Silflay Hraka

According to my parents, who dropped by today–ostensibly to give the Sainted Wife her birthday present, but really in order to take a heapin’ hit of grandchild crack–use of the term “funeralize” has spread to Louisburg.

Update: The N&O noted the term almost a year ago. So now we have a relative rate of spread–about 25 miles a year–presuming that my elderly progenitors have their ears to the ground when it comes to new street lingo, and I believe that they do.

Allagash Tripel, Batch 87.

ABV: 9.0%
Original Gravity: 1078
Recommended Cellaring Temp: 55°F
Recommended Serving Temp: 50°F to 60°F

Numbering the batches is pure genius, as far as I’m concerned. I’m willing to bet that at some point in the future practically every craft brew will boast a batch number, and beer geeks will discuss their relative merits in the same tones wine aficionados use for years.

Tonight’s serving was cellared for approximately 9 hours, at whatever temperature the fridge is set to, and served at the same temperature–though I will admit that the character of the AT changes as it warms in the glass. I limited myself to one 40cl serving a half during the Carolina-Michigan State game–from the appropriate glass, of course, as I save the jelly jars for drinking ‘shine–and remarkably, as the brew warmed and the esters within loosened up, so did the Tar Heels. Now I have to do the same for every remaining UNC game.

I informed the wife of my new responsibilities to the team, and was rewarded with an eye roll and “Will you ever grow up?”

It was a rhetorical question, as she already knew the answer. I’m wondering if those reponsibilities include buying the brew from Chapel Hill’s own Good Beer Store, where I picked up tonight’s bottle after dropping Ngnat off for a Saint Patrick’s Day party this morning. I’m thinking it does, even if Sam’s is closer. No doubt this will endear me to the little lady to an even greater extent.

The Allagash Tripel is an American version of a Belgian ale, something the brewery specializes in. One of my first beers of the night was their Allagash White. Since then I’ve made sure to purchase at least one bottle of every Allagash I run across, including the hella-pricey Curieux, a cask-aged version of tonight’s Tripel that arose by serendipity.

Two years ago, Allagash Brewing Company’s Rob Tod was bottling his Belgian Tripel ale, when he faced a brewer’s darkest nightmare: He was short on bottles, which meant he’d—the horror!—need to dump his beer.

The serendipitous brew became Allagash’s bourbon-barrel-aged Curieux, one of the suds spearheading a resurgence of limited-edition, cask-aged beer.
…
Barrel aging mellows and transforms beer, providing lush, woodsy notes and the flavor of the cask’s previous contents, which range from red wine to bourbon to port. Until the late 19th century, beers in both America and Europe were seasoned in oak casks. Their earthy flavors leached into the mixture, creating unique concoctions. It was—and remains—a time- and labor-intensive process.

Some reviews of the Tripel, from others, since–to be honest–my favorite part of the beer reviews are the free associations the brew essay generates, rather than the slaving after subtleties in the bouquet. Also….whoo!….Heels!

I can totally taste the passionfruit and herbs, though.

A Good Beer Blog – This ale is quite bright with rocky but shallow head supported by quite active bubbling, attractive in an Orval glass. It is hot at 9% as a triple should be with a good candi and pale Belgian malt body up to the task.

parens binubus – I had two of these beers, and my vision was swimming. What the hell? I had already ordered a third before I realized the oddity of it, and I took it slow, but didn’t leave #3 behind. Beloved was unable to make a dent in his second.

Beer Advocate - I have read reviews of this exceptional brew that proclaim “Big Bananas & Fruits.” Well, yes, I agree; however I think that the phrase “big bananas” takes away from the dignity of this celestial beverage. Having enjoyed it thoroughly I can say that I understand the “big bananas” comment, but I am afraid it may dissuade some from giving Allagash Tripel Reseverve a fair toss.

Until the next time I have free time and brew, I bid you adieu.

Hurray! To my great glee, the AP has once again ventured into the turbulent world of nature photos and–once again–they have screwed the pooch when it comes to identifying the species portrayed.

Two Blue-throated hummingbird flutter around an orange at the zoo in Managua, Friday, March 16, 2007.(AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Not once, but twice!

A Blue-throated hummingbird perches on a brunch at the zoo of Managua, Friday, March 16, 2007.(AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

A brunch? Does the AP employ editors at all anymore?

Here’s an illustration of a Blue-Throated Hummingbird, with the coloration somewhat heightened as an aid to identification.

A more realistic version can be seen here. Neither looks remotely like the birds in the AP photos.

What is actually pictured are South American members of a genus belonging to the tanager family, the Cyanerpes, or Honeycreepers. Honeycreepers, like hummingbirds, will feed on nectar, but the similarities end there. I would cut the AP some slack had they at least misidentified the birds above within the genus, as the four species are fairly similar in appearance,

The four Cyanerpes species have colourful legs, long wings and a short tail. The males are typically glossy purple-blue and the females greenish.

but AP didn’t even get the order classification correct. Within the class Aves, Hummingbirds belong to the order Apodiformes, and the family Trochilidae. Honeycreepers are within the order Passeriformes. On a Linnaean scale, this is roughly the equivalent of confusing this mammal

with this one

Many people keep honeycreepers as pets, though obviously those that do don’t include any AP photo editors.

So, now that we have subjected the AP to a right and proper amount of ridicule….which of the four South American honeycreeper species are the subject of the above photographs?

There are four possibilities; the Short-billed Honeycreeper, the Shining Honeycreeper, the Purple Honeycreeper and the Red-legged Honeycreeper. Both the Shining and Purple Honeycreepers have yellow legs, so that’s two possibilities out of the way. The Short-Billed Honeycreeper has pale pink to orange legs, so the above could be that species, but the Red-Legged possesses yellow under-wing coverts, which, if you look closely enough, the bird on the upper left in the first picture appears to have as well.

So I am content with that identification. Here’s another photo of the species, helpfully perched in front of an orange, even.

What disturbs* me most about the identification of the above as any type of hummingbird is that anyone with even a passing knowledge of the species would have immediately caught the mistake, going by bill shape alone. It’s not as bad as Reuters misplacing a species by an entire hemisphere, but it’s a pretty egregious error nonetheless–which argues that no one with the requisite knowledge, or even a smidgeon of the requisite knowledge, actually looked at the photos before they were published–not to mention the captions.

When all that’s at stake is bird photos, the impact of mistakes like those above is pretty minor, but it’s not like the same mistakes don’t occur in more important stories.

When it comes to major media, or any media at all–even the typically infallible staff here at Hraka–adopt the (adapted) wisdom of the tailor.

Trust once, Google twice.

*I tell a lie. Obviously I live for this. I’m not “disturbed,” when I catch the AP out. I’m overjoyed.