[ale] Way-the-hell-and-gone off topic

[Putnam, James M.]

    Not exactly a stout, more of a dark ale. Maybe you'd like a
    Theakston's Old Peculier (sic)? It's a cask ale and one of Britain's
    oldest formulations.

    I think it gets better and more complex as it warms up.

--
James  M. Putnam
Visiting Professor of Computer Science

The air was soft, the stars so fine,
the promise of every cobbled alley so great,
that I thought I was in a dream.
________________________________________
From: Jonathan Meek [jonathan.l.meek at gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2018 9:20 PM
To: Putnam, James M.; Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
Cc: Steve Litt
Subject: Re: [ale] Way-the-hell-and-gone off topic

I am relieved to know that I am not the only one who has found the pale Ales and IPAs to less than palatable. Mostly found oatmeal stouts be among my favorites. Are there any good dark recommendations people have? Running on low in my beer drawer.

Jonathan

On Sat, Mar 24, 2018 at 7:45 PM, Putnam, James M. via Ale <ale at ale.org<mailto:ale at ale.org>> wrote:

    In 1986 I was in the Vancouver for the World's Fair (hey, I just noticed
    that Outlook Web App Lite(tm) recognizes Emacs key bindings... I wonder
    how the hell that happened?) when I noticed what seemed to be a
    relatively sober young Canadian gent take a long guzzle out of a paper bag
    and become visibly intoxicated in what would have been record time for me.

    He tossed the bag at a trash can, predictably missed, and unsteadily wandered
    off, presumably in search of more of whatever it was.

    Being curious and a little thirsty, I retrieved the bag and had a look. Inside
    was an empty generic beer can labeled "Carling-O'Keefe Extra Old Stock"
    marked at 6% ABV, which while high wasn't a record breaker of any kind.

    An older man standing nearby said "A word of advice, young man. That stuff is
    called High Test and I wouldn't touch it if I were you."

    I thanked him for the warning and seduced by the romance of being at least
    momentarily unchaperoned in a foreign country headed straight for the nearest
    package store where I asked for and was given a can of High Test.

    The woman behind the counter blanched, which was kind of a good trick for a
    Canadian, but she handed it over in a paper bag without comment.

    I stepped outside, popped it open and tried a swallow. It was cold and went down
    OK at first, but when it warmed up the nose hit me and I almost gagged. It smelled
    and tasted like somebody had carbonated a can of creamed corn and added a
    shot of pure grain alcohol. The aftertaste was cloyingly sweet, and for the
    the first and only time in my life I threw away a can of beer without finishing it.

    This frankly kind of killed the appeal of the famed Canadian beers for me, and
    when I tried a Molson later that day I had a similar reaction, but managed to
    choke it down.

    I gather High Test is no longer made, and I learned a valuable lesson that
    day in which street advice about foreign libations probably ought to be paid attention
    to.

--
James  M. Putnam
Visiting Professor of Computer Science

The air was soft, the stars so fine,
the promise of every cobbled alley so great,
that I thought I was in a dream.
________________________________________
From: Ale [ale-bounces at ale.org<mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org>] on behalf of Steve Litt via Ale [ale at ale.org<mailto:ale at ale.org>]
Sent: Saturday, March 24, 2018 2:09 PM
To: ale at ale.org<mailto:ale at ale.org>
Subject: Re: [ale] Way-the-hell-and-gone off topic

On Fri, 23 Mar 2018 20:42:03 +0000
"Putnam, James M. via Ale" <ale at ale.org<mailto:ale at ale.org>> wrote:

>     May be a little West Coast, but Ranier Ale, aka Green Death. Equal
>     parts cheap, strong, vile, and slightly caustic.
>
>     Came in a cute green barrel-shaped bottle with a wide mouth. A
> couple would reduce you to a sort of stomach-churning nauseous haze.
> Too many more than that induced a hangover epic for duration and
> depth.

Yeah, in Venice CA Green Death was the main competitor of my favorite,
King Cobra. I had a buddy who drank too much green death over too many
years and it killed him.


SteveT

Steve Litt
April 2018 featured book: Troubleshooting Techniques
     of the Successful Technologist
http://www.troubleshooters.com/techniques
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