Trashy Blonde

Perfect at the end of a great day on the slopes...

Trashy Blonde - Blonde Ale
Three Barrel Brewing Company
Del Norte, Colorado

Sledding and beer day

I'm not going to lie ... I enjoyed all these beers (except the Red Rye-deR, which I recall being thankful that Jason was there volunteering to finish it off) but can tell you nearly nothing specific about any of them. 

We were too busy sledding, eating leftover Christmas cookies, sledding, chasing kids and having fun for me (or anyone else in the group) to be bothered to study or analyze any of these delicious brews.

Salvation Belgian-Style Golden Ale
Avery Brewing Company
Boulder, Colorado

Holidale - Ale Aged in Whiskey Barrels (7.4% ABV)
Bottle #425 of 480
Breckenridge Brewery
Breckenridge, Colorado

Kickin' Chicken - Bourbon Barrel Aged Barley Wine Ale
Santa Fe Brewing Company
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Red Rye-deR (6.1% ABV)
Twisted Pine Brewing Company
Boulder, Colorado

Some No-Li slopeside suds

Silent Treatment Pale Ale (5% ABV)
No-Li Brewhouse
Spokane, Washington

Skiing is a lot like riding a bike.  You never forget.  But that doesn't mean that your first day on the slopes each season is pretty either.  And mine never is.  Despite teaching indoor cycling 1-2 days a week and carrying around a 30lb toddler the rest of the week, my legs were BURNING after about 6 runs with my good fast-talking friend, our 2 friends from Colorado and my amazing sister.  All of whom are much much much better than I am - which often forces me to ski outside my "lollygagging down a groomed black" comfort zone.  I love them for this.

So the first day usually ends with me at the bar by 2pm.  This year was no different.

One of the best things about skiing in Colorado is the amazing beers that are available on the slopes at most all ski resorts.  PBR in a can?  No thanks.  Could you give me that beer that I've never heard of before?  Oh, and an extra cup please?

The brewing industry is quite fascinating to me.  The more I read about breweries, the more interested I become in this culture.  And the more breweries I visit - the more I fall in love with everyone in the "craft beer" industry.  They're all regular people chasing their dreams -- one pint at a time.

Anyway, at the end of the day I ended up with a bottle of "Silent Treatment" from No-Li Brewhouse.  New to me. The beer itself is nothing exceptional or different, but it is a solid "session" beer and goes down easy.  I would order this again if I ever saw it.  If I had a tap in my house (Santa -- are you reading?), I'd even go so far to say I'd buy a pony keg and keep it around for a while.  Easy drinking.  Mass pleasing.

I was curious about the brewery name though: How do you pronounce it?  What does it mean?  Surely there is a story behind a name like this...

Ahhhhh the joys of the interwebs.  It always has the answers to my questions.

Turns out, some dude...just like you (my invisible reader) and me, took a risk and chased his dream.  Northern Lights Brewing Company opened in 1993 in Spokane. They operated as Northern Lights until 2012 when they changed their name to No-Li.  After years of brewing as Northern Lights, the brewery learned that they another craft brewery on the East Coast had a claim on the name "Northern Lights."  Apparently this sort of thing happens all the time with 1,800+ craft breweries but ususally is settled over beers without attorneys.  Not this one.  The other brewery gave what is now No-Li the cold shoulder (one could say the...Silent Treatment) and the owners decided to just shorten their brewery name from Northern Lights to No-Li, as "a subtle nod to how they candidly brew their beers and run their business." 

Recommendations:  ski hard.  Chase your dreams. 

Score:  4.5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system

Nipple Mountain and Holy Mole

Nipple Mountain Nip (left) and Holy Mole
Pagosa Brewing Company
Pagosa Springs, Colorado

In an attempt to taste test ALL their beers, I spent another day at the brewery for lunch.  But this time was better because my sister accompanied me.

According to the brewer, "Nip is our richest and most full-bodied beer to date. An American Barleywine, it's aged for months. The luscious velvety texture is balanced with a huge amount of classic America hops, which includes dry hopping for a heady hop aroma. At 10.5% ABV it's meant to be slow-sipping, but is also dangerously drinkable & smooth."  I'm normally not much of a barleywine fan - but I didn't realize this was a barleywine until after I already had a glass in front of me.  I must admit - it was quite delicious.  It was smooth and it was heavy but not syrupy.  It was heavy but light.

