Wednesday, August 30, 2006

The White Russian: The manly-girlie drink


Ah, the White Russian. Men are so quick to dismiss any drink containing fruit juice (that's juice, not fruit flavored vodka) or cream-like elements. The obvious reason is that it is perceived as a woman's drink if you add "female" elements. Personally, I would deduce if you are that concerned that your drink has milk, you probably weren't breast fed enough as a kid or something.

Men, remove your hangups about the White Russian. Yes, it has milk. But it also has two very manly ingredients (coffee in liqueur form and vodka). It's almost like having breakfast with vodka, minus the Cap'n Crunch. Drink it while out and about and you are the cool, sophisticated man surrounded by lovely women and getting invited to the VIP room. Try to pull that off with a Jager Bomb drunken fratboy!

I'm not saying that you have to give up your flavored Stoli just to be cool. But once and a while, would it kill you to venture out to a REAL mixed drink?

Oh, by the way... Did I mention the The Dude himself drinks it?

Friday, August 25, 2006

Drinking Buddies, meet The Drinking Buddies.

It was bound to happen sometime. The Drinking Buddies have encountered their clone. And this clone is:

DRINKINGBUDDIES.CA!

These lucky embryos to have survived the cloning process have grown to be more powerful than anyone had ever imagined. They are like us in every way- except that they accept photos of drinkers, allow you to create an online profile, are Canadian, and appear to enjoy posting copious amounts of male bare ass on their site. We are certainly not judging. This is just what we have discovered through research.

In addition to their all-male revue, they also seem to be doing actual research on actual topics using actual facts. This research is impressive and might actually have required them to step away from their sassy men's collection and do field work (as opposed to us, who mostly make stuff up after a 3 minute Google search).

Yes sir, our clones are prospering. We might just sign up and have our naked buttocks on the internet as well. On second thought, that may be to hasty. What if they were EVIL clones?


(Note example of universal signifier of evil: the goatee. Is you chin clean, drinkingbuddies.ca?)

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Mystery Solved

Thank you Drake. Though your comment may have been buried deep in the posts, we definitely read it. Kudos for doing the research we only fake doing.

For those who took the time to look up the post that Drake commented upon (that would be Phantom Brews...) will note that he cleared up the many questions we had about Gila Monster Amber Lager:

"Steinhaus has moved to Paso Robles, California. Not sure if you have a Trader Joe's up in Lovely Michigan, but that is where you can find a large selection of Steinhaus Brews."

In an ironic twist, I just visited Trader Joe's hours before and noted the Gila Monster label. Small world!

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Snakes on a Brew!

I, like Samuel L. Jackson, have just about had it with these mother f'n snakes on this mother f'n plane.

Actually, I could do with a little more snakes and a little less plane. That is why, in honor of the upcoming summer blockbuster Snakes on a Plane, The DBs are recommending you bite into some snake themed drinks. Need a suggestion? Glad you asked.

Snakebite












Girly, but rather delicious. It usually involves a mix of a lager with cider and vodka, but there are many variations. You can even have a shot!



Great Baraboo Snake Eye Canyon Red Ale











Not quite sure if this is the same red they had at the Summer Brewfest. If it is, search this genuine Michigan beer out and quaff it down. It may be short on the, uh, bite, but it will make you smile.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Pictures from bottling!

Thanks to my girlfriend and her birthday gift, we finally have some recent digital photos. We bottled our comedy of errors beer last weekend. It's dubbed the Drinking Buddies CyberBrown Ale, as it's the first beer we've brewed since starting our blog. I'm planning to crack one open tommorrow for a test. I'm worried because it fermented at a few degrees above the optimal temperature. Also, the original gravity was a bit lower than it was supposed to be. If it turns out, I'm distributing beer to all of my friends. If it doesn't, I might forget to mention it ever again. You'll hear about it though - good blogging either way!


Siphoning beer from the carboy to the "ale pail" ...


Filling and capping bottles and ...


Matt looking like a dork.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Alton Brown Strikes Again!

If you have ever watched The Food Network, you soon realize that Alton Brown must own that network with the amount of face time he gets. He is on all the time, but always on a different show! Are they starving for programming, or is he just that good? If Alton can get so much programming, how come they don't give the chick from "Everyday Italian" 20 different shows? I would honestly watch a show that consists of just her eating random dishes. You know what, I think you would too. Sicko.

Alton is the Jack-of-all-Foods, I will give him that. He also surprises me with random beer trivia that seems to pop up every so often. Take this example of the Avocado Episode that I recently caught. In it, Alton talks about a Brazilian beer (bebidas? Vedida? Adidas?) that is made from the avocado. If you missed it, the link also provides a list of air times.

Has anyone ever tried this beer? I am trying to imagine what it would look like, let alone the taste. Guacamole with tonic water comes to mind. Then again, it works for ice cream...

