Westvleteren 12 - BEER 365!

We're about an hour away from the crush of people coming to the Beer Every Day Great Success Party. David cracks open our last beer, the highest rated beer in the world, the Westvleteren 12, a quadruple. I'll let the video do most of the talking.

It really is the smoothest quadruple, at 10.2%, I've ever had. There isn't a whole lot of complexity, but jebus it tastes so good and smooth. BAD BOYS rating, obviously. I'm a little high on the excitement right now, I can't believe this milestone is happening.

A cookie and a cake, the best of both worlds. THANKS TIFFANY!

A lot of people didn't think we would actually drink a different beer every day. Most thought there weren't that many beers available, to which I respond with:

or:

I don't really blame them for thinking this, it's a huge commitment and required focused dedication. And let's be honest, my longest relationship with a girlfriend is 6 months. 3 years ago. This year has doubled my longest relationship and guess what baby? It's still go'n strong. So whoever out there thought that I would date someone for a year before I drank a beer for a year, you obviously didn't realize I had my priorities straight. Zing.

A few people I'm especially thankful for, who experienced so many of the beers with us, are Karl, Tiffany, and Nick G. You guys were incredible this year and I am so proud and thankful that you are my friends. Karl is the most mentioned person on the blog besides David and is tagged in over 40 posts, nearly 1/9th of the beer we had this year, which if you consider the number of nights David and I were sitting in our apartment or having beers across town or countries from each other, incredibly impressive.


And, if I can toot my horn for a minute, I'm freaking damn proud that I've written about each and everyone one of these beers. Half of life, some people say, is just showing up. Well I showed up, drank a beer, and then chronicled my experiences. Too-tooot.

Having a blog is a lot of work, but it's also immensely rewarding. 14 months ago I had never thought I would be a blogger, but I really encourage everyone if that have a passion, to write about it. Take a picture every other day. Express yourself. Even if you don't share the blog, just go online and write about anything and everything, your life will change for the better. Anywho...

THE PARTY
So for our party, Karl orchestrated a blind tasting of five different beers from the year for David and I to compete with. I'll let the video I put together tell the tale of that and the overall party. About 25 people came to celebrate and celebrate we did. The evening was an amazing way to end an incredible year. I joked the next day with David, that even though we just finished drinking a every day for the last year, apparently, we can still party.

I'm going to post in the forthcoming weeks additional posts describing my year and what it meant to me. In the meantime, I put together a video slide-show of photos created from freeze frames in the 60 minutes of footage to hold you over in the meantime until I can edit the film down to an viewable duration.

This was an incredible year, thank you following along!

Slide-show below:

Tomorrow, David is going to take his first day off in 365 days from drinking a different beer, but I plan on continuing the experience until I reach a nice round number, maybe 400 or 425. And after that, I will absolutely still be reporting on beers and experiences. I can't just get enough.

Also, subscribe to the RSS feed above,or like our page on Facebook (to the right) to receive posts as soon as they are published.

Awesomeness prevails. Onward and upward!

Mikkeller I Beat yoU sunsets a crazy and delicious 4th of July

Happy 4th o' Julie! This was one incredibly busy day that included dog sitting, bottling two home brews and entertaining people from 10am until 9pm. Only with the stamina gained through the spirit of Chuck Norris was I able to live through this day.

Nick G, Beth, AJ and Nic came over around 10am for some patriotic brunch. And by patriotic I mean coffee cake and Freedom Toast drowned in Vermont Maple Syrup. With Nic and Nick around I able to bottle both David and my home brews, which I've been dying to do because it's the highly experimental and unique, Sea Salt Caramel (Brewing Sea Salt Caramel). It was a wild brew day and I'm nervous about the taste, because I wasn't as OCD on keeping the temperature as constant as I have been in the past. Could this be my first bomb?

Hell no! This turned out perfect! My experience has made me aware that carbonating beer can lead to something completely different than what you taste during bottling, but this is pitch perfect. It has a heavy caramel flavor profile and the salt is at the right level. No weird ester or fruit flavors, which I was worried about because of the high percentage of Special B malt. The color is perfect, a dark brown reminiscent of caramel. This is one syrupy and dank dessert beer. I plan on cold conditioning three bottles in my refrigerator to experiment and the rest go in the beer closet to carbonate. David's Imperial IPA didn't fare as well however, it seems a little watered down. Hopefully carbonation will provide a fuller body. A big thank you to Nic and Nick for helping me clean and cap over 4 cases of beer in only 1.5 hours!

