I know I hinted about web updates and incriminating photos of Sean’s Bachelation from the north Georgia mountains, but we decided not to do it.

Two reasons: Sean *might* have political aspirations one day that would be forever shot (there is no statute of limiations on Google searches), and T-Mobile’s coverage area dropped about 1/4 mile from the cabin. If I were really the “Best Man” I could have done regular shuttle runs of taking a picture, typing up the caption, running up the hill to find coverage and posting the photo, and heading back to the cabin, just to do it again 20 minutes later. I decided to not be an overachiever and be lazy, stay around the cabin and drink beer with the rest of the guys.

In summary, here’s the quick recap of the weekend’s events.

Drink beer. Eat steaks. Drink more beer, while playing ping pong or X-Box. Watch a DVD. More X-Box. Sleep. Repeat.

The only bit of productivity we managed all weekend was finishing the keg of Alt beer (which was better on day two, when it was being served at cellar temperatures and the roasty notes and fruity esters has a chance to shine through), and a number of really interesting foreign beers like Deus, Westy 6, Trois Pistoles, and Rochefort 10.

Sometimes it’s ok to go back to your roots: a good burger and cheap beer.

The Earl’s burger is one of the best in town, especially when our friend Red in the kitchen. Cooking a burger to the proper temperature is not something I take for granted, and I’m glad he’s cooking tonight.

While visiting friends in Chicago, we got to experience a neighborhood happy hour with all of the trapppings. Here, that means a grill with plenty of sausage (both sweet and spicy) and a few coolers of cold beer.

I couldn’t believe how well these two beers matched our holiday meal. The 3 Monts was a light palette scrubber with some spicyness. The Hennepin was more assertive, but still complementary to the myriad flavors on the table.

I have wanted to try my hand at “cuisine a la biere” for a while now, and my friend Mark loaned me his copy of the latest Cook’s Illustrated, which had a recipe for Carbonnade a la Flamande — or Belgian beef stew made with beer.

I was a little surprised at the amount of onions in it — the recipe (enough for 6 servings) called for 2 pounds — but after a long simmer on the stovetop and two hours in the oven, they were reduced to almost nothing. It filled the house with a really wonderful aroma: part acidic, part roastiness from the reduction of the dubbel, and a lot whole of beefiness from the shoulder roast used for the stew meat. I did not have the bay leaves the recipe called for, but it still came out quite well. Cook’s serving suggestions included mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles. For time’s sake, I went with the buttered egg noodles, and they were a great accompaniment. The butter added a touch of richness and the wide, undulating noodles held on to the viscous stew.

The dubbel I served at the table, though 12 ounces were used in the stew itself, still has enough of its own flavor strengths to provide a nice contrast to the finished meal. In particular, the chocolate and roast flavors in the beer stood out in the glass, but were undetectable in the stew. In all, I am very happy with the way it turned out, and suspect this will become one part of an upcoming beer dinner.