Pic(k) of the Week: Krampus Christmas trees?

Would you take the risk?

As seen (or not seen) from the Trolley Trail, through deep fog, in the Kirkwood neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, on the morning of 5 November 2018.

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A warming St. Bernardus Christmas Ale

St. Bernardus Christmas Ale
— Brouwerij St. Bernardus (Watou, Belgium)

☞ BREWERY:
Not Trappist, but derived from that ecclesiastical pedigree (and mycological filigree).

☞ SAMPLE:
On draught, at My Parents' Basement, a pub (and comic book shop) in Avondale Estates, Georgia, 30 November 2018.

☞ BEER:
Dark brown/red, tinged with purple. Scant head, but lasting carbonation. Tasting of (but not derived from) raisins, peaches, apples, anise, cinnamon, circus peanuts, marzipan, malt syrup. At 10% alcohol-by-volume (abv), you know it's strong, but, by Yule, it's smoothly sweet, finishing only just off-dry. Delicious.

☞ CODA:
Fire extinguished; beer not char-boiled; drinker warmed.

A series of occasional reviews of beers (and wine and spirits).
No scores; only descriptions.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Mist on the Fen.

A veil draped on the fen.
Familiar became wunderlich.
The quiet ... loud.

And it was 'chilled.'

At seven, Sunday morning, 25 November 2018, in Atlanta, Georgia's Gilliam Park.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Pink Grass

It's pink; it's prolific; it's native to the southeastern U.S. It's pink muhly grass.

Scientifically Muhlenbergia capillaris and also called hair-awn muhly or pink hairgrass ...

this southeastern native grass is found in both the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain regions but in different environments. According to the Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States (May 2015), in the Piedmont it is found “primarily in clayey or thin rocky soils (especially in areas which formerly burned and were prairie-like) and in open woodlands.” In the Coastal Plain, the habitat description is “in savannas, dry woodlands, and coastal grasslands (where sometimes in close proximity with M. sericea), in the Mountains around calcareous rock outcrops.”

— Using Georgia Native Plants

In the photo above, pink muhly grass is extensively planted about a two-acre pond in Atlanta, Georgia's Historic Fourth Ward Park where (until 2011) ...

stood little more than cracked asphalt and trash-strewn fields [but that now] provides not only an arresting visual and natural gathering place, but also serves in a functional capacity as a stormwater detention basin. In this role, the lake increases the sewer capacity, reduces the burden on aging city infrastructure, and minimizes downstream flooding and property damage. The use of native plants helps reduce the cost of maintaining the 17-acre park, and organic land-care with dynamic soil biology helps reduce the need for irrigation, minimize storm water runoff, and curtail the likelihood of disease.

— Historic Fourth Ward Park Conservancy

Top photo: 18 November 2018. Bottom photo: 31 October 2018.

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Laiminga Padėkos Diena!

Beer for Thanksgiving? Yes!

But as to what beer to drink with which dish, let the curators drink alone. There are no rules, but only enthusiastic suggestions.

Be that as it may, maybe a non-dank pilsner, or a spicy, dry (that's the key) saison or dubbel, or, if you're so blessed, a cask-conditioned bitter: sip, pull, and repeat. (Or, okay, a dry IPA.) Beer drunk with cheese; with everything else, don't make beer the star, just the pal. Maybe with sweets, it should be sweeter. Over-hoppy-ed examples? They belong in long special-release queues; over-alcohol-ed, with postprandial digestive stupors.

Heck, maybe even a wine, like a cider. But, above all, this should be fun. It's all been done before.

• From 2015: A Very Vegetarian Thanksgiving.
• From 2003: Talking Turkey (and Beer).
• From 1983: A Twist on Tradition: The Right Beer, Thanksgiving Dish by Thanksgiving Dish.
• From 1619: The true story of Beere, the Pilgrims, and Thanksgiving.

To conclude, in Lithuanian *:

Laiminga Padėkos Diena!

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