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TedE

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Everything posted by TedE

  1. TedE
    I'd say they hold true 70-80% of the time. You'd have no problem finding a good selection of larger scale craft breweries (Sierra Nevada, Dogfish Head, Lagunitas, Green Flash), some true local micros (DC Brau, 3 Stars, Port City, Atlas, Devil's Backbone), and some nice imports (Duvel, Chimay) on the shelf at a Harris Teeter. Some of the imports are InBev portfolio offerings for sure, but if you didn't know that in advance you certainly couldn't tell. Where the market supports it you will find some of them at 7-11 and CVS as well. A good distributor will know what sells where. In DC that increasingly isn't brands from the Big 2.
  2. TedE
    I have no problem with the taste of these drinks in general, and they are certainly refreshing in hot weather (see also: Steigl Radler, any number of "shandies", etc.). Branding them like traditionally brewed micro products goes a bit far, though. I agree that the cloying sweetness is a bit too much; I had a hard ginger beer last year that was really nice (it was imported, but I can't remember the brand). Much more of a dry bite to that one, something I could stomach more than one of in a sitting.
  3. TedE
    Ugh, I glossed over that. Yeah, it's going to be InBev exclusively. There were some really great local options at the Red Porch; more critical now that they don't nix the District Drafts stands.
  4. TedE
    Well, it was technically MillerCoors previously, unless this new InBev branding agreement is wider in scope as it pertains to the taps throughout the ballpark. I guess we'll find out which multi-national conglomerate is more evil on Opening Day! It should be noted that InBev's Goose Island still has a quasi-independent arm of their operations producing barrel series, etc., but hopes that any of them make an appearance at the ballpark are slim. I'm sure we'll just see their Sam Adams clones.
  5. TedE
    They would be insane to kill the District Drafts stands. It's the only one I have to consistently stand in line for in the 300 level (well, it's the only one I visit on a regular basis, so that follows logically). It would suck if they replaced Dogfish Head available at some of the normal concessions. I'm assuming they haven't changed distributors, just the branding, so theoretically this shouldn't impact anything not under those umbrellas. Unless InBev is more aggressive at pressuring to push out independents than MillerCoors was. The Red Porch might become less interesting, though.
  6. TedE
    Excited given the principals involved. This is actually filling in a gap for that neighborhood, I can't think of a good sit-down pizza place in the immediate area.
  7. TedE
    I first saw the Not Your Father's product last Fall in a grocery store (strike #1) and laughed out loud at the "Small Town Brewery" listed on the label. Flavored malt beverage "alcopops" aren't created in a brewery, they are created in a lab with flavoring agents. These are merely the next branch on a family tree that has Zima rootstock.
  8. TedE
    The Illuminati! I forgot. If you are concerned at all about tracking in the modern age, loyalty cards are the least of your worries (you are revealing more to the world by browsing this site unless you have deep cleaned your cookies and are anonymizing your presence with VPNs or Tor). You don't need to give any real information (or even true information!) to get these cards, the employees generally don't care and hand them out like candy. I can think of only one card I own where I actually had to show an ID to verify information. For the rest I am but a customer ID attached to a shopping history. The real benefit to grocery stores is supply chain management. Aggregated data is used to make purchasing choices for individual stores knowing that customers with loyalty cards are inclined to shop there. The credit/bank cards I use to pay for purchases are doing much more insidious tracking than Safeway knowing a person attached to my ID buys a particular brand of chips a lot, and Google knows a disturbing amount about all of us. To bring it back on topic: $7.50 Sierra six packs. It's a great deal whether or not it helps the Rockefellers plot your destruction remotely.
