Blog Feed: Outsider's Almanac

Powerlining

Published on 2012-04-28 16:28:30

When I was a kid living in Sothern Illinois, I had a line in the water if I could. Being young and boatless, shore fishing was our only option. Preparation then sitting and waiting was the game. It’s a tranquil business tight lining for catfish.  Skip ahead many years and many miles,  I found myself living in Chicago [...] > read more

ROA in Chicago

Published on 2012-04-16 10:55:03

A few months ago I posted a photo of some street art I came across over by the Fulton Market while on a run to get some propane for brewing. I was struck by the piece’s scale, but I was also taken aback by what seemed a kind of mocking, mischeivousness that animated the death [...] > read more

Uganda Skate Union

Published on 2012-04-11 08:20:16

Times are hard right now for first world fat heads. I joked recently that back in ye olde middle ’90s, when I was living on a steady diet of TVP and LSD, reading Terrance McKenna’s “Invisible Landscape” for the first time, and sitting around with my friends, like a puddle of stoned poodles, running on [...] > read more

Poke, Musubi & the Committee for Safety

Published on 2012-03-28 14:16:32

I just got back from a week in southern Kaua’i. Like all vacations, the time was too short, and now I want to move there. A week living amongst people who stab away their days in the slow, tropical pulse of the south pacific rim makes me wonder how and why I managed to find [...] > read more

Chicago’s Pipeworks Brewing Company’s “End of Days” Is About Fucking Perfect

Published on 2012-03-16 10:53:40

I had the chance to try Pipeworks second effort last night, the End of Days milk stout. Made with ancho chilies, cinnamon and cocoa nibbs, End of Days delivers a beer that doesn’t stumble over any one ingredient, but elevates into a synergistic whole greater than any of it’s parts. I couldn’t be happier to [...] > read more

Tasty 15 Minute Marinade for Chicken

Published on 2012-03-15 07:35:16

Made this last night and it worked to make a hunk of protein have flavor. The swiss and chedder cheese and the strip of bacon I put on top helped too, but, in a pinch, this gave my chicken breast some flavor before putting it on the grill. I fried some brioche in lard on [...] > read more

Stillwater Holland Oats Release @ Bottom Lounge Tomorrow

Published on 2012-03-12 11:48:43

I know I admitted to my first full-fledged mancrush on Damon Zex a few weeks ago, but I may be developing another on Brian Strumke from Stillwater Artisanal Ales. I tried his Folklore on Friday for the first time and it immediately turned me into a quivering puddle of little girlness, pigtails and all. I’ve [...] > read more

March 12th @ St. Paul’s Church – Help Keep the Arts In Wicker Park!!!

Published on 2012-02-29 11:20:46

Please come to a meeting at St. Paul’s Church on North Avenue to support the Near Northwest Arts Council (NNWAC) on March 12th at 7pm. The NNWAC is being pushed out of their building by a super shady “religious” organization with a long track record of activities typically associated with cults. And no, not the [...] > read more

West Lakeview Liquors Is Why I Love Chicago

Published on 2012-02-28 11:15:07

This past Sunday West Lakeview Liquors hosted Jérôme Rebetez from BFM to tap and pour a wood cask of his 2010 Abbaye de St. bon Chien. As always WLV played the expert host, not only pouring the bon Chien, but also a Terrapin collaboration barley “ryne”, as well as BFMs entire bottle portfolio. There was [...] > read more

It’s My Wife’s Birthday Today, So We Decided To Eat

Published on 2012-02-22 14:06:16

This past weekend was great, friends came into town and we drank, and we cooked, and we ate and we drank some more. On Monday, the party continued when some Family came into town and I cooked some more and we drank and we ate. This morning… I cooked and we ate. I haven’t started [...] > read more

Feb. 24, Somebody Get Me King David

Published on 2012-02-16 13:37:31

There’s two events on February 24th that I’m willing to publicly wet my pants over. I’m not entirely sure that that is necessary, but I like to give this whole ritual-of-self-abuse-thing 110%. First off you’ve got SmallBar Fullerton with their 2 year anniversary party hosting an evening of sour beers. Their tap list includes some [...] > read more

