Monday, June 2, 2014

Beer Fest Alert! 2014 Algona Beerfest this Weekend


It's officially my favorite time of year: beer fest season. Greg and I had so much fun hopping from fest to fest last summer: sipping on craft brews, discovering new breweries, and making chit chat with fellow beer geeks. 

This coming weekend, we're venturing to the 2014 Algona Beerfest. They've got a stellar lineup of Iowa and other Midwestern breweries, including:


If you're looking to join us in the yeast, love, and hoppiness this weekend, here are the details:


Let us know if you'll be attendance so we can meet up and bottoms up!



Get in touch if you'd like to meet 'n' drink or write a guest post!


10 Beer Must-Haves for Summer



Porch drinking weather is finally here! It's the season for road trips to breweries, beer festivals, and just enjoying the great outdoors with an ice cold brew. To celebrate summertime, I've rounded up ten must-have beer items to ensure hoptimum enjoyment during these fair weather months.

I gifted Greg with one of these for his birthday. (What a lucky guy!) These growlers resemble kegs, can be personalized with words and designs, and are – dare I say – downright adorable.

Dear Diary, Today I tasted the best IPA of my life... With all the tasty saisons, India pale ales, and shandies you'll be sipping on this summer, it's best to take note of your favorites. This little notebook is the perfect size for your June, July, and August sampling adventures.

Why choose a boring bottle opener when you can crack open a cold one with a real conversation piece? We think this fishy bottle opener would be especially suited for your fishing excursions. 

I dabble in html, but this blogger loves her beer. These glasses give new meaning to 'beer nerd' and are just too clever to pass up. 

Craving cascade hops during your work meeting? No need to wait until 5 o'clock. Pop a piece of tasty hop-flavored hard candy to tide you over until happy... er, hoppy hour.

I love love love beer soap. And while Swag Brewery's vanilla porter soap is my favorite, the apricot wheat was just made for summertime. Once you soap up with beer, you don't go back.

First of all, these are cool because they're recycled from beer bottles. Second of all, the distressed gold leafing is gorgeous. Beer o'clock has never been so fancy. Cheers!

This is the ultimate board game for beer lovers. Answer beer trivia questions. Blind taste samples of beer. It's fun and educational. You can adjust the game difficulty based on the three beers you pick for the blind taste tests. Brew newbies could do a lager, IPA, and porter. Beer snobs can up the challenge by choosing three similar IPAs or three similar porters. 

Bring some bar flavor into your kitchen or dining area with a cute beer themed print or poster. I especially dig this 'Good People Drink Good Beer' sign.

Last but certainly not least, make sure you're toting around your beer in style this summer. Ditch the flimsy cardboard six-pack carrier and carry around this handsome wooden tote instead. It even has a bottle opener on the side for ultimate convenience. 

What are you summertime beer essentials?



Get in touch if you'd like to meet 'n' drink or write a guest post!