What We’re Drinkin’ This Week…..

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.