Glassware

I'm something of a glassware fanatic.  My feeling is, if you are going to enjoy a good drink, it ought to be in the appropriate vessel.  I have english pint glasses, belgian goblets, steins, and wheat beer glasses.  I have rocks glasses, glencarin glasses for scotch, and snifters.  I even have pewter julep glasses with my name engraved--they were a gift from a program I was involved with at college--which allow for perfect frost for a mint julep.  One of my favorite sets of glassware are from Duralex, they are great as wine glasses but can be used for simple cocktails, or just about any other beverage.  Twenty dollars for a set of six; they were out of production for a while but they are back.  They are the type you would see in French bistros, a nice change up from stemmed wine glasses.  In addition to glassware, I have cocktail pitchers, decanters, and other such paraphernalia.  I'll show you some of my favorites.

Here is a stein that was a gift from a friend stationed in Germany:

I treated myself to this vintage cocktail set for my birthday, Mad Men-esque in the Dorothy Thorpe style:

These snifters were a gift from my in laws, they are etched by a woman in Kenya, all different animals:

 

This goblet is from a brewpub we went to in Toronto (Bellwoods), their logo reflects quite well the straightforward style of the pub itself as well as the beers poured: 

 

I'll end with a story about glassware.  On four different occasions, I have purchase pairs or sets of glassware and my wife has broken one or more members of the set within hours, literally hours, of the purchase.  One is a pair of rocks glasses from the Naval Academy.  The remaining glass makes  me feel like an admiral when drinking out of it.  Another was a set of espresso glasses.  Still a third happened after a trip to Flying Fish brewery, where I bought a pair of etched Europint glasses.  We had one beer out of them and my wife proceeded to smash the glass on the ground.  To be fair, that day was one of my best birthdays ever, as it also included seeing the A Tribe Called Quest documentary as well as a meal at a great byob called Farm and Fisherman, all of which, including the brewery tour, planned by the aforementioned wife.  Most recently, I got a pair of liter mugs with the Hofbrauhaus logo.  They sat on the counter for about 5 minutes when they were hastily scooped up in a fit of cleaning and one was shattered, along with my dreams of her serving my friends and I beer while dressed as a German beer wench.  This last time I was hot.  I don't think I even cursed.  I just sort of yelled and rambled about how unbelievable it is.  In hindsight I can laugh about it.  The funny thing is I don't ever remember her breaking any of our $2 IKEA glasses.  I am starting to think it's a deliberate way to curb my habit of purchasing glassware, or a rebellion to the idea that things must come in pairs.  Supposedly, having a party where everyone holds a different sort of glass is a cool kid thing to do.  Who knows.  In any case, my glassware purchasing is on hiatus until further notice.   I just may replace that 1L stein though...

 

The lonely ones:

 

Beer Catalogue Update

Just added 72 beers which I had over the course of the past year. 

Couple of Note:

Westvleteren 12-best beer in the world?

Taquamari-weizen style beer made by prisoners in Italy using interesting grains--tapioca and quinoa

A few from Russian River at the Taproom's Extreme Beer Brunch.

Tons of new Canadian entries from my trip to Toronto, they have a real solid scene up there.

One more thing I'm liking

Trombone Shorty.  If you like rock, jazz, hip hop, or funk, especially when all mixed in a blender, this is for you.  This guy is super talented and entertaining, I've seen him twice in concert.  He does this circle breathing thing where he'll play one note on his trumpet for minutes and minutes (you can find videos online easily).  As my brother the musician wondered, "How does he write catchy hook after catchy hook?"  His album Backatown is my favorite of the three I have, but they are all tons of fun.  You can't be in a bad mood while listening to this music.  His band is great, too.

Things I'm liking right now

Disclaimer: I am lazy and not bothering to italicize titles in this post.

FX network
Justified, The Americans, The Bridge (new this summer), It's Always Sunny (which is moving to FXX).  Pretty solid lineup.  I feel their dramas rival AMC's Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, The Killing, etc.  The difference is, sometimes the AMC shows lack in fun factor.  Justified and The Americans never forget that television, while now a proven delivery system for art, is still fundamentally about entertainment. 

