The first time I ever heard about eating chocolate and drinking beer at the same time was reading about a beer tasting conducted by one of the first writers to consider beer worth studying. Fred Eckhardt was one of the first to seriously study the, at the time burgeoning microbrew industry, in the mid-1970s. He delved into the subject with enthusiasm and an acute use of vocabulary. One of his major accomplishments was using those talents to wight and publish a book that attempted to define the different styles of beer that were bringing brewed by the first microbreweries.

One of the best ways to introduce someone to the different styles of fermented malt beverage is to have a beer tasting.These do not have to be complicated, rather they should be opportunities to taste a beer to learn what style it is and how and why it is that style.

Fred Eckert's beer tastings were legendary… In particular the unusual final offering of the tasting session... Each of the participants would be presented with a pint class that had a chocolate brownie at the bottom of it. They would then be presented with a bottle of stout and a spoon. They would be told to pour the stout into the pint glass over the brownie and the entire concoction was topped off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

That may have been the first time I had ever heard of putting chocolate, beer and ice cream together in the same glass. It wasn't the last.

I once presided over a beer dinner that featured recipes from "Cooking and Eating with Beer", the second book I had published with John Wiley & Sons. The desert was rather simple; a chocolate milkshake made with a dark beer from a local brewery rather than milk. It was without a doubt the least challenging part of the menu. This did not appeal to the pastry chef.

Once the consistency of the beer shake, known as the "Wicked Gretchen", had been properly determined samples were presented to the staff before service so that they would know how to describe it to the customer. As with the other dishes, the chef in charge read off the ingredients. The less than pleased pastry chef read off the ingredients; "The "Wicked Gretchen"… 8 ounces of Catamount Stout, one scoop of Ben & Jerry's vanilla ice cream and 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar." The inclusion of the balsamic vinegar was a surprise to me which fortunately went undetected. (It was later determined that one line from the recipe of the vinaigrette had been cut off and added to the beer shake.) It was actually a better tasting "Gretchen" than the originall. The balsamic vinegar added a sweet tartness that blended both the beer and the ice cream. It wasn't until about three years later that I learned that it was common practice in Northern Italy to dash a bit of balsamic manager over a favorite gelato.

And then there was the time in Montréal when chocolate, sea salt, and Porter developed into a taste explosion but that's a story for another time…

21st Amendment Brewery 563 2nd St San Francisco, California 94107 (415) 369-0900Preface:

I am including this preface to inform the reader of any and all circumstances that might be conceived of a creating a biased review or a conflict of interest regarding the choice of words used in the following review. I could go on and on with semi-legal jargon but I guess you will just have to trust me eh?

The following are my tasting notes:

Appearance: This burnished-copper colored brew has a fine bubble carbonation that builds an almost white rocky head of small and medium sized bubbles, leaving behind a good Belgian lace.

Aroma: The first impression is more along a floral aroma, rather than sweet, with an under-current of sweet grain. The second impression brings more of the green floral aromas. A third nosedive reveals much more of the grain and biscuit aromas.

Flavor: After the first refreshing impression the initial flavors are of a citric, almost metallic, spike that is quickly met by a sweet grain flavor. A second sip reveals the balancing act that both of these flavors reach after the initial impression. The third swig allows the flavor receptors to discover some of the nuances to the citric tang.

Mouth feel: The emphasis on hop flavors allows this (4.4% alcohol by volume) brew to give the impression there is more body here than there actually is… and that is a good thing.

Finish: The final citric notes linger the most. However there is an undercurrent of grain flavor that keeps it from becoming obnoxious.

Comments: As you might have noted from previous postings, I have been on a quest to find a selection of “session beers” that are interesting and flavor and presentation. This is one of those beers.

It has another thing going for it… the packaging. I’m fascinated by the development of canned beer amongst small breweries. There is no doubt that it makes sense on at least three levels (weight, light-proof, recyclable).

