Archive for November, 2007

BROCCOLI CHEDDAH (& DIPA) SOUP

Published by Josh on November 30, 2007 in Recipes. 5 Comments

Wednesday, 6:15 pm. I get home from work and immediately start doing a mental inventory of what all I’ve got stashed away in the kegerator. It didn’t take me long to decide on the Breckenridge Brewery 471 Small Batch double hopped IPA. I poured it in a glass, as I do. Then I started in on it. It was a damn fine beer, which I’ll probably have to review some other time. I’m not reviewing the beer right now because what followed my drinking about half of the bomber is much more interesting at the moment.

As much as I was enjoying the beer, I needed to come up with a plan for dinner STAT. Just like that, it came to me. “I need to enjoy the second half of this beverage with some sort of cheese… and it’s a little chilly out. I’m thinking I need to make broccoli cheddar soup… with beer in it! ” It was the greatest idea I’d had in some time, I could feel it.

Fast forward 23 minutes later, ingredients in hand…

pre-soup

1/4 cup of butter
1 lb block of cheddar
2 lbs of broccoli
1 medium yellow onion
1/2 cup of flour
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 quart of vegetable broth
3 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste
and about three fingers up on my pint glass of the DIPA mentioned previously

1. Dice the onion and garlic and cook them together in the butter, on medium heat, for about 5 minutes.

2. Add broccoli to heat and cover for another 5.

3. Add broth and beer, turn heat up to high and cover until boiling.

4. Combine milk and flour in a bowl and mix well.

5. Slowly whisk the milk/flour mixture into the boiling pot and lower heat to med-high.

6. Slowly add grated cheddar to pot, stirring continuously.

7. Once cheese is melted add salt and pepper, stir well, lower heat again and cover. Let simmer for as long as you can stand it. Serve with some nice crusty bread.

Sorry Jim, you still rock.

Published by Josh on November 29, 2007 in Beer News. 2 Comments

 

Call it karma or whatever but I was feeling a little guilty for giving ol’ Jim Koch a hard time for that Imperial Pilsner he got $10 from me for. The day I posted that review, I saw an interesting article on Beer Advocate regarding Jim and his Longshot Homebrew Contest.

For those that aren’t familiar, Sam Adams puts on a contest for homebrewers around the nation to submit a sample of their best brew with the possibility of having it brewed professionally and distributed nationally. How cool is that?

Well, it seems that this year there was a bit of controversy surrounding the contest. Apparently the beer that was selected as the winner was a double IPA brewed by Mike McDole. It was announced that he was the winner and plans were started to make his beer. There was just one problem, the world wide hop shortage that we’ve been hearing so much about. It was determined that the brewery would not be able to duplicate Mike’s recipe because they simply couldn’t get all of the hop varieties that he used. So, in the end it was left up to Mike whether or not he wanted them to substitute the unavailable hops with other types, undoubtedly changing the profile of his prized beer. Mike made what I think was the right decision and requested that they hold off on brewing his recipe until they could do it exactly as he intended.

The folks at Sam Adams received a shitstorm of complaints from beer lovers everywhere, which prompted Jim Koch to draft a reply to Todd Alstrom of Beer Advocate where the controversy began. Here is a copy of his reply which I think was incredibly classy:

Todd -As you know from helping me with the LongShot judging, Mike McDole won our Samuel Adams Homebrew Contest with a delicious and complex Double IPA. We planned to brew his beer for national distribution as part of our LongShot 2008 6-pack. Back in June when we picked this beer, we had no idea there would be a hop shortage of unprecedented dimensions. Most of the seven varieties of hops in Mike’s recipe are literally sold out. They were not available at any price. We had possible substitutes for the missing hops but they would have changed the taste of Mike’s beer. Since we don’t normally buy these hop varieties we didn’t have existing contracts with farmers in place. All of the hops dealers and farmers we’ve approached to try to secure the hops to brew Mike’s beer already had their allotments promised to other breweries. I reached out to Mike last week to alert him to the problem. I presented him a plan to brew his recipe substituting hops that we already have or can secure. Ultimately that would have been a different beer. We were willing to go ahead and make a version of Mike’s Double IPA. Since it was Mike’s beer, we left the final decision up to him as the brewer. And he made what I consider the right decision for a brewer to make. Neither Mike nor I wanted to compromise the beer. It’s just too good. Together we both decided to go to plan B. We are going to defer the introduction of Mike McDole’s Double IPA until next year when we can get the right hops. We have already started the hunt for hops from next season’s crop. As you’ll remember from the judging based on the sample brew that we tasted, this is a beer worth waiting for. Cheers!Jim Koch
Founder & Brewer
Samuel Adams / Boston Beer Company

Nice work Jim. You did the right thing, and you rock for putting this contest together in the first place. Sorry for that comment about your panties!

