OMG I discovered the best beer ever!

[JessieBird]

Too bad I had to stop at three little sips!!! I know I could have had a little more but I'm not sure I would have been able to stop. It is truly the best beer I have ever tasted.

A friend came over for the gold medal men's game (YAYYYY!) and brought a bottle of this: http://www.beaus.ca/en-lugtread.html. He knows that I love beer more than anything but didn't yet know that I am pregnant. He wasn't that excited about the news just cause it meant I couldn't fully enjoy the brew.

Anyway, not sure why I had to share that. If there are any other beer lovers out there, I'll gladly send you a bottle to open on birth day! (It helps the milk come in dontcha know. ) It comes in these gorgeous white ceramic bottles. The website and family strory are really nice too.

[mistymama]

I LOVE good beer! We had friends over Friday night and they did the mixed 6 pack thing of all good stout beers. I was sooo wanting to try some of them.

At least you know what you want to drink to help your supply after delivery! lol

[blizzard_babe]

Oooh... I can't open the link at work, but I loves me some beer. DH brews his own, and it's KILLING ME to have all that delicious goodness (a spruce ale in the bottles and an ESB currently in primary fermentation, and a bock on deck for spring) sitting around the house and not be able to drink it.

We had friends over on Saturday for a wedding shower/bachelorette party, and it was hard to not drink. Not hard in the "I need a drink" sense, but hard because I had to have SOMETHING in my hand because otherwise I'd have had to tell everyone. I drank a lot of straight club soda on the rocks.

[blue butterfly]

Yummy beer lover over here My favorite is Bells Oberon, it's a summer ale and it is going to be so hard to not drink one on those hot summer days!

[JessieBird]

Oh good, now I don't feel so silly about posting that...

Sounds like we could organize a beer swap for sometime in September and not have any trouble finding members. Wouldn't it be great to have a stash of unique regional beers waiting for us? How's that for a labour buddies group theme?!

[Heinleinesque]

That's an awesome idea I don't drink beer but I do love wine and all my friends keep telling me, "Oh, you can drink wine while you're pregnant!" :headscratch: : :

[blue butterfly]

i'm in!

[blizzard_babe]

So, just because I happen to know all about this... shipping alcohol is difficult. Can't be done USPS (not legally anyway).

I'd love to participate, but can't. Can't buy beer where I live (we have to get it shipped in from Anchorage, hence me knowing all about shipping liquor ).

[mistymama]

I think there is an issue with shipping beer/wine in my state too - ALABAMA IS SO BACKWARDS! A good friend tried to sign me up for this wine of the month club and they were unable to ship to me. Of course!

[JessieBird]

Oh yeah, darn shipping laws. I've heard that about Canada Post too. I think we're allowed to use a private courier to send alcohol though. But that may be getting a bit more expensive than we're willing to go. Though by eight months from now, I'm pretty sure I'll be willing to pay just about anything for a beer.

[Motherto4]

I love me some good beer. I like dark beer!

[blizzard_babe]

I say we each buy a bottle of something good for OURSELVES, then lovingly photograph them on our preggo bellies, and post them together somewhere. Then, after our offspring units make their triumphant entry into the world, we photograph ourselves, holding aforementioned babies, drinking aforementioned beers.

Not as exciting as a swap, but... also not going to break the bank. I'd pity whoever got *my* name in that swap... if you ever feel like a laugh, go on the FedEx website and get a shipping estimate from the Lower 48 US states to Bethel, AK.

[JessieBird]

That's a great idea!

So shipping a beer from Chelsea, Quebec to Tutu...uk (an Inuit name I forgot to cut and paste and couldn't for the life of me re-type, the closest zip code to Bethel that google would cough up for me), Alaska would be between $45 and $145!!! Perhaps that is a bit steep.

[blue butterfly]

Love this idea!

[blizzard_babe]

Originally Posted by JessieBird

That's a great idea!

So shipping a beer from Chelsea, Quebec to Tutu...uk (an Inuit name I forgot to cut and paste and couldn't for the life of me re-type, the closest zip code to Bethel that google would cough up for me), Alaska would be between $45 and $145!!! Perhaps that is a bit steep.

Tuntutuliak? I'm actually going there next week, interestingly enough. And you couldn't send beer to Tunt; beer is illegal there .

Random Thursday morning factod: The people over here aren't Inuit, they're Yup'ik. The Inuit are further north . The Yup'ik are a separate group, linguistically and culturally, though they are linguistically, culturally, and genetically related to the Inupiaq people. In Alaska, the word "Eskimo" doesn't have the "bad word" status that it does in Canada, because there are two sub-groups (some say three sub-groups) of the descendants-of-the-people-who-came-across-the-landbridge-in-the-second-wave (first wave being what is known in the US as "Native Americans" or "American Indians"). So out of necessity, Alaska needs two big words to cover the two groups of native people... "Native Americans" and "Eskimos." We couldn't say "Native Americans" and "Inuit/Inupiaq" because only half of the Eskimo people in Alaska are actually Inupiaq. It's be like calling all people from the Scandanavian region of Europe "Norwegian."

