Author Archives: kihm
Beer Cocktails & Beer Blends
This article first appeared in All About Beer magazine in 1996. It was revised in 2003. * * * To most brewmasters, their finished product is a masterwork, perfectly balanced and pleasing in every regard. To mix it with another beer, or worse, some foreign substance, is like whipping out a marker and drawing a […]
Three Millennia of Beer Styles
This article first appeared in a different format in All About Beer in 1999. * * * Three Millennia of Beer Styles in 4 Minutes and 32 Seconds As many people cannot remember when they last saw their car keys, it is not surprising that beer historians cannot pinpoint the exact date of birth for […]
Gusto Lives: Beer in Japan
This piece was written for All About Beer magazine in 1995. * * * Remember “gusto”? Can you recall the time in America when a voice from the clouds told you to “go for it”? Alas, the era of gusto seems as distant and faded as a tintype. Today, you can’t even drink beer on […]
Bait
November 2000 It is unfortunate for mice that Halloween occurs as the weather grows colder. A case in point: Last night, as I was fetching a log for the fire, a mouse flew by my feet into the shelter of our basement woodpile. He was cute, and I often identify with mice, small, timid, trying […]
Shorts
July 4, 2005 One hot day when I was a freshman at Syracuse University, John Fennessey, a resident advisor in Marion Hall, put his arm around my shoulders and said, “Kihm, I have some advice for you that you can use all your life… Don’t wear shorts.” From an aesthetic point of view, John was […]
On the Shoulder
September 1998 Whoever said the Kentucky Derby was the most exciting two minutes in sports has never traveled on Route 20 as a pedestrian. Granted, the majority of my walk to work is through the idyllic Village, but my office is about a quarter of a mile outside the Village gates, and the open road […]
The Guy Who Walks
June 2001 Coming home from the post office last Saturday, I saw a sign for “Yard Sales” on Elizabeth Street, and turned the corner in search of treasure. A gentleman with a large moustache was leaning back in a folding chair, and at his feet was a wooden box filled with old bottles. My heart […]
Star Wars in Skaneateles
November 1, 2007 The high point of Halloween for me was when Princess Leia peed in our garden. She had arrived in the company of Boba Fett (the bounty hunter), an Imperial Stormtrooper, and Yoda. They had been out in the galaxy all evening, so no one was too surprised when the Princess began to […]
How Far?
December 16, 2002 I have been looking into Presidential Succession lately. I am sure you remember the general outline from high school civics: first the vice president, then the Speaker of the House, then the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. It gets interesting with cabinet officers, ranked by when their office was established. But […]
Suzi Quatro
May 18, 1975 This piece originally appeared in the Syracuse New Times and was written with Roland Sweet, with whom I happily shared the evening, the work, the credit and the blame. * * * We had read the press releases and seen all that leather. The guys on Suzi Quatro’s album covers sure packed […]
Faithful Readers 