Mexican Beer Review: Pacifico Vs. Victoria

Although I enjoy all types of beers (ask Brent or Kenny if I can hang with Stone or Saint Arnold), my favorite beer is still Pacifico. My favorite beer producing Country is Mexico, and this is partially due to the fact that I've never had a beer that I didn't like while I was in Mexico! Also, my Mom's favorite beer was Pacifico, and we used to drink them all the time.

Recently Brent and I spotted the Mexican beer Victoria at THE H-E-B, and I was excited to welcome in this newcomer to my Mexican preferred world.

 

Upon the initial poor, it had a traditional yellowish color, and smelled like a beer that should be served in a ballena. It was very crisp, and it also had slightly sweet taste. This beer was a much welcomed addition to the Mexican beer family that I enjoy. While it won't be taking Pacifico's crown anytime soon, I would gladly crack one of these open after a long day of surfing in Mexico.

Baja Sur (Pre-Beard), and Pacifico Ballenas

Cheers to Mexican beer, and Live Happily Ever Now!

Update: I have been stoked to be finding Victoria Beer all over Austin (still looking for an Austin Brewery to carry it). I found Victoria Beer on draft at Bar 96, and I nearly fell off of my bar stool! It tastes really good, and what a great summertime draft beer to enjoy. They also now have Victoria beer (bottles) at Wahoo's Fish Taco, which is awesome because that is one of my all time favorite places to eat. I also am always torn at El Caribe between ordering Victoria vs. a Pacifico. My current selection process for choosing Pacifico or Victoria beer is that I usually order a Victoria draft (or bottle) when it is available, and stick with Pacifico the rest of the time. Bottom line is that Victoria beer is still hard to find, so I enjoy it when I can! Cheers to Victoria beer! Brewed since 1865, imported to Austin since 2010!

50 Book Club

In elementary school we used to have a contest called fifty book club. If enough kids read that many books (50), our class would win an ice cream party. I'm not sure if we won or not, but I do remember that "Choose Your Own Adventure" books would count, and that I would deliberately make choices in the book that I know would lead to an ill fate, in order to help win the contest.



Lately my adult fifty book club has consisted of several books that were pretty enjoyable. When I was in Sweden I read The The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium Trilogy, Book 1)series, and it was pretty cool to be in Sweden while reading those books. Too bad the Author is dead (his family is fighting his girlfriend/co-writer for the profits), as I would have liked to continue reading the series.

I also read The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel and Kurt Vonnegut's "Man Without Country" when I returned to the USA. Kurt Vonnegut may be my favorite author, and to read his final book is almost like sitting down with him and having him tell you about life. If you have never read a book by Kurt, you are seriously missing out.

The last book of 2010 (I'm assuming) was "The Wave" by Susan Casey. This book had a really cool dichotomy look inside the lives of big wave surfers like Laird Hamilton and the scientists who study large waves. It was a not only scientific, but also reminded me why I love surfing so much.

Boo!

After 7 months of marriage I'm so happy to have my beautiful family for x-mas! Cheers to you boo!

Photo by Paul Schuster

Ana Berger taking our rock band glam shot in San Diego

Sadie our lovely pups. Giants fan too!

The Expendables - Santa Cruz, CA

I've been listening to these guys for over a decade and have seen countless shows in Santa Cruz, Isla Vista, San Diego, and now Texas. It's awesome to see them representing Santa Cruz. This video reminds me of home:

Expendables - New Music - More Music Videos

State Radio - Live in Austin, TX - With Video

State Radio is one of my favorite bands, and luckily I have seen them live quite frequently since I have lived here in Austin.

Chad at Austin Music Hall

One highlight was after the show with 311 we bumped into Chad and Lefty walking the streets of Austin, and it was pretty cool to meet the extended band!

