Chocolate Caramel Porter Pops

I think it’s official. I think we may finally be over the random days of waking up to find snow covering the ground! (Knock on wood.)
Cloudy ColoradoThere have been many a wonderful spring shower in the afternoon, but the temperature is finally on a continuous upswing! We’ve been getting 90+ degrees for the last week. Summer is coming! And summer calls for…
am7Popsicles!!! Not just any popsicles though. Popsicles with BEER in them!
amI teamed up with fairlife to bring some boozy recipes to the table. Some of them definitely haven’t worked out.
am9Beer + dairy = curdled sadness. But these beersicles are a winner!
am8The rich creaminess of the fairlife 2% chocolate milk makes the texture of these like fudgsicles, not the bland, crystallized, icy frozen milk you might expect. You’ll notice that I instructed to put the beer in the base of these popsicles whereas the pictures are reversed. After a horrible disaster that ended with me hand mopping my entire kitchen floor, I determined that the softer consistency of the frozen beer part would better be placed on the top of the popsicle so you don’t get stuck with puddles of sweet beer and chocolate milk on your floor. You’re welcome.
am2I used one of my favorite porters around – Killer Boots caramel porter by Verboten Brewing. First, make a simple syrup and let cool completely. I chilled mine in the fridge for a good hour.
am3Slowly mix together the beer and simple syrup, tasting as you go. These beersicles end up pretty sweet, so you may want to use less than I did.
am1Fill the bases of the popsicle with the beer mixture and let them freeze for 2-4 hours, or until slightly solidified.
am6Fill them the rest of the way with fairlife 2% chocolate milk, until 1/4 inch to the top.
am5The genius that I am, I forgot science and the fact that liquids expand as they freeze, so after filling the molds up all the way I ended up cleaning out my freezer and rinsing off the overflow. Don’t do that.
am7When completely frozen, place the molds in a cup of hot water for about two minutes until the popsicles slide right out and enjoy!
[gmc_recipe 7715]
am10Happy almost summer to everyone! What’s your favorite style/flavor of popsicle?

Note: I was provided free product and compensation by fairlife to create this recipe. All text and opinions are my own.

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When Vacuums Attack

It began with a simple thought. It was inevitable. Those stairs needed to be cleaned.

When Vacuums Attack

The vacuum stood proudly at the top of the staircase, growling and asserting its dominance over all things carpet. I slowly worked down from the top of the flight, step by step, enjoying the soft clatter as each pebble, piece of lint and dust was lifted from between the soft fibers. The hose stretched and strained with every motion I made and the vacuum’s growl rose to a high whine.

Realizing the stretch might be a little too much for the angry beast to handle, I stood and turned to move up the stairs and carry the vacuum down to the base to ease its temper. At that exact moment, I heard the first horrible sound.
Metal vs. drywall.
Instinctively, I clenched every muscle in my body and threw my arms up to protect my face. The second sound.
Metal vs. bone.

Bright white pain flashed through my body, radiating out from the point of contact on my leg and continuing to my fingertips. Stars appeared before my eyes, intermittently spiked with images of the curse words that threatened to escape my mouth. With a loud gasp, I stood up and grabbed the neck of the vacuum to upright it, my fingers clenching as I attempted to strangle it at the same time. Slowly. Step by step. I limped down the stairs, opened the closet and jammed the vacuum into the back, concealed by coats, not to be seen again for a long time.

House cleaning was over for the day.
vacuum
And that, my friends, is the gory tale of why you should never bother cleaning your house. Danger lurks everywhere.

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Four Year Blogiversary!

Four years and one day, actually… I set the reminder on my calendar yesterday and the alarm didn’t go off, so, as is tradition, I missed yet another year.
first
Quite a bit has changed
in the last four years.
hampster
I transitioned from a healthy living blog “Hike, Bike, Eat”, to a beer, food and abandoned places, daily life blog. Today’s recap post involves a little bit of all of that.