Controlling Temperature in Home Brew

Published on 2012-02-13 12:12:57

Anybody can brew beer, but it can be like handling plutonium to create great beer that is repeatable. Your two greatest allies in that pursuit are time and temperature. Giving the beer the time it needs to fully bloom is essential, and something that took a lot – and I mean a lot – of [...] > read more

My Two Favorite Beer Books

Published on 2012-02-02 11:57:15

I love making beer, truly I do. If ever there was a way – perhaps a reality-augmenting piece of stainless machinery – that would allow me to curl up close with my beer making and kind of snuzzle my junk up and down on it’s leg all the time, i would totally be in to [...] > read more

Duck Fat Biscuits & Boar Sausage Gravy…

Published on 2012-01-29 10:11:00

“I have seen the face freedom and eaten it.” – Eldridge Cleaver after schtupping Pat Nixon. My nephew gave me some sausage he had left over from a boar he shot a few weeks ago. I wanted to do right by it. This morning I cooked up a variation of my biscuits and gravy recipe. [...] > read more

This Makes Me Smile

Published on 2012-01-18 12:30:23

> read more

My Encounter With At Least 2 Robert Anton Wilsons

Published on 2012-01-14 00:17:33

Boingboing has been running some great pieces on Robert Anton Wilson in honor of the 5th anniversary of his death on 1/11/2007. It’s been fun reading the likes of Ken Goffman and Paul Krassner reflect on Wilson, explaining why he’s so important to them. It’s all made me uncomfortably nostalgic and forlorn. My personal interaction [...] > read more

Merry Christmas, Fatsos.

Published on 2011-12-25 09:30:52

Eliminate all human sorrows. Activate joy, stat. > read more

Crack Infused Waffles

Published on 2011-12-09 09:19:06

My eminently tasteful wife picked me up a Waring waffle iron for my birthday a few weeks ago. Since that time I’ve been on a bit of a waffle bender trying to get the recipe right, marrying the perfect amounts of crunchy outside with light and fluffy inside. This morning my face found the philosopher’s [...] > read more

Awesome and Easy Pate

Published on 2011-12-05 23:12:06

This is a totally simple and tasty recipe for a liver pate that I snagged out of Cook’s Illustrated. It calls for chicken liver, but I made this with goose liver’s from Gephardt’s last time. For our annual Christmas party this weekend I’m making it from beef liver. I’ve not used beef liver before and [...] > read more

New Chef at Chief O’Neill’s

Published on 2011-12-05 14:45:46

A co-worker just hit me up with the news that Alan Lake is going to be the new chef at Chief O’Neil’s. About two days ago, Lake told me he took the full-time chef position at O’Neill’s. What cinched the deal for him, he said, was his experience at the famous Shelbourne in Ireland, where [...] > read more

Don’t Do It In the Park

Published on 2011-06-27 17:47:19

Thanks Jade!! > read more

Go Skate Kabul Day

Published on 2011-06-23 08:43:16

On Tuesday, the longest day of the year, over 180 kids in Kabul got together in the park to be… kids. Go Skateboarding Day is an international holiday meant to celebrate the great sport of, you guessed it, skateboarding. It’s celebrated h > read more

Donate Can Goods & Get Free Beer @ the Publican, Saturday June 25

Published on 2011-06-21 14:46:59

It’s rare to be able to combine a good deed with a good beer, why not jump on this opportunity? This Saturday, June 25, the Publican restaurant in Chicago hosts a food drive of canned and non-perishable food donations from the public for the Gr > read more

Support Neighborhood Bikeways Campaign in Chicago

Published on 2011-06-16 12:27:15

The Chicago Neighborhood Bikeway Campaign is working hard to make Chicago safer for bicyclists with over 100 miles of protected bike paths throughout the city by 2015. The first of these, on Kinzie, will be going in soon. For me, I like riding in the > read more

Stone Gets Your Goat Tuesday June 21 @ 7p

Published on 2011-06-16 11:10:05

The Summer Solstice is making its way across our eliptical paths and any self-respecting evil doer will want to celebrate this passage by indulging themselves in the ritual slaying and consuming of a horned goat on this, our longest day of the year. > read more

Lagunitas Zephyr, Stone Dinner & Logan Square Free Concerts

Published on 2011-06-15 12:05:44

I’m so bloody tired all the time lately it’s driving me up a slippery wall. I’ve had to learn the hard way that, despite my doctor’s recommendations, I apparently can’t replace a 6 hour R.E.M. cycle with pure amphetamine > read more

