I purchased The Break Baker’s Apprentice for my wife over Christmas and was glad that she wanted it as a gift so I didn’t get stuck in the proverbial “you bought me an iron” or “you bought this for yourself” type gift.  Truth be told, I won’t begrudge the claim that I wanted this book for myself as well as offering it as a present to my spouse.

The above being said, I dove into this book with a notable celerity and fervor.  Now that I’ve been combing the volume and making some (even better) homemade bread, I feel compelled to offer my thoughts on the book.

Do you make your own bread?  Do you want to?  Do you want to understand the how and why behind making really good bread?  Look no further.  This book is terrific and I highly recommend that you purchase it.  Following is my take on what you should expect as a buyer of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread:

Bread as Science and Art:

Too often, art and science are spoken of in mutually exclusive terms.  And while it is true that dichotomies exist in many respects, culinary process is a happy marriage of art and science.  The name “Artisan,” when speaking about making unique and tasty breads, is apt nomenclature.  So, expect to see some formulas for making great bread but also expect that tactile nature and experience of bread making to be emphatic in this book.  ”Know thy bread by touch” might be an accurate characterization of how Peter Reinhart sees bread making.

But make no mistake, process is an important aspect of this book as well.  I won’t belabor the point too far by listing them out, but the book walks through the twelve stages—yes, I said twelve—of making bread.  It also emphasizes the important of temps, timing, and waiting.  Reinhart makes arguments for natural sugars in bread (via flour) being the source of fermentation and flavors (a bit of a head trip for those of us who “proof” our yeast with some 105-115 water with some sugar before mixing).

Instead, he offers methods of fermentation, including cold, that tease out the complexities of flour and creates fantastic results.  I read about cold fermentation awhile back via Jeff Varisano’s great pizza crust technic, but Rinehart’s book filled out the ideas.

Reinhart spares no science when he speaks about the role of enzymes and amylase (terms I’m familiar with due to my brewing experience) in making a great loaf of bread.  However, the concepts and language aren’t inaccessible and unwieldy for those who want to perform a little “food for thought.”  Ultimately, the explanations he gives offer the science and reasons behind the tasks undertaken while making bread.  Who wants to perform rote activities without knowing why?…even the most pragmatic person couldn’t turn away from Reinhart’s discussions.

In the end, the reader will not only begin to grasp what is happening during the bread process, he or she is encouraged, based on their newly found skill sets, to explore and be an artist.  Put your touch and your signature on any bread you want.

The Tradition of Gastronomy:

Speaking of unique breads and creating bread on your own.  The book spends time speaking a bit about those ever iconoclastic Americans and their penchant for exploration.  Reinhart notes that one of the reasons American bread makers are making great new loaves, as well as traditional ones, in unexpected ways, is lack of rigid tradition (i.e., we just, unlike some French bread makers, love to explore and play…an easy matter without some of the more hard and fast expectations).

Bread and Humans

Bread is as old as civilization itself.  Bread is a past time.  Bread is a staple of life.  If I had to pick a reason I think Reinhart is so passionate about bread and teaching us how to make it, I think I would say that he believes it is intimately human.  Bread is simultaneously ridiculously simple and absurdly complex.  It is one of the simplest and greatest pleasures of life.  The above, at least in my estimation, is the real point of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, namely, a passionate prose that is meant to re-discover the pleasure of a good loaf made by the hands of person eating it.

Concluding Thoughts:

Peter Reinhart alludes to the meaning and asthetics of bread making by asking us to consider the response that even an ordinary homemade loaf of gets in comparison a store bought one.  He insists on his students not calling the loaves of bread products.  Apart from the inherent critic on our ever industrial process of food making, he simply loves seeing bread making as a learning and teaching journey that builds in us something we might not otherwise have known.

This is a great and inspiring book.  Give it a read.

Back in my college days I used Sriracha on my microwaveable Pho Bo because I simply could not settle for store bought Ramen noodles.  Sometimes, I could even being caught putting a drop or two on an empty finger and savoring that pungent taste. “Rooster Sauce” would go on any number of bland foods that my very much typical college cafeteria served with a lack of discrimination.  It would make any vapid plate pop with a world of possibilities.

Now that I am out of college and enjoying having a kitchen to cook in, I am using Sriracha to make my own Pad Thai sauces and incorporating it into a number of recipes.  However, my ideas have been fairly limited.  Luckily, I know where to get more that will spark the same college nostalgia I experienced back.  Albeit, my tastes and love of food have developed in the interim.