Please, support your local brewpub.

Published by Josh on November 28, 2007 in PSA's and Restaurant/Bar Reviews. 6 Comments

Draught House

Still buzzed from an after-work trip to one of my favorite local pubs, I feel inspired to preach a little. Consider it a PSA. Deal with it.

I’m just sayin’, without places like The Draught House in beautiful Austin, Tx… being a beer geek would be a much more reclusive hobby. If I could only find beers like Bear Republic’s Racer 5 or Stone’s IPA at my local beer store, I’d never leave the house. I love browsing the aisles of any of my favorite beer stores and then enjoying the fruits of my labor at home, in my own glassware, on my own couch. But there’s still something really special about throwing back a few craft brews at your local pub.

Less than an hour ago, I enjoyed free pizza and the two beers mentioned above (on tap, mind you.) in what is arguably one of the coolest “neighborhood bars” in the country. When you pull into the parking lot at the Draught House, there will be people standing in the lot enjoying a beer discussing current events or the buggy javascript that they’re dealing with at their job (as was the topic next to me tonight). Inside, you may find free pizza, bratwurst or cheap house beers that they’ve made on site. There’s at least one dog, if not several, hanging out on the patio. Behind the bar is the best part though. There you’ll find 50 or so taps proudly displaying their respective brewery’s handle. This is one of the few times that I truly feel like that kid in the candy store. There are beers from everywhere from California all the way to Belgium. IPA’s, stouts, brown ales, seasonals, you name it.

Let’s face it, most of the beer drinking population is perfectly happy drinking watered down piss. The likes of Anheuser Busch have taken everything that’s fun and good about beer and stripped it all away. With their gargantuan maketing budgets, their front row seats at every major American sporting event and their shiny models they’ve somehow convinced most of the people that consider themselves “beer drinkers” that their products are acceptable. I say it’s time we start telling people otherwise.

Even tonight, at a place where you’d expect to find only craft beer drinkers I witnessed a couple of middle aged guys that came in and were immediately troubled by the selection behind the bar. They sort of looked at each other and then one of them sheepishly asks the friendly bartender “which one of these is going to be your lightest beer? We’d like two of them.” It was kinda like watching a couple of housewives shopping for a hammer drill. I could tell that they could see no reason why there would be so many damn choices up there. There’s supposed to be the token 2 or 3 name brands and their lighter counterparts along with that one tap of the dark stuff that only the aficionados drink. What in the holy hell could all of these other choices be?

I wish that I’d just taken a minute to stop by their table and suggest a couple of choices. They looked like nice enough guys. They probably would have appreciated the advice and it probably would have made them feel a bit more confident about branching out and trying some new beers. It would have given them something to brag to their other buddies on the golf course about, that Bellhaven’s Scottish Ale they were drinking the other night.

So, here’s my challenge to everyone, including myself. Let’s take every available opportunity to plant that seed and spark that curiosity in someone to explore the world of craft beers. I promise, you know at least one of these people right now. The ones who call themselves beer drinkers, but don’t like their beer to taste like beer. Take them under your wing and buy a few rounds at your favorite local brewpub. Or give the guy next door one of your homebrews and show him how easy it could be for him to make his favorite style of beer. You get the idea, let’s spread the word. We’ve got our work cut out for us. I mean, look at that hot chick in the magazine that’s going to like me if I’m carrying a six pack of Budweiser next time I’m at the beach.

Samuel Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner Review

Published by Josh on November 27, 2007 in Beer Reviews. 2 Comments

 

Since when can a wimpy little pilsner don the Imperial title? After Jim Koch goes to Germany and returns with enough Hallertau hops to make 10 barrels of beer, but decides to just make one, I guess. It says it right there on the bottle “An intense hop experience.” It’s not like they didn’t warn you.

