Author Archives: Andrew B

I Need a Beer: Appreciating Autumn

I’ve been asking a lot of people about what their favorite time of year. The almost unanimous response is autumn/fall. And you know what – I’m going to go on record saying that this time of year is underrated. autumn is fricken’ awesome:

Weather cools down but things don’t get dreary and rainy.
If you live in a place that has seasons, the colors blow your mind.
If you live in a place that has seasons, say bye-bye to humidity and bugs!
If you live in CA, the heat becomes more bearable.
It has my personal favorite holiday: Thanksgiving (You eat and you give thanks. How is this not more popular?).
You get the best sleep. It’s cold enough that you don’t have to remove the covers but not so cold that you’re shivering when you get in.
And the most important reason: NBA season begins!

I repeat. Autumn is amazing and underrated.

Another great thing about autumn. You get to start drinking heavier beers. Today I’m looking for what might be my favorite type of beer: the barley wine. Continue reading →

Top Five: A perfect precursor to Straight Outta Compton

Top Five was released last year but I have only just had the opportunity to watch it. For those who don’t remember or have not heard of the film, it is a Chris Rock movie about a comedian (Andre Allen) who has battled alcoholism, critical backlash to his move away from comedies and into more serious films, and a fiancee with her own reality show. We follow him as he spends a day with a reporter who really just wants to know, “Why did [he] quit doing stand-up and comedy?” For fans of Rock and his predecessor Eddie Murphy, you can see parallels of between the character’s life and those of real-life comedians (in particular Murphy). Continue reading →

Forgettable Four: What could it have been?

I knew there was trouble when the opening line was, “… like my personal hero, Eli Manning…”

With all due respect to the two-time Superbowl Champion, this is something one should never hear.

I had seen the signs. I had heard the rumblings. I had taken to Twitter briefly to see the director bashing his own film. But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m just looking to be entertained. Plus as the only member of Media Brew Pub who can go watch a film in the theaters for less than $10, I felt it was my duty to save the rest of my crew from suffering through what has been, thus far, a universally panned movie. And this time, Jessica Alba was not there to save me (although Kate Mara ain’t half bad). Continue reading →

Keen Reading: Adding to the Bucket List

My favorite author is Stephen King. In a world where I was insane, I would say that I would try to read every book he’s ever written (maybe I will, but that’s a discussion for another day). What I will do, is read anything and everything related to his epic book series, The Dark Tower. I’ve read it before and the way many people feel about The Lord of the Rings, I feel about The Dark Tower. It’s a seven-book long story about Roland of Gilead, a Gunslinger which doubles as both a knight and a quick-draw gunfighter. He travels between universes following along his path to either save or destroy the world and find the Dark Tower. Continue reading →

A Taste of Bourbon: NBA Championship Edition

I don’t get to write about sports on this blog. Correction, I don’t get to write posts solely about sports on this blog. So when amazing things happen to my favorite sports franchise, the Golden State Warriors, I am encouraged to find a way to connect drinking or movies or TV to sports. If I were smarter or worked harder at this, I’d probably find creative solutions to the fact that I’m hamstrung to discuss the thing that I might love most in this world: basketball (Apologies to my dog and even more to my wife). Continue reading →

I Need a Beer: The Frozen Dog

When I moved to Upstate NY and saw that I had a large pond in front of the home I would be living in, I thought it was awesome. Then I remembered I had a not-quite-two-years-old boxer who does whatever the fuck she wants. That’s when the nightmares started. It’s a cold, snowy day and Evie is running around outside and then crack-yelp-splash, she’s falling through the ice and I can’t get to her. I’d wake up freaked out and panicked only to realize that it was just a dream and Evie was in California.

Well, Evie is not in California any more. She’s here. And the first day I took her outside, she ran on top of the pond. Yup, it’s her world and she don’t care if I want her to be safe, she’s running where she wants. Fortunately it was cold as hell and the ice held. However, two days later, it was a balmy 60-degree day and we’re out for a walk. And that is how our story begins… Continue reading →

Age of Ultron: The Comic Book Experience on Screen

I feel like most people had high expectations going into this movie. I did not. I am not weighed down by silly ideas like “a movie should be good” or “will I believe that these characters are the Avengers” or even, “What are they avenging?” Unlike Jun; who walks in with a notepad in one hand, and a Filmmaking for Dummies in the other; I just need some action, a few one-liners, something that doesn’t look cheap, and you’ve got me hooked. Just kidding Jun… Just kidding… Continue reading →

WTF were they thinking!?!?

I was walking through Walgreen’s the other day and saw this little gem of a deal. I had to share with the rest of the MBP guys because… well… seriously? Here are some of the more creative responses: Continue reading →

I Need a Beer: My Top 10 of 2014

Just another evening of drinking…

It’s now a month into 2015 and it’s time to reflect on all the delicious beer that was had in 2014. That’s right people, welcome to my 10 Favorite Beers of the year! Any of these beers would certainly be good enough for me in a moment of brew-neediness.

But before I get to it, I want to at least acknowledge some really great beers that just missed the cut. Some of these are probably better than the beers that made the list but again, these are my favorite beers, not the beers I think are the most well-made or objectively the best. So to these beers, y’all were awesome, you just weren’t my favorites…

Continue reading →

We’re Halfway There: A mid-season look at the new TV offerings

A little delayed but I wanted to take a quick (fair warning, it should be looooooong look with quick touches on each show) look at the halfway point of this season’s TV run. This year, there have been a lot of interesting new options for my television dance card and in case some of you were thinking about adding some new shows to your watchlist, I thought I’d take the opportunity to give you some highlights, lowlights, and general information about each show at the halfway point. Additionally I’ll share my list of things I like and don’t like about this Fall’s run of television for shits and giggles. Disclaimer: I am by no means a critic. As I have shared in the past, I am easily entertained and appreciate most movies and TV shows. I do recognize crap but sometimes, crap is fun. Also, spoilers ahead. Continue reading →

MediaBrewPub

Geeking out over life, media, and beer.