Nails and Ales

Another month’s worth of Nails and Ales! Get ready for a bunch of summer-worthy brews!

When I purchased this six-pack, I was debating between two watermelon beers. This one won because a) it’s a wheat beer and b) it has great packaging and a neat name. 21st Amendment’s Hell or High Watermelon is what would happen if you decided to suck on a watermelon-flavored Jolly Rancher while sipping a beer. This is THE FIRST TIME I’ve ever had a wheat beer in a can. 21st Amendment only uses cans, for very simple reasons (easy to recycle, etc.). I’d say try it if you’re curious, but I don’t see myself buying it again.
Nails: OPI Sparrow Me the Drama (Pirates of the Caribbean collection) and Super Bass Shatter (Nicki Minaj collection). Quick and simple.

Hefeweizens are super-smooth, easy-to-drink, wheat beers. I was really excited to Magic Hat’s Circus Boy because I had heard good things and I’m just starting to expand my Magic Hat knowledge. Unfortunately, it didn’t really stand out for me. It wasn’t bad by any means, but I guess it just didn’t blow me away. In fact, I’m a little bummed I didn’t take a picture of the second beer
I had that night (UFO’s Raspberry Hefeweizen) but there’s always next time!
Nails: This is definitely some of my favorite nail art in a while. I was inspired by Pshiiit, but I did my own little spin. It looks a lot more complicated than it was, but it still took seven different nail polishes. Instead of using little striper brushes, I did thin lines with the regular polish brushes, and made the clouds using the same method Nailside uses.
Colors: OPI I’m Not Really a Waitress, China Glaze Riveting (Capitol Colours collection), Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow, OPI Jade is the New Black and No Room for the Blues. Clouds – Sally Hansen White On. Glitter Top Coat – Prisma Luminous Color #6468

When I bought Hell or High Watermelon, this was close in the line-up. Unlike Shock-Top’s Summer Shandy, Samuel Adams Porch Rocker uses lager instead of wheat brew and tops it off with a yummy lemon flavor. I enjoyed this as much as I do a shandy, maybe even more so. It’s got such a clean, crisp taste and I can’t think of any better activity to do while drinking this than sit on a porch swing or rocking chair and enjoy a summer evening. I need to make sure I grab a case before it goes out of season!
Nails: I used OPI Nothin’ Mousie ‘Bout It (a cute pink glitter with heart confetti from the Minnie Mouse collection) over Pamplona Purple.
My only complaint about the glitter polish is that the hearts are hard to put on and hard to remove. Cute, though!

Maria’s boyfriend Josh went to make a six-pack at the local convenient store and asked if I wanted anything special. I jokingly asked him to bring me back something cute, but he actually did! Sweaty Betty is a smooth, light Bavarian-style blonde wheat beer. I drank this while sitting on the back porch, surrounded by white Christmas lights and tiki torches, and I couldn’t imagine a better beverage to be sipping on. I love a nice, clean, simple beer to drink, especially during the heat wave we endured last week.
Nails: It is very rare that I paint my nails one color without any glitter or layers. I had a couple of different designs in mind, but OPI Call Me Gwen-ever (from the Spider-Man Collection) is so lovely, it didn’t need anything but a super shiny top coat. This polish was hard to find (it’s one of the nicest colors in the collection, and a super-popular color in general) but my sister’s friend (my friend) Lindsay was able to snag the last bottle at a specialist shop. Half-price, too! Yay!

That’s all for this month! Can’t wait to share more with you next month.

Nails and Ales

Time for another round of Nails and Ales!!!

Dogfish Head’s Aprihop is a seasonal beer only available in March/April. I was excited to try it. Mostly because of the apricot flavor. I enjoyed my first bottle, but I’m not the biggest fan of IPAs (which are huge in Dogfish Land) so I could only handle the one. It was extremely hoppy but the apricot flavor helped it go down smooth. I’m glad I got to try it, but it’s not a favorite.
Nails: I have been dying to try newspaper print nails for a long time. I used China Glaze’s Pelican Gray as a base coat and followed Cute Polish’s instructions on her YouTube video! Easy and awesome nail art in seconds!