Tiffany and her crew brought over materials for bacon mac and cheese and jalapeno cornbread, as well as some phenomenal jello shots. Ridiculous right? Alyssa had some sort of jello shot contraption that allowed her to layer them. I may have had a handful...does that make me a super patriot?

 YUP

Meanwhile, I'm getting to work on my Blueberry Chipotle BBQ sauce burgers with fried onions. I don't cook very often, but with David out of town in Austria, it's time to represent the apartment. The recipe comes from an article in the LA Times food section last week, and it turned out delicious! Check this good looking son of a gun out:

I still have 3lbs of meat and a bowl of bbq sauce leftover, will I be eating burgers all week?

Many people came by throughout the day and I poured a bunch of home brew to treat everyone, including Heisenburg's Honey Wheat, David's Imperial Red, and my Summer's Blonde Intern. Thanks everyone for coming out!

While I didn't choose an American beer for the special beer of the day, I did drink a bunch of Bud Light and Jose Cuervo, which is strangely more American than you'd think. Right? Sure.

I bought 5 beers from legendary Danish brewer Mikkeller on Friday and I'll be damned if I don't get to drink them before David returns from Austria, which is when we start our 7 straight days of Rogue Brewing beer. With the spirit of Chuck Norris protecting me, I pour this hopefully delightful Danish Imperial IPA

Who wears seersucker shorts with a chuck norris shirt while drinking Danish beer? This guy!

I Beat yoU is an Imperial IPA that clocks in at 9.75% and smells incredibly well, the piney hops really come through. It is full bodied and has a toasted malt that balances nicely with the piney, herbal hops. Everything is so well balanced that you don't realize this is an Imperial IPA. The more I drink, the craftsmanship becomes more apparent. This is a smooth IPA. THE ROCK rating.


I hope everyone had a an awesome and fun 4th of July!

Mischief Gone Wild celebrates Nic and AJ's matrimony

Nick G, Beth, David and I head north to Paso Robles to watch our close friends Nic and AJ tie the knot. David and Christi rearranged the hotel sign in hilarious tribute.

Wedding was damn beautiful and so was the bride.

Here is the new couple, Nic Ewok and Amdrea Bear

I had my emotions on lockdown but the groom (who is a screenwriter) wrote vows which weaved a line from TRUE ROMANCE, "You are so cool," to become a metaphor to say "I love you" to his bride. It was pretty brilliant and I'll be damned if David and I almost succumbed to what many men refer to as, "as expulsion of eye water due to female-like irrationality." But we held it together.

The Beereverday boys dressed to impress.

After we helped the caterers dispose of their wine, the ceremony moved to the barn dance floor and we popped open a special Mischief 'Gone Wild.'

Someone brought a bomber of Pliny the Elder out to party as well. Love that Mischief label

The good fellows at The Bruery brewed up a batch of Mischief but rather than use their typical yeast to ferment the wort, they used Brettanomyces, a type of yeast used primarily in lambic and sour ales ales but is also popular among several Belgian brewers, including the trappist beer Orval who introduces the yeast at bottling. Many American craft breweries have had great success utilizing it, but brettanomyces is a notoriously difficult yeast for a homebrewer to cultivate and use correctly. It's not as easy as popping a smack pack or unscrewing a White Labs yeast; rather, people buy barrels which already have the yeast in it from older sour ale fermentations and then capture airborne yeast which is then cultivated and then saturated in the oak. Here is an interesting article from a blog I subscribe to: ambient spontaneous yeast starters.

My previous Mischief post is here: Bruery Mischief. It's easily one of our favorite beers this year and we're both looking forward to this twist on the classic. True to the original Mischief, the Gone Wild has the belgian strong pale ale body with exceptional carbonation and the Brettanomyces add a lively fruit and floral flavor as it goes down. Lively is putting it mildly, it's like a floral left cross to the tongue. The more I drink, the more I feel like describing it as Mischief on Redbull. It's got an "oomph" to it that's hard to describe. Turbocharged? You get it. I feel privileged for being able to try this limited run. I wouldn't trade the Gone Wild for the original Mischief, but but I certainly enjoyed it. TRANSFORMERS rating.

