Time to see if I have a green thumb. Last fall my wife and I decided that we should really get into gardening. Before the snow fell I built a simple box in our backyard and we planned on what we were going to grow. We decided on growing the majority of the ingredients of my homemade salsa plus a couple of other vegetables. So in about the next few weeks or whenever the night get warmer we will be planting and transplanting some tomatoes, sweet corn, hot peppers, bell peppers and cilantro. I am excited to get into this. I’ve always tried to shop at the farmers markets or my local Fresh and Natural Foods but it is so much easier and cheaper to get my vegetables at the chain stores. I am not a stickler at all when it comes to this, if I have to I have to but I try my best to buy organic, real organic, and try to stay away from Franken foods. But with Delia growing older and more aware of what we do I want to give her the best impression me as possible and also have her grow up in a family that doesn’t solely rely on fast food or bagged meals.

When I grew up, like other my age, my grandparents had a huge garden and they always made real home cooked meals. My mother did the same but when she took on a full time job her garden slowly went away and we started to eat strictly boxed meals or hot dogs. And this is sort of how I lived for about the next 15 years. My god did I eat bad, compared to now at least. When I moved out I think I lived on the dollar menu for about 5 years or other quick and cheap and fake foods.

When I met my future wife and my friend Zach moved in with me things began to slowly change. My wife at the time was a quasi-vegetarian so I picked that lifestyle up for about a year. I started to eat better but nothing was balanced, and I was also still in college so that left little time to focus on cooking. Then when my friend Zach moved in he inspired me to, one, start eating meat again and two, cook meals, like interesting meals not the run of the mill standards. Now, don’t get me wrong I am no chef and I really do not cook that often but I do enjoy my foods to be made, not heated if you get my drift.

These days my wife usually does the cooking and she does such a great job. I get home after her and there is almost always some new recipe she made up, some have stuck with us while others have not. I am the griller in the family so that is my duty but I am sort of a minimalist when it comes to that and I have yet to get away from the steak, burger, chicken or brats but I am planning on this summer to experiment more on more complex grilling techniques. Any suggestions feel free to let me know. And with the garden soon to be in effect I am really excited to break away from the chains of the supermarket and the questionable practices of the mass growers in the world.

So while we were tilling the garden and applying the new dirt and compost, which if any of you have the word on a cheap compost bin or a easy set up let me know, while we were doing this I decided on my break to enjoy a local home brewer brews. The Bearded Brewer is out of Minneapolis and has been brewing beer for about 3 years now. What caught my eye with him is his labels that he makes himself. They say you cannot judge a book by it’s cover but if the cover is dull then it more than likely will not catch the attention of people that are just browsing. We met at Town Hall so he could drop me off some of his new brews. We talked for a bit over a Raspberry Chocolate Milk Stout which was freaking awesome and we realized how similar our attitudes were about beer, the beer community and even our lives. I had a real nice time even if it was only a half hour.

The first one was the El Muerto which was one of his first beers he brewed and was a clone of Dead Guy Ale from Rouge. He tweaked the recipe since the first time and what came out was a very interesting beer. At first I was thrown off by the flavor. I t had a very unique combo of fruits and hops. I don’t want to say I was not impressed because I was, it just was very different. The hops lingered throughout and the flavor that I was thrown off by quickly adapted to my palate and by the time I was finished I wanted the other one. The aroma was very subtle, malty and hoppy but nothing that stuck around for too long. The body was light but chewy enough to make it bold. The appearance was very cloudy with unfiltered remnants floating around that added to the character. I have to say I liked this one but still think there need to be some more tweaking. Not sure what but just a bit more or less of something. I will leave that to the expert.

Next after the yard I had what was probably one the best beers I had in quite some time. The Gringo which is an imperialistic Mexican cerveza. This was the second time he has done this one and I am not sure how the first one turned out but this one was fan-freaking-tastic. He wanted to jump aboard the “imperial” bandwagon that we all seem to be on these days so he did something that others have not, at least not that I am aware of. He basically made a Mexican cerveza but hopped it up and added some Agave Nectar. Jesus H. Christ, I wish I had a case of this. Now we all know Corona, most of us hate it. I for one do not hate it but will never buy it but you have to admit that in 90 degrees it goes down pretty smooth with a lime. This is like a Corona but hoppy with a hint of bitter sweetness. It pours a transparent gold with big frothy head. The aroma is very crisp with citrus and sweet honey. The taste has a very sweet and hoppy feel to it but the Cerveza qualities come in at the end. To me this could be a style that helps a up and coming brewer take off. This beer could be a great starting point for those that have not crossed the MillerBudCoors line but still be special enough for the die hards to still enjoy. I implore the Bearded brewer to double his batch for next year.

El Muerto

B

The Gringo

A+