Half Pints Weizen Heimer

The perfect summer beer!

Beer : Weizen Heimer

Brewery : Half Pints Brewing Company

Brewed In : Winnipeg, Canada

Style : Hefeweizen

ABV : 5%

Price : $3.75 for a 650ml bottle.  Great value!!!

Notes : A summer only brew!

Story : This beer is one of the beers that I enjoyed on many occasions this year while sitting outside basking in the wonderful hot summer that Winnipeg had!

Appearance : Hazy, muddy yellow with a small head.  Nice lacing, the head will cling to the glass for almost the entire brew.

Smell : A real yeasty aroma with bananas and some cloves.

Taste : The taste is a bit of wheat with loads of banana and spices.  Light hops give it a little bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel : Light to medium body and you can just feel the carbonation as you swig it around in your mouth.

Drinkability : This is the perfect summer beer, one that I hope Half Pints keeps making for years to come after the talk that they were not going to brew it this year.  I will beg if I have to.  Sadly summer is over and this was my last bottle of Weizen Heimer.

The Great Burger Hunt - Rural Manitoba Edition

The Nordic Inn and Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Well this summer I managed to keep myself busy.  Although I did not get to travel anywhere real exciting I did manage to make a road trip within Manitoba quite fun!  And of course, along the way, I stopped for some burgers.

On the way to spending the day out in Clear Lake with Daniella we stopped in Erickson, Manitoba to fill up with gas, grab some cash, and something to eat.  Unsure what to expect in this little town, our options were limited.  But I typically gravitate towards the non-chain restaurants, not that there were many, and we settled on The Nordic Inn , a quaint little place at the end of their downtown street, which is not big at all.  It was a tiny joint filled with lots of goodies, including deep fried pickles!!!

I ordered the Nordic Burger, which was topped with a 6 oz patty, tomato, lettuce, pickle, BBQ sauce, bacon, mushroom, onion, and a cheese slice.  Daniella had a bacon-cheeseburger and we split a plate of fries.  The burger was tasty home made goodness but the Bulls Eye BBQ sauce really took a lot of the natural flavour away from the overall burger.  Eating the burger was a messy ordeal as it was really juicy, part burger juice, part BBQ sauce.  If they cut back on the Bulls Eye BBQ sauce, or used a different sauce, they may have gotten a perfect burger review.

The fries were nice and crispy but they did not have a lot of flavour, salt-less is good sometimes but no flavour made these fries very bland, although they were crinkle cut.  You don’t see that often in restaurants!

Of course I also had to order some deep fried pickles.  They were amazing.  If you are pulling through Erickson I suggest you stop and grab some with your burger instead of the fries!

Now I have done a review of Five Guys Burgers and Fries before so I won’t go in depth as much as last time and leave you with a photo review of the Brandon, Manitoba location of Five Guys Burgers and Fries. George , Rich , and Jon were the ones to introduce me to this place when we were in New York last October.

The anticipation!

Tons of fries....

...in the bag too!

Delicious.

This is the moment my arteries clogged...

The leftovers.

Great way to finish the weekend spent on the road!  Although I don't recommend eating that much before sitting in the car for 2 hours.  That was a mistake!!!

The Nordic Inn

What I got : The Nordic Burger and Fries $9.10 before taxes (deep fried pickles extra!)

Burger Taste : 4/5

Fries Taste : 2/5

Menu Selection : 5/5

Price Value : 4/5

Overall : 3.75/5

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

What I got : Bacon Cheese burger (x2) with a large cajun fries, and 2 regular drinks - $30.76

Burger Taste : 5/5

Fries Taste : 5/5

Menu Selection : 2/5

Price Value : 2/5

Overall : 3.5/5

Half Pints Humulus Ludicrous

It is like heaven but in beer form!

Beer : Humulus Ludicrous

Brewery : Half Pints Brewing

Brewed In : Winnipeg, Canada

Style : Double/Imperial IPA

ABV : 8%

Price : $4.55 for a 341ml bottle

Notes : A seasonal beer released just before the winter strikes.

Story : I have hung onto this bottle for a full year (shocking I know!) to see how it ages and I will review this year’s release of Humulus Ludicrous soon to see how they match up to one another.

Appearance : It pours a murky amber with a small one finger head that hold its retention very well.

