Tag Archives: Craft Beer Market

Brewsing 10/6/16

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Last week, I headed down to National on 17th to hang out with Susie and her mom. I ordered a flight (surprise surprise) and here’s the list:

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All were pretty good but a couple of them were really only worthy of a taster (FOR ME) because they just aren’t styles of beer that I prefer aka: the brown ale and altbeir. I was pleasantly surprised by the blonde ale from Olds- its had great flavor and a richness to it that I didn’t expect. The Fahr Away hefe was ok, but not the banana/clove flavor I crave.

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Later that night, I was lucky enough to stop into Craft and try my first Belgian Dip by Tool Shed. Ummm you guys……find it and drink it all. It’s fruity without the fruit, hoppy without the PNW hop-ness and just around juicy and flavorful. They have been canning the Belgian Dip this week so be on the lookout Albertans! It really is the tastiest. I was really bummed out that I wasn’t able to get my hands on some cans to take with me to New York.

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Ok, so I’ve had the White Raven IPA from Bench Creek before (And love!) but I gotta say that I almost equally love their Naked Woodsman Pale Ale. I usually have a had time finishing pale ales because by the time I get to the bottom, it has warmed a bit and almost starts to taste metallic. This one though didn’t do that and was perfect to the last drop. Twice.

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Ah and then there’s the Goat Locker Fainting Bock. I first tried it the week before at Oktoberfest and didn’t care for it, but my mind was changed after having a can of it. There was a significant malt flavor (without making my teeth feel fuzzy) and it just tasted subtly sweet. I’m not sure if I would buy it again, but enjoyed this since Tyler bought it for me.

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And then Tyler bought a mix pack from GP Brewing. It was a mix of everything hefe, IPA, stout… I only tried the Hefeweizen and found it nothing to write home about. A beer that tasted like….beer. It wasn’t bad, it just didn’t have any flavor that would make it memorable.

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So that’s it for this week. Now that I’m in New York, I’ve got lots of different stuff to try and share with you guys next time.

PS: Tell me a beer you’ve recently tried! How was it??

From the Week

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Happy Friday, everyone! This week has been fun, busy, boring and sad. Is that even possible? Ha! Work has been going really well (YAY!) and a lot of the home projects Tyler has been working on have really been progressing (DOUBLE YAY!). Gonna try to lay off the extreme detailing of the week and just focus on some highlights. And Wes-picture overload, of course..

Monday was so nice out. Tyler stayed home from work to continue working on installing the new flooring and my mom, Wes and I tried to enjoy as much of the sun as possible.

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When we needed a break from the heat, we headed to the basement to work on an art project! Let’s just use the word ‘project’ verrrry loosely. It was more like freak-out-about-being-naked-and-having-paint-all-over-us mode. Followed by a messy, purply bath.

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I soaked up a bit more sun on the patio during Wes’s afternoon nap…as if that was a chore.

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Tuesday was another day to be outside as much as possible. Our backyard is pretty crummy with itchy grass and lots of bugs, so we mainly hang out on the front patio. Plus, there’s lot of renovation debris hanging out in the back too. Yuck.

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In lieu of a morning nap, I took Wes for an early walk. It was a good way to wake up my legs before getting my workout done for the day too.

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Wes helped grandma pack some of her stuff..

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And we ran some errands before I had to head to work. PS: black pants in warm weather is just so stupid.

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Wednesday Wes was able to start crawling around on some of the new flooring. It’s so hard to keep him contained while all this work is being done..I can’t wait for it to be over! His breakfasts are usually eaten in the living room because he likes to play around then have a bite here and there. Lately, he has been eating an entire banana with his breakfast each morning. #bigboy

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We were going to head to Wild Rose Brewery for lunch, but I called ahead and they didn’t have highchairs. Boo. Instead, we headed to Craft and enjoyed a yummy lunch and a round of drinks.

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Then it was time to drop grandma off at the airport. I’m not even going to get in to how many tears were shed once she went through customs. On a happy note, we did get to have her here for 3 whole weeks and Wes was just smitten with her the entire time.

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Wes seemed to be able to resume with normal everyday activities, but I was in a fog for the rest of the day. Boo.

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Thursday started with an early morning wakeup. Can you believe it’s been so long since I’ve had to set my alarm on my phone that I actually forgot how to do it? I wanted to get my workouts in before Wes woke up and even though it was rough getting started, I did it! I’m finishing up week 5 of 22 Minute Hard Corps and while I enjoy the workouts, I’m starting to get the itch to change it up with maybe some Insanity or 21 Day Fix EXTREME. Soon!

Sidenote–> May’s promotions are pretty sweet. Insanity Max:30 and Cize Challenge Packs. Shaun T is my favorite instructor- and I’ve loved all of his programs that I’ve tried so far. Message me if you’re interested and I’d be happy to send you more info. jennifer(dot)L(dot)Linton(at)gmail(dot)com.

