My friend Cayden Riebe and I woke up the other day determined to do something adventurous and outdoors. It was a gloomy day so getting IN the water didn’t seem too appealing, but getting ON the water didn’t seem like to bad of an idea. We decided to do this after I mentioned wanting to see the La Jolla sea caves that a couple friends told me about.
We rented kayaks for $20 and got an hour on the sea. We headed south and hugged the coast encountering many seals along the way. We arrived at the caves but unfortunately due to high swell it wasn’t safe to go in them. Nonetheless, a great day on the ocean and equally a great arm workout! Check out this small GoPro video I snapped while we were along the coast by some seals. Also note the Garibaldi (California’s state fish) when I pan to underwater.
Budweiser’s new Black Crown Golden Amber Lager hit shelves this week (Jan 21) adding yet another great beer to their fantastic arsenal. Black Crown is a 6% golden amber lager that was created through the “Project 12″ competition that began about a year ago.
The competition began when Budweiser asked their 12 brewmasters to each make a special brew of their own. Out of 12 recipes 6 were chosen to be sampled by the masses. After being sampled by over 25,000 adult drinkers, the winning recipe was that of brewmaster Bryan Sullivan of Los Angeles. He brewed this craft with blend of two-row caramel malt and four types of domestic hops, then finished on a bed of beechwood chips for a smooth and balanced taste. He also incorporated the proprietary yeast strain that is a descendant of that used by Adolphus Busch in 1876.
Just shy of two weeks after its unveiling, Black Crown will take center stage for its first advertisement spotlight at The Superbowl XLVII on February 3rd. With such solid feedback from tasters, this beer is sure to stay on shelves and be a successful move for Budweiser. Go out and try this new brew for yourself and see what many are raving about!
Having the ability to travel for free has truly been a blessing. Last week I traveled using my standby passes to visit Sam Wormser in Camas, Washington. Camas is a small mountain city about 20 minutes outside of Portland, Oregon (she lives right on the border of Oregon and Washington.) While I was there visiting her, I met her parents… Yes thats right, I “met the parents” and it actually wasn’t too bad.
We mostly relaxed at her house but on the second day we made a day trip together to Multnomah Falls, about 30 minutes away along the Columbia river that divides Washington and Oregon. It was great to see some nature that is much different than the southern california landscape I’m so used to.
The next day we took a trip into Portland, which unbeknownst to me has a big culture of food and beer. We went to a restaurant called Tasty and Sons which had a nice atmosphere and fantastic food. We ordered plates to share and stuffed ourselves silly.
We finished off the night with some word famous Salt and Straw Ice-cream. Definitely some of the best icecream I’ve ever had with some of the oddest, yet delicious flavors you’d never think of. I had the Roasted Butter Chestnut and also tried the Sea Salt and Caramel. Countless other flavors were offered but it was busy so we moved along.
I finished off the trip with more relaxing and wine sipping, and headed out after another day. All in all, a great trip and great experience. My list of travel destinations keeps growing and I couldn’t be more happy about it!
-Matt Haug
Mammoth Mountain truly does have some of the most incredible snow the U.S. has to offer. My friend Nick Santo and I decided we should head up for a couple days after Mammoth saw a solid week of snowfall. On the way up we made a couple stops. One obviously being Gus’ “Really Good Beef Jerky.” The other being a fun offroading detour in Joshua Tree.
We veered off the road and were dodging bushes and birms flying through a dirt wonderland. The Joshua Trees are pretty much the only thing cool and good looking in the baren landscape, hince the name of the city. After my car started to smell like burnt oil, we decided it wasn’t worth getting stuck in the middle of nowhere and got back on the road to continue towards Mammoth.
When we got up there we knew we made the right choice because not only was the weather great, but the snow was plentiful and fresh. For the time we were there it didn’t stop snowing big conglomerates of snowflakes but had essentially no wind making it a quite pleasant winter experience. We boarded 2 full days and got the most out of our $105 tickets (wow).
By the end of the trip we were sore and exhausted but had no time to rest. We hopped in the car after our second full day of boarding, and road straight to San Diego (7 hours) to make sure we had a great nights rest before New Years Eve. Despite being such a short trip, it was well worth the drive and money for a couple days of solid snowboarding.
GoPro videos to come stay tuned!
-Matt Haug
With an early flight booked for the morning and a long day of running errands, a relaxing night was just what I needed. I grabbed my skateboard and headed over to my local market “Magic” to pick up a new brew for me to try and relax with. Being a big IPA fan, I spotted Mad River Brewing Co.”s Double IPA immediately.