Friday, August 11, 2006

Times beer feature

Once again I'd like to turn your attention to the NY Times article last weekend about Czech Pilseners. It points out that like wine, fine beer is region-specific. There's an interesting bit about a dispute between Anheuser-Busch and a brewery in Budvar, Czech Republic over the name Budweiser. Also, it covers Pilsner Urquell, which is not only "rated the best by a majority of Czechs" but is also available at almost every supermarket I've ever visited in the US.

Just wanted to keep you up to date.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Your Secret Enemy: Finding your drinking nemesis

If you drink, eventually you get drunk. If you drink while partying with friends, for a celebration, or just to get drunk, one day you will drink a little to a lot too much. If you are a problem drinker, you will start a blog with your friends to mask your problem. But that is besides the point.

Peer pressure, marital or dating strife, and regular old fate are irrelevant. There is a much more sinister plot working underneath your reasons that you are curled up with the bathroom mat at 4 AM sincerely believing that there can't be ANYTHING left inside you to throw up. This plot has an architect. That architect is a brand of alcohol.

Before I launch into the particulars, I just want to say that tequila gets a very unfair rap. Yes, tequila made you sick. Yet, tequila makes everyone sick, so you are not a special little snowflake. Also, tequila was at least partially responsible for anywhere from 1 to 8 times in your life where you had a fantastic time (regardless whether or not you got sick after those times). Tequila's purpose is do create unsafe mayhem and fun. You accept this when you lick the salt.

There are other drinks that inspire only pain and remorse (mostly, the puking kind). It is different for everyone, but everyone has a drinking nemesis. It is perfectly natural to have a nemesis. He-Man had Skeletor, Samuel L. Jackson has some airborne motherf'n snakes, and even A.C. Slater has Tartikoff. If you have trouble locating your drinking nemesis, try these steps:

1. Do you create a personality for a drink or liquor similar to that of an estranged ex? (example: "Gin and I don't talk anymore.")

2. Do all your friends not-so-secretly whisper to others warning them against giving you a certain drink? (example: "I wouldn't order that round of martinis, or we'll never see Jill again tonight- wink, wink.")

3. Do your friends continue to bring up embarrassing stories about you? Do they all involve the same drink? (example: every single one of my friends. You guys are asses.)

4. When perusing the liquor counter and beer aisle, does the very site of a certain bottle make you want to spew bile onto the hapless stockboy? (example: Every time I even think of HypnotiQ even though I've never gotten sick from it)

My personal nemesis is gin. The last time I encountered my nemesis, left the battle with a busted shoulder, a purple toilet bowl (probably from the plum I had eaten), the inability to craw more than two feet without collapsing, and a death wish (friend-"Going to breakfast now, anything you want?" me-"I want to die....eeeeergh...").

After unearthing my nemesis, I now know who to blame for my drinking misfortunes. Hopefully, you have also learned. Continue on my blameless drinkers!

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

'Gold' Rush!

Amongst the frozen meatballs, box of generic "Rice Crisp" cereal, and 300 gallons of Cherry Chocolate Passion Ice Cream my grandmother and I had in our cart was an unassuming six pack. It was chosen because it was the only beer available in the market that I had never seen before, a beer that was genuinely Floridian.

Upon returning to my grandmother's condo where I had been a guest of several days, I quickly deputized her as an unofficial Drinking Buddy and cracked open a bottle of Florida Beer Co.'s Ybor Gold Amber Lager. Coming from the city of Melbourne (Fla), Ybor Gold shares its name with another Sunshine State city and begs to be pronounced as "EEE-Bore." It's just one of four different lines that come out of the company tap, each line featuring anywhere from 1-5 different brews.

As for this brew, I have to say it was good. It poured out in a beautiful golden color and a solid foam head. It seemed highly fruity, with elements of strong apple coming through. It still maintained its beer character with hearty hops crossing the finish line in strong form. The pack was so very drinkable that my grandmother and I finished it off. The next day we were at the store again pick up another sixer for her to have after I would leave. Note to The boys at FBC, retirees are your untapped market. You are welcome.

Probably the best feature of the entire beer is the handy bar graph printed on the side of each bottle: Each one tells you a little about the beer you are about to drink before you drink it! This is amazing! You can find out if you are truly compatible with the beer you select. It's like EHarmony.com! Even better! BeerHarmony.com!

...and I'm done.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Eternal Sunshine of the Empty Glass

Hey there fellow drinkers! The DBs are out on the town this week. This Buddy right here is headed to the Sunshine State ("Florida" as the pirates know it) for a little R n' R (or as the pirates say "R n' YAARRGH!). I will be checking the ol' inbox every so often, so if you have any suggestions for good FLA brews please let me know. I will give them a whirl and post about them when I get back. For now, get some sun. I know I will!!!!!!