ALL HALLOWS EVE

Happy Halloween from Mortimer.

SIX IPAs of SUMMER

These were six of my favorite IPAs of summer.

—

G'Knight, an Imperial Red India Pale Ale by Oskar Blues Brewery.

12 ounce bottle served in a pint glass.

8.7% abv.

The pour is a hazy orange-red body, with an off-white head.

The nose is beery, biscuity, and citrusy.

The tongue is biscuit, butterscotch, candied orange, malts, and the faintest hint of cherry cordials.

It has a medium mouthfeel, but with a "thick bite" to it. Medium finish. The high alcohol content is hidden rather well. This is excellent.

—

Bubble Wrap, a Hazy IPA by Crux Fermentation Project.

12 ounce bottle served in a pint glass.

6.2% abv.

The pour is a hazy, buttery yellow body and half-finger-thick white head.

The nose is apricot and tropical fruits.

The tongue is bitter papaya, tangerine, flower petals, and a faint hint of butterscotch. There's also a bit of both lemon and wheat lurking in the background, which become slightly more prominent as it warms.

The mouthfeel and finish are medium. Bitter fruit flavors fade, leaving more butterscotch candy. This IPA also dries a bit on the finish. Out of the six, I think of this ale as the "champagne" of the bunch.

—

Slide Tackle, a Hazy IPA by Pelican Brewing. It's also a collaboration with the Portland Thorns FC.

12 ounce bottle served in a pint glass.

6.7% abv.

The pour is like melted butter (hazy gold) with a white head.

The nose is berries and orange.

The tongue is berries, mango, orange, bitter leaves. 

The mouthfeel is medium. The finish is fairly short. This has a fruity essence and is quite enjoyable. It was an excellent beer that accompanied me to a couple of Cannon Beach campfires near Haystack Rock.

—

Beak Breaker, a Double IPA by Pelican Brewing.

12 ounce bottle served in a pint glass.

9.0% abv.

The pour is a hazy butter yellow body with a finger-thick white head.

The nose is citrus, both orange and lemon.

The tongue is bitter orange and then some extra bitterness.

The mouthfeel is medium with a long bitter finish. It's bitter goodness and then some. The higher alcohol content is masked.

—

IPA, an India Pale Ale by Buoy Beer Company.

12 ounce bottle served in a pint glass.

7.5% abv.

The pour is a translucent golden-orange body and an off-white head.

The nose is bright, citrus, berries.

The tongue is malty, biscuits, bitter orange, and orange peel.

The mouthfeel is medium. The finish is long and bitter and lingers for quite some time. Can you say orange zest? This is a good solid IPA.

—

Mel's Magic IPA, an IPA by Iron Horse Brewery.

12 ounce bottle served in a pint glass.

6.8% abv.

The pour is a translucent golden-orange body with a thin white head.

The nose is orange and butterscotch.

The tongue is orange, orange peel, light butterscotch, and bitterness. But it's "baby bear" bitterness: in other words, just right.

The mouthfeel is medium. The finish is medium, with bitter orange diminishing into butterscotch. This is my current "go to" IPA and likely will be for quite some time. Excellent.

YELLOW BELT

This afternoon, I tested for my first belt rank advancement in Shotokan Karate. I passed! Now I take what I have learned so far as a white belt karateka and build upon it as I wear my newly earned yellow belt (and the rank of 8th kyu).

In the dojo to which I belong, for each belt rank advancement, we have to earn eight stripes—techniques (kihon), knowledge, kata (forms), drills, versatility (weapons), kumite (sparring), self-defense, and momentum. For techniques, I had to know three basic stances and three basic blocks. For knowledge, I had to know how to properly tie my obi (belt), the meaning of basic terms related to starting class (yoi, kiotsuke, rei, yame), and how and why we bow into (and out of) the dojo. The kata I needed to learn was Taikyoku Shodan. The drill set was an offense-and-defense combination performed with a partner—an upper strike to the head on offense countered by a rising block on defense. The weapon I needed to know about and how to use was the yawara stick (also known as a kubotan). I had to know a simple sparring combo—a backhanded strike to the temple immediately followed by a lunge punch to the solar plexus. I had to know a series of five ways to break free of a wrist grab for self-defense. Finally, I had to perform a squatting backward fall for momentum.

Some of these came easy to me. For instance, I quickly earned the knowledge, self-defense, and momentum stripes. Some stripes were more challenging. I struggled to learn the choreography of the kata. I had to slowly learn the components, thinking through them carefully, and then likewise learn to not think about the moves. I found shuto uke (knife hand block) confounded me for the longest time. In fact, it still does a bit.

I have found karate classes to be something that I look forward to attending each week. I enjoy the physicality and the exercise. I am tolerating the camaraderie. I get the chance to challenge both my mind and body, and then figure out how to use them together to work through the "puzzles" of this martial art.

—

I only have 80 more stripes to earn (10 more belt ranks to earn, since two of the kyu share belts) before achieving my first dan black belt. (Then there are nine more dan levels of black belts that follow!) 

This yellow belt is a baby step in my martial arts journey, but I'm not focused too far into the future. I've chosen to live in the now and enjoy what I'm doing.

O CONSTANT WATCH

"O Constant Watch," Montana BLACK spray paint, acrylic paint, India ink, art marker, and pencil on 4" x 6" recycled cardboard postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O CONSTANT WATCH

O Constant Watch, the all-seeing eye
of red-light cameras and solar-powered

speed information displays
ATM electronic beams

and grocery store self-checkout video.
Smile! Slow! Status quo!

A miniature drone peers
in your bedroom window

to catch glimpses of naked flesh
or one of your online passwords.

Rise up! Resist! Rebel!
“I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O GREAT EXPECTATIONS

"O Great Expectations," Montana BLACK spray paint, art marker, and India ink on 4" x 6" recycled cardboard postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O GREAT EXPECTATIONS

O Great Expectations of a constant homeland
clinging to cardinal points of the compass

as the magnetic pole shifts
as our makeshift tents collapse

under the weight of carbon fiber footprints
under the weight of wielded batons—

we found our refugee camp
and dreamed of what it could entail

learned the history of this new nation
so that we could join its ranks.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O HYAKU of ONE-HUNDRED EMPTY HANDS

"O Hyaku of One-Hundred Empty Hands," Montana BLACK spray paint, papercut YUPO Translucent watercolor paper, acrylic paint, India ink, and art marker on 4" x 6" recycled cardboard postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O HYAKU of ONE-HUNDRED EMPTY HANDS

O Hyaku of One-Hundred Empty Hands
seeking out pinion points and destruction of wings

you single-handedly defeated a legion of angels
in their attempt to seize heaven’s throne

and in the ever-present heat wave
the drought of these days

the aroma of Himalayan blackberries
roasting on their thirsty vines

rises from your flesh as incense
as offering as libation as epitaph.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.