Mets Beer: Darryl Strawberry Hefeweizen

As well as being a Mets blogger, I’m also a homebrewer.  My mother got me a homebrew kit for Christmas one year, and it’s grown into a fun hobby.  Recently I’ve taken my game to the next level, making beers that I feel are actually good instead of just drinkable.

 

Naming the beers is half the fun.  Often I like to think of a Mets related name, and sometimes even labels to go with it.  I first did this with a toasted coconut brown ale that I dubbed Oliver Perez is Coco-Nutz.  Most recently I created a Hefeweizen with strawberries that is really more of a Berliner Weisse, but who needs precise labels anyway?

 

I decided to call it Darryl Strawberry Hefeweizen.

Homebrewed by MAD Brewery.

Around Metsopotamia: Links Galore!

First up, Daniel Murphy!

 

Mets Infielder Daniel Murphy To Be Honored With Inaugural “Rising Star” Award At Thurman Munson Awards Dinner On Tuesday Night, January 31, At Grand Hyatt Hotel

***Joins Teammate R.A. Dickey, Yogi Berra, Mark Teixeira, Chris Mullin and Dikembe at Benefit for AHRC New York City Foundation***

New York, January 19—New York Mets infielder Daniel Murphy will receive the inaugural “Thurman Rising Star Award” at the 32nd Annual Thurman Munson Awards Dinner on Tuesday night, January 31, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City, it was announced today by AHRC New York City Foundation.

Murphy will be cited for his perseverance in returning from injury and for his community spirit and involvement in a wide variety of Mets community programs, particularly in reading for youngsters and the military. The 26-year-old Jacksonville, Florida native hit 313 in his rookie season in 2008 in limited action, and a torrid .320 last year. Murphy has battled several knee injuries since joining the Mets, and is a second base hopeful in 2012.

Murphy joins Yankee Hall of Fame icon Yogi Berra, Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey, St. John’s/N.B.A. recently inducted basketball Hall of Famer Chris Mullin, and Georgetown/N.B.A. star center Dikembe Mutombo as this year’s honorees.

The gala, which remembers the late, great Yankees catcher and captain, benefits AHRC New York City Foundation.  Berra will receive the Legend Award in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the 1962 World Champion Yankees, while Mutombo, Teixeira, Dickey and Mullin will each receive “Thurmans.” For tickets and information on the Munson Awards Dinner call 212-249-6188.

Diana Munson, Thurman’s widow, will attend her 32nd straight benefit, having been involved since its inception, raising nearly $11 million to assist children and adults who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Thurman Munson Awards are presented for success on the fields of play and philanthropic works off the field.

The AHRC New York City Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that supports programs enabling children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to lead richer, more productive lives, including programs of AHRC New York City.  AHRC New York City is one of the largest organizations of its kind, serving 12,000 children and adults who have intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injuries and other disabilities.

 

Second up? The Mostly Mets Podcast! Patrick Flood, Ted Berg, and Toby Hyde do a great job with their weekly podcast.  I usually plug it into my car radio and get to avoid a day or two of hoping the local radio stations are talking about something worthwhile while driving to and from work.  They released the latest episode yesterday afternoon.  One of these days I’ll write up a formal review.

 

Kerel Cooper at On The Black chimes in with his expectations for Jason Bay.  If you recall I tried to find some optimism along that front recently.

 

If you haven’t read R.A. Dickey’s posts in the Times about his climb of Mount Kilimanjaro…well, I’m really not sure why you wouldn’t have read that already, but here it is again.

 

To follow me on Twitter, go here.  To leave feedback on this post, this blog, a recent craft beer you’ve had or to request Ceetar on your internet radio show, drop me an email at ceetar@ceetar.com

Ceetar’s Origins, Mostly Mets Podcast, and The Mazzilli’s

Lately the origins of my e-identity has come up a couple of times.  Most recently Metspolice.com awarded me a Mazzilli award for “Most Optimistic” (I think the fix is in there), and Google Images suggested he use a picture of a Cheetah.

