ThirstyMates.com

Welcome to all that have come over from Random As Rhyme.

A big thanks to Dave for the shout out in yesterday’s post.

ThirstyMates is always happy to have new visitors!

With the holidays over looks like it’s all back to the grind. I’d like to thank my family for a great time and point out just how booze-infused my gifts and holiday season were.

Let’s start with the beer gifts.

I got so many beer related gifts for Christmas! It was great! I kept opening more and more beer and bar stuff. Here’s just a few things (I’m sure I’ll miss one or two of them).

• First off I got a home brewing kit from Mrs.Thirstymates. it’s just a beginners kit but I’m really looking forward to brewing some of my own stuff.
• A pilsner Brew kit from The Brew House
• Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels
• How to Brew by John J. Palmer
• New Brewing Lager Beer by Gregory J. Noonan
• Beers Of The Word by David Kenning

On top of all this I got so many nice things for my bar at home. Including bottles of Crown Royal, Tanqueray, and Sheridan’s Liquor (I can’t seem to find a website for them).

I also received bar paraphernalia like six beautiful lead crystal glasses from my brother and his girlfriend along with some wine stoppers that match our decor beautifully. A silver platter and Scotch bottle hanger from my mother and father and an LCBO Canadian whiskey glass from Santa in my stocking.

All in all a good booze related haul for Christmas!

But my birthday is just around the corner (April’s not that far away is it?) Let’s see if the fam can top this Christmas booty.

There has been some backlash concerned with the news of a Wii Beer Pong game we mentioned here.

Some members of the video game community have shown distaste towards bringing out a “drinking game” on the Wii which is (so far) a more child oriented console.

The only problem I see here is the fact that the game has been given a “T” rating meaning that is can be sold to anyone 13+. Lisa Lombardozzi of the Greater Herndon Community Coalition is worried that selling such a game to minors will promote underage drinking and even binge drinking in minors. Since the legal drinking age in most states is 21 some are worried that the game will promote drinking unhealthy ideals in the youth population.

JV Games’ spokesman Vince Valenti said, “We are not advocating drinking any more than watching cartoons or watching the TV show Cheers, or even going bowling or to a baseball game … If anything, you’re going to be drinking less, because you are too busy playing the game, trying to beat your opponent, to be constantly picking up a beer and drinking it.” Vince sounds a little less than interested in Lisa’s view of the situation.

The video in the preveous post has since been removed from youTube.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Frat Party games (a devision of JVGames the people who brought you such hits as… ummm…). Has announced that they are currently working on a title for Wii ware (the Wii’s downloadable game program) called Beer Pong at first look I thought this game would be really stupid EVEN THOUGH I used to quite enjoy playing beer pong myself.

The Official Website for the game is pretty lame. Flash based with images that are horribly pixelated and animations to match it was looking even more bleak at this point.

Then I watched the video below and it actually looks kinda fun.

Being the only ThirstyMate with a Wii console right now I’ll be letting you know how this game pans out when it drops in June. I’m looking for a 1000 points (10 dollars) OR LESS (preferably) price on it because I don’t think it’ll sell too well if it’s more than that. But this game looks like it could be a riot to play with some friends.

This recipe comes from the mind of my girlfriend. She’s brilliant in the kitchen and 1/3rd the reason that I have the shape I do.

Our Sol Cerveza Fajitas are a great addition to the end of your hard day at work or for having some friends over for a barbeque. These fajitas taste lightly of Sol and are simply delicious. Great to fill up on and wash down with the remaining beers!

This recipe makes enough for two large Fajitas each leaving enough for lunch the next day.

