Killa 'Zilla, The Bicycle Escape Comes Through, and Worse Than Detroit...

Damn, well, Terrapin done went and got it right, again (though sometimes they do fall flat on their faces).  Hopzilla, their latest bomber offering (a monstrously hopped double IPA), is described, in part, as "Side Project Volume 12," which is simply some nameless marketing nerd's way of suggesting there's a secretive element associated with the production of this ale and that you, Sir or Madam Consumer/Connoisseur, have profited from this black op endeavor because, against all odds and gods, YOU, in all your divine wisdom and appropriated good fortune, managed to stumble upon this fine ale and muster the good taste (BA overall rating of A-) and wallet mass (variously, $8-10) necessary to make a decision that not only displays your purchasing power to anyone within eyeshot, but bespeaks of your fine taste in all things bitter (110 IBUs) and alcoholic (10.8 % abv).

Okay, this thing is good. Very tasty, somewhat sweet as you near the checkered flag, with some strong citrus influence that hits the coke-holes as soon as you uncap it.  Absent to my delight (and against my early expectations) is the all too typical harsh-ass, uber-bitter-for-the-sake-of-bitterness punch to the palate that comes with some heavy hop hitters produced by breweries that brew before they brainstorm. The result here is a highly hopped, highly hootched, highly drinkable (yeah, I know, just exactly WTF does that last term mean outside of enjoyable?) IPA that will likely get you there well before you're ready to brush your beavers for the night.  Nothing wrong with that, right? So, swap a sawbuck for a bottle, cancel the church social, and treat your TAS2Rs ('cause it's all about the G-protein-coupled receptors) to a bitter beer bomb they won't soon forget. (But help me out here...I get the Godzilla-esque image on the left of the label, but what's with the army dude on the right waving a bottle of Hopzilla—complete with its own mise en abyme* label—as he successfully lines up the titular monster at point-blank range for some soon-to-be-released heavy artillery hell-shower from a Howitzer cannon?  If you dig the brew, please don't slay the inspiration!)

Okay, on to more important matters.  Chatted with Tom from Single Speed Outlaw Factory Team sponsor The Bicycle Escape earlier today and it seems that a Salsa Vaya frame in size 56 destined for yours truly is on the way to the shop even as I type this.  Yee-ha!  This will be the first physical step in a multi-stage process of abandoning the current weary work-a-day paradigm and embarking on something a little bit offbeat.  Posts to follow. For now, a heartfelt thanks to Tom for helping me get things underway!

Finally, as Detroit goes, so goes the country (eventually)?...reclamation!

*The Droste effect, if you're Dutch.