Two must try brews... and some reminiscing

I recently went to the CNY Brew Fest and tried a jalapeno beer from Horseheads Brewing. It was very interesting and something I would like to try and recreate.

I also have been thinking about Monk's Flemish Sour Ale quite a bit lately. I found this website that is an extensive review of how to create a sour ale. The aging process is long but if it is anything close to Monk's, entirely worth the wait.

In May, it will have been ten years since I spent a summer living on the Isle of Portland in England. While I was there, I traveled to the Lakes District for some trekking. I stopped by the Dungeon Ghyll Inn Hikers Bar (at the time I didn't realize it had a formal name) to have a pint at the end of the day before walking back to my hostel in Elterwater. The Blacksheep Special came highly recommended so that is what I tried. It was very good but after a day of hiking, I was a bit underprepared for the alcohol. I remember being quite sauced on my walk back to the hostel. I can say that those three months were very influential in culturing my beer palate and it was upon my return that Chris' first foray into homebrewing closed the deal on this hobby.