Beer Girl has been taking the holidays off!

It's true, I'm a lazy slob.  But kids, really, we have had very little down time in the last week and a half.  We had Sing-Along White Christmas on Sunday (after which we went to my new favorite local place, O'SHAUGHNESSY'S.  It's an Irish pub where the old Zephyr ice cream parlor used to be, on Wilson and Ravenswood.  I had some Boddington's, and a couple of Sam Adams Winter Ales -- both very nice indeed.  Then Monday, we had Susan and Ken's party -- I didn't have any beer there; Ken had some Coronas.  I just can't hang with the Coronas.  Too sweet.  Then Tuesday we had to go finish shopping, we needed LOTS (seriously, lots) of candy and such for stocking stuffers, and then we went to Uncle Julio's Hacienda on North and Clybourn.  The food is good, but what you really go to Uncle Julio's for is the SWIRLS!!!   It is a surprisingly alcoholic swirl of frozen sangria and margarita.  I had two and a half.  Deeee-licious.  Then Wednesday was Christmas Eve.  It's been Band on the Run all week and weekend.  Now, tomorrow is New Year's Eve.  I am ready for 2009.  Lots more beers to come in 2009.  2008 -- it was all right, but I'm ready for more.

IT'S BACK!!! IT"S BACK!!! MY INTERNET CONNECTION IS BACK!!!

Wow, I am really a sad slave to technology.  Last night, our cable went out about 6 pm-ish.  AND  the DVR box died, so we couldn't watch saved stuff either.  The Comcast people were no help but arranged for a technician to come out today.  According to the Comcast guy (to whom we gave some beer after he fixed our cable and internet) somebody was up on the pole fixing something and forgot to re-connect the Comcast when he was done.  Now all our stuff is back on again and I am on line AND watching TV BOTH AT ONCE!!!!  AND I went on YouTube and found all these great old clips of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, cartoon versions and others that haven't been on TV since I was little.  So I'll be watching those until Christmas.  I spend so much time around the holidays trying to feel some of the excitement I felt around this time, oh, 35 years or so ago.  Not sure why.   I love Christmas but it goes so fast.   It is just not the same when you don't get toys under the tree.  Anyway, since we had no TV and no internet, we cleaned the house, rearranged all the furniture, and put the tree up.  

That was Tuesday.  Now, Monday (December 15 for those who are keeping track) I wiped out in front of Black Beetle.  Sunday night was the night that the rain turned to sleet and freezing rain; everything was covered with a thin sheet of ice on Monday morning.  I forgot to walk carefully coming out of Black Beetle and down I went.  I didn't really hurt myself, not right away, but I think I pulled a little muscle around my ribs.  Falling down kind of messes with your psyche, though.  I don't know.  So, Monday night I wanted a 22 ounce beer with a bit of strength.  I had a 3 Floyds BLACKHEART in my fridge, and thought that would be just the thing.  I was right.  It is really a great beer.  The guys at Three Floyds use English malts, English hops and English yeast, then age the beer in oak just a bit.  So, it isn't the classic English IPA -- like Sam Smith's, but a 3 Floyds, "not normal", really excellent but exaggerated example of the style.  It pours beautifully with a cascading head settling into golden reddish-brown.  It is malty, but definitely has a more pronounced citrus hop character than you usually find in English IPAs.  Really good, really satisfying.  And I have to say, the next day, after the work on the house on Tuesday night, I really started to feel better.  The house looks great, we got some new furniture, the tree is beautiful.  The shopping is pretty much done.  We are staying in Chicago for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Things are good.  So, I am pretty happy.  The long dark night of Autumn 2008 seems to be clearing.  My cat is on her Christmas pillow.  I'm gonna enjoy these last few days of Christmas.  

Okay, am I the only person TOTALLY looking forward to that new TRUE BEAUTY reality show????

