Raglan Road! The Irish Pub in Downtown Disney!

TOMORROW!!!! We're going!!  Yes, I know, there are plenty of Irish pubs in Chicago.  I don't even know why I love Raglan Road, but I do!  It is similar to FADO -- those bars which are shipped to the U.S.  from Ireland piece by piece.  The food is great, the beer -- it's typical, you know?  I usually end up drinking Stella because they have pretty conventional stuff.  But for some reason, everything just tastes great there.  I guess there's something about a place that one only visits when one is on vacation, you're really relaxed, no worries about driving home . . . AND sometime we are going to the T-Rex restaurant nearby where there are Audio-Animatronic dinosaurs.  

I know.  I'm pathetic.  I'll take some pictures of the pub and post them later this week.  First thing tomorrow though -- I am planting myself in front of the TV to watch our new President take the oath of office.  I'm so proud.  So very, very proud.  

Krampus = Reward

Yesterday, I cleaned and took Christmas decorations down pretty much all day. Yes, I am feeling a bit healthier. I still feel like an undertaker, because I keep a'coughin' (HA HA HAAAAA!!!) but I am feeling better. So I decided to reward myself and break out one of the beers I have been saving for when I could actually taste them.

Southern Tier Krampus is an Imperial Helles Lager, which means it's bottom fermented with Lager yeast, in the Helles style (which is a traditional German beer style) but the Imperial means it's high in alcohol. 9% ABV. It's darker than your typical lager, also, because they use some debittered black malt. It is pretty darn good! Despite being dry-hopped with Willamette hops, it is quite a malty brew. Besides the black malt, they also use 2-row pale, caramel and munich malts. Very well balanced, malty and hoppy both, and a lovely capper to the evening.

I actually had never heard of the legend of Krampus, who is a little goat horned creature with fangs. He is supposedly Santa Claus' evil sidekick who beats naughty children with sticks. Now, I consider myself pretty much a Christmas trivia geek and I have never heard this story. I have heard of Befana, who is an Italian witch who brings presents, and Black Peter, who is kind of like Krampus but is not a monster . . . Hmmmmm. Must do more research before next year. By the Bye, this beer sold out in like three days. No fooling.

I'm treating myself in just a few minutes to a Shmaltz Brewing Sword Swallower. I blogged about that beer already, but I LOVE IT. And I am starting my vacation. So next time you hear from me -- I WILL HAVE BEEN TO RAGLAN ROAD!!!! And I deserve it.

I still can't really taste anything

First of all, the above pictures have nothing to do with this post.  Yeah, I am feeling much better but I still can't really taste anything.  It is sad.  And the cold has now turned into an annoying cough -- annoying for me, annoying for those who have to talk to me, because I could start coughing at any moment, without warning.  Today I bought some high-octane Robutussin.  Do you know what I did with it?  That's right.  LEFT IT IN THE CAR.  And I am certainly not putting clothes and a coat and shoes on again to go get it.  So Halls sugar-free honey lemon drops are my friends again tonight. 

Found out today that my friend Lance from Lush Halsted is moving back to his beloved Texas.  I'll miss him, and wish him every happiness and best of luck.  Sometimes you just know you're going to end up somewhere -- it was always Chicago for me.  I moved to D.C., I spent some time in NY, I moved to Portland, but I always got so homesick for Chicago.  So I am happy for Lance -- I know he loves Texas, and you should be where you love.  Muchos congratulations and best wishes and hip hooray for ERIN, one of the much-lauded Women of Lush who will be taking over managerial duties in University Village.  Looking forward to sharing many excellent beers with you, and at some point learning about wine and whiskey and such.  I am woefully underinformed in these areas.  

In recent beer events in my life, I had some OAT GOOP from 3 Floyds over the weekend, though.  It is an oat wine (as opposed to a barleywine) and is a collaboration brew between the boys at Floyds and Mikkeller brewing.  Now, you would think an oat wine, especially one called OAT GOOP, would be pretty heavy in body, thick mouthfeel, you know, goopy.  But no, it is not super-heavy, not really light either, medium bodied and well balanced.  Surprisingly hoppy for a strong (ten percent ABV, I think) beer.  

I didn't take a picture.  I'll take a picture at the warehouse tomorrow.   Now I'm gonna watch THE BACHELOR and play on Facebook for awhile.  Nighty-night.  

Sorry, sickie, no drinkie

Yes, your Beer Girl has been a little under the weather since a couple of days before New Year's. Started out achy, moved through chest congestion and now it's mostly in my snoot. As a result of that, I had two beers and two glasses of wine over the course of the New Year celebration - and a little champagne at midnight -- but have been pretty much dry ever since. It's a good thing, though, since I think I put on about 50 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's. So I have been on a sort of diet, also inspired by the many, many publications featuring diet tips and the biggest contestants ever to appear on THE BIGGEST LOSER. For example, today I ate the following:
Breakfast 8:00 am -- two forkfuls of peanut butter
Morning snack 11:00 am -- 1 package Buddig turkey meat
Lunch 1:00 pm -- one Slim-Fast protein bar
Dinner 3:30 ish -- hot dog with mustard and a few Wavy Lay's
(dinner was unusually early because we had to go to Indiana, which is where I am now, which is why this post won't have a lovely picture)
Little snack 6:00 -- four pack Chicken McNuggets
And countless sugar-free Halls cough drops throughout the day, which are 15 calories each AND help make me not hungry AND have a mild laxative effect, to put it politely. So they are the perfect diet food.
The dry spell will end soon, though, because Kate Robertson just gave me a bottle of her husband's Christmas beer, Jingle Brew! Yay!

HAPPY NEW BEER, FRIENDS!

Wahoo!  It's 2009!  I didn't throw back many beers on NYE.  I've been a little under the weather, and for some reason, beer doesn't go well with a sore throat.  But, last week I went with my family to Goose Island Brew Pub on North Clybourn Street.  For much of this year, the word on the street was that the Pub would be closing at the end of 2008.  Apparently, the landlords on the property were trying to jack up the rent something like 200%.  Happily, at the eleventh hour, the landlords called John Hall, founder of Goose Island, and offered a deal.  So now, not closing!!  I was very happy to hear the news, because I worked at this pub for a while.  I had the opportunity to work with Wil Turner, the brewer.  I was in charge of taking the inventory of the beer brewed at the Pub, changing the medallions on the tap handles and re-doing the blackboards (seriously) and I waited tables.  You know, it is a Chicago classic and I just would have missed the place, even though I don't go there often enough anymore.  This beer was actually intended to be the last beer brewed at North Clybourn.  It is called DEMOLITION 1800.  It is brewed with pale malt and hopped with Saaz and Styrian Golding.  Cloudy, hoppy, very nice!  I think I will add to my many resolutions to GO TO THE GOOSE ISLAND BREW PUB once every couple of weeks, say hi to Wil, and taste what's new.  Remember, you never know when something or someone you love might be gone forever.  All the best to anyone who is reading this for the New Year.  I am excited, fired up, and ready for it.  Look what President-elect Obama was able to do last year.  I wonder what I can do.