NorthGeek

Russell Brewing – Honey Blonde Ale (NorthGeek Beer Review Series)

Sorry, Russell, as much as we love your cream ale, this Honey Blonde Ale just didn’t cut it. Our review below.

Name: Honey Blonde Ale
Style: Blonde Ale
Brewery: Russell Brewing Company
Brewery Location: Surrey, BC

Color: Medium yellow
Apparent Flavours (according to DW & NB): Stale, chemical, cheese, lemon, carbonated water

DW Summary: I hate to say it, but I REALLY did not enjoy this beer. I find it tasted more like carbonated water than beer. To be fair, though, I did have it just an hour after drinking a VERY hoppy Devil’s Elbow IPA – but still, this beer just didn’t do it for me. I don’t have much to say – just that unfortunately, I wouldn’t drink it again (we have 4/6 bottles left in the fridge if anyone wants ’em), and I wouldn’t recommend it to friends. Sorry, folks.

NB Summary: I find this beer too light in taste, too lemony, too carbonated, and not robust enough. The aftertaste is cheese and slight honey, and very short. Overall, the palate is pretty thin and this beer isn’t very exciting to me. Sorry Russell.

DW’s NorthGeek Beer Taster Ratings:

This beer is a: Casual drinking beer / Meal companion beer / Dessert beer ( / Never drink it beer)

Taste 5/20
Smell 6/10
Goes down easy 4/10
Head consistency 5/10
Aftertaste 8/15
Bottle/Packaging 3/5
I would recommend this beer 2/10

TOTAL: 33/80

NB’s NorthGeek Beer Taster Ratings:

This beer is a: Casual drinking beer / Meal companion beer / Dessert beer

Taste 6/20
Smell 3/10
Goes down easy 6/10
Head consistency 7/10
Aftertaste 2/15
Bottle/Packaging 3/5
I would recommend this beer 4/10

TOTAL: 31/80

NORTHGEEK TOTAL: 32/80

What are your thoughts on this beer? Share in the comments below.

How to order from Zappos in Canada

If you are trying to order from Zappos’ US site using a Canadian credit card, enter the following information:

• Secondary address line = City, Province, Postal Code
• City = Canada
• State = AA
• ZIP Code = 99999

Sneak peak at Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

Yesterday in Vancouver, NorthGeek met with Peter Farmer and Neil Dutton from Sony Ericsson Canada about the upcoming Xperia X10 launch. Canada is highly anticipating the release of this new Android device, and, well, so are we. The news is that we should know in mid April exactly what it will cost and when it will be here, which will likely be sometime in Q2.

THE SPECS
You probably already know that it comes with the blazing fast 1Ghz Snapdragon processor, a mega four inch WVGA display, and a sharp 8.1 megapixel camera… also 13mm thick, white or black, microSD up to 32GB (16GB included). If you want more specs, check them here.

SIGNATURE APPLICATIONS
“Signature Applications” is Sony Ericsson’s label for their Android skin — the front look and dominant applications on the Android platform. On the X10, this is dominated by Timescape, Mediascape, Infinite Button, and face recognition. Learn more about these in their online demo. Basically, the device is focused on aggregating your social media streams. It’s not just SMS, MMS, emails, and photos, etc, but also connecting with Facebook, Twitter, and something called MySpace, so you can visualize a person’s presence and correspondence in one place. Sony Ericsson is not the first to do this, but it’s certainly useful and centrally located on the X10.

However, the links within the apps go to the individual services’ mobile sites, not embedded apps like Hootsuite, Seesmic, or Facebook for Android. Also, there’s no Flickr yet — what other integration will you want? We will have to wait and see how Sony Ericsson continues to innovate and add functionality here. Will these features (a mix of the Signature Apps mentioned above) eliminate the need for standalone apps? I doubt they will — apps like Hootsuite or Facebook are so impressive and complete — so we will see how we might use both options or if they will coordinate well.

WHY MORE THAN A VANILLA ANDROID DEVICE?
Rogers has been recently tweeting about the Google Nexus One becoming available in Canada, so it’s hard to ignore the face-off between these two devices. The Nexus One also has the Snapdragon processor (yes, it does have a smaller 5MP camera and 3.7″ screen), but a bare-bones Android likely offering quicker performance and speed. And the most recent version of Android, always.

The X10 comes with Android 1.6, because the Signature Apps need to adapt to new Android OSs, and won’t have the same battery management, task management, etc. It would be difficult for any Android device manufacturer to keep pace with Google’s quickly iterating OS if there is a skin built on top which always needs revisions.

The X10 is trying to do something different here. With a background in media, hardware, and taking chances with their phones (eg. their attempt to embrace Symbian a few years ago), as well as recognizable brands like Cybershot and Walkman, Sony Ericsson is trying to create a unique device experience here. Their skin is impressive and slick, but it will take some time to determine if it is better and who will embrace it. Is a skin really better for Android?

THE BUSY CANADIAN ANDROID LANDSCAPE
Rogers now has lots of Android devices. They are likely a world leader on this front, and were even the first mobile operator to offer both an iPhone and Android. Sony Ericsson believes that there is room here for multiple Android phones. All this competition is going to be very, very, very good for consumers. Watch out Apple.

