Session 72: How We Love Beer

This month's session is hosted by Ryan Newhouse from Montana Beer Finder.


In light of it being about two weeks before Valentine's Day, I thought it would be a good time to talk about how we love beer. Pay attention now, as I said "how," not "why." Much has already been discussed about why we love beer: its creativity, its taste, its social aspect.

Think of this topic and discussion in terms of being in a relationship (again, a good primer for Valentine's Day!). You can say to your partner, "Honey, I love you." But think of the saying, "actions speak louder than words." From my personal experience, it's always better to show your partner the ways you love them instead of saying simply, "I love you because you make me happy." Instead if you come home with flowers every now and then, or do extra house chores without being asked, or plan an impromptu date, these are ways we show our partners how we love them because our actions show we think of them when they're not around.

The simple answer would be that I spend my time with it day in and day out.  But that seems too predictable and way too easy.  I think around here the idea is to never accept the easy answer, it is so much more rewarding to dig a little deeper and find out what lies below the surface. 

As I sit here reflecting on some of the things I have done just over the past year alone, I am reminded of many times not simply looking for great beer or even at times brewing great beer.  Those two items alone are superficial, only touching the surface of the mystery that is the love of beer.  Instead we can go deeper still and explore the things that make beer the wonderful thing that it is. 

Throughout the past year it has been a journey spending time with those who have been touched by beer in some way in their life.  A few hightlights include our first time at Hop Head Farms, spending some time at the Corner Brewery for the ABC Brews Crews, self imposed pub crawls like what happened during Michigan Craft Beer month,  and then spending a few minutes every week finding how beer has affected other's lives with Questions of Note. 

But in the end there seems to me an underlying theme, through all that has happened during the past year.  The love of great beer brings with it a chance to spend time with others who also love great beer.  Maybe thats it, at least for me it is.  How I love beer is through the ability to share it with others.  When you can find how it comes to their life and how it affects their world you gain a deeper appreciation of how it affects your life as well. 

The greatest thing about beer is it is meant to be shared.  There was a reason why America was forged through the pubs and taverns.  Those were the places where we gathered and shared our lives with our friends and family over a pint. 

time for a pint...

Hops: Some History

I ran across this article earlier and it made me realize that I haven't really spent any time looking into the history of hops in Michigan.  The main thing being that with our growing hop industry why did we stop growing hops in the past.  My first thought was maybe the rise of prohibition hurt the industry too much.  Considering hops sole purpose is for brewing it makes a little sense.  But that would be too easy an answer. 

I did a little digging and first ran across this article.  This article is about the Michigan Hop Alliance featuring Brian Tennis.  In the second paragraph there is mention of Michigan hops in the mid 1800s dying out due to infestation by the hop louse.  Hops at the time were being cultivated along with cherry trees in Northern Michigan.  When the hops were decimated the cherry crops picked up the slack.  Even now cherries are a huge crop in Northern Michigan.  But again this doesn't give us more than a glimpse into the hop's past of Michigan.

This took me to Michigan Crop Research Guide produced by the Michigan State University Library (mentioned in the Alliance article).  There wasn't a huge amount of information there pertaining to pre-prohibition hops.  The focus is turning more toward current production.  But I did find an interesting piece in the fifth annual report to the board of agriculture (1866). 

Geo. P. Oatley is listed on the MSU site as the link for the report.  In this year's report (1866)  the louse is mentioned as vermin but it is said that they are not a main problem in the hop production for the year.  Instead at the time there was a heavy drought, with only a few days of rain during the month of July.  It is in the 1867 report that not only drought but the louse had also hurt production in Michigan. 

As we look at the growth of brewing in Michigan and with it the rebirth of hops farming, we seem to be hitting an odd turn.  Last year was a horrible year for some of the important crops of Michigan, particularly apples and cherries.  It was also a year where drought seemed to affect quite a bit.  We seem to be building our industry during a time similar to what decimated the industry so many years ago. 

The good news is, with progress we find ways to defend against old problems.  There are new methods of pest control and irrigation has done wonders to ensure that many crops will still get the nourishment they need.  With knowledge and perseverence we may just be able to look forward to many years our local farms supporting our local brewers. 

Time for a pint...

It happens

The cysor didn't make it.  Sadly, I was expecting it but even so, it was a battle that needed to be fought.  I can safely say that the most likely culprit was the preservatives in the cider. 

The definition of experience is realizing that you made the same stupid mistake before.  Over the past week I was reminded of my first attempts to ferment something.  I must have been somewhere around 8 to 10 years old.  Oddly enough, that too was cider. 

It was shortly after I had a taste of something called apple jack.  Someone had given my parents a bottle of it and I managed to score a slight nip of it.  I remember it being a bit harsh; it had the flavors of fresh apples but there was a bit more of a kick. 

It was a revalation in my life.  Who would have thought that something could change so much.  There was a mystique to it, similar to beer in that before this moment I had no idea how it could be done.  But now I was told that if you leave it out and let it get some air it will change.

