21st Century Schizoid Ale

A new subject comes from out of left field. I've never discussed my home brewing endeavors here because, frankly, I hadn't brewed in years until recently. After getting back in the swing of things by producing a mediocre batch we decided to call AfroDan's Inaugural Ale, my new apprentice and I set out to brew possibly my most ambitious recipe ever.

Aptly named 21st Century Schizoid Ale due to the use of some experimental brewing methods in an attempt to produce a beer that is the hybrid of several styles, this is easily the second best batch I've ever made. It's going to be hard to ever top my 1995 tour de force, Mr. Pither's Imperial Stout, just as it's extremely difficult to make this comparison 13 years later, but this one comes close. Although we were aiming a little higher, this brew fermented out to an ABV of 8.5%. While it definitely tastes like a strong ale, it goes down rather nicely, with just enough hop bitterness to prevent it from tasting too malty sweet, but not so much that it scares away the novices. I wouldn't recommend drinking more than a couple, though, on a summer day where temperatures reach the high '90s. Our decision to brew it this time of the year could certainly be called into question, but we're quite happy with it regardless.

As for its moniker, of course it is named after King Crimson's signature song, "21st Century Schizoid Man", so yesterday's festivities were also a celebration of Robert Fripp's crew as well as other things prog. My trivia question proved to be a little more than anyone in attendance could handle, but it stirred up some interesting drunken musical discussion, as well as a brief attempt at a game called Six Degrees of John Wetton. In case you're interested, here's the question:

Name as many members of the 1969-1974 era Crimson lineup as you can (two points each), with a bonus point for naming one other band that each member played in.

Because the definition of band member never seems to be as cut and dried as you would think, there were a total of 15 correct answers, with two others that were somewhat debatable, but that I decided I would accept. I think two guests combined for a total of 11 points (four members plus additional bands for three of them). Not very impressive.

Not surprisingly, if you know me well enough, there's a commemorative mix. Interestingly enough, or not, I almost committed an Apostrophe Catastrophe on the cd sleeve. After typing "Lark's Tongues in Aspic", I realized that, unless a lark can have more than one tongue, it has to be Larks' Tongues in Aspic. I have to say thank you to my frequent softball teammate, Becky, for her vigilance against bad punctuation. Otherwise, I may not have been as careful in my own editing.

So, if you'd like a copy of the 21st Century Schizoid Mix, leave me a comment or send me an email. I apologize in advance that I won't be able to mail you one of the beers.