San Diego Serenade

After the great CD Cleanout of a few months ago, I was left with a bunch of actual CDs. Not CD-r’s. Shocking! I didn’t want to just throw them away when the possibility of raking in several dollars of cold, hard cash remained. So I’m listing them, complete with out of focus photo, on ebay. There’s a lot of good CDs in there, and even though they might not play, they’re kind of neat to look at. Even though iTunes makes it easy to keep track of album artwork, the days of flipping through a case logic case and knowing what Stone Temple Pilots “Purple” or Smashing Pumpkins “Pisces Iscariot” cd look like even though it doesn’t say the name on the CD are long gone. So if that era is one you want to revisit for some sick reason, please bid on my CDs!

Ebay Auction is here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140151639508

What is it about the new beer from Karl Strauss, the “Hot Karl Double IPA” that offends my sensibilities more? The fact that they’re trying to capitalize on all the national attention being given lately to the San Diego IPA style of beer, or the fact that they decided to name the beer after a sex act that wikipedia defines as: “a sexual act in which one partner defecates directly onto the face of their partner, sometimes with the mouth open.”

You know what? I’ve decided what offends my sensibilities more: Karl Strauss naming their beer after a sex act where people shit on each others faces. Just imagining the mental giants that have snickered about that joke for the past five years and finally got corporate approval to slap it on kegs of beer.

“Get it Gary? People will say ‘I’d like a Hot Karl!”
“I don’t get it.”
“I hate you Gary.”

The best part of the whole story is is that they waited until Karl Strauss died, (back in December), and then trotted out the Shit-on-face beer with his name on it! They didn’t even have the balls to go through with the joke while the man was alive!

I saw Karl Strauss once during my time in San Diego. He took the stage before the Sex Pistols played at Street Scene in 2003. He was a bent over, frail old man, who I’m quite sure wasn’t aware of the reputation of the band he was introducing. It sort of put in perspective the entire organization: get a respected guy, slap his name on your product, serve the beer at the Street Scene, Del Mar and the airport and through sheer force of marketing and will, gain the reputation as a local San Diego “tradition.” If you have to trot the guy out in front of the Sex Pistols, or use his name for a frat boy joke every now and then, whatever. He’s old and dead. Cut his estate another check.

I can fortunately think of dozen of other IPAs, Double IPAs and other San Diego beers from breweries that are smaller, tastier and more deserving of our business than Karl “Think of people shitting into each others mouth when you drink our beer” Strauss.

Source: Liars Club Newsletter, 8/9/7 - “Draft beers coming soon: Racer 5, and unbeknownst to Speed – his brother Racer X, something really cool from Jeff Bagby, Unibroue Maudite Strong Red Ale, Karl Strauss Hot Karl Double IPA, Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale, Coronado Hoppy Friar Belgian-style IPA, Toronado 20th Anniversary Ale, Avery Piglet Purgatory, Cucapa Pale Ale, He’brew Origin Pomegranate Ale, TJ Bufadora Bock (soon), and (eventually) Russian River Procrastination.