Garrett Oliver Beer Tasting!

My boss and I went to a fantastic event this past Wednesday at the National Geographic Building in DC. It was a beer & food tasting hosted by Garrett Oliver! (A celebrity in the beer world, Garrett is the head brewer at Brooklyn Brewery in NYC & has published several books on the art of brewing beer).

We were given the opportunity to sample 9 different beers from around the world while listening to Garrett's entertaining commentary. We drank Altbiers, Stouts, Barleywines, IPAs, Double IPAs, English Pale Ales & more! Paired with cheese, meats, breads, olives & other delicious foods... it was a feast!

I'm steadily moving away from fruity wheat beers and experimenting with more daring, hoppy alternatives. (What can I say? It's all in a day's work!)

Tea & Scone Tasting @ Living Social

My friend Kay and I attended an awesome Living Social event today. It was a tea & scone tasting hosted by Capital Teas!

We sampled a wonderful array of teas including Slimming Oolong from China, Earl Grey from Sri Lanka, Genmaicha from Japan, Darjeeling from India & Chamomile from Egypt. We paired our teas with lemon poppyseed & black currant scones. (I felt so British & cultured & snooty!)

Happy Sunday Fun-day!

Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! (AKA- Cinco de Drinko)... May you celebrate the day with lots of tacos, guacamole, & margaritas! May you not celebrate with Coronas or excessive tequila shots. We are celebrating with delicious stuffed Mexican peppers and our pinata friend, Churro the Burro!

 Bon Appetit!

Ole!

Recent iPhone Pictures

My new favorite thing? Beer shooters! (AKA- Minis). Here are a couple I sampled at Galaxy Hut in Arlington,VA. I definitely recommend The Minis!

 We sadly had to say goodbye to Frosty the Fridge this week. (His end, however, is the foreshadowing of summer. And as the song goes... "He'll be back again someday!")

Brian and I celebrated our 4 year Date-A-Versary this week! Here is a picture of the wonderful happy hour surprise I walked into on Friday.

And my fortune cookie at lunch paid me a lovely compliment...

Cherry Blossoms

The Cherry Blossoms have arrived! Spring is here, the tourists are in town & we can finally put away our winter jackets. It's time to pick some tulips, sit on your porch & stalk up on allergy meds. Happy Spring!

Etsy: Harry Potter Obsession

It's no secret that I have a "slight" obsession with everyone's favorite bespectacled British wizard. I therefore thoroughly enjoyed searching Etsy.com this morning & finding hundreds of links to Harry Potter themed gifts! Here were some of my favorites...

 A "Muggle Born" onesie. Only the coolest little bludgers deserve this one.

A Harry Potter themed refrigerator magnet set. Just THINK of the possible innuendos!

A Deathly Hallows car decal. Yes, I would proudly sport this on my Honda.

 

Pint glasses for all 4 Hogwarts houses! I would have to be drinking 4 beverages at once... at all times.

Laptop decal: "This Macbook Is A Portkey".... Transport me to Hogwarts!

A "Polyjuice Potion" flask. Too-freaking-cool! Forget vodka, I'd drink butterbeer out of it.

Harry Potter thongs! Because the "sexy" Hogwarts student Halloween costume wasn't enough.

There's only one things left I need.... Accio, Money!

Craft Brewer's Conference 2013

For those of you who don't know, I have a pretty cool job. I am a beer buyer for a large US alcohol retailer. Being a beer buyer is harder than it sounds, but there are certainly perks to the job :)

I spent this entire week meeting with different breweries from across the US at the Craft Brewers Conference in Washington, DC. My boss and I had a PACKED schedule Monday-Thursday holding meetings with almost 40 different breweries. We were given lots of free beer, made some exciting new relationships & had a great time making business deals with our brewery partners.

Here's a list of all the breweries we met with this week:

21st Amendment	Weyerbacher	Terrapin
The Bruery	RJ Rockers	Sierra Nevada
Flying Dog	Saranac	Laughing Dog
Ommegang	Barrel Trolley	Avery
Troegs	New Belgium	Great Lakes
Rogue	Dogfish Head	Sweetwater
Yards	Redhook	Abita
Pike	Widmer	Harpoon
Stone	Global Beer Network	Florida Beer Company
Brooklyn	Gambrinus	Wetten Importers
SKA	Left Hand	Ballast Point
Bells	Odell	Allagash
Lagunitas	Deschutes

It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it :)

And here is a picture of me from last night… finishing the week off at Galaxy Hut in Clarendon. Doing, what else? Drinking a brew!