Fall beverages - a continually updated list

Every year, at the end of August, I start to see seasonal fall beers and ciders appear on the shelves, which gets me very excited for the change in seasons!  I love all of that pumpkin shit, Oktoberfest, apple, spice, all that shit.

I decided that I should keep track of the ones that I have sampled, so I have a record to consult next year.

Pumpkick - New Belgium - lovely and refreshing - lighter than most, hoppier than most.  Slight pumpkin and cranberry flavors.  Very drinkable and flavorful.

Pumpking - Southern Tier - intense. Not exactly "drinkable" at 8.6 ABV.  But big pumpkin flavor - the pumpkiniest of pumpkin beers.  Graham cracker, malty, pumpkin bread, spice. A small glass is very nice to sip, although this year's batch seemed overly spiced.

Oktoberfest - Great Lakes - a seasonal favorite, very flavorful, rich but drinkable.  Hops and malt, slight, pleasant sweetness.

Ace Pumpkin Cider - California Cider Company - surprisingly tasty! Didn't know what to expect, but I could drink about 5 of these easy. Cidery sweet, but nice tartness and pumpkin flavor, rounded out with the allspice.  A perfect fall sip, not too complex, so drinkable.

Oktoberfest - Sam Adams - I would definitely order this over any other mass-produced beer at a bar, by a LONG shot.  'Tis more than acceptable - tasty and refreshing and that's all I remember about it.

Jacques au Lanterne - Evolution Brewing Company - A nicely spiced, not-too-pumpkiny Saison style beer.  So very tasty.  Big foamy head, lovely amber color, slightly sweet, hoppy.  Delicious!  Had it on tap at a Belgian restaurant.

Special Harvest Ale - Southern Tier - A good beer, nothing really incredibly "special" about it.  It's hoppy like a pale ale, but also malty/roasty.  Complex, and good, but I probably wouldn't buy it again because it just wasn't very exciting.

Emily's bridal shower

One stressor in my life has been conquered:  Emily's bridal shower was a great success!  We celebrated at Blue Duck Tavern around a long, beautiful table.  The food was all delicious, and everyone had lots of fun.  Food highlights included:  pickled watermelon arugula salad, heirloom tomato goat cheese salad, crab cakes, spare rib hash, cantaloupe sorbet, dense MFing chocolate cake.

A rare picture of John and I together was also captured at this event (see above).

This made me want to go back to BDT ASAP!!  We will bring Eleanor along for some duck fat fries and hashes.

For dinner that evening, I met up with Emily and three of her college roommates at Birch and Barley.  We had a lovely (small, on account of brunch) dinner to prepare Emily for a rough night of drankin'.  Afterwards, I went home to Eleanor and my mom, who was graciously babysitting, and looked forward to crazy pictures of Emily's bachelorette night the next day.

They did not disappoint. 

PS - isn't John's beard majestic?

Reading list for the fall

There are a good number of books that I'd like to read this fall, and if I don't write them all down, I am going to forget them!

First off, books that I've read recently -

Tenth of December, George Saunders - recommend. Smart satire, political/cultural commentary, some really beautiful imagery and wordsmithing. Witty.  A lot of the stories start to seem the same, but they are all good.  Did I mention this is a book of short stories.  Well it is.

The Lost:  The Search for Six in Six Million, Daniel Mendelsohn - wouldn't recommend to everyone. Long and wordy, but interesting.  I kind of feel like I just have to finish it now that I have made it as far as I have.  Did I mention it is really fucking long and dense. YASS, it is.
  

TO READ:

Subtle Bodies, Norman Rush
Bleeding Edge, Thomas Pynchon
Year Zero, Ian Buruma
The Circle, Dave Eggers
The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt
A Naked Singularity, Sergio De La Pava
The Interestings, Meg Wolitzer
Skippy Dies, Paul Murray

I will have to send this list to my mom to see what she thinks!  I've started Skippy Dies, so I really should start with that one...but the new ones are calling to me.  I think I might start with Subtle Bodies.

Update:  My mom is in favor of all of these, except for the Thomas Pynchon.  She said "I cannot do Pynchon".  WELL THEN!  I will have to procure that one for myself!