Month: July 2017

GBS podcast is now a proud member of WBLZ Sports! Before you listen to this week’s episode go like their page! Episode 71 we welcome Tamara and Leigh, The Kentucky TasteBuds (hint go like their page too), talk UK women’s football clinic, point out that we called Michael Phelps vs the Shark, play Would You Eat That Leftovers and more! You’ll just have to listen on wblzsports.com.

Listen to “Episode 71: Not My Kroger Field” on Spreaker.

 

Leigh’s streak of sharin’ beer came to an end this week as Lauren, Carrie, Tamara and Kentucky Tastebuds Leigh tried a limited release from Rhinegeist.  Maracuja is a passion fruit gose sour ale that definitely delivers a sour punch.  The first few sips of this beer were really, really sour, but as with most sharin’ beer we have the flavors really opened up the longer it sat.  By the end of the show the sour had lessened and had given way to a nice passion fruit flavor.

Kentucky Tastebuds Tamara and Leigh brought Stone brewing’s Tangerine Express IPA to try.  If you don’t like IPA’s this probably isn’t the best beer to pick up.  Tamara and Leigh didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t a favorite, there was just too much hops and not enough tangerine or pineapple flavor for either of them.  Carrie and Lauren also both gave this a try, the initial pour had way to much head and even though Lauren has been on the IPA train the last few weeks, she felt like the beer was too hoppy and bitter.

Leigh tried a new product from CiderBoys this week, their British Dry.  At the first few sips it was really, really dry, however, as the show went on it got much better.  Not too sweet, with just enough crispness, Leigh said she was going to go out and buy a six pack after the show.  If you like a dry cider, definitely pick this one up.

Lauren’s streak of IPAs finally came to an end this week with Carson Brewing’s Red Dawn.  Red Dawn is an Amber Wheat Ale with a great carmel malt flavor that pairs well with earthy hops.  Lauren really liked the smooth flavor of this one and since Carson’s is located in Evansville Indiana it’s just a short drive (at least from where we are) to their tap room to check out their other offerings.

Since Carrie was headed to Nashville this week to watch Tottenham take on Man City she decided to go with a local Nashville brew.  Tennessee Brew works just appeared in Kentucky, so she decided to check out their Walk the Lime.  Unfortunately the name Walk the Lime is a bit misleading.  The beer is an American Wheat and again based on the name you would think that there would be maybe even a hint of lime, but alas this was not the case.  The beer itself was a fine standard American Wheat, but the lack of lime made it kind of pedestrian.  Even drinking it out of the Stanley Cup cup didn’t do anything else for it.  Tennessee Brew works has some other products available, which maybe worth a try and if you’re looking for a decent American Wheat beer this is an ok choice.  If you’re looking for something with actual lime flavor, however, pick up Dogfish Head’s Sea Quench.

Episode 70; We welcome friend of the show Andrew to guest co-host while Stacey is on a brunch quest. We recap Lexington Burger week, wonder why there isn’t a taco week, hear about Andrew’s ghost adventure at Bobby Mackey’s and pick our walk up songs for everyday life tasks and much, much more! Listen and tell your friends!

Listen to “Episode 70 Ride With Yourself” on Spreaker.

Leigh is on a roll with the sharin’ beer, this week we shared a gluten free dubbel ale from Greens.  A lot of places carry Greens products in bottles and this is one of Leigh’s go to brands if she is out and would rather have beer over cider.  She hadn’t had this flavor before though.  Everyone was really pleasantly surprised at the drinkability of this beer.  It had a nice almost raisin or grape finish at the end, and tasted very much like a dubbel should.  It is made with sorghum, but definitely didn’t suffer from any over sweetness that usually comes with many gluten free beers.  Special co-host for the week Andrew said that this is something he would purchase.  Even if you’re not gluten free give this beer a try, if you are gluten free, cheers!

Leigh has discovered the wonderful world of Spiked Seltzer.  This is a gluten free product and comes in a variety of different flavors.  Leigh went with west indies lime this week.  This is a great choice if you are watching your carbs (5 per can), don’t want ultra light beer and want something with a fairly high ABV (6%).  This is definitely a pool, patio, summer beverage.  The lime was very refreshing and the seltzer itself wasn’t overly sweet.  These come in packs of 12 and with a variety of different flavors this is a great alternative to cider, ultra light beer or alcohol pop beverages.

Carrie picked out guest co-host Andrew’s beverage this week.  When she saw this in the singles section at Liquor Barn she knew Andrew had to drink it.  Rico Sauvin from Against the Grain Brewery in Louisville is a double IPA with a great name and even better can art (we’ve had other Againist the Grain products and all their can art is always great!)  It is labeled as a “sexy beer for a sexy man”, so of course Andrew had to drink it.  Don’t let the double IPA scare you away from this beer.  It is very smooth and easy drinking with some great hints of grape and passion fruits.  Andrew highly recommends this one and was ready to go out and buy a six pack after the show.

