Back in (Silver and) Black

I know that I’ve been gone to long, so I do hope that you all haven’t missed me too much.

My apologies for my recent disappearance.  This blog is  a wonderful  expression for me, but it’s not everything. I’ve been busy and then distracted.   The busy was a new job and working  on my project of writing a cookbook, and the distraction was my father’s death.  Distraction is not the right word, but it at least gets the point across.  He was one of my biggest inspirations in almost every aspect of my life, especially as a writer; I know that Pa Squatch loved to read my ramblings, so back to typing I go.

 

Support small business, boycott Monster energy drinks and Hansen’s beverages

I am not one to support big nasty companies who do bad things to the little guy.  Today I found out about this new case of corporate nastiness and felt it needed to be shared further.

Rock Art is a small brewery in Vermont that is being targeted by Hansen Beverage, the company that brings you Monster Energy drinks, in a frivolous trademark lawsuit.

Monster has told Rock Art to cease and desist (click link for pdf) their production of a 10% abv barleywine, named Vermontster, because of the confusion between this beer and Monster energy drink. The labels are in not similar to each other, one is a beer and one is an energy drink. The only similarity is the “Vermonster” vs “Monster” part of the name. It would bankrupt the small brewery to fight this lawsuit in the courts and Monster has acknowledged that it is interested in this because they wish to enter the market of alcoholic beverages.

I have always enjoyed the Hansen products, their natural soda was always a pleasure of mine while working at a little deli in Pittsburgh.   I have not yet had the chance to try a Rock Art beer, but I believe that they have the right to do business without being held down by a big corporate thumb.  Now the time has come to let those folks who run Monster and Hansen know that this is not acceptable behavior.

I ask all of you to join me in boycotting their products and letting the company know why. Please share this with anyone who supports the rights of small businesses in this country.

According to M. Fischer on Facebook group “Vermonters and Craft Beer Drinkers Against Monster” (click to join the group):

“It took me about 15 minutes to figure out the email format that Hansen’s uses. With that info, you can contact the CEO, COO, etc.

The email format is Firstname.Lastname@hansens.com.

You can see a list of key officers here:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=HANS

A full list of Board of Directors members is here:
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/board.asp?ric=HANS.O“

Contact the COO of Monster Energy nick.gagliardi@hansens.com

There are many other sources of info on this conflict.  The Rock Art Brewery website is one, the facebook group is another and here is a link to a very thorough article from the NY Times on the subject.

 

Beer Tasting: Weihenstephan at Clever

Enjoy a taste of a classic German brewery today at Clever Wine Bar from 6 to 8pm.  There will be a free tasting of four beers from Weihenstephan: Hefeweizen, Märzen, Korbinian, and the Munich Helles Lager.

This tasting is a prelude to Clever’s Tapas Tuesdays, which always is a pleasant variety of food served at this stylish wine bar.  The bar does have a fine beer selection to go along with the wine.

For more information and beer, visit  Clever from 6-8pm at 3700 Orleans Ave New Orleans, LA 70119

 

Beer Review: Sierra Nevada 2009 Harvest Wet Hop Ale

Oh so fresh (and so clean-clean). This seasonal offering from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is a joy to drink.

This thirteenth Harvest Ale packs a wallop of hop flavor while not overpowering your palette. The flavors of the fresh hops allow all of the flavor profile to come out without the tongue numbing effect of a dry hopped ale or an IPA. Wet hopping is the process of picking the hops then immediately getting them into the brew kettle as soon as possible; in the case of this beer, it is the morning after they are picked. The result is that the hops don’t lose some of their flavor in the drying process. Give this one a try, it is a very pleasant ale that won’t overwhelm the senses. At 24 ounces a bottle, there is enough to share a bottle with a friend, but if you are wise (or selfish) get enough for all. I’ll be going back for a few more for the fridge while these are available.