I haven’t had internet in my house for the past month which means that instead of blogging more often, I’ve been out biking around, exploring my town, drinking good beer and hanging out with my awesome like-minded friends. You know, actually living life.
AM6
This was my view last week – watching a DUI check whilst enjoying an Odell’s Loose Leaf on my back patio. Note the pretty blue cop car lights in the background.
AMI biked to Old Town and met up with my sis-in-law to try out the new Freedom’s Edge brewery location.
AM1One of the best chili ales I’ve had to date! Honey sweetness with a light jalapeno flavor and just a hint of lingering burn.
AM3I’ve been spending lots of time on my back patio as well. This view will never get old.
AM5I’ve been spending time on the back patio when the weather is good, I should say. The afternoon spring storms have been exceptionally crazy lately. This was close to DIA where the crowds were gathering around watching tornadoes form as the hail cracked against the pavement and bolts of lightning streaked across the black sky.
AM8The good news about the weather is it means everything is unbelievably green! Even the graffiti seems to pop!
AM12It also makes for terrifying moments such as this: I went outside to get a few pictures of the clouds above my house and the screen door locked behind me right as the really painful marble-sized hail began to pummel down. I finally got in through my garage and actually brushed a handful of those icy marbles out of my hair.
AM7On the days with nice weather, I’ve been biking around to breweries…
AM11Riding the MAX and making new friends…
AM10Stopping at more breweries…
AM14And brewing with friends. Memorial Day was spent making two batches of IPA and pale ale.
AM16My special brew-day baked pumpkin spiced chocolate chip donuts made a reappearance! I’ve missed making these.
AM15Lots of good craft brews were consumed since we were homebrewing, obviously.
AM17And mass quantities of smoked pork butt, pesto pasta salad, kale salad, potato salad and baked beans were devoured. Best butt I’ve ever tasted!

That was weird.
AM13So is this still from a film I did back even before I started this blog. Ahh, memories. I’m nothing if not fashionable.
kss
Happy belated 4th blogiversary to my little Hike, Bike, Eat/Bites ‘n Brews baby blog! I look forward to many more!

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InstaWeek

I’m healed! I’m healed!
Screen shot 2014-05-07 at 10.12.52 AMAll of the medication and comfort food worked!
am
Some presents in the mail helped, too.
am1I finally got my seeds started for the garden outside! I planted these last Friday with my seed starter kit.
am13Just a few days later…
am17And two days ago! They’re three times as tall now. Now I just need to build me one of them outdoor garden things…
am2Since I was feeling so much better, I accepted an invite from my friend Kara for a Friday night on the town. Super sweet cognac sour with rosemary and champagne to celebrate her coworker’s last day.
am3We balanced out that goodness with a veggie burger and fries from Big Al’s. Next time I’ll be trying their 60-40 bacon burger. Mmmm, bacon.
am4On Saturday morning, I rose early, as usual, and biked down to Old Town to celebrate the opening of the MAX bus. This free (until August 25th) bus runs parallel to the main street for five miles, making it easy and safe for anyone to enjoy a night on the town and not have to worry about how to get home. I joined my bro and sis-in-law for the day to fill out our passports.
am5There were thirteen stops and we hit every single one. Plenty of swag (schwaaaag) was claimed and delicious free samples consumed.
am6Yes, that did include beer samples! The lines were packed for the opening day and we ended up waiting 40 minutes for our bus back to Old Town. I was lucky enough to get to bike home in the pouring rain. Lovely.
am7The next day was Mama Day! My mumsie got this wonderful fortune with her meal. I’ve had pretty weird luck with sushi/Chinese combo restaurant fortunes.
am8Monday night was the tapping of all of the Fort Collins collaboration brews for the start of American Craft Beer Week and Fort Collins Beer Week!
am9It was a long evening of networking and hanging out with all of the brewers around Fort Collins, and there are plenty!
am10Prepping for the brewers’ photo!
am12
And everyone together! Such a great group of good people!
am11I kept it safe and split all of my tastes with Kara before gorging at Noodles & Co and heading home.
am14My new favorite place. Paris in Longmont! We stumbled across this cheese shop/bistro/cafe/beautiful piece of heaven while meandering around and exploring this week. I’ll be back for a long afternoon, a cheese plate and a glass of prosecco soon enough!
am18And to cap it all off, a flight at Odell Brewing with my bestie Michelley.

