Sierra Nevada Brewery



This Sunday Niki and I drove all the way up to Chico to finally check out the legendary Sierra Nevada brewery in person





We showed up way early before the tour, so we decided to taste the taps...all 16 of them!





Sierra Nevada sells around 6 different beers in stores (including seasonals), but they brew about 16 total at any given time that you can sample all at once in their taproom. The glasses were way too small, making it hard for the beer to stay cold. I found out that the flagship Pale Ale is made slightly different between the bottled and the on-tap version. Both versions are included in the sampler.





We settled on the Ruthless Weiss Beer, which was a delicious "Begian white" style ale.

One thing I found out during the tour is that all of the Sierra Nevada bottled beers are bottle-conditioned (naturally fermented)!

Super good latkes
Originally uploaded by bugbiteme

This is the second year I've made these, and they are a hit. I may try to make a vegan version again this week. The above latkes are the real deal though!

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups potato, cubed
* 3 smaller russet potatoes, peeled and shredded
* 1 onion, shredded
* 2 eggs
* 3 tablespoons matzo meal
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 6 tablespoons vegetable oil


DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and mash.
2. In a medium bowl, mix shredded Yukon Gold potatoes, mashed potatoes and onion. Add in eggs, matzo meal and salt; mix well.
3. Feel consistency of the dough; mixture should hold together without being sticky. If it sticks to your hands, add more matzo meal until dough is no longer sticky.
4. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm enough oil or butter or margarine to cover 1/4 inch of the skillet.
5. When hot, drop mixture by heaping tablespoon to oil; flatten with a spatula and cook on both sides until golden brown. Serve.

Peace + Love...all of the above





Happy Hanukkah!