I decided to venture outside of the Woodchuck box for a moment here and try Angry Orchard’s Hard Cider. There are three different flavors: Traditional Dry, Crisp Apple, and Apple Ginger. I decided to go with the ginge on this one. I’m glad I did. It had a spicy kick to it that made it interesting and stand out from the average cider. I’m still a Woodchuck girl through and through, but this cider will not be ignored. I’d definitely recommend it, especially this flavor combo. Yum!
Nails: Using OPI’s Coney Island Cotton Candy as a base, I decided to do a variety of diagonals and stripes with China Glaze’s Fast Track (from the Capitol Colours-Hunger Games) collection. I didn’t Fast Track to be so subtle, but it was different to do some funky art with neutral colors.
I liked the result.

Magic Hat is one of those breweries that has a beer for every taste. I was excited to try Elder Betty, their summer brew. It’s a weiss (wheat) beer, and it’s rare that I don’t enjoy a good wheat beer (think Blue Moon/Shock Top/Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat). This one just happens to be brewed with elderberry flavor, which is nice and tart. It’s an easily drinkable beer that I super-duper enjoyed.
Nails: It was pure coincidence that my nails happened to match the bottle so well. Both polishes are from Urban Outfitters. I fell in love with the purple, called Bandeau, looked like it could glow under black lights. I used the uber-chunky glitter polish (Chilly) in complementary purples and blues as accent on my pointer and middle fingers. It’s simple with a kick.

I kicked off Memorial Day weekend right with a Shock Top Lemon Shandy. Shandies are awesome. You can actually make your own, mixing a beer of your choice (probably something light or wheat) with lemonade! They are the perfect beers for summer. Leinenkugel also has a tasty shandy that is so easy to sip and the perfect end (or beginning) to any summer day!
Nails: It’s been a while since I used the trusty Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips, but I was in a lazy mood. In fact, my nails were bare before I applied these (THE HORROR!). The name of these strips are "Not a Peep!” and they are from the now discontinued Spring 2012 collection. I picked them up at Target for 4 bucks. Cute little birdies kissing for less than half the price? I couldn’t say no.

And that’s the round up for this past month! Can’t wait to share more with you next month!

Nails and Ales

Time for Round 4 of Nails and Ales. It’s been a while, I apologize! I’ve been on a wine kick for a while. I’ve also found myself relying on the trustworthy and dependable cheap beers that are usually available to me. However, I have here 4 different drinks (with a bonus for fun) and nail art designs to share with you today!

Sapporo is a very enjoyable beer. I save this for trips to the Hibachi. Mix that in with the occasional squirt of sake and you’re in for a real (sloppy) treat. The large can seems never ending, but it’s a clean, crisp taste that doesn’t intrude with all the food and flavors you experience when at a Hibachi restaurant.
Nail Polish: I used too many here to remember. These were done using the Cute Polish Galaxy Nails tutorial.

The weekend I had this Immort Ale, I had made my own 6 pack at a local deli. I tried 5 completely different kinds of beers and all of them were equally enjoyable. I decided to share this one with you, because it was the most memorable.
I know this picture is kind of blurry, but if you can make it out, the ingredients are (as always with Dogfish Head) delicious! However, it being 11% ABV, it had a sting to it within the first sip. That’s the booze, baby! But once that first sip went down, it was easy going from there.
I could honestly probably only ever handle one of these, and it’s a good thing that’s all I had. I went into hot flash mode. For a moment, I thought I was becoming immortal. Dogfish Head, I LOVE THEE!
Nails: OPI’s A-Taupe the Space Needle with Warm and Fozzie accented on my pointer and middle fingers.

Oh, Woodchuck. My love. This is the Summer cider, and it’s delicious. But that was to be expected. The only one I didn’t really care for was Spring, and I had that on tap, so I don’t think it had the right fizz to it. Anyway, this is a crisp and delicious, light and tasty cider that will be good for the summer months.
Nails: This was a failed attempt at Ikat nails, but I kept them anyways. OPI’s Jade is the New Black, Sally Hansen’s White On and Black Nail Art Pen, with Wet and Wild’s How I Met Your Magenta.

I am not above cheap beer. I will always enjoy Lionshead (our favorite local lager) and PBR pounders. I always see this next to the PBR and I liked the can. It was 6 dollars for a 6-pack, so I couldn’t say no to a simple lager. Nothing special, but I’d drink it again.
Nails: My new favorite nail polish, China Glaze’s For Audrey and Essie’s Luxeffects Shine of the Times on top.

