Month: August 2017

 

 

Episode 75 We Put The Band Back Together! Stacey returns in this jam packed episode where we talk US Open tennis, Mayweather v McGregor, why living in college dorms kinda sucked but why we’d do it now and of course this episode marks the triumphant return of our College Football Pick’em! Give a listen, tell your friends and enjoy our new sound!

 

We love finding craft breweries outside of the U.S., we were lucky enough to try Nita Brewing out of Canada thanks to our friends at Ridin’ Pine Show and this week’s sharin’ beer also comes to us from outside the U.S.  Cerveza Cucapa is (labeled on their bottle anyway) as Mexico’s Best Craft Brewery and while it’s beer can mainly be found in the Southwest U.S. we just happened to find it at Liquor Barn in Lexington KY.  The LowRider Pale ale is a Rye Ale made with a bunch of hops (this was the exact description on the bottle) so we aren’t sure exactly what hops went into it.  At 7.2% it was a little boozy, but did have the kind of sweet, malty flavor that you would find in a Rye.  If you are interested in craft breweries outside of the U.S. and you can find any of Cucapa products we highly recommend checking out the LowRide. Liquor Barn did carry a few more of their beers, including a Barleywine, so don’t be surprised to hear us drink another one in a future episode.

Leigh’s selection this week comes from Blake’s Hard Cider Co. in Michigan.  Blake’s is pretty widely distributed throughout the U.S. so finding this one probably won’t be too hard.  This is a pear cider, made with pears, not bears.  This cider was fine, not to sweet or tart, fairly drinkable.  Really not much else to say about it.  Leigh liked it and would probably drink it again, especially since it falls into the not too sweet category.

Stacey was back on the show this week and brought Beer Geek’s Brunch Weasel with her.  Stacey loves brunch so this oatmeal stout brewed with coffee was right in her wheelhouse.  This is a high gravity beer at 10%, but wasn’t too “boozy” as many high gravity beers tend to be.  It had a nice coffee flavor and although you probably wouldn’t want to drink more than one of these (or maybe you would, we’re not gonna tell you what to do), having at least one of these at brunch would definitely help with that hangover.  We would like to also note that in addition to being a pretty good beer, Brunch Weasel would also be an awesome name for a band.

Lauren’s pick this week is from a Kentucky brewery right up the road from Lexington in Covington KY.  Braxton Brewing’s Storm is a Golden Cream Ale.  This is a great lawnmower beer to help you hang onto the last vestiges of summer.  At 4.8% you could definitely have more than one of these, which would make it a great beer for tailgating at football games as well.  Lauren found the beer to be slightly creamy and not overly hoppy.  This is one Braxton product that she would defintely purchase again, unlike the Braxton Lab’s cucumber beer, which Carrie had a few weeks ago and was possibly one of the worst beers she’s ever had.  If you’ve ever wondered what bath and body works tastes like then pick up their Cucumber Witbier.

Refusing to give up summer just yet, Carrie’s pick this week puts the coconut in the beer instead of the lime.  Dogfish Head’s Lupu-Lauau IPA is brewed with coconut and coconut water.  Dog Fish Head is notorious for putting a variety of different ingredients in their beer as we can attest, having had some interesting offerings from them in the past.  This beer, however, was slightly disappointing, the IPA was fine, not too hoppy and very drinkable, but there was no coconut.  There wasn’t even a hint of coconut, even letting it sit in the Stanley Cup cup didn’t bring out the flavor.  If you are looking for coconut then you should probably skip this one.

 

 

Episode 74 is finally up! We bust out brand new equipment for this show. Leigh is back and friend of the show Ann joins us to talk all things fantasy football as well as Last Chance U the second season.  And of course we also had to throw some conversation about the eclipse in there!

Listen to “Episode 74 Cords and Beer” on Spreaker.

