Category Archives: Daily Life

by Becki | September 2, 2014 · 5:00 am

Nine Days In

We survived our first week!
It’s been a crazy one full of massive numbers of taster flights and pints served to happy people.
Dave (Snowbank’s owner and brewer) ended up having to do a double brew over this past weekend to refill all of the Colorado Red that everyone has been downing.
The fermentors are fat and happy, giving off little gassy burps of CO2 as the yeast inside converts the sugary wort into beer.
There have been plenty of rainy days when we were afraid no one would come in, but the game shelf has been in full use during those hail storms.
It’s always nice to remember that at the end of every rough day, there’s a pint of beer awaiting us.
And we have quite a rainbow of styles to choose from.
Social media has been in full swing and it’s been nice to hear some of the feedback from people who only knew we were here because of our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. (We really need to get some bigger signs outside.)
Umami celebrated Labor Day with us and served up absolutely incredible dishes to pair with each of our beers.
Teriyaki pulled pork sliders…
Ninja bowls with spicy chicken and udon noodles…
And my personal favorite of the day – chicken bahn mi with black rice pilaf. This is, hands down, the best sammich I have ever consumed. And I’ve consumed a lot of sammiches in my day.
So as our second weekend and first holiday as a brewery wraps up, I look forward to many more days in a row with no break in sight.
And I couldn’t be happier with how this blessed life has turned out.

What was the highlight of your long Labor Day weekend?

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Tagged as Fort Collins, Labor Day weekend, Snowbank Brewing, Umami Mobile Eatery

by Becki | August 20, 2014 · 9:04 am

Brewery Life

I definitely should be heading out to the restaurant supply store right now to pick up things for the brewery. And I will as soon as I hit “post”, but first I wanted to give you guys a quick update since I may never ever have a chance to blog again ever. Ever. (I’m kind of kidding…)
The brewery I work at (which I will affectionately refer to as “my brewery” from now on) is having our grand opening on FRIDAY!!! We’ll be open from 12-9pm and Umami will be there all day! See our newspaper article here.
We started off with a whirlwind of releases to our favorite spots. Here I am with my rats’ nest hair writing our beers up on the board at Cranknstein last Thursday!
And may I introduce Snowbank Brewing’s owner and brewer – Dave Rosso.
We brought three kegs with us: Bike Trail Pale, Moon Arete Wheat and Pawnee Porter, and tapped them at 6pm and watched as the crowds grew. (For those who were there, our beer names have been updated. Take note!)
I seated myself on the comfy couches for a lot of the night to be “social” all by myself updating our social media outlets on the happenings. Snowbank Brewing Facebook, Snowbank Brewing Twitter and Snowbank Brewing Instagram. (That’s a *hint hint* for all of you to follow us).
The Liquid Poets Society homebrew club members began to filter in. Dave has been a member of LP for years, from which many a brewery has been created.
About an hour in, the first keg blew. Two hours in, the second. We were beyond ecstatic. It was about 9:30pm when we decided we should depart and seek out some food. My bro went to lift the kegs in back and told me there was only a few pints left of porter, so I decided to order one final beer to speed the process.
We killed ALL THREE KEGS! Massive amounts of cheering throughout the crowds ensued and we went for a celebratory dinner at Coopersmith’s down the road before heading home to pass out from exhaustion.
The next day all of the really fun stuff began. I mopped all of our walls to rid them of the construction dust, vacuumed and mopped the entire taproom and washed our windows.
I also took one of our kegs of Colorado Red on a road trip to Matador’s – a delicious burrito joint that we are obsessed with. If you want to try some more of our beer before we open on Friday, head to Matador’s ASAP! They think they’ll kill the keg by lunch!
I took a break from jeans, tank tops and construction dust to attend my bestie’s bridal shower. We spent Sunday afternoon down in Denver celebrating the pending nuptials of this beautiful woman.
Best friends since age 7, and here we are twenty years later. Holy crap, 20 years??? I feel old now…
Jeans went back on and I headed back to my new home, the brewery, for photography, cleaning and mass amounts of social media. I’ve never had so many emails in my entire life!
Luckily, there’s always time at the end of the day to take a deep breath, enjoy the gorgeous Fort Collins summer sunset and thank God for how blessed I truly am.

Who’s coming on Friday? We’re open from noon to 9pm!!

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Tagged as Cranknstein, killed the keg, new beer release, Snowbank Brewing