The Holy Mole is a Mayan influenced brown ale.  Ale is brewed with real chocolate, red chilies and special spices.  This was not my beer so I only had a few sips of it.  It was full of flavor, that's for sure.  I couldn't quite tell what was going on, but it was good.  Not great, but good.  I would certainly give it another try.

Liquid Colorado

Burnt Toast Brown Ale
Three Barrel Brewing Company
Boulder, Colorado

The Reverent - Belgian-Style Quadrupel Ale
Avery Brewing Company
Boulder, Colorado

Big Shot Seasonal Ale
The Fort Collins Brewery
Fort Collins, Colorado

The proof is in the powder: these are my tracks from 2 runs earlier in the day...

Ski-Trip Friday Night

Stranahan's Well Built ESB (7.8% ABV) - Bottle No. 6828
Breckenridge Brewery
Breckenridge, Colorado

After a day on the slopes for most of the gang and a day running around trying to find an Urgent Care clinic in a small mountain town and then trying to fill a new antibiotic for the munchkin at a grocery store where I've never filled a prescription before, we were all eager to crack open a few of the fantastic beers my sister had been stockpiling in her house waiting to bring on the trip to share.

First up, Stranahan's Well Built ESB.  Produced and bottled by Breckenridge Brewery (coincidentally one of my least favorite breweries in the world).  According to Breckenridge Brewery, "This extra special brew was well built intentionally. In team effort with our neighbors and Colorado's own, Stranahan's Whiskey Distillery, we combined the warming malt notes and pronounced hop characteristics of our Small Batch ESB with their ambrosial whiskey flavors to create the first ever collaboration of its kind. Aged for 6 months in Well Built Oak Whiskey Barrels."

Normally I think that the aftertaste of an ESB reminds me of the aftertaste associated with the first few bites of bubble gum.  Not Trident bubble gum -- I'm talking about legit Bubble Yum Bubble Gum.  But this ESB was different and much better than most I've had.  You definitely taste the whiskey, but not in a bad way. And not in a hits-you-in-the-face kind of way either. In a good way.  A very good way.

On The Sly Again #21
Ska Brewing Company
Durango, Colorado

Tropic King Imperial Saison (8% ABV)
Funkwerks
Fort Collins, Colorado

Fireside Powder Day

Powder Day IPA (6.7% ABV)
Pagosa Brewing Company
Pagosa Springs, Colorado

If any of you read this blog on a somewhat regular basis, you may recall that over the years I have developed a love-hate relationship with Pagosa Brewing Company.  And for those of you reading this who don't read this blog regularly, please know that I have a love-hate relationship with Pagosa Brewing Company.

The love part obviously stems from the fact that, I love local breweries.  And well, they make a wide variety of good-to-great beers.  And they are the only brewery in town.

The hate part stems from their silly growler refill rules (which I understand are a result of having a small bar and a limited bar staff, but jeez -- please brainstorm a way to make it easier for thirsty people to buy your product) and the one or two snotty waitresses I've had to interact with during my infrequent wintertime visits.

But the love part always wins and I always pay them multiple visits to the brewery during our annual vacation.

There are always so many beers - and such a wide variety of them - on tap and I always want to try them ALL.

As I mentioned in a previous post, while I was at home playing in the snow with my daughter (I should add that this was her first snow experience) on a perfect powder day, the rest of the crew was shredding it up in knee-deep powder.  After making a trip to the brewery for lunch, we brought a growler of the Powder Day IPA home to share with the group.  We made a fire and sat around on the lumpy couches in the awkwardly arranged family room and killed the growler in no time.

Seriously.  I wasn't lying about the powder that day.  A good friend of ours took the picture below of The Husband making first tracks off the top somewhere. Amazing.

A powder day lesson in parenting

Great Pumpkin Ale
Pagosa Brewing Company
Pagosa Springs, Colorado

Being a parent is by far one of the coolest things...until you are on vacation in Colorado and it is snowing by the bucket outside and you are the one who has to stay home because your kid is too young to hit the slopes with you. 

<sigh>

For a very brief minute, undoubtedly right as everyone else is heading out the door for the day, you imagine yourself flying down the mountain (with much better skills than you actually possess) with said small kid stuffed in a backpack with a million blankets and hats wrapped around her.  She is so warm and cozy and even wearing the extra pair of ski goggles you happened to bring along.  But then you laugh at yourself because you remember that your life is not a cartoon and that things like that only work in cartoons because in real life -- it would actually be very, very stupid.

