I posted about a beer tasting party that I had last year.  I had a blast and people learned a ton about beer.  I also learned how much I love doing this sort of thing.  Well, some time has passed, and I'm almost a year older.  In fact, I am a year older.  Wednesday (17th) was my 30th birthday, and I had to work.  Fortunately, my wife and some friends planned an epic bash for me on Tuesday.  We partied like it's...well, let's just say it would have been a nice last night on planet earth. I'm writing this with the hope of inspiring more intentionality about sharing beer with neophyte friends.  Something as simple as the difference between a lager and an ale sparked some interest at my party.  With the exception of one or two other people, I was really one of the only craft/import beer lovers.  It's a unique opportunity to expose some people to the sheer beauty of the beer world.  We had  some magical stuff happening that night, and I wanted to share the list.  We can all see that it's not a cheap venture, but it's certainly a beautiful one. At this tasting, I did a ...

This past week, my wife, Andrea, had some vegetables that we needed to use--some arugula and radish leaves (yes, the tops of the radish are edible).  We recently became part of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) group that supports local farmers who produce organic foods (www.abundantharvestorganics.com).  The co-op supports sustainable local practices.  Believe me when I tell you that the amount of produce we get is more than adequate to last for the week.  At any rate, I hate the idea of wasting something that is edible, so I determined to use some of the stuff we had in the fridge.  I decided to make a soup using some of our vegetables and was surprised just how good it turned out to be.  As result, I've decided to post what I came up with, in case there are any takers. Sour Beer Soup: 1 cup sour beer (save the rest for pairing) 1/2 cup water 10-15 radish leaf tops (coarsely chopped) 1 bunch arugula (coarsely chopped) 1 jalapeno (diced) 1 medium onion (diced) 1 clove garlic (finely chopped) Dash of pepper 1/2 teaspoon of boullion powder 1 lb turkey or regular smoked sausage (sliced in 1/4" thick circles) 1 tbsp olive oil Sautee the onion in the olive oil until it softens and ...

It has long been observed that humans are often irresistibly attracted to the odd, the unattainable, and the gross when it comes to consumables.  The fact that millions (including the writer of this article)  tune in to the program "Bizzare Foods" to watch Andrew Zimmern eat live worms pulled out of a wet log testifies to this.  So, when I read and article on a friend of ThankHeavenForBeer's site, Bob the Brit whose site sets out to Demystify Britishness (and does a stellar job) about Marmite, I had to have some.  (Bob also writes reviews for a great site, The Brew Club) Besides the fact that Bob warns in his article that a plenitude of individuals outside of England find the stuff delicious, it turns out that Marmite does not exist outside of the creation of beer, as it is a by product of the brewing process.  How can a beer nerd resist? Marmite is made of yeast extract.  Well, to be exact, it is yeast waste (as you will see in Bob's article and in the comments section) and actually, dead yeast.  Yeast waste is collected from breweries (including the notable Bass brewery) and converted to a thick black paste. The ...

Some things are just commonly compatible:  Hot Dogs and Baseball, Nascar and Mullets, Beer blogs and the their insanely cool authors, etc... When it comes to beer, perhaps the most common food congeniality that comes to mind is beer and pizza.  In fact, a top google search term is "beer and pizza."  At the mention of this inseparable pair, I am reminded of a night eight years ago in which some college buddies and I, the hell-raisers we thought we were, ordered a Papa John's pizza and picked up a twelve pack of the champagne of beers.  Despite the poor beer choice, I remember being caught up in the slendor of flavors.  (Don't judge me too harshly...I was 21 and had not yet discovered the delights of craft beer!) So recently, when the wife and I had a hankering for pizza, instead of hitting up Papa John's, we hit our pantry of ingredients and created a delicious homemade Italian delight.  The crust was made using my favorite of ingredients...beer.  Beer is a fantastic substitute for time and quick rising yeast, as the carbonation simulates hours of natural rising from raw yeast, as well as imparting desired bready and beer flavors into ...

Corsendonk makes some wonderful beers.  We have reviewed their Christmas Ale. And even though I hate cheese, you have to respect a brewery that makes their own, which Corsendonk does.  I fully plan to review some of their other stuff just to have it on here. Because I like their products so much, I decided to take a chance and spend the money on their Belgian Apple White (I think it was around $12-14/bottle range).  As many of you know, sometimes chances pay off and sometimes they don't.  I guess you'll have to read on to find out if it paid off for me. Apple White was very pale straw blond and had an extremely active body.  The active body helped this beer maintain its very meringue-like head, which was definitely puffy and cloudy.  I poured some in my Lindeman's glass just because it seemed appropriate.   As expected, this beer had some very fruity apple aromas to it.  It would almost be disappointing if it were otherwise.  Some very Lambic-type smells were prevalent (the tart and straw-like comparison is what came to mind).  The beer was almost sourish in aroma.  Even some zesty coriander (lemon) qualities were apparent in the nose, although also ...