We really don’t know who Lauren is anymore.  When she first started the show she was not a fan of IPA’s at all, within the last month she keeps drinking IPA’s of her own free will.  Lauren blames this on the fact that her taste buds are dead, but we think that being a member of the GBS squad has broadened her horizons.  Her picked this week comes from Terrapin Brewery in Atlanta, Georgia and is her most hoppy IPA yet.  Aptly named Hopsecutioner, this beer is made with 6 different hops including Warrior, Chinook, Centennial, Simcoe, Amarillo and Cascade.  Surprisingly or not at this point Lauren really liked the beer.  It has a nice balance of hoppy bitterness and citrus.  It was a lot smoother than she thought that it would be.  It’s 7.3% so not really a pool or lawn mower beer, but it’s definitely something you could enjoy on a patio.  If you like IPA’s give this one a try for sure.

 

 

Carrie’s pick this week is a limited release collaboration between Sweet Water brewing and Telluride Brewing.  Torikumi is a wasabi infused blonde ale.  There is a whole story that goes along with the beer, and unfortunately the story is more interesting than the beer.  Carrie really loves beer infused with spice, jalapenos, habaneros etc. and she was really excited to try something with wasabi.  The blonde ale was fine, a bit creamy and smooth, but here was no heat at all.  Even drinking it out of the Stanley Cup cup didn’t improve it.  Either there wasn’t enough wasabi to give it a kick or the wasabi just didn’t hold up to the beer.  If you are looking for something with a lot of heat or spice, unfortunately, Carrie can’t recommend this one.

Episode 69 is a special one as we start our new Fact of the Week segment. What’s our first trip down the ole fact hole? You’ll have to listen to find out! Plus we talk about burgers, Wimbledon, and Carrie’s obsession with David Duchovny. We round it out with a special baseball Pick Em to honor the All Star game, which we all know embiggens the spirit of baseball! Give us a listen and tell your friends!

Listen to “Episode 69: Right in the Fact Hole” on Spreaker.

 

The Sharin’ beer this week is actually a cider and because it was a cider, Leigh got to participate in the sharin’ two weeks in a row!  South Cider comes to us from our favorite non beer/meadery place New Day up in Indianapolis.  Just as we have enjoyed their products in the past South Cider was no exception.  It is a basic straight forward cider, with honey, that at first sips felt like it was going to be too sweet.  Lauren, Carrie, Leigh and Stacey all agreed, however, that it turned out to be a really nice balance of dry and sweet, which is what you want in a cider.  It comes in at 6% and like with all New Day products has some great label art.  Highly recommend picking this one up, while your purchasing this, go ahead and buy some of their other products as well, you won’t be disappointed.

Leigh was doubling down on the cider this week with her pick from Original Sin.  Leigh wasn’t sure what an elderberry was or what one was supposed to taste like when she decided to go with this, but it was an Original Sin product she hadn’t had before, so why not.  The only knowledge that Lauren, Stacey and Carrie had about elderberries all derived from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, so they weren’t much help deciphering what the cider should taste like.  Surprisingly the elderberry cider tasted like…….cider, just regular cider.  We can attest to this because we passed the bottle around and all tried it.  Elderberries must be really subtle because neither Leigh or the rest of the group got any kind of berry flavor at all from this cider.  If you want to make numerous Monty Python jokes while you drink this then by all means pick some up, if you want to know what elderberries taste like…..ask your mother, she would probably know since she smells of them.

 

Stacey returned to the show this week, taking a break from following the off broadway production of Dirty Dancing around the country and was greeted by Lauren’s refrigerator with Golden Road’s Palisades Pineapple.  Golden Road is a brewery out of California and their Palisades Pineapple reflects that California vibe.  Stacey really enjoys it in the can (beer, she enjoys beer in the can, get your mind out of the gutter) and the Palisades Pinapple continued her streak of beers to drink in a koozie by the pool.  This American Wheat Ale with apricot and pineapple is very light and refreshing.  The classic wheat ale is the perfect balance to the subtle fruit flavors, you could drink more than one of these and not get overwhelmed by the fruit.  Add this to your pool cooler.

 

As someone who claims not to like IPA’s Lauren keeps drinking them every week and this week’s pick continues that trend.  Either she has started to like them or they have killed her sense of taste, she isn’t sure which, but either way she has continued to bring them to the table.  This week’s selection comes from Sierra Nevada, their Tropical Torpedo is a Tropical IPA.  You would think that a Tropical IPA would have maybe some fruit flavor, but this was not the case.  In fact Lauren stated that she really couldn’t taste any fruit, but she did like the beer.  It was a smooth IPA with just a hint of bitterness.  This is definitely a sipping beer,  if your interested also check out their regular Torpedo which is probably a better straightforward IPA without the “tropical”.

