Hop Harvest

Just harvested the hops, they smell so good.  Now for the drying process.  I literally cannot wait to make a brew with these hops.  I think I need some dog fish head 60 minute to satisfy my hop crave.

Hops!!!

This is my first year growing hops and they are doing pretty well.  I planted cascade and centennial, the cascade are doing the best, with multiple vines and plenty of hops.  Since they can grow upwards of 20 feet I built a cross trellis system out of cedar and twine, check it out.

The Ultimate Mojito

I hate when I order a drink and I get a premixed, sugar loaded, concoction.  I prefer my drinks with natural ingredients and minimizing on fillers or premixers.  Here is my take on the summer favorite, The Mojito!

2 Parts rum
2 Parts simple syrup
1 Part lime juice
4 Mint leaves

Simple syrup.
1/2 cup water boiled with 1 table spoon sugar.  Let cool.

Mix rum, syrup, lime juice in rocks glass.  Muddle mint.  Add ice. Enjoy!

If you don't have fresh mint from the garden, think about planting some it grows like a weed.

Jalapeno Margaritas

Here is my take on this spicy sweet drink. 

2 parts tequilla
1 part tripple sec
1 part fresh squeezed lime...about 1 lime
3-4 slices jalapeno

In a rocks glass mix tequila, tripple sec, and lime.  Muddle jalapeno.  Add ice.  Enjoy.

The Holy Grail of Irish Stouts

My recent homebrew came out amazing.  Probably one of the best stouts I've ever had...and I'm not just saying that bc I made it.  The recipie is from craftbrew supplies in hopevalley ri.  Molasses and chocolate upfront with a slight hoppyness on the finish...seriously good.

Irish Stout Home Brew

Finally botteling day!  Made 48 bottles and an extra cup for sampling.  It has a nice molases, chocolate flavor up front and slight hop flavor at the finish.  I am pretty excited about it.  Can't wait for the final product.  Cheers.

Irish Stout home brew update

Well we finally got to where we needed to be with our specific gravity.   Now its time to transfer to our secondary fermenter.  It will sit in this carboy for 10-14 days and then we will be able to bottle.  Right now it has a sweet molases, chocolate taste to it.  So good.  Cheers.

Wet Dog Wit Home brew

My Belgian witbier just finished carbonating in time for the fourth.  It's like blue moon but in my opinion better.  Very refreshing on a hot summers day with hints of coriander and bitter orange.  Cheers.

Short Straw by Blue Moon

Yet another refreshing brew by blue moon. Seriously go out and pick up the summer pack for the 4th of July its good.

IRISH Stout - home brew

Brewed an Irish stout last week, just checked the specific gravity and we are almost there, 1.024.  1 more day then time to transfer to the secondary for refining. 

Agave necter ale by Blue Moon

When I think of agave I think of tequila so I figured this must be good.  My assumptions were right....if you have 15 bucks go pick up the blue moon variety pack its awesome.
Wheat ale with a hint of sweetness, perfect for summer drinking....now I just need to find it in a 6 pack.   Tell me what you think.

Monk's Blood by 21st Amendment

This is a Belgian style dark ale brewed with cinnamon, vanilla, oak chips and dried figs.  You can really taste the vanilla and cinnamon up front.  It also has hits of chocolate and caramel and makes for an ideal dessert beer.  Smooth and slightly creamy in texture.    

Margaritas Restaurant in Mystic

Meg and I decided to take a trip to mystic, CT and we ended up at Margaritas!  Meg had a Mexican Iceberg which is a frozen marg floated atop a draft dos equis... a weird combo but refreshing on this super hot day.  I had a palomos which was tequila, lime juice, sierra mist and blood orange...so good, but on the stronger side. 

Cheers

Rascals Wild Raspberry

I'm not a huge fan of fruity beer with the exception of #9 but my sister loves it.  She tried this a week or so ago when she was traveling through NC.  Here is her take on it .  Red color, full of raspberry flavor, great dessert beer or fruit beer berry finish. 

I have a ton more reviews coming soon.  Cheers

Thanks Lauren

Ps love the raspberrys in your photo!

Grove Winery 2009 Cabernet Franc

This past mothers day my mom took a drive out from Myrtle Beach to visit my sister in Greensboro NC where she is going to school.  My sister made reservations at Grove Winery and Vineyard for a tasting and tour and this is their experience. 

By: Lauren Pereira

Grove Winery and Vineyards in Haw River Vally, North Carolina is located conveniently northeast of the city of Greensboro. The Vineyard is off the beaten trail, but not difficult to locate. The vineyard serves as a great get-a-way with the winery nestled between the vineyard and a large pond with a deck to overlook the water. The wine is all harvested and cultivated on the premises and is sold locally as well as shipped internationally. I easily found the information for this exceptional vino haven on the internet and was pleased to hear they had a special mothers day wine tasting. The tasting included a choice between a sweet menu or a dry menu. Each menu included three wines which were each carefully paired with a hand-made chocolate truffle crafted by Greensboro pastry chef, Julie Watson. Although this pairing was a special mothers day event, Grove has many different events on their schedule, check it out today! www.grovewinery.com

Appearance:  Bright cherry red. 