I’d been eyeing this four pack in the cooler of my local beer slinger for a couple of weeks, and the curiosity was killing me. I always make it a point to try any new offering that comes from the fine folks at Sam Adams. Sometimes it’s a hit, as was the case with their Honey Porter, and other times it’s a flop… Cherry Wheat anyone? But they’re always exciting to try. Something just didn’t seem right to me about this one. Don’t get me wrong, I like Imperial Anything, so that wasn’t the part of the name that bothered me. Anytime a brewer decides they’re going to double the alcohol and/or hop volume, I’ll take two please.

It was the second half of the name, that pesky pilsner, that just didn’t sit well with me. How could such a drab style with it’s bottom fermenting yeast and it’s crisp, clean finish, try to call itself Imperial? If you’re going to call yourself an Imperial, you better jump out of that bottle and bitch slap me into a hoppy booze induced stupor.  It also helps to start out with a bold style to hide all of that fury from your unsuspecting audience until the very last second, and then WHAM!

Like Britney Spears exiting Paris Hilton’s Mercedes, everything is right out in the open for all to see when it comes to pilsners. There’s no sweet, malty backbone to use as a disguise because that bottom feedin’ yeast done ate it all up. There are no floral notes because noble hops don’t smell like flowers, damn it. It is what it is, and it ain’t Imperial y’all. </end Britney Spears impersonation>

In the glass, the Impy pilsner is the color of hay at dusk. Gold, with orange and red highlights. The head is full and strong, imperial, if you will.

The aroma is over-the-top hops. Most of the hop aroma is of the grassy variety, followed by fresh pine needles. If you really hunker down and get a good whiff, you’ll pick up spices too, followed by more hops. Huff it once more and you’ll get very subtle biscuit notes, like that of a graham cracker. There are many layers to this scent. It leads me to believe the same will be true of it’s flavor.

As soon as it hits my lips I feel the resinous presence of Hallertau. It washes over my tongue and seems to fill every crack and crevice with it’s syrupy hop blast. Bitter, bitter, bitter. Where’s the malt??? I need some grain to balance out the bite of these hops. It’s almost suffocating. Remember all of those smells I mentioned? Yeah, they’re nowhere to be found in the taste. It’s an all-out hop attack that seems to have killed the pilsner on it’s way out of the bottle.

I have to say that I’m disappointed with this one. I really wanted to like it, but I had a feeling I wouldn’t. It’s just too one dimensional. If you’re going to go crazy with hops, which I encourage you to do, you’d better go crazy with the malt too. It also helps to use more than one hop variety, and let them mingle a bit. This was way too heavy on the Hallertau and horribly lacking in anything that resembles two row malts.

Sorry Jim, but it’s back to the drawing boards on this one. Next time, maybe try an Imperial Stout.. and for the love of god put some panties on! Nobody wants to see that!

Don’t Fruit the Beer, Man.

Published by Josh on November 26, 2007 in Brewing How-to. 1 Comment


As the men of the square table declared years ago, fruit does not belong in beer. While many people would agree with this idea, I’m not one of them. In my opinion, a well placed fruit, in an appropriate style of beer, can be a very welcomed surprise.

Fruit in beer can be downright annoying too. If you’re gonna go there, be bold. It really irks me to get psyched up to experience the marriage of the right fruit with the right grain, only to find out that said fruit got cold feet. Pete’s Wicked Strawberry Blonde comes to mind here. Another example is any of the many “pumpkin ales” that don’t even use pumpkin in the brewing process. It’s criminal I tell ya.

So when I decided recently to add raspberries to a chocolate stout I made, I wanted it to be clear that there were raspberries in there. There’s a great deal of debate over how and when to add fruit to your beer. Many brewers introduce it during the mash, which results in more of an “essence” of whatever fruit is in the beer’s name. In my opinion, the way to do it is to add your fruit to the secondary stage of fermentation. When the fruit is there during the primary fermentation, the yeast converts most of the fruit to alcohol, resulting in a dry beer with little fruit flavor. If you add the fruit to the secondary, after most of the yeast has fallen out, you’ll get much more intense flavor from the fruit.

