The Answer, The Best Beer I've Ever Had, Crossgates Mall, Grading, HW, and Awesome Lectures

k. First, the answer to the previous CROSS-COUNTRY GAME

$7.29

So Tim wins. \o/

Over the weekend I took the bus down to Crossgates Mall (which is about an hours bus ride from here) with two intentions:

* Find a chalice to drink Rochefort
* I had heard that some people from the dept were going there and wanted to find them.

I FAILED on both accounts. But Crossgates is HUGE, and they have alot of the common mall-ish stores (Best Buy, William's Sonoma, JC Penney, Macy's, etc.). There was one store, called "Rocky Mountain Collection" which I found amusing. :p


I finally got up the nerve to try the Steel Reserve 211 High Gravity that's been taking up space in my fridge. Its an 8.1% malt liquor, and was absolutely disgusting. It tasted like paint thinner and burned all the way down. It gets a 2.60/5.00 on BeerAdvocate. This is a moderately high rating for how bad it was, I rated it within the style of American Malt Liquor, and it met most of the requirements, its just it tasted bad overall. If you're trying to get drunk fast and don't care about how bad it feels, then that stuff is for you.


A day later, when the horrible aftertaste had left my mouth I sampled Rochefort 10, in my brand new RPI wine glass that I bought at the bookstore. It is the ABSOLUTE BEST BEER I'VE EVER HAD. I ranked it 4.85/5.00 on BeerAdvocate, which shattered Chimay Blue's 4.50/5.00. Now, if you'll notice, Rochefort is 11.3% ABV, compared to Steel Reserve's 8.1%. The difference? Trappist brews have enough malt and know how to counteract the flavor of alcohol, so that it doesn't taste like you're drinking paint thinner. :) I've copied my review at the end of this post, or you can look it up on BA (I'm MrB2006).

Most of the weekend after that consisted of grading. wheeeeeeeeeeeee

Only recently have I started doing actual homework. I finished the two quantum problems (straightforward Lagrangian mechanics), and I've been working on the math physics, which has turned out to be a greater challenge than I anticipated.

Today I got the opportunity to attend the 11th Annual Resnick Lecture presented by Dr. Mario Livio (distinguished astrophysicist, and author of The Golden Ratio and The Equation that Couldn't Be Solved). His topic was symmetry in nature, which proved to be a very interesting subject (I've looked at it extensively but it was astounding to see someone of his high integrity present on it). The lecture was amazing, he's such a good public speaker.

That's about it. No game this time, I have to arrange for receipt of promised prizes of the last two games. But there will be another one soon. \o/

peace out!

Review of Rochefort 10 (Ranked #5 in the world) from BeerAdvocate:

"My first review of a quadrupel.

Presentation - an 11.2 oz brown bottle with a 160310 freshness stamp. Poured into an oversized wine glass.

A - Pours a medium to dark cloudy brown with light brown hints near the edges. A 1/2" light brown sudsy head that reduces to a small ring and a partial sheet of small bubbles on the surface.

S - Sweet and fruity. Most notably are blueberries, caramel, pear, dark roasted sugar, and molasses. Some alcohol but not overwhelming at all.

T - Roasted sugar, sweet pear and apple, smoky wood, some grapefruit, a spicy pepperness, and a tiny amount of pine. A truly exceptional flavor. Truly a sipping beer, because the flavor is so rich.

M - This brew packs a punch. The alcohol content is very high, and yet it provides a smooth warming of the mouth and tongue. I know its there, but its concealed very well by the sweet fruit and roasted sugar flavors. An impressive feeling that I won't forget quickly.

D - A sipping beer, but oh so luxurious. One bottle can last a whole session, as I find new flavors and new complexities. This brew never gets old and continues to surprise.

Absolutely astonishing. An excellent blend of flavors and complexities. This brew provides an enigma that demands to be solved, so many flavors are present and in such a unique arrangement that every sip offers something different. Rochefort has truly done it with this one.

With my first review of a quadrupel, I am now a fan."