My first experiments at the time were with store bought cider.  I went through two gallons of cider, each one going more sour than that biting flavor I expected.  (In hindsight I realize that either lacto bacilus or acetobacter infected the ciders).  It was when I had a gallon of cider from the apple orchard that things changed for the better. 

This gallon took a life all its own.  Of course I didn't know to look for signs of fermentation or anything like that.  I just knew that some how it had the right environment to turn into what I expected.  And then fall kicked in and it got too cold to do the experiments anymore.  Being a kid, that was the last I thought about it, at least until now. 


When you look at failures like this you can choose to see only the waste of what was dumped down the drain.  Or you can choose to look at it like Edison and his failures to invent the light bulb.  In the future I won't have to waste time playing around with commercial cider.  Maybe I have even saved others from the same issues.

Time for a pint...

Video: Chorizo Hash

A few years ago, after I finished culinary school but before I started my bachelors degree, I did an extern ship at the Golden Door Spa.  Probably my favorite part of my time there was being taken in as part of the family with the Hispanic workers. 

I had breakfast with them every morning.  This wasn't the same breakfast that the guest of the spa had.  It was a family style breakfast where everyone involved brought in something to share.  We were a family (though I was the odd gringo out).  Claudio and Norberto were the two day time cooks that I spent quite a bit of time with and they made it a point to include me in even some family events outside of work. 

It was Claudio who taught me this version of hash, or at least a way of making it anyway.  In the original version instead of chorizo he used bologna.  Though a bit odd, it has the elements you want and crave when you have a good hash.

Ingredients:
1 ancho chili (seeds removed)
2 Chili de arbol (seeds removed)
1/2 chipotle pepper (seeds removed)
1lb pork shoulder (ground)
1 can diced tomato
1 medium onion
2 clove garlic
1 cup black beans
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1/2 lime (juiced)
salt and pepper

6 tortilla cut into pieces

 method:
rehydrate peppers and reserve water then chop them.  Brown pork with onion, garlic, and peppers.  Add pepper water, cumin, lime juice, and tomatoes bring to a boil then reduce the juice to sec.  Add beans and heat through.  Finally add the tortilla and heat through. 

Serve with eggs (sunny side up or over easy is best)

Time for a pint...

Questions of Note: Eric Pell

We are getting close on the series from High 5 Brewing Co-op.  This week's QoN is with Eric Pell.  If you haven't been following the series so far, the group for High 5 are attempting to do something unheard of in Michigan.  They are working to build a brewing co-op.  At this time there is only one other brewing co-op in the US (in Texas).  The first QoN with Megan E. Smith can be found here.  The second QoN can be found here.

Now that you are up to speed, lets spend a few minutes with Eric Pell.

5 Questions of note and 1 lame one

 

1.                  What was the beer moment, when you knew you wanted to become involved with the craft beer renaissance?

When I brewed my first beer and it didn't suck. I was hooked!

 

2.         If you could have any drink in your hand right now, what would it be?

I'd really like to try Founder's CBS so that's my choice for now.

3.         Can you describe your beer life in a song lyric/title?  If so what would you choose?

Heh, nope. I'm not that creative.

4.         Do you have a steady beer, or do you like to "play the field?"

If I'm at a bar with a limited selection I'll pick something local. At least most in the West Michigan area have a Founders or Bells brew on tap. If I'm somewhere with a larger selection I'll try as many different beers I haven't had before.

5.         Crowded smoky bar or back porch watching the clouds float across the sky?

I don't like your typical crowded "smoky bar" but if it's a cool place with open space I'm happy to slug some brews with friends.

And the lame one…

 

Who put the bomp in the bomp sha-bomp sha-bomp?

That is a very private and personal question. I'm embarrassed by you asking such a thing...

 

Time for a pint...

 

Share Responsibly

I had a few things on a tentative agenda for the evening.  The big part of it all was spending a little while outside the house.  First choice was to head over to a friend of mines and share some mead and beer, essentially an impromptu tasting.  As luck would have it this turned out to be a good choice for the evening. 

When you spend time working in kitchens and restaurants you tend to make a wide assortment of friends.  Some of these tend to enter and then leave your life never to be heard from again.  Then there are those who enter your life who you wish would leave forever.  And finally there are the ones who come into your life, and stick around.  You know the ones they come in raid the fridge hang out till odd hours (its a thing, people do this really). 

Where I ended up was one of those types of friends.  Over the years we have spent a good amount of time sharing beers and even wines on numerous occasions, but as time goes you don't always have the time to spend with others you wish you could.  I think the last time we were able to get together it was over a 6 pack of beers I had on hand during the summer.  Tonight it was one of the Mai bocks I have aging away happily in my cellar as well as a bottle of the Heather Agave Mead. 

Lukas comes from old German stock and still goes over there for family vacations from time to time.  Whenever I have anything German inspired in my cellar it is a trip to his place for beers and conversation.  Tonight was a good night.  The bock went over well and the mead came across as different; the agave and heather bring notes you just don't expect from a mead. 

