Category Archives: Liefmans

Happy New BEER Eve!

     Happy New Year’s Eve!!! Everyone seems to be doing resolutions in the blogosphere, but I’m still in the process of putting mine together. I’m one of those people who likes to spend the entire day thinking about new, exciting changes, jotting them down in pretty notebooks and then sharing them with family and close friends while we sit around eating shrimp canapes and sipping fine beers.

I’m fancy like that.

     We had a wonderful week with my brother and sister-in-law. I haven’t had so much beer in one week EVER. I’m definitely looking forward to a little detox – until MY beer is ready to try!
Speaking of which, it had a little bit of an overflow the other day. Overflow = VERY happy beer! My sis-in-law helped me save it.
MY ALMOST BEER!!! Took a reading with my hydrometer today and snuck a little taste.
HAPPY!!!
I got to try that scary Weasel Crap Beer that I’ve been fearing/desperately wanting to try. It was an experience! I can tell that it’s a good beer, but holy crap is thick! I was fine sipping it until I started thinking about how it was made. I had a total of half a glass and then couldn’t mentally handle it anymore.
Still glad I tried it!
We took “the brewers/vegans” out to Island Brewing Company in Carpinteria for a tasting while they were here.
Verdict from the beer snobs: GOOD BEER!
Yesterday, we all took a trip to the airport to ship them off to a cold, snowy place. It was sad to say goodbye, but we all had a wonderful time!
Miss you guys already!

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Filed under 2010, airport, Carpinteria, Island Brewing Company, Kriek, Liefmans, Mikkeller Geek Brunch Weasel, New Year, vegan

Christmas Eve at Ladyface!

     Merry Christmas Eve!!! My brother and his wife (whom shall now be referred to as “the vegans“) are in town for the holidays. They’re home-brewers and total beer snobs (that’s where I learned my beer-snobbery), so we went to Ladyface for an early lunch and beer tasting.

I LOVE THIS PLACE!
Ladyface Mountain!
We all started off with different beers. Starting from the top left and going clockwise: Picture City Porter, Ladyface IPA, Blind Ambition Amber, La Blonde, and the seasonal “O Smokey Night”.
I was very happy with my Blind Ambition – I’ve always been partial to ambers.
 Blind Ambition post-swirling.
It’s always necessary to start with sweet potato fries, especially if they come with red ale ketchup! The taste of the ale was actually present in the sauce and added a malty depth to the ketchup. I could’ve sipped it straight from the cup!
Having “the vegans” in the house always makes me crave meat to compensate for the overload of tofu and legumes that they use to fill our fridge. I ordered the grass-fed, free-range burger with white cheddar on a pretzel bun. It came with sliced red onions bathed in balsamic vinegar, organic tomatoes and butter lettuce on the side.
Dessert consisted of dreamy, delicate chocolate crepes stuffed with slightly-sweet chantilly cream and drizzled with raspberry compote.
They suggested that the crepes be paired with Liefman’s slightly sour lambic brewed with cherries.
It actually had small fragments of cherries in it!
 Obviously we weren’t satisfied with the dessert, OR the beer-pairing.
We were so unimpressed that we bought another bottle to take home for post-church enjoyment.
Such suffering 🙂
After a long lunch, we ventured back to the brewery section of the alehouse and brasserie.
They were in the middle of boiling their La Blanche Witbier, and we got a chance to talk with the brewmaster, David Griffiths, as well as the owner of the restaurant, Cyrena Nouzille.
Some of their seasonals were being fermented in French oak barrels.
     It was a really tough way to spend Christmas Eve, but we felt it was our duty to help support the local business. We’re off to attend Christmas Eve service, and then we’ll be spending the evening sipping fine brews and enjoying some quality time with our little family. I’m feeling extremely blessed this season.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

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Filed under Agoura, blonde ale, brewery, burgers, IPA, Ladyface, Ladyface Alehouse and Brasserie, Liefmans, O Smokey Night, Picture City Porter, sweet potato fries, vegan