Randy’s book will spark that same imagination and nostalgia for you while you move forward into new and fresh culinary delights that are, well, just right.  Please go to Amazon and purchase this book and head over to Randy’s blog (look who’s on the blog roll).  And tell your friends, tweet it, Facebook it, and whatever you do, buy it.

Cooking has some amazing connectivity to beer.  Many of the yeasts, bacteria, and maillardization processes that have profound effects on the flavors we love are common in both.  Lactobacillus is no exception to the rule.  I’ve compiled a brief list of things many of us love in order to draw attention to the beauty this bacteria offers.

• Sour beers of all sorts- For those of you who love sour beers, you can thank this bacteria for having a major impact on the brew.  Many ciders also have it.
• Fermented foods- Pickles, Kimchi, doughs of all sorts have this bacteria.  Great breads (sourdoughs) and pizza doughs (I’ve seen it argued that it is indispensable to a great pizza) both contain this bacteria.  If you like the Ethiopian flat bread known as injera, then you know how important it is.  Yogurt is another one.
• Aged foods- Many great salamis of the world have lactobacillus in them.  Like sharp cheddar or other cheeses?  Thank you, lactobacillus.  Even some chocolates have small amounts.
• Health foods- So called Probiotics such as kombucha are known for having this puppy.  Benefits include positive impacts on gastrointestinal health, anti-tumor, anti-cancer.  It also aids in respiratory health, helping treat pneumonia and bronchitis.  It lowers allergy risks like hay fever, helps with IBS, prevents yeast infections, and is even linked to boosting overall immunity health.  It can even help in treating high cholesterol.

How about a sour beer and some other lactobacillus foods! Not that you need any more reasons than the taste—but you have them anyway.

It hit me the other night that my continual search for expansion in my beer palate is one of the primary reasons I am willing to try and eat so many different types of food.  In the past 5 years or so I have gone from a beer neophyte, to a beer adventurist, to an almost obsessee (“Let’s see how strangely I can shape this beer I’m brewing while avoiding buying beer as much as possible”).  I thought about this the other night while I was plucking up my former archenemy, the mushroom, and munching it down with no reservation at all.  In fact, I was relishing each and every one.  I’m tempted to argue that the love for new beers and new foods have become a mutually informing cross-discipline…but I’m certain it wouldn’t have happened without beer exploration.

I suspect that I’m not alone in this pursuit.  Actually, pairing has become much more primary within this context.  Well, am I alone in this?  I sure hope not because you are missing out…but I doubt you are.  So, please tell us how expanding you beer palate has shaped your food palate.

Recently, I’ve been making some Ethiopian food and have been making authentic injera (that spongy flat bread) to eat along with my Doro Wat.  Perhaps this is the largest role that fermentation has played into any food I’ve made to this point.  It’s been fun and instructive.  Also, it got me thinking about some future fodder.  I am going to redouble my efforts to make fermented foods and cook with beer more.

I’m proposing an ongoing set of articles that deal directly with this very question.  I’m excited about more beer in my life…I’ve been really deprived.

Belgian dubbels are known for their plum, dried fruit, and complex mineral character—at least the Trappist varieties.  I recently brewed one and am giving it some aging time, but I figured that I could steal a bit from the fermenter.  I also happened to get some figs from a co-worker and had some plums from before we left.  Then the idea for pork chops with fig, plum, and dubbel hit me.  It turned out very nicely while having the right amount of sweet and savory qualities, so I thought I’d share the recipe.

• 2 to 4 pork chops (mine were about 1/4 of an inch thick)
• 1/2 to 1 whole Onion
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic
• 1 Plum
• 1 to 2 figs
• Pinch of Sea Salt (to Taste)
• Pinch of Freshly Ground Pepper
• 1 to 3 teaspoons sugar (according to your desired level of sweetness)
• 1/4 Teaspoon Basil
• Dash of Balsamic Vinegar
• Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 1/2 Cups Belgian Dubbel
• Olive Oil

Start by searing the chops in hot olive oil.  Salt and pepper them as you are searing each side for a minute or so.  Add the onion (I like to to make half rings) and cook for 3 minutes or until slightly soft.  After the onions have cooked for the 3 minutes, add the garlic and cook for an additional 3 minutes.  Make sure to flip the chops when adding the garlic.  Mix all liquids together while cooking occurs. After the garlic and onion have cooked for a few minutes, add the figs and plums.  I like to quarter the figs and slice the plums thinly. Add the sugar as well.  Cook for a few minutes and add the rest of the ingredients.  Cook for about 5 minutes and pull the chops out. Reduce the rest until the liquid becomes thicker (5 min or so) and add the chops back in to glaze them.  Serve them and enjoy!

