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 bit more pairing than at the one last year, so I have included specifics with the particular beer and explained why they went together.  Some pairings will be a hit and others might fail miserably; we had fun either way. The following list in my selected tasting order:

1.  Black Tuesday.  I knew that this would be the biggest and strongest beer that we tried, which is not normally what you want to drink first. I’ve had it once before while drinking some other selections when I interviewed the Bruery, so I didn’t want to miss it this time.  We enjoyed it with a very nice coffee rind cheddar called “Barely Buzzed” (purchased at Whole foods).  The beer seemed like it would link up nicely with the coffee rind of the cheese, which becomes very nutty toward the middle.  Dark beers tend to be slightly acid, as does cheddar.  We spoke about the beer, the style, and I explained some facts about Stouts.  After this beer, we ate something to cleanse the palate and take a break so that we could be ready for our first beer in the series.

2.  Weinhenstephaner Hefe.  This is a light and finely carbonated beer that I think would be a nice introductory beer and a sort of aperitif for the food and beer to come.  Andrea made kimbap, Korean picnic food that is similar to sushi but without any fish.  The seaweed paper adds a touch of delicate fish flavor to the food, which seemed to match nicely with the delicate tones of the wheat beer.  People loved trying a beer from the oldest licensed brewery in the world.

3.  Pilsner Urquell was the first Pilsner in the world, not the first lager…but still (Ur=original; quell=source).  The touches of hop and snappy bitterness of this beer also did well the with the kimbap that Andrea made, and people also responded to the bready depth of our second German beer.

4.  Delirium Tremens is a classic beer, and this was one of the favorites.  It’s a delicate but delicious beer.  People weren’t quite to the point of seeing the pink elephants on the label, but they were well on their way.

5.  Trappist Triple was a homebrew creation of mine that came in a 12.5% ABV, which is pretty big even for the style.  However, the alcohol is well masked behind of touch of sweet sourness and citrusy tones.  I’ve also found that I got some butterscotch tones (diacetyl), which are actually very pleasant in the beer.

6.  ESB was another homebrew of mine.  At 7%, it’s still big for an ESB.  Plenty of those raw sugar qualities found in the British counterparts, low carbonation, and English hops made for a very British version of the style.  Perhaps a little less malt depth than some British versions but still very good.

7.  Old Brewery Pale Ale from Samuel Smiths is classic British Pale Ale all the way.  I love this particular version, and many at the party did as well.  I explained a bit about the Yorkshire squares and the beer itself while people sipped away.

8.  Green Flash Imperial IPA is a huge piney and citrusy (lots of grapefruit) beer.  It’s a West Coast IPA all the way.  I made some Thai style chicken kabobs to match with this brew.  Lots of Thai food has citrus, spice, some sweetness and lots of depth.  I figured that an IPA would link nicely with all those qualities.  Also, there was a smoky char (caramelization) that did nicely with the caramel touches in the brew.  Lovely match.

9.  Lindemans Kriek.  Of course I’m not a fan of this beer all the time but I still enjoy the sweeter versions on occasion.  German Chocolate cake is my favorite, and a friend made a homemade one for me.  I figured the sweet cherries and chocolate would be a match made in heaven.  The coconut was easily handled by the depths of the Kriek.  It seemed to be a crowd pleaser.

10.  St. Louis Fond Gueuze was the next beer on the list.  Having sipped a fruited lambic, I figured I would let people see what the beer was like naked, so to speak.  Although not a lambic proper, this one is pretty close.  I think people were a bit shell-shocked by the stark difference in the Gueuze and the Kriek.  Still, some people thought it was wonderful.  My personal feelings would have me drinking this about 95 times out of 100 against a fruited lambic.

11.  Sour ESB was next on the list.  I figured we could do a line of sours, and people would get an idea of how wide the world of beer could be.  In fact, there were comments about the surprise from the possibility of a beer tasting like the Gueuze or this one (mission accomplished…now they are aware).  This was a homebrew of mine.  I used the same ESB as above but used some carrot and beet sugar that I had made, and I used a sour yeast mix that I had.  It’s drastically different from the original.  It goes to show you how great the effect of yeast can be.  In this case, it was 5 yeasts and two bacterial strains.