So while everyone else is out enjoying the 12+ inches of fresh powder on the slopes, you make the executive decision to pack up the youngster into the trusty all-wheel drive family truckster and head for the nearest brewery.

By the way -- for those of you who live in areas of the world that require your kids to wear coats -- how the hell do you deal with the coat + carseat combo on a daily basis?!?  OMG -- what a pain!



You and your munchkin, who happens to look a lot like Ralphie's little brother Randy in her snowsuit, arrive at the brewery 5 minutes after the brewery opens (it's magical how these things work out) and select the warmest table in the corner farthest away from the door.  It has a window so you can continue to watch the buckets of snow fall outside.

The super friendly waitress appears and delivers some crayons and a coloring book.  AWESOME.  You order up a beer, a milk and a few grilled cheese sandwiches.  While you wait, you color a few pictures in a coloring book that is 99% full provided by the brewery using the remnants of a bucket of the super-cheap brand of crayons from approximately 10 years ago.  You gaze out the window and know that the snow is amazing on the mountain.  You turn back around and tend to your munchkin who looks at you and says "love you mommy" and then you realize you don't care what the snow is like on the mountain because you're on the best lunch date ever.

So you pick up a growler of Powder Day IPA to take home to share with the rest of the group who has been making fresh tracks and sailing through knee-deep powder all day when they get home.  You aren't jealous anymore because you get to hang out with a very special little person ... the little person you created. 


Score : 3.5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system. I'm a pumpkin beer snob though so I'm not sure that this is a fair or accurate assessment and rating of this beer.

Let the 5th annual powdercation begin!!

After 9 hours in the car with two kids and a styrofoam cooler rubbing against the back of the car (the noise styrofoam makes when rubbed, twisted or slid across any surface = nails on a chalkboard for me), it was so wonderful to arrive at our destination only to find wonderful friends and family members already there with chilled beers in hand and plenty to spare.  And so begins our 5th annual Colorado powdercation.

While driving from Denver, my sister noticed the San Luis Valley Brewing Company along the way.  And because she is 100% awesome, she stopped and picked up a growler of their seasonal smoky red to share with the group.  It was delicious - although admittedly it was somewhat light on the smoky flavor.

Seasonal Smoky Red
San Luis Valley Brewing Company
Alamosa, Colorado

Recommendations : take a powdercation.  Just don't hog all the powder on the slopes.

Score : 3.5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system.

T'was the night before Christmas...

T'was the night before Christmas, and all through the house,

I sat on the couch with my beer and my spouse.

While stuffing stockings, and hanging with care
 I lost my bottle of beer and didn't know where.
I found it eventually, but now it was warm,
so I got out a bowl, which caused quite a storm.
He knew what was coming, but didn't dare fuss --

He sat very still until I said "go get it GusGus."

Jubelale (6.7% ABV)
Deschutes Brewery
Bend, Oregon

As always, Deschutes produced a great winter beer.  I didn't think that there was anything spectacular about this beer, but it was good and easy to drink.  Didn't get the "winter warmer" vibe that it advertised, but none-the-less, another solid beer.


Score : 4 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system.

Desert's newest Eagle

The Husband and I had been trying for weeks to visit Mesa's newest brewery, Desert Eagle Brewing Company.  FINALLY.  

The tasting room is cozy and the outdoor patio is right along Main Street, offering beer drinkers plenty of shade and people watching opportunities. Our toddler appreciated the beer snacks and the live "Mismas" music playing in one corner of the bar.  All the beers we tried were good.  The Husband especially enjoyed the Buzz Bomb IPA. 

Warning:  if you are planning to go and taste a few beers with your small kids in tow --- there are no highchairs and there is no food (other than beer snacks).  Plan accordingly.

Buzz Bomb IPA (left) and Rye Pale Ale (right)
Desert Eagle Brewing Company
Mesa, Arizona

Recommendations: tons of good beers on tap.  Come thirsty but bring your own snacks.

Tim Tam Slam

Disclaimer: the following post has nothing to do with beer.

Our good friends, Mike and Alan, were in town from Australia over the holidays (don't even get me started on the amount of time they were able to take off work for their holiday), but between the kids schedules and work and the upcoming holidays and our inability to find a babysitter, we decided to have a small dinner party at our house to catch up with them.