by Becki | August 11, 2014 · 7:00 am

Puppy Love

Even with that awful, crappy day I had last week, I’ve been in an awesome mood. Everything has seemingly turned around in amazing ways I never could have seen coming.
Getting custody of this handsome guy for a week definitely helped. My parental unit went on a vacation in the mountains to celebrate their anniversary (HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!). Barley was stuck with me.
He got trapped in the car a lot as I took him between houses for work and the like. Here he is trying not to get carsick (seriously) as I take him to my bro’s house to play with his cousin puppies while I went to work.
When I went back to pick him up I was treated to vegan burritos, this spicy and slightly hot (yet still freaking delicious) Houblon Chouffe and a dog covered in slime from other dogs.
The next morning I took him for an insanely long walk and let him wade in the lake we strolled by since he needed to be bathed anyway to remove the lovely dog slobber that had solidified overnight.
FLUFFY POST-BATH PUPPY! This picture kills me. He kind of looks like he might kill me.
But besides the pup… I’ve enjoyed rainy evenings with glasses of merlot…
Free brownies from work that were deemed “too dry to sell” so I rehydrated them with butter pecan ice cream for lunch. Obviously. Have I mentioned yet that I love my job?
And more puppy. I’m completely infatuated with him, even after a year.
I got a new sink! The sink that came with my house was brand new stainless steel that began rusting the day after I moved in. They replaced it with a shiny one that hopefully won’t rust. Hopefully…
I felt like I should counteract the brownies and ice cream lunches I’d been having with zucchini noodles, onions, garlic and parmesan. This is one of my absolute favorite dishes.
I worked late on Friday night and then went out for a beer with a bunch of friends in Old Town, played pool, kicked ass, blinked and it was 2am. We closed down the bar and everyone continued on to party at someone’s house while I was feeling sleepy from my one beer I had around midnight. So I went home and passed out. I’m a party girl.
Sunday was my day off and it was time to get out and enjoy Colorado the right way – Kayaking!
My pops and I loaded the kayaks onto the car and drove about five miles to a local lake with tons of coves and inlets, and spent the morning paddling around.
Glassy water, storm clouds and mountains.
Blissed out.
And blistered out too. I ended up ripping up my thumb pretty gnarly with my supercool intense paddling. Battle scars.
The only way to really heal battle scars such as these is with a trip to a local pub and a local brew. Between Worlds Belgian White IPA from Verboten Brewing.
And now I must head off to work, so I’ll leave you all with this beautiful face. Because I’m sure you haven’t seen enough of him. Happy Monday!

Ever been kayaking before? Do you prefer the sit-in or sit-on?

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Tagged as kayaking, ramblings, rescue puppies

by Becki | August 4, 2014 · 7:00 am

One of Those Days

Ever have one of those weeks? Everything is perfect.
It starts off wonderfully with delicious cake mix cookies.
And continues on to barbecue at Nordy’s. I have absolutely nothing wrong with brisket and mac ‘n cheese, but I should’ve seen the signs.

Those rainy days. Those blissfully rainy days.
Curled up inside my cozy house, sipping a hot mug of Bhakti Chai with candles lit all around, the rain trickling down the windowpanes in little rivers. And then real life beckons.
Luckily enough, brews at work is one part of my real life.
As are (free) medium rare bison burgers with more mac ‘n cheese.
And then sneak peeks of new beer rained down upon my front stoop, begging to be paired with wonderful foods. Stone Coffee Milk Stout (out in distribution today!)!
So I paired it with firecracker shrimp and soba noodles. The rich, creaminess of the stout cut through the intense spicy bite of the shrimp and rounded out the dish with an emphasis of earthy roast. There wasn’t as much coffee as I was expecting, but plenty of smoky roast in place!

And after that great week, on a Sunday afternoon, everything falls down. And it becomes one of those days.

One starts reminiscing of happier days where responsibility didn’t exist – freshman year at UCSB… (Plaid pajama pants, scarves and aviators. Could I be any more stylish?)
Steven Bauer from Scarface wishing me a happy 21st birthday at Saddle Ranch in Hollywood…

Jonas getting shot after we crashed our car…
The boys and I at the season 1 finale of Lonelygirl15…

And then the danged dog headbutts you and gives you a bloody lip to top off the worst day to end a wonderful week. (It wasn’t that bloody, but I also didn’t feel like I should force any of you to look at my swollen lip and sad, pitiful eyes.)
I thought Sharknado 2 would make everything better, because the original Sharknado was so bad it was good… But this was so bad that it just compounded every bad thing in my life into two hours of wasted time. And I was so very excited too!
Luckily, I had something sweet to end this craptastic day – Senorita Imperial Porter: Horachata style! Intense rich chocolate dancing with sweet vanilla and spicy cinnamon, and just enough bitterness to balance out the sweetness.

But today is over. Tomorrow is a new day. Chin up, smiles on, let’s start anew!

What went right in your life last week? What are you looking forward to?

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Tagged as craptastic day, Senorita horchata, Sharknado 2, Stone Coffee Milk Stout