Goose Island may sell beer & wine at Pritzker Pavilion concerts

Published on 2011-06-07 16:19:06

Just saw this article on the Trib’s blog, and was nearly very angry at Goose Island and the city for fouling up something that’s been as much fun as I can remember having at a free event in this city. Luckily I read all the way through an > read more

More Info On Possible Chicago 24-Hour Skate Park

Published on 2011-06-07 11:33:18

Ever since Daley was cited in an article a few weeks ago bragging about an 24-hour, indoor skate park at 16th & Clark I’ve been trying to find out more information on this project and just who to badger in order to see that this goes throu > read more

Chicago’s first protected bicycle lane to be installed on Kinzie Street

Published on 2011-06-06 08:07:41

Chicago’s first protected bicycle lane to be installed on Kinzie Street Cycle tracks separate bicyclists from motor vehicle traffic typically by using a divider such as a construction barrier, a concrete planter box or a raised median placed to > read more

Evil Twin & Mikkeller: Yin & Yang Release Night @ Bavarian Lodge

Published on 2011-06-01 15:16:32

Thank filthy Jesus that Chicago Craft Beer Week is over. It was great and full of great beer, but my aging corpus can’t take an 8 day bender like it used to. But, it was awesome. Certainly, one of the best parts for me was breaking from my well > read more

Weekend of Spontaneous Fermentation

Published on 2011-05-27 15:52:46

While that fat & the furious here stateside slug away at Chicago Craft Beer week, the truly ambitious won’t stop when the lights go dark this Friday at Revolution. No, the truly alcohol addicted will find it within themselves to hop over o > read more

Halfway Through Craft Beer Week

Published on 2011-05-25 17:06:52

Chicago’s Craft Beer Week has been pretty remarkable so far. The whole week, starting last Friday, has felt like an extended vacation right here in my own back yard. The Half Acre/3 Floyd’s/Dogfish Head party on Friday was great. Maria > read more

Bill Dance – Fisherman, Funnyman, Everyman

Published on 2011-05-25 15:20:20

Now that summer is here, kind of, and I’ve had a chance to take a few casts I am reinvigorated by the opportunity to get some fishing in.  But not only that, I am also reinvigorated by the existence of all things hilarious.  It’s as if > read more

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy @ Pritzker Pavillion Reviewed

Published on 2011-05-24 16:16:14

The title of this post is a bit misleading since I’m not really trying to review the show from last night, but more just revel in it’s total bounty a little bit more. I don’t go to rock shows, or otherwise, to attain some kind of bu > read more

Donate to Help “Beer Hunter: The Movie” Get Released

Published on 2011-05-23 13:31:30

You can help with the release of Beer Hunter: The Movie, a documentary on the late Michael Jackson, photographed by his friend and co-conspirator J.R. Richards. Through this rare visual record we are treated to an intimate picture of Michael, startin > read more

Details on the Half Acre & 3 Floyd’s Event Tomorrow

Published on 2011-05-19 14:28:19

Today marks the first official day of Chicago’s celebration of Craft Beer Week which kicks off with the Beer Under Glass event at Chicago’s beautiful Garfield Park. I’ve already detailed what I feel are some of the more interesting > read more

2010 Pro-Tec Pool Party Masters Session

Published on 2011-05-18 15:34:58

The old guys are still leading the way. > read more

2 More Chicago Craft Beer Week Events I Somehow Overlooked Previously

Published on 2011-05-17 13:31:58

The Beer boner is fully engaged for this coming Chicago Craft Beer week. Watch your eyes, people! MAY 26 UINTA Night @ Maria’s – This unfortunately compete’s with the Death & Double Deuces at the Logan Small Bar, but I guess I& > read more

Chocolate Bacon Stout Cupcake Recipe

Published on 2011-05-15 14:28:05

The weather in Chicago has continued it’s schizophrenic pageantry of bullshit pulling us back from the premature summer of barbecues and late evening sunsets of last week into the mid-spring deluge of cold winds and water that seem to persist w > read more

Wenlock Arms Possibly Closing?

