Beer Tasting Party

Jason's birthday was last Friday.  And before you read any further you should know 2 things: (1) he turned 29 and (2) he's not big on birthdays.  When I say "not big," I cannot remember a single birthday party.  I'm sure we did something for his 21st birthday, but I'm not sure what.  This year I decided he needed a birthday party.  It is, after all, the last year of his 20's.  *We upgraded a little for Jason's 30th Birthday - lots of other fun ideas.

I've decided that planning any party/gathering for a guy is difficult.  They just don't seem to appreciate matching plates and napkins and frilly drinks as much as girls seem to.  But I still wanted to do something nice.  So after some awkward Pinterest searches, I do not recommend searching "adult male birthday parties," I randomly stumbled across a beer tasting birthday party.  Eureka.  I looked at several ideas to get a good feel about what I did and did not want to include and the fantastic party below came into existence.

Not only was I thrilled with how everything turned out, the boy was very happy too. 

The biggest problem I ran into was planning the actual beer tasting itself.  Several of the parties I looked at simply had different types of beer placed in different ice buckets depending on type (ales, pales, etc).  But I wanted this to be an actual tasting, where everyone was drinking the same thing at relatively the same time.  Initially I planned on just buying enough six packs for everyone.  But, after some serious googling, I discovered that a Whole Foods near me has 18 beers on tap (which are conveniently listed online)  that you can buy in a growler.  I tentatively picked 5 from the online list, but had to make some last minute changes when I actually purchased the beers.  Fortunately the beer guy at Whole Food was super nice and helped make sure that I had a good balance of beer types and flavors.

I wanted to keep the food and decor fairly simple.  I resisted the urge to buy actual glass tasting glasses (but will inevitably do so when I have a house), and instead found the smallest plastic cups I could find.    I made the chalkboard table runner by spray painting (with chalkboard spray paint) a roll of white contact paper.  This was super cheap and super customizable.  The tablecloth is a linen/canvas blend piece of fabric that I picked up at Wal-Mart for $2.50 a yard.  I bought the golf pencils for the tastings, which I think added a fantastic little element.  I stored extra pencils and chalk in shot glasses around the table.  I used my always handy jars to display leaves I ripped of a tree in my backyard, which was enough flowery-like things for Jason.  I also placed a "dump bucket," which was actually a vase, on the table in case anyone really hated a beer.

For food I served pub type food, but kept it fairly light because we planned to have dinner at a BBQ place.   Food included chili lime pistachios, beer chips, cocktail sausages, soft pretzels and various mustards, and sopapilla cheesecake for the birthday boy.

I downloaded the beer bottle printable and changed the "cheers to you" part to "Happy Birthday Jason" using photoshop.  I designed an invitation, which I texted to everyone and gave to Jason in a sealed envelope with strict orders that he couldn't open the envelope until he was in our driveway.  The actual tasting party was a complete surprise for him.  

I also designed tasting cards and hanging tags for the growlers on photoshop.  The tasting cards listed each beer and had a place for notes and scores.  One of my favorite parts of the party was listening to everyone read their scores and notes.  Some of the responses were pretty hilarious.  The hanging tags contained the brewery (or the beer)'s logo and information about the beer.  We read these at the beginning so that everyone had an idea of what each beer would taste like.  

Below is what the tasting sheets actually looked like and because I love you all so much, I uploaded blank ones (sized to fit 4 on a regular sheet of paper) for you! (I think, if it doesn't work let me know.)  And if you use the tasting cards, please link back to me.  Those things took quite a while to design.  Thanks.  Due to some unscrupulous copying and attempted sales of my beer tasting cards, I've taken the link down.  If you'd like a blank copy of them, just shoot me an email and I'll gladly send them your way.

And that's the beer tasting party in all its glory!  Thanks to everyone who came; I hope everyone had as much fun as we did!

For more beer related party ideas check out Jason's 30th Birthday!

Fifieth Fiesta: The Details

Few things in my life have been as exciting as my mom's 50th Fiesta.  It was a planning and organizational feat, and I'm excited to share some of the details today!

*Warning this is a fairly long and fairly photo intensive post*

All of this stuff had to fit in the truck of my tiny car.  Why the trunk only?  Because there was an 80 lb lab in my backseat and a 10 lb yorkie in the front seat.

The traveling fiesta!

These make me happy all lined up and pretty.

Burning the midnight oil (literally) to get the streamers sewed in time.

Drinks and Sweets Table

Left to right:

Screen Printed Koozies (more on that below)

Galvanized bucket of drinks: Jarritos for the kids and a variety of Mexican beers for the adults.  The bowls in front were for bottles caps and limes.

Margaritas (my favorite recipe) and Sangria

50th Fiesta lemon chiffon cake, made by my fabulous sister!

Behind that are Key Lime cheesecake bites that I made.

The little tiki torch lantern on the table was purchase at some random dollar store for a measly $1 each...hence why I walked out with 8 of them!

Behind the sangria is a bowl of sombrero straws.  Too cute!

A close up of the awesome cake.

The entry stand.  

The top sign read, Welcome to the Fiesta, please grab some festive attire!

The bowls held maracas and beads.

The invitation is on the second shelf.

The sombreros were hung on the top corner and on the third shelf (where the empty space is).

The gifts were below that.