This week’s sharin’ beer comes from New Holland Brewing’s Sour Series.  Mischievous II Sour Brown Ale with Peaches is an excellent beer to check out whether you are just getting into sours or are already a big fan of this style of beer.   We didn’t taste the peach as much as we would have liked (well everyone except for Leigh who couldn’t partake), but the nuttiness of the brown ale really helped to cut the sour flavor and give the beer a great smoothness, something that is often times missing in this syle of beer.  Ann, who typically doesn’t like dark beers, really liked this one because for her the sour actually helped lighten up the brown ale.  The balance on both sides of this beer was really great and could definitely be enjoyed by sour and non-sour fans alike.

 

 

To make up for her absence last week, Leigh had a twofer this week.  She was on the spritzer/hard seltzer train with White Claw’s Ruby Grapefruit and Palm Breeze’s Ruby Grapefruit.  Leigh has had several White Claw products on the show and can’t say enough about all their flavors,  their ruby red was just as good as everything else that she’s had.  Crisp, flavorful and gluten free you really can’t go wrong with this or any of their other flavors.  The Palm Breeze was just slightly ahead of the White Claw for Leigh, not neccesarily due to flavor, but due to the fact that it had lower carbination. (Full disclosure, Palm Breeze is only made to remove gluten so depending on your gluten sensitivity you may want to be careful).  If you like less carbination check out the Palm Breeze, but really either one is a good choice.

Friend of the show Ann joined us this week to talk fantasy football strategy and she brought some Naraganset’s Shandy to enjoy.  You can’t go wrong with a Shandy, what’s not to love about lemonade and beer?  Since we are trying to hold onto the last vestiges of summer this was the perfect beer to drink on the show.  Lemony, but not like lemon pledge, not too sweet and a low percentage alcohol makes this a great pool beer to try to hold onto summer and beat back the impending flood of pumpkin beer that is ready to bust through the dam next month.

Lauren took a break from IPAs last week, but jumped right back on the train with this week’s selection, we really don’t know who she is anymore.   Rhinegeist’s Astro Dwarf is a Hazy India Pale Ale that  we can add this to the list of IPAs that Lauren liked and would drink again.  Brewed with Bravo, Galaxy, Mosaic and Hallertau Blanc hops you would think that this beer would be super hoppy, but it’s not and has some nice citrus notes to cut through the hops.  Even at 6% Lauren could drink a couple of these and this is another great beer to drink to try to hold onto summer and hold off the gallons of pumpkin beer that are going to start flowing.

Carrie’s beer this week comes from Moody Tongue out of Chicago.  We are pretty sure that this is a brewery that is new to Lexington, it’s definitely one we haven’t seen in Liquor Barn  until a couple of weeks ago.  Although they have many different offerings, Carrie went with their Smoked Applewood Gold, which is a gold lager.  This beer much like their label is pretty minimalist.  The first few sips yielded a nice subtle smokey flavor, which unfortunately didn’t last through the whole beer.  The lager itself was a fine standard lager, it was just slightly disappointing that the smoke flavor didn’t carry over the entire beer.  Carrie would be interested to try some other Moody Tongue beers in the future, if you see them in your area, give them a try.

 

We’re back after a week off  we don’t have Leigh or Stacey, but we’ve got a great show and some great beers.  Don’t forget to check us out anytime on wblzsports.com, WBLZ, We’ve Got Ballz…..

Episode 73 Football or Futbol…Brian from The Louisville Tottenham HotSpur Supporters club (follow them on twitter @lvillespurs) joins us on this brand new episode. We talk about the impending eclipse, learn why Americans call it soccer in our GBS Fact of the week and play a new segment called GBS Debates where we discuss the Football or Futbol?

Listen to “Episode 73 Football or Futbol” on Spreaker.

 

Before we get to the beer reviews Leigh did send us a speical message this week from her “specail assignment”…..Leigh…..

Hey Ya’ll!

I decided to give a special assignment report since I know you missed my voice on this week’s episode (Episode 73: Football or Futbol) 😉  I had the pleasure of having some dental work done that caused me to be unable to talk and have quite an attractive droopy smile.  While under some good drugs, provided by my dentist, a few thoughts and a few things I am super grateful for, hit me like a ton of bricks almost literally as I came close to hitting the side of my house after all of this.

