Tag Archives: Hops & Heels

Hops & Heels: Allies Win the War

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Remember me? I’m still here I promise. The last month has been a whirlwind of trying to ride my bike every day, starting classes, studying for the GRE, and trying to squeeze in as much summer fun as possible before autumn arrives. I just haven’t been able to wrap my head around working on posts here, but I miss you all like woah. Really and truly.

Lately I’ve also been in a real rut concerning beer. I’d like to write a separate post about it this week other than trying to fit it in here, so be on the lookout this week, mkay?

The Hops

I’m a sucker for anything WWII history related, so this Allies Win the War! had everything going for it…except for the dates. I kept seeing this beer pop up in beer blogs, and this packaging just reinforces one of the reasons I love cans – look how much design they can fit on that! I’ll be frank that this beer wasn’t for me, but I’m still glad I tried it. I’ve enjoyed all the other 21st Amendment beers I’ve tried in the past, and can we just take a look at that great (albeit blurry in this picture) beer can again?!

21st Amendment – San Francisco, CA
English style strong ale brewed with dates
8.5% ABV

Since this one isn’t for me, I’d recommend hearing these other folks out:
Beer Geek Nation (video)
the New School
Lyrics Libations and Life

The Heels
UO Suede Pump
Urban Outfitters (2011)
$39.00
P.S. I found this skirt through ASOS, and I’m completely obsessed. It’s like a perfect candy cane striped, high-waisted A-line, and I just knew I had to use it for this beer.

Hops & (no) Heels: 21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon

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Hell or High Watermelon has been on my wish list forever (meaning since March), and thanks to Happy Times Package in Decatur, Georgia, I finally get to try it! And yes, that’s the real name. One of the guys working gave me a high five on my way into the store, too – vacation store win! Package store win!

All in all…
I try not to read other reviews before I write anything about a beer, so I apologize in advance if this is what everyone else has said…Hell or High Watermelon = jolly ranchers. Great, delicious, juicy jolly ranchers. This beer is exactly what you expect from 21st’s description: it really is a straightforward wheat beer with a touch of watermelon flavor and aroma. It isn’t overflowing with watermelon, but is just like watermelon itself: refreshing and subtle. A perfect vacation beer!

Recommend to a friend?
I don’t know that everyone will like this one only because not everyone likes watermelon. I even have to be in the mood for watermelon, but boy does this satisfy a craving that may come along.

Lightweight-safe?
Sure thing

Plus one?
Yes, please!

Get a six pack?
Why yes I did. And I’m taking the other five back to Indiana with me!

The Hops
21st Amendment Brewery – San Francisco, CA
“Wheat Beer”
4.9% ABV
Happy Times Package, Decatur, Georgia

The Heels
Obviously nonexistent. You didn’t think I’d bring heels with me on vacation, did you?

Hops & Heels: 5 A.M. Saint (redux)

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Over and over you’ll hear from food bloggers that part of the great thing about baking or cooking is that when life is going haywire, when your friends fail, when your romantic life is a little clumsy, and when work is stressful you can reliably put together some delicious baked good or meal. No matter what, butter and sugar is a winning combination. Always and forever. And from the cooler, I can grab a 5 A.M. Saint and be wowed.

Aside from the amazing taste, I’m so pleased with how dependable yet surprising beer can be. I immensely admire many brewers’ insistence on exceeding our expectations, and not only exceeding those expectations, but presenting us with entirely new standards. It’s not enough for some of them to have a “decent” product, because they know we’re smart, have good taste, and we don’t want to settle anymore. Well, frankly, they’re also smart, have good taste, and they don’t want to settle anymore.

So much in life (relationships, personal growth, friends, etc.) is about standards. Standards for yourself and for others. Wouldn’t it be so disappointing if no one expected anything from you, or if they just expected mediocrity? Wouldn’t it be boring if you just expected others to be okay, or good enough? If you didn’t expect someone to be a great friend, a great boyfriend, a great brother, or a great parent? What if we didn’t expect the beer we order to taste great? What if the brewers tasted their finished product and said “That’s alright I guess. Let’s roll with it.” I have high expectations, not because I want people to do things for me, but because I want others to expect more from and for themselves. The tragedy is not when we fail those expectations or fall short. The tragedy is when we stop expecting anything or when we just expect “good enough.”

As long as we settle for good enough, we’ll never have great.

I’ve been all over the place in the last three paragraphs…let’s get on to the Brewdog.

All in all…
Last time I wrote about the 5 A.M. Saint I was very wide-eyed and blown away by the hops, mainly because I just wasn’t expecting that from an amber ale. This time around they’re still a pleasant surprise, and the beer is still great. It does what an “iconoclastic” ale should – it destroys what you think an amber ale should be. Each time I have this, no joke, I think “This doesn’t really taste like an amber ale…what is an amber ale supposed to taste like, anyways? Should it be this hoppy? Should other amber ales taste more like this instead?” You think twice. And just look at that red color! What an amazing shade…I can never get over their color palette choices.

Recommend to a friend?
If your definition of an amber is milder like, say Bell’s Amber, and you aren’t looking for anything different, I might not recommend this today. However, you do need to try this at one point or another.

Lightweight safe?
5.0% Yesss

Plus one?
For sure. Go on and grab another. This has a lot of flavor I love for a lightweight safe beer.

Get a six pack?
Yes, I think so

The Hops
Brewdog – Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire (Scotland)
Amber Ale…ahem, Iconoclastic Amber Ale
5.0% ABV
Friendly Package Liquors, Muncie

The Heels
Pollie Strappy Espadrille
Target (2012)
$29.99

Hops & Heels: Flying Dog Wildeman Farmhouse IPA

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I’ve slightly lost interest in doing traditional beer reviews for the moment, and am looking forward to trying out some new things here with the blog. I’d like to move back to my sweet and short thoughts about beers I’m trying that started the Thirsty Thirty last summer, and thanks to a light-bulb idea inspired by the blog Stouts and Stilettos, I think I found a new summer project. How does Hops & Heels sound?

All in all…
Oh hey! Spices! Belgianness! The real star in this beer is the spice, which I can’t put my finger on to identify, but it’s very flavorful. A few months back…er, a year back, I heard an interview on Splendid Table about using peppers, and how there is a sort of continuum of flavor/pure heat in peppers. Meaning that there are some peppers that have pure heat, but don’t offer as much flavor when they’re used in cooking, and then there are peppers that have a lot of flavor, but not as much pure heat. The perfect balance for me is a jalapeño. This is all to say that the spice in the Farmhouse IPA isn’t powerful, but is extremely tasty. I haven’t come across a Belgian beer yet that tries this, and I was happy with what they did here.

Recommend to a friend?
Yes, you should definitely try this.

Lightweight-safe?
7.5% ABV…Woopsies!

Plus one?
It’s such a pleasant beer to drink, because the spices are just so fun. However, with a 7.5% ABV I wouldn’t have another.

Get a six pack?
Oh yes. I would enjoy having several of these in the refrigerator.

The Hops
Flying Dog – Frederick, MD
Belgian IPA
7.5% ABV
Friendly Package Liquors, Muncie

The Heels
Merona Eireen Wedges
Target (2012)
$24.99