I love October!!

Happy Birthday to my sister, my two Aunts (a little late and a little early) and my mother in law(way early). October is always full of fun stuff, family gatherings and outings, football and beer. This is probably why I like October so much. Since it is one of my favorite months, and I have been teasing you for almost two weeks with it, here is the low-down on the way to win a free HBG t-shirt (and other random goodies).

Here we go! Do you like to take pictures? (Of course you do!!) Do you like beer (duh!)? Well, not that I am trying to become a creepy stalker or anything, I want to see your pictures of beer, with you in them. I want you to send me your best, most creative, funniest, coolest pictures of you and your beer. Show me who reads, and how much you love beer. For example, this would be a bad picture to send me:

Because it is just beer on a bar, okay for writing about but bad for winning contests. This one is a little closer, because there is a person in it (and my awesome sticker)…

Now try to combine them in a fun way… Be creative! You can email me your pictures, or post them on my Facebook page, here http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Hoppy-Beer-Girl/216744681682462 or you can click the “Like” button on the side of the page. If you don’t have Facebook, email your pictures to me at sarah@hoppybeergirl.com and I will add them to the contest album on Facebook.

What do you get if you win?? Well the first place winner gets a free Hoppy Beer Girl t-shirt and some random other free stuff. Second place, mostly random beer stuff including but not limited to beer cozies and Frisbees. Third place, well you will get something, but I am not sure yet.

So, you have three weeks to send in your pictures, I will include them along the way on the blog, and you can throw in your vote on Facebook by liking the pictures you like. Submissions will end October 28th, and the winner should be announced on October 31st. I will be putting together a non-expert judging panel to pick the winners. You MUST be 21 or over to send in pictures.

Got any questions? Let me know, sarah@hoppybeergirl.com

In other news, Beer night this weekend is up in the air as I am having a second cortisone shot and am not sure I will be up for beer. If there is, I will do another post this weekend, if there isn’t please accept my apology in advance.

Have a great Friday and please enjoy this video

It's Tuesday again...

So, I had a cortisone shot in my foot last Thursday, which threw me off my game a little bit... I got behind on homework and housework, which lead me to fall behind on my blog... I know those 2 days were just killing you with anticipation. Have no fear, I am here now.

We had several very tasty beers this weekend, but sadly I cannot post the pictures for you today. That shouldn't detract from the deliciousness that I will talk about now.

The first beer we had was Weltenburger Urtyp Hell, which my sister so nicely bought for Blake for his birthday. I thought that this had a very clean taste, with a light yeast flavor followed quickly by a bit of hops. This was clearly meant to be a session beer since the taste was so light, and so was the color (insert picture here). Blake was rather congested so he said he couldn't taste anything... I don't imagine you will have the same issue if you are not congested. I liked it a lot.

The second beer we had was Ayinger's Oktoberfest-Marzen. This was a darker, roastier looking beer, like one would hope for in an Oktoberfest beer. I was shocked at how sweet it was. Most Oktoberfest beers are sweet, and flavorful, but still remain fairly balanced in taste so you can drink a lot of them, because let's face it, that is the point of Oktoberfest. This was one that I wouldn't have been able to drink a lot of. I would like to thank my mother in law for the gift of the beer, it was a good one to try, but not one I would go seeking.

Next up, Dogfish Head's Sahtea. I have been eyeing this beer for months! Blake bought it for me a few months ago, and it has been sitting there, waiting to be opened. I finally got up the nerve to crack it open. The first thing that hit me was the smell! It smelled so good! Delicious Juniper, woodsy, Chai smells that make you want to drink the beer right away. I thought that the taste was phenomenal, you can taste every bit of juniper, rye and chai put in the beer. However, it gets sweet and overwhelming after a while. I was barely able to finish my glass of it... I thought that the attempt at improving Sahti, the traditional Finnish beer was a good attempt, but it was a little too much. Normally I love what Dogfish Head does with their "Off-centered" beers, but this one was just too sweet and overwhelming to have a lot of. If I buy it again it will be because I have company and there will be small glasses passed out. Now if I can get some traditional Sahti, that would be something to try....

In other news, has anyone seen the winners from the Great American Beer Festival in Portland?? Well I have the list right here!It is giving me a long list of beers I want to try, and also validating my choice of some favorite beers that I already have tried (and some I am hoarding). Have you had any beers that won? I would love to hear about them.

My next post will outline the upcoming contest, in which I will give away a totally awesome and original Hoppy Beer Girl t-shirt, so keep an eye out for that! Did you miss what the t-shirts look like? Check out my super sexy model!