The Perfect Marriage - Hockey & Beer

     Though winter is officially upon us, and the general consensus is that people wanna stay inside during the next few months, things are slightly different when being from Minnesota... It's a beautiful thing that an ice rink during the winter months is as common a sight as a baseball diamond during the summer - And I state that with no exaggeration... There's a public outdoor rink for just about every lake in the state - 10,000 for those who don't get out of their bubble too often... Along with hockey, there's yet another joy in life that's best savored cold - BEER!! As just about any hockey player will tell you, hockey and beer are an extremely common union, a belief that reaches much further than the state lines of Minnesota... Probably also helps in explaining why so many hockey players have false teeth somewhere in their dental repertoire... Though it's much more sensible to enjoy a case of relatively cheap beer when playin' some stick on the pond, enjoying a nice craft brew once the skates come off is never a penalized play...

Red Grapes X White Beer

Dogfish Head - Red & White [Ale brewed with coriander & orange peel with pinot noir juice added with 11% aged in pinot noir barrels and 89% aged on oak barrel staves] (750ml ---> Dogfish Head Curved Pint Glass : 10% ABV : 35 IBU)

Obviously, I'm a fan of good beer, and I'm also a fan of good wine... So when wine grapes are utilized as an addition to beer, I see the potential for extremely great things!! This particular brew is one I'd been longing to indulge in for quite some time, and after having the exceptional evening at work I had encountered, popping the top of this beauty is much easier and far more rewarding than the scenarios of arson that have continually plagued my thoughts since I clocked out… So to end my rant about my employer, let us move onto this brew calling my name from the fridge… With a fairly aggressive pour, a rocky, two inch, off-white head sat atop an extremely cloudy blood orange hued brew… The head faded moderately quickly and left behind hardly any lacing, but a decent retentive cap decided to linger… On the nose is the immediate presence of pinot noir, as well as a fair amount of soft citrus, and some tamer dark berry traces… Upon tasting, a fair amount of spice was immediately picked up, which could be either the yeast strain or the coriander, but that faded quickly as the mellow citrusy sweetness made it's appearance…

The W.I.N.E. X Red Wine

     Being introduced to Stevie Crooks' music in the spring of 2010 was a moment that won't soon be forgotten... While indulging in DJ Fresh85's mix during The Freshboxx on The Pulse with Yaya Martinez, he spun the title track off the Villains' release "Diamonds & Guns..." I was immediately drawn to the smooth samples laid over somewhat rugged claps and baps, and after the song ran its' course over the airwaves, Fresh was polite enough to inform me of the artist who had just struck a chord in my mind... I now had homework to do... 

     Having just acquired a new laptop at that point, my iTunes was in SERIOUS need of music as my previous library "went down with the ship..." I would later come to find that this situation was actually a blessing in disguise... With the idea to keep my new iTunes library fresh, I didn't immediately rip the (mostly) "classics" that filled my previous one... The idea was that it would force me to become more familiar and in touch with what's current and relevant in todays' Hip-Hop scene... After getting home, I downloaded "Diamonds & Guns" and it became the first musical addition to my new laptop... Shockingly (at that time,) a decent amount of time would pass until something else was added, as I would soon become somewhat preoccupied with this tape...