After everyone was finished choking down my dry chicken (blue cheese and bacon stuffed) and discussing the fine art of riding bikes and home brewing beer, we got around to dessert (candy cane brownies and ice cream).  They were kind enough to bring us 3 packages of Tim Tam cookies - so we brewed up some coffee and opened a package of the delicious Aussie cookies.

I'm not really sure how the sequence of events went, but eventually Mike and Alan were teaching all of us how to do the Tim Tam Slam.  We all thought they were nuts.

Turns out, it is a real thing:
http://www.wikihow.com/Do-the-Tim-Tam-Slam

Tyna captured an action shot of my Tim Tam Slam failure.

Rocket Dog Rye

Poured up with lots of head (pic below was the result of a gentle pour). 

Smelled like it had potential to be good.  Turns out it was not bad but also not very good. 

Rocket Dog Rye IPA (6.9% ABV)
Laughing Dog Brewing
Ponderay, Idaho

Score : 2 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system.

Sour Apple Saison

Tart.  Dry.  Sour ... but not as sour as I hoped.  Lots of flavors going on in one beer.  Too many flavors I think.  Disappointing considering the other fantastic brews that Epic puts out regularly.

Sour Apple Saison (8.1% ABV)
Epic Brewing - Exponential Series
Salt Lake City, Utah

Score : 2 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system.  Not a fan.  I didn't finish my glass...

Miller-style house party

We stopped by a housewarming party for a friend of mine from Wisconsin.  A few of the people at the party knew about the beer blog so they made sure to save me the last can of Milwaukee's Beast PREMIUM.  I'm pretty sure they were expecting me to turn my nose up at such a beer.  

Hand it over.  After all, at some point - all watery domestics taste pretty much the same.

Milwaukee's Best Premium (4.5% ABV)
Miller Brewing Company
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Recommendations : drink this only when necessary.  And be sure never to pay for beer like this.

Score : 1 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system.

Sleepy Dog

After we finished our Christmas shopping, we decided to take a load off and ended up sitting around watching "The Usual Suspects" on a Saturday afternoon at the Sleepy Dog Brewery.

Left: Oktobetfest Marzen (5.5%) 
Right: Bernese Mountain Dog, a combination of Monje Azul (Belgian Blue Agave Blonde) and Wet Stout Milk Stout
Sleepy Dog Brewery
Tempe, Arizona

Recommendations: check out Sleepy Dog Brewery in their current location in Tempe. Sit around and play boardgames with friends while enjoying delicious beer.  Then be sure to check out their new location in Gilbert, scheduled to open February 15, 2013.
Score : 5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system. 

Christmas Freshies

Decorating for Christmas is one of my least favorite things to do.  It's not that I don't enjoy Christmas or Christmas decorations ... it's that I hate the act of decorating.  For one, I'm not good at decorating.  It's just not my thing.  If you've been to our house, you know this.  Also, I hate feeling like I have to clean the house so I can set little ceramic trinkets around on the shelf, dust them throughout the month, and then carefully put them all away and lug the giant box back out into the garage.

To make it somewhat more enjoyable, I pulled out a new beer...

Chasin' Freshies - Fresh Hop IPA (7.4% ABV)
Deschutes Brewery
Bend, Oregon

Score : 4 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system. 

Suburban bonfire beers

Cracked the following beers one chilly Arizona night while sitting around our first (but not last) ever suburban backyard campfire...

I love me some pumpkin beers.  And I always love me some local beers.  But sadly, this one had way too much spice for my taste buds.  Not a fan.

Pumpkin Springs Porter (ABV unknown)
Grand Canyon Brewing Company
Williams, Arizona

On the other hand, this one was very nice.  Goose Island always delivers.  It was quite a bit darker than I expected although I'm not sure why I expected it to be a light beer.  Perhaps I should have queued off the dark bottle art.  Anyway, I bet it would be absolutely outstanding from a nitro tap.

Pepe Nero - 2011 (6% ABV)
Goose Island Beer Company
Chicago, Illinois

White Chocolate boom

A new location for Girls Night Out resulted in a big time score.  We switched it up from our normal 3-4 rotating spots and went to BoomBozz Taphouse in Gilbert Town Square.  I read an article about this place almost a year ago before it opened and have been meaning to go check it out but it slipped off my radar.  The Husband went one night while I was out of town with the kids and didn't give me many details -- I think he didn't want me to get jealous that he was out without the kids.  Or he wanted to keep it a secret.  Jerk.