Me and Leyla at Austin Music Hall

I have shared my love for this band with all of my friends, and one of my best friends Magnus in Sweden is also now a huge fan. So much so that his girlfriend Sofia and him even flew from Malmö Sweden to London to see them earlier this year.

Magnus and Sofia at ACL

Here is some video that I shot at the show at La Zona Rosa in downtown Austin (you can hear me singing during Calling All Crows).  It is a medley with "Mansin Humanity"-"Mr. Larkin"-"Calling All Crows", and my all time favorite "Indian Moon"(my wife's and I last dance). Cheers to State Radio!

Baja 2008 Revisited - Baja 2011 Through 2015 Up Next!

With the annual Baja trip taking a temporary hiatus during 2009 and 2010, the core Baja Crew is ready to embark on another mission! Instead of the annual trip, it will be biennial to accommodate our old age and growing families.

The core as we know it (been present for 80% or more of annual Baja trips) is Kenneth aka "Krazy Kenny", Magnus aka "Mankiepost, Swing, Swingnutz", Scott aka "Coffee and Numbers guy", Brendan aka "Knows a bunch of top secret shit guy", and myself aka "Mr. Matthew, Matty, Big Guy".

Kenny, Brendan, Me, Magnus, and Scott at my Wedding.

The mission will be Baja Sur, the time frame September, the emphasis on my all time favorite wave (thus far) Scorpion bay.

In 2011 we have talks of bringing boats, motorcycles, elaborate fishing gear, and of course lots of playboy magazines for the Federales.

Whether it's driving all night, getting stuck in hurricanes, rolling a vehicle, playing lose it, getting stung by a sting ray, dodging banditos, or getting crazy surf; one thing is for sure, we will most definitely have a good time. Here is 2008's video below, I say that we step up our game in 2011 with GoPro® HD Camerasfor the ultimate video.

Cheers to Baja!

Mat McHugh, John Butler Trio, and the Flashlight in My Eye

We had a great time during the John Butler Trio and Mat McHugh show. John Butler Trio reminded me of Xavier Rudd blended with Dave Matthews Band live (with a hint of Ozomatli's energy).

I was expecting to see The Beautiful Girls play as the second band, but apparently I didn't read the fine print and was very bummed (I sent C3 an email explaining why). We still were very impressed with both performances, and I have been a big fan of Mat for quite some time. It was great to see him perform live all the way from Australia, and I look forward to his next trip into town (hopefully with the whole band).

The only annoyance (good parking karma was had) was the bouncer who kept shining his light at anyone taking pictures or taking video, he even came out into the crowd, leaving the stage unguarded, something I've never seen before. So I had to get all James Bond on him.

Overall, good music was had and it was great weather to be under the stars at Stubb's.

Here is Mat live at Stubbs:

Dreaming of Surf

Only bad thing about living in Austin TX? No surf. Have had several dreams about surfing and Baja lately, and here is a cool pic courtesy of Matt Clark via Surfline:

San Francisco Giants: 2010 Champs! FIrst Time in My Life!

For the first time in my life (anyone's life for that matter) the San Francisco Giants are Champions of the World! See my previous article and you can feel my pain/JOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Watching and waiting! Some of the most exciting moments of my life! Thanks Leyla for capturing it!

Finally, remember, Fear the Beard!!

Music on My Mind - SoundCloud

When you have ridiculous headphones that you bought for your European Honeymoon that happened to be invented by Snoop Dogg's best friend --- aka  Beats Studio by Dr. Dre - Hi-Def Noise-Canceling Over-Ear Headphones, it's important that you listen to good music. Here are some of the tracks that I would recommend via my soundcloud:

Best lazer show you can see these days Ghostland Observatory:

 Ghostland Observatory - Give Me the Beat by Matt Kuhn

Saw these guys recently and the cops shut these Dirty Heads down! Sucked for us...

