Rogue Ales: Yellow Snow IPA

FINALLY! A chance to prove my parents wrong. I CAN have yellow snow, and like it! Actually, that's really gross and you should never eat yellow snow. Any color snow in fact.

BUT, let me share the joy that Rogue Ales Yellow Snow has provided me this winter! Like most IPA's, a light kick upon first taste that then improves with each sip. I was introduced to this little fella not too long ago and order it whenever I hear its name. Let me give you some more info!

Rogue Ales is an American craft brewery founded in 1988 in Ashland, Oregon. The following year the company opened their second brewpub in Newport, Oregon where they are now headquartered. They operate brewpubs in Oregon, Washington, and California. Rogue exports throughout the US and internationally. Rogue Ales have been described as "invariably fun and full flavored".The company has also expanded into distilling as well, with micro distilleries in Newport and Portland.

CEO Jack Joyce has described the company's goals as, "We try to do four things - keep making great product, keep trying to make our packaging great, keep trying to integrate ourselves in our communities, and keep creating unique thunder (in promotions)...". Rogue maintains a company manifesto that expands on their values. The company gives back to its community in a variety of ways, for example helping the City of Newport celebrate its 125th anniversary with the issue of a limited edition Newport Anniversary Ale, whose historical label pays tribute to the Yaquina Brewery, Newport's first. Rogue also donates ongoing proceeds of a specialty brew series to the Oregon Coast Aquarium (past beers have included Spiny Lumpsucker Ale, Wolf Eel Ale, Shark Tooth Ale and Sea Otter Amber). One (Whale Ale) was even crafted in honor of Keiko, the orca, the Aquariums most celebrated resident and star of the movie Free Willy before his release into open waters. Heh heh... I love Free Willy Yo Mama jokes. In addition there are ongoing sponsored activities like the annual surfing event "The Gathering Longboard Classic" on Newport's South Beach.

I love that on their website, they have spec cards for each beer. Here's Yellow Snow's!

They also list that Yellow Snow IPA was originally introduced for the 2000 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. It is Rogue’s tribute to winter sports everywhere—downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross country, ice hockey, ice fishing, snowmobiling, and even curling. I might add that it's a chance for timid rebels like myself to go against those tried and true warning my parents gave me about my affection for snow. Take that! And getch yoself a pint of the Yellow Snow when you hear it on tap. You'll love the zing!

Ps.) With all that Oregon talk, it totally remind me of this:

You can put a bird on anything, and call it ART!

The End of the Tang Dynasty... well the Tang Project

I've just completed the fourth installment for the four part series I've been doing for Cricket. The first and second installments are out for January and February, and I think they printed nicely! So now I'll pack up my lavish silks and glittering gold for another project.

Nathaniel Fludd: Beastologist Web Launch!

I am more than excited to announce the launch of the official Nathaniel Fludd: Beastologist website! It's been a bit in the making, and will continuously have more content added; including more tidbits about Nate family, newer entries into the Book of Beasts, and a downloadable section for teachers and librarians. It's roughly two months before the fourth book's release, The Unicorn's Tale, so keep checking in!!

A special thanks goes out to Antoine Revoy, for his coding mastery, R.L. LaFevers for her wonderful words and creation of such a fun series, and Kate O'Sullivan, editor genius!

They're Dancin' Fools!

All work and no play makes Kelly drink no beer.
Beer post coming dang soon, peoples!

Here's a sneak peek to what's being finished on the ol' desk!

ps) it's currently 0˚F here. I kinda like it. I won't like the bill from the gas company in 2 weeks time though.

Beastologist Teaser

So, Shybird's been hard at work creating a special project for R.L. LaFever's chapter novel series, Nathaniel Fludd: Beastologist. We hope to be unveiling it in the next few weeks, but here's a slight teaser!

The Oceanliner Era

A project I've been working on has allowed me to research the golden age of the Transatlantic ocean-liners. There's something memorizing, yet frightening about the shear size of the ships. Looking at pictures of their construction, and imagining the craftsmen who built them is amazing.

Looking at some of the old pictures gives me the feeling of how cold these ships mght have been in the winter, or how the smell of the cleaning solutions might have been. I grew up hearing stories of when my grandparents came over from Ireland, and how the whole upper deck was covered in ice. About ten years after, the ship that brought them over, the Lancastria, was bombed and sunk off St. Nazaire, France. While lying at anchor in the Charpentier Roads, five enemy German planes dive bombed the ship which sank in twenty minutes taking the lives of nearly 3,000 troops and over 1,000 civilians. The Lancastria had been converted into a troopship and set sail from Liverpool on June 14th. to assist in the evacuation of British troops and refugees from France.

The Last of The Golden Fish

I kinda really enjoying some of the sketch quality of pencil! Hmmmm, time to start experimenting again! Wencheng was a blast to research. I am in love with the design sense of the Tang Dynasty. Awesome stuff.

Illustrated Classics... PHEW!

Wow, I know it doesn't look like much in the finish, but for some reason the size and detail level on this puppy took a LONG time! It was fun to paint this cover for Usborne, but I have to admit... I'm not a one hair brush kinda gal! I would love to be but it's just not in the cards!

I do like the detail of their version of Wizard of Oz. I had to stick fairly close to the interior's art of the stories, but it was fun to paint regardless!