The best time of year for beer

Fast on the heels of pumpkin beers (which seem to sell out like lightning), the holiday beers are now arriving!  While many of them have dark, solitary names (Isolation, Avalanche, Hibernation, Snow Day) that remind us of the long, dark nights ahead, Upslope's Christmas Ale offers up a bright, cheery package.  While my taste buds are not trained in the intricacies of beer tasting, I can tell you that this one is yummy!  Not too heavy nor too spiced and beautifully red in color.  If you can find it in your local liquor store (in Colorado, that is--I don't think this one is sold anywhere else, which is too bad for you if you're outside the square state), grab it and run because it won't be there for long.  In fact, I may take a stroll over to the LQ today to stake my claim while I have the chance.

Tonight's libation

Much sought-after, finally procured.

Not too much pumpkin, low on the spice.  Yum!  If I can get my grubby little hands on more, I will certainly do so.  Or not.  At $18 for 4 pints, it's definitely a splurge.  But if pumpkin beer isn't occasion for a splurge, I do not know what is.

SOS #3

Will be here.  Further evidence that Denver has no shortage of places to quaff a brew.

Wednesday, July 11, 6:00 pm.

And a beer in a tree

Delayed sandwich gratification

I know you've all been waiting on the sandwich post, which seems to be about the only posting I do these days.  This is a reflection on the lack of otherwise interesting things going on in my life right now.

Anyhoo, I'll preface this sandwich entry with a few uninteresting tidbits.  I'm always on the lookout for new recipes, even though it would take me years to cook through all of the cookbooks I currently have on the shelf.  And, due to my alternate "work" schedule, I'm home to watch the always interesting variety of daytime tv offerings.  I can tell you all you need to know about College America, Concorde Institute and the other for-profit institutions out there proffering exciting careers in healthcare.  The commercials must have some subliminal effect, as I'm considering a career as an x-ray technician.

I also like to watch tv when I'm lifting weights--but the tv in the weight room doesn't have cable.  Fortunately, it does pick up TBS, so I can watch sitcoms, depending on the time of day I'm down there.  Like most Americans, I like my entertainment in 30-minute increments.  But, when lifting during the day, sitcom offerings are slim.  I happened upon an episode of The Rachael Ray Show the other day that actually featured FOOD, rather than the usual makeovers and beauty tips.  This particular episode featured food legends Mario Batali, Guy Fieri, Sara Moulton and Graham Kerr and was worth the watch.  And, I got a recipe out of the deal.  All of the guests prepared one of their favorite recipes, and Sara Moulton's struck a chord for me.

She prepared DET Burgers, which harken back to her time in Ann Arbor.  Not only did the burgs look good, they could easily be veganized.  And that they have a connection to Ann Arbor, one of my favorite places, is an added bonus.  Maybe I feel that way because I have a not-so-latent desire to attend the University of Michigan.  Hey, it's never too late, right?  For now, the burgs will have to suffice.

The burgs were really tasty, but the only problem was that the beer made the patties soggy!  I thought that might happen with a veggie burg.  So unfortunate, too, and a waste of perfectly good beer.  Otherwise, I'll definitely make these again.

And, look, no broccoli on the side!  The featured side dish this week is roasted sweet potato wedges.  Dip 'em in Vegenaise (or mayo) and completely wipe out any health benefits you might have gained from eating these.

Beer is pretty

Don't you think (despite the sub-par pic)?



I derived some beer inspiration from this week's episode of Sunday Morning. They had a story about beer that featured Denver's Wynkoop Brewery. For those of you who don't know, the Wynkoop was founded by John Hickenlooper, Denver's Mayor and Governor-elect. Colorado is also a microbrew haven. Personally, I'm a fan of Wynkoop's Rail Yard Ale, conveniently now available in cans at your local LQ.

I am thankful for beer.

BBQ Sunday fail

How disappointing that my return to BBQ Sunday did not turn out very well.  The (electric) grill is on the fritz, so I opted for a cold soup recipe.  Given that it was 90 degrees or better today, I thought that would be a good option.  I decided to make Mexican Tomatillo Avocado Soup from Sunset Magazine.  I used tomatillos and cucumber from the garden.

I really did not like this soup.  I've never eaten raw tomatillos and found them to be almost fruity tasting.  I suppose that's not a bad thing, but it just wasn't as good as I thought it would be.  Now I'm pissed that I wasted those tomatillos that could have been utilized to make a delightful tomatillo salsa.  And wasted an avocado that could have been used to make guacamole to accompany the salsa atop a plate of nachos.  Damn it.  To top it off, I'll be hungry again in an hour.  This gives me an excuse to pop some popcorn for my "Mad Men" viewing later this evening.

However, all was not lost today.  I enjoyed a nice beverage while I cooked dinner and whipped up another batch of refrigerator pickles.

A one-eyed orangutan is a lovely concoction that I learned about at the Symposium.  Came home and decided to give it a go.  Then, thanks to the Fixed Gear Gallery forum (it ain't all bikes in there, I gots me some learnin' sometimes too), further definition of the drink resulted in this: Shandy, or shandygaff, is beer flavoured with carbonated lemonade, ginger beer, ginger ale or citrus-flavored soda. The proportions of the two ingredients are adjusted to taste, normally half-and-half. In Germany, this type of drink is called a Radler (German for "cyclist"). In France and in Italy, it is called a panaché ("mixed"). In Catalan it is xampu ("shampoo") or clara.  So there you go, a bike-themed drink!

