The Cute, The Island and Beer

I freely admit that I love cute things. Not Hello Kitty cute, maybe, but seeing a couple in their late 80s holding hands and walking down the street has been known to get a smile-and-sigh out of me. And yes, somewhere in my picture files I might even have a Lolcat. Or five. Or fifty. The point is that some things are just too cute to write off, and The Little House is one of them.

Built in 1912, the pint-size "Little House" features one bedroom, a kitchen with folding table and chairs, a living room and a full, if narrow, bathroom. With a living area of just 300 square feet, it was bought and renovated this year, and is back on the market for C$173,000 ($172,000). (Reuters)

You have to love Canada. And not just as an escape plan in case of President Huckabee.

One of the more excellent qualities that I share with my dad is his appreciation for - and discriminating taste in - microbrews. While visiting my brother in Oak Harbor yesterday, I chanced upon a specialty beer store called Whidbey Beerworks. The website is sparse (and they don't ship . . . curses!), but if you're even on Whidbey Island, the selection makes the stop worthwhile.

I was lucky enough to come in during a duvel & trippel tasting, and fell in love with the Maredsous 8 (Kent was more for the Maredsous 10, and BeerMe.com agrees with him). In characteristic me fashion, however, I forgot to buy either of them after an informative conversation with the proprietor, who pointed me toward a brewery that I haven't given nearly the attention it deserves: Dogfish Head.

Yes, Jessica, you scoff. We all know that Dogfish Head is amazing. What of it?

Amazing, my friend, is what you call an unexpectedly excellent beer. What do you call the brewery whose every brew - regular, experimental, or bizarre - is an unforeseen delight that your taste buds never knew they wanted? I don't think these guys can do anything wrong. Observe:

• Midas Touch Golden Elixer - The Phyrgian leader on whom the legend is based had no intention of going soberly in to that good night. His tomb "held the largest Iron Age drinking set ever found--157 vessels, including a ram-headed and lion-headed situla--for preparing, serving, drinking and libating a special beverage at the funerary feast of the king." (Dogfish.com). Chemical analysis of the interior of the vessels revealed a "Phyrgian cocktail" of grape wine, honey mead, and crack - just kidding, it's barley beer. The good folks of Dogfish Head - saints, angels, call them what you will - saw it only fit to brew a beer based on this fine mix of ingredients. It is this kind of creative thinking that sets America ahead.

• Chateau Jiahu - Humans have been drinking beer since someone let bread ferment on the counter in a hut by the Nile - and perhaps before. I won't wax prosetic, but I like putting myself in the shoes my ancient counterparts and try to imagine what their beer drinking experience was like. Thankfully, someone at Dogfish has an equally meandering mind. This beer, based on chemical samples from 9000 year old Chinese pottery, is made with pre-gelatinized rice flakes, wildflower honey, Muscat grapes, barley malt, hawthorn fruit, and chrysanthemum flowers. And, of course, pitched with sake yeast. If you're not curious, you're not human.
• 60 Minute IPA - This is a beer that anyone can appreciate - a subtlety that makes it almost easy to dismiss. Don't. This is one of the best balanced beers I've ever tasted - washing over your pallet with full, unobtrusive citrus-orange-resin tastes, and finishes with a great hop flavor that - somehow - doesn't over-activate your bitter taste buds. Remarkable in every way.

I am also the excited owner of the 120 Minute IPA, boasting an almost incredible 20% ABV. I'll let you know what I think. And suggestions, of course, are always welcome.