Happy Thanksgiving to all.  I spent yesterday brewing up a 5-gallon batch of India Pale Ale.  It’s fermenting nicely in my basement right now.  This is my 5th batch since getting into the new hobby.

This year I decided to use some of the home brew equipment to deep fry the Thanksgiving turkey.

It was a sunny 39 degree day here in Cleveland, OH.  I had a tough time keeping the oil at 350 degrees, but the turkey still came out amazing after 48 minutes in the hot oil bath.  I smoked 2 cigars during the cooking process; a 5 Vegas Series “A” and a Perdomo Habano Maduro.  Both good smokes to have while tending to the fryer and sipping my homebrew Hop Nog 2008 IPA.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend.  Cheers.

Deep Fried Turkey Rating:
Hop Nog 2008 IPA Rating:
Thanksgiving Cigars:

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Hoppin Frog Brewery is just down the road from me in Akron, OH.  They make some bold craft brews, including this Double IPA which boasts 168 IBUs.

I picked up a 22oz from the local grocery store.

Appearance: Cloudy, reddish amber.  Pours with a 3 finger head.

Taste: Hoppy, hoppy, and more hops!  I’m a hophead, so I was in heaven with this much hop.  There was also some citrus/fruit notes.

Conclusion:  This is a big, bold beer that would go good with a steak or burger.

Cigar Pairing Suggestion: I’d stick with a Maduro such as the Perdomo Habano Maduro or Perdomo Estate Vintage 1991, Regente, Maduro

Rating: 8.0

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With all the talk over the past few weeks and months of CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE I was inspired to mix things up here at Leafytimes.com.

The reason the cigar reviews have been non-existent since Hudgar can be attributed to my new hobby - Home Brewing Beer.  I’ve brewed up 20 gallons so far (India Pale Ale, American Pale Ale, Belgium Triple, Holiday IPA) with no signs of slowing down.  It’s a great hobby that I’m really enjoying every aspect of it.  I had thought of starting a NEW blog, but recently thought that I could easily combine CIGARS and BEER into one.  It’s a natural marriage of the good life.

So hope and change have made there way to LeafyTimes.  Stay tuned for more excitement, hope, change, disappoint, etc.

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