  9. TedE
    The Safeway I go to (5th/K NW) has Sierra Nevada products for $14.99/12-pack right now, but I'm pretty sure that is the price for Safeways across the city (this is the price if you have a Safeway card, mind you, else it's $20 I think). Six-packs of the same beers are $10, but why would you?! They almost ALWAYS have it on sale between $16-18 for 12. You won't necessarily find Torpedo, but that is most common after SNPA. This usually also applies to the seasonals when they are sold in 12-packs: Ruthless Rye, Tropical, Celebration, etc. I've never bought that much at a time, but I think they'll knock another 10% if you buy a case's worth. However, that might only apply to six-packs. It's consistently the best beer deal around. I'd also note that they always have Lagunitas products for $9-10.
  10. TedE
    I can't say it's my favorite IPA full stop, but I will say it is by far the best IPA you can get for $7.50/six-pack in this city.
  11. TedE
    Sierra Nevada was a foundational brewery in the American craft beer revolution. They now operate a bi-coastal brewing operation (as do "micro" favorites Stone and Green Flash), have nationwide distribution and are readily available at your local chain grocery for a reasonable price. It seems that Safeway has 12-packs for around $15 on sale most every week. They are the #2 craft brewer in the U.S. behind Sam Adams and the #6 overall (by barrels produced). All of which to say that they should be in the sneering cross hairs or any self-respecting (or self-loathing?) beer snob. But that is stupid because they still produce what may be the best American Pale Ale (mild IPA, really) in the country. Brewer after brewer would tell you that "S.N.P.A." is still the reference point for the style. Torpedo is S.N.P.A kicked up to a full blown IPA. Celebration is a consistently good fall harvest ale that shows interesting variation year-to-year (although I don't know why they package it the way they do; given the release time frame around Thanksgiving I wonder how many people pick this up thinking it's a traditional dark and spiced up Christmas beer?). I picked up their latest Beer Camp release last week. Beer Camp is Sierra Nevada's grass roots brewing initiative in which they give home brewers a shot at creating beer on an industrial scale (reading through the marketing, I suspect that some of these "amateurs" are a little more experienced than they let on). Out of 52 beers produced every year they pick one to produce and mass market to the country as a Spring seasonal (that shows up in early January, naturally). This year it is a Tropical IPA, so named not because of the addition of exotic fruits to the mash, but the product of some newer strains of hops that have become very popular recently (Citra, Mosaic and El Dorado primarily). They tend to produce marked "sweet" floral profiles as a contrast to the resiny "piney" hops that dominated the IPA hop wars of the past 10-15 years. The usual grapefruit aromas are apparent, but with that a more pronounced mango/sweet melon. The result is similar to what brewers started doing with Belgian yeast strains in IPAs a few years ago, and it is cool to see them mimicking the effect using a totally different base component of the beer. What I liked most about Tropical IPA is that it showcases these hops' characteristics without making you commit to a bruiser of an IIPA like Solar Abyss (although at 6.7% abv it's not exactly a lightweight). There are already dozens and dozens of Citra IPAs and IIPAs on the market, but when taking into account availability and approachability I think Tropical IPA is one of the best out there.
  12. TedE
    As a native Baltimoron, I am the proud owner of a full can from the last production run they made at the Heileman brewery. I plan to crack it open if the O's ever win the Series (and probably make a face after the first sip and then pour the rest down the drain!) Boh still serves it's purpose as my crab beer. It's pretty much the only time I drink it, but when eating crabs I usually always drink it.
  13. TedE
    That's a good one that I always overlook (only because the location is simply not convenient for us for regular shopping). Chicken is a common meal ingredient at our house, so this isn't a "Well, it's cheaper than a restaurant!" thing, it's how we eat at home every day. $4/pound is closer to making it a viable alternative to our normal Costco frozen "organic" mega-packs that stock the freezer. Thanks, I'll check them out, there is one not too far from us that I never really go to because I don't find much else about the place to be worth the cost (produce is meh). I just now picked up a (tiny!) Green Circle chicken from Harvey's for dinner tonight. We'll see what the family verdict is.
