Kensington Blues

Delirium Noël, originally uploaded by J T. Ramsay.

I drank my way to the perfect Christmas. No, I didn’t drink myself into a stupor, only to spend the holiday in a soporific haze. I think I actually drank the perfect amount of beer to enjoy myself and still be helpful with Charlie.

I shared a bomber of Delirium Noel Christmas night, but the real surprise was a sixer of Lagunitas Brown Shugga I picked up at Wegman’s. Delicious! If you see any at your local distributor, be sure to pick it up. It’s a perfect beer for the holidays, and it’s deceptively easy drinking, even at 9.8% ABV. Watch out!

I found myself just a tad disappointed in Bell’s Winter White Ale. I am all for a lighter beer around the holidays, but this felt more like a summer beer with a new label slapped on the bottle. I think it was a mistake on my part to expect a delicate winter warmer at 5.0% ABV.

If there’s one resolution I managed to keep this year, it was my effort to broaden my palate when it comes to craft beer. I think the days of me hoisting IPA after IPA are behind me. I’m trying subtler flavors (and lower ABVs.) I’d like to take a class next year to figure out the finer points of beer, rather than just pretend I know how to identify anything that isn’t a massive hops flavor. Can anyone recommend a good one in the Philly area?

Last, but not least, I’d like to thank the great Philly beer writers for introducing me to new and different brews throughout 2009. I don’t know where or what I’d be drinking were it not for Lew Bryson, Jack Curtin, Joe Sixpack, and Suzy Woods. Plenty of people say — rightfully so — that Philly’s a great beer city. They’re right, but they’d be mistaken if it weren’t made better by the people I’ve listed here.  If you live in Philly and like beer and you’re not reading their blogs, you’re probably missing out on some great stuff. They’re all invaluable to the Philly beer scene. If you see them out, be sure to buy them a pint!

Weyerbacher Fireside
Originally uploaded by J T. Ramsay

I met Keith Fitzgerald at Memphis Taproom last night to talk about blogs, apps, and all the other fun geek stuff our wives tell us “sounds fun” as we walk out the door.

Our wonderful conversation was aided and abetted by some delicious beer as the No Repeat Beer Week rolls on! I started the night with a smoky Weyerbacher Fireside (pictured) before delving into a bunch of beefy IPAs. Here’s last night’s list:

• Weyerbacher Fireside
• Anderson Valley 20th Anniversary Double IPA
• Ballast Point Big Eye IPA
• Moylan’s Moylander Double IPA
• Bell’s Pale Ale

I took it easy since it was a school night, but I can assure you I had no difficulty getting up this morning for a quick three-mile run.

Our conversation ended with an interesting discussion about how RSS is the blood coursing through the veins of the Internet, yet we still find ourselves joining every known social media platform that comes down the pike. Isn’t RSS supposed to make our lives really simple?

Speaking of which, we also chatted about Pitchfork’s headscratcher of a redesign. It reminded me of Paper Thin Walls after it was redesigned and made ready for a social network that never took off. Ouch. I told Keith that Pitchfork should’ve looked to ESPN.com’s redesign and focused on their video production. Why they’re still married to the concept of a music webzine escapes me.

Keith also shared his pet project with me: a running app for the 3G iPhone that should blow MapMyRun and its ilk out of the water. I’m considering buying a new iPhone just to beta test it against my Garmin watch. It sounds great for beginners and advanced runners alike. There’s a great opportunity for an iPhone app like this to meet the needs of Garmin customers who’re still waiting for Garmin to roll out their Mac features.

It was a great night for geeking out on beer and the Internet. I’m looking forward to working with Keith on tweaking and adding features to Kensington Blues over the next few weeks. To that end, can anyone recommend a clean, free, 2-column WordPress theme?