I gave this a steady pour into a nonic pint glass to let the head develop, and I’m very glad that I did.   The first glance is captured by a righteous off white head. It is fluffy and thick like meringue. I took the time to make it stand up off my finger just for fun. (Yes, I do play with my beer, so what you gonna do ’bout it?) Even after playtime, the head lasted all the way down the pint. The beer itself is an amber pushing ruby hue. It holds your gaze with a steady stream of carbonation rising from its depths.

This beer smells like hops. Cascade (which gives the great aroma to their Pale Ale) and centennial hops give this beer it’s floral, citrus and pine aromas. At first whiff, it makes me think I have a handful of hops that I’m about to throw into a batch homebrew. It smells as beautiful as a sunset sounds lovely.

This ale has a tart resin taste from the fresh hops that is quite refreshing. It like pine and citrus are having a party and invited a bit of malt over. The crisp bright flavor of the centennial hops is balances to a smooth taste with the malts. There is a true tingle on the tongue from the hop’s acidity and citrus notes. Leaves the mouth feeling clean, but the aftertaste does leave that tartness that I expect from a dry hopped beer. It appears that you get this effect through the wet hop brewing process if the hop is fresh enough. I will have to experiment with this if I can ever get my hops to grow well.

I give this a few thumbs up, now I must go buy more before the wife finds out I drank this without giving her a taste.  Oops.

• Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
• Beer: 2009 Harvest Wet Hop Ale, 13th release
• Style: Wet Hopped Ale
• ABV: 6.7
• Cost: $$   4.49/ 24 oz bottle @ whole foods
• Score: 4.6-5

 

An afternoon of beer

As I get a bachelor afternoon so infrequently these days, I decided to take full advantage of this one. It shall be a beer day.

Earlier this afternoon I hopped off to the best (and only) homebrew store in New Orleans for my next batch of stout.  Stouts are relatively easy to brew and don’t show flaws very easily. There are many variations and I’ve decided to take a shot at a milk stout after having enjoyed the Left Hand Milk Stout so much.

I just picked up a batch of goodies from Brewstock: tasty roasted grains, chocolate malt, american ale yeast, lactose, magnum and kent goldings hops.   Those along with some other ingredients that I have laying around will become a very tasty milk stout in a few weeks.

I then stopped for to taste some of the new beers in the case at Squeal BBQ.  I love their food and they keep very good beer in the case.  As Patrick, my new Georgia Bulldog fan friend, chowed down on the Pulled Pork sandwich two stools down from me noted about his grub, “You know its a good sandwich when you have to wash your hands afterward.”

I’ll work on more detailed reviews later, but the short version is helpful too.  Indian Wells Brewing’s Orange Blossom Ale is sweet and tart as a ripe orange.  The taste more lies along the lines of the peel oils rather than the juices or meat of the fruit.  It was alright, but nothing you can’t do by blending a basic ale with a bit of Fanta (Yes, I’ve had that before.  It is a menu item in some places in South America).

Next was Wolaver’s  Pat Leavy’s All-American Ale.  Tasty beer with a nice organic hop blend that leaves a bright citrus hop flavor.  The malt forward of this was unexpected after reading the label, but it was a very pleasant balance.

Last was the Heiner Brau Marzen.  mmmmmmmm. that’s all i got for this beer that represents the style very well. mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Now that I’m rested for a while at home and dried off from the rainstorm, I’ll be off to The Avenue Pub to enjoy the newest beer offered by the crew down at NOLA brewing.  The Hopitoulas IPA will be available as of this afternoon and available around the city until around Mardi Gras.

 

Slow pork ribs in oven (fast pork runs free) w/ Shiner Smokehaus Helles

I don’t claim to be a BBQ pit master, but I can do a reasonable imitation.  Right now in my oven is a wonderful variation of a slow cooked rib recipe that I enjoy.  I thought I’d share it with yinz (there is one for all you Stiller fans out there).

Smoked beer slow-cooked swine

Ingredients: Pork, spices for rub, beer, oven, sheet pan (with rim and a rack that fits), aluminum foil, a few hours, patience, and hunger.

