Birthday Beer? Birthday Beer!

Hi readers! I'd like to share something really special with you today- it's my twin's birthday!
You might be thinking, "Caroline's birthday is in September. She doesn't even have a twin." While you are technically correct, I have, through the powers of the internet, adopted myself a twinny- and she turns 24 today!
In honor of this momentous occasion (she has endured her mandatory one year of being told "Nobody likes you when you're 23"), I drank Shiner's Birthday Beer last night, a chocolate stout celebrating the 106-year-old brewery.

I chose to pair it with some sriracha-maple crackers and honey bbq boneless wings, to provide a nice contrast to the bitter chocolate flavor (and also because I love carbs. Like, looooooove them). While this wasn't my favorite chocolate stout, it was certainly alright. I would drink a free one, but I don't think I'd pluck it off the shelf again.
In honor of my twinny's birthday, I thought I'd spotlight a bit of the history and culture of her hometown, Port Elgin, Ontario. This small town (pop: 8,000) has spawned numerous NHL players. Port Elgin also holds a yearly Pumpkinfest, a competition to grow outlandishly large pumpkins and other crops. Port Elgin is also home to some breathtaking white sand beaches, and after conducting some research, I'm pleased to report that "white sand" isn't just a clever way of saying "snow." There's actual white sand! 
I kid, of course. Port Elgin has many amenities, including a Tim Horton's, McDonald's, a sushi restaurant, numerous hotels and campgrounds, and many attractions and trails! I'd like to spend some time in various parts of Ontario someday (specifically, Toronto and Thunder Bay), and just might have to stop in Port Elgin, just for fun!

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into life in the Great White North! I'll have another post up Friday, probably discussing school scheduling woes and anxieties.

Wolpertinger!

Guys. You guys. Wolpertinger happened. And it was great!
After grabbing some mind-blowingly amazing brunch at Atomic Cowboy with my pal Forrest, who agreed to tag along with me to Wolpertinger, we strolled down Manchester in the gross drizzly rain to get checked in at UCBC. We received our tasting map and some beautiful glasses!

 At 1, the figurative flood gates opened and the breweries began pouring! After staking out a seat, I headed for my first beer- Porter from one of Saint Louis's newest breweries, Old Bakery.

Their Porter is a solid example of the style, with a rich toasted malt flavor! I also snagged a sticker and a coaster and look forward to checking them out soon.
Other notable beers of the day included Sun King's Soul Shakedown Party, a dangerously delicious rum barrel-aged Scotch Ale; Earthbound Brewing's Mahlab ESB, a delicious beer with a big tart cherry nose but a very mild and pleasant mouthfeel; and the Vanilla Cream Ale from Exit 6, which I would love to pair with some blackberry angel food cake.

I also sampled beers from 6 Row, Perennial, Scratch, and, of course, I grabbed a pour of the 2015 Wolpertinger beer before meeting the man, the myth, the legend... Wolpie himself!!

The festival also had some great music provided by the hilarious and energetic Bolzen Beer Band! Imagine if you took the mentality and vocal styles of Bowling for Soup and replaced their guitars with an accordion and a tuba. Great fun!

 This was the second indoor festival I attended (the first being MWBBF), and I'm still not entirely sure I like the layout of indoor festivals. Sure, it's convenient in the case of inclement weather, but festival etiquette seemed to be at an all-time low. Lines were disorganized and there were many instances where people would get their pour, turn around, and plant themselves to chat with friends instead of making way for others in line. Other than that small annoyance, it was great to take a look behind the scenes and UCBC and sample some beers from breweries I don't get a chance to visit often! I especially loved seeing Exit 6, Old Bakery, Excel, and Scratch. I would love to make a day trip to Illinois to visit them as well as Little Egypt. 
Of course, it was also AWESOME to sample some Sun King brews as well- I'm hoping to do an Indiana brewery/architecture trip over my birthday, with stops in Indianapolis, Columbus, and Evansville.

Tuesday, I'll be drinking a very special beer from Shiner and later this week, I'll have info on a giveaway I'll be doing in February!

Learning opportunities.

This has been a stupidly busy week. 
Thursday, I decided to treat myself to a night out at Perennial for one of their Thursday releases- Bleauregarde, a blueberry tripel named after the chewing gum-obsessed Willy Wonka character. 