We certainly weren't done drinking yet (not by a long shot). One of Nic's best men Dallas Hammons was awesome enough to bring out his first homebrews, a bold Imperial Wheat. Check out his blog here. http://www.hammonshomebrew.com/

This was a fantastic weekend spent with close friends and their beer. Loving life.

Kona Koko Brown Toasted with Coconut services a summer bbq and the first preview of Heisenberg's Honey Wheat homebrew

Today was a big day! We gathered a group of 7 to hit the beach and do a run through for me and Tiff's joint birthday celebration. With 7 people though, there were no teams and there was always a shortage of fielders. Exhausting would be the word to describe the day. But back at the apartment, we dove into full bbq mode, or at least David and Matt did. I'm more of a people person.

Nic and Aj's wedding is in two weeks from today, and I can't wait to see them tie the knot! Nic brought a sixer of Kona Brown with coconut and it's today's beer o' day.

The fish that David prepared is amazing and these brat's were gone before I knew it. This is a brown ale with coconut, pretty simple. I'm tasting the brown ale and coffee and the coconut was either added late in the boil or during secondary fermentation, because it kicks in late in the sip. It's an interesting idea but not something that piques my interest. THE ISLAND beer.

Hanger 24 Altbier makes itself comfortable with a Father's Office burger

For our traditional Thursday night brew with Karl, we're at The Father's Office in Culver City with Karl, Laua, Nick G, Nic and AJ for some amazing burgers and brews. This burger never gets old!

We tried an "Altbier" at the brew store while picking up supplies for my last homebrew, the Heisenberg, and tonight I figure it could compliment the burger.

Here is the definition of an "Altbier" from beeradvocate.com

A Düsseldorf specialty, an Altbier is a German style brown ale, the “alt” literally translates to "old" in German, and traditionally Altbiers are conditioned for a longer than normal periods of time. Other sources note that "alt" is derived from the Latin word "altus," which means "high" and refers to the rising yeast. Take your pick, but the extended conditioning mellows out the ale's fruitiness and produces an exceptionally smooth and delicate brew.

Brown ale is the perfect pairing for meat! Deliciousness prevails. The beer has a clean and subtle lager-like profile. I'm tasting toffee and caramel and a bit of heavy roast/chocolate at the end. If I owned a restaurant, I would pimp this style of beer out (if I could find my hands on any - who else makes this style?). TRANSFORMERS rating.

Great to see everyone tonight! Goodbye March and hello April.

Bootlegger Brewery's Knuckle Sandwich should win an Oscar

I've been waiting for this day to arrive for quite some time...No, not the Oscars you half-witted scruffy-looking nerf herder. To use my over-sized novelty champagne flute, duh.

 

That flute is 2.5 feet tall, it's freaking ridiculous, I love it. I'm hosting an Oscar party tonight and everyone is dressing up as if they are attending the event itself. I picked up the Knuckle Sandwich at Bootlegger's yesterday and I'm beside myself with excitement.

 

The brew is Bootleggers' most celebrated beer, but they only make it in limited quantities. Um, why would you do that to us? What are we, ants? It needs to be three times that! Well Derek Zoolander, what's interesting about this fellow is it's made from their leftover hops. So whatever hops are leftover after they brew all their other beers they save up until they have enough for the Knuckle Sandwich. Being a Double IPA means it requires LOTS of hops. Translation for all this - they make this in small batches and not very often. But guess what? They just released a batch this week. Being at the brewery yesterday for Nick and AJ's birthday was fortuitous.

David welcomes our guests at the door

It's a phenomenal beer. For being 10.5% alcohol and a Double IPA, this beer is as smooth and balanced as a Formula 1 Racer. It has a sweet malt mouthful followed by rounded citrus and piney hops. It's a Mike Tyson Knockout. BAD BOYS rating.

