2016 Photochallenge Week 15: Environmental Portrait

At the end of last year I discovered Photochallenge.org.  This is a small group of photographers who set forth a weekly challenge to other professional and amateur photographers.  What I was drawn to with this weekly assignment is that is pushes you to try new techniques and get out and take pictures on a weekly basis.  I'm taking part again this year and will also do a quick blog post about each of them.  The rules of the challenge do require that these are new pictures, not from your back catalog.  With my busy work schedule, I may not be able to get out each week and do this, so I will likely add a few of my older photos on the blog--taking the opportunity to look at the plethora of pictures I've taken and actually do some processing and weeding.

Week 15 Environmental Portrait

This past week's challenge was to take a portrait of someone in their own environs.  This would be work or a hobby for instance.  Ideally you would see either some of the background or perhaps a uniform to clue you into the broader environment and not just a head-shot. 

I struggled a bit with this challenge--mainly due to my Minnesotan nature of not wanting to talk to strangers and bother folks at work.  

1) Herkimer:  This pleasant and knowledgeable server at The Herkimer brewpub in Uptown was kind enough to pose for my while bringing out our big tray of beers.  The light wasn't great but I did my best!  And hey, I completed the challenge!

2) Raptor Handler:  This is a really old one taken with my iPhone in Belgium.  This was at a castle in the mountains near the French border where they had a raptor show several times a day.  The rain kept falling on us during the show but the birds didn't seem to mind too much.  While this shot isn't amazing it shows the subject in action and handling the huge eagle with ease.

3) Northbound:  This one is also an old shot--but one of my first posed Environment portrait shots so felt like adding it here.  This was our wonderful server at Northbound Smokehouse in Minneapolis--a brewpub with decent beers and great smoked meats.

Photochallenge Week 14: Death in Nature

At the end of last year I discovered Photochallenge.org.  This is a small group of photographers who set forth a weekly challenge to other professional and amateur photographers.  What I was drawn to with this weekly assignment is that is pushes you to try new techniques and get out and take pictures on a weekly basis.  I'm taking part again this year and will also do a quick blog post about each of them.  The rules of the challenge do require that these are new pictures, not from your back catalog.  With my busy work schedule, I may not be able to get out each week and do this, so I will likely add a few of my older photos on the blog--taking the opportunity to look at the plethora of pictures I've taken and actually do some processing and weeding.

2016 Photochallenge Week 14: Death In Nature

This week's challenge is an interesting one: to document the normal death/life cycle in nature.  I've recently been taking more nature shots so I was excited about this one.  However, being in the right place at the right time has a lot to do with this subject.  With spring only now starting (it snowed this morning here in Minnesota) there isn't a ton of animal/insect action out there yet.  I did look through my back catalog for some shots that fit the bill as well.  

1) Remnants:  I had despaired that I would not find anything appropriate for this challenge during the week.  On the way out of the clinic for lunch I discovered the remains of a bird that had probably been buried in a snowbank until the spring thaw.  Not having my trusty Canon with me, I had to use my iPhone for this shot.  I went with black and white on this to accentuate the stark white bone against the charcoal colored rocks and to bring out the detail in the feathers.  This may not be the most appetizing of photos, but I think it brings across the theme.

2) Entangled:  This one was from last fall. An enormous spider had set up a web on my deck and I went out several days to take some macro shots of it.  On this particular day it had snared a big yellow-jacket wasp.  I kept the spider around despite its freakish size since it was keeping down the wasp population!  

A Whale A Week: Bent Paddle Double Shot Double Black

Now in my second year, A Whale A Week is my challenge to try (with an array of beer loving friends) a rare beer for every week of the year.  Last year I had a great time with this and have continued it for 2016.  Not every beer will be a truly "white whale" beer, but all are hard to find and a treat to try!  This week we try something different.  Tired of just trying out one beer (and lets be honest how can I really shrink my cellar at this rate) each week, we're going to break out a bunch of them!

