LAST MEAL / FLAME / BEER

TWT fired up the Last Flame so the steaks for the Last Meal could be grilled. This year, TWT enjoyed peppery tri-tip steaks, with Rice-a-Roni and white corn. The Wife had a Dungeness crab salad. The Child had pasta-and-cheese, carrots-and-peas casserole.



Teisnacher 1543 Festmärzen. Advent Beer Calendar day twenty-four.

500 ml/16.9 oz. • 5.4% abv. • *****

Last Meal was accompanied by the final beer from the 2023 Advent Calendar box.

The pour was orange body and thin white head.

Flavors were broth, nuttiness, light orange, and light bitterness.

Medium mouthfeel leads into a brief bitterness. This was an excellent way to end the box and dinner.



After dinner, we played games: Betrayal at House on the Hill and Dutch Blitz. It was also time for the final beer of the year, as well as the final beer for a year!

2023 ADVENT BEER CALENDAR

Aldersbacher Urhell. Advent Beer Calendar day twenty-three.

500 ml/16.9 oz. • 5.1% abv. • ****

On the pour: yellow body and crisp white head.

Notes are leafy hops, yeast, undetermined spices, light butterscotch, biscuit.

Medium mouthfeel. Medium crisp and clean finish. Leaves and biscuits are on the end.

This is a great hell.

2023 ADVENT BEER CALENDAR

Black Forest Dark Lager. Advent Beer Calendar day twenty-two.

500 ml/16.9 oz. • 5.7% abv. • *****

 
The pour presents a black body and a thin tan head.

Flavors include cocoa, burnt log, dark chocolate, light spices, cinnamon. Hints of vanilla and cream.

A medium and creamy mouthfeel leads into a brief dry finish.

This is most excellent and one of the best in the box. So enjoyable!

THE GREAT WAVE

Today, we visited the Seattle Art Museum to visit the Hokusai exhibit. The highlight for me was getting to see an original print of 神奈川沖浪裏 "Kanagawa-oki Nami Ura," "Under the Wave off Kanagawa," sometimes known as "The Great Wave." Hokusai's use of negative space and a mixture of outlined and "boneless" forms is exquisite. I also imagined it to be a much larger work than it is, so that was a bit of a surprise. Ultimately, though, it was one of my great moments experiencing art. A truly holy moment!

REBEL MOON

Rebel Moon (2023) directed by Zack Snyder. OMG. Spoiler alerts, maybe?

Odin the Robot narrates the tale of the Battleship Yamato as it makes a pit stop at a farm world for food. Space Nazis from BY express their cruelty upon the population.

Space Nazi troops attempt rape. Brooding refugee kills rapists.

Campout in front of fantastic Frank Frazetta planetscapes after riding horses-not-horses to seek rebels.

Cue slomo-slaughter battle scene backstory.

Then Old West saloon with aliens. "These aren't the droids" moment meets Greedo shot first.

Trope stumbles over trope stumbles over exponential filmed references. Accents galore! More slomo!

Insert griffin taming. (No joke.) It's Tarzan/John Carter of Mars meets How To Train Your Dragon.

Next up: Bladerunner mining world to pick up medieval Korean noble, yet a woman in men's garb. Plus lightsabers. Versus Hunger Games spider. Seriously. SERIOUSLY.

Then Frozen backstory.

Every scene we are given a wink. Or is it a fart?

One of the gladiators from Gladiator. Bounty hunters. Betrayal. Jar Jar Binks as quiet king. The Bloodaxe siblings arrive.

NOW we have our Seven Samurai.

Nazi goes full Negan. Sell out. Guns blazing. Denouement.

Standoff! "Shoot out!"

Mutated 2001 Star Child after meeting Dumbledore in the afterlife.

Resurrection?

Ready for part two in April.

Streaming on Netflix.

2023 ADVENT BEER CALENDAR

Hallertauer Hopfen-Cuvée. Advent Beer Calendar day twenty-one.

500 ml/16.9 oz. • 5.3% abv. • ****

Notes forthcoming.

2023 ADVENT BEER CALENDAR

Herrnbräu Bayerisches Festbier. Advent Beer Calendar day twenty.

500 ml/16.9 oz. • 5.5% abv. • ***½

The pour is a clear yellow body and a white head.

The flavors are crisp and clean, cereal grains, light leaves, and light fruitiness.

The mouthfeel is medium with a bit of buzzy bite. Short finish of light fruitiness.

It's good.

2023 ADVENT BEER CALENDAR

Memminger Brauerei Hell. Advent Beer Calendar day nineteen.

500 ml/16.9 oz. • 4.9% abv. • ****

Clear, clear, clear light yellow body sits beneath a crisp white billowy head on the pour.

Cereal grains, leaves, sage, other light spices, and a hint of toffee are the noticeable flavors.

The mouthfeel is medium. The finish is short with a bit of lingering leafiness beyond.

This is a bit more subtle than some of the other Hells I've had, but rather enjoyable.

BONSAI SOLSTICE

Tonight was the annual Bonsai Solstice at Pacific Bonsai Museum, an event I anticipate each year. This year's display of trees had three that were adorned in lights. One was dressed in "classic" Christmas bulbs, another was framed with angular blue LED tube lighting that looked like neon tubing, and my favorite looked like it was draped in radioactive yellow pasta noodles.

2023 ADVENT BEER CALENDAR

Alte Liebe Dunkle Weisse. Advent Beer Calendar day eighteen.

500 ml/16.9 oz. • 5.2% abv. • ***½

On the pour, a brick-red-brown body is topped with a thick and bubbly light tan head.

Flavors are bark, broth, berries, earthiness, nuttiness, and light spiciness. 

The mouthfeel is medium. The finish is medium and very vegetal. This is interesting but a bit unbalanced.