Lifestyle

Beer Review: Great Divide Hoss Rye Lager

In the tradition of Germany’s Reinheitsgebot, or beer purity law, only barley, hops, water, and yeast can be used to brew beer. Today’s craft brewers often stretch, or even outright break, these rules with the addition of alternative grains, sugars, herbs, and spices. Wheat, oats, rye, corn, and rice are all fair game, especially in cultures where barley is less common. These experimental brews often shake up the status quo and always serve to keep innovation and creativity in the beer world.

Game Review: Professor Layton and the Unwound Future

The Nintendo DS has not had much publicity with the older and more mature members of its audience, but Level 5’s release of “Professor Layton and the Unwound Future” allows them to wrap their brains around brain teasers and other logic puzzles. The third game in the Unwound Future series, Professor Layton is filled with logic puzzles that are still challenging, even to the most extraordinary Mines student. This sequel is an great improvement when it comes to game play, difficulty of the puzzles, and the overall aesthetics of the game. Even the non-player characters are amazingly hysterical and whimsy as their personalities help drive the campaign of the game.

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Haunted House Review: The Field of Corpses

This week’s haunted house visited the Field of Corpses in Arvada. At this haunted house, a personal guide leads groups through a menagerie of spooky scenes. The fun begins by crawling through a hearse into a cemetery, followed by a trip through a swamp, creepy candy store, nuclear facility, and much more. This haunt plays on all the senses. All of the props are made by the owner and are very impressive. The use of projected scents creates an atmosphere that is very real. Visitors are subjected to small spaces, pitch-black corridors, and bursts of air at times. All of these different and new components create a unique experience.

Get geared up at Bent Gate Mountaineering

Although Colorado is surround by beautiful wilderness, students often fail to take advantage of what it can offer. Bent Gate Mountaineering helps students utilize Mines’ wonderful location with backpacking, climbing, and skiing gear.

The stars (and ice balls) above Mines

While many of the stars we see in the sky have been around since before humanity was able to admire them, there are elements of the night sky that change very readily, usually with a splendor unmatched by their more eternal counterparts. At the time of writing, one of these events is visible to the fortunate residents of the northern hemisphere, and with basic equipment you too can enjoy one of the joys of our Solar System.

Beer Review: Tommyknocker Hop Strike Black Rye IPA

The Brewers’ Association calls it an American-Style India Black Ale. Guinness calls theirs Foreign Extra Stout. West-coast breweries prefer the term Cascadia Dark Ale. And, to confuse matters further, the Tommyknocker brewery refers to their dark and bitter brew as a Black India Pale Ale. Seemingly a contradiction of terms, this new emerging style combines the dark roasted sweetness of a porter and the tart bitterness of an IPA. While no one can agree on what to name it, most agree that the ASIBA/FES/CDA/BIPA is the next big thing in craft brewing.

Rest, relaxation, and RTD

The towns around Mines and Golden are full of activities to boost your adrenaline, challenge your skills, and keep you having fun, no matter the season. So where do you go for relaxation after weeks of climbing, kayaking, and skiing? If you take the 17 line from 19th and Jackson until you get to the Cold Springs hub, then take the EV route in the ES Aspen Springs direction, you will get to the beautiful mountain town of Evergreen. This picturesque town has just about everything you will need for relaxation including a variety of restaurants, bars, art galleries, and of course, the beautiful Evergreen Lake.

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Whiskey Review: Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey

In place of the usual beer review this week is a review of another alcoholic beverage, whiskey. While not strictly followed the “liquor before beer” rule for this column, a little moderation and diversity never hurt.

The stars shine brightly above Mines: Cassiopeia

If you find yourself in Golden on any given night, many of the stars to the northeast are sadly washed out by the strong lights of Denver, Boulder, and campus itself. Regardless of this travesty, unless you are standing right under a street lamp, it is likely that you will be able to find the familiar five stars of Cassiopeia. Similar to the vain, mythological queen the constellation is named after, Cassiopeia seems to shimmer with an awe-inspiring beauty. Part of this may come from the surprising fact that the brightest star in this constellation is not a star at all, but a recent supernova, the light of which only reached our planet 300 years ago.

Movie Review: Wristcutters – A love story

Wouldn’t you love it if you had the time to go to the movies? The time and the money, that is. Sure, the Student Activities office sells tickets for $7.50. That’s a step in the right direction from the $9.25 at the local theater, but $7.50 could get a six pack of beer and a movie rental. Fortunately, living in the future as we do, we have alternatives to dropping cash at the theater. If you have a computer, you have access to Hulu.com, and one of its movies, “Wristcutters: A Love Story.”