Shoegaze Radio

Shoegaze music is probably my biggest wheelhouse. I've been a fan of Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, Pale Saints, Lush, An April March, My Bloody Valentine, et. al. since my college days.

Needless to say I was thrilled to discover DKFM Shoegaze Radio!

I was on Bandcamp last night looking around for new stuff to add to my wishlist, and during the hunt I was redirected to DKFM, and I immediately saved the bookmark. There is nothing quite like a random playlist of a musical style one loves. It's almost like rummaging through a used record store, but without the travel and laying out of money. Don't get me wrong, one of my favorite pastimes is finding a used record store in which to spend an hour or two! Needless to say, my life just got a little bit better...

Autumn Beer

My favorite beer for all of September (and part of October) has been Tiger Lily Double IPA from Berkshire Brewing Company.

It's floral scent, and hints of peach & apricot highlight this ridiculously smooth beer. I've enjoyed it several times lately, and am thrilled that the brewery (located in South Deerfield, MA) has decided to include it in its permanent rotation!

Brewery - Shire Breu-Hous

 My sister & her husband and I drove west in their Tesla to Dalton, MA to have dinner, and the many fine beers of the Shire Breu-Hous.

We got some appetizers to share, including a giant soft pretzel with beer cheese and candied bacon. It was amazingly good. Sarah and I each got a 4-glass flight of 4oz beers.

My favorite was the Two Too Many DDH IPA (on the far right), which I am already a fan of, and my least favorite was the Fireman's Red Ale (far left, better than a Killian's, but I've grown out of my liking for that style of beer). Jon had a couple of Cosmic Corn Cob double IPAs, which smelled great.

Then it was dinner. I got the Brew-Hous Burger (medium well, with Swiss, lettuce and tomato), which was fantastic, and the fries were even better. Sarah got Fish Tacos and Jon got the Breuben Tacos (corned beef, ugh). They were both happy as well. 

I finished with a full-size Two Too Many, and after a fun two hours in a rustic brewery (with a great, friendly wait staff), we headed home (I took a 4-pack of cans of the untried-by-me Space Turtles IPA (Mosaic hops), with a stop in Lee to walk around while the Tesla recharged. It was a long drive, but absolutely worth it. Thanks for dinner guys, it was a great night!

Beer - Greater Good - GG Vibes

Haven’t had a beer in a few weeks, so after three evening shifts I am trying GG Vibes, a hazy New England IPA. It’s pretty decent, but the fruitiness overpowers the hops. A nice change of pace, but Greater Good Brewing has other options that I prefer. 🍺🍺🍺 If you enjoy tropical fruit heavy beer, then you might like this one. Careful, it's 8.2% ABV!

Friday Night on Elm Street

Time for another Not Lame Minus Boston area adventure...

I drove to Alewife, parked and zipped into Davis Square on the Red Line. Then I grabbed two seats at Elm Street Taproom's bar, ordered a decent A Little Rain IPA from Small Change Brewing Company, and waited for Brian's arrival. We got dinner: I had the Double Skinny Burger and waffle fries, and he got a BBQ Chicken Sandwich to go along with his Old Fashioned. I had another beer, and around 7:00 we headed out to find another place to hang out until Gavin could meet us around 9:00 pm.

We crossed the street to go to The Burren, but it was packed, so we walked a few feet to Sligo instead. Upon entering, I recognized it for the same dive bar I'd patronized years ago (and disliked greatly). However, as an in-between stop for one round, it was fine. Brian bought the round: a Guinness for himself and a serviceable Harpoon IPA for me. An hour passed with a decent soundtrack, the Red Sox and Celtics both playing on the televisions, and the typical smells and sounds of a dive.

We were going to meet Gavin at Saloon, a favorite destination of recent years, but the wait for a table was over an hour, so we opted for The Foundry instead, where we immediately were shown to a booth even without our full party present. Brian got another Old Fashioned (which was better than the one he'd had earlier), and I decided to try a fancy drink myself. I opted for the Float Downstream, a tequila-based drink containing mango, pineapple and turmeric, with a 'tajin rim', whatever that was. The drink was surprisingly good. The tajin rim was not. So I drank from the other side of the glass. When Gavin arrived he also got an Old Fashioned, and when we ordered food, he got wings with some odd maple BBQ sauce, and I had the fish and chips (very good!). At around 11:45 as a group we decided to call it an evening, though Brian wanted to keep the revels going.

Another fun night in the books, with plans to meet up again in a few weeks...