Knee-high powder and slopeside suds

Peak 7 tree skiing on a pefect powder day

After a handful of runs on a beautiful snowy morning on the slopes at Breckenridge Ski Resort, my sister and I decided to hop off the runs and head into the trees for some deep powder adventures.  At some point during the adventure, I put my goggles on top of my head so I could see in the dark trees.  Once we popped back out onto the run (about 30 hard working, tight turning, tree dodging, leg burning minutes later), I pulled my goggles down onto my eyes.  $%*#!!  My goggles had fogged up thanks to my wet hat and then the fog had frozen.  I couldn't see anything.  Ok, guess I have to get down the rest of the way in a snowstorm sans goggles.  

Once we finally made it down, my sister and I stopped at the T-Bar at the base of Peak 8 and were lucky enough to snag a seat.  My poor 10-year old goggles were a complete mess.  Apparently the lenses have reached the end of their "no-fog" lifetime.  And yes, I've tried rubbing spit on the inside of the lens and then drying.  No help.  Annoying.



Next year Santa, new goggles please.





There were a ton of beers on tap at the T-Bar (for surprisingly reasonable prices - $5.50 a pint - considering they were slopeside, in a real glass and at a real bar), but surprisingly, only one dark beer.  Stupid.  Ok, so my next choice is a local brew that I can't get in Arizona on tap.  Ah-ha!  I ordered an Avalanche Ale (4.4% ABV) from Breckenridge Brewery in Breckenridge Colorado.  It was served somewhat warm which annoyed me.  But maybe I was just so cold that the beer seemed warm?!?  No, I think the beer was actually slightly warm.  Ugh.  Anyway, I don't recall liking many of the brews from Breckenridge Brewery so I was surprised to learn that I liked this one.  It was a light and refreshing ale.  No special flavors or twists, just a good beer.  However, it was even better since it was consumed at 10,000 feet after a 3-hour morning cardio workout in the fresh snow with minimal crowds.  Oh yeah, and with a giant plate full of nachos too.



Happy Leap Beer!!!

I flew to Denver on Wednesday to kick off a girls weekend (thank you Husband!!!!) with my sister and two of her friends from New York.  Before leaving, I had to drop the baby off with my in-laws who were kind enough to watch her for the day on Wednesday.  Between trying to get ready, finish packing and get out the door with the kiddo before 8, I forgot to eat breakfast.  By the time I arrived at the in-laws house, I was damn near famished.  After running through her daily routine and dropping off the kiddo, I headed to the airport where I had to park, ride the bus, check-in, go through security and then learn that my flight was delayed.  Finally, time to eat.

The only food in the terminal?  Burger King. Are you kidding me?!?!  Ugh.  I did not wait 4 hours for breakfast only to have to eat Burger King, but alas, I did.  And it was terrible.  But it was food. 

Once I arrived in Denver (late), the girls were there waiting and ready to roll.  After getting my bag and then taking the shuttle to the rental car place, my stomach was damn near ready to eat itself.  But then once we got the car, we all just wanted to go.  So we went.  Breckenridge or bust.



I see you...



We checked in at our kick ass slopeside hotel (and promptly drank the complimentary bottle of wine they left out for us) and then called for the complimentary shuttle to take us to dinner.  I was dying for a cheeseburger and a cold beer.  Fortunately, so was everyone else.  We went to Empire Burger and it was magical. 

I had a White Rascal Belgian White Ale (5.6% ABV) from Avery Brewing Company in Boulder, Colorado.  This is my favorite style of beer and this one was particularly delish.  Come to think of it, almost every beer I've had from Avery has been amazing.  Anyway, this one was served with a small orange wedge and it was heavenly.  So heavenly in fact that I braved having two beers on my first night at 10,000 feet (which I typically don't do because I end up buzzed and then hungover the next morning when really I'm not hungover, I'm just dehydrated).  I hope that I can get my hands on this beer in Arizona somewhere...

Rating:  5 of 5

Hayes Bomberpalooza, The Finale

And so all good things must come to an end.  The Husband and I were fortunate enough to have my parents in town for this event and it is always better to have 4 sets of eyes on a walking/talking/crawling/constantly-on-the-go 10-month old.  Unfortunately, our little trooper couldn't stay awake much past dark.  So, these are the last 2 beers that we were able to sample.  It is my understanding that there were a few more to be sampled after we left, but I was not given any details of those beers.  And rightly so, I cannot blog about beers I did not taste myself.


Beer #13:  Hop Knot IPA (6.7% ABV) from Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe, Arizona

Beer #13.  We should have stopped here and ended on a good note.

A local favorite for sure, we switched to the Hop Knot from Four Peaks (who found this and where?) and after having so many flavor explosions, was a welcome change.

