a flesh-eating disease after falling into the polluted waters of the Ala Wai Boat Harbor last week, according to his friends.

Friends of Oliver Johnson said his doctors at the Queen's Medical Center diagnosed him with necrotizing fasciitis, a Group A streptococcal infection that "destroys muscles, fat and skin tissue," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The disease forced the amputation of his left leg above the knee Monday, his friends said. His body also went into Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome, which causes blood pressure to drop rapidly and all major organs to fail, they said.

"Oh, my God, you can't even recognize him anymore," said Zobel Dela Cruz, a friend of Johnson. "He's all swollen up and he looks like he's 350 pounds.

"We just want everybody to know so they don't go in the water."

Johnson had been drinking at a bar across the street from his one-bedroom condominium at the Tradewinds before he fell into the boat harbor early Friday morning, Dela Cruz said. He had cut himself while climbing out and had open wounds on his feet and legs.

Over the weekend, Dela Cruz and other friends said, Johnson complained of leg pain. By Sunday, he had trouble breathing and called for an ambulance to take him to Queen's, where he was later placed on life support, they said.

Though friends said no doctor has linked Johnson's condition to Friday's fall into the harbor, they see it as too big of a coincidence to ignore.

Heavy rains on March 24 caused a Waikiki sewer main to break, leading city officials to divert 48 million gallons of raw sewage into the Ala Wai Canal. On Friday, another deluge knocked out power to a pumping station, causing another 1.8 million gallons of sewage to spill into the canal, which leads into the harbor.

"Because of this, falling into the Ala Wai water, he's just lost his leg, his liver shut down and his kidneys have shut down," said friend Stephany Sofos. "Doctors said in order for him to survive, they may have to remove his other leg and left arm."

State Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo said health officials were unaware of the incident involving Johnson and could not confirm what happened.

"We do urge people not to go into the water with open wounds," Okubo said. "If you do and you don't clean them, an infection could set in a matter of days."

Sofos said Johnson was a surfer and runner and lived an active lifestyle.

With a south shore swell coming in, she warned anyone who might be thinking about hitting the waves to think about her friend first.

"Don't be stupid. If this can happen to a healthy 34-year-old man, think about what can happen to your children," she said. "He was such a great man, wonderful guy, he'd give you the shirt off his back.

"And then something like this happens and you wonder, 'Why him?'"

Game On.

Rogue Brutal Bitter- 18/20
Rogue Chipotle Ale- 17/20
Rogue Mocha Porter- 18/20
Rogue Shakespeare Stout- 19/20
Rogue Chocolate Stout- 19.5/20 (has chocolate additive)
Young's Double Chocolate Stout- 18/20
Mirror Pond IPA- 16/20
Budweiser- 10/20
Miller Lite- 5/20
Sierra Nevada Stout- 17/20

Old School versus New School

It was just a matter of time.

http://forum.surfermag.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB4&Number=944284&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=all

Tooth Man

Dentin Man says, "Root canals don't hurt your teeth, but a fist to the mouth will."

Crafted Beers!

Speakeasy Big Daddy IPA- 17.5
Mackeson's Stout
Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout- 17
Ommegang Hennepin- 19
Sly Fox Wheat- 17
General Lafayette's Old Curmudgeon- 18
Dock Street Amber- 16
Nodding Head Rudy'sKung Fu Grip- 17
Nodding Head Bill Payer Ale- 17
Nodding Head Doc- 17.5
Nodding Head Chocolate Stout- 17.5
Nodding Head Ich Bin Ein Berliner Weisse- 17
NOdding Head 60 Schilling- 17
Stoudt's IPA- 18
Carlsberg- 15
Stoudt's Pils- 18
Victory Hop Wallop-17
Sam Adams White Ale-16
Maredsous 8-17.5
Rogue Shakespeare Stout-19
Rogue Chocolate Stout- 19.5

Barrelling rights and hot dog lefts...

Late afternoon Encinitas session, anyone?

Quarterly Review

Wow! American Pale Ales seem to be where its at for me. Stone and Rogue are hanging in there with Unibroue as great breweries. San Marcos, CA, site of Stone Brewery will be my next North County San Diego visit. I was in Encinitas surfing the Pipe last week with Jeremy, Dan, and Pam. Never made it over.

Rogue Morimoto Soba Ale- 18.5/20- Refreshing and light. Complements flavorful asian food.
Unibroue Ephemere Blackcurrent- 18.5/20
Fat Angel Ale- 15/20
Yards Love Stout- 17/20
Yards ESA- 17/20
Yards Poor Richard's Spruce Ale- 18/20- Spruce!!!
Road Dog Scottish Porter- 16/20- Not a big fan of Scottish Ale
Stone Levitation Ale- 18/20
Stone Arrogand Bastard- 18/20- Stone and Rogue Breweries have it going on
Fat Tire Ale- 17/20- Tastes like a biscuit, literally.
Whales Tail Ale- 18/20- Is this made in Oxnard? It tastes pretty, good. A light ESB.
Stoudts American Pale Ale- 18/20- solid
Stoudts Scarlet Lady- 17.5/20
Rogue Chocolate Porter- 18/20
Brooklyn '55 Lager- 16/20- Really disappointing from Brooklyn Brewery
Corsendonk Brown Ale- 18/20
Lindeman's Peche- 18/20
Old Dominion Oak Barrel- 16/20
Brooklyn Brown Ale- 18/20
Brooklyn Pilsner- 18/20
Thirsty Dog Amber Ale- 17/20
Blue Point Winter ALe- 18/20
Dirty Ho (Lindeman's + Hoegaarten)- 18.5- The RasberryLemonade of Beer.
Troegs Rugged Trail Nut Ale- 18.25/20- Nutty!
Sly Fox Pale Ale- 17/20
Lindeman's Cassis- 18/20
Flying Fish Grand Cru- 17/20- Winter Ale; not so hot
Victory Golden Monkey- 17/20
Stone India Pale Ale- 18/20- So good, I bought the $8.50 glass.