INTRODUCING: Jeff's Corner!!

Hello all. As most of you know I am Alex’s husband Jeff. After weeks of seeing Alex writing her blog it made me want to start my own. But knowing me, I would probably only write on it once a month. So Alex had the idea that I just do a kind of, ‘Jeff’s corner’ in her blog. Perfect! So here we go. Hopefully the network picks me up and this show doesn’t get cancelled after one episode ;)

Beer. The world’s oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage

(thanks wikipedia). Some hate it, some love it, and some weep at the realization that a local seven eleven is supplying a night of unexpected quality (thank you seven eleven for steering away from your affordable yet flavorless beers of past). I am obviously the latter. A self proclaimed “beer snob.” Of course I realize that tastes differ so I try not to be too hard on the average American beer drinker. But the days of Coors, Miller, and Budweiser ruling as the mainstays of beer are drawing to a close. Now I see beer drinking going the way of fine wine. With thousands of breweries across the nation, people will start shopping for types of beer instead of brands, giving large bottles of hard-to-get and well renowned beer as gifts. A walk down a well stocked beer aisle can be just as culturally stimulating and wallet draining as most

wine aisles (almost). We don’t have a four story beer tower holding almost 10,000 bottles. Yet. But there are options. Hundreds of options. Even local grocery stores are branching into micro brew territory. It pains me to watch

people debate a beer decision while only looking at the far end of the aisle. Branch out! At first it might seem too bitter, or too strong. But with the amount of choices, you’re sure to find at least one NEW beer to drink. And that usually leads to another, and then in no time you’re in a whole new world of flavors and choices.

So here's a short(ish) list of beers that I can personally recommend. Some light, some dark, some just plain mean. And a hint for sampling beer. Drink more than one sip. A lot of times I try a beer with one sip and its always different after two or three. Especially if you’re in the middle of drinking something else.

For branching out from fizzy yellow beers-

• Sierra pale ale. It’s my go-to light beer. Not too expensive, not too strong. But a great amount of hoppy flavor

• Fat Tire Amber Ale. A great amber beer. Again, its not gonna knock you out with taste but it’s really good. This was my kick start into the world of good beer.

• Blue moon. Not one of my personal favorites but it seems a lot of light beer drinkers go to this for a change. Its a Belgian white so don’t be alarmed by the cloudy appearance. And try a slice of orange in it.
• Pyramid Hefeweizen. I may get bashed by fellow snobs. But I think this is one of the better Hefeweizens out. Inexpensive and available at local grocery stores. A slice of lemon and its a great fresh beer. Good with fish, like grilled salmon.
• Newcastle. I know I know. I think 90% of the US population hates this beer but I like it. Especially after a few days. Personally I like to buy it and let it skunk up a bit in the fridge before drinking. It’s just TOO smooth when it’s fresh. But that’s just me.

And on to the slightly stronger beers (aka The STONE section).

And I don’t mean stronger in any real way except light beer drinkers tend to not like them right away.

• STONE PALE ALE (my absolute favorite) Its a pale, light beer, with an amazing amount of hoppy flavor. HOPS is a flower used in beer as a bittering agent. And the bitterness in beer is measured in IBU scale. International Bittering Units. So a normal bud light kind of beer is maybe 8-12 IBUs. Stone Pale is 41 IBUs.
• Mirror Pond from Deschutes Brewery. 40 IBUs. So tasty.
• Black Butte Porter, another deschutes beer. This one is dark and smokey and delicious.
• STONE Levitation. This one is a bit friendlier on the alcohol level. 4.4% so more drinkable than the rest Stone has to offer.
• STONE IPA. Well color me delicious. It’s got more hops than needed and its just scratching the surface. FYI Drink this AFTER drinking pale. Or a pale just won’t have enough kick.
• Guinness. MMMmmmm. I seem to go through a Guinness phase about once a year. Try a black and tan. Pour a little more than half a pale beer like Harp into a glass. Average speed don’t worry about head. It will help separate the two. Then over an upside down spoon SLOWLY pour Guinness on top.
• Ale Smith IPA- My favorite IPA that I don’t drink nearly enough of. Time for a trip to BEVMO!

And lastly, Mean beers. Well, it depends on your standards.

• STONE Ruination. This is the mother of Hoppy beers while retaining a really drinkable quality. It is 7.7% so quite strong. And 100+ IBUs. I think anything beyond 100 IBUs is not really important because at that point its just freakin HOPPY. Your wife will not appreciate this beer. Or your bowels. Just FYI. Ask Alex.
• Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. This is Naked and crying in the shower beer. There’s a reason it only comes in four packs. At 9% Its black like Pat Robertson’s soul. And thicker than Snookies layer of spray tan. But at the same time very good.
• STONE “OAKED”Arrogant Bastard. Its strong and really really good. 7.2% so not an all nighter. Well unless you’re a fan of Adventures en el cuarto de bano.
• The Abyss, Its just a mean imperial stout. Comin in at 11%. Its smokey as hell but a fine beer to sip on and share with friends.

Well there are WAAAAY more beers that I could list but these are just a few to get you started. Hopefully you’ll wonder down to the unknown area in the beer aisle next time.