 

BONUS:

The same weekend I made my own 6-pack that housed the Immort Ale, I found this Belgian-Style Cider from Woodchuck. It was my first time purchasing one of their Private Reserve ciders. This was tasty. It was similar to a Belgium-Style beer, cloudy and orange-y, with that sweet cider kick. I really enjoyed this. It was way better than the Spring cider, and more appropriate too!
I don’t even know if they have it anywhere anymore. I made sure to scoop up a couple 6-packs. But of course I finished it. OOPS!

‘Til next time…

Nails and Ales

Round 3!
It’s been a while, but since I only paint my nails about once a week, and I reserve drinking for the weekends,
it takes a while to accumulate photos of my “nail art” and different beers.

Winter Lagers. For starters, Samuel Adams’ makes good beer in general. Sam Adams’ Winter Lager is definitely perfect for the season. They are heavier, spicier, and stronger than your average beer. Trust me, one is enough to keep you warm from the winter chill.
Nail Polish: China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini with Sally Hansen In the Spotlight glitter on top.

Newcastle Brown Ale is one of those classic flavors. It’s not a microbrew or seasonal ale with fancy added flavors. This is something you can get, and drink, all year round. I enjoy it. It’s smooth with a deeper taste. I’ve likened it to a Tootsie Roll in it’s after taste.
No bitter beer face here.
Nails: Nicki Minaj OPI colors: Super Bass Shatter over Fly, and Did It On ‘Em on the ring finger.

So, the deal is, if you want to try a crazy-large variety of many different, delicious beers…grab any and every Dogfish Head brew you can find.
This was my first Midas Touch. Do you see those ingredients? Needless to say, this was a yummy beer.
Considering it’s 9% ABV, it’s not something I could drink more than 1-2 of. But it’s worth the try!
Nails: OPI’s Sparrow Me the Drama, Stranger Tides, and A-Taupe the Space Needle in a cloud pattern (tutorial here)

Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre (aka Reason for Existence) is just that. A delicious beer that reminds you why you like beer so dang much. Brad bought this one on a whim because it sounded tasty (again, most Dogfish Head brews are) and I enjoyed mine immensely.
It’s rare I’ll say anything bad about Dogfish Head’s yummy beers.
Nails: Nails Inc. Magnetic Nail Polish in Whitehall (Seriously cool stuff. Effortless design in seconds!)

Carlsberg Elephant. I pretty much picked this out because it’s a classic brand and I absolutely love elephants. It was reason enough for me. Elephant is about 2% stronger than classic Carlsberg, with a harder bite, but it was the perfect compliment to my tasty chicken salad club sandwich from Goldstein’s Deli. Which is one of the greatest places on the planet.
Nails: OPI’s Coney Island Cotton Candy beneath a chevron-style manicure placement of OPI’s Holland Collection I Have a Herring Problem

Nails and Ales

Time for Round Two of Nails and Ales!
This feature allows me to show off two of my favorite things…my nail polish endeavors and the different beers I try every so often.

Blue Moon is one of my favorite beers, hands down. So I was excited to try this seasonal ale.
The flavor was much stronger than the traditional brew, but I enjoyed it a lot.

Samuel Adams’ Chocolate Bock is ridiculously good. I don’t think I could drink more than one, but it would be an excellent dessert beer. The cocoa flavor was there, but not too sweet or overpowering. This came in a Samuel Adams holiday pack, and each beer was tasty in it’s own delightful way.

Lionshead is not a new beer for me, or even a fancy beer. If you can see in the picture, it is made in Wilkes-Barre, PA, aka right near home. Drinking this transports me right back to college and memories of crazy nights with great friends.
At about 15 bucks a case, you can’t go wrong. The matching nails were a happy coincidence.

Holiday nails and a holiday ale! This is a tasty, Christmas-y treat! The first sip is a festive flavor punch.
This was the one and only Fezziwig I got to enjoy. But I think that’s what keeps it so special.

Woodchuck Hard Cider is one of my favorite drinks EVER. And I’m not just talking in terms of alcoholic beverages. It’s not heavy on the alcohol content and it is just too tasty for words. The classic Amber flavor is my go-to, but I’m game to try every flavor. This particular cider is called Crisp, and is considered a session cider. It’s not a personal favorite of the flavors, it kind of reminds me of a green apple
Jolly Rancher. For me, that’s a little too sweet to enjoy. I did have the winter cider, though, and it’s beyond tasty.