12.  Duchesse de Bourgogne was next on the list.  I don’t know that a ton of people really appreciated the Flanders style sour.  A few did, but it was certainly part of an epiphany for all.  I don’t think most people knew what they were getting into when they agreed for me to host a beer tasting party, but they certainly got a full range of experience.

13.  My Funky Valentine was another of my homebrews.  I brewed a sort of chocolatey type porter and used some sour yeasts strains that I had–hence the name.  Chocolate and funk?  Maybe the Chet Baker reference doesn’t fully work, but the beer seemed to just fine.

14.  Small Monster, yet another homebrew, was number 14 on the list.  I made a huge Imperial Stout…more on this beer in future weeks. Anyway, the first runnings of the three mashes were devoted to the Imperial Stout and the second runnings still resulted in the 9% ABV beer, which also used a nice sour yeast mix.  I’m excited to watch this one change.  Lots of stout flavors without the typical fullness. Turns out that I got two good beers for one.  I’m going to do more small beers, if you can call them that.

15.  Abita Double Bock.  I decided to save this one for a later date because the evening was starting to wane and I wanted to taste this on it’s own merits.  There was still plenty to come.

16.  Old Chub by Oskar Blues is a great Scottish/Scotch Ale.  I actually did two pairings with this beer.  Caved Aged Gruyere cheese and Robusto, a 7-month gouda, worked beautifully with this beer.  The briny caved aged was very nice  with the smoky peatiness of the Old Chub, while the malt sweetness complimented the Robusto.  This was a hit.

17.  Smoked Marzen Bamberg was up next.  I would have liked to have some nice barbecue or smoked pork to pair with this brew but went with it straight up.  This was certainly a unique beer for a lot of people.  I think someone said it was like drinking a campfire.  There was more to it than that, but now they can say they tried it.

18.  Quadruple that I brewed was also on the night’s menu.  Mine weighs in at 15% ABV and has herbs de Provence in it, which has receded a bit with time.  I’m don’t intend to brag when I say that I think this is a very good beer and people really seemed to enjoy the slight herbalness of it.

19.  2010 Bigfoot from Sierra is a brash beer.  It ages beautifully, but it’s pretty hoppy and youthful in its fresh form.  It’s so hoppy that when I tried some 2004 a couple weeks ago, it still had a very notable hop presence (although the malts were becoming very nice.  To cut the beer, I paired it with a solid blue called Saint Pete’s Blue (Whole Foods has a great cheese selection).  The two were wonderful together.  Someone asked me how I came up with such a good pairing (they thought it was spot on).  I told them that experience, trial and error, and Garrett Oliver from the Brooklyn Brewery were key factors.

20.  Murphy’s Irish Stout was next on the list.  I had to have something dark and wonderful to get past the Barley-wine and blue; this seemed to do the trick.  I’ve always like Murphy’s better than Guinness and made a stew using it, so I decided to share this beer rather than the more ubiquitous stout.  This is currently my wife’s favorite, so I wanted her to have a blissful time.

21.  Eis Oatmeal Stout.  In preparation for another beer that I’m currently brewing, I experimented with Eisbocking my strong Oatmeal Stout.  It went into the freezer at 11% and emerged as a big beast.  I’m thinking I jumped it up to about 17%.  Either way, this beer was the answer to the opening salvo of Black Tuesday.  It was my way of saying that the night started and ended with some big exclamations.  People thought it was big and strong.  By that time, who knows what anyone could actually taste.  At any rate, this was the end of the night when it came to beer.

Overall, I had a great time, and I think people learned a great deal about beer.  It was just by telling them about it, it was by having a financial investment in it and sharing the beer with them.  I’m not saying that we should all go out and have a beer party, but maybe share a beer or two with people who are new to the beer world.  Wouldn’t it be cool if they were hosting their own beer party sometime?

Spread the Word:

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 caramelizes slightly.  Once the onions are ready, add the jalapenos and garlic.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Add the meat and cook until hot and slightly browned. Add the boullion and pepper.  Cook for 2 minutes.  Add your beer and cook until simmering nicely.  Add the water, Arugula, and Radish leaves.  Cook until the leaves are wilted and softened.  Adjust liquids to reduce or increase saltiness, depending on personal preference.  Try dropping a little thyme in there, too.  Enjoy!