There are times where you might want to put your fruit in during the mash, such as in a pumpkin ale. I recently experimented with this theory as well. In researching my pumpkin ale recipe last year I found numerous opinions on the best way to include the pumpkin. Some brewers think it’s best to use a real pumpkin, baked slightly and tossed in the mash for the entire boil. Others said to use the canned stuff, and a portion of those brewers said to put it in towards the end of the boil for maximum pumpkin flavor. Last year, I decided to use Libby’s Select canned pumpkin in the mash. The beer was good, but the pumpkin flavor was a little weaker than I wanted. So, this year I used more of it in the mash, and also put some canned pumpkin in the secondary. I’m much happier with this year’s batch. The pumpkin is very evident and balanced perfectly with the pie spices.

Adding the fruit to the secondary seems to make a big difference, so I decided to take what I’d learned and apply it to the raspberries that I was adding to my chocolate stout. I found that many brewers seem to think it’s best to freeze the fruit which breaks down the cell walls to allow more flavor to be released. The thought of dealing with several pounds of whole raspberries in this fashion was daunting to say the least. I needed to get the berries pureed, and leave the seeds behind. Yeah.

A quick trip to Austin Homebrew uncovered the perfect solution. It seems that a company out of Oregon makes a raspberry puree, sans seeds! The raspberry goop is already pasteurized and ready to become one with the suds. In the carboy it goes, along with several heaping tablespoons of Ghirardelli cocoa powder to do it’s thing for several weeks.

I have very high hopes for this batch and I’m already dreaming of my next fruit experiment. I think we’ve just scratched the surface with this fruity beer idea. What other creations can you dream up? I’m going to start working on my pineapple pale ale recipe now… let’s hear your ideas.

Meantime IPA Review

Published by Josh on November 18, 2007 in Beer Reviews. 1 Comment

Meantime IPA

I love IPA’s. I’ll admit that I resisted these feelings for a while because it seemed like you couldn’t be a beer geek without first professing your love for all things hoppy. I don’t like to conform to what everyone else is doing, so I pretended for as long as I could. Truth is, there’s something to the craze, and who am I to deny myself the enjoyment?

IPA, or India Pale Ale, as a style has a very interesting history. Interesting because it’s a style that grew out of trying to find a solution to a very real problem. Back in the 18th century, after Britain had started to develop a strong naval presence, they quickly learned that the beer that they loved to drink could not hold up to long trips at sea. Particularly long trips to hot places, like India. Rather than throw their hands up and just drink other booze, they set out to brew a beer that could withstand such conditions. I like the way they think.

Before the days of refrigeration, the brewer only had two real lines of defense against the spoilage of their precious beers. Alcohol and hops. The alcohol creates an environment that is not conducive to the growth of microbes, and the hops inhibit the growth of Lactobacillus, which is responsible for nearly every beer you’ve ever had that tasted “sour”. The answer came to George Hodgson, brewer at Bow Brewery in East London, sometime in the 1790’s. He figured out that if he could create a beer that had lots of alcohol, and dry hop the hell out of it, the beer might actually be drinkable by the time it made it to Calcutta. Look at the big brain on George!

Why the history lesson you ask? I think it was necessary for a number of reasons. Most importantly because the IPA has come to be known as an American style. Yes, we have taken it to a whole new level with the advent of the double IPA and Imperial IPA, and we’ve explored every combination of hop varieties to create many unique variations of the style. But it’s important to be aware of where things started in my opinion.

So as I poured the Meantime IPA from it’s fancy champagne bottle, complete with cork and cage, I couldn’t help but wonder how this example from the dudes on the other side of the pond would hold up. Honestly, I’ve never had a British IPA that was really worth talking about at any great length. I was skeptical indeed, but the presentation sure didn’t hurt.

In the glass this beers looks more like a hefeweisen than an IPA. It’s cloudy golden color gives way to a strong white head that you could float a quarter on, and would last until the final drop. It’s bottle conditioned, so the cloudiness comes from yeast left in on purpose. Don’t be scared.

don't fear the yeast...

On the nose this beer blasts you with fruit. Citrus mostly, some pineapple and even some peach. Wonderful hop aroma. I’m intrigued.