The fact that it is relatively low alcohol I also find a major selling point. I understand the desire by consumers in the United States to base their purchasing decisions on quantity. However, it’s indisputable, drinking more than one of the “extreme beers” is more of an effort than enjoyment. On the other hand, a “session beer” is the ideal beer when “going the rounds” on a visit to your favorite watering hole.

I hear tell this is also a most tasty beer on draft…

Shock Top Hops Up Portfolio with Wheat IPA

ST. LOUIS (Jan. 30, 2011) – … Shock Top Wheat IPA, which hits store shelves Feb. 6... Is a unique hybrid style that brings the refreshment and smoothness of a wheat beer and marries it with the crisp, hoppy bitterness of an India Pale Ale (IPA)… visit www.shocktopbeer.com or www.facebook.com/ShockTop.

The Narragansett Beer Co. is also not intimidated by traditional style sheets…

 
February 1, 2012; Providence, RI – Narragansett announces the seasonal release of its spring craft brew, Narragansett Bock. A silver medal winner at the 2011 World Beer Championships, Bock will be available on draught and in ‘Gansett’s signature 16oz. Tallboy cans.

Narragansett Bock is brewed under the supervision of award-winning Brewmaster Sean Larkin at Trinity Brew House in Providence, RI and Cottrell Brewery in Pawcatuck, CT with light and dark Munich malts, Pilsner malt, Malted Wheat, and hopped with Northern Brewers and Hallertau hops. A traditional Bavarian helles lager beer, Narragansett Bock is deeply flavorful with a rich golden color and full body. Drier, hoppier, and slightly more bitter than a traditional bock, it still has a relatively low hop flavor, making for an extremely approachable craft experience. Narragansett Bock is 6.5% Alcohol by Volume and 32 IBUs.

From the folks at the 21st Amendment…

Hear ye! Hear ye! It’s “Strong Beer” month…

For the eleventh year, 21st Amendment Brewery and the Magnolia Pub and Brewery are serving up a dozen heavy-duty brews over 8% ABV. For a list of beers to be served, and info on how to get your hands on a commemorative glass, check out 21st Amendment's recent blog entry celebrating the best month of the year:  http://21st-amendment.com/company/blog/2012/02/fasten-your-seat-belts-strong-beer-month-here

And they remind us that this is also “CA Beer” Month:

What better time is there than at the start of SF Beer Week to draw your readers' attention to the movement to recognize February as "California Beer Month?"

It will be the official recognition that the craft beer industry in California deserves. According to statistics from the National Beer Wholesalers Association, in 2010 California's beer industry created:

o   Nearly 230,000 jobs
o   More than $10 billion in wages
o   More than $33 billion for our state economy.

21st Amendment Brewery, a driving force in San Francisco's growing craft brewing scene, helped found SF Beer Week and co-founded Strong Beer Month. The brewery's outspoken co-foundes, Nico Freccia and Shaun O'Sullivan, are available to discuss the push to create California Beer Month with you, in hopes it will give us all another reason to raise a glass of our favorite hand crafted creation the entire month!

At the 21st Amendment Brewery, we celebrate the right to brew beer, the freedom to be innovative, and the obligation to have fun. www.21st-Amendment.com
 

If you are in Portsmouth, NH next weekend…

The Portsmouth Brewery will be sponsoring a Red Cross blood drive at Middle Street Baptist Church: 18 Court Street in Portsmouth on Friday, February 10th from 12pm-5pm and we want you to donate!... click on the following    http://bit.ly/zkV28e

In NYC for Mardi Gras?

In a couple of weeks Mardi Gras kicks off weeks of deprivation for those of you who are Roman Catholic… If you are in the NYC area you may consider the following kick-it celebration…

Gumbo Cook-off For Mardi Gras Weekend At Jimmy’s No. 43

“Jimmy’s No. 43 will be celebrating Mardi Gras with two featured events: Hot Sauce for Ohio Farm Relief (February 18th from 1-3 p.m.) and a N’Orleans Style Gumbo Cook-off (February 19th from 1-3 p.m.) to benefit Chefs for the Marcellus.”