Published on 2011-05-13 06:25:49

Much to my – and many others – dismay, it appears London’s finest pub might be under threat of not only shutting down, but being bulldozed and turned into living quarters. The Wenlock Arms is a hidden gem in a city who takes it̵ > read more

Old Skate Photos from Venice Beach in the late 1970′s

Published on 2011-05-12 13:47:52

I got turned onto these photos from Richard Metzger’s “Dangerous Minds” blog. It’s a collection of skate and surf photos from southern California in the late 70s. These photos, more so than anything else I’ve seen, captu > read more

Add This to my Craft Beer Week Tutelage

Published on 2011-05-11 14:25:06

I hear-tell that the Zombie Dust is pretty bonkers. But is it as bonkers as it’s namesake? Coke and triazolam? Yowser. > read more

The Mint Julep

Published on 2011-05-09 16:54:03

As predicted Saturday was another in a long string of money losing days in my career as a thoroughbred handicapper. Luckily there were Mint Juleps aplenty to soothe my battered soul and wallet. Here, described in beautiful poetry by a pros pro, Chris > read more

My Chicago Craft Beer Week Marathon Schedule

Published on 2011-05-09 13:00:24

Here’s all the events I’m planning on hitting for Chicago Craft Beer Week. I am very excited for this. My liver, on the other hand, is trying desperately to back away from me. MAY 19 Firestone Walker Guest Tap Take Over (Revolution) ̵ > read more

The Kentucky Derby is Decadent, Depraved and Wonderful

Published on 2011-05-06 20:47:41

Well friends, tomorrow it comes around again, the most exciting 2:00 minutes in sports and I am ready to lose some money. This year however I won’t be losing it quite as blindly, gone are the days of betting on funny names and pretty colors. Th > read more

Chicago to Get 24 Hour Indoor Skate Park!!

Published on 2011-05-06 02:03:58

Think of how many cubes can be gleamed in this totally free, indoor skate park! “I’m very, very happy with that. It’s right on the corner of 16th and Clark. It’s gonna be an indoor park and it’s gonna be fabulous for skateboarders. Really, > read more

Half Acre’s Craft Beer Week Schedule

Published on 2011-05-04 16:34:06

It looks like those snaggle-toothed, yellow-eyed, feral wizard-beasts over at Half Acre will be providing more than one opportunity during Chicago’s Craft Beer Week to misplace your car, your dignity, your job and your hopes of leading a life o > read more

Render Me Some Lard, Bubba!

Published on 2011-05-04 13:26:28

I got this goofy new puppy the other day and everything I’m reading insists that she’s gonna love some bacon and cottage cheese in her food. Clearly a girl after my own heart. I had a good amount of back fat just sitting pretty in my free > read more

Great Vienna Sausage Recipe

Published on 2011-05-03 12:20:04

I’ve been experimenting with a bunch of different sausages. My favorite as of late are these Vienna sausages. Tender and plenty juicy and flavorful, when you put these on the grill and crisp up the natural casings they have that mandatory snap > read more

“Wild Brews” Author at Brew & Grow May 14th!

Published on 2011-05-02 12:48:54

Jeff Sparrow, author of the one of the few great books on lambics and lambic brewing, “Wild Brews”, will be at Brew & Grow for a 5 hour session on Saturday May 14th starting around noon. I’m assuming from the time frame that he > read more

Schlenkerla Cask Tapping TONIGHT @ Bavarian Lodge

Published on 2011-04-28 10:44:01

I don’t think I’m gonna be able to make it to the Bavarian Lodge tonight, but this sounds fantastic. Join us for a very special tapping of a traditional wooden gravity-fed cask of Aecht Schlenkerla Fastenbier from Bamberg, Germany! Dark h > read more

Swedish Potato Sausage & the Virtue of the Accident

Published on 2011-04-25 12:59:56

I had a down right lovely Friday evening of drinking Arrogant Bastard on tap, cooking and hanging with friends before the rest of my weekend disappeared into the black hole of pagan fertility rites beat senseless by decidedly non-pagan white people a > read more

Playing the Ponies

Published on 2011-04-21 17:39:48

Spring is here, kind of, and along with the cold temperatures, persistent showers and bad baseball comes along one of my favorite ways to lose money. The Kentucky Derby, or Run for The Roses if you prefer, will commence in just sixteen days from now > read more

Interval Training in the NYT

Published on 2011-04-20 07:37:09

Seattle Doug (the other Seattle Doug) has been pushing me hard on this Interval Training notion as of late. And Matt’s been experimenting with it as well. But the program Matt posted a few weeks ago was too brain bending and turned me off to tr > read more