A Sublime and Elegant Balance of Malt and Hop.
At 8.6% i knew it was a go and purchased a sixer for $11.99. Sometimes the high price deters me but the design led me to believe that this time it meant quality, and quality it was. Brewed in Blue Lake, California their on bottle slogan states, “West Coast Alchemy Humboldt Style.”
My first sip gave me the typical IPA hoppy bite, and finished with a strong bitter aftertaste. It almost felt as thought the consistency was slightly thicker because the flavor that enveloped my mouth was so full. I usually enjoy a Double IPA that has sweet or fruiter accents however this brew was absent in these.
I rate this beer an 8.7 overall. It contains great bold flavors and is a true masterpiece in its craft. However, It was not higher due to its lack in sweet accents and variety in flavors. Great brew to say the least and an enjoyable sidekick to writing this post.
Alc: 8.6%
Rating: 8.7
-Matt Haug
-Pilsner: 
Born in Plzen, Czechoslovakia in the 1800’s, a Pilsner is a simple, light lager. Although this variety of beer is the youngest, it is also the most popular.
Flavor: Strong hops, softer malt
Example: Pilsner Urquell
-Wheat Beers: 
A mixture of barley and wheat grains with little hops presence. A special ale yeast is used that gives this brew its strong yeast flavor.
Flavor: Varies depending on wheat usage but overall tends to be light.
Example: Shock Top
-Brown Ale: 
An old style beer dating back to before hopped ales. They were originally brewed using 100% brown malt, giving the brew its distinctive dark brown color.
Flavor: High in malty flavors which gives it an earthy taste.
Example: Newcastle Brown Ale
-Pale Ale: 
Made using pale malt and a technique that allows for gentle roasting of the barley.
Flavor: High in hops, bitter flavor.
Example: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
-Indian Pale Ale: 
Originating from England in the 1700’s when troops were stationed in India. Most pale ales wouldn’t last the trip from England to India so more hops were added as a natural preservative. The beer gained a longer shelf life and the popular IPA was born.
Flavor: Very hoppy, bitter taste.
Example: Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
-Double IPA’s: 
Also called Imperial IPA’s, this beer is loaded with even more hops then the traditional IPA. Brewers add more malt to balance the beer, which makes it much stronger in alcohol content.
Flavor: Extremely hoppy and bitter, sometimes sweet or fruity accents.
Example: Lagunitas Maximus
-Bock: 
A stronger form of lager with robust malt characteristics.
Flavor: Rich and malty, slight accents of hops
Example: Shiner Bock
-Porter: 
This is a very dark beer consisting of roasted malts or barley and is brewed with slow fermenting yeast.
Flavor: typically haa a roasted grain, chocolate or toffee/coffee flavor.
Example: Stone Smoked Porter
-Stout: 
Said to originate from porters, they are brewed with black unmalted barley, which gives it most of its color and flavor.
Flavor: Heavy roasted flavor with hints of coffee, chocolate, and sometimes licorice and molasses.
Example: Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout
A common question: What would you do with a million dollars? Buy a Ferrari? Donate to Charity? Some say they would invest the money, while others would splurge or give to family or friends. Regardless of the answer, it’s a question we’ve all likely been asked before, and most of us have pondered the endless possibilities. We can only hope and dream that someday the elements of our answers would have some sense of reality. However, what if you were asked something different; a question not so typical. If you had a year to fly anywhere in the United States for free, what destinations would you visit? This is the question I have been asked, and fortunately for me, the element of reality exists.
About a week ago my Aunt contacted me regarding an opportunity of a lifetime. Having worked for United Airlines for about the last 20 years, she has the ability to put family members on a somewhat “VIP” list that gives them access to free flights that have standby seating. Starting January 1, 2013 (my 22nd birthday), I will have this access and can fly anywhere in the United States, free of charge. The only catch is that it must be with United Airlines, and there must be an open standby seat.
With such an incredible opportunity given to me, the question stands; where would I go? Or more correctly, where SHOULD I go? With so many options, it’s been hard for me to pinpoint all the places. New York has been appealing; maybe a quick weekend in the keys to get scuba certified, a trip to D.C. to see the White house, or a quick weekender in Sin City? With so many possibilities and ample time to execute them all, I thought, why not just travel to them all? Once the idea was sparked the decision was almost instantly made. From the Grand Canyon, to Mount Rushmore, the Alamo to the Great Lakes. Starting January 1, 2013 I plan to travel each weekend to a new state until I have been to every state in the U.S..