Summertime Shenanigans

Summertime in Arizona is one of those things that simultaneously rocks and sucks.  The saying is somewhat lame and very overused, but it's a dry heat.  Having grown up on the east coast, I never realized how truly terrible and miserable this little thing called humidity is during the summer.  When I encounter humidity these days, I turn into a giant whiny baby and do my very best to stay inside at all times.

The problem with the dry heat?  It lasts forever.  And I mean FOREVER.  Summertime starts in late March and usually lasts until mid-October.  And by that I mean the temperatures are over 100 nearly the entire time.  Night time relief?  Nope. Cools down to 80-85 degrees.  Hell, my garage stays at a steady 100 degrees.  Just yesterday I backed out of the garage to go get my butt kicked at boot camp at 6:10am and the thermometer in my car (which had been parked in my garage all night) read 101.  Whaaaaaaaat?  No wonder our electric bill is nearing the cost of our mortgage payment.

All that aside, my beer-loving sister is in town for the weekend ... yes, she came to visit Phoenix in August.  From Colorado.  Who does that?!?!?   I pretty much love when she comes to visit because 1) she rocks 2) we typically spend most of our time in the pool and 3) she loves beer nearly as much as me so there will be lots new beers to try.

Tonight?  We played in the pool until dinner time and then enjoyed some delicious steak (thanks mom and dad for the shipment of Omaha Steaks), potatoes and a bottle of Shenanigans Oak Aged Crimson Ale.

Shenanigans (9.1% ABV)
Odell Brewing Company
Fort Collins, Colorado

This beer poured up with about 6 fingers - which allowed my husband to make fun of me for the rest of the evening.  It wasn't me though, it was the beer.  Despite being a heavy-hitting beer at 9.1%, it didn't taste like a heavy-hitter.  The booze factor was disguised very well.