Sticking with redesign mode, I’ve finally migrated Superfectablog from Blogger and [...]]]> After much CSS/PHP/JavaScript wrangling, DVAG Wire is finally up and running. I have no doubt, dear reader, that you have been desperate to know what has been going on behind the scenes at a number of Philadelphia archives: now you can keep track automatically.

Sticking with redesign mode, I’ve finally migrated Superfectablog from Blogger and over to WordPress and redesigned it, from logo to layout – as the site was approaching its fifth birthday (with only one-and-a-half major redesigns), the move and facelift were long overdue. While the new design is not a huge departure from the old one in terms of layout, the greater control and flexibility afforded by WordPress is very pleasant indeed – it makes up for the temporary traffic drop I anticipate from the move.

While planning the redesigns, I did a little digging for inspiration (or, perhaps more accurately, to review lessons learned) and found some old work in the Wayback Machine: a little feature I did on The Phantom Menace (before discovering its full horror), an old music review and a website for a radio show I built long ago.  While not universally the case, the fact that many of the ads were preserved is oddly pleasing to me.

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Rather shamefully, I have no books on this list; while I read many, not a one was published in 2009 – my excuse is that I’m waiting for the new Nick Hornby novel to come out in paperback.  So, in fractured order, here are this [...]]]>

Arctic Club, Seattle

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Rather shamefully, I have no books on this list; while I read many, not a one was published in 2009 – my excuse is that I’m waiting for the new Nick Hornby novel to come out in paperback.  So, in fractured order, here are this year’s Things I Liked A Lot:

Best Thing I Wrote This Year: On Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra and Memory
Best Race (live): The Haskell (just edging out the Preakness)
Best Race (televised): Breeders’ Cup Classic
Best (human) Race: Dogfish Dash 10K
Best Soccer: US beats Spain, Confederations Cup
Best Trip: Seattle, Arctic Club/MLS Cup/REI pilgrimage/new light rail
Best Airline: Alaska Airlines
Best Live Show (overall): Leonard Cohen, Tower Theater
Best Free@Noon Show at World Cafe Live: John Wesley Harding/M. Ward
Best Beer (draft): Stone/BrewDog Bashah
Best Beer (bottled): Pretty Things Saint Botolph’s Town
Best New Bar: Varga Bar
Best Album: John Wesley Harding: Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead
Best Concept Album: The Duckworth-Lewis Method: The Age of Revolution
Best Random Song: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: Home
Best TV: How I Met Your Mother
Best Event TV: Doctor Who
Best Movie: (500) Days of Summer
Best Movie Franchise Reboot: Star Trek

Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel Rosée d’Hibiscus Another wit – but this one is flavored hibiscus. This is possibly the only ‘girly’ beer I’ve ever enjoyed. Brooklyn Brewery Flemish Gold A saison from Garrett Oliver’s arsenal – lots of flavor.

Brouwerij de Molen [...]]]> Allagash Fluxus 2008
This year’s Fluxus was a ginger-spiced witbier. It was rather tasty.

Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel Rosée d’Hibiscus
Another wit – but this one is flavored hibiscus. This is possibly the only ‘girly’ beer I’ve ever enjoyed.

Brooklyn Brewery Flemish Gold
A saison from Garrett Oliver’s arsenal – lots of flavor.

Brouwerij de Molen 1914 London Porter
All beer-geek archivists read Shut Up About Barclay Perkins, yes? If you do not already, you should begin, since the blog and, hence, the beer are the fruits of researcher/author/blogger Ronald Pattinson’s hard work in various European beer archives. And it’s great.

Brouwerij de Molen SSS 1914 Triple Stout
Like the beer above, this is a fantastic recreation of a historic recipe – one I’d be happy to drink every day.

Dogfish Head Sah’tea
Also something of a historic recreation (this time of a Finnish sahti), but as this is Dogfish Head, it had a modern twist – actual tea in the brew, and a weizen yeast. More refreshing than it is possible to convey.

Dogfish Head Theobroma
It sometimes seemed that every new beer I tried this year featured chocolate in some way, but nothing could compare to the latest archaeological beer from Dogfish Head. Unique, and a very different brew in tap and in the bottle.

Earth Bread + Brewery The Bradley Effect
A winner from the much-anticipated brewpub (see below, and try the flatbreads – they are amazing) with a very unusual style – it was a black gruit (and was on tap just in time for the election).

Earth Bread + Brewery Here’s Brucker
I seemed to have enjoyed many alts this year – this was one of the best, despite the terrible pun.

Earth Bread + Brewery Love Your Mother
After much wrangling over a liquor license, Earth Bread + Brewery finally opened; this mild was in their starting lineup. Really a nice beer, especially for someone who is stuck driving later.

HaandBryggeriet Norwegian Wood
It was too smoky for me, but I could appreciate the work that had gone into it – the juniper was a nice touch, and I look forward to their other offerings.