So, while the word Eskimo was originally a total misnomer, Yup'ik and Inupiaq people in Alaska have embraced it because it is an umbrella term for both groups, allowing them to show the connection between the two groups, but maintain their cultural distinctiveness.

[sheashea]

I'm extremely fond of a good beer too! I haven't tried the beer you describe, but being in Ontario I followed the link and discovered that it is now being sold in my local store. I may have to try a few sips, or perhaps I'll just wait to have the full reward (all, of course, in the name of helping that milk come in )

I do like the cost-friendly idea of a beer photo. My personal fave at the moment is a local brew: http://www.millstreetbrewery.com/#/home
The Tankhouse ale is where it's at for me, but I also love the organic and the stout on tap.

Must say, I'm really happy that you started this thread. I think its awesome that we can stand up and be counted as beer lovers even though beer is not on the menu for most of us right now. Personally, I don't think that a beer here and there is likely to do any arm, but nevertheless I can't relax and enjoy... so, I figure what's the point? Therefore I will abstain at least until the third trimester -then I might have a small glass on occasion.

[blizzard_babe]

Our family membership in the American Homebrewers Association arrived yesterday. DH has a card, I have a card, and since it's a family membership not-even-two-year-old DS has a card.

DH posted the picture... but I'm not sure he made it view-able by everyone. Give it a go...

DS's AHA Membership

[Eresh]

I brew mead. I have five gallons languishing in the corner of the kitchen waiting to racked but I just can't get motivated since I can't drink any

[blizzard_babe]

Originally Posted by Eresh

I brew mead. I have five gallons languishing in the corner of the kitchen waiting to racked but I just can't get motivated since I can't drink any

Ooh, DH and I are thinking about brewing mead this summer.

[JessieBird]

Originally Posted by blizzard_babe

Tuntutuliak? I'm actually going there next week, interestingly enough. And you couldn't send beer to Tunt; beer is illegal there .

Random Thursday morning factod: The people over here aren't Inuit, they're Yup'ik. The Inuit are further north . The Yup'ik are a separate group, linguistically and culturally, though they are linguistically, culturally, and genetically related to the Inupiaq people. In Alaska, the word "Eskimo" doesn't have the "bad word" status that it does in Canada, because there are two sub-groups (some say three sub-groups) of the descendants-of-the-people-who-came-across-the-landbridge-in-the-second-wave (first wave being what is known in the US as "Native Americans" or "American Indians"). So out of necessity, Alaska needs two big words to cover the two groups of native people... "Native Americans" and "Eskimos." We couldn't say "Native Americans" and "Inuit/Inupiaq" because only half of the Eskimo people in Alaska are actually Inupiaq. It's be like calling all people from the Scandanavian region of Europe "Norwegian."

So, while the word Eskimo was originally a total misnomer, Yup'ik and Inupiaq people in Alaska have embraced it because it is an umbrella term for both groups, allowing them to show the connection between the two groups, but maintain their cultural distinctiveness.

Thanks, that's so interesting! I had a nagging feeling I wasn't accurate. I'm sure you've heard how Canadians tease Americans for not knowing anything about other countries, well we're very guilty of the same! Most of us know very little about our own north either. Even though I've done a lot of work with the Inuit community in Ottawa and I have several family members who lived in Nunavik for many years, I know very little about distinctions among the Inuit, though I'm sure there are many. Interesting too about the different paths that words can take. We would NEVER use the word Eskimo here, or Indian for that matter (unless you are in fact aboriginal, in which case Indian is often the chosen identifier, go figure). First Nation, Metis and Inuit are really the only acceptable terms nowadays. More generally, native is also still used a bit, though it seems to me that it is fading, and aboriginal is still all good...I think... Many of our Inuit communities are legally dry as well.

I'm looking forward to your turn in the spotlight, Blizzard_babe. I looked up Bethel on a map and it is wayyyy out there! I would love to visit all points north - in NA and Europe, Asia too. Unfortunately DH is more of a Rome and Paris kind of guy when it comes to traveling. I am supposed to go to Yellowknife for work April 19-23 but I can't bear the idea of 5 days away from my nursing toddler so probably won't go. I hope another opportunity comes up soon.

But back to beer...

Originally Posted by sheashea

Personally, I don't think that a beer here and there is likely to do any harm, but nevertheless I can't relax and enjoy... so, I figure what's the point? Therefore I will abstain at least until the third trimester -then I might have a small glass on occasion.

I agree completely. My European cousins think it is very weird how extreme we are in NA about alcohol and pregnancy. We are such a better safe than sorry society and I don't disagree with that but at the same time we've gotten to the point where it's almost taboo to even discuss. I'll probably go from 3 sips once in the first trimester to five sips once a week in the third. I'm an incredibly slow drinker - I can happily nurse a warm beer for two hours and still enjoy it! - so that'll be more satisfying than it sounds.