As soon as the rain died down a bit, we walked over to the library. It proved to be a great idea for the day’s activity since Wes seemed to be interested in just about everything there. He looked pretty slick too. Gonna be a ladies man!

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Then of course there was a margarita to be had. For Cinco de Mayo obviously.

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Before I check out for the weekend, I just wanted to announce the winner of the Grapple Toy Tether giveaway….it’s Alison! Congrats 🙂

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From the Week

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Monday

Mondays. Mondays are already ew on their own. But to start it off bright and early with a consultation for my wisdom teeth? Barf city. On the way to the appointment, I had a pretty delicious smoothie (vega chocolate nutritional shake, pb2, quinoa, greek yogurt, almond milk.)

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I put Wes down for his nap as soon as I got home so I was able to fit my workout in. Once he was up, we played for a long ass time. My knees are starting to take a severe beating with all the up and down from the floor with a heavy baby!

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After Wes went down for his afternoon nap, I headed out for yet another appointment, this time for my annual physical. The good news- my blood work came back with flying colors and I was in and out of there in about 20 minutes.

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For dinner, Tyler whipped up some fajitas. SO DELICIOUS. It’s one of our go-to’s when we can’t decide what to have. I could probably eat them every day.

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The evening was pretty typical- I walked the dogs, Wes got a bath, and we hung out until it was time for the dude to get to bed. I put him in his jolly jumper to wear him out a bit before bed time, and the kid.can.jump.

Wes jumping from Jen Linton on Vimeo.

Tuesday

Same old same old kinda day. Lots of playing with Wes.

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Baby boy is obsessed with flipping now. He even slept on his belly during his naps! Layla’s not super impressed, but she’s tolerating it. Reggie could care less since he hardly touches the floor (he sticks to his bed or the couches as often as possible).

Long naps are great because I can get in my workout, shower and attempt to look somewhat human.

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Later, I met up with Leigh and Brie at Craft for dinner. It was really nice to get out of the house and have some girl talk- even if I did stay up way past my bed time! Fish tacos for the win. The only downside: it started to snow while we were out. Ewww.

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Wednesday

I woke up at 5 and noticed that Wes was on his tummy again, so I slept pretty crummy for another hour or so before getting up- it’s still a new position for him so I’m a bit paranoid he will suffocate or get stuck and freak out. (I know, I know, he’s most likely fine but I can’t help it!)

I did a lower body workout in the late morning that left me absolutely dead and wobbly. This means not only was it a great workout, but it was a CHORE trying to walk back up the stairs afterwards.

We had an appointment for Wes to check on a scratch he has on his nether region which turned out to be fine. I’m betting he just wanted in on the doctor-appointment action.

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We picked up some groceries before heading home for lunch.

You know it’s a pretty decent day when you can take a 2pm soak while the baby sleeps. I’ll take it.

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We had pulled pork sammies for dinner and went to bed just after 8pm.

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Thursday

It wasn’t even hard getting out of bed at 6:15am when you’ve had about 72 hours of sleep. That was fantastic. And yet, my cardio workout for the morning was ROUGH. I was gasping for air like a fool- but it was so worth it afterwards.

Wes has been really great going down for naps lately- he’s out in almost 5 minutes each time. I think I have finally started to pick up on his tired cues so I don’t haphazardly attempt a nap time when he’s not ready.

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He slept on his tummy the entire night before, so I won’t be wrapping him in a blanket anymore.

Another thing- he figured out how to use a straw! I bought one of the Playtex straw cups and had him attempt it only twice before he got the hang of it. Solid food feedings are now just too funny- he wants to eat EVERYTHING and drink EVERYTHING and throw EVERYTHING.

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And I somehow manage to still get in my snack plates. Even if it does come with a staring owl.

I also baked a loaf of apple cinnamon bread that is delicious! I didn’t make the topping as listed in the recipe, but instead topped with sliced apple pieces and dusted with cinnamon/sugar.

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Dinner was a stuffed sweet potato (loaded with pulled pork, broccoli, cheese and green onions).

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I took the pups out for a walk and it was SO SLIPPERY. Goddamn snow and ice. No wait, goddamn dogs. They’re terrible on the leash (better lately) and when combined with inclement weather..I am doomed.

I poured myself a glass of wine after Wes went down, but ended up only taking a couple of sips before calling it a night. WHO AM I.

Weekend Recap

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I love love love long weekends. The extra day off (ok, well only off for Tyler) allows us to get way more done around the house AND have a little bit of relax-time!

Friday: I took Wes to Crossroads Market. I had never been to this farmer’s market before and was excited to see what they had to offer and how they compared to the others in Calgary. PLUS, Tyler messaged me saying he saw an ad in the paper that Taber corn was back! Yum..local corn= THE BEST. I ended up getting a bunch of corn, chocolate chip cookie dough fudge, BC peaches and some bison burger patties.