Harviestoun Ola Dubh 16
I am generally not a fan of anything wood-aged, but perhaps there’s something about whisky casks that makes it OK. Harviestoun took their reliable Old Engine Oil and deposited it in some Highland Park casks for a while (I also tried the 12 and 30 varieties), with a very tasty (and, for completists, individually-numbered) result. This one was just right.

Moa Noir
I am often suspicious of a beer that has made a long journey in a bottle, but this dark lager from New Zealand was great – more, please!

Nils Oscar Kalasöl
A märzen from Sweden, and a good one, too – not to mention an excuse to use two umlauts in rapid succession.

Otter Creek Sea Otter
My favorite from the Otter Creek World Tour series – a Baltic porter with a ton of flavor.

Port Brewing/De Proefbrouwerij Signature Ale
Possibly the oddest beer I’ve had this year, and one I thought I would dislike since I am not the world’s biggest fan of Brettanomyces. This works perfectly for me, though.

Ridgeway Bad King John
A dark, bitter stout, but in a very good way.

Rogue Double Dead Guy
As per usual, Rogue can get away with front-loading the hops – there’s still plenty of malt to make this a perfect Halloween brew.

Rogue John Locker Stock #10, Oktoberfest
This was something of a departure for Rogue – the malt finally got a chance to shine.

Russian River Blind Pig IPA
West coast brewers truly understand how to do the über-hoppy thing while maintaining great flavor.

Southern Tier Choklat
Rather like its sibling below – I wish these came in airline-sized bottles.

Southern Tier Crème Brulee
Definitely a ‘dessert only’ beer – very, very sweet and lives up to its namesake.

Southern Tier Oat
It’s an imperial oatmeal stout. It’s very tasty. It needs to come in a smaller bottle.

Stone XII Anniversary
Another chocolate beer, this one a bitter chocolate oatmeal stout. Really nice, but it was hard to match the memory of the XI Anniversary, which remains my current favorite beer. Can it please become a year-round offering? Pretty please?
Update: Thank you, Stone Gods!

Struise Black Albert
I know every other beer geek loves it. I see how it’s well-crafted, really I do – but it’s too wine-y for me; the grape flavor and I are not friends. Nice maltiness, though.

Struise Mikeller
Belgium and Denmark came together to make a strong golden ale (or something along those lines). It was tremendous.

Struise Tsjeeses
It was blond tastiness.

Troegs Scratch #6
The Troegs Scratch series has been great fun; I am not normally a huge fan of the Dortmunder Export style, but this won me over.

Troegs Scratch #7
Who doesn’t like a weizenbock?

Victory Yakima Twilight
It’s something like a dark double IPA (not quite a Stone XI Anniversary, but perhaps a distant relation) and quite hoppy for Victory, whose stable of lagers made me realize lagers could be Good Things. I hope to have more.

So, there you have it – a partial sampling of Things I’ve Really Liked this year; if I had to pick a favorite, it’s going to be a narrow victory for the 1914 London Porter, just edging out the SSS 1914 Triple Stout. I wish you good luck in obtaining a bottle in time for New Year’s Eve.

Beer Dieu du Ciel! Rosée d’Hibiscus Gasthaus Gosebrauerei Bayerischer Bahnhof Gose Reissdorf Kölsch Victory St. Boisterous Victory Braumeister Pils

Books Home: A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews A Good Horse Has No Color: Searching Iceland for the Perfect Horse by Nancy Marie Brown 1491: New Revelations [...]]]> Yes, it’s true; I’m officially an award-winning brewer. Here are some ways to celebrate this accomplishment:

Beer
Dieu du Ciel! Rosée d’Hibiscus
Gasthaus Gosebrauerei Bayerischer Bahnhof Gose
Reissdorf Kölsch
Victory St. Boisterous
Victory Braumeister Pils

Books
Home: A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews
A Good Horse Has No Color: Searching Iceland for the Perfect Horse by Nancy Marie Brown
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann

Music Sweden – The Mountain Goats Laid – James The Life Pursuit – Belle & Sebastian Company – 2006 Broadway Revival Cast Recording Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters – The Twilight Sad

February Derby Picks Anak Nakal Court Vision Face the Cat Tale of [...]]]> The icy weather affords an opportunity to broadcast a few recent favorites, many of which admittedly have not changed much since November:

Music
Sweden – The Mountain Goats
Laid – James
The Life Pursuit – Belle & Sebastian
Company – 2006 Broadway Revival Cast Recording
Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters – The Twilight Sad

February Derby Picks
Anak Nakal
Court Vision
Face the Cat
Tale of Ekati
War Pass

Beer
Iron Hill Pilsner Barleywine (West Chester)
Stone XI Anniversary
Troubadour Obscura
Troegs Scratch #7
Victory