We woke up really surprised by the weather...it was tricky on Saturday, teasing us all day long. I headed to the grocery store, while Ben did the dreaded chore of taking Freddie to get his nails cut! I told him I'd reward him with a trip to Carolina Brewing Co. in Holly Springs since they were tapping their Winter Porter. We met Chris, Sam & Shane there and I was pretty disappointed in the Winter Porter. It was slightly smokey and just bland, not at all what I'd expect from a Porter.
We walked out of the brewery after a torrential downpour with angry skies, but by the time we got home it was clearing up. I got everything ready for dinner and Tara and Rick showed up with the most awesome selection of beer and an amazing FAT-FREE mexican dip!
I made a fall salad with mixed greens, pears, pomegranate seeds and raspberry vinagrette. I've only had a pomegranate once, but I think they'll become more of a regular in our house. I love how the seeds pop in your mouth. I also made Grilled Chicken and Pesto Farfalle. Technically Ben grilled the chicken and I made everything else. It's a new recipe that got rave reviews and it turned out delicious! I'm so excited there are leftovers.
Once dinner was out of the way, we started our beer tasting. Including the few beers we shared during appetizers and dinner here is our line up:
~ Ben's Cinnamon Oatmeal Stout~Laqunitas Cappucinno Stout
~Abita Pecan Harvest
~Smuttynose Winter Ale
~Baron's Black Wattle Seed Ale
~Ben's Smoked Vanilla Bean Porter
~Ben's Ginger Ale
~Ben's Blackberry Chocolate Stout
~Weeping Raddish Pumpkin Bock
~Terrapin Side Project III Gamma Ray
~Heavy Weight Lunacy
~Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout
~Dogfish Head Theobrama
~Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra
Ben printed everyone score sheets based on appearance, aroma, taste, drinkability, and overall likeness. All but one or two we really good...my favorites were the Creme Brulee Stout, Terrapin Gamma Ray and Dogfish Raison D'Extra!
In between rounds we snacked on Pumpkin Scones and Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake tarts. I think we all had a great time...it's so nice to not only have new friends, but ones that enjoy our nerdiness love of beer.
This morning, I'm sipping coffee and mentally preparing for my 10k run this afternoon. I'm so happy the sun has decided to make it's appearance and stay out although it's a little chilly...we're enjoying our coffee by the gas logs!
The things I'm grateful for: (Fri and Sat)
~How close we live to family: It's so nice that we can go see our family whenever we want and I love being a part of my little sisters' lives.
~Soup: It was rainy day and I love chicken noodle soup when it's cold and rainy out
~The internet: information is always at your fingertips...you just gotta know where to look
~New friends: No surprise we love entertaining and having new friends to join us is the icing on the cake
~Beer: We're beer snobs!
~Quick & Easy dinners that look gourmet: The pasta was incredibily easy to make and delicious at the same time...perfect for enteraining.
2 comments:
I just finished making blueberry scones and was thinking that I wished I had a pumpkin scone recipe. Can you post yours please and thank you!
Unfortunately they were store bought, but I wish I had a recipe for them. Our friends brought them over and they were the Archer Farms brand from Target...so good!
Post a Comment