Hopnology

So I just purchased my very first smart phone this week. A very lovely LG Revolution which I'm sure that at the end of this week will already be a hopelessly out of date piece of tech. I love the android operating system and the way Google connects all of their products together. Out of the first 10 apps i downloaded 7 were made by Google Inc. (the other 3 were Chrono Trigger (yeahy Frog),Four Square (yeahy checking in to World Wine and Liquor everyday) and the Lightsaber app (what it helps me frighten away potential Sith muggers).

The reason I bring all this up is that one of the apps I got was for Blogger. What's great is I can instantly make notes and put together ideas for posts as they are happening instead of waiting till the next day. See there's this small problem while trying to write about enjoying alcohol; You tend to enjoy the alcohol and not taking notes on enjoying the alcohol. You also tend to forget things when you are sampling/drowning yourself in beer. Katie and I both have AotBM notebooks which we have used diligently to take notes in about our experiences, but most of my scribbled notes tend to not translate well the next morning:



(Clearly I am a natural journalist)














On the other hand when taking notes and pictures on my phone I can do some quick pre-writting as the evening goes on without really removing myself from the fun. Here are some sample notes from the home tasting I did yesterday:

{Founders double trouble.southern tier oakbarrel hop and gl erie monster.

The double trouble is not the most aromatic. It focuses more on a full complex flavir profile. Beer seems to be more complex in terms of pairing with food.had the double troub with pork tacos...but itd go good with fish spicy food and even some darker meat.

Golden color bright and sunny.hops make it super complex tasting.}

{ ST Un-Earthly oak aged. Rich copper color. Smooth taste. Rich carmely undertones. very aromatic and complex. Flowery but not earthy. the oak age seems to help calm the high alcohol content and make it less over powering.Sweet and delicious almost a dessert beer. With southern tier you pay for the quality ingredients and craftsmanship. its subtle. }

And some pics I took:


(Drinks that drive safe)


While not the most through notes in the world, I can still understand the thoughts i was making...and they're already saved online. So Hazzah technology. Making it easier to communicate and remember things that happen the night before. There's other apps and digital tech that can help us lil beer monsters out: groupon,bar spyder, four square, google shopper and a whole slew of others. I kind of wrote this article as a jump off, knee jerk reaction to my new phone and a jump off point to add the exploration of new technologies in conjunction to the carbonated content (overwhelming amount of content, seriously Katie we need to write less)we are already discussing.

So next article will be from the notes I wrote using Blogger on my phone. Hopefully more content will spring up from the use of my wonderful advanced technological contraptions (ok need to have something that helps me write coherent whimsical thoughts after having a few). I'll also try to think of topics involving beer and social technology and ways to advance your drinking with social media.

For now goodnight lil beer monsters. Enjoy a hazy nights rest.

Alaskan Beer Tour Part 1

So Katie and I just returned from a lovely 1 week cruise through beautiful Alaska. Of course sampling some of the local hops and malts was a major focus so I thought doing an outline of the breweries we visited would be a great way to restart this lovely little project of ours.

So let's begin in Skagway where we visited the Red Onion Saloon and the Skagway Brewing Company

First the Red Onion Saloon. All I need to say is don't go. It's a tourist trap with, overpriced food,fake brothel girls giving cheesy tours and tons of crap to buy with the pubs name on it.The bartender took more time correcting the fact that our tour book was wrong in mentioning the saloon had 3 dollar beer specials ( the only reason we checked it out) then he did talking to us. Katie and I got one quick pre-nooner (a pint before noon) and bolted.

