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Dec 1st, Stockyard Oatmeal Stout

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Wow, we are starting off strong for this years beer calendar with a Stockyard Oatmeal Stout from JosephBrau Brewing Co., San Jose, CA. 5.2% alc. by vol.

The label says:
A deliciously creamy stout in the Irish tradition – with its rich tan head intact, this deep and dark-colored beer has the aroma and flavor of chocolate, roasted oats, and coffee – all derived from the specialty malts used in the brewing process.

It has a lot of flavors which is nice, but it is a little too fuzzy for my taste. Overall a good beer, and I give it 4 out of 5!

Super excited for the beers to come!

6th Annual Beer Calendar

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Tonight was the night to exchange the beers for the Advent Beer Calendar.
Here’s how the beer calendar works; (works best if you are 6 or more people who are in on it)
Everyone buy 4 six packs or beer each, plus an optional Christmas Day beer for yourself. Holiday Editions, rare beers, beers from a country you’ve never heard of, beers you’ve never seen before, beers you have seen many times but have never had a chance to try, beers you think are the best beer you’ve ever tasted and are pretty certain not a lot of people know about etc are encouraged to buy. 
Once everyone bought their 4 six pack of beers (24 beers) plus your optional bonus beer, you wrap them all in tin foil. Try not to mix your beers, keep the six packs separated. Set a date and time that works for everyone when you can exchange the beers.
We use a deck of cards to determine who got to pick their beer first. Everyone got to pick a card and the lowest card get to pick their beer first. Once everyone have their first beer, we draw a new card from the deck.
When we have collected all 24 beers for our calendar we wait patiently until December 1st when we get to open the first beer, and then one beer a day everyday until Christmas Day! Fun!


Adamson House

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We started the day with breakfast at Gjelinas and coffee at Intelligentsia in Venice.
We then drove back up the coast to Neptune’s Net to check out the bikers. It was a little on the colder side today so there wasn’t as many bikes as usual.

We stopped by the historic Adamson House on the way home; one of the first houses in Malibu.

Pacific Coast Highway

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We headed back to Los Angeles today, but stopped by Martin’s studio first to see where all the magic happens.
We took PCH down and the scenery was amazing! I didn’t really know it was gonna take us 12 hours to drive though… I think PCH is totally worth the ride, but I would do it over two or three days if I were to do it again, everything in one stretch is a little to much.

Alcatraz

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We woke up bright and early to a sunny San Francisco and headed out to the wharf for breakfast.
After the breakfast we took the shirt ferry ride over to Alcatraz

The Bay Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge
Our destination, Alcatraz!

 Mom and Dad ready for some sightseeing!

I’ve been to Alcatraz before a few years ago, but I think it’s really cool and a little creepy and think it’s worth going every few years.

The audio tour is really interesting and you need at least a couple of hours on the island to be able to see everything.

We came back to the city around noon, just in time for lunch. But we had time to walk by the Sea Lion wharf; apparently they just showed up one day after an earthquake and then just decided to stay.

Lombard Street, a funky steep street in the middle of the city. 

Thanksgiving in San Francisco

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I woke up my parents at 4am this morning so we could drive up to San Francisco and don’t hit the holiday traffic. They didn’t come to America to sleep anyway, right?
We made it up to San Francisco before 11am and the first stop was the Golden Gate Bridge.

A view over Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge and San Francisco.

After our sightseeing we headed over to friends to celebrate thanksgiving. They wanted to see my parents new house, so mom had a tour on the phone.

Thanksgiving – not a big deal for me as I did not grow up with it, but for some it is, having excel sheet of who is doing what and recipes are important! All color coded off course.

Turkey is baked and ready to be carved!

The mash is always by favorite at a Thanksgiving dinner, I am a sucker for potatoes.
Coffee after dinner. Wait, someone put an octopus in my cup!

Parents in Town

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My parents are visiting for a week, so excited to see them, they are always a big laugh!

Parents in Town

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My parents are visiting for a week, so excited to see them, they are always a big laugh!

Big Bear

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Big Bear just open up, conditions were not awesome, but it’s nice to stand on some snow!

I dropped my phone on the pavement and cracked the screen, I think it’s time to get the iPhone 5 now.

Categories ski

Homemade Glögg

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I decided to make my own Glögg this year and found an awesome recipe here.
5 liters (10 pints) dark beer

2 kg (4.5 lb) sugar
6 large potatoes
7-8 dried figs
1 orange
500 g (1 lb) raisins
1 cinnamon stick
1 large fresh ginger 
500 g (1 lb) muscovado sugar
15 g (0.5oz) Cloves
15 g (0.5oz) Cardemum
1 vanilla bean
2 fresh hot chilies
3 pieces of Bitter Orange
50 g fresh yeast


I did not have all of this so I altered a little, like used brown sugar instead of muscovado sugar, currants instead of raisins, used dry yeast and ditched the bitter orange all together.
Mix everything together in a big pot, cover and let sit for 3-6 weeks.