Girls, Beer, Sports

In this episode we step out of Stanley Manor Studios to a remote location, specifically Carrie’s home away from home Shamrock Bar and Grill. But, we aren’t just recording remotely we are podcasting for a cause and raising money for God’s Pantry in Lexington. In addition to recording in our favorite bar we get to welcome back into the fourth chair our friend Fred Jones. Carrie is wearing a Santa onesie, we start our GBS College Football Bowl Pick’em, Carrie gets personal with some news of the weird, we talk the return of the XFL and of course we’ve got some “controversial” Take It or Leave It topics. There’s always more than in the description so you’re just gonna hafta listen to get it all.

Listen to “Episode 142 Cheesecake Riot” on Spreaker.

In this episode Leigh is back in the studio and we have two in house guests. Our girl Elle from New York, making her third appearance on the show and Kyle Sutton, making his second guestomer appearance to tell us all about the importance of Movember. We have a special GBS PSA this week, Carrie finally gets her car back and Elle explains why she thinks Kroger is a tourist attraction. College football ain’t over and neither is our pick’em. News of the weird has to do with birds falling in with the wrong crowd and as always we’ve got some quality Take It or Leave It topics.

Listen to “Episode 140 It’s SnoRaining” on Spreaker.

 

 

In this episode we are joined by Connecticut radio personality Florence Carmela. We find out what Guns n Roses weather is, Leigh learns to take a complement about the Browns and there is an update about Carrie’s car. We have two big RIP’s in the world of sci-fi and comics, along with the week 12 College Football Pick’em. Florence tells us her inspirational story about how she is following her dream working in radio for WEBE 108 FM and WICC 600 AM in Connecticut, two radio stations she grew up with. It’s an inspirational story of persistence and believing in yourself. We have a sweet news of the weird story between an Emu and a Donkey and of course as always we finish with some Take It or Leave It. Some interesting beers on the table this week, but you’re gonna hafta listen to hear about those.

Listen to “Episode 138 That’s The Segue You Get” on Spreaker.

 

 

In this episode old Leigh is back and her, Carrie and Lauren are joined by three peat guestomer Matt Gordon. Lauren almost stabs herself trying to open the sharing beer, Carrie explains why hitting a dead deer on the interstate isn’t good for your car, Leigh gives us her take on the Browns firing coaches in the middle of the season yet again and Matt explains why Clemson doesn’t really storm the field. The news of the weird gets really weird with belly button jerky, Carrie drops a half an F bomb in Take It or Leave It and we come up with more episode titles in this one than we have room for. As always there’s only so much you can put in the description, if ya want all the content you’re just gonna hafta listen.

Listen to “Episode 136 Mound O’ Deer” on Spreaker.

 

 

In this episode we welcome Sara and Renee from Bluegrass Bourbon and Eats back to the show for their second appearance. We’ve got all the college football pick’em action you could want. Sara and Renee tell us what they’ve been up to since their last appearance and talk about some must go to places to eat here in the Central Kentucky area. The news of the weird features Leigh’s hometown and also a squirrel. And on this episode’s take it or leave it we mix in some Halloween candy with all our other topics. Leigh makes it the whole show even though she’s super surly, Lauren’s in rare form and Carrie manages not to get the thick tongue.

Listen to “Episode 134 Repeat Guestomer” on Spreaker.

 

Carrie, Leigh and Lauren are in the house aka Stanley Manor studios for this episode and the first College Football Pick’em of the season. We give shout outs to 8bitbros, Shooting From The Lip and a Sip of Sports. We have three RIP’s. Our GBS PSA this week is why Fall is for Football and some tips for tailgaiting, including why you should buy a Honda generator. It’s the first GBS College Pick’em of the season, can Lauren defend her mascot logic title? We talk all about the Netflix show Marching Orders and why you should watch it. Our GBS News of the Weird showcases a really expensive ham and of course we end with our favorite game Take It or Leave It!

Listen to “Episode 127 The OG Dream Team” on Spreaker.

