Do Not Miss This Brewery!

That title makes me sound a little bit demanding, now doesn't it? Well, I can be, but that isn't the point of this blog. And yes I am posting twice in one day, because I am playing some serious catch up from my last month of not posting.

Now, I am a beer snob, not that there aren't some cheap beers that I enjoy (*cough, PBR, cough*), but I love, absolutely love a good micro-brew. Of course, this is Colorado, which is widely considered 'the Napa Valley of micro-brews' so of course I would love them. Anyway, a couple of weekends ago I went to Lafayette (near Boulder) to visit my BFF/partner in crime and of course do a little (or a little too much) boozin'. But among my list of MUST DO things was to visit Asher Brewing and have a Tree Hugger Organic Amber, yes, it is an organic brewery!

Sadly (or maybe it's good) when I was there I was so preoccupied by the beer that I neglected to take any pictures, so enjoy the logo from the Asher Brewing website.

We first discovered this ridiculously amazing brew last summer at the Colorado Brewers Rendezvous, which has been one of the highlights of my summer every year that I have been able to go. This was (sadly) our last beer of the day at last years Brewers Rendezvous, but it was also our favorite, and this year will definitely be one of the, if not the first beers we have. Now, there was always a chance that maybe because it was the last beer in a day of a lot of drinking that it wasn't really as good as it seemed, but since going into the brewery sober, I can assure you that this is the best beer I have had (and that means a lot coming from me)! The BFF also tried (and from what I understand, loved) the Greenade Organic Double I.P.A, maybe sometime I can convince her to write a little review of that for you.

The brewery itself is a little bit tricky to find. It is located in a little industrial area, and since I wasn't driving when we went there I don't even have any little tips on how to get there. And it just so happens that this small town girl doesn't mind a quiet out of the way place to drink. We went a little late, but from what I understand they also have live music and local food trucks there selling food on Fridays. But if you are in Boulder (or the surrounding areas), even if you are looking for a place to stop on a road trip, and dare I say it, their beer is worth being the reason for the trip; this is definitely a place that you should do yourself a favor and visit, I promise that you won't regret it!

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Boozin' Colorado Style & The Deerhammer Whiskey Distillery

Once upon a time I had this crazy idea to go to every bar in Colorado, it sounded great... until I did a little research and found out that Colorado has roughly 18,000 bars. So after realizing that going to 18,000 bars is pretty unrealistic and could quite possibly take the rest of my life I opted to try for the more achievable goal of going to everywhere that they make booze in Colorado, which is about 230 or some odd breweries, distilleries and wineries. I'm sure of course there will be plenty of bars along the way as well ;-)

I guess if I'm going to talk about any bar, it's only fair that the first bar I post about should be the Green Parrot Bar, my favorite bar ever.

This is definitely a small town bar, it is definitely not the most touristy bar in town, but IMHO it is by far the best. The best way I can think of describing the Green Parrot is a cross between Toby Keith's 'I Love This Bar'

and 'Cheers - Sometimes You Wanna Go Where Everybody Knows Your Name'

Drinks are affordable, people are friendly (albeit slightly out of control sometimes) and they serve the best Bloody Mary's that I have EVER had, and trust me I have had a lot of them over the years!

Also there is no way that you can go wrong with a bar where the owner will make a special trip to the bar to get another bottle of Strawberry Parrot Bay out just for one person (yes, I am guilty of being that person).

After an afternoon of drinking at the Green Parrot last weekend I was somehow convinced to go across the street and try out the newest place to drink. A couple of friends and I wandered across the street to the Deerhammer Distilling Company, our recently opened Whiskey Distillery. 

(Please forgive the horrible photo quality, drunk + cell phone pic does not equal good photography)

I don't claim to be much of a whiskey drinker or to know the difference between good or bad whiskey. What I can say is that I have drank enough whiskey to know that their 'White Whiskey' is not really what one would expect from whiskey. Their website describes the White Whiskey as 'a light/sweet spirit with notes of fruit, chocolate and cinnamon that really shows off the true nature of the 100% malt grain bill', it was definitely cinnamon-y, and tasted more like Goldschläger mixed with Everclear than like whiskey. One thing I can say is that it was strong and I'm not ashamed to admit that it kicked my ass, which is saying a lot because I can usually hold my own!