First, I want to say that I am super grateful to these women that I have gotten to know over this journey and to Carrie for bringing us together.  The events I’ve experienced and people I’ve met through this amazing thing we have started is something I cannot even begin to explain in words.  Never would I think that people would want to know our opinion about stuff, let alone even read the words I type!

Next, a special shout to WBLZSports is in order!  These folks sought out this podcast and reached out to us about putting us on their airways.  Even if a few people hear us, this is something Carrie and I only dreamed about in a small room in a place that shall remain nameless 😉  If you are reading this because you heard us on WBLZSports, please send us a line on any of our platforms and let us know you are with us, and topics you would like us to cover.  We love to hear from our listeners!

FOOTBALL is upon us (praise hands emoji, heart emoji, football emoji)!!!!  I wanted to be a part of this episode because as much as I love American football, I can get behind some futbol.  I went to a very small school in college, but the sport that ruled the school was soccer (aka: futbol).  The men’s and women’s teams won NATIONAL Championships while I was a student there.  The knowledge I gained about EPL and all the various leagues and national teams while I was there really gave me a newfound respect and love of the sport.  However, I do follow our national teams more than I am a fan of any WSL or MLS or EPL team, I do love the Crew (Columbus).

Lastly, I am grateful because it may be preseason, but the Browns WON a game! I know people can laugh at me all you want, but hey, we’re undefeated! LOL Even I know how ridiculous that sounds 😉 However, this football season (college & professional) is probably going to be crazy, exciting, and frustrating for all us that love the sport and those that partake in fantasy (stay tuned 😉 we will have some great convo about all that later on in the very near future)!

Again, as I have regained some semblance of feeling back in my face, I just wanted to thank all of our loyal listeners and avid fans that frequent our site.  This adventure has taken us on some great trips, met some amazing people, and of course…..BEER (cider in my case J).  Looking forward to a great fall and new shenanigans with some awesome women that I get to call friends!

~Leigh

Thanks Leigh!!!!!  We look forward to having you back next week,  Now on to the beer selections…..

 

Since we knew we were gonna talk a lot of EPL (soccer) on this week’s show the sharin’ beer had to be from England.  Samuel Smith is a solid brewery out of the U.K. (the country not the University of Kentucky) and they offer a variety of good beer.  The Pure Organic Lager was no exception.  We aren’t sure what the organic added to the beer, as Lauren pointed out, it didn’t taste like leaves, twigs or grass, but it was a pretty tasty Lager.  If you’ve never tried a Samuel Smith beer this would be a good starting point.  Not a whole lot else to say about it other than that it was a good English lager that Brian, Carrie and Lauren all said they would drink again.

Since our guest Brian this week is from Louisville he and Carrie decided to drink some beer from Against the Grain, a great brewery in the city.  Louisville has a ton of breweries and Against the Grain is probably in the top two or three in our opinion.  Their can art work is defintely some of the best not only in Kentucky, but possibly the world.  The beer inside the can is just as good as the art work on the outside.  Brian went with Bloody Show a Lager with Blood Orange.  Blood Orange can be a tricky fruit to put in a beer because the orange flavor can be subtle and overpowered by hops or sour.  Against the Grain gets it right with this beer, however, Brian really liked how the orange flavor cut through the lager just enough for him to taste the orange, but not over power the beer and vice versa.  If you’re looking for a solid beer with a slight fruit flavor you can actually taste and some awesome can art pick this one up.

Lauren also went with a fruit beer this week and unfortunately had the opposite experience that Brian did.  Crooked Stave’s Petite Sour Raspberry is part of their Artisan Beer Project.  This mixed fermentation ale is aged in oak with raspberries and much to Lauren’s disappointment was more sour than anything else.  Raspberry can usually cut through any style of beer and at times can be an over powering flavor, but this wasn’t the case with this particular beer.  Instead of a nice raspberry/sour balance Lauren got all sour and little to no raspberry flavor.  If you like a sour beer with little to no fruit flavor then by all means check this out, if you’re looking for some raspberry flavor you might try a Founders Rubaeus Raspberry Ale instead.