If you want a more sour version, add a tablespoon of vinegar.  Cabbage would also be a nice addition or replacement.

Spread the Word:

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 process is quite interesting.  From “The Marmite FAQ”:

A chemist speculates that Marmite is made by adding salt to the waste-product produced by the yeast in the brewing process, thus rupturing the yeast cells by osmotic pressure—and then concentrating the resulting sludge.
A London-based biologist retorts:

Speaking as a biologist, I’d say that’s not quite right; to rupture cells by osmotic pressure, you need to put them in a hypotonic medium, ie one lower in salt than the cell’s interior. Adding salt to a yeast suspension won’t make it hypotonic (or rather, any more hypotonic), and so wouldn’t lead to rupture (which, when we want to sound like we know what we’re talking about, we call ‘lysis’).
What adding salt does is make the solution hypertonic, which leads to the cells shrivelling up; whilst this doesn’t actually lyse them directly, it does trigger a process called ‘autolysis’, in which the yeast self-destruct. A bit of digging indicates that this is indeed how yeast extract is made industrially – salt is used to trigger autolysis, then the dying yeast are heated to complete their breakdown. All you have to do then is separate out the husks (yeast have big thick cell walls which wouldn’t do the texture of the marmite much good), and you’ve got crude marmite. Huzzah!

Sounds great!  Unfortunately, Marmite is not available in or around Toledo, Ohio.  I checked!  Fortunately, Bob is such a swell guy who would not like to see a fellow beer lover miss out on such a “quintessentially British experience, he actually mailed some samples of Marmite to Toledo.

After having read up even more on Marmite, the polarization on like-ability became even clearer.  In fact, the Marmite website has two sections:  Love It or Hate It. Some reviews hailed the black oily spread as “vile” and “disgusting.”  Needless to say, I was both excited and afraid to try it.

Since I am somewhat conditioned to treat all tastings as beer tastings, I immediately smelled the dark tarry substance.  It actually had a slightly spiced aroma to it, and the scent was not strong.  It reminded me slightly of the smell of the inside of an all natural foods store.

I decided to spread the Marmite on some wheat toast with butter, as this seemed to be the most popular method.  No matter how thin the Marmite was spread, it remained dark black.  I split the toast between my wife and I.  I was a bit hesitant to taste it, but dove in.  I had to really concentrate to focus on a flavor since the Marmite didn’t taste like anything I had ever had before.  As Bob’s site suggested, there was a definite beef flavor.  The savory spread was incredibly salty.  I was surprised by how salty it was.  There were mineral flavors, a few hints of bread, a slightly spoiled flavor, and much more that I just cannot describe.

Overall, I was surprised to find myself enjoying it.  In fact, since my wife did not find it so appealing, I ate her share after finishing mine.  I would guess that if a person enjoys game meat and hunting, they will find this stuff fantastic.

Thanks again to Bob, for introducing me to a great new flavor, and thank you Beer, for finding yet another way to enrich the human experience!

Awww, aren't they cute?

Marmite on Toast

Spread the Word:

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 the dough.  Anytime I can cook with beer the resulting creating is much more enjoyable, for novelty’s sake alone.  The sauce utilized red wine, tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, brown sugar, and a secretive blend of ingredients.  With plenty of delicious toppings (Fuji mushrooms, tomato, olives, etc.) and mozzarella, the resulting pizza was amazing.

Fortunately, I did not need to run to the store for a brew…my cellar was stocked with home brewed Trappist style ale, that–artistic biased aside–is not only a great beer, but perfectly complimented the high quality flavor of the pizza.  The spiced sweetness from the Belgian yeast strain and dark candy sugar easily embraced the rich sweet-tart sauce and flaky beer crust!  Nothing compares to eating a meal you created from scratch while drinking a beer you raised from a mixture of raw ingredients.

A little older, a little bigger, and wiser, beer and pizza are still a favorite combination of mine; however evolved the appreciation may be.  Does pizza and beer hold a special place in your heart?  What are your favorite beer and food pairings?

Spread the Word:

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 in  taste.  