You, our readers, indulge me in an occasional tirade.  Diachronically, you will experience this from me.  To some it may seem trivial, but this heinous villainy must be met with commensurate force.  Even If I wax and wane through Victorian Shakespearean English, I think the my point will be met as though with a bare bodkin.   What in the world am I talking about, even if the English is decipherable?  I'm talking about "Pubs."  Has anyone else seen them popping up everywhere?  It seems as though any place that serves food and beer deems it legitimate nomenclature to call itself a pub.  This phenomenon is more trendy than 80s stirrup pants and the Macarina combined.   "What of it?" you might say.  Nothing, I suppose, if you are not interested in words carrying any actual meaning.  I guess if you order a steak and the server brings you tofu, you think nothing of it.  After all, words don't signify specific meanings and everything is open to the widest possible interpretation.  I don't believe this to be true, even if words can be dictated by the context in which they are used.  "Pub" might be what we can call an agreed upon ...

I love a good Porter.  In fact, I really like Meantime's London Porter.  I love good coffee.  But are they both good together?  Well, this beer combines both to see if this is the case.  Meantime Brewery is located in Greenwich, England, so their name is somewhat of a funny pun.  You know what is not a joke?  Their beers.  I've had multiple beers by them that I've really like.  Here is my review of their Coffee Porter, which boasts a gold medal for coffee beer at the World Beer Cup. The first thing that is striking about the beer is the beautiful bottle.  It is just a lovely design.  When I poured the beer, it was ruby-brown and had a small but stable head.  There was a slight metallic quality to the aroma of the beer.  The coffee and mocha aromas in this beer were abundant, which is to be expected.  It had a very coffee taste along with a long and grainy finish.  The beer is good if you really like coffee.  I personally think that it would go well with most chocolate desserts; there was a tad bit of sweetness that enhances this proposition.  Other notable features were more metallic qualities ...

Citrus added to beer can taste good, be refreshing, and help you get your vitamin C.  Citrus can also ruin the experience of drinking a beer.  For the most part, wheats are more delicate than other beers especially in their floral (hoppy) aspects, unless you are drinking Gumballhead by Three Floyds or another anomaly among wheats.  So, when you add lemon, orange, or Sardinian bush fruit (whatever you might add) it automatically renders delicacies in the beer void.  Let me explain myself by way of my own experience.  I was enjoying a night on the town, when I was surrounded by nothing but average beer.  Then I saw a bright spot on the menu (of course, bright is relative when you are dealing with black holes among the beer world).  I saw Shock Top wheat, an Anheuser-Busch product, which I don't enjoy too much in the bottle but have often really enjoyed on tap (there is a difference).  I proceeded to order this grainy and wheaty beer, looking forward to its nice flavors. "Wait...what is that floating in the glass?" I thought.  "Could it be...yes, it is."  A lemon was floating atop my beer.  I politely drank the beer and asked for the next one to be  without lemon.  Apparently ...

For my part, winter is never welcome, but beer makes the cold times more tolerable.  Let me start by saying that this is beer was above average, but I like some of Sam Smith's stuff better.  A much better way to "Welcome" the winter might be their delicious Imperial Stout. The head on the beer looked like a high snowy winter peak, which was held in place by the very active and bubbly beer.  In the glass, the Ale looked as crisp and clean as a winter's day.  Its deep copper tones were beautiful in my Samuel Smith's glass. Aroma-wise the beer had more hops than many of Samuel Smith's beers (notably their Pale Ale, which we've previously reviewed).  Along with the nice floral aroma, there was a malty sweetness that dominated the brew.  Grains, slight nuttiness, and hints of caramel were present in the nose. The malty sweetness that was in the nose turned into slight sweet malts on the palate.  Hops were also very evident in the taste of the brew.  I would say that the middle of the beer really showed some hop bitterness and taste.  Perhaps the bitterness of the hops makes the bitter winter more tolerable.  The hops continued through the end but ...

Seeing as how winter officially starts in a couple days, we chose to drink this beer.  For my part, winter is not really welcome, but I'll make the best of it.  This brewery still uses many traditional brewing methods.  For some information about Samuel Smith's brewing methods and to see about this beer, check out this site.  They don't really speak too much about the beer on the site but we will see what our take is on it.  On the site, there are also some pairing suggestions that they offer with this beer.  Hopefully, this beer will give a nice start to the winter season.  I also want to suggest trying with various foods after your initial sip.  When we get back together on the review, it will be interesting to see what we thought paired with the beer.  See you Friday.