Life is precious

I didn't quite know what to write or how to write it.  It's something you just don't expect, especially at such a young age.

He was 33, he'd been married just under 3 years.  I'd only found out a couple months ago that he had cancer and it wasn't until yesterday morning that I made the time to read his journal on CaringBridge.com.  It was an arduous, painful 8-month journey, I messaged him, let him know I was thinking about him, shared a few jokes I remembered about him and at 3:45 pm yesterday, he left this world.

Cancer is a difficult thing to understand.  It's indiscriminate, it has no bias and it touches everyone of us in the form of friends and loved ones.  I hadn't seen him for years.  We went to school together, church, we were in Boy Scouts together and as life goes from there, we lost touch.

Life often has a way of catching us completely off balance, knocking us back and causing us to reflect and that's where I am.  Lost for words.  Yesterday, this world lost a giant of a man and an example to look up to and heaven was jealous of his homecoming.  I have tremendous respect for the life that he chose to live and it's evidenced by the many comments and tributes to him.

Life is a precious gift, live it to the fullest!

Cheers to Davin, eternal freedom

Davin Henrickson 1978 - 2012

Grand Teton Brewing Company

It's exciting to see an Idaho Brewery make news nationally and when CraftBeer.com reported on one of our own, I couldn't help but share.  Can't wait to try this one out on the patio this summer.


 VICTOR, ID - Grand Teton Brewing Company, known throughout the West for their exceptional craft brews, is proud to announce the release of Snarling Badger Berliner Weisse.  As part of its Cellar Reserve Series, Grand Teton Brewing Company has been brewing bold, flavorful beers and serving them from large, beautiful bottles since March 2004.  This May 15th, please welcome Snarling Badger to the 2012 Cellar Reserve Series. 


We’ve always intended these beers to be wonderful when fresh but also to be “cellarable”--to improve with months or even years of proper storage.  Over the years we’ve been happiest cellaring our strong malty beers. That’s made selecting styles for our summer Cellar Reserves a challenge, since the best beers for cellaring are not always the best beers to enjoy on a hot summer’s day.


In Berliner Weisse we think we’ve found the perfect style for our summer Cellar Reserve.  This north German wheat beer is traditionally brewed and released very fresh. It has a light body from the wheat and refreshingly tart acidity that make it a perfect summer thirst-quencher.  Its lemony tartness is provided by a secondary fermentation with Lactobacillus, the same microorganism that’s responsible for yogurt’s tang. That tartness increases and improves with age, so the people of Berlin are known to buy extra bottles to bury in their gardens for two years or more.


As usual with our Cellar Reserves, we’ve taken a traditional style and added our own twist. In this case we’ve tripled the strength over the traditional beer, which should increase its aging potential. For the primary fermentation we used traditional Bavarian hefeweizen yeast that produces soft notes of banana and clove. We followed that with Lactobacillus and six months in conditioning to create a complex fruity acidity that compliments the soft sweet malt tones and a unique ale that is both fulfilling and refreshing.


This summer time ale perfectly compliments spicy salmon filets from the grill and can wash down your savory BBQ pork ribs with ease.  Enjoy with a fresh arugula salad or salty french fries with blue cheese dressing for dipping.  For dessert try, grilled pineapple drizzled with honey.


Cheers


Article courtesy of CraftBeer.com

Tap Into Life

"I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.  To put to rout all that was not life and not that I had come to die, discover that I had not lived."


Henry David Thoreau

I don't read poetry, I wasn't an english major, I didn't attend an ivy league school, in fact, I've got about a year left if I were to finish my Bachelor's Degree.  I don't earn a six-figure income, I don't drive a Jaguar, I don't wear a suit and tie and I don't live in a 4,000 square foot house.

I'm not a member of the Country Club, I don't have the latest fashions, I don't vacation in Europe and I don't have season tickets to any sporting events.  I don't have a "usual table", I'm not known by name at the nicest restaurants and I don't have an American Express Platinum.

I am a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a friend, a provider, a listener, a lover of adventure, a seeker of the extraordinary and a pursuer of life.  I bike, I ski, I snowshoe, I camp, I hike, I workout, I read, I work, I enjoy good food, I drink great beer and I challenge myself everyday.

What I am, is far more important than what I'm not and what I have, far outweighs what I sometimes think I need.

I've made the decision to, "Tap into life!"

Cheers

Welcome back.....

I have to admit, the unseasonably warm weather created quite the welcome back to the cabin.  It's a little hard for me to believe, but it's been just over a month since I was last here.  The snow is now gone, I've missed a majority of the muddy season and things are beginning to turn green.

