Girls, Beer, Sports

In this episode Leigh and Carrie are joined by Brett from independent film makers Wine &Pop Tarts and Bevin the Director of Social Media from Pivot. It’s a rare Monday remote from Pivot cidery. Carrie has her first beer in a week and talks about the final divorce from her wisdom teeth, Brett talks about Sleep Away Camp the movie, Bevin talks everything that’s going on at Pivot, Leigh drops the first ever GBS F bomb and there is plenty of sports and nonsports topics on Take It or Leave It. Did I mention Leigh drops the F bomb!

Listen to “Episode 115 Falling Back Off The Wagon” on Spreaker.

Stacey is in and Leigh is out, but we’re joined by Rebecca and Ben from lovemebrew.com to talk all things craft beer. It’s Lexington Craft Beer Week and Ben and Rebecca discuss their love of craft beer and why they probably won’t go back to the Derby! We have one RIP this week, and Carrie can’t believe that Lauren didn’t know who it was. We learn some things about Wikipedia in the fact of the week. And Rambo, Bill & Ted, the Royals and pretzel necklaces make an appearance in Take It or Leave It! Grab a beer and drink along with us!

Listen to “Episode 112 Pretzel Necklace > Facisnator” on Spreaker.

 

In honor of the derby last week our guests from lovemebrew.com Rebecca and Ben shared Braxton Brewing’s Kentucky Home Mint Julep Style Beer.  At 9.5% they agreed that this was a beer that was made for sharin’.  Rebecca wasn’t a big fan of this one, she didn’t get much mint off of it and found it a bit too sweet and wasn’t sure what the base beer was.  Ben enjoyed it, but again said that he probably couldn’t drink the whole thing by himself.

Stacey had left another beer from Golden Road at the Stanley Manor studios, but Lauren drank it, so she had to go with another choice from Golden Road, Hazelnut Hills brown ale with hazelnut flavor.  Overall this is a good beer, but it’s one you would want to drink during the fall because of it’s rich brown flavor.  Lauren drank the lawnmower beer becasue Stacey left it at her house and it was hot outside.

 

Lauren got a gift from the Ft. Lewis Derby party last week and that came in the form of a special release Country Boy Brewing bomber, Constant Sorrow a Double India Pale Ale aged in Bourbon Barrels.  Full disclosure, this beer had been sitting on top of the Ft. Lewis Beer fridge for about 2 years.  Surprisingly the beer had not turned and was actually still drinkable.  For being aged in bourbon barrels it wasn’t too boozy, and maintained it’s grassy IPA flavor.  This was a special release, so you might not be able to find it, unless you make a visit to Ft. Lewis who still may have a few bottles left.

It’s 91 degrees here in Lexington and nothing beats the heat like a lighter easy drinking beer.  Carrie’s pick this week fits the bill.  Lagunitas’s 12th of Never Ale.  This is a crisp, light, hop forward beer that delivers what it promises.  This is a tall boy can  and at 5.5% there is not reason you can’t enjoy more than one this summer.  Also we can’t wait to call the number on the side of the can on the show and see what happens!  Stay tuned for that!

 

It’s the third annual Derby episode, recorded in the heart of the Ft. Lewis Derby party! It’s a free for all crossover as Carrie and Lauren are joined by Shawn, Chad and John from Bourbon and Bad Opinions. We talk derby topics, Kentucky topics and lots of general nonsense. John talks about his first job at Kmart, Carrie explains why she will never go back to Churchill Downs and of course we play some Take It or Leave It. There are plenty of beverages consumed in this one, keep the party going and give it a listen!

Listen to “Episode 111 Cinco de Derby” on Spreaker.

Lauren picked from the Derby Party  beer roulette cooler and ended up with Shiner Bock’s Oktoberfest.  It’s definitely not even close to being Oktoberfest, but that’s the chance you take when playing beer roulette.  Since this is a seasonal beer, it’s been at Ft. Lewis for a while, surprisingly it was still drinkable.  Lauren didn’t hate it and would absolutely drink it when September rolls around.

Since it was Cinco de Mayo in edition to the Kentucky Derby, Carrie doubled down and went with local Lexington brewers West Sixth Cerveza.  This is a light, crisp, refreshing beer.  It’s everything you want in a beer for this time of year for the back porch.  It’s available in 6 pack cans, if you can find it in your local grocery or liquor store pick some up!