The interesting moment in the night though came when we were having just one last one.  He had been keeping a cooler of Amstel Light outside to save some fridge room (in a cooler so not completely exposed to the elements.  Granted we haven't been having arctic temps lately, but it is still Michigan winter. 

Instant Eise Bock, just add freezing Michigan winter.  As we were chewing our way through the ice in these I kept hearing "do you like pina coladas."  I am actually more surprised that the bottles hadn't burst.  The odd thing is, until we popped the tops of the bottles the beers were liquid.  It was only when the oxygen hit the liquid that they completely changed over. Something to think about...


Time for a pint...

Update: The Cysor

I don't know yet who is more stubborn, me or the yeast.  So I checked it again recently hoping it would be ready for racking.  Upon popping the lid and there is a decent build up of fermentation smells going on.  But the gravity had dropped a whopping 10 points. 

So on an off chance I attempted aeration again.  And did some thinking.  My primary fermentation space is in my kitchen.  This space gets blasted with air when you open our back door as well as our garage door.  With as cold as it has been, even though the house is set at 70, that space has got to be dropping to a bit lower at any given time. 

My next step now is to cover the bucket with a towl.  An attempt to regulate the heat just a bit better.  As an added bonus I have now also bungee corded a heating pad to the side of the bucket in hopes that it will help to bring the temps up a bit. 


Worst case scenario, if nothing moves any more by next week I will call it dead.  There is a good chance that the preservatives in the cider (remember this was commercial cider instead of the good stuff) may be much better than originally thought.  It will be sad to lose the batch, but some times you have to realize that the horse is dead and its time to get off. 

Time for a pint...

Books: The Art of Fermentation

When you spend most of your time as I do, playing with various forms of food and beverage experiments (cue mad scientist music with loud thunder and bright bolts of lightning), you find yourself searching for information in quite a few different places.  I recently ran across a news article revolving around the subject of pickling and it mentioned The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz.  Needless to say I had to pick this one up.

Amazon Link

After being diagnosed with HIV around 20 years ago, Sandor Katz began a journey to redefine his diet and bring more stability to his health.  His quest for fermentation enlightenment led to living off the grid in a "Radical Faerie Community."  Granted you don't have to go to such extremes but the idea is sound.  Going back to our roots, building a relationship with our food and those who produce our food as well as producing it ourselves brings us back to our community.  This is something that we as a whole need to embrace in our ever shrink wrapped homogenized world.  

In his book The Art of Fermentation, he explores the world through different methods of fermentation.  Preservation of the harvest through the use of different bacterias is something universal within all cultures.  In a time when we have grown to fear bacterias as a dangerous and evil creature, we have become almost as homogenized as our factory processed foods.  It is are very war to destroy with antibiotics and antiseptic chemicals that has made us even more susceptible to micro-organisms that are infinitely more adaptable than we are.  

From the epilogue:

We must reclaim our food.  Food is much more than simply nourishment.  It embodies a complex web of relationships.  It is a huge part of the context in which we exist.  Reclaiming our food means actively involving ourselves in this web.  

Over the past week I have been flipping back and forth through the book.  Each time I stop I find a new tidbit or a forgotten slice of information, always a kernel of wisdom and understanding of the traditional ways our foods were once cared for.  I was surprised to find a section that detailed Natto.  This is a Japanese soy fermentation that to the uninitiated can seem very extreme (most Western palettes can not appreciate its extreme flavors).  I like to feel superior, because I actually enjoy it, but the metallic and ammonia notes that can be present can throw most people off.  

I find this book may very well be a resource that I will need to spend months if not years going through and exploring the possibilities posed within its pages.  It is well worth the space on your fermentation book shelves.

 

Time for a pint...

Video: Vegitarian Burgers

I know what you're thinking, tofu is icky.  At one point everyone at my house would agree with you.  But with a little planning you can fix it up so that you don't even realize that you are eating semi healthy or even going meatless. 

The birth of this burger/ Philly cheese steak style set up came when we were trying to figure out some ways to make em a bit healthier.  One of the vegitarian cook books I had a while ago suggested using worcestershire sauce with the tofu, so we did some experimenting and now the kids actually ask for this. 

Recipe:
1 package extra firm tofu (sliced)
5 mushrooms
1 medium onion
1-2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

Method:
Heat the pan for the tofu on medium to medium high.  Add a thin layer of oil (you are looking at roughly enough to shallow fry the tofu).  Cook the tofu for 2 to 3 minutes on each side and allow to drain.  Drain the excess oil from the pan and add some of the worcestershire sauce.  Add the tofu back into the pan and drizzle with a bit more sauce.  Cook for a minute or two on each side so it soaks up some of the sauce.

Caramalize onions, mushrooms, and a clove of garlic (chopped).  Add salt and pepper to taste, you can even add a touch of the worchestershire sauce to give the flavor of being cooked with the "meat."


This really is a simple recipe.  For something like a Philly cheese steak you can saute peppers and onions and add the cheese of choice to the finished mix. 

