They go together like milk and cookies. They go together even better when the beer is on the house.
Sunday I had the opportunity to be one of the 12 judges for Town Hall’s Chili Cook Off and it was a blast. Scott was the only one I really knew but there were a few others I’ve seen before and the whole panel of judges seemed to have a great time. None of us were doing it just for the free beer but it was a nice perk.
There were 21 chilies entered but thankfully we didn’t have to try all of them; that would have been a lot of chili! As it was, each team of 3 judges sampled 5 entries in the first round and advanced their agreed upon top 2 to the semi-finals. There we each tried the additional 6 chilies the other judging groups had chosen.
The cream of the crop was evident so it really just came down to which chili would take the top spot. That honor ended up going to Pete, but since he wasn’t in contention for a prize, second place got the $200 gift certificate. I’m not sure who took home the people’s choice award as I had to leave before the chilies were even opened up to the public for a vote to get ready for a Superbowl party. I'll have to check that out the next time I'm up there.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Out late on a school night
Last night Kat and Scott graciously provided me a ride over to Stub & Herb’s for the Flat Earth & Lift Bridge tasting since Mag was in class and couldn’t partake in the fun until a bit later. When we showed up, just before the start of it at 7:00, there were already quite a few people there, enough so that we decided to grab a booth in the main bar area so we could get some food in before the drinking started in earnest.
Similar to the last tasting I attended, you could purchase a taster glass with tickets for one 5 oz pour of each of the beers they were showcasing. So last night’s tasting was Flat Earth’s Black Helicopter, Rode Haring, Cygnus X-1 Porter and Winter Warlock. Lift Bridge’s were Pale Ale, Biscotti, and Farm Girl. All for $5, plus one ticket for $1 off a pint of double-hopped Pale Ale…a pretty good deal as far as I was concerned.
Other than an incorrect name for one of the beers and a bit of a wait for some of the samples it seemed to be a much more organized event than in the past. Plus, Jeff, Cathie, Jim, Steve, Dan and Brad all took turns talking about their respective beers before the samples were poured. A nice way for people new to the brewers or their beers to get to know them a bit better and hopefully join us as fans of their fine work.
Mag was able to join us for about the last third of the tasting and thanks to Kat, managed to score one of the last pints out of the Lift Bridge cask. We finished off the last couple of beers in the tasting and the crowd started to thin out a bit. Switching over to pints I took the opportunity to enjoy the hard to find Rode Haring as Brad headed out with the now empty cask of dry hopped Pale.
At some point I saw someone’s watch. I believe it said 12:10. I almost fell over. How could it have gotten so late? So we headed home, with a detour to Wendy’s, and I believe I saw the clock say 1:23. Oh, it’s going to be a long day today.
Similar to the last tasting I attended, you could purchase a taster glass with tickets for one 5 oz pour of each of the beers they were showcasing. So last night’s tasting was Flat Earth’s Black Helicopter, Rode Haring, Cygnus X-1 Porter and Winter Warlock. Lift Bridge’s were Pale Ale, Biscotti, and Farm Girl. All for $5, plus one ticket for $1 off a pint of double-hopped Pale Ale…a pretty good deal as far as I was concerned.
Other than an incorrect name for one of the beers and a bit of a wait for some of the samples it seemed to be a much more organized event than in the past. Plus, Jeff, Cathie, Jim, Steve, Dan and Brad all took turns talking about their respective beers before the samples were poured. A nice way for people new to the brewers or their beers to get to know them a bit better and hopefully join us as fans of their fine work.
Mag was able to join us for about the last third of the tasting and thanks to Kat, managed to score one of the last pints out of the Lift Bridge cask. We finished off the last couple of beers in the tasting and the crowd started to thin out a bit. Switching over to pints I took the opportunity to enjoy the hard to find Rode Haring as Brad headed out with the now empty cask of dry hopped Pale.
At some point I saw someone’s watch. I believe it said 12:10. I almost fell over. How could it have gotten so late? So we headed home, with a detour to Wendy’s, and I believe I saw the clock say 1:23. Oh, it’s going to be a long day today.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Ambrosia
Chocolatey...coffeey...ambrosia. Jason and Mark weren’t kidding when they told me I should buy more than one bomber of it.
What delectable treat might I be speaking of? None other than Southern Tier Choklat. Black as night with minimal carbonation, an aroma of melted dark chocolate and mouthfeel smooth enough to fool you into thinking you’re actually eating a piece of quality dark chocolate instead of sipping on a beer. Weighing in at 11% ABV this is a perfect beer for enjoying at a relaxed pace in the cooler months of the year.
If you go out to pick some up and find there is none left you can blame that on me. I’m planning to pick up way more than my share of it, assuming Jason and Mark have left any on the Cellar’s shelves.
What delectable treat might I be speaking of? None other than Southern Tier Choklat. Black as night with minimal carbonation, an aroma of melted dark chocolate and mouthfeel smooth enough to fool you into thinking you’re actually eating a piece of quality dark chocolate instead of sipping on a beer. Weighing in at 11% ABV this is a perfect beer for enjoying at a relaxed pace in the cooler months of the year.
If you go out to pick some up and find there is none left you can blame that on me. I’m planning to pick up way more than my share of it, assuming Jason and Mark have left any on the Cellar’s shelves.
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