Craft Beer Summer Party

Yesterday was a pretty cool day. Earlier in the month I got an invite from Mike - who did the beer tasting for Matt's 30th birthday a few months ago - to attend his 2nd annual New Jersey Craft Beer summer party.

We are always game to hang out with craft beer connoisseurs, so were looking forward to meeting new people and tasting some new brews. We ended up having some insane thunderstorms in the early afternoon, but Mike said the party was still on so we braved the giant road puddles and made our way up.

There were plenty of snacks and interesting beers to choose from, along with a bunch of "shareable" beers people brought for everyone to taste. I picked up an Epic Sour Apple Saison and a Great Divide 18th Anniversary Double IPA to share; both were decent, but the Great Divide was really unique. It's aged on oak chips, and while it isn't aggressively hoppy like other IPAs I love, it's smooth, mellow and drinkable, and has a mild hint of vanilla.

Some of the other party goers were beer brewers, so Matt had a great time chatting them up and tasting their beers.  When we arrived, I spotted Heather right away, who also helped with Matt's birthday beer tasting. The last time we met we didn't have much time to chat, so I was happy to get a chance to know her better.

I tried several new beers, but one of the most unique was the Dogfish Head Wrath of Pecant, which is brewed with plantains and carob. I loved this beer.

I also had a tiny sip o fthe Ghost Face Killah, which is made with habanero peppers. It was honestly way too much. It's good for shock value, but one tiny sip sets your whole mouth afire. Not pleasant!

All in all it was a fantastic afternoon with great people. So glad we braved the rain to join the party! 

We arrived back home around 6:00 to spend the rest of the evening with a few of our friends while watching the Olympics. Did anyone else catch Michael Phelps' performance last night? Not impressive. Ah well, I guess you deserve a break once you have 14 gold medals. But enough with swimming, off to watch gymnastics!