Here is the basic recipe.  I have to credit, Amy for her simple calzone recipe as pretty much the basis for what I’m doing with mine, but I’ve tried to improve upon it for my needs.

Dough:

3 cups flour (all purpose works fine)

1 Teaspoon salt

1 Teaspoon sugar (I like a slightly sweeter dough)

4 teaspoons yeast (a packet is typically 2 1/4 teaspoons)

7/8 cup water (I like to mix half water and half beer)

1/8 cup + 1 more Tablespoon Olive Oil (you’ll notice that I like quite a bit of olive oil in the recipe)

Here are the instructions for the dough:  Take everything but the flour and yeast and stir together, making sure it’s between 105-120º.  Add the yeast and stir, allowing to re-hydrate for about 15 min.  Once the yeast is frothy, add it to the flour and mix it with a spoon until it’s a very loose dough.  Pick up the loose dough and kneed it by hand until it’s smooth and supple.  This should be a 5 to 10 min process.  Place the dough in an (olive) oiled bowl and move it around ensuring that the dough is coated.  Let it sit in a warm place for about an hour.  I like to heat my oven at the setting of 200° (or the lowest setting) for about 2 min and turn it off.  Then I place the dough in there, which encourages it to rise fast an become airy.

Once the dough is doubled, punch it down and kneed it until the oil oil absorbs and there is a smooth dough again. Break the dough into 4 balls and let them rise for about 20 min.  Take the individual balls, along with a little flour and work them into thin circular disks.  Add your favorite ingredients and fold the dough over itself into a half circle and cook.

Tip: This calzone is good cooked in the oven.  But I found what really took this recipe to the next level was grilling it over charcoal and wood chips.  With a brush, I add a little olive oil while the calzone is cooking on the grill.  This soaks into the dough and encourages the smokiness to come with it.  I cook both sides of the calzone until it darkens quite a bit (3-5 min each side) and then move them to the edges and close the grill up.  In effect, I’m baking them on the grill.  Believe me when I tell you that this makes a world of difference.  Plus, I’m not heating up the house.  The total cooking time should be about 15-20 min, but keep a close eye on them. Forget the wine, serve with a smoked beer or a smoky toned beer, and you will be in heaven.

Perfect Tomato Sauce: Unless you want to use fresh tomatoes and cook them down all day (I’ve done this), here is a quicker but great sauce for the filling.  Of course, what you prefer can make all the difference, but I’m going to show you what I like to do so that my sauce will incorporate the entire filling of the calzone because I think it melds the flavors.

1 Onion (medium), caramelized on a lower heat setting.  Add a bit of sugar to encourage this process.

1/4 cup of wine and a lighter bodied beer mixed (add after caramelization)

1 Teaspoon balsamic vinegar (add after caramelization)

add the rest of your veggies (garlic, bell peppers, banana peppers, hot peppers…all depend on your taste and how much you like them) cook until soft.

Add 15 ounces of tomato paste and more wine and beer.

Add marjoram, basil, oregano, thyme to taste.  Marjoram is strong but important for a pizza sauce flavor.

Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)

Add 2 to 4 teaspoons of sugar (I love sweet sauces) to taste

Add olives (if you like them and remember to account for the saltiness)

Add spinach, kale, chard, or nothing leafy.  I find this is a good way to sneak in some extra nutrition.

A lot of this stuff is simply a matter of preference and tastes, which is why I don’t put amounts.  Cook it the way you like it and you’ll find that it’s just right (for you at least).  For instance,  I like bold flavors, thick sweet sauces, beer flavors, plenty of garlic and a yeasty calzone.  You’ll have to try this recipe and see what you like the best.  At any rate, the dough is going to be the same, what you put inside makes it yours.  Cheers!

Houston, we have a problem.  I think some wires got crossed.  First of all, he ignored the second concern of the question-asker. The implication was that there were beers that were low in calories but tasted like licking an extremely obese man’s armpit. Undeterred, the author answered with simple qualification of utility, which I’ve attacked most recently on a post about Epicures. Obviously, he hasn’t tasted the beer or he ignored the point of the question.

