Monday, August 30, 2010

Beer! Beer! Beer!

One of my favorite things in the world is beer. I'm not talking about Corona or Budweiser (though I can get down with a cheap beer every once in a while), I'm talking about good, high-end craft beer. Because of that, I plan on reviewing beers I try out every so often on here. We're pretty blessed in Chicago in terms of craft beer availability; not only do we have great local breweries, but brewpubs are becoming more and more popular as well as craft beer in general!
The Map Room, located in Chicago, IL

One of my favorite bars, The Map Room, offers 26 high-end craft beers on tap, in addition to 200 different brands of beer they have available at the bar. A few similar bars have been popping up all over lately, and I could not be more excited!

A few months ago, I went to Wisconsin for the first time with Andrew and our roommate and found that the Badger State (oh yeah) had many great things to offer- and I'm so sorry for ever having thought otherwise- including a wonderful beer named Spotted Cow.


Spotted Cow is a cream ale made by New Glarus Brewing Company. It's light, sweet, not-too-carbonated and a little yeasty. In other words: perfect! Well, maybe it's not the best beer I've ever had but it's definitely a great everyday beer. I appreciate the fact that it's semi-local, being from the Midwest, not to mention the cute label. I also really like the fact that New Glarus has pairing suggestions for their beers! Here's what they suggest as pairings for Spotted Cow:



Foods:



BBQ
Grilled Steak
Jambalaya
Brats
Steak
Fish
Seafood Linguini
Limburger Sandwich
Burgers
Fries
Stir Fry
Bacon and Eggs
Cheese Curds
Potato Chips
Chicken Sandwich
Tilapia Filets
Spicy Foods
Pork Rinds
Reuben
Wings
Fish Fry
Nachos


Cheeses:



5-Year Cheddar (Hook's Cheese)
Avondale Truckle (Fayette Creamery)
Silver Lewis Brick
Smoked Gouda
Havarti


Spotted Cow is available in 6 packs, Cases, 1/2 Barrels, and 1/4 Barrels.

Introduction/a Little About Me/First Post

Hi everyone!
I figured that before I start posting the good stuff, I should post a little something about myself. Here goes:
My name is Christina, and I am 21 yrs old. I was born and raised in Paris, France and I've been living in Chicago for 3 yrs now. I am trilingual; I speak French, Spanish and English (English being my third language). I went to Columbia College for 2 yrs where I was an Advertising Art major and then got denied for loans, so I'm currently paying my way through school at a city college. I work full time at a fancy bakery and basically get to eat all the macarons and croissants I want!
I live with my boyfriend, Andrew and my cat, Mappy. This is Mappy:

And this is our apartment, for now:

That's all. Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll subscribe to my blog!