Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Good Bad Ideas: Running Marathons


Nothing like a good bad idea to look forward to.

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I should also mention that my only previous marathon (2003 Twin Cities) ended with me limping the last 9 miles. Still I managed a 3:50. Right now all indications point to a sub-3 hour marathon if everything goes well. At my age, under 3:10 will qualify me for the Boston Marathon, so I'll use that as a goal.

This, of course, begs the question of what to drink after the race. After looking through my personal database of beer reviews, I'll go with this if available. Stone Brewing says they named this beer for the ruinous effect it has on your palate. I think in this case it will be more apt for the state of my legs after the marathon.

Ruination IPA
Stone Brewing Co.
Double IPA

A / 4.35
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | drink: 4.5

For some stupid reason, I came into this beer determined to find faults, thinking it was some how over-rated. I was dead wrong.

Ruination has an orange body with a fluffy head of fine bubbles. You’re met with a powerful, pungent aroma of sweet fruits and earthy, floral hops. Tastes of caramel and toasted malt overrun by bitter mixed citrus juice and lemon peel with tangerine and pine flavor fading out before the long-lingering herbal bitterness kicks in. Feels rich and smooth for such bitterness, invites another sip. A bit tart too.

Upon emptying the bottle, I wish I had another. This would also be an amazing beer to pair with sharp, bold, and spicey foods. God damn its good.

1 comment:

Mike said...

Why doesn't Stone distribute in Minnesota? It's almost unforgivable.

That said, I've been lucky enough to come across a few of their beers. I found the Ruination when I was in Vegas and the Arrogant Bastard in California (both on tap). I can totally relate to what you had to say about wanting to find something overrated about it. I think I just automatically assume anything that gets that much hype must not deserve all of it. I walked away with a similar impression to yours, that both beers had lived up to their hype.

I also had the good fortune of coming across a few bottles in my local liquor store in Madison the night before I moved out of there back to MN. Apparently they had just started selling it within the week. I picked up a bottle of both Ruination and Arrogant Bastard. Neither lasted very long. I also picked up a bottle of the 12th anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, which is still sitting in my fridge.

I almost feel guilty drinking them as quickly as I did, especially knowing how hard it is to come by around here, but they're just so good.