Day 1: Setting the tone

Books, Booze and food.  Yep, thats me.  I love to read, cook, eat and well have a few adult libations.  So lets just jump right in and start this off right.  What is your favorite beer?  Everyone has one.  I have 5, so I am either an overachiever or unable to make a decision, but variety is the spice of life. I am a firm believer that life is too short to drink anything that does not taste good to you.  When having a beer they should all be smooth, enjoyed, and not leave a bad aftertaste.   I tend to track toward the amber and dark beers.
    I have certain rules about drinking beer.  First, beer tastes best to me out of a ice cold frosted mug or heavy pint glass.  Pint glasses tend to be the route I go just for the ease of cleaning and their availability.  Beer should be served ICE cold and allowed to slowly warm  as you drink.  Yes, I know beer purists say that domestic light beers should be with 3 to 7 degrees F and that ales should be served around 11 degrees.  Personally, since I let the beer go through range of temperatures I start colder then suggested and let it go much warmer.  Hold on, don't panic!  This is not a bad thing, we are not talking about some nasty light beer that goes all skunky and vile.  Try it, might find you like it and discover one of the most overlooked pleasures of a good beer.  Now a word of moderation, Ice cold to warmed by your hand is the range you are looking for.  We are not talking about ice cold to left in the sun for 6 hours on a 107 degree July day.  Common sense is the rule here people.

My top 5 favorite beers today are:

5.  Double Dead Guy Ale by Rogue Brewing Co. in Oregon.  This one I have to give credit to my brother in Portland for introducing me to this.  It is currently my favorite amber great fruity taste nice clean after taste.  I love it in the large bottles but its a single beer selection in my book.  One and done primarily since I buy it as a single bottle.  I love this with smoked wings.  It is a great summer beer for sitting outside over a grill.

4.  Mighty Arrow by New Belgium Brewing Co.  This is my favorite pizza beer.  Its also the lightest beer on my list and well, its one of the only ones that I find locally on tap.  Now its a great pale ale its very nice balance between hops and malt.  I highly recommend it for lighter appetites or hot days.

3. Belhaven Scottish Stout   Now this is an awesome beverage by any means.  Nice smooth malty flavor.  Excellent body.  I found this completely by accident at a local specialty beer store.  Its well worth the the time to find.   Not really sure what you should eat with it since it never makes it to dinner.
  

2.  Turbo Dog produced by Abita Brewing Co. out of Louisiana.  I had this beer for the first time in New Orleans this fall.  Its a rich chocolate malty dark brown ale and excellent dinner beer for heavy foods and is especially good with barbecued ribs or in my first tasting Gumbo.

1.  Certified Evil produced by Lucky Bucket Brewing Co.  in Omaha.  If you have never had this beer then  hunt it down and try it.  Its not the cheapest beer out there but it is amazing.  Most of their line up is very good, but evil is rocking awesome.  It is the beer that you will typically find in my fridge on any given day.  It is a great afternoon beer.  It goes well with steak, both buffalo and venison.  It goes well with all sorts of wild game.

Try one of these and let me know what you think, I hope you like what you find.  So I enjoy a beer on a sunny day sitting on the back deck while cooking or reading.  One of the finer things in life is to kick back with a good book and a equally good beer.  Perhaps cooking for friends where everyone is gathered in the kitchen area enjoying all the smells and talk.  More to come stay tuned.
Mot