Made pumpkin bread yesterday and forgot the baking powder/soda. So instead, wound up with pumpkin hard tack.
Just in case anyone wants to spice up their kit bag for the next Battle of Wilson Creek reenactment.
And in keeping with the spirit of the new Forum decorum... pumpkin hard tack goes great with a Boulder Beer Cold Hop, a British style ale with a floral hop aroma that balances the expected light bitterness.
Okay, enough about Colorado beers... for those of you who don't live in God's Country, here's a recommendation for Game Day (Beat Buffalo!). If you've been to Riley, Leonard Wood, or Leavenworth, or anywhere in the mid west, you've probably seen Boulevard Beer, from Kansas City. They've had a pretty good distribution network lately, and you can find Boulevard just about anywhere these days.
And if you've ever been around me in any of those locales, you know I'm not a fan. Boring, bland, and not worthy of even making their way into a pot of borracho beans or beer-butt-chicken.
But all that changed when they came out with their Smokestack series. These beers stack up well against just about everyone, even my backyard brewers.
The Sixth Glass is a brilliant quadrupel ale that reminded me of fresh German bread. A little bit of carmel, a little bit of malt, a little bit of pepper, and a little bit of spice, perfectly balanced. And a 10.5% ABV that is still quite drinkable.
Long Strange Tripel (9% ABV) is a Belgian-style bottle-conditioned ale that is crisp on the tongue, tastes as good as it looks, and finishes Sahara-dry.
And one of my favorite IPAs is the Double Wide. An IPA is going to be marked by a hoppy bitterness, and this one has that in spades, but there's enough malt action to round it out without losing any of its character. In heaven, you will watch Army beat Navy on a wide screen TV with a Double Wide in one hand and Cricket-burger with green chilis in the other, surrounded by your closest family and friends.
Okay, sun's up... time to put in 50 miles before the first kick-off...
Cheers and Beat Buffalo!