Beer: Shipyard - Smashed Pumpkin Ale

Appearance: Lovely. I was sipping this while scanning the limited vista from my little wooden balcony. The trees are changing color bringing vibrant shades of yellow and orange where there was only green. I wish the season lasted longer, but the reality is that the color in a leaf signifies death and the resulting decay is swift. Of course that fleeting interval provides a certain delicate character. I'm babbling, but the colors are lovely and this beer, as vibrant as it is, fits perfectly with the swift decay of the season, fleeting in a similar way because it was greedily consumed. Picture deep, radiant orange with a fine, fluffy, off-white head which didn't stick around for long leaving a bit of lacing, not much, but enough to remark upon.

Aroma: Compared to the last pumpkin ale reviewed, this is a great improvement. Big pumpkin flesh with nutmeg and that noticeable heft from a beer of relatively high ABV. 

Taste: I might subtract a point for what this beer forgets and that is quite simply that it is a beer. There isn't much bitterness and there isn't much malt in the background, there is only pumpkin and spice and the warming, smothering alcohol. But, it pains me to do so because even though it doesn't have the subtlety of other pumpkin beers, it does bring the pumpkin in troves. This is a beer for people who miss the taste of pumpkin pie, although don't expect it to satisfy completely. You'll still need a fresh slice along with this to be sated completely. A dollop of whipped cream wouldn't hurt either.

Mouthfeel: As mentioned before, the alcohol makes itself known, 9% is quite a bit, but it doesn't overwhelm. I was surprised by how smooth this is, very drinkable, not at all cloying. If it weren't so expensive I would want to enjoy more of it, but I'd rather save my money for the sake of variety.

Overall: I really liked it. The dogfish offering was a subtle work of art, true to it's roots as a brown ale with pumpkin. This takes a step away from tradition and offers something else, lush pumpkin smothered in molasses sprinkled with sweet autumn spices. 

4/5

Beer: Dogfish Head - Punkin

It's fall. Summer is over. I think that usually makes me a little bit hesitant, as if there's some sort of loss to deal with. I don't feel that way this year. The only emotion I'm feeling about the idea of fall is excitement. I feel prepared. I know what fall is about, I know I look good in a sweater, I know the pumpkin beers just showed up on my distributor's shelves. So let's get to it. Let's review some pumpkin beers and embrace the change of seasons.

Appearance: Pours a light, orangey, amber with a course white head which dissipates quickly. There is some cloudiness which I expect from a nice Dogfish ale. Just looking at this beer is a delight, exactly what my imagination would dream up when given the task of picturing a pumpkin ale. Lacing is minimal as the level descends but it is there.

Aroma: I hate to mention my first criticism this early on, but I think aroma is the one weakness of this brew. There just isn't much of it. I get some nutmeg, some pumpkin flesh nuances, but it's very subtle and I just wish it was a little fuller, warmer, a little more welcoming.

Taste: This is a delicious beer. I just want to get that out of the way. Dogfish can really do no wrong with me. everything I've had from them is so solid from their production staples to limited releases. This is no exception. Big, fresh, buttery, pumpkin balanced out with a nice dose of nutmeg and cinnamon. But, I don't want you to think this is just a gimmick pumpkin beer. This is still very much a brown ale, the malt provides the backdrop, the structure, while the unique, exciting flavors dance in the foreground.

Mouthfeel: Amazingly well designed. This is 7% abv which seems on the high side for a brown, but you wouldn't know it unless you looked at the bottle. There is a fresh effervescent character to this, slightly like club soda, that cuts right through the alcohol and presents these deep, buttery, spicy flavors with a certain finesse that is so welcome.

Overall: Seasonal beers are special for me. When I walk into a distributor, sometimes I'm overwhelmed with the options, all the bottles screaming for my attention, the nice guy working the register passively watching as I pace the isles. I try to seem like I know a thing or two, but really, I'm 28 and there are so many great beers out there. A seasonal offering helps me with the choice. Seeing a beer I haven't seen in 9 months is exciting, it creates a sense of anticipation, a sense of excitement greater than just getting what I normally get or getting something I've never gotten which may very well be no good. I know Dogfish is great. I know Punkin will be at my distro come end of September, and I know I'll really enjoy it. For a guy like me who battles with the task of creating enough enjoyment in their life, it's so nice to know all that and be able to pick up a six pack.

4/5

Book: Ringworld by Larry Niven

This is another book featured in all of the "Best Sci-Fi Books EVVARRRR!" lists. At the time of publication it was an introduction to the concept of a Dyson Ring, which is something I was interested in long before I knew this book existed. The concept is fairly simple, and for those not in the know I'll attempt to describe it. There is a zone around any given star known as the Goldilocks zone. We're in it right now. It's a variable band around a star where if a planet exists and if the planet has water on it, the water is going to be in liquid form. We call it the Goldilocks zone because it's a "just right" environment for organic molecules to form and eventually turn into life. That's what happened here and that's why scientists are more interested in planets in the Goldilocks zones around their respective stars than other planets. These planets might actually have life on them or could at least be a potential habitat for us once we destroy this lovely planet. Now given any modern society with a reproductive rate faster than its death rate, two major problems present themselves: habitat scarcity and energy scarcity.

