Beer & Food Pairing: New Belgium Eric’s Ale & Smoked Pecans

While listening to the best speech at Beer Bloggers Conference, I was sipping a beer from that company. Specifically, Kim Jordan (co-founder and CEO) of New Belgium Brewing Company was giving the keynote address and I was sipping on Eric’s Ale. A few sips in I was diving into my bag for snacks. Not long after that, I was quietly demanding people sip and snack with me. (I even slipped one nice woman some pecans for later, since she wasn’t legally allowed to taste the beer while working the event.)

This comes about from reading, over on Getting Ready to Go, the packing list Matthew and Molly of Bub Gourmand shared. It’s from having been to beer bloggers con last year and knowing what it’s like (read: full of beer).… Continue reading →

Smittytown: Chicagoist’s Beer of the Week

One of my quiet plans for 2015 was to do more guest posting elsewhere. I haven’t done much over the last five years, and I recently realized that I’d like to. It’s fun to think of what I might bring to other audiences, and to meet that challenge.

Thus, I was so pleased to get to write this week’s Beer of the Week column, and photograph the beer, for Chicagoist.

It’s obvious, when you read it, why I picked Smittytown. I love that beer, and I love the brewery.

Please, check it out and let me know what you think of it!… Continue reading →

My First Mistake…

Was not following my gut instinct and saying, “None for me, thanks.”

I’d done it several times in that weekend prior to the moment in question, and I’d go on to do it several more moments after. So what made this moment special; that I should have declined and did not?

Mostly, a series of expectations, new-ness, and trying to fit in with the crowd around me.

There I was at Beer Bloggers Conference, sitting down to the “live beer blogging” session. “The premier event of the Beer Bloggers Conference,” live beer blogging is “a fast-paced, fun event that is sort of like speed dating with brewers”. The goal is to give a brewery five minutes to sample a beer out to a selection of bloggers/tweeters, and to answer questions and discuss the beer or the brewery or anything else.… Continue reading →