6:06

As in six minutes and six seconds. 6:06.4 to be precise. That's how fast I just ran the mile at the Strands Hi-lite track meet.

It was hard.

EPA Fugitives

The EPA has this awesome "Fugitives" page showing all the environmental criminals they're trying to find.

Among these fugitives are such dastardly dudes as: John Karayannides who is charged with dumping two tons of oil-contaminated grain into the ocean; Peter Solemdal,wanted for aiding and abetting false entries into an oil record book (he's one of a few of these folks they're looking for); and Jun Wang, wanted for illegally discharging fuel from his tanker truck into Little Beaver Creek (no jokes about "Wang and the Little Beaver" are allowed, sorry).

Conspicuously absent from this list of fugitives are any of the executives of BP, Transocean, or Haliburton. I guess if you dump a bunch of gas in a creek or two tons of contaminated grain into the ocean you're a criminal, but spewing millions of gallons of oil into the ocean after doing everything possible to cut costs and "expensive" safety features on the well so you can make even more than the $3 billion (with a "b") in profit you made last quarter, that's just good business.

[sigh]

Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot

Lagunitas Brewing, Petaluma, CA
22oz bottle, 7.63%abv

I can't remember if I've already blogphicolatored about this one or not, and I can't be arsed to check... I guess I'll write it up and if I already did, I'll see how today's opinion differs.

Anyway, it's yummeh. The style isn't specified, but I'd call it kind of a strong, hoppy brown ale.

It pours a medium brown in color, with a good light tan head that lingers nicely.

Aroma is nicely floral hops with some caramel malt notes.

Flavor is quite malty and a bit sweet, with hop flavor there, but balanced toward malt.

Mouthfeel is rich, and a bit creamy. The finish has a good hit of bitterness, but balance is still on the sweet side.

Overall, a pretty tasty beer.

Stone Imperial Russian Stout

Limited Spring 2010 Release
Stone Brewing, Escondido, CA
22oz bottle, 10.5%abv

This pours thick and syrupy, black in color with little head.

Aroma is almost exclusively roast malt with some hints of coffee and dark chocolate, but that may change as the beer warms.

Flavor is balanced slightly toward sweet, but is not overpowering or cloying at all. It's quite nice in that regard, as many beers of this type can be too sweet. There's also little to no indication of the beer's strength in the flavor, other than a slight warmth in the finish.

Mouthfeel is pleasantly crisp, with a tiny bit of astringency and a nice warmth.

This is a very tasty beer, and like the Sublimely Self Righteous below, is surprisingly (and dangerously) drinkable. Either Stone is getting softer over the years, or I'm getting more used to their beers. Highly recommended.

Stone Sublimely Self-righteous Ale

Stone Brewing, Escondido CA
22oz bottle, 8.7%abv

This is an interesting one. Looks like a porter, smells like an IPA, and tastes yummeh.

Aroma is dominated by hops, with some nice hints of roast malt coming through.

Flavor is bright, crisp and surprisingly light for the strength, with solid roastiness for balance.

Finish is clean and also crisp with a lingering bitterness.

Overall a great unique offering from Stone. It's a bit more subtle and approachable than some of their stuff. Highly recommended.

Oakshire Brewing O'Dark:30

Oakshire Brewing Company, Eugene, Oregon.
6.3%abv, 22oz bottle

They subtitle this beer "Cascadian Dark Ale Black IPA" and its nearly black color definitely matches that title. It is quite IPA-like, with a good hop foundation upon which the malt builds a balanced overall flavor.

It's a good beer. It's nothing all that special, but the novelty of the dark malt does make it a tad more interesting than your average IPA.