The reason Alworth was able to (and needed to) put out a second edition of The Beer Bible, centers around the fact that beer is always evolving. Furthermore, as Alworth stated, “beer is an emotional product” not only in the way we partake in our favorite brews with friends and family in celebration, but also in its production.

I don’t think finding a specific reason to gather really matters, but if you need one, it’s because we missed each other. And frankly, because it’s fun!

I cannot stress enough the benefits of drinking your brew of choice from a glass. The next question is: Which glass? To be honest, I’ve read a lot about this and it’s not always an easy answer.

With fall around the corner, we revisited Mac’s favorite beer to use in our recipe, the brown ale. I choose Boojum’s Balsam Brown Ale to add to replace the liquids in our dough as I do not like overly hopping beers in bread. I chose Bell’s Best Brown Ale to pair with the baked bread to contrast the flavors a bit.

I started watching Martha Stewart Living with my mother (another creative inspiration of mine) when the show first came out. I was around 10 or 11. We would look forward to each new episode. I would grin with delight every time she’d finish a project and say “It’s a good thing.”

Maybe it’s the German girl in me, but there is nothing like those soft pretzels, perfectly crisp on the outside, and a tall, cold Maisel’s. Luckily our friends that still own the Rathskeller always keep Maisel’s in stock.

If you have not had the pleasure of trying Maisel’s Weisse you MUST, especially if you like hefeweizens.

Here’s the thing about me: the more I learn, the more I realize that I don’t know. So, as it turns out, it’s like that with relationships as well -- the more amazing people I connect with, the more I realize the world is FULL of incredible people that I haven’t met yet.

How do I meet them? What should I say? How do we connect?

I don’t know that I would call myself a “foodie,” but maybe I am. It is thrilling to me to try special and or novel foods and beverages. When it comes to beer, I want to experience it fully. As with everything, moderation is important, so striving to experience food or drink with as many of your senses as possible is key in fully savoring whatever it is that you are treating yourself to. This is how I try to experience a craft beer, and I would encourage you to do the same!

In emotionally heavy times, I see the comfort in rich food and drink. The bakery cookies were large with big chocolate chunks.

I have been guilty of drinking my beer directly from the bottle or can for years. Often it was out of convenience. This summer, I made the switch to pouring my beers into a glass whenever possible -- I can admit when I’ve been wrong, and BOY have I been wrong! Making the effort to drink my beer from a glass has changed my life!

I loved hearing about my Irish and Scottish family history and in high school I would often research both just for fun.