Why I Oughta...

Had this Beach Blonde Golden Lager from the folks at Crystal Lake Brewing when we stopped into the Brat Haus in Richmond on a recent visit to Twin Lakes.  Like a lot of places these days, they have a pretty extensive beer menu with a mix of national and local choices and - much to my dismay - a heavy (as it seems always these days) focus on hoppy-IPAs.  This lager was a natural choice for me - something local, light and crisp.  Beer Advocate gives it a 81 which puts it below the normal range of the beers that Dr. Jeff has us try during his beer education sessions .  Speaking of which...we should do one of those again now that school is getting back in season and we'll be in more on the weekends as the weather cools down.  Ah...Fall is coming! 

We wandered over to Kenosha one afternoon recently to make a stop at the Mars Cheese Castle and while we were out we, stopped at The Garage for a few burgers and root beers. When we asked, "Do you have a good sarsaparilla?".  The didn't say "Sioux City Sarsaparilla".  But they said "Gray's".  That's a good one. So, we all enjoyed a few bottles of Grays and it was tasty.   I've never heard of the stuff, but a quick look around the Web, I discovered it is from Janesville, Wisconsin by a family that has been making beers, ales and root beers for more than 150 years.  And, according to this review on the Soda Jerks , it is a local Southern Wisconsin delicacy. ...The root beer recipe dates back 140 years and is made with pure cane sugar. It’s a nice grog, good creamy head, rich vanilla flavor and decent carbonation. It’s one of the better root beers I’ve tasted. It’s only available in southern Wisconsin as far as I know, so a road