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by snebbu

The ES Summit: Top 10 Beers and Booze for Politics

The tides are shifting in American politics. A new party is in control and our President is willing to work with them to make a better America. Blah blah blah. Yet another cycle has completed and we now have another lame duck president. BUT WAIT. Obama and US Senator Mitch McConnell are going to solve all of our problems with a Bourbon Summit. Now that’s something we can get behind. A little Kentucky booze may be just what our leaders need to get things done. This got us thinking…what would an ES summit look like? Other than the usual gallivanting around, bitching and moaning about irrelevant things, and gorging ourselves with food, we would pick the best beer and booze to offer for the occasion. If it were up to us, here’s what the Obama-McConnell summit would consist of:

10) Flying Dog Raging Bitch

What better to drink while BITCHING and moaning about the great problems of the world (or what to have for dinner)? Raging Bitch is an in your face IPA with a nice sweetness that makes it very drinkable at a high ABV.

9) Arrogant Bastard Ale

Need I say more? Not only does the name sum up just about every one of your very proud “ES’ers, but it also sums up the jerks in Congress. What’s more? The brew is one of the highest ranked in the United States with complex flavors that will also kick your ass.

8) Knob Creek

A little bourbon never hurt nobody. Knob Creek is about that level where you stop drinking whiskey with coke and actually start enjoying the sweet and oak-aged flavors of bourbon.

7) Titos Vodka

What’s more American than an all-American made vodka? We have to be at least a little patriotic, right? Plus, this is some of the smoothest Vodka we’ve ever had! Try it with water and lemon…just be careful – you won’t taste the whiskey.

by snebbu

Cookies and…Beer? Flying Dog Holiday Collection

What’s the best drink to have with cookies? BEER. Why not, people? The holidays are coming; we’re celebrating getting fat and doing it with our families and friends. To support our mission, Flying Dog created The Holiday Collection: Four Otterbein’s Cookie Inspired Craft Beers. While I was hoping that the kit would come with Berger Cookies, the Otterbein’s cookies did not disappoint. But what about having them with beer? Well, luckily I’m here to do the hard work of tasting and drinking each beer and cookie. After our DIY beer pairing, we continued on with dessert, complements of Flying Dog. We judged the beers, the cookies, and then the pairing. Here we go!

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by snebbu

Endless Beer: Ommegang Valar Morghulis

ABV: 8%

“When confronted with the most feared saying in Valyrian, take a sip and choose your words wisely.”

We’ve all been waiting for the October release of the latest Ommegang Game of Thrones series. Now that we’ve all been able to find it somewhere, drink it up and converse about the series and what to expect next, we can talk about the beer! There are a lot of cool beer series out there, but I think Ommegang and Game of Thrones wins with most creative and true to the style (of the books and the beer). The creativity in determining what kind of beer, the label art, and even the marketing message is impressive. I’ve had each series but this is the first time I’ve had the brew after reading four of the books. I gotta tell ya, the excitement in receiving this sample from Ommegang can’t compete with many things.

Fun fact: the Valar Morghulis Dubbel was chosen by the people in a facebook poll. If you don’t know (how dare you?), Valar Morghulis means “all men must die” and to say it is foreboding would be an understatement. One of my favorite characters – Arya Stark is given a two-headed coin by a man that is able to change his appearance and also just happened to kick ass on a number occasions in the book. For two kick ass characters to be represented, the beer must do the same – kick some ass. The poll participants chose a Dubbel as the style of the beer and Ommegang went to town to create a Dubbel that lives up to its name. In knowing the ABV was at 8%, my expectations were for a boozy taste with sweet malts and to get some strong yeasty characteristics. On to the tasting profile!

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by snebbu

Endless Beer: Flying Dog Secret Stash Harvest Ale

ABV: 5.5%

Yes, kind of a mouthful. Flying Dog sent their most recent production of their secret stash: the Harvest Ale. For a limited time, Flying Dog is offering a “local brew” for the harvest. The beer is a wheat saison brewed with local hops and malts. Flying Dog held their first annual Mid-Atlantic Hop Selection at the brewery with hopes of exposing local breweries to the best hops of the mid-atlantic region. Typically, the Flying Dog brewmaster will take part in the Yakima Valley hop selection to pick the best hops offered. However, this brew is made with local cascade hops to create a bit of a kick paired with the spices of the saison yeast.