Easing open the front door, I still feel as though I'm stepping back in time.  No phone, no internet and no television.  I have to be honest, I've missed, not having the opportunity for the distraction.  A few pieces of firewood remain, chopped and ready to warm the cabin from the cool evening and brisk morning.

For now, I'll enjoy the sunshine in my shirt sleeves on the deck, a folding chair, a cold beer and a view of the lake in the distance.  While I'm already beginning to write about refreshing summer brews as the temps push the 90 degree mark in the valley, I'll enjoy the 20 degree difference with one of my last bottles of Odell, Mountain Standard a more than suitable Black IPA for spring.

With lots of work ahead, I'm reminded of all the work that's been accomplished here.  The change and transformation that has taken place.  Just like the cabin, I too have experienced transformation and just like the sunshine now on the deck, I have a new season in my life to look forward to.

Cheers

Front porchin' it with a brew.  '70's image style

Welcome back, '70's image style

Summer Beer List

Here it is, my unofficial, unrated list of summer refreshment.  As the temps rise and you find yourselves outdoors more and more in the coming months, there will arise a need for a crisp, ice cold pick me up.

Fire up the BBQ with a cedar planked salmon, squeeze a lime on those fish tacos or drizzle some balsamic vinaigrette on that grilled chicken salad.  Each of these ice cold brews should pair nicely with summer's feasts.

Deschutes, Twilight Summer Ale
Samuel Adams, Light
Alaskan, Summer Kolsch-Style Ale
Anchor Brewing Company, Summer Beer
Southern Tier, HopSun Summer Wheat Beer
Dogfish Head, Aprihop
Odell, Easy Street Wheat
Stella Artois
Pyramid Brewing, Apricot Ale
Great Divide Brewing, Wild Raspberry Ale
Dogfish Head, Festina Peche
Lagunitas, IPA

So hop on the bike, mow the lawn, float the river or go for a hike and enjoy working your way through this list.

Cheers

The search for refreshing summer beer

As the weather in Idaho goes, it has all of a sudden radically changed.  In just a few days we have arrived at the 90 degree mark.  All those reasons we love the great state of Idaho begin to morph into the culture and events of the warm weather.

This weekend included my wife's birthday, some rock climbing, an evening on the patio in downtown Boise with friends, the first warm weather camp of the season with my son, the firepit, some BBQ and Hull's Gulch on the Mountain Bike followed by the search for a refreshing beer.

What is it that characterizes a refreshing craft beer?  After a 2400 foot vertical climb in the foothills on a mountain bike an afternoon of mowing the lawn or even a relaxing float down the Boise River I guarantee I'm not going to grab a thick, chewy stout.

Light-bodied, golden, crisp and citrusy with a spritzy carbonation, that's what I'm looking for.  After Sunday's ride Dan and I took the opportunity to enjoy the patio at Brewforia Beer Market.  In light of last weeks post, we challenged ourselves to find not only a refreshing summer beer (a little ahead of summer beer shipping) in a can.

The search for my usual refreshers, Pyramid Brewing, Hefeweizen (formerly Haywire), Apricot Ale and Stella Artois came up short.  While it wasn't quite as light as I'd been looking for, I did enjoy a Caldera Brewing, Pale Ale and have now challenged myself to create "The Summer Refresher List."

Enjoy your time outside and post some of your favorites or email me at aaron@barrelhaus.com

Cheers

Rock Climbing at Urban Ascent for Melissa's birthday

Ye Olde Hill Climb

Going Haywire!!

Baby Steps........Try Craft Beer

I often read other Craft Beer websites and blogs and while I'm quite sure that they serve a purpose, it's just not what I want to deliver.  It would seem to me, and correct me if I'm wrong, that the average craft beer drinker, has no idea what a gravity reading is, have just become familiar with the term ABV and some may not have even found an IPA they can drink.

Enter, me.  Average Joe, beer passionate, life experience ready.  It seems as though overnight, craft beer has become an absolute craze.  Every restaurant I've been into in the past three months seems to have aspirations of opening their own brewery. That's great, but, please don't.  Craft beer is an adventure and it's something I believe you need to be passionate about.  I certainly don't want to drink a beer, brewed by an out of work lender who got a few past clients to throw together some money for at an attempt at a return on investment.

Great, I'm sure you're satisfied at my above opinion, now what?  The Brewer's Association has recently released the Top 50 Breweries in 2011.  Now, keep in mind, this is by sales volume, obviously, the bigger breweries are going to be closer to the top, nevertheless, a great place to start.

In light of recent requests, I'll be sharing some of my favorites that got me started in craft beer, some great price points, the IPA that opened my eyes and I may even get my wife to share her feelings on beer, from a woman's perspective.  Let's take the training wheels off and enjoy the ride.