Sadly, worcestershire sauce is not vegan.  Using it as it is traditionally made keeps this meal for being a vegan meal.  But I do believe you can find a vegan version of the sauce at many healthfood stores.  You could even go crazy and use cashew cheez instead of cow cheese to keep totally vegan without any real loss of flavor.  In the ideals of analog vegans, you may give up the flesh but you don't have to lose the taste.

Time for a pint...

Questions of Note: More High 5

Last week we started a QoN series with High 5 Brewing Co-op.  This week we spend some time with some more from High 5.  Get ready for this one, we are hitting three different interviewees (so fewer questions to hopefully avoid some confusion). 
Before we move on to the questions, check out this article from when Dallas McCulloch won 5x5 night setting High 5 into motion with their first bit of funding.  Now let's get on with some questions...

1.                  What was the beer moment, when you knew you wanted to become involved with the craft beer renaissance?

Nicholas La Velle

I moved in with 2 of my best friends when I was 23 who just happened to be homebrewers like me. In the next 4 years we basically all decided that we will be working somewhere in the brewing industry at some point in time soon.

 

Greggory Samsa Hampshire

For a long time, I was kind of a garbage can for beer: I'd drink it all and enjoy it, but I hadn't really put much thought into it. As Grand Rapids developed as a "Beer City", I started noticing the sense of community and pride about it, and this was in chorus with my taste becoming more discerning and learning what I genuinely liked and what I would just drink to get drunk. As soon as I learned I had an opportunity to help the community, help a new brewery, and drink with friends, I jumped at the chance.

Jorel Van Os

The real defining moment is when I attended 5x5 night and Dallas won the full $5000 prize for the cooperatively owned brewery concept that became High Five. It's been a lot of hard work, and there is a lot of work ahead of us, but the incredible enthusiasm and support made me convinced that our brewery can and will become a reality, and I want to help in every way I can to make that happen.

 

2.         If you could have any beer in your hand right now, what would it be?

Nicholas La Velle

Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout or North Coast Old Rasputin

 

Greggory Samsa Hampshire

Founders Spite Pepper Pale Ale or Hideout Nitro Hazelnut Stout; if the latter was ever distributed, I don't know if I'd buy many other beers.

Jorel Van Os

Anything dark, malty and made by Right Brain, so maybe their CEO Stout? I was up by Traverse City for a few days this summer and just barely missed the grand opening of their new brewery so I've been craving their beer ever since.

3.         Can you describe your beer life in a song lyric/title?  If so what would you choose?

Nicholas LaVelle

"Now i think i'm going down to the well tonight
And i'm going to drink till i get my fill
And i hope when i get old i don't sit around thinking about it
But i probably will
Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture
A little of the glory of, well time slips away
And leaves you with nothing mister but
Boring stories of glory days" - the Boss

Greggory Samsa Hampshire

"Never gonna give up my rugged live, never sell my infertile soil. Never gonna give up this simple style, let's drink and enjoy." Real deep. "Let's Drink" by Korpiklaani

Jorel Van Os

Expensive Tastes by the Cold War Kids

"I like to show up at your door step
Wearing the winter tie my neighbor tied,
And meet your family, compliment cookin'
Drink the beer your uncles are brewin'"

 

 

Kalamazoo Beer Week The People

The logistics of an event like a beer week anywhere would never happen without a great number of people pulling together to make it happen.  As the beer week in Kalamazoo has grown over the past few years the number of events have grown immensely.  Try as you might you can't be everywhere. 

My personal view has been throughout to find myself where I knew I would have a chance to talk to the people involved with the breweries represented, if not the brewers then at least their ambassadors.  At times it may have been little more than a passing moment as I needed to rush off to a different location (sometimes clear across town).  These past 6 days for me have been no less than a marathon (don't worry, if you have missed other parts this week there are still a couple more days of beer week left). 

There have been a few moments over this past week where I have had the opportunity to spend some time catching up with those I have known in the past and meeting new friends that I hope to run into again.  As always it is Kalamazoo Beer Week, you never know what might happen (this is gonna catch on I just know it). 

Although this is Central City Taphouse, we have here
Ben and Trevor from Paw Paw and Russ from Right Brain

My week started on Saturday night at O'Duffy's.  I was there specifically to catch Right Brain.  The place was packed so when Russ made it inside it came to pretty much some quick small talk before he needed to become one with the crowd.  As the schedule dictated I couldn't spend too long so I was soon back on the move.  Before I even made it to the door I ran into Ben from Paw Paw Brewing.  Times like this only happen during beer week. 

Jarred Sper Perrin Brewery

That next stop was at Shakespeare's to meet up with Jarred Sper from Perrin Brewing.  This was my first time ever meeting him and still I have not yet been to the brewery.  But their chocolate porter was quite tasty.  Though Shake's was still pretty crowded we were able to spend some time talking beer.  I was impressed by his humble attitude as the new guy in town (Perrin has only been open since September).

