we woke up to a little bit of snow today!

– ryan

happy groundhog day! looks like punxsutawney phil didn’t see his shadow, so we can look forward to an early spring! in celebration, i woke up early and watched groundhog day, which is one of my favorites!

– ryan

one of my favorite beers around, and one of the hardest to find for that matter, is hopslam ale by bell’s brewery out of kalamazoo, michigan. this citrusy, floral, and insanely-hoppy double-IPA is brewed with honey and is one of the smoothest 10% beers you will find. hopslam is the winter seasonal release by bell’s and is a real treat when around. for some reason they don’t ship too much of it down south, so most stores sell out the day they receive their shipment.

last winter i was able to find this beer for the first time and was quite impressed. the problem was when i discovered its greatness, atlanta was already completely sold out. this year i have yet to find the six-packs, however i did find this beautiful mini-keg! having five liters of this tasty treat in my fridge is great to come home to after a long day of work!

– ryan

bell’s brewery

355 e. kalamazoo ave.
kalamazoo, mi 49007
269-382-5712

we are being hit by a crazy snow storm right now! it’s really coming down out there. i would say a few inches or more has already fallen! it should be a beautiful white morning.

– ryan

i know it’s a little late, but i put together my favorite lists of 2010 this week. i’ll start with my top 10 favorite concerts of 2010!

1. jónsi – sun, oct 31st – the tabernacle
2. sleigh bells – sat, jul 10th – vinyl
3. neon indian – wed, jun 9th – the earl
4. lcd soundsystem & sleigh bells – mon, oct 4th – the tabernacle
5. beach house & washed out – thur, apr 29th – the earl
6. pavement – sun, sep 26th – the tabernacle
7. ola podrida – wed, jul 21st – drunken unicorn
8. the tallest man on earth – wed, apr 28th – the earl
9.school of seven bells & active child – mon, oct 18th – the earl
10. best coast & cults – sun, oct 10th – drunken unicorn

honorable mention: guided by voices – sat, oct 23rd – the buckhead theatre

– ryan

atlanta has a lot of great upcoming concerts! there’s broken social scene at the buckhead theatre, washed out at the drunken unicorn, jonathan richman playing two nights at the highland inn ballroom, casiokids at the drunken unicorn and many many more. be sure to check our upcoming concerts section for a full list of great shows on the horizon. i put a few i’m looking forward to below.

– ryan

washed out – tue, jan 18th – drunken unicorn – $10 – 9:00pm – tickets

yo la tengo – fri, jan 28th – variety playhouse – $20 – 8:30pm – tickets

wild nothing & abe vigoda – tue, feb 8th – drunken unicorn – $10 – 9:00pm – tickets

broken social scene – thur, feb 10th- the buckhead theatre – $26 – 8:00pm – tickets

jonathan richman – fri, feb 18th- highland inn ballroom – $12 – 9:00pm – tickets

jonathan richman – sat, feb 19th- highland inn ballroom – $12 – 9:00pm – tickets

toro y moi – sat, mar 12th – drunken unicorn – $10 – 9:00pm – tickets

godspeed you! black emperor – tue, mar 22nd – 40 watt – $11 – 8pm – sold out

casiokids & strfkr – wed, mar 23rd – drunken unicorn – $10 – 9:00pm – tickets

the pains of being pure at heart & twin shadow – tue, apr 5th – the earl – $15 – 9:00pm – tickets

– ryan

there will be a total lunar eclipse this evening visible to most of north america. hopefully the sky stays clear enough that we can actually see the eclipse, unlike the last one in atlanta. the eclipse also coincides with the winter solstice, something that hasn’t happened in almost 400 years. on top of that, the ursids meteor shower is expected to add some shooting stars that should be visible in the dimmed night sky. it sounds like the trifecta of celestial events!

– ryan

i headed home from canada this weekend. the trip went great, however i’d be lying if i said i’ll miss the cold canadian weather. i’m looking forward to driving on roads that aren’t icy and not having my hands hurt because i forgot to put on my gloves.

– ryan

to purchase alcohol in ontario you have to head to an lcbo, which stands for liquor control board of ontario. it’s a state run store that sells beer, wine, and spirits. if you are just looking for beer you can head to the beer store, a privately owned operation that sells beer. it definitely seemed odd that you couldn’t just go to a grocery or convenience store for booze. i guess some u.s. states have similar operations though, like rhode island for instance.

the beer store was pretty interesting. it was like in the movie strange brew where you place an order and your beer comes out on a conveyer belt. you can also bring in your used bottles for money off your purchase, which gives you way more incentive to recycle. i was also impressed that they sold two litres of IPA!

i noticed that just because you worked at the beer store didn’t mean you knew a lot about beer though. i asked for the hoppiest beer they sold and was recommended best bitter by wellington arkell. it was neither hoppy nor especially bitter.

– ryan

i love grocery shopping in foreign countries, even if it’s just while visiting our neighbor to the north. you always notice subtle differences from shopping at home and find totally random things for sale. not surprisingly, most items are labeled in english and french in canada instead of english and spanish like down south. it made you feel like you were a little further away then you actually were. it even added a touch of class to the design of some items. for instance, these great litres of eggnog! the mid-century graphic design with the french words gave the packaging a stylish vintage look.

another funny difference i spotted was non-alcoholic beer. they call it “de-alcoholized” beer in canada. at first i thought this was maybe the french translation, but in fact that’s just what they call it.

– ryan