In this jam packed episode Stacey comes out of hibernation to join us in the fourth chair and in the 5th chair we welcome guest Tim Estes from WPBK FM in Standford Kentucky. We learn what tradio is, talk Standford Cow Bell Days, discuss whether or not we would use a credit card at a garage sale and give a toast to 7 RIPs. The GBS fact of the week becomes story time with the most incredible game you’ve never heard of, and we’ve got promposals, Gronk’s horse, royal babies and two of the best shows on tv in Take It or Leave It. As always you’re just gonna hafta listen to get all our hot takes.

Listen to “Episode 109 I’m on Promposal Tradio” on Spreaker.

Lauren was kind enough this week to let us take the sharin’ beer out of the Stanley Manor Studios beer stash.  Evil Twin’s Big Ass Money Stout is to quote Lauren “danger in a can”  This and Imperial Stout that at 17.4% you would think would knock you on your ass.  That’s where the danger comes in, it’s very smooth, lots of chocolate, and absolutely not over the top boozy.  If we hadn’t split it, it may have been a different story, but even putting it in tiny glasses didn’t stop it from disappearing from the table quickly.  It is a bit expensive at $10 a can, but if you like Imperial Stouts and want something that is a really high ABV that tastes amazing it’s worth dropping the saw buck on.

 

 

We gave our guest this week Tim Estes his pick from the beer fridge and he went with something that he knew.  Yuengling’s Black & Tan.  From a previous show, you may know that we aren’t huge fans of this Yuengling, but as someone who isn’t super into beer Tim found it very approachable and drinkable.  We always encourage people to drink what ya want!

 

After last week’s  14% wine in a can, Leigh scaled back her ABV this week to a new to her anyway, Ciderboys pick.  Their Raspberry Smash is actual a seasonal cider that’s usually only available in the spring March 1st-May 31st. Leigh is a huge fan on Ciderboys and once again this one didn’t disappoint.  Not too sweet with a nice balance of raspberry highly recommend picking this one up while supplies last.

 

Hearing that the weather was finally taking a spring turn and possibly staying there, Stacey came out of hibernation and brought Lagunitas Sumpin’ Easy Ale with her, in the can of course.  This beer delivered what it promised, it’s a bit fruity, a bit hoppy and very refreshing.  Just put this one on the patio beer cooler list, but make sure it’s in the can.

 

Lauren hopped (pun intended) back on the IPA train this week with Sierra Nevada’s Hazy Little Thing IPA.  This IPA is again one that we would recommend because it’s got a lot of flavor without being overpoweringly hoppy.  It’s wasn’t super bitter and was well balanced alternating between citrus on the front end and hops on the back end.  The haziness also helped mellow it out.  Like IPAs? Pick this one up….Trying to get on the IPA train?  Pick this one up.

 

After last week’s late April snow, Carrie finally decided to jump on the summer beer wagon to try and finally get rid of winter around here.  First up, Deschutes Twilight Summer Ale.  This limited release is a classic summer ale, light and refreshing.  Not a ton of flavor, but this is absolutely a beer that is designed for summer drinking, sitting on the back porch and having more than one.  We would suggest drinking this one super cold for maximum refreshment.

 

 

No guest this week, but we bring it anyway. We rage against the fact that it’s still snowing in the middle of April and talk about how the weather is ruining everything. We give a couple of shout outs, talk about how everyone should go support EKU’s marching band, there are two big RIPs and one RIT. We play a fun game of who should the Browns take with the 1st pick in the draft and Leigh and Lauren take the Wonderlic test while Carrie reads the GBS facts of the week. There’s also plenty of fun in a new round of Take It or Leave It.

Listen to “Episode 108 How Many Wonderlics Does It Take To Get To The Center” on Spreaker.

Lauren and Carrie split the sharin’ beer this week, Crooked Stave’s Petite Sour Raspberry, a Farmhouse Style Ale aged on Oak with Raspberries.  The ABV on this one is surprisingly low at 4.5%, despite being aged on Oak, although we weren’t exactly clear on what kind of oak.  This beer definitely has plenty of sour and fruit going on.  Lauren and Carrie are big fans of fruit beers so they both enjoyed it.  The raspberry was really able to come through the farmhouse style and paired nicely with the sour.  If you like sours and fruit beers this is one you should absolutely try.