White Chocolate Ale (4.7% ABV)
Sonoran Brewing Company
Scottsdale, Arizona

Aside from our brand-new waitress (who was in training and accompanied by a more experienced waitress), I have glowing things to say about this place.  The overly doughy Boston's Restaurant won't be missed - BoomBozz is definitely a welcome addition to the east valley suburbs.

Most importantly: the beer selection, both on tap and bombers/bottles, is awesome.  But don't worry...if you're the kind of person who is overwhelmed by craft beers with funky tap handles and bizarre names, they still have your standard watery domestics available as well.  Second, all the appetizers were good (for what it's worth, I highly recommend the goat cheese marinara dish) and reasonably priced.  And finally, there is a fantastic patio (with heaters) and tons of big screens inside to watch any/all the games.

I sampled a few different beers, but the most interesting beer of the evening was the White Chocolate Ale (which, according to their website is actually a wheat) from Sonoran Brewing Company.  When the waitress delivered my beer, I was surprised to see it wasn't dark.  Chocolate = dark in my mind. I didn't expect a light beer.  Ahhh the powers of marketing.  I tasted the beer and didn't get an overwhelming chocolate.  I drank some water and ate some plain fries.  I sipped it again.  Still a very subtle hint of chocolate.  I sniffed it -- AHHHHHHH HA!  After smelling it, the taste suddenly became very obvious to me.  It wasn't the same chocolate flavor as a candy bar or chocolate chip cookies.  It is an earthier and more natural version of chocolate.  It was perfect.


Recommendations : smell this beer before you taste it.  The smell is amazing.  It is obviously chocolate-related but the smell is so familiar and yet so unique that I was failing miserable to describe it without using the word chocolate (which seems like cheating).


Score : 5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system. 

Homebrew 2: Poore Pumpkin Amber

If you are a regular blog reader (seriously, do I have any readers?), you'll know that I am a sucker for pumpkin beers.  I clean off the shelves in the store in early September when they begin to arrive and then hoard them in the guest room with hopes that I can make them last as long as possible.

This year I decided to solve that problem myself.  I made my own.  Unfortunately, I started my brew a bit later than I should have and then life happened and it sat in the fermenting bucket longer than I hoped so we are just now getting around to drinking it.

So I started with a standard recipe for an amber ale and then threw in a can of condensed pumpkin.  Yup, just tossed it right in there.  But after that I was a bit miffed on how to proceed.  I knew I needed the standard assortment of spices that accompany pumpkin, but how much?  And what ratio?!?  If I over-spice this, it will be gross ... like liquid potpourri.  If I under-spice this brew, it will just be lame.  As I stood there in my kitchen over the boiling mash drinking a beer of some sort (pumpkin, no doubt), I spotted a pie dish.  My brain thought of pumpkin pie.  Ironically, I am not a fan of pumpkin pie for the most part (it's the consistency -- not the flavor).  But as a kid, I would've died for a slice of pumpkin pie...especially my Gramma Poore's pumpkin pie.  So I dove into my recipe book and found her recipe for pumpkin pie.  I reviewed the ingredients and decided to spice my beer based on how Gramma spiced her pies.

After I tossed in the spices, the house smelled amazingly like pumpkin pie.  I crossed my fingers and sealed the lid on the fermenting bucket.  Nearly a month later, we bottled.  9 days later, we tasted...

Poore Pumpkin Amber (~6% ABV)
Suburban Suds Brewery
Chandler, Arizona

HOLY AWESOMENESS.  Is this really possible?  It's thin and clean.  Smooth and spicy.  It's pumpkin, but not in your face pumpkin like some brews.  It's spicy but, in my opinion, not over-spiced.  It needs a few more days in the bottles to add some additional carbonation, but wow, I am excited to have more.

It seems like only a few years ago she was sitting at the table in our house in Virginia stirring her world famous fudge with a wooden spoon.  I recently found an old stuffed animal (dog) that she gave me ... the one that if you wind it up, he wags his tail and plays "How much is that doggie in the window".  I remember when she used to come stay with us at our house in Maryland, I would come into her room in the morning with the dog all wound up and let it go right in her face so that the tail would tickle her nose.  She always laughed at me.  Now that I'm an adult, I am surprised she never grabbed it from me and threw it at me -- I know I would have.


