Peep Show

I'm obsessed with sugar.  Ever since I was a kid, I have had a special place in my heart for anything sweet.  I'm not talking about a passing fancy, like standing in the grocery line and grabbing a candy bar.  Not a once a month craving for chocolate.  Not raiding the kids Easter basket for the black jelly beans (which is what my mom used to do).  No, I'm not talking about a casual relationship with candy.  I'm talking a long term, jealousy inducing, passionate love affair with anything that may constitute an area on the Candyland game board. 

And of course, I have my favorites.  Depending on the time of year and my mood.  Fruity, sour, chocolate, peanut butter, pretty much anything goes.  (Except for coconut.  Ew.)    But around this time of year, I have a craving for a special treat.  A sugary gem that causes controversy and intense opinions.  Unnaturally colored, overly sweet, and used in many inventive, (and strange) ways.  Of course, I'm talking about Peeps.

A passel of Peeps

I'm sure almost everyone on the planet has heard of Peeps.  But how many peeps (hehe) realize the versatility of these little delights?  Peeps can be used on cakes, to make awesome s'mores, and even used in pop art sculptures. (Yes, I did that.)  But this time, I took an idea from Pinterest to try something different.

Now, if you don't know about Pinterest, go check it out.  In fact, check it out right now!  Go, I will wait. 

Are you back?  Good.  Did you start following me at www.pinterest.com/sthipster?  No?  Go and do that, I can wait again.

Our fondue display

Okay, now that we have all that finished, let's get back to the Peepsapalozza.  Pinterest is an awesome, addictive, social media forum that spawns a million projects.  Pretty much anything you can dream of is a pin on Pinterest.  I have used it as inspiration for craft projects, gifts, recipes, DIY's, and home décor.  Not to mention it sets my nerdy heart on fire.  But this project is one of the more colorful pins I've seen.  The original pin is from www.hoosierhomemade.com.  In it, she takes the plain, old, ordinary Peep (haha) and makes it even more special.

Fondue is a 1970's throwback where food is cooked or dipped in oil, cheese, or chocolate.  Remember earlier when I mentioned how Peeps make an excellent s'more?  Well, they make a pretty awesome and fun fondue, as well.  We used chocolate, of course.  (Not that I wouldn't try it with cheese, like maybe a nice brie, because, why not?)  Crazy, you say?  Not in my vocabulary.

Chocolate-y death awaits.

My family is used to my crazy ideas.  They are pretty comfortable with all my flights of fancy and random acts.  So when I told them the plan for dessert on Easter, no one batted an eye.  I started it out with the chocolate for dipping.  I used a combination of milk chocolate and semi sweet chocolate chips to create the sauce.  I just threw both packages in my crockpot and let them melt all through dinner.  If your chocolate gets a little thick, you can always add a bit of heavy cream to thin it out.  Melting chocolate in the crockpot is the easiest way to get a nice chocolate sauce. 

Oh, No!

Once the chocolate was ready, it was dipping time.  I used Peeps chicks and Peeps bunnies for this experiment.  The chicks are my preferred shape, because I'm a traditionalist, but the bunnies actually worked better at picking up the chocolate and other toppings.  And boy, were there others. 

When I do something, I go hard or go home.  In this case, I decided to add to the diabetes risk and coat the chocolate covered Peeps with more candy.  I used Nerds, M & M's, sprinkles, and colored sugar in spring colors.  I also cut up strawberries, apples, and pound cake for those that didn't necessarily need their sugar with a side of sugar.

Peeps and Nerds in love.

Then it was a free for all.  We put the Peeps on bamboo skewers to make the dipping easier.  And then we made a mess.  Chocolate and candies everywhere, Peeps being exposed to all sorts of sugary degradation.  It was fun, it was ridiculous, and it was awesome.  We were laughing and joking and having a great time.  And really, isn't that what holidays are for?

The finished product.

There's a reason I love sugar in all forms.  Candy, cakes, and other sugary treats are happy food.  I mean, who can look at a Peep, with it's bright glittery outside, and not smile?  Candy has always associated with fun times in my book.  And they are meant to be shared.  All happy things.  So, the next time you are looking at a display of Peeps, whether you like them, or not, think about silly, happy, laughing, smiling, and other feel good stuff.  It will change your perspective, I promise. 


