Brew Spew 2015 Part 3: Big Boss Brewing Harvest Time Ale.

In this week's installment of the Brew Spew 2015, I'll be featuring a beer from a local brewery located right here in North Carolina. The third beer in this series will be the Harvest Time Ale from Big Boss Brewing. Big Boss is located in Raleigh, North Carolina. They've been in operation since 2006. While still a relatively young brewery, they've achieved a fair amount of success in North Carolina. Almost every bar or restaurant I've visited in my travels throughout the state has had at least one of their beers on tap. They host many events at their brewery throughout the year, as well as sponsor numerous outings like their run club. The Big Boss Tap Room (open daily), is a popular social spot located at the brewery where you can taste all of their beers fresh from the source.

The Harvest Time Ale is 5.5% Alc. by volume and available annually during September and October. As with all of the beers I taste test in the Brew Spew, I will provide a real time set of notes divided into two categories. These were written as I was drinking the beer for the first time. If I like the beer, I'll tell you. If I don't like the beer, I'll tell you that as well. Let's get started, shall we?

Cold out of the fridge:

• Nutmeg and cinnamon smell is quite fragrant the moment after I poured the beer into a glass.
• Has a murky golden color.
• I can readily taste the pumpkin flavor with the first sip.
• It is not bitter and has an easy finish.
• There is no strange aftertaste whatsoever.
• Very little foam with a light level of carbonation.
• I don't readily taste the spices, but can detect their fragrance in my nose after I swallow.
• Even though this is an ale, it tastes much like a light lager mixed with pumpkin flavor.
• An easy to drink, refreshing beer that doesn't try too hard.

At room temperature:

• The pumpkin flavor has become a great deal stronger.
• Not bitter at all, thankfully.
• Still very easy to enjoy as I swallow.
• Much to my delight, the beer tastes a great deal like a slice of pumpkin pie. In fact, after swallowing, I could swear I'd just eaten a piece!
• The smell of the spices has somewhat softened.
• Alternatively, the taste of the spices has gone up dramatically. I can readily detect the nutmeg and cinnamon on the tip of my tongue the moment it hits my mouth.

All in all, the Harvest Time Ale was a particularly satisfying seasonal beer. It delivered just what a seasonal pumpkin-flavored beer should, with no added flair or gimmicks. I'm quite impressed with the Harvest Time Ale. It provided a memorable taste whether cold or at room temperature, which is a signifier of high quality in my opinion. It's a shame Big Boss doesn't produce Harvest Time Ale year-round!

If you happen to live in the Raleigh area, visit the brewery and partake in the Big Boss Harvest Time Pumpkin Festival on October 29, 2015 between 4 and 10 PM. They'll be hosting a pumpkin carving contest, as well as debuting a bourbon barrel aged version of Harvest Time. I've got to get me some of that!

Brew Spew 2015:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 4
Part 5

The North Carolina Museum Of Art... Well That Was Disappointing.

Crystal and I took a nice drive to Raleigh, North Carolina today. After enjoying an extremely tasty (and quite healthy) lunch at Guasaca Arepa and Salsa Grill, we made our first visit to the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Let me tell you... our lunch was much, much better than what we saw at the museum.

The NCMA West Building. This was perhaps the worst art museum I've ever been to.

I'm an art guy. Those of you that know me personally are well aware of this fact. But, there's one thing I have little tolerance or admiration for -- abstract art. I colloquially refer to abstract art as lazy art. Not much effort, time or talent is needed to produce it. Unfortunately, I discovered that one of the two buildings which comprise the NCMA is almost completely filled with abstract art. That was a major bummer. We walked through the entire East building perturbed at how little art there actually was on display. Had you been a fly on the wall following us, you would have heard as we looked at all of the abstract pieces...

Jared: "Crap."

Crystal: "Crap."

Jared: "Definitely crap."

Crystal: "Was that painted with feces?"

'Blue Panel' by Ellsworth Kelly.