 
Last week’s Mostly Mets Podcast, perhaps the final one of the year, answered one of my Twitter questions involving Kirk Nieuwenhuis’s potential promotion.  I asked when he’d be up here to take Andres Torres’ job.  Toby Hyde said July first, Ted Berg said sometime in June, and Patrick Flood twisted it a bit and suggested he’d take Jason Bay’s job instead.  When Patrick read my question he mispronounced Ceetar as “Key-tar” instead of “Cee-tar”.  Ted, the one of the trio I’ve met, corrected him but forgot the origin of the name.

 
So here it is:  I was looking to name a character in an online MUD, which is basically a text-based pre-World of Warcraft style game played over telnet. (This was like 1997)  I came up with Ceetar.  My character ultimately became a demon-worshipping evil priest type character wielding dark magic and a spear to kill monsters and good guys.  It became my online identity and as I began signing up for accounts and emails and websites, I started using it as my user name.  So that’s the pretty nerdy origins of the name.

 
As time as gone on, the idea of creating a more ‘professional’ handle has come up, but I ultimately pass on it.  I’m not trying to hide or be anonymous, and I don’t think using Ceetar does that either.  Almost everything I’ve done on the Internet about the Mets has been done as Ceetar.  To use my real name would actually obscure some of that, and the name is hardly hidden.

 
Back on the topic of the Mostly Mets Podcast, which deserves it’s own review post one of these days, I think I’m setting a New Years Resolution to meet either Toby or Patrick (but not both) so that I can say I’ve Met Most of the Mostly Mets Members. Try saying that five times fast.

Mets New Fundraising Plan: Sell The Blogs

Much has been made of the Mets current financial woes, but I’ve recently learned of a new plan they have to raise some money.  Starting on Opening Day the Mets are going to start a new concession booth at Citi Field out in the center field concourse.  This new stand will sell new and used Mets blogs at a reasonable price.

 

First up is the esteemed blog, Read the Apple.  In what is perhaps a misinterpreted understanding of common adages, the Mets believe if they sell an Apple a day, it’ll keep the doctors away.  Health is a key component to a successful Mets season, and they’re doing everything they can.

Eat The Apple

 

All articles featuring The Apple are fictitious. No Mets were harmed in the writing of this story.  Optimistic Mets Fan would like to thank The Apple, and the Academy, for awarding us a prestigious Fonzie award.

Practice post on my phone

image

Practice post on my phone.  Seeing how easy it is to post from my phone for my Spring Training trip next week.  I’ll upload my pictures mostly to Twitter so your should follow me there. Also experimenting with my Tumblr.

How Do Outsiders View Mets Fans?

A lot of what we feel and think about the Mets is colored by being a fan.  Even when you step back and try to be analytical about it, chances are the amount you care tends to affect your judgement.  This goes the other way too.  The amount Phillies fans dislike the Mets plays into their partisan appraisal, and the amount beat reporters just flat out don’t care about the team has them analyzing it a different way.  Perspective colors all aspects of the game.  Chicago Cubs fans may not feel we have much to complain about.  Islanders and Nets fans may laugh when we talk about playing second fiddle to the Yankees. Football fans may be jealous that we get to watch our team more than 16 times, and NHL fans may wish they could set outside in the sun and watch their team.

How do non sports fans view us? (Yes, such a person does exist) To help illustrate I’ll share a picture from my wedding and a line delivered by the best man.  I think this image illustrates the tough-luck Mets fan, the supporting spouse, and how they’re viewed from outside the fandom.  (And yes, that’s Mr. Met (and likely a knock-off based on the number) on my wedding table)

This picture was taken just after the best man delivered this line: “And finally, Debbie, I want to give you my personal assurance – unlike the Mets, Mike will never break your heart.”

Unlike the Mets, Ceetar will never break your heart.

And thanks to Tracey Elizabeth Photography for capturing this great moment.

Meet the Mets Bloggers

Saturday night I met up with fellow bloggers from Metspolice.com, ontheblack.com and readtheapple.com for friendly Mets conversation, and beer.  I’ve officially come in as the laziest despite technically being the longest running blog of the four, as they’ve all put up recap posts already and I’m just messing around on Twitter.  So go read their recaps, which include what I believe is my video blog premier. (Which made it up much faster than my SNY/Beer Money premier, which was filmed eight months ago and hasn’t aired yet.)  Guest starring in the recaps is the infamous and hilarious Eli From Brooklyn.