Join the Peeps fan club at http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com/.  Check out their recipes and all the other cool things that peeps (hehe) are doing with these fantastic little candies.

And as always, stay hip, my friends!

Punky Brewster

Give me a woman who loves beer and I will conquer the world.

                                                                        Kaiser Wilhelm

On March 8, people across the world celebrated International Women’s Day.  IWD was started in the early 1900’s as part of the suffrage movement, and has turned into a day of appreciation, camaraderie, and respect for woman everywhere.  It’s also a great day of service, with different charitable events, all supporting women-centric programs.  One of these events is the International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day, put on by the Pink Boots Society, a group dedicated to promoting women in beer professions.  The Pink Boots Society gives a guideline for creating a craft beer, and breweries across the world use these guidelines to create their own unique brew.  And the best part, all the brewing is done by women.

 

I got to attend one of these events and got the fun job of being a Brewster for a day.  (In case you didn’t know, a Brewster is a female brewer.)  As much as I love beer, it was my first time actually being a part of the commercial brewing process.  And it was awesome.  It was a long day, but I got to learn so much, meet some awesome ladies, and drink beer.  How can you beat that?

Alan, our lady for the day!

Our event was held at Daytona Beach Brewing Company.  They are usually closed on Sundays, so we had the place to ourselves.  After a fortifying breakfast of Krispy Kreme donuts and coffee, (breakfast of champions), we headed back to the brewhouse.  There we were introduced to Alan, the brewmaster and honorary lady for the day. 

 

Alan was a great instructor, explaining the different steps of the brewing process as we completed them.  Our brew, the Unite Red Ale, was required to use Williamette hops, and needed to be a red, hoppy ale.  Alan then created a recipe around these guidelines.  Each brewery could add their own twist to this outline, so we got to add some Florida wildflower honey fresh from a local apiary. 

Making the Wort

There are multiple steps when brewing a beer, but basically you start with the malt, boil it up until it kind of looks like a big bowl of oatmeal, add some more boiling water, strain off all that sugary water goodness into another boiler, boil that up, add the hops and other tasty goodies, (like honey), and then cool it down, add some yeast, and let it sit for a while.  Of course, that’s highly simplified, and the process takes several hours, many of them spent watching water boil.  But it’s pretty amazing that a little bit of chemistry can turn some basic ingredients into something so delicious. 

Sparging.  What a great word.

Of course, the truly best part of the day was meeting the amazing group of ladies that I got to work with.  (Even better than beer and that’s saying something.)  As much as the craft beer movement has ballooned in the last several years, I still find it to be a boy’s club.  Beyond my close friends, I am often the only female at the bar that appreciates and is knowledgeable about craft beer.  (Not that it doesn’t have its perks.  I’ve gotten quite a few tasty free beers because I am the only girl drinking beer with the boys.)  But to be surrounded by a group of funny, kind, down to earth women who are not only knowledgeable, but downright passionate, about beer was something I won’t easily forget. 

I was honored to be included in this event, and I look forward to more events with the Pink Boots Society and Girl Meets Beer.  As for our beer, the Florida Wildflower Unite Red Ale, it’s not quite ready.  A couple of transfers and a little bit of dry hopping are needed to finish its adventure.  But sometime in April we will be tapping the kegs and I will get to enjoy the fruits of my (and everyone else’s) labor, and raising money for some local women’s charities.  Not too bad for a days work.

Thanks to everyone for a great day!

 

Check out the Pink Boots Society and the good work they are doing at http://pinkbootssociety.org/

Daytona Beach Brewing Company is located at 482 Fentress Blvd, Unit N, Daytona Beach, Florida.

Follow Girl Meets Beer on Facebook or Twitter @girlmeetsbeer1


As always, stay hip, kids!

Y Control

So, we all have those songs.  You know, that song that brings you back to a particular time and place.  That song that makes you remember, often through hazy, beer goggle vision, a moment that, whether it was epic or not, will always feel epic to you.  This is about one of those songs.

