Pregled posta

Marketing

I don't have a clue what a "mouflan" is, and the beer label is one of the oddest I've seen (it's a drawing of a bottlecap with wings and a tail), but I won't hold that against the brewery. Troegs is based in Harrisburg, PA; founded by the Trogner brothers in 1997. They distribute throughout the mid-Atlantic states and have a very good reputation for high quality crafted beers.

So how did I get this beer if they don't distribute in North Carolina? It's part of my winnings for the World Series bet I made with my best man. What a fool he was for thinking the Phillies actually had a chance! I guess it was appropriate that he sent a PA beer to settle the bet.

The Mouflan is a limited release Barleywine Ale which won the Bronze at the 2008 Great American Beer Festival in the barleywine category. So what is a barleywine? Well, the first thing to remember is that it's not a wine and that it has nothing to do with wine. The American version, which is derived from the milder English barleywine, is a highly alcoholic (7-12%) ale that has an intensely strong and complex taste, usually loaded up with hops to complement the rich malty taste that warms the palette. These beers are best served cool rather than cold to allow the complex flavors to appear. These beers also age very well and the intense hops will mellow out over time, which might be why the barleywine name was coined.

This offering from Troegs is no different. Coming in at 9.3%, it is definitely a beer to be savored slowly; preferably with fellow beer aficienados. The beer poured into my glass with a rich carmely brown color and a thin head. I sense the feel of caramel in all aspects of this beer, from the color to the aroma and in the taste. My initial sip was a hop explosion, but it's seemed to have mellowed out as I get halfway through the first glass. I've had this bottle for about 3 months, not nearly enough time to mellow out the beer, but I can get impatient sometimes.

I personally can only drink Barleywines once in a while because of the intensity of the beer, but this is one of the best barleywines I've had a chance to enjoy and I am certainly making the most of it.

As for the photo. I've got the SB-600 with a homemade snoot around it firing from camera left just shy of overhead. The background is a small art thingie that I've got hanging in my living room. I've also inserted an overlaying texture to make it just a bit more interesting.

For the record, the theme for the 52.5 Weeks group is "Yellow".

Richard E. Deneut, Jr., photo from Craig AFB (near Selma, Aabama) Pilot training class 7104 yearbook, showing Dick just doused with water at Selfield, an auxiliary T-41 training site, also near Selma, Alabama. He just soloed in the T-41 (in rear--a military version of the Cessna 172), the first of three training aircraft we had to master in a year. The other two were the T-37 and T-38 jet trainers.

Dick is wearing his Marine flight suit with our USAF patches sewn on--the training wing patch on the right chest, the Craig AFB Class 7104 patch on the left sleeve--I think a US flag was on the right sleeve. He must have got the word later that good marines don't wear USAF patches, or patches in general, on USMC flight suits since they were removed in other photos.

Dick was a Marine officer in Air Force pilot training class 7104 at Craig AFB near Selma, Alabama, Nov 1969 to Dec 1970. He was the senior officer in our B section and therefore section leader. There were two sections to the class. He was a serious officer, quiet spoken with a subtle and sharp sense of humor. He was the poster boy for a marine officer--professional, upright, always perfectly groomed and a natural leader who somehow managed to keep the unruly, unfocused pack of us AF junior officers out of trouble. He was always chiding us and the Air Force. He would joke: "I'd better learn to flare while I'm with a force that does it!" And: "Laugh, everytime I drop it in, I'm just that much more proficient as a Marine pilot."

After graduating with his new wings, he went on to fly the A-4. In December 1975 he was airborne with hung live ordnance hanging from his wings. Rather than risk harming someone on the ground by trying to jink the ordnance free, he elected to attempt a soft landing at Yuma Marine Corps Air Station, Arizona. The ordnance broke free on touchdown and exploded, destroying his aircraft and claiming his life. He is buried in Iowa.

"Grunoot" was and is one of my personal heroes. He was a positive presence in the life of everyone who knew him. He was survived by a wife and at least one son I've located on the internet, living in Europe, married with a son.