Beer in My Bottle, coming from Green Bay

Hello to all the beer lovers out there!

I've had one heck of a crazy year, but I've finally settled down a bit and got a job at the Green Bay Press-Gazette ... where they are letting me write about ... you guessed it ... BEER!!

Check out the link here!

Or simply type in :
www.greenbaypressgazette.com/beerinmybottle

Can't wait to get your visits and hear your comments!

When light beer is good

Don't worry, I wasn't actually drinking light beer, I just happened to stumble upon a microbrew that poured surprisingly light in color (It's the girl in me that wants to think microbrews have to be darker in color. Kind of like thinking about running out of blinker fluid).

Bell's Lager Beer, also known as their Lager of the Lakes, pours a light golden draft, reflecting the twinkling of a lake on a summer's afternoon — and tastes just good enough to make you believe your relaxing in that exact scenario.

I added a slice of lime to give it a little more bounce, but it was perfectly delicious just by itself as well.

All in all, I tend to find Bell's a delightful brewery. Anybody have a favorite by them?

Beer: my portal through time

Beer can take you a lot of places, but I would have never guessed it would take me back to 1983 — until last night. Let me take you back with me...

So there I was, sitting with my sister and her boyfriend in their one-bedroom apartment, her and I with a Leinenkugel's Honeyweiss in hand (classic), and the boyfriend sipping on a paper-bagged forty of Olde English (all too classic as well).

We decided the evening would be best fitted by browsing their Netflix movies and came across Strange Brew. And that's when I entered the 1983 beer-drinking world of 'eh?s' and excellent 1980s special effects.

In all honesty, it was a pretty good movie, and I've posted more links about the flick here.

And, speaking of special brews, I had the liberty of trying out a new ALTernate. More specifically, it was New Glarus' ALT. It has a full body and a distinct brew flavor — its brewed with caramel malts and aged in Oak with a few special brewing tricks thrown in. Its not easy to drink more than two in a row, but definitely worth the time and effort.

In the larger scheme of things, has anybody else stumbled upon a good hidden beer I should get my hands on? I haven't had the luxury of doing much searching as of late, and I'd really like if you could help your fellow beer-drinker out.

Until then, go ahead and enjoy the finally warming April weather — of course with a beer in hand.

In a crazy beer world

I am sure many of my loyal readers are aware of my distinct love for one brew: a good ol' Blue Moon.

I have recently had the misfortune of discovering this — Blue Moon actually doesn't taste the greatest from a bottle. Now, I could give the brew the benefit of the doubt and blow it off as a bad six pack, but this is the second six pack I have been disappointed in.

The only thing left for me to do now is buy a keg-orator, because Blue Moon seems to only tickle my fancy on tap.

Being that isn't going to happen any time soon, I guess I'll just have to stick to being adventurous when it comes to six packs, and my next one is coming straight from Saint Paul, Minn., from a company called Flat Earth Brewing.

Its a company that was started by husband and wife in 2007, and celebrates its 2-year anniversary today. I'll let you know how the taste test goes.

Minnesotan beer

My fear of the beer culture in Minnesota has been practically washed away as I stumbled upon this little tidbit of information: craft beer sales in Minnesota went up 75 percent in 2008, versus a 5.8 percent national average rise.

It's true — go ahead and read all about Minnesota's finer taste and my inkling for beer on a budget.

And, speaking of beer on a budget, has anybody ever heard of the Beer Guru in Green Bay? My sister sent me this article, and even though its from back in February, I'm going to share it with you now.

The Beer Guru must have been feeling a lot of pain the day he decided to write this article, which served as his hunt for beer that will help you save money. This beer-guzzling writer taste tested beer in order to find the cheapest price with the 'best' quality — and I use the term 'best' lightly, as his list of beverages included ones such as Hamm's Premium and Pabst Blue Ribbon. But, its a relatively entertaining read.

Lastly, I leave you with this joke about One Penny Beer. While its not the best joke I've heard so far, its fun enough to dream about walking to a bar and getting a pint for a penny.

Beer never goes bad

And by that I mean: no matter how long its been since I wrote about beer, I've still been doing plenty drinking of it.

In fact, the last few months have been a crazy blend of beer drinking, job searching, apartment hunting, unpacking, bill paying, beer drinking, bar hopping, road tripping — and sadly no blogging (oh how I have missed you guys).

Have no fear, however, because I am here in full swing and ready to tell you all about my new official blog in my new official home.

I am officially the Minneapolis Craft Brew Examiner (check it out, I'm dead serious.)

I must confess this means I have crossed into the dark side — officially a Minnesotan (OK — I haven't quite made it to the DMV for my Minnesotan ID yet, but hey — I've got 60 days to do that...)

Yep, I'm one of the crazy ones that slipped out of the cheesily delightful, beer-drinking Wiscony state to a place where bottled beer comes in the shade of 3-percent alcohol content.

But don't worry about me, I'll still be doing plenty of drinking when it comes to awesomely brewed beer, and there's a suprisingly large number of breweries to explore here in Minnesota. So, please, trust me when I say I'm ready to kick this beer blog back into full gear, and keep coming back to read more (I recommend a full pint in your hand any time you log on to my blog ... simply because reading about beer will automatically make you want one, so you might as well come prepared).

And, while you're at it, check out this awesome event I found up here in Minneapolis. Who knows, maybe you'll find it in you to venture over here for the event. Like I say, anything in the name of drinking beer ...

Winter booze blues

OK — I am officially back in the world of the cold.

Yep, I moved back to Wisconsin and am currently shacking up with my 'rents while I await the opportunity for a real-world job.

Hopefully it comes knocking soon, but in the mean time, I know what I am going to be doing: drinking plenty of beer. I forgot how cold it really gets up here, but chizzling a deadly-thick layer of ice off my car today was quite the reminder.

Now, had I been drinking before I had to do that, I might have been a little more fun, you think? I think.

And at least this can be an excuse to start exploring the world of good ol' Winter Ales. The only one I've ever had is Sam Adams — anybody out there got a favorite to recommend? (If anyone feels like flying over seas for the cause, you could attend the National Winter Ales Festival in the UK. Sounds exciting!)

Until then, I might have to invest in some Kahlúa. It tastes great in a cup of hot chocolate.