I’m off to enjoy an art show and the beautiful spring weather we’ve been blessed with here in Colorado. Happy Friday!

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DayQuil is a Girl’s Best Friend

Forget diamonds. My last few days have been pitiful scenes.
AM16I tried to go au natural in the ways of healing with kitchen sink salads and chick flicks, but my first Colorado illness only got worse.
Screen shot 2014-05-07 at 10.12.52 AMDayQuil, canned ravioli, hot tea and lots of RedBox. No end in sight to the crappy sore throat and wonderfully stuffed nasal passages yet. Since I’m feeling so utterly useless and lazy at the moment, I’d like to reminisce on happier days. Like all of the days before Monday.
AM1WE. FOUND. NOTHING. BUNDT. CAKE!!!! I have never done such a dramatic happy dance in a public place!
AM2After a visit to Trader Joe’s (cue yet another happy dance) and Nothing Bundt Cake in Boulder, I whipped up a kitchen sink salad with sauteed zucchini, Trader Joe’s Ranchero Egg White Salad and organic baby greens at my bro’s house before he, my sis-in-law and I biked over to the Liquid Poets homebrew club at 1933 Brewing. BIKED there! I love Fort Collins and its endless supply of bike paths!
AM3The next morning I met my sis-in-law at the barn to meet her new horse.
AM4Pretty, pretty pony tongue.
AM5Friday afternoon was spent at Horse & Dragon – the newest local brewery (give it a few days for another new one to pop up). We split a flight and enjoyed the warm breeze that flowed through the bright, open tasting room that’s full of rustic woods and expansive windows.
AM6Gun battles at Mainline in Old Town Fort Collins.
AM7The spring storms have begun rolling in, gracing me with the most gorgeous sunsets I’ve seen.
AM8Saturday was Big Brew! Those two fancy control panels and brew systems were designed and built by my ridiculous smart brother. He built the one on the left for the new magazine Craft Beer and Brewing.
AM9It was a gorgeous day for a brew! The temps hit about 80 and refreshments were limitless.
AM10Limitless. Six taps and about ten boxes stuffed to the brim with homebrew samples and competition bottles.
AM12Cold break – the flocculation of proteins and other stuff. This step helps improve the clarity and flavor of a beer. I filled this glass and set it on the counter for a hydrometer reading, forgot about it for an hour or two and came back to find this! Beer is so weird and awesome.
AM11It was a long and busy day, and I ended up heading home around 6pm to relax and enjoy my back patio and another wonderful sunset.
AM13Sunday brunch! I scrambled up two eggs with diced sundried tomatoes and goat cheese, paired with a mix of baby spring greens and a balsamic drizzle before heading to church.
AM14After the service I started to feel a little under the weather and attempted to combat that with a green monsta in my new Magic Bullet from Fairlife. My mumsie came to visit and enticed me to join her and my pops for an evening of grilled bacon and beef sliders and good beer. I definitely could not refuse that!
AM15I roasted some asparagus for the side. These burgers. Holy oink. My parental unit picked them up from The Bull and Boar – a butcher in Loveland that sources local, hormone and antibiotic-free meats, and they are the BEST burgers we’ve ever set upon the grill!

Aaaand the next morning I was fully ill. I retreated back to the couch to nestle with tissues, chick flicks and comfort foods. I’m ready to get better now! Bike paths, breweries and bundt cakes await!

Are you a healthy-foods or a comfort-foods person when it comes to being sick?