• This recipe is mainly designed for Ribs, but can be modified for use with most cuts.  Get pork that should be slow cooked to get tender, something that is either tough or fatty, ideally both.   The good news is that this meat is cheap.   You can do this with short ribs, country ribs, baby back ribs or boston butt or shoulder (if you trim them down to strips).  Prep the meat (rinse off, pat try with paper towels).
• Get out a cookie sheet with a rack, or a broiler pan.  You need some sort of rig to keep the piggy from sitting in its drippings.
• Preheat oven to 200 F.  If it won’t go that low, get a shittier oven.  It works at a higher temp, but don’t go past 250 if you can help it.    Figure it out.  Low heat is good.
• Make a spicy sweet rub.

Mine consists of: about 3/4 cup of my Tasty spice (a personal cajun spice blend that has no salt), 1/2-3/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of course kosher salt.  Mix well.

Note: the sugar will caramelize the rub and help hold in some juices while making a nice crunchy coating.

2nd Note: If you are using a store bought cajun spice mix, it is usually loaded with salt, so you won’t need the extra salt.

3rd Note: you can play with the spices in the rub to make the flavor as you will, just make sure that you have a both sugar and salt to get the desired texture.

• Rub pork with spices, massaging it in and coating all sides, then lay out on rack in sheet pan so that they are not touching.
• Pour one beer into pan under ribs, this will steam some flavor into the ribs, keeping them moist and taking some of the beer’s unique flavor.  I’m using some Shiner Smoked beer that I got for my birthday.

Personally, I’m not a huge smoked beer fan (yes it takes like bbq, but so does bbq meat.  Meat wins), but everything is great in the proper application, so the smoked beer goes into the rib recipe.  (It is also great for making rice)

• Cover pan with aluminum foil tent and carefully (don’t spill beer on your shoes) place in oven.  Close it up and wander away for a while.  I check about an hour in to see if it needs more liquid, it will if your oven is too hot.
• 3-6 hours usually does the trick, but it depends on how thick your pork is cut (mine is in about 1.5  inch thick slabs) and the temperature of your oven.  The thicker and tougher the cut, the longer the cooking time.  The first time you do this you may have to keep checking on it.

To make good use of the oven heat, roast some veg (squash, potatoes, peppers, onions, ?) on another rack to go with your pork.

• Take off the foil when it is almost done to dry out the moisture from the surface, leave it a lil’ longer.
• Once it is done to the point of almost falling apart at the touch, remove it from the oven, take off the foil and let the meat rest.

At this point, you could eat it, but we’re not done yet.

• Put your oven rack to the second from the top position.  Reheat your oven to 400 F.
• Take your favorite BBQ sauce, or give my recipe a shot, and glaze the top of your pork.
• Set the sheet pan with pork on it right back into oven to caramelize the sauce on the meat.
• KEEP AN EYE ON IT.  BBQ sauce will burn if you aren’t careful.
• Pull it out, let it cool a minute (so you don’t burn your lips).
• Pull it apart and enjoy it in the best manner as you see fit.
• Reserve the juices to make some really good gravy or soup. (I’ll do a recipe for that later)

The result is spicy and sweet with a crisp crunch.  Enjoy it with some cold beer.  Go with your gut on this one when choosing your beer.  I usually will go with a nice lager or a pale ale, but this time of year I’ll be cracking a few oktoberfest beers to go with my swine.   Enjoy.

I’ll post some photos later on once the piggy is done.

 

NOLA Blonde Cask review

NOLA Brewing Company tapped a special cask of their Blonde Ale at The Avenue Pub on Wednesday evening. Those of us in attendance tonight were lucky enough to get to enjoy a few pints of this special offering.

The beer was creamy yet well balanced with a crisp hoppiness and the aromas from the dry-hopping were luscious.  I found this delicious and it had some extra love from the brewers at NOLA.