This tasty little beer (I probably shouldn't say little, since it hits the charts at 9.7% ABV :/) had a beautiful fruity nose, with just a little bit of tart taste! I really enjoyed it. I also tried a couple of the current food offerings, and was pleasantly surprised! I had the pork nuggets, which were accompanied by honey-soy peanut clusters, kimchi puree, and a black garlic aioli. Not something I would usually order, but it was delicious!! Over the summer, I went to the Thursday releases pretty regularly, but my school schedule was not kind to me last semester. Hopefully I can make time and space in my budget to get down to Perennial once a month or so.

Yesterday was a long one as well, with my leaving the house at 7:30 for class, then rushing to work to learn how to do Western Blots, a protein-detection technique. After that, I wolfed down some regrettable fast food and headed to the Schlafly Bottleworks to help set up for The OG's First Anniversary Trivia Night! It. Was. Amazing. The raffle prizes were a big hit, everyone learned at least one cool new fact about beer, and I got to drink some tasty brews while getting to know the members of The OG. Here's some shots from the event!

Just a couple of the stellar raffle prizes.

I enjoyed a Coffee Stout and (wo)manned the OG Info Booth.

The official scoreboard, when all was said and done!

We even hit our fundraising goal! Funds will go towards applying for Federal Nonprofit Status and local outreach projects.

Afterwards, the ladies all went to Manchester Public House for a well-deserved celebratory drink. What an awesome little bar! Their tap list is diverse, the food is delicious, and the bar even has purse hooks, which are one of those things you don't really care about until they're suddenly very important. I look forward to going back! 

 There are quite a few awesome beer events coming up in the next few weeks! As I'm sure you're all tired of reading, WOLPERTINGER IS TOMORROW!! I'm done trying to contain my excitement. I'm looking forward to sampling some delicious brews from Indiana favorite Sun King as well as trying some beers from one of the Lou's newest breweries: Earthbound. Located on Cherokee Street, Earthbound has been receiving a ton of press lately! My best friend was there on Thursday and really liked what she had, even though she's not much of a beer fan.
This Saturday, the 31st, is the Science Center's Science on Tap event, which should be a fun-filled educational evening featuring pours from many amazing local breweries as well as The OG! There will also be food pairings and live music.

Once More 'Round the Sun We Go Again..

Ugh, apologies for not getting this post up yesterday! It was a long day of grocery shopping, work, working out... and, oh yes, the first day of the semester. I've only got one class on Tuesday/Thursday and two back-to-back ones Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but with the new semester comes a whole new set of logistics and scheduling woes, trying to balance school with work and hobbies and sleep...
So we'll talk about two beers tonight!

Last night, I drank yet another great beer from North Peak, specifically, their Dubious dark chocolate stout. This wintertime beer was delicious and had a strong chocolate nose and flavor! I should really consider making a trip to Traverse City to tour North Peak's facility, as they are quickly becoming one of my favorite breweries.

I also took a detour before class yesterday and stopped by Strange Donuts (the Kirkwood location) to pick up some donuts to share with my US/Middle East History class. This is the first time this particular history course has been offered at STLCC, and I'm incredibly excited to be part of it!

Today, I went to my first math class of the semester, as well as Public Speaking. I've done my fair share of speaking to the public, but mostly via Rolla radio airwaves. I'm still a little shaky around addressing large groups of people. Hopefully this class will help me get past that!
I was stuck late at the lab learning how to do some science, so I didn't get to go to Cicero's tonight for beer school. Good news is, I made myself another batch of Sriracha-Maple Oyster Crackers and popped my bottle of Excel's 2nd Anniversary Brew!

Wow. What a great beer! As it warms, the coconut notes (coconotes? No?) really shine through. Excellent choice. I didn't do much research into this beer, but in a classic case of judging a book by its cover, I impulse-bought it due to the kick-ass tattoo-inspired label art!

I'm hoping to go on a Western IL Craft Beer Day Trip soon, with stops at Excel and at a brewery I just found out about, Little Egypt.

That wraps up this post- I'm getting excited for the weekend! The OG Trivia night is going to be an awesome time, and I'm looking forward to spending my Sunday at Urban Chestnut for Wolpertinger- Expect a full write-up of that Monday afternoon! Be sure to check back late next week for details about a giveaway I'll be doing in February!

