12 Beers of Christmas

It's that time of year again! Your shopping is almost done, you're baking up a storm and it's time to make sure you have some good beer on hand!

So once again, we got together with some friends to try and find what beer would bring you, your family and friends some Christmas cheer. 

Here is the 2011 list for your reference, there are some really good East Coast beers there that I couldn't get my hands on this year, but there were a ton of West Coast options. I got a little out of control at the store, making sure to stock up and ensure we had plenty of selection to try.

We learned our lesson from last year, and made sure to serve tasting portions this year. We wanted to make sure everyone had room to taste them all before narrowing down to our favorites.

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New Logo & Grove Pointe Chili Club

A new year and a new logo, I'm excited! A friend surprised me by emailing me a new banner and some new logos for Facebook, Twitter & Google+. Don't worry, I wasn't offended that she didn't think my crooked chalkboard art was good enough, and I was absolutely thrilled with what she sent. Thank you Allison!

Now onto the Grove Pointe Chili Club. You might remember at our last meeting Dennis wowed us with some labor intensive 8 Alarm Chili. It was absolutely delicious, but I was looking for something I could make on a weeknight, you know for those days you just sit at your desk and get a sudden craving for chili. Thanks to Sommer over at A Spicy Perspective I found the answer with her chili. I present you with a giant vat of Beer Chili!

Yes, I know that's a lot of chili, so much there is evidence that it was overflowing down the sides of my 6-3/4 quart dutch oven, but I was feeding 7 and in my mind you can never have too much chili. Chili is ALWAYS good leftover and who doesn't love some nachos with the leftovers? 

As Sommer said "Great chili is like a really good friend...loads of intrigue, substance and a little spice" and this chili is spot on. The flavors all really came together nicely and it had just the right amount of kick. The original recipe calls for it to simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, which makes it doable on a weeknight in my book. On the other hand if you have the time, definitely cook it longer as the flavors will come together even better. I let this one simmer for about 1-1/2 to 2 hours. 

Before I leave you with my adapted version of the chili recipe, I'm going to give you a teaser of the savory Jalepeno Cornbread Whoopie Pies with Bacon Chive Goat Cheese filling that Dennis brought (he always has to show me up), this recipe will be coming soon to KMW. You're not on a New Year's diet are you?

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12 Beers of Christmas

Christmas is one week away! Which hopefuly means your shopping is done, your menu is planned and now it's time to make sure you have some good beer on hand. Along with some friends, I have done some serious research and taste testing to sort through a lot of seasonal beers to come up with my list. When I decided to create this list, I honestly had no idea there were so many Winter and Christmas ales out on the market. Thank you to my expert taste testing panel - James, Amanda, Pat, Dennis and Tom for all of your hard work!

Now onto the good stuff, I present you with Kiss My Whisk's 12 Beers of Christmas!

These are in no particular order, I even saved one of my favorites for last!

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
I'll start off with this very popular seasonal beer as we couldn't leave it off of our list. As an IPA lover, it blends the hoppy and spiced seasonal flavors perfectly. It will definitely be a crowd favorite. 

Shipyard Prelude Special Ale
This deep amber beer has a nutty and spicy flavor, with a bitter and hoppy finish. Our panel found the prelude name approrpriate, as it would be a great beer to start the evening, but one is enough before you move onto your next beer.

Rogue Yellow Snow IPA
I've told you this before, but I'm and IPA lover so this was definitely making my list. It has the great hoppy, bitter and citrus flavors that IPA's are known for. As taste tester Tom put it, t's just an IPA, with a witty name!

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A Birthday Celebration & Pumpkin Beer

It's Mr. KMW's birthday today so we're having a few friends over and cooking up a feast for dinner! I've had a very chaotic week at work so I'm definitely ready to have some fun and celebrate. The birthday boy requested prime rib, parmesan and sage roasted potatoes, and roasted mushrooms. A snickers ice cream pie is what's on the dessert menu.  I'll of course be giving you guys a recap and sharing some recipes after the weekend. 

What are your plans for the weekend? I recommend you get some pumpkin beer involved and serve it with a glass rimmed with cinnamon and sugar. So good, promise me you'll try this! Thanks to Sam for sharing this serving tip with me, they don't kid around about their pumpkin beer in Boston. 

If your liquor store is anything like mine, there are going to be a lot of options for pumpkin beer. My favorite is Shipyard Pumpkinhead, last fall I scoured the state of New Jersey to find a few cases for my wedding and it was well worth it! A couple others I like are Fegley's and Schlafly's, and my friend Amanda has been raving about the Blue Point Pumpkin Ale. The only pumpkin ales I have tried that I didn't like were Dogfish Head and Smuttynose. Go pick out a few for a taste test and let me know what recommendations you have! 

Le Mans, Camping, and a Birthday Celebration

We went to Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, CT this weekend to celebrate our friend Danny's birthday. The American Le Mans Series (car racing, not birthing classes) was there so we had a fun weekend of watching car racing, looking at all sorts of cars (that Danny seemed to have an unlimited knowledge about), camping, and enjoying good beer, good food, and good company.

The Racing

The car that almost hit me.

The Birthday Boy

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