It's only Tuesday. I can't be so Loverboy already.

Dustin knows ALL of the good stuff! He says that the Parkville Brewfest is coming up, that he's been to it in the last few years and that its a good time.

Event Details:
April 28th - Micro (brewers) Festival

English Landing Park, Parkville, Missouri
Saturday, April 28th 2007 from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Sample beers from Regional Craft Breweries at this festival, including:

Boulevard Brewery, Kansas City, MO
75th Street Brewery, Kansas City, MO
Free State Brewing Co., Lawrence, KS
Blind Tiger Brewery, Topeka, KS
Little Apple Brewery, Manhattan, KS
McCoy's Public House, Kansas City. MO
Power Plant Brewery, Parkville, MO
23rd St. Brewery, Lawrence, KS
Weston Brewing Co., Weston, MO
O'Fallon Brewery, O'Fallon, MO
Schlafly Bottleworks, St. Louis, MO
Upstream Brewing Co., Omaha, NE
River City Brewing Co., Wichita, KS
Augusta Brewing Co., Augusta, MO
Granite City, KC locations but it is a chain
Flying Monkey Brewery, Olathe, KS
and more!!

Guests will be supplied with a commemorative logo tasting glass, a custom tasting note sheet, and live Blue Grass music.

Learn home brewing techniques from the Kansas City Home Brew club.

Admission is $20.00 per person payable at the gate, and guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy a relaxing day in the Park. Beer will be available at the festival, but cannot be taken out of the park. Outside alcohol will not be allowed into the festival site.

For more information contact:
Angelo Gangai - Event Co-Chairperson
Warren Crouse - Event Co-Chairperson
PARKVILLE MICROFEST
Ph: 816-505-2227

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The Power Plant Brewery and Stone Canyon Pizza are reason enough to visit Parkville again. This festival just puts it over the edge for me. Plus, have you seen the forecast?!

Hey! Why don’t you bang your head against this?

I went to the beer tasting on Friday. I like Cellar Rat’s store a lot, and I had a nice time. It would have been more fun if more of you were there. But that’s ok. I had a going-away get together to go to afterwards, so I couldn’t stay anyway. On the way out the door, I snagged a 6 pack of Schlafly’s more recent seasonal releases, a Raspberry Hefeweizen. “Light, summery, girly, to be drank cold," were the types of things I imagined as the lovely man behind the counter rang up my purchase.

I stuck the 6 pack in my car, and went on a later-than expected, Friday-fueled bar crawl of sorts. I didn’t crack into one of the bottles until later on Saturday. Turns out that I should have grabbed the Summer Kolsch instead. And I really should have known better. I don’t do fruit beers.

It doesn’t really taste like beer with a raspberry tang as much as it tastes like a beer cocktail with raspberry flavored soda. Remember the shandy? Yeah, it’s kind of like that. I didn’t hate it. I didn’t love it. I drank one, and left the other 5 in my fridge, hopefully to offer to a more girlier girl than me.

It smelled a little sweet, like raspberry candy, when I opened it. It poured into my glass pink (pink!) but with mild cloudiness and beer-like qualities, so it didn’t look like pink lemonade or anything. It settled to a orangey-pink color with a light pink head of foam. It reminded me of the green St. Pat’s yuck, and it turned me off a bit. The flavor of the beer wasn’t raspberry, as in fresh raspberries, but rather raspberry-flavoring, like Kool-Aid. Kind of artificial. There were underlying beer flavors, to be sure, like some yeast and malts, and the slightest twinge of wheat.

To be fair, I don’t like 75th Street Brewery’s Royal Raspberry either, and was never fond of any of the fruity beers the now-extinct microbrews around here offered. So yeah, I know. What was I thinking? I guess I was trying to keep an open mind. The answer is that I still don’t like it. But if you do, you know where to find some for free!

Friday Happy Hour

A neighbor in the Crossroads district of KC, Cellar Rat Wine, is hosting a few tastings this week. They are primarily a wine place, so the first tasting is for those of you:

Thursday April 19th, 5:30pm - 8:30pm
20 Great Wines all priced under $20!

There are so many great values out in the wine world right now. We have chosen 20 wines that we feel represent some of the best bargains that are currently available. You may recognize some of them, but most of them are smaller production, up and coming wineries, newly discovered regions or just wines that have gotten overlooked. Come see for yourself why some of the best wines in the world can still be had for less than $20 per bottle.

Here are some of the wines we will be sampling:
Agricolas Costamolina, Pillar Box, Trevor Jones, Las Rocas, Gran Feudo, Galida Cava, Juan Gil, Clara Benegas, Qupe, Crios, Gianni Gagliardo, Regusci, A to Z, Zaca Mesa, Vega Sindoa, Altos de la Hoya...

*cost for the tasting is $10 - and you get to take home a Cellar Rat engraved wine glass.