My dear friend Painting Mama had moved from the Sunshine State to the Windy City.  It was rough.  I was going through a divorce and the inevitable fallout from that and was kind of needy.  I was scared that I wasn't going to have her as part of my life once she moved away.  I'm sure most people have felt this way at some point in a friendship.  So, I let her go, albeit with a heavy heart.

A few months later,  Painting Mama and I were steady using up our unlimited text messages and facebooking like fiends.  It was great, but I missed seeing her face and getting drunk together and just talking, like you do with someone that doesn't judge you, even though they know all your dirty secrets.  So, I started to plan a trip to visit.  When I told her I was planning, she was just as excited as me.  I think there might have been way too many exclamation points used at that time. 

She was just as ready for a visit as I was.  She and her family had moved to Chicago because of her husband's job, and she was feeling isolated and lonely without her friends and family around.  We both needed this vacation.  And since they hadn't lived in Chicago very long, we both thought of it as our first trip to the city. 

Chicago as seen from Whiskey Sky bar at the W Hotel

 Painting Mama had gotten us a great hotel in Streeterville, right by the river.  (She has a gift when it comes to booking hotel rooms.  Honest to God.)  It was a Saturday night and we had plans.  The evening started with a meal at The Publican, which I had chosen, and turned out to be my most favorite restaurant in the world.  But that's for another blog post.  Then we were in the mood to drink. 

We asked our bartenders where we should head next and they directed us to a cool music venue in Ukraine village.  Unfortunately, it was pretty full, but the bouncer directed us to a dive bar down the street.  A true dive bar, it was pretty empty, (it was early still), but we made friends with the bartender, (a grandma type Ukrainian lady), who loved us and kept giving us Barenjager shots.  After a bit there, we decided to head to a dance club.

Now, Painting Mama and I have a great history of dancing.  There's a bar in Orlando, I Bar, that we have been dancing at for years.  Our favorite night to dance was Sunday, which was 80's New Wave.  Painting Mama is a huge Depeche Mode fan, and we are always on the hunt for a bar with the same feel as I Bar.
 
We had heard about a bar that might fill our requirements, i.e. dive bar, New Wave music,  a bit sketchy, and lots of different people having fun.  We ended up at Neo, a Chicago landmark.  It was a dark building at the end of an unlit gravel alleyway.  Definitely sketchy.  We walked in and discovered a bar that you would not want to see during the day.  Loud and dark and sticky.  The perfect combination for a dive bar.  We had gotten there early, for club standards, so we grabbed a beer and a shot and found a seat on the side of the dance floor. 

We noticed something pretty quickly.  The music seemed to be a bit more industrial than New Wave.  And the crowd seemed to be a bit more industrial too.  Hardcore punks and skinheads seemed to be the main demographic of the crowd.  It was a little intimidating at first, just feeling like we stood out in the crowd.  But we were quick to discover that just like us, nobody really cared what we looked like. 


Ready for a night out.

Even though the music was not what we were expecting, it was still danceable and we were ready to dance.  The great thing about dancing at a club, especially an alternative club, is that nobody cares how you dance, as long as you are dancing.  In that respect, Neo felt exactly like home.  Dancing ensued, as well as copious drinking.  Through the evening, we danced and laughed and talked to strangers and drank and smiled.  We never felt unsafe, or unwelcome in the slightest.

By the end of the night, (which was 5 am), the crowd had thinned out and we were starting to slow down.  I, being a bit tipsy, decided to request a song from the DJ.  I had been listening to a lot of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs at the time and requested "Heads Will Roll", figuring the DJ probably had no Yeah Yeah Yeahs considering the soundtrack of the evening thus far.  He didn't have it, but he told me he'd see what he could do.  As he announced the last song of the night, I figured we were out of luck for a song and started getting ready to head out.  Suddenly, "Y Control", an earlier release of the band came on and I jumped for joy. (Literally, I'm pretty sure I jumped up and down.) 

We hit the dance floor, a second wind giving us ridiculous energy for two girls that had been at it for 12 hours.  Hopping around and smiling, I looked around and realized that everyone in the club was dancing as well.  A roomful of serious punk kids were just as animated as we were.  Maybe it was the booze or the exhaustion, but it felt like a perfect moment.  At the end of the song, I hugged Painting Mama, the girl next to us dancing, and the DJ.  (Maybe it was the booze.)