 The Dirty Heads - Lay Me Down by Matt Kuhn

Zion I kills it, saw him with our boys Rebelution earlier this year (thanks for the VIP Marley!):

 Zion I - Coastin' by Matt Kuhn

Great band called Sparta, and this song has Baja sentimental value.

 Sparta - Glasshouse Tarot by Matt Kuhn

Check these guys out, really like these Scottish guys: We Were Promised Jetpacks

 We Were Promised Jet Packs - Quiet Little Voices by Matt Kuhn 

One more by these guys We Were Promised Jetpacks:

Makes for good headphone music!

Bay Six Studios: Sharon Kyle Kuhn!

For those of you who haven't met my wonderful Step Mom Sharon Kyle Kuhn, she has a wonderful space called Bay6 Gallery and Studios. It will be a part of the EAST Studio Tour taking place the next two weekends, and I highly advise that you go check it out!

Also, keep a look out for The Treachery of Others, who have several shows lined up at the gallery, and are playing all over town these days!

 Here is Sharon on the news discussing the upcoming event and the Sustainable Food Center  project that she has been working with.

ACL 2010 Saturday, the after party, and free chips!

ACL 2010 was the typical amazing Austin weekend! After sneaking in over $600 in booze, we had plenty of left over cash to gorge ourselves with sloppy nachos and every other delicious type of Austin trailer food one could have. Saturday was a highlight, with Two Door Cinema Club, Broken Bells, LCD Soundsystem, Deadmau5, and Muse. The crew was fired up after an epic setlist by Muse, and we were ready for what you do after the party is over, aka, the elitist run after party! We were on the list (coughing noise here) for the Pop Chips party that included free booze, chips, and several awesome bands.

With the first beer cracked at 2 in the afternoon, this was going to be one hell of late night party! I started with a couple of Red Bull and what I think were whiskeys--- and I was on my way. After cruising the grounds of the American Legion Hall, the red bull had ran out, so I grabbed a couple of Asahi Beers, and we hit the red carpet.

 

We went upstairs, where we saw Matt & Kim, Local Natives, and Two Door Cinema Club.

Local Natives

Two Door Cinema Club (for the second time)

You can hear TDCC here:

  Two Door Cinema Club - I Can Talk by Matt Kuhn

After the party shut down (5 or 6 bags of chips each plus booze), we headed to Magnolia Cafe where the night took a crazy turn..... But that's a different story! Cheers ACL!

Austin Beer Week 2010 Part II

Pop quiz, it's Friday afternoon, your in Austin, and it's not shark week. What do you do? Go find some of Real Ale's Devil's Backbone! This beer is a monster, but tastes as smooth and light as a day at the beach in Mexico.

After that, it was time to peruse the menu. We were at The Marina and here is what we were looking at (I-Phone 4 HDR):

I went with the Thirsty Planet Yellow Armadillo. After the Devils' Back Bone, I was looking for something to keep the warm afternoon lighter than some of the other selections on the menu.

As the afternoon proceeded, and 4 beers later, we decided to make our final two choices of the afternoon. We opted for the Southern Star Bombshell Blonde, and the Lost Gold IPA. Combo that with some appetizers and we were well on our way to a fun filled evening and the start of an amazing beer filled weekend to come. Cheers to North Austin and The Marina for serving some excellent choices for Austin Beer Week 2010.

Austin Beer Week 2010: Tuesday

After a week of binge drinking (The San Francisco Giants are in the Playoffs!) I decided to keep the streak alive, and celebrate two things that I love---Austin and Beer! AKA, Austin Beer Week! I headed out with Brent aka "Beer No Evil", Bruce, Leyla (wifey), my Pops, and my dog Sadie as we ventured to The Draught House.

Our first mission,  the Wytchmaker Rye IPA.With a beautiful darkish red color, this beer jumped of the charts with a light hoppy taste, and had us feeling good in no time! 

With the back of the X-Terra opened up, a couple of camping chairs, and two orders of salted peanuts, this was turning out to be a great Tuesday.