For the beer people (my people!) they are hosting a FREE beer tasting on Friday. Yeah!

Friday April 20th, 5:30pm - 8:30pm
Handcrafted & Specialty Brews

Join us for our first ever tasting of handcrafted & specialty brews. No Budweiser, Miller or Coors' products here! We will be sampling some of the hottest brews in the market, both domestic and imports. Here is a partial list of brews we will be pouring:
Boulevard Lunar, Rogue Imperial Stout, Pilsner & Pale Ale, Schlafly, O'fallon, St. Peters, Houblon Chouffe just to name a few...this is a free tasting!

Well, Now I'm Trapped

I ran by Batson Liquors on my way home on Friday. (...do not say Batshit, do not say Batshit, it's Batson...) That's the store I mentioned before that sells all kinds of interesting beers by the individual bottle. I picked up a nice selection of things, so now I have motivation for reviews sitting in my kitchen.

The first one I tried was Orval, a trappist beer brewed by monks in Belgium.

First, what is a trappist? It is a Belgian Pale Ale, defined per BeerAdvocate: Belgian Pales consume the Belgian brewing scene, and were initially brewed to compete with Pilseners during the WWII time frame. They differ from other regional Pale Ale varieties, by traditionally being less bitter, using aged hops for a delicate hop finish, and boasting sweetish to toasty malt overtones. They should be decanted properly, leaving the yeast in the bottle. This will showcase their brilliant color range from pale straw yellow to amber hues. Most will be crowned with thick, clinging, rocky white heads. Flavors and aromas will vary. Some have natural spice characters from yeast and hops, while others are spiced.


The Orval website is deep, so if you ever want a step by step education on the monk's brewing process, click here. Here's a picture of the beer in a brewing vat, with a motorized stirrer keeping the malts from thickening too much. They even have the rules of drinking their fine beer:



Beer, a refined drink in the same way as wine, must be stored away from the light; it must be maintained at a temperature between 10° and 15°C (46° and 56° F); it hould be served at this same temperature and in its special glass; one should taste the sediment of the beer separately.





Me being me, I stuck it in my fridge, chilled it a bit too much, and poured it into a pint glass, what with my kitchen cabinets sorely lacking a tulip shaped "beer chalice." Fancy-schmancy, I just can't deal with owning glassware dedicated to any one purpose. Wine glasses? Yes, we have some. Do not ask me if they are for red or white. The are for WINE. Ahem.



So, back to the Orval. When I popped off the cap, it immediately starting foaming out of the bottle, so you can imagine what the glass looked like - half beer, half thick foamy whitecap. It took a while to get it all into the glass. I tried to leave the yeast in the bottom of the bottle, and not in my glass. It is a deep golden color and slightly cloudy, reminding me of cider in the fall. I smelled a mix of fruity, malty, nutty tang, like citrus and berries and brown sugar with a kick. And maybe just because it looked like cider, I thought I got a hint of apple. At 6.9% ABV, there was a bit of the alcohol sting in the scent as well.



The first sip seems tart, and then warms into a more sweeter flavor, almost a sticky consistency, but finished quite dry. This is probably a "thick" beer for most of you. The Husband liked it, but said he'd never drink more than one. I loved it, but I don't know if I would have many more than one at a time either.

The bigs roll out another little batch

I got updates today from Brandweek and BeerAdvocate on the same topic:

Anheuser-Busch has a company-wide local specialty beer program, which was introduced to brew specialty beers that are uniquely tailored to regional taste preferences. The program was initially launched at Anheuser-Busch’s Merrimack, N.H., and Columbus, Ohio, breweries in March 2006 and was later extended to the company’s St. Louis brewery in September 2006. Those beers were the Burnin’ Helles Bock, Demon’s Hop Yard IPA, and Mule Kick Oatmeal Stout.

Today, Anheuser-Busch introduces Ascent 54 -- an authentic German-style dunkel weisse (dark wheat) beer available on draught in select bars and restaurants in Colorado. (Dunkels are quite the trend this year, huh?) Per the articles/press releases:

Ascent 54 is an unfiltered beer with a delicate sweetness, complex taste and a surprisingly light finish that complements its blend of specialty malts and unique spicy aromas. The beer is a deep-bronze color and has a distinctively dense and long-lasting foam head. This specialty beer was crafted by a small, hand-picked group of beer lovers from various areas of expertise at Anheuser-Busch’s Fort Collins brewery who chose the beer style, created the recipe and selected Ascent 54’s name and tap marker design.

“As members of this community for more than 20 years, we took great pride in crafting a beer specifically geared toward the discerning palate of Colorado’s adult beer lovers,” said Steve Presley, senior assistant brewmaster of Anheuser-Busch’s Fort Collins brewery. “People who thrive on trying new and different styles of beer at their favorite neighborhood pubs will enjoy discovering this one.”

