Otter Creek Copper Ale.

Forgot to take notes, I guess. I remember it being pretty for being an amber. Unassuming and certainly quaffable.

King Ranch Casserole.

This might be the first source from Bree. A simple chicken tortilla casserole with tomatoes and cheese. Broth and flour sub the creme of chicken soup something like this would normally require.

Sazerac Rye Whiskey.

A milder rye bourbon than Wild Turkey 101 Rye. The initial punch is heavy heat, spice, wood, a touch a sweetness, cinnamon, ginger, but overall, fairly mellow, more like a punchier bourbon. The serious rye spice comes in at the end, the real showcase, uninhibited and not distracted by other flavors. A very drinkable rye whiskey.

Bluecoat Gin.

Remembering the recommendation from last time, I made it a point to pick it up this time. This is a solid martini gin with notes of lavender that manage to show through tonic as well. I had it in a martini with two olives and it was more floral than pine, rather herbal. A little lacking in the classic gin character, but still decidedly a gin. Mixed with some Fevertree tonic, the quinine bitterness is very nicely offset by the smooth floral lavender character. A very nice gin.

Ground Chicken Parm.

Picked up several pounds of cheap ground chicken at the grocery the other day. Made a few patties for sandwiches and such. Standard dredging. Nothing special. Would have been better on a loaf instead of slices, but a good thought to have.

Best Baked Spinach.

From Deb. It was ok. I should have used more salt.

Guinness Bread with Molasses.

From Elise. I like how quickly this comes together as there is no yeast, no rising, no kneading. Self-rising flour (flour and baking powder and salt) and beer bring the rise, sweetness from sugar and molasses. Easy sweet bread.

Guinness Chocolate Cheesecake.

From Kevin. Made this about as healthy as I could. Since I was using a shallow 9-inch pan and not a springform, I cut the creme cheese to two packages. I used one "fat free" and one "1/3 less fat". I also used one less egg and half the amount of dark chocolate chips but bumped up the amount of cocoa powder. Turned out reasonably well. Should have used more cocoa powder and sugar as it had a bit more tang than I would have preferred. Not sure where the Guinness went; a stronger stout may be in order.

Six Point Bengali Tiger IPA.

I got a whiff of the head when the growler was being filled, and it was damn fresh, grassy, floral, hoppy. Basically, a complete hop character. Pouring the next day, color is a dark golden straw. Modest, mixed consistency, coherent head. Nose is more resiny, but still pronounced and grassy. Taste is sweet malt with pervasive hop but never overpowering. Could use a touch more bitterness, but overall, incredibly balanced. If west coast IPAs tend to showcase hop bitterness, this is the east coast analog for floral. (Sorry, GI) Mouthfeel is exceptionally smooth with great carb. Finish is clean. An extremely drinkable IPA, flavorful, but not totally in your face. Immediately a top 10.

Oskar Blues Ten Fidy.

Another Oskar Blues offering. Can popped without much of a hiss. Pour is super viscous, immediately reminded me of GI Nightstalker. Gave rise to a nice, tight head. Standard imperial stout tones, again very reminiscent of Nightstalker. Ten Fidy is probably a little lighter in the body, seems to have more roasted malt character and very little hop presence. A solid RIS in a can and might be a cheaper go than Nightstalker. Definitely one to revisit.

Hitachino Nest Sweet Stout (Lacto).

Dark, standard stout pour, looks a little more viscous and flatter than a typical stout. Not much in the nose until you stir it up: pickles. Taste is vaguely stout at first but mid through the finish develops a sourness. Not kidding about the lacto. Yeast cake at the bottle of the bottle. Couldn't finish it.

Polish Hunter's Stew.

From Elise. Calls for lots of different cuts of pork and mushrooms. I don't know if I did something weird or what but I'm not a huge fan of this taste. I soaked the sauerkraut. I used turkey Polish sausage, pork loin, smoked pork rib tips, and baby bella mushrooms. I think I used OC Pale Ale. It came out sour, salty, bitter. The whole taste is not entirely offensive, but it's not entirely enjoyable either. I am loath to throw it out thought since it has so much meat in it. Apparently, I didn't take a picture of it because it was so terrible. It gave me a lot of gas.

Rogue Creek Ale.

Are you kidding me? BA claims this is a dubbel. From the name and taste, I would figure this more like a kriek/lambic. Muddy brown color, superfine head disappears into a ring around the glass. Mild fruit (cherry) flavor that mostly turns sour towards the end. Really disappointing. Maybe after a few years?

Caraway Soda Bread Biscuits.

From Elise, who has multiple soda bread recipes that are all slightly different for some reason. This recipe is fast from start to finish. My dough was a little wet but I was using a spoon so it was no problem. With the butter spread throughout and the vinegar+baking soda combo, the result is pretty light and fluffy and pretty tasty. Good recipe to have in your back pocket.

Corned Beef, Cabbage, and Kimchi Burrito.

From Kevin. Sounded interesting until I saw there was cheese in this. Kimchi and cheese is kind of a fucked up combination. I used corn tortillas since that's all I have for tortillas. They didn't hold up well in the Foreman, as they were perhaps too full. Overall, the cheese wasn't really noticeable, but the kimchi was good because fried kimchi is delicious. I stand by my position that cheese has no place in Korean food except for Korean pizza which is messed up as it is. Meh.

Corned Beef and Cabbage and Colcannon.

I was cleaning out some backlogged links and found a recipe for a corned beef cooked in Guinness so I wanted to try it. Via the glory of related content aggregators, I had a couple St. Patrick's Day-related recipes lined up. I corned beef recipe was from Jaden and it pretty straight forward. The cabbage is reserved and browned in a pan with the carrots and potatoes, which I skipped, and then cooked tender in a couple cups of the broth. I normally put my cabbage in with the beef and it gets super soggy, which I kind of like, but this method leaves the cabbage firm which was also good. I also made some colcannon (from Elise) with a mix of red and Yukon potatoes and wilted red Swiss chard. I left out the creme, only used a little milk and light salt and pepper. Pretty bland, but I wanted to keep it very plain.

I used some more of the corned beef liquid to make some gravy which is pretty good on the potatoes.

Oskar Blues Gubna Imperial IPA.

Standard color, finger of creamy head. Mouthfeel is smooth but very low carb. Taste was sweet, with very little hop for an imperial IPA. A swing and a miss.

21st Amendment Back in Black IPA.

Black, opaque pour; fluffy, creamy head, a little rougher around the edges than Guinness Draught. Roasted coffee in the nose but very mild. A little bit of hazelnut, wood, but overall not very aromatic. Fine carbonation throughout, mild weight, a little heavier than Guinness Draught. Taste is a cross between a nitro stout and a nut brown ale. It's a decent beer that I find more drinkable than Guinness Draught and more flavorful than most nut brown ale but not really worth the money. Not terribly hoppy in the grassy, floral or in any sense of the word. A touch of bitterness on the end but it's heavily dominated by roasted notes. It's nice that it comes in a can so it'd be a good outing beer. And there's all that "black IPA" bullshit though Cascadian is the new proper designation.

Pedroncelli Merlot Bench Vineyards 2008.

Generally, I am not a fan of merlot. I opened this bottle tonight because I was making minestrone and am low on all of my preferred alcohol. I have no distinctive notes on this, but I liked it.

21st Amendment Brew Free or Die IPA.

Hazy gold, round head, big bubbles. Initial taste is sour, like a cheap canned adjunct lager. Finishes with some hoppy bitterness.

DH Jamaican Ginger Beer.

A decent ginger beer but a little on the sweet side for me. 225 calories from the whopping 56 grams of sugar per bottle.