This is what we ate...

{I don't know why everything is all squished up...i put spaces in between. It looked all nice, then I hit publish and see a bunch of squished together lines.....rrrggghh)

or should I say served. There was no sitting for hours. But lots of speedy walking.

I wanted to share the menu that we came up with. It was much more challenging than I thought.
This took (oh, the hardships) four meetings starting back in December to get all the pairings set and the beer brewed. We tasted all sorts of different foods and drank every beer we had on tap and thought of ones we could brew, to see what went best. Finally we got everything to please the brewer's palate, the caterer's palate, and mine. Then we started brewing some specialties. And pulled one beer out of a Bourbon barrel to let mellow. Three of the beers we poured that night are part of our flagship line and three of them were specialties. (I am editing the beer names)

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Here it is...

Our Brewing Company's Valentine's Day Beer Feast

5 Courses ~ 5 Beers

February 14th ~ 6:30 pm

B****** Blonde (an american style hefe)

Smoked and Spicy Adobo Shrimp

(these were served with homemade tortillas strips and cilantro)

P.........********* Pale (Pale Ale)

Local Apple and Caramelized Sweet Onion Peirogie's

IPA (India Pale Ale...my beer of choice, most of the time)

Braised Pork Belly with Tangerine & Thyme Marmalade

Oatmeal Stout

Aged Stilton, Roasted Beet, and Candied Pecans over fresh Micro Greens

Barrel-Aged Barleywine

Flourless Dark Chocolate Torte with Plum Compote and Fresh Whipped Cream

(oh my goodness this pairing was out. of. this. world. GOOD!)

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I am trying to get some photos ready, but editing them is proving to be a bit more tricky than I thought. And of course that night I didn't think of taking Internet safe/privacy saving photos. Or, great food photos for that matter.

The feed back I have gotten so far has been great. Check out what on of my more challenging customers wrote me...

"...What an awesome time T and I had last night. The brew was outstanding (as always), the company was great, and the atmosphere was perfect...I don't know how you guys will be able to top that performance. Thanks again for a great evening!!!!! ~ M"

I was so excited! No complaints. This dear man can always find something to criticize. So to hear niceness was really cool.

I think we will do it again. In a couple months.

The evening was great!
Everything went off without a hitch.
Details later.

Happy Valentines Day

It has been a crazy week. Fun. But crazy.
Last night is a blurr. Music was great.
Friday ski day was great. My SIL came along. Friends were up. Fresh powder in the morning. Snow fell off and on all day. The clouds were fantastic. Sights were refreshingly odd...

{Can you see she is wearing camouflage pants?? brilliant. she was wearing a crown of flowing ribbons too}

Tonight at the brewery we have 57 guest in for a 5-course beer paired feast. I'm worried. The menu is going to be great. The chef catering is fantastic. The folks will have fun-i hope. But this is a first for us. I have attended many others but never done one myself. I'm worried about the seating chart. Hope I matched folks well. I worry that I should have stuck with my initial limit of 35 - but had a hard time telling so many no. I worried. 10 hours from now all will be over. I'd like to take pictures and tell you all about it, but I worry about privacy. Tomorrow I will share the menu. If tonight I don't over indulge in the 5 beers we will serve. One just released yesterday sits at a 9.5% (the reason last night is a bit blurry). I worry about its reception - it is a new style for us. Taste buds can be fickle. I'll let you know how it all goes.

Since I'm sharing, here is more. A one word meme stolen from BB and Catstevens.

Cell phone? crackberry

Hair? long

Mother? missing

Father? helpful

Favorite Food? cheese

Dream last night? unknown

Drink? smoothies

Dream/Goal? adventure

Room you are in? bedroom

Hobby? skiing

Fear? failure

Where do you see yourself in 6 years? home

Something you are not? singer

Favorite Muffins? yuk

Wish list item? house

Where did you grow up? here

What is the last thing you did? talked

What are you wearing? sweatshirt

Favorite TV Show? nature

Pets? elsie

Friends? fantastic

Your life? interesting

Your mood? thoughtful

Facebook? yep

Favorite place to eat? italy

Missing Someone? always

Your vehicle? crv

What you aren't wearing? spandex

Favorite Store? internet

Favorite Color? green

Last time you laughed? today

Last time you cried? unknown

Best friend? b


That's all. For now.
Now I must-

• shower
• order balloons (pink, red and white)
• finish up center pieces
• help close up the tap-room
• decorate for tonight
• find something nicer to wear
• have a grand time
• ensure others do too
• shower love on my 3 valentines

List of a different sort

Gratitude...comes in all forms and for all sorts of things. At times when I feel like running, it is best to get present with all the blessings in my life. Here are a few....................

