Evan Rail

A glass of golden lager with loads of foam and a bottle on a table at a restaurant with a panoramic view over the Elbe valley.

Not the biggest fan of Radeberger, but this NA version “mit Callista Aromahopfen” is quite nice. Now on to the Sauerbraten.

The Timorous Beastie Cheese Cellar Collection is a trilogy of Highland blended malt whiskies made by Douglas Laing to pair with artisan cheeses. We review all three editions on More Drams Less Drama: moredramslessdrama.com/2025/10/24/t...

A newspaper clipping of a book review titled “Seeing Green” by J. D. Biersdorfer, with a hardback copy of “The Absinthe Forger” lying on top of it.

Happy Birthday to The Absinthe Forger’s lovely NYT book review by J. D. Biersdorfer, titled “Seeing Green,” which came out 1 year ago today.
“A lively standalone seminar on temptation — as well as the culture and history of the much-maligned liquor and its reputation for causing madness and murder.”

Párek v rohlíku – Wikipedie

Looks like párek v rohlíku, amigo. cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A1...

No worries, I truly enjoyed it. (The typo in my post is likewise complimentary.)

The book “Intervals of Darkness” by Ray Newman on a wooden table. There is a bookmark sticking up just a bit. You can tell the bookmark is actually a small instant photograph, but you can’t see what it’s a photo of. But I can tell you: it’s a streetlamp that is somehow inexplicably terrifying.

Finished this book of weird stories last night and truly enjoyed it. If you’re into beer world, you should read it. You'll spot elements of U.K. beer culture covered by @boakandbailey.bsky.social, among other interests of author @raynewman.bsky.social.
Available here: www.amazon.com/Intervals-Da...

Goldfinger Dunkel on side pull.

We Asked 10 Brewers: What’s the Most Underrated East Coast Brewery? (2025) Craft beer might be in a slight pullback at the moment, but it’s still evolving and growing at the same time, with hundreds of new breweries opening up and breaking out each year, even as others have ...

I asked 10 brewers to name their fave “underrated” breweries on the East Coast and got 11 names — some are long-term picks, some are newcomers. Thanks to @brandondoughan.bsky.social, @julypena.bsky.social and @j3p0brews.bsky.social, among others.
vinepair.com/articles/wa-...

Thank you! It was fun to make.

Got tips for good beer and other food & drink faves in Charlotte, NC?

A round pie with a woven lattice crust on a wooden table. The pie is whole and has not yet been cut.

A glass pie dish with just one small piece of pie with a woven lattice crust remaining.

Started / going

When I go fishing out by Žatec in the fall I usually try to stop and gather pears — most of the winding country roads in the region are dotted with gnarled old pear and apple trees, which apparently belong to no one. Made two pear cobblers last week, now this pie.

Does that include audiobooks? (To me, audiobooks feel like a different thing to distract myself with, in addition to books.)

I’ve told my kids this about journalism, TBH

I believe in you.

More Fall Cocktails | Tammy's Tastings In this autumn-themed cocktail class you’ll discover cocktails that take their inspiration from the season.

Want to add some awesome fall flavor to your happy hour? Check out my online cocktail class this Thursday, 7:30 pm EDT. You'll get a dozen recipes to choose from and an hour of fun info and fun people for just $19.

Enjoying, in a literary sense, rather than it filling my soul with innocent glee, this from @twistedspoon.bsky.social

Hmm, I don’t know if that’s quite right. Kino Atlas shows silent movies with live music weekly. And I mean, there’s a German film festival going on right now. www.dasfilmfest.cz/cs/program

U.S. Housing Market has reached its most unaffordable level in history 🚨🚨

The White Slave Girl A young girl reads an ad in the newspaper and enthusiastically shows it to a young man, who cares for her. She leaves on the train; the young man gives her a carrier pigeon. At the end of the journey,...

Ideally you’d want to see it in the Great Hall.
And if they were clever they would pair it as a double-feature with “The White Slave Girl” (1907), which Kafka mentioned seeing at Kino Lucerna in his diary.
www.dfi.dk/en/viden-om-...

If you’re in Prague this week, you can catch a screening of Agnieszka Holland’s new film “Franz” at Kino Lucerna, an Art Nouveau cinema from 1909 where Franz Kafka himself often went to the movies.

That’s pretty funny. The world is a small place sometimes.

It’s definitely a fad at this point. The “healthy eating” world just keeps adding new ones: raw food, fruitarianism, macrobiotic diet, zero carbs, high protein, Mediterranean diet, gluten-free, keto, etc.

Orthorexia nervosa is a real disease, with medicine and doctors and everything.

Then go for it! You might see a small improvement!

Same guy:

“Those working out four or five times a week might see a small improvement, according to Professor Stuart Phillips, the co-author of a 2022 scientific review and meta-analysis of protein intake to support muscle mass and function.”

Or maybe raw? Cool Hand Luke it, bro.

No, you really don’t need to be eating more protein From pizza to Weetabix, it seems no food is safe from becoming a mere vessel for ’tein. Helen Coffey investigates how it went from gym bro fodder to panacea for the masses, and asks the experts whethe...

Got it! Might be the right call for insulin resistance, but for muscles, this researcher says “anyone who isn’t a dedicated, professional athlete is unlikely to experience much of a difference from incorporating extra protein (over the RDA) into their diet.”
www.independent.co.uk/life-style/p...

Yeah, I guess it wouldn’t be. Because of protein?

Jeebus, that’s a lot of chicken. How much training are you doing?

Flights of Fancy: The Long, Strange Backstory of Lufthansa’s Latest In-Flight Cocktail Fans of interesting drinks at 35,000 feet got good news last year when German airline Lufthansa announced the arrival of Avionic, a custom in-flight aperitif. Developed with help from award-winning ba...

Lufthansa has relaunched its in-flight cocktail at least 3 times since 2005. The original dates to the 1950s, or maybe earlier. That version has also been relaunched, though under a different name. Also: David Bowie.
The story, with help from @davidwondrich.bsky.social:
vinepair.com/articles/luf...

Same. I’ve traveled to Hungary, Belgium, Germany, Poland and around the Czech Republic this year. I might have seen two masks, other than the ones I wore. Not even close to “most.”

That must have been a great show!

(I was just thinking about when I saw the Who in 1989 and how I thought they were old at the time. They would have been around 44 or so then, LOL.)