The other night, I sampled some of the Magic Hat Brewery's Mardi Gras Ale. It was dark, with a mouthfeel and flavor almost like that of a porter, yet spicier. Another fine beer from a brewery that continues to stand out on the cluttered American micro scene.
...Mostly, I've spent the weekend rediscovering the pleasures of Grolsch. It's better than Heineken, and comes in a flip-top bottle that's oh-so satisfying to dick around with while quaffing.
In other news, Brue and fellow Beercrafter Bob Thomas have begun homebrewing again. We spent last Saturday in their basement brewery drinking Baltika 6 Porter and brewing a Munich Lager. More to come...
-Mark
Monday, February 27, 2006
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Cask-contentment
I'm sitting in The Old Toad, one of my favorite pubs, and I've just been served a pint of cask-conditioned Blue Point Oatmeal Stout. It is fucking fantastic.
The coffee aromas and roasted caramel malt flavor are perfectly enhanced by the cask-conditioning. The beer is beautiful, too. Jet-black with a thin caramel ring, leaving toffee-colored lace on the sides of the glass as I sip. I'm suffused with a slight warm glow, and as the volume of my pint shrinks, the stresses of the day dinimish accordingly.
Sometimes it's absolutely fantastic to be a beer lover.
The coffee aromas and roasted caramel malt flavor are perfectly enhanced by the cask-conditioning. The beer is beautiful, too. Jet-black with a thin caramel ring, leaving toffee-colored lace on the sides of the glass as I sip. I'm suffused with a slight warm glow, and as the volume of my pint shrinks, the stresses of the day dinimish accordingly.
Sometimes it's absolutely fantastic to be a beer lover.
Monday, February 20, 2006
C-Town, Part three.
I wanted this to be more elaborate, but really we just walked around and drank more beer, ending, stupidly, with the house Tripel at the Rock Bottom Brewery in The Flats. I don't even know if it was any good.
One thing that impressed me about Cleveland's bars is the comprehensive beer lists. A lot of these places, like the Winking Lizard, Map Room, and The Boneyard, had a lavish, themey corporate feel, yet the beer selections were uniformly awesome. Thank you, Cleveland. We'll be back.
-Mark
One thing that impressed me about Cleveland's bars is the comprehensive beer lists. A lot of these places, like the Winking Lizard, Map Room, and The Boneyard, had a lavish, themey corporate feel, yet the beer selections were uniformly awesome. Thank you, Cleveland. We'll be back.
-Mark
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Beercraft newspaper column #5- Pairing beer with food
Man does not live by beer alone- pairing beer with food
By Mark Tichenor and Bruce Lish
Remember the first time you had a beer together with a slice of pizza? At the time, wasn’t that the best beer, and best slice, you had ever tasted? As is the case in the world of wine, some beers go incredibly well with certain foods. When served together, the best is brought out in both cuisine and beer.
This is not accidental. Beer evolved up with western civilization, all the way from ancient Egypt, and was a staple drink in the days when water was often unsafe. Brewing was an important and vital profession, and beer was frequently consumed with every meal.
In that sense, it would be more realistic to say that cuisine evolved in parallel with beer, and the foods we eat are heavily influenced by the flavors of the beverages that accompanied them through the ages.
Some pairings are no brainers. Belgian abbey ales and Belgian cheeses practically come out of the same farmhouse, so the sweet, musty flavor of the beers lock with the strong, creamy cheese in the most exquisite way; refined, elegant, and delicious (of course, a good Belgian also goes great with Cheez-whiz, but it’s not as impressive to your date).
Oysters and stouts are another time-honored couple, stemming from the pubs of 19th century England, in which oysters were a common snack food. The salty ocean flavor of the oysters mates well with a good stout’s roasted finish.
One style that takes this to an extreme is oyster stout: Originating on the Isle of Man, this beer in its archetypical form actually contained oysters. Today, Dogfish Head Brewing of Delaware makes an oyster stout that they filter through 300 pounds of oysters before packaging.
This may be a bit extreme for people who prefer to keep their food on the outside of their pint glass. Most folks find a dozen on the half shell and a glass of their favorite porter just as enjoyable. Much has been written about the supposed aphrodisiac qualites of the oyster, but not about the beer. So remember that when you combine the two, you’re either twice as attractive or half so.
Chefs will tell you that there’s no hard and fast rule for pairing individual beers with dishes. They try to envision the spices used in cooking, as well as the flavor of the ingredients when trying to pair food with brew. Heartier flavors may require a darker, more obtrusively flavored beer, whereas curries or spicy dishes may be best with a quenching light lager.
