Dillon Dam Brewery: Extra Pale Ale

Like I said before Dillon Dam Brewery is a quality find out  in Colorado.

This attempts to go after great pale ales as Dogfish Head's 60, and 90 Minute. I must say that they do a good job if you compare it to the 60 Minute India Pale Ale.

Of course IPAs have a distinct taste since they are highly hopped. This is not a beer for beginners but is quite enjoyable by fans of IPAs. If you ever get the chance try out any of the Dillon Dam beers you will not be disappointed. I have yet to find one I didn't like, though I didn't get a chance to try them all.

It is a beer truly worth the medal it won at the Great American Beer Festival 2004.

 Again here are where you can find the beer.

Denver, Colorado Springs


Front Range: Ft. Collins


Summit County: Keystone, Dillon, Frisco, Breckenridge, and Copper Mountain


Buena Vista, Salida, Poncha Springs, Fairplay, and Leadville.

How it was tasted: out of the Dam bottle.

Rating: 8/10 Great.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I would like to think Mikael Blomkvist would appreciate my blog. The man is a a gentleman and a scholar. The book on the other hand reads, at times, like a snuff film.

Mikael Blomkvist is a man who was defeated and accused of liable for his comments on a well known business man, Hans-Erik Wennerström. Blomkvist was set up and now his reputation and his company were on the line. In a strange turn of events another old business man, Henrik Vanger , contacts him offering Wennerström's head on a platter if he can solve a 40 year old mystery.

The book also follows the troubled Lisbeth Salander. Salander is one of the oddest characters I have ever read. She never developed appropriate social skills and often gets into... bizarre predicaments.

The book is a good read and even though the reader will keep yelling at the characters to just go to the police you will read this book cover to cover.

How it was consumed: Audiobook.

Rating: 8/10 Great

Dillon Dam Brewery: Sweet George's Brown

Dillon Dam Brewery is a quality find out here in Colorado. This reminds me of a Newcastle Honey Brown Ale. Sweet and tasty. If you ever get the chance try out Dillon Dam Brewery beers if you are ever in the area.

Denver, Colorado Springs


Front Range: Ft. Collins


Summit County: Keystone, Dillon, Frisco, Breckenridge, and Copper Mountain


Buena Vista, Salida, Poncha Springs, Fairplay, and Leadville.

How it was tasted: out of the Dam bottle.

Rating: 8/10 Great.

The Vesper

This is Bond's first drink, James Bond's. I recently had a party with friends while we drank some of these bad boys.

Now this drink is not for the faint at heart. It is basically pure alcohol. The alcohol isn't cheap either but you only need 2 of these to be feeling great through out the night.

I personally don't like drinking straight alcohol nor do I love shots of cheap liqueur but after having one of these drinks you start to appreciate the drink more.

Also you have to know the right mixture of the gin, vodka and Lillet else you can sure ruin this concoction. I like both vodka and gin so I didn't have much of a problem with this drink. If you prefer one over the other I would recommend changing the recipe to fit your needs. I have read though the gin mixes well with the Lillet so keep that in mind when tampering with the weapon of choice.

As a side note I have heard that the drink will become cooler if you stir it with crushed ice. I choose not to take this route and go 100% Bond style.

I believe every man who appreciates Ian Fleming's work should have one of these in his or her lifetime but one definitely goes a long way.

How it was consumed: 3 oz of Tanqueray Gin,
1 oz of Russian Standard Vodka (That was the name of this premium vodka),
and 1/2oz of Kina Lillet (It is better with a little more Lillet, perhaps a full oz),
shaken and strained in a martini glass garnished with a lemon.
I also added a little lemon juice to help with the taste.

Rating: 7/10 Good

Dillon Dam Brewery: Dam Straight Lager

http://www.dambrewery.com/beer/index.html

We picked up a six pack from a local liqueur store since we visited the restaurant / brewery named Dillon Dam Brewery. Since I am still on vacation I am going to make this short and sweet. Specking of sweet, this beer is just sweet enough to be enjoyable but not sweet enough to be annoying. The taste is smooth and I would have this one again.


How it was tasted: from the Dam bottle.

Rating: 8/10 Great

Outliers: The Story of Success

Malcolm Gladwell has written another great book. This time Gladwell observed some of our greatest rags to riches stories and explains how these stories involve more than hard work.

According to Outliers, there are multiple reasons that people become successful and part of it is due to when they were born.

Think about that for a moment. There is a specific month or year that a person can be born in order to be successful. Gladwell observes this fact in the Canadian hockey league. Over ~90% of the players that go to the NHL are born in January or February. Why is this true? Because the junior leagues draw the age line at the end of December. So if you are born January 1st you will have almost a year more of experience than the kids born in November or December.

Now this is just one of the points Malcolm Gladwell makes for the book. He discusses how Korean pilots became better pilots after speaking English and why the Beatles and Bill Gates were so successful.

I am a fan of Malcolm Gladwell so try out at least on of his books when you get the time.

How it was consumed: Audiobook.

Rating: 8/10

Happy Holidays!

Just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.