The perfect solution to this problem is the concept of a Dyson Sphere. A Dyson Sphere is a gigantic structure that completely encapsulates a star. The entire region inside the shell of the sphere is potential habitat because the Sphere would be built in the Goldilocks zone. And since the star is completely encapsulated, every photon of energy emitted by the star would be captured by the inside of the sphere. So you have a whole lot of space with a whole lot of energy to sustain a civilization for a very long time. But, the sphere has a problem. There is no possible rotation of the sphere which would provide uniform gravity for all regions of the inner shell. To address this problem Larry Niven came along and came up with a similar and slightly more feasible structure, the Dyson Ring. A Dyson Ring is a thin band around a star in the Goldilocks zone with a normal rotation which could provide uniform gravity for all regions on the inside of the ring. The ring would obviously have less space than a sphere, but we're still talking about a land mass millions of times more vast than that of a planet.

This is a brilliant idea and it provides for the setting of the book Ringworld. Now, I'll start my review of the book with a very simple observation. Niven is a really smart guy and within this book there are several really fascinating technological concepts which may very well show up in the distant future. For that alone, Niven gets a few gold stars, but that doesn't mean the book is perfect, there are certainly flaws. Some are forgivable: occasional clunky description leading to confusion, character quirks with no other purpose than to provide for conflicts, and conflict resolutions that seemed a little too convenient. There was one flaw, however, which for me, was unforgivable and I'll provide an excerpt from the book as an example:

"Seeker stood at bay with his black iron sword. Three men were down before him, and others stood back, and the sword dripped. Seeker was a dangerous, skillful swordsmen. The natives knew about swords. Teela stood behind him, safe for the moment in the ring of fighting, looking worried, like a good heroine."

Let me repeat that for the people in the cheap seats, "Safe for the moment, looking worried, like a good heroine."

This is really hard for me to read in a book about the future from a supposedly forward thinking guy and this isn't the only absurdly sexist detail in the book. Teela's entire character is ridiculously constructed to form the ultimate sexist stereotype. She's physically weak, weak-willed, temperamental, moody, and is used primarily throughout the novel as the protagonist's sex toy. I can see a handful of people making the argument that this isn't an example of sexism, this is just dumb luck for Niven to pick out a character that best fills a void in his narrative. He needed Teela to be weak because the other characters were strong and there needs to be balance somewhere. Nope, wrong, the only other female in the novel was equally as absurd. Her name was Prill, and her one skill was being really good at sex, manipulating men not through reasonable argument or passionate presentation, but because she had a reasonably comfortable hole. Prill eventually became the protagonist's new sex toy after Teela was traded out. And, one last example just in case you're not convinced. The females of the other two alien species featured in the novel were non-sentient.

This costs you points Niven. No matter how much I wanted to keep turning the pages and no matter how fascinated I was with some of your ideas about speculative technology, I can't recommend this book to anyone because I can't support the objectification of women.

2/5

Beer: Evil Twin - Imperial Biscotti Break

Appearance: When I started pouring this one I knew it was going to have to be vigorous with a capital V to get any amount of head and even then it was minimal. I won't count this against the beer though because Imperial stouts are just too heavy to have much carbonation. Lacing was also nonexistent but while you take a sip you can see that slight head stick to the glass like frothy honey. Needless to say, this beer was impervious to light, it might have even devoured the occasional careless ray with greedy malice.

Aroma: Deep, dark sweetness, like smelling a cup of coffee with gobs of cream and sugar. Strong notes of vanilla are present and I can't help but frame this beverage as a dessert before I even rest my lips against the glass.

Taste: It's like drinking chocolate cake, like letting a pint of B&J fudge brownie with a pint of Haagen Dazs vanilla bean melt down and then chugging it. This is beyond dessert, this is the epitome of indulgence, this is guilty pleasure manifested. And all of that depth reveals itself gradually, transforming from fore to aftertaste with grace and patience. The resolution attempts to be bitter but doesn't quite succeed. Again, for this style, I don't expect there to be much bitterness, I expect to be drowned in molasses, which is exactly what happened.

Mouthfeel: Thick, creamy, syrup. This is a massive beer reminiscent of a dying star. The alcohol is 11.5% so get ready to live with a mildly bitter chocolate palate while you tie in a nice strong buzz. I had this at 2 in the afternoon so I'm left with the decision of either embracing a drunk Saturday with another brew or falling from the heights of imperial bliss. You are free to assume which path I chose.

Overall: I'll be honest. There's no reason to have this beer mid-day other than to resolve a recent breakup or other similar let down. This is a beer of selfish indulgence, of self-destructive hedonism, of reckless abandon, which is just what I needed. Another girl is gone, another experience is learned, and for all the pain it caused, this is the antidote. I paired it with a maduro cigar and I'd strongly recommend the same to anyone else. The deep flavors of sweetness are complemented by the earthy pepper of a decent maduro perfectly.

5/5