Shakespeare would adore the irony that the first monkey to survive its flight into the heavens was named Yorick. You think NASA wasn’t feeling too good about their chances when they handed out that name?

I think that more than a little of Alabama’s Straight To Ale Brewing Company’s inspiration is derived from the presence of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center also located in Huntsville. From their Werner Von Brown Ale – named for the father of rocket science in a translation play-on-words – to the Laika Russian Imperial Stout happily wagging its space-doggie tail at the reference, STA has no shortage of Earth orbit themed beverages based upon all backgrounds of space exploration.

Just as long as they don’t dedicate a beer to poor Gordo whose rocket capsule sank to the bottom of the Atlantic, never to be found. That’d be morbid.

We at Hopjacks were extremely happy to be given an early look at their year-round selections a few months ago and ever since we’ve been chomping at the bit to be able to feature their beer. The one that immediately grabbed my attention sported a screaming monkey in a space suit on the can.

Turns out the Monkeynaut IPA has a big historical connection with Pensacola. In 1959 a selection of primates were purchased at a Miami pet shop and brought to Naval Air Station’s Medical Center for testing and training in the Space Program. The best of the bunch was a squirrel monkey named Miss Baker and she was partnered up with a rhesus named Miss Able. The two survived their flight and became national celebrities of sorts being featured on the cover of Time. Baker’s handlers had her “married” in 1962 and the happy couple lived here at the Naval Aerospace Medical Center until 1971 when they were moved to Huntsville. Monkeynaut is dedicated to the memory of Miss Baker.

It is a reddish-orange pale ale that gives up a dense, fluffy head with plenty of sticky lacing left behind. Scents are right where one would expect from an American IPA; a combination of everything hoppy with pine, citrus, tropical fruit and flowers. Juicy grapefruit launches across the palate like a Jupiter missile with orange peel, pine needle and sweet caramel malt exploding like a V-2 rocket. Carbonation is crisp while the texture is medium-slick and satisfying.

Huntsville, we have a problem. I need more Monkeynaut!

I had already been thinking of suggesting a menu to the boss for American Craft Beer Week when, in a minor fit of ESP, he turned to me and asked if I could come up with ideas for a small-scale dinner. Eerie sci-fi Theremin music began playing, if I recall correctly.

For some reason, I immediately thought of using bacon in a dessert. I’m weird like that. It does make sense, though; using a salty and savory component against sweet. With bacon as the focal point of that dish, I began to see piggy everywhere. This is to be a porcine praise of a dinner.

I’ve had a lot of perfectly-cooked eggs lately – a sunny-side-up rode atop my lamb poutine at Cask & Larder in Orlando while a pristine over-easy sent my burger over the top at The Tin Cow – and I really want to showcase a playful take on breakfast as dinner for the first course. I’m baking eggs in bacon fat and carefully topping grilled focaccia bread and Spanish Seranno ham with them before finishing with chive oil. Bell’s Oberon lends the course some whimsy; its creamy body and orange notes a substitute for your breakfast OJ.

A gussied-up take on red beans and rice will be simple yet possessive of a depth of flavor. Cured ham hock and wild boar sausage provide a one-two punch of smoky and sweet while fresh thyme brings out the Creole seasoning. Green Flash Hop Odyssey Imperial Red Rye will nicely amplify the dish’s spice while rounding out the flavor wheel.

Next I have cider-brined pork tenderloin that’ll be seared then served over a salad of mixed field greens, Fuji apple and shaved fennel finished with bacon-apple vinaigrette. The idea here was the roast pig with the apple in its mouth becoming something new. The truck-load of nuts, honey, caramel and hint of orange peel found in Pensacola Bay Brewery’s Conquistador Dopplebock provide a counterpoint to the tang and acid of the dish’s bright notes.

That brings us back to the afore-mentioned dessert. Praline bacon and caramel whipped cream over a toasted pecan blondie – a brownie with brown sugar instead of cocoa. Dessert usually calls for a cup of Joe, so instead we’ll get to serve up something brand-new to Pensacola; Straight To Ale Lily Flagg Milk Stout. We’re very happy to have this brewery selling locally, especially as the mocha coffee notes of the stout contrast so well with the dessert.

Seating is limited. We hope to see you for dinner.

We’ll kick things off by staying local with our good friends at Pensacola Bay Brewery. Both our 9-Mile Road and Downtown locations carry every flavor from the boys on Zaragoza St. I’ll be on hand Downtown to sing their praises and discuss the beer including their amazing Conquistador Dopplebock? Starts at 7 pm.

Tuesday we’ll be visited by our friends from Samuel Adams who’ll further discuss our role in an exclusive summertime promotion we’ve partnered up on. Someone’s going to win a prize package including a Weber grill and a Coleman cooler plus much more on August 2. Details at the restaurant. Stop by Tuesday at 7:30 pm, grab a Sam Summer Ale and we’ll tell you all about it.

I’ll be over at Hopjacks Filling Station Tuesday to have an informal beer class on the development of the craft movement in America starting at 7 pm. Come thirsty.

Wednesday is the event I’m most looking forward to: my beer dinner to be held at Hopjacks 9-Mile Road. The noble pig will be the centerpiece of each of my four courses including dessert. Reservations strongly recommended; 6 pm.

