A New Beer Discovery, Baseball Just Around the Corner...at least the rules meetings

Just a spitting of snow this morning as I walked outside to feed the resident squirrels and backyard birds...nothing on the ground, and there hasn't been since the 50+ degree temperatures melted the December cover, just before the new year kicked in.  I'm not really sure what the forecast is...I'll look it up when done here, but I can remember from yesterday that the forecast called for plenty of "near normal" conditions.  Highs in the 20s and lows in the teens....with some snow flurries here and there, about what you can expect for western Ohio in January.  I can live with that...although if I don't have to fire up the snow blowers anytime soon, I won't mind that at all.

Last night I traveled the 8 miles to Coldwater and hooked up with "Wulfie", Kent, Doc Herron, and his son, at the South Side pub and watering hole.  We tossed down a couple of beers and did some bs'ing for about 90 minutes, before parting ways, Kent back to Fort Recovery, "Wulfie" walked to his place across the street, and I headed back towards home...always good to see old faces, I don't travel the bar circuit these days, so sometimes the visits are few and far between.

Another "Stout" for my Beer list_____

During the rare trips to a bar and during the warm weather(baseball) months, my beer of choice is Miller Lite.  A harmless beer that goes down easy in the summer, when, after working a double header, I feel the need to fire up a good cigar in the back yard, and wash the smoke down with a few or more American Larger Beers.  However, of late especially, when the weather cools off I find myself downing darker, more tasteful, and frankly more alcoholic content beers.  Porters aren't bad, Bock in the late winter and early spring is good, but my favorite by far are the dark, thick, stout style beers and ale.

I have over the past 2 years been testing different types of dark stouts from various breweries.  Sam Adams has a decent Cream Stout, and the dry Guinness Extra Stout has been at the top of my list for a couple years now...but I continue to read about and taste different brands.  Now don't get me wrong, stout beers run about 40% higher than regular beer in cost, and some 20 to 50% higher in alcohol content.  So if you are into drinking massive quantities of beer to get "sheet faced", you may want to avoid stouts...you will find your wallet lighter, your waist line bigger, and yourself not being able to find your keys..  You definitely do not want to drink more than a couple of these and drive any distance...that would not be a good move...or a safe one.  I stick with these beers when I'm not going anywhere...like on a cold winter night watching a Duke basketball game(speaking of which, the #1 Blue Devils won over UAB last night in easy fashion), on the tube.

Anyway, yesterday I went looking for something in a stout that wouldn't break the bank, and would be a change from my usual Guinness Extra Stout.   Chief Super Market in Celina has installed a nice collection of beers in all shades, styles, and taste....yesterday I noticed a couple of six packs from a Cincinnati based micro brewery called Mt Carmel...seems these folks brew the beer in their farmhouse, and began just a few years back:

http://www.mtcarmelbrewingcompany.com/first_1.html

This brewery opened in 2005, and it appears to be just beginning to bloom in sales...looking at their list of ale and beer, it appears that I will have to try some of their others styles, if I can find them...Celina seems to be at the northern most reaches of their sales area... for now.  I will stick with the Stout for now, and pick some extra style brews up when Hal and Lisa have their wedding reception in Fairborn in mid-February.

The Mt Carmel Stout, is dark, real dark, like an Imperial Stout, has about a 5% alcohol content, and I have to say I really, really, like it.  If you are into dark stout beer, and live in the west Ohio or north Kentucky/southeast Indiana area, you might want to give this a try.  Good Stuff....

Baseball, just around the corner?

Well, not really...but I did get the Ohio High School pre-season manual and rules books in the mail from the OHSAA yesterday, and it sure made me feel better than spring is not that far off.  Our local meetings begin on February 2nd in Van Wert, I'll also attend a couple at my southwest Ohio association at Indian Lake.  The state meanwhile, like they did in basketball, and will offer in person, and on-line state rules "meetings" that you have to complete...I'll probably attend the live session, if basketball doesn't have all my dates blacked out.

Anyway, with the rule books here, and the schedule for my spring varsity games pretty well completed, except for tournament assignments, the baseball light at the end of the long winter tunnel is beginning to make a peak through the gloom. 

Off north both tonight and tomorrow for basketball, Junior High boys this evening at Antwerp, and a JV boys battle at Crestview in Convoy tomorrow night....

back later>>>>

Photos~top left, the logo from the Mt Camel Brewery founded in 2005.  My first six-pack of Mt Carmel Stout...excellent stuff!  Me, doing what I do best in cold weather, enjoying a torpedo and a glass of Drambuie, cigars and Stouts go together just as well...and my and Sam's pre-season baseball stuff from OHSAA arrived in the mail yesterday...I'm ready for spring!