Keg beer or bottle beer?

The big debate..which tastes better, keg or bottle beer? Until recently, I didn't even think there was any difference in taste between keg beer and bottle beer. I guess that was before I really started liking beer. My husband had tried telling me for years that keg beer tastes different than the same bottled beer..I always thought he was just crazy..Why would the same beer taste different out of a keg than in a bottle! Well, I know now!

After comparing the same beers from a keg/bottle, I do actually taste the difference. Now I prefer keg beer over bottle beer! Now, whenever we go out to a restaurant or bar, the first thing I ask is 'What's on TAP'! And I've even been guilty of picking a place to go based on what they have on tap - I know, it's sad when the only reason you go out is to get a good BEER! Who cares about the food! Well, that's not totally true..the food is somewhat important!

So if you haven't already tried keg beer, give it a whirl..you just might find it to be tastier than the bottle! Once you get hooked like I did, you may even buy yourself a Kegerator -- a MUST have for the keg beer lover! To be continued...

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a green beer!

In honor of St. Paddy's Day I thought I would share a quick recipe for green beer. All you do is, take a yellow beer and add blue food coloring...the lighter the beer the less food coloring you will need. It's just that simple! If you are the type of person who cringes at the idea of tampering with already perfect beer, just grab a nice Irish Guinness or just a beer that comes in a green bottle and celebrate the day!

Time for wine

Since I've already posted a beer review, I thought it only fitting to write my first wine post. And for my first, I thought what better wine to write about other those from Hazlitt Vinyeards. If I hadn't asked for a recommendation in the local wine store a few years ago, I would have been missing out all these years.

First and foremost, there is the one, the only Hazlitt Red Cat. It's a semi-sweet, fruity red wine that goes well with just about everything in my opinion. As you can probably tell it's a favorite of mine. If you've ever seen the bottle, the label says it all - a cat sitting in a hot tub drinking a glass of wine -what more could you want from a bottle of wine!

Next would be Hazlitt's Cabin Fever. It's a semi-sweet blush table wine similar to white zinfandel. It's not as sweet as the Red Cat but very good. It also goes well with just about everything. I've also tried Hazlitt's White Cat - a semi-sweet white wine that has a ripe grape taste. Out of the three, Red Cat and Cabin Fever are two of my favorites. I haven't quite found a white wine that I really enjoy yet. But I'm still tasting to find it because I know it's out there.

My thoughts on pomegranate raspberry beer

Okay, here goes my first real post! So last night I tried a Michelob Ultra Pomegranate Raspberry beer. Well, all I can say its not for me. I'm not sure if it even had any beer in it at all. Granted, I didn't have the entire bottle, I just had a sample but that was enough for me. On a previous occasion I had tried the lime cactus flavor and I should have known from that experience that this one would probably strike me the same way. I guess they are okay if you are looking for something with little, to no beer taste and prefer a fruity tasting beverage. Maybe I'll give it another try but this time, frozen on a hot summer day or maybe try to make my own version.

Welcome

Welcome to Stem & Stein, my very first blog. I started this blog to celebrate my enjoyment of wine and beer. I know it's sad isn't it! But seriously, I needed a subject I knew a little bit about and that was the first thing that came to mind! I'm by no means an expert on this subject, considering I just recently starting trying wine and have not been a beer person for that long. But the more varieties I try the more I find I like. I'm not quite sure how all this works, so I guess I'll be learning as I go. Along with the obvious wine and beer talk, I'll probably include some cooking stuff also. So bear with me as I learn how to do this and hopefully it will be fun, entertaining and maybe even a little informational!