Home(brew) is where the heart is.

Happy Sunday, readers! I hope your weekend thus far has been as relaxing as mine has, although I must admit I'm looking forward to being a little productive tomorrow. Today, though, I lazed around the house, only did a couple of chores (which will be the topic of my post today), and had a homebrew that my friend Nathan gave me!

Presenting "Charlie Brown," an ale made at J2 Brewing. J2 is a shop in Chesterfield where those who are interested in homebrewing but perhaps lack the expertise or equipment can come brew a beer! They guide you through the process at their facility and have a wide range of recipes to try, from american wheats to oatmeal stouts. Participants brew enough beer to fill 24 bombers.
This brown is a pretty solid effort! It's malty up front and most of the nut character comes through in the aftertaste. It poured great as well, with a small amount of off-white head.

                                 

As I said, I mostly lazed around today but also got some chores done! Last night, a friend finally got me to watch the first season of American Horror Story. I was pretty hesitant to start it because I really haven't been enjoying Freakshow, but I did manage to plow through Murder House in under 16 hours. The combination of the plot, setting, and characters was a million times more appealing to me than the current season! As an architectural history fan, early-20th century homes built for wealthy families are one of my main focus areas, and I loved the backstory behind the home and all of the mysteries it's witnessed throughout the years. That is probably also the reason I enjoyed Mark Danielewski's sprawling House of Leaves, which has been described by one anonymous reviewer as "...a book about a book about a film about a house that is a labyrinth. In short, it's a book that is a labyrinth." House of Leaves is a leviathan of a novel, with unreliable narrators and an occasional tendency to be visually confusing, but it is also phenomenal and I intend to re-read it this year.

However, I wasn't a total lazy bum today. In fact, I even managed to drag my butt out of bed and went to the gym! In an effort to be a more responsible and health-conscious adult this year, I've even made an agreement with myself: For every day that I've scheduled as a gym day but don't go, I put a portion of my membership fee (which works out to $1.50 per missed workout) in a tin. At the end of my 6-month membership, I'll count up the money and send it to a charity of my choosing. I had a hard time settling on a charity! At first I was considering Planned Parenthood, but since I'm an Amazon addict, I just log in via Amazon Smile and Amazon donates a portion of my payment to Planned Parenthood! If you use Amazon as much as I do, it's an easy way to make donations to the charity of your choice while going about your weekly shopping routine.

Here's the charity tin! I made it myself on Friday while enjoying Abita's Wrought Iron IPA. I've decorated other tins just like this for storing dog treats in an airtight container; all I used was some Washi Tape and an old tin from Teavana!












I decided that my charity of choice would be the Midwest Shiba Inu Rescue! Ever since I had the opportunity to dog-sit my boss's two little Shiba rascals, I've kind of fallen for the breed. In fact, I hope to be a foster for MSIR once I move next year and get settled into a good school/work routine. The Midwest Shiba Inu Rescue helps rescue and re-home dogs in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and other Midwestern states!

Well, it's gonna be a busy week for me. School starts on Tuesday and I've got lots to do at work. The bright side to a busy week, though, is that it'll go by quickly and before I know it, it will be time for The OG's Trivia Night and then Urban Chestnut's Wolpertinger! If any of my readers are planning to attend either event, I'd love to say hi! Leave a comment below.

A happy Sump Day to all, and to all a good night.

Happy Friday, dear readers! The past couple of days have been a total whirlwind.

Wednesday was the first day of Cicero's Beer School and I attended! This week's presentation was all about Bell's Brewery, a Kalamazoo, MI-based brewing company that's won the hearts of many with their Two-Hearted Ale. Two Hearted is great introductory IPA for those just getting into craft beer and is also a perennial favorite of seasoned drinkers. 

Beer School is held in the venue side, and the room was packed!

My newest obsession is Cicero's Caesar salad, which I paired with a Modus
Hoperandi.

Double Cream Stout!

 We sampled Bell's Midwestern Pale Ale, Winter Wit, Two Hearted, and Double Cream Stout. The stout was easily my favorite of the night, but I also really enjoyed the winter wit. It's a delicious beer with a complex spiced nose, but there are actually no spices added! All of the flavor comes from the yeast used in the beer.
After the tasting, we had a brief quiz, and I was fortunate enough to get called upon and answer a question correctly! I won a little prize pack, which I opened when I got home.

