Sparks McGee American Black Ale

by Natalie on May 19, 2013 at 11:46 am
Posted In: artwork, thoughts

sparksmcgeebeer

I just realized I had been remiss in posting about this label and homebrew I made. Thankfully, I was reminded that more Sparks McGee is always a good thing. Also, my inspiration for the label came from here (thanks Wil!).

I created this recipe over the winter as a pure mad science experiment in brewing. I was curious to see what an oaked IPA – a dark IPA, or what is now known as the American-Style Black Ale – would be like. The short answer, AMAZESAUCE.

I was aiming for something that had that nice citrus hop profile but with the fantastic vanilla overtones you get from oaking. I think I hit the mark pretty well. However, next time I think I’m going to use oak cubes instead of chips to maximize the vanilla without as much woodiness. We put this brew directly into keg (our first kegged brew, actually) and I was surprised by how well it aged. Normally the hoppy brews don’t age so well.

For those interested, the current recipe is over at BrewToad.

This has quickly become one of our favorite recipies and we have plans to brew it again in the very near future.

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Fleshy Bits

by Natalie on April 19, 2013 at 9:37 am
Posted In: awesomeness, commissions

For those not familiar with the brilliant wordsmithing of Matt Wallace, you have been missing out on some superb examples on how writing ought to be done. Not only will reading his stories be well worth your time, but Matt’s command of words, molding and bending them into magnificent tales of disturbia and face shattering emotion, will make you a better, smarter and more amiable person. It’s true1.

FailedCities The Failed Cities, currently being offered as a signed limited addition hardcover from Murky Depths Publishing, tells the interconnected stories of eight individuals split between two juxtaposing worlds in a dystopian future.

Limited Edition

Kindle Edition

 

 

 

 

 

endoffleshThe End of Flesh2, re-released as a stand-alone novella, is a twisted tale of the disturbing futuristic culture arising when animal meat disappears and humanity’s inability to ignore their carnivorous side remains.

Kindle Edition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Probably, but I’ve been a fan ever since I got hooked on the appropriately named collection of short stories, The Next Fix. [↩]
  2. full disclosure, I illustrated the digital cover [↩]
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Brewing A Wedding Brew

by Natalie on March 29, 2013 at 9:00 am
Posted In: artwork

Technically, that should be “brewing a homebrew for the bride and groom to give to all their out of town guests (where out of town = places past a mountain range) in a gift basket”. Unfortunately that doesn’t make a great title.

Anyway, before I completely lose this post before I even get started, a friend of mine is getting married in mid-May (on my birthday, no less), and asked if I would be so kind as to design a beer for the happy occasion. Given the average palate of those attending, we decided a nice summer/pale ale would be the best style for this endeavor. Thus, McMiller HighLife (a play on the bride and groom’s names, McBride and Miller, respectively), was born.

I modelled the recipe off of Pelican’s Surfer’s Summer Ale, but with the additions of orange and honey. The first batch was a tad bitter and very wheaty for the style, so with some minor tweaking  I think I got pretty close to the target flavor profile with the second batch. The main changes I made was adding the malt at the beginning of the boil, mellowing out the bittering hops, and throwing in some honey to balance the sour notes of the wheat.

And since you can’t have a fancy gift basket without your home-made booze looking just as fancy, I made a label for the brew. Any resemblance to any other label is purely coincidental/in parody.

mcmiller-sm

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Three-Legged Demon Dog (and other sketches)

by Natalie on March 27, 2013 at 9:05 am
Posted In: artwork, commissions

Things I sketched by request while I was at an Ohioan castle.

DSC_8454 DSC_8456 DSC_8459 DSC_8516 DSC_8517 demondog image (1)

 

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Doodle Swap #14 – Fairy Tales

by Natalie on March 21, 2013 at 11:13 am
Posted In: artwork, Doodle Swap

It’s that time again for another Doodle Swap project. This time the theme was Storybook/Fairy Tales. Here’s the handful of drawings I’ll be shipping off soon to my fellow doodle swappers.

What’s Doodle Swap? It’s a quarterly project where folks trade ATC sized pieces of original art. Anyone is free to join. That’s it. Simple, no?

frogprincebigracetrollingmergnomebaddragonridinghood

 

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