Seriously Bale, stop stealing my look or I will find you and lock you out of the Oscars...again

Add caption

So I drank out of my Scepter/Shrek's Champagne Flute all night. It was kinda awesome. Although I didn't win the Oscar pool (damn you Rucker!) the party was a fantastic success and I (at least) had an amazing time. In order to capture the party and its beautiful guests, everyone posed for a picture using it as a prop. The results are glorious. Check out the fanfare below:

The Hosts. We also doubled as Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin's stand-ins last year

Don't throw Nic a fastball

Jessica is the Belle of the Ball. Oscar Queen anyone?

Settle down Brad, your jeans are getting acid washed

The glass gets in the way every time Melissa. Mother Rucker!

Kym teaches a course on drinking daintily out of absurd glasses. Her secret? Channeling Dame Helen Mirren

Watch out for AJ, this kitty's got claws

That glass isn't your teddy bear Tierney.

Heyyy! Is Tiffany holding the glass or is the glass holding her?

Ellen knows where the good shit is

Tamara drinks like a boss

What is she doing? Hey Rachel Lohan, don't steal my crystal glassware.

Glen was an extra in MILK three years ago and he's hasn't broken character since. Suck it Colin Firth.

Jerren's a glass half-full kind of guy, but this is pushing it

Bruery Provisions Cornballer isn't as...a-maize-ing...as I hoped

The day has finally come that Nick G can make it to The Bruery. This man is one of the biggest fans of this heavenly beer and now, he pilgrimages to his Mecca. What's the occasion? He and AJ share a birthday and to celebrate, we're doing a brewery tour. We're joining several of Nick's coworkers as well as Karl who is coming up from Temucla after wine tasting, if he's still vertical. On the way up, we listen to a birthday mix I made for Nick and AJ and in case you were wondering, Oingo Boingo was definitely on it. The video is one of Danny Elfman's finest moments -

The timing of this trip is excellent, because according to The Bruery newsletter, they're releasing their fifth and latest Provisions Series batch today (Provisions is a limited one time only release) AND Bootleggers Brewery is releasing their greatest creation ever, the very limited release Knuckle Sandwich DIPA. Victory is ours!

Best Friends and Beard Brothers - at least that's what it says on our eharmony profile

Going brewery tasting is fun for the obvious reasons, but this trip doubles the fun for me because all the people except for Nick know nothing about The Breury or Bootleggers, so I'm allowed to ramble on and wave my hands uncontrollably while explaining everything I know about their beer. Imagine if you gave a 10 year old kid Redbull and a plate of cookies and that's how excited I am. Finally, someone clubs me over the head like a baby seal and my I shift my focus to the beer of the day, the Cornballer.

Bruery has some pretty great names for their specialty brews (Gunga Galunga, a Caddy Shack reference, being the best) and this one brings back fond memories of infomercials from Arrested Development (unfortunately the above is the best I can find)

And let me tell you how much I enjoyed it...eeeeeeee not so much -

Eat sink, cornballer (I didn't flush it, but God I wanted to)

I love The Bruery. I have been there four times. I own two growlers. I have several of their beers saved under my bed. I even own a shirt and will probably buy a hat next trip. Yay merchandising. I'll probably name my second born son Mischief after their finest brew, but this beer makes me cringe.

The Cornballer is their attempt at a malt liquor and it's 50% of it is made out of corn and the other 50% made out of 6 Row Malt (2 Row Malt is typically used to make beer). It smells like citrus hops mixed with a mildew sock. It tastes similar, with a dash of sourness. There's just something rotten about it. Everyone except for Karl agrees with me. Karl likes this, but he's also high on mescaline and wine.  I love so much about brewery, but not this. This was hard as a horse to put down. I never thought I would bestow the worst rating to a Bruery beer, but stranger things have happened. PEARL HARBOR rating Thanks goodness they still have the Cuadruple on tap, because I'm gonna need a 'forget me now' after this one.

On another note, happy birthday Nick and AJ! I've known them both for over 9 years and they're my two favorite people and I wish them the best birthday and in the year to come!

 

I bought a Loakal Red and a Cuadruple to add to my cellar/bed collection. Nick G went certifiably awesome and bought a CASE of Bruery beer, a baker's dozen to be exact. On a side note, he will soon be the proud owner of a shotgun. Who has two thumbs and can't wait to combine both? THIS GUY

Straffe Hendrik Tripel is easy drinking with friends and ARCHER

Rolled over to the always awesome and delightful AJ and Nic's apt and coworker Tiff joined us for some appetizers, booze, impolite conversations, gregarious laughs and some ARCHER, which I'll get to later.