Inside: a pin, a bottle-opener keychain, a sticker, a koozie for tall-boy cans, two lip balms, and some sunglasses!

I will definitely be going back next week! If you attend 11 of the 15 weeks of the semester, you are considered a "Beer School Graduate," and receive a card entitling you to $1 off Cicero's drafts any time you go in until the next semester of Beer School ends; essentially, you get happy hour all the time! Since Cicero's was the first true beer bar in Saint Louis, between their 55 taps and excellent bottle and can selection, you're sure to find something new every time you step in. 

Yesterday, as many know, was release day for Perennial's Sump Coffee Stout! It was my first time attending a Perennial bottle release, and I opted to take my mom for company (and also to help me carry/purchase the bottles themselves, since there was a 2/person limit and I had to pick some up for my awesome* boss!). She's actually been to 3 Perennial releases now, because she is far cooler than I am.

The line was long, but once 4 o'clock hit, it moved quickly.

50 dollars later... Victory!! 

I also HAD to sample a brew!

While we were waiting, I popped out of line to grab myself a taster of the Salted Belgian Chocolate Stout, the Lips of Faith collab between Perennial and New Belgium. Sadly, I never got a chance to purchase myself a bottle of this delicious beer, so I jumped at the chance to finally taste it! It did not disappoint. Lots of roasty malt flavor with a hint of sweetness- I loved this beer. And my mom even tried it! And kept trying it... Which is a big deal, as she's not normally a fan of stouts. So there's my endorsement of Perennial: Kid-tested, mother-approved. 

In other news, there's literally a week (assuming you're reading this on January 16th) until The OG's first anniversary celebration and trivia night! $100 for a table of 4 gets you 5 rounds of beer trivia, door prizes, and the chance to win some seriously kick-ass raffle prizes! I'll be there, of course. Shortly after that is Urban Chestnut's Wolpertinger festival and at the end of January, the Science Center is hosting a science-oriented beer tasting event, Science on Tap. The OG will be in attendance at the Science Center event, offering two different brews and some interactive pairing opportunities!

Speaking of Urban Chestnut, I found a notification about this bit of social media excitement as I was walking in to work! I was lucky enough to attend a lecture given by Florian Kuplent over the summer at the MO History Museum and am looking forward to seeing what exciting things Urban Chestnut will unveil this year!

Readers, were you lucky enough to grab a bottle of Sump yesterday? 2 bottles? MORE THAN 2 BOTTLES? I'd love to hear what you're planning to do with them. I've decided to cellar mine for about 6 months, and perhaps crack it in June with my honorary big sis after I help her move.


*When I say "awesome," I mean awesome. How often does your boss bring in Strange Donuts, hmmm? 

Unidentified.

Apologies for not getting this post up last night, but I swear I have a good excuse.
Ok, I have a moderately understandable excuse- the new (and final) season of Parks and Recreation started last night! P&R is currently my favorite non-animated half-hour network program, and the season premiere was just as outlandish as I had hoped. If you've watched the other six season, you know that season 6 ended with a jump forward, to 2017, a setting they're still using in this final season. It's really interesting to see where the gang has ended up. Ron and Leslie have become the bitterest of enemies. Tom has opened numerous restaurants. Andy even has his own tv show! I can't wait to see what the rest of the episodes will bring. But enough fangirling, on to beer.
Monday, I finally went to Flying Saucer, a beer bar that is similar (but in my opinion, better than) iTap. Conveniently close to Busch Stadium (and the Busch Stadium Metrolink stop) and with an absolutely delicious food menu, Flying Saucer is a great place to grab a pint, with specials every day of the week!

One of these days, I'll start using my real camera for blog photos...

I drank Urban Chestut's Cowtao, a fresh take on the classic Milk Stout. I didn't detect any chocolate or coffee notes, but this beer did have a hint of sweetness, and a TON of head. Actually, I'm not even sure it was head. It had the texture and taste of heavy whipping cream, just sitting on top of my beer. Regardless, this was a delicious winter brew that I would love to drink again. A+. My only issue with it is that it doesn't come in bottles.