I overheard someone say how great it was to have this beer as a comparison to other IPAs.

"It's brilliant."

"It's green."

"Great - not an over the top IPA."

According to Beeradvocate.com, "Hop Knot IPA get its peculiar name from the weaving of four different hops added at four separate times during the brewing process. Including our cavernous hop-back, which gets so stuffed with whole leaf hops that we feel genuine guilt for its excess. Hop Knot is an ale that is to be enjoyed with friends, spicy food or any time you need a good hop fix without the harsh bitterness. We hope you enjoy this pioneering beer made in the bold spirit of Americans everywhere."

Well, we did indeed enjoy it with friends and spicy food.  Thank you Four Peaks for being an awesome local brewery and always producing magic liquid goodness.





Beer #14: Mojo Rising Double IPA (10% ABV) from Boulder Brewing Company in Boulder, Colorado

I mentioned earlier that there was one beer which was not well received.  I saved the best (review) for last.  We cracked open the Mojo and had high hopes.  At least I did.  I liked the bottle art and I like Boulder ... so I was hoping that this would be a good one.  Plus, I think I knew that we were about to leave and wanted to leave on a good note.

According to Boulder's website, "Only 120 precious barrels were brewed, adding more than half a ton of extra malt and twice the amount of Amarillo hops, so prepare your self for a full sensory explosion. The double dry-hop addition elevates the grapefruit-like aroma and flavor to an outrageous intensity, while the added malt raises the alcohol level from 7% all the way to 10% by volume."

When I asked for feedback, I got a thumbs-down from literally everyone, except one. Comments ranged from "too thick and sweet" to "not crisp enough for an IPA" to "too much malt for an IPA".

The best and most descriptive comment of the evening has to be the one that described the mojo as "tasting like someone's two-week-old dirty, smelly feet with a smell that just hangs out there."

Sampling 14 beers over 5% ABV in 4 hours is not an easy task.
But apparently it was enough to motivate me to make Irish Car Bombs for my mom and me when we got home.

Thanks to Pat and Wendy for hosting the event and also to all the eager tasters who were patient with me taking beer pics, asking questions and constantly asking to repeat your comments on all the beers we tasted.  Thanks even more to those of you who read and comment on the blog.  I appreciate your feedback on how to make the blog better and going forward, I will do my best to include a ranking system.  Knowing that people read this nonsense is just part of what makes it fun for me (but not for The Husband).

Pat --- make this an annual or bi-annual event.  Next time we'll all come well hydrated, with a giant bag of pretzels or popcorn and a tent/sleeping bag.

Also, I think blogging about 14 beers in 2 days is a bit much for me.  My brain hurts and my creative energy is completely gone (as likely evidenced by the past 2-3 posts which have started to suck and not meet my own standards for creative writing - although it would still probably get me a passing grade at ASU despite the number of grammatical errors The Husband has noticed). I'm going to take my glass of Bailey's on crushed ice and go sit on the couch for a blog-free day or so.

Cheers to everyone!

Hayes Bomberpalooza, Part 4

By now, the blurry pics, sunsets and darkness have set in on the event.  But no one is deterred and we will finish sampling all the beers brought to the party.  Plus, the ribs are done and we need something to wash down the delicious ribs and clean our mouth after we lick all our fingers...

Beer #10:  Chipotle Ale (5.5% ABV) from Rogue Ales Brewery in Newport, Oregon

Just for reference, the brewer describes the beer as "roasted chipotle peppers produce an eye opening chile flavor in this deep golden ale with a malty, smoky aroma and smooth, crisp flavor."

More chipotle flavor please...

I picked this one out of our beer closet to bring because I was a little scared of having to drink the whole thing with just me and The Husband.  But I figured it would be a great beer share and would get people talking.  I was correct. 

There was nothing chile flavored, chipotle flavored or even somewhat spicy about this beer.  One of the Budlighters said to "put my Bud Light over by the smoker (at this point in the evening the mega racks of home smoked ribs were just emerging from the smoker) for an hour or so and it will be more smokey than this beer!"  The overwhelming consensus was that this is an unremarkable beer ("it is what it is") which is severely lacking in the Chipotle flavor.

Beer #11:  High Tide Fresh Hop IPA (6.5% ABV) from Port Brewing Company in San Diego, California

The group assessed this as less drinkable than the Ponderosa IPA (previously sampled) with the typical bite of an IPA hop.  It was not given an A++ by the group, but it was certainly not given a thumbs down (that will come later).  When the person who brought this revealed that it was a $5.99 bomber, some people changed their tune and said they'd buy something else instead.