The point is that the process of discovering which food goes with which beer is quite an enjoyable one. You can do this in your own kitchen, or let others set it up for you at a local pairing. The Rohrbach Brewing Company regularly holds pairings, seats at which can be reserve in advance. A schedule of upcoming events can be found at www.rohrbachs.com. The Old Toad also runs pairings from time to time. For those into personal discovery, The Brewmaster’s Table, by Garrett Oliver, Head Brewer for the Brooklyn Brewing Company, is a tremendous resource for classic food and beer matchups.
Of course, many dishes, especially on restaurant/brewery menus, use beer as an ingredient. Rohrbach has a beef stew flavored with their Sam Patch Porter, while Buffalo’s Pearl Street Grill and Brewery makes a beer-braised pot roast. Many area restaurants also use beer in chili, and we’re all familiar with that Western New York classic: the beer-battered fish fry.
Likewise whole cookbooks have been devoted to cooking with beer. Many microbreweries publish their own, predictably self-serving tomes (place the ham in the Crock-pot. Add 3 cups STREUBEL brand PORTER…etc.), but a number of noted gourmets have also devoted pages to the subject.
Even if you’re not a beer nut, at least give it a chance. Next time you’re out at the restaurant, why not put the wine list aside and ask what’s on tap? You may discover that a certain nut brown ale ads much to the pleasure of that Kobe beef with Roquefort or lobster thermidor.
Or hell, you may just decide that it’s perfect with pizza, and that’s a match made in Heaven too.
In other beers:
• Monty’s Krown is stocking Carlsberg Elephant in bottles. The strongest beer produced by the Danish/Canadian brewery, Elephant is sweet, malty, and quite unique in flavor. It’ll also knock you on your butt if you’re not careful.
• Vermont’s Magic Hat Brewery has been making quite a name for itself in Rochester, and, unusually for a microbrewery, it’s going over well with the younger set. These guys like to release test batches to the public, gauging reaction before putting beers into general release. We just enjoyed their batch 373, a very good robust porter, at Macgregor’s Gregory Street Location.
Bruce is a certified beer judge and former commercial brewer. Mark owns a laptop and likes beer. For more on beer, check out the beercraft blog, updated regularly, at http://beercraft.blogspot.com. Send your questions, suggestions, or comments to beercraft@rochester.rr.com.
####
By Mark Tichenor and Bruce Lish
Remember the first time you had a beer together with a slice of pizza? At the time, wasn’t that the best beer, and best slice, you had ever tasted? As is the case in the world of wine, some beers go incredibly well with certain foods. When served together, the best is brought out in both cuisine and beer.
This is not accidental. Beer evolved up with western civilization, all the way from ancient Egypt, and was a staple drink in the days when water was often unsafe. Brewing was an important and vital profession, and beer was frequently consumed with every meal.
In that sense, it would be more realistic to say that cuisine evolved in parallel with beer, and the foods we eat are heavily influenced by the flavors of the beverages that accompanied them through the ages.
Some pairings are no brainers. Belgian abbey ales and Belgian cheeses practically come out of the same farmhouse, so the sweet, musty flavor of the beers lock with the strong, creamy cheese in the most exquisite way; refined, elegant, and delicious (of course, a good Belgian also goes great with Cheez-whiz, but it’s not as impressive to your date).
Oysters and stouts are another time-honored couple, stemming from the pubs of 19th century England, in which oysters were a common snack food. The salty ocean flavor of the oysters mates well with a good stout’s roasted finish.
One style that takes this to an extreme is oyster stout: Originating on the Isle of Man, this beer in its archetypical form actually contained oysters. Today, Dogfish Head Brewing of Delaware makes an oyster stout that they filter through 300 pounds of oysters before packaging.
This may be a bit extreme for people who prefer to keep their food on the outside of their pint glass. Most folks find a dozen on the half shell and a glass of their favorite porter just as enjoyable. Much has been written about the supposed aphrodisiac qualites of the oyster, but not about the beer. So remember that when you combine the two, you’re either twice as attractive or half so.
Chefs will tell you that there’s no hard and fast rule for pairing individual beers with dishes. They try to envision the spices used in cooking, as well as the flavor of the ingredients when trying to pair food with brew. Heartier flavors may require a darker, more obtrusively flavored beer, whereas curries or spicy dishes may be best with a quenching light lager.
The point is that the process of discovering which food goes with which beer is quite an enjoyable one. You can do this in your own kitchen, or let others set it up for you at a local pairing. The Rohrbach Brewing Company regularly holds pairings, seats at which can be reserve in advance. A schedule of upcoming events can be found at www.rohrbachs.com. The Old Toad also runs pairings from time to time. For those into personal discovery, The Brewmaster’s Table, by Garrett Oliver, Head Brewer for the Brooklyn Brewing Company, is a tremendous resource for classic food and beer matchups.