For Ascent 54, the development team chose a blend of German Hallertau-Hallertau and Hallertau-Tettnang hops, which contribute to the brew’s complex taste and light finish. Also included is 50% malted wheat, combined with the finest Munich, caramel and chocolate malts, which give the beer its rich, deep-bronze color. A Bavarian weisse yeast strain was imported for use during fermentation to ensure the beer developed its expressive palate and characteristic weisse aroma.

”Ascent 54 is best served in a tall glass with a wide opening, which allows the beer’s aroma to funnel straight to the nose. The beer’s complex flavor pairs well with barbequed meats, spicy cuisine, traditional German fare, cheese and a variety of sweet desserts including apple pie, strudel, pecan pie and lemon cake.

Brewed at Anheuser-Busch’s Fort Collins, Colo., brewery, Ascent 54 contains 5.5% alcohol by volume.

Some of you who visit live in Colorado. Can you help me out? Go out, grab a glass, and let me know what you think. I'm curious as to how the mega brewers do, with their attempts at small batch, regional, specialty brews.

It is still Wednesday, right?

I woke up at 4 am, to leave the house by 5 am, to catch a flight at 6:20 am. What time did your ass wake up? Yeah....rock on, business warriors. The Drury next to the airport is not the hot spot you may imagine.

But how did you spend your Wednesday night? Mine ended with a couple of Schlafly's, watching Chuck Berry, the world's greatest experimental whammy twang bar king crimson stunt guitarist at Blueberry Hill in St. Louis. I'd post pics, but I'm so flippin' brilliant, I don't have the required connections. I might do it later. I might not. I'm like that.

That's right, I shot that. Mr. Berry, checking out the chest on the young, cute, blond sound engineer who happened to be wearing a tank top. Ha!

The last sentence kills me

Beer bottles foil robbery
HERALD STAFF REPORT

BRADENTON - A few well-placed beer bottles halted an armed robbery early Tuesday in the 2900 block of 6th Street East, according to a sheriff's office report.

According to the report, three men were sitting outside their home when three men approached - two of them armed with handguns - and demanded money. The unarmed man searched the three victims, taking money from one.

One of the other victims was then struck in the face with a handgun.

When the people inside the home realized what was going on, they began to throw beer bottles at the gunmen, striking one in the forehead.

The men then ran, while having beer bottles thrown at them, but fired several times in return.

No one was injured by the gunfire, the report states.

It was unclear whether the bottles were full.

Another new beer!

The 75th Street Brewery is coming back in full swing after the fire that destroyed nearby Kennedy's bar. Monday, April 9th (that's today!) 75th St. will be giving everyone a sneak peek at their newest brew - Saxy Golden Ale.

Monday, April 9th @ 5:30-close

What makes this brew so "Saxy?" According to the brewers, it's smooth. From the email they sent to their customers:

Saxy Golden Ale is golden in color with a light to medium body. The aroma is clean with a slightly spicy hop finish. And like KC's own jazz legend Charlie Parker, this ale is a [75thStreet] classic!

Looks like a pretty nice summer time option, don't you think? They tap the sneak peek tonight, and while that may run out, they officially tap the whole shebang on Friday, the 13th.

All the cool kids are doing it

Really. Tonight. You should go. It will be an intimate evening at a tiny club, full of beer sloshing, Red Bull & vodka fueled, dancing, yelling KC addies and excellent music. And if you go to the pre-party, you can pre-drink for one low price. It's totally just like you did in college!

Feather your mullets.
Get the IROC-Z tuned up.
Extend and lock the metal horns.
It's time for BATTLE OF THE AD BANDS PART DUH!
Friday, April 6th @ The Brick - 1727 McGee
Doors 9:30 pm, Show 10:30 pm
Cost: $10.00 at the door, $15.00 and we'll throw in a badass t-shirt

Want to start the night early?
Check out the pre-party:
Berg Studio, 1525 Grand (walking distance to the show)
7:30-9:30PM
$20 gets you unlimited drinks at the party, entry to The Brick and that sweet t-shirt.

Plus, BOTAB ‘06 winners Miss Major and Her Minor Mood Swings will be rockin’ the house.
For more info and streaming audio samples of the bands, visit http://ad2kc.com/botab

Heavy info

As a public service announcement to the internets, please continue reading for the caloric content of your my favorite brews! The blanks are for beers that don’t share that kind of information with me. If you have a lead on it, let me know. If you have a beer you’d like listed, tell me. I’ll update as time goes on.

~*~Updated in August 2008, and again in January 2008 to include the **estimated** Weight Watchers point values of all the beers for which I have nutritional info. Some I calculated, some I found via many many internet searches. I credit DietFacts, Dottie's Weight Loss Zone, RealBeer, brewers' individual sites, and too many others to name.Some might be the "old" WW points system, but guess what? It's close enough. Use those flex points wisely, chickadees.~*~

If you have info of your own, regarding beers not listed here, please share!!

