Octoberfest is here!!

Today I'm featuring 6 great Octoberfest beers that can be found on tap at The Vine, located in downtown Grayslake.  It's a great local hang out and known for their extensive wine and martini list.  But they also have the best selection of Octoberfest beers in Lake County hands down!  No where else are you going to find these fabulous beer in one place.  They also feature beer flights, where you get 4 beers on tap of your choice and are served in 5oz. tasting glasses for $8.00.  Do the math here people, that 20oz. for 8 bucks!!

So lets get started!!

Summit Octoberfest

Summit Brewing Company

St. Paul, MN

This beer tasted of rich toffee malts and finishes with a crisp clean hop note and is brewed in the traditional Marzen style with Northern Brewer hops from Germany.  Try pairing with a cheese platter, wild game, turkey and spicy food.  (The Antipasto Platter or the Italian Turkey Burger from the Vine's menu.)

5.7% ABV
Seasonal

New Belgium Hoptober Golden Ale

New Belgium Brewing Company

Fort Collins, CO

This is a brand new seasonal beer for the New Belgium Brewing Company!  This complex brew has five different hops and four malts that make Hoptober Golden Ale Mother Nature it's bitch.  Combined are pale and wheat malt with rye and oats that create a medium bodied ale giving you a creamy mouthful of goodness.

6.0% ABV
Seasonal

Sam Adams Octoberfest

Boston Beer Company

Boston, MA

From the rich reddish amber hue to the blend of five roasts malts, the Sam Adams Octoberfest is the Granddaddy of the Octoberfest brews in my book.  If first hits your tongue sweet with hints of toffee and caramel and leaves bitter by the Bavarian Noble hops.  I love, love, love this beer!!  Would go great with a classic German sausage or bratwurst.  (Try pairing with the Smokeshouse Pasta.)

5.30% ABV
Seasonal

Capital Autumnal Fire

Capital Brewery

Middleton, WI

This highly anticipated Dopplebock has received five gold medal from the Beverage Testing Institutes's prestigious World Beer Championship.   And no wonder why, this is a full-bodied brew and deep amber bronze in color & more known for it's sweet maltiness and undertones of toasted toffee.  Greatly paired with ribs or rich desserts.  (Perhaps the Tower Chocolate Cake on the Vine's dessert menu.)

7.80% ABV
Seasonal

Breckenridge Autumn Ale

Breckenridge Brewery

Denver, CO

The Autumn Ale is quite different from all the other Octoberfests featured on the Vine menu this season.  This brew combines a German lager and American Ale, calling it an Old Ale.  Breckenridge combines of the maltiness of a German lager with crispness of an American Ale by brewing Munich malts and Bavarian hops.  It full bodies, browns dark brown and tastes of nutty-sweet with hints of toasted grain.  Pair with a nice hearty soup, stew or even chili.

6.7% ABV
Seasonal

Shiner Oktoberfest

Spoetzl Brewery

Shiner, TX

The Shiner Oktoberfest is made with Two_Row Barley, Munich and Caramel malts combined with German Grown Hallertau Traditional & Hersbrucker hops.  It features a deep amber color and smells rich and malty.   And this beer is definitely bitter sweet finishing dry and hoppy.  Best paired with hearty meaty dishes, seafood or creamy pasta dishes.  (I would pair this with the Smokehouse Pasta served at the Vine daily!)

5.7% ABV
Seasonal






Come on down to The Vine tonight and try all 6!!


The Vine
101 Center Street
Grayslake, IL 60030
(847) 543-0900




Let's eat, drink and enjoy!


And as always please drink responsibly! 

In collaboration with:
What's Bubby Cooking Today


Bubby is taking the next few days off to move but before she left she gave us a recipe for one of her favorites soups, Chicken Enchilada Soup.  And with the cold weather vastly approaching I can definitely say that a nice warm hearty soup is exactly what I need right about now!
Now you might be thinking to yourself... "what kind of beer goes with soup?"
Well I'll tell you, Dry Stouts or Porters make a perfect combination to any hearty soup or even gravy dishes, not to mention that stouts are great in aiding in digestion.  And though I will be the first to admit that I'm not the biggest fan of stouts or porters I did try a stout a while back that I actually enjoyed.

Today's Brew....  Three Feet Deep

by Furthermore Beer

Spring Green, WI

Three Feet Deep is a interpretation of an Dry Irish Stout and as Furthermore puts it Three Feet Deep is a "Stout with a hint of the Old Country".  Three Feet Deep pours an nice opaque black with a halo of thick creamy brown foam.  Right of the nose you get the malt with a hint of smoke.  It's creamy your palate, you get the strong taste of the smoked peat followed by dark roasted caramel and pepper.  You can also use this stout for cooking in soups!

ABV: 5.50%

Available Year Round

BA Score: B

Where to find:  Wisconsin, Minnesota and Pennsylvania

Eat, Drink and Enjoy!

And as always please drink responsibly!

Shrimp, Ancho Chile & Garlic... with Three Floyds Pride & Joy... Oh my!

In colabarartion with:

What's Bubby Cooking Today?

Okay so today on What's Buddy Cooking Today Bubby featured Sauteed Shrimp with Ancho Chiles and Garlic by Susan Feniger.  The dish itself is already pretty complex on one's palate with the ancho chiles and the garlic, the peppers aren't spicy but more like a kicked up green bell pepper but the recipe calls for a lot of garlic which, depending on the quality of the garlic, could make the dish a bit spicy.  So I'm going to recommend an American Pale Ale (APA) or Mild Ale that we recently put on tap at my work and that I've tried...

Three Floyds 

Pride & Joy

Mild Ale

This beer is perfect for this dish!  Any Indian Pale Ale (IPA) or American Pale Ale (APA) would go great with Bubby's dish but the reason why I choose this beer is because it's a period beer, meaning it's not  high in alcohol content like most IPAs. You can have one Pride & Joy with you dinner and then have 2 or 3 for dessert!  Now on to the details, this beer pours a nice golden orange color with a clear body and has about 1 to 2 fingers of head.  It hits your nose with citrus fruits and hops and lashes the tongue with hints of grapefruit, orange and a hint of caramel sweetness and finishes with a light bread flavor.  Finally it leaves your mouth with the maltiness expected of any pale ale and leaves you wanting more!

And if you want to try this beer stop by my work, we have it on tap!

The Vine of Grayslake

101 Center Street

Grayslake, IL 60030

(847) 543-0900

ABV:  5.0%

Available Year Round

BA Score:  B+

I hope you've enjoyed today's blog.  Now let's eat, drink and enjoy!

And as always please drink responsibly!

Fried Shrimp Po' Boy and Ponchartrain Pilsner

In collaboration with:
What's Bubby Cooking Today?

Today's featured dish on 'What's Bubby Cooking Today?' is Fried Shrimp Po' Boy by Bubby's #4 fav Chef, John Besh.  And to go with that dish I've chosen to stay with theme of the dish and go with a beer that's from the Louisiana.

Today's brew...  Ponchartrain Pilsner/German Pilsner  

Refreshing as a gentle lake breeze...

by Covington Brewhouse in Louisiana

What a better choice than a pilsner to go with fried shellfish!  This Pilsner features a hazy yellow color and is heavily carbonated!  It's nose is delicate and light of barley malt with the typical roasted barely malt palate and very easy on the hops.  It finishes clean and crisp and leaves your mouth light and watery.

Though similar to most Pilsners and could be compared to Miller Lite this beer is actually a more complex on your palette and is hands down perfect for your Friday Fish Fry.

ABV:  ?

Available year round

BA Score:  B

Eat, Drink and Enjoy!

And as always please drink responsibly!