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A Celebration of Firsts

The days have been full of many firsts since I got my new house!
am11My first official breakfast in the new house – leftover sammiches and coffee! This is the Pilgrim from Backcountry Deli in Old Town Fort Collins. Absolutely love this sammich!
am8It happened to be leftover from a collaboration brew day I was lucky enough to participate in at New Belgium! Brewing beer and free sammiches? This is the life!
am4The first sunset at my new house. Blindingly beautiful.
am5My first housewarming beer from Goose Island! I’m doing a little recipe development, and they were kind enough to send a few samples for me to try out before.
am6Some first decorating has been done as well! A beautiful pic of my favorite beer-centric family right where they belong.
amI also had Ethiopian food! I’m not sure if this really has anything to do with the new house, but it was definitely a first for me! Those baskets are actually the tables…
am1My bestie and I couldn’t figure it out, so we used the smaller, shorter tables next to the basket tables.
am7The first thing I actually baked in my house – cinnamon rolls on Easter!
am9My first visit to William Oliver’s Publick House for my first IPA by Horse & Dragon Brewing!
am10We were there to celebrate my brother’s first sip of 30 year old scotch to celebrate his first 30th birthday! Happy birthday, brudder!
am12I headed over to Verboten to say a quick hello and a nice sample of their award winning stout – Pure Imagination, and grab a few growlers for an evening with my bro, sis-in-law, niece and nephew.
am13Ain’t they cute?
am3Almost as cute as my handsome lil fella.
am15I had my first sip of Bhakti Chai with coffee added! Tastes like gingerbread cookies and happiness!
am17And the first kitchen table I’ve ever purchased! I loaded this into my house yesterday and enjoyed a freshly oven-heated frozen lasagna with my family. I’m nothing if not classy.
am19You guys have seen this before, I just think it’s pretty. And now, it’s time for the Colorado Avalanche’s first Game 7 of the playoffs!

What are some firsts you’ve experienced lately?

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InstaLately {+ Giveaway Winner}

Quick update – I’m officially in my new house!
Screen shot 2014-04-24 at 9.52.19 AMThe dishes are in and designing is almost completely done!
Screen shot 2014-04-24 at 9.53.04 AMI’ve even had the chance to do the one thing I’ve been looking forward to since I first signed that loan – beer on my back patio. My life is complete.
Screen shot 2014-04-24 at 9.32.42 AMThe fridge situation is a little dire. This was what it looked like on Saturday…
Screen shot 2014-04-24 at 9.32.55 AMAnd this was two days ago. The leftovers have been consumed, so all I’m left with is beer and chai. Not a bad thing, but I’m thinking it’s about time to go grocery shopping.

And to let you all know, I’m without interwebs. Right now I’m enjoying a bottomless cup of coffee and free wifi at Cranknstein in Old Town Fort Collins and checking email that I haven’t been able to view in days. In exchange for putting up with the sporadacity (that should totally be a real word), and because I forgot to post it in the last blog, here’s the winner of the Bhakti Chai giveaway!
Screen shot 2014-04-24 at 9.22.10 AMCongratulations Kait! I’ve sent you an email so you can claim your goods!
Screen shot 2014-04-24 at 9.32.23 AMSo yes, it’s been hectic and stressful and sporadic, but things are finally settling down. Until those interweb wire thingies get connected in my house, feel free to follow me on Instagram and Twitter for random updates! They mainly are about coffee and beer – the elixirs of life.

I’m off to buy a kitchen table! Yay, adulthood!

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Craft Brewers Conference 2014