“Our featured event of the weekend is the February 19th N’Orleans Style Gumbo Cook-Off event will have chefs both professional and amateur competing for Gumbo bragging rights. Co-host Chefs for the Marcellus (protecting our farms, food and water from fracking) request that ingredients ideally be sourced from the Marcellus Shale region, a geologic formation that covers a large area of the mid-Atlantic region, including much of New York’s southern tier — an area of pristine waters; produce, dairy and livestock farms; and breweries and wineries.”
For more information… jimmysno43.com

NEWSLETTERS…

From the folks at Avery Brewing Co… http://bit.ly/wJY9Li

The folks at Deschutes post the following latest news… http://bit.ly/wqVXS2

The Elysian monthly news… http://bit.ly/yUEStU

BEER WEB NEWS…

New Eastown brew pub is family affair
WZZM
The two brothers and their sister rented out the space to other restaurants in the past, but decided to open their own brew pub in the building. They say it's been a learning experience. "It's going great," says Heather Van Dyke-Titus.

Great American Bites: Food for beer lovers at Amato's
USA TODAY
In 1988, citizen John Hickenlooper fought to change state law and succeeded in opening Colorado's very first brewpub here, the Wynkoop brewery. Denver has been obsessed with beer ever since. Hickenlooper's resulting popularity helped propel him into ...

New Brewery Coming to Bend
KBND
There's a new brewery coming to Bend, Brew Werks. Brew Werks, the Bend company who had a brew pub in the Old Mill, had been selling Bend's Silver Moon Brewing's beer. The owners sold the pub last month so that they could focus on exclusively starting ...

Long-awaited Harmony Brewing Company opens with 'more than a hint of whimsy ...
Michigan Business Review - MLive.com
The brewpub fixtures tend to follow that philosophy as well. The restroom doors were salvaged from the former Iroquois Middle School in Grand Rapids. The hardwood on the stairway wall came from a basketball court at Western Michigan University.

Wine and beer combine in Dogfish Head's Noble Rot
Delmarva Now
After some tests at Dogfish Head brewpub in Rehoboth went well, he decided to bring the project to the Milton Brewery. For Noble Rot, two white wine grapes were selected from 2011 Washington Winery of the Year winner Alexandria Nicole Cellars in ...

Brew Pub Smart Meals are unique
Wisconsin Rapids Tribune
This week's featured restaurant is Blue Heron Brew Pub in Marshfield. Leave the biting wind and dreadful traffic in Chicago and settle into Marshfield's own big city gem -- the Blue Heron BrewPub in downtown Marshfield. The Blue Heron's flavorful Smart ...

Interesting on-line site…
Importer Vanberg & DeWulf have added more on-line assets… http://bit.ly/zKlwMh

There is no “Why” or “What happens now?” Just the word CLOSED

Yes, there are other shelters from the storms of life but this one was special for a number of reasons.

First of all it has been a familiar local for over twenty years.

Second, it was the place where the beer was always fresh and the customers almost always open to good conversation. The staff was friendly and friends beyond the tipping point. Holidays were celebrated here as well as lazy Saturday afternoons. It wouldn’t take long before given names were discarded for more logical monikers… O.J., The Hat, The Dark Elf, The Leprechaun, The Mayor, Red Susan and some that would rather not be mentioned by name of any sort. All considered each other at least associates, and many, good friends.

The food was a few steps above typical “bar food” and a particular cuisine also made it a destination. This wasn’t a place you dropped in once in a blue moon… this was a second home and now… CLOSED

The rest of this particular story is still to be told but in the end it is a non-lethal but significant reminder of mortality. That is something which I don’t want to be reminded of eh?

Spoetzl Brewery 603 East Brewery Street Shiner, TX 77984 (361) 594-4294Preface

This 12 oz. bottle of Shiner Wild Hare Pale Ale was sent to me by the folks at Spoetzl Brewery for inclusion in these tasting notes. There was no date stamped on it.