As the line continued to grow, so did the buzz!
 
 

We also sampled the Southern Star Smoked Porter, and then made our way to Billy's on Burnet.

 We finished the night with Real Ale's Coffee Porter and a fantastic burger, and that wrapped up our Tuesday night celebrating Austin Beer Week.

San Francisco Giants - My Torture in Austin and the journey to the World Series

Growing up as a child I played baseball and idolized the San Francisco Giants. We used to go see games at Candlestick Park, and always sat in the Upper Deck. We would also bring our own food because the food at the park was so expensive. It wasn't until my adult life that I ever sat in the "expensive" seats. We would usually sneak down to the lower level in the 8th or 9th inning, but I was in heaven in the upper deck at Candlestick. My favorite player was Will the "Thrill" Clark, and the World Series of 89' was one that I will not forget.

I would gladly forget the outcome of the series with the Giants being swept by that d-bag Jose Canseco and his bash bros, but the real craziness that is forever lodged into my memory was the Earthquake. I was playing hide and go seek with Dan and my brother Walt, when the earth shook and rumbled. It felt like I was surfing on pavement (although I hadn't surfed up to that point), and I will never forget that my brother was hiding in between some metal trash cans and was yelling as they banged around him. Up in the Santa Cruz Mountains, we lost power for several weeks, and it took my dad nearly the entire night to make it back home from work from Mountain View. It was a very hectic time that made baseball seem very insignificant.

 It would be over a decade until my beloved San Francisco Giants made it back to the World Series. I was living in Santa Barbara, and missed several weeks of college to follow the Giants on their Post Season quest. This was so close to being one of the happiest memories ever, but that damn rally monkey spoiled all my fun (my Grandma Pat had to have one which hurt even more), and again my boys in orange and black came up short.

 Finally, after nearly 30 years of life, I may have the opportunity to see the Giants win a world series. Living in Austin, I have met so many fellow Giants fans, and I can't think of a more fitting way for them to achieve what I've wanted for so long with me living in the same State as their AL oppenent.

With the Giants playing Texas while I'm living in Austin, I can't help but think that it is a sign, otherwise why would I be here in Austin? Beer? Music? The Economy? I can't be sure as to the true reason, but I will know in about a week if I was brought here to Texas to help the Giants take home the glory, and finally become World Series Champs! Until then, I will take the torture! Go Giants!

Dustin Humphrey Photography

Was stumbling through the blogosphere when I stumbled upon Dustin Humphrey. His pictures are damn near amazing, and are almost cartoonish in the emotions that they evoke about surfing and society. The Dopamine campaign is worth checking out.

Germany, aka Hamburg and the Reeperbahn

On the final leg of our tour, we set out on the 4 hour drive from Malmö to Hamburg. Looking for my German ancestors, along with the largest liquor store in Europe, we were sure to be in for a good time. A good time found us at the Reeperbahn, aka the red light district. Home to the Beatles, and the last live sex show in Germany, it's hard to imagine that such a wealthy and classy city, could have such a forbidden zone right in the heart of the city. We had a lovely dinner in the ritzy harbor (ask Leyla about the mice on the patio), and made our way to the Reeperbahn. What happened after that? Well, the saying is, what happens in the Reeperbahn, stays in the Reeperbahn. I'll just leave it at that. But there is a street there that only Men and hookers can walk on, interesting stuff. On the way back we stopped at this huge 5 story barge that sold alcohol, candy, beer, and loaded up Magnus and Sofia in preparation for the cold Swedish winter ahead.

    Club Safari (Live Sex Show) and the bright lights of the night.

German Sign by Leyla

Nightclub in Reeperbahn

Fancy Fruity German Drinks

More Hip Nightclub Action

Beer and Wine and Candy and Tobacco!

5 or 6 Stories, I can't remember, It's way more confusing than Ikea!

                                           

Leaving with some Beer! A happy Danish family!