I kid you not... this piece of crap is hanging at the NCMA and is labeled as 'art'.

So easy, a blind three year old could do it.

On to the West building of the NCMA, where we were greeted by more uninspired and generally repetitive art. There were walls and walls and even more walls of classical paintings representing Jesus Christ and other biblical figures. While I am well aware of the importance of religion in classical and European art, it was by no means the only subject ever painted. The collection held by the NCMA would lead you to believe otherwise. I lost count of the number of paintings depicting Christ or other Christian events. Even beyond the endless walls of Bible paintings, there were rudimentary and altogether uninspired pieces. Very few quality landscapes or portraits were on display, nor any examples of etchings, engravings, pen and ink illustrations or charcoal works. The number of 19th and 20th Century American works was absolutely pathetic. The collection of paintings was so boring in fact that Crystal and I often marveled at the intricacy and construction of the frames instead -- they were of more merit in many cases!

All in all, I could count the number of works I liked at the NCMA on one hand... and there would be fingers left over.

Thank goodness the price of admission was free... or otherwise I'd feel robbed. If I could suggest any sort of improvement to the NCMA, it would be this. They need more diversity and less repetition. Get off the Biblical theme and eliminate a large portion of their abstract and modern works.

In terms of art in general, I must reiterate a simple, but stark point -- just because something is old does not necessarily mean it is good. 

This Soap Nerd Met a Toad!

If you remember, I previously published a blog in November about how much I love bar soap. Tonight's blog is in a similar vein, but this will focus on some wonderful handcrafted soaps I recently purchased.

I wish you could smell this through your screen.

While visiting the Raleigh Flea Market at the North Carolina State Fair Grounds, I happened to meet Carol of the Blinking Toad Workshop. She had a massive display booth containing a variety of hand made soaps in a multitude of fragrances. That alone was enough to real a soap nerd like me in. I could not even begin to count the number of varieties she had available. I finally settled on four bars -- Bay Rum, Fresh Orange, Citrus Cedar Sage and True Vanilla. As to the price, it was VERY competitive to what you'd pay for in a department store. I'd much rather spend my money with a local merchant whom produces their own product. This holds especially true when they're competitive with mass-produced items. For the quality of product I received, the price was perfect.

I started using the Fresh Orange bar this morning and WOW! It lathers up great, rinses off smooth and I've smelled like a ripe, juicy orange all day long. Per what their website says, they only use "olive oil, coconut oil, organic palm oil, organic sunflower oil, shea butter, natural botanical and mineral colorants, and essential oils or phthalate-free fragrances." The funny part? I noticed this evening that the bar has made my bathroom smell lush and inviting just by sitting unused in the shower. It's like having a scented candle burning... just without the candle!

So good, you almost want to take a bite... almost.

As a huge proponent of buying directly from a local business owner, I can't tell you how pleased I am to have made my purchase. The soap nerd in me just geeks out over stuff like this! I'll certainly be a repeat customer.

Please visit with the Blinking Toad Workshop upon your next visit to the Raleigh Flea Market. They're at booth #332. If you can't make it down to Raleigh, place an order at their website -- www.blinkingtoad.com. Or, check them out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/blinkingtoad. You won't regret it. Tell 'em Jared sent you!

Go ahead and laugh, but soap rocks. Try getting yourself going in the morning without a bar of soap to wash with in the shower. Good luck feeling clean and productive all day.

Full Disclosure -- This was NOT a paid advertisement. I'm just a nut for good soap.

Sleepless Nights and Why I'm Thankful.

A common scene in my room as a child around 2:00 AM.

For many years as a child, and right on through my teenage years, I didn't sleep much. At one point around age nine, I'm almost certain I developed a case of chronophobia. I'd lay in bed at night, just staring at my clock and counting the minutes away. I was so stressed about making myself fall asleep that I'd become increasingly agitated and upset as the minutes flew by. At some point, I'd simply pass out from exhaustion between 3:00 and 4:00 AM. When you have to get up for school around 6:00 AM, it can be a challenge. Though, somehow I did it and made great grades. My willpower is what pushed me through.