At last – here’s my recap from the CBC 2014 down in Denver! After attending in 2012, I knew I couldn’t miss one that was being held in my home state! Many pictures, few words. Life has been ridiculously hectic with the closing, the move, and the everything else that’s stealing time from me.
AM2Tuesday of CBC week was absolutely gorgeous! It was 75 degrees in downtown Denver and all of the craft beer folk were slowly starting to filter into town from all over the world. There were 9,000 attendees this year!
AMI walked the four miles (very slight exaggeration) through the convention center, checked in for my media pass and buckled in for the crazy ride to come.
AM1Symposium brew – Centennial State Pale!
AM3I headed over to the German hops hospitality suite while I waited for my people to arrive and was treated to a variety of beer samples hopped with a bunch of new varieties.
AM7Lotsa green! German green, not Colorado green.
AM6The Hallertau Hop Queen of the year was there to give a very long, yet oh-so-adorable speech about the new hops.
AM5Charlie Papazian spotting! Similar to my creeper Jim Koch spotting of CBC12.
AM4I made my way through masses of body odor and crop dusting until I stumbled into my saving graces who were literally a breath of fresh air in the crowds.
AM8Kaitlyn Canfield, the Hallertau Hop Queen, and Karie Scuiller. Kaitlyn and Karie work for Caliber Creative branding out of Dallas, Texas, and kindly took me into their small circle of delicious amber aroma and general sweetness and creative talent.
AM28I also ran into some old friends in that same room – Organic Dan of Bison Brewing was there!
AM27Along with his head honcho, Ashley Routson aka The Beer Wench!
AM29We all insta-bonded and headed out to the welcome reception that was held at Mile High Stadium! It took us a few blocks of walking and a desperate jog to a taxi, but we eventually made it there!
AM30The reception was held inside the first floor of the stadium, and ON the field! The evening was spent wandering around, having a few samples of the brews that were stationed across the entire facility, and reconnecting with old friends like my beautiful birthday twin Acacia Coast of the Brewers Association and Rob and Laina of Wolf Creek Brewery (my old job)!
AM10The next day was spent mainly on the exhibition floor. IDD from Moorpark, California!
AM11American Beer Equipment out of Lincoln, Nebraska! ‘Murika!
AM9They provided free lunch to all attendees. Chicken ‘n swiss sammich! I was very grateful for the free absorbency.
AM12There were plenty of beer samples on the floor to keep up with. I met up with some friends and we perused all the booths and sipped all the beer.
AM13I also ran into this keg and did a double take – Council Brewing! My friends Liz and Curtis had their first brew day a few days ago, and it was awesome to see their kegs on display at such a big exhibition!
AM14Big Ass Fans. Just because.
AM31As the afternoon wound down, I stuck with Organic Dan and the Wench and wandered over to Falling Rock for some networking and good beers.
AM32And I mean goooooood beers! We ended up sitting with Dr. Bill Sysak from Stone Brewing and were treated to glasses of Prairie Eliza5beth farmhouse ale. That’s a 3L bottle right there…
AM33Firestone PNC tequila barrel-aged imperial buckwheat stout. One of my favorites of the night.
abAnd my all time favorite of the evening – Stone’s Saison aged in white wine barrels. Mind bogglingly delicious and not at all what I expected to come out of Stone. Want. More.
AM15The next day was full of seminar after seminar.
AM16So much learning and note-taking. I was in beer nerd heaven.
AM17I sat in on the Brewpub Panel which featured the wonderful Cyrena Nouzille of Ladyface Alehouse! Ahh, I miss my Ladies at Ladyface so much!
AM34I also attended the annual Pink Boots Society CBC meeting where I met Franny from both The Full Pint and all things Golden Road/Mohawk Bend/Tony’s Darts Away! Franny flattered my brains out when she complimented the beer pairing dinner I designed and hosted at Tuning Fork in Studio City and said it was the best that Golden Road has ever had and possibly the best pairing in the universe. That last part might not have been said out loud…
AM35The next day started off as all mornings should – with coffee beer. Oh, and learning. We were there to learn, too.
AM19The day passed by in a blur of seminars and long chats about distribution. I made it up to the exhibition hall one last time to take this very sad, lonely picture. It’s just not fun to see everything taken apart and packed up to head back home. But now, it was time for the World Beer Cup.
AM20We headed to the Hyatt to wait for the doors to open and enjoyed the gorgeous view overlooking Denver and the mountains.
AM36And then, chaos. There was a long line to reach the beer pouring station where they were serving the remains of all the bottles sent in for the WBC competition. Buffet stations lined the outskirts and I managed to grab some brisket and short ribs, most of which rolled off onto my shirt. Thank goodness for the color black. Conceals all.
AM21 We arrived early and were able to snag seats in the second row.
AM24The Hallertau Hop Queen made her appearance yet again!
AM22And VERBOTEN! They got a bronze for their Bourbon Barrel Aged Mountain Man
AM26And blew my mind again with a SILVER for their Pure Imagination oatmeal stout! I don’t think I’ve ever cheered louder. Except maybe for the Colorado Avalanche games… But this was a close second.
AM25And then Brazil won a bunch of awards and spent the night dancing and chanting “Brah-ceel!”. That was entertaining as well.
abaWe celebrated the World Beer Cup with another visit to Falling Rock and wandered around congratulating everyone. I ran into Steve from Kinetic Brewing as well as AJ from Figueroa Mountain Brewing (I love seeing my California friends), and ended the night at the Brown Palace with Organic Dan, Ashley and the awesome Brian Lenzo –  owner of Blue Palms Brewhouse.
Screen shot 2014-04-22 at 7.12.47 AMWe got a personal tour of the haunted rooms thanks to our awesome bartender, and then spent the rest of the evening taking ridiculous pictures in front of the upside down grillwork panels we spent half an hour trying to find.
AM38Waaaaay too happy about finding those panels.
ababBacon, fruit and green tea signaled the end of the Craft Brewers Conference of 2014. Looking forward to next year in Portland, Oregon!

