Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men, second only to skin cancer. It is also highly treatable; especially with early detection.

That last part is the key. Men have to be checked. Checking the prostate involves getting to a doctor, getting over yourself and letting a doctor in the back door. It is not a big deal and it can save your life or more importantly your sex life.

November is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. In order raise awareness, to convince men to get themselves checked, and to raise some money for the cause, ZerØday Brewing Company brewed Double Finger Double IPA. A big and intense Double IPA brewed with Loral Hops a new variety that I first encountered and wrote about when drinking 291 Experimental IPA at Moo-Duck Brewery in Elizabethtown.

The notes found in the 291 IPA are found in abundance in the Double Finger. To the point where I wondered if they were the same hop variety. The Double IPA essentially took the floral and lemony citrus flavors to 11. The dark fruit notes I recalled from the former beer were not as prevalent in the latter. Loral hops is a remarkable hop variety in the intensity of the notes and their starkness. These are easy to define flavors that just work.

The strong malts of this beer buttresses the hops and gives it exceptional mouthfeel. The two together lubricate the beer and allow the high ABV to slip in with ease. There is no astringency here. You can relax and just ride this one out.

ZerØday did a kickoff party that I could not attend but looked to be a great time. This really drove the point home for those in attendance and paying attention on social media about the need to get yourself checked. But Theo and Brandalynn aren’t just stepping up with awareness; you can’t pay the bills with that. Of the proceeds for Double Finger, 10% of this 10% beer will be going towards the cause and will really penetrate the problem.

This is a very good beer and by drinking it you are doing a little good too.

Don’t Fear The Finger.

Post-Script:

#NovemBEER

ZerØday also released a beer this past weekend for and in conjunction with the Harrisburg Marathon. It is Air Horn One, a session IPA. It is showing up all around HBG in bars that partner with ZerØday. I have not had it yet but you should probably check it out as their session IPAs have been generally pretty good.

ZerØday has really taken on an important role in the Midtown of Harrisburg. They are part of the neighborhood and it’s things like these beers and inviting people into the process that makes them feel like part of the community more than just the neighborhood watering hole.

Maybe the biggest driver of that, but few have noticed, is the fact that ZerØday is occasionally a classroom as Theo and Brandalynn are teaching a brewing sciences class on behalf of HACC. Which has me asking: “What aren’t they doing right now?”

I really tried to keep the double entendres to a minimum but even this line feels like one.

A car can be a funny thing. It is not a person or a pet but it has personality. We put it on them but it can feel real. Mine always felt athletic, bossy, a little sheepish of its few but obvious faults and a little sexy.

I got my Beemer more than seven years ago. She was gently used yet she sat and waited on a dealer’s lot for months. I visited her a couple times before finally picking her up; it was only after being told that if I did not buy her she was going to the auction,

Sometime later I met my old college roommate on the way to see a USMNT match. When he saw the car he mentioned that he had to listen to me always talking about how I wanted a BMW. He was right… I had wanted one since before I could drive.

Later while having a pint and getting a Growler fill at the old Troegs in Harrisburg a kid in a Jeep backed into the bumper. Cracked it badly enough as to replace the whole piece. He had left a note and his insurance took care of it but it was her first of many “bumps.”

On my way out of town on a business trip but still in Elizabethtown, I was stopped in the middle of the roadway while a mother duck and her many ducklings were crossing the road. The little furry ducklings were struggling to keep up and I watched as they waddled along.  I looked up and Dodge Ram was coming down the hill. I was at a dead stop. I looked at the ducks still in the road, looked up in the rear view mirror, looked at the ducks, heard the tires locking up on a big heavy truck and then held hard on to the steering wheel…. Crunch.

Everyone, the driver of the truck, the guy that did the estimate, the adjuster, the body shop guy all asked… “Where the ducks okay?” “Yeah… they all made it across okay.”

They put her back together again just like she was.

I drove like a mad man with my fully in labor wife in the passenger seat. I watched her hold on for dear life to the door handle while contractions coursed through her abdomen. Holding her hand telling her it was going to be okay while I made a 45-minute drive in 30. Thinking… Please don’t have this baby in my front seat.

Twice I watched helplessly as she was turned into a big blue golf ball as hail rained down upon her. Fixed both times.

Then two years ago she started to leak oil a little. Not bad… It was just a bit. I would say that she always did that but now it was a little more. It never leaked on the drive way or in a parking lot but the signs were there.

Electrical gremlins appeared with a dash that lit up like a Christmas tree. My tolerant wife never complained even though I know she never trusted the car after that. She knew I loved it and would never say a word.

Another car crunched the rear quarter panel a year ago. I was worried she would be totaled. But they fixed that too.

Eventually the oil leak became prominent and the car needed more investment than what she was worth on the paper. I dragged her on for months. The rear suspension started to sound like newlyweds on a cheap hotel mattress but I just turned up the stereo and tried to ignore that one speaker that is probably/maybe blown out.

The once vault like cabin of German steel now let in road noise, various other sounds resulting in a general din.

The one key stopped working even with a new battery.

The more than a decade old Bluetooth system in the car (one of the first) had always been flaky at best, but now was downright unreliable.

The engine still pulled like a freight train and the sound of the mechanical whirl of the inline six revving towards the red line was always sexy as hell.

She started without fail every time but as the cold weather came over the past two years she sounded hungover when doing so.

She had more horsepower than I needed but as much as I wanted.

RWD made driving in the snow and adventure by always fun. She was better at it than she should have been due to good tires.