Smell : Citrus and grapefruit come out in the nose, there could be other fruits as well but I can’t pin them down, also a hint of pine.

Taste : The pine comes through in the flavour as a bit grassy but the amount of caramel and citrus is lovely.  The finish is mainly grapefruit that is slightly bitter.  Might be a bit of spices in the finish as well and that leads to some of the tingling on the tongue.

Mouthfeel : Small tingle on tongue, a little bit of carbonation noticeable, and medium to full bodied but the alcohol is well hidden.

Drinkability : I could drink this beer non-stop.  This beer is one of my favourites and definitely the best beer Half Pints brews in my opinion.  You would be a fool to miss out on this beer when it gets released on September 17 ^th at the brewery .

Why Twitter Is Awesome

And why you should be on it!!!

I have been on Twitter since June 30 ^th , 2008.  When I first signed up for it I was using it to keep myself updated with a few fantasy football friends during the season that lived in the US of A, as well as to get ESPN news notifications texted directly to my phone.  Honestly though, I never thought all that much of Twitter.  Sure I used it quite a bit initially but after two months I barely ever checked it.

At this time I had recently moved to Edmonton and had not made many friends yet, so I spent more time then usual on the Internet forums, specifically the Revision3 forums, discussing comic books.  But all of a sudden the forums got barren.  This was because everyone jumped shipped to Twitter and discussed everything there.

So I quickly made Twitter friends with Ryan , Sam , George , Rich , Paul , Jon , Joey , Angela , Blair , Kevin , and Mike (to name a few) to discuss comic books.  Not only have I discussed comic books with these friends on Twitter but I also met a lot of them, and shared a room with George, Rich, and Jon, in New York City last October when a good chunk of us met up for the New York Comic Con !  It was a weekend full of meeting Twitter friends, drinking, comic books, drinking, enjoying NYC food carts, drinking, sightseeing, and well… more drinking.

Twitter has let me be able to discuss my love of many other things as well, like the Texas Longhorns with fellow fans Tracy , The Blot , and Kirstyn .  My love of beer is another thing discussed, quite often, with Aric , Cody , Grant , Adrian , and many others.  Writing is another passion of mine and I have met a great writing buddy in Daniel , plus I can always find someone on Twitter to critique my work, like Joe , if needed.

Of course I have not just met friends from Twitter in NYC but I’ve also made many friends with local Winnipeg Twitter folk.  And good friends too, ones that I see, or at least talk to, on pretty much a weekly basis, like Alyson , Tyrone , Adrian , Rhonda , Nicole , Cody , and Grant .  There are many others who I see quite a bit too, in Winnipeg, that I met through Twitter as well.

Not only have I made friends on Twitter, but I have also convinced good friends to become addicted to Twitter after making fun of me for being on it.  Looking in your direction specifically Kevin !

Good friends aside, I met a wonderful woman on Twitter, who I went to meet thinking she would just become another Twitter friend.  She is now my girlfriend (UPDATE: now ex).  I never thought that would happen, but now I have Daniella in my life, and she is awesome.

Twitter is good for making friends but it is also good for gaining some free swag!  Over the years I have won a nice Texas Longhorns hoodie (thank you U of T !), a couple of sets of concert tickets, Fringe Festival tickets (thank you Zack !), and most recently, some free beer (thank you Luxalune !)!

It also has helped me solve a few cell phone problems instead of calling the customer support I just message @TelusSupport .  Posting a question, like which restaurant to eat at (or something Google could answer for you), usually gets a few answers for you while on the go.  I take advantage of this quite often actually.

So tell me Twitter is not awesome.  I dare you!

Colin can be found wasting time, making friends, and discussing nonsense on Twitter at @cenquist .

Fantasy Football Advice 2011

Advice you will probably ignore

It is about that time.  Pull out your draft sheets, bring up espn.com , crack a beer (or two), open a bag of munchies, and begin preparation for your fantasy football team.  This year would mark my 11 ^th year playing fantasy football… or at least it would if I did not decide to back out of all my leagues.

Say what?!

Yes that is correct, for the first time in forever (re: 10 years) I will not have a fantasy football team.  Many factors contributed to me pulling out of the 3 leagues I am normally in.  The main reason is because I take it too seriously and figuring that the amount of time I devote to fantasy football should be focused on my schoolwork instead.

