Picture
Wed - 2/29/12 - Enjoying a bit of the "High Life".  I am a little biased here as Miller Lite was what I was born and raised on.  OK, so know my parents did not raise me on beer.  But my father drank Miller Lite.  So that was what was in the fridge as I was growing up.  This is what I snuck out of the fridge on occasion when I was a "boy being a boy!".  I'm not going to spend time on this - basically, the body of this was a bit more then is expected.  It is not as LIGHT and Watery as many others.  It has a creamy taste to it and the carbonation is really sort of nice and refreshing.  It definitely is "sweeter" like many of the economy beers are.  I don't know if that is from using more "corn" (or if Miller even does that) to save on cost.  This has the name the "Champagne of Beer" on the bottle.  The cool thing about this is I visited a brewery about 8-9 years ago in Terre Haute Brewery (I guess) I don't even know if it is still open.  And they claimed to be the 2nd oldest brewery in America still in Operation (1st being Yuengling).  Well, they also had a Champagne Velvet beer on their list which I found interesting.  Anyway, good memories of that brewery - I hope it is still in operation.  The French Dip sandwich I had there was AWESOME.  Anyway, High Life and chips/salsa - was not a bad way to spend the night.

Picture
Well, I thought I would be able to save Miller Lite till MUCH later in the year.  Turns out - I had no more "economy" in the house and this was there (as it often is in my house).  If you read the last post you'll know that I'm partial to this beer.  I think it is sweet and refreshing.  I do think it is a little watery but still that adds to the refreshing part.  It always holds a nice head on the top.  I didn't even use the "vortex" bottle for this beer - a revolutionary tool to "assist" the beer from exiting the bottle.  I have to say that I think it does make me drink this faster even if it is brilliant marketing.  For a light beer this is a medium bodied beer.  The thing is that this is ALL UP FOR discussion; the whole "tastes great/less filling" - versus different Large brewery beers that all have fancy commercials; cute gimmicks; and usually highly attractive people claiming their beer is the best.  When in actuality - it is ALL REALLY REALLY close to the same.  The truth is this is like arguing a FORD or a CHEVY is the best - when they are both pretty bad.  Oh, before I piss to many people off... I'm all about the American made blah blah blah; but I think EVERY can admit that the heart and soul of that is gone.  And that most "AMERICAN" made anything is not made in America.  And lets face it - we are GLOBAL now... so to find many products that are completely made here is tough.  Hence why I love beer - if it is brewed in America - it can claim - Made in America 100%!

Picture
Corona Extra - I remember going to Spring Break in Panama City, Fl about 12 years ago.  I was 2 years out of college and had a decent job making "decent money".  While, everyone was drinking Busch and Nati Light - my room was buying cases of Corona - cause "we had the money for the good stuff!  haha... Yea, the good stuff.  Well, I mean - on a hot day this is a beer I will add a lime to on occasion to enjoy.  No it isn't great.  But you know - it does have a mystical way of transporting me back to the beach every time I drink it.  I actually do not have any "tasting" notes on this one as I drank this "LATE" Friday night (almost didn't make the midnight cut because I had forgot) after having some quality beer with quality people for my wife's Birthday Party.  The party was a success.  Those cupcakes in the back were INSANELY GOOD!  And made by the birthday girl herself (check out her cooking blog for the recipe to be added some day soon).  I do have to give props to my friend 'Lite'.  Once again, I still did not have any "economy beer in house - so I called him up knowing he was coming over for the birthday party and true to nature he had this and had just finished drinking his last Coors Light (so I couldn't have one of those).  Thanks to 'Lite' for providing this to the blog.

Picture
Michelob Lager was yesterday's beer.  Now this picture to the left was actually taken today.  I thought I took a picture last night but could not find it.  So, I had one left over in the fridge - I actually thought about "sampling" this beside a Miller Lite for comparison & still may do that but... I need'd the pic.  As you can see the machine in the background is what I use to make the magic happen here at 365Beers!  In general, I have NOTHING good to say about Michelob.  I mean it basically is a "step above" water.  I drank 5 of these last night and had little of any feeling from it.  The taste is thin and watery.  As with any of the other lagers it is a bit bitter and corn like flavor.  I do not get much "barley" taste in this at all.  The hops do make an appearance in this beverage which probably makes it taste the "most like beer" of anything.  I am obviously not a fan here.  I guess for kicks I'll put this beside a Miller and see what I think... I'll post on FB my results.  Trying to play catch up here on the blog.