The following notes are made after a mouth wash with room temperature sparkling water. These notes have not been influenced by reading promotional material or any other review of this brew.

The following are my tasting notes:

Appearance: A bright copper colored brew with enthusiastic effervescence that builds an impressive thick, rocky light-tan head of tiny and small bubbles that leave a good Belgian lace.

Aroma: The first impression is a grainy aroma with a touch of lemon or grapefruit. A second visit introduces a brown sugar hint to the overall aroma. A third nosedive combines the first two impressions without any additional undertones.

Flavor: After the first refreshing sensation the flavors are, a quick taste of brown sugar followed by a dry not quite citric flavor. A second sip reveals more of the citric spike and allowes the taste receptors to incorporate the very light brown sugar flavors with the flavor tang from the trace of citric. The third swig leaves the taste receptors satisfied they have missed nothing.

Mouth feel: This is not a heavyweight beer… rather refreshing.

Finish: All of the flavors mentioned previously sprint at the finish leaving a refreshing impression.

Comments: Yes sir… by golly this is a sure shooting Pale Ale… I’ll let the folks from the brewery tell you what their take is on this beer “… a classic American Pale Ale made with American two-row barley with a blend of Munich and Caramel malts for rich malt flavor and clear amber color. US Golding and Bravo hop varieties are used in the kettle and fermenter for crisp bitterness and assertive fresh hop fruit and floral aroma. More than a pound of hops is used to produce each barrel of Shiner Wild Hare.”

I would be tempted to call this a “bitter” although it doesn’t have the sweeter characteristics of that beer. I will admit to being familiar with other Shiner products and, in context, we will be interesting to see how this particular beer is received. This summer, at Texas barbecues, this should be a welcome addition to the more “yellow” beers typically found at these culinary celebrations.

Whether it is a traditional barbecue, smoked low and slow, or a typical backyard grill-fest, this beer would not be out of place. It is refreshing and yet has enough palate cleansing hop characteristic to refresh any carnivorous challenge.

The Brewery:  Spoetzl Brewery

What others say: BeerAdvocate and RateBeer

Yes, Garrett Oliver has instructed me on how friendly beer and cheese can be.

Yes, the flavors that happen when a taste of fresh creamy goat cheese meets a swig of Pretty Things Porter are ethereal.

Yes, I am going to the Stinky Cheese Festival presented by the Tour De France restaurant group.

On 14 February, Beer Drinking Notes… I’ll tell you all about it…

More information: michelle=mlgpublicrelations.com@mail124.us2.mcsv.net

What the others are saying…

http://beersomm.com/?p=917

http://rewards.thrillist.com/deal/5797/stinky-cheese-festival/ny

This is a break with schedule to offer the following.

This is a quote from the travel log of what passed at the time as an educated person with an ability to relate, through a journal, their very personal reactions to what they found on their travels. It is something of a genre...

That said, I offer the following from ."This Was America. True Accounts of People and Places, Manners and Customs, as recorded by European Travellers to the Western Shore in the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Centuries".  Oscar Handlin, 1949.  Excerpted from Impressioni d'America, 1908, by Giuseppe Giacosa, an Italian dramatist... Discovered by gaz regan from www.ardentspirits.com.

They Do Not Drink, They Guzzle

"I judge that the American is more interested in getting drunk than in drinking. 

That statement may sound paradoxical, but is not. 

I have rarely seen an American, accustomed to drinking, sip a glass of liquor and show signs of savoring the aroma. 

They all act as if the bitter alcohol is unpleasant to the palate, and hurry the act of imbibing as if eager to get rid of the disagreeable substance.  They do not drink, they guzzle. 

When they bring the glass to their lips and empty it at a gulp it is clear that the column of liquor must sink like lead through the throat without affecting the taste. 