The first sip makes it clear that this wasn’t the IPA that I was used to tasting from the Brits. First you feel the bitter bite of lots of hops. This bite is quickly erased by a pleasant malty backbone. It’s clear that they went out of their way to balance the insane amount of hops with ton of grain. It reminds me of a teeter totter, back and forth from bitter to sweet. Very nice ride. Along the way I pick up more citrus, some bread and the flavor of earth. Just when all of those flavors subside, I notice the taste of pine that seems to linger forever. It makes me want another sip. Good thing this stuff comes in a champagne bottle and I was ready for some time on the couch.

The mouthfeel was another pleasant surprise. When I popped the cork on this sucker it was quite anemic to say the least. I was expecting low carbonation, but that wasn’t the case at all. This stuff feels like champagne in your mouth. After the tickle of carbonation is gone, there’s a nice warming effect from the alcohol.

To summarize, I think this beer kicks ass. To quote my wife, “it wasn’t offensive”. That means she liked it. It’s much more subtle than many of the most prized American IPA’s. I think it would be a great gateway beer for someone you know who thinks they don’t like this style. It would also be great for a special occasion. Even at $10 a pop, I’ll be drinking more of these. One of the best IPA’s I’ve ever had.

Cheerio mates!

Would go well with: To steal a quote right from the bottle “Enjoy with hot foods and spicy friends, or vice versa”. I would suggest a table full of various Indian dishes and good friends. Some Medeski Martin & Wood, seems to fit too, preferably from their album Shackman.

Cutting the Cheese

Published by Josh on November 15, 2007 in Gadgets. 0 Comments

If you’re anything like me, you despise that giant plastic container of powdered cheese product that sits in the back of your fridge for those emergencies where you don’t have any real cheese. What is it anyway? It doesn’t taste or look like real cheese. Let’s have a look at the ingredients of one of the more popular brands:

Parmesan Cheese (Pasteurized Part-Skim Milk, Salt, Less Than 2% of Enzymes, Cheese Culture, Cellulose Powder to Prevent Caking, Potassium Sorbate to Protect Flavor).

Starts off OK, says it’s got cheese in there. I’ll take their word for it. Then we’ve got something called “cheese culture”… hmmm, could still be legit. Then it all goes to shit. Cellulose powder and Potassium Sorbate? Those don’t sound Italian to me!

My point is, why would you buy this second rate crap in a plastic bottle when you can buy a fresh hunk of the real deal, and grate it when you’re good and ready to eat it? I know, it’s cheap, easy and with that Potassium Sorbate in there the stuff should last forever!

I felt the same way (sorta) until about 2 weeks ago. It WAS easy, and for some reason my wife loves the stuff. She prefers Stove Top stuffing over the real stuff too, but we’ll save that for another post. What changed my mind? I’m glad you asked.

We just returned from a trip to Italy and Spain. We both agree that each of us had what could quite possibly be the best meals we’ve ever shoveled into our little mouths. Particularly in Italy. I think the magic comes from simple ingredients, used at their prime freshness in a thoughtful manner. Here’s an example. My super fantastic meal consisted of 5 ingredients: trofie pasta, pesto, potatoes, green beans and of course a generous dusting of Parmigiano-Reggiano.

It was so simple, yet so intense. The pasta tasted like it was made an hour ago. The pesto was bursting with more basil flavor than I’ve ever dreamed of getting from mine. The veggies were super fresh and only cooked slightly so they retained their color and crispness. The parmesan had clearly just been cut from a giant block that’s probably kept in a dark closet behind lock and key, with it’s own thermostat.

When you use fresh ingredients, your food just tastes better… every. single. time.

Where the hell am I going with this? I’m glad you asked that too. I already knew that I wanted to replace as many shortcuts as possible in my kitchen with fresh, homemade stuff. I started this vacation with the intention of buying a few cool kitchen gadgets from the other side of the world. So, as I was standing there looking in the window of this cute little kitchen supply store in the Cinque Terre, I knew I’d found my first gift to me.

crazy Italian cheese grater

Made from olive wood that’s probably thousands of years old (just go with me on this, ok?) and metal that is painstakingly formed into the perfect shape, I had to have that cheese grater. Our train was going to leave in about 7 minutes and all I wanted was that cheese grater. The nice shopkeeper wanted to explain in great detail every aspect of the thing, which I’m sure would have been fascinating if I’d had the time. But the idea of pulling that baby out at my next dinner party and wowing my guests with the taste of freshly grated parmesan served from the handy wooden box made me stand and listen politely.