Leigh was very very very excited that grocery stores and liquor stores in Lexington are now selling wine in a can.  So this week she went with Alloy Wine Works Pinot Noir.  Leigh really liked this beverage and at 14.5% it liked her right back.  She didn’t finish the whole thing, but it was dangerously easy to drink quickly and you’ll have to listen to the episode to figure out when the wine starts treating her right.  In addition to the actual wine, Leigh was also excited that now she can take wine to tailgates and parties without having to bring an actual bottle.  If you like wine or are a wine drinker, definitely check on Alloy Wine Works products in the can.

Lauren refuses to give up on trying to channel Spring to stick around the area through beer.  So, her pick this week comes from New Belgium brewing, their easy going DayBlazer.  This beer delivers what it promises, refreshing, easy drinking and a classic lawn mower/porch beer.  We aren’t sure that this is gonna work to bring the warmth around here, but Lauren is going to keep trying.  If you want to help we suggest you pick up DayBlazer and get to drinkin’

Hi-Wire brewing from Ashville North Carolina has made its way to our area of Kentucky, so Carrie was happy to find them at Liquor Barn.  Carrie decided to start out with their Mosaic IPA.  Mosaic hops are really great due to the fact that they don’t have a ton of bitterness or grapefruit flavor that tends to be off-putting in many IPAs.  Hi-Wire’s Hi-Pitch Mosaic IPA is  a really easy drinking IPA with a lot of flavor without the bitterness.  If you don’t really like IPAs because of the bitterness of some varieties of hops or are looking to get into IPAs give Hi-Wire’s Hi-Pitch Mosaic IPA a try.

Leigh’s back from Mexico and we are joined by friend of the show and repeat guest Matt Gordon in the fourth chair. We recap Leigh’s trip to Mexico, find out why Carrie had such an issue with Black Jacket Symphony’s performance of GnR’s AFD and learn about Matt’s Mood Table that he constructed for the Men in Blazers. We have a very depressing Fact of the Week, talk The Masters and of course play Take It or Leave It. If you want to know about the Squirrel you’ll just have to listen.

Listen to “Episode 107 Stop Looking At Me Squirrel” on Spreaker.

 

 

The Sharin’ beer and the guest’s beer are one in the same this week.  Matt was kind enough to bring and share a nice big bottle of local Lexington favorite, West Sixth Brewing’s Sixfold Series Wine Barrel Saison.  Unfortunately you can only find/purchase this beer at the West Sixth Taproom, but if you are in the area we highly recommend picking it up.  Although it’s been aged in wine barrels, it’s only 6.5% and really is not very boozy.  It does contain brett, which seemed to help balance out the alcohol picked up by the barrel aging.  Matt, Carrie and Lauren all liked it’s slightly funky, sour flavor and found it very drinkable.  This is one you would not have to share if you didn’t want to.

Back from Mexico Leigh need something that wasn’t super sweet, low in alcohol percentage and didn’t contain tequilla.  She found just the thing in the Stanely Manor Studio’s beer fridge in the form of Crabbie’s Spiced Orange Ginger Beer.  With just slight hints of orange and ginger this not too sweet beverage was just what Leigh needed after partying it up South of the Border.  If you’re looking to branch out beyond either cider or other non malt beverages, check out Crabbie’s full line of ginger beers, including this one.

We are desperate for Spring to finally get here and stay and Lauren was trying to make that happen by drinking a Founders Solid Gold.  Once the weather does finally allow us to mow our yards and sit on the porch this is a beer we will definitely be drinking.  It’s the classic lawn mower/porch sitting beer, low ABV, easy drinking and actually very reasonably priced.  So much so that Lauren bought a 24 pack.  We’re really hoping this does the trick cause we are way over winter at this point.

Carrie, on the other hand has completely given up on it ever getting warm and staying warm again so she’s sticking with dark beers.  This week’s selection comes from Saugatuck Brewing Company in Michigan.  We had their pancake beer on a previous show and really liked it and their Neapolitan Milk Stout was no different .  It was similar to Braxton Brewing’s Grater’s Black Raspberry Chip, it had a very nice balance of chocolate and strawberry flavor.  There wasn’t much Vanilla, but no one really likes the Vanilla in Neapolitan ice cream anyway.  Try it at room temperature to get the flavors to really come together.

