IPA DAY!

– IPA DAY – August 1st –

#IPAday

You better believe the Beer Baroness will be joining in on this toast!
IPA’s are one of my most favorite of craft beers…I love me some hopped up, bitter beers!

So, don’t forget to join in on this collective toast to celebrate craft beer everywhere!
HAPPY IPA DAY EVERYONE!  (August 1st)

Michelada?

It’s Michelada time (Photo: Kaitlyn McQuaid)

Sometimes I come across interesting articles about things going on, new beverages coming out, breweries that are being awesome…you get the idea. Anyway, I like sharing this information with people, so here is one I just read today.

Check out the link for this spicey summery drink, the Michelada.

I am curious to try one of these drinks myself, but am always a little timid when it comes to adding outside substances to my beer…so we shall see! Anyway, sounds like it could be tasty. You decide.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who has tried something like this too, give me your opinions! I want to know what you think!

On the Search

As I have begun my first blogging experience, it has been a small struggle to find suitable places for me to sit down and blog away.

I found that working at home was too much of a distraction…or rather, my air conditioned room with a comfy bed was distracting…oh how I love naps! So I started out on a search in my local area to find a place to park my keester and my laptop and get to work.
My first choice had the perfect setup with some nice table choices off in the corner with access to outlets, but for some reason they do not partake in the amazing offering of free Wi-Fi. So, that was a bummer. But I still love the place, they have a great staff, amazing food and very importantly, lots of craft beers on tap. (DB Searle’s)

I then found a 2nd perching spot, where I wrote many of my previous posts. Yay for free Wi-Fi and an outlet! Too bad they only have one outlet…so it is a luck of the draw if that particular spot will be open when I get there. Regardless, I do enjoy that location and atmosphere, so I will keep it on my list. Plus the bartender was pretty awesome and they have super good happy hour deals…what up House of Pizza?

Today, I found a 3rd spot (needed a change of scenery)…and this one is pretty great so far, minus the miniscule choices in craft beers on tap. I mean, the Beer Baroness kind of needs a tall glass of amazing beer while she writes…right? But they do have a couple tasty ones for me, so I won’t complain. The staff here is great, they have multiple tables near outlets and…big winner, free Wi-Fi! Yay!

@ MC’s Dugout. My beer is almost gone!

The current bar trivia going on does make it a bit hard to really concentrate on this current posting…so…my descriptions of these first few blogging spots seem a bit lacking. Too bad. Maybe you should just get out to fantastic little-big St. Cloud MN and check them out for yourself. And wear a tutu.

Fancy Page

IPA ASAP Please!

Hey, I got myself a fancy facebook page. I think I am extra cool now.

https://www.facebook.com/thebbaroness

I think you all need to start nominating…especially those in MN!!

What’s the Baroness Drinking?

Untappd Ap Icon

Want to know what I, the Beer Baroness, am up to and what tasty new brews I am tasting?  Friend me on Untappd! Yes, there is an ap for that!  Just look for “The Beer Baroness” on Untappd.

This is the lovely ap that I use to keep track of the many amazing craft beers I try. There are just so many out there, so I love having this little ap handy on my phone to be able to look up new craft beers, breweries, and to take notes and rate what I have tried for future reference. You can also see what your friends or what others in your area are trying, or check to see if a certain type of beer or brewery is sold nearby. It is fantastic!

 

St. Paul Summer Beer Dabbler

Although I am not going to be able to attend this amazing event, it doesn’t mean you can’t!

If you are looking for something fun to do this weekend and love craft beer and amazing food, get your booty out to the St. Paul Summer Beer Dabbler this Saturday, July 20th.

“Need a ride to the Summer Dabbler on Saturday? Hop on a Metro Transit bus or train for FREE! Follow the link below for your voucher. Thanks to St. Paul Smart Trips for their support.”

They are also having a home brewing contest! Um….awesome!!

St. Cloud Craft Beer Tour 2013

3/16/13

We had a new beer fest in St. Cloud this year and I got to work at it! It was called the St. Cloud Craft Beer Tour.
I am always excited to be able to pour amazing craft beers for people, give them a little knowledge about the brews and watch the smiles galore! It was a great time, there were so many great breweries represented at the event and lots of special tappings around town after.

The before.

You know I am ready to go when I have my beer socks on!

I was a brewery representative for the day for Stone Brewing. Oh how I love their beer! That is definitely a brewery on my list that needs to be visited in the near future.

Brewery Rep for the day!

Pouring those awesome samples!

The crowd begins!

The day was a success and I had a blast. Afterwards I was able to visit some of St. Cloud’s downtown establishments to try the various beers that were being tapped in celebration of the days event. It was quite fantastic!

