This tasty beer snack is ridiculously easy, shockingly yummy and requires but a few ingredients. You need:

- an assortment of mixed olives from your local grocery olive bar, pits in. Use whatever kind you like.
- fresh garlic
- a fresh herb and a dry herb- this could include basil, thyme, oregano, mint…really any herb you’ve got lying around the kitchen.
- olive oil

In a bowl, add the olives, chopped garlic (1-2 cloves or more depending on how many olives you’re roasting), chopped herb and just a smidge of olive oil.

Mix to coat.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and dump on the olive, garlic and herb mixture.

Roast in the oven at around 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on them and sort of roll them around about half way through.

Once they’re roasted, transfer the olives to a serving dish and enjoy!

The roasted olives are salty, succulent, juicy and just the thing to compliment your favorite beverage, be it beer or wine.

I served mine with Lagunitas Brown Shugga, an excellent California ale with a touch of sweetness. I’d stick to a beer with a good body, a crisp IPA or something hoppy. Stay away from brews that are too caramely or light as the olives will certainly overpower.

A tangy white wine also goes nicely with this appetizer. I served this fabulous French table wine with mine – its crisp, acidic lightness cuts nicely through the savory, meaty olives.

Under $10

Great Beers By Tim Hampson: A guide to the world’s best beers, from bitters, lagers and stouts to porters, ales and more. Featuring more than 700 beers from 350 breweries worldwide, complete with brewery details, histories, recommendations, and tasting notes. Urban Outfitters $7.99

Thirsty Birdie Bottle Opener: Who needs a conventional bottle opener? Opening beer bottles just got glamorous. This sturdy little bird is made from mirror-like chrome and is as cute as it is functional. Modcloth.com $9.99

Under $20

Shot in the Pint Drinking Glass: One side holds 16oz of your beer of choice; the other holds 2oz of your favorite liquor. It might be simple, but it’s also freaking brilliant. HomeWetbar.com $19.99

Under $30

Bottle/Can opener case for iPhone: Available for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 this case boasts a built in can opener on the back. It can open bottles or cans with the stainless steel opener on the back and can be purchased from Gadgets And Gear for $24.95.

The Very Many Varieties of Beer Poster: While this may not really be something you’re dying to hang on your living room wall, it would look really cool in a garage or basement man-cave. Also a great gift for an office wall. Each poster is hand-signed by the artists, stamped with PCL’s official seal, and numbered from the master edition. Using 100 lb archival recycled stock certified by The Forest Stewardship Council, our posters are printed on the offset lithographic presses of Precise Continental Corp., in DUMBO, Brooklyn. The Pop Chart Lab $25

Under $40

Mikasa Brewmasters Beer Tasting Flight set: This set of four glasses comes with a wood caddy, perfect for transporting from the bar or kitchen to the table. Amazon $30.63

Chalkboard tap handle: If you know someone who’s lucky enough to have a tap in their home, these are made from walnut and topped with a little chalkboard square, you can customize them with the changing of your beer.  Tapboards.com $39.95

Getting serious: $50 and up

Glass-blown German beer boot (2 Liter): This is das boot! Glass beer boots come from the practice of quite literally using one’s own boot to drink beer, originally done by German soldiers nearly 100 years ago. Well a lot has changed since then and now you can capture the fun and excitement of drinking from this German beer boot without the foot oder! HomeWetBar.com $54.95

Beer of the Month Club Comparison: There are several, but DrinkCraftBeer.com has compared them so you figure out which is right for you or for a gift. $34.95/month – $46.95/month

Back home in Little Rock there is bar (very appropriately) named ‘White Water’. It’s kind of a dive bar and so of course it’s my favorite.  Trusty’s gave me a similar feeling and it’s the best bar I’ve found in DC, so far.

The decor can only be described as vintage schoolhouse. There are old oil cans and vintage signs on the walls. All the light fixtures are made of some sort of vintage what-not.

Upstairs is an old school bus that has been recreated into a bar. There are vintage lunchboxes everywhere and I believe I spotted Superman and possibly ‘The Fall Guy‘.

We settled into a small table for two in the front of the bar. All the other patrons were around the bar, but we were awaiting a storm and wanted to watch the rain fall.

Although I liked many things about Trusty’s what was dearest to my heart is that they serve the beer in mason jars. The beer selection is good but not all that extensive. I had a Long Hammer IPA on draft in my jar and I believe the two of us ended up finishing a pitcher. The glasses were thankfully not chilled (I hate that, totally can’t taste the brew). They don’t have many bottles but their can selection is pretty good.

The menu contained mostly greasy bar food (yum), but we had heard they have good burgers so we decided to give those a try.

They came out looking and smelling delicious. The cook asked us if we preferred regular chips or a special selection of sweet onion he had behind the bar. Um, onion of course. There weren’t many left so he gave us a mix. The burger was amazing. It tasted like it was cooked over a charcoal grill and the American cheese is perfectly melted. The toppings: Lettuce, tomato, sauteed onion, were tasty and not overpowering.

The bus bar was closed but we went up to take a peek. There is also an outdoor patio area connected to the bus bar. I believe I also spotted several arcade games including Big Buck Hunter which has in the past provided me with hours of slightly inebriated fun (don’t judge, just try it).

We had a really good time and will be heading back over to Trusty’s soon.  I wish it were a little closer to us, but it’s probably a good thing it’s not my neighborhood because I would probably never leave.

phil h, Flickr

Girls.org has been a little busy the past week. Our day jobs are taking over a little bit. We’re sorry we haven’t been able to post and posts will be few and far between in the next few weeks.

Please don’t give up on us, we are still here and will be back posting regularly in a few weeks. We wish we could do this full time but unfortunately it doesn’t pay the bills (yet).

We hope you have a great Labor Day weekend and enjoy some great beer, wine, food and of course, a little fitness to burn it all off. We want to leave you with a great new tune from an amazing band called the Good Time Rounders from east Texas. This tune is called ‘Home’. Enjoy and we will see you soon!

Click here to listen to ‘Home’

Whatknot, Flickr

A sweet release: Bitches Brew (Beer Geek)

Baltimore Beer Week 2010 (Beer Activist)

The 10 best cities for beer lovers to visit (PHOTOS) (Huffington Post)

selva, Flickr

Tips for the beer tourist (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Hop farming without pesticides – a visual tour (Beervana)

A canned tribute to The Goonies Happy 25th Anniversary! (CraftCans.com)

Bars across America: Drinking and biking from coast to coast (Beeractivist.com)

slworking2, Flickr

Craft beer biz booms in Chicago (NBC Chicago)

Fried beer! Fried frozen margaritas! Big Tex has spoken (Dallas Morning News)

Bitches Brew: 40th anniversary collector’s edition (2010) (Entertainment Weekly)

angela7dreams, Flickr

Win tickets to RFD’s Firkin Spectacular (Washington City Paper)

Spotted in Austin: a beer-powered streetcar! (Dallas Morning News)

The father of craft brewing comes out of retirement (Washington Post)

Daquella manera, Flickr

A week of beer in DC (GirlsonBeer)

Take one cup of beer … (The Old Foodie)

Dollar General begins selling beer, wine (Examiner)

Philosophical question: Can a beer be perfect? (Beervarna)