Happy New Year!

Omygod, I have to go back to work on Tuesday. It's been too long. I haven't gotten out of bed before 9 am in a long long time. Tuesday morning is going to be a little unpleasant.



We had a small Festivus shindig on Friday. The Feats of Strength were abandoned, and I was glad, because I really didn't want to see a bunch of late 20 to early 30 year old dudes wrestling in my living room. The Airing of Grievances were too late in the evening for me, and I was already nodding off. Or not speaking well. Or both. But it was fun, and I am so glad everyone came. Trey brought me a whole six pack of the New Belgium Brewery's 2 Below, which was really quite tasty. It was my first beer of the night, and I dug it a lot. I had tried to pick up some more Nutcracker Ale, but the store down the street was out, and the deadline for hiding the dishes was looming, so I thought I was out of luck. BeerAdvocate classifies 2 Below as an ESB, or Extra Special/Strong Bitter, which just means that it is a little more aggressive than your average beer in terms of hops and alcohol content, but nothing overpowering. It is really not bitter at all, but balanced between hops and malts. I drank it right out of the bottle, like a classy broad, so I didn't really look at color or head, but it is a basic copper colored ale, and it was quite quite tasty.



Mel & Nate (Melanie & Nathan? Sorry, I have an obsession with nicknames, because my name is nickname-averse...) brought me a bottle of this. Delirium Tremens. I cracked it open and immediately drank it all. (Except that little bit the Husband snagged.) Yummers. It is a Belgian Pale Ale, with 8.5% alcohol content. Whoo, but it didn't taste as strong as you would think. But I should have had more food at the party, this is for certain. I had to pour it into a pilsner glass, since that is what I had handy, and I had to share. The beer is straw-colored, almost golden, and the flavor is smooth, almost fruity. I thought that the mouthfeel was extremely light, but the Husband, who had been drinking Bud Light, called it a "thick beer." The head on this was super fluffy, and I caught some crap for bad pouring. Deserved, I am sure, but it had one heck of a head!


Nate/Nathan brought something dark and fierce and reminiscent of motor oil, from the Great Divide Brewing Co. I stole a sip and it was delish. Ah, here it is : Yeti Imperial Stout. I've seen their stuff pop up in KC stores lately, so I guess that will be my beer next adventure.


PLEASE be careful tonight, if you are headed out. It's amateur hour out there, so take cabs, be safe, and I hope that you greet 2007 with a tall glass of water and some quality time on the couch.