Reasonably priced bourbon
I just finished a bottle of Breckenridge bourbon from Colorado, good stuff, I really feel the snowmelt proofing water was noticeable.  But didn't blow my socks off, and I know I paid $40 something for the bottle.  I start to compare everything back to Buffalo Trace's namesake entry, which I can get for sub $25 in PA, $43 for a handle.  It has as much flavor as just about any bourbon save for the super rare, super pricey stuff.  Other bourbons in this category would be Four Roses yellow label and Old Grand Dad.  I also recently had some Elmer T Lee single barrel ($30).  Mr. Lee passed away last week, get some now while the bottles are still of his choosing. 

Simple, common, beer
I'm on the same trajectory with beer.  I love trying new beers, hunting down special releases, and going to beer week events to get a glass of Bells Hopslam or Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout.  I even had a few sips of Westvleteren this year, supposedly the best beer in the world.  Never had Pliny the Younger or Elder.  It's fun, but chasing down one offs can get old; and rarity tends to overrate things.  And while there is no end in sight to the craft beer boom, that doesn't mean they are all good.  Half the time, when you try a new beer, you wish you would have just gotten the one you know you liked.  I love beers that started me on the craft beer journey, like Chimay Red.  And it doesn't get any better than Victory Summer Love with some grilled dinner on a warm summer evening.  Summer Love is not sexy, the opposite of a "special" beer, that's what makes it so great.

Bike riding around Philly
My wife has been biking around the city for a few years, as she goes to school at Temple and works part time in Old City.  I commute to Jersey so need a car for that.  But I just got a bike from Craigslist, and have been really enjoying it.  It's a great workout--my wife is kicking my ass at this point--and the best way to get around town.  Provides more range than the subway, plus it's free.  And no parking issues.  Last night we biked to West Philly for a free Shakespeare performance in Clark Park.  Even brought a picnic.  Drivers: share the road!

Grilling
I follow recipes from two books, Weber's New Real Grilling and Steven Raichlen's How to Grill.  Raichlen is awesome, it's a great first grill book bc/ he really gets into technique, tools, and provides a ton of recipes, from a quick grilled steak to a 6 hour BBQ pulled pork.  All his recipes are simple to follow.  His PBS show is good, too.  The Weber book is good, too, not too many ingredients in the recipes but tons of flavor and value.  Things I've grilled recently--pork and chorizo burgers, rum glazed shrimp on sugarcane skewers, honey glazed chicken thighs, Mexican style corn, flank steak with creamy poblanos, and plenty of veggies (green onions, asparagus, peppers).  Even dessert: coconut milk dipped grilled pineapples with cinnamon sugar.  Nothing like cooking over an open flame.  I prefer charcoal.  I grill all year round, but multiple times a week in the summer.

Mason Jar cocktails
I have gone to two events recently where open containers may be frowned upon: Phillies fireworks and The Tempest in a public park.  Simple solution-pre mix a cocktail in the jar, preferably one that looks like lemonade or limeade, e.g. mojito, daquiri, porch swing.  Bring some seltzer, club soda, or 7 up to top off and you are good to go.  Nothing like drinking under the stars, or fireworks.   This trend of ours started when a friend said, somewhat jokingly, "meet us at the fireworks and bring drinks!"  I took it as a challenge and produced.  I'm not saying I invented this technique, as I saw others doing it, too.  But many of them were lazy and filled mason jars with wine.  That works too, I suppose, for the oenophiles out there.  But the fun is in making it look like you aren't drinking.

Marathon training
My wife and I signed up for the Philly marathon this November.  The full 26.2.  So far so good, but this is week 2 of 17 weeks of training, ha.  I'll let you know how I'm doing in the fall, when the midweek training run is longer than most runs I've ever done, and the long runs top out around 20 miles.  Still, I'm excited to challenge myself and get in serious shape.

What are you liking right now?