The picture you see above is of me using it once we returned to Barcelona. I made a vegetable stew that I’ve been perfecting for years (which I’ll write about later) and decided it was time to christen the cheese grater. So, I did what any self-respecting food geek would do and asked my wife to man the camera… I was going in. Was it easier than using a regular ol’ Wal Mart cheese grater that goes for a 1/10th of the price? I really think it was. There’s no bowl to balance the grater over while you run the cheese back and forth, making sure not to let your knuckles touch. The wooden box holds the grater still AND it catches every last flake of that cheesy goodness. Then you slide the grater out, plop a spoon in the box and set it on the table proudly. It’s just that easy.

Now, how much would you pay for such a contraption??? Let me know, and I may give the guy a call to work on importing some of these babies.

Shiner Bohemian Black Lager Review

Published by Josh on November 15, 2007 in Beer Reviews. 8 Comments

Shiner Bohemian Black Lager

I really struggled with what beer I wanted to drink for my first review. I have a small cache of very intriguing beers saved, just waiting for me to tell their story. I wanted to start off with a bang.

Perhaps the idea of writing about some exotic brew that I’ve never had was too much for my first time. It could also be that I just needed to write something that really spoke from my heart to get the proverbial ball rolling.

Enter Shiner Brewing Co.

Like that beat up station wagon your folks taught you to drive in, or that shitty Yamaha guitar that you learned to play on back in high school… Shiner Bock saved me from an eternally boring life of drinking flavorless macroswill. It was my first taste of a “craft beer”, and although I don’t drink much of it these days, it will always hold a special place in my heart. If I’m feeling nostalgic, everyone might get a round of those shiny brown bottles with their understated yellow label. It takes me back.

So you can imagine the feeling I had when I saw the new release, in it’s curious all black packaging with silver typeface. That’s right, I was giddy. The Bohemian Black. Apparently it’s a re-release of the amazingly popular anniversary beer Shiner 97, but with a few tweaks. Word on the street is that it’s even being brought back as a new member of Shiner’s regular lineup. This was exciting stuff.

A traditional Schwarzbier, or “black beer” brewed true to style, the Boho in it’s sultry black attire was calling my name. While I don’t remember ever having the 97, I fell in love with New Belgium’s 1554 black ale a couple of years ago and have been wanting to explore the style a bit. Turns out they were very different beers for being so seemingly similar.

Poured from a bottle (thanks Lefty!) it was as dark as I’d hoped. There wasn’t much of a head, but what little there was had a nice toffee colored brown hue. It quickly disappeared to leave the ebony liquid to stand there all alone. Smell? Not much. I get smoky malts and a little bit of coffee, but that’s about it. Down the hatch.

It’s taste is slightly more complex than it’s aroma, but it still left me wanting more. The smokiness and coffee are more pronounced here. I pick up on the yeast too, a little bready. There’s also a hint of bitter dark chocolate. It wasn’t the magician that the 1554 is to me though. It was fairly straight forward… perhaps a little boring. Might I suggest a little more of those Saaz hops? I’m just sayin’.

Mouthfeel was underwhelming too. A big part of what I love about the 1554 is that creamy feel it has in your mouth. There was none of that with the newborn from Shiner. Lefty even asked if it seemed watery to me. It did.

That said, I enjoyed the hell out of this beer. I’m willing to admit that some of the reason for that may be the nostalgia and perhaps even a twist of sophisticated marketing. The style is meant to be a little “boring” though, so in that respect, the boys at the Spoetzl Brewery really knocked one out of the park with this one.

It was also unfair of me to go into this review ready to compare it to New Belgium’s black beer. Theirs is actually a black ale brewed with lager yeast “at relatively high temperatures”, so of course it’s going to have some funky shit goin’ on.

This would make a great session beer and I know that I’ll be drinking more of it. I’m also really glad to see Shiner branching out and trying to keep things new and exciting, even if they did strike out with their attempt at a Hefeweisen. Keep ‘em coming boys, I’m still here.

Would go well with: Some vegetable stew, a grilled cheese sammich and perhaps a little Pantera? Anything that’s dark and takes you back to your high school glory days.