Beer Tasting Notes :: Epic Brewing Brainless on Peaches

I was so excited when my hubby sent me a picture of the souvenirs he acquired for me during his trip to meet his new coworkers at Boulder Beer in Colorado! Here's another one from the bunch:

Epic Brewing Brainless on Peaches Belgian Style Ale
This beer did not dissapoint. Oaky, dry white wine overtone mingled with very light sour peach and Belgian yeast. Smells sweeter than it is. Not overly peachy, just an essence in the finish. Gets sweeter and more tangy the more you drink it.

Color me peachily impressed.


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Beer Tasting Notes :: Dogfish Head 120 Minute Imperial IPA

So does everyone remember the hype about Pliny the Younger? Raise your hand if you stood in line to sample that fabled ale at any point during its ultra-limited release in NorCal. I personally didn't. I wasn't planning to even sample it, but stumbled upon it during Sacramento Beer Week. You can read my tasting notes here. 

So yes, it was a lovely beer. A very lovely beer. It was a joy to drink it, and I do wish that it wasn't quite so mythical and rare. 

However, I have a beer to share with you that is damn near equal (dare I say BETTER) than Pliny the Younger, and is much more available. Check it out:

Dogfish 120 Minute IPA
Sweet, oh so sweet! Beautiful fruity hops! Comfortable warm alcohol that relaxed my body from the inside out. Very balanced and just beautiful. Very impressive.

The verdict: 120 Minute wins the battle, in my opinion. It's more readily available, though pricey - but well worth the cost for the effort put into it - continuously hopped during a 2 hour boil, then dry hopped daily in the fermenter for an entire month, then aged for another month on whole leaf hops.* Seriously, Dogfish put an amazing beer forth in 120 Minute.

I don't want to discount PTY, but its rarity definitely puts it behind the running for me. PTY is gorgeous and tasty, but my chances of sampling it again? Who knows! And my chances of sampling 120M again? 100%.

Bravo, and thank you, Dogfish Head!


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*Source: BeerAdvocate

Easy Mother's Day Craft :: Use a Child's Painting to make a Card for Mom (and Nana and Grandma)

I hung mine on my cork board in the kitchen - I LOOOOVE it!

My kiddo loves to paint. Watercolors are her chosen medium.

I went to our local newspaper office and purchased an "end roll" (last bit of paper left over from a news run - but it's actually a TON of paper!) for just a few bucks, and we've been using it as watercolor paper. She has so many paintings that I don't know what to do with them all. Seriously, this kid LOVES to paint.

I have photographed most of her paintings, so when the time comes, I can recycle them... or, I can upcycle them! Today, I had the brilliant idea to use a couple of her paintings to make cards for Mother's Day for myself, my mom (Nana) and Jim's mom (Grandma).

For my card, I used a sheet of white card stock, scissors, a hole punch, yarn, and a painting. I simply cut a section of the painting down to about 7.5x10, laid it on top of the card stock, punched holes all around, and then sewed them together with yarn. SO. EASY! Look at how it came out:

For Nana and Grandma, I simply cut out a piece of each painting, cut into a shape (heart, rectangle, etc). I then punched two holes at the top and ran a piece of yarn through each hole and tied it in a bow so that the card could be hung. I used a purple sharpie to write "Happy Mother's Day" on each. Again, SO EASY, even a Dad could to it... *wink*

This could easily be done for any occasion. Which means I'll be saving ALL of Lily's paintings so I can upcycle them for special occasions!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there! Hope you had a lovely day!

Cheers!



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Beer Tasting Notes :: Clown Shoes Blaecorn Unidragon Russian Imperial Stout

As you know, my husband is my hero because he brings me beery gifts. Here's another from the Colorado trip.

Clown Shoes Blaecorn Unidragon Russian Imperial Stout
Pitch black with a tan head. Heavily roasted malt flavor, almost burnt. Bitter chocolate, espresso beans, molasses and licorice. Very boozy and warm going down. Complex and tasty stout



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Boulder Beer :: Our New Home Away From Home

I am super stoked to share that my hubby is now the West Coast Territory Manager for Boulder Beer! 