Lauren and Carrie got back on the sharin’ beer train this week with Lagunitas Brewing’s special release Dark Swan Sour Ale.  This sour ale wasn’t what either of them were expecting.  It poured a ruby red color and drank surprisingly well.  It had a very nice balance of fruit and sour that struck just the right notes up front and provided a clean if not slightly bitter finish at the end.  The sour wasn’t overpowering at all, this is a limited release so if you see it out and about definitely pick it up.

Leigh tried the second offering from our friends up the road in Covington Kentucky, Braxton Brewing’s, Kickback Apple Hard Cider.  This one is their more traditional hard cider made exclusively with McIntosh Apples.  Overall it was an ok cider, not too sweet or tart, but Leigh found it a little “thin”.  They do have a Rose’ which Leigh has had also and of the two she would recommend that over the Kickback.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s getting close to Oktoberfest time and this week Lauren chose to bridge the gap between fall and summer with Erdinger’s Sommer Weibe.  This German Hefeweizen is the perfect way to start across that bridge.  It has a nice citrus flavor to it with just enough hops to make it enjoyable, but not overly hoppy.  It absolutely delivers what it promises with fresh-hop pleasure!

Any time is a good time for an IPA and Carrie decided to go with Dogfish Head’s Liquid Truth Serum IPA.  This IPA  is bursting with all the hops, noble leaf, liquefied , pelletized and powdered.  Don’t let that scare you off of this one, however.  despite all the hops it is not overly hoppy, bitter or grapefruity.  The hops are there, but this is a well balanced IPA, very drinkable and we would say approachable to someone who is looking to get into IPA’s.  If you are an IPA drinker you’ll absolutely like this one just as much.

You can hear Leigh talk about her trip on this week’s episode…as well as what we’re drinkin’ this week.

In this episode it’s the 3 GBS OG’s or the Three Amigos or the Original Recipe Podcast. Either way Carrie, Leigh and Lauren carry the show. Lauren and Leigh talk about their weekend trips to the Henderson Brewing Company and Asheville North Carolina respectively. We extensively discuss the third season of Last Change U, the GBS news of the weird encounters an interesting yeast strain that is turned into a beer a takes us down innuendo road. We have a heartfelt RIP for Mrs. Garrett and play an interesting round of Take It or Leave It. If you want to know where the title of this episode comes from, you’re just gonna hafta listen.

Listen to “Episode 124 Nut Brown and Cream Ales” on Spreaker.

A “Wicked” and “SparkLing” Weekend Adventure

This weekend I was excited to celebrate one of my dear friends pending nuptials in Asheville, NC.  As much as I was pumped to celebrate her bachelorette weekend, we visited some amazing places that all included alcohol 😉 Here is a recap of my fabulous weekend!

Asheville is a very happening city and THIS was my first trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Driving in to the city, there was the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival happening along with the Village Art and Craft Fair.  So many people were playing music on street corners and vendors were set up downtown.  With all of this going on, and it being a Friday night, we did finally chose to visit Wicked Weed Brewing Company on its rave reviews of its craft beer selection AND the fact they have a cidery as well!  The brewery had a great patio with plenty of long benches and table tops for all different sized groups.  Our group of 11 was easily seated inside after just a short wait.  While we waited, we explored the bar a bit.  The downstairs opened up to another large patio area that had a great view of the actual brewing operation.  Tours were available as well.

The Wicked Weed started in 2012 and in 2017 became part of the Anheuser-Busch family of craft breweries.  They want to be known for forward-thinking, ingredient-focused, and a direct reflection of their need to create craft beer.  There were many options as you can see from their menu, but they also had mixed drinks available for those that may not be completely on the craft beer train.  As for this gluten free, cider lover there was an Oak Fermented Cider available from the Wicked Weed Cidery.  There was even a Gluten Freek, Double India Pale Ale that I unfortunately didn’t get to try.  At 7% this cider was fruity, tart, and dry and everything I love in a cider.  You can order a glass or a bottle.  It was reasonably priced for a craft cider at $11.95 a bottle.  Our group selected many options, like the Manna (7% Golden Honey Ale) to the Pineapple Sage-On (5.6% Blonde Saison).  Their food was an interesting as there the traditional bar fare like beer cheese and pretzels and chips and homemade French onion dip, but there was some more sophisticated offerings that included an artisanal cheese assortment and grilled quail as well as salmon, shrimp, and Italian sausage.  My favorite part of this adventure was that the large portrait of King Henry VIII on the wall and on their merchandise area that has a quote from him from 1519, “Hops are a wicked and pernicious weed”.  LOVED my experience at the Wicked Weed Brewing Company.

