To Ale or Not to Ale

Greetings my fellow beer girls,
I hope you are out their exploring and enjoying the world of beer. As I have been embarking on my journey in the breakage room, I have tried to come up with the best plan for trying the shelves and shelves of beers....do I do this alphabetically? What about east coast then west coast? Top shelf to the bottom shelf? The back of the room to the front of the room?

Over the past few weeks I have settled on a complete random sampling spree. Maybe it was a great label, maybe it was a beer sample left on my desk (yes this really does happen and it is quite the work perk!), or maybe it was the beer with the odd name that was just calling out to me to try. There is one thing my random quest has brought me to the world of Ales. Before my Breakage Room quest I was a strict Lager girl (yes vanilla is my favorite ice cream and white is my favorite color). I like the predictability of it, I liked knowing that the first taste was going to be like the last, but I am also a Scorpio so I have a daring side as well.

A beer is either a Lager or an Ale, it has to be one of these. You would think that would simplify things, however it doesn't because under each category there are many different styles. Lately I have found myself in the world of Ales, except for my refreshing large Pint of Budweiser draught the other day.

The Ales are quite complex, it is like your Rocky Roads of Ice Cream. Each sip your mouth gets a different taste quite different from the first. It is like a beer with a personality crisis, you think it tastes one way and then the next sip is going to surprise you again.

Now ladies, if you have not explored the world of beer before at all, you may not want to jump right into the Ales. Unless you are a daring type, that chop off your ten inches of long hair before you take those five transitional steps in between - then you are an Ale girl.

Here are some of the Ales I have recently sampled -

If any of you are jsut starting with Ales I highly recommend the Long Trail Ale, it is just a nice easy going beer. This is that "girlfriend" that gets along with everyone and is just easy to be with.

Dogfish head Punkin Ale - Yes, the fall seasonals are already making their way out along with the Halloween decorations and costumes. Dogfish Head is a fun brewery out of Delaware and they brew an assortment of great craft brews. This was one of the ones that landed on my desk, the box it comes in is a flourescent orange so it is impossible to miss on the shelf. I enjoyed this one with pancakes (at dinner not breakfast) and realized that we should drink beer and eat pancakes way more often. For you intermediate to advanced drinkers this is a beer for you.

The next beer that grabbed my attention on the shelf was La Fin Du Monde - Let's face it just a "sexy" name for a beer. This is the flagship beer from Unibroue in Canada, and is a 9% ABV (so I recommend drinking it while sitting down). It has flavors punching in all directions. This is for you advanced drinkers.

So to Ale or not to Ale....I say Do it!

Beer for Women!

Ladies, why is beer a "guys thing?" As I talk to my girlfriends about their favorite beers and what they think about beer in general....I hear this "beer is for men!" WHAT? Do we not deserve to enjoy a nice cold brew and feel proud of it. Why are we stuck with the fruity cocktails, garnished in fruit and umbrellas (okay I do like the umbrellas), but still don't you feel like the world of beer is catered towards men, it seems to be a secret society just for guys. Well Ladies please join me in changing this.....because beer is not just for men and as I explore our breakage room I am going to share with you my experiences and thoughts of various beers and hope you do the same.

We have work too hard to become liberated for men to keep the wonderful world of beer to themselves. Come on all you Rosie the Riveter's out there, put down that pink, fruity drink and join me in the world of beer.

So, first let me explain what this breakage room is. In our beer warehouse we have a room that holds a large assortment of beers. Maybe a case fell and broke and we were able to save a few bottles, so they go on the shelf and get repackaged. To many this is a sacred room where you can try an assortment of new beers, one bottle at a time. So this is where our jouney begins together....

As I entered the breakage room I felt slightly overwhelmed by all the beers on the shelves, perhaps you have also felt this way in the world of beer, where to begin?? So, as I was daydreaming of the beach I decided to go with the Shipyard Summer Ale, because it's summer label allowed me transcend mentally to the beach. Ladies I have to tell you that this Ale has a nice refreshing burst of hops and was a wonderful place to begin this journey. Shipyard is located right in Portland, ME and has a wide variety of delicious beers, as summer is slowly winding down, so will this seasonal. It is the perfect beer to go with that grilled hamburger and fruit salad - YUM. So next time you are ignoring that beer isle in the grocery store, I dare you to take that turn and enter the world of beer.
Cheers!