Beer #11 and a typical Arizona sunset

Beer #12:  Mongo Double IPA (8.5% ABV) from Port Brewing Company in San Diego, California

RIP Mongo

I'm not sure who brought this one, but this is definitely a good beer to share with a group.   After the first taste, it was CLEAR that this was a double IPA.  It had a very strong flavor profile and was a bit complex to determine what flavors were present.

"It's a sipper.  You can't pound this one!"

According to the brewer, the Mongo IPA is "a tribute beer brewed to honor the memory of our fallen solider, Columbus (a brewery kitten we knicknamed Mongo), who used each of his 9 lives in a short – but brazen – 10 months on this planet. Let’s just say the little dude lived a hard life. Only, he wasn’t so little. In fact, he was the largest of five kittens born at the brewery in 2009. Mongo was so large in fact that his brothers and sisters kicked him out of the litter. I told you dude had it rough."

"While this is a very good beer, it was most certainly not a session beer."



Two more and a bomber wrap-up still to come....

Hayes Bomberpalooza, Part 3

Still more beers to review from the (First Annual?) East Mesa Hayes Bomberpalooza...


Beer # 7:  Sculpin IPA (7% ABV) from Ballast Point Brewing Company in San Diego, California

Beer #7

According to Ballast Point's website, "The Sculpin fish has poisonous spikes on it’s fins that can give a strong sting. Ironically, the meat from a Sculpin is considered some of the tastiest. Something that has a sting but tastes great, sounds like a Ballast Point India Pale Ale."

This beer (and the label art) was well received by the group of tasters with responses ranging from a wild fist-bumping "YES" to "not over the top" to "yeah, it's pretty drinkable." 

It was not an over-the-top IPA where the hops are damn near crawling out of the glass or slapping you in the face, but the hops were definitely present.  It had a citrus smell and but I didn't really taste any citrus flavor.  It also came with a slightly odd (not bad but just strange) aftertaste though which I couldn't really describe.





Beer # 8:  Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale (8.7% ABV) by Stone Brewing Company in Escondido, California

This beer is Self-Righteous for a reason.  It kicks ass.

I didn't get much feedback on this beer other than resounding head nodding and one person exclaiming "THIS BEER IS F-ING FANTASTIC (there were kids present and I believe he bleeped himself)!" 

So, since I can't remember how to describe this beer and no one else gave me feedback, I am forced to borrow some language from Stone's website...

"We're brewers whose substantial mettle and idiomatic approach to brewing allows us to consistently create works of art such as this justifiably self-righteous ale. Its bitterness hits our sweet spot. Its blackness lightens our hearts. Its liquid dichotomy pulls it all together in this sublimely sacrosanct ale. Yes, we damn well know our stuff here at Stone, and it would be irresponsible of us not to acknowledge how remarkable this heavenly creation of ours is. Thus the name we are compelled to give it --- Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale --- serves as a reminder of just how good we are, in both liquid and verbal form.

We're certainly not perfect. Too often, we allow our modesty to get the best of us as we're simply not inclined towards senseless braggadocio. When you're good, you're good. And when you do something great, the least you can do is acknowledge it. Others benefit from knowing. In this case, we find that we are compelled to point out how amazing this ale is that we rightly call the Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale.

First brewed in 2007 as the Stone 11th Anniversary Ale, this ale was an instant hit. With us. Other folks with great taste loved it too, but we were focused on how much we liked it, and we felt it was truly sublime. That euphoria didn't last long though, as it was soon replaced with the grim reality that when we sold out of it there wouldn't be any more. For us. And that was simply unacceptable. So, we are now blessing ourselves, and you the enlightened, with this ale. Thusly, you may now revel in your own self-righteousness as you see fit with this glorious example of ours. You are genuinely welcome, as it is our pleasure."


 Beer #9:  Cali-Belgique IPA (6.9% ABV) from Stone Brewing Company in Escondido, California

The afternoon lightweight

What's this.....a beer under 7%?  No way.  Boooo.  What a lightweight.  In hindsight, perhaps we should have consumed them in order of alcohol content.


Apparently by this point, no one else was saying anything to me because I have absolutely nothing written down.Once again, I will borrow text from the brewer's website: "When reading the name "Stone Cali-Belgique IPA", "Cali" hints that it is a California-style IPA, and this brew has an undeniable Belgian influence, indicated by the word "Belgique" (which is how Belgium's French-speaking population says the word "Belgian"; the Dutch-speaking Belgians say "België"). We carefully selected a Belgian yeast strain that illuminates a fascinating new aspect of the beer that is otherwise quite simply Stone IPA. The result is both completely new and different, while still being recognizable as a Stone brew—and Stone IPA in particular. Think of it as an otherwise identical twin to Stone IPA that was raised in a Belgian culture. Literally."

Down to only five left to review... and somehow the remaining beers actually have taster feedback notes...