Moving into other moments through the week, we come to time with the ambassadors (Michael Malachowski (national sales) is on the right)for Epic Brewing out of Utah.  I know beer out of Utah sounds crazy right.  But that was just what we spent some time talking about.  Currently the laws in Utah will not allow beers over 3.2% to be served on draft.  But bottles can go much bigger.  And that is just what they are doing at Epic.  As a benefit in Michigan we can get their beers on draft. 

As an added bonus, Andrew Van Til from Imperial Beverage showed up and spent time at the table.  Andrew has the distinction of being not only the very first Master Cicerone but also one out of only 6 who currently hold that title.  You don't very often get an opportunity to talk candidly with a Master Cicerone about the testing and what it takes to reach that level. 
  
The craziness of beer week brought in another great conversation.  At a point when I ran into rick from Brewery Vivant I found Kristopher Malling from Cowslip Creamery.  Earlier this year they had made a cheese, similar to a tellegio that was aged with a wash of Solitude from Brewery Vivant.  The cheese was amazing and of course went amazingly well with Solitude. 

This of course, was a great opportunity to not only talk about fermentation as it pertains to cheese but also some of the trials and tribulations involved with cheese making.  Brewery Vivant's French and Belgian style beers are such a perfect fit with other french staples like great cheeses. 

Yet another great moment where I got some time to spend with a brewer came when I met up with some of the team from Arcadia.  Dave Sippel (far right in the picture) is the new Director of Brewing Operations, coming to Michigan from Victory Brewing out of Pennsylvania.  We spent some time reflecting on his time at Victory and his transition to Michigan.  In case you were wondering, the 16th anniversary ale that came out for the Highland Christmas party in December did come from him.  Just from that alone we can look forward to some really great beers ahead. 

This really sums up times like beer week for me.  It is a chance to catch the brewers, owners, ambassadors at a time when they are in a space where they can feel comfortable talking about their love of beer and how it has affected their life.  There aren't the day to day distractions of work to deal with right there in their faces.  When you sit down to have a beer with someone you have having more than just the liquid in the glass.  You are sharing a moment that has existed for thousands of years.  This is something you will only find at the bottom of the glass when the beer and the conversation leaves you sated. 

Some random pictures to carry us through....

 

Time for a pint...

Kalamazoo Beer Week Getting Close

There were quite a few events this week.  Many of em to packed houses.  A big one for me was Sour Sunday hosted by Central City Taphouse.  Not only did they host sours from Brewery Vivant but the brewers from Paw Paw Brewing showed up a bit later sharing their Red Barn Sour. 

Early in the evening Rick the brewery ambassador spent time with Jenny Parker from Imperial beverage exploring the beers to come.  Craft beer, unlike mass produced beer, is rarely ever pasteurized.  This is even more important in sour beers where the aging of the beer can provide an entirely new experience as the bacterias do their work.  Often in a brewery that invests in a fair amount of soured beers, blending is a common practice between batches to find the best mix of flavors between the different age ranges of brews. 

 

Of their offerings on Sunday I found the Paris to be my favorite.  Although this might be because the citrus notes present went so well with the thai peppers appetizer on Central City's bar menu (becareful of the hot ones, they sometimes have a kick).  The Escoffier was offered as part of this flight as well.  This was the collaboration brew between Brewery Vivant and New Belgium Brewing, brewed for the release of New Belgium in Michigan. 

Shortly after Trevor And Ben from Paw Paw arrived Russ from Right Brain showed up.  It was quickly turning into a great night to spend time talking sour beers.  I am sure I have mentioned this before but it is Kalamazoo Beer Week, you never know who you might run into.

 

 

Time for a pint...

 

KBW Rinse, Repeat

For the start of the next post for Kalamazoo Beer Week, we return to Bacchus.  Earlier tonight they featured Brewery Vivant (one of my favorite of the Grand Rapids breweries so I had to go).  Rick the brand ambassador from the brewery was on hand to guide guests through the tasting.  The beers featured for this tasting were Farm Hand, Solitude and Contemplation. 

Food for this pairing was a chicken salad slider and redskin potato salad.  I spent time with all three to find the best matches.  The potato salad shocked me a bit when Contemplation fit so well.  The smokey meaty bacon was brought out by the fruit and spice notes.  Farm Hand just wasn't enough and Solitude was a bit too much.  I felt like I was reading Goldilocks and the Three Beers.

When I went into the chicken slider it went a bigger direction.  Again the Farm Hand wasn't quite enough.  And even after that Contemplation didn't quit fit either.  But when it came to Solitude there were some rich raisiny and molasses notes that went so well without overpowering the chicken salad.  It is one of those perfect pairings that you find in recipes when you might add some raisins, craisins or even grapes to the salad. 

Now we move on to a deeper look at some of the beers that have been found during beer week.  For me these are some of the standouts that I have run across.  As a side note, it goes without saying that when you are looking to hit events for a beer week, you really need to approach it like you would a beer festival.  Granted you can play hit or miss and spend time running around to every event you can get your self to. 

