Meiby Goes to a Party

My mom had a big party this weekend. It was her 30th birthday! I got to meet lots of friends. Here I am watching for fallen snacks.

My Aunt Missy had a good time too.

Here I am hanging out with the ladies.

I was so sleepy by the end of the night. Did I drink too many of these?

Now where did that cake go?

Dark Lord Day

My friends and me at Three Floyds Brewery on Saturday:


Three Floyds brews a Russian Imperial Stout called "Dark Lord" and it is only available one day a year. This day has turned into a full on festival with guest brews and bands, etc. This past Saturday was my third DLD... had a lot of fun but didn't "over do" it this time ;) The weather was interesting: beautiful to hot to muggy to rainy to windy to suddenly quite cold (that's Indiana for you) at which point a lot of people left or went inside to the cramped space where the bands were playing. We didn't stay much longer after that... I think maybe next year I'll try to get there earlier.

Birthday Beers

I had a birthday party this weekend and everyone brought me tasty beer! I'm looking forward to trying it all and properly tasting and reviewing it. Here's what's on the list:





Unibroue Trois Pistoles
Dogfish Head Pangaea
Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout
Three Floyds Black Sun Stout
Wells Banana Bread Beer
Sprecher Mamma Mia Pizza Beer
New Holland Oak Aged Dragons Milk

... and next weekend: Dark Lord Day!

Beer Bread

The last time I made beer bread it came out with the consistency of a wet brick. It was extremely heavy and dense but squishy in the middle. Not good. So this time I thought I'd try this whole wheat beer bread recipe. It was much better, though still not the best beer bread I've had. I added a bunch of spices to it (pepper, chili powder, garlic salt) and sprinkled cheese on the top during the last 20 min of baking (thereby making it not vegan anymore... but you could use fake cheese too I would imagine.)



I used a bottle of Red Stripe which is maybe not the best beer bread beer but it's all we had. It turned out a bit dry and crumbly but went really well with the chili I made for dinner. I think it might be better with half white flour, half wheat...

Tonight I'm making Lentil Veggie "Meat"loaf so watch for a post about that...

Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale and Cowboy Jack's Beer Bread

We acquired a six-pack of Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale this weekend. I haven't tasted it for a proper review yet but it's a Michelob product so I'm not expecting much. However, I thought it would make a good addition to some beer bread so I whipped some up last night to go with dinner. I used this recipe because it was simple, quick, used few ingredients. It had mixed reviews but I figured I'd give it a try. I have to say I'm not impressed. I've made beer bread several times before (this recipe is good) and it's always come out really tasty and moist (it's one of my husband's favorite foods.) This time it was super dense, dry and rock hard. I added some chopped walnuts and I think that was a good idea(compliments the pumpkin spice and brown sugar flavors) but I'll have to try it with a different base recipe next time because this one was awful. Anyone have any good beer bread recommendations?

Chocolate Stout Cake

I made this months ago and it's amazing and happens to be vegan. I wanted to post it here so that I don't lose it and so that others can share in the awesomeness. I got this recipe from someone on Ravelrywho found it online somewhere. Enjoy:

Vegan Chocolate Stout Cake

• 2 cups sugar (I reduced the sugar by about 1/2 cup)


• 3 cups all-purpose flour


• 1/2 c cocoa


• 1 tsp salt


• 2 tsp baking soda


• 3/4 c oil (I used a little less; maybe about 2/3 c)


• 4 tsp vinegar


• 1 tsp vanilla


• 1 bottle (12 oz) beer (I recommend a dark stout or chocolate stout; I used Young's Double Chocolate Stout)


• 1/2 c water

Sift all dry ingredients together into a large bowl and make three wells in the dry mixture (one large and two small). Pour the oil into the large well, and the vinegar and vanilla into each of the small wells. Pour beer over mixture, add water, and mix well.

Bake at 350F for 35 - 45 min. in lightly oiled pan.

Here's a photo of the finished product dusted with powdered sugar. I really need a nice cake pedestal or something...

Beer: 60 Minute IPA

A very special beer! If you're familiar with the Dogfish Head brewery, you've probably tried their 60 minute IPA. If you liked it you probably already know about the 90 minute IPA and the rare 120 minute IPA. At almost $9 for a 12oz. bottle, I didn't try it right away. I stalked it at my local liquor store for months before I finally decided it was time and I took the plunge. I purchased a single bottle of the 20% ABV brew for a quiet night at home. I was surprised at how sweet it was actually (not overly fruity sweet, rather a nice mild malty sweet). It didn't taste super strong but it certainly felt strong. I could feel the alcohol hit my stomach after a few sips... like I'd just taken a shot. I continued to sip while delving into my husband's new copy of Super Mario Galaxy. Before I knew what hit me, a couple hours had gone by and I was quite tipsy. Sure $9 seems pricey for a single 12oz. bottle of beer, but it's an experience every beer lover should have if at all possible.