I'm Back!

What's up? It's been a while, hasn't it. I had some stuff to do. I'm a very busy and important man. But I'm back despite all that other stuff. I'm sure you missed me, and I have missed you too.

So lets get you all caught up.

Previously, on Lost....I mean Good Burp. "Brandon gives up beer in an attempt to loose weight after he made a stupid bet with his friend Schlampe." (It sounds a lot more cool if you imagine it in that deep, ominous voice like the Lost dude. Or if it was Waylen Jennings telling you as I attempted to jump a creek in the General Lee).

Back to the story.

I gave up beer, for a short time. I went days without a beer and even started working out. That didn't last long. After some encouraging words of advice from my beer buddies, Michael and the Beer Buddah, I started up again.

At first it was just one. Guinness was my gateway beer. Hell, it's nearly diet beer. And that bit about the monks drinkings beer, and liquid bread, why wouldn't I keep drinking it? It's almost as if God himself wanted me to keep drinking beer.

Eventually, I graduated to the better and stronger beers. Before I knew it I was right back at it. But what about that $100? Through the grapevine (Mrs. Schlampe), I found out that Mr. Schlampe wasn't doing so well. In fact, he had gained a pound. At that time, I was down nearly 7 pounds, and doing awesome. But that bit of news did me in. I started to slack off. First the beer came knocking. Then i divorced the exercise bike. The poor thing just sat there, collecting dust. Before I knew it, I was back in line at BevMo every Friday night. Thank God they extended their hours. Coincidence, I think not!

(Swirling music, and a "Flash Forward"...Just like on Lost)

What if I kept hitting the gym, and kept buying and trying and enjoying the beers? What would happen? The Hulk is what happens! OK, not quite, more like Iron Man, with hopes of becoming Wolverine in the not so distant future.

For the past 2 months, I have been hitting the gym 2 or 3 times a week. I try to watch what I eat, but drink just about whatever I want. And it's working. I have managed to maintain my weight, but add nearly 2" in each arm and my chest. In addition, I've lost an inch in my waist. Who wouldn't be excited about that? I might not win that $100, but at least I'm not going to have to pay it out!

To celebrate this glorious day, I'm busting out a very special beer which I've been saving in my very crowded beer fridge. It's a Dogfish Head - Midas Touch. Yes I know, it's so good! Sam is amazing. I'm enjoying it very much. More than that cheap ass Dahrma Beer that Sawyer drinks in his little cabin on his weird, time traveling island. I don't care how thirsty I was, or what you offered me. I would refuse to give up beer here in the world we live, to go to freakin island. What the hell were Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Sayid thinking? They knew there wasn't good beer there, yet they all went back. Idiots!

Back in the real world, I'm moving forward with my plans. It seems that building websites and designing logos takes up much more time than writing blog posts. Luckily, I am really good at one of those tasks, so it's done. The other (websites) has taken much longer than I expected. I have logos, but why is it so difficult to create a website? Actually, it's not that hard. Acquiring the program to create such websites has been a struggle, and the time to sit and design exactly what I want has been very, very time consuming. But I'm working on it.

Everything else is still in the works. The brewery is in it's infancy. I have the domain, and most of the logo. The website still needs work, but I have a plan. I'm working on raising the capital to get it going. That street looks good. I'll know more in the coming months. So stay tuned for that.

I think we are all caught up. But there is a new episode tomorrow. Who knows what is going to happen? A beer review? Some pictures from Beerfest? More about my addition to Netflix? Who knows. But I'll tell you this, It sure feels good to be back!

-Cheers!

Good Burp, the website

That's right, Good Burp will soon have a it's own Website. A site to enjoy more Good Burp.

With a blog, you can only do so much. You can write about the things you like, or know, or hate, or just about anything else. In my case, I love to write about beer. A blog is fine for doing that. However, I am ready to take it to the next level.

I have been slow to update posts, the beers I've been drinking, reviews of the beer, and photos of beer, because blogger just can't handle it. My plan for 2010 was to organize the beer reviews, and start a new beer list, and start a gallery. I wanted to improve the overall appearance and content of Good Burp. But it just hasn't worked out the way I had hoped it would.