 

The other option is to plan out some events that you don't want to miss.  This gives you a chance to make sure you make it to what you really want to experience without running around like a chicken with your head cut off.  (Or be like me and plan it all out and still run around like a chicken with your head cut off).  My goal this week has been to find the visiting brewers and brewery amabassadors in the places where I can spend a minute or two with them.  This means I have avoided a bit of the parties that are the bigger events.  But this also means that I have a chance to learn a bit more about the beers and the breweries that I might not have gotten otherwise. 

 

With that said, here is a quick list of some great beers I found so far this week.  First, the chocolate porter from Perrin Brewing.  This one can be a bit scary if you aren't careful.  Somewhere near 8% but you would not know it by drinking it (until you find yourself glued to your barstool).  The chocolate and coffee notes are fantastic and it is super smooth. 

 

The Fire Starter (chipotle porter) from Right Brain is another great one.  The spice doesn't overpower, at least not at first.  It is a nice subtle spice that builds as you find your way to the bottom of a porter that could stand out on its own. 

 

I know this isn't a Michigan brewery so I feel a little guilty for enjoying the beers but they were quite tasty and from somewhere I would never expect to find something this good.  Epic Brewing have four beers in town right now.  It was their Brainless on Peaches that stood out though.  This is a big one at close to 11%.  To their normal Brainless Belgian they add in peach puree and then age it in chardonay barrels.  Soft fruits with notes of vanilla from the barrel aging, then adding in the classic flavors brought from the Belgian yeast strain makes for a very good beer. 

 

And my last stand out so far has been the Green Bush Red Bud on cask.  As much as I love cask ale this has been the only cask I have had this week.  The natural carbonation works so well with wheat ales.  With Red Bud the softer carbonation allows the hops and malts to mingle a bit more giving it great balance. 

 

Time for a pint...

Kalamazoo Beer Week

The past few days have been hectic to say the least.  Kalamazoo Beer week started Saturday night with a pub crawl.  Although there were a few technical difficulties, everywhere associated with the crawl were still packed almost to the point of lack of breathing room.   This was a great night and Sunday night worked out roughly the same.  There will be updates through most of the week as we explore the fun that Kalamazoo Beer Week offers.

But this is Monday.  This is the night we would normally be checking out some food, possibly even some food made with beer.  With it being beer week there isn't enough time for that this week.  Instead the folks over at Bacchus have gone an extra step for us.  Not only are they hosting tastings for beer week, they are adding in food pairings to match with the different breweries that share their space each day.

So far this week I have had the pleasure of spending time with a rep from Arcadia Brewing on Sunday.  This pairing included chocolate and bbq pork sliders.  Of the beers sampled with the bbq the London Style Porter went pretty well, but for me the natural match was Arcadia's Nut Brown Ale.  That was a perfect match with the malty notes of the Brown matching with the richness of the bbq sauce.  The rich chocolate and coffee notes of the London Style Porter went perfectly with the dark chocolate that Bacchus had provided for the pairing. 



On Monday night Merchant Du Vin, importers of such classically brewed beers like Celebrator Dopplebock and Samuel Smith's was at Bacchus with a few beers to pair with cheese and pate. 

Lindemans Frambois, Celebrator Dopplebock, and Samuel Smith's IPA were presented by Adam McLean the state manager for Merchant Du Vin.  By themselves these are some great beers.  Paired with foods they reach new levels. 

The fruit notes of the Frambois made a perfect match for the cheese.  The acidity of the fruit cut through the fatty richness the cheese brought in making a perfect pairing.  Then when you worked the Celebrator with the pate you could also find a great match. 

While I was at Bacchus I ran into Nate Melvin (on the right) from Discover Kalamazoo.  Starting Monday with him and Nate McLean (on the left) made for a great start to the rest of the evening. 

As we move into the week I will be going over more of the brewers and brewery reps I have been able to spend some time with during beer week but I say now this is Kalamazoo Beer Week, you never know you might run into.  As we find right here, Kevin Romeo and Angel Arnold from Rhino Media Productions, the group bringing us the Michigan Beer Film.  It was an amazing bit of happenstance that they ended up in Shakespears tonight while I was there.   

Be ready, there is more to come. Kalamazoo Beer Week is still going strong. 

 

 

Time for a pint...

Questions of Note: Megan E. Smith

Get ready for this.  Today marks the first in a series of QoNs with the group from High 5 Co-op Brewery.  They are working on something never done before in Michigan.  They are building a brewing co-op.  Sure this isn't the first of its kind but it is the first in Michigan.  Today we spend a few minutes with Megan E. Smith.  But I am sure you are dying to know, what the .... is a Co-op.

 

 

And now the questions...

 

5 Questions of note and 1 lame one

 

1.                  What was the beer moment, when you knew you wanted to become involved with the craft beer renaissance?

I was raised on Founders beer, so there was no doubt that I would be a craft beer lover. I decided to become more involved when I heard about Hi5's unique co-op perspective on running a brewery.