Dylan Lintern, vice president of NOLA Brewing Company describes how they created this beer, “this particular cask is our Blonde Ale dry-hopped with Crystal, Cascade, and Columbus hops at the time we put the beer into the cask.  This will give the beer a huge presence with an aroma of hops and citrus pouring through.  Our regular Blonde Ale is transformed nearly into a completely different beer, it really is amazing.”

The night was quite a success with many of New Orleans’ happy drinkers enjoying this special production ale.  Be sure to keep you eye out in the coming weeks for soon to be released NOLA Hopitoulas IPA.

 

Winners from Great American Beer Festival

The winners from the Great American Beer Festival were just announced and they all have the right to be quite proud.  The competition is fierce with 3,308 beers in competition and these are the brews that came out on top.  This page shows the winners in all 78 categories.

The beers are judged in representative categories, so that you can trust that if you give a winner a try, you will get a beer that represents the style in which it is brewed very well.  While that does not guarantee that it will be the best beer you’ve ever had, as so much depends on personal taste; it is a great pat on the back of all the breweries.  Congratulations to all the winners.

 

Cask offerings this week at The Avenue Pub from NOLA Brewing and Lazy Magnolia

Two unique craft beers are being poured this week at The Avenue Pub for those of you who search out the rare and interesting brews.

On Wednesday, September 30th, NOLA Brewing Co. is pouring a firkin of cask fermented dry-hopped Blonde Ale. This should be a very sharply hopped creation that I’m greatly looking forward to trying. The firkin, a quarter barrel keg used for cask fermenting, will be tapped at 8pm and poured until it is empty.

Lazy Magnolia will be tapping its first cask in the state of Louisiana on Saturday, October 3rd.  They will be offering up there Jefferson Stout with the extra kick of flavor of Hubig’s apple pie.  The Jefferson Stout, a sweet potato cream stouts is an interesting creation on its own but the infusion of flavor of Hubig’s apple filling promises to be quite tantalizing. That firkin will be tapped at 4pm.  Don’t worry, you can sample it and not miss out on your college football thanks to the screens in the bar.

These special offerings will be available at these times only and just until the taps runs dry and then they are gone.  That is not a cause for concern as The Avenue Pub does keep plenty of other great beers and food on hand.

For more info: Stop by The Avenue Pub at 1732 St. Charles Ave or their website for event details.

 

So you were not at the Great American Beer Festival…

So what.  I mean hell, it’s only the greatest gathering of American brewers and drinkers in this whole land.

Let’s say that for some reason (for example: Your wife has a master’s competency exam and your birthday is in a few days, so…you are throwing a wicked party on Saturday) you were not able to attend the festivities in Denver this year.  What do you do???

Luckily for you and I, wonderful BEER is now available for home consumption so that we don’t actually have to be in Denver to drink at GABF.  I recommend that you do as I do and open a nice happy beer (if you are of legal age) and enjoy the top ten things to do where ever you are that is not the Great American Beer Fest.  This is my list, feel free to create your own.

10. Drink good beer (Sam Adams Octoberfest)

9. Stare with shock and saw at the photos spread of Evan Longoria and Brian Roberts on pages 12-13 of Sports Illustrated’s Sept. 28th issue.  For some people that pose would be a fantasy, but not for these guys apparently.

8. Wash out old 5 gallon brew bucket and start to make way too much (6.5 gallons) sangria for the upcoming party.

7.  Drink another beer (Titan IPA by Great Divide)

6.  Look up your mom’s business online and wonder why she doesn’t have much online media impact, then decide to build her cake shop a new site (coming soon).

5. Clean out your refrigerators.  For me this means, the Beer Fridge, the Wine Fridge, and the Fridge Fridge  (which also houses beer and wine).  Find awesome things that you had forgotten you owned.  Eat them if they are not fuzzy and scary.

4. Enjoy your Vegemite (see #4) on Rye while drinking a nice light beer (Dortmunter Gold from Great Lakes Brewing Co.)

3. Watch The Boondock Saints and ponder the upcoming sequel.

2. Go for a long bike ride on the Mississippi levee path.

1.  Wonder why you posted this a week ago and it didn’t post properly…