It was one of those moments that seems surreal.  A lovely mix of time, place, location, company, and experience.  It, and the associated memories, have stayed with me for 5 years.  And every time I hear "Y Control", I remember that trip and all it entailed.  Not just that night, but the next day sitting next to the river, the cute bartender at the Publican, the view from the 33rd floor of the W Hotel, the millions of miles we probably walked because we could never decide where to stop and eat, the time spent just chilling on her couch with her husband and son, watching Netflix and drinking Jack Daniels.  All of those memories hit me every time.  And I also think about my gorgeous friend, and how much I love her and how blessed I am to have her in my life.  We have had many adventures since then, but I will never forget that moment in time.  Or that song.

Check out the video for "Y Control".  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcjPFAV1foU


Check out Painting Mama's artwork on the iPhone app Vango  Artist Sherry Streeter.


Until next time, kids, stay hip and make some memories!

Bourbon Legacy

Sometimes I forget how much I really love my profession.  It can get overwhelming, dealing with people everyday.  Long hours are hard on the body and unhappy people are hard on the soul.  But then there are those experiences that make it all worth it.  A sincere compliment, a profitable day, a moment of shared laughter.  A few months ago, I had an experience that reminded me why I have chosen the bar life all these years.

I recently joined the United States Bartenders Guild, an organization of professional bartenders and those in the beverage world.  It's a great group of really talented, really passionate people in our industry. As a member of USBG, I get invited to attend tastings, meet and greets, and other educational events.  The most recent of these was a luncheon/bourbon tasting with a legend.

 

Jimmy Russell is a kindly Southern gentleman that reminds you of your grandfather.  A day before his 80th birthday, I got to have lunch with him, drink his bourbon, and listen to him talk about his passion, mainly, Wild Turkey bourbon.  Mr. Jimmy has been distilling Wild Turkey for 60 years, and, along with his son, is a member of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame.  Betcha didn't know that existed, did you?

We all settled in to a private dining room at the Capital Grille.  As I looked around, I was disappointed that other than the distributor rep, I was the only female.  That was my only disappointment, however.  Introductions were made, lunch orders were taken, and then we got down to the tasting portion of our lunch.

Before we got to taste the bourbon, Mr. Jimmy explained the best way to taste the various samples.  When tasting bourbon, you want to use your senses of sight, smell, and taste.  Before the actual tasting, take a look at the color.  Put it up against the light.  The colors of bourbon can vary from a light straw gold, to a dark amber, and everything in between.  The color of the bourbon indicates how long the bourbon was in the barrel.  Taking a few seconds to appreciate those rich jewel tones makes the experience that much better.  Next is the smell.  Each bourbon smells a little different.  Notes of pepper, fruits, vanilla, oak, all of these can be represented.

Finally, the best part, tasting.  As with the smell, you can get so many flavors, depending on the age of the bourbon.  But that isn't all you want to taste.  The finish is just as important.  Bourbons can finish harsh, smooth, oaky.  It's an all over experience that really makes you think about what it is you're drinking.

Using these guidelines, we were able to try eight different bourbons from the Wild Turkey line.  From Wild Turkey 101, the most common of the line, all the way up to the Diamond Anniversary, which was created to celebrate Mr. Jimmy's 60th anniversary with the company.  Each of the tastings had a completely different character, but I have to say that my favorite was Rare Breed, which, despite its 108.2 proof, was easy to drink.  It's also Mr. Jimmy's favorite.

All in all, it was a great afternoon.  Mr. Russell was sweet and very educational.  He discussed each of the different bourbons, told us the history of the distillery and his role in it, and answered all of our questions.  (His favorite non-alcoholic beverage?  Unsweet tea.  You're welcome.)  I was honored to be able to spend time with a legend, that being one of his final trips.  And before I left, I even got a hug and a kiss from the legend.  Not too bad for a Tuesday afternoon in December.

(I apologize for the lack of pictures, I blame it on being a bit starstruck.)

Thanks for reading, hip cats!  I'll be posting again soon, but in the meantime, stay hip and drink some bourbon!