Brewsday Tuesday: Two Roads Edition

Brewsday Tuesday on Tattoosday is back with a post full of goodness from Two Roads Brewing Company (@tworoadsbrewing) in Stratford, Connecticut.

Appropriately, we're going to celebrate two-for-Tattoosday in double fashion, with tattoos from two folks from Two Roads, and I'll rave about at least two of the Two Roads brews.

I first connected with Emily, Two Roads' Social Media/Communications Manager, back in the fall, and she shared her tattoo of an empty nonic pint on her inner wrist:

She explained that the glass tattoo was a reminder "that that there will always be beer!" The piece was inked at The Parlour Tattoo (@theparlourtattoo) in Eugene, Oregon.

Since we started first started talking about Two Roads joining the Brewsday Tuesday roster of featured breweries, she has added another, this time a Belgian glass:

This tattoo was done at Forest to Shore Gallery (@ftsgallery) in Stratford, CT by Raquel Cude (@raquelcood).

Emily drew both of her tattoos. She is also the creator of Pints and Panels (@pintsandpanels), a really cool website (soon to become book) that takes a cartoonist's eye to the world of beer. Highly recommended!

In this photo, incidentally, she's holding a limited release of Two Juicy New England Style IPA. I had just recently been treated to one at The Lock Yard (@lock_yard) in Brooklyn last week, when I met Paul, one of Two Roads' sales managers.

Emily also introduced me to Colin, one of the brewing supervisors at Two Roads, who shared his beer-related tattoos:

Colin explained that the tattoos embody "water, malt, hops and fire - the ingredients needed to make beer (besides yeast)."

His artist is Jae Connor (@jaeconnor) from Electric Lotus (@electriclotustattoo) in Boonton, New Jersey.

Now, shifting gears, back to the beer, truth be told I have been a fan of Two Roads Brewing for a while. And not because they have cool, punny names for their brews. Their beer tastes great and they rank among my favorite breweries.

That said, it was a special treat when Emily introduced me to a new seasonal IPA called Zero 2 Sixty:

This was a really refreshing surprise - an IPA that is both hoppy and tart really does wonders to your taste buds and Two Roads is dead on when they describe this special brew as "an easy-drinking IPA with a nicely balanced tart 'chassis' that brings out the flavor and aroma of the hops." What's the secret? According to their site, "it is hopped with Comet and Chinook and then kettle-soured for a tart, balanced finished." Another winner, indeed!

I would be doing myself wrong if I didn't also praise one of my favorites from Two Roads, their Route of All Evil, a winter seasonal black ale that is a dark glass of rich, bold taste.

If you're not familiar with the Two Roads line-up of beer, you really should check them out. There's not a dud in their line-up, as far as I can tell.

For those readers who may not recall our summer Brewsday Tuesday posts, we are also fortunate to have some goodies from Two Roads. If you're interested in some Two Roads swag, all you have to do is comment on the post below, or comment on this post on either the Tattoosday Instagram or Facebook posts. Winners will be randomly selected. You also gen an entry if you just "like" the post, but you get extra points for comments, especially if you share your favorite Two Roads brand.

Thanks to Emily, Colin, Paul, and all the other great folks at Two Roads Brewing, for sharing their passion for beer and tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2017 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Doc Suds

Our next tattooed poet is Doc Suds, who sent us this collage of his tattoo:

Doc explains:

"In 2013 I had this tattoo done by Vincent Vasconez at Tattoo & Co. in Miami. [Vasconez now works out of Kreepy Tiki Tattoos in Ft. Lauderdale.] It is a realistic interpretation of a hop cone dressed in 19th Century attire a la Sierra Nevada's Hoptimum logo.

For me, beer is one of the more interesting goods of our time. Its history (IPA's extreme hop presence is the result of the beer needing to survive long 19th century boat journeys from England to India), science (it's fermentation process relies on active yeast, or in other worlds tiny live microorganisms), originality (in a time when chain stores have resulted in a nation of identical highway exits, craft breweries are thriving thanks to independent owners, local support and creative experimentation) and art (talk to a brewmaster for more than ten minutes and you'll encounter the same passion and complexity that accompanies painters, sculptors and singers discussing their craft) all fascinate me, and involve the larger subjects I like to explore in my life and poetry. Vincent's interpretation of the image really helped it come alive, and the addition of his signature 'Wynwood' watercolor boarder helps connect it to place and time."

Doc sent us this poem, which was originally published in Chicago Quarterly Review:

Back Then

It is going very badly.
A cargo of teak, opium, ivory and influenza.

The captain scrapes barnacles off the helm
while the crew tries to sober-up

on seawater and fish scales. Refusing to improve
upon the banter of wind and wave, the sailors fantasize

about jellyfish on toast and turtle-shell cigars.
A time of roving stars and shifting horizons,

Cannibals and kraken.
A time when you can return to port and claim

whales so big you ran aground on one,
lost a cabin boy down its blowhole,

no one knowing enough to question you.
Back when sailors wear gold earrings so

their corpses can afford a proper burial.
And the frigate birds swoop down

with eyes for plunder.

~ ~ ~

Doc Suds is a Wisconsin native currently residing in North Miami, Fl. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Atlanta Review, Madison Review, Manhattan Review, New Delta Review, Gargoyle, Paper Darts, Silk Road Review and elsewhere. Encounter him more here: @docsuds  and docsuds.wordpress.com.

Thanks to Doc for sharing his tattoo and poem with us here on the Tattooed Poets Project!

This entry is ©2014 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.