Beer Name	Calories	WW pts.
Amstel Light	93	2
Anchor Steam	152	3.5
Beamish Red
Beamish Stout	146	3
Beck's Light Beer	105	2.5
Beck's Oktoberfest	140	3
Beck's Orginal	292	6
Beck's Premium Light	64	1.5
Blue Moon	171	3.5
Boddington’s	154	3
Boulevard Bully Porter	194	4
Boulevard Irish Ale	182	4
Boulevard Lunar Ale	157	3
Boulevard Nutcracker	224	4
Boulevard Pale Ale	163	3
Boulevard Stout	149	3
Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat	155	3
Boulevard Zon	153	3
Bridgeport Black Strap
Bud Light	102	2.5
Budweiser	143	3
Chimay
Coors	148	3
Coors Light	102	2.5
Corona	148	3
Corona Light	109	2.5
Delirium Tremens
Demon Hop Yard IPA
Dos Equis XX	145	3
El Presidente
Fosters	125	2.5
Goose Island Honker’s Ale
Goose Island Nut Brown
Guiness	125	4
Harp	153	3
Harpoon Ale
Harpoon Summer
Harpoon’s Octoberfest
Heineken	160	3.5
Heineken Light	99	2
Holy Grail Ale
J.W. Dundee Honey Brown	145	3
Kalamazoo Two Hearted
Killian’s Irish Red	163	3
Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss	149	3
Leinenkugel's Red	166	3
Magic Hat #9	215	4
MGD	148	3
Michelob Light	133	3
Michelob Ultra	95	2
Miller	152	3.5
Miller Chill	110	2
Miller Lite	96	2
Murphy’s Irish Red	171	3
Murphy’s Irish Stout	150	3
New Belgium 1554
New Belgium 2 Below
New Belgium Fat Tire	159	3
New Belgium Skinny Dip	108	2
New Belgium Sunshine Wheat
Newcastle Brown	150	3
Orval Belgian Pale Ale
Pete’s Strawberry Blonde	160	3
Pete's Oktoberfest	189	4
Pete's Summerbrew	163	3
Pete's Wicked	174	3
Pete's Winterbrew	170	3
Red Stripe	153	3
Rock Bottom
Rock Bottom
Rock Bottom Red
Rogue American Amber	176	4
Rogue Imperial Stout	363	7
Rogue Shakespeare Stout	201	4
Rolling Rock	142	2
Salvator Doppel Bock	251	5
Sam Adam’s Cream Stout	195	4
Sam Adam’s Light	124	2.5
Sam Adam's Ale	160	3
Sam Adams Octoberfest	165	3
Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown
Schlafly's Pale Ale	155	3
Schlafly's Pilsner	170	3
Shiner Bock	143	3
Shiner Light	120	2
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale	171	3
Sierra Nevada Stout	210	4
Smithwick’s
Stella Artois	140	3
Warsteiner Dunkel
Warsteiner Verum	152	3
Widmer Bros Hefeweizen	159	3
Yuengling Lager	135	3

O'Dowd's STILL wants you to come have lunch

Social Networking, old school

Tonight, I'll be at Draws for Paws at the Town Tavern. $15 at the door goes to an excellent, furry cause, and gets you 2 beers and pizza. Dude. I am so there.

Tomorrow I have been invited to attend the American Copywriter KC ad blogger people meeting coffee thingy. (Because the regulars, like Jeremy & Celeste, were asked to bring new people.) At 7:30. AM. Those that know me are laughing out loud. This is probably not going to happen. Do you know that we only have one shower in our house? One shower. Two people that work in advertising. One shower. And are not morning people. At all. We shall see. I know that I can make it somewhere early, but I am not pleasant. Which means maybe it is best if I do not make it anyway. Hmmm. Debating.

What are YOU doing next Friday?! You should be at the Ad2 Battle of the Bands, PART DUH! It's at the Brick, April 6th, doors at 9:30 pm, battle at 10:30, and it will be a blast! The bands rock, the DJ between sets is awesome, and all the cool kids will be there. Click on the pic for more details:

Miller should call me

Can you say ouch? The poor CMO at Miller. That's cold.

When Crispin Porter & Bogusky President Jeff Hicks called Miller's CMO Randy Ransom to quit the brewer's advertising account last week, a surprised Mr. Ransom tried to talk the agency president out of resigning. "Is there anything we can do to stop this?" he asked. Mr. Hicks replied that he'd already issued a press release.

And now the marketing dept of SABMiller has to face distributors in Vegas without an agency, an ad strategy, or clever TV creative to get them excited about the brand, headed into peak beer sales season. I don't envy that.

They should give BARKLEY a call. That would be the coolest.

When I grow up...

This story hit my radar today. Now I know what I want to be when I grow up. Whenever that happens...