 

2.         If you could have any beer in your hand right now, what would it be?

KBS. It's stout season. The West Michigan Homebrewers got a group together to make a KBS clone that we are barrel aging. Can't wait to try it!

3.         Can you describe your beer life in a song lyric/title?  If so what would you choose?

Nope, can't think of one.

4.         Do you have a steady beer, or do you like to "play the field?"

I'm a fan of dark malty beers. Just had a great Scotch Ale at White Flame. But I like to play the field as well and often do samplers at new breweries.

5.         Crowded smoky bar or back porch watching the clouds float across the sky?

 

I love beer gartens and I'm hoping we find a location for High Five that allows space for one.

And the lame one…

Who put the bomp in the bomp-sha bomp-sha bomp?

Not sure about the bomp, it was before my time. But I do get down with the bomp's cousin, the whomp.



Back to Formula

So I was hoping to transfer the cysor to secondary earlier today.  The fermentation hadn't been going like I would have expected but it was still giving signs of working.  Just in case I made it a point to do a gravity reading to see where the whole thing was. 

Sadly, it appears that the fermentation was working almost not at all.  My thoughts were that possibly something has gone wrong with the yeast.  The cider I am using is a mass produced and preservative cider, unlike my normal cider that is only UV pasteurized.  It is possible that this is a problem with the fermentation.  But on the off chance there was something else going on I did pick up some more yeast to see if I can get the fermentation moving. 

On the way to Bell's general store I had time to think.  It dawned on me that this isn't the first time I have had an issue with the fermentation with ciders.  I realized that the one characteristic that they have shared is the use of Cambden tablets.  Cambden tablets are potasium or sodium metabisulfite.  They are a sulfer used to kill off wild bacteria and inhibit its growth.  They also are able to kill off the yeast you need for fermentation.  Their use is a common practice in wines and ciders where you don't want to sterilize the must with high temperatures. 

In their standard use, you should be pitching your yeast at least 24 hours after dosing the must with the tablets.  This gives the tablets enough time to weaken the wild bacterias and allow the yeast or good micro organisms a chance to build strength. 

Where I think my problem is coming in is I am either using too much cambden or I am pitching too soon causing the yeast I pitch to stall out, keeping it from reaching its potential.  The evidence of this came from the pitching of new yeast and the fermentation started up again stronger than it had been going. 

Here is to hoping that it goes the way it should from this point on.  It is never a good thing to lose a batch of strong booze.

Time for a pint...

Video: Pasta Alla Puttanesca

Here we go with the first video of 2013.  Its time to get back on track.  All the eating and drinking of the holidays has had its toll on us and we need to fight back, but without sacrificing flavor. 

Homemade pasta is better than anything you will ever find in a store.  Thankfully we have already gone through the process here.

This leaves us with the work of making the puttanesca sauce.  The historical lore of puttanesca sauce comes from the world's oldest profession.  It is said that this was the sauce that would be made in the houses of ill-repute because it was so simple and could be left simmering on a stove top while they performed the services of their profession.  It was also one that was cheap enough and filling enough that they could feed it to their customers without cutting too deeply into their profits.  As an additional side note the word puttanesca is a derivation of the word puttana, the italian word for whore. 

This is one of my favorite styles of red sauce and I tend to make slight variations of it when I make most red sauces.  It is simple and can be made with so few ingredients, with an added bonus that it really does come across as a great sauce at a low price point. 

Traditionally, puttanesca sauce consists of tomatoes, onions, black olives, capers, anchovy, and oregano.  In my version I tend to leave out the capers and anchovy, and use basil instead of oregano.  As you will find in most things, many will have their own variation and interpretation of what the sauce can be. 

Puttanesca Sauce Recipe:
1.5 lbs tomatoes (I used fresh frozen tomatoes from the fall harvest)
10 olives
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup wine
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Salt to taste
dash of red pepper (or chipotle powder)

Method:
Add olive oil to hot pan and warm.  Then add onion and garlic and cook till soft.  Deglaze with wine, then add tomato, spices, and vinegar.  Bring to a boil then add the olives.  Cook to reduce the liquid to just a bit before demi sec.  Add cooked pasta and mix through bringing up the temp of the pasta. 

Taste Memory

It seems like forever ago that I was in culinary school (graduated almost 7 years ago now, damn time flies).  It was here that I had a real taste awakening.  Sure food is one thing, it is common place now to search for new tastes and experiences.  I have been exploring different foods for most of my life.  It helps to spend some time away from where you grew up.  For me it was spending time not only outside of Michigan but also outside of the country.  It does also help to grow up with great taste memories of foods in your own home as well.  In our house we grew up with pasties and home made pizza, in fact quite a bit of what we ate growing up was made at home.  It was an odd day if we ate out.  But I digress...

It was during culinary school that really tasting what I drink hit home.  I had been working on learning beer again even before school.  By learning I mean more than just drinking for the drunk.  Sure, I had sampled some great beers but I realized I did not really understand what it was I was drinking yet.  At least not until I went to a wine tasting with the schools wine club. 