By next week, I should have Good Burp 1.0 up and running. It's going to take some time to get all the photos uploaded, list the beers I've tried that past 2 years, and write the reviews of the beers I've evaluated.

But don't worry, I Good Burp isn't going anywhere. I will still write blog post about beer and my adventures with beer. I will link both sites to each other so you can jump from one to the other. There is just going to be more Good Burp to love.

-Cheers!

Good news, my liver is OK

I had to go to the Doctor on Friday. Don't worry, I'm fine. Just a routine check up for some of the meds I take. No big deal.

The cool thing about my Doc, he likes beer. We usually spend a good 5 or 10 minutes talking about beer. What we have tried, where the best places in town to go drink beer, and about my blog. This Doc is so cool because his uncle is one of the Widmer Brothers.

Anyways, he was asking me about my typical week of "beer testing". I tried to explain to him that I was currently on a fast (which I broke tonight) due to a stupid bet I made with my friend. I told him that I usually only have 1 or 2 on the weekends since January. I was trying to cut back. Hey, we all hold back when we talk to our doctors, unless it means we are getting better meds if the pain is worse.

He asked me this zinger, "How many times have you been drunk in the past year?"

Hmmmm, I had to stop and think about that one. His definition of "drunk" and my definition of "drunk" are probably quite different. Besides, I have been training for a long time, and it takes me quite a while to get to a condition where I would consider myself drunk.

So I counted. The last time was after the 30 something samples at the last beer fest. That makes 1. This summer, when every one threw up in my front yard, I was hurting pretty good that night as well. Lets say that is 2. What was Friday, and when would the cut off be? I don't know, the pressure was getting to me. So I blurted out 3.

You know what his response was? "Three, that is close to pushing it." Really? Only 3 times a year is pushing it? Who knew. Then in a nearly passing manner, he asked me about my liver. I said it was fine. Then he told me to lay down, and said "No, I want to check your liver."

What? Really? I'm not even 40 yet, and I consider myself to be in descent shape. I lost 5 pounds last week. Do you really need to check my liver? "Yes."

He proceeded to push really hard around the area for a minute or so. What was he checking for? I have no idea. But I do know this, my liver is A.O.K! Awesome!

Then he asked my where I was planning on going for vacation this year. I told him Amsterdam, Belgium, Germany, and Copenhagen. "Are you going to Oktoberfest" he asked excitedly. I told him no, not this year. "It starts on the 18th right?" Honestly, I didn't know for sure, but my Doctor did. Isn't that awesome!

I left the office with a bag full of goodies, and a smile on my face. My liver was good. So what is today, February 15th? I guess I can only get drunk 2 more times this year because I celebrated Friday night!

-Cheers!

Early Christmas present

I know it isn't Christmas yet, but I am in the mood for giving. So I am going to throw this one out there as a teaser. Kind of like that present you get to open on Christmas Eve. Actually, I think it is more like being there when somebody bought you a present. You don't know what it is, but you know it's going to be good.

What could it be?

I'm going public!

Good Burp has evolved over the past year. It didn't start out as a blog all about beer, but it has become a very popular one. (Thank you)

For the past couple months, I have been more and more open about my beer adventures. In addition, I have started to tell people about my blog. So much that people have been looking for me. Some have found me, and others are very close. There are some out there who I need to be a little more accessible to. So I think it's time.

The day I remove my mask and show the world my secret identity is still a bit of a secret. But your smart, I think you will figure it out.

-Cheers!

NaBloPoMo comes to an end

Well, I did it. I posted about beer for 30 straight days. November was National Blog Posting Month and I was stupid enough to sign up for it. Thank God it's over.

I started off like a 21 year old kid at his first beerfest. Pounding down post after post. By the time I hit post 11 or 12, I was drunk, I mean done. That was my wall.

Since I am not a rookie, and more like a special forces trained beer man, I powered through. I wrote post after post with skill and precision. I talked about Beerfests. I reviewed different beers. I talked about beer stores and beer people. Even the Queen stopped by and wrote a post (making my writing skills look bad in the process) about her first ever Beerfest. I even posted drunk!