OVERALL
This piece of X10 hardware is phenomenal. It feels great in the hand, is good looking, has a class-leading screen, and sports a camera verging on real. We’re still wondering if a skin is a good thing. They are competing with the Nexus One now, which sells without support from Rogers — does this matter? Ultimately, we need to spend more time with the device, but this certainly looks promising for Sony Ericsson in the future of smartphones. Coming soon is NorthGeek’s Nexus One review (the Canadian version with 3G frequency support).

NorthGeek at the Olympics

It has been quite the memorable two weeks for us during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. We hope you enjoyed it too. Here are some highlights!

Without a doubt, seeing Jenn Heil rip down the Cypress mogul course for a silver medal on day two of the Games was a highlight:

Perhaps the most exciting events in the Winter Games is the men’s 5000m short track speed skating relay. The result did not disappoint:

The winner of the men’s 500m (that is SHORT and FAST!) short track speed skating final crossed the line BACKWARDS! Check it out:

During an “intimate” concert at Molson Canadian Hockey House, Sam Roberts was joined onstage by none other than the Canadian and his-great-quirkiness Shaun Majumder. He is quickly dragged offstage until he probably says something to stay and dance as a true Canada hockey superfan:

Check out our other Olympics videos here!

Some pictures from NorthGeek’s adventures. The morning after the Opening Ceremonies, here’s the torch at Canada Place:

A view of the Olympic torch and Vancouver skyline from Stanley Park — what a photogenic city:

Day 1 of the Olympics, here’s Daniel and Noah at the women’s moguls, getting slightly wet but not distressed:

NorthGeek with Canadian darling Jenn Heil:

NorthGeek at men’s moguls for Alex Bilodeau gold, Canada’s first gold on Canadian soil!

Sam Roberts Band covered in Canada:

Noah with Canadian skeleton golden boy Jon Montgomery. What a phenomenal guy:

A wet Jet with fireworks at the Whistler Celebration site:

The short track women’s relay team from Canada jumps for silver:

The Robson street crowd after Canada hockey gold:

Here are more photos our Flickr Olympics set.

Noah’s personal Facebook photo album is here.

Nesters Contest Series: Win Cake (contest #1)

Yes, it’s very true. NorthGeek and Zedmo won free groceries for a year from Nesters in Vancouver. This means we’re going to eat well and have some fun with it all. First off, a contest! Stay tuned for weekly adventures and prizes to be won (from our bounty, that is).

Contest #1 details:
What: the most imaginative photo posted online (err perhaps on Twitpic or Flickr or Facebook) of you with this sign declaring our win at Nesters

Who: anyone willing to collect your prize around Nesters in Gastown Vancouver
When: we’ll decide on the best entry by Friday March 26 5pm PST
How: share it with NorthGeek’s Facebook page, post the link as a comment below, hashtag it with #whatyoutweat, or @reply @NorthGeek

The prize: a dozen St Patrick’s Day themed cupcakes (or equivalent).

Come out and win some CAKE!

Sam Roberts Band at Vancouver Olympics

Sam Roberts Band played at the Molson Canadian Hockey House on Tuesday night to an impassioned Canadian crowd, fresh from cheering for Olympic hockey.

During “Brother Down,” he was joined onstage by Canadian comedian Shaun Majumder, seemingly just another Canadian superfan.

Vancouver 2010 Olympics Concerts on your iPhone

There are so many great concerts going on in Vancouver right now for the Olympics. Here’s a little trick to import them all into your iPhone Calendar. For free!

1. Go to the Events Calendar by True North Media House. I submitted most of the events there myself, and people may continue to add more.
2. Click at the bottom on “+ Google Calendar”
3. Click on “Calendar Settings”
4. Export the calendar to your local iCal
5. Sync with iPhone

Yes, this is Mac/iPhone centric, but as an open Google calendar, you should be able to do this with any smart device.

NorthGeek Olympics Missions

Not only is NorthGeek covering the Olympics, with stimulating video, scintillating words, and word-defying photos, but we’re also part of the Olympics. We’re fans of Canada, athletes, parties, and concerts. We are the Olympics, and here are some of our missions. Fulfill them by February 28. Bring it.

1. Honour the memory of 21 year old Georgian luge competitor Nodar Kumaritashvili
2. Be there in person for Canadian Olympic gold
3. Meet the lovely and blisteringly fast Chandra Crawford
4. Sneak some words with the little pepper Jenn Heil, Canada bump skier extraordinaire
5. Rate the best free event
6. Interview with the hottest live band
7. Track down the Snow Leopard (Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong)
8. Wave a Canadian flag wildly as Canada wins gold, wherever we may be
9. Have our adoring fans Twitpic photos with the NorthGeek crew
10. Convince the world that the best way to experience the Olympics is not from the official media partners, but from locals and passionate non-accredited sources

Updates:

1. Update: drinks were raised on Friday night, February 12. RIP Nodar
2. NorthGeek was there for Alex Bilodeau’s gold medal. And our commitment stands
3. n/a
4. See Flickr
5. tbd
6. Kinda got snubbed, still working on it
7. still looking
8. Done, see YouTube
9. Oh countless times
10. Getting there. Make #tnmh trending

Vancouver in Tilt Shift

With just 8 days until the Olympics, we are still obsessed with all things beautiful about Vancouver. Here’s a cute video of this gorgeous city, shot as tilt-shift, so everything looks miniature like a kid’s game.

Vancouver is Starting to Look Olympic

With only 9 days until the Olympics, Vancouver is starting to look very “Olympic.” Check out this great video — just try to ignore the choice of music. Neither the NorthGeek authors nor Shazam now the source of this tune.