Beer of the Week: Boone Creek Blonde

Beer score: 5.5

Company: Appalachian Mountain Brewery

ABV: 4.9
IBU: 19

Plenty of foamy head here as I pour it into a glass, so fans of that will be impressed.  The color is a fairly light golden shade, but not completely pale, not like a premium beer at all.

The scent is slightly sweet with a touch of bread and flowers.

This one is light enough that you could enjoy several at your favorite bar or around the fire pit back in the woods. In the taste, there is a slight bitterness with touches of floral and citrus accents, but just barely.

This one is light enough and normal enough that your non-beer-snob friends will be able to enjoy it, but your actual beer snob pals will find something to enjoy. Not a super great beer, but nothing awful. Worth trying out.

Books read in 2020: No. 18 -- The Book of Deuteronomy, KJV

published by Zondervan

Started: July 13
Finished: July 22

Notes: Now I return to my Biblical readings, here with the last of the Pentateuch, the five books supposedly written by Moses and that make up the Jewish Torah.

Mini review: Much of this was a retelling of events and words from Numbers and Leviticus, but the last quarter of this text covered the last days of the life of Moses and the earliest days of Joshua. Again, not the most entertaining of reading, but that's not what it's here for.

Beer of the Week: Big Wave Golden Ale

Beer score: 5.9

Company: Kona Brewing Co.

ABV: 4.4
IBU: 21

If you're looking for a cool lighter brew, this one could be for you.

Into the glass this one pours a light yellow color, almost pale but not quite, while giving off very little smell and a slightly foamy head.

In the tasting deparment: Not overly sweet, not overly bitter, but quite clean and easy going down. There are flowery hints here, but not a lot else in the taste area other than a little cool bitterness going down. This beer doesn't taste bad, but it's also not anything overly special.

But could I drink another? Sure! Especially on a hot day after mowing the yard. Also, this one's light enough to be a party beer or bar beer with food. Not a favorite, but nothing here turned me off, either.

Beer of the Week: Mason Jar Pull Tab Pilsner

Beer score: 6.5

Company: The Mason Jar Lager Co.

ABV: 4.7
IBU: 27

Going into the glass, this beer looks like a traditional premium beer made for the American audience. In other words, it's got a weak golden color to it, and it also has more than a little fizz.

Which meant I was expecting a Budweiser ripoff.

But upon smelling and sipping, I was pleasantly surprised.

The scent isn't overly strong, but there are plenty of hops there with a soft bitterness.

However, upon hitting my tongue, that bitterness grew and grew and grew. No, it doesn't reach the burnt caramel bitterness of a porter or stout, but there's still a clean, smooth, light bitterness that's more complex that I had expected. Also, in the tasting, there are hints of honey and bread.

I would drink this again.

Books read in 2020: No. 17 -- Preparation for the Next Life

by Atticus Lish

Started: June 16
Finished: July 13

Notes: I've had this book a few years now. I don't remember why I bought it. Something must have stirred my interest. Guess now I'll find out.

Mini review: Damn. This novel is a tour de force. It doesn't start that way. In fact, it's somewhat slow until the last quarter, but then it packs a punch in the end. An illegal immigrant to the U.S. from China meets and ends up in a relationship with an American soldier just returned from Iraq. The writing is told almost in a documentary style with very little direct feeling or thought from the characters, almost like a screenplay with mostly action and dialogue, but it works here. And the backdrop, the world these characters find themselves in, it is a constant barrage of the seedier elements of the American life, not obviously judgmental, but simply hitting the reader again and again with basic examples of what we Americans find around ourselves and take for granted day after day ... and most of it doesn't necessarily say good things about us or our nation. Not the greatest writing I've come across, not even this year, but still a damn good novel and worth reading.

Books read in 2020: No. 16 -- As You Wish!

edited by Jason M Waltz and Ty Johnston

Started: May 10
Finished: July 9

Notes: Yes, I helped edit this one a while back. There's some comedic fantasy reading here, if that's your type of thing. More than once did I find myself chuckling at these tales while reading them.

Mini review: I have some favorites here, but as an editor on the project, I don't think it would be fair to the writers to point out which stories I liked best. That being said, Princess Bride fans especially should find something here for them.

Beer of the Week: Catawba White Zombie White Ale

Beer score: 7.7

Company: Catawba Brewing Co.

ABV: 5.1
IBU: 7

Appears very light when poured from the can into a clear glass, sort of a weak golden color, but it does present a fairly frothy head.

The smell is not overly strong, but there are hints of citrus and  malt.

The taste is light with more than a little fizz, but not so much fizz as to ruin this drink. There's almost a Belgian taste here, but not quite, with the barest touch of sweetness and a light bitter that's not overpowering.

Honestly, I could drink these all day long. By no means the greatest beer in the world, but not bad by any means. Fans of lighter beers should enjoy this one.