This week one of my old friends Rob Wengler invited my wife Sarajo and I over to his place for a couple of rare beers.  Rob had discovered this little treasure at an out-of-the-way liquor store that somehow fell off the beer hoarders' radar this past month.  Bent Paddle Brewery in Duluth is one of my very favorites in Minnesota--and frankly one of my favorites in the nation.  I've met brewers Bryon Tonnis, Collin Mullen, and Peter Mack many times over the years--before Bent Paddle was even formed.  When Tonnis and Mullen (and their wonderful wives who are much involved in the business aspects of the brewery) formed Bent Paddle I was incredibly excited.  Here were two of my favorite under-rated brewers--who both put out amazingly balanced and consistent beers--forming a super-group of sorts.  I've been to the brewery several times (usually our first stop as we roll into Duluth for All Pints North beer festival each summer) and the offerings just keep getting more varied and more impressive.  Currently Bent Paddle has been involved in some controversy up north due to their stance on opening a new mine in the area.  Apparently the municipal (owned by the government) liquor stores have boycotted their beers in response.  To me this is fine for a personally owned business to decide, but for the city government to do so (and encourage other businesses to do it as well) seems like stepping over the line.  Check HERE for a link to a really impressive statement from the brewery that was published in The Growler.  That's as political as I get on this blog...

A few years back Bent Paddle did their first barrel aged beer--Double Black--an Imperial version of their Black Ale aged in bourbon barrels.  We had it at All Pints and were blown away.  The next year we tried the coffee infused version (Double Shot) and had found a new favorite beer.  This year they released that version in bottles and they went like hot-cakes in the Twin Cities market.  Sarajo and I searched but did not score any bottles at all for our dragon's-hoard.  Luckily Rob was willing to share!  This is a 11.2% ABV stout with cold press locally roasted coffee and whole bean Madagascar vanilla beans.  We had to hack at the thick wax on the bottle with a dangerously sharp knife to get
into it!  

Bent Paddle Double Shot Double Black

Aroma:

Eric: Powerful strong cold press coffee!  Hints of vanilla.  Mild alcohol zippiness.  As it warms I get tons of rich dark chocolate.  Mild oak tannins.  No hops to speak of.  The aroma complex and like a chameleon seems to change with each sniff.  I spent several minutes just smelling this beer before actually going in for a taste.  Impressive.

Rob: Coffee grounds.

Sarajo: Smells like chocolate.

Appearance:

Eric: Nearly pitch black and opaque.  Very fine dark tan head is pretty persistent for such a strong beer.

Rob: "So black it sweats oil..."

Flavor:

Eric: Sweet at first, but quickly drops to an almost chalky dry dark chocolate finish.  Coffee is very present--seems like a freshly brewed medium roast with some earthy character.  Vanilla comes across at the tail end--adding a hint of sweetness to even out the dry almost bitter chocolate aftertaste.  Mouthfeel is mouth coating and thick and creamy--but finish is off-dry.  Mild tannic oak or coffee grounds.  Balance is pretty even between bitter and sweet.  

Rob: Like a plain biscotti soaked in a sweet espresso 'til its soft--then sucking the juice out of the biscotti.  

Sarajo: The vanilla is strong in this one...but not cloying--perfect balance.

Overall:

Eric: Wonderful complexity in both the aroma and the flavor.  Strong coffee, even-handed vanilla, chocolate. Barrel is subtle.  Masterfully crafted beer.  One of the best I've had so far this year.  4.75

Rob: 4.5

Sarajo: Goes well with chocolate chip cookies!  :)  4.75

Overall Score: 4.67

2016 Photochallenge Week 13: B&W Street Photography

At the end of last year I discovered Photochallenge.org.  This is a small group of photographers who set forth a weekly challenge to other professional and amateur photographers.  What I was drawn to with this weekly assignment is that is pushes you to try new techniques and get out and take pictures on a weekly basis.  I'm taking part again this year and will also do a quick blog post about each of them.  The rules of the challenge do require that these are new pictures, not from your back catalogue.  With my busy work schedule, I may not be able to get out each week and do this, so I will likely add a few of my older photos on the blog--taking the opportunity to look at the plethora of pictures I've taken and actually do some processing and weeding.

