Men’s Journal recently published its “Best Beers in the World” issue. The best beer is, surprise, a Belgian called Saison Dupont (pictured). What I found most interesting, however, is that the gold medal winner for best Pilsner in the entire world is brewed right here in the Philly area. Downingtown’s Victory Brewing Company takes it with their Prima Pils. Never tried it, but will be stopping at Joe Canal’s on the way home from work on Friday to give it a shot.
Here’s the link for the article and another which awards the Best 25 American Beers.
If you give any of them a taste, let me know what you think. I’ll post the feedback as received.
The Best Beer in the World. Period.
Saison Dupont
Origin: Belgium
Alcohol content by volume: 6.5%
With its luminous orangey-blond color and huge, rocky head, this beer just looks great. But wait till you taste it: Like other saisons, Dupont’s is made with a secret mix of herbs that give it an addictive earthy taste and an agreeable bitterness. At 6.5 percent, it’s also got a mild kick, which balances a range of citrusy, malty flavors that even wizened beer connoisseurs struggle to describe. “Impossibly delicious,” says legendary brewmaster Garrett Oliver. Saison Dupont is the “desert island beer” of many men (Oliver and present company included). Pop a cork, guys — we think you’ll feel the same way (brasserie-dupont.com).
GOLD
Victory Prima Pils
Origin: USA
Alcohol content by volume: 5.3%
Out of the American microbrew revolution grew new versions of classic European beer styles, recognizable but slightly tweaked and amped-up riffs on tradition. Exhibit A:Prima Pils. Last year we voted Prima Pils one of the greatest beers in the country, and since then our affection for it has grown bottle by bottle. Far hoppier than most pilsners (though less bitter than the venerable Pilsner Urquell), Prima Pils is soft, lively, and peerlessly refreshing. This, friends, is what beer should taste like. victorybeer.com
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Billabong Pro, 2005 - Teahupoo, Tahiti
Tahitian surfer Tahitian charger Raimana Van Bastoloer (pictured) went within an inch of losing his life in one of the most radical surfing near misses ever witnessed. As the local was towed into a 12ft wave, his jet ski driver Reef Macintosh was caught in the wave lip and unable to pull out, careering the ski directly over the pitching lip and into the path of Van Bastoloae. Van Bastoloae ducked into the barrel of the wave, narrowly missing the ski and exiting the wave unscathed. The ski was destroyed on the shallow reef.
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I found this article in Outside Magazine, and thought it a good one to share, especially to those that have yet to forgo their New Year’s resolution of getting (and staying) in shape.
Get Fit for a Lifetime
To help prepare you for going big, we’ve pulled together 15 essential tips from award-winning writer Paul Scott’s new book, Outside Fitness. Whether you run, bike, swim, climb, or simply want to keep yourself in peak form, follow these fundamentals to stay primed for action.
1) PERIODIZE YOUR WORKOUT. Systematically increase volume and intensity over three-week periods; on the fourth week, cut the workload by half. This pattern of stress and recovery will maximize your training and prevent your body from becoming unresponsive to stimuli.
2) REST AND GROW STRONGER. Schedule a day or two of time off each week, an easy week every month, and a solid month of active rest, such as walking, per year. You get stronger when your body recovers; if you keep pushing yourself every day, you’ll quickly burn out.
3) REALIZE THAT 30 MINUTES IS 30 MINUTES. Ten minutes of exercise three times a day equals 30 minutes of exercise done all at once. Just make sure those ten-minute blocks include hard efforts like jumping rope.
4) REACH YOUR PEAK BY EASING OFF. If you’ve been training hard for months, taper your workload by 25 percent each week starting four weeks before an event or adventure. During the last two weeks you want to be mostly resting up for your big day or trip.
5) TAKE YOUR EXERCISE OUTSIDE. First, you’ll have more fun; second, it’ll seem easier, because you’ll be visually distracted; and third, you’ll stick with it longer in life, because it’s not dull or monotonous.
6) TRAIN BODY MOVEMENTS, NOT BODY PARTS. In the real world your muscles are used for stepping, squatting, pushing, pulling, extending, and rotating, which requires training with multiple joint movements like squats and standing overhead dumbbell presses.
7) WORK OUT IN THE MORNING. It’ll take longer to warm up and loosen your spine and joints, but an a.m. workout completed before the day’s obligations pile on is the best way to ensure that you exercise regularly.
FOCUS ON PERFECT FORM. Three lifts done with good form build more muscle faster and more safely than 30 lifts done poorly. In the same way a perfect stride or stroke makes a faster runner or swimmer, a perfect lift teaches you how to apply your strength precisely.
9) USE DUMBBELLS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE WHEN LIFTING. They’re safer than a barbell and generally more effective, since they prevent one arm from becoming stronger than the other. They also better replicate how you lift loads in everyday life.
10) LOWER WEIGHTS SLOWLY. In the real world, muscles are most needed when absorbing shock and torque from dynamic sports like basketball, tennis, and volleyball, and descending against gravity while, say, skiing, mountain-biking, or hiking. Train your body for these circumstances by letting the weight down smoothly and slowly after you lift it up.
11) MAKE STRETCHING A DEDICATED PART OF YOUR WORKOUT. Try yoga, or a DIY session involving your own sport-specific routine, for at least 10–15 minutes a day. You’ll improve your flexibility and boost muscle endurance.
12) CREATE A HOME WORKOUT. That way, you have no excuse not to exercise. Whether you start a run out your door or clear space somewhere in the house for a dumbbell-based lifting plan, you’re at your gym the second you leave the bed and hit the floor.
13) STRENGTH-TRAIN AT LEAST THREE TIMES A WEEK. Research shows once is generally too little to effectively build a strong body. Three times a week, allowing at least 36 hours of rest between each weight-lifting session (yoga and Pilates count, too), will give your muscles enough time to recover.
14) MAKE YOUR CORE MUSCLES YOUR FIRST PRIORITY. If you have time to work only one muscle group in the weight room or gym, make it your torso, which includes your back, stomach, hips, and chest. Without a solid core, you won’t be able to excel in any sport.
15) LEARN YOUR LACTATE THRESHOLD (LT). LT is the approximate point where you start to struggle to maintain your effort, and training just above and below that level through brief intervals builds speed and endurance. To find yours, wear a heart-rate monitor during an endurance session and note your heart rate when you start breathing too hard to sustain a conversation. Then, twice a week, mix in several three-to-ten-minute intervals where you hit your LT.
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This just in from the “Where are they now?” archives:
Mike Nifong, the disgraced former prosecutor who attempted to frame three Duke Lacrosse players accused of rape in 2006, is now bankrupt and lists, in his papers, liabilities in excess of $180 million. I’m glad to see that this guy is where he belongs; without a job, bankrupt, and hopefully facing a jail sentence himself. Jerk.
Story:
Nifong is a Bankrupt Loser