 

Carrie’s selection this week comes from Rogue Brewery in Oregon.  Rogue is one of what we would consider the older craft breweries around.  They were one of the first craft breweries we remember seeing at places here in Lexington, and most of their products are pretty good.  Their Hot Tub Scholarship Lager is a  pretty standard German Helles style Lager.  It’s not too hoppy and has a bit of creamy finish to it (of course it was being drunk out of the Stanely Cup cup, which always makes all beer taste better), definitely great really cold.  The great thing about this beer, however, is not the beer itself, but the story behind it and the cause it supports.   Rogue beer started a scholarship in honor of its late founder Jack Joyce.  The scholarship goes to support a student studying in the Fermentation program at Oregon State University.  The second student to receive the award stated that they used part of the money to buy a hot tub, something that Jack Joyce would have fully supported.  Rogue ran with this and created Hot Tub Scholarship Lager, 10% of the proceeds from this beer go to support the Jack Joyce scholarship.  Drinking beer for a cause always embiggens the spirit, embiggen your spirit and pick up some Hot Tub Scholarship Lager.

 

 

In episode 68 Stacey goes missing again and we have a theory about that. We discuss the difference between a cover band and a tribute band, give our pick for who would win a Presidential hotdog eating contest, discuss the farce that was the Pacquioa v Horn decision and find out that a gluten free shandy is pretty good. Plus a lot more, you should just listen to find out what. Also big thanks to Ridin Pine Show for sending us some of their Nita Brewing beer, it was delicious!

Listen to “Ep 68 That’s What Freedom Tastes Like!” on Spreaker.

 

Since we felt bad about the fact that Leigh didn’t get to share in the Zima last week, we made sure to find a gluten free beer this week that we could all try.  Daura Damm is a fairly well-known brand to gluten free beer drinkers, often times it’s the only gluten free beer that many bars will carry.  Leigh had an ”original” Daura Damm on one of the first episodes of the show and did not care for it at all.  In fact we passed it around that episode and all agreed it was terrible.  Like many gluten free beers it suffered from a sorghum heavy taste that ruined any beer flavor there may have been.  Carrie saw their shandy in the singles section and decided that if it was going to be terrible that her and Lauren would suffer too.  We are of the opinion that it’s hard to screw up a shandy, it’s lemonade and beer, but because of our experience with Dauara Damm in the past we weren’t optimistic.  Good news! Daura Damm managed to put out an excellent product.  All three of us were really surprised by the taste.  The lemonade really helped to offset any kind of sorgum taste and made the beer very refreshing.  Leigh was ready to immediately go out a get a six-pack and both Carrie and Lauren agreed that they wouldn’t hesitate to  buy this either.  If you’re gluten free,enjoy beer  and are looking for a refreshing alternative to cider, then this is a must try/purchase for you.  Even if you’re not gluten free this is a solid shandy that you shouldn’t hesitate to try.

Lauren and Carrie both drank the same beer this week courtesy of the Ridin’ Pine Show podcast and Nita Brewery in Ottawa Canada.  Since the Penguins played the Ottawa Senators in the semi-finals of the Stanely Cup Playoffs, Carrie decided it would be fun to make a little wager with our podcast friends from the north (even though they are Habs fans).  If the Penguins won they would send her some of their namesake beer from Nita, if the Senators won then she would send them some quality Kentucky Bourbon (note she sent the bourbon even though the Senators lost).   Since the Senators lost they held up their end of the bet and sent the Nita Ridin’ Pine Show beer, which appropriately enough was delivered on Canada Day.  Lauren and Carrie really really liked this New England IPA.  It was very drinkable, not too hoppy with a good balance of sweetness.  Lauren, who is not a fan of IPA’s said that she would drink more than one of these, Carrie also really enjoyed it, but wasn’t sure if that’s because she was drinking it out of the Stanely Cup cup (insert Habs joke here).  We don’t think that you can get Nita products in the US, which kinda sucks, because we would love to try some of their other beers.  However, if you find yourself in Canada or near Ottawa go visit their taproom and maybe even Smokey and the Bandit some of their products across the border, let us know cause we’d gladly take them off your hands.

 

Leigh’s pick this week, Washington’s Folly from New Day Craft Mead & Cider is a tart cherry mead that has a great balance.  Leigh’s had New Day products on the show before, their Magpie was one of the best fruit meads or beers we’ve ever tried, but at 14% was pretty high gravity.  Washington’s Folly is 6% and very drinkable, it really is the perfect balance of tart and sweet.  The cherry flavor wasn’t overpowering, in fact we all tried it and agreed that the balance between tart and sweet was damn near perfect.  This is a gluten free product, but even if you aren’t don’t let that deter you from picking it up, especially if you are looking for alternative to cider or fruit beers.