Tyler made steak for dinner and all was well with the world.

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Saturday: We headed down to Inglewood for Sunfest. It was awesome weather and I was really excited for the three of us to get out of the house together, but the fest was the same as every other one we’ve been to before so we only did a quick lap and left. We attempted to have lunch at one of the restaurants, but they had no more shaded seating.

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We opted to head to Craft for lunch. We were practically the only people in there which was for the better since Wes decided to be a bit vocal. I’m guessing if the place was full no one would have noticed, but we were able to grab lunch and a beer and get out of there in under an hour.

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The sun and the afternoon beer knocked us both out, so Tyler and I took turns taking naps when we got home. I also managed to do my workout before we settled down to watch a couple episodes of True Detectives.

Sunday: Tyler had daddy duty while I headed out to Canmore with Susie to hike Ha Ling. Funny story: we did this hike in August of last year and I was a few weeks pregnant and had no idea! Explains the fatigue. This time, it was MUCH easier to climb. I think it’s about 2.5 miles and 2,500 ft climb? Something like that. Beautiful view at the top.

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As we got towards the top- there’s a portion of scrambling and you can see and hear people having difficulty with their footing since it can get a bit tricky. The really brave will shuffle their way down (not my cup of tea since my center of gravity is pretty high). A few passed us as we were still climbing and one girl was gaining so much speed she lost control and totally face planted right in front of us. She was covered in dust and had scrapes all over her arms and legs and we quickly went to help her up. The excitement/fear of the fall caused her to freak out and she was convinced she broke both ankles, but we tried to calm her down and eventually her friend caught up and assured her she was fine. A) That was scary B) I tried to cheer her up by mentioning that her manicure still looked great.

When I got home, we had bison burgers for dinner and watched a few episodes of Ballers. (Anyone watching this? I love it!)

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Monday: I made Tyler chocolate chip pancakes then handed him the baby so I could do my 21 day fix extreme workout for the day (1 of 2 since I didn’t do the designated workout on Sunday. Had to double up!) We did a ton of house-stuff, I took Wes for a long walk, did my second 21dfx workout, took the dogs for a long walk, then ate a fajita wrap. The end.

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How was your weekend?

Winesday Wednesday 10/23

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The first edition of Winesday Wednesday is a bit…..short. Not too many submissions from you guys (hint, hint..and I brought it back because so many of you liked it!!) So here goes!

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FIrst up, Monique @burpeestobubbly (twitter) tweeted the following pic saying “@nutcaseinpoint drinking lots of #bubbly lately! Lovely glass of Cava with sushi was perfect!” (Gal loves her bubbly, can’t you tell?!!)

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Laura @laurabridgman (twitter) sent the following pic, which I can tell is from The Rocky Mountain Wine and Food Fest from this past weekend. How do I know? Because I won 2 tickets of admission AND drink tickets for one of the sessions! (more on that later) Anyways, she sent a pic of Dirty Laudry’s blush— sounds definitely like a wine that I would try just for the name!

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Last up, Kori @korichace sent the following: “So my mom bought me this for my birthday and I think it’s hilarious. I haven’t been able to use it yet so today I brought it to work as a joke. I think it will be awesome to use by the pool next summer. I’m super cheap so I buy the big huge bottles of wine since I drink a glass almost every night ( whoops!) this is a Cavit merlot. It’s not too bad but definitely prefer other brands over it.”

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I LOVE this. I bought one for my mom not too long ago and am still kicking myself for not getting one for ME! Ah well, guess I’ll just have to keep drinking straight from the bottle 😉

That’s it for reader submissions! (remember you can refer back to this post for ways to send me your stuff over the next week to have it added in the next post!)

Now, from ME:

  • Friday, some co-workers and I enjoyed bulldogs at Julio’s Barrio.
  • After work, one of my co-workers and I went to Hudon’s for more chit-chat. I tried one of their craft pumpkin brews. Not my fave, but decent enough to sip.
  • Saturday, Tyler and I headed to the Rocky Mountain Wine and Food Fest. I can’t even tell you all the different liquors and wines and beers we were able to sample. Two of my favorites were the Hog’s Head Brewery Death By Pumpkin Spiced Ale and Jasper Brewing Co. Blueberry Vanilla Ale.
  • After our session at the fest was over, we walked over to Craft for some food and a pint of MY FAVORITE BEER OF ALL TIME, Pyramid’s Apricot Ale. I was a happy lady. And then I needed a nap.

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Hope everyone has a fabulous Winesday Wednesday and I look forward to seeing what you send me over the next week! (Remember: it can be ANYTHING: recipes, cocktails, beer, anything you see online or take a pic of relating to alcohol-y goodness!)