Piñata stuffed with candy.

We rented three tables and placed them under a canopy of Christmas lights and my sewn streamers.

Those lights would never have been installed or stayed lit without the determination and fearlessness of my brother.  He spent more time on the roof before the party than he did on the ground.

The lanterns are the above mentioned dollar store find.

The tables had paper flowers in spray painted tin cans.

And there were tea candles in mason jars.

The moment of surprise!

...I wish this wasn't so blurry.

brother, me, sister, mom, niece, grandma, aunt

And no party is complete without a seriously goofy photo taking opportunity...

...and a bounce house for the kids!

Also, I'm told my niece looks alot like me.  She feisty like me too.  I so love her.

I didn't get a picture of it, but the food table included a taco bar of carnitas, steak, and chicken tacos; beans and rice; chips and dip; and a trio of homemade salsas.

And finally, the screen printed koozies.  Apparently, the koozie is not as celebrated everywhere as much as it is in Texas.  Weird.  Keeps your drinks cold, keeps your hand warm.  Why doesn't everyone carry them around in their purses?  Because I do. 

So I wanted to give everyone a party favor, but you really can't give a bunch of adults a bag full of candy and cheap toys.  So I came up with the idea to screen print koozies.  I designed the front and Jason came up with the poem on the back.  He's great like that.  My only qualm is that I didn't expose the sombrero correct so it didn't come out perfectly.  I just tell myself it has that faded quality all the cool kids like.

The actual screen printing took about an hour total.  Everyone loved them, and most importantly my mom loved them.  

"We call her Mom. Grandma.  Daughter and More.

On her 50th we'll fiesta like never before!"

 So that's it!  If you have any questions about sourcing or DIY projects, ask away!

Also feel free to check out my Pinterest board for the party!

Party Week: Libations

Today's post is all about libations.  Summertime drinks are very near and dear to my heart.  From lemonade to sun tea to more adult beverages they always seem to evoke memories of summer, sunshine, and the lake.  These two drinks are perfect for any summer gathering and take advantage of seasonal produce.

First Up: the Mojito
As far as adult beverages go, there may not be a more refreshing drink than the mojito.  With hints of mint, lime, and a little sugar, the mojito is a perfect beverage to enjoy pool side, patio side or (my favorite) lake side.

Recently I started making simple syrups to flavor my drinks, instead of trying to stir in sugar.  I cannot tell you how much better it is.  The sugar is already melted so mixing is a breeze and you can steep the syrup with basically any flavoring agent you want.  Jason and I always have a pitcher of ice tea in our refrigerator, but we never sweeten it.  A simple syrup is great for those rare days that I want my tea sweetened or (more often) a friend comes over and wants sweet tea.  Simple syrups are made with equal parts water and sugar and heated until the sugar dissolves.  Then add any flavoring agent (I've been really big into mint lately) that you want.  Simple syrups are perfect in mojitos because they allow you to add the mint flavor without needing to muddle the mint first.  I still add a couple shredded mint leaves to the glass, but that's just for presentation.  Bobby Flay's mojito recipe is my current favorite:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups ice
• 1 cup lime-mint simple syrup
• 1 liter white rum
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• Club soda

Instructions:

• To make the simple syrup, heat 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar until the sugar dissolves.  Add 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves and 2 zest of 2 limes.  Steep for 30 minutes, until the mixture cools.  Strain out the zest and mint leaves.  Will keep for approximately one week.
• Combine the syrup, rum, lime juice, and ice in a large pitcher.  Top of with club soda to taste.  Squeeze a lime wedge and extra mint leaves into each glass to garnish.

Next Up: Cucumber Lemongrass Agua Fresca

I've recently become obsessed with Agua Frescas.  Basically it's just water flavored with fruits, but man oh man is it tasty.  They're a perfect summer drink, because they're not overly sweet, not overly overpowering, and incredibly satisfying.  There are dozens of agua fresca recipes available, but I chose cucumber lemongrass, for its vivid green color and deliciously refreshing taste.  Lemongrass may not be a common ingredient for most people, but fear not!  It's readily available with the fresh herbs in most grocery stores.  It looks kind of like ...well...a stalk of grass.  This recipe is from Matt Armendariz, photographer and food blogger extraordinaire.  His blog is one of my all-time favorites, and once you try this recipe, you'll realize why.  And in case you don't love cucumbers, there are several other agua fresca recipes available on his blog.

Lemongrass Simple Syrup- Use a rolling pin to mash a stalk of lemon grass.  Cut it into 4 sections.  Heat 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water to a boil.  Add the lemongrass and steep until the mixture is cool.  Remove the lemon grass.

Agua Fresca-

Ingredients

• 4 cups chopped english cucumber (skin on) with 2-4 cups of water to blend
• 8-10 cups of water
• 1/2 cup fresh lime, to taste
• Pinch of salt.

Instructions:

• Puree the fruit and water in a blender, adding as much water is necessary.  Strain the mixture to remove seeds and pulp.  I did two different strains: one through a sieve and then a second one through  cheesecloth.
• Add the simple syrup to the mixture and the 8-10 cups of water, adjusting the amount to how strong/weak you want the drink.
• Add the lime juice and serve.  

Whip some of these delicious drinks up for Memorial Day, your friends and taste-buds will thank you!