On Saturday we were treated to a self-guided and a special roof-top tour of the Biltmore (also known as the American Castle).  This was an experience I will not forget.  I want to go back as we weren’t able to spend as much time on the actual grounds of the house because we then had a sparkling wine tour scheduled.  But first, let me tell you that the 8,000 acre property (down from the original 165,000 that George Vanderbilt originally bought) is so expansive and gorgeous I cannot describe it properly.  There were 250 rooms, most of which we didn’t get to see, but there was a 70,000 gallon pool, 2 bowling lanes, 65 fire places, statues of Joan of Arc and King Henry sculpted by the entrance, a slate roof that is guaranteed for 500 years.  The limestone house is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.  The grounds were designed by the gentleman that put together Central Park.  Chiluly’s large-scale glass sculptures were on display in many of the rooms and grounds of Biltmore, most I didn’t get to see because of our tours being so close together.  I had no idea this artist’s work was on display here, but was an awesome surprise.

 

After our tour and many photos later, we rushed to get to our Sparkling Wine tasting at the Antler Hill Village.  Antler Hill is the farm and outdoors area on the grounds, it does house the Winery as well.  The Winery used to be the cattle milking station on the estate and there is even photos depicting its former roots as you walk to the tasting room.  The first vines were planted in the early 1970’s by Vanderbilt’s grandson, William Cecil.  The Biltmore Wine Company as established in 1983 and bottled its first bottle in 1984.  It is to be known that this is the most visited winery in the country and I can see why.  We were shown to a special room where it was set up to taste ‘sparkling wine’ which is a type of wine all by itself.  Our guide’s name was Kim and the knowledge and love for sparkling wine he has is vast and so appreciated.

As Kim explained there is a whole different process to making sparkling wine, which is named methode champenoise, and yes that is French for the traditional method of making champagne or sparkling wine.  The best way to know a good champagne or sparkling wine is by the size of the bubbles, the smaller the bubbles (and subsequent increase in number of bubbles) all make sure a fantastic sparkling wine.  There was a tour of the facility and machinery that they use to make each bottle of Biltmore Estate Sparkling Wines.  I’d like for you to visit the Sparkling Wines page on their website to a detailed explanation on their process: https://www.biltmore.com/wine/wine-101/wine-t. We were paired different accompaniments with all 5 different wines we were able to taste.  The photo here shows each bottle we were able to taste.  ALL of them were amazing.  I do not consider myself a champagne or sparkling wine person, but as Kim told us, “All of us are sparkling and need sparkling wine in our lives.”

There was so many different things to take away from this experience, but I purchased a bottle of their Century Sweet Red wine and I just don’t know if I will ever open it, because of what my trip represented and what I was able to do.  All of their souvenirs and knick-knacks were very reasonably priced and I was just floored by the beauty and expanse of the Biltmore Estate.  I will definitely be making a trip back and will make sure to plan to stay multiple days because there is just so much to see, just at the estate, not to mention the actual town.  Maybe a GBS trip is in our future and I would definitely love to experience this with my GBS family!

Apologies for not updating the website in a while….

Leigh and Carrie are back at Fort Lewis Studios in this episode with special guest play by play guy and the voice of Louisville City FC Clay Ables! We talk to Clay about how he got into play by play announcing, what his dream game to call would be and who he would love to broadcast with. We grade the overall World Cup and Carrie declares that Croatia’s President is the ultimate soccer mom. The GBS news of the weird this week is a bit of a call back to the last episode and Carrie delivers an extra special GBS PSA. Of course we play Take It or Leave It! Oh and we drink a couple of beverages from breweries we’ve never heard of.

Listen to “Episode 121 Castpys > Cardspys” on Spreaker.

 

This is one we’ve never heard of before, thanks to whoever left it at Fort Lewis last weekend.  If you like IPA’s highly recommend.  For a double IPA its surprisingly smooth and not too bitter or grapefruity on the back-end.   It has a nice amber color and at 8.4% its not a lawn mower beer, but it is deceptively quick drinking.

