Annual Pumpkin Beer Tasting

Happy Halloween my ghoul and goblin friends!

I'm posted up at the olive oil shop for the day (shhh don't tell my boss that I'm blogging on the job) and am hoping to see some folks in costume at the shop to make things festive. I'm also listening to Monster Mash on repeat. Why aren't there more Halloween songs? I need more.

In the spirit of Halloween, I wanted to share last night's festivities with you! This was my 3rd Annual Pumpkin Beer Tasting! It's one of my favorite traditions and I started acquiring this year's crop of pumpkin beers during the unseasonably early month of August. Insider tip: pumpkin beer selection seems to peak in mid-September. Early bird gets the seasonal booze!

To give you an idea, this was last year's pumpkin beer lineup...

 

My personal favorite last year was the Schlafly Pumpkin Ale. The clunker of the group was definitely the Anderson Valley Pinchy Jeek Barl (also, *what* is with that name??). I don't want to say I poured it down the sink but.... well I 100% poured it down the sink.

 

This year's collection had a number of local brews, which I was excited about. Dare I say it -- I think this was the strongest showing yet! 

 

 

My (biased but ultimately correct) ranking of the Pumpkin brews:

1. Cawtawba Brewing King Don's Pumpkin Ale (the crowd favorite!)
2. Cottonwood Pumpkin Ale
3. Shipyard Pumpkinhead (the only beer of the group that actually tasted of *pumpkin* and not pumpkin pie spices - very vegetal - in a good way!)
4. Williamsburg Alewerks Pumpkin Ale (Alma Mater Hail! Rhymes!)
5. Flying Dog The Fear Imperial Pumpkin Ale (at 9.0% ABV there should be Fear indeed)
6. Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale
7. Deep River Pumpkin Pie Porter (not initially very seasoned or pumpkinny but it grew on me)
8. NoDa Brewing Gordgeous
9. Flying Dog The Gourd Standard IPA (a fine beer, but not very *seasonal*)
10. Troeg's Master of Pumpkin (wanted to love it because it had a cork (!!!) but sadly, that just wasn't enough)
11. Harpoon Pumpkin UFO (my scientific and thorough notes for this beer read simply "NO")

And there you have it! I do want to give a special shout-out to the elusive Elysian Brewing Night Owl Pumpkin Ale which I tried several years ago and have very fond memories of.

 

FYI, pumpkin beer tastings go very well with a side of Crispy M&Ms (long live crispy M&Ms!), Sour Patch Kids and popcorn.

 

Any fun Halloween plans? Favorite pumpkin beer? What's your costume this year?!

 



Weekend outing: Windy Hill Orchard & Cidery

It appears the weekend has come to a close and another Monday is upon us. The weather in Charlotte perfectly reflects this. Guys. It has been the dreariest here. I kid not when I say that I haven't seen the sun in 5 days. I actually had a dream last night that the sun came out! It's like the weather Gods heard of my excitement about Fall and all said "we'll show her!".

But I digress...

Gloomy weekend weather called for a festive outing to 1) get me out of the house and 2) remember why I love Fall.

Torsten and I drove (through pouring rain) down to South Carolina to pay a visit to Windy Hill Orchard & Cidery!

It's only a ~45 minute drive from Charlotte and definitely worth a trip.

Hard cider flight (the Rusty Gold was my favorite!) and *hot out of the fryer* apple cider donuts. 

This is probably the most Autumnal photo we will ever take. 

Even on this rainy Saturday there was an intrepid crowd of cider + donuts seekers. There is usually live music on weekends but I think the rain was too much for the band. Alas.

Windy Hill also makes there own Apple and Pumpkin butters (I snagged some of the Pumpkin butter for my oatmeal, yogurt, sandwiches, etc. etc.), cider, pies, apples and more. 

There were also some hogs and hens to hang out with and feed because.... well... I don't know.

If you live around Charlotte you should definitely spend an afternoon at Windy Hill. There aren't any more apples to pick (the season in this neck of the woods seems to peak in early September) but the cider and donuts are more than worth the trek.

And now... if you're reading, Weather Gods -- PLEASE send some sunshine!

First Day of Fall!

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Good ole F. Scotty knew what he was talking about!

I'm sorry I've been a little quiet lately. I've been buried in Anatomy & Physiology (epithelial tissue, cellular respiration and bones oh my!), had my first Food Composition & Community Nutrition exams and some extra hours working at the olive oil shop.