Our second stop in Skagway was much better. Filled more with locals than tourists, very helpful staff, delicious food and homemade brews Skagway Brewing Company is a much better place to enjoy malty hoppy goodness in Skagway. For starters the beer prices were fair. I believe 7 dollars for a sampler of generous pours of 4 of their home mades (Chilkoot Trail IPA,, Prospector Pale, Blue Top Porter and Boom Town) Brown) and you get a free hat YEAHY. All the beers were delicious and I especially enjoyed the Porter. It was a strong dark black in color, slightly chocolaty but not heavy like most porters. Of course I followed the sampler with a second Pint of this delectable dark liquid. Katie on the other hand went with her heart and tried out the house specialty the Spruce Tip Blonde. The spruce tip wasn't on the sampler, because the waitress said that the batch they were serving wasn't up to it's normal excellency and she didn't want our first sips of the brew masters favorite child to be a disappointment. Katie disagreed after a small sample and ordered herself a pint. I'd comment on the beer itself but Katie downed it before I was able to get even a single swig. Hopefully she will add to the blog with some of her fuzzy recollections.

Two other high notes of the Skagway Brew Co. were the absolutely delicious salmon sandwhich and their house shot. Simply put the Salmon sandwhich at this brewery was far and away the best salmon we ate the entire ALASKAN CRUISE. Understand Bar Sandwhich was better than the Cruise Salmon. The salmon also came with some delicious hand cut fries. The shot was a in house made infusion of vanilla and pineapple vodka. It was way better than it sounds and it sounded to good for me to not buy us each one.

For Skagway I'll simply say make a straight line to the Skagway Brew Co. I wish this wonderful brewery wasn't so many hundreds of miles away or I'd be making many a visit. As for the Red Onion Salloon well it just stunk...get it....like an onion...I'm funny.

Anyway good night little Beer Monsters Hope to get back to you soon

Founders Double Trouble 2xIPA

Growing up in the Janca household wasn't easy. I was grounded a lot, there were lots of things I was denied growing up (co-ed stage crew sleepovers), and I put up with lot of shit (11pm curfews and not being able to date until I was 16). My parents were strict and relentless in their discipline. But irregardless of all that, I did get one thing out of the deal of being a Janca daughter- I learned the appreciation of a really solid IPA.

Today's post is about the Founders Double Trouble Imperial IPA. For me, IPAs are a type of beer where I just kept drinking it until I eventually liked it. My dad always loved IPAs and I always want to be exactly like my dad, so I learned to love and appreciate the hops, bitterness and citrus notes that usually accompany a nice, golden IPA. I think I hated my first IPA (potentially Dogfish Head 60Min)- how could anyone like something that bitter? Totally left the worst feeling on my tongue and the worst aftertaste ever. But as time wore on and I drank more, and my knowledge expanded, I discovered Dogfish Head 90Min, Flying Dog Raging Bitch, Stone, and now Founders Double Trouble....delicious.

Founders Double Trouble IIPA is no exception to what a good IPA is. It's light and flavorful- crisp and full of grapefruit notes. I actually had it in 3 different beer bars in New York I enjoy it so much- and the first time was at the beer & chocolate pairing at Nunu Chocolates, and I had completely forgotten that I had it there.

I also think what makes this beer great is how it's currently February and March, and I'm sick of heavy stouts and strong ales. I want it to be spring or summer, I want the weather to warm up, and I want to be drinking golden ales or saisons or IPAs that are tastey and also less heavy than a winter ale.

Yes, who's excited to be drinking her Double Trouble? This kid:

What is a beer monster, or how this blog got it's name.

Firstly- hi and welcome to the (first) collaboration effort of John and Katie. While sitting around this past weekend, we decided what better thing to do but to start a blog to discuss firstly (and foremostly) beer, but also open it up to food pairings and other insights (e.g., best beer to get on a first date, how to effectively plunder pint glasses, etc).

We'll try to post as much as possible but the problem herein lies that every time I'm out, sampling delicious craft brews around NYC (and the world), the beer monster invites me to party and we all know that I don't know the word "moderation" or even what it means, nor do I have any restraint. So please forgive any ramblings or lack of substance because my memory has been mysteriously erased....

Our first post up will be about Nunu Chocolates in Brookyln. Cheers & beers!