Leigh also got to join in the we’ve never had anything from this brewery train this week with Argus Fermentables out of Austin Texas.  Their Ginger Perry cider is a very complex interesting cider with ginger up front and pear on the back.  It’s also fairly dry with very limited sweetness.  It is a little pricey at $11 for a four pack, but definitely worth it if you’re looking for a new cider that would fit into that craft category.

In this episode we are joined by New York friend of the show Elle and wow is the conversation lit! We talk a ridiculous amount of topics this week, including two GBS PSA’s, we shout out to Retro Cinema and Gidgit Von La Rue for their love of 80’s movies especially Adventures in Babysitting, we have several RIP’s this week including the Jerry Springer Show and we talk to Elle about her journey to Kentucky fandom and what it’s like to live in not only a college sports desert but also a bourbon desert. Finally Leigh and Elle talk about what it’s like to try and date in 2018. We play a great game of Take It or Leave It, of course we can’t cover everything in the description, you’ll just have to listen

Listen to “Episode 118 Queens of the Pod” on Spreaker.

Our guest this week Elle, raided her friend’s refrigerator and came up with several bottles of the alcoholic summer drink Twisted Tea.  If definitely treated her right, she had more than one during the recording.  This is a great beverage if you’re looking for something that’s the totally opposite of beer or cider.  They drink pretty quick too!

Leigh took a break from cider this week and instead went with Greens Gluten Free Tripel Ale.  If you are looking for a gluten free beer that actually tastes like beer check out all of the Greens products.  This one absolutely has everything that you’d expect from a tripel, slightly dark, carmel flavor, with a hint of sweetness and non of the gluten!

A collaboration beer between Two Roads Brewing and Evil Twin Brewing was Carrie’s pick this week.  Their Geyser Gose made with Icelandic Moss, Herbs, Sea Salt and Kale  Carrie still isn’t sure what Icelandic Moss is or what it is supposed to taste like, but it whatever it is, she’s pretty sure it didn’t come through in the beer.  The beer itself was a fine example of a Gose, fairly light and sour with a hint of the salt at the end.  It just didn’t seem like the other ingredients added very much to the overall flavor.  If you like Goses and are curious though pick this one up.  Maybe someone out there who knows what Icelandic Moss is supposed to taste like can tell us and then tell us if they can actually taste it in this beer.

In this episode Lauren is on a summer hiatus, but Leigh and Carrie are holding things down at Fort Lewis studios! They welcome Kristin Ray who runs the FAB podcast and blog that supports Females in Athletic Business. We have a great discussion on all the options that are out there for women who are interested in the sports industry and how FAB is working to support that. The GBS fact of the week is all about a World Cup soccer match you’ve probably never heard of, Carrie talks her way around her upcoming appearance on a very popular cooking show and of course we play Take It or Leave It. If you want the number to the Hall and Oates emergency hotline you’re just gonna hafta listen.

Listen to “Episode 116 GBS Gets FAB” on Spreaker.

Carrie’s beer this week comes from Lost Coast Brewery in California.  Thier, Great White was purchased on label and name alone, but turned out to be a pretty good summer beer.  At only 4.8% this is a back porch day drinker you could easily have more than one of.  It’s pretty light in flavor and went down very quickly over the course of the show.  Interestingly it was brewed by a female brewer (Barbara), which made us like it even more.  The label (although not pictured here) states that the beer should have flavors of coriander and spice, although Carrie didn’t get either.  We still recommend adding this your cooler though, especially if you like beer that drinks quickly.

Leigh had an interesting pick this week from the Fort Lewis beer fridge.  Maeloc’s Sidra Pera, a pear cider from Spain.  Leigh definitely had never had this brand before and thought the cider was good.  At only 4.4% and not too sweet it’s absolutely a must buy if you are looking for something different.  And while the cider was tasty, the biggest reason to make this purchase is for the bottle cap.  It’s a great design and as you can see in the above picture, it has a built in bottle opener, which also makes the cap fit back on the bottle very nicely.  It’s almost like the fidget spinners of bottle caps, highly recommend!