Speaking of Urban Chestnut and bottles, though... Wolpertinger, their barrel-aged imperial nut ale, does get bottled, and UCBC's annual Wolpertinger festival is just around the corner! From 1 to 5pm on January 25th (just two days after The OG's First Anniversary Trivia Night), Saint Louis beer lovers will converge on Urban Chestnut's Bierhall (in The Grove) to sample beers from 20 local breweries and Indiana favorites Sun King! 35 dollars gets you samples from all of the breweries, a commemorative glass, and the opportunity to enjoy some fine local music! I presume food is not included, but past attendees have said that food trucks are present, and the Bierhall's amazing kitchen may even be open! I'm definitely planning on attending.

Tonight is the first night of Cicero's Beer School for the spring semester, and I will be attending (hopefully) every week! I'll have a write-up about it tomorrow evening, and maybe even an extra post on Friday to make up for the belated nature of this one.

I'd love to know if there are any cool beer festivals my readers especially love or refuse to miss! I know I will make an effort to attend the Public House Oktoberfest for as many years as I geographically can, due to their amazing staff and the awesome range of Missouri breweries that attend!

My first Pinterest FAIL of 2015

You guys. I was so excited for today! Being the second Sunday of the month, I would be attending an OG meeting, so I decided that my Pinterest craft for the week would be Cinnamon Roll Beer Biscuits from The Beeroness. I could not have picked a worse recipe.
Don't get me wrong- it's a great recipe! Just a bit too advanced for me. Try as I might, I am not a skilled baker, and now I have some tips for fellow novices.
Tip number 1: If you don't own a food processor, don't attempt a recipe that calls for a food processor.
Tip number 2: See tip number 1, but replace "food processor" with "rolling pin."

For reference, here's what the biscuits should have looked like.

And here is how mine turned out.

Not the same, not very good, too floury, too doughy, and all of the filling squished out! Ugh. I am so disappointed in myself. Next week, I'll be sure to pick a simple recipe.
Anyway, after kicking myself a bit and taking my pup for an abbreviated, drizzly walk, it was time to head out to this month's OG meeting!
For those who may be unaware, The OG is Saint Louis's first Women's Craft Beer Collective! Through educational outreach programs, The OG hopes to expand the role of women in craft beer. Last year, The OG brewed an amazing Strawberry Saison that was released at Flying Saucer, with proceeds benefiting Operation Food Search. There are some really exciting events coming up this year for the OG, including a collab with a local brewery as well as a three-part educational event with Femme Ferment and Girl's Pint Out!
Most exciting, perhaps, is The OG's upcoming trivia night. On January 23rd, The OG will be hosting a trivia night at Schlafly Bottleworks. This fun-filled fundraiser will include 5 rounds of beer-themed trivia, quarter games and challenges between rounds, door prizes, and a raffle with some truly kick-ass prizes! Some appetizers, but beer and larger food items will have to be purchased on your own. I'll be there, as will the other ladies of the club! Attendees will need to assemble teams of 4, at $100 per table. Be sure to sign up soon!
Instead of a tech topic, today we had an informal bottle share, and everybody brought some really exciting beers! Among the beers we sampled were Heady Topper from The Alchemist, a Vermont-based brewery; we also sampled (and adored) Bitches Brew, a phenomenal offering from Dogfish Head.

So! To recap:
-I should not bake things, ever.
-There are some truly awesome ladies in The OG, and we drink some truly awesome beer.
-3 reasons to attend trivia:

1. You'll be making the world a better place. No, seriously. Funds we collect will go towards making awesome beers that go on sale to benefit charity!
2. If you're reading my blog, you have to be at least slightly into craft beer and/or obscure facts!
3. Seriously, dudes and dudettes, these raffle prizes. The raffle prizes are amazing. Heck, even the round prizes (prizes awarded to the team who answered the most questions correctly per round) are incredibly cool! I don't wanna give away any spoilers but.. there may be some metal brewery signs. There may even be a promotional sign for one of my absolute favorite Missouri beers. But unless you attend trivia, you'll never know for sure!

I think that about wraps up this post- be sure to check back on Tuesday for more beer and more stories :) This Wednesday is also the first day of the Spring 2015 Cicero's Beer School semester, so look for blurbs about that throughout the coming months!

Let's go kick some honey buns.