Photochallenge.org Week 13: Black & White Street Photography

This week's challenge was to try out street photography.  Strangely this does not mean taking pictures of a street or curb!  The idea here is to take photo's of everyday life going on around you.  Most classic street photography is done on-the-sly without the subjects knowing they are on film--getting more candid and less posed shots.  This one was a tough challenge for me to do.  I'm naturally very shy (and Minnesotan) and taking pictures of unsuspecting people threw me off a bit--while doing so is not illegal here in the USA, it is still potentially invading someone's personal space.  The other issue I had was that I live out in a pretty rural town where street scenes during the day are pretty quiet.  Add on the rain and even snow most of the week and I struggled.  I'll be heading downtown soon and will make up for it.  In the mean time--here are a couple of older shots.

1) Rainy alley: I went back into my older photos and looked for some pics that would fit the bill.  I found this one from our trip to Belgium a few years back that I took with my iPhone.  Rain was dripping on us and my friends Chris and Hassan were walking ahead of us, followed by my rain-drenched wife off to the left.  I don't think they noticed me falling back to take photos, so this was very much unposed.  

2) Ghent:  This one was taken from a tour boat on the canal.  While the subject is really the amazing architecture along the street and canal, the folks sitting along the side of the canal relaxing during the day were a happy bonus to the shot.  Rain came out and drenched us about 5 minutes after I took this photo.

3) Sunset in Bruges:  This one was also from my iPhone on our first trip to Bruges, Belgium.  My group had walked ahead of me and I was struck by the long shadows they were leaving on the shiny cobblestones.  

Beer and Cocktails #1: Jack Rose

This year I've been widening my arsenal of beverage choices by adding cocktails to my repertoir.  I bought a couple of classic books on the subject and have been working my way through those, trying to get a feel for mixology standards, as well as deciding what type of mixed drinks that I like.  I've also been experimenting on my wife, Sarajo--finding her tastes go to gin based drinks and ones on the sweeter side.

Enter a cool new series of beers from one of my all-time favorite breweries--Perennial in St. Louis: Dealer's Choice.  I picked up the second in the series on a trip (on Sunday since you still can't buy beer here in Minnesota that day #whynotsundays) to Hudson, Wisconsin.  This beer takes the flavor profile of the Jack Rose cocktail as it's inspiration.

I decided that I had to make a Jack Rose and try this beer at the same time!  Here are the results!  Also taking part in this was our friend Heather McNabnay, and of course, Sarajo.  Oh, and there are a lot of different versions of Jack Rose to choose from, so I picked one from a classic source.

Jack Rose Cocktail

2 oz Laird's Applejack
3/4 oz Fresh lime juice
2 squirts homemade grenadine syrup
Shake with ice in cocktail shaker for 10 seconds.
Strain into martini style glass.
Garnish with an imported marashino cherry (not the violently colored red ones) and a slice of apple.

The drink was tasty, but very tart with the addition of lime.  A bit on the hot alcohol side as well.  I thought Sarajo would hate this but she didn't mind it.  I'd probably add a twitch of simple syrup to it next time (1/4 oz?)

Perennial Dealer's Choice Jack Rose

Aroma: Lime and apple are certainly the stars.  Some caramel and malt presence, but subtle.

Appearance: Light amber in color.  Excellent clarity.  Fine off-white head that sparkles briefly then fades to nearly nothing--very much like carbonated hard apple cider.

Flavor: Bright fresh apple and light caramel malts.  I get a nice zip of lime zest at the finish.  Hints of pomegranate.  Mouthfeel is medium to almost light.  Finish is off-dry.  I give it a 4 out 5 stars.

