Is there anybody out there....

Has anyone seen Virtual Stina?

Second First day of winter

Getting ready for a big snow day. Heading off to the grocery store right now to get sundries for my weekend alone.

B.P.A.: New England Atlantic Amber

Comes in a can, but has taste a bit better than you'd expect. Pours out nicely. Looks like a beer should look--not too much head, not too light. The hops are there and it finishes nice and crisp. Decent malt flavor, but not sweet. That said, there isn't much in the way of heft: a little too thin for my liking. I could drink a few more of these and have a pleasant evening. I wouldn't buy a bunch for the weekend, but I wouldn't kick it out of bed, either.

Taste: 5
Mouthfeel: 4
Color: 5
Drinkability: 5

Overall: 4.75 ish

Early Says: "Brown Party Liquor this is not. A good driving companion or drink for your womans. WHoo!"

B.P.A. 1: Rules and Regulations

I know what you're thinking: There has got to be some sort of guideline for the rating system you plan to use for the B.P.A. You are right. And since I did absolutely no research into existing beer rating systems, I was unable to find any pre-existing rules and therefore have created my own.

So, her goes:

Basic presumption-- scale of 1 to 10

1 is water, 10 is Nectar of the Gods

For a frame of reference: Korbinian will be a 9. So a ten will have to be just plain awesome...

Taste: I'm looking for a flavor that fits the description and follows some loose guidelines for maltiness and hops

Mouthfeel: Is i thick when it should be, and carbonated when it should be?

Color: Or namely how it appears in the glass

Drinkablility: Could I have a handful or do I want to pour it out.

With all that being said, I will add this: It's my rating, so deal with it! Yo may have a different opinion, so share it!

Oh yeah, my boy Early will be helping out with some wit and wisdom along the way. You'll like him. He's a no bull-shit type guy.

Introducing: Ashford Living B.P.A.

I've noticed recently that there is a bona-fied shortage of blogs about beer that I want to read. And any business school will tell you that if you notice a need in the market, you've got a great business idea. That's right: while all you people were sleeping at the switch, I went ahead and put together my business plan and secured funding from my wallet to create the latest and greatest in beer critique interactive technology.

Introducing: Ashford Living B.P.A

The B.P.A. stands for Beer Point Average, or my personal rating of the Taste, Mouth Feel, Color, and Drinkability on a scale of 1-10. I'll then average the 4 scores (if I can still do math after "tasting" the beers) and give the final reading.

Plan on Installment #1 this evening. Please do comment and make suggestions as to which beers I should try. This is a Blog people. If I wanted to do this alone, I'd be tweeting the scores.

Lets have fun with this. Lord knows I will!

I love Fish Tacos

Doesn't this look great!

Getting the TARP Monkey off your back

Bank of America (full disclosure: My money goes there via direct deposit) has decided to repay its TARP money as soon as possible. I can't blame them.

They have been hoarding cash reserves and issuing additional securities in order to raise the capital needed to get the Pay Czar and the House Finance Committee from meddling in its compensation plans.

How's that working out for the economy?