Sunday, January 13, 2008

What a BURP!




My annual Beer Utilization and Reduction Party (BURP) was definitely fun to host, and it appears to have been a lot of fun for the attendees. I had a good line-up of homebrew, and several guests brought homemade beer and wine and some delicious potluck items. We had some darn good food to chomp on, that's for sure!


Depending upon one's tastes, I had a wide range from which to choose. Alberta and Jackie Rager, who are the Midwest's premiere BJCP beer judges (and BJCP trainers), really liked my "Sherpa Porter" and "Event Horizon Barleywine." (Alberta is not a big fan of Belgians, but can appreciate them). It's nice to have a good review of my beers, especially by knowledgeable peers! I also let her and a few others sample my aged, 4-year-old Barleywine down in the NanoBrewery, and it was well-received.



Many wine drinkers enjoyed the Belgian offering and the Barleywine. For hop-heads, my Cascade dry-hopped "Sucker Punch IPA" was fresh and ready for a "teeth-scrapingly" fresh hops experience. (I had just kegged it the night before, and force-carbonated right after my morning run with the Trail Nerds).



For more pedestrian tastes, I had my "Plain Jane American Pale Ale" on hand, for a "maltier" and less excessive experience. Alberta and Jackie brought a homemade Gewurtztraminer wine and a "Cyser," just for fun. Debbie Webster brought some homemade margaritas, for those so inclined. A "Jayhops" homebrewer (Mark) brought some bottles of homebrew, and I got to sample (and spill) a very nice Milk Stout that he had artfully made.

One-half of the KC Beer Blog team made it to the party, and a couple of brewing friends that I haven't seen in a while were there, too. There was a lot going on, so I may have missed something. In fact, there was a whole bunch of folks I didn't talk to that were watching the KU basketball game. Some of them came and left without me seeing them, I'm sure.


After the majority of the guests left, about six of us repaired to the great room to discuss and solve all of the world's problems. The last guest left at about 2 a.m., which (I assume) is the mark of a successful event. Once again, I ended up with more varieties of beer in the house than I started with, so I'll be looking for some "reductional help" yet again, soon.



Cheers and Happy Trails,

Bad Ben

4 comments:

Breeves2000 said...

Ah man... sounds like a great time was had by all. Sorry I couldn't partake in the festivities this time. Perhaps next year if it's closely timed to coincide with Psycho Wyco. Allison and I will both be there then!
Where's the incriminating pictures of James?

Ben, aka BadBen said...

James was the last one to leave. He had a good time. No incriminating photos of people at this party...I just took pictures of the beer.

Brian said...

Sounds like a great event...I say that as I eyeball my closet full of cases of beer..hmmmm

Just popping in to say I really enjoy your blog and to ask if you have done any trail running and/or biking in the pacific northwest..my old stomping grounds.
Cheers!

Ben, aka BadBen said...

Brian,
I run a lot in the Pacific Northwest. If you read my other blog, I did a 50-Mile and a 100-Mile trail run in the PacNW, for the past 2 years. I'll be running on trails this year in the PacNW...here's my schedule:
Seattle next week; Vancouver B.C. in mid-July; Portland and Mt Hood in late July; Western Washington in early August; Cascade Mountains of Washington State in late August.

Happy trails,
Bad Ben