Guess who's back? Tell a friend.

I took last week off from ye olde blog. I was in Denver for the Craft Brewers Conference (for those who don't know, I work for the Columbus Brewing Company, a microbrewery). I went with three coworkers, plus another friend who happens to be in the industry. We had three days of seminars, meetings, and trade show browsing, and four nights free for eating and drinking.

How many trade shows have beer stations at which you can sample beer all the live long day?

Restaurants/bars that I was able to enjoy included:

• Yard House - huge beer list, yummy food; I had tacos which were fantastic and not just because I was super hungry
• Lucky Pie Pizza and Taphouse, where I discovered a love of sour beer and sampled Bacon Peanut Brittle and beer battered cheese curds as well as pizza, of course
• Falling Rock Taphouse (twice) 
• The Cruise Room at the Oxford Hotel, where they use fresh-squeezed juice for their cocktails, resulting in the best Greyhound I've ever had
• Illegal Pete's, which is like Chipotle in a dive bar setting. I like the flavors of Chipotle better, but Pete's takes that extra step of mixing up your burrito's ingredients before wrapping it.
• Little India - I got takeout from here one night when I decided not to go out and party. While waiting for my food I drank a stellar Moscow Mule. The food was also excellent.
• Euclid Hall, where the food was so good I can't even describe it. I had mussels for my entree, which were good but the side of fries with bacon aioli? Sweet Jesus, my mouth is watering just writing about it. We also shared appetizers including Shrimp and Grits Fritters, Carnitas Papas Fritas, and the Pickle Sampler. I could go on and on.

Note my fab flip flops, which I purchased at Walgreens for $6.99 due to blisters.

Friday night was the World Beer Cup gala. We didn't attend, but we had entered three beers. There were over 90 categories and over 2,000 total entries. We happened to be at Falling Rock, where they were showing the live stream of the awards on their TVs. Well, guess what? We won GOLD in the Imperial Red category!!

What a great way to end the trip!

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Technical difficulties prevented me from posting yesterday, but it was my grandma's 96th birthday. She's currently undergoing rehab/physical therapy after having what may have been a mini-stroke, and damn if she isn't stronger than ever. Last year I wrote a post about her; you can read that here.

Since today is Haikuesday, I give you this:

She's one tough cookie

Grandma Elmo's ninety-six

Those are some strong genes

Fleece From Head to Toe

That's how I'm staying warm during this cold snap. OK, "cold snap" is a major understatement. I know it's beyond cliché to talk about the weather since I'm pretty sure anyone reading this is also dealing with ridiculous temperatures and/or ridiculous snowfall. Yesterday afternoon there was a major water main break in downtown Columbus. Such a mess!

Last night Mike and Amy came over for dinner and football-watching. I hope y'all are sitting down because I cooked AGAIN. I made Gwendaloo, which is my bastardized version of the Indian dish vindaloo.

Amy made rice pudding with pomegranate, which was a delightful, not-too-sweet dessert. We sat in front of the gas fireplace (which is currently on during all waking hours) and watched the SEC lose the national championship. (Kidding, SEC friends, sorta.) Honestly, I didn't care that much who won; I just hoped for a good close game, and that's what we got. I even stayed awake till the end.

Today I'm joining my friend Steph for Haikuesday:

Kitties keep me warm
Laying on my legs all day
Fleece from head to toe


Stay warm and bring in those outdoor pets!