It was 68 Years Ago Today

Published on 2011-04-19 08:07:00

Bicycles are great for so many things. These low impact, meandering expressions of self-sustainability are not only the most elegant way to travel between destinations – offering exercise and a mercurial posture – they also offer a chance > read more

Carving a Pool on a Longboard

Published on 2011-04-18 15:41:45

Despite the snow we woke up to this morning, Dawn Patrol at Wilson is close enough to smell the homeless suburban skate rats sleeping in the bottom of the blood bowl. If the stench of parentless delinquents and fresh blood caked on pavement isn’ > read more

U.S. Meat Contaminated with Resistant Bacteria

Published on 2011-04-15 12:32:22

In more, isn’t the world sick of being a bummer all the time news: Meat in the U.S. may be widely contaminated with strains of drug-resistant bacteria, researchers reported Friday. Nearly half of all meat and poultry sampled in a new study cont > read more

Illinois Small Brewers’ Right to Self-Distribute Their Beer Imperiled

Published on 2011-04-15 11:42:33

The Illinois Craft Brewers Guild has requested that beer enthusiasts take action to oppose legislation detrimental to the state’s small brewers and beer consumers. Please read the following information provided by the Illinois Craft Brewers Gui > read more

Jam Econo with Watt

Published on 2011-04-13 17:34:55

Mike Watt is a legend, a hero of rock, a bad mother fucker who has spent the last 30 some odd years roaming the world, bass in hand and cutting this country apart in his Econo line van. Would that I could say I had seen him play back in the day with > read more

De Struise Brouwers at West Lakeview Liquors May 2, 2:30PM

Published on 2011-04-13 16:27:40

Nerds across Chicago are wetting their pants from the news that De Struise Brouwers will be making their way to the city that works (and eats. And drinks. A lot.). They’ve actually got a pretty intense week of activities planned while their sta > read more

Rich, Unemployed Guy Acts Like a Dick

Published on 2011-04-12 12:53:40

It’s not like I’ve never done anything that warranted me apologizing profusely to bartender and friends alike, but I just wanted to take this opportunity to point out that when Goose Island’s soon to be ex-Brewmaster Greg Hall pisse > read more

Hated Skateboards “Fuck Life” Video

Published on 2011-04-12 11:53:39

If you missed the premiere for Hated Skateboards new video “Fuck Life”… you missed an evening of cheap beer and generally good-natured knuckleheadedness. However, you did not miss the video itself, you lucky such and such. Here it i > read more

Sazerac

Published on 2011-04-07 16:28:09

I, as has been previously discussed here at OA, am a huge fan of The Old Fashioned. Last weekend while dining at a new local Gastropub Owen and Engine, the bar keep suggested my friends and I switch it up a bit and try a Sazerac. We did and the resul > read more

Quaked – Skating Christchurch After Earthquake

Published on 2011-04-07 08:16:27

> read more

Hated Skateboards @ the Hideout, Sunday 4/10 8pm

Published on 2011-04-06 06:33:39

Chicago’s Hated Skateboards presents a night of Beer, skateboarding, free stuff, and beer. Rounding out its second year, Hated Skates proudly unveils it’s cinematic masterpiece “Fuck Life.” The company will also be unveiling i > read more

Longboarding in Seattle

Published on 2011-04-05 09:22:23

And now a word from our Seattle correspondent, senor Doug Mathias: I had once met an older kid, this was back in the middle 1980’s, who was riding his longboard, the first I ever saw, down a back alley in Rochester, Michigan. It was the only steep > read more

Baphomet @ Revolution!