Both of my Wednesday classes were miraculously cancelled today (I'm assuming to celebrate the first day of Fall, right?) so I'm lazing around and catching up on life things.

It's officially the first day of Fall and I couldn't be happier. It has been feeling crisp in the mornings here in Charlotte and there is pumpkin everything on grocery store shelves.

Judge me all you want, but I'm the girl beelining for the pumpkin greek yogurt, loading my cart up with pumpkin butter, and coveting my new plaid blanket scarf. And hey, pumpkin is a stellar source  of Vitamin A and Fiber. So the joke is on you!

I *may* have jumped the gun a little bit on Fall but now I can share my delight in the new season loud and proud.

Oh oh! This candle. So festive and not too sweet smelling. Bonus: Bath & Body Works had them on sale! Student budget...

This lil screen shot is from a few weekends ago, but this was the first morning I woke up to such a cool temperature. A squeal and victory dance definitely ensued.

This set-up appeared on the Student Help desk at Winthrop last week. The inspirational quote cracked. me. up. It makes it into this post because of the pumpkin and owl, obviously.

While this picture is no stunner, I promise this was one delicious and Fall-appropriate breakfast. 

The night before, combine:

1/4 cup oats

Scant 1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

2 T pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

Dashes of: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice

1 t honey

The morning of, top with:

Walnuts

Pumpkin butter (never too much pumpkin)

Chia seeds 

Hemp seeds

Fun fact: we learned in Food Composition that this recipe format is called "Action Style." Most recipes are "Traditional Recipe Style" (aptly named) but there are also "Narrative Style" recipes in which everything is written in a paragraph, and ingredients are interspersed in the directions (I find these ridiculous and would always forget ingredients on my shopping list) and "Descriptive Style" which involve 3 different columns - ingredient, quantity, and procedure. Anecdote over.

Last but not least, another Bath & Body works find. This soap smells so cozy and makes me smile every time I wash my hands. Yes, it really is that easy to make me happy. Fall, I tell ya!

Spill! What are you most looking forward to this season? I'm on the hunt for some Apple Cider Donuts this weekend...

Strikes My Fancy Friday #1

It's Friday!

And time for a little Strikes My Fancy Friday action. I spent an absurd amount of time trying to come up with a clever alliterative title for this post and, I'm sad to report, this was the best I could do.

This will mostly recap my favorite eats and recipes of the week, but I might also throw in some other goings-on just to keep you on your toes.

 

My self-control didn't stand a chance once the pumpkin beers emerged. I'm saving these four until October (promise!) but I may have had this glass of Southern Tier Warlock (which is 10% ABV!!!) at Good Bottle Co. so I could compare it to Southern Tier Pumpking. They had them both on tap - what's a girl to do?! Verdict: they taste remarkably similar despite their totally different colors/styles. I still think they taste like a Yankee Candle. But I also finished this no problem. 

 

I checked out the Charlotte Regional Farmer's Market for the first time last Sunday and bought a carton of peaches. Because it was almost closing time, the farmer loaded me up with extra peaches. So, of course, I had to make peach pie! This recipe from smitten kitchen was fairly easy and resulted in a super flakey crust! Make it before peach season comes to an end!

 

The Coconut flavored La Croix will always have my heart, but this Apple Berry flavor takes a close second! I've been on the hunt for the new flavors (Kiwi Watermelon! Blackberry Cucumber!) but haven't found any yet. 



 

I found this wine at the Charlotte Total Wine (which is truly a magical place) for the reasonable price of $8.99. Two thumbs up from the Sauvignon Blanc lovin gal.

 

Everyone knows you can order 1/2 and 1/2 toppings from places like Domino's and Papa Johns but it had never occurred to me to do so at a local pizza joint! Until this week, that is. Half greek and half sundried tomato pesto made for one whole delicious pizza at Hawthorne's (do you see what I did there?).

 

Forgive me the somewhat unappetizing photo here because I swear this was the most summery and delicious lunch. Avocado toast, local tomatoes and balsamic vinegar and a handful of almonds for some extra protein. And hey, is that another La Croix I see?

 

This is my new favorite greek yogurt. So tropical!

 

This has been my view for the majority of the week. I start classes next Tuesday so I've been catching up on reading and Bachelor in Paradise (I know, I know). But I'm considering it a "pruning of my brain cells" before I build them up again this semester in class. It's science!

 

Anything striking your fancy this week? Foods? Books? Spill!