The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy, but I've tried some new beers and had some great beer moments. So I figure I'll back it up to Sunday, July 25th. Amanda had invited a friend of ours over to start planning a State Fair party, and while he was over he asked if we had any summer beers.
Unfortunately, I didn't.
And it got me thinking - maybe I should take more advantage of the seasonal aspects of beer. That evening, we decided to have a cook out with John, John and Gregg. I ran to the store to get some brats (I just grabbed a Johnsonville party pack) and some summer beers. John had mentioned Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, so I picked up a six pack, and since I don't care for Summer Shandy I also picked up a six pack of Sam Adams Summer Ale, which was a new one to me.
Now one thing I like about cookouts is beer brats. My love of beer brats is two-fold. The first is definately the easiest - I love eating them. But the second is important in maintaining a properly stocked refrigerator - Making beer brats gives me a chance to use beer in my fridge that I'm not drinking before it gets old and skunky.
Why would I have beer in my fridge that isn't getting drunk? Because although I'm willing to try any beer, I'm not willing to keep drinking some of them. Since everyone has different preferences in beer, it stands to reason that there isn't any bad beer, there is just better beer. But that doesn't mean I'm going to drink a beer I don't care for if there's something else available.
This time I used MGD and Harp. I don't really drink MGD, but we always try to keep some on hand for guests. Plenty of people drink Miller and I'd rather have MGD in the house than Miller Lite. I've gotten to the point where it has become my preferred beer for making beer brats and beer dip. But this time I only had one bottle left in the fridge so I broke into the next oldest beer in the fridge - Harp.
Unlike MGD, I do drink Harp, but since I prefer darker beers, I only drink it regularly. I had originally bought it to make black and tans (or more acurately half and halfs, since Harp is a pale lager instead of a pale ale) - but after a couple I got tired of them and the Harp wasn't going anywhere - So it was time to start cooking with it.
Anyhow, the cookout was a good time - relaxed and enjoyable. A perfect way to end a relaxing weekend. The Summer Shandy's went over well and I got to try my first Samuel Adams Summer Lager. It was a success. It was light, with a pleasant tartness and a little bitterness that went down quite nicely over dinner. I had thought of having a second as we sat out in the back yard around the firepit and chatted, but I find that beer makes me thirsty and I didn't want to end up dehydrating myself before work. That's fine, it's still there waiting for me.
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