 

Carrie also went with an Against the Grain product this week.  Night Visions is a Kolsch style ale and at 4.5% you could stay up late drinking more than one of these.  Again the art work on the can makes it worth picking up.  It’s hard to screw up a Kolsch and Against the Grain made a perfectly drinkable beer, but the art work on the can is what really makes this stand out.  If you’re looking for a beer that you can drink more than one of pick up Night Visions, who knows what you’ll see in the can after about 5 or 6.

This week includes an unforgettable Pick Em where we discuss wigs, beards, knickers, and other unmentionables. Stacey returns briefly from her Brunch Quest, Lauren falls down The Fact Hole, and Very Special Guest Ben brings us some amazing home brews and home brewing tips! Carrie and Leigh have us covered on sports, and we discuss a Mystery Sport new to GBS! Don’t forget the three rules of this episode: always return the bottle, always sit at the bar, and…what was that third one? Oui oui!

Listen to “Episode 72: 50 QUs and Carry On!” on Spreaker.

 

 

 

This week’s sharin’ beers (that’s right plural) came to us from our special homebrewer extraordinaire guest Ben.  Stacey,  Carrie and Lauren were all able to sample from several beers including XXX Abbey, Resting Peach Face, Basic Brown Ale and a fine Heffe.  Unfortunately Leigh got left out again this week on the sharin’ beer.  Ben wanted honest feedback and we gave it to him (you’ll have to listen to the show to find out what we said).  We all agreed that the Resting Peach Face was the best out of the four.  Made with real peach juice that Ben harvested himself, it was a great beer with a light fruit flavor and incredibly drinkable.   We were disappointed when he said is was a seasonal. Ben gave some great advice on getting started in home brewing, his best tip though, was if a homebrewer gives you a beer to tray always return the bottle if you ever want them to give you their beer again.

Leigh was back on the spiked seltzer this week.  Her pick, White Claw’s Black Cherry.  Spiked seltzer has become a big trend this summer and for good reason, it’s only 5 carbs and is very refreshing.  Unlike light beer it’s got  flavor and unlike cider it’s not too sweet.  If you are looking for an alternative to light beer or cider definitely pick some of these up before the end of the summer.

Stacey took a break from her brunch and tennis tour this week and she appropriately picked local Lexington favorite Country Boy Brewing’s Shotgun Wedding for her first beer back (note she also was actually working on the trifecta with this, the sharin’ beer and some of Lauren’s).   Although it’s been available at their taproom for a while, Country Boy just started canning and distributing it.  Of course with most things Stacey drinks on the show this was in the can.  Shotgun Wedding is a great brown ale aged on vanilla beans.  The  brown ale gives way to a smooth vanilla flavor that is not overpowering. It’s been a favorite at Country Boy for a while and we’re glad we can buy it in the can.  If you see a six pack of these pick some up, if you’ve never tried it we guarantee you will like it.

Lauren is still off the IPA train, but she did join Stacey on the local brewery wagon (Stacey drank like half of this beer too, because a whole one would have put Lauren on the table literally!)  Her pick this week comes from Lexington’s West 6th Brewery, one of the first craft breweries to open in Lexington.  The Six Fold Six Wild Sour is a sour with an interesting profile.  On first sip it had a little funky brett flavor, but as it opened up throughout the course of the show the brett lessened and the sour came through.  It wasn’t as sour as the Rhinegeist Maracuja we had last week, which made it more enjoyable.  Not sure you can get it in stores, but you can definitely find it in the West 6th taproom.  If you live in Lexington or are just visiting stop in and pick one up.

Even though it’s only the beginning of August, we can see the invasion of Oktoberfest/Pumpkin beers on the horizon and Carrie is trying to hold that off as long as possible.  Her pick this week comes from Golden Road brewery in California.  The Pico To Mexico is a cucumber, lime lager with a hint of Habanero.  We had Golden Road’s Palisades Pineapple a few shows ago and really enjoyed it, the Pico unfortunately didn’t seem to work.  The lime and cucumber created a melon flavor that tasted a bit artificial and overpowered the lager.  If a hint of habenero meant no habenero then the beer definitely succeeded, which was really disappointing, because Carrie loves the spicy beers. Even the Stanley Cup cup couldn’t save this one.