Sarajo commented that she likes the beer better than the cocktail.  Once she tasted the garnishes on the cocktail she made a better connection between that and the beer flavors.

This was a fun little experiment and a good way to try out a new (old really) cocktail and a new beer.  I'd love to see what the other beers are in the series, but we can't get them here in Minnesota so I might have to wait a while!

Birch's Please! Birch's On The Lake Review...

At this year's Winterfest one of the stand-out beers for me was one from the relatively new brewpub Birch's On The Lake.  I talked briefly with head brewer Brennan Greene and was intrigued enough to want to jump this place up on my schedule for brewery visits.

Greene is one of two owners of Birch's and has a pretty impressive resume.  He went to the University of Wisconsin Madison and got a degree in Philosophy.  He then learned (presumably) what most discover: that Philosophy degrees are not exactly great for finding a "real" job.  (I have a couple of friends who've been down this route.)  He ended up attending the World Brewing Academy, then started as the brewer for the Schlafly Taproom in St. Louis.  Shlafly was the first craft brewery to take on local favorite Budweiser...  I visited there in 2012 and my write-up is HERE.  I really liked the Tazmanian IPA when we visited (I gave it a 4 out of 5) and it turns out that that beer was Greene's recipe using then fairly experimental Galaxy hops.  I tried one of these in the bottle just last week and felt that the quality has dropped since it went into bottle production.  Knowing how many types of good beers Greene must have brewed at Schlafly, I was excited to try his newest venture with Birch's!

Birch's On The Lake is located in Long Lake (and yes it is right ON the lake, looking over the water.)  My wife and I arrived around 6 PM on a Tuesday night and the place was busy but we didn't have to wait.  There's a downstairs Brewhouse that's open Weds-Sunday and serves food and beers--unfortunately they were having an event down there when we visited so I wasn't able to check it out at the time.  When we entered the building and walked up a short set of stairs I was struck by the classy wine-bar or supperclub feel.  A rack of wines takes up the entire wall to the right of the host stand along with a gas fire feature.  The walls are a mix of dark woods and leather upholstery, giving the place and upscale and timeless look far different from any "brewpub" I've visited.  I felt a little shabby in my T-shirt and hoody compared to a bunch of the suited-up after-work crew.  But hey this is Minnesota, you can wear anything you like to most places!

We were seated in a high-backed booth covered in dark leather, looking out over the bar and with a partially obstructed view of the lake (until it got darker anyway).  The bar is shaped like a square, with seating all around, on a slightly lower level.  Seating at the back of the bar (by where we were sitting) is elevated and looking into the bar itself.  The bar is dark granite with white leather along the front.  The chairs are (imitation?) snakeskin and very comfortable looking.  There's a lot of space in the place for seating, and even more when the deck outside opens up for the season.

We had great service while we were there, attentive and knowledgeable.  We were served a strange little 1950's tray of radishes, celery, carrot sticks, and pickled peppers served atop shaved ice--odd but added to the retro steak-house feel.

They had 8 beers on tap, available as 2, 4, 8, or 16 ounce pours for all of them.  I had to try them all!   As usual, Sarajo tasted along with me, as well as gave me dirty looks for spending too much time taking notes on my phone.  Here are my brief impressions of the beers.  My scale is 0-5, with 3 being my standard OK beer, 4 being outstanding, and 5 being my white whales.