Leigh’s in Mexico and we still have no idea where Stacey is, but Lauren and Carrie are still here and they are joined by guest Jillian Waitkus Executive Assistant to the Lexington Legends President. We talk Minor League baseball, give you a dose of culture with Carrie’s short review of the movie The Death of Stalin, find out that soil science is a major part of professional baseball with the fact of the week, find out who we would like to fill in for and play a jumbo Take It or Leave It with some MLB Stadium Food. There’s probably more, but you’ll just have to listen to find out what we left out in the description.

Listen to “Episode 106 Happier than a Pig at Home Plate” on Spreaker.

The sharin’ beer this week comes from EvilTwin Brewing.  Their Half & Half Lemonade Iced Tea IPA is a highly recommend, especially as the weather gets warmer.  Our guest this week, Jillian liked it so much, she finished it about a minute into the show.  Lauren wasn’t super high on it, she thought it was a little too tannic and artificial tasting.  Carrie, like Jillian also really enjoyed it.  It’s a lighter beer and the lemonade definitely masks any IPA bitterness, in fact if you didn’t know it was an IPA, you probably wouldn’t have guessed.  We couldn’t figure out where the tea came in, in terms of flavor, but if you like a fruit beer that’s pretty drinkable and not too sweet, pick this up.  Also check out their pink lemonade and regular lemonade offerings.

Our guest Jillian came prepared this week with local Lexington favorite, Country Boy Brewing’s Cougar Bait.  We always love supporting the local breweries in the area and Country Boy is one of our favorites.  Their Cougar Bait Blonde Ale is a standard Blonde Ale, easy to drink, but with a lot of flavor.  It’s got a slightly creamy mouth feel and is almost a little on the heavy side, but we definitely recommend it, especially for someone who is just getting into the craft beer scene.  Country Boy’s Nacho Bait is the Habanero form of Cougar Bait and we highly recommend that too!

Lauren went dark this week with Founder’s KBS.  This is a special release every year from Founder’s brewing and it’s one that people stand in line for.  An ale brewed with chocolate and coffee and aged in oak bourbon barrels, it’s a must try if you can find it.  It’s no wonder people stand in line for it, it’s a great beer that has an amazing balance of chocolate and coffee without out the boozy finish even though it’s been aged in bourbon barrels.  Lauren declared it to be a bit dangerous because it was so easy to drink.  It’s only released in March, but definitely pick this up if you see it at your local liquor store.

Carrie doubled down on EvilTwin this week with the sharin’ beer and the Stanley Cup cup beer with their It’s Like I’m Having The Most Beautiful IPA and the most Terrible Nightmare At Once double hopped IPA.  The name of the beer is much more interesting than the beer itself.  That’s not to say that it was bad, it wasn’t, it was a pretty standard IPA.  If you like IPA’s then this is one you should probably try.  For it being double hopped it wasn’t super bitter or grapefruity and at 10.5% it wasn’t boozy and was super drinkable.  It’s a special release so it’s a little higher priced than other beers in the IPA category.  The bottom line is that in the world of IPA’s this is definitely one of them.

In this episode we are joined by Mary Struckhoff Transylvania University’s Senior Associate Athletic Director, but before she was that she spent 20 years as a D I,II and III basketball official, in addition to working as a the National Coordinator for NCAA Women’s Basketball Officiating. In other words, she knows a lot about NCAA basketball officiating and how it works and we have a great conversation about it. Also she brought Jell-O shots, which just makes her even more amazing. Find out how Carrie got completely punked by Taco Bell on April Fools Day, we make our picks for the NCAA tournament final and play a very sports light game of Take It or Leave It. If you wanted to know how officiating in college basketball works, this is the episode for you! Even if you didn’t you should still listen, you just might learn something.

Listen to “Episode 105 April Fish and Fireballtinis” on Spreaker.