Ingredients:

1 large grilling steak whole if grilling on the BBQ cut in to ½ cm strips if roasting in the oven.
1/2 sweet onion sliced
2 Cloves of minced garlic
1/2-1 tsp Red Chili Flakes
1/2 tsp of Salt
1/2 tsp of Pepper
Juice of 2 limes
3/4 of a bottle of Sol Cerveza
1 Jalapeño Pepper
1/2 Green Pepper
1/2 Red Pepper
1/2 Yellow Pepper

• Put the steak, onion, garlic chili flakes, salt, pepper and lime juice in to a Ziploc bag and fill with beer. Remove all the air from the bag and mush it all around to cover and place in a bowl in the fridge (incase of leakage) for 1/2 hour to 3 hours. Add a small amount of lime or lime juice to the remaining beer and pass to the closest Thirsty Mate.
• Pre heat your grill or if using an oven a cast iron skillet to 500 degrees and let the skillet heat up for at least 20 minutes.
• If your skillet is large enough or you’re using the barbeque you can combine the next two steps. Add a pinch of salt to the skillet and one tsp of olive or vegetable oil for lubrication add the peppers and return to the oven for 5min or until cooked but not soft. If using the barbeque grill to the same perfection then set aside.
• Add the steak to the skillet once it’s had a chance to heat back up in the oven and roast till med rare (or well done if you’re crazy)
• Add peppers to skillet and toss. Return to oven till all is nice and hot and ready to serve.

Serve on large tortillas with cheese, sour cream, salsa and the remainders of the six pack of Sol Cerveza. Don’t forget to add any remaining lime to the beers!

Hint: Cut your slices of lime thin enough to slip back out of the bottle when you’re done your beer so that it’s less messy at the beer store and they won’t attract any fruit flies in a few days time.

Sol beer is clear and pours with little to no head. Although is best enjoyed outside from the bottle with a slice of lime. Coming form a brewery near Mexico City called “El Salto Del Agua” (the water fall). During it’s conception the German brew master noticed that a ray of sunshine fell in to the brewing pot and the name was born. In the beginning it was marketed to the working class because it was much more refreshing than the traditionally heavy European style beers available at the time.

With the popularity of facebook and the ability for people, corporations and brands to spread the word through the world here’s some links to some facebook groups and fan pages:

• Alexander Keith’s
• Torontos Festival of Beer
• Tiger Beer
• Taps Craft
• Pilsner Beer
• Shmaltz Brewing Co. and HEBREW Beer
• Canadian Beer in general
• Steam Whistle Pilsner
• Guinness
• Molson Canadian
• Heineken
• Stella Artois
• Jagermeister
• Absolut Vodka
• What goes better with vodka other than Red Bull

These are just a few of the groups out there. If you have some fav’s that aren’t on the list why not leave them in the comments section?

Welcome home friend! I’m sure you’ll enjoy your stay.

ThirstyMates.com will soon be your place to come for beer related news, reviews, anecdotes, and all things in-between.

About us:
We’re just a few friends from the Toronto area looking to make our mark on the minds of the internets beer drinkers. Step over here and meet the founding fathers of ThirstyMates.com.

Grant – The mastermind.

Upon opening his personal blog to the world Grant posted a few beer reviews and noticed something magical. When he posted thoughts about beer hits went up. When he posted about his boring life hits went down That’s when the idea struck! Why not a blog about beer! Whether you call him an enthusiast a drinker or even a drunk Grant still enjoys a pint.

Chris – Life long buddy and pal.
Grant’s friend since they were wee ones growing up in the boonies outside of Toronto these two cut their teeth on Molson Canadian and Labatt Blue bought by friends of friends and siblings of friends. Luckily their palates have matured (some may argue their minds have not).

Chad and Kirk –
Chad and Kirk work together and like beer. They also like cigars. Grant met Kirk through Chad who he met through a friend of his girlfriend.

Ryan – Learning together
Grant’s roommate in college, Ryan and Grant cut their boozing teeth together. Now he’s working long days and Ryan prefers nothing more then to come home to a cold beer and a thick steak. Also a lover of whiskey and port.

This band of friends have come together to help and entertain you on your journey through beer, spirits and the monotonous grind of city life. So do like we do and try to sit back and enjoy the ride… Although it might get a tad bumpy along the way.

Update: The other mates have failed to produce any content other than two posts by Kirk and Grant got sick of chasing after them. So ThirstyMates.com is now a solo project. Perhaps there will be some guest articles in the future. But I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.