yesterday i had a midday impromptu beer at the local brew pub. my pal and i sampled a few beers before ordering our standard pints (cherry raspberry ale for her and brown ale for me). i love sitting at the bar of a brew pub where the bartenders are excited about what is being served.

the rauschbier was an unexpected mouthful of campfire flavors. i was rocking the russian caravan tea for a while after buying a giant bag of it in error, and was used to a smoky beverage flavor. the rauschbier really took me by surprise though. the bartender said it was reminiscent of bacon and he was right. it was almost like drinking the leftover bacon grease minus the fat (please note: i have never done such a thing).

tonight i’ll be going for something a little more mellow, like a toasted lager at the bar down the street. after all, it is st. patrick’s day. time to pull out that creepy leprechaun pin (more on that later). cheers!

i found my favorite oktoberfest beers at two different beverage centers over the weekend. i don’t make a lot of money, but really can’t bring myself to drink the loser beers leftover from the oktoberfest tasting party last month. what the heck are we going to do with those awful brews? time to scour the cookbooks.

the oatmeal cookies turned out great and are stored away next to the locally made chorizo (on the enclosed back porch and out of mae’s reach), the herb french bread is on its final rise while deez nutz are cooling. i found a great recipe for spiced nuts and decided to rename and make them while revisiting the chronic. tomorrow i have to make soft pretzels, but i can’t find that trusty old recipe. i’m thinking of trying something new and making hard pretzels instead. i hope the answer will come to me in the morning.

i think the oktoberfest taste test is going to be a blast. i’m not sure how everyone is going to fit into this apartment though. with enough beer, i bet no one will notice how cramped they are.

i’ve decided to taste test as many oktoberfest beers as possible this season. i haven’t figured out the best way to do that yet. my original plan was to profile one beer a week, but the oktoberfest season is so short and there are so many beers to tackle. in the spirit of alex and cati’s wine taste-off, i thought we could host an oktoberfest taste-off here at chez skfl/nene. since we were the winners of that taste-off, i think it’s our responsibility to carry the torch and because i like to put my own flare on things, why not completely change the main beverage. how rude!

i sampled two of the four beers pictured above. one rocked me and the other made me mad with its predictable flavor. wanna guess which ones? once a rating system is worked out, i will get going on some reviews. and then there is the issue of daylight and proper photos. the above photo was taken right when i got home from work, before the beer went into the freezer for a quick chill. by the time i sat down to drink and eat dinner, it was dark out.

i need to figure out and make some sort of a light tent. it’s a good thing i plan on using up all of that vacation time after my job ends on the 21st. craft projects and drinking! oh wait, i could do the drinking and photographing during the day! okay, i obviously have some more things to work out. is anyone else wondering why i’m spending so much money on beer when i will be without a paycheck in a few weeks? eek!

i have a few pet peeves when consuming beer on tap. let it be known that i’ve been called a beer snob, wine snob, food snob, music snob, tv snob, shoe snob, radio snob, font snob and lighting snob in the past. perhaps i’m just a snob in general. when i see and hear the words come out of the mouths of the people talking to me i usually cringe, chuckle and then defend my actions and opinions. i’d like to think that having opinions and being passionate about certain things does not make me a snob. maybe it’s time for some additional self reflection while i figure this out. would that make me a self help snob too?

back to the beer.

my expectations:

.bubbly and full of life and flavor

.not too much head (hee hee – but seriously, check out this video on how to pour beer)

.clean taps

.residue free glass

.the logo on the glass should match the actual beer brand in the glass (this so rarely happens, but when it does i talk about it forever and leave a huge tip).

i’ve always wanted to check out old colony tap in provincetown. it’s one of those bad ass looking bars with classic rock blaring onto the streets (kind of a nice change from the 80s dance music at most places in town). we noticed there wasn’t a lot of action inside and decided to wander in for a round of cold ones. we were having a lovely time sitting in the window watching people walk around (and giggling at the guy who thought we were canadians – not that there’s anything wrong with that) while enjoying whatever cold brew the stern gal behind the bar poured for us.

i spotted a bright pink lipstick mark on my glass after a few sips. [you can totally see the mark in the two photos above - why didn't i notice it sooner?] my heart (and stomach) sank. i was able to overlook the logo not matching the beer, but really had to draw the line at someone else’s lip print on my glass. i feared the reaction of the stern bartender, but promptly got up to rectify the situation. she was gruff, but softened a bit when i showed her my glass. one quick exchange and i was back on my way to a good time. no harm done. i probably got more germs from that baby the total stranger insisted i hold the next night in boston (but that’s a story for another time).