Monday, June 13, 2016

Wut up, gnomey

Saturday, June 11, 2016

If we're lucky, there will be beer there


My husband shared an article with me on 
alternate uses for beer.  I know he was trying to help me with blog content but I’m still surprised.  As far as he’s concerned any use for beer, other than drinking it, is considered alcohol abuse.  

A lot of the alternative uses call for left over flat beer.  Left over beer??  I’m not sure I know what that is or how it’s even possible.


Some of the uses I was familiar with . . . and others were unexpected.  I use beer for cooking . . . chili, bread, soup, etc.  Beer works great as a meat tenderize (let it marinate for at least an hour or overnight in the fridge).

I’ve heard of it being used as pest control.  After all . . . who can resist beer?  Make a beer trap for hornets by putting beer in an old jar and punch holes in the lid . . . the bastards will be able to get in the jar but not out.  To distract and terminate garden pests like sligs and earwigs . . . bury a can just up to its lip in the garden and fill the can with beer; they’ll fall in and get caught. Just make sure you check the trap daily, emptying it and refilling it with new beer.  


To trap fruit flies . . . I hate those little buggers!  Put some beer in a cup; cut the corner off of a sandwich bag and place the cut corner in the cup; folding the rest around the cup and securing with a rubber band.

To enrich soil and help grass to grow?  One of the uses was to add  few tablespoons of flat beer to the soil. Plants absorb nutrients, sugar and energy from the beer and help them grow.  Interesting.


As hair therapy?  This one I’ve heard of but never tried . . . until now.  Beer is credited with adding bounce, shine and vitality to hair.  The sugars in beer are supposed to add shine and the proteins from the malt and hops found in beer coat, rebuild and repair damaged hair. 

Choose a beer that does not have a strong odor. Shampoo and rinse hair as usual . . . then pour the flat, warm beer on your hair and work it through. Rinse with lukewarm, not hot, water.

The beer rinse was something easy enough to try.  I left a beer out overnight to de-fizz it . . . shhhh, don't tell my husband.  I used a baking soda wash with apple cider vinegar rinse.  Then a second rinse with the beer.  My analysis, my hair doesn't seem to have more body or bounce but it is clearly shiny as hell and looks pretty darn healthy.   It doesn't smell like beer . . . which I'm not so sure wouldn't be a bad thing . .. rowr! My hair was manageable and blow dried smooth and soft with absolutely no additional products used.  





Monday, June 6, 2016

Pineapple Basil Brewtail


I was recently reading Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. An interesting book, to be sure. However, I can't understand how a book about a pedophilic middle-aged man absconding with a 12 year-old for the express purpose of fulfilling his carnal fantasies for little girls became a classic.  Just sayin'.

Anyhoo, in the book, Humbert mentions his favorite drink is gin and pineapple juice

“I had a drink. And another. And yet another. Gin and pineapple juice, my favorite mixture, always double my energy.”

I like pineapple juice and gin but I've never considered mixing them. Frankly, I'm a straight up uber dry martini kinda gal - lots of olives. Nonetheless interested, I googled the combination and found a drink that sounded absolutely fabulous - a Pineapple Basil Cocktail. It's probably not what Humbert Humbert consumed, but his tastes and mine don't necessarily intersect.




The pineapple basil cocktail looked summery and refreshing. A perfect drink to make for chillin' on the deck on a hot day.

I modified the original recipe only by substituting  beer for the club soda - I used Two Roads Honeyspot Road White IPA. The result was amazing - crisp, light, and cooling. Just like Humbert Humbert, I had one drink, and another, and yet another.

So good!

Pineapple Basil Brewtail 

3 Medium to Large Basil Leaves
Quarter Wedge of a Lime
1/4 cup Fresh Pineapple Juice
1 1/2 oz Good Gin
Ice Cubes
Beer

Roll the basil into tubes and slice into thin strips. Put the basil into a glass and squeeze the lime wedge over top. Drop the lime wedge into the glass and muddle with the basil. Add pineapple juice, gin, and ice cubes, and top with the beer. Garnish as desired.

Friday, June 3, 2016

Nitro in a can



For the past few months, whenever hubby and I are out for wings and beer night, I keep seeing television commercials for Guinness Nitro IPA. I say to myself, "That's interesting, I really should try that".

I usually like beer on a nitro tap; I love the smooth creaminess the nitro bubbles impart to the brew.

However, I have the long term memory of a goldfish and I kept forgetting to pick some up.

Flash forward a couple weeks (months or some such),  I finally remembered to look for said beer while I'm out shopping.

Clueless lil' ol' me discovered there were numerous varieties of canned nitro brews. Sheesh! Decisions, decisions.

I picked up the Guinness Nitro IPA and a couple Samuel Adams Nitros; Nitro IPA and Nitro White Ale, respectively.

Overall, the canned nitros present quite prettily in a glass; a cascading fall of tiny little bubbles. They are generally quite easy going and very drinkable. They have a lush, smooth mouth feel. Unfortunately, despite the infusion of gas, they fall quite a bit flat in the carbonation department. I like the tingly feel of voluminous effervescence in traditionally carbonated brews.

Don't get me wrong. They're not horrible, just not my thing. That being said, I wouldn't turn one down if offered.