Beer Wednesday: Vrienden by New Belgium and Allagash

New Belgium Brewing has a line of beers called "Lips of Faith" which involves a variety of creative beer styles that have a funky or sour element. They are often brewed with brettanomyces, a type of yeast that results in "wild ales" - beers like Flanders red ales that have a sour flavor, for example, or fruit-beer lambics. Lips of Faith usually tames the wild side of the funk and will balance it with other interesting flavors. That is what they've done with their new beer Vrienden, which is a collaboration with Allagash.


Music Tuesdays - Always Spring by I'm from Barcelona

I'm%20from%20Barcelona%20-%20Always%20spring

The band is Swedish, the name makes them sound Spanish, they sing in English, and the music is energetic pop. I'm confused yet entertained.

Tech Thursday: Sportaneous, the app to find pickup games

I just read about an app called Sportaneous which helps the user find pickup games in the area. It's not out on Android so I can't try it yet, but conceptually this is a great idea.



I play a lot of basketball, and finding pickup games in a new area can be tough. Generally I just look up all the gyms/courts in the area, then go to them and see if someone there knows when pickup games usually happen. This works, but it usually takes a few weeks/months to figure out the pattern. I love the idea that there is a place where I could look these up, and hopefully share the time/location easily with friends.

Apparently this app recently showed well at NYC BigApps 2.0. The linked video/write up there does a good job of summarizing the features.

Beer Wednesday: Koko Brown by Kona Brewing

My take on Kona Brewing's Koko Brown is very short: Kona took the smooth, rich character of their Pipeline Porter and added in some well-balanced coconut flavor. Delicious. Boom.



I'll also point out that the beer has 5.5% ABV and apparently costs $7.50 for a 6-pack at Bev Mo. I had it on tap so I'm not sure if it's quite as smooth out of the bottle. I am a giant fan of this beer, it is perfect for my particular palate. If you like a slightly sweet ale in the nut brown style, and you like the flavor of coconut, I strongly recommend this beer.

For longer, better-articulated opinions of this beer, you can also read some good reviews about Koko Brown at The Full Pint, Slash Food, Beer and Whiskey Bros, and The Daily Pull.

Music Tuesdays - Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People



This is a Los Angeles band and their song has been getting a lot of play on local LA radio lately. Fun song.