Easy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffin Recipe Great with Beer

It's pumpkin season people! It's time to decorate, carve, cook, any pumpkin or gorde looking object you can get your hands on!  And have you seen what people are doing with this amazing fruit? Just look at Pinterest or your Facebook feed.. Pumpkin rolls, pumpkin carving, pumpkin fairy houses... Really? Yes, pumpkin fairy houses! It seems to have turned into a competition of who can make the best pumpkin thing.  So I've decided to share my "go- to" pumpkin recipe which means Martha Stewart is going to have to move over because Handbrewed Soaps has just stepped up!  Really though, Martha Stewart would whoop my butt hands down! 

Like many of you, I don't have time to make pumpkin ANYTHING from scratch, but I can fake some slammin' pumpkin muffins thanks to Trader Joes!! (Even though it is not technically a pumpkin, it does say 'pumpkin' on the box, so this counts during pumpkin mania!)

What you need: 
1) box of Trader Joes Pumpkin Bread Mix
2) Chocolate Chips
3) Beer of your choice (see recommendations below)

Directions:
Follow the directions on the box, and add as much chocolate chips as you want.  As they cook decide what beer to drink as you enjoy the best damn pumpkin muffins you've ever tasted!  Better yet, choose your beer before hand and sip while you bake!

Beer Recommendations:
1) We of course recommend drinking your own homebrew for obvious reasons.. we are homebrewers! We enjoy our pumpkin spiced ale, made especially for this season.
2) Saranac Pumpkin Ale- You initially taste a mouthful of pumpkin that is followed by cinnamon.
3) Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest-It's a light and creamy lager. A refreshing autumn beer.

So there you go.. I give you permission to create your pumpkin wonderland pre-made or pre-fab... while enjoying a tasty cold beverage!  

Fourth of July Beer Themed Party Ideas

I love the Fourth of July!  Every year, our family goes to the Alameda Parade and watches the bands and community groups walk by.  I'm the "embarrassing" one in the family as I am always hootin' and hollerin' with each group that goes by.  I find it interesting that I'm only one of the few that does that, but that's another story.  After that, we usually go party hopping and find a good place to watch the fireworks in the evening.  This can be a hard task since often enough, the fog rolls in and seeing the firework display in any of the cities in the Bay Area is close to impossible.  That's our tradition, and I now you have yours!  If your tradition is to host a Fourth of July Party/ BBQ and are looking for a beer theme, well you've come to the right place.  Here is a collection of ideas that may inspire you!

Have a Safe Fourth of July.  Please let us know of any DIY beer themes you come up with, we would love to hear about them! Cheers!

Beer Bottle Labels:

Buy and Download from this great etsy store

Download for Free Here

Idea's for Red Solo Cups:

Image found on blogs.babycenter.com

And don't forget the food:

Get the recipe

Get the recipe

                                     

Mother's Day Brunch: Because She Loves Beer!

We got this great image from
Pink of Perfection

Mother's Day is quickly approaching, and it's time to plan the perfect brunch for that wonderful lady who's favorite thing is beer!  What more could she want than her favorite ice cold beer, but foods whose ingredients include just that, beer! And as a DIY'er yourself, what better way to tell your mom how much she means to you, than creating a brunch around her favorite theme!   But don't worry, it's not as hard as it looks...  I've found some great ideas and easy recipes to share with you!

This image came
from the Cooking Channel 

Decorations:  Beer bottles make beautiful table decorations and if you are a beer lover yourself, you probably have some sitting around!  Simply wrap raffia or lace around them, insert her favorite flowers and viola!  

Beverages: The first go to drink would be her favorite beer.  Or, why not try a beer infused drink such as a beer cocktail? For a light citrus taste using a wheat beer, try a Ginger Rum Shandy.  Or, for a more hardy drink, try a Ruddy Mary that uses a dark ale or stout! Both will be a winner.

A beautiful image
from Draft Magazine

Food:  There are many ways you can go with food.  For the egg lover, you may want to try a Sausage and Pale Ale Fritatta, or a Bacon, Egg and Greens Panini made with a wheat beer. Or go an entirely different route with  Beer Pancakes or Muffins made from her favorite fruit beer!!!

And finally, have fun celebrating your Mom.  She will love spending time together!  And if you want to give her a gift, may I suggest a bar of Handbrewed Soaps?  We have plenty of beer soaps to choose from!  (I had to make the plug... it was so appropriate!  LOL)  Have a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

Beer Mug Shaped Birthday Cake!!

What better way to celebrate a 40-year old home-brewer, than with a beer mug shaped birthday cake???  It may not be the prettiest, but it was a lot of fun to make.

Ingredients used for a "I need a quick beer mug cake NOW!!!":
3 boxes of cake mix
4 tubs of vanilla frosting
yellow food coloring
whipped cream
candles
Card stock (for handle)
toothpicks

Baking:  Divide the batter into round cake pans.  I only had two cake pans, so I made one box at a time.  Three boxes with get you 6 round cakes.  After they have cooled, stack them!!

Frosting:  Dump the pre-made frosting into a large bowl and add yellow food coloring as needed.  I recommend buying 5 tubs if you want to frost in between each layer.  I didn't because of the following variables : cranky-kids + family arriving in 45 minutes = it's good enough!  Then, smear the frosting on the side until you are happy with it.  Add the whipped cream before you serve it!

Candles:  Get the tall candles.  I got the regular candles that you find in any store and they were to short.  So, we didn't have candles, but we sure had a laugh!!

Handle:  I eye-balled the handle (it's a little out of proportion!)  I cut the letter C and taped toothpicks to the ends. You can kinda see it in the first picture. I stuck it into the cake after I add the whipped cream.

Result:  One happy 40 year old home-brewer!!