Beer Filled Weekend

I went to Connecticut with Lauren to visit her family, and drank a lot of beer. As always, I had an awesome time and look forward to the next time going back.

We stopped at the beer store and I saw the most interesting man in the world. No, not really. But I did see a cut out of this guy. I ended up taking a picture, and considered standing next to him and have Lauren take a picture. After thinking about it I thought that might be a bit weird. Like always I thought long and hard about what beer I would drink; when I finally decided I grabbed a 12 pack of the Magic Hat Spring Sampler Vinyl. The beer sounds good, but this wasn't what I thought I was getting. As I scanned the beer coolers and shelves, I saw this pack and for some odd reason I didn't realized it was only the spring sampler. It wasn't until I got to the car that I realized this, and by then it was too late. While in the store I thought I was purchasing the Magic Hat variety pack. Although I enjoyed the spring sampler which is crisp and was perfect for drinking multiple beers, I was a bit disappointed it was only the seasonal. Lauren suggested back in the store and seeing if I could exchange the pack, but as I've never done that before I didn't bother. I don't think I have ever exchanged beer, and felt weird about it.

Gas prices have been insane lately, and from what I hear it's only going to get worse. The news mentioned that by summer we could be paying $5 a gallon. Living in New Jersey we have seen the prices increase, but nothing to the extent of what I saw this weekend. I got gas at one of the cheapest stations I found in the state of Connecticut and still was amazed by how high it was. I really hope gas prices don't increase too much more, but lets be real they most likely will. With the possibility of gas prices going higher I hope this doesn't cut into my money I use to buy beer. Paying $3.99 a gallon I could only think that this is money I could use for beer.

Everyone knows I love IPAs, including Lauren's uncle. While he was out picking up beer for the weekend he decided to ask the guy working about what IPA he recommends. His suggestion: Dogfish Head 90 minute Imperial IPA. I've heard of this beer, but this past weekend was the first time trying it. After my first sip I realized this was a much heavier beer, and reminded me of a double IPA. Unless my taste buds change, I think I'll stick with the 60 minute IPA.

Me and Laur joined her family to dinner at Outback Saturday night. Lately, I've been craving Outback, and when it came time to order Lauren talked me into getting the ribs, but without a cold beer how could I possibly eat my dinner? I went with the Sam Adam's Noble Pilsner which was served in a frosty mug. It's been a while since I had a beer in a cold mug, but I always enjoy it. I also was impressed by the size of the mug the beer was served in. Not only was the mug big and cold, but the beer in it was fresh. Maybe because I was only a few hours from Boston?

Here is the beer Magic Hat beer that I ended up getting. The artwork on the bottle was cool looking, and from what I read on the case they had a real artist design it. The beer was good, but it would have tasted much better from a variety pack.

I told you I drank a lot of beer and brands, and the picture above was the siera nevade pale ale I drank. I didn't get a picture of it, but I also got to drink Land Shark Beer. I believe this beer is named after or owned by Jimmy Buffet, which wouldn't surprise me. The beer tasted like a Corona, and that is something I could see Buffet or his parrot heads drinking.

No, I didn't buy a 6 pack of Magic Hat Howl this time. This was one of the leftovers from the last time I had visited Lauren's family as this was then the seasonl. Lauren's uncle popped one open for me Sunday afternoon, however after a long Saturday night I only took a few sips.

And finally... the Tequila. I use to love tequila until I realized I can't do it too often as I get too crazy. If your wondering, this is the one that Christopher from the Sopranos advertises, and yes it does pour it's own shot. I thought about taking a youtube video of it, but thought this is a beer blog, not a tequila blog. Maybe that will be my next venture.....