Four Points by Sheraton announced the winner of their search for a Chief Beer Officer today, kicking off the week by ringing the bell at the NYSE. The hotel chain started it's search in November 2006, and expected to have someone in place by mid-January. As it goes with these sorts of things, it is late March, but hey, at least they have someone!

Scott Kerkmans, the "Beer Director" of Draft Magazine, will act as an independent, part-time consultant for the hotel chain’s newly launched program, Best Brews. In this role, the CBO will be responsible for sharing his in-depth knowledge of the wide world of beer on a monthly blog and help cultivate, curate and promote Best Brews’ offerings at brewery tours, beer festivals, and on bar stools across the country.

Over 7,500 aspiring CBOs applied for the position - predictably enough came from beer capitals like St. Louis, Milwaukee and Boston, but also South Korea, Dubai, and the Maldives. In all, citizens of all fifty states and 31 different countries on six continents applied for the CBO spot, which in the view of the folks at Four Points by Sheraton reflects the unifying love of lagers and the passions unleashed by pilsners.

Maybe the buzziest isn't the best

Ad peeps already know this, but my beer peeps might not. The agency (Crispin, Porter & Bogusky) that has handled Miller Brewing's account for the past year or so, handling all of the Miller Lite and High Life work, quit. My summary is that basically the agency got sick of their creative being watered down by too many "approval processes" (and I am completely conjecturing here) and having all the teeth pulled out of a monster idea by a committee of brand people over at Miller. The problem is that while Man Laws were great fun, but didn't sell the beer. (Kind of a key issue in any advertising relationship.) The spots we've been seeing during the NCAA games, the ones that compare Miller Lite to the competitors, were actually made by Miller themselves. The High Life ads, with the gruff talking delivery truck driver revoking High Life privileges from places that charge $11.50 for a hamburger, are Crispin work, and unfortunately will die with this "F that account," announcement.

Ad people admire and want to be CP+B, for lots of reasons. They're creative, they're kooky, they get tons and tons of press, and they only have to exhale differently to set everyone to chattering about their model-breaking business. Today it is because most of us don't have the ability, the financial security, the chutzpah or the balls to tell a difficult client to shove off. (Assuming that Miller is actually a difficult client.) Ahh, to be an industry darling. Call it paranoia, but when someone is on top, the only long term direction I can see them heading in is down.

Full AdAge article here.

The Phoenix rises

Thanks to Dustin for being quick on the email forwarding. There's an announcement for you all in KC. 75th Street Brewery is re-opening, post fire, tonight!


Ashes to Ashes?
Dust to Dust?
More like KEG to PINT!
WALDO HAS ITS BREWERY BACK!
Thanks to the patience and support of the community and a LOT of overtime by our crew...
THE 75TH STREET BREWERY OPENS TONIGHT AT 6PM!
The Brewery is bringing it all back to the neighborhood - amazing food & award-winning hand-crafted beer - TODAY!
So come by, we can't wait to see you either.

Cheers, beers & a few sentimental tears
Your family at 75th Brewery.

**************************************
So last year I lamented the fact that my favorite little brewpub closed, and they were the only ones that I ever knew to brew actual Birch Beer. And in exploring the 75th Street's site, what do I see? Monarch Root Beer. "...handcrafted from birch bark, almond extract and brewer's malts. " I am almost afraid to ask if it is indeed BEER, or if it is just regular old Root Beer.

Like I could leave it at that?

No, can't leave the St. Pat's stuff alone. Not yet.
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Planning on doing some partying this St. Patrick's Day? If you are, remember to take this number with you. The St.Joseph Medical Center and Yellow Cab will provide cab rides in the St. Paddy's Wagon for those who've had too much to drink. They won't take you to another bar - these rides are only good for a "take me home," trip. The first $25 of the fare is on the house. Rides start at 3 p.m. Saturday and end at midnight. To catch a ride, call (816) 943-3949.
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You don’t have to drink cheap beer with green food coloring tomorrow. It will make your tongue a really ugly color, never mind the taste. Of course you could go for a Boulevard's Irish Ale, which you already know I adore, or a Guinness, which has done an excellent job "owning" St. Patrick's Day. But there are other loverly Irish brews out there from which to choose. In case you weren’t aware, I’ll elaborate.

The top and/or most popular Irish pours (besides Guinness) are Beamish Stouts and Reds, Harp (a lager from Guinness), Murphy's Stouts and Reds (owned by Heineken) and Smithwick's, another red.

Guinness is DARK, like all stouts and has a thick mouthfeel. Surprisingly to some, stouts actually contain quite a bit less calories than their lighter looking cousins. Guinness tastes more like coffee and grains than the others, at least to me.

Beamish Stout is all about unsweetened chocolate and strong espresso. Same stout consistency overall, however. I’ve only had this a few times.

Murphy’s Stout is more roasted malts and a lighter mouthfeel, despite looking very thick and dark. It smells like coffee & chocolate as well, but somehow manages to go down in a way I can only call silky. I *heart* Murphy’s.