Smell:  Oakey on the nose with a nice balance of fruit

Taste:  Oakey, fruity, most notably cranberry

Feel:  Medium bodied, tannins are soft

Overall:   Paired well with the cabernet granache chocolate!

Grade: A

Home Brewed BEER!

For a while now my good friend Kevin and I have been talking about brewing our own beer.  Finally we bought the materials needed to brew our own beer!  We went with an intermediate prepackaged beer kit from The Grape and Granary.   They had a so many beer kits to choose from it was like heaven!  We decided to go with the grape and granary Summer Ale. Here are some pictures of us bottling the beer.  I must say the whole process was a lot of fun and I cannot wait to taste it!  @Grapeandgranary

5 Gallons of BEER!

They say 2 weeks and its good to drink but the more time you give it the better it will taste, so we decided on 3 weeks until we crack open the first brewski. 

Cerveza Pacífico Clara

Wow the month of May is flying by!!!! Emerson has been keeping us busy, especially Meg. She does such a wonderful job with her, it's amazing. On cinco de Mayo Meg and wanted to do something fun so we decided to make these smokey bean burritos with chorizo, carne asada, Mexican cilantro rice, and the most amazing mexican twice baked sweet potatoes topped with this orange cream. For drinks I wanted to splurge on some tequila but Meg wanted some beer so we went with Cerveza Pacifico Clara. Here is our thoughts.

Appearance: Clear, pale, yellow with little to no head that disapates almost instantly.
Smell: Corn, grain...kinda blah
Taste: Slightly bitter, corn, grainy
Feel: Light, thin feel with a decent amount of carbonation.
Overall: It's nice to change things up just so at least you can say you tried it... Next time I think I might stick with another Mexican beer.
Grade: C

Wild Turkey Honey Infused

I was at the package store at the beginning of the week checking out some of the beer and wine options and found myself down the tequila, rum and whiskey aisle.  It was a Monday so I figured with the long week ahead it might be a good investment...  I am a big fan of Jack and Jim so I opted to go for something I normally don't buy.  Wild Turkey Honey caught my eye so I figured why not.

I have got to say it is pretty delicious especially mixed with Coke Zero.  It has that Whiskey burn however a sweetness to it that really goes along way, even Meg thought it wasn't that bad...and she usually cringes at the idea of Whiskey.

If you have the chance check it out, you may opt for the Jack and Honey also a great option.

Cheers.

Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat

Okay, this beer is probably one of the most unique beers I've ever tasted.  If you are from RI or close enough you may have first tried this beer at The Mews in Wakefield RI.  If not then hopefully someone near by has it on tap. You can find it at most package stores but it is some what of a new brew and not everyone carries it.  Here is my  take on it.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy yellow orange with a small head. 
Smell:  A wonderful smelling beer, fruity, smells of citrus, wheat and a hint of blueberry.
Taste: Amazing fruity flavor, orange really pops...but the best way to really describe this beer is it tastes almost identical to fruity pebbles cereal.  Yes you read that right.  If you don't believe me then you have got to go pick some up and give it a try.
Feel: Smooth, lightly carbonated.
Overall:  Loved this beer.  I am a big fan of fruit beers such as Magic Hat #9 or other beers like this one that are not over bearing with fruit flavor.  I could drink this beer over and over, its so refreshing and at 4.2% alc vol.
Grade: A

Hi neighbor have a 'Gansette Summer Ale

On the way home from work this past Friday I got a call from Meg and she couldn't wait for me to pick up a 6 pack of beer.  I wanted to have something crisp and refreshing so I gambled and went with Narragansett Summer Ale.  Here is my take on it.

Appearance:  Golden yellow in color and it pours a nice creamy head about 1" that disappears fairly quick. 
Smell:  Nice aromas of hops, sweet, grassy, and CITRUS!
Taste:  Bready, malty, cereal flavors with a refreshing hop citrus flavor.  So good.
Feel: This brew is light bodied, with light carbonation, not to sweet and not to bitter, and in my opinion has great drinkability.  At 4.2% alc volume I could drink these all day, they are almost thirst quenching.  I can see myself drinking this beer all summer, at a BBQ, the beach, late night campfire.
Overall:  This beer is a great addition to my summer brew rotation.  I would definitely recommend you give this  brew a shot at least once. Another cool thing about this beer is its made about 20 minutes from my house.
Grade: B+

The Towers of Narragansett in 1885 - Check out the its History here.  You can see the towers on the 16oz tallboy above.