Here are the beers I will be serving to my friends and family to ring in 2013!

With all the different flavors of appetizers my wife will be putting out, I want my guests to enjoy beers that will be lively, crisp, and are able to effortlessly morph from shrimp to chicken as well as “do the shimmy” with cheese and salty snacks. I like to serve them in champagne glasses so my friends can enjoy different flavors in moderation.

First up is Brennan’s Golden Pilsner. This will get your taste buds to rise to stand up and stimulate your appetite. Great with salty snacks and mustardy options.

Beer number two is going to be Scuttlebutt Amber Ale. A bump up in malt character from the Pils, but it still has palate cleansing hop crispness.

Beer number three is a Belgian Beauty…Flying Dog’s Wildeman Farmhouse I.P.A. Such a well-attenuated brew full of tantalizing spicy notes and yeasty Belgian aromas.  This beer does NOT have the typical American hop bite, (due to a secret blend of hops), but rather a tart,  citrus-like finish.

Beer Number four will be a creamy Imperial Dunkelweiss known as Scuttlebutt 10 Below.  Slight milk chocolate flavors and a whiff of banana aroma will end the night on a cheery, beery, dessert note!

Cheers!

There are some big beer drinking holidays just around the corner:  Chaperoned a Field Trip to Zoo (today),  Memorial Day and Father’s Day. Ok, so many of you may not have heard of the “Just Chaperoned a Field Trip to the Zoo” holiday because there really isn’t one. But anyone who has every gone a field trip with a bus load,  or for that matter one crabby, hot and tried pre-schooler knows that while beer isn’t the answer, it certainly doesn’t hurt.

So, here are my micro picks for whatever comes your way this May and June,  whether it is, “Waited 2 hours to see my kid walk across the stage for 30 seconds to get their diploma”, or ” Just cleaned out my garage and am very thirsty day.”

Avery Rascal Wit (Boulder, CO):  Uber-refreshing. This is my fav style of beer in the summertime. An orange slice is a must for me, but of course optional for you. It is spicy with a lemony acid edge and good flavors of coriander and orange peel with a good bitterness in the finish. Slightly sweet but this is mostly a spice and hops beer. The bonus about this brew is that it is available in cans and bottles, so it can be enjoyed anywhere bottles aren’t welcome.

Millstream Weizenbock (Amana, IA): A heavier wheat beer. Kinda of like a cross between a Wit and a Hefeweizen.  Banana, green apple, clove and pepper spice, yeast, bubblegum, lemon citrus, and caramel make an appearance, and even balance the alcohol toward the middle of the glass. Num.

Scuttletbutt Homeport Blonde Ale (Everett, WA):  This easy, but crisp brew has flavors of bready malt, grass, lemon zest and very mild bitterness. A summertime brew if there ever was one.

Cheers!!