  14. TedE
    Great insight, Julien, a truly wonderful post. But ... How does this help somebody living in DC looking to make better poultry choices on a budget? What local options are better than Whole Foods? This ain't Paris. i know that Harvey's Market stocks D'Artagnan Green Circle birds; are they any good? What else doesn't require a trip across town or out to a farm to pick up a grocery staple? I confess that unless there is a relatively convenient way to beat readily available CAFO product then it is a hard sell. Our family would be willing to pay a premium for better quality (not a $10/lb premium, but something significantly more than $2/lb), and I would learn to stop being so damn lazy and start breaking down whole chickens instead of buying parts. However, mail order artisanal birds from Long Island isn't an option. This post has prompted me to look closer at some local meat CSAs, or CSAs that provide a meat option. That has it's own set of challenges (we stopped our CSA share after kid #2, it was too much of a hassle), and aside from the free range aspect I think you're probably just getting premium Cornish Cross anyway. What else is out there?
  15. TedE
    Not really our decision to fret about. Maybe Mark Vetri was tired of running an empire. He gets to cash out and focus on his flagship. The play by Urban Outfitters is what I don't get, unless they have expansion plans that don't include retail or just see a local, profitable business that they want to operate and saw an opening (or were approached). I will say that this pairing, as odd as it may seem, does not come out of the blue. There are lots of existing relationships between these two Philadelphia companies. Lo Spiedo is literally across the street from UO headquarters.
  16. TedE
    I did that messing around between pick up games in college! Undisputed highlight of my basketball career.
  17. TedE
    No, he wants to win ("Where's my ring?", etc.). Period. The whole he'll-spend-his-career-as-a-Yankee thing is so obnoxious. If he thinks he has the best chance to cement his legacy in NY then he will end up in NY, sure. With the other intangibles it's a likely scenario given continued success. But picture this: The Yankees, following the gradual loss of veteran talent, go on a decline in '16-'18 and their youngsters don't pan out as planned, and some splashy FA signings flame out. Out of the playoffs in that stretch, maybe a (*gasp*) season or two below .500 in a resurgent AL East. They are fully in rebuilding mode. In the same time frame Team X has put together a core of young talent with multi-year deals for hitters that would provide Harper protection in the line up. And they have a big chunk of change to make him the highest paid player in history. I don't think there is any question where he ends up. Bryce seems like the kind of guy who would actually give up salary for a good chance to get himself a WS ring or three. Team X could just as well be the Nats as anybody else.
  18. TedE
    The Lerners just have to tender him a ridiculous offer. Contrary to popular belief Boras doesn't always get what Boras wants. High profile clients have "defied" him in the past and signed contracts that they just wanted to get done; it's not out of the question. If the team doesn't make any moves in that direction, however, they'll have nobody to blame when he does walk. At least show him you are serious about making him the face of the franchise.
  19. TedE
    Even at the height of my baseball career (which peaked in Little League about the 6th grade) I couldn't hit worth a damn. It'll be a good photo op at least.
  20. TedE
    Sigh. That was a tough season, but not a lost one in my mind. Too many positives to hang future expectations on. Off season checklist: - Fire Matt Williams - Pay the soon-to-be-NL-MVP whatever the f*%& Boras wants you to pay him. Lock him up now until his early 30s. If this is just the beginning of his career output let somebody else overpay for his years in decline, but pay for the privilege of his prime. Bryce (and Scherzer) will put butts in seats for the next decade, this is not a bad investment no matter what the record-setting total $$$$$$ - Replace Desi, if only for the short term (no, I don't think Turner is ready to be the full time guy) - Take JZimm's money and buy A) a proven 4th or 5th starter AND B ) LH 'pen fodder - Crack team of private investigators and lawyers to find a way to void Papelbon's contract (I don't think he'll be back in any case) - One of those memory flashing things from Men In Black to use on Storen - A new foot for Zimm - Somebody, preferably a recent DII or DIII slugger without any professional experience or ties to the club, to take one swing for me at Nats Park this weekend.