 

The Sharin’ beer this week’s comes from local Lexington brewery, Blue Stallion.  Blue Stallion makes Ya Damn Skippy the most delicious peanut butter porter on the planet, but until they start bottling that we tried their Bourbon Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout Long Time Lurker.  Carrie decided to experiment a little bit with this one and serve it room temperature.   This definitely changed the flavor/complexity of the beer as opposed to pouring it cold and letting it open it up.  Drinking it a room temperature brought out the chocolate and vanilla notes, but also brought out the booziness a bit more.  At 1 liter and 10.5% you’ll also want to share this one, unless you don’t.

In addition to bringing us Jell-O shots our guest Mary got to choose a beer from the Stanley Manor Studio’s beer fridge.  She went with Tennessee BrewWorks Southern Wit.  It’s a classic WitBier that’s very drinkable.  Not to wheaty, it’s got a nice orange flavor to it and Mary who is a big fruit beer fan really enjoyed it.  We’re not saying it’s a fruit beer, but it checks all the boxes of a Wit, so there is some orange flavor to it.

Leigh really enjoys the White Claw spiked seltzer, so when Carrie saw this she thought Leigh might also enjoy it.  Truly makes a variety of flavors of their Spiked & Sparkling water, the one Leigh had this week was the pomegranate flavor.  Leigh was not a huge fan of this one, it smelled like an alcopop beverage that you probably drank at high school parties.  Despite the smell the flavor actually wasn’t sweet, but Leigh’s biggest complaint was that it was too carbonated.  She may be open to trying other flavors, but in our opinion if you want spiked seltzer go with White Claw.

Everyone is super excited that we can now buy Yuengling in Kentucky, so Lauren decided to check out their Black & Tan.  Traditionally a black and tan is a layered beer so there was some skepticism as to whether or not it being mixed in a bottle would actually effect the overall black & tan flavor or experience.  Even though we all love Yuengling and Yuengling Light, Lauren was not a fan of the black & tan.  It’s flavor just wasn’t distinct nor similar to a black & tan.  If you are going to drink a black & tan you probably want to get it on draft in a bar that serves them.

Carrie’s pick this week was chosen strictly for the label.  Three Floyds Space Station Middle Finger.  The name and the bottle art work alone makes you want to buy this beer.  Luckily it’s not just the name and the art work that is awesome, the beer an American Pale Ale is really pretty delicious.  Not hoppy or bitter, this beer has a very smooth, refreshing almost hint of orange flavor on the backend.  Buy it for the name and the label but stay for the beer.

 

In this episode we welcome Mary from A Sip of Sports as our first ever full show phone guest. We find out what A Sip of Sports is all about, talk surviving St. Patrick’s Day, recap our visit to Lemons Mill Brewery, let you know what you should be watching on TV right now, talk the insane weekend that was the First and Second Rounds of the NCAA Tournament, try to find out what makes a Cinderella at this point and play a new round of Take It or Leave It.

Listen to “Episode 104 Even Geoffrey Giraffe Couldn’t Make it Out of March” on Spreaker.

 

Lauren and Carrie split a can of EvilTwin Brewing’s Imperial Doughnut Break this week.  Doughnut Break is an Imperial Porter with coffee, vanilla, almonds and doughnuts added.  This beer was fine for an imperial porter, it poured slightly thick and was rich and dark in color.  Even after letting it warm up, however, neither Lauren or Carrie got much vanilla, almonds or doughnuts from it.  It had a decent coffee flavor to it, but beyond that we didn’t get much from it.  At 11.5%, however, it wasn’t super boozy, we just aren’t sure that the price point of over $9 a can it warrants picking it up.

Leigh was super excited about her beverage of choice this week, Angry Orchard’s Rose’ is a cider that she has been looking for and wanting to try for a while.  She was in luck this week because the Liquor Barn in Hamburg here in Lexington Kentucky finally had some in stock.  She was not disappointed in this one at all.  It was very drinkable and slightly dry.  Many times when you see a beverage with a pink color, you think it’s going to be on the sweet side.  Leigh was definitely happy that this wasn’t the case, which is a good thing because they only came in 6 packs, so Carrie still has 5 more at her house.