Honestly, it was fun. I made a few new friends, and picked up a few new followers. But most of all, I hope you all enjoyed it.

-Cheers!

I'm sick, so no beer tonight

I'm sick. So no beer tonight.

It sucks being sick. But it sucks even more not being able to drink on of the new seasonal beers I just picked up. Scratch that. I can drink the beer, but it just doesn't taste the same. It doesn't smell the same either. And that's what I love the most about beer, the smell.

I wish they had beer scented cologne and beer air fresheners. I would douse myself with it every day. Then hop into my car with a Hops shaped air freshener hanging from the review mirror. That is what I wish.

But I don't want to go to jail, or get fired from my job, or have people insinuate that I am an alcoholic. That's what my cousin is for.

So I'm going to go to bed, and be ready to post tomorrow.

Tomorrow, The Queen is going to make her much anticipated guest post about her very first Beerfest!

-Cheers!

A man becomes a Brewmaster

I wish I could tell you that it was me, but it isn't. This is the story of a man, who quit his job, to chase his dream to one day become a brewmaster.

Burr Street Brew Blog has been writing about his journey for nearly 6 months now. I have been following him, and cheering him on from afar.

It is a great story. And I encourage all of you to go, and read his story. At the least, read his most recent post.

BSBB, keep on living the dream!

BevMo is working on it

Well, it looks like my little blog started quite an uproar. Who would have thought that a blog post could have so much clout? But it has. So much in fact that the Alan Johnson, the CEO of BevMo actually found my blog, read my post, and commented on it. He even went so far to ask me to contact him. So I did.

When I first read the comment, I didn't believe it was him. I did a quick Google search to see what I could find. Indeed, he is listed as the CEO, so I sent him an email. Within minutes, he replied. He was really wanted to talk to me about the "incident" at my local BevMo. He asked if I would be so kind, and call him. Or, I could give him my number and he would call me. I felt a little apprehensive about giving my phone number to someone who might possibly not be who I think they are. So I told him I would call him tomorrow.

Thursday night, I called him, and he answered. We talked for 20 minutes or so. He told me that he was very upset about what had happened. He asked my if I could tell him exactly what happened. So I did. He apologized , and told me that it should never have happened. He said they have policies in place, and obviously they were not followed. In addition, he said the BevMo will not be beaten by anyone. After our conversation, I believe him.

Mr. Johnson has offered to make things right. He is working out a "resolution" right now. We are going to talk again next week. I will tell you that I am excited. After our conversation, I knew that I really liked this guy. He cared. He cared about me, his customer, and his company. He was a cool guy. Nothing like I was expected him to be.

That is where we are today. I have talked to the Manager, and the assistant Manager. They have been very apologetic. I might even stop my there tonight. Who knows. There is more to say about this. But I gotta run. Got plans at The Yard House today. I need to plan out my "tasting" list.

-Cheers

Beer Swapping

I did it. Last week I made my first beer swap with a friend. I will tell you now, I am hooked. Beer swapping is so much fun. I'm going to do it again, and again, and again. In fact, I think I might have even found a new Beer Swapping partner. This is going to get addictive.

I have a friend, we will call him "Chef". He lives on the east coast. We spend a lot of time talking about beer. Drinking beer, making beer, different beers, beers we like, beers we wish we want to try, and beers we wish we could get.

That last one is what got us started. I read on other blogs about all these different beer from regional breweries that I can't get out here on the west coast. Chef has the same problem. He wants to try all the beers from all the breweries here on the west side of the country. Thus, we decided to trade.

It started off easily enough. We each made lists of the breweries and certain beers we wanted to try. But we decided to choose a few of out favorites for each other. Kind of like a surprise. Boy, was I surprised.

I got 9 beers I have never tried before. 5 were from regional breweries I have never even heard of. Here is the list.

