More Spring... and some beers

Yard Updates:
Planted Spinach seed Saturday, the dog lay out in the sun for a bit, it was nice but very breezy so there was still a chill in the air, she had a longer spell at the front door till she got overheated.
Sunday was the nicer of the 2 days allocated to us cogs, though I did do some work some on both days. The dog got to lay outside twice Sunday while I did some more yard work, picking up leaves, some minor pruning and I planted some paper-whites I had forced during the winter.

Siberian Squill, scilla siberica in the Lilac Garden

Activity Update:
Had the tracker since March 20 and received the first weekly email update from my Fitbit One for March 24 - 30
Daily Averages
3400 steps, 11 floors, 6 hours sleep, awoken 5 times a night, 6 minutes to fall asleep. Still have some extra winter/holiday poundage lingering so I may have to up the activity.

Beers in the Fridge:
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbeer
A smoked beer from Bamberg, Germany. I tried the Marzen and liked it. The sales person suggested it was really smokey, but I didn't think it to be too smokey. Reminded me of burnt leather and maybe Mescal, it was slightly sweet and not at all hoppy. The smoke essence is created at the tail end of the barley malting process when beech wood is used to dry the sprouted grain. After I tried the Marzen, I picked up the Urbok and Weizen varieties. Would be a good addition when making chile.
Couldn't wait and I had the Urbock along with a bauernwurst(pork and beef) and some pickles for Sunday lunch. I couldn't tell much of a difference between the Urbock and the Marzen, even so I preferred the Marzen. I've read that some people think you need to get used to these beers... poppycock I say.

 The brewery is in Bamburg, Germany they have a website here and a tavern in the center of town. Bamberg is a 2 hour train ride north of Munich.

Samuel Smith Chocolate Stout

photo from Sam Smith website

It is like a Belgium Fruit beer, I don't think it is brewed with chocolate, but I think the chocolate is added after brewing is done. It tastes very chocolatey and would be great to use when making a variation of a Chocolate Guinness Stout cake. While drinking it I thought that a scoop of vanilla ice cream would have gone great in the mug (Editor's Note: yes he drinks booze out of a mug). I think I may like Young's Double Chocolate Stout better, but this has true chocolate taste. Sounds like a side by side comparison is called for.