Special tapping – Odell Brewing @ the Keller Bar

Brewery Tours – Third Street Brewhouse

6/22/13

Thanks to my friend Kim, I was finally able to visit my nearest craft beer brewery, Third Street Brewhouse.
*Thanks for the invite Kim!*
It’s about time I made it there! Third Street has a state-of-the-art brewery, all the bells and whistles to make some delicious craft beers. Located in Cold Spring, MN, they are still fairly new, but have definitely made themselves known pretty quickly…those marketing giants have been working hard! I haven’t been to any bars in the MN area lately that don’t offer at least one of their refreshing brews. I can’t say that is a bad thing…maybe they are just following me.

In the tap room.  Paul Bunyan chairs…or at least that is what I called them…just waiting for our bums to come chill.

Our tour guide…my fault for not writing his name down. He was pretty cool though.

Our tour guide brought us through the brew house, things were steaming and dripping and being lovely with all that beer making. It was pretty loud, beer making is loud you know, so it was a little hard to hear our lovely tour guide. Good thing this wasn’t my first rodeo…err, tour. So I knew a lot of what he was describing to us and was able to admire all the top-of-the-line equipment they have there. Wow…so much shiny! We just had to keep an eye and foot out for the puddles and piping.

Pipes Pipes Everywhere!

What? More pipes?

Look at all that shiny!

Unfortunately, due to the awesome weather we have been having this spring (winter)/summer (crazy), our tour did not include the packaging facility…or the cooler full of all their wondrous hops. Thanks a lot power outages! I definitely shed a tear when we stood in front of the cooler and the tour guide described the paradise of hops within…because we couldn’t see them…or smell them. Still makes me sad.

I’ll take one please!

Feeling small.

After the shortened tour we ended back in the tap room for some sampling. Could be my favorite part…maybe.
Although I have had all the Third Street brews already, it was still great to sample them from the source. Fresh as fresh can be. Everyone had a great time…yep, I’m speaking for everyone because I can. I met some great new people, they were all so fun and I am glad I could help make the van ride back home entertaining. It was a good day!

In the tap room…our bellies enjoying the samples and our bums enjoying the Paul Bunyan chairs.

Beer Story Beginnings

It all started a few years back…you think I would remember the date. It was an eye opening, taste bud tantalizing, and mind happiness day for me. Before this day, I didn’t really ever enjoy many beers. When all I had were the main American domestic lagers to choose from…what I like to call beer flavored water these days…I really only got any variance in flavors when I went for what I thought were the “dark” beers like Newcastle and Guiness (if they were on tap). Not to say those aren’t great beers in their own accord, and I will still enjoy one from time to time, but it definitely wasn’t enough to make me a full-fledged beer lover. It probably had something to do with my location too; St. Cloud, MN wasn’t exactly a hub for craft beer distribution. So, suffice to say, I was mainly a Vodka-Sour or Whiskey-Coke girl…definitely not the Beer Baroness (craft beer fanatic) that I am today.

I have to give a shout out to my friend Aaron Salzer; it was him that truly got me started in the craft beer world. I frequented this amazing little pub called The Tav on Germain (has since moved locations and is now the wonderfully amazing Old Capital Tavern in Sauk Rapids, MN). It was sort of my “Cheers” if you will. Mr. Salzer was a part owner of this fabulous little establishment. He had a nose for great flavors and big plans to bring new craft beers to his bar (and he did). But my pallet wasn’t quite ready to accept these new craft beer flavors.  One day, while making a visit to The Tav for a drink and some grub, I noticed some new flyers up about a ‘Beer Dinner’ event coming up. It was a 4-course meal, each paired with a specific beer from the same brewery. There was to be a brewery rep from that brewery there to talk about the brewery and how it started as well as teach us about each beer we would be tasting. Also, the chef would be there to give us information on each meal he prepared and how/why it was chosen to be paired with that particular beer. It sounded like a great experience, plus I had never had a 4-course meal before…seemed fancy to me. So, on a whim, I bought a ticket for me and my significant other at the time and asked some other friends if they would like to attend.

It was a great decision. I was worried about the price, but it was so worth it. The food was amazing and so was the beer (to my surprise). Having that pairing of each meal to a specific beer based on their flavor profiles was such a great way to open up my pallet and really enjoy the flavors in a whole new way. Plus, it was wonderful to have a representative from the brewery there to teach us all about the beers, how they were made and how the brewery itself was started up. They even brought along some special beers to try as well as some awesome brewery swag – who doesn’t love that?

After that day, I just had to have more, learn more, taste more, experience more in the craft beer world. These dinners began happening monthly, each with a new brewery. I learned so much at each and my desire for new flavors grew and grew (and so did my beer swag collection). I began trying more and more different beers wherever I could find them. I started searching out information on beer to learn more about the process of making it, the history and anything else I could find. I would have begun brewing my own as well, but unfortunately my home is not an ideal location for that process (yet)…so home brewing is still on my to do list. I began traveling to different breweries to take tours and educate myself; and of course sample their delicious concoctions. I started making friends in the craft beer industry since I was always showing up at their events, excited and eager to learn from them and try what they had to offer. Craft Beer Beer Beer Beer Beer!

It has been a very fun adventure so far. I see many more great times in my craft beer future and I can’t wait! Come join me! It’s Beerventure Time!