We are so excited and feel very fortunate to be asked to join such a great team! I say "WE" because they don't just get Jim, they also get me, the beer-event-display-design-goddess. I LOVE making our tables look awesome, intriguing and approachable at brew fests and tasting events, and Jim and I totally love talking to people about the flavors of the beers they are sampling, so I am stoked to be back in the game!

It is also totally awesome that I have tried and enjoyed several Boulder beers. Here are links to my tasting notes:
Never Summer Ale
Shakenbake Rye IPA (collaboration with Knee Deep)
Kinda Blue Blueberry Wheat
Hazed and Infused Dry-Hopped Ale
Mojo Risin' Double IPA
Obovoid Oak-Aged Oatmeal Stout
Honey of a Saison

Check out the awesome new video from Boulder Beer! 


Jeff Brown's comment at the end had me cracking up! Bahahaha!

I am SO excited to be a part of the Boulder family! This is going to be a blast!

Cheers!
Jessica


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One of the benefits of being married to a Beer Man...

...is beery gifts!

Check out the photo that my hubby just sent me from Colorado!

These are my souvenirs from his trip!! Oh blessed be the craft beer gods and goddesses for making so many interesting and tasty brews!

:: The Beery Gifts ::

Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project Surette Provision Saison

Epic Brewing Brainless on Peaches

Odell Brewing Tree Shaker Imperial IPA

Crabtree Brewing Berliner Weisse Ale

Funkwerks Saison

Clown Shoes Blaecorn Unidragon Russian Imperial Stout

Stay tuned for tasting notes on all of these beers once they make it home to California! I'll link above as I post the notes, for easy reference.

Cheers!

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Celebrating Earth Day :: Making Small Changes that add up to Big Mother Earth Hugs

Earth Day art by Dana Gray

Happy Earth Day!!

What did you do to celebrate Earth Day Weekend?

My plan on Earth Day weekend always includes being outdoors as much as possible. Luckily, my kid loves being outdoors as much as I do, so my hubby and I spent a lot of time doing yard work while Lily played. Our favorite hummingbird, who has chosen our trees as her property and chases off other birds, chirruped at us all day. I need to make her a feeder soon...

Our happy little painter.

We did spring cleaning in our greenhouse (which is a huge enclosed covered patio with an "indoor" tree growing inside). Things were SO overgrown, so it was a ton of work. But it really does look so much better! Still a lot to do, though.

Time to wake up the gnomes!

I was inspired by Anne's craft idea post, so we rode our bikes to the craft store to get some pony beads so we could make sun catchers. Lily was SO enthused when I opened the window the next morning and showed her that I had hung the sun catcher! She swung it like a pendulum, and was just so pleased! Definitely a hit!

Enjoying the colors.

And we participated in the local Great Cloth Diaper Change event, which was pretty fun! I had to bribe Lily with fruit snacks (her kryptonite) to pose for the photographer who was volunteering at the event.

My little lady in her adorable Sauconys.

Aside from one major meltdown after a little friend's 2nd birthday party, we had a truly lovely weekend.

So I would like to leave you all with a few ideas to consider for making your lifestyle a little more green.
It really is easy to make a few small changes in the way we do things to help love our Earth.

• Recycle! It's so important!
• Purchase reusable grocery bags - or make your own!
• Use reusable lunch bags - I use Planet Wise brand.
• Use cloth diapers - I recommend Thirsties or Charlie Banana.
• Use cloth menstrual pads - read more about what I think of these by clicking here.
• Switch to cloth napkins - I have made a few sets for myself and have rescued sets from thrift! They are awesome!
• Grow your own fruits and veggies, or shop at local farmer's markets. This reduces carbon waste in transporting food from far away. Eat organic when possible - pesticides are awful for our environment and our bodies.
• Upcycle clothing, disposable containers, and more into reusable goods and craft projects!
• Reuse! Thrifting not only helps to reuse things that have been cast aside by someone else, but it saves you money too!
• Natural cleaning products - use vinegar and baking soda to clean your house and wool dryer balls in your dryer. Also, dry laundry on a clothes line in good weather.

Hopefully you will feel inspired to make greener choices based on some of those suggestions. I have found that being "green" really is easier than I expected!

Cheers!

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