Oh yeah…
then this…this brew day at New Belgium thingy happened yesterday, but that’s another story for another time…

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Growing Pains

Good news/bad news.
amThe Craft Brewers Conference of 2014 was absolutely amazing!
am1I can’t wait to recap it for you…
am5…sometime next week. I’m in the middle of all the final walk-throughs, inspections and closing (!!!!) on my house! I’m growing up, turning into an adult and going to be a homeowner!
am7My days have been filled with nothing but visiting thrift stores (I found these almost brand-new brew-style stools for $12.95!) and ordering mattresses and kegerators. Well, not the kegerator part. I guess a place to sleep is slightly more important than a kegerator. Priorities, people.
am3With all the stress, it’s been nice to have a few seconds of down time here and there. I stopped at the brand new 1933 Brewing in Fort Collins to enjoy a short afternoon and taster flight with a friend before work.
am4I also found a night to sneak out to Mayor of Old Town in Fort Collins for the most amazing cream cheese-stuffed jalapeno pretzel with raspberry jam in the entire universe! Geez, I can’t wait to be living in Fort Collins so I can eat these every day! (or just stare longingly at the menu and sniff at the air since I have a mortgage to pay and won’t be able to afford to buy universally-delicious pretzels…)
am6I received some sanity-preserving gifts in the mail yesterday! My favorite chimichurri sauce in the whole world! I already have visions of relaxing outside of my new house, sipping a brew and grilling with these wonderful spreads and jams!
am8But first, I had to try some of that chimichurri sauce to make sure it tasted just as I remember. It does. Oh, Lordy, it does!

So bad news is that you guys will have to wait until next week for the CBC recap, but the good news is…
Screen shot 2014-04-06 at 10.46.40 PMYou also have some more time to enter for free Bhakti Chai!!! Head back to this post and leave a comment for your chance to win and I’ll choose the winner sometime next week after all the insanity has slightly waned!

Have you ever found anything good at a thrift shop? I will never doubt again!

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Bhakti Chai Brewery Tour {GIVEAWAY}