Harp is a lager, meaning it is lighter in color and mouthfeel. It is clear gold in color and tastes more ‘crisp’ and smooth than the others.

Beamish Red is red in color, duh, and focuses on malty, caramel flavors. Of the reds listed here, I think it is the mildest/sweetest. Second only to Boulevard’s version.

Murphy’s Red is similar, but with slightly stronger hoppiness. If you aren’t a huge hop fan, this might not be your favorite. I don’t consider this to have much of a kick, but I like Pale Ales and other high-hop beers, so take that with a grain of salt.

Smithwick’s is also an Irish Ale, but it is brown, not red in color. (Don’t pronounce the “w” in that when you order it. Say “smitticks,” or “smiddicks,” unless you want the smart ass 22 year old waitress to correct you. That won’t make you feel very beer snobbish.) This is balanced between malts & hops, but definitely the most bitter of the reds, in my opinion.

Don’t know what to have? Order a Black&Tan or Half&Half, with Harp & Guinness (or Guinness and Bass). You don’t have to struggle with a decision, it looks cool, and certainly makes you more sophisticated than your bar mate, who is chugging something indescribable with green foam on top. Blech.

I love this week!

It's March Madness, St. Pat's is on a Saturday, and today it was almost 80 degrees. Beers were drank on the rooftop deck of the office in the mid-afternoon. Ahhh. Springtime.

Obviously there are a ton of options for celebrating on Saturday. Come to the Parade. You don't have to skip school or work for the first time in years, and it just happens to be one of the largest in the US. I'll be marching in it. Or possibly being dragged thru it by a large ballon. We'll see. Heh. If you're up for it, come to Lew's in Waldo on Friday, to get in the spirit of the holiday. There will be live music & tomfoolery. And me. Plus, it is a fundraiser for the KC St Patrick's Day Parade and Old St Patrick Cathedral. And my last bit of "do as I do," directives, let me add this...GET A CAB! I don't care if you've only had one. GET A CAB. Off my soapbox now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I also wanted to plug something else here, post St. Pat's. You can make it, it is more than a week after whatever craziness ensues on your St. Pat's adventures. A friend & co-worker of mine is a total dog dude. Pitpull advocate, to be more specific. I'm on his side, for the record. And he's part of this KC Dog Advocates Group , that happens to be hosting their first ever fundraiser in 2 weeks. He posted this on his blog:

Tower Tavern, a newcomer to Martini Corner in Kansas City -- and a rival to Waldo Pizza and Minsky's for the best pie in KC, is hosting the event for them. If you can make the time for Happy Hour, stop in on March 29th. It'll be a great time, great food, great beer, and the money will go to a great cause. The best deal is to let them know in advance that you're coming.

Total Eclipse of the Heart

I feel like I should apologize to someone over at Boulevard Brewing. Jeremy, perhaps? I stole the #1 search result on Google for "Lunar Ale." And BeerAdvocate owns the #1 listing on Yahoo! for "Lunar Ale Boulevard." Not that this SECOND post here on the topic is going to help much. So sorry guys. If you'd like me to post anything specific about your new brew, I'd do so gladly.

Today there will be a Lunar Eclipse

And last night I tried Boulevard's new beer, Lunar Ale, a Dark American Wheat. It won't be widely released until April, so it was kind of a sneak peek. The guys down at Rimann Liquor had already tried it & gave me the run-down, though, so don't think that I am too special. And no pictures, b/c my ancient blackberry has no camera phone technology. Sorry! Here's what I posted over at BeerAdvocate:

The Boulevard Brewery hosted a happy hour for the local KC chapters of the AdClub and PRSA, and opened up the Boulevard bar at their new event space above the brewery. (Very cool space, btw. If I wasn't already married, I totally would have held a wedding reception there!) I had one pint glass of Lunar before drinking anything else, but I didn't take notes. This is from memory. Such that it is.

The glass was handed to me with a light head of cream-colored, fat-bubbled froth that dispersed quickly. The beer was murky, and in color and consistency, reminded me of unfiltered cider. It smelled strongly of malt, and the first sip had a definite bite to it, with light carbonation, followed by a sweet tang. I couldn't place the flavors at all, and somehow it seemed an unexpected combo. The tanginess could have been like cilantro, or maybe cloves, and the sweet seemed a bit fruity. A friend insisted that there was a banana flavor underneath it all, but I can't agree. She also insisted that the beer was called Lunar because it is, "out of this world." Complete with just-Jack-style jazz hands. That's talent, right there, all while holding a beer.

I am a huge fan of browns, and Boulevard, but this seemed a strange combination. It may be a good summer beer, when served ice cold, but it wasn't what I expected. (Probably because someone had told me a rumor that the new beer was going to be some sort of Belgian. Which is not really like a Dunkel.) I guess I'll stick to stockpiling the Irish Ale while it is available, to enjoy beyond March.