Thursday is a showcase for Southern Tier over at Hopjacks Filling Station. This New York brewery just released a few of their best seasonal beers including the Oak-aged Unearthly IPA and the 2XSteam. Drop in for one of their beers and score a free pint glass, 7 pm. In the meantime, I’ll be back at 9-Mile hosting one of my free beer tastings; this time with Green Flash, 5-7 pm. We’ll get to try out the very exclusive Hop Odyssey Series Imperial Red Rye.

Friday happens to be Gallery Night so expect some long lines when we tap a cask of Shipyard Smashed Blueberry. Cask beer is a rarity around here and to score one this fine has us all excited. There’ll be some Shipyard goodies being handed out as well; starts at 6 pm.

Saturday’s going to be a real good one. Not only do we have a cask of _______ from Sweet Water Brewery to pour for you, they’ll also be on hand to raffle off a trip to Atlanta to tour the facilities! Free pint glasses to anyone drinking Sweet Water that night plus bonus prizes to anyone who orders the last glass out of any one of their kegs. Downtown 7-9 pm for the raffle.

If you’re still thirsty for a beer after all that, Sunday is our weekly half-price draft special, all day long. Remember to drink responsibly and enjoy your American Craft Beer Week safely.

They’re a distraction to the quiet moment of solitude and reflection. They’re as ugly as your best friend’s sister. They’re the guy who talks to you in a bar while constantly, albeit jovially, batting you with the back of his hand while commandeering the entire conversation between belts of chilled German herbal liquor.

In short, not what I need right now. I need my beauty rest for tomorrow.

Tomorrow is going to be a long, uncertain day. We’re in the process of opening another restaurant and the cattle call has gone out. We’re expecting a couple of hundred applicants; hopefuls in a time when good jobs are scarce and no one, not even our core office staff – well-accustomed to the whole “we’ve done this five times, now” mentality – know what to expect save the usual litany of career kitchen horror stories, societal fringe lunatics barely escaped from the Chattahoochee Institution, well-intentioned college kids looking for a Pell Grant-deflecting dollar and over-qualified lifers quick with the insult and who’ll know more about cooking than any of us put together.

Stay in school, kids. Do not get into the restaurant game.

I kid. I must; after all, I’m still here, right?

So, what keeps you up at night? Girlfriend troubles? Indigestion? The notion that reality TV talking heads will be running this country one day soon? No matter what the ailment – real or hypochondriacal – there is a balm for your troubled soul. Ironically enough, it’s just such a thing that’s got me awake even later.

The writers’ block has held me up from truly enjoying this Shipyard Longfellow Winter Ale more than I should be. Let you find temporary solace and comfort in such a wonderful beverage. I, however, shall continue my somnambulistic hand-wringing.

This beer is good. Incredibly good. Curse-word-inducing good. So what’s the problem? Check the name; it’s a winter ale. Seasonal. Gone until next year. Shorter than the sentence fragments in this article.

It’s got that gorgeous dark ruby-garnet-mahogany color found in the best of flavorful, malty beers with a milky white head that settles quickly to an ever-present ring. Spotty lacing remains while the Scotch ale/porter hybrid delivers scents of hot buttered rum, carob, cocoa powder and toasted walnut. Toasty malt immediately washes over the tongue like a warm blanket followed by cushiony pillows of chocolate, pecan, dried fruits and a hint of smoke with a mellow – but noticeable – hop finish.

Good night, all. I’m going to stay up and think about this one for a little while longer.

I’ve got one request… Fans, can we please come up with something better to yell at home games than “Let’s go, team name!”? Is that the best we can do?

It happens in rinks, courts and stadiums all across this great nation, so don’t feel I’m picking on the home crowd. But here, today, I’m throwing down the gauntlet. I challenge the good citizens of Pensacola to come up with some fight songs.

Imagine how spooked the other teams would be, showing up at “The Hangar” to thousands of fans chanting a fight song down towards the ice. Have you ever seen European football? Tens of thousands of rabid fans roaring in unison; the song changing depending upon what’s going on in the game at any given moment. It’s intimidating!

Please address all submissions to me care of Pensacola News Journal. My editor lives for this sort of thing.

My dad got me into hockey (and beer; thanks, pop!) 30 years ago after I inquired about a puck he had on a display shelf. He caught it at a Michigan Tech Huskies home game after soon-to-be Chicago Blackhawks goalie Tony Esposito made a blocker save and it went over the chain link. Yes, chain link. It was a much more rough sport back then. My dad went to college with an NHL hall of famer. Cool.

Hockey may still be dominated by Canadian players – 53.2%, roughly – but for some reason craft brewing in North America isn’t terribly Canuck. In comparison to the United States’ 2416 breweries in current operation, Canada has a mere 197. Why so few, eh? Population density? Rural predilection? Who knows?

This is not to suggest that there’s not any good beer in Canada. One of my favorite Belgian-style breweries is based out of Chambly, Quebec. I’ve selected Unibroue Trois Pistoles (Three Pistols) to fete our hockey team as it reminds me, numerically, of the “3 Stars of the Night” announced at every game. It’s as heavy as a Jeremy Gates check, has the finesse of a Dan Buccella rebound and the excitement of a Ross MacKinnon shutout.

This 9% abv Belgian dark ale is deep brown with a creamy beige head. Its scents are rich and warming; molasses, raisin, spiced apple and liquor. Flavor-wise, think of a bread pudding doused with a boozy sauce. Trois is loaded with toffee, dried fruits, brown sugar, flaming cherry, custardy dough and chocolate.

Thank you, Ice Flyers, for a great season. I’m raising a glass of Unibroue in your honor today.