AJ makes the best spreads

Apparently Straffe Hendrik is the last of the once numerous "authentic Bruges' Tripel Beer" and I understand it's longevity. For a tripel that clocks in at 9%, the beer is light and super smooth. It tastes sweet with doughy and fruit notes and a strong malt presence. BIG thank you to David who tasted this over Christmas and was gentlemanly enough to bring a big bottle back. THE ROCK rating.

ARCHER's 2nd season started last week on FX Thursdays at 10pm and if you like laughter than you best DVR this show. I recently discovered this myself and after watching one episode, I bought the first season. For the number of jokes per minute in each of the 10 episodes, it's a steal at $13 on Amazon. What first piqued my interest was seeing the clip below online and then learning the show's creator wanted to combine a workplace comedy with the spy genre he loved, and also that he wanted to see how big an asshole the hero could be and still get away with it. It sounded really cool and in all regards it's a great success. If you like Arrested Development, know that the mother from AD voices the mother of the lead ARCHER and she's just as hilarious. Judy Greer who played Kitty in AD also lends her vocal talents as does SNL alum and Dr. Spaceman on 30 ROCK, Chris Parnell. If you don't watch this show, I'm will put you in the 'Danger zone!'

"Seriously Lana, your obsession with me is dangerous. Call Kenny Loggins because you're in the danger zone."

King Moonracer's Revenge - Walker's First Home Brew

So Thursday night, January 6th is my first official tasting of the home brew. Let me tell you about the name first...

King Moonracer's Revenge is a different name for a Christmas Ale, right? Here is the story behind the birth of the name. About week before I made the beer, I woke up one morning already thinking of the beer's name. I wanted the title set it apart from other Christmas beers, so what's the least Christmasy theme there could be? REVENGE. 30 seconds later I was on Wikipedia looking up the story of Rudolph. Unfortunately, that red-nosed outcast didn't piss anyone off when he was put on the sleigh team, but I did find the most excellent of names, King Moonracer. When Rudolph runs away from the North Pole he escapes and finds the Island of the Misfit toys and King Moonracer rules them. What a rad name! So I started thinking...this guy is a Griffin, half Eagle & Half Lion and he's king of the abused children? He should be king of the world! But he has a good heart and cares about the tykes, but Santa gets all the credit for being jolly and spreading joy around the world. Do you know the King? Nobody knows about King Moonracer! But guess what? He secretly makes some great fucking beer. And Santa doesn't get any of it. Booyah! Revenge is his.

I found the elements and gave them to my Houston friend Emily H and she put together a hilariously awesome label, thanks Em!

I poured a few bottles for everyone and then opened up a few more. The feedback was really great! 

Karl came over and you can see his guest here: Karl's Guest Post. AJ and Nic and Jamie R joined us and my coworker Tiffany surprised the group and brought a cake! She went above and beyond, and the night suddenly turned into a festivus for the rest of us (cake was really freaking good ). I was momentarily overwhelmed all that was going on but then I started drinking! The best part of making a home brew is enjoying it.

How happy does this guy look?

She even used the same colors in the icing as in the label! Tiffany = Awesomeness

This beer is my first beer and the recipe can be found here: K.M. Revenge Home Brew Recipe. Obviously, an enormous thank you and credit to David who helped me pick out the ingredients and together we cooked up the batch. I knew nothing about making beer and his guidance at every step was crucial to this beer's success.

Speaking of this beer, it turned out better than I expected. It's really drinkable. It's a golden pale ale with a hint of cloves at the end that provides the much needed Christmas spice. When we bottled the beer, the clove was overwhelming but it turned out quite nice. 'Infamous Jamie R' says that "she would buy this in a bar" and AJ and Nic agree. I'm simply happy having my beer not suck, let alone people actually saying nice things about it.

