A carnival of technology

Q: What the hell am I going to do with all that cilantro?
A: Nothing, it died

I’m starting to see the shortcomings of trying to grow plants on a covered balcony that only gets full sun for about half the day.  The cilantro didn’t make it, but everything else seems to be doing ok.  I planted some flat-leaf parsley in its place, since I use more parsley anyway, and that’s going confusingly.  Pretty much all of the original leaves died after planting it, but there’s a lot of new growth.  I don’t know how that’s going to go.  The curly parsley is still going strong.  I gave the mint a big, flat pot so it can go all ground-covery, and it’s growing great.

I planted some basil that’s doing pretty well, and the tomatoes are growing slowly but steadily.  I don’t think the peppers are going to make it.  Thyme and rosemary are doing great.  And then there’s the garlic.  I cut off some of the scapes once to make some delicious pesto, and dang but they grew back mighty quick.  In light of this I think I’m instead going to try to just keep growing scapes.  I can buy garlic bulbs at the supermarket, and scapes are something delightful that I can’t get anywhere else.  Yay garlic.  I guess I’ll have to find some more ways to cook with it.

I’m starting to feel like I’m mostly repeating myself with these reviews.  I’ll try something weirder tomorrow in an effort to vanquish this curse of brevity.

Red Hook Cooper Hook Spring Ale

Red Hook is a Washington brewery, but apparently they have a brewery in Portsmouth, NH as well.  New Hampshire is where this one came from.

True to its name, Copper Hook is a deep, coppery orange.  It smells of roasted malts with some flowery hops scents.  The taste is malty and hoppy with some citrus notes.  There is a little bit of roasty taste, but nothing near the extent of a stout, or even a porter; it’s just a thicker malt flavor than you’d find in a paler beer, and with some caramel sweetness to it.  It has a pretty big feel to it, but the crisp, orangey hops keep it from being overwhelming.  The “spring ale” made me expect something a little lighter, or maybe a little fruitier, but this is more something for a New Hampshire spring: something to keep away the chill of the lingering April frost but with enough brightness to turn an optimistic eye to the warmer days to come.  It’s not bad, kind of a pale ale with a shade of extra heaviness.  Would drink again.

Taj Mahal Premium Lager Beer

The Indians hung out with the British for a few years, and the British are pretty ok at making a beer when they put their minds to it, so I figured this beer at least has a better chance than that Lithuanian thing.  Unfortunately, it seems like the makers of this particular Indian beer got most of their advice from the Americans.

Taj Mahal is a very light, clear yellow with an average head that dissipates quickly into a thin ring.  It smells mostly of hops, grassy and a little flowery, and it has that corn smell reminiscent of an American lager.  The taste is pretty thin.  There’s some grain, some hops, and a little bit of an oily feel that robs it of some of its crispness.  In all There’s really not much to say about Taj Mahal.  There’s nothing particularly offensive, but nothing special about it, either.