1) Kolsch Blonde Ale: This has a great German hop aroma.  Flavor is crisp, hop bitterness present.  Slight fruity esters of pear and white grape that put this in the top kolsch styles I've had in Minnesota.  This one is going to go fast come deck season.  4

2) Apricot Berliner Weiss:  Strong apricot aroma, borders on extract/fake.  Suitably tart but with a sweeter apricot finish.  One of the better kettle sours I've had in Minnesota this year so far.  4

3) Witbier:  Coriander and white pepper in the nose along with some Belgian yeast esters.  Coriander strong in flavor.  Perhaps too much clove and banana for Belgian Wit--more like German Hefe.  A bit sweet on finish.  Probably my least favorite of the bunch but still gets a 3.5

4) Coffee Chocolate Golden Ale:  This is a beer that should not work.  But it does!  A deep golden color with excellent clarity.  Fresh coffee and cocoa powder aroma is surprising for the appearance.  Flavor is full of bright light-roast earthy coffee, white chocolate.  Body medium--thicker than expected.  Simply wonderful.  4.5

5) Vanilla Milk Stout: Aroma is pretty subtle.  Roasted malt in flavor, hints of milk chocolate.  Mild vanilla.  Mouthfeel medium-plus.  Grainy finish.  Despite her love for stouts this was Sarajo's least favorite. 3.5

6) Simcoe IPA:  The aroma is bursting with catty (cat pee!) Simcoe hops.  The flavor is more balanced with mild caramel, but not sweet.  Lots of powerful citrus fruit of grapefruit rind and tangerine.  4

7) India Brown Ale:  Well balanced beer.  Mix of mild roasted grain with plenty of pine and earthy hops.  Very drinkable.  3.75

8) Double IPA:  Crazy aroma on this!  I get mosaic and simcoe for sure.  Flavor is sweet and fruity up front.  A bit of alcohol zip.  Honey character.  This reminds me of Hopslam about 3-4 years ago...in a very good way!  4.5

These beers are great.  Like really remarkably great!  Not since our visit to Junkyard Brewing in Moorhead last year have I been this impressed with beers from a relatively new brewery.  Brennan Greene knows what he is doing!  Tasting these IPA's, I remarked to Sarajo that they must be using reverse osmosis water and building it up--since it's quite difficult to get such a balanced flavor in hoppy beers with our hard Minnesota water.  Later we got to talk to the young and friendly assistant brewer Alex and he confirmed that guess.  Take note other small Minnesota breweries!

While I was finishing my nose-in-glass reviews of these remarkable beers, our food arrived.  I had spicy fried chicken that was quite good, (but messy to eat) served with roasted corn on the cob, sriracha honey sauce, coleslaw, and a wonderful cheddar-thyme bisquit.  Sarajo won this round of eating with her expensive but perfectly done Filet Mignon topped with marrow butter.  The food was stellar and far above what I was expecting.  For dessert, Sarajo had a 4 oz pour of the Coffee Chocolate beer and I finished up an 8 oz Double IPA.

Addendum!

On our first visit to Birch's, we found out that they do a beer dinner every month and signed up for it.  On a somewhat overcast Tuesday night (again) we trekked out to Long Lake to give the place another look.  We started out downstairs in the brewery this time, so I got to check out the mellow wood tones of the square bar, copious seating, and shiny stainless steel of brewing equipment.  We were greeted with a glass of the Kolsch (I'd like to try this side by side with Waconia Brewing's version).  While we sipped our beer, I wandered around taking pictures for this blog entry--most of which were pretty dark.  Eventually Brennan showed up and we got to talk to him a bit before the official tour began.  Once the whole group was ready, we all migrated to the brewing area and Brennan gave a really fun history-of-brewing talk that was one of the more entertaining that I've heard.  While we were on the tour, one of the servers brought us over sample glasses of both the coffee ale and the newest (tweaked) batch of the DIPA.  Yup, still just as good as the first time!