Happy Friday readers!! Today, I'd like to discuss a Six Row brew I tried at a recent Six Row/OG planning meeting, as well as talk about another local item near and dear to my heart.
On Wednesday, I stopped by Six Row's fantastic brewery, located close to both the main SLU campus and the SLU Medical School campus. This cozy brewery is one of my favorite places in Saint Louis- they've got ample board games, spacious upstairs and downstairs seating areas, a well-lit parking lot with cameras, and a tasty food menu!!

I sampled a couple beers, including their Wednesday One-Off, "Honey Buns Hefe." Wow! With a delicious cinnamon aroma and excellent wheat flavor notes, I was loving this beer. A great spiced wintertime hefe that I would love to see in production all the time. 
I also enjoyed a glass of their Vanilla Porter, another great winter beer. I ordered a pizza and paired that with a glass of Double IPA, of course! Seriously, what goes better with pizza than a nice IPA?
No pictures of the pizza because I was far too busy eating it, but I would definitely like to recommend their Supreme to anyone who might find themselves at Six Row, craving a good pie. With sausage, onions, green peppers, and tasty mushrooms all on thin crust, you won't be disappointed. I even got to make a special request for my pizza: Provel cheese instead of Mozzarella!
Provel is a controversial topic for Saint Louisans- some (like me) worship the stuff, while others write it off as burnt rubber. And I'll admit, the blend of Swiss, provolone, and cheddar has a taste and texture that might be off-putting to some, but it is a great rainy-day treat. Popularized by the famous local chain Imo's, Provel has a tangy quality that many Saint Louis residents adore. If you've never had it, I encourage you to step down to an Imo's near you. You might even be able to snatch up Imo's "Great Tastes of Saint Louis" box, which features a pizza, some breaded "Provel bites" which are like mozzarella sticks but better, toasted ravs, and some cinnamon bites for dessert!

Surprisingly, for as much as I love the city of Chicago, I've yet to find a deep-dish pizza that I truly enjoy. If there's a pizza you truly love, leave a comment below!

Not enough hours in the day!

Ugh! I slept in again this morning, getting me to work (and subsequently, out of work) later than I had hoped. Ever wish you could turn back time?

To squeeze everything in for this evening, I had a shower beer- specifically Arcadia Ales' B-Craft Black IPA. I'm not sure what it is about this beer, but it was really disappointing! I'm used to really enjoying offerings from Arcadia, but I couldn't pick up any of the coffee or chocolate notes referred to on their website. This was a leftover beer from the bottle share I attended in mid-December, and I didn't find this beer particularly enjoyable then, either. How sad!

I also got to partake of a much-loved, but oft-neglected (due to school and work and sleep) hobby: watching a movie! I love movies, tv, any sort of pop-culture consumption. I've been hitting the gym recently and finding some motivating music, including movie scores, so I thought I would check out the film responsible for one of my favorite soundtracks: 1978's cape-clad classic, Superman.

With an eye-popping cast and crew list (cast members included the legendary Marlon Brando, Christopher Reever, Margot Kidder, and Terence Stamp. Mario Puzo, perhaps best known as the author of The Godfather, was one of the original screenwriters working on the film.) and beautiful, if outdated, visual effects, the score (composed by ultimate badass John Williams) serves as the cherry on top of a true cinematic masterpiece. 

Movie scoring is one of the most important thematic aspects of filmmaking; this concept was even explored by Joss Whedon in a 5th-season episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that contained no background scoring. While composers like John Williams and, to a lesser extent, Danny Elfman, have become global favorites whose works stand the test of time, newer composers have emerged and created excellent scores. Two notable examples are Alan Silvestri, who has composed for Forrest Gump and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and has more recently gained exposure for his work on the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, as well as Steve Jablonsky, who has worked quite closely with Michael Bay and crafted the scores for the Transformers series as well as the criminally underrated Pain and Gain.

One of my favorite film composers will turn 87 later in 2015. Ennio Morricone is perhaps best known for his work on Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns, such as The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (fun fact, readers, that's the first movie I ever saw). Tracks like The Ecstasy of Gold have cemented his place in motion picture history and have even been covered by Metallica.

Are there any films whose soundtracks really speak to you? Leave a comment below!

Brrrr!

Gosh! It's cold outside today in Saint Louis, with overcast skies and depressing sleet. So I figured what better beer to sip on than one of my favorite summertime brews? Hey, a gal can dream :) I cracked a can of Wheach to pair with my very early dinner!