Of course, many dishes, especially on restaurant/brewery menus, use beer as an ingredient. Rohrbach has a beef stew flavored with their Sam Patch Porter, while Buffalo’s Pearl Street Grill and Brewery makes a beer-braised pot roast. Many area restaurants also use beer in chili, and we’re all familiar with that Western New York classic: the beer-battered fish fry.
Likewise whole cookbooks have been devoted to cooking with beer. Many microbreweries publish their own, predictably self-serving tomes (place the ham in the Crock-pot. Add 3 cups STREUBEL brand PORTER…etc.), but a number of noted gourmets have also devoted pages to the subject.
Even if you’re not a beer nut, at least give it a chance. Next time you’re out at the restaurant, why not put the wine list aside and ask what’s on tap? You may discover that a certain nut brown ale ads much to the pleasure of that Kobe beef with Roquefort or lobster thermidor.
Or hell, you may just decide that it’s perfect with pizza, and that’s a match made in Heaven too.
In other beers:
• Monty’s Krown is stocking Carlsberg Elephant in bottles. The strongest beer produced by the Danish/Canadian brewery, Elephant is sweet, malty, and quite unique in flavor. It’ll also knock you on your butt if you’re not careful.
• Vermont’s Magic Hat Brewery has been making quite a name for itself in Rochester, and, unusually for a microbrewery, it’s going over well with the younger set. These guys like to release test batches to the public, gauging reaction before putting beers into general release. We just enjoyed their batch 373, a very good robust porter, at Macgregor’s Gregory Street Location.
Bruce is a certified beer judge and former commercial brewer. Mark owns a laptop and likes beer. For more on beer, check out the beercraft blog, updated regularly, at http://beercraft.blogspot.com. Send your questions, suggestions, or comments to beercraft@rochester.rr.com.
####
The brewers return!
Bruce and our friend Bob Thomas have brewed a new batch of beer for the first time in over a year. Bob, an excellent homebrewer in his own right, has a sweet little brewery in his basement, and the two put it to good use.
The porter should be ready in a couple of weeks.
-Mark
The porter should be ready in a couple of weeks.
-Mark
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
C-town, part 2
We left our intrepid heroes tying one on in the best brewery in Cleveland, their sampler platters culminating in the mighty Lake Erie Monster, a "triple IPA" weighing in at 9% alcohol by volume.Ambling down 25th street, we headed into a fetching Irish-style pub called The Old Angle. The early hour ensured an empty bar, save for a couple of stocky, potato-headed guys engrossed in a televised Irish Football match. We ordered our pints.
The evening degraded from there. A hazy trip to a bar that specialized in Belgian beer followed. It might have been a nioe place, except for the hoity-toity lawyer types and their giggly overbaubled wives, all eschewing a gold mine of rare belgian ales in favor of pinkish "martinis." Never had I felt so smug drinking a Duvel.
the Belgian portion of the evening wrapped up, Bruce and I headed back somewhat unsteadily to the hotel, what for to begin part three of Saturday night in Cleveland...
The evening degraded from there. A hazy trip to a bar that specialized in Belgian beer followed. It might have been a nioe place, except for the hoity-toity lawyer types and their giggly overbaubled wives, all eschewing a gold mine of rare belgian ales in favor of pinkish "martinis." Never had I felt so smug drinking a Duvel.
the Belgian portion of the evening wrapped up, Bruce and I headed back somewhat unsteadily to the hotel, what for to begin part three of Saturday night in Cleveland...
Monday, February 13, 2006
Back from Cleveland.
I had no idea.
Growing up in the eighties, the only real impressions of Cleveland you get are the worst ones: The burning Cuyahoga River, high crime rates, the Cleveland Indians, et cetera. I admit that, as we trundled along a salt-whitened Interstate 90, I was subconsciously expecting a blasted-out relic of the Rust Belt, more suited to a Michael Moore documentary than a beer culture.
Cleveland, you proved me wrong. Thank you.
Our first stop: The Great Lakes Brewing Company on Market Street, where a helpful server named Amber promptly produced two beer sampler trays. Plowing my way through lager and ale alike, my favorite remained the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. Dark, substantial, and exquisitely balanced, the opague brew went perfectly with my comically hearty bratwurst and pierogies.
Of course, the day continued. Holy Jesus, did it continue. I'll post the rest of it tomorrow. -Mark
Growing up in the eighties, the only real impressions of Cleveland you get are the worst ones: The burning Cuyahoga River, high crime rates, the Cleveland Indians, et cetera. I admit that, as we trundled along a salt-whitened Interstate 90, I was subconsciously expecting a blasted-out relic of the Rust Belt, more suited to a Michael Moore documentary than a beer culture.