Cheers

Bottles vs. Cans

It just doesn't seem right.  Cans are synonymous with macro-brewed skunk water.  Oh, now I've gone and done it, I've just stirred everything right up!  Yes I have.  I'm a bit of a purist and it just doesn't seem right to drink a handcrafted beer out of anything but a bottle or sip the foamy head off of a freshly tapped pint.

Enter the aluminum can revolution.  A few years ago small craft breweries like Oskar Blues Brewery of Longmont, CO and Caldera Brewing of Ashland, OR ventured into uncharted territory by packaging craft beer in aluminum cans.

Much to my chagrin they nay-sayers have been somewhat silenced by the now 52 + craft breweries packaging their beverages in aluminum cans, and yes, there are even rumors of Dogfish packaging the coveted 60 minute IPA in a can within the next year.

I will admit that after a little research, it would appear conclusive that the aluminum packaging does offer some inherent benefits.  First and foremost, the aluminum does reduce a breweries carbon-footprint, cans do get colder, faster and they do protect their cargo from both light and oxygen which can damage the taste.

While the thought does need to continue to marinate with me for a while, I may just consider tossing a couple of cans of Anderson Valley Brewing, Summer Solstice in my backpack or in the bottom of my canoe this summer, just to give it a try.

Cheers

Firestone Walker Brewing

Right off the bat, you notice a distinct difference.  That first taste of Firestone Walker's DBA and it's clear, the brew is done in the British style and very close to that of a UK beer (not that I've had a tremendous amount of them) but enough to know the difference.

Firestone Walker Brewing Company is located in California's central coast in an up and coming
Santa Ynez Wine Country, boasting some fantastic red wines with big flavor, but this blog isn't about wine.  Paso Robles is a town rich with food, festivals and my wife's family and a natural fit for a brewery such as Firestone Walker.

Birthed out of a desire for a better ale, Adam Firestone (not unfamiliar to the ladies whom I'm sure tuned into season 3 of The Bachelor) and David Walker have done just that, while their ale's are unique and boast big flavors, it's their Proprietor's Reserve Series and Anniversary Ale Library that will blow you away.

With three bottles put away, Parabola, 13 and Sucaba, I will look forward to a special occasion with special people to sit back and open one of these unparalleled beers.  When I do, you can be certain you'll be the first to know.  Next time you are rolling through California's Central Coast, pull off of the 101 and enjoy what GABF (Great American Beer Festival) labeled the 2011 Brewery of the year.

Cheers

Rainy Day

Save it for a rainy day?  I'm sure you've heard that one before.  Well, today was that day.  I tipped the change dish upside down and counted out the quarters, dimes and nickels.  The total?  $16.30.  Enough to purchase a fine bottle of craft beer, an afternoon at the arcade, a Happy Meal or two.  Nevertheless, it made me think.

On this rainy day, I picked up my son and brought him home from school.  I learned all about his day.  The special book that his class made in which he got two pages all for himself, one to display his art and one to write a story.  I got to listen to my daughter laugh, hysterically at her brother and his jokes.
I got to observe my wife, making dinner, taking great care in the preparation of the meal for her family.  Finally, I got to enjoy the meal at the dinner table with my beautiful family and that's when it hit me again.  The reason I chose this adventure.  I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that when, by worldly standards, "things were good" this would not have happened.

When the money was coming in at a very comfortable level, the schedule was full with events, meetings and clients and the kids were rushed off to a sitter for my wife and I to catch up, I was stuck.  I couldn't break the cycle.  I'm thankful for the simple reminders of the true meaning of joy in my life.  I'm thankful for this glimpse at what I can be, if I choose.

Search, find, live simply.

Cheers

Ramblings

Ahh, the joys of the mid to late morning post.  Yes, this would mean I rolled out of bed late and enjoyed my breakfast and morning cup of coffee prior to writing my blog.  Today, however, it was mostly due to the fact that my beautiful little Abby climbed into bed and laid on my chest and fell back asleep.  So, no apologies.

It's been decided that a wood-fired brat, roaring firepit and a truly great beer with a friend is not a shabby way to spend an evening.  Enter the winner of the evening, Choklat, a thick, rich stout in Southern Tier Brewing's, Blackwater Series.

First of all, I'm quite certain, I got the last available bottle in the Northwest and I'm not bragging about it, okay, maybe just a little due to the fact that it's late in the season to run across a bottle of this dessert-filled goodness.  It's released in mid-November.  It is a very smooth but heavy-bodied beer with medium chocolate bitterness.

The combination of dark and bitter chocolate in this huge stout would pair incredibly well with angelfood cake, mint truffles and mascarpone and next time I'm fortunate enough to get a bottle, I may just drop a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream in my glass.

Cheers to Choklat!