Week 3: 

Beer: Sam Adams Porch Rocker
ABV: 4.5%
Beers Already Tried From This Brewery: You name it, I've had it


Even though I had a few beers in my fridge that would've been new to me, none of them seemed to hit the spot as they were a stout and a single malt so I headed up to Kroger to see what they had in their Build Your Own Six Pack section. After seeing numerous beers I haven't tried, which I did get, I came across Sam Adams Porch Rocker.

Insantly, my mouth watered. A new Sam Adams I haven't tried was awesome enough but add to the fact that it had lemon flavor and would be the perfect beer sent me over the top. Sadly, I only saw one in the Build Your Own section but luckily, I came across the two remaining six packs that they had. Of course, I had to snag both of them.

Going into this beer, my one and only thought was "How will this compare to Leinenkugel Summer Shandy?" since that is the beer I generally line other summer beers against when comparing.

As you could imagine, even without looking at the picture, this beer pours incredibly light. The aroma didn't hit me like Summer Shandy did as the lemon smell isn't as strong. On first taste, I was disappointed. Not because it wasn't a solid beer but because I truly expected ultimate greatness out of it.

I won't sit here and say I'm disappointed that I got two six packs of this because I will thoroughly enjoy this while grilling out or just sitting around the apartment but it doesn't hold its own versus Leinie Summer Shandy.

Album: The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses (1989)
Length: 49 Minutes, 2 Seconds

After reading the album that I chose, your first thought that came to mind was "Who?" Don't worry, after talking to people that were in their teens and early twenties when this album was released, no one else knew either. Apparently, the The Stone Roses self-titled debut album made many a list for greatest album ever, whether it was top 5, top 10, top British album of all time, or just cracking in the Top 500 of Rolling Stones Greatest Albums of All Time.

With high accolades as that, I knew that I had to give it a listen despite the fact I'd never heard a song off the album or the band for that matter.

To be honest, I feel it's hard to write a review for this album because I'm not one that listens to British music very often, outside of Oasis, but I really enjoyed it. There wasn't that one song that jumped off the page as amazing but nothing I heard that made me want to skip to the next song.

I will say that for the time, I can see why this would be considered in Britain to be one of the best albums. It's a shame that this didn't take off more here in the States, but alas.

Song I would suggest listening to (video below): "Made of Stone"

Movie:  Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Length: 1 Hour, 43 Minutes

After going to Facebook for opinions on what my comedy would be, the overwhelming favorite was Ferris Bueller's Day Off. It seemed whether or not you thought it was the funniest movie ever, it was one everyone agreed that I needed to see and boy was everyone right. 

Simply put, a classic. No doubt it was straight out of the 80's. 

One of my favorite characters happened to be the principals secretary, Grace. The line "Oh, he's very popular Ed. The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads - they all adore him. They think he's a righteous dude." had me rolling. 

The scene where Ferris is at the parade singing Twist and Shout was awesome, especially at the end when everyone else was singing too. 

Seeing Cameron come to grips at the end of the movie with the car and not caring how his dad was going to react was really cool. Too bad you didn't get to see his fathers reaction. However, seeing Charlie Sheen in this movie was a complete surprise. He looked like he was the lead singing of My Chemical Romance. Of course, talking about drugs seemed incredibly fitting.

Of course, the ending scene where Ferris is running home through the yards seemed familar as Family Guy had mocked the scene when Stewie is trying to make it to the swimming pool. 

Overall, this may not be the funniest move I've ever seen but it's certainly one of the most fun. I'm sure anyone who will read this has seen the movie already but if not, go watch it soon! And by soon, I mean now! 

Food: Fish and Chips, Shepperd's Pie and Turkey and Ham sandwich from Brass Door Tavern (Downtown Memphis) 

Just like last week, I entered a Monday night very uncertain of what would be my next item of food to try. Generally, sitting around and discussing options with my friends at the Flying Saucer is where I determine what my next great idea will be. 

After reading the I Love Memphis blog by Kerry (must read by the way), she had a list of top 100 foods you must try in Memphis. A couple came to mind, including going to Castle near Getwell and Park Ave which has, according to her, one of the best gyros in town but we decided to go downtown to Brass Door Tavern off of Madison, near 2nd. According to Kerry, the fries (chips) were worth the trip alone. 

We all sat down and looked at the menu, me unsure exactly what I was wanting to get. My safe, comfort side of me wanted to order something I was familiar with, because I had only eaten watermelon that day and was extremely hungry. However, I knew I really wanted to branch out and knock this out of the part. After many many minutes of looking at the menu and discussing with my friends, I decided to order the Irish stew. 

After ten or so minutes, our waitress came back to the table letting me know that the chef said that it was not up to par and would not be serving the Irish stew that evening. While bummed, I didn't let that ruin my evening as I already planned a backup course, which was the Fish and Chips. Because of the chefs decision, I knew my meal would be a little longer than my friends. 

As their meals arrived, I immediately took interest in what they had. One friend had ordered the Shepperd's Pie, a traditional dish in an Irish pub, which consisted of chessy whipped potatoes, beef, lamb, and carrots. I was incredibly hesistant to try it but oh so glad I did. The one bite I had was incredible and can't wait to have again. 

Next, I tried my other friends sandwich which consisted of turkey, ham, bacon, lettuce, tangy aioli sauce on a soft toasted sofa bread. Holy mother of God, this may have been one of the best bites of a sandwich I have ever tasted. The sheer amount of flavors that hit my taste buds were amazing, simply something I had never experienced before in my life. Luckily, I was blessed by the Brass Door gods and my friend to having a second bite, which was better than the first. No question I will be taking other friends back to this place and ordering my own sandwich for myself. 

Finally, after trying multiple fantastic dishes, my fish and chips arrived. It consisted of cod and delicious fries/chips. The cod came as an order of four and really good. According to my friends who tried a bite, claimed that it was the least greasy fish and chips they'd ever tried, which I will take their word for. Great flavor and the fries were excellent as well. It came with a curry dipping sauce that seemed to belong more in an Indian restaurant than an Irish pub. While not bad, was not something I wanted to continually dip my meal into. 

Overall, this was easily the best food week of the blog to date and makes me even more excited for future weeks. I truly felt that I made huge strides in trying new food items this week and with the success, really makes me sad to think what I've missed out so far. 

Whether you're into Irish beers, Irish foods, English Premier Soccer (which they show) or just into great atmosphere, Brass Door Tavern is the place for you. I can certainly vouch that you will not be disappointed. 

**Forgot to take pictures but found chips, sandwich and Shepperd's pie online (no Fish pictured)**