Oh, and I do not routinely have Corona Light in the house.  It's a holdover from the CRCG open house.  I'm not a beer snob, I'm just not a fan of Corona Light.   I was told that the drink is best with a lighter beer, so I figured it was a way to put the beer to good use.  Brilliant call on my part!  Try it. 

Fixed Gear Symposium

I have grudingly returned to Colorado after yet another delightful trip to the Fixed Gear Symposium.  As always, it was a great time.  Traverse City is an amazing place to ride a bike.  Plus, the attendees are the nicest group of people you'll meet.  Not a jerk in the bunch.

A few highlights:

Drank some beer (okay, a lot of beer)...

Post-ride sustenance at the Right Brain Brewery

Rode a tall bike...

Fortunately, there's no photographic evidence of me nearly crotching myself on my first attempt at mounting the bike.  I have a sizable bruise on my upper inner thigh as a reminder.  However, every person that rode that bike sported a shit-eating grin the whole time. 

Rode up a big hill...

I am clearly in worse shape than I was last year. Either that or my memory of the difficulty of the climb has faded. I think my time was about the same as last year, but I came VERY close to stopping and walking. Video evidence of my struggle is also available.


Third Coast Bicycle Festival Hill Climb from Endurance Evolution on Vimeo.


Hung out with friends...

Brought home some loot...

The booby prize (bobblehead) for coming in last in the alleycat

Got a spiffy new Chrome bag for winning the hillclimb

And while it's always sad for bike camp to come to a close, at least I had a few extra moments to enjoy while in Michigan.

Sunrise kayak ride in Suttons Bay on Monday morning.  See, who needs mountains?

Sunset over Lake Michigan at Muskegon on Monday evening--I could gawk at something like that every night, for sure.

The full array of pictures can be found here.

I have no idea why those last 2 photos won't center.  Anyway, until next year, I'll have the memories of the most bike fun ever to pull me through.  Now it's back to reality.  I hate that.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner...Or not

Well, I hate to disappoint all of you, my loyal readers, but I did not win the Englewood Unleashed chili cook-off yesterday.  I tasted all of the vegetarian entries, and I must say, they weren't very good.  I'm not sure what that says about my entry.  And I think I said the same thing last year.  I just don't think they were ready for white chili.  It's either red or green.  Guess I better figure out something for next year.  Or, I'll wait until 2 weeks before the event and throw something together and wonder why I don't win.

I do not like cinnamon in chili.  Just so you know.  A couple of the entries, including the winner, had cinnamon in them.  Blech.

All was not lost, though--I did win a $100 gift certificate in the raffle.  $5 in tickets to win $100.  Not bad.  The weather ensured a good turnout, which is good because the event is the main fundraiser for Englewood Unleashed.  It's a good group of people trying to do good things for dogs, and I'm happy to have participated.

And, on to Soup Sunday.  I'm a little souped out, given all of the recent chili activity.  Seriously, I'd like to see more tomato soup cook-offs than chili, but I'm probably in the minority on that one.  But, I was able to rally and come up with a good soup for today.  I give you Thai-style Coconut Soup:

Recipe from Vegan Planet.  This is another along the "good for what ails you" line.  I'd like it to have been a little spicier, but all in all it was very good.  And easy.  And full of mushrooms.  What more could I want?

And, just for fun, here's some lab cuteness.  Clark having some beer with us this afternoon.

Mmm, beer

I know I've posted this before, but I adore this commercial on several levels.  And, given that we're trapped in the bowels of winter, it's especially timely.  But watching this makes it seem not quite so bad.

Tonight's beverage

Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale.

I stopped by the liquor store in search of a nice, seasonal beer.  Unfortunately, the seasonal beers seem to fly off the shelves.  And, many of the seasonal beers are hoppy, which I have determined that I don't like.  I know little about beer, but I do know that I do not like hoppy beers like IPAs.  That narrowed the field significantly today, so I came home with the Samuel Smith.  I found it tasty (albeit pricey--$10 for 4 beers!).  That's pretty much the extent of my beer tasting prowess and vocabulary.  Beer.  Good.

Cocktail of the month - October

I picked up a 4-pack of Dogfish Head Punkin Ale tonight. I wanted something seasonal (and pumpkin, after my brownie mishap earlier this week), and this one fit the bill. Pricey, but I hoped that the higher price would give me a better chance of getting something good. My lower middle-class upbringing has instilled in me the belief that if something it more expensive, it must be better. In this case, it's true.

I'm not enough of a beer drinker to be able to discern the differences between beers, other than "I like this one," or "I don't like that." I did find this one to be very tasty. No strong overtones of pumpkin or spice. So subtle, but I enjoyed it a lot. Gave me a nice buzz after just one--not that this is a difficult feat.

Excellent. I recommend it.

By the way, did you see that moon tonight? Wow...

Cocktail of the month

I picked up some Gordon on a whim at the LQ the other day. The description on the Oskar Blues website reads, "It features a gooey, resiny aroma and a luscious mouthfeel. Gordon is brewed with dash of chocolate malt in it, to round out its load of hops and balance the beer. The result is an assertive yet exceptionally smooth version of strong beer."

I say yummy.

Stay tuned here for more expert beer connoisseur reviews.

A couple more pics

The hillclimb--I'm the red speck just to the right of the mailbox. This gives an indication of how steep it was.



And, here I am, struggling to stay upright. But I made it.



And the view from the top:



I heart the Symposium. Bike camp for adults. With lots of beer.

Cocktail of the month

True to my last minute form, I present you with this month's cocktail of the month (although I'm probably a couple of months behind as it is):



Local product. Good. And, there's something about popping a can of beer that takes me back about 20 years. Ahhhh...