#mcewans

McEwan’s Scotch Ale, 8.00%ABV

Here’s the thing, I bought two of these.  I had one right away, and I wasn’t very impressed.  It was good, but not great.  The other one has been sitting around for a few months.  Not exactly “aged”, but some time.  I put a few beers in the fridge when I got home, and I forgot that this was one of them, so it’s cool but not cold.  I almost just took a quick cell photo of this, thinking it was just “okay.”

Something in there made this better.  Maybe it’s a little bit of aging, maybe the warmer temp it allowing those flavors to pop through, but this is really good now.

Wonderful smell, sweet, caramel and vanilla tones.  Awesome color, intense.  The taste is quite sweet, again the caramel and vanilla tones pop through.  You can tell this is a higher alcohol beer, the intensity gives it away but there’s no burn or anything like that.  A nice, creamy mouthfeel to it with the flavor fading away to a residual sweetness that makes you need to take another sip.

I’m so glad I bought two of these, because after the first one I wouldn’t have bought it again.  Now, I would definitely buy this again.  Next time I’ll make sure to age it a bit and serve it warmer than usual!

Truly dreadful, not just kind of dreadful.  Yet every day I need to feed my four children three healthy meals.

                I am skilled at heating things up in the microwave.  Hence it would be easy to shop at Pusateri's and McEwan's all the time and buy their prepared foods but the cost is prohibitive.  My mom, God Bless Her, makes the kids a casserole or meatloaf each week which covers two meals.  My three older children were enjoying The Lunch Lady which provided them with a healthy hot lunch during the week at a reasonable cost, but in November inexplicably (and sadly for me) they told me they were sick of The Lunch Lady.  What to do...

                My Executive Assistant sent me a link to www.5dollardinners.com which contained some interesting suggestions.  I have purchased cook books in the past but you might as well write them in Greek.  I can make a mean Kraft Dinner, great grilled cheese, buttermilk pancakes (from a mix that only requires adding water) and decent scrambled eggs but that is the full repertoire.  As a result, most recently I have fed them the following:

                1.  Barbecued chicken purchased at Metro with fresh buttered french bread (also purchased), fresh fruit and yogurt;

                2.  Grilled Pork Chops, lean ground chicken burgers, fresh fruit and yogurt;

                3.  Kraft dinner, corn with butter, fresh fruit and yogurt;

                4.  Grilled cheese, chicken skewers, fresh fruit and yogurt;

                5.  Scrambled eggs, cereal, pancakes, bacon and fresh fruit; and

                6.  Chicken fingers with plum sauce, Heinz spaghetti (The Simpsons), fresh fruit and yogurt.

                I aim to provide protein, carbohydrates, fruits or vegetables, and milk products at each meal.  Out of necessity I will need to expand my repertoire in 2015 because my four children's appetites have increased significantly over the past month and I expect that trend to only accelerate going forward.