In taste, it was very similar to a light apple cider.  Touches of wheat streamed through this very delicate and light alcoholic beer (around 3% ABV).  Because of the fact that this beer was very active, it gave the impression of a very nice fullness in the mouth.  It was immanently tart and effervescent.  There was a very late hop bitterness that I felt on the finish of this beer.  I don’t normally mention or care about it, but this was some of the nicest lacing that I’ve ever seen occur on a beer. Gorgeous!

Even though it is delicate, I remember thinking that this beer would pair very nicely with a robustly flavored and spicy dish like Indian or Thai curry.  It would stand us well against a Riesling wine for the task of spicy foods.  It’s refreshing and tart nature balances out a strong dish nicely.

As far as the beer standing on its own…  It was a little too juicy (and I mean juice-like) for me.  My wife loved this beer, and I’m not saying that you won’t because I didn’t like it.  At the beginning of this article, I mentioned that I took a chance on this beer.  Like I said, I didn’t like it…but, I’ve always regretted most of all the chances I didn’t take.  Would I buy it again?  If I were pairing it with spicy food on a special occasion, yes.  To drink on its own, no.  Perhaps the charm of some beers is that they are great pairing beers, and I’m not going to discount them for that.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★☆☆ 

Among other Belgians: ★★¾☆☆ 

Among other Fruit Ales: ★★★☆☆ 

Spread the Word:

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 meaning when it comes to what the term denotes.  If were borrowing words, let’s at least borrow some of their meaning.

What do most of these American “pubs” look like?  Burger and fry joints are the order of the day.  Much could be said about the lack of fish and chips and other stereotypical British food, but let’s not bifurcate the article into more than one point.  

Now I will make one concession: pub is short for public place or public meeting place.  However, it is telling that more than 60% of the beer that British people drink is done in this public place.  Yet we are borrowing “pub” from the English and we seem to have left it at that.  It seems singularly odd that our pubs don’t have any Ales, apart from Guinness and Bass (which are good Ales).  In fact, there is little decent beer at most pubs.  I would truly love to see our selection of beers widened drastically at these so called pubs.  If we can’t do that, can we at least go back to calling them bar and grills?  The profit difference between calling it a bar and grill or a pub is, I’m sure, minimal.  But the bankruptcy of calling it a pub when it has a serious lack of beer selection is foolish to the max.  Intolerable!

Spread the Word:

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 at the end of the bottle, a slight stale grain quality, and a long lingering roasted finish.  If you don’t like coffee, don’t drink it.  If you sort of like coffee, pair it.  If you really like coffee, drink as is.

Spread the Word:

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 the server had become so used to people ordering the beer with a lemon that it was almost counter-intuative not to put it in there.  And even Anheuser-Busch doesn’t deserve that.

Yes, I know you feel fancy when that lemon comes in the glass.  Yes, I know people look at you and see what exotic beer taste you have.  Yes, I know your tastes look descriminating when you put a lemon in your wheat beer or Corona.  But please, please, please…taste the beer first.  If the brewer meant to have lemon in the beer, he/she would have included it in the recipe or given a coupon for a free bag of lemons with a case.  Don’t ruin it for all by automatically putting lemon in your beer before even trying it.  If it takes a lemon to make you like the beer, maybe you don’t like the beer.  Who knows: maybe its lemonade you like and not beer.  Maybe you like hard lemonade.  Maybe your a rare species of human lemon weeble whose insatiable thirst for lemons will push our planet to the brink of extinction.  Or, worst of all, maybe you don’t like the taste of beer.   

In case this upset anyone, that is how diatribe and hyperbole work.  In other words, I’m overstating the case to make a point, which is: at least try a beer before you put anything in it.  I myself have even been known to drop a lemon, orange, or lime in a beer.  Let’s face it, citrus can be very refreshing.  However, to sound like the late John Lennon, “All we are saying, is give beer a chance!”

Spread the Word:

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 were phased out by a tasty roasted grain finish.  I thought it was a very well-balanced beer.

By the way, in my original post, I mentioned trying the beer with some food.  I made some Pad Thai.  The sweet malty hops bitterness really complemented the spiciness of the food.

Spread the Word:

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.

Spread the Word: