Holla!

I wanted to say thanks to Jules Crittenden. His apparently QUITE popular blog put me & my silly little blog in a post, and he's been sending me traffic. Muchas gracias! I hope he sees this, because WordPress doesn't like me today, and I couldn't comment. Boo.

I've been extolling the virtues of the Milk Stout quite heavily lately. I think I've sold a few 6 packs. You're welcome, Left Hand!

Men's Journal has an article in their Oct issue that contains the Best Beers of 2008. I haven't read it. And they haven't posted it online. But I will find it, and share what I can, whenever that is. In the meantime, let me know if it is worth the "newsstand price."

Oh No They Didn't!

I saw this on Fuggled , and it was in the New York Times, last week. All I can say is if I got a ticket for drinking a beer on my own front step, I would be angry. Drinking in public = wandering down the street. Sitting on a deck, a stoop, or in front of an open window of your own home shouldn't be considered "public," IMHO.

A 39 year old Prospect Heights resident, who lives in a four-story, 20-unit co-op building with his wife and two children was ticketed for drinking a beer on his own stoop. He had watched Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s speech at the Democratic convention on television, helped put his sons to bed and washed the dishes. The time was 11:52 p.m., the date was Aug. 27, and the beer, for the record, was a 12-ounce bottle of Sierra Nevada.

A police car slowed to a stop, and the police officer in the driver’s seat said something to Mr. VanRy. He left the stoop, walked to the car and, several minutes later, was handed a small pink slip — a $25 summons for drinking in public. The officer who gave Mr. VanRy the summons asked him what brand of beer he was drinking. “I thought it was strange why it mattered,” Mr. VanRy said.

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Like Chocolate Milk

I grew up as an allergied kid. I always had the sniffles, and had to have some dramatic surgery to make my head all better when I was about 6 which involved my nasal cavity. I know, gross. Turned out that I and my younger brothers are allergic to bovine dairy. Yeah. Milk. And all milk products. Don't tell me about your lactose intolerance, it is NOT the same thing. Children that can't eat ice cream or cheese pizza are going to live their entire adult lives feeling like something was missing.

I try to fill that void with beer, apparently, and I found one I think I heart. I picked up a grab bag of goodies from Rimann this weekend, after a co-worker asked me how she could find a beer that tasted like chocolate. Since I had it on the brain, I picked up some random chocolate stouts, and one Left Hand Brewing Company Milk Stout. I drank it, I didn't share it, and if I bought a 6 pack, I might have to protect it from the Husband like a mother bear protecting cubs. It is seriously that good. AND, it is a dark, sweet, CHICK beer. I promise.

It poured out of the bottle into a pint glass very dark brown, almost black coffee. It had puffy and cappuccino-like head. The smell was awesome, like spiked sweet coffee in a glass. Some maltiness, coffee and hot cocoa-like scents.

Taste was sweet. No joke. Not candy-cloying, but definitely sweet. What I found astounding was the real milky taste and mouth feel. I liked the ever-so-slight slight bitter finish.Overall just so smooth. Like chocolate milk. As a kid who could never, ever, drink a whole big tall glass of chocolate milk, this was like manna to me. I loved it. I will drink more.

But in the meantime, I plan to turn my attention to pumpkin and Oktoberfest brews in the immediate future. We're already well into September!

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Buckbean Brew Review

It is about darn time that I posted this review! I had a most enjoyable 3 day weekend, but I left my camera cable at work, and I wasn't about to head into the office on a holiday weekend, just so I could retrieve some beer pics. I hope you all understand. Now, on the the beer! As you may remember, the Buckbean Brewing Company sent me some free beer. This was most exciting.

I also received a large "media kit," aka a folder full of official propaganda on the company. The gist of it was that people who adore beer start their own brewery, and decide that cans are much better for the environment. Probably cheaper too. They seem to only brew two styles/flavors of beer, and I got 2 of each. My husband Paul & I sampled the first two cans on Tuesday. My friend Sheri came over last week to help me finish reviewing the last 2 cans the Buckbean Brewery Company sent to me. I wanted to see if different people had different opinions. The bottom result was not really - Sheri, Paul & I all had similar opinions.

First up was the Original Orange Blossom Ale
The materials sent by the brewing company stated explicitly that this is not a fruit beer. It is made with orange blossom water, but not oranges. Both Paul & Sheri were a bit confused as to why it is not a fruit beer. It tasted like a fruit beer. It smelled a little reminiscent of BLVD's Lunar Ale, a little zesty, like orange flowers. When poured from the pint can into a pint glass, the first can had no head, and the second resulted in a thin head that ended up with minimal to no lacing down the sides of the glass. The taste was also zesty, fruity, a little hoppy, and very much like summery, chick beer. Paul preferred the other beer, so I drank the rest of this one on our first taste test. Sheri liked it a lot, so drank it during the second round. If I lived in Reno, this would probably be my favorite.



The second beer I received was the Black Noddy Lager. Poured into a pint glass, it was suprisingly dark for a lager. I KNOW it has Black in the name, but it reminded us of a Coke pouring out of the can. It smelled like dark caramel mixed with licorice. The mouthfeel was interesting, because due to the dark color, everyone expected it to be thick, but it is not. Very smooth, however. The taste was the great divider. It tasted like malts, and licorice. The after taste was odd and lingering, almost like Good & Plentys. Paul liked it, I thought the after taste was a little too chemical for me, and Sheri despised it, being a non-fan of licorice in any form. Anything dark & chock full of flavor like this works better for me when it is cooler out. The end of August wasn't probably the best time of year to try this one on for size, but all in all, it was still pretty tasty.

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Buckbean Brewing

I received my free cans of Buckbean's Orange Blossom Ale and Black Noddy Lager (2 of each) on Monday. I was so excited, you would think that I would have tried them that night, right? No. I left them in my office overnight. Du'oh! I took them home yesterday & refrigerated them for a bit. The Husband & I both sampled each type of beer last night, and I am saving the last 2 for tonight. Unfortunately, I left my camera with beer pics at home today. (Why yes, there is a theme to this post, and it is forgetfulness. I also drop stuff often, if it makes you feel better to know that too. Awkward turtle, right here. ) So I am going to save any further review/unveiling until I am sitting down with another pint of each all to myself tonight. Stay tuned...

75th Street Brewery

So the 75th St. Brewery is turning 15 years old this week. And there are specials galore. The little blurb below should give you plans for the week. I'd especially like to point out the Home Brew contest on Saturday and 2 for $15 growlers all week long!

Schlitz is making a comeback

It has been all over the papers this month, especially in the Mid-West. This snippet is ripped from an Associated Press article from August 1. Leaning heavily on nostalgia in packaging and marketing messages, I think this could make a splash.

It's the beer that made Milwaukee famous. Now Schlitz is making the city nostalgic.

That beer with the old-time mystique is back on shelves in bottles of its original formula in the city where it was first brewed more than a century and a half ago.

Schlitz was the top-selling beer for much of the first half of the 20th century. But recipe changes and a series of snafus made the beer — in many a drinkers' opinion — undrinkable, turning what was once the world's most popular brews into little more than a joke.

But after decades of dormancy, the beer is back.

Schlitz' owner, Pabst Brewing Co., is recreating the old formula, using notes and interviews with old brew masters to concoct the pilsner again. The maker of another nostalgic favorite, Pabst Blue Ribbon, it hopes baby boomers will reach for the drink of their youth, otherwise known as "The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous." They also want to create a following among younger drinkers who want to know what grandma and grandpa drank.

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Saturday in Denver

I ripped everything below from Home Brew Beer, who received an email from Flying Dog directly.

"I just got this message from Steph at Flying Dog...

Hey,

I don't know if you have heard, but our longest standing employee and brewery manager, Mike Freeman, was recently diagnosed with a very serious brain tumor and the most aggressive of its kind! Due to Mike not being able to work and to offset some medical expenses, Mike’s friends and family are hosting a fundraiser. The fundraiser, Rock the Mike: The Freeman Brainefit, is on Saturday, August 23^rd at the old Flying Dog warehouse (24^th and Blake) from 7-2am. We are going to have several bands, free beer from Breckenridge, Great Divide and Flying Dog, free food and a raffle with a $20 cost at the door. All of the proceeds from this event are going to Mike and his fiancée Jennifer.

I was hoping you could help me spread the word in your blog, paper, to your friends, etc. The more people we get in the door, the more money Mike gets!

Please check out the website we set up for him at mikesupport.com.

Thanks for your support!

Cheers,

Stephanie Kerchner

PR and Event Coordinator

www.flyingdogales.com

www.flyingdognews.com

Great Taste, Less Filling

MillerCoors is bringing back the classic “Great Taste, Less Filling” advertising tagline for Miller Lite. “Research has shown the two factors that matter the most to mainstream light beer drinkers are taste and refreshment,” MillerCoors said on Tuesday in a message to distributors.

-- ripped directly from MillerCoors' BrewBlog

The quiz question for you, dear readers, is this.

If Miller Lite = Great Taste, then Coors Light = ___________?

Lunch

I had a BLT and a Fat Tire. What?

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it

My blog traffic is back up to the levels I had in 2005. Who says blogging is dead? It is just now part of a family of things like twitter, plurk, brightkite and the ever present spaces & books. My little beer blog even appears on AllTop's site, under BEER. Which is why we got the glassware giveaway. Yay. This week I was contacted by a PR person, on behalf of the Buckbean Brewing Company, located in Reno, NV. Right now their beers are really only available in Nevada, and not even widely available at that. But they are beating their drums well, and getting good reviews, so who knows what will happen in the future. The best part is that they are going to SEND ME SOME BEER! Whee! I've been at this for 4 years now. This is my first freebie. I'm so excited.

Part of the email I received from Constance, on behalf of the brewer:

Buckbean Brewing Company
We specialize in microbrews, two in particular, The Original Orange Blossom Ale and Black Noddy Larger. Our company prides themselves in being environmentally friendly by packing the beer only in cans. Beer in cans brings a positive spin on the environment because:

• Cans aren’t packed in cardboard, so they don’t have to be rinsed of packing dust, which cuts back on water use
• Cans are lighter than bottles, so they require less fuel to ship. When bottled beer is shipped a truck cannot be completely filled because of weight issues.
• Unlike bottles, cans don’t require energy to be expended on producing and applying glue and labels.
• A case of cans uses about 70% less paper and cardboard than a case of bottles
• Cans are the most easily recyclable material

Locally, we're featured in over a hundred bars and stores, and we're quickly expanding into other regions.

Winner winner chicken dinner

The free glassware contest, sponsored by AwesomeDeals911.com, is closed. All entries were written on scraps of paper, by me.
Then they were folded in half.
Put into this very classy plastic pink hurricane glass left over from the DZ Summer Party.
I stuck my hand in there, and pulled out ONE entry.
Ta da!
sCrockett, you are now the lucky winner of two Piels pilsner glasses! Just shoot me an email with your address, and I will send it on to our lovely giveaway sponsor, AwesomeDeals911.com.

Guaranteed we bring the brouhaha

The American Royal thinks that many Kansas Citians will pay $22 in advance and $27 on the day of to attend a wine & beer tasting event. The first annual “Wine and Brew Ha-Ha” on Saturday, August 9 from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm will take place in the Hale Arena on the grounds of the American Royal.

So for $22 you can taste as many as 100 different wines & beers? Interesting. Something for the weekend!

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Free Beer

I was contacted by someone from Awesomedeals911.com, and they'd really like to give something away to the readers of this blog. They offered up a lanyard, two choices of bottle openers, and glassware. I thought the glassware might be the most popular, so that's what I chose.
That means one of you, readers, will get to win some glassware. A set of 2 Tall Pilsner Glasses, 22 oz each, with the Piels brand name emblazoned on the side.

So we need to have a contest. I thought of resuscitating the old name-that-tune game we used to play here, but any mistakes I make in correctly awarding the winner would be a bigger deal now that there really is a prize. So instead, I say leave your answer to my question below in the comments. In one week, on Wednesday, August 6th, I will write down the names of everyone who had the correct answer on pieces of paper and put them into a hat, and pull one winner. We'll document the process. Whoever wins just needs to supply name and shipping address to the people at Awesomedeals911.com, and they'll ship the glasses to you!

Cool?

OK, here's the question:

Piel Bros Beer was founded in what year, and in what city?

ALL ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED 8/6 1:36PM

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Dream Vacation - Beer Town USA

So, who wants to go to Colorado with me before it gets snowy? The "Napa Valley" of beer is Colorado. Denver ranks first in the nation in beer production per capita and second in the number of breweries. There are more than 100 breweries statewide. Breweries include Coors, Anheuser-Busch, Rockies Brewing Co, Bristol, Breckenridge, New Belgium, Aspen, Avery, Great Divide, Odell, and more.

The Great American Beer Festival, in Denver hosts thousands of people every September for tastings, live music and entertainment. **correction - it is Oct 9th-11th, per Lee**Brewmasters compete for coveted medals in more than 58 categories. Farther north, visitors can enjoy the Annual Colorado Brewers' Festival, June, in Fort Collins. Enjoy music, food, games, entertainment and beer sampling. Don't miss the Annual Telluride Blues and Brews Festival, every September. This Colorado favorite combines the best brews with the finest in traditional blues music.

Happy Hour Tonight

I won ANOTHER happy hour at Howl at the Moon in the Power & Light. Sadly, I don't really have 100 friends. Maybe acquaintances. Maybe blog readers. So I will be there, with a small contingent of friends, but with room for many more. If you are interested in free admission, first 2 drinks for $1 each, a complimentary hors d'oeuvres buffet, and live entertainment, please c'mon by! Drink Specials after the first 2 $1 drinks include: $2 Margaritas, Long Islands, Domestics, and $3 House Wine!

Just say you are there for the happy hour with me. :)

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InBev could bring variety to US

There was a story in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend about how InBev's deal with A-B might actually improve the offerings on US store beer shelves. Much like how microbrew fans in the US do not love mega brewers, Europeans who enjoy small local brews also resent InBev for bringing watered down beverages.

At any rate, entertaining read about taste-testing several InBev offerings that could, maybe, someday, make their way to a shelf near you.

MillerCoors keeps a beer blog

And it all about beer industry news. It can be found here.

Today's news is that Bud Light Lime is the top growth brand in supermarkets during the first half of the year, according to beer sales statistics from Nielsen. (Yes, that says supermarkets, meaning that this doesn't necessarily account for TOTAL sales. In some states, you can ONLY buy beer at supermarkets, while in others you cannot at all. SO the kind of people that pick up beer at the grocery store, tend to like Bud Light Lime. I don't buy beer at the grocery store, but I AM a fan of Bud Light Lime.)

The new lime line extension -- (which follows MillerCoors is quick to note debuted WELL after Miller Chill) -- moved nearly 1 million cases in the period ended June 28, according to beer market analysis from Nielsen. What makes that more impressive is that Bud Light Lime didn’t hit the market until late April.

Overall, A-B placed nine brands among the fastest growing brands in the first half of the year. Besides Bud Light Lime they were: Michelob Ultra (5), Busch Light (6), Land Shark Lager (7), Bud Light Clamato (8), Michelob Golden Draft Light (12), Bacardi Silver (16), Bud Clamato (17) and Busch (19).

MillerCoors placed seven brands on the list, including three of the top five. They are: Coors Light (2), Keystone Light (3), Miller Chill (4), Blue Moon seasonals (5), Blue Moon Belgian White Ale (13), Coors Banquet (14) and Miller Genuine Draft Light (24).

Mexican imports had a strong showing: Tecate Light (18), Tecate (20), Modelo Especial (22), Coronita Extra (23) and Dos Equis (25).

Other brands on the top 25 include: Yuengling (10), Stella Artois (11), Heineken Premium Light (15) and Samuel Adams seasonal (21).

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Blondes in Prairie Village

Prairie Village Beer Tasting Thursday, July 17th

THE BLONDES OF SUMMER Rimann Liquors of Prairie Village
3917 Prairie Lane Thursday July 17, 2008 6:00 - 9:00 PM Come meet the "Blondes of Summer"... the Belgian Blondes... along with other light, summer ales to quench your thirst during the Dog Days of Summer. Join us in the Party Shop for a tasting of these refreshing brews: Brigand Blonde, Kastel Rouge, K-O Blonde and Kastel Blonde Tripel. We will also be tasting Unibroue Ephemere, an apple ale reminiscent of Granny Smith and McIntosh Apples. And since it's the Dog Days, man's best friend is invited also! Mark your calendars in the weeks to come for the following fun "Third Thursday" events in Prairie Village: "Class Act on Tomahawk" on Thursday August 21, "Girls' Night Out" on September 18 and "Harvestfest" on October 16.

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Alcoholism is not funny

Summer Beer Cocktail

Part shandy, part bug-juice, part WT answer to sangria, and always a good time, below is the recipe for summer fun in a big pitcher, ripped directly from Thomas Lin's Facebook note:

12oz can of frozen lemonade
12oz Vodka
6 cans of beer

Stir together the lemonade and vodka to dissolve the lemonade well. Pour in 6 cans of beer and give it a light stir to mix.

Feel free to use cheap vodka and cheap beer. You can't tell with the lemonade in there. It's tasty and has a kick.

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Summer beers

The deck is open for the season at the Casa de Soseman. Which means you're welcome anytime, just bring a sixer of something interesting with ya! I have a stockpile of beer koozies, and a yard that dogs love to play in.

To date, our backyard tastings have included the following fluffy beers:

Bud Light Lime - Domestically produced, sweeter Corona, good with Tex Mex
Coors/Blue Moon Honey Moon Summer Ale - Sweet, lightly carbonated, good with spicy BBQ
Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy - Totally tastes like lemonade & beer. Dangerously easy to drink. Light and not too sweet.

Most of these are borderline beer cocktails. Light, girly, sometimes fruity or sweet, but always refreshing and kept well chilled. They all seem to go well with KC humidity and fresh off the grill eats. They also make good use of the limited hops available this year.

Here are all the beers I still want to consume before this deck season gets much later:
Boulevard's Zon
Pyramid's Curve Ball
Sam Adams Summer
Sierra Nevada Harvest Fresh Hop Ale

So what have you seen lately you want to try? What have you tried and want to share with the class?

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Beer for the weekend?

Matt Gardner was on the local KC Fox morning news show, talking about pairing the right beer with your weekend munchies. Catch the video here


My recommendation is to BBQ, and to drink some ice cold beer. Put it in a koozie, enjoy the sunshine, and say Happy Birthday America by blowing something up.

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On your knees

Waldo Crawldo is this Saturday. It is in Waldo (duh), and includes all of the Waldo bars - 75th Street Brewery, Lew's, Kennedy's, Bobby Bakers, Tanner's, Waldo Pizza, & the Waldo Bar. It starts at 6 pm and goes on as long as you can remain standing. Tickets are on sale now at any of these locations for $5, and will go up to $10 on the day of the event. The bars will have drink specials all crawl-long, and there will be many chances to enter to win gift cards, limo services, spa days, pub crawls for friends, etc.

If you haven't been back to Kennedy's since the fire, now would be a good time to go! It'll be fun, there will be lots of your friends there, and no shortage of taxis to get you home. Or someone else's home. Whatever.

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Right in my own backyard

What kind of a midwestern beer blogger would I be not to weigh in on this news? I know everyone heard about it already, and everyone has an opinion, from Bull @ the KC Beer Blog, to George Parker over at AdScam

I think big, old, American business institutions, including our friends in STL, have probably created some sort of giant corporate hairball over the years, and I am not above believing they should probably get some sort of a "correction" like this. I am not touching the topics of Unions, American pride, US owned companies, etc. Not with a 10 foot pole. I think anyone trying too hard to fight for US only production of anything is fighting a losing battle. We're global consumers already people. ANYway.

I know no one in STL would like for their big brewer, the supporter of 90% of all their professional sports, the fun cash cow, to be taken over in a hostile bid by a foreign company. So for their local economy, and the feeling of ownership over a monster that holds 48.5% of the national beer sales, I know it is not a fun prospect for them. Did you know that Auggie Busch managed to take home $12.2 million dollars in 2007? Yeah. Article doesn't mention the helicopter...

I think Modelo has to have a very vested interest in all of this, knowing that AB owns a significant share of their company now. What does that mean for Modelo if InBev is successful? Would Modelo really just sit back to see what happens? Would a merger with AB be beneficial for them, or more for AB? No idea. But it is all interesting. If you're more educated on all of this than I am, please, share your thoughts.

In this long, long leap of faith

Friday is my last day as a full time member of the VML media team. Monday marks my first official day as a full time member of Dept Zero, the alternative marketing company my husband Paul & I own. The company is five years old, and does some of the most exciting kind of experiential, street level, real world marketing. To say I am excited is an understatement. This level of commitment is something I have only had the stomach for when I got married. I don't even have any tattoos b/c I can't commit to an image forever. But I am 100% confident to now be a Zero for life.

I plan to be at the Saucer tomorrow afternoon. Hit me up via Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or this blog if you can come on by.

I love the smell of unleaded in the morning

Boo-hoo, I feel whiny. There are storms a-brewin' in KC again. I could go a whole week without rain/thunder/lightening/hail/tornado news. Really I could. Hail hit my new car, lightening took out my air conditioner at home, and if I don't get a chance to mow the yard soon, the neighborhood might post my picture up at the post office as a criminal. Kind of related, this is what 1.5 million gallons of burning unleaded fuel looks like, as taken from the downtown airport. Neat, huh? Burned for over 24 hours. I was impressed.
I have many things to look forward to, the most immediate is that I will be headed to the Saucer tomorrow afternoon. I heard they have wifi (thanks Bull) and I still have lots of work to do. But work with a fabulous beer selection isn't too shabby. Happy (almost-my-last) Summer Friday.

Beer knurds

I spent some quality time with my bros and their ladies this weekend, and in our typical fashion there was sushi and good beer involved. I dragged them all through the P&L district Sunday evening, which was bumpin and loud and full of line-standers, to get to the Flying Saucer, which while busy, was kind of an oasis for our sort. The 6 of us perched on stools at the bar and set up shop. My youngest bro discovered Delirium Nocturnum and my middle bro split a Boulevard Long Strange Tripel. He and his wife live in NYC, so I did my part to spread the BLVD gospel. I slept very well last night. Now it is Monday evening, and I need to go on a total beer hiatus for a week. ~sigh~

Fit me with an ankle bracelet or something

I think it's just the time of year when I fall off the face of the blog. It seems to be fairly consistent. It's not like I got off the grid entirely. You social media 2.0 peeps know where to find me. It's just spring time. Dusting off the old, prepping for the new, outdoor activities, talk talk talking, whatever. I'll be at the Saucer this weekend, with the broseph. I'll take some new beer inspired pics. He'd kill me if he knew that was posted anywhere. he looks a little - umm - special needs, in that one.

Happy long weekend to you all!

Howling mad

Being a grown up means sometimes you can't do a happy hour in the middle of a Saturday. Now Howling for me, sorry everyone.

Homebrew, homebrew, homebrew!

Jeff, who just so happens to be married to the head of my department, is a home brewer, among many other esteem-able talents. And he sent me a homebrew jackpot today. I am so excited! This is awesome. He gave me 2 bottles of 3 batches, so I can share with the Husband, if I so choose. There are 2 different Belgian Pale ales, and the other is a Belgian Dark Strong ale. Woot woot!

He did point out that I need a goblet glass. I struggle with the glassware. I guess I need to bite the bullet and buy some, huh?

National Champs, baby

That was probably the best game of basketball I have ever seen. I'd be proud to be a Jayhawk any day of any week, but today it is just so damn good. Thank you Super Mario, Rush, Robinson, Kaun, Collins, EVERYONE, thank you Bill Self. What a freaking game. Come on home - the party is getting started.

Edited to thank the the dudes that sit on the bench and leads the let's-lock-arms-in-a-demonstration- of-teamwork-action before the end of tight games. I always hope they get to play. A couple got about 30 seconds of game time against UNC, but Monday was not to be. I route for you, dudes. Everytime. Put Kleinmann in - put in the redhead! :)

Rock Chalk

I lost my voice on Saturday. It was glorious. I cannot wait for tonight.

Now, I would NEVER, but...

...a thought just occurred to me, and I wondered what you all would do.

What if...your company had a keg of awesome yummy beer available on tap, all the time?
What if...you had far too much work to get done to even think about enjoying even one before 7 pm?
What if...your fridge at home was sadly beer free, and you plan on working ALL NIGHT, at home?
What if...you had a decently-sized empty thermos, a gift from a rep somewhere, sitting on your desk?
What if...you had not intention of drinking any beer, that is not in that thermos, between now and when you get home?

Hmmm, what exactly are the open container laws in Missouri and Kansas again?

Rock Chalk Jayhawk

The husband comes home today. The Jayhawks play this evening. It is Friday. It is Beer Friday. It is International Beer Friday! It simply cannot be a bad day.

Define Decadent

Per Merriam-Webster

1 : marked by decay or decline
2 : of, relating to, or having the characteristics of the decadents

3 : characterized by or appealing to self-indulgence <decadent pleasures>

By those definitions, the Fort Collins Double Chocolate Stout is either in decline, or a self-indulgent treat. Hrm.

I took my 22 oz bottle and managed almost 2 pint glasses from it. (Think about much beer you miss when the barkeep leaves a little too much room or the waitress sloshes it around?!) This is very dark beer. Almost black, but with enough rust around the edge and brown in the sticky foamy head that you realize it is dark, dark, dark oily brown. It reminded me a bit of Rogue’s Chocolate, but probably because Lee said he & his lovely were drinking some, and I wanted it.

The bubbly head didn't last through the whole glass. Actually, it didn’t even last through the first third. I was yakking on the phone to a friend about rings and dresses and other girly wedding themed items, and took a big swig without really thinking, and was smacked with a mouthful of bitter chocolate and roasted coffee. One glass into my bottle, and I was feeling a little light headed. This isn’t a “thick” feeling beer, but it is a tiny bit grainy. There was the typical dry aftertaste, but seemed a little more bitter and greasy than normal.

Overall it was good, but now I just want Rogue. Guess it’s another trip to Batson for me this week. I really need to transition to springy beers, despite my love for dark brews. It's diet time again. Time to update the pointy post!

The Generation Gap

Permit me a non-beer post for a moment. It's rare, so let is pass.

Old people forward email jokes.
Middle-aged people put them on their blog.
Young people post them on their friends' walls.
And kids? I have no idea what they do, except maybe recite jokes for which they can't remember the punchlines while surfing around Club Penguin or something.

My Dad forwarded me this. He thinks it is quite funny, I assume. I don't see it as all that funny. Because anyone who knows anything knows that you take your blackberry into the restroom at work, not a laptop. Now I can't decide what part of that whole thing is more pathetic.

Employee of the Month

This is the level of dedication we expect from all staff!

From,
Management

Buy yourself something pretty

I stopped by Batson on my way home tonight. Picked up some beer for the hubby, who had a full day, and 2 kinds of beer for me, who is having a full day/week/month/year. For him was the-beer-who-cannot-be-named, and for me, two little experiments:

An 8.45 oz bottle of Sam Adams Triple Bock. It cost $4.30 at Batson, and the hand written shelf sign read, "Poor Man's Utopia." I had no idea what it was, so I bought it. According to the Beer Advocate, it is something Sam Adams brewed for limited releases, with the most recent being 1997. So technically, this beer was brewed last the year I turned 21, if not before. Neat. Straight from the site:
We recommend serving it at room temperature in a snifter a few ounces at a time - one bottle should generously serve two to three. Its warming malt character and fruit esters make it an ideal after dinner aperitif. Due to legal restrictions, Samuel Adams® Triple Bock® can not be sold in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, and West Virginia.
It is a crazy, black, oily looking substance, that apparently many dislike and contains massive amounts of alcohol. So I need a crazy beer testing friend for sharing. The husband won't drink motor oil!

The other is a Fort Collins Double Chocolate Stout. Double chocolate stout just sounds yummy, and the site calls it decadent. I am hoping so. Decadent would be nice right now.

Replusive

The remnants of an irish car bomb in a plastic cup from the hooley I went to yesterday. Gross. How YOU doin'?

Boxty on the griddle

Boxty on the griddle, boxty in the pan, if you can't make a boxty, you'll never get your man.

I am drinking an Irish Ale right now. It is an irish red brewed by my friendly neighborhood brewer, Boulevard. I love the Irish Ale. I even love the Celtic-ish label. It pours a deep reddish/caramel color with a decent foamy head that settles into lacing for the entire beer. It smells like sweet caramel, a little bready and malty, and a bit fruity. The taste is also caramel malts and sweet, but has some nuttiness, and a tiny hint of hops. The body is fairly light, and sparsely carbonated, and basically I love this beer.

Tomorrow I am taking the day off of work. I plan to start the day with a boxty, because no matter what anyone thinks, I think it sounds delish for breakfast. And a fat plate of potatoes sounds like a good way to pad the hubby's stomach for a long day.

I don't have a written recipe. My family never did, you just make them on sight. A boxty is like a latke, but if you make them flat enough, you can stuff them with fillings. Basically, if you are feeding an army, you take a pound of peeled potatoes, and boil half of them, and then make mashed potatoes. The other (raw) half of the pound you grate as if for hash browns. You take the grated potatoes and put them in a tea towel, and squeeze out all the liquid. Then you mix the raw grated potatoes into the mashed potatoes, and add flour, between a 1/2 cup and 3/4 cup, about a teaspoon of baking powder, and milk. Maybe a half a cup? I tend to add in less flour and milk than any recipe ever calls for in order to make them more like hash browns and less like pancakes. Then I grease up a pan, and drop them in. When they are brown on each side, they are ready to eat! You can combine the boxty with fried mushrooms and onions, or with an egg and bacon for a more breakfast friendly option. Yum! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Whitest things ever

Funny blog I lifted from Average Jane - Stuff White People Like

#23 Microbeweries
"White people don’t like stuff that’s easy to acquire. Beer is no exception.

They generally try to avoid beers like Budweiser, Labatt’s, Molson, Coors, and Heineken because if it’s mass produced it is bad. No exceptions.

So when they need a beer, they turn to microbrews who seem to be located almost exclusively in New England, Ontario, Quebec and Colorado. Being able to walk into a bar and order a beer that no one has heard of makes white people feel good about their alcohol drinking palate.

A friend of mine once met a white guy who brought a notebook with him to every bar. He would then keep a record of all the beers he drank and his experience with them. He called it his ‘beer journal.’

Also of note: most white people want to open a microbrewery at some point. One that uses organic hops."

YES, they totally forgot about the Pacific Northwest as a source of microbrew snobbery. Some commenters on the blog believe it is because the bloggers aren't white enough, but it could possibly be that they are Canadian. Either way, an oversight that I am sure was not done on purpose. :)

My other favorite entries are
#26 Manhattan (now Brooklyn too!)
#31 Snowboarding
#53 Dogs
#54 Kitchen Gadgets
#63 Expensive Sandwiches
#79 Modern Furniture
#86 Shorts

But they are all hilarious.

Irish KC

I stumbled across this blog today, and I love it. It is also timely what with the white-people-drink-themselves-into-a-coma-holiday coming up and all. It is written by an Irishman living in KC, although at the moment back home visiting family, diligently updating the KC St. Pats 2008 Guide.

Check it out if you need to catch up on the activities round here. About.com has a decent list too. I'll be at the parade, hanging with friends downtown, and wrapping up my day at Lew's Hooley in Waldo. I can only imagine what will be spent in cab fare.

What's the deal with the spelling of hoolie? Is it hooley or hoolie?

Scooped by my mother-in-law

My MIL attended one of the private soft openings of the Gordon Biersch location in the Power & Light district last night. She knows one of the corporate peeps who flew in for the big opening, and got to try anything she wanted while the staff "practiced" serving for their grand opening this week. Officially, doors open on Monday, but they are having private openings all weekend. Because I think her enthusiasm is adorable, not to mention her turn by turn directions, I am copying & pasting her review below. Hope she doesn't mind! (She's not much a beer drinker, so I promise to provide my own beer feedback soon. )

We had dinner at a private party at Gordon Biersch at 200 East 13th Street. It doesn't officially open until Monday night, but our friends invited us to the private party. We could order anything free as it gave the staff "practice" for opening Monday. The food was great! You would like it. I especially thought the appetizer crab cake was the best in the city--large and moist with lump crab. I had the salmon with pecan topping and it was also good. Dessert we shared was the bread pudding with vanilla ice cream--again the best in the city I've ever had! We sampled their "beer sampler" of five little glasses of beer. All was good. We parked at the Town Pavilion Garage across from the HR Block one. Both were $10 last night because of the event at Sprint Center. No exceptions and validations after 6 PM didn't even count. I drove I-35 to 12th Street exit and went on 12th street to Grand. Turned right on Grand to 13th Street. Turned right again in the garage. Be sure to walk around a bit and see the "stage" area and also the pretty lighted blue trees. I think Gordon Biersch's is the nicest one on the block. Have a good time! Love, Mom

March Madness

I love March. I really do. And I love it more this year because the Big 12 Tourney is in KC, in the shiny new arena downtown. And my Jayhawks are on a tear. Which helps. And reminds me about the Alumni meet up next week:

Big 12 Tournament Kickoff Party
Young Alumni Members-only Event
5 p.m.
Thursday, March 13
The Cashew
2000 Grand Ave.
Kansas City, MO

I thought that I would do a PSA kind of deal for the locals. All of my suburban house-cat friends are askeered of the parking situation downtown. They seriously bring this up a deterrent to attending a concert, game, etc. Just because there isn't a parking lot that look like the mall or at the K doesn't mean you'll have to walk for miles in the dark & creepy downtown landscape. There are a TON of parking garages downtown. You just have to find 'em. It's like the Plaza, but with BIGGER garages! There are 2 garages below the district itself. They hold about 1,800 cars. There are garages EVERYWHERE. They cost a couple dollars. Welcome to being urban. You pay. To park. GASP! I know, right?

Having parents with conflicting religious beliefs can be beneficial

Because my mom & dad decided that they couldn't raise their kids in a Catholic household, this conundrum holds no water with me. Thanks Mom & Dad! Attending an Episcopal church (Catholic Lite!) in my formative years is making St. Patrick's Day a non-issue. For those of you actually grappling with this dilemma, I say you are Irish first, Catholic second.

I really am Irish, truly. I don't even have to wear a green t-shirt to prove it. Between 40-50%, in my extremely complex and totally unquestionable estimation. As my brother informed me this evening, we have a duty to celebrate our ethnic holiday. Check.

Is it spring YET?

The winter depression is so deep in my office right now that there were actual, audible moans, coming from cubes all over the floor, when it was announced that it seemed to be snowing again this morning. Only a flurry, mind you, nothing real. But what used to be pretty is now cause for grief. We're all just so OVER winter.

I noticed the beer industry has heard our cries. While it just isn't appropriate to think about beach beer yet, they are slowly inching us into seasonal mindsets. Here's the start of a decent to do list:

Sam Adams released the White Ale this year for spring. It is a milky, unfiltered, Belgian wheat.

New Belgium is bringing back it's Springboard Ale for the second year, another Belgian pale ale with a little zestiness built right in.

Old faithful, Boulevard has released it's seasonal Irish Ale, my long-standing favorite.

Sierra Nevada has already released it's ESB for 2008 spring.

How can you lose? The lights are much brighter there...

The Pitch published a story just yesterday, written by David Martin, about beer, Kansas City entertainment districts, festival and open container laws. Interesting reading.

Lots of friends have been talking about whether the entertainment district downtown is sustainable. Is there enough visitor traffic downtown to hold them over when there is no big concert or sporting event? Will the people of KC actually change their habits and spend more time downtown? It's been promising for many of us to see places fill up on week nights and Friday, but sad to go almost anywhere on a Saturday and see everything empty. And even if the P&L district does succeed, what does that mean to areas like Westport? Someone's going to lose in this little game.

Snipped straight from the article:

Cordish, it appears, doesn’t want Waldo, 18th and Vine or Zona Rosa to enjoy the same sorts of privileges it won on an earlier trip to the capitol. Back in 2005, state lawmakers passed legislation making drinks portable in certain entertainment districts. The law was written in such a way that only the Power and Light District would qualify for the exemption.

Cordish’s unwillingness to share relaxed liquor rules is only the latest bit of discouraging news. Originally scheduled to open last October, significant pieces of the Power and Light District will still be dark when the Big 12 basketball tournaments come to town next month. Last November, Cordish announced that it wanted to charge $2 for parking in garages that were supposed to be free (“The Dance,” November 22, 2007).

Linky linky

After avoiding my Husband, who I cold-heartedly accused of suffering from manflu, all weekend, I think I am finally catching the creeping crud that has been passed around lately. Which means that I am going to share some of my favorite linkable stories from the past few days, rather than trying to type anything in complete sentences.

The Brookston Beer Bulletin makes some interesting points about our ginormous friends over in St. Louis. It's hard for giants to accept changes in paradigm.

Diageo might be getting thirsty for beer. They're eyeballing opportunities with big beer companies.

KU might bring back beer to the Jaybowl. Man. I don't think it's a bad idea, I just can't believe it has been 10 years. The article says they stopped selling beer in the Union in 1998.

Thank you sir, may I have another?

Bull & Wes over at the KCBeerBlog are the best little KC PR bloggers around. They pick up every downtown related story and post, post, post away. Which I appreciate. Because I sadly do not keep myself as well-informed. Oddly enough, a steady diet of the local FOX news morning show does not make for an educated person. Who knew?

The Big 12 tourney hits the new Sprint area on March13th, so everyone is in a race to get drinking holes ready for the crush. I am concerned that this is SO last minute. I can't imagine some of these places only being open for a few days before the hordes descend. Out of all the new stuff going in down at the new Power & Light District, the ones I am most excited about are below:

ChefBurger - Opens first week of March! Created by the same awesome dude (Rob Dalzell) who brought you 1924 Main, Pizza Bella and Souperman, so you know it'll be good. A locally owned build your own burger joint should do extremely well. Not to mention that you'll get to choose from 4 arty breads, different meat/veggie patties, 10 cheeses, 24 toppings, and 10 sauces!

Gordon Biersch Brewery - Opens March 10. Yes, another corporate brewery/restaurant, but variety is the slice of life, and I like options. This will be a full-scale brewery with a big outdoor beer garden.

Raglan Road Irish Pub - Opens first week of March! Another corporate, faux irish pub. Guess where this one comes to you from? Pleasure Island, Disney, Orlando, FL! Which fits, really, the whole feeling of the P&L district. Disneyland, KC. But lend credibility, KC chefs are being trained at the company's 5 star restuarant, Dunbrody House, in County Wexford, Ireland.

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium - Opening in early May. Lee posted a PR piece on the company before they opened in Austin. This is COOL. They will have 225 beers from more than 15 countries. They seek to "elevate beer."

Maker’s Mark Bourbon House & Lounge - No idea when this will open. Likely some time well after May. There will be an "upscale restaurant and swanky lounge subtly emphasizing the Maker's Mark Bourbon brand." End quote. All I know is that when I visited their main website, John Denver's Country Boy started playing thru my speakers. SWANKY!

The Living Room - No date yet. This will be seating area and prominent bar inside the LIVE! area, featuring plush cushions, ottomans, chairs and tables surrounding a flowing waterfall with a center flame. There will be space heaters and fire pits to keep everyone warm in the winter. When the KC smoking ban finally hits, I wonder if this will be a popular spot with people taking a break from the many bars & nightclubs.

I plan on spending a bit more time downtown to check it all out. Yes, it'll be tourist trap themed. There will be more nightclub concepts and Lucky Strike bowling lanes, and other silly things to compliment the other places. I don't care if any of those places attract, "douches," as some call them. I am pleased that the downtown bars are gaining traction. I am happy that there are young people living and working in our downtown, and I am glad that there will be more stores and services moving in to support them, like more regular restaurants, dry cleaners, and grocery stores. I hope that the area doesn't feel the pinch too badly AFTER the Big 12 tourney ends, and people go home. I'm just very excited to see it all roll out, and hopeful it is sustainable.

I already know what Bull is going to say

...but at least the McFaddens crew will have another stop in their tour of downtown establishments. Howl at the Moon opens this Friday! If you don't know, Howl at the Moon is a terribly popular place for Bachelorette parties in other markets. And like McFaddens, it is a chain. They sell strange colored liquid shots in test tubes, and jello shots in these weird, syringe-like contraptions, designed to shoot booze-laced jello down your throat. There's hardly a beer tie-in here, except that I know they sell it by the bucket. So head on out to the newest spot in town to watch large groups of drunken girls.

Six years ago...

Six years ago was crazy. The farther away that day gets, the more I forget how crazy it was. So I look at this and I laugh. And I think I have to call my brother and thank him again for kneeling in ice in a rented tux to hold up the train of my silly, big, im-a-bride-look-at-me dress, just so we could get these totally staged photos. My family rules, and my husband is the best. Happy six years to us.

Rogue Post, or Don't Cry Over Spilled Beer

I bragged about my pretty bottle of Rogue Imperial Stout that I had waiting for me at home. I came home BEFORE 9 PM! OK, not because I'm balanced, but because someone has to let the dog out, and no one else is in town. But I digress. I was so looking forward to cracking open that Imperial Stout. Seemed like a wonderful thing to do on a cold and lonely Wednesday night. I even took a picture with the crappy camera phone and everything. (Side note, remember how I bitched about needing a new camera? And then I got one? Yeah. guess where it is? With The Husband. Out of town. For biz. Explain to me again why everything becomes "ours" once you are married?) ANY way.