Other things were said.  Forget about fried food, etc.  Lose up to 20 pounds a year by changing what you drink.  First of all (obviously this is simplistic), drinks were painted as the real enemy.  Second, the surface implied that food had nothing to do with it.  I’m sure he doesn’t think that, but it was implied.  No one will deny that Coke after Coke or beer after beer will pack on the pounds.  But while watching the program I thought, “Why are people not talking about the real issue?”  Excess is the real issue in our culture.  How many really obese Czech people have I met?  Let me count: none that I know (not that I’m meeting them every day).  Yet Czech drinkers are consuming more beer than anyone, but they are not continuously packing on the pounds. America’s weight problems are usually connected with excessive refined sugars, fast food, high fat content and highly processed foods.  Put those things in tandem with a resolutely sedentary lifestyle and you get fatties.

Another implication is that people are either drinking multiple servings of beer or that the beer itself can’t be built into the meals or daily caloric intake.  Personally, beer is a life enhancer for me.  It makes a great meal stellar.  It makes a hot summer day cool off.  It makes a time of hanging out joyously cohesive.  Vapid brews accomplish nothing.  They enhance nothing…except a low calorie state of copping a buzz.  Let’s be honest, who really drinks Select 55 because of the taste profile or flavor enhancement that it brings to a meal?  It seems to me it offers nothing in the way of quality.

So, I look at this one of two ways.  Either Select 55 could have artificial and calorie free flavor enhancers or we can bite the bullet and drink a good beer.  What’s the matter with figuring your beer into the daily caloric intake, taking a jog, or not worrying about having the six pack abs that we are programmed to desire?  The answer, for me at least, is to not worry so much and enjoy quality of life filled with meaningful experiences.  Sure, people won’t ogle my rock hard abs… but who has their shirt off that much anyway?

I will drink this, not that…but certainly not the way that the author expects.

A Brewpub Saturday is not nearly as hectic as a Dark Lord Day, but do not let the reader misunderstand and think it isn’t a busy time.  After arriving at 11:30 am, we realized we forgot to take Central Time into account (central Indiana is on Eastern Time and Munster, where Three Floyds is located, is on Central.  No matter, we waited half an hour and got right in the door.  However, there were about 15 other people already there right at noon, which is when the brewery opens on a Saturday.  We looked at the beer and food menus and made our selections.  There are plenty of beer selections.  Three Floyds had around 10 of their beers on tap and several guest beers on tap as well as a very nice bottle selection, all of which were available for carry out.

Of course, the preferred beers of drinking when I went were Three Floyds brews.  I also purchased some bottles for carry out.  At any rate, I hardly need to offer an apologetic for commending Three Floyd’s beers; their reputation precedes them.  But what about the food?

Well, I’ll say this much.  I had a burger and fries, which are hard to mess up, but they are also hard to perfect.  I think maybe Three Floyds is close.  Besides making a lot of their stuff in house, including bacon, they utilize a local bakery (from Chicago) that makes some amazing pretzel rolls.  The burger on that roll will make anyone’s day.  Rich, my brother and occasional contributer to this site, ordered a brisket sandwich and really enjoyed it.  Andrea enjoyed the pizza.  As far as portions go, my brother couldn’t eat all his, Andrea took almost half her pizza home, Rachel (Rich’s girlfriend) didn’t finish and I (because I’m a glutton) was able to finish all mine.  But I dare say that even the heftiest of appetites will be satisfied.

By the time 12:30 came around, the place was really jumping.  By 1:00 or so people were waiting outside the door.  So, if you decided to go, go early or be prepared to wait for a bit.  I suspect the wait wouldn’t be more than 15-30 minutes, but it could happen.  Like I said, the place was jumping and the food was wonderful.  Of course, the beer was great, and I’d expect to have a really nice time.  Beer was typical bar priced but with the beer being great in this case.  My burger and fries were $8 and Andrea’s veggie pizza with fresh provolone was $16.  Also, I should mention that the service was great, the bar tender was on the ball, and people were very friendly.  You can tell the employees love working there and know what is expected of them.

Apparently, the brewpub is also a meeting place for people who trade.  I noticed that someone had some DFH beers they brought in, and I asked about them because I’ve not been able to obtain a few of them.  Curiosity brought me over to him, and I talked to the fellow for a minute.  He told me that he was trying to work out a trade with some people.  I include this tidbit because it had a kind of speakeasy feel to it and it was interesting.

Overall, I recommend that you go Three Floyds Brewpub…unless you have something against terrific beer and great food.  Otherwise, please go and enjoy it immensely.

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?