Hiatus

This was supposed to be a blog written by 2 people, but I find that I write most of it alone.  I just can't keep up with this one and my own blog alone, so this blog will be going on an indefinite hiatus.  If you are into quilty type things, you can find me on me personal blog here.

Otherwise, drink a lot of beer and I'll do the same...I just won't be posting about it. :)

Thanks to all the friends we made along the way and hope to see you at the next event!

Mary

A Blonde Moment

Well, it was bond to happen. All the pictures I need for my post about the beer tasting at Barley's are on a thumb drive that is sitting on my desk at work. I will post Monday morning.

If you're into quilty stuff, check out the quilty giveaway on my personal blog at http://www.quiltgenius.com.

Goose Island Beer Co. Beer Tasting at Jungle Jim's

While at Quilt Festival in Cincinnati, Holly and I hit the jackpot and found a beer tasting for Goose Island Brewery at Jungle Jim's.  YAY!

Do you remember the review of 312 from March?  See it here.

This was the first time I have ever been to a real beer tasting.  It was awesome!  We walked into the venue and there were plenty of tables to choose from.  We chose one near the front and sat down.

On each plate at the table, we find the papers above.  A list of the types of cheese on the table and a list of the beer that will be served.  Have I ever mentioned that 1:  I love cheese and 2:  I found out about a month ago that I am allergic to milk?  Well, as you can imagine, this made for quite the dilemma.

View of the table from my seat

This is what the table looked like when we sat down.  Remember this picture, because at the bottom of this post, you will see the after picture.

Getting ready for the presentation

 As we wait for the tasting to begin, we watch the final prep for the presentation and nibble on addictive bread with salt on the crust and cheese...yep...we had already begun to munch on cheese.  I love cheese.

This tasting included 10 beers from Goose Island.  the first beer to be delivered to our table was their most popular beer, 312.  In case you were wondering, 312 is the area code for Chicago...home of Goose Island Beer Co.

Due to the number of beers we tasted, we are simply giving a rating...

312 Urban Wheat Ale
Style: Urban Wheat
Alcohol by Volume: 4.2%
International Bitterness Units: 20
Color: Hazy Straw
Hops: Liberty, Cascade
Malts: 2 Row, Torrified Wheat

M - 4

H - 4

Summertime

Style: German Style Kölsch
Alcohol by Volume: 4.7%
International Bitterness Units: 20
Color: Sunshine
Hops: Mt. Hood, Saaz
Malt: 2 Row, Wheat

M - 3.5

H - 4

 

Sofie

Style: Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale
Alcohol by Volume: 6.5%
International Bitterness Units: 25
Color: Champagne
Hops: Amarillo
Malt: Pilsner, Wheat

M - 5

H - 3

Matilda

Style: Belgian Style Pale Ale
Alcohol by Volume: 7%
International Bitterness Units: 32
Color: Golden Sunrise
Hops: Styrian, Saaz
Malts: 2-Row, Caramel

M - 4

H - 5

 

Honker's Ale

Style: English Style Bitter
Alcohol By Volume: 4.2%
International Bitterness Units: 30
Color: Golden Sunset
Hops: Styrian Golding
Malts: 2 Row, Caramel, Wheat, Roasted Barley

 M - 4

 H - 5

Pepe Nero

Style: Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale
Alcohol by Volume: 6.0%
International Bitterness Units: 30
Color: Mahogany
Malt: Pilsner, Rye, Crystal Rye, Black Malt
Hops: Pilgrim, Saaz

M - 4

H - 4

Pere Jacques

Style: Belgian Style Abbey Ale
Alcohol by Volume: 8%
International Bitterness Units: 26
Color: Warm Molasses
Hops: Saaz
Malt: 2-Row, Wheat, Caramel, Rye Flakes, Special B

 M - 3.5

 H - 2

 

Dominique

M - 6

H - 6

Yep...we both gave it a 6!  This was the best beer ever.  You may notice that there isn't info available like the others.  That is because this beer was a mistake.  An awesome mistake!  They should have called it Serendipity...a happy accident. 