Cleveland, you proved me wrong. Thank you.
Our first stop: The Great Lakes Brewing Company on Market Street, where a helpful server named Amber promptly produced two beer sampler trays. Plowing my way through lager and ale alike, my favorite remained the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. Dark, substantial, and exquisitely balanced, the opague brew went perfectly with my comically hearty bratwurst and pierogies.
Of course, the day continued. Holy Jesus, did it continue. I'll post the rest of it tomorrow. -Mark
Friday, February 10, 2006
C-town or bust
Bruce and Myself will be heading to Cleveland tomorrow to see Sunday's Sigur Ros concert. First stop: the Great Lakes Brewery. Look for progresively blurry photos, as well as blog entries from the midst of the foamy carnage, as the two of us experience all the tropical wonders of metro Cleveland.
-Mark
-Mark
Monday, February 06, 2006
Beer goes well with food...
...and I'm not just talking about pizza. Many microbreweries hold beer and food pairing events in which each course is served with a complimentary beer. More on this in next weeks column.
In related news, if you're in Rochester this coming Saturday, you can enjoy a beer and wine tasting at Winterfest, in the Scottsville Ice Arena. The family-oriented event goes all day, and the tasting is from 7-9pm. Lots of Upstate NY breweries, including Southern Tier Brewing Company, the Rohrbach Brewing Company, and Casa Larga Vineyards, will be on hand for the event. Taste, discover, and enjoy!
Of course, I'll be in Cleveland so I gotta miss it.
-Mark
PS: I feel like pumping my visitor numbers, so: ANNA KOURNIKOVA.
In related news, if you're in Rochester this coming Saturday, you can enjoy a beer and wine tasting at Winterfest, in the Scottsville Ice Arena. The family-oriented event goes all day, and the tasting is from 7-9pm. Lots of Upstate NY breweries, including Southern Tier Brewing Company, the Rohrbach Brewing Company, and Casa Larga Vineyards, will be on hand for the event. Taste, discover, and enjoy!
Of course, I'll be in Cleveland so I gotta miss it.
-Mark
PS: I feel like pumping my visitor numbers, so: ANNA KOURNIKOVA.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
From Russia with Suds...
I picked up a case of Baltika 6, a Baltic porter brewed by St. Petersburg, Russia's Baltika Brewery.
Dark, sweet and malty, without a ton of hop character, and with a slight banana finish, Baltika 6 really hits the spot on cold winter days. There are better Baltic porters (Saku, Okocim and Ziewic, for example), but Baltika is a good beer in its own right and easier on the wallet.
-Mark
Dark, sweet and malty, without a ton of hop character, and with a slight banana finish, Baltika 6 really hits the spot on cold winter days. There are better Baltic porters (Saku, Okocim and Ziewic, for example), but Baltika is a good beer in its own right and easier on the wallet.
-Mark
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Introducing someone to good beer
Sad as it may be, sometimes beer lovers are paired with signifacnt others who have no appreciation for the drink whatsoever. Your wife or girlfriend may be a fuzzy navel-quaffing sweet freak who never took the time to tune her taste buds to the malt and hops channel. Your husband may have been a Coors Light man since his frat party days. Either way, an inability to understand a partner's passion for good beer places unecessary stress on any relationship.
Fortunately,given that there are so many styles, flavors, and characteristics of beer, there's probably one out there that your partner will enjoy; he or she simply doesn't know it yet. As long as they taste with an open mind, they are likely to discover tastes and aromas they've never before associated with beer.
So what do you serve them? A great place to find out is the Beer Advocate forum, where knowledgeable homebrewers and beer lovers have been hashing this question around for a while. To paraphrase their advice:
If your partner likes sweet drinks, start them off with a Lambic, like Lindemann's Framboise. It's a dry, light fizzy belgian flavored with raspberry, and chicks go apeshit for it. It's even pink!
If he or she only drinks American macrobrews, ease them in with Newcastle Brown. Newkie is a mellow, balanced ale, the archetype of the brown ale style. There's no super hop-bitterness or pronounced malt sweetness, so taste acclimation is quick and easy. After a few weeks of drinking Newcastle, they'll be wondering what else the beer world has to offer, and the two of you can enjoy long, fruitful tastings together.
-Mark
Fortunately,given that there are so many styles, flavors, and characteristics of beer, there's probably one out there that your partner will enjoy; he or she simply doesn't know it yet. As long as they taste with an open mind, they are likely to discover tastes and aromas they've never before associated with beer.
So what do you serve them? A great place to find out is the Beer Advocate forum, where knowledgeable homebrewers and beer lovers have been hashing this question around for a while. To paraphrase their advice:
If your partner likes sweet drinks, start them off with a Lambic, like Lindemann's Framboise. It's a dry, light fizzy belgian flavored with raspberry, and chicks go apeshit for it. It's even pink!