I really wanted to like the distillery when I went in there, but the first impression didn't really impress me. I will definitely give it another chance and try the 'Oak Aged Whiskey', because like I said, I really wanted to like the place.


*** Update *** A sad little side note to this review is that from what I have heard, The Green Parrot is now using bottled Bloody Mary Mix... heartbreaking! So if you ever find yourself having a Bloody Mary there and it isn't the best one ever, don't say I didn't warn you! Still a bar worth going to :)

Jumpin' Good Goat Dairy & Cooking With Goat Cheese

If you want to know what the point of this blog is, please feel free to read the 'about' section.

Although I have had the idea for this for a while now, it feels like now is a great time to start. I'm sure by now everyone has heard about 'pink slime' or 'finely textured lean beef' as they like to call it. The defense has always been that they shouldn't have to label it because it's just beef and that it has been used for years and it didn't bother anyone. This just made me stop and think/wonder how many people don't know what they're eating or even think about where their food comes from beyond the grocery store, I know I haven't always. Even Wild Oats or Whole Foods, how often do people really think beyond the store shelves? So part of my little Colorado project I am working on here is cooking, specifically cooking with foods that I know where they came from.

My first little outing (because, hey you may as well start close to home) was going to the Jumpin' Good Goat Dairy, located just a couple of miles from my home sweet home.

The Jumpin' Good Country Store is located on the farm itself and if you go at the right time (which I didn't) you can tour the farm and even feed the baby goats. Even though I didn't go on the tour I still got to talk to the owner who was more than happy to let me go take pictures of the goats, pet a couple of the older ones and get bit by one of them (not hard).

I invested in some fresh eggs and a couple of different kinds of goat cheese. They also sell potatoes that they grow there and goat meat (that I was a little to scared to buy). They do have samples of most if not all of their different cheeses for you to try before you buy them.

I'll be honest, I had never cooked with goat cheese, so I played it a little bit safe with my goat cheese recipes.

The first cheese that I got was an Amuse Bouche, which I used on a Margherita Style Pizza (primarily because I am not really a fan of pizza sauce).

Ingredients:

• Pizza Crust
• 4oz Amuse Bouche Goat Cheese (or whatever cheese you like)
• 1 1/2 TBSP Olive Oil
• Medium/Large Tomato (my tomato came from the grocery store, but I did opt for a 'Colorado Proud' tomato, like I try to do with most of my produce)
• Basil, Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme
• Garlic
• Spinach
• Corn Meal

Personally I usually opt for making my own pizza crust, but if I am feeling particularly lazy I will buy pizza dough from the local pizza place (I never use store bought, but you can if you want). 

Start by rolling out your pizza crust on your pizza pan or pizza stone (I personally love my pizza stone), brush bottom side with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a little bit of corn meal. Brush the top of the pizza dough with olive oil, top with sliced tomato, thinly sliced garlic (can also use garlic powder or minced garlic), crumbled goat cheese, sprinkle with Basil, Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme (or whatever spices you like), and I also topped mine with a little bit of spinach (pre-cooked). Bake for 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees (note the amount of time needed to cook depends on thickness of the crust and how crispy you like it, so keep an eye on your pizza). If you've never cooked with goat cheese, keep in mind that it softens and will brown as it cooks it doesn't melt like other cheeses do.

As an easy peasy side dish, Pasta Salad. It's my all time favorite super fast and easy meal/side dish. Even when I hardly ever cooked, this was my go-to dish for any event where I needed to bring a dish ;)

Ingredients:

• Pasta (any kind/kinds you want)
• Roasted Red Peppers
• Italian Dressing
• Goat Cheese Feta (or regular feta cheese)

Boil pasta (once cooked, rinse and set aside) in this case I used tri-color and macaroni but you really can use whatever kind you like or combinations of different pastas, dice roasted red peppers, crumble cheese (if not already crumbled). Put pasta in mixing bowl, mix in a few tablespoons of Italian dressing (to taste), diced roasted red peppers (as much as you like), and feta cheese. I also usually add chopped raw broccoli, but I forgot to buy any. Can be served immediately, but it's best served chilled for a couple of hours or longer.

Of course as we tend to love our beer in Colorado, or the best way that I have heard it put, 'Colorado is the Napa Valley of micro breweries.' Everything is best served with a Colorado micro brew. In this case (because it was what happened to be in my fridge), Colorado's favorite or at least most popular micro brew, a Fat Tire.