Soon we moved upstairs into a private dining room (this place is seriously huge) and were seated family style around one large table with about 10 other people. Over the course of the dinner we got to know our neighbors (this is not something I'm used to as a Minnesota native--but beer dinners seem to facilitate this process.)  One of the guys at our table--Jim--was the brother of one of my High School classmates!  Small world.  We had four courses of amazing food paired with different beers.  I've been to a lot of beer dinners, and I'd say that only The Happy Gnome and Butcher & The Boar have outdone this dinner for overall beer and food quality.  We got to try a new version of the Belgian Wit--this time with ginger and lemongrass--and I upgraded my score to a 4 compared to the previous version.  We also got to try the new Mosaic IPA that was perfectly balanced between the malt and hop bitterness and incredibly easy to drink (also a 4).  We had a sorbet made from the Vanilla Milk Stout as an apertif between the appetizer and main dish that was even better than the beer itself.  The best pairing was the most tricky: the rich and creamy lemon mascarpone cake paired with the zippy and fruity Apricot Berliner.

I almost don't want to publish this review, just to keep this place secret for myself and the other few in-the-know people who have been suggesting we visit.  The beers are amazing already at just 6 months in--far better than many Minnesota breweries that have been open for years.  The food and ambiance are upscale and somewhat fancy--not like any brewpub I've been to (other than perhaps Surly's Brewer's Table.)  The one potentially negative thing I will say is that most of the people in the restaurant were drinking cocktails and wine--so perhaps the craft beer may take a little bit of time and education for these guys.  I'm pretty sure we're signed up for the next beer dinner already!

A Whale A Week: Special April 1 Edition...This Bud's For You!

This very special A Whale A Week is one I've been saving up for just such a day as today!

Bud Light

This amazing crowd-pleaser has been around since 1982 and its about time someone gave it the whale treatment!  AB-INBEV--formerly Anheuser-Busch Brewery--is known for its incredible market clout, Superbowl ads, horses, and of course it's famous eagle!  Currently touted as American, the company is owned by a business conglomerate located in Belgium.  I've been on the VIP tour at the old flagship St. Louis brewery and it was quite an eye-opening experience.  They were bottling "imported" Beck's beer that day.  

#Merica

For this tasting I invited over AWAW alumni Dave Manley and Steven Mathistad.  My wife was unwilling to take part in this one--choosing instead to sip on some Waconia Brewing Mo' Winta' Stout.  The beer was lovingly served into the appropriate drinking vessel.

Aroma:

Eric: They've really brought out the best here!  I know there's no corn in this beer, but I swear I smell it.  Corn?  I don't remember eating corn!  

Dave: Aromas of jock sweat and toe jam.  A hint of athlete's foot remedy--but can't decide if its Desinex or Tinactin.

Steven: Aroma is subtle with a hint of bad decisions and scary flashbacks.

Appearance:

Eric: Very light in color, almost full albino but minus the red eyes.  About the same color and appearance as a freshly collected urine specimen--just more foamy than it ought to be, perhaps someone suffering from proteinuria?  

Dave: Dead ringer for an Onterrio Smith urine sample run through a Whizzinator.  Wispy head (just like Onterrio Smith).  

Steven: Looks crisp and clean, like a nice hardy cider.  Not much head--although it lead to plenty in college!

Flavor:

Eric: Pretty sweet, with a hint of frog sweat--not poison dart frog, just regular frog.  I can't taste the Triple Hop at all!  Body is a bit thin, but less filling!  Slight taste of desperation.  I can tell that this was brewed the hard way just from the lack of any distinguishing characteristics.  Makes me want to party with Seth Rogan.  

Dave: Malty like a steamed hot dog bun sitting in a Metrodome vendor box.  Hot dog water used in the brewing process, I'm sure.  Hops: I'm sure there was a picture of hops somewhere in the brewhouse when they made this...

Steven: Flavor profile gives the impression of emesis and defecation.

Overall Impression:

Eric: I'm not sure this really gives me the #UpForWhatever kind of feeling that I was promised by clever marketing.  I'm pretty sure that the Clydesdales were a bit over-watered on the day they collected this sample--I want more pungency and Premarin horse estrogens out of this! 

Dave: Solid 5.  Makes me want to paint my face and go to a Devil's game with Puddy.

Steven: Makes me want to build a time machine and go back to my college years to beat the crap out of myself for ever cracking open one of these liquid bottles of monkey piss.