Little things to be thankful for...

In addition to getting to spend time with my way cool in-laws AND eating lots of New Mexico chile AND learning to shell/ eat pinon this Thanksgiving, one additional perk was getting to enjoy me some Fat Tire. See, we can't get Fat Tire in Michigan, and it is hands down one of my favorite beers. And it was on sale! BONUS!

Another happy happening was reading the Frontier Airlines' inflight rag, Wild Blue Yonder, while we were stuck in jet traffic at the Denver airport. (Thanksgiving weekend + snow= de-icing a shitload of planes) During my two hour (!) visit to the tarmac, I glanced through the mag during commercials (yes, commericals) and found this nice little article on pairing beers with traditional Thanksgiving food. But the best part of that little two hour vacation: Frontier offers DirecTV on their flights for $5.99 per flight. However, while you're on the ground, you get a 'free preview'. Two hours from pushback until take off meant that I got to watch the entire first half of the Colts game for free! Sweet!

Indiana beers

As promised, I got to try a couple Indiana beers this week, thanks to my BFF's birthday party in Indy.

At Barringer's Tavern I got to try Three Floyds Alpha King Pale Ale, a pleasant surprise out of Munster, IN. It was bold with a hint of citrus, and the only beer I had never before tried that they had at the bar. :-)

I stopped at the beer cave tonight to pick up some beers to take home to Ann Arbor, only one of which was an Indiana brew (I couldn't find many!). I'm drinking Oaken Barrel Brewing's Indiana Amber, a "Hoosier-style red ale". I'm not really sure what that means, but it's just okay. Nothing spectacular.

Rogue Chipotle Ale

It's gotten cold around here, and for some reason, wine has been tasting better to me lately. Maybe it's because red wine warms my tummy? Or because we have so much wine in our basement that it's soon going to consume us?

We finally got around to opening the Rogue Chipotle Ale tonight, since we had some leftover "southwestern" food to eat. While it's an interesting concept and was really nice with the food, I can't say I'm a fan of it on its' own. The chipotle is just a little bit much for me, and as anyone can tell you, I don't do fruit (or chiles) in my beer.

Hopefully I will be trying some Indiana beers this weekend, so I'll be sure to issue a report!

Rainy weekend- try more beer!

Last Saturday, the hubby and I had a chance to join TeacherPatti and a crew from CBiM on a bit of a pub crawl! We joined late so only got to drink a couple of beers, and only one that we hadn't tried before: Arbor Brewing's Duggie Style Rye. They don't usually have this one on tap so it was a nice surprise! I REALLY liked it- easy to drink with an opaque kind of golden brown color, it's a big, strong brew. With 35% rye, it's rich and sweet and remarkably 7.5% ABV (it certainly doesn't taste like it!).

Blue Tractor Brewery opened it's doors in Ann Arbor recently with a big grand opening on Thursday night. Their sign says they are a brewery, yet when we walked by (it was too busy to even attempt going in), we didn't see (or smell) anything that made us think "brewery". What's the scoop? Has anyone been?

I picked up a big bottle of Rogue's Chipotle Ale this week. I imagine we'll be popping it open tonight during the Notre Dame v. BC game. I'll let you know how it was...

Sour Blondes & Pumpkins

Just a quick post to pimp the new Sour Blonde at the Corner and Arbor Breweries. I had some at the Corner's Halloween party last night.

I usually am not a fan of sours because I find them often to be drinkable only in very small quantities, such as at a tasting. I've never been able to drink a whole sour before. But those days are over, my friends! This sour is perfect. It has the "sour" taste, but it's light and tangy and smooth.

I'm not sure how long it will be around, so try some soon!

I also had a taste of Jolly Pumpkin's new pumpkin ale yesterday. This is good beer--nice aroma, smooth, with a nice finish that's not too "pumpkin ale-y". Does that make sense? I hope you know what I mean. It will only be available at the brewery or at Ashley's in downtown Ann Arbor. As far as I know, the keg was tapped at Ashley's last night. Jeff and I are headed there for lunch today--I hope there's some left!