We are all ready for spring to begin and Smarch to go away and Lauren definitely brought that sentiment to the table with her choice of Taft Brewing’s Nellie’s a Key Lime Caribbean style ale.  Taft Brewing is right up the road from us in Cincinnati and we were happy to see that they are canning and distributing in our neck of the woods.  Lauren stole this from Stacey’s beer fridge stash, but it was absolutely worth it.  This is a very light, refreshing beer that isn’t overpowered with key lime flavor.  It definitely avoids any kind of artificial or chemically flavor and at 4.8% is a beer you could have more than one of.  This would be a great patio/lawnmower beer.  We highly recommend looking for this one in your area when the weather finally lets us sit on the patio without the threat of snow.

Carrie is also done with winter and it showed with her pick of New Belgium’s Tartastic Raspberry Lime Ale.  This is again is a nice refreshing fruit beer, that has a great balance of fruit and tart.  The raspberry and lime aren’t overpowering or chemically tasting and the sour adds to the flavor rather than distracting from it.  Add this to your list of porch sitting/lawnmower drinking beers when the winter finally takes a hike.

In this episode we are joined by Chandler and Jen from Lyle’s BBQ in Lexington Kentucky. We talk all about bbq, their podcast Behind the Bluegrass and what constitutes Kentucky Burgoo. We also discuss if the stache or the beard is greater, based on Carrie’s appearance on Scout Team Sports Radio, we shout out to USA Rugby 7s for winning the World championship, and of course play an awesome round of Take It or Leave It. Want to know what the hell Chicken Mull is, you’re just gonna hafta listen.

Listen to “Episode 102 WTF Chicken Mull” on Spreaker.

Lauren and Carrie split the sharin’ beer this week, which both were actually very excited about.  We always love finding imports from Craft Breweries outside of the United States and we were thrilled when we came across Colorado’s (Brazil’s Craftiest Brewery) Bertho.  This import from Brazil is a Dark Ale brewed with Brazil Nuts.  Lauren and Carrie thought the complexity of the favors was very interesting.  It started out very sweet and malty, but as it warmed up that sweetness went away and a more nutty flavor came through.  It was a very nice beer and if you can find it we highly recommend picking it up.  We also recommend drinking it at room temperature, it definitely got better as it warmed up.

Our guest this week Chandler was all about LandShark Lager.  Landshark Lager is a Jimmy Buffet beer and actually we’d agree with Chandler’s assessment that it’s better than Corona.  Even though it’s still technically winter here in Lexington, Kentucky Chandler was trying to call the gods of summer with the LandShark.  We can’t disagree with his reasoning and again this is a solid beer to test that theory with.  It’s a great patio beer even if the patio you’re sitting on is still 30 degrees.

Leigh was very excited this week to venture out to the Stanley Studio beer fridge and find that Lauren had been collecting cider for her in a special cider drawer.  She was also excited to find that one of those offerings was something she had never had before from a place we had no idea existed.  Over the Rhine Cider Company in Cincinnati Ohio, which again we didn’t know was a thing.  Leigh tried their Crisp Hard Cider and found it to be pretty good, not too sweet and what you want in a standard cider.  She felt like she could definitely have more than one without being overpowered with sweetness or feeling too full.  We’re excited to find more of their products.  A visit to Cincinnati might also be in order.

Lauren’s pick this week comes from Prairie Artisan Ales and was picked mainly on label artwork.  Their Brett C. is a farmhouse ale brewed with cascade and citra hops with a touch of sea salt.  Surprisingly this was a very well-balanced beer.  Sometimes the addition of Brett, especially to a farmhouse style ale can make it too sour.  This wasn’t the case here, however, the citra and cascade hops helped to balance out the sour and the allowed the Brett to give the ale a more earthy flavor.  If you’re looking for something with a complex earthy flavor that isn’t too sour definitely check this one out.

Carrie decided to stay in state with her pick this week (sorry we couldn’t find a picture of the exact can, but it does have a picture of a cow on it if that helps) with MileWide Beer Company’s McPolye Milk Stout.  MileWide is based in Louisville Kentucky, and they produce a variety of different styles.  We highly recommend their Barstow, which is a super easy drinking American Pale Ale.  Their Milk Stout is also pretty easy drinking.  With  nice balance of light and dark, there is some sweetness but it does a nice job of balancing out the heaviness of the stout.  Definitely a good representation of that style of beer.  Of course we recommend picking it up and supporting Kentucky Breweries.