Cheers to you Gramma Poore!!! You are a beautiful and amazing woman and I want to thank you (again) for everything you have taught me over the years.  I love you so much.  


Recommendations: pour into a glass and take a few sips.  After a few minutes when the beer has warmed, take a few more.  Let me know what you think. 

Score: 4.5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system, but I may be biased.

If I was near you today, I'd give you a big hug ... just like this.

Seven years ago you helped me make my first ever Christmas turkey when you came to Arizona for Christmas.
My boyfriend brought a dozen red roses to dinner to win you over. 
I guess he did since I ended up marrying him three years later.

Thank you for always loving and supporting me.

Block party flop

Kudos to the City of Chandler for attempting to have a random Saturday ROCK THE BLOCK in Downtown Chandler, but man, to the random attendee...it appeared to be a pathetic attempt at throwing a party.  It was advertised as having a 15,000 SF kids play area and "beer gardens".  We never did find the kids play area, unless you were counting the area where the cheap carnival rides and mechanical bull were located ... which doesn't translate to "kids play area" in my book.  We did find ONE beer truck with 5 different kinds of beer (Coors Light, Blue Moon, Miller Light, SanTan Epicenter), each selling for $5 in a plastic cup. Really?  You've gotta be kidding me --- the SanTan brewery is 50 steps in the other direction!!!

So...rather than pay $5 for beer in a plastic cup and be confined to a fenced off area in a parking lot with no sources of entertainment for adults OR kids, we wondered over to the brewery.  Unlike many people, The Husband and I both are not huge fans of SanTan Brewing Company's beers.  We both really want to like them because it's the only brewery near our house, but we are almost always disappointed with their beers.  Don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying that they're BAD because they aren't bad by any means.  They're just not as good as I want them to be.

Lucky for us, SanTan had a good selection of non-SanTan beers on tap, including the Smidy Stout from Oskar Blues.  The description on the SanTan menu read: 

If you're going to write the description yourself for all to see -- you should take a second to make sure you spell the name of the beer and the name of the brewery correctly...or at least consistently.

 A stout made with a lager yeast?  The Husband's decided to try it and see what this is all about...

Smidy Stout (4.8% ABV)
Oskar Blues
Colorado, USA

Recommendations:  I'm had no idea you could make a stout with a lager yeast, but this tastes great. Clearly I have a lot to learn for my home brewing to evolve to great levels.  This was a fantastic choice for a chilly fall afternoon sitting on the patio watching the storm clouds roll in.

Score: 3.75 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system

Get out your sweaters...

My first thought after pouring and tasting this beer was: syrup.  It felt like I had sweaters on my teeth after just one taste. Ugh.  I was not excited to finish my glass so I picked up a few things around the house and avoided it for a while.

When I rediscovered my beer a bit later, I tasted it again.  MUCH BETTER.  To my surprise, the beer was no longer the consistency of syrup on my tongue but somehow it was now magically lighter and creamier.  Smoother.  Quite delicious even.

Voo Doo American Stout (8.5% ABV)
Left Coast Brewery
San Clemente, California

Recommendations:  take a sip after you pour it straight from the fridge.  If you don't love it, wait a few minutes and give it another try.  Have a cracker or a snack handy to nibble on while you enjoy this one.

Score: 4.5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system

So fresh and so clean, clean...

For the past few months, I've been looking for some "fresh" hopped beers.  I read an article about the style and wanted to see what all the buzz was about.  Saw this on the shelf at Total Wine and snatched it.  Waited for a chill night on the couch and then popped it open --- HOT DAMN.

This is one of the cleanest beers I think I've ever had in my life.  Even The Husband, who is currently as congested as can be, noted how clean and refreshing this was after the first sip.

Fresh Hop Pale Ale (6.1% ABV)
Great Divide Brewing Company
Denver, Colorado

Recommendations: awesome.  If you can find it, buy it.  Drink one as soon as you chill it.  If you have access to this on tap, consider yourself lucky and order one.  Thank me later.

Score: 5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system

Finally, a viable Third Party Candidate

Regardless of who I voted for and who you, the phantom beer blog reader, voted for in the 2012 election, I think that we can all agree that a viable third party would benefit many of the voters in this country.

Both President Obama and Governor Romney spent much of their time campaigning in an attempt to try to appeal to and ultimately capture the independent vote...which clearly indicates that this is a growing group of voters.  There are many issues where I agree with the Republican party and there are many issues where I agree with the Democratic party and there are many issues that I believe shouldn't be issues that require the President of the United States to address or regulate.