****edited to add****
The Lunar Ale is a version of an American Dark Wheat Ale, which is an Americanized version of a Dunkel Weizen. Per BeerAdvocate, hop characters will be low to high with some fruitiness from ale fermentation, though most examples use of a fairly neutral ale yeast, resulting in a clean fermentation with little to no diacetyl. Flavors of caramel and toasted malts might be present. German Weizen flavors and aromas of banana esters and clove-like phenols will not be found.

The aroma of banana esters should not be found in an American, but they are expected in a German beer. So perhaps they were there afterall.

February is almost over

I am SOOOO ready for winter to be over. SO READY. I need some sunshine, to hear the birds singing and spend way too much time cleaning up my poor neglected yard/gardens. But the cold wind still blows and all I know is that I can look forward to St. Patrick's Day with certainty. Ahh, yes. It's on a Saturday this year, so there will be no need to burn vacation to attend the parade and partake in festivities. And my favorite local brewery has already released it's seasonal Irish red ale. Hurray! I love Boulevard's Irish Ale. I think I have reviewed it, half-assedly, before, but I think I owe a true report on one of my fave's. Perhaps tonight. Ooh! Now there's another thing to look forward to.

O'Dowd's still wants to feed you

Drink to Valentines Day

I read this article tonight, and I had to share. I am a beer fan and all, but this cracked me up.

"For years brewers and beer lovers have paired beer and chocolate," says Ray Daniels, spokesperson for the Brewers Association, a national trade association for craft brewers. "During a week when many Americans celebrate with chocolate, we want to introduce them to the sensual and romantic marriage of beer and chocolate pairings."




You can read it all via the link above, but the nut is that porters and stouts do well with chocolate because they have toasted, roasted, almost coffee like flavors. The other types of beers that pair well are hefeweizens, and strong Belgian ales.

**edited because someone ate my chocolate cake pic **

I am a Chemical SUPER Freak

Say yeah for chemical explosions. Say yeah for not really realizing what all of those warehouse, industrial-type areas just north of downtown have going on until something explodes. Say yeah for really black skies, stinky air, and mild, momentary panic. I started to imagine that I had a headache & sore throat. Maybe I did. Or maybe I am highly susceptible to suggestion. I lifted this pic straight from KansasCity.com. Just to spread the love, you can read the story via MyFoxKC.


Me & a few others had a scheduled dinner with a rep who was in town. Most everyone bailed after our company excused everyone early to escape the smoke, going home to theoretically save their own lungs, with the outside air circulation vent turned off in their cars. Being a fool, I decided that it wasn't that bad, and met the rep for dark stouts at McCoy's Public House. The stouts were tasty, the company was good, and the raging chemical fire seems to be less of a threat now.

When it thunders, I go outside to look. When the tornado siren wails, I go straight to the nearest, biggest window. If I had been standing on the beach in Thailand, I'd be the idiot pointing and exclaiming, look, something crazy is going on with the water. Whoosh. Keep your fingers crossed for me that nothing truly freaky was burning. I think my throat is getting sore...

O'Dowd's New Menu

O'Dowd's Little Dublin on the Country Club Plaza just got a new chef, revamped the entire menu, and are trying to promote it with a buy one get one for lunch. If you want the emailed offer, hit me up & I'll forward it to you. I hope to get there for lunch this week - the offer expires 2/12, next Monday. I really hope that they didn't remove a single boxty from the menu. They are my favorite!

Happy 5 Years to Us!

Super Bowl

This year will be my first Super Bowl with a DVR. I am more excited than a normal person should be about that.

Last year the Super Bowl contained a record number of ads, clocking in at 47 minutes of advertising. This year's rate for one :30 spot is a reported $2.6 million dollars. CBS is still pushing to sell the last 25% of available inventory, but it's clear that they should top $100 million on Feb 4th.

Anheuser-Busch has been the exclusive alcohol advertiser in the Super Bowl since 1989, and they will remain such for CBS broadcasts of the Super Bowl from 2007 until 2012. Now THAT'S owning a franchise. They typically buy up at least 5 minutes of ad time to hawk their beers, so they are dropping about $25 million dollars just to buy your EYEBALLS, never mind the money they spend in producing ads that they hope generate some chatter afterwards.

My question for you is - what will you be drinking while watching the game?

**edited to add that I beat eMarketer to the posting, but their data is WAY more acurate**

Straight from the article linked above, the top five SuperBowl advertisers, ranked by ad spending over the past 20 years:
Anheuser-Busch $250.8 million
Pepsico $190.0
General Motors $ 65.7
Time Warner $ 63.4
Walt Disney $ 43.5
Top 5 Total $613.4 MILLION

Storm Preparedness

Winter decided to arrive. And in this area of the country, a 50-60 degree day in the middle of January is almost always followed by a blanket of ice. Yesterday was gorgeous. I am glad that I got to enjoy it a little. Today it is 18 degrees.

