Beer Pairings

If you are even a semi regular reader of this blog, you have seen that Tracy and I LOVE beer dinners.  One of the fun parts of a beer dinner to me is how the host/creator of the dinner has taken the time to pair the beers with food to enhance the experience.  If the thought of trying to pair beer to food scares you, don't worry.  I found a great article of links to other articles about beer and food pairings.  The rules of Complement, Cleanse and Contrast work, so once you start to understand those rules, you will have a great time!

Beer Pairings - Article Compilation

Watered-Down Budweiser Tastes A Lot Like Normal Bud In Blind Tasting

Do you think YOU could taste the difference?

Watered-Down Budweiser Tastes A Lot Like Normal Bud In Blind Tasting

How to Identify Hops in Your Beer: The Three C's

After you drink craft beers for a while, you start to wonder why it is you like certain beers more than others. For example, if you like hoppy beers, you probably find that you like a certain quality about those beers.  Perhaps the citrus flavor, or pine flavor or grassy flavor.  Those are all qualities of hops.  So, learn to identify hops by tasting!

How to Identify Hops in Your Beer: The Three C's

Hope you enjoyed a little beer education!

30 Great IPA's to Drink Before You Die

My hop tolerance is getting better and better as I drink more IPA's.  There are some that still push my boundaries, but I find that for some of those, the next time I try them, they don't seem as hoppy.

When I saw an article online 30 Great IPA's to Drink Before You Die, I had to check it out!  Personally, I hate slideshow posts.  While you will miss some fun labels, here are the beers (in alphabetical order):

8Wired Brewing Co. Hopwired IPA
Alpine Beer Co. Nelson
Ballast Point Sculpin IPA
Bear Republic Racer 5
Bell's Hop Slam
Brewdog Punk IPA
Brooklyn East India Pale Ale
Carton Boat Beer
Cigar City Humidor Cedar Aged Jai Alai IPA
Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Firestone Walker Wookey Jack
Founders Centennial IPA
Great Divide Titan IPA
Green Flash West Coast IPA
Hill Farmstead Abner
Kelso Kelso IPA
Lagunitas Lagunitas IPA
Maine Beer Company Lunch
Omnipollo Leon
Omnipollo Nebuchadnezzar
Peekskill Eastern Standard IPA
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra
Smuttynose Smuttynose IPA
Snake River Pakos Eye-P-A
Stone Enjoy By IPA
Surly Brewing Furious IPA
The Alchemist Heady Topper
Two Brothers Heavy Handed

For sure, I have had 9 of these beers so far.  I guess that means 21 to go :)

DOE RE MI BEER, by Homer J. Simpson

DOE RE MI BEER, by Homer J. Simpson

DOUGH... the stuff...that buys me beer...
RAY..... the guy that sells me beer...
ME...... the guy... who drinks the beer,
FAR..... the distance to my beer
SO...... I think I'll have a beer...
LA...... La la la la la la beer
TEA..... no thanks, I'm drinking beer...
That will bring us back to...(Looks into an empty glass)

D'OH!

Untappd

I have been using an app on my phone for the last few months called Untappd.  Think of it like Facebook for craft beer lovers.  You enter the beers you drink.  You can see the beers your friends are drinking.  If you like what they are drinking, you can toast it ... like Liking on FB.  You can also comment on their beers.

When you check in a beer, you can add a location.  It uses locations that are defined on Four Square, so probably most of your favorite drinking locations are already defined.  I joined Four Square so I could define a location for my house when I check in beers at home.  Since it was defined as a private residence, nobody else can figure out where you live!  Just in case you were paranoid about that.

Here is a great description of the product from the authors:

About Untappd: “Untappd is a new way to socially share and explore the world of beer with your friends and the world. Curious what your friends are drinking or where they’re hanging out? Just check their profile where you can toast and comment on their beers! Untappd will offer you beer recommendations based on what you and your friends have been enjoying, so you’ll have no reason to not try something new! As additional encouragement, Untappd allows you to earn a number of cool badges for completing a variety of different criteria.” – Untappd.com

The badges are really fun.  The first few come easy.  You get a badge just for entering your first beer.  Then there are badges based on locations, types of beers and special occasions.  Hint: Enter a beer on practically any holiday or special day ... except Easter.  I guess that isn't a traditional beer drinking day :)

You can get started at untappd.com and then get the app for your phone!