Published on 2011-04-03 19:39:20

After spending a wonderful Saturday in LaSalle, IL watching author James Kennedy read from his endlessly rich and wonderfully hilarious YA book Order of Odd-Fish we had to rush back to Chicago so my wife could assist in the birth of her friend’ > read more

Sign Petition to get Marty Stouffer To Chicago for Half Acre Release

Published on 2011-04-01 04:42:54

I’m sure that being the finely attuned alcoholics that you are that you’ve been waiting on baited breath for those fine, furry beasts over at Half Acre to release their Marty Stouffer’s Wild America Barley Wine into the wild. Have n > read more

Happy Days Are Here Again

Published on 2011-03-31 18:14:10

Today marks opening day of the 2011 baseball season, perhaps my favorite day of the entire year. It marks the last time for the next six months that a Cubs fans can drink out of joy rather than pain. But more than that, it is the start of a long stri > read more

Bicycle Maintenance Made Easy

Published on 2011-03-31 08:15:07

Although some of you really brain damaged sods might have been riding through this god-awfully cold and long winter, there are other, less brazen folks who have been relying on public transportation for the past few months. Either way your bike proba > read more

Interval Training for The Treadmill

Published on 2011-03-30 17:21:19

As this detox has progressed and my fitness level has improved I’ve been interested in ways to intensify my workouts. All signs seem to point to interval training as the current craze. Generally, I’m not very interested in exercise fads, > read more

Revolution to Be Sold in Cans/Bottles!

Published on 2011-03-30 10:30:58

Revolution Brewpub will be selling it’s beer in stores in Cook County by January 2012!! The only bummer I can see right now is that they won’t be bottling their Bad Man Rye or any of the other Repo Man series. C’est la vie, I’ > read more

Veal Kielbasa Recipe

Published on 2011-03-30 07:54:07

Here’s a recipe for fresh Kielbasa that is delicious. You can also turn it into smoked Kielbasa by smoking it at around 180* for about 2 hours and then cool in ice water for 30 minutes, dry and store in the fridge. 6′ hog casing 3lbs pork > read more

Corndog Fever!!!

Published on 2011-03-29 16:52:54

I’ve spent the last 24 hours or so in a sort of corn dog daze and no, it doesn’t have anything to do with the rather tactless picture heading this post. It was simply a moment of inspiration and now, having had some time to think about it > read more

Adult Green Machine!

Published on 2011-03-29 08:17:27

Check this nutty shit out! The Parker Brothers have built a Green Machine chopper. Holy crap. Some of my best and first memories of this world were formed while storming the west suburban streets on my green machine, slamming one bar forward and one > read more

Goose Island Bought by Anheuser-Busch

Published on 2011-03-28 12:46:40

It’s not terribly surprising that Goose Island was purchased by Budweiser this week, they’ve already been partially owned by them for several years via Oregon’s Craft Brewer’s Alliance. It also looks like Greg Hall is stepping > read more

Chicago Honey Co-op

Published on 2011-03-28 07:07:40

A few weeks ago my wife was coming down ill with a seasonal bug. Her mom suggested that an old folk remedy was to eat several tablespoons of locally sourced honey in water with some cinammon, the idea being that bees are carriers of many local microo > read more

Yoga for Bicyclists @ Moksha 10am May 21st

Published on 2011-03-24 08:12:46

This is a bit advanced notice, but our friend Kathleen Ellis is running a beginner’s yoga class designed especially with the cyclist in mind. Expect work on leg and lower back strengthening with some focus on parts otherwise neglected by our tw > read more

Singapore Sling

Published on 2011-03-22 16:07:36

I’ve spent the better part of the afternoon staring out a dirty window at a barren and cold rainswept parking lot. Not the sort of thing that inspires a man to great things. So, I thought I’d take a break from Tuesday drudgery and let my > read more

Cook County Trout Fishing

Published on 2011-03-21 12:00:44

The warming weather has brought with it a renewed faith. I now believe that spring will actually arrive. Assuming my hunch is correct I think it’s high time to start dreaming about early mornings on the water or at the very least the banks. The > read more

Hit a Local Butcher and Let The Grilling Begin

Published on 2011-03-20 14:45:55

As I walked out of work last Wednesday I felt something that I wasn’t sure I would ever feel again, something so entirely foreign and pleasant I was certain I was hallucinating. It was warmth. Where I would usually rush manically, head down and > read more

Stone Barley Wine Cask Tapped Friday March 18 @ Small Bar Fullerton

Published on 2011-03-17 04:27:17

There have only been a few things that have caused my will to waver even a bit while on this stupid detox. Thinking about the folks in Japan and the thick-headed, cock-sucking Governors in Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan and Tennessee This amazing weather > read more

I Found Mangosteen In Chicago

Published on 2011-03-16 16:38:25

I posted the other day about the Grand Vatican Wizard’s penchant for Tiger Blood and that I was going to try and find it around Chicago. The stuff Charlie is drinking is Xango and it’s available on the intertubes for about $35 a bottle. I > read more

