Army's Birthday & Ommegang Witte

The US Army turned 236 today, which is amusingly older than our country.  10 companies of riflemen were approved by the Continental Congress in 1775 along with assuming responsibility for existing forces mustered by local and colonial government throughout New England and New York.  Sometimes I forget the genealogy of this service I spend my days a part of.  Organization and rank must have been much more flexible then.  No cake or any special ceremony or acknowledgement here, but a fun fact nonetheless.

While there is no Kindle service anywhere in Iraq, I can still buy new books through the computer and load them by USB.  We have about the same amount of downtime, but I am reading less on the Kindle thanks to the near-constant internet access and the real-time options it offers.  It's nice to be able to do searches and read the news again.  I am still missing a duffel bag that I packed way back in early April, but it is probably hiding on the base somewhere.  The day it was packed away was not the best display of Army synergy or organization so I am not terribly surprised.  Luckily, I have plenty of uniforms and such even if it doesn't turn up.

Ommegang Witte

This is a “Belgian-Style Wheat Ale” brewed by the folks at Ommegang up in Cooperstown, New York.  They take their beer seriously and have formal relations with high-pedigree Belgian operations.  Despite the brewery's care and professional attitude, I was underwhelmed by this witbier.  It was bright and drinkable, but not worth the specialty price and swanky bottle when compared to all the other coriander and citrus wheat ales available.

New Boots, Trois Pistoles, & Three Philosophers

I got married precisely a month ago.  Now, that's a pretty big life event and folks usually get dressed up.  However, I didn't want to get married in my dress uniform, or rent a tux, but I also don't have much a wardrobe to choose from down here.  In fact, my civilian options were downright spartan.  I eventually decided to go with dark jeans and a green dress shirt, but my footwear options were only Vibram FiveFingers or government issue.

So Sarah and I took some of the time after ring shopping to drive around town in the rental car hoping to find some nicer casual boots/shoes I could wear for the ceremony as well as around town when I'm not in uniform or doing PT.  It turns out (to no one's surprise) that I have abnormal needs/tastes for footwear.  We searched high and low for a simple, stitched welt boot or stout leather shoe, but it seems folks around here just aren't into that.  Too much nylon and plastic sole molding and goofy lacing.  We ended up going right back to the first shop we stopped at and I got these:

Doc Marten's Paved Jasper. They've got less chunky, thinner soles than regular Docs and the waxed brown leather can take a polish well enough (the polish has made mine darker and a bit more even in color than this picture).  They were perfect for our little ceremony and have broken in quickly and comfortably.  I am a little worried about them being too hot for the summer, but that remains to be seen.  Overall, a solid, understated product from a company better known for their more garish designs.

When Sarah was here this last time, she and I picked up a bottle of Trois Pistoles because I had enjoyed Maudite and La Fin du Monde from the Québécois Unibroue before and also thought the bottle looked epic.  Unfortunately it was a lot like Brewery Ommegang's Three Philosophers, which I had back at Killdare's when I saw it on-tap.  Both are Belgian style dark ales that smell absolutely wonderful. Dark fruits and deft multi-fermentation. There is clearly a lot of attention and craftsmanship in both, but the flavor is just too much for my palate.  It's not too hoppy or too bitter; kind of a sour cherry/spice flavor that just doesn't belong in my beer.  Not every beer adventure can be a victory.  This was a voyage of discovery.