There's only a few bottles left and I'm going to have a hard time not drinking as soon as possible. I'm so happy it turned out well and to those who came over to celebrate with me (all except 1 are some of my oldest friends who I have known for 8+ years) thank you, it was a really great night with wings, cake and beer. As for a rating, I too would buy this in a store. King Moonracer is a hit! Next year I will develop the recipe and brew another batch. Get in line now ;) TRANSFORMERS rating

BJ's Oktoberfest - A Final Destination Dinner

So this weekend was supposed to be the Great San Diego brewery trip of 2010, but that was postponed after David received an impromptu invitation to Oktoberfest. Not to let the weekend become a waste, I announced a brewery trip to local Eagle Rock in the valley. But come Sunday, I discovered they were closed in order to attend (along with 461 other breweries) the Great American Beer Fest in Colorado. Perhaps another time Eagle Rock

I settled for BJ's Restaurant (a microbrewery/pizza chain) located in Culver City with Nic R, AJ and David L. It is here where we encountered a malevolent force who's anger against beer glasses (AABG) was so powerful that it freed our beers twice from the frosty mugs, much to our dismay. Story after the picture. I started with a Jeremiah Red but switched my beer for the day to the Oktoberfest in the second round.

And by most popular they mean, 'one of their few' seasonal beers

The beer is slightly darker than the Hofbrau Oktoberfest and burned malts are prevalent. The biggest difference is that it's well-rounded. Yada yada, it's good. Drink it while you can. TRANSFORMERS rating.

So beer glass destruction happened. Was there a coincidence? Probably not, I'm not stupid. Shit happens. When it rains it pours. And other cliches. We were about 20 minutes into what some people call dinner but others call a baby screaming behind us incessantly (a.k.a. the best form of birth control), when David L picked up his beer in mid conversation. About 30 seconds later, the bottom inexplicably fell out and beer flowed like wine. We all had a good laugh at the absurd moment and our waiter Ryan took it to show the bartender because no one had seen this happen before. We guessed that there must have been a crack about an inch above the glass' bottom lip. It was a freak accident and certain we'd seen the last spill of the evening.

As we signed for the check, Ryan was taking our plates away when a knife slipped off and split my beer halfway down its side. Again, beer flowed like wine, adding insult to injury. But we both enjoyed a new beer and took it in stride. It was a Final Destination Dinner.

In a big P.S., I'm including the next statement for its inclusion into the annals of my life. In a Herculean test of moral strength, I declined a Pizookie (cookie pie topped with ice cream)...

I want to bury my face in your chocolate chip bosom

...in an effort to continue eating healthy/make up for the 3 steins of beer I drank Saturday during table building and the Texas Longhorn football game (which included a burger from In-And-Out).

If you don't know me well and are wondering why this is such a monumental moment, let me provide some context; my alter-ego is Popp'n Fresh the Pillsbury Doughboy (my writing alias found at the bottom); I also own this shirt:

And this one:

So it's a feat that has never happened before. Golf clap where you are please.

Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Dunkel Joins Delicious Ribs and Queso con Chorizo in My Belly

I'm stoked for so many reasons I can't even tell you.

Ha! Really? This is my blog, of course I'm going to blabber about it. My taller little brother Warren was in town this weekend from New York. Saturday we went to the beach and I returned to make ribs for the first time. Usually cooking is David's department, but he's away in Chicago so I stepped to be the Emeril. BAM! While the ribs were slow roasting for two hours, Warren helped me make chile con queso with chorizo, which Melissa B, Brad G, Jessica W, Warren D, Nic R, and AJ came, saw, and obliterated. And when the ribbies were finished, I was ready with excellent beer.

Fact: Fat Friars Love Pork Ribs. Go Figure

The Franziskaner Dunkel Hefe-Weisse is the moodier, darker brother of the beer I drank Thursday but retains the hefe-weisse's sweetness (btw in German hefe = yeast, weisse = wheat). The dark caramel malts and spices mix together nicely. As far as pairing goes, the pork ribs were already sweet from the Goode & Co. bbq sauce and a more complimentary beer choice would've been a dark ale without the hefe-weisse sweetness, like a Bock. But whatever, I love sweets and the bier was great. The ribs were freaking great. Who's got two thumbs and makes awesome ribs? THIS GUY.

This fella was a well balanced bier and the combination proved a nice change of pace from the normal hefe's and dark beers I've imbibed lately. THE ROCK rating.