Pi Day and Amish Four Grain

Despite what some crabby people will tell you, it's Pi day. And since it only comes every hundred years, we decided to celebrate a bit.

Pillsbury cheery-blueberry filling recipe

I was not successful centering my Pi symbol

Pizza Pie from Rollo's

Eleanor smelling our Pi Pie

She's too young to partake in either pie, but at least she can tease her future brother/sister about being there for a 5-digit Pi day.

Amish Four Grain

This Pennsylvania pale ale pours reddish amber with a thin head. What are the 4 grains? I assume there was wheat and rye in there, but they balance each other out too well. A little sweet, not bad, but I was expecting more flavor from the multitude of grains. 5.6% ABV. I wonder what the Amish community would think of the name, though. Maybe the grain were purchased from Amish farms?

Anniversary and Augustijn Grand Cru

On this day in 2011, Sarah and I got married in a courthouse in Killeen. Happy anniversary babe, and thank you for bringing this little one into my life.

Also on this day, but in 1945, General Omar Bradley and III Corps crossed the Rhine at Remagen before the the Nazis could destroy the Ludendorff Bridge.

Ludendorff Bridge

Augustijn Grand Cru

Here's another from Brouwerij Van Steenberge's Augustijn series. Compared to the blond, this pours with a rockier head that lingers and darker golden hue. The strongest of the bunch in both flavor and 9% ABV. I thought it was very good.

Terminal Leave and Augustijn Blond

Today I signed out on leave from active duty. I'm not quite done with the necessary separation briefs due to limited/inflexible scheduling, but I will be completing them on my own before my contract ends.

"The Charge" - 1st Cavalry Division Association

But it means I don't have to go to PT formation at 0630. I'm no longer responsible for any equipment or other personnel. I can't be tasked out with guard duty or other inane drudgeries. It's strange to think about my active duty service coming to a close or my place in the greater legacy of the division. Despite being here for over 4 years, the name still conjures images of Vietnam. Apocalypse Now, We were Soldiers, Tropic Thunder. Perhaps with time I'll have greater perspective on the period of time and different deployments.

Eleanor Pic of the Day

Augustijn Blond

I tried this ages ago and all I wrote is "smooth 7% ABV." So... there you go. Based on that description and a general fondness in my memory, I'd get it again. But I don't think I've seen it here in Texas since that sampler pack.

Cadence 2 and Shiner Haymaker

2 years ago I published a selection of running Army Cadences. The following are some marching-speed cadences. They're more ponderous in delivery, but are still illustrative/informative about the Army culture.

The army colors
The colors are Red
To show the world
The blood we shed

[refrain:]
Left, your left-right
left-right your left
Left, your left-right
Stay in step

The army colors
The colors are White
To show the world
We're fit to fight

[refrain]

The army colors
The colors are Blue
To show the world
That we are true

[refrain]

The army colors
The colors are Gold
To show the enemy
That we are bold

[refrain]

The army colors
The colors are Black
To show the enemy
That we fight back

[refrain]

The army colors
The colors are Green
To show the enemy
That we are mean

[refrain]

They say that in the army the Coffee's mighty fine
It looks like muddy water and tastes like turpentine
Oh Lord, I wanna go
But they won't let me go
Oh, o-woe, o-woe-oh-oh-oh-oh, hey

They say that in the army the Food is mighty fine
A chicken jumped off the table and killed a friend of mine
Oh Lord, I wanna go
But they won't let me go
Oh, o-woe, o-woe-oh-oh-oh-oh, hey

They say that in the army the Boots are mighty fine
How they hell would they know, they've never marched in mine
Oh Lord, I wanna go
But they won't let me go
Oh, o-woe, o-woe-oh-oh-oh-oh, hey

They say that in the army the Pay is mighty fine
They give you a hundred dollars and take back ninety-nine
Oh Lord, I wanna go
But they won't let me go
Oh, o-woe, o-woe-oh-oh-oh-oh, hey


Big Red One
Patch on my shoulder
Pick up your guns and follow me
We kill the enemy

One-Oh-One
Patch on my shoulder
Pick up your ropes and follow me
Air Assault infantry

Eighty-Second
Patch on my shoulder
Pick up your 'chutes an follow me
Airborne infantry

Tenth Mountain
Patch on my shoulder
Pick up your rucks and follow me
Alpine infantry

First Cav
Patch on my shoulder
Get in your trucks and follow me
Mechanized infantry

Tropic Lightning
Patch on my shoulder
Pick up your rucks and follow me
We live in Hawai'i

Shiner Haymaker

Here's a Pale ale from Shiner's "Brewer's Pride" collection. Pours blonde with a half finger of white head that dissipates to a ring of lacing. The flavor embraces the Pale aspect of pale ale: little malt flavors and mild soapy hops. Pretty underwhelming for something touted as "Brewer's Pride Craft Beer #6." I guess it's good they're willing and able to take risks like this, but this one isn't for me.

Left Hand Brewery

Apparently the battery warning light doesn't actually warn you of much; our Civic gave no indication before it refused to start back up in the parking lot of Indian Bistro in Killeen. I thought it was the immobilizer failing to recognize our keys, but no; it was just the original battery from 2008 finally kicking the bucket. We got a jump from the tow truck guy, the reset code from the Honda dealership, and a new 65-month battery from NTB. Overall, not the worst way to spend an afternoon, but Sarah didn't get home from Boston quite as fast as she'd planned.

Left Hand Brewery Party Pack

Stranger American Pale Ale
I think I like American and English Pale Ales better than IPAs. I'm not sure what it is; the hop flavors?  The more manageable bitterness?

Polestar Pilsner
This is a specifically German-style brew and for me that's no bueno. Continental pilsners and hefeweizens are distinctive, but I'm not a fan. I get like a cabbage flavor coming through? Kudos to the Left Hand folks for aping the Teutonic brewers so well.

Sawtooth Ale
Beer Advocate tells me this is an example of the ESB style, but it feels more malty and well-rounded to me. Bonus points for still tasting good after brushing my teeth. Definitely the highlight of the sampler.

Milk Stout
This was a normal bottle, not their nitro-bottle. The only 'extra' flavor I've gotten out of a stout or porter is vanilla; maybe my palate hasn't reached the point where I can get the milkiness. Not terrible, but nothing special for me.

Weekend Visit & Orval Trappist Pale Ale

My parents and youngest brother were able to fly down for a pre-deployment visit over the weekend.  They got to see the limited attractions of Fort Hood and we spent as much time as possible just hanging out.  We never made it to ride horses or go swimming, but it was really nice to just swap new and tell stories.

We did get out to the movie theater Sunday night to see Bridesmaids.  I'm not specifically a Kristen Wiig fan, but I liked the supporting cast and it got conspicuously high reviews on rottentomatoes.  This shouldn't be a spoiler, but the plot went in a direction I wasn't expecting from the trailers.  It was fun, funny, and well done, though well deserving of its R rating.

Orval Trappist Pale Ale
I chose this in Killeen at Old Chicago because it was listed as a Belgian Trappist Ale that I'd never heard of before.  Unfortunately for me it turned out to be a pale ale and a hoppy/bitter one at that.  It poured with a huge head and was far less palatable to me than the Affligem trappist ale.  I would not buy again, but hop-heads would probably love it.