Picture sitting around a large kitchen table as the farmers come in from a day of bailing hay ready for a nice warm supper. What do you want to drink? You want something that is going to give you a nice relaxing feeling, with some spices in the mix – a farmhouse ale. Many know farmhouse ales as Saisons. Saison is the yeast strain that provides the spicy notes we’ve all known to love in the farmhouse ales. Anywho, enough of the boring (yet impressive that I know of course) stuff…on to the tasting:

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by snebbu

Top 10 Halloween Must-Haves

Halloween is finally around the corner! Are you ready? Whether you’re going out to party and run around in a slutty costume or you’re hanging out at home to scare the crap out of kids, you need to be prepared. Along with some of our blogging friends, we have all of your Halloween essentials – whether it is orange milk, candy, entrees, and even beer and booze, we have you covered. Check it out and let us know what your must-haves are for Halloween! Click on the links for recipes.

10. Orange and SCREAM Milk

9. Spiked Pumpkin Cider

8. Pumpkin Spice M&Ms

7. Halloween Candy Corn Chocolate Popcorn

PHOTO: Chocolate Moosey

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by snebbu

Endless Beers: Anchor Big Leaf Maple

Fall beer season isn”t over. Remember – fall really isn”t over until Thanksgiving is over. So pack up the winter decorations, don”t you DARE say the “C word” or anything related to peppermints, candy canes, or mistletoe. Now, open your mind to even more fall beers! We looked at Anchor Big Leaf Maple last year and enjoyed the taste of a balanced sweetness of malts and spices.This year, we”ll give you the handy tasting profile, but we also have some suggested pairings and FALL concoctions made of the Big Leaf Maple. As always, the tasting notes:

Appearance: Copper, but lighter than last years – more translucent but still with a red hue.

Aroma: Sweet scent with slight hints of maple and caramel. A bit of a floral scent follows (mostly from the hops combination during the boil and dry hopping).

Taste: Malty with caramel undertones (maybe a little maple syrup flavor too), followed by spices and the slight bitterness of the hops.

Mouthfeel: A dry, crisp brew at the finish.

Overall: Definitely a warming brew, but without the strong alcohol flavor. Sat out on my porch on a cool casino evening for this drink and enjoyed it. The Big Leaf Maple fits the fall season and is a satisfying drink. It has good balance if you aren’t up for the sweetness of most Oktoberfests and Pumpkin brews. I also appreciated the hops that came through the beer. Still a refreshing brew – and pretty much sticks with the same flavors as last year”s vintage.

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by snebbu

Endless Beer: Fall Beer Roundup

It’s October. Now there is no excuse to not be indulging in some kind of fall flavored food or drink. Yes, I said fall flavored. Fall has many flavors, you know. If you are not enjoying the fall flavors, well there is some sort of evil hiding in the depths of your soul. For the rest of you, we bring you the 2014 roundup of fall brews. There are so many to choose from that it is hard to narrow it down to a list. But, with the help of several trusty breweries, we were able to provide you this handy list. Note that these aren’t just your typical pumpkin beers or Oktoberfests. These are in your face flavors or different twists on the typical fall beers. In order to categorize this list in the most helpful way, we’re trying something new: word association. After tasting each of these offerings, we thought of the first word or phrase that comes to mind. Reviews of each brew to come.

21st Amendment/Elysian Collaboration: He Said He Said

Refreshing and Sweet. The collaboration of 21st Amendment and Elysian is one of the most unique I’ve found for the fall. The trappist version of the He Said He Said is the refreshing part of this four pack. While the pumpkin flavor is at the forefront, the characteristics of a Sour Belgian Trappist come through with a crisp finish. Meanwhile, the pumpkin porter provides a sweet and nearly creamy rendition of a porter with extra pumpkin to boot.

Abita Oktoberfest

Toasty. The Abita Octoberfest is a classic lager with a sweet and toasty taste. The lager is a sweet classic Octoberfest with a pleasant roasted flavor and a hint of hops. The hops tone down the sweetness, making it a nice fall brew.

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