January 13, 2011 [Thursday]

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Dogfish Head Pangaea Beer

by Anthony

Showing more restraint than is normally possible I am just now breaking into the Dogfish Head Pangaea beer that Eric (my brother-in-law) got me for Christmas. First – let me say he did an awesome job on the x-mas front. I am already planning to rig the drawing next year so he gets my name again.  Don’t worry – they’ll all forget in 345 or so days that I ever made such an outrageous claim.

On to the beer – for those of you that aren’t nerds like me Pangaea refers to the supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before the component continents were separated into their current configuration.  This beer is named for the land mass because they take an ingredient from each continent to create it.  Specifically Crystallized ginger from Australia, Water from Antarctica, Basmati rice from Asia, Muscavado sugar from Africa, South American quinoa, European yeast, and North American maize.  The video to the right explains a lot of this and you can also visit the Dogfish Head website if you want to read it all again. (CTRL-C / CTRL-V)

So if someone goes to all that trouble to get the ingredients you’d assume the finished product was pretty good.  Not surprisingly it is.  The taste is a little spicy and you can definitely taste a hint of ginger.  It isn’t at all overpowering and unlike some more flavorful beers it has an extremely clean finish.

The bottle suggests drinking the beer “cool not cold from a snifter or wine glass.”  I am fairly certain that is because the smell of this beer is as good as the taste and definitely part of the experience.  At 7%ABV it isn’t a beer to chug either – the wine glass kinda forces you into slow sipping.  It is never a bad idea to read your bottle before you get started. Pictures after the jump.  They give a pretty good idea of the color of the beer and the bottle which at close to two pints will hopefully survive with the wine topper for another round tomorrow evening.  Overall this was a great beer and a great present and definitely something I am adding to my seasonal beer list for next year.

Update: Yes the wine stopper kept the beer fresh for a day.  I would try the experiment for a longer time period but found it unnecessary.

January 10, 2011 [Monday]

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Starbucks New Logo FTW

by Anthony

So Starbucks has updated their logo for the first time since (I am guessing here) 1992. Not much has changed – they lost the name and coffee but kept the two-tailed siren or mermaid creature.  That image itself has evolved a good bit since its beginning as a slightly more graphic graphic (details after the jump).

So the image to the right is one Starbucks tweeted a link to on instagr.am a website for the iPod App of the same name.  Basically a simple photo sharing tool that is getting a little use from big companies – this being the second instagr.am image I’ve seen tweeted in the past two weeks by a company significantly larger than nosvc.

So immediately I thought it was interesting comparing the side by side coffee cups.  One is in frame and centered and one is not.  The cup with the newer logo also looks larger and a little clearer.  (The original image was larger – see it here.)  Was it on purpose?  Probably – this was a promoted tweet meaning they paid for it so my guess is yes.  They wanted to make sure the new logo was more appealing and probably wanted to avoid being “Gapped.”

As promised the older “graphic” graphic after the jump and a pretty cool progression of the Starbucks logos I found here.  And – if it wasn’t obvious enough – I could really use a cup of coffee before the BCS Championship Game.

January 4, 2011 [Tuesday]

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Epic Eggroll – Epic Meal Time

by Anthony

For some reason I think the YouTube series Epic Meal Time is awesome.  Maybe it is the unique food creations – maybe it is the challenge.  Who knows? Either way – new episodes are fun and definitely worth watching until you realize someone is actually going to eat that. But with videos like Fast Food Sushi and Meatball Deathstar it may be hard to watch but it is a lot more difficult to look away.  Enjoy!

December 10, 2010 [Friday]

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Hot Dr. Pepper Recipe

by Anthony

  Hot Dr. Pepper Recipe [104 Hits]

Thanks to Travis from the land of Dr. Pepper for this great find. 
Update: A Dr. Pepper Mug

December 8, 2010 [Wednesday]

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Holiday Eggnog Recipe

by Anthony

So I typically think of eggnog as an odd yellowish drink that is made considerably better by the large amount of bourbon/brandy that is put in it and of course that little sprinkle of nutmeg on top.  With both the alcohol and the nutmeg as ancient rituals to ward off the evil demon salmonella.  When offered eggnog I politely agree and usually hide it somewhere in the house for my unwitting host to find later.  (Not really – I just introduce the beverage to the bathroom sink to avoid hurting anyone’s feelings.)

Imagine my surprise when I was offered eggnog that I liked.  As evidenced by my well guarded empty cup to the right I not only tried it – I finished it.  After the hostess had found all the fruit we hid around her house I asked for the brand of eggnog she served because I was going to suggest that everyone buy that and forget the other stuff.  I wasn’t terribly surprised when I learned that it was homemade.  Makes sense that something this good would require a little hard work on the front end.  The biggest thing to note about this eggnog was the texture – it had a melted ice cream consistency that was really good – not thin and watery as I remember eggnog in the past.  It was also had more of white/off white color than the usual beaten egg yellow look of store bought eggnog.

So here is the recipe that was reportedly used.  My understanding is Jim Beam was used in the particular mix it had but just enough to make its presence known – not enough to light the drink or the drinker on fire.  As was suggested at this party it is a nice way to start the evening.  It isn’t something you’d want to drink a lot of or as BobG might tell you if you mention Eggnog – not something you want to get rid of several gallons of.  See: BobG + Eggnog + Golden Grahams = College.

  Eggnog Recipe [105 Hits]

P.S. – Thanks Nora for being a great hostess and sharing your eggnog recipe.