Beers That Are Happening Now

It's that time of year, big black beers for the winter. Beers that warm the cockles of your heart and gullet. Here's some of the Church of What's Happening Now's favorites of late.

Ten Fidy made by Oskar Blues, Lyon Colorado.
This Russian Imperial Stout, in a CAN! is a whopping 10% abv, 98IBUs is one smooth operator. Quite the malt bomb, with malt notes of chocolate, coffee, and some dark fruit. This masks the high level of hops in it, giving it a clean, bitter finish. Your Freakin' Deacon dreams of this beer.


Let's go local.
Lake Louie's Milk Stout, Arena Wisonsn.
Tom Porter brews some of the Church's Favorite beers, may he be blessed by the noodly appendage. This beer is somewhat roasty, befitting a stout, with a creamy smooth lactose sweetness. A wonderful beer for the winter. If you haven't had it on tap you are missing out. A drink of choice for the Church at the High Noon Saloon, most recently during the Ghost Town Council's debut as headliner.


Let's stay local or as Dan Carey would have us do, Drink Indigenous.
New Glarus Coffee Stout, New Glarus Wisconsin.
Much is said about "Drinkability" lately, mostly by the idiots at Budweiser, but New Glarus knows what is all about. This coffee stout uses cold pressed Just Coffee, a local, fair trade coffee roaster, to make this stout. The best part is the abv-at 4.8%, this is a session stout that is somewhat an anomaly, usually reserved for Irish stouts (Guiness). This beer goes down smooth and easy, with notes of roasted coffee, chocolate and cream.


Drink Local.

i think i am, at least i'm pretty sure i'm an agnostic. part 1: beer & cheese

While most evidence and common sense and the burden of proof all point towards a Godless Universe (at least God in the big G sense of the world, and I will avoid the little g in the quantum or sacred/poetic sense), I am an Agnostic. Even though I am pretty sure that all the God stories and narratives are bunk, if not beautiful, comforting, and sometimes enlightening.

If I sound wishy-washy it is because I am an Agnostic. Wishy-washy, namsy-pamsy, flip-flopping and so on and so forth are common characteristics of Agnostics. The sort that can't committ to a consistent, while also a contradictory world-view-the type that's written into stone.

But, the real reason I can't committ my life and my choices to G(g)od is not because my brain is ssssoooo rational that I can't take a leap of faith or because logic or truth charts cannot prove or disprove belief. No, I don't always apply logic. I try hard to believe in every conspiracy. While enjoying most, I believe in few. A terrible leap of faith, but I try.

Nor do I hold a tenuous, if not trepidatious grasp to the possibility of G(g)od. I do not fear Hell. A place of eternal reality show snuff film where all your faults are flogged and boiled in Hellfire and sulfur.

Nor is Heaven a big enough carrot to dangle in front of me. The promise of golden streets and crystal mansions where all one does is praise the perfection of G(g)od and G(g)od's creation does not force me into buying any religion's particular narrative.

I believe in the possiblity of G(g)od because of beer and cheese.

I find beer and cheese, besides tasty and worth living for, to be completely mysterious. Just how in the hell our most ancient of parents figured out how grains and water and spices/hops/flowers and such can be fermented by invisible yeasts to create an intoxifying/nurishing beveridge. Amazing.

As modern humans we to often misunderstand and mock our ancient parents. How could they believe in magic/witchcraft/pagan what-have-yous? We have miscroscopes and germ theory and partical accelorators.

They figured out how to make cheese, a way to preserve milk, probably accidently.

When i drink a well-crafted beer, its smell, appearence, taste-the warm comfort of alcohol remind of mysterious things. The way starchy grains can be roasted and boiled, transformed into sugars and with the introduction of yeast it is all transformed into something completely different. Wonderful.

Then, during my rambly, if not somewhat drunken diatribe, I think, "Well man, you're in Wisconsin, heartland of Beer & Cheese."

Am I a product of my environment? I'm sure wine has inspired many-a-French(wo)man towards faith. And the Trappist monks....beer-making is a portion of a sacred duty.

Or, if I am not a product of my environment could I merely be in Beer & Cheese Heaven? The perfect place for me, I have merely chosen to go where I belong and be happy and prosper. Madison is an excellent beer-town in my and many other's estimation. Is this Heaven? asks the ghost of a long dead baseball player. No, it's Wisconsin.

Cheers to all my friends. Let's lift a few cold ones whenever we gather together. Heck there might be a G(g)od, but G(g)od sure as Hell doesn't drink Miller/Budweiser/Coors.