I was invited to visit the Bhakti Chai brewery in Longmont last week and jumped at the chance!
am30I discovered Bhakti Chai a little over a year ago when my bro forced me to have a sip at Cranknstein when I was visiting from California. I instantly fell in the love with the intensely spicy, gingery cup of warm deliciousness.
am6Ever since then, I’ve been touting my love for the local company and their wonderful drink. I even moved back to Colorado just so I could have more access to it! Well, not really, but it’s been an added bonus.
am31Since my bro is the one who initiated me into the Bhakti love club, I had to bring him and my sis-in-law along! Ignore the pained looks on our faces – we were actually thrilled to be there, but dang, that sun was bright!
amWe arrived at the brewery in the morning and were greeted by the warm scents of mulled spices before we even entered the building. This adorable, colorful table was laid out with a handful of the Bhakti products, most of which I’ve never had the chance to try before!
am1Our tour guide/marketing genius Allison gave us each one of the bottles to sip while we chatted about the history of the company.
am2See that coffee blend? That is going to be the very first thing that I run to after Lent is over. Coffee and chai? I can’t wait!
am3I grabbed the new almond blend. I love that they’re using almond milk now – I’ve never been a huge fan of soy, so this one called to me.
am29Brook Eddy is the mastermind behind Bhakti Chai. She began making her own blend of spicy chai in her kitchen years ago, and stored it in mason jars to keep in her fridge.
am4Brook’s creation became incredibly popular with her friends who started snagging these jars from her fridge and leaving a few bucks  in their place. Soon, a local cafe caught on and ordered three gallons of the blend to sell in-house, and Brook’s company was officially open!
am5Bhakti means devotion through social action, and this company is committed to the empowerment of women and girls.
am6Their walls are lined with examples of all the different organizations that they support. I love how deeply involved and committed they are with these causes. Allison was thrilled to share all of the work they’ve done.
am7Then, it was time for the tour! We grabbed our bottles, put on some sexy hairnets and entered the brewery.
am8This baby is basically a giant Vitamix. They grind all of their ginger into a pulp to feed into the vice.
am9Nate hard at work. Grindin’ ginger. Sportin’ a beard-net.
am10All of the pressed ginger is scooped into this vice which squeezes all of the spicy goodness into large buckets for brewing.
am11Allison informed us that this number has more than doubled. They actually press around 3,500 pounds of fresh, organic ginger every week.
am12The chai brewery is similar to a beer brewery.
am13In fact, these tanks used to be the brew system for the now-defunct Oasis Brewing out of Boulder!
am14Gallons and gallons of ginger juice and organic sugar being prepped to hop into the boil kettle!
am15I also love their use of organic EVERYTHING!
am16I forced brewer Jared to take a break and pose for me.
am24Yes. Yes, they do.
am17Up until six months ago, Bhakti was hand filling all of their bottles.
am18Considering how far spread out Bhakti is, this handy bottling line was quite necessary to keep up with demand.
am23They’re spread out across the states with more accounts being gained every month.
am20Just a sample of the amount of ginger juice stored up in the walk-in!
am21They receive their soy and almond milk in these gigantic vats so they can make their ready-to-drink bottles.
am22And fresh ginger. So. Much. Ginger!
am25Bhakti Chai is also a certified B Corp – one of about only 1,000 businesses around the world who meet the standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.
am26Happy magnets! I was able to get one of these to go on my new fridge!
am27They recently introduced a new, dry Bhakti Chai! Now you can take Bhakti with you when you travel! Since the ginger pulp still has plenty of flavor left in it after going through the press, they decided to dry and pelletize the pulp to put into the new dry tea bags, reducing waste of perfectly good ingredients.
am28I still have to find some of this ice cream to try! If they start making some almond milk ice cream, I will be their most devoted customer – even more so than I am now!
am19It was one of the most wonderful smelling and interesting brew tours I’ve been on. A huge thanks to Allison and the entire Bhakti crew for inviting us in!
am32Since I walked home with some special presents that they spoiled us with, I felt inspired to create a recipe. In the food blogger world, almond milk is in, Bhakti Chai is in, and chia seeds are IN.
am33Combine the seeds, almond milk and Bhakti Chai…
am34And WHISK your heart out!
am26Refrigerate overnight and ta-da!
(Note: If you haven’t had chia pudding, the texture takes some getting used to, but it is deeeee-lish!)
[gmc_recipe 7518]
Aaaaaaand now for yet another giveaway!!! Bhakti Chai has kindly offered up two quarts of their amazing drink for one winner! All you need to do is leave a comment below telling me what your beverage of choice is. It’s that easy! I’ll pick a winner on April 14th! Open to U.S. residents only.
Screen shot 2014-04-06 at 10.46.40 PMNote: Bhakti Chai provided me with product samples for tasting and a brewery tour, and is also furnishing two quarts of chai to the contest winner, but I received no other compensation for this review, nor was I pressured to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

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