Oddly enough, this blog isn't about my lack of sleep. It's about a side-effect of my condition.

As a consequence of not sleeping, I did a lot of things in the night while my folks were asleep. Books were a common source of entertainment -- I must have plowed through hundreds as a child in this manner. From Chaucer to Conrad, I read it all. Some of my most favorite books were first encountered in this way, like Betty Smith's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" for example. Many nights were spent drawing and doodling by flashlight and moonlight. One of my favorite late night activities was enjoying music and talk radio. Of course, I made sure to use headphones. Sometimes, my mom or dad would wake me up in the morning and ask why I had a headphone cord wrapped around my neck. What they didn't realize was that when I finally passed out, it would be with the headphones still on. My dreams were often filled with music from the outside world, acting much like a soundtrack to the visions in my head.

To this day, I still have a hard time falling asleep without background noise, like a running television. I guess falling asleep for so many years with headphones on changes you permanently.

During these late night explorations into music and radio, I discovered many things not necessarily intended for children and teenagers. It's at this time that I developed my passion for Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull and Dire Straits. Unbeknownst to my dad, I'd lay claim to the cassettes he'd stack up and never listen to for my personal collection. Pink Floyd's The Final Cut and Jethro Tull's Crest of a Knave were (and still are) my two most beloved albums. I listened to them so much that I could remember them in their entirety in my head. Without having anything to listen to, I could close my eyes, concentrate and listen to a playback of the albums purely from memory. The strange part? I still can. I have permanent copies stored in my brain. While in class at school, I'd often get bored with whatever the teacher was saying. So... I'd zone out, enter my own world, "listen" to my music and escape.

Interesting side note -- the The Final Cut cassette that I co-opted from my dad came from Robby Batte, a highly talented photographer whom many of you may know. It was a copy he loaned my father, to which wound up ultimately in my possession. I still have that tape. To this day, I can remember the first time I looked at it in his car (the Battemobile). I'm eternally grateful to the Batteman for unexpectedly introducing that album into my life at such a young age. How cool is it that ripples from the past still influence our present in small, but powerful ways? Thanks Robby!

I also enjoyed many radio programs throughout the night. In the late '80s and on through the '90s, you could still hear actual disc jockeys on the radio playing real records. Even though I was in Virginia, I could dial in Oldies 100.7 WTRG from Raleigh late at night with little interference. They played Oldies from the '50s and '60s, which is probably why I grew to appreciate rock and roll at such a young age. Their disc jockeys had personality and explained information about the Oldies tracks and their respective artists. Ron McKay was one of the best jockeys on the station and he served WTRG very well -- right until the station changed format in 2004.

On Sunday nights, I could dial in WRDU from Raleigh on 106.1. I'd stay up all night eagerly awaiting Rock Talk with Allan Handelman. Allan was (and still is) a great interviewer. He'd cover the gamut of topics, not just those necessarily related to music -- paranormal, history, pop culture, current events, cinema, television, etc. If you ever get the chance, check his show out at www.ifitrocks.com.

Another program I listened to regularly was LovePhones with Dr. Judy and Jagger. It was your typical sex advice show where people called in with their questions and concerns. This would also play on WRDU 106.1, Monday through Friday at 10:00 PM to midnight. My mom or dad never gave me "the talk", but I never really needed them to anyway. Thanks to programs like LovePhones, along with lots of books, I was already very-well acquainted with the human body, sex and dating. If only I'd had the courage to use that information to get girls to like me in school! I would have been UNSTOPPABLE! The program went off the air around 1998, to which I eventually transitioned to Loveline.

As I look back on that time in my life, I'm thankful I had all those sleepless nights. They certainly played a role in defining my personality. Without them, I don't think I'd have grown up to be so gosh darn interesting!