Celebrity sighting for beer nerds

Erin and I had a nice surprise a few weeks ago. We were at Whole Foods beer school, which has kind of become a regular thing for us, when happened to notice that Garrett Oliver was going to be in town for the Craft Brewers Conference and he was hosting a dinner in the Whole Foods kitchen. In case you don't know, Mr. Oliver is the brewmaster at the Brooklyn Brewery and the author of a pretty amazing book entitled The Brewmaster's Table. Obviously once we were done peeing our collective pants due to the excitement we immediately signed up.

This dinner absolutely blew away any and all expectations. First of all, there were only about thirty people there, so it was a really small, intimate crowd. Also, not only did Garrett drop some knowledge on us about beer/food pairings, but he actually did the cooking himself. We were treated to a three course meal consisting of crab cakes, deliciously juicy hamburgers (to which he added an absurd amount of butter), and lamb chops. Each course was paired with a unique Brooklyn Brew.

The first beer was Local 1, a Belgian style ale. We both agreed this was our favorite brew of the night. Then we had their IPA, which was balanced with great spice flavor. Their Lager was our third offering, and it is the beer they are best known for. Finally, their Brown Ale tasted good... from what I can remember!

This picture is pretty significant. Erin decided in 8th grade that she was done eating red meat, and hadn't ever looked back. Yet when we gave up meat for Lent this year, she started feeling the urge to try beef again. This dinner was about a week after Easter, and was the perfect opportunity to get back on the bandwagon. She ate the entire (well done) burger, and was surprisingly delighted!

After the dinner, Brooklyn Brewery treated us to more of their offerings at the bar downstairs. It was a fun chance to chat with other beer geeks, and we even got to spend a few minutes talking to Garrett!

Laura and Dan's Wedding in Denver

Last weekend my sister Laura got married in Denver. Her and her husband Dan are so cute together, and it was so fun to come together to celebrate their marriage! It was a weekend full of eating, drinking, and catching up with friends and family. It was hard to limit this post to 13 pictures (we took over 150), but I tried to pick my favorites!

We got to town on Thursday morning, so I could help Laura celebrate her bachelorette party on Thursday night. We started with dinner at Lime in Larimer Square. There was a magician and a blow job shot, and we laughed A LOT. Then we went to a few other bars in the area, laughing, dancing, and just generally having a good time. She has such fun girlfriends, and we had a blast commemorating Laura's last night of freedom :)


Friday was the rehearsal, and it went so smoothly. Then we had some time to kill, so we went to Vine Street pub to get some good Colorado beer. They had a blackberry wheat brew that was to die for! It was a nice chance to just hang out with a smaller group before the crazy partying started.

This is my parents at the rehearsal dinner. Aren't they cute? Dan's parents did an excellent job hosting this party, with great food and drinks. Laura and Dan provided a bunch of homebrews that they'd been saving for the occasion, and the beer was great!

Saturday was when the real party started. We took pictures before the ceremony, and the beautiful Colorado sunshine did not disappoint. The blue and yellow combination looked fantastic, and I'm sure the professional pictures are going to turn out great.

Laura & Brendan having some fun!

Colleen and I waiting for for the ceremony to start.

It was so special to have our grandparents there for the celebration! There was a great representation from both sides of our family and from Dan's family as well. We had a great time catching up with each other!

Finally, it was time for the ceremony to begin. It was a beautiful celebration, and I think the minister did a great job. The weather stayed warm enough to be bearable, and I only slightly lost feeling in my toes thanks to my lovely new shoes. Haha! Seriously, the ceremony was a wonderful testament to Laura and Dan's relationship, and there were plenty of teary eyes in the house.

Then it was time to party! The food was great... so tasty that I was almost too full for cake! Wine and beer were free flowing, and people managed to laugh at all the right places when I gave my toast. The dance floor was pretty much jammed full until the end of the night. I've seriously never seen so many people dancing at a wedding!

Laura & Dan cutting the cake. I did manage a few bites at the end of the night, and it was excellent!

Father Daughter Dance

See? Seriously packed dance floor!

The beautiful bride

I wish I could tell you that this picture was the end of the night. But it was the end of the reception, which is different. Then we went to the hotel bar, then a tavern down the street. Suffice it to say we had a fantastically fun night!