Monday, March 16, 2015

Geo-beers: Volcanic Double IPA

Don't Panic! Have A Volcanic!!
(beer coaster created by unknown artist; photo by LFD)
Volcanic Double IPA is a quintessential geo-beer, being all about volcanic eruptions and such. Possibly — given the location of Lassen Ale Works in Lassen County, CA (here are all their beers) — the volcano depicted might be a fiery representation of Lassen Peak, which erupted fairly spectacularly in May, 1915.

The beer is quite hoppy and has a relatively high ABV (8.5%). Because of the latter, if you go directly to the source at the brewery, you'll get a relatively short glass of it, which is one reason I don't order it there (also, I do prefer the less hoppy, less alcoholic Eagle Lake IPA) — so if you want a full pint, go elsewhere or buy a growler to go or a six-pack in some local store. The Volcanic is currently (last time I checked a couple weeks ago) on tap at this establishment.

Friday, March 6, 2015

Back on a Sometimes Muddy Road

Well, I'm back at the place I was working at about two years ago (see these three posts for more info), spending more time on a back paved road and on dirt roads than I was most recently while on the road to work (I'm still driving on the interstate some, but a lot less than during the last two years). I find that I prefer the back roads and the dirt: I feel a bit like I'm going out in the field every day, although I'm really not.

It means that the road is sometimes wet, muddy, snowy, icy, or sometimes it has been recently sprayed by a water truck or recently magged. I decided to take a few pics of what that looks like on my jeep (in this case, the road had been sprayed by a water truck to keep the dust down). I wasn't actually on the road to work when taking the pictures, but instead had pulled over on a convenient side road while traveling elsewhere after a couple/few days at work. Consequently the tags include two locations; the post location (below) links to the photos.
The front of said jeep, the Eugene Mountains in the background.
The right side, with part of the East Range in the background.
The rear tire looks low, but isn't.
The rear and left sides. That's a high part of the East Range with the snow.
And the door handle area of the left, driver's side door.