Cape Ann Brewing Company -Fisherman's Brew Lager
Victory Brewing- Hop Devil Ale
Brooklyn Brewery - Pennant Ale
Troegs Brewing Company - Hop Back Amber Ale
Bell's Brewery - Two Hearted Ale
Bell's Brewery - Oberon Ale
Clay Pipe Brewing - Hop-Ocalypse India Pale Ale
Dogfish Head - Aprihop Ale
Dogfish Head - Palo Santo Marron

So far, I like what I have tried. In fact, I liked them a lot! Some more than others, but I still enjoyed them. As of 5 minutes ago, I only have 1 left of the original 9. But don't worry, I took notes on each one. Come Saturday night, I am going to review them all for you, my blog reading fans.

In the meantime, I leave you with this. Imagine walking up to your front door and finding a package. This is usually a good thing. But this time, it's something special. This time, Brewmaster Santa left you a special Christmas present. Beer! And not just any ole beer. This is special beer that you can't get. How cool is that? So, are you ready to trade yet? I know I am!

-Cheers!

New plan of attack

To be honest, I have a hard time keeping up with my posts. I forget to write, or I don't feel like writing, or I really have nothing to say. But today, I made a decision. That is about to change. Here is what I plan on doing.

Beer talk will be on Tuesday. It will be called "Tales from the beer line". I am going to talk about the what conversations I might have overheard while I was standing in line, for a beer, or buying beer at the BevMo or Total Wine (where I buy most of my beer). I always seem to have a conversation with someone about beer. And I almost always end up having a story to tell.

Saturday nights will be my beer reviews. That seems to be the night that I have the most time to write about the beers I drank during the week. Not to mention, Saturday night seems to be the night I drink (I mean, taste) a large amount of beer. For example, tonight I have tasted the following:

Hacker Pschorr - Munich Gold finest Lager
Dogfish Head - Punkin Ale
New Belgium - Mothership Wit (Organic Wheat Beer brewed with spices)
Dogfish Head - Raison De' Entre
Dogfish Head - 60 Minute IPA
Stone Brewing - Pale Ale

How does this sound? If you like my plan, come back on Tuesday and you can read the latest story I overheard while I was standing in line for a beer at the baseball game. Then come back next Saturday, and you can read my full review of each one of these great beers I have been drinking this week.

I forgot to mention. I went to the premier of "Beer Wars" on Thursday night. I loved it. Tomorrow night, I am going to tell you about it. It was a great movie. I loved it. And I changed my opinion of beer after watching it.

Thanks for being a fan of "Good Burp".

-Prost!

The Beer Trade

I got an interesting email from a friend the other day. He is an avid home brewer and beer fan. We talk about cars, beer, boobs. You know, guy stuff. By the end of the beer talk, both of us end up being jealous. Why? Because the other one always seems to be drinking a better beer. You see, he lives on the east coast, and I am on the west coast. And when it comes to beer distribution, all things are not fair.

So he came up with an idea. He wanted to know if I might be interested in doing a beer exchange. After I took the 2 seconds to think it over, I think my response was something like, "Hellz Yeah". I have been dreaming of this for a long time. It seems like I am constantly reading blogs where people write a review of a beer I can't get. Or they post a picture of some new special beer that I will never be able to find. Honestly, it pisses me off. So I am all ready to start trading.

However, I have a little problem. How do I know what to ask for? I mean, if you asked for a brewery on the west coast, I can tell you which ones to try, which ones I like, and if there are any new seasonal brews available. When it comes to the smaller east coast breweries, I don't have a clue. I don't know of many. And I surely don't know which beers to ask for.

This is where I need you, my beer swilling friends. What do I ask for? What am I missing out on? What is the brewery out there that I just have to try? And what is that beer that I will fall in love with? I would love to have your recommendations. And when I do, I will tally up all the suggestions, and post the results. Once I receive the beer, I will write a full review of each and every one. I hope I get to write a lot of them. So please, help a brother out.

-Cheers

It's working

I knew it. It is actually working. I am so smart. I was an Honor Student for 1 semester in college for crying out loud. I'm only two beers into my "binge" tonight, and I'm already typing. I actually have two posts I want to wright. But lets continue on my "Barry Badrinath Theory".

As soon as I opened my second bottle, it hit me. I am drinking my oldest beer. This is the first time I have cracked into a beer that I decided to "age" way back when. God, I am glad I did. The beer of choice is "The Original and Genuine MACKESON Triple Stout", brewed and bottled in England.