If he or she only drinks American macrobrews, ease them in with Newcastle Brown. Newkie is a mellow, balanced ale, the archetype of the brown ale style. There's no super hop-bitterness or pronounced malt sweetness, so taste acclimation is quick and easy. After a few weeks of drinking Newcastle, they'll be wondering what else the beer world has to offer, and the two of you can enjoy long, fruitful tastings together.
-Mark
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Beercraft Newspaper Column #4- The beers of Upstate NY
The beers of Upstate New York- Our own little secret
By Mark Tichenor and Bruce Lish
Upstate New York is the Rodney Dangerfield of the Northeast. We have culture, history and fine art, but it is scraped out in the shadow of the Big Apple, and goes largely unseen by the rest of the country.
Still, Buffalo, Rochester, Albany and the spaces in between have a great deal to offer, especially when it comes to beer. We Upstaters are blessed with a rich variety of excellent microbrews. Anchored by two large regional breweries- F.X. Matt in Utica and Rochester’s High Falls Brewing Company (formerly Genesee), the region is a hospitable one for microbreweries. Economically, it’s as tough here as anywhere else, but, perhaps because of our geographic inferiority complex, Upstaters have a very pro-little guy mindset.
Fortunately, we have a lot of little guys to choose from; over fifty at last count. That puts our region on par with many countries in terms of consumer choice, if not actual number of barrels brewed. You could have a different Upstate-brewed beer every day for over a year.
With this in mind we set ourselves to the grueling, arduous task of sampling some random selections from our region.
Cooperstown, New York’s main attractions are its breweries. Oh, and some sports stuff. Cooperstown Brewing of nearby Milford, NY produces a wide range of high-quality ales, including Old Slugger: a solid, medium-bodied pale ale that leans toward sweet rather than bitter. Expect a pleasantly high level of carbonation, a healthy head, amber color and floral aroma.
Whereas West Coast pale ales tend to lead with bitter hop flavors, Old Slugger pays more homage to the original English pales. Cooperstown Brewing uses English malts and Fuggles hops, just like the Brits, but there’s some cascade hops from the Pacific Northwest tossed in to satiate the palates of American beer geeks.
From the Ithaca Brewing Company comes Cascazilla, a light, nicely balanced IPA with citrus and pineapple overtones. It has enough bitterness to please most hopheads, but not so much that drinkability is an issue; you certainly don’t have to force it down. Ditto for the next one you order.
Cascazilla is a pretty beer: dark amber with a luxurious head. It’s pretty much exactly what the average Joe would expect from a microbrewery. Quality for all the senses. It also goes well with Doritos, the official food staple of Ithaca.
Lake Placid Ubu Ale is a fantastic après-ski warm up. It’s a darker, slightly toasty-smelling brew with the somewhat alcoholic aroma and full flavor you’d expect from a beer that weighs in at 7% alcohol by volume. A pleasant surprise upon tasting this big, malty beer is the unexpected hop bite in the finish. It rounds out the character of the brew and brings it into balance.
Ubu is brewed by the Lake Placid Brewing Company. Guess where they’re located. If you’re going to brew a beer this strong, you might as well do it in a place where its drinkers can rocket down a ski slope and bobsled run. Just make sure you enjoy it AFTER your winter fun, because Ubu’s definitely going to warm you up.
In other beers:
It has been brought to our attention via reader mail that some beer geeks are suffering; they must, for various reasons, resort to non-alcoholic beer from time to time. Fortunately, there are a couple of decent ones out there.
When buying Alcohol-free, stay German. The Paulaner and Bitburger breweries produce malt beverages with actual body, in contrast to that thin, beer-belchy consistency that tends to be the norm in this category. They actually taste reminiscent of German Lager, although you wouldn’t have a problem distinguishing between alcoholic and non in a blind taste test. Both are available by the case at Beers of the World.
Both the Rohrbach Brewing Company and Custom Brewcrafters have taken part in a national brewers’ movement to honor the 300th birthday of Ben Franklin, with respective interpretations of Poor Richard’s Ale. Franklin, best known for his beer-related aphorisms such as “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy,” also invented bifocals and helped found the United States of America.
These beers were available throughout the area: notably at J.B. Quimby’s and Monty’s Krown. With luck, they’ll still be on tap at the time of publication.
Bruce is a certified beer judge and former commercial brewer. Mark owns a laptop and likes beer. For more on beer, check out the beercraft blog, updated daily, at http://beercraft.blogspot.com. Send your questions, suggestions, or comments to beercraft@rochester.rr.com.
