St. Patrick's Day!

So, back on Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent, we had just come off of our first snow days and single digit temperatures. The natural thing to give up? Beer! Who wants beer in the dead of winter?? Especially when you have Pinot Noirs and Zinfandels and Chiantis to see you through!

But then came mid-March and our Spring teaser. Scratch that, Summer teaser. 84 degrees in Greenville, South Carolina, on March 16! Time to shed those heavy layers of Pinot and Rioja, and move to something lighter and carbonated!!! Top that off with what we all know follows March 16....

Yes, St. Patrick's Day. Shelves everywhere filled with beer. Irish beer, domestic beer, craft beer, you name it. Not only that! The temperature? 86 degrees!! Oh, St. Patrick himself was tempting me!!!! Would the Pope grant me a special dispensation for today? To partake in the Festivities at Connelly's and all the other Irish Pubs? Would one evening out of 6 weeks be so so bad??

I'm not saying how it all turned out. Let's just say there are less than 3 weeks left of Lent...

I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. My phone number was (312) 896-.... That was before FAX machines and cell phones and the need to have scores of area codes for one, well, area! I don't live in the Chicago area anymore, but I still call it my hometown. So when I heard about 312 beer, of the Goose Island Brewery, naturally, I had to try it!

This is the 312 Urban Wheat Ale. A hazy wheat beer, yes, but not so "flat" like some. Almost a wheat beer combined with a Pilsner. That's it! It's like "Old Style" meets Wheat Beer! Wow, this is fun!

The fun blew out of my sails when I read the fine print on the label however: brewed in either New Jersey or Colorado. What happened to Chicago??? Apparently Goose Island Brewery is now yet another label of Anheuser-Busch. 

Sigh. They're trying to replace "Old Style" in Wrigley Field, too...

My New Year’s resolution? To resurrect our blog! And yes, I’m aware it’s titled “Beers of Summer,” but what better time to talk about the Beers of Summer than in the middle of winter! 

And as long as we're talking winter, let's talk about a place where winter starts in October and can last through May- the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Today I'm sporting my Minocqua Brewing Company t-shirt, from Minocqua, Wisconsin.  http://www.minocquabrewingcompany.com/

I vacationed in Minocqua every summer all my life. Well, until I moved to the south and it was too far away to vacation there any more. Which was actually nearly half my life ago. But at any rate, now they have this awesome (or so I hear) microbrewery. My daughter visited  there this summer, bringing me back the obligatory shirt I wear today. (I knew I could get this to tie into summer somehow!)

One of their most interesting brews? Wild rice. Some may know Wisconsin is known for its wild rice. So I guess this is a natural! Have I tasted it? No! I told you I haven't been back to Wisconsin since, well, a long time ago! But as I watch Bowl Games in my t-shirt with a picture of a growler floating on Lake Minocqua, and I contemplate opening a beer, I can only wonder what wild rice beer would taste like. Maybe I'll get the chance to try it. Next summer.

Ahhh, the joys of summer. Having just returned from a cruise in the Caribbean, sampling beers like Presidente, Medalla, and Carib, we filled our fridge with as many imports and craft beers as we could. Although the cruise was over, and we still indulge in wine and our secret-recipe Sangria, we thought it would be fun to sample our way through the beer aisles, pretending that we were still on the deck of the ship listening to the steel drum band. 

Then it occurred to us, maybe it was time to share our tastes with the world! Surely there are people out there who need us to be their personal tasters! Thus our blog was born. What better way to spend the summer than chugging beer and writing about it?

So today's blog- Shiner Ruby Redbird. Yes, the Spoetzl Brewery in Texas is best known for Shiner Bock, a Bavarian-ish amber beer. But we were curious to try this variety brewed with grapefruit juice, especially since, as the Texan among us pointed out, Ruby Red Grapefruits hail from Texas. We were pleasantly surprised by the lager, about the same bitterness as the Bock, but definitely with the zip of the grapefruit. The finish, however, was very familiar. Another swig, what is that flavor? One more gulp- yes, that's it! Read the label more closely to confirm that Vernors-esque flavor was indeed- ginger! We love the unique flavor and freshness, and it has moved to the front of the fridge. Definitely one of the joys of summer- and only available then, too. Drink up!