Despite the fact that I cannot identify myself 100% either party, every four years I am forced to cast my vote for either a Republican or a Democrat, both of which are generally either giant douche bags or turd sandwiches. 

True, there is often a third-party candidate on the ballot but often this candidate never seems to win.  In fact, the last time a third-party candidate received a vote from the electoral college (don't get me started on this) was 1832.

Furthermore, to date, there have only been three Presidents in office without a major party affiliation: George Washington, John Tyler, and Andrew Johnson.  And only one of those was elected by the people, George Washington, who served his entire term as an independent. Both John Tyler and Andrew Johnson were not elected to President but rather were Vice Presidents who ascended to office upon the death of a president.  After the transition to President, both men evolved into independents because they were unpopular with the party they were previously affiliated with. John Tyler was elected on the Whig ticket in 1840 with William Henry Harrison but was expelled by his own party. Andrew Johnson was elected with Abraham Lincoln on the National Union ticket in 1864.

Third Party Candidate Imperial Amber Ale (10% ABV)
Clown Shoes Brewery and Three Heads Brewing
Ipswich, Massachusetts and Rochester, New York

Recommendations: solid brew.  Strong.  Pour into a glass and allow it to warm to somewhere between fridge temp and room temp.  Think about what it is that matters to you and then the next time you are asked to vote --- vote for what you believe in.  And if that means voting for a third party candidate (and throwing your vote away) -- then do it.  The system, and the country that we all claim to love so much, will never change if we all continue to grit our teeth, hold our nose, roll our eyes, bitch and moan and then cast our vote for either the turd sandwich or the giant douche because we know one of them will win anyway.

Score: 4 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system

Sleepy Dog

One of my favorite breweries in Arizona happens to be Sleepy Dog Brewery in Tempe.  Their beer is always solid.  I haven't really ever tried a beer of theirs that I didn't like.  The atmosphere at the brewery is perfect.  And it's beer based around dogs, which I happen to have a soft spot for now that I'm a dog owner.

The Red Rover Amber is no exception to my above-mentioned reasons for loving Sleepy Dog.  It is an easy-drinking amber with a hint of chocolate.  Perfect for a chilly (well, what we consider chilly after 4 months of 100 degree nights) fall night in Arizona.

Red Rover Amber Ale (6.5% ABV)
Sleepy Dog Brewery
Tempe, Arizona

Recommendations: open a bottle to share.  Sit outside and relish the fact that you are finally able to wear a long sleeve shirt for reasons other than UV protection.

Score: 4.75 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system

One perk of early voting...

...is that you can research each candidate (should you choose), complain out loud about whatever you want without getting dirty looks from those around you AND get to do it all with a glass of beer in your hand.

Namaste Witbier (5.0% ABV)
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Milton, Deleware

Recommendations: don't be impatient and then listen to your wife when she suggests that you fill out your ballot with a Sharpie to try to save time.  It bleeds through and forces you to go to the polls on election day to re-vote.  The Husband can tell you all about this.  Oops.

Score: 3.5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system.  This rating probably isn't completely accurate because before this beer the last beer I had (the day before) was my own Wit/Saison blend.  It is better but I am also shamefully bias towards my own home brew.  If I hadn't just had my own home brew, I would probably give this a 4 out of 5.

Citizen, defined

Citizen is a word used on a somewhat regular basis.  I'm sure I defined it a million times in my 8th grade Civics class with Ms. Burnett who was probably 99 years old in 1995 and I'm pretty sure she wore cutoff condoms on her fingers because they were so cracked and dry.  But when I sat down tonight to write about being a citizen, I couldn't define it in words.  I know what it means ... but I couldn't define it.  So, thanks to Al Gore and the interwebs, I looked it up.

According to Business Dictionary, citizen is defined as "a person who is entitled to enjoy all the legal rights and privileges granted by a state to the people comprising its constituency, and is obligated to obey its laws and to fulfill his or duties as called upon. Also called national."


I toyed with the idea of turning this into a discussion of the electoral college and how I think it's bull$hit because I feel like my vote, as a resident of the State of Arizona, is worth less than that of someone in my previous home state of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Lucky for you the anonymous reader (does anyone actually read this?) I decided against it because tonight, for the first night in many nights ... I can watch TV without listening to political ads.  So I think I'll do that instead if there's anything on other than election coverage and lame shows like "Dancing With the Stars" and "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo."  Hopefully I've got some old episodes of "Mad Men" saved on the DVR.