The act of imbibing generally is not accompanied by any sign of pleasure.  Deep and habitual drinkers reach the state of drunkenness without passing through the process of getting drunk.  For them inebriety is not a height to be climbed, but a well into which to sink, and that, not little by little, gradually, but purposely and deliberately. 

True, this process involves a conservation of energy; it imposes a rest and suspends the intellectual activity of minds, so heavily taxed and so thoroughly fatigued by business. 

Americans feel a violent need to paralyze cerebral activity with external aids.  Or perhaps the source of the invincible seductiveness of alcohol that leads them to ultimate stupor lies in their impatience for extreme sensations; they love to save time, to get there all at once.  That is the same gross sensuality that reveals itself in a thousand ways, disdainful of delicacy, loving enorminties, giganticism, excess."

The following is a telephone transcript from Wednesday, 19 December 1984.

BG: Grant here… Peter LaFrance?

PLF: Yes, speaking… I don’t know if you got my letter or not…

BG: Yes I did…

PLF: Oh excellent, excellent well you have an idea of what we’re doing. We’re going to do a monthly instead of a quarterly. What I am trying to do is put together a panel of experts, brewmaster’s of small breweries, and as many of the big breweries as I can get. That way when one of our readers has a particular question they want to know, or if we see something happening such as the distribution law this coming up. We like to be able to build up a report with the brewmaster’s and brewers in that particular area so that would be able to call them exchange ideas and find out what is going on. Then we can give our readers the best of the newest news of what’s happening in the area also for exchange of ideas. As particularly what we’re trying to do, the panel of experts. If you have the time I could possibly ask you a few questions right now…

BG: Yeah okay…

PLF: How did you become involved with brewing?

BG: Oh, I dropped out of high school... I didn’t drop out, I graduated early then I started out in1945 with a Canadian brewery, which is now Carling O’Keefe. Well I just started this, oh well it’s always three years as we started here you have…

PLF: How many types of beer do you brew at Yakima Brewing & Malting? That is the correct name for it? Do you have a brewpub set up there?

BG: Yes

PLF: Or do you distribute?

BG: We do both. We both distribute and have a brew-pub.

PLF: Distribution of both kegs and bottles?

BG: No… just kegs.

PLF: Is it all cask conditioned?

BG: Yes…

PLF: Is there a particular tapping arrangement that has to be done with your kegs?

BG: In our own pub we have a real English style pump.

PLF: An original hand pump?

BG: Yes it’s an old hand pump. But all the others are the latter Sanky single entry kegs.

PLF: What’s particularly interesting about your brewery?

BG: It is the only one the country that’s making a real, real ale as I consider it… highly hopped and all that sort of stuff.

PLF: You said that you have five different types of beer that you brew?

BG: Yeah, right at the moment… We make several seasonal beers. Things like that.

PLF: Grants Scottish Ale?

BG: Right…

PLF: A light American Stout?

BG: We haven’t made that for about a year. We may go back to it but right now were not making it.

PLF: And you are probably doing a Christmas Ale right now?

BG: Yes

PLF: High gravity?

BG: Yes

PLF: An India Pale Ale?

BG: Yes we’re making that. We dropped that temporarily to brew the Christmas Ale.

PLF: And let’s see… there is another one I don’t have on this list…

BG: We have Grant’s Imperial Stout, that’s out second product.

PLF: You brew that pretty much all the time?

BG: Yes

PLF: It’s an “all malt” ale?

BG: Yes… all of them are.

PLF: And all are top-fermented?

BG: Yes

PLF: Do you cultivate your own yeast?

BG: Yes… I developed the yeast back in the 1950’s…

PLF: A strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae?

BG: Right

PLF: What kinds of malts do you use?

BG: Two- row exclusively.

PLF: And the particular gravity of the stouts and ales? Do they vary?

BG: We have a very low alcohol beer… Celtic Ale… That’s about nine original gravity that’s about the lowest. The rest go up to about 17.