Guatemala Travel Tips

I sent this info to a friend who was traveling to Guatemala. Thought I'd post in case it was useful to anyone out there. Feel free to add your two cents (especially Isabel if you're reading this :) ).

If you're staying in Gautemala City at all, try to find a hostel/hotel in Zona Viva/Zona 15 (same thing). It's a nicer area and close to clubs/restaurants. Its as much of a "party area" as there is in Guatemala (as far as I know).

Do NOT stay in Zona 1--it's the equivalent of staying in downtown LA, dirty and loud and way too much traffic

If you are in the for a day or so, check out the Palacio Nacional, la Catedral (they're both in the same block), and check out the Mercado Central (about a block away from Palacio and Catedral). The mercado is the place to go if you guys need to buy souvenirs, probably the cheapest place to go and haggling is necessary, they overprice their stuff expecting to haggle down to about half probably. If you go here, you have to be careful. There's a lot of people walking around in very close proximity to you, so just keep your eyes on your stuff and don't wear jewelry, etc. Regardless of this, it's worth going if you need to do some serious souvenir shopping. Each floor has certain "products": the bottom floor is all food/restaurants, there's another floor with clay stuff and stuff for weddings/parties/etc. The top floor is where I usually get most of my shopping done.

In Antigua: 1) Visit Hotel Santo Domingo, maybe go there for brunch if you get a chance; 2) visit Iglesia de la Merced; 3) iglesia del Santo Hermano Pedro has some cool shopping and some amazing ruins (there are convents in ruins all over Antigua); 4) to eat: Fonda de la Calle Real is good (next to and across from Pollo Campero); 5) for bars, Reily's is the fun irish pub, across from it there's a club called Kasbah--I went there once and they had dance/trance music, which was boring after the first ten minutes, so ask what kind of music they have before paying to get in.

While you're in Antigua, ask around to see how to get to San Felipe--it's maybe a five minute drive from Anitgua. There is an amazing restaurant called "El Prado", right next to the church. If you are facing the church, El Prado is on the right side of the church. This little town also has some souvenir shopping across from the church.

In Panajachel, Reserva Natural Atitlan is where we did our Canopy Tour; www.atitlanreserva.com or call 011/502/7762-2565

Volcan de Pacaya is the one that I hiked. There is also a volcano in Antigua that tour guides might try to convince you to do, and here's what I've heard from people that have done it: way too long and way too exhausting. It's about a five hour hike I think, so if you want to do it make sure you give yourselves time (leave really early). Volcan de Pacaya is closer to Guatemala city (maybe 45 minutes) and the hike is only about an hour. Take flashlights so you guys can start your hike in the evening, check out the lava at night, and climb down at night. You won't be the only ones there, so it's not bad hiking down in the dark.

For Semuc Champey, make sure you guys have a good car or go with a tour company, the roads get pretty bad and the hills/curves are pretty steep. But this was Jeff's favorite trip, and I think it's def worth it. I'll attach a pic of the view from the lookout. Regardless of how tired you are, do the hike to the top, it is worth the view. Take water shoes to walk in the pools, there are rocks and it's pretty slippery. While you're there, check out the caves in Lanquin. They are amazing and huge bat caves. You don't really need a guide, but it would be cool for them to point out the interesting rock formations. I don't think he'll be there while you're there, but ask for Moises (he's about ten years old, but the cutest and best guide ever). Guides are paid strictly off of tip, so whatever you guys want to give him.

Tipping at restaurants: you don't need to do the 15-20% we do here; we usually left Q20.00 or so if we thought they did really good, and this is A LOT down there. People down there don't usually expect tips, so don't be surprised by slow/crappy service :)

For car rental: make sure one of you will have the balls to drive. It's pretty crazy, no lanes, and people do whatever they want, you have to make sure you have an aggressive driver. If your on the rural roads, people pass cars all the time, so look out for it and be careful when doing it. The company we rented our car from is Tikal Rent a Car, 2332-4721. It's the only place where we haven't gotten ripped off (all the major companies like Hertz, etc., will rip you off, they don't really abide by corporate policy like they do over here...).

For fast food, Pollo Campero is like our McDonald's: it's all over the place. Make sure you guys go there at least once (get the traditional chicken...nothing fancy).

Comida "tipica": Guatemalans eat a lot of beans, rice, tortillas...don't be afraid to get the tipico plates, they're pretty good. We also eat a lot of meat, lomito is probably your best bet. Alot of our traditional dishes are soups, good ones are Pepian and Jocon. They're both BASICALLY chicken soup with different spices, etc., yummy!

Paiz and Hyper Paiz are our big grocery store chains down there (funny enough owned by Wal-Mart). If you don't find a bank, I think they exchange dollars here.

Our national beer is Gallo, so you'll have to drink that at least once :) Brahma/Brahva is the same thing, they just changed the name to sell it down there--it's pretty much the only competitor to Gallo--and I prefer Gallo :) Michelada's are like bloody-beers, and pretty big down there. Try it if you like Bloody Mary's (I personally REALLY like them...and get them with Gallo).

If you need a way to get around in Guatemala City, I have a couple family friends who do taxi work on the side (they are trustworthy, don't worry!). If you want, give me the dates you will be there and I will try to get their phone numbers so you can have them on you while you're down there.

If you go to Peten, stop by Puerto Barrios and Castillo San Felipe