In 1996, lots of people lost power. I was at college, in an apt., and managed to escape any damage. In 2002, hundreds of thousands lost power and my wedding was almost cancelled due to "dangerous weather." It wasn't, we celebrated, and promptly ran away to French Polynesia, where ice storms are as foreign as tsunamis are in Kansas. But now we live in a neighborhood with overhead lines and massive trees. I'm not sure we are going to escape this weekend with both heat and light. It seems a lot to ask.


I haven't been to the grocery store, go I guess I will be skating by there on my way home. And stopping by the beer store. Because a weekend like this requires both a porter AND a stout.

Monday, Monday

The new Blogger is ok, but now that we have the ability to tag posts (hey! welcome to 2003!) I am compelled to go back thru my archives and tag content. Ugh. It's like less of a present and more of a to-do list. I know how my evenings this week will be spent.

We had a birthday party to attend this weekend, at The Bulldog. I love The Bulldog for the following reasons:
1) It is across the street from the office.
2) They serve excellent beers on tap.
3) The piano player in the evenings can switch from John Mayer and Snow Patrol-esque tunes to Ice Cube's "Today Was a Good Day."
4) The people watching is fabulous, what with a strip club located right next door.

Anyway, this was a birthday party, and they had reseved the back room. The birthday boy's wife warned the staff that they would need more than one bartender, as they expected a large group. They only supplied one bartender for the party, and while I hope that his tips were good, I bet he wished that he had some help! When I got up to the bar and ordered a Bass & a Harp, he informed me that the group were great drinkers - he hadn't served a domestic beer yet, and the pace was astounding.

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.

A Festivus! For the rest of us!

I'm bringing out the aluminum pole, preparing my list for the Airing of Grievances, and strength training for the Feats of Strength. Festivus is among us. Our celebration will be Friday, December 29th. It will be awesome. And there will be festive beer, like the Nutcracker Ale I bought last night. It is delicious. Mostly a warm, caramel tinged amber ale, this version gives a little sense of the season with pine, and maybe even citrusy twangs. The head on this beer is decent (thick & frothy) if you are lucky enough to find it on tap, but out of the bottle it tends to be weak and light. That's ok, if you never pour it OUT of the bottle, you kind of miss that part anyway!

Where Is My Mind?

I'm geeking out to The Pixies and The Flaming Lips. How you doin'?

Seeing my brother for an hour this weekend made me realize how much I miss the punk. I hate that half of my family lives 2,000 + miles away. We didn't even get to have that beer. No beverages, no conversation, no time. I wish I had more frequent flier flights. I'd be up there far more often. Far too often, I am sure. Holidays are making me very sappy. I rocked out with John Denver & the Muppets while making grandma's fudge recipe this weekend. And drinking a lovely thick porter. Hell to the yes, that's me. Shut up.

Random.
Ready?Set.Go!

I think that this is cool.
I ordered this for the husband at the last minute.
Who else wants to go do this?
I am going to be here in one year.
I got these fancy chocolates today, and I'd prefer to look at them than eat them.
Anyone else noticed that holiday sweaters are everywhere?

XXX-Mas

Mondays are hard. You deserve a beer for actually making it to work today. Since I can't make it, someone should enjoy this opportunity.

The 75th Street Brewery is holding a Sneak Peak Preview Party TONIGHT for their new seasonal brew, XXX-Mas Ale. 75th Street propaganda says that XXX-Mas Ale has a warm mahogany color and is brewed with five different spices. It has a malty-sweet taste and is a winter warmer at 7.2% alcohol. XXX-Mas Ale will be available for good on Friday, December 15th after 5 pm. So even if you don't make it today, you can have a glass starting Friday. (That's when I'll be there, after completing my shopping, on my day off. Yeah.)

75th Street Brewery
520 West 75th Street
Kansas City, MO 64114

Sniff, Cough, Sneeze, repeat

I have a gross, nasty, annoying cold. I have had a cold for a week and a half. I picked it up in Vegas, which just sounds disgusting. I'm living on pseudoephedrine, cough drops and Airborne. I can't taste anything. I needed to whine about it for a moment. Thanks.

B Side

Are we on the flip side yet? I'm exhausted. One more week until we do the Vegas thing, which I am SO looking forward to, I can't even explain. Fall used to be my favorite time of year, as a kid, what with the start of school and Halloween and my birthday. In high school and college it meant crunchy walks and football games. Now it means bagging 60+ bags of leaves and wishing it wouldn't rain again so I could paint the porch. Ah, adulthood. On the plus side, our kitchen is awesome. So awesome. I think I am going to have to learn to actually cook now. Baking and fixing dinner are not the same as really knowing how to cook. When things are happier, we'll have a party of some sort. Post-Thanksgiving, pre-holiday, perhaps? Dark beverages, fattening food, and the like.