By Mark Tichenor and Bruce Lish
Upstate New York is the Rodney Dangerfield of the Northeast. We have culture, history and fine art, but it is scraped out in the shadow of the Big Apple, and goes largely unseen by the rest of the country.
Still, Buffalo, Rochester, Albany and the spaces in between have a great deal to offer, especially when it comes to beer. We Upstaters are blessed with a rich variety of excellent microbrews. Anchored by two large regional breweries- F.X. Matt in Utica and Rochester’s High Falls Brewing Company (formerly Genesee), the region is a hospitable one for microbreweries. Economically, it’s as tough here as anywhere else, but, perhaps because of our geographic inferiority complex, Upstaters have a very pro-little guy mindset.
Fortunately, we have a lot of little guys to choose from; over fifty at last count. That puts our region on par with many countries in terms of consumer choice, if not actual number of barrels brewed. You could have a different Upstate-brewed beer every day for over a year.
With this in mind we set ourselves to the grueling, arduous task of sampling some random selections from our region.
Cooperstown, New York’s main attractions are its breweries. Oh, and some sports stuff. Cooperstown Brewing of nearby Milford, NY produces a wide range of high-quality ales, including Old Slugger: a solid, medium-bodied pale ale that leans toward sweet rather than bitter. Expect a pleasantly high level of carbonation, a healthy head, amber color and floral aroma.
Whereas West Coast pale ales tend to lead with bitter hop flavors, Old Slugger pays more homage to the original English pales. Cooperstown Brewing uses English malts and Fuggles hops, just like the Brits, but there’s some cascade hops from the Pacific Northwest tossed in to satiate the palates of American beer geeks.
From the Ithaca Brewing Company comes Cascazilla, a light, nicely balanced IPA with citrus and pineapple overtones. It has enough bitterness to please most hopheads, but not so much that drinkability is an issue; you certainly don’t have to force it down. Ditto for the next one you order.
Cascazilla is a pretty beer: dark amber with a luxurious head. It’s pretty much exactly what the average Joe would expect from a microbrewery. Quality for all the senses. It also goes well with Doritos, the official food staple of Ithaca.
Lake Placid Ubu Ale is a fantastic après-ski warm up. It’s a darker, slightly toasty-smelling brew with the somewhat alcoholic aroma and full flavor you’d expect from a beer that weighs in at 7% alcohol by volume. A pleasant surprise upon tasting this big, malty beer is the unexpected hop bite in the finish. It rounds out the character of the brew and brings it into balance.
Ubu is brewed by the Lake Placid Brewing Company. Guess where they’re located. If you’re going to brew a beer this strong, you might as well do it in a place where its drinkers can rocket down a ski slope and bobsled run. Just make sure you enjoy it AFTER your winter fun, because Ubu’s definitely going to warm you up.
In other beers:
It has been brought to our attention via reader mail that some beer geeks are suffering; they must, for various reasons, resort to non-alcoholic beer from time to time. Fortunately, there are a couple of decent ones out there.
When buying Alcohol-free, stay German. The Paulaner and Bitburger breweries produce malt beverages with actual body, in contrast to that thin, beer-belchy consistency that tends to be the norm in this category. They actually taste reminiscent of German Lager, although you wouldn’t have a problem distinguishing between alcoholic and non in a blind taste test. Both are available by the case at Beers of the World.
Both the Rohrbach Brewing Company and Custom Brewcrafters have taken part in a national brewers’ movement to honor the 300th birthday of Ben Franklin, with respective interpretations of Poor Richard’s Ale. Franklin, best known for his beer-related aphorisms such as “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy,” also invented bifocals and helped found the United States of America.
These beers were available throughout the area: notably at J.B. Quimby’s and Monty’s Krown. With luck, they’ll still be on tap at the time of publication.
Bruce is a certified beer judge and former commercial brewer. Mark owns a laptop and likes beer. For more on beer, check out the beercraft blog, updated daily, at http://beercraft.blogspot.com. Send your questions, suggestions, or comments to beercraft@rochester.rr.com.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Thursday night is Beer Night.
And a great, social, fulfilling night out with your friends starts in a great bar. Our Beer Nights take place at The Old Toad, much to the chagrin of the British hospitality students that work there as part of their Study Abroad Program.
My wife, Nancy, and myself doing what we do best. No, I'm not pissed off.
Bruce (with the beard) and some buddies, probably telling an amusing beer-related anecdote.
The highlight of the evening: Franziskaner Hefe-Weizen
To me, the concept of beer and friends are inseparable. Sure, throwing down the occasional brew with dinner or in front of the tube is nice, but something is missing . The flavors of good beer are only enhanced when enjoyed in company.
Unless that company is a personal injury attorney.
-Mark
By the way, sorry about the size of the photos, but I'm too lazy to resize them at the moment.
