21st amendment brewery recently started selling their hell or high watermelon wheat beer in georgia. willy and i tried this tasty beer at the 21st amendment brew pub in san francisco many years ago. we enjoyed the unique flavor so much, it actually inspired us to start bottle rocket brewing. over the years we brewed many similar wheat beers with fresh puréed watermelon and they were always great.

the hell or high watermelon is a perfect summer beer. it is fairly light with a crisp fresh watermelon flavor that’s not too sweet. it’s perfect for grilling, drinking by the poolside or taking to the beach or a park.

like oskar blues, 21st amendment sells their craft beers in cans. for those who are still hesitant about drinking canned beer, be sure to read the message on the bottom of the packaging:

six good reasons to open a can of beer:
– cans keep beer fresher because the beer never sees light
– cans are lined so they don’t affect the flavor of the beer inside
– cans weigh less than glass and chill faster
– cans are easier to recycle and more often recycled than glass
– cans use less energy to prduce and transport than glass
– cans go where no glass dares: beaches, parks, stadiums, boats, pools, golf courses…

– ryan

21st amendment brewery

563 2nd street
san francisco, ca 94107
415-369-0900

we had brunch yesterday at le petit marché in downtown kirkwood. it’s a cute little market that features a food counter with breakfast, lunch and coffee items. besides homemade soups and build-your-own egg sandwiches, they offer award winning pb&j sandwiches. the peanut butter options include jungle banana, dark chocolate duo, cinnamon raisin, white chocolate raspberry and chocolate chip cookie dough. your jam choices are raspberry, strawberry and housemade golden fig. we went with the cuban panini and the biscuits & gravy brunch special. very tasty!

we are super excited to have such a great brunch option within walking distance from our house. we will be back soon for some pb&j sandwiches!

check out their menu.

– ryan & gub

le petit marché

1963 hosea l williams dr se no. 108
atlanta, ga 30317
404-371-9888
marchetsparks@gmail.com

we went to see sleigh bells last night at vinyl in atlanta. their live show definitely lived up to the hype; it was insanely loud with lots of strobe lights and arms/iphones up in the air. to say the least, we had a lot of fun! alexis, the female lead singer, sang from the audience at times and had the crowd singing along on other hits. there was lots of dancing and everyone seemed to know all of the lyrics. highlights were rill rill, crown on the ground and a/b machines.

i picked up sleigh bells debut album treats on picture disc vinyl at the show. it is really awesome!

– ryan

we were able to find lots of yummy fresh blackberries & cherries at the store this week. the blackberries were not super ripe yet and ry was having me try bites of them together with the cherries. the combination of sweet and sour was so good we decided to make a blackberry & cherry cobbler!

we used the basic (add any fruit) cobbler recipe from the first paula deen cookbook & finished with ice cream.

– ryan & gub

blackberry & cherry cobbler recipe:

ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
3/4 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup milk
2 cups fresh sliced fruit (we used blackberries & cherries)

directions:
– preheat oven to 350 degrees
– put butter in deep baking dish and place in oven to melt
– clean and slice fresh fruit, place in a bowl and sprinkle with some sugar
– add the fruit, 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a saucepan
– bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often
– mix 1 cup sugar and flour; add milk slowly to prevent lumping
– pour over melted butter in baking dish, do not stir
– spoon fruit on top, gently pouring syrup, again without stirring
– bake 30 to 45 minutes, batter will rise to top during baking
– serve with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream

we found these two half eaten tomatoes in the garden today. i guess the chipmunks have found a way under the fence…  what to do?
– ryan & gub

we just got back from a great trip to lewiston, maine. we’ll have more updates soon!

– ryan & gub

our tomatoes are turning red. we are very excited! our corn is also getting pretty big and we have baby bell and jalapeño peppers. we love our garden!

– ryan & gub

according to nasa, there will be a lunar eclipse tomorrow morning and it should be a big one for most of america. npr said it would be visible in atlanta from around 6:15 am until after 9 am. you’ll need to get up early though if you want to catch the eclipse, our sunrise is around 6:30 am. tomorrow also brings a full moon.

– ryan

it’s been a little while since i’ve brewed beer but i am still a big fan, especially of hoppy IPAs. i love when fall approaches and breweries begin to release their fresh/wet hop ales. these tasty treats are brewed with wet hops that are delivered to the brewery the same day they are harvested. the brewers are waiting on hand to add the wet hops to the kettle while at the peak of their freshness. the result is one of the hoppiest, most flavorful beers around. it’s the equivalent of cooking with fresh herbs rather then dried ones.

one of my favorite wet hop ales during the fall is sierra nevada’s northern hemisphere harvest. this was actually the first beer brewed with fresh hops back in 1996. since then, wet hop ales have swept the american craft brewing movement by storm. there is an annual fresh hop ale festival held in washington state and even the brick store pub in atlanta started hosting a fall hop harvest festival with many fresh hop ales on tap.

there are various options for wet hop ales in the fall. i’ve never had a bad one, so don’t be afraid to try different breweries. keep your eye out for local brewery options as well, i know sweetwater started brewing one in atlanta last year.

sierra nevada also brews a tasty summertime fresh hop ale called southern hemisphere harvest. you can find this delicious treat in stores right now, i’m actually drinking one as i write this article! to brew such a style during the summertime, sierra nevada overnights fresh hops from new zealand during their fall harvest, which happens to be america’s springtime. thanks to their efforts, we can enjoy a fresh hoppy beer during our wet hot american summers.

– ryan

sierra nevada

1075 east 20th street
chico, ca 95928
530-893-3520

ps…this is our 50th blog post!!!

we are not wine connoisseurs by any means, but we do enjoy drinking it, especially whites. we’ve been trying to sample unique white wines from various regions of the world. after a recent splendid table episode, we decided to try an albariño. this refreshing white wine is made from albariño grapes and is mostly produced in the rías baixas region of spain.

we tried a bottle of 2007 fillaboa albariño. it was crisp with hints of peach and apricot, but not sweet like riesling or muscat. it paired well with seafood and fresh veggies from our garden.

if you’re a fan of white wines, this unique variety is definitely worth checking out. we thoroughly enjoyed our 2007 fillaboa albariño and have been able to find it at toco hills giant wines in atlanta.

– ryan & gub