I poured. I drooled. I plugged in my laptop power cord, set my beer on a side table, settled in for a loser's night of excel, powerpoint and tasty beer. But then. THEN. I watched one lonely hyper dog get tangled in said cord and knock over previously mentioned side table, sharing my precious stout with the not-so-appreciative carpet. Nooooooo! Dammit. I didn't even take a SIP, people. This was tragic. I almost cried. But I was too busy cleaning up the floor before my dog got tipsy.

I had about 2/3 of another pint left. I drank it like it was the last water available on earth. Slowly. Carefully. While glaring at the dog. Poor little dude.

I poured this from the ceramic 0.75 litre bottle (2007 Edition) into a pint glass to produce a thick tan head of about 1-1/2". The beer is DARK. And sticky. And has an incredible aroma of chocolate and coffee and caramel. The head had incredible retention. The taste is not as sweet as some of the beers I have been drinking lately, but has a caramel sweetness contrasted with an espresso bite. I wish I had more. But I managed to restrain myself from doing anything disgusting to the carpet, even though that would also result in getting very interesting search traffic. That's the amount of self control I have. Impressed?

Wexford Irish Cream Ale...and Friends!

I have 2 cans of this deliciousness sitting in my fridge, waiting for me tonight. It means I have to share one with The Husband, but since he is actually in town for ONE! MORE! WHOLE! NIGHT! I'll be ok with it. I already drank the first 2. :)

I love creamy ales. I love nitro pours. I love the fact that the thing in the beer can that creates this is called a widget. (I say that word too many times a day at work already. Different context.) I love watching the beer swirl around and generate a giant fluffy white head that reminds me more of a latte than a lager. The Wexford pours a light amber, with a thick, off-white nitro head, that leaves mild lacing along the sides of the glass as I sip. The scent is sweet, mild, and maybe a little malty. The first thing I notice isn't taste as much as the overall feeling this beer has. It is slippery and smooth and creamy and feels like dessert. It tastes very mild, almost buttery. I heart it. It makes me want to eat at O'Dowd's, though. Sigh, I will eat a boxty again soon, I am sure.

Other random items:

It's snowing here again. It's kind of pretty, but it is cold. And getting colder by the minute. Barack Obama is landing in front of my office somewhere around 5 pm. This is the view from my office window. Yes, it is the downtown airport. In the snow.

I have a big bottle of Rogue Imperial Stout, also in my kitchen, pending a review later in the week. That is thanks to my superfly Saturday brunch date that convinced me to eat crepes, get my toes painted in January, and then totally derailed me in Cellar Rat. I have a wonderful friend.

How are you holding up?

Torn from the Times Online:

It’s official: today is the worst day of the year. Hang on – wasn’t that supposed to be last Monday? A psychologist has calculated the most depressing day with a formula that includes “lousy weather, post Christmas debt, failed new year’s resolutions and the desperate need to have something to look forward to”. Incidentally, this is also the most depressing week of 2008. We don’t care any more – we just want to go home.

So I am just checking in on my peeps. You doing ok? Getting enough sleep, not letting the zero degree weather kill your spark, are you? Work isn't TOO overwhelming, is it? We're super busy, but we can see the light. If you need something to look forward to, let me list a few positives coming up here in the middle of the middle of the middle:

1. The projected high for this Saturday is 46 degrees, and that is the same day as the SCION OPEN Snowboarding Tournament over at Snow Creek. You know you want to get out and enjoy a little of this winter weather, just not when it is below 10 degrees! It's going to be awesome, with Miles Bonny spinning, snowboards flying, and a few adult beverages and a snack waiting for you after you finish skiing, boarding or even sitting in a tube, riding down the hill. I'm definitely tubing this year!
2. One last appeal, as if you needed more – the Weston brewery O’Malleys is a hop skip & a jump away from Snow Creek. After an afternoon of skiing/tubing, what could be better than a Weston Brewery Irish Cream Ale. Uh, nothing I can think of! Ha ha ha. I will be there most of the day, so give me a shout if you’re headed out there.
3. AND, it is supposed to be 52 degrees here by Sunday!
4. Boulevard's Irish Ale should be available by now.
5. If you are in advertising in KC, and live in a cave or something, let me remind you that the Addy Awards are on Feb 16th. If you don't know, it's like an awards show & prom all rolled into one event. Hilarity ensues.

Beer snobbery is spreading

I was racing into the office today, running late, as one certainly isn't capable of showing up to work EARLY after a 3 day weekend, when I heard the local radio station DJ say something that actually interested me. Normally I listen to my own music, or surf stations anytime someone starts talking, but I stopped button pushing when I heard the DJ admit that he is a total hop-head. (Listening to Dick Dale on 96.5) And that he is actively organizing a strike team to go capture all of the available Bell's Hopslam 6 packs from the ONE store in this whole city that sells it. (They limit to one 6 pack per person.) What I did NOT get out of this limited conversation snippet I heard during my 12 minute long commute, is WHAT STORE IN KC CARRIES BELL'S HOPSLAM?

Still funny, 12 years later

Lee posted this, and I laughed. Because I was 19 when The Onion first published it. I loved and still love The Onion. And my friends looked like this. Hell, I looked like this. I drank microbrews because that is what my non-greek, art school, flannel wearing, indie music loving, grubby concert attending, coffee barfly, hacky-sack playing, hippie-grunge-wannabe older friends drank. So I had access.

Two thousand and eight?

Happy New Year! Yeah, ok, I am a little late on that. A little late on a lot of things, I am afraid. I still have a Mexico mindset, which apparently means saying "Gracias," to the gas station clerk after receiving my change, and avoiding my endlessly buzzing smart phone by imagining having another something-made-with-tequila and just not worrying about it right now. I had some beer, I did. Sol, Dos Equis, and Tecate. But mostly I stuck to the fruity confections that seemed most appropriate to the locale. See? It looks slightly out of place, doesn't it? Like it should be a giant glass rimmed with salt and a slice of lime festively garnishing the side. Not a lonely little beer can, sweating in the sun.

I am sorry that I missed the beer blogger meet up. Hope you all had a blast. When I saw that you guys left me a voicemail, I was half hoping it would be psuedo-drunken slurring. And then I remembered that we're grown ups, and it is just really really nice to be missed. I can't promise no more trips to Mexico, but I am wishing really hard that I get to meet you all for reals sometime.