A Review: Michelob ULTRA Light Cider

Wow, guys! I'm telling you... this whole moving process is sucking the life out of us! Fortunately, Mike and I were able to get away from it all for a day and enjoy the long holiday weekend at a cookout party our friends had on Memorial Day weekend. It was also a great time to try out the new Michelob ULTRA Light Cider!

I'm sure you've heard of the Michelob name and have probably tried their beer. Personally, I'm not a fan of beer. I have never really developed a taste for it but when BlogHer informed me that Michelob had introduced this new light, naturally sweetened and gluten-free cider made from crisp apples, I hopped on board at the chance to try it! The light and refreshing, Michelob ULTRA Light Cider is an ideal alternative to white wine, champagne and traditional ciders. I grabbed a six-pack and shared with five of my friends!

Where barley and hops are the main ingredients in beer, Michelob ULTRA Light Cider is made with all-natural ingredients, including apples, and is naturally sweetened with stevia. It is naturally gluten-free, and is the first cider Anheuser-Busch has produced and distributed in the U.S.

Michelob ULTRA Light Cider can be enjoyed straight or over ice – perfect for a warm summer day. We mixed it up a little and tried it both ways. I drink EVERYTHING over ice, so naturally I went with this option. The verdict: It was delish! If I’m being completely honest, I expected it to taste like beer because it was made by Michelob. I was pleasantly surprised and the crispness of the cider. I think it would have been perfect with a little wedge of lemon, but then again, what drink wouldn’t? My go-to drink is either a Moscato wine or a margarita on the rocks. The Michelob ULTRA Light Cider was a nice mix of the two. The flavor was not over powering and really didn’t leave an after taste like beer does. This drink would be absolutely perfect with a big steak right off the grill and some corn-on-the-cobb... YUM! Would I buy it again? Sure, why not! At $10.69 for a six-pack of 12-ounce bottles, I’ll definitely give Michelob ULTRA Light Cider another shot!

Like I said, I shared the cider with five of my friends. Let’s hear what they had to say!

Different people, different opinions! Overall, I think that everyone enjoyed it and we all would buy it again in the future! Heck, with only 120 calories per serving (one-third fewer calories than an average of the leading regular hard ciders) why not?


So, which favorite summer meal or activity do you think would go best with Michelob ULTRA Light Cider?

Want more information on Michelob ULTRA Light Cider? Please visit www.MichelobUltra.com or find them on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/MicheolbULTRA. You can also find out more about this product on the Michelob ULTRA Light Cider page on BlogHer.com or visit the sponsor's site!

Vintage Indiana 2011

Me, Amy, Sarah, Jennie, and Jackie

Last Saturday, four of my girlfriends and I went to the Vintage Indiana Food and Wine Festival in Indianapolis.  It was a blazing 95-ish degrees but we still had a blast!  We sampled wine from 25 different Indiana wineries.  My favorite of the day was the Cayuga White wine from French Lick Winery.  Luckily I bought a bottle right after I sampled it because we went back again and they were sold out!

Winzerwald Winery had an awesome Schweizer Spice wine that tasted exactly like pumpkin pie!  I got a bottle to save for Thanksgiving :-)

Have you ever tried Reggae Wine?  It is made my Easley Winery and is sold in stores (around here, anyway).

They use their wine in a couple of drink recipes.  I took pictures of the recipe boards so I could try these at home.  They both sound so good!

 

They also had hula hoops there... My girls can rock the hoop!!

Between tents, we would go back to our "campsite" and hang out, snack, drink, chat... just have fun!  Mom and Dad also came, along with my aunt and uncle, and two of my mom's girlfriends.  We all sat around together and it was a fun and relaxing time!

Jackie telling Dad for the 5th time that no, she does not live in Fishers and no, she doesn't work at the news station :o)

Jax and I sipping on some Lady Luck... Last time we did this, THIS happened :o)

Mom and Dad

I came home with six bottles!  I can't wait to pop the corks :o)

The one to the far left is the one that tastes like pumpkin pie.  The next one, Cranberry-Apple from Simmons Winery, tastes like Christmas!  Not joking.  Then, I got another bottle of Lady Luck from Carousel Winery.  This one is a basic blush wine.  Next is the Cayuga White from French Lick.  This is a honey wine... SO good!  Finally, I got a couple of fruity wines from Cedar Creek; Pomegranate Zin and Strawberry Splash.  The Strawberry Splash tastes like real, fresh strawberries!

We all had a blast!  It didn't rain on us at all.  I can't wait to go back next year!

Flavor of the Month: Peppermint

So, October brought my pumpkin obsession (by the way, I did try Edy's pumpkin ice cream finally and LOVED it!  Even better with chocolate syrup on it!), followed by November's cranberries.  The frosty weather led me into Starbucks the other day.  Instead of my usual grande non-fat, no whip mocha, I ordered a peppermint mocha.  Oh.my.gosh.  BEST drink on earth.

Did you know?

The signature red-and-white stripes of the peppermint candy cane did not become traditional until the 20th century, but nobody is quite sure who first thought of the design.

I also saw that not only does Edy's have a peppermint ice cream, but Starbucks froze my piece of heaven on earth and made a peppermint mocha ICE CREAM! 

I think I'm in big trouble... February's flavor of the month may have to be Slim-Fast!

These are a few of my favorite things

I have never been a fan of the skinny jeans.  Can you blame me though?  I live in the dumbest city in America (Men’s Health 2005) and the fourth fattest city in America (Centers for Disease Control 2002)!  There are a lot of dumb, fat people here that think they look good in skinny jeans and honestly, it makes me throw up a little in my mouth.  Well, Mike and I went jeans shopping last week and if you saw my Facebook post, you know that I am now on the skinny jeans bandwagon!  I love them!  BUT, I don't care how tight or stretchy they are, I REFUSE to call them jeggings!

Shirt: J. Crew, Jeans: Maurices, Shoes: Crocs... yes, I rock the Crocs.

 If you've been a regular blog reader of mine for a while, you already understand my OBSESSION with Diet Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash!  I know I have a problem with hoarding this stuff.  I am always so afraid they will run out before I get burned out!  Remember when I almost took my own life for lack of DSMCS? Thankfully I had friends that slapped some sense into me :o)  Well, it's baaa-aaack!  The shelves were completely stocked so I only bought one 2-liter but this is how it looked that same night:

I told you I'm obsessed.  Oh, and every time I poor a glass, Mike swoops in and takes a "sip."  He then makes a disgusted face and proceeds to tell me that it is NOT good... THEN QUIT WASTING IT!  It's mine!  ALL mine!

Please, please tell me you thought of me when you watched the results show of Dancing With the Stars!  I about choked when I heard that my love, Michael Bolton, was going to be singing, but when Brooke announced that he was going to be singing Hallelujah, I seriously peed a little!  Michael is awesome.  That song is awesome.  Awesome + awesome = AMAZING!  I'm not obsessed though.  It's a complete coincidence that I married a Michael and I live on Bolton Drive.  Coincidence, I swear ;o)

One more thing that really needs no words:

Merry Christmas Eve!