Happy New Year! I do realize i'm running behind schedule...

While the name of this wine means "sea breeze" making it sound like a shitty cologne, it was actually pretty tasty. It was a dollar cheaper ( in colorado) than my absolute favorite Vinho Verde, Casal Garcia, so i decided it was worth a try. It was my substitute champagne for the New Years Celebrations.
Speaking of the champagne, what're your thoughts? I generally find it too dry, if its real imported champagne, or just bad, if its pretend American "bubbly white wine". Overall, its usually too fizzy for me. Vinho verde is as fizzy as i go and still enjoy.
Back to Brisa do Mar-
This tasty vinho verde (see previous post if you are confused about what that it.... its my alltime favorite!) is a great inexpensive choice that pairs well (so i've heard) with fish and other seafood. Its light... its bubbly... its tasty... drink more of it! 4.5/5 for yummy and for under 7 bucks a 4/5 for value.
Cheers!

Just a little whip on top

Sometimes you just need large quantities of whip cream on top of your beer.... Ok... That's probably just me. I worked hard for my whip cream, too. Up in Boulder on my recent adventure a pit stop post hiking took us to Twisted Pine Brewing co. Sadly, they were out of the Mr. Brown Pumkin ale I was looking for which normally comes topped with, you guessed it. Whipped cream. Our server suggested the Chocolate Peanut butter stout. At first i thought she was kidding, but then i decided to give it a try. Yeah... its not your every day beer, but she eventually conceded to giving me a pint topped (or halved as it looks in the picture) with yumyumyum. I just wish there were sprinkles. 

Overall, the stout was rich, chocolatey and had only a slim aftertaste of peanut butter. The whip cream made it feel like the desert it was, rather than a beer. Honestly, i don't think i'd sit down to a six pack of this, but it was awesome to try this topped. The real heavy weight of this brew house was the Pearl Strret Porter that came in Eric's flight. Definitely worth a try. 

This brew pub offered yummy food (we also destroyed a super cheap ($4!) plate of breadsticks), reeally well done beer, in a tidy little environment that looks like it turns into some sort of venue once in a while. If you happen to be up in Boulder, this would should make the list for a brewery to check out.

Also- for you kids out there that like swag... cool stickers!

Magic beer on arrival

What are good friends for?
My awesome friends had a mixed case of Left hand deliciousness ready when i arrived in Boulder last weekend. My favorite may have been the 400 Pound Monkey, a very delicious IPA. The Black Sack Porter could hold its own, though. Later on we used the classic and always delicious Stout to make beer floats. Yumyumyum. If you haven't tried these, do it! Left hand knows how to make an amazing beer. I'd say overall they are a 5/5.

Long nights in hotels ( Aka post nap time beer)

While I really just want a sammich, sometimes you me up with a beer instead. When my options are pretty much Guinness on draft which would lead to no room for sammiches or a local brew, I guess the local brew will win. This leads us to the amber colored brew you may see posted here. According to the website, victorybeer.com, I'm drinking a heavyweight 6.7with lots of flavor. I would give it a solid 3/5 since the hops are a bit bitter. I would prefer. Bit more citrus to balance the bitter, maybe American hops just aren't my thing. I wish I realized they had yingling. Anyways, hooray, beer. Cheers! 

So far from home, and in need of snacks!

Whats the best way to end a great day of skiing? Or as everyone else said " a really terrible day with awful conditions, too much ice, and a whole bunch of shitty snowboarders sitting on all the good slopes"? The answer of course, is to stop by a local micro-brewpub for some yummy food and delicious beer.
This is made even more awesome, of course, when you find out that the local brew pub, Riff Raff Brewing Company, that is conveniently located on the way home from the ski mountain, has happy hour starting at 4 with half priced appetizers and cheap pints. So much good!
The first time i went i go the Spruce Juice, a beer made using spruce instead of hops, that is sadly no longer on tap. If you ever make it there, i hope they have this awesome microbrew. I also tried their red, their awesome chili beer, and a few others. Check it out http://riffraffbrewing.com/ and go visit!

Toddies Anyone?

Exciting news! I learned how to make a hot toddy! The internet makes this drink look really complicated, but an easy way to do it (and the right way, of course) would be to squirt a bit of lemon juice into a mug. Add a teaspoon or so of honey, pour in some boiling water, and top with some super yummy whiskey or bourbon. I suggest Bulleit. This awesome, local to Colorado spirit is pretty much my favorite bourbon ,which is saying a lot from a person who is fairly indifferent to bourbon and whiskey. A friend of mine, and fellow blogger, has been known to crack open the cheap stuff when i visit, knowing that the good stuff would just be wasted.
Bulleit, however, gets 5 stars from me. Best when consumed around camp fires, in hot toddies, or surrounded by leather bound books.
At about 12 dollars for the 375 ml bottle, its not the cheapest stuff, but if you want quantity, you probably aren't drinking bourbon anyways. Try it, if you get the chance!

Making your own cider

The internet is a wealth of amazing knowledge! Especially when it comes to making alcohol at home.

A while back I stumbled on an awesome page describing exactly what i'd need: http://www.howtomakehardcider.com/making.html

This step by step tutorial was just what i needed to get me started.I picked up a gallon of Whole Foods Organic apple juice, borrowed a stopper from a friend and was ready to go. Well, ready to go after buying an airlock, some sanitizer and some amazing happy live English Cider Yeast from White Labs.

The first batch ended up being super tasty! Even though i brewed it with the ever classy balloon method, since i didn't have the right sized stopper for my first try. It didn't make it to bottling since i drank it all too fast out of the jug.

I'm a little spaced on nyquill right now, but the moral of the story is organic apple juice makes yummy cider. Other apple juice makes ok cider. More on this topic later.

I'm really tempted to throw some concentrates in with some water and yeast to see what happens..... Purple Jesus anyone?