-Mark
My wife, Nancy, and myself doing what we do best. No, I'm not pissed off.
Bruce (with the beard) and some buddies, probably telling an amusing beer-related anecdote.
The highlight of the evening: Franziskaner Hefe-Weizen
To me, the concept of beer and friends are inseparable. Sure, throwing down the occasional brew with dinner or in front of the tube is nice, but something is missing . The flavors of good beer are only enhanced when enjoyed in company.
Unless that company is a personal injury attorney.
-Mark
By the way, sorry about the size of the photos, but I'm too lazy to resize them at the moment.
-Mark
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Oatmeal stout
If you're going to drink beer for breakfast, it might as well be an oatmeal stout. Picture a brown-headed strong stout beer that's extra smooth and a bit sweeter than normal due to the addition of oats to the mash.
Of course, the paragon of the Oatmeal Stout style is Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout from Tadcaster, England. They revived the style, defunct since WWII, in 1980. Do yourself a favor and stock up.
The style is a popular one in America's microbreweries as well. You can often find them in places where the brewer is kinda tired of making the same old pale ales and IPAs.
Of course, the paragon of the Oatmeal Stout style is Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout from Tadcaster, England. They revived the style, defunct since WWII, in 1980. Do yourself a favor and stock up.
The style is a popular one in America's microbreweries as well. You can often find them in places where the brewer is kinda tired of making the same old pale ales and IPAs.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Beer in C-town
For reasons totally unrelated to beer, Bruce and myself will be travelling to Cleveland this February. While there, we hope to find a few good beer bars or micros and have a good old-fashioned epic pub crawl.
Hopefully, someone reading this blog can point us in the right direction.
-Mark
Hopefully, someone reading this blog can point us in the right direction.
-Mark
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Distributive Properties
New York has awesome breweries. Tons of them. Wagner Valley Brewing, Sackett's Harbor Brewing Company, Lake Placid Brewing Company, and many other fantastic places dedicated to this craft.
So why, when I sit in a 100-tap bar, smack-dab in the center of Upstate, can I only get beers from California?
Distribution for micros is a mess.
-Mark
So why, when I sit in a 100-tap bar, smack-dab in the center of Upstate, can I only get beers from California?
Distribution for micros is a mess.
-Mark
Monday, January 23, 2006
Riding the elephant
Monty's Krown Lounge has Carlsberg Elephant. I haven't had a bottle of Elephant in about three years, and it's a good as i remember.
Unfortunately, i forgot how strong it was.
After my third Elephant, the world kind of went...left. I should have taken that as a sign and gone home. Instead, I ordered another Elephant.
As I write, it feels like someone pulled out my eyes, stuffed bleach-soaked cotton balls in the sockets, and shoved them back in. Here's to moderation.
Unfortunately, i forgot how strong it was.
After my third Elephant, the world kind of went...left. I should have taken that as a sign and gone home. Instead, I ordered another Elephant.
As I write, it feels like someone pulled out my eyes, stuffed bleach-soaked cotton balls in the sockets, and shoved them back in. Here's to moderation.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Beercraft Newspaper Column #3
American Lager: The guilty pleasure of the “Cold One”
By Mark Tichenor and Bruce Lish
Although nearly 7 million barrels of craft beer were produced in the United States during 2005, the fact remains that 85% of the American beer market is owned by a handful of monstrously large breweries, and by far the most consumed beer in the country is that butt of European jokes: the American lager.
American beer started out as German beer, brewed by immigrants and closely related to the brew in Bavaria. Prohibition, however, killed many of the regional breweries, resulting in the loss of countless traditional recipes and brewing techniques.
After repeal and the Second World War, the demand for beer was higher than ever. Americans had money, and they were thirsty. The Breweries that survived the dry period became conglomerates, which grew to prodigious size. The beer giants were producing beer more cheaply by using adjunct grains: starches like corn and rice which cost less than all-barley brewing, and standardizing their beers’ flavor for sale over the entire American continent. The light color and flavor, and the taste characteristics imparted by the alien cereals used in the brewing process are the signature of Big Brewing.
The national brewers utterly dominate the industry, and they benefit from huge marketing budgets, the result of which is a fifty-year string of cheesy beer commercials that has continued unabated to this day. Beer companies dominate sporting event marketing, which results in television tragedies like “Bud Bowl” and the utterly paradoxical Budweiser Racing Team (remember, don’t drink and drive).
As beer columnists, we’re supposed to condemn Budweiser, Pabst Blue Ribbon and the like as non-potable slurry, fit only for frat-boy binges and happy hour amongst the bluest of collars, but that wouldn’t be honest. While the uniform blandness inherent to the style ensures a lesser status among beers, there’s nothing inherently lowbrow about knocking back a cold one.
