On Saturday night, Founders held a party to mark the release of their most exclusive beer, and my estimation of what water will taste like in heaven: the Kentucky Breakfast Stout. The production is so limited that when I went to a liquor store to buy some, I was only allowed one four-pack and said pack was $22. I also found out that the owners randomly sign a bottle here and there (not every four-pack gets a signed bottle), and mine just happens to have one--which made me pretty happy when I realized it. Naturally, as soon as I got back in the car, my wife went in and bought another four-pack. I'll be stocking up in the next few days. If you love beer, GO BUY IT NOW. By the end of the year, you'll be lucky to get one beer on ebay for $40.
A formal review of the beer will appear as soon as I work up the courage to crack one open. Or when I go to founders with my friend Brian who writes Five Branch Tree. Below are some pictures for the uninitiated and for those unfortunate many who don't live in West Michigan, and below that my description of how I took the pix.
This is obviously the label with the lucky signatures.
That's what this handsome bottle looks like.
Lens: 100 mm macro
ISO: 100
SS: 1/60
f14
I used two SB800 with remote flash.
The front one was a 1.5 ft away and 3 ft. off the ground on a stand, bounced off a reflective umbrella, front right, @ full blast. The second was a foot behind and to the left @ 1/4 with a diffuser card and a black flag to keep the light from washing out the front of the bottle.
SS: 1/60
f14
I used two SB800 with remote flash.
The front one was a 1.5 ft away and 3 ft. off the ground on a stand, bounced off a reflective umbrella, front right, @ full blast. The second was a foot behind and to the left @ 1/4 with a diffuser card and a black flag to keep the light from washing out the front of the bottle.
The Idea
Once upon a former life as a journalist, I reviewed spas and restaurants. Yes, I still wonder why I left that job---oh, yeah: it paid a pittance. Now I'm doing it for free. How?
Cards and Stamps
A fun way to tell people about a place, event or product, is to show labels, ticket stubs, tags, etc. So, I'm going to physically glue said things of what I want to review onto cards that I salvaged from a dumpster. The cards say STAMPS, so all these posts will follow suit.
The Legend
From one to five $ signifies cost. From one to five * signifies rating.
NOTE: The actual review is below the STAMPS
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The makers of what are probably the best microbrewed ales in the country, these guys just happen to be local to Grand Rapids, where I live. Expect me to review each of their ales and stouts--not all at once though. The tag above is the bottleneck sticker to the Dirty Bastard, my third favorite beer in the world. It's a rich beer, with a bitter top note and a sweat yet peaty finish that lingers in your mouth with little hints of hops and I'd almost say dark chocolate. It is an aggressive beer and apparently their flagship. Worth noting is an 8.5% alcohol content and 50 IBU's. This is the little brother to the Backwoods Bastard which is liquid ecstasy aged in whisky barrels, a real kick in the pants. Neither is for the Corona crowd, this is the real deal.
The Omelette Shoppe (sorry no website)
I went there for breakfast today with a buddy of mine. It seems to be local to Grand Rapids but I'm not sure. O don't think they even have a site. I didn't have their specialty, I had a standard breakfast. I ordered two eggs, sunny side up, rye toast and a short stack of pancakes. Eggs are eggs and you have to be pretty dense to mess them up, but they were pretty good. Their rye is served buttered and toasted. I love the mixed pumpernickel with regular flour--the swirly-looking type.
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