When You’re Having More Than One

Published on 2011-03-16 06:41:58

Edd Kalehoff plays the Schaefer jingle on his Moog. > read more

Fasting, Veggie Sausages, Saltimbocca & Your Eternal Salvation

Published on 2011-03-15 10:24:28

As Matty mentioned yesterday, one of the best coping devices to use while sludging through the long decay of a month long detox is to think, intensely, about the foods you will indulge your face and body upon once you’ve managed to scratch that > read more

Corned Beef

Published on 2011-03-14 20:24:19

The next best thing to preparing and eating delicious food is looking at delicious food and dreaming about eating it. I’ve been doing a lot of that over the past week and am sure to do a lot more over the next few thanks to a 7 day turned month > read more

Get Me Some of That Tiger Blood… Err, I mean, Mangosteen

Published on 2011-03-10 11:34:44

I’ve been hawkeyeing this uniquely American, wholly 21st century, totally base and entirely captivating Charlie Sheen side show with sick, prurient attention lo these past 6 weeks. It hits me on all the same cylinders that the paranoid, fundy-c > read more

Amy Hardie’s “The Edge of Dreaming”

Published on 2011-03-07 23:16:45

I just streamed Amy Hardie’s “The Edge of Dreaming” on Netflix tonight. It’s a wonderfully shot, very personal investigation into not so much the edge of dreaming, but more the edge of death. Hardie, a film maker by trade who > read more

Michael Rulhman’s Brioche

Published on 2011-03-03 12:39:20

I’ve been meaning to post this for a while, but I’ve been blind-sided by February. It must be that winter came on so early and so cold, but god damn I am feeling the raw end of this winter’s witch’s tit like never before. Here > read more

Space Beer!

Published on 2011-02-17 11:01:37

One of these days my motivation and experience will collide on the fairway of my fingers and I’ll drag their sodden corpses across this profaned space once again. But until then I’ll just keep reposting some shit from other sites. Things > read more

Charity Brewpub Coming to Portland

Published on 2011-02-16 11:04:31

The Oregon Public House, which will be opening soon in the northeastern part of Portland, is claiming to be the first not-for-profit brewpub where it’s customers can choose one of several charities to support with their purchases. The head of t > read more

About

Published on 2011-02-03 16:42:35

Testing this out too! > read more

Jeremy Jones Talks About Protecting Winter

Published on 2011-02-02 15:01:57

I’m not sure if today is the best or worst day to discuss protecting our winters. Regardless, here’s Jeremy Jones stating his case for keeping snow around. Viva la snow! > read more

Man Up & Survive the Snowpocalypse Like A Chicagoan for Fuck’s Sake

Published on 2011-02-01 19:57:40

Hey now, there’s a blow out there! Pretty sweet, eh? It’s a rare treat to see the entire city of Chicago tinkle it’s collective panties, especially over something as chaotic and essentially bombastic as a weather current, so I for o > read more

Provo Brothers Snow Surfing Video

Published on 2011-01-27 06:07:40

Good morning, America! > read more

Great Deal on Bulk Hops

Published on 2011-01-26 10:51:17

A friend sent me this link from deals.woot for hopsdirect.com, they’re selling pellet hops by the pound, most are between $9-$11. Not bad. Stock up before the coming Hop Wars! > read more

Skateistan: To Live & Skate In Kabul

Published on 2011-01-24 12:02:38

I’m bouncing this post from BoingBoing, because it’s so awesome that I want to make sure that even the three people in the world who don’t read BoingBoing but read OA see it. Two years ago, Xeni posted about Skateistan, an innovativ > read more

In Depth Description of Pliny the Elder Clone

Published on 2011-01-21 08:00:13

The Mad Fermentationist has posted a detailed description of his process for cloning the infamous Pliny the Younger. His hop schedule is staggering, especially in light of the story I posted yesterday about the Hop shortage we’re going to see t > read more

Small Craft Brewers Self-Distribution Bill Hb0205 Explained

Published on 2011-01-20 11:16:53

Sean Connelly, over at the Beer Philosopher, did a great job of making sense of this important bill at his site. But here’s the most important part to you in the immediate: Please write, email or call Senator Dave Luechtefeld and Rep. Mike Bost > read more

Another Hop Shortage in 2011?