Of course that does not mean I have stepped away from fantasy football completely.  I have already helped one friend with a draft and am giving a few others advice on their upcoming drafts.  So I figured I should share my knowledge, that some think I don’t actually have, with you, if you want it.

With the first overall selection, if you are (un)lucky enough to get that pick, you should take Adrian Peterson from the Minnesota Vikings .  Yes I may be a little biased here but there is a reason I would select him other then the fact that I cheer for the purple.  Although Peterson may not have as many highlight reel runs like Chris Johnson or Jamaal Charles (who should go 2 and 3 respectively), he is a beast and gets the job done.  Hopefully the new coach will use Peterson more effectively then Brad Childress ever did.  The only worry is that Peterson will see 8 men in the box every play as the Vikings will be rolling out a rookie QB or a veteran who is coming off a terrible year.  A plus to this is that he will see the ball a lot, and his back ups are a hampered with small injuries currently so his workload at the beginning of the year could be huge.

A fantasy favourite of mine, and a staple on my teams, is a first overall talent that you can get later in the first and sometimes second round. Michael Turner from the Atlanta Falcons .  I may have a man crush on him but that is because I love watching him run.  With the Falcons offense improving once again, with the addition of Julio Jones (who you should keep an eye on as well), this year Turner should be a force for any fantasy team.

Now if you are very confident in your draft already, and have stockpiled at least 3 wide receivers you may take a chance on Steve Smith .  This former New York Giants stand out had major reconstructive knee surgery, which will keep him from being at 100% at the beginning of the season.  A negative, once he is healthy, is that the Philadelphia Eagles already have a stellar receiving corps so Smith will have to share the ball.  But he is one DeSean Jackson or Jeremy Maclin injury away from putting up top tier numbers.

With Steve Smith jettisoning the Giants, his spot is open for Mario Manningham to take.  If he steps up, with his speed and talent, his fantasy numbers could be similar to DeSean Jackson’s.

Now most of my friends like to point out, and laugh, that I pick 6 RBs in the first 10-12 rounds every year.  Honestly though, this is the year of the RB.  I would call you an idiot for not taking 6.  With the lockout and shortened training camps QBs and WRs are taking longer to get on the same page and offensive linemen won’t be as attuned to picking up the stunts and blitzes thrown at them early on, leaving the door wide open for the RBs to take over.  Don’t be afraid to handcuff the backup RB to your starter early if they are splitting carries 60/40.  With the many rookie QBs and QBs who switched to a new system now is the time to grab as many RBs as possible.

My fantasy football advice may, or may not lead you to the promised land of playoffs or a fantasy football championship, as the advice is a little light and I only directed you towards 4 players.  If you manage to draft right and select these 4 players while winning your league, feel free to thank me.  Even though it is not necessary.

And please make sure to comment on how you think I am wrong.

Alexander Keith’s Black & Tan

The cheapest black and tan you can make?

Beer : Alexander Keith’s Dark Ale & Premium White

Brewery : Alexander Keith’s

Brewed In : Nova Scotia, Canada

Style : Black & Tan

ABV : 4.3% & 5%

Price : ‘twas a gift so unsure actually

Notes : Year round availability in cans, bottles and also on tap.

Story : This was a Christmas gift.

Appearance : A head that is quite prominent due to the pouring of a black and tan.  It disappeared rather quickly though.  Beer was dark brown on the top and a milky yellow on the bottom.

Smell :  Not much to it.  When the head was still there I barely could smell a thing.  After it vanished I could get a hint on the chocolate notes from the Dark Ale.

Taste : The chocolate that was in the nose comes out in the Dark Ale a bit more but it still does not have much flavour to it.  When I got to the Premium White a little bit of a spice came out, it was much stronger than the chocolate in the Dark Ale.

Mouthfeel :  Lots of carbonation and has a very thin body.

Drinkability :  I enjoy most black and tans.  Not sure about this one as the first one tasted okay and was refreshing but did not bring much flavour.  My problem was the second one, where the sediment from the Premium White settled at the bottom of my glass.  It was quite disgusting looking.  Normally I have no problem with sediment in my beer but these were big chunks that sank to the bottom of the beer.  This is maybe a black and tan for camping and getting drunk off of.  You know, those times where flavour takes a back seat, and you won’t notice the hunks of sediment at the bottom of the glass.