Coming from a background of poverty and too many meals of tuna casserole, my husband and I both share the same quality that I like to call “squirreling”. What in the world is that you ask? Well, what I mean by squirreling is that we, much like squirrels, gather our “nuts” together and store them away for a long time so that we are ready when “winter” comes., same with out lawn care regimen..we save it! We usually use organic weed killers, but that is not really the point here.
Because neither of us had much growing up, we have a tendency to do just that. We hold onto or store away things because in our mind we just don’t know when we will have nothing again and need them. Over the years we have been able to deal with our issue of “squirreling” but that is only because we have come to realize that there is indeed a greater being who already makes sure that the flowers and the trees are taken care of. Our sweet Lord will indeed make sure that we have all that we need. He did so when we were younger, we just didn’t realize it! He’s been there all along!
As the world moves closer and closer to so many people losing work and conserving their resources, I have begun to take a look at what I can do in my home to help save what we can. One way that I have found that I can save is in the grocery budget. Now, it is not necessarily a time conserving idea, but it does save me money! Each week I clip coupons from the Sunday paper. I then match my coupons with the sales ads that arrive in my mail box each week. I then plan my menu around what is on sale and what I have coupons for. Whatever “treats” I buy for my children also are determined by what is on sale. One week I bought six boxes of fruit roll ups. My children thought that they had died and gone to heaven because I never buy them. I had saved almost eighty dollars that week on my grocery budget and those treats were only sixty-nine cents a box after my coupon. Not too shabby!
There is a special relationship between beer and chocolate as they complement each other’s distinctive taste. What drinks well with chocolate? The most popular combination is the stout and dark chocolate combination. People who tried it guarantee that it is a heady combination.
However, these days, there is no limit on what kind of beer blends well with dark chocolates. An ordinary pilsner can do wonders on the chocolate and vice-versa. All you need is a little imagination and presto, you can enjoy both on a different level. That is why it is so cool to learn about beer tasting reviews at blogs like the one I found.
Start with those with the light ones as they will bring expected delicious results and then explore. Combine those with contrast traits as they can surprise you with special results. An example would be a combination of the sweetness of chocolate truffles and the sourness of Belgian ale.
The darker the beer or stouts the better as they will blend well with the sweet taste of the dark chocolates. The robust, strong taste of the beer mixes well with the milky texture of the chocolate thus giving the tongue a heavenly feeling with an edge.
However, if you want this combination in your beer, try the chocolate beers. It does not really make the beer any sweeter but it just add some richness to its texture. If you really want to try something that is a beer that is available anywhere and has great, rich flavor, try this Samuel Adams Lager review I found.
Since beer is undoubtedly the most famous alcoholic beverage in the world (and goes great with rock music), it is of no surprise at all that so many urban legends and misconceptions sprouted around every bar. Beer drinkers love to talk and argue about the origins, the ingredients and the process by which every bottle of their favorite drink came from.
Top 1. American Beers Are Weak
This misconception has been very persistent mainly because of the way manufacturers measure the alcohol content in one bottle. Imported brewers use volume while American brewers use weight. Naturally when you count them up, weight will produce lower numbers but it does not follow that the alcohol content is lower too.
Top 2. The Darker the Beer, The Bitter the Beer, The Stronger the Alcohol Content
A lot of people still believe that stronger flavor, darker color means stronger alcohol content. Wrong! Take Guinness Stout as an example. A bottle is under 4.2% ABV but still people insist that it is stronger. There are Belgian beers that have an alcohol content of over 8% but they are light-colored. It does not have anything to do with color.
Top 3. Beers are Cholesterol-Induced Beverage
It is incredible how people believed that beer would raise their cholesterol levels probably because of the beer bellies. Truth to be told, beer does not contain fat or cholesterol.
Top 4. Low Alcohol Content, Low on Quality.
There is no truth to the rumor that a beer with high alcohol content would automatically be of high quality. Indeed, it is an alcoholic beverage but quality of taste does not rely only on its alcohol level. There are plenty of beers which have high percentage of alcohol content but are brewed poorly resulting in bad taste.
Most beer experts would recommend that you drink your beer in a glass so you can enjoy it fully but most beer drinkers consumed it straight from the can or the bottle. Why? Ignorance and convenience plays a huge part on it. I also think it matters a lot which video beer blogs you watch as to what drink ware you utilize.
Not everyone knows or worse believes that there is a huge difference in drinking it from a glass. If only they will take the time to compare them and they will see that pouring the beer into a glass allows it to breathe thus enhancing the aroma of the flavor
There is a huge variety of glassware that was created just for drinking beer. One of the most popular is mug-pitcher type glass. It is easier to carry and bartenders can easily hang them up because of the handle. However, in America the most popular glass is the pint, a 16-ounce tapered shape glass that was originally used as mixing glass that is being place on top of a stainless steel martini shaker. It is durable and can be easily stacked on top of each other.
The European breweries have the most selection of beer glassware patented by each brewery. It is not surprising as they also have the most variety of beer styles brewed over the years. In Belgium alone, you can drink it from so many types of glassware and they are picky about it. You can send it back to the bartender if your beer was not served in your requested glass.
Next time you drink your beer take time to pour it to a glass. Enjoy the aroma and make it a habit.
Planning to throw a party this holiday season? Make sure you stock up with lots of beer as people love to just drink and be merry. Forget the notion that drinking beer is just an ordinary, boring thing. Make the drinking fest interesting and exciting.
Serve different beer styles to your guests and they will be amazed that beer drinking is also an art. Sadly, it is a fact that most beer drinkers do not know one style from the other and most of the time they could not care less as long as they get to drink a cold one.
However, it is sometimes good to know that there are different ways to offer beer as they have different kinds. People usually differentiate them by brands but most of the time if they taste the same; they are of the same style. Although, it is impossible to try them out in one sitting as there are around 70 beer styles not to mention the sub-styles.
Here are just 10 styles which are worth trying this holiday season, not on any particular order: Dry Stout, Doppelbock, Pilsner, Scottish Ale, Witbier, India Pale Ale, Rauchbier, Flanders Red Ale, Weissbier and Lambic (Fruit & Unblended). Of course, you should always have the usual Pale Lagers chilled in case some of your guests are in no mood to be adventurous.