The Citizen (7% ABV)
Belgian-Style Pale
DC Brau
Washington D.C.

The side of the can teaches me that only 49 years ago, "In 1963, the citizens of Washington DC won the right to vote for the president and vice president of the United States, with the ratification of the 23rd amendment to the Constitution."

Recommendations: so far everything I've had from DC Brau has been worthwhile.  Support them if you can.

Score: 3.5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system

Thanks to John and Sarah for sending this our way!!

Presidential-style fermentation

A month or so ago while I was roaming the aisles of Total Wine after work one day (as I often do), I saw this bottle on the shelf.  AHHHHH-HA!  Perfect.  While it broke my price per bomber rule of thumb (i.e. more than $10 for a bomber is too much unless it is a gift), I grabbed it with the intent to put this little gem in the closet and drink it during one of the upcoming debates. 


According to the CEO of DC Brau, the name of the beer "commemorates the fact that D.C. residents have no say in Congress, and Utah beer drinkers feel they have little say in its Mormon-dominated state legislature."  According to Epic's outside sales manager, "Utah’s beer tax amounts to a 72 percent markup and 'strong' beers — those over 4 percent alcohol by volume — can only be sold through Utah’s state store system."

Fermentation Without Representation - Imperial Pumpkin Porter (8% ABV)
Epic Brewing and DC Brau Brewing
Salt Lake City, Utah and Washington D.C.

I read somewhere that this beer is made with 200 pounds of real pumpkin per batch and that the breweries hand cut a bazillion vanilla beans by hand to throw in the batch.  Talk about labor intensive.  Perhaps that's why they wanted $13.99 for a bomber. 

I was a little intimidated by the combination of an imperial porter and a pumpkin porter but wow, the amount of flavor that these two brewers managed to cram into one glass of this beer is quite outstanding.  The pumpkin, the spice, the sweet, the chocolate (?) and then there is still somehow a clean and dry finish at the end of each sip.  It is a little boozy tasting at first but that decreases as the beer warms slightly.  All in all, this is one awesome beer.


Recommendations: If you like porters and pumpkin-flavored beers, then you should buy two or three of these when/if you see them for sale.  Save it for a nice chilly evening.

Score: 5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system

Homebrew 1: Sally Struthaz Saison

As luck would have it, our first batch of home brew was ready for consumption almost a year to the day after our beloved family dog, Sally, passed away.  A friend and former co-worker of mine once offered to let Sally attend one of his training classes.  I am pretty sure he was amazed at just how crazy she was and how few instructions/commands she knew. After just one doggie class (her only class, ever), he gave her the name Sally Struthaz and it stuck with her ever since.

So in honor of her lively and crazy spirit, her loyalty to family, her love of the outdoors and ability to find every cholla plant on the trail, her willingness to make us all laugh and her love of good beer, we named our first home brew in her honor.

Sally Struthaz Saison (~6% ABV)
Suburban Suds Brewery
Chandler, Arizona

This brew originally started off following a recipe for a wit beer.  However because summertime in Arizona (yes, September is still summertime) means that we cannot afford to keep our house at 70 degrees, I decided to tweak the recipe and use a Saison yeast, which is much more forgiving when it comes to higher temperatures during fermentation.  The corriander, orange, lemon and lime flavors are present but not overpowering.  Feedback from our test group of neighbors and friends has been good so far.  It makes for a pretty good fall session beer if you ask me.

Recommendations: pour into a glass and take a few sips.  After a few minutes when the beer has warmed, take a few more.  Kick your feet up and take a minute to appreciate everything you have in life.  Then call us if you want another one.

Score: 4.5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system



Cheers to you Sally-Wally Struthaz.  Bawwwwwwwwooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!

She drank both cans (8%) in under 10 minutes.

Sally Struthaz rocks the beat.

First one in the Bronco to go camping.

Playing in the snow with the kids in Pagosa Springs.

Laying around the campsite.

After the vet gave her 24-hours to live.  She stayed with us until after Natalie
 was born and then 6 more months until our new puppy, Gus, arrived.  She
helped to teach him the rules of the house and then passed away a week later.

Sally's tombstone and final resting place.