by Becki | July 7, 2014 · 8:20 am

Chokes ‘n Mash

I learned some important things this past week.
Like cooking artichokes requires a large pot. And wine.
Boil-over. My stove top and floor had needed a good scrubbing, to be fair.
Floor-scrubbing stress gone.
And success! I am most definitely investing in a steamer basket to save myself from another traumatic incident such as this.
I’m thinking most of you may have guessed by now, but I left Loveland Aleworks a while back to pursue some other endeavors that will be elucidated upon soon enough. These babies are officially out of retirement!
Mash!
Mash Mash Mash!
Fermentors – my happy view. Bonus points: What’s the difference between fermentors and fermenters? Answer in the comments for a chance to win a copy of Craft Beer for the Homebrewer! I’ll choose a winner on July 21st.
Rehydration/celebration/caustic cleaning time.
I started off Independence Day in the most Murika’n way I could think – Chicken and waffles smothered in rosemary sausage gravy and maple syrup from The Waffle Lab. If you ever get out to Fort Collins, this food truck is a must-try!
Kara and I went to watch the downtown parade which was incredibly quaint and cute. I love the small town feeling I get here! The rest of the day was spent lazing about with power naps interjected here and there, and completed with a taste of my old life in my new life!
Ahh, good old Firestone! I remember when they created 805 to be exclusively sold in the 805 area! Apparently that didn’t last long. I enjoyed the fireworks from the comfort of my own front porch while listening to music and sipping brews before all my friends flocked to my house with more beer to watch the local fireworks displays going off all around the neighborhood.
Now it’s time to start another crazy week!

How did you celebrate Independence Day?

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Tagged as artichokes, brew boots, brewing, The Waffle Lab

by Becki | June 30, 2014 · 5:00 am

This Is…

This is my life now.
This is a bike ride to breweries with new friends.

This is home.
This is fishing at sunset.
This is catching fish at sunset (or snagging them on the head with a hook and feeling absolutely terrible about it, but still taking a picture).
This is free pretzel Friday at the Mayor of Old Town.
This is Watson Lake.
This is a windy selfie of me and my beloved bike after we rode 15 miles to enjoy Watson Lake.
This is my finger intruding upon the amazing views during a 30 mile ride.
This is the angry Poudre River, raging with freshly melted snowpack.
This is a well deserved Loose Leaf on the patio of Odell with my amazing friends after a 30 mile ride.
This is an aptly named brewdog, Simcoe, with ready-to-mill grain.
This is home.

This is happy.

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Tagged as biking, Craft Beer, Fort Collins, life is awesome, this is happy

by Becki | May 16, 2014 · 11:04 am

InstaWeek

I’m healed! I’m healed!
All of the medication and comfort food worked!

Some presents in the mail helped, too.
I finally got my seeds started for the garden outside! I planted these last Friday with my seed starter kit.
Just a few days later…
And two days ago! They’re three times as tall now. Now I just need to build me one of them outdoor garden things…
Since 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.
We 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.
On 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.
There were thirteen stops and we hit every single one. Plenty of swag (schwaaaag) was claimed and delicious free samples consumed.
Yes, 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.
The 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.
Monday 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!
It was a long evening of networking and hanging out with all of the brewers around Fort Collins, and there are plenty!
Prepping for the brewers’ photo!

And everyone together! Such a great group of good people!
I kept it safe and split all of my tastes with Kara before gorging at Noodles & Co and heading home.
My 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!
And 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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Tagged as aerogarden, Fort Collins Collaboration Brew, MAX Transfort, seed starter kit

by Becki | May 7, 2014 · 10:52 am

DayQuil is a Girl’s Best Friend

Forget diamonds. My last few days have been pitiful scenes.
I 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.
DayQuil, 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.
WE. FOUND. NOTHING. BUNDT. CAKE!!!! I have never done such a dramatic happy dance in a public place!
After 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!
The next morning I met my sis-in-law at the barn to meet her new horse.
Pretty, pretty pony tongue.
Friday 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.
Gun battles at Mainline in Old Town Fort Collins.
The spring storms have begun rolling in, gracing me with the most gorgeous sunsets I’ve seen.
Saturday 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.
It was a gorgeous day for a brew! The temps hit about 80 and refreshments were limitless.
Limitless. Six taps and about ten boxes stuffed to the brim with homebrew samples and competition bottles.
Cold 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.
It 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.
Sunday 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.
After 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!
I 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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Tagged as Big Brew, cold break beer, Horse and Dragon Brewing

by Becki | April 30, 2014 · 6:34 pm

A Celebration of Firsts

The days have been full of many firsts since I got my new house!
My 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!
It 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!
The first sunset at my new house. Blindingly beautiful.
My 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.
Some first decorating has been done as well! A beautiful pic of my favorite beer-centric family right where they belong.
I 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…
My bestie and I couldn’t figure it out, so we used the smaller, shorter tables next to the basket tables.
The first thing I actually baked in my house – cinnamon rolls on Easter!
My first visit to William Oliver’s Publick House for my first IPA by Horse & Dragon Brewing!
We were there to celebrate my brother’s first sip of 30 year old scotch to celebrate his first 30th birthday! Happy birthday, brudder!
I 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.
Ain’t they cute?
Almost as cute as my handsome lil fella.
I had my first sip of Bhakti Chai with coffee added! Tastes like gingerbread cookies and happiness!
And 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.
You 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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Tagged as Backcountry Deli, house arrest, New Belgium, Pilgrim, sammiches

by Becki | April 24, 2014 · 10:01 am

InstaLately {+ Giveaway Winner}

Quick update – I’m officially in my new house!
The dishes are in and designing is almost completely done!
I’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.
The fridge situation is a little dire. This was what it looked like on Saturday…
And 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!
Congratulations Kait! I’ve sent you an email so you can claim your goods!
So 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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Tagged as giveaway winner, house arrest, instagram, new house