PLF: The types of hops to use? Domestic or imported?

BG: All domestic.

PLF: Have you had a chance to try a new one called Cluster?

BG: New one! That’s the oldest of them all…

PLF: Sorry… No, that’s not the one it’s the Nugget.

BG: We played with that. We’re not using it regularly. We use Cascade regularly.

PLF: Do you do much hop blending?

BG: Not very much.

PLF: Cascade is pretty much your standard?

BG: That’s our standard. We use some Galena, some Eroica, and a few others but, basically it’s Cascade.

PLF: As far as distribution… You have a very large area?

BG: Well, the particular concentration is in Seattle. We go up and down the coast from there. But it’s very limited distribution outside of Seattle.

PLF: Just to get back to the brew itself you do a one step or two step?

BG: Two-step upward infusion.

PLF: As far as conditioning, is it cask conditioned?

BG: The beer we do our own pub is cask conditioned but the other is tank conditioned and then, according to the regulations in Washington we have to filter it for outside the brewpub. We have to send out filtered beer. So it’s filtered.

PLF: Ever state seems to have a whole different set of regulations… That doesn’t make it easy for brewpubs. Do you have any trouble with state regulations and starting to open a brewpub or rather the traditional brewery?
BG: We had some difficulty. They didn’t believe in their own laws. We read it and it was perfectly legal to have a brewpub and then we went to apply for the license they said “Oh… no…a brewery can’t have a pub.” I said, “Yes we can.” I quoted them the regulation. And they said “Well, we’ll have to look into that.” Even though it was written down. But we weren’t that anxious about it so it really didn’t matter.

PLF: Which of your brews are you particularly proud of?

BG: All of them

PLF: What types of people are interested in your beer?

BG: Either a person who’s traveled or one that knows beer. I don’t think appeals to someone who just drinks anything.

PLF: Can you think of a particular type of column you would be interested in seeing our beer newsletter?

BG: I think any of them can be valuable… news items… new things are coming up. That’s the main thing. That’s the main reason I like getting into the biweekly thing… Brewers Bulletin…  

PLF: What you see as the most important challenge to be met by brewers today?

BG: Small brewers? It’s just getting started. I think the biggest challenge is the (concentration of) brewing in certain states. There are only certain states where there are any more than one or two and I think we have to get them spread out into other areas.

PLF: Do you see any particular reason why the small breweries have grown on the West Coast and in the Northwest?

BG: More adventures drinkers probably.

http://www.marktrestaurant.com/

What was more important was that there has been an accumulation of “big bottle” tasting samples here at Beerbasics.com that needed to be opened and discussed. This we did with open minds and whetted palettes.

The following are the notes I took, to the best of my recollections, and thanks to my new iPhone…

The participants were from left to right and then the narrator: “Lens”, “Tex” and “The Hat” as we began sampling “Sheep Eater” Scotch Ale from Grand Teton (remember what you learned in Spanish class now?) Brewing Company.

The beers that made it into notes and on camera were:

The “Sheep Eater” at a relatively easy going 7.5% abv and a fine malty-sweet flavor that neither overwhelmed the brew or got burned by the alcohol. The video is the only evidence I have that we tasted that one… and the empty bottle of course.

Next was the Widmer Brothers Barrel Aged “Brrrbon” Ale brewed as a Limited Release #3 Fall 2010 at 9.4% abv.

The consensus was that it lacked… well, it lacked the advertised intensity of either barrel or ale.
The third sample came via “Lens”… Ithaca Beer Company’s Excelsior! Brute Golden Sour Ale… and was opened with much anticipation as we were assured of its special flavor by the provider.

 

Here was the star of the show with the particular flavors of the Brettanomyces yeast used with the champaigne yeasts to finish the brew. At 7% abv it wasn’t a heavey hitter and didn’t claim to be. What it was, as I remember, was a refreshing sparkler that might scare some sippers but was the perfect brew for the three of us.
 
Until the next time…
Cheers!