This tasting was on our anniversary of all things.  My wife who doesn't really care for wine was happy to go as it was a different night out and we had plans to go see a friend's band after the tasting.  The tasting was of beaujolais nouveau.  Beaujolais that are bottled within a few short weeks after fermentation to avoid the build up of tannins. 

I don't remember the wines we sampled.  Really there are only a couple things that stood out from the experience.  The big one was when the instructor (a Master Sommelier, picture the stuffy wine world of the 70s through 2000s and you might have an idea of what this entailed) asked my wife what her thoughts were on the wines.  My wife who rarely holds back flat out said she doesn't really care for wine.  His jaw dropped about an inch, he blinked and then said "Then why are you even here!?"  My wife of course blames me.  Later my wife in a half drunk state says to me "He yelled at me. It's my anniversary and he yelled at me."

Where were we going with this?  Oh ya, so the second thing that came from this experience...

This is when I learned the meaning of taste memory.  A flavor I picked up from one of the wines brought an immediate flash of earthy basement.  If you don't live in Michigan you may not know this smell.  The basement of my parents house has a damp mustiness to it.  Even with the use of dehumidifiers the smell is always there.  The wine had transported me to my parents basement bringing with it the emotions of growing up in the house.  Nothing had ever done that before on such a primal level. 

Tasting at this level is a very analytical level of tasting.  When drinking beers I rarely try to push the taste memories like this (most of the time).  Although, there have been a few beers that I have brewed that I crafted them with the intent to trigger a strong emotional memory.  This doesn't always succeed but on the occasion that it happens at least for me I consider it a good day. 

Has there been a food or beverage in your experience that draws you deep into your memories?  When you sampled the item again were you able to draw up the same response?

What's in a Name

There is a war raging within the world today.  At this point I hazard to say that it may not be at the forefront but we see the effects of it in muted detail.  Every now and then there are battles that flare up and remind us that the war is still raging, only to see the noise die down a bit till the next offensive action. 

You may not remember these commercials or (heaven forbid) you are not even old enough to have ever seen these commercials but they seem to hold an important point to keep in mind. 

The idea of an all natural product with ingredients you can pronounce seems almost trite at this point.  But this wasn't always the case.  Even today this isn't the norm, even though it becomes more common everyday.  The more troubled idea is transparency of not only ingredients but also origin. 

When we look at many of the products we take for granted now we rarely think of where they might have originated.  This "good faith" that companies could only have our best interests at heart is a bit scary for one but also a disservice to our own well being and piece of mind.  Imagine a world where children assume that the meat they eat in the supermarket was made there and no animals were harmed in the process.  Well, you really don't have to imagine it because we live in that world now.  If you hadn't noticed, we have reached a time in history when a few select companies control the majority of the products we use everyday.

 Over the past month or so a battle has flared up again. The battle of "craft vs crafty." Who makes the beers we drink. The talk has gone in several directions bordering outrage to dismay.  Much of this stems from the criteria that the Brewer's Association has in place for defining what is a craft brewer.  The thing is, they have had this criteria for years now, this isn't something new.  The only real change was to raise the barrel cap to remain within the guidelines.  This change was done roughly 3 years ago now. 

So why the outrage?  Why all the controversy?  The folks at the BA in an effort to call out the companies that are in effect blurring the lines made public statements showing where the line was crossed.  Have we lost our accountability to the point where we need to resort to half truths or subterfuge to sell our wares?  How does that polysorbate 80 taste? 

But this isn't a call to action to bring down the oppressors.  This is a reminder that we should be mindful of who and what we support.  Why are companies like Monsanto afraid to label their products as GMO?  Why would a company like AB Inbev not publically claim Shock Top or Goose Island (which they have now pretty much completely changed the group running the brewery)?  Transparency in the products we consume can be a liberating thing.  If not for our own piece of mind but to remind our children that yes steak does come from cows. 

Time for a pint...

Questions of Note: Marc Buttera

 

 

 

Here we go, this is the first Questions of Note for 2013.  The victem for this installment is Marc Buttera from O'so Brewing Company from Plover, Wisconsin.  They did something I find great when getting to know a new brewery; they made some virtual tours of the brewery so we can see the magic. 

 



And now for the questions...

1.                  What was the beer moment, when you knew you wanted to become involved with the craft beer renaissance?

The day I brewed my first batch of Home brew back in 1995.

2.         If you could have any beer in your hand right now, what would it be?

Hopdinger, it is a great all around beer, a go to beer.

 

3.         Can you describe your beer life in a song lyric/title?  If so what would you choose?

It would be a Greatful Dead song... Roll away the dew...

4.         Do you have a steady beer, or do you like to "play the field?"

I play the field, Variety is the spice of life (Don't tell my wife!)

 

 

5.         Crowded smoky bar or back porch watching the clouds float across the sky?

Porch for sure, hate smoky bars!

And the lame one…

 

Who put the bomp in the bomp-sha bomp-sha bomp?
You must of.