When I came home from London a few years ago, I was addicted to English Ale. I loved London. And I loved the ale. Sitting in a dark, damp, English pub to have a pint of Ale is something every living human being must experience in their lifetime. When I got home, I didn't want that feeling to end. So I looked all over town for for any ale that was from England.

Notice: The best beer I ever had was in a pub called, The George. "The George Inn lies about six miles south-east of Bath, in the village of Norton St. Philip. The George Inn is reputed to be one of the oldest continuously licensed houses in England". A small, local brewer from the area had a special ale available the day I was there. It makes me happy, and a little sad, to think that I will never have this brew again. Here is the link:

http://www.thegeorgeinn-nsp.co.uk/

Anyways, I was hooked. I went through the major breweries, Bass, Newcastle, Fuller's, and Young's. Then one day, I found Mackeson. It was a different style of ale that I wasn't used to. This was a Triple Stout. I was just drinking regular ole ales. But I liked this one. I liked it a lot. So I went back and bought a second 6 pack with plans to save it. I am happy I did.

The Review:

The taste has intensified, yet mellowed. There is a strong caramel aroma, and a powerful coffee taste that is so smooth to the pallet. I really enjoyed this stout the first time I tried it. Bit I am enjoying it even more the second time around. So much that I am asking myself why I don't drink this on a regular basis.

The Results:
Did I like it? Yes!
Was it good? Yes!
Would I recommend it? Absolutely!

-Cheers Mate!

No beerfest tonight

In a round about way, I am proving my theory. My theory that "I'm better when I'm drunk". In order to prove this theory, I planned to drink to the point of drunkenness. Then in that drunken stupor, attempt to type out an amazing blog post. But I haven't done it yet.

I only had a single beer each of that past two nights. I have been a little under the weather, and I really don't feel like drinking...that much. Besides, I can only imagine what I would be doing to my liver with the amount of alcohol and prescribed drugs I would have in my system.

And what does that little red sticker on the side of the bottle mean? "WARNING. Do not consume alcohol". In my book, I could drink 2 or 3 beers before I would say I consumed any alcohol. What if I drink something like Bohemia. There is a big difference between that and say, Tequila. They should put that on the side. "Do not drink Tequila".

Anyways, I hope to be better in a couple days. So this weekend, I plan on a great weekend of amazing posts. I have one in mind, but it is just a little to close to home. It might give me away. Let's see what happens.

-Cheers.

I'm better when I'm Drunk

Who's Barry Badrinath?
Who's Barry Badrinath?
Who's Barry Badrinath?
Who's Barry Badrinath?

Who's Barry Badrinath?

Who's Barry Badrinath?

Lately, I've been feeling like Barry Badrinath. For those of you in the dark, Barry Badrinath is the guy in Beerfest who plays quarters, "better when drunk". You might have noticed that I haven't been blogging much lately. I really didn't know why.

Then it hit me.

I was watching Beerfest this weekend. There is the scene where the fellas try to get Barry to join their Beer Drinking Team to compete against the Germans in the super secret beer drinking competition, Beerfest.

Barry was the best beer gamer ever. Best at Quarters. Best at Pong. Best at everything. But Barry has hit rock bottom. Working under a bridge charging $15 for a ZJ. But most importantly, Barry has lost his special ability. He can't play quarters anymore. Or has he? When it seems like the fellas are without their best beer gamer, Barry shows up at the Schnitzengiggle and puts on a quarters show for the ages. What happened to Barry?

"I'm better when I'm drunk".

That is when it hit me. I am better when I'm drunk. At least, I am better at blogging when I'm drunk. I seem to be at the top of my game after drinking a few cold ones. I can't explain it. But my mind just starts going and I start typing. (thank God for spellcheck)

But I haven't been drinking much beer lately. I just haven't felt that desire to drink beer. I have been growing tired of the 3 beers in my kegerator, and I am running low on quality beer in my beer fridge. And I have been too lazy to make a run over to the BevMo to pick up some new styles.

So guess what I'm going to do tomorrow. Yep, I'm going to drink. And lets see if I blog. If I drink enough, I bet I will. Lets call it a test.

-Prost!