Published on 2011-01-20 07:03:19

In the future, wars will be fought over hops… The explosive popularity of hoppy beer has become bittersweet as the total American harvest was off 30% for the year, according to December’s USDA hop harvest report. Especially screwed now are th > read more

Make Your Own Dumb Brats & Watch the Bears Stomp ‘Sconny

Published on 2011-01-19 11:49:56

I got news yesterday that I’m going to the Bears game on Sunday with my pops. Aside from this being pretty freaking sweet in the immediate heat of the moment, it’s also kind of a lovely, heart-warming story, too. You see, in 1986, when th > read more

Whisky In a Can: The Count Down to Regulation

Published on 2011-01-18 22:34:46

How long will this stuff be on the American market before it gets properly outlawed? Six months? 10 months? A year? I’m all for bad decisions and the cultivation of real, tactile regret, but this is pretty ridiculous. > read more

Bacon Pancakes

Published on 2011-01-18 06:46:55

They are simple & delicious & you should enjoy them often. I just take a 1/2lb of bacon and put it in the oven at 400* until brown and crunchy. I then chop the bacon up until it’s in tiny, fat-filled chunks of deliciousness. I put the > read more

Lillie’s Q Offering Full Pig

Published on 2011-01-17 00:50:44

Chef Charlie McKenna from Lillie’s Q – my favorite bbq restaurant in the city – is now offering a full pig for groups of 6-8. He’ll prepare it, serve it and discuss preparation with his guests. You need to give the restaurant > read more

William S. Burroughs – A Man Within

Published on 2011-01-16 12:54:42

There’s a new documentary being released about the life of ‘ol Bull Lee made by Chicago filmmaker Yony Leyser. From the preview it looks great and includes a bit of never before seen footage of the old boy. The Chicago premiere will be ne > read more

Cleaning Cross Country Skis

Published on 2011-01-13 09:21:55

It is officially winter here in the Windy City and with it come the requisite cold temperatures and winter precipitation. That wonderful white stuff, great for anything form making angels to engaging in brutal, icy, nose bleeding warfare. A few years > read more

Cracklin + Deschutes Abyss = Demonic Flavor Speedball of the Thrill Titans!!!

Published on 2011-01-12 13:36:09

Something happened last night that may rightfully change the world and it’s coarse forever. Perhaps the closest I’ve ever witnessed to the philosopher’s gold being created, two flavors came together and wedded themselves upon my ton > read more

Portabello & Porter Pate? Hell Yes.

Published on 2011-01-11 08:01:03

In one of those inexplicable hiccups of collective development several friends and I have all seemed to have developed a working curiosity about making our own charcuterie in the past month or so. I suppose it’s not terribly surprising as the p > read more

A Year of Charcuterie

Published on 2011-01-10 11:20:33

Two blogs, Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Kitchen and Yummy Mummy, are helping to organize what they are calling Charcutapalooza. On the 15th of every month a new recipe from Michael Ruhlman’s “Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Cu > read more

Bell’s Hopslam Firkin Release Party @ Binny’s Jan. 13

Published on 2011-01-10 08:37:13

This Thursday at 5:30 the south Loop Binny’s is going to be tapping a cask of Bell’s coveted Hopslam double IPA. Use mind powers to insure your attendance. > read more

Crazy Easy & Delicious Cream Sauce

Published on 2011-01-06 14:03:44

After an unusually irritating day at work yesterday I decided to take a cab home and treat myself to a special meal. The Treasure Island across the street from my client’s office had a special on pre-cooked lobsters, so I picked up a couple of > read more

Haymarket is Open & Serving It’s Own Beer

Published on 2011-01-06 07:01:24

I haven’t been over there yet, but the Hungry Hound sent up a flare yesterday indicating that Pete Crowley’s Haymarket Brewpub is now serving it’s own beer amongst many others on it’s 32 taps. Opening its doors in late Decembe > read more

Be Super Human in 2011

Published on 2011-01-05 12:44:12

Hi, hi, hi. I’m glad you survived the New Years. Truly, I am. A few weeks ago I was digging around the interwebs for a recipe to replace my dwindling stash of Bay Rum cologne. I’ve been addicted to this stuff for about ten years, but Burt > read more