Out with the Economy back to the good brew!  Can't wait for today's FINE BEER OF CHOICE... I hope to have the blog written later tonight.  Thanks for reading.

 
Picture
So, the crew reached the end of the world last night.  No, it had nothing to do with the 2" of snow that fell to the ground.  Or the wild ride from downtown Pittsburgh to the 'burbs on the desolate snow covered streets at near mid-night.  Looks like the Mayan's may have been wrong about Dec 21 2012; yep the end of the world was last night.  Don't believe me - I have proof it ended last night; Downtown Pittsburgh; at Cioppino Restaurant.  Just look at the picture to the left (no this isn't me); a friend of mine, affectionately known as Lite in our following ventured far from the norm.  This is a one beer guy.  Oh, he'll try a beer here and there but usually turns a weird shade of green and crinkles his face.  His weapon of choice - ice cold Miller Lite.  But not last night; no last night as the world came to an end we sat at a very nice restaurant and watched Lite order a La Fin du Monde.  I was so proud it even brought a tear to my eye.  Even though I had drank a Spaten and had planned to order up a Duvel - I changed paths and ordered up a Unibroue.  Lite and I toasted to good beers and the rest is history!

We were all out celebrating the birthday of our deer friend.  Looking good and partying strong at the young age of 40!  You go on with your bad self girl... if you use Tracy as a barometer 40 definitely is the new 20!

On doing some research on this beer today - we obviously miss understood the definition of  "end of the world".  This brew is not using the "END" as a time but more a distance.  It is a dedication to the European travels that upon reaching North America thought they had reached "the end of the world".  I did some reading on the Unibroue site and it is a very interesting brew.  The brewery itself is crowned as the first North American brewery to brew a beer in the same style as the Trappist Monks had for centuries on end.  They work on unique styles with unique ingredients.  This is a triple style Golden Ale with a whopping 9% alcohol.  This brew holds a champagne like carbonation quality.  The taste packs a mouth full of spice and fruity flavors.  I definitely could taste some sweet orange flavors from the glass.  It really was a great beverage to accompany the quality of food that was served at this restaurant.  I have had this beer before and will definitely be looking for it again. 

To me, the most unique and exciting thing about this beer was the fact that Lite fell head over heels for this beer.  This beer holds no similarity to Miller Lite except maybe the fact that there is alcohol in it and they are both branded as beer.  Other than that I believe C.D. said it right that it was a very topsy turvy word that is completely out of whack when Lite finds a beer like La Fin du Monde to enjoy.

I'd also like to speak briefly about Cioppino's.  This restaurant was fantastic.  There were many of us at the table so to talk about every dish would be difficult.  But we did pass around most of our plates of food and I don't think there was a bad meal to be had.  I got the Shrimp and Clam broth soup - Magnificent!  Small chunks of clams and shrimp in a seafood stock with some small crushed tomatoes.  In the center was a nice large piece of bread/crouton that soaked up the goodness and was perfect center piece to the bowl.  We ordered the tuna tartar as our appetizer, but sampled the calamari, the meat and olive plate and the oysters.  For our main courses, Andrea ordered the Filet and Bread Pudding and I got the Hawaiian Mong Chong (if I remember that correctly).  All of these things were fantabulous to say the least.  The Filet was perfectly cooked, the bread pudding was cheesy and warm; my Mong Chong was so flavorful; it was a new fish for me so I was slightly nervous but incredibly happy once it was done.  The dish of ALL dishes though, the one that made the top of the list was the Scallops ordered by Lite and Andi.  That was incredible.  What was also very nice about this was that half way through our meal we were greeted by the chef who talked to us a bit and made sure everything was perfectly served.  There is also a cigar bar attached to the restaurant if the mood hits you.

Great night!  Great company!  Great Food!  Great Beer!  I am very blessed and thankful of it all!

I used Wikipedia for info on La Fin Du Monde and 2012 Phenomenon