This beer used to be Matilda, went sour, got recalled, then put into bourbon barrels to age and re-released.  Awesome!  Someone deserves a raise.

 

India Pale Ale

Style: English Style India Pale Ale
Alcohol by Volume: 5.9%
International Bitterness Units: 55
Color: Bourbon
Hops: Styrian, Fuggle, Cascade, Centennial
Malts: Pale

M - 3

H - 2.5

Night Stalker

Style: Imperial Stout
Alcohol by Volume: 11.7%
International Bitterness Units: 60
Color: Midnight
Hops: Mt Hood, Simcoe
Malts: 2-Row, Munich, Chocolate, Caramel, Roasted Barley, De-Bittered Black

M - 0

H - 0.5

All factual information is from Goose Island's web site.  The rest is just our opinion.  We would love to hear your opinions if you have tried any of these... or if you know where we can get a hold of some more Dominique.

Lindsey Bonadonna and Eddie Anderson gave the presentation.  They were both very knowledgeable and funny.  I found the presentation both informative and amusing. 

As promised, here is what our table looked like after...

We also got to take these nice glasses home with us.

Thanks to Goose Island Beer Co.!

Just an FYI, but 2 friends, who were hungry to begin with and are now tipsy, should not be allowed to go shopping in Jungle Jim's (one of the biggest and coolest grocery stores ever!).  No bakery item, was safe!  This is just a couple of the items we purchased...

International Quilt Festival in Cincinnati!

Holly and I will be attending the International Quilt Festival in Cincinnati.  WooHoo!  We managed to get ourselves a hotel room attached to the convention center where the show is.  Yay for no extra parking fees!  We will definitely post pictures as we go. 

Mary

Review of a Half & Half (Guinness & Harp)

While we deviated a bit from our single beer review...It's March...St. Patrick's day...the more beer the better. (Also a good daily philosophy) lol! So, we made Half and Halfs! I will say I was sold on this idea when I saw the Lagerhead Black & Tan turtle by Brutul (pronounced brew-tool) The idea is that you pour the cold Harp into the beer glass and then settle the cute little turtle on top of the glass and pour the Guinness over top of it. The turtle will disperse the Guinness evenly and it will float atop the Harp. In theory. I think I need more practice and more head left on the bottom layer to prevent mixing. Still tasty tho! I found out that I like Guinness, it rich and thick and smooth. A little sweet and very substantial, I was a little scared because most people I talked to said they didn't particularly care for it. "Guinness is so thick you can chew it!" But, I guess it's an acquired taste. Like olives (yum). Or blue cheese (ew). I hate to say tho that after drinking through the Guinness, I didn't really taste the Harp. Of course, that couldn't possibly be due to my inexperience of making this drink! Lol!
Holly

Lagerhead Turtle from Brutul

All I can say about the half and half is that the Harp made the Guinness drinkable.  I am not a Guinness fan.  I have no idea what Harp tastes like not mixed with Guinness because my half and half was pretty thoroughly mixed.  It was pretty, though.  As it mixed after being poured, it looked a bit like amber with the dark swirling slowly into the light.  I would like to try one that is poured like the picture one of these days.
Mary

Please note, our Random Guy is still working on his review.  I will add it in later.  :)

Weekend Off

Well, Holly and I took our first weekend off, so there is no block for this past week and no beer review.  I went to a quilting retreat.  See what I worked on here.

And...just because every post deserves a picture, here is a T-shirt quilt I made for a firefighter that broke his pelvis in 2 places.

Review of Siberian Night Imperial Ale

This week, we taste tested Thirsty Dog Brewing Company's Siberian Night Imperial Ale.  Wow, that was a mouthful!

This is all the brewing company had to say about this particular beer...

From Thirsty Dog Brewing Co website

So...on to the reviews!

