Books read in 2022: No. 21 -- The Book of Jeremiah

published by Zondervan

Started: July 19
Finished: July 26

Notes: Having gotten into the section of The Old Testament that deals with the prophets, I'm interested in seeing how this book compares to The Book of Isaiah, recently read by me.

Mini review: This has got to be the most repetitive book of the Bible. Over and over again the Lord speaks to Jeremiah and tells him to tell others of the troubles that are to befall them in the coming future. Mostly the Jews take the brunt here, but Babylon and no few others also face the wrath of God.

Beer of the Week: Bell's Amber Ale

Beer score: 6.3

Company: Bell's Brewery
ABV: 5.8
IBU: 32

Has a reddish brown/orange color to it in the glass, and plenty of foam. Fairly smooth with a little too much carbonation for my liking.

Has a typical "amber" flavor to it with hints of caramel and vanilla.

Good enough to drink and not a bad beer, though not quite to my liking enough to be called a favorite.

Would I drink it again? Hell, yeah. Would I go out of my way to get one? Hmm, probably not, unless my only other options were worse beers.

Books read in 2022: No. 20 -- The Bushcraft Bible

edited by James Henry

Started: June 29

Finished: July 19

Notes: As a much younger man I used to read books and articles and such pertaining to wilderness skills and survival, but it has been a long time, so I thought I'd take a refresher with this book. Plus, who knows? I might learn something new.

Mini review: This one was something of a disappointment. There was plenty of information here, much of which I was already familiar with, but there were a number of issues with this book which could have been solved by stronger editing. The grammar, spelling, punctuation, and such were decent enough, but there were other issues. For one thing, some of this information I would exactly call bushcraft, though it might be interesting, such as the long chapter on canning food and the longer chapter listing outdoors games to play, including professional sports games. For another thing, a number of this articles referenced photos or drawings which were not included, and often even if they were included the images were so small as to be useless even with the help of a magnifying glass. Lastly, my big pet peeve here was that the articles presented here were reprints, not that I had a problem with that, but they were reprints from various time periods, sometimes quite recent and sometimes from more than a century ago; this isn't necessarily bad in and of itself, but there were no obvious markers to tell when these stories first came out so the reader would have a frame of reference, instead the reader having to figure it out from little details sprinkled throughout the articles, such as prices and the rare mention of dates. All in all, not awful but could have been better, and over the years I've run across other books which definitely were better.

Beer of the Week: Michelob Ultra Pure Gold

Beer score: 3.1

Company: Michelob
ABV: 3.8
IBU: NA

Pours a very light golden yellow, but that's to be expected from a mass-marketed brew. There's a fair amount of fizz.

Has a slight corn smell.

If you like foam, you'll probably like this beer, though it's not the most foam I've ever seen.

The taste is also very mass-produced. A little bitter, a little sweetness, not much more.

You can find better beers, but you can also find a worst one. If you're at a party and someone hands you one and there's nothing else to drink, sure. Otherwise, keep searching.

Beer of the Week: Sierra Nevada Porter

Beer score: 7.6

Company: Sierra Nevada
ABV: 5.6
IBU: 32

This one has been around a few decades now and it's always a good beer.

Pours a dark brown, but when you hold it up to the light in a clear glass it appears almost red.

Smells of coffee and earthiness with touches of baked bread.

It has a strong maple taste, but not too much of a burnt flavor as in common in some similar beers. Dry in the mouth. Very heavy, almost like a stout. The sweetness here is strong, but not overpowering.

Goes well with steak or bar food.

On a side note, Sierra Nevada has redesigned its bottle labels over the last few years, and while the newer labels are nice, I feel they are a bit generic, looking like just any other brewery. I prefer the older, color-coded labels because I felt they stood out more on store shelves. But that's just me.

Beer of the Week: Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Marzen

Beer score: 7.9

Company: Hacker-Pschorr
ABV: 5.8
IBU: 28

Finally after a month of not tasting any decent beers, I stumble upon this one, and I have to say I've had some good Hacker-Pschorr beers in the past, so I was excited for this.

I wasn't disappointed.

Pours a very light golden color while giving off smells of citrus and perhaps vanilla.

Tastes bready and fruity. Wet and smooth with a touch of bitterness on the way down.

Worth trying any time you get the chance.