Her name was Babe. I am really going to miss her.

Post-Script:

I drank a Brooklyn Beer Pennant Ale ’55 while writing this. It too was past its date.

I got to own my dream car from when I was a kid; a BMW. I always wanted a 3 series. This one, a 330i (E90), had the bigger naturally aspirated inline six. It was nearly perfect. Everyone should get to own their dream car.

All cars are female.

You should name you car.

Zoom… Zoom…

There are a few events in any given year in which we all come together to experience an event together. The one that always comes to mind is New Years Eve. We stop to mark the passing of time, to recall the prior year and to revel in the hope of a new one.

But Election Day in America is not that much different. After going to the polls many of us will tune in to watch the votes be counted, to watch for the election of a new president and to hope.

So tomorrow, I hope you will have done your civic duty and then settle in like millions of Americans to watch and when you do it will likely be with your favorite beverage.

Therefore, I reached out to some friends of the blog and The Operation Shutdown to ask them what they would be drinking while watching the election. Hopefully this helps you pick the proper numbing/celebratory beverage of choice for your evening. Editorializations by me are in italics.

Friend of the Show Easy Pretzel: Molson Golden Ed. Getting used to Canadian beers may not be a bad idea.

Friend of the Show Ed Grohl: Sapporo Black Ed. Sapporo Black? That makes no sense…

Mick for BigFliesandMayFlies.com: Arnold Palmers. Ed. May I suggest adding some vodka and having an John Daly?

Reader Rick Hauck: Clara Grisette by Hill Farmstead Brewery Ed. Only 4.00% ABV? That might not be enough.

Chelsie Markel of Stouts & Stilettos and It’s a Brew Life: Parradox Barrel #38 Salty Lemons

Bryan D. Roth of This Is Why I am Drunk: Prairie Standard and Lagunitas Born Yesterday

JP, special guest from Ep. 2 of The Operation Shutdown: Lagunitas Sucks Ed. Please do not go back and listen to Ep. 2

Sara BozichI’m of SaraBozich.com will be drinking bourbon. Ed. I think she is a little worried about the volume of bourbon that tomorrow night will take.

Tierney Pomone from Stouts & Stilettos: “Bourbon because ‘merica!” Ed. I half expected Four Loko.

Perpetual Intern Jimi Werner will be drinking BBA Troegenator and Blizzard of Hops. Ed. I half expected Perpetual IPA.

Bradalynn Armstrong of ZerØday Brewing Company: Will be also drinking from her own tap lines, she will be having a couple glasses of Gail. Ed. Also Zeroday is doing a special tomorrow for those that voted.

Faithful listener Nicole: Drano Ed. 3 caps on Untappd!

Long time reader and fellow LengenDairy brewer Eric will be cracking open a Tröegs Brewing Flying Mouflan. Ed. Look for more about LegenDairy Milkshake IPA soon!

Tim Myers:  Woodford Reserve Ed. Whiskey is a solid choice.

Reader Brad: Blizzard of Hops if he can sneak them into the maternity ward Ed. Labor pains or election pains?

Reader Sean: Lagunitas Born Yesterday and Victory Brewing Co.’s Harvest Ale

I will be drinking Evil Twin Brewing’s Molotov Cocktail IIPA and Even More Jesus, some of the above pictured Wild Heaven Craft Beer Emergency Drinking Beer, and if necessary some bourbon.

Post Script:

This is a non-partisan post.

Beer crosses the aisle.

If you are planning to comment here about some candidate let me stop you right here. I have few readers and even fewer commenters. Trolling here would be as massive a waste of time as a troll could find on the Internet.

I am Bearcat and I endorse this message.

If this post offends you, it is probably because you write about beer and it hits a little too close to home.

If you don’t write about beer, then this post will be unlikely to offend you and you will without a doubt agree with it.

You see, there are plenty of beer bloggers that receive media kits or invitations to breweries. This a great thing and it is an important part of marketing for brewers. It also helps bloggers and readers. Unequivocally… this is a good thing all around in my opinion.

Bloggers can use these opportunities to learn more about a brewery or a new beer that is being released. For the reader, it is a look inside the business or an opportunity to learn about a new choice on the market for which to watch.

Many beer bloggers, video bloggers (YouTubers), or podcasters are not journalists by trade; me neither. But that does not mean that some of the basic tenets of journalism do not apply when plying this hobby or in some cases a business. The one that regularly gets short shift is disclosure of what I described above; free beer.

When bloggers receive early access, media kits, or free beer along with a back stage view of the brewery they should provide that information in the blog post or video review. Many do just this. Many clearly do not.

I have been offered free beer from a couple local brewers. The unspoken inference was that I would write about it. I have declined each time. This is not some noble act. It is simply that I am not interested in feeling obligated to write something on this blog. It is already way too hard to find the free time to post what I feel like writing without obligation.

I recently had a local brewery on the podcast. They offered to provide me with a couple bottles of their beer to drink during the show. I politely declined and paid for it myself. I mentioned that fact on the show.

Transparency is a political buzzword. The word gets tossed around by everyone to the point of being meaningless. Who is against transparency? But the lack of transparency on the part of many bloggers is unacceptable.

If the interaction between the brewer and the blogger or YouTuber is as clear as a milkshake IPA then the blogger is not doing his job. It is not the brewer’s job to say who has been offered products, lodging, or money. That is on the writer.

So bloggers and YouTubers… If you are reading this and you have been clear with your reader about disclosure then you understand and agree, but if you don’t agree what does that say about your relationship with your readers?