  21. TedE
    Princeton (16) v. Georgetown (1) in the opening round of the '89 NCAAs. St. Patrick's Day, Providence, RI. An incredible back-and-forth game featuring two programs that couldn't have been more different, played at the dawn of the NCAA tourney as a cultural phenomenon. Personally important to me because my brother was a freshman on that Tiger team. They would go on to play in 4 consecutive tournaments and never win a game. This one hurt the most, though. To this day, 25 years later, I can still watch replays and honestly think that last shot is going to go in. Kills me every single time. ESPN recently did one of their 30 For 30 segments on this game and you can see me and my family screaming wildly in some of the crowd shots.
  22. TedE
    For an outside shot, at the bare minimum, the Nats need to make up 3 games on the Mets over the next 10. That sets up the possibility of a division tie with a sweep at Citi Field to close out the season (and then a pesky tie breaker game). Unlikely? Sure. Doable? The Mets have not exactly been lighting it up recently and the Nats seem to be firing on more cylinders offensively. Until that last series both of them face a cavalcade of patsies. I'm not sure what would be worse: stumbling in to finish 7 or 8 back and having to dwell on another season lost as the favorites to win it all, or clawing back only to lose Game 162 in heartbreaking fashion? At least Storen won't be available as potential Knife Plunger in Chief.
  23. TedE
    I haven't found it to be any different than most beer festivals. Later in the day it's just a packed madhouse of drunk people of all different stripes The higher prices and more obscure selections single it out from the all-you-can-drink affairs littered with macrobrews in disguise, so you don't get the folks there just to get drunk on the cheap. The effect as the day wears on is basically the same, though. I doubt we'll stay much past 2:00.
  24. TedE
    Who is heading down to Navy Yard for Snallygaster? It doesn't look like the weather will be a problem this year; we spent the last couple of hours a year ago defending our small patch of covered asphalt and darting out for beers. We splurged for the VIP passes again, in part to marvel at the people who will pay the extra $30 to spend all of their first hour lined up for a small taste of Cantillon, but mostly because said weather will make the place a complete madhouse around the 3:00 hour. It's nice to have an hour-and-a-half of relative peace to sample the ones high on my list. That would include: - Goses. I think 2015 is officially Year of the Gose. I remember at most 2 last year, there are at least 3x as many. I may taste them all. - Millstone ciders. I've overheard many surprised and positive comments about this local producer. Last year I was put off by the pricing (I recall some tasting portions were $8-9) - NO bourbon barrel/toasted pecan/chocolate/coffee stout/porter/scotch ales. I need to be wearing much warmer clothing before those sound appealing. - A few IPAs and Imperial IPAs that have escaped my attention or aren't normally distributed here. - Some cask and dry-hopped versions of beers I already really like - One or more of the German kellerbiers, because they are cool to see all lined up like that Waiting for them to release the event map this week, highlighter at the ready!
  25. TedE
    This is great, Don, but for people not wanting to spend $300-400+ just on equipment? For my daily coffee I rely on: - An Aeropress, regularly available on sale for around $25 (fun fact: the Aeropress is the only other product sold by the Aerobie people. They make coffee presses and flying discs, that's it!) - Hario Skerton manual ceramic grinder (also around $25-30). Yes, it requires you to crank the handle, but that takes less than a minute for a single cup, and I like the routine of it all. $0.50 of nuts and washers + a power screwdriver or drill on low speed does the job a lot faster for larger servings. - Any cheap kitchen scale ($8-10) for the correct serving of beans if you want to get really technical on dosage. - Returnable milk bottle for batches of cold brew concentrate ($2 for the lost deposit) I don't brew more than a cup very often, but for when I do a sub-$10 french press from the clearance section of TJ Maxx/Marshall's; I tend to think that most presses are interchangeable and you aren't getting much more performance for the expensive ones as long as you clean them regularly. You don't need to spend a ton of scratch to make great coffee at home. Save your money for the beans!
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