This easy-to-drink fruit beer is one of my favorite summertime brews, and with its 5.1% ABV status and availability in cans, it makes an excellent float trip beer! At least, I would think so. Shockingly, after nearly 24 years of living in Missouri and a solid 3 years of living in Rolla, I've still never actually gone floating... :/ Still, I recommend it to anyone who likes fruit beers, those who are new to the craft beer scene, or anyone needing a tasty brunch beer! Wheach gets an A from me :D

As you might notice, I had some bacon and eggs with my beer, as well as the first of my weekly Pinterest projects for the year!

This week, I chose to tackle the Sriracha Maple Oyster Crackers dreamed up by Becky (whome I just learned is a fellow Saint Louisan!) at The Cookie Rookie. I happened to have most of the ingredients on hand, and just needed to pick up the oyster crackers! 

After carefully mixing the glaze ingredients and tossing the crackers, I transferred the crackers to a foil-lined sheet and baked them for an hour, leaving me time to tackle other Sunday chores and to think about the history of Sriracha.
It seems like over the past 5 years, Sriracha has become a nationwide cultural phenomenon- mainstream restaurants such as Noodles and Co. carry it in their dining rooms, Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal is obsessed with the stuff, and interested parties can buy socks, hats, chapstick, hoodies, and even Sriracha underpants if they know where to look. What you might not know is that the producer of our beloved Rooster Sauce, Huy Fong Foods, is based in Los Angeles and has been in business for over 30 years. Sriracha has become a staple in many American kitchens as families use it in macaroni and cheese, in eggs (although I will always prefer Cholula as my breakfast-time hot sauce!), on pizza, and to make easy spicy mayo for use in sushi or to accent grilled salmon. In 2013, Huy Fong faced a lawsuit from the City of Irwindale, which claimed the strong chili odors coming from their factory were a public nuisance, but the lawsuit was dropped in mid-2014!

As for the crackers... they were delicious. Potentially addictive. And so easy to make! They are certainly going to become a staple of any sports parties or informal potlucks I attend this year.

Happy New Beer!!

Ah, puns.. Will they ever get old?
Happy 2015, readers! I'm very excited for all the year will bring. I thought tonight, I'd open a special local beer and run down my list of resolutions for the year.
Tonight, I drank 4 Hands Brewing's Peanut Butter Chocolate Milk Stout, a sweet and nutty take on their delicious Chocolate Milk Stout. I'm not typically a big fan of peanut butter in anything, let alone mixed with chocolate, but this beer is actually really good!

This beer poured with a small, off-white head and has some notable roasty caramel and chocolate aroma notes, but those are quickly shoved out of the way by the very strong peanut butter odor, which permeates the flavor profile of the beer. It's an addicting mix, though, with just a little bit of bitter stout aftertaste. This is the second of the bottles from the Chocolate Milk Stout gift pack that I've opened, and I'll be opening the third, regular CMS, later on in the month. Peanut Butter CMS gets a strong B from this blogger!

I've never been too big on New Year's Resolutions- between the advent of a new school year and my birthday, I've always made resolutions in September. But this year, I decided to set quite a few lofty goals for myself. Here are some of the ones I'm most excited about.

Read a book a week, + one big classic every quarter.

Pretty self-explanatory. I'm hoping to wade through my intimidating list of books to read this year, as well as read some classic literature, including Little Women, The Brothers Karamazov, and this lovely edition of Moby Dick.

Go to the gym 4 days a week.

Again, self-explanatory. I'm also going to be better about taking Squid for long walkies in my beautiful neighborhood!!

Say "yes" more- but only to things I'm sincerely interested in doing!

This is a two-part resolution. I have quite the habit of telling people I'll attend an event, only to flake out on them. That's not even cool. This year, I've resolved not to flake. That means being honest with people and saying "no" to things I don't genuinely want to do. But I also want to expand my horizons, so I plan on doing a few things I've never done before. Currently on the 2015 itinerary: Taking a 13-hour train trip, meeting an internet friend at a concert in Michigan, and going to a 4-day outdoor electronic music festival in June!

Of course, blogging will be a major part of the year, so be on the lookout for new posts from me on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays! If you have any resolutions you'd like to share, feel free to do so in the comments.