That would not surprise me at all.

Long Live the Beer Thread.

I've been enjoying Big Sky Crystal ale from a brewery by the same name in Missoula, MT. It's lawnmower beer, but tasty, crisp and clean. Support your local brewer and all that. They make the more widely distributed Moose Drool Brown Ale, which is a very credible beer, but I typically only drink it if the other alternatives are Budmilloors. If you like Fat Tire, you'll like Moose Drool. It has color and flavor, but it's not terribly rich or challenging.

They also distribute some beer in a nifty alumabottle thing. Kind of freaky.

Yeah, Moose Drool is pretty good. I bought a sixer Scapegoat Pale Ale (same brewery) and like it even better.

This evening, I'm visiting mwc in Dallas again, and am stopping by a "package store" with a large beer selection on the way. Pizza + beer + tunes = good times!

cant get big sky in texas yet.. interested in trying though.. looks like a nice alcohol content on the moose drool.

i had a bottle of Chimay blue last night with dinner. i pan seared some cayenne rubbed butterfly pork loins, and drizzled with a brown sugar rum sauce. mashed sweet potatos, and some broiled squash, sprinkled with red pepper flakes and olive oil. VERY tasty. the Chimays complex flavors were a great companion to the sweet and spicy flavors on my plate. i sure might have to do this one again..

i have found that the Chimays go very well with food, but i prefer the Duvel's on their own. for some reason my taste buds dont like the Duvel's golden ale with food. is this odd? have y'all had similar experiences.. i would be interested to know which beer/food combos y'all think are really good..?

bigjohn

bigjohn, I think you need your own cooking show. That sounds delicious.

I had some Mackeson Triple Stout with mwc yesterday. It's a very tasty "milk stout" -- brewed with lactose. It's the second milk stout I've tried and I must say I really enjoy the style. This one is very dark with a light brown head, smoky flavors, slightly bitter, slightly sweet. Very well balanced and hearty.

Highly recommended!

Where do you guys find the energy to cook like that on weekdays? Half the time it's all I can do just to heat up leftovers and cook some vegetables. Geez!

Oh yeah, that does sound delicious!

my own cooking show...? heck, I WISH!!!

i probably do 80% of the cooking at my house. shannon, bless her heart, had a mom that NEVER cooked, so she was just never exposed to it very much as a child.. me, on the other hand, my mom was the classic HUGE meal, everyone at the table, and lets eat. so, it is just second nature for me to cook. and it sure helps the fact, that i really LOVE to cook. oh yea, and i really LOVE to EAT too.... plus, shannon teaches night classes at the college three nights a week, so me and the boys are usually on our own for dinner. and i am too cheap to buy the 'instant' food from the grocers freezer. that pre-made, pre-packaged stuff; most of it just dont taste good to me, and it costs WAY too much.

in the past few years, i have really gotten into making sauces. i got a 'sauce' recipe book a while back, so i try different ones all the time. you would be amazed how different you can make a meal taste, just by making a simple sauce. and since most are wine or alcohol based, thats just an added bonus. that brown sugar rum sauce i made last night goes great with pork. its one of my favorites.

i am also looking forward for summer to get here full swing.. i like to BBQ on weekends, and then eat the leftovers thru the rest of the week. that way, all i have to do is worry bout vegetables on a nightly basis.

ken- you need to come on down buddy!! i seen the pics that dennis posted.. you could use a little 'meat on your bones'.. i will fatten you up nice.

peter- i have an aversion to milk based alcohol products. like baileys creme, or tequila rose.... ugh.. or bulldogs.. eck.. i cant handle them. so, i dont think i would like that beer at all.. but, glad you liked it!! and i hope you had a good time while in dallas.

bigjohn

bigjohn, it's not milk-based and has no absolutely no milk flavor. If anything, it has a slightly milky texture or 'mouthfeel'. Lactose is just milk sugar and doesn't taste like milk. If you can find the beer, give it a shot.

I appreciate the offer, John, but ain't nobody capable of putting some meat on my bones! Although, if y'all want to start a contest where I get to eat a bunch of really good food, I'm game.

WOW...Chimay was really popular this weekend. To celibrate my new house, I opened my bottle of Chimay Red. It was my first experiment with aged brews so I was saving it for an occation such as this. It was aged for nearly 6 months at nearly 45 degrees. The results were terrific. I remembered that a fresh bottle of Chimay Red is a touch bright and bit dry. The aged bottle was very mellow, the sweet tastes were more present, and the alcohol was extremely faint. The other thing was a slight almost vanilla flavor that came through. *YUMMY* I'm going to pick up a Chimay Blue the next time and see how it turns out. I've read that it ages the best. Speaking of the Blue, you should try it with duck. *drools*

Peter, thanks for the review of Mackeson Triple Stout. I've been curious about that one for a while now. I'll pick some up soon.