I poured this beauty into a Sam Adams perfect pint, there was a small head and no lacing as I drank the Siberian night away. By Siberian Night they mean black as night, this stuff is dark and could scare off an amateur based on its looks. The aroma had hints of roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, and a little alcohol. The taste is what I expect from an imperial stout. Smooth with hints of caramel and a lingering roastiness of the malts and sweet chocolate. The alcohol is hidden well for the 9.7 ABV. I could easily drink this beer all night.
Jim McCord, Random Guy

Siberian Night Imperial Stout smells like chocolate! This stout is deep dark red-brown in color. Slightly bitter with a faint burnt caramel taste and has no taste of chocolate what so ever. I am not much a fan of darker brews. That said, I am not much a fan of this beer either. I give Siberian Night 2 out of 5 thimbles.
Holly

Siberian Night is dark...really dark.  I tried holding it up to the light, and still could not see through it.  It was so dark that the foam was a light brown color.  It smelled of chocolate and coffee...yummmmchocolate and coffee.  It did not taste like it smelled.  It was very strong and bitter.  The after taste was better than the taste.  I give this beer 1.5 thimbles.
Mary

Anna's Anchor - J8

This week, we completed Anna's Anchor.  Keep Reading for the steps!

Paper-Pieced:

Paper Piecing template printed from EQ6

Use the Paper Piecing templates to make 2 of these

Join the 2 pieces from the previous step together as shown

All you have to do now is add on the other 2 sides

Holly's completed Paper Pieced Anna's Anchor Block

Mary's completed Paper-Pieced Anna's Anchor Block

Template Pieced:

Step 1: Cut out all the templates

Start building your block as seen in steps 2, 3 and 4 above.

You should have 2 of the competed squares on the left and 2 of the completed triangle units in the middle.  Sew a triangle unit to a square unit...twice.

Sew the 2 units together and then sew the borders on.

Mary's completed template pieced Anna's Anchor block

Review of Goose Island's 312

Photo from Goose Island Brewery web site

This week, we taste tested a beer called 312 from Goose Island brewery in Chicago.  Some people have been asking us where we get the beer and/or how we select our beer.  I can say that most of our beer selections come from World Market, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and the Anderson's.  In the future, I will try to list the specific location for each beer.  As for how we select our beer, it is on some very important criteria.

1. Is the label pretty?

2. Is the name interesting?

3. Is the cap itself (because we are keeping them) pretty and unique?

4. Suggestions from our friends and followers.  Feel free to make us suggestions.  If it is a hard to find beer, help us out and include where we can get it in your comment.  And hey, if you feel like you would like to provide us with 3 bottles of your favorite brew for us to review on the blog, feel free.  :)

 
the Facts
Style: Urban Wheat
Alcohol by Volume: 4.2%
International Bitterness Units: 20
Color: Hazy Straw
Hops: Liberty, Cascade
Malts: 2 Row, Torrified Wheat

Serving Suggestions from the brewery

Preferred Glass: Tall
Food Pairings: Salads, Fish
Cheese Pairings: Fresh Chevre, Buffalo Mozzarella
Cellaring Notes: Enjoy within 180 days

Wow...we are late posting the beer review this week.  Just barely making it under the wire before we taste next week's beer.  LOL

I decided to add something else new.  We will now have the facts about the beer at the top of every review and, if offered, serving suggestions from the brewery.

When I judge a beer, here's what I judge it on: Would I buy it again? I wouldn't buy this one again. It was okay, smooth for a malt. I'm not much of a malt liquor guy. 

Paul Nicholson, Random Guy

312 Urban Wheat Ale has a light citrusy scent. It's got a pretty pineapple/orange juice color. 312 is smooth, but really fizzy. Kind of tastes like blue moon (my usual bar staple when I'm out with the guys) I give 312 4 thimbles.

Holly

Let's start with 'I liked it'.  It had a refreshing smell and a light buttery color.  The only drawback was the ridiculous amount of carbonation in the beer.  WOW.  It bubbled like crazy.  Other than the carbonation (which of course, causes the burps), it was a good beer.  I give it 4 out of 5 thimbles.
Mary

Have you tried 312?  What did you think?  Leave us a comment!