• Family rising to the occasions (And really, when isn't there a occasion)
• B - I love that man. For over 14years we have been lovers. Amazing!
• Eldest girl - always singing. Thankfully sings beautifully - challenges that I never imagined, but definitely dished out to my parents. What's that? It comes back ten-fold. Ohh, crap. Grace~give me grace
• Youngest boy - love of all things star wars. Snuggles each and every morning. Gapped smiles. Constant movement. 10lbs 9oz that didn't want to leave my body, but we worked together and all was good. The next George Lucas, he says.
• Medicine. Flowers. Herbs. Tea. Glass. Stevia. Coconut. Kisses. Sweet-tarts. Carmel.
• Kind, caring kids - who generally are pretty nice to each other
• Birthday breakfast with new friends
• Showing new friends one of my favorite shops downtown - it still has the heavenly smell that instantly transports me back to childhood. (even though I don't think I was ever in this shop as a kid)
• My job
• Hubbsters unemployment check
• B's willingness to step up and help, actually rescue our school year
• My parents help in our education process
• WWW ladies - every person should be so lucky to have the three of you in their corner
• Season passes for the family up at our local ski hill
• Desire to learn
• Great teachers
• Smokeless winter skies (scared for this summer-we need snow! or a really wet long spring)
• Pbs ~ commercial free 50 minutes (no me yelling 'turn the commercial off')
• Alan Alda - fantastic things he shares
• I.P.A + Pale + Ambers + Porters + Barley Wines + Blondes + the folks who appreciate them
• Skunks....not really a fan of them-but here in our neck of the woods the arrival of spring is when skunks and red winged black birds return regardless of what the calendar says - now watching for the rwbb
• New calves scampering across the fields
• Cashmere sweaters and cozy pants
• Crisp clean sheets that have been frozen/dehydrated out on the line. Heavenly. Makes me long for summer suns and all of our clothes being dried in such luxury
• New music (do you, dear reader, have any music suggestions for me?)
• Frye boots
• Darn Tough socks...(if you have never owned a pair. you should)
• Coconut shampoo and split end mender...but really its the coconutty smell-yum
• Jean size going down. woo-hoo
• Elsie's adoring eyes and thumping tail

The list goes on. But my time and attention must switch. For now.

What? I thought it was my day off

{** Post edited to show what I actually accomplished ~ Hmmmm...not as productive as I hoped but the biggies got done and now tomorrow is mine. (and it is still snowing-yippee!)}

This is what I'll be doing today, so I do indeed have the day off tomorrow......

• Publish the newsletter for work
• finish it first
• Get ski boots packed out - so my heals stay put on tomorrow's powder day. (as i sit here B has the kids up at the ski hill - the house is quiet. QUIET!!!!! and its snowing)
• Clean the bathroom
• Check the fermenters...make notes on what was brewed. Start my other learning list. (list #54,658)(but this list is exciting and fun)(changes, people, changes)
• Develop a proposal for HBM (perhaps this will just get started on and not completed)
• Finish mug club paper work and be done with it. and okay with it.
• Prep ski stuff (get pass from B)
• Correct music booking at work(this one i hate. calling and disappointing people)sucks!! {the calls were made and i avoided, i hope, canceling either one. I'm still waiting for one phone call to confirm everything...looks like that week we will be having live music three times. Could be worse.)
• Re-work schedules for work
• Breath....visualize swift silence, the blurred greens and brown of hillsides sliding up, sparkling whiteness, quiet car rides, really loud rockin tunes*, hot tea, sunrise, red topped mountains, frozen rivers, flocks of wild turkeys, herds of elk(please not on the road!), jagged peaks and smiles. And feet of fluffy, white, powder. (maybe tonight)
• *must find mp3 player!! for both car and hill (where in the hell did I leave that thing..."KIDS") (YEAH!!! i found it.!) (sorry kids, never mind)
• feed dear Elsie, and Virgil too ~ Done - and miss Elsie took a car ride to town, got to hang with me at work for a bit, took a walk down main street to have copies made, back to work, then to the grocery store and then finally home. which is still quiet.
• think about updating/maintaining work blog...run away screaming...thinking ...umm yeah didn't go there. At. All.

Well, I never!

Is it really true...I can post from my crackberry.
I have to test...
Here goes it~

- edited to say -
So nuts that i can post to the internet from my phone!!?! (though I seem to be unable to leave comments...thinking)
I have learned I can not post pictures/mms...hmmmm, or perhaps i have more to learn.(when is that not true?)

Also, my camera is in San Diego...since mid November 2009!!
I'm freaking out. Really, I want it back.
NOW! please

Tomorrow, I must send a self-stamped, self-addresses box to retrieve my camera.
I miss it. Greatly.