Day 2...Insanity is near...

I'm always amazed at how my 9 year old son is completely incapable of entertaining himself...until I realize that I suck at it too.  This is our second day of being house-bound due to "Superstorm Sandy", or whatever we're calling this latest weather catastrophe, and I am bored out of my head!  There are of course, things I could be doing.  I choose to ignore these things and instead wander around the house aimlessly, occasionally stopping to hear about the Skylanders game that has probably been going on far longer than it should have.  So here's my solution...

This should be in tulip glass...just for the record.

Now before you get all judgemental on me...despite the fact that I was trapped in my house by the poor judgement of the local school system, I avoided beer until 5 o'clock on the nose yesterday...no joke!  AND what you see in the glass is exactly what I just drank at...umm...well...almost five o'clock somewhere that I am not.  Actually, this is the last of what was in that bottle, which I (reluctantly) opened last Monday night.  Oude Tart is apparently a highly regarded sour ale...a flemish style red to be exact.  Sour beers are not exactly my thing, but 1) I am always trying to improve my understanding of different beer styles, and 2) Greg the beer guy cut me a break on an otherwise $21 bottle of beer...just so I would try it.  So I did. 

I'll be honest and say when I first opened the bottle and tried it, my first instinct was to pour the rest down the drain!  SERIOUSLY tart beer-the label is not misleading.  But, I felt that dumping a beer so many others would have enjoyed was wrong, so I sucked it up (I am SUCH a trooper...).  I can honestly say that I'm not sorry I did.  Once the beer sat for a bit (I can assure you that I did not drink this in a real hurry...) it was...tolerable.  Knowing I wasn't drinking the whole bottle myself in one night (keep the sarcasm to a minimum here people), I stoppered it and wondered how long it would be before I was brave enough to try it again.  Over the past week I have occasionally poured a small amount into a glass, and am shocked to admit that I actually started to enjoy drinking it.  Today was the final pour, and although I'm not rushing out to grab another bottle, I can honestly say I would drink it again.  I might buy it and bury it in the back of the fridge (behind all the other bottles) to age a bit and maybe take the edge off the tartness, but I know that at some point I would look forward to opening it, hopefully amongst some other brave souls willing to try something new.

In other beer nerd news, I just started reading a book on IPAs in my never ending quest to perfect my own recipe. 

It starts off with a bit of history on the style, which I appreciate because the other cool hobby I have is reading history.  Within the first few pages of the book I learned that I should have been a sailor in my former life (or maybe I was?)!  Not only does the language come naturally to me, but they were allotted a GALLON of beer per day on their voyages!  HELLO?! A gallon?  No wonder those trips took so long!  They were all drunk and going in the wrong damn direction half the time...just like me!  I may have missed my calling.

To all those suffering the wrath of Sandy, my thoughts are with you.  May your troubles be short lived.  Stay safe, and save the beer!

Cheers!
Becky

P.S. The Bruery also makes an Autumn Maple beer that I must say is pretty fantastic!  It's a Belgian brown that sneaks up on you when you don't realize it is a 10% ABV.  Perfect fireside beer...

Liquid Assets

It's been awhile, so I'm just jumping right back in....

For two days I've been home sick with strep throat (I thought only children got this,  but perhaps the fact that I managed to get it speaks to my mentality...).  After trying desperately to "rest"-for Moms this includes a day filled with laundry, cooking, and baking muffins, helping with homework, you get the idea-I decided to address an issue that has been in the back of my mind for awhile.  Every time I go grocery shopping and face the daunting task of returning home to shove it all in cupboards already filled with other stuff, I notice that the fridge is always a little short on space for things like milk and juice.  Let me show you why.

Now I know those of you who have read my blog previously are not surprised, but here is the real issue.  This is not just the beer in my fridge, it is ONLY (with maybe one or two exceptions) the dark, high alcohol, bourbon barrel aged beer.  It's in the "food" fridge, because the "beer" fridge is a puny, dorm room sized thing (Dear Santa...) and the big bottles don't fit.  PLUS, the "beer" fridge is full too (but that's just the "everyday" stuff).  So, why so many bombers of unconsumed beer you ask?  Well, I'm not entirely sure, but I have a few ideas.

1) I am a lightweight, and most of these beers (anywhere from 9-16% ABV), unless consumed with other people, will knock me on my a**.  And the "others" in this household are "lightweighter" than I am (as in 9:30 bedtime without drinking).
2) The romantic visions I have of pouring these beers consist of cold weather, a fire, and a day with nothing to do.  Since two out of these three things rarely happen around here, the opportunities to actually enjoy this beer, are few and far between.
3) I'm pretty sure I am a beer hoarder, and deserve my own reality tv show (if the little freak called Honey Boo Boo can have one..)

Clearly, there are two solutions here. One, drink it.  I can assure you, this WILL happen, although these all may be really well aged  by then, and I may be sharing them on bingo night in the "home".  Or two, stop buying the stuff.  Uh, yeah.  I can also assure you this WILL NOT happen.  And in this case I'll be sharing the beer with my new boyfriend after my husband sees this picture and kicks me out (we know he won't do this though. For proof, re-read the first paragraph of this post).

Ahhh, such is the life I lead and the gut wrenching dilemmas I face...perhaps I will share with you the final outcome when "Beer Hoarders" takes over the "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" slot on TLC.

Until then, Happy Friday!
Cheers!
Becky

P.S. Here is a picture of the "beer" fridge...see, I TOLD you it was puny!