In my head, I'm at Agua Azul drinking Imperial

Some days you just need a vacation, even if just for a few minutes.  So now, in my head,  I am in Costa Rica, at our favorite restaurant (Agua Azul, at the top of the hill), overlooking the ocean, drinking too much Imperial lager.  It's nothing really special, but it's a good vacation beer.  It made me a little bloated, but I think that had more to do with the quantity I consumed, not the quality of the beer.  Go to Costa Rica.  It's awesome.  And drink lots of Imperial.  

Birra Italiana

I had some Italian beer today.  It's new to Chicago.  It's not bad.  It is G.Menabrea e Figli Birra Ambrata -- I don't know what most of that means, but the last two words mean AMBER BEER.  

It's okay.  I didn't love it.  It's the sort of beer you could suddenly have drunken four of and not really notice.  It's super malty.  I would describe the flavor as Moretti La Rossa Light.  Malty, light caramel color, thin mouthfeel, not a lot going on.  But, not terrible.  

So, if you're looking for an expensive import without very much flavor, this might be the way to go for you.  No, really, I do know people who don't like too much flavor!  It's brewed by Birra Menabrea.  If I had a choice between this beer and any Miller product, I would choose this, hands down. 

DELICIOUS DELICiOUS HOMEMADE BEER THAT YOU CAN"T HAVE!!

Oh man, I am one lucky beergirl -- my new Facebook friend Kate Robertson gave me a bottle of her husband's homebrewed Pumpkin Beer!!  It is slightly embarassing, because I do not know her husband's name.  So he will be known in this post as MR. ROBERTSON WHO MAKES EXCELLENT BEER!!  How embarassing.  Anyway, she is in SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY and FABULOUS 50's CHRISTMAS at the Towle Theater in Hammond, Indiana -- Just one more weekend, folks!! www.towletheater.org  -- go if you can.  And she mentioned that her husband loves beer and in fact brews his own.  Long story short -- too late -- I gave her some beers that I happened to have in the car for her family, and Sunday she brought the last bottle of her husband's pumpkin beer for me!!  Hooray!!!   Whoopee!!!  

It is a beautiful beer!  It is unfiltered so there are traces of delicious yeasty sediment, which is so good for you and helps stave off hangovers.  The nose is full of ginger and fresh cinnamon!  The mouthfeel is light and effervescent, much lighter than many major label pumpkin beers.  It's spicy but not at all heavy.  Really easy to drink.  And so fresh!  I gotta tell you, there really is nothing like fresh beer.  Another argument to always drink what's local if you can.  

Oh, it's so good.  Sadly for most of you, you don't get to taste this beer.  Oh well, please vicariously enjoy it with me.  She says his Christmas beer will be ready soon.  I can't wait!  I have to prepare a six pack or two to swap.  

Mon Dieu!! Val Dieu!

oooooogh.  Private Practice is just so heavy.  It's almost as bad as watching the news.  

Anyway.  Every so often, there's a beer in the sample area at work that I haven't tasted.  I found a bottle of VAL-DIEU Brown on Monday.  It is a Belgian Brown, Abbey-style ale brewed according to the recipe of the Abbey Du Val-Dieu.  Let's review the difference between Trappist beer and Abbey beer, shall we?  There are only seven Trappist beers.  Trappist beers are strong, usually fruity beers made under the auspices of monks.  There are six monasteries in Belgium and one in the Netherlands where they are produced.  Chimay, Westmalle, Rochefort and Orval are examples.  We'll chat about all of them eventually.  Abbey beers are, basically, beers made in the style of Trappist beers, but not actually made by monks.  So, Val-Dieu beers are Abbey beers.  Overall, the Brown ale is pretty drinkable.  Ovaltine - sweet chocolate powder - nose, creamy mouthfeel, light hop presence.  

I also tried a sort of strange beer called FRULI, which is a Belgian Wit Beer brewed with strawberries.  It's not a lambic, it tastes like strawberry soda with a little alcohol finish.  Not bad.  I should have checked the ABV content -- you could very easily drink two or three or four and have a nasty headache the next day.  

Speaking of headache . . . yeah, if Private Practice doesn't get a little happier, I may have to take it off the list.  I'll do it, too.  I already had to let Desperate Housewives go.