The fact is, there’s a reason American mass market beer became so successful, and, in the right setting, a cold longneck “lawnmower beer” can really hit the spot. And when one considers consistency of product flavor, no microbrewery in the world can match the big boys.
It’s an easy beer to drink; you grew up with it, you don’t need to acquire the taste as you would for hoppy IPAs or dark Irish stout. For many people, an ice cold Genesee can really hit the spot on a hot day. And frankly, no other style feels remotely appropriate to drink at a baseball game. Even notable gourmets enjoy consuming American lagers, albeit in the furtive manner that a prominent community figure might enjoy pornography.
Some microbreweries have even co-opted the style for themselves. In Rochester, the Rohrbach Brewing Company has been making its light-bodied American Lager for several years, while regional breweries like Genesee, Pennsylvania’s Yuengling and Iron City Breweries, and Lone Star from Texas have built impressive businesses on the strength of traditional suds.
Despite their efforts to sell American drinkers to the contrary, Canadian light lager is the same as American light lager. Labatt and Molson are brewed using fundamentally the same adjunct grains, techniques and equipment as their U.S. cousins.
Surprisingly, American lager has found a foothold in Europe, especially among younger drinkers, doing to traditional European drinking what McDonalds did to their food. Budweiser vies with Bulmer’s cider as the trendy selection in Dublin pubs, with Guinness seemingly relegated to the tourists, while the Germans slurp down Miller Genuine Draft in sufficient volume for the German airline Lufthansa to stock the Milwaukee brew for in-flight serving.
As the most-brewed beer in the world, American light lager can withstand its share of ribbing from studied drinkers and European traditionalists. We’re certainly going to provide plenty ourselves. But if it’s the brew you enjoy, then cheers from Beercraft. We’ll spring for a round during the seventh inning stretch.
In other beers:
• As the NFL Playoffs continue, many bars are stocking up their Big Brew selections as opposed to introducing new craft beers, so things are a little more homogenized than normal. Look for greater selections after the Super Bowl.
• Joe McBane, the unrepentantly English Cellar Manager at The Old Toad, made some phone calls to his contacts on the other side of the pond. This week, he’ll be featuring Hobgoblin Strong Dark Ale from the Wychwood Brewery in Oxfordshire, England. It’s a chocolate-colored and complex brew, around 5.5% alcohol by volume. There won’t be a lot, so don’t expect it to last too long.
Bruce is a certified beer judge and former commercial brewer. Mark owns a laptop and likes beer. For more on beer, check out the beercraft blog, updated daily, at http://beercraft.blogspot.com. Send your questions, suggestions, or comments to beercraft@rochester.rr.com.
By Mark Tichenor and Bruce Lish
Although nearly 7 million barrels of craft beer were produced in the United States during 2005, the fact remains that 85% of the American beer market is owned by a handful of monstrously large breweries, and by far the most consumed beer in the country is that butt of European jokes: the American lager.
American beer started out as German beer, brewed by immigrants and closely related to the brew in Bavaria. Prohibition, however, killed many of the regional breweries, resulting in the loss of countless traditional recipes and brewing techniques.
After repeal and the Second World War, the demand for beer was higher than ever. Americans had money, and they were thirsty. The Breweries that survived the dry period became conglomerates, which grew to prodigious size. The beer giants were producing beer more cheaply by using adjunct grains: starches like corn and rice which cost less than all-barley brewing, and standardizing their beers’ flavor for sale over the entire American continent. The light color and flavor, and the taste characteristics imparted by the alien cereals used in the brewing process are the signature of Big Brewing.
The national brewers utterly dominate the industry, and they benefit from huge marketing budgets, the result of which is a fifty-year string of cheesy beer commercials that has continued unabated to this day. Beer companies dominate sporting event marketing, which results in television tragedies like “Bud Bowl” and the utterly paradoxical Budweiser Racing Team (remember, don’t drink and drive).
As beer columnists, we’re supposed to condemn Budweiser, Pabst Blue Ribbon and the like as non-potable slurry, fit only for frat-boy binges and happy hour amongst the bluest of collars, but that wouldn’t be honest. While the uniform blandness inherent to the style ensures a lesser status among beers, there’s nothing inherently lowbrow about knocking back a cold one.
The fact is, there’s a reason American mass market beer became so successful, and, in the right setting, a cold longneck “lawnmower beer” can really hit the spot. And when one considers consistency of product flavor, no microbrewery in the world can match the big boys.
It’s an easy beer to drink; you grew up with it, you don’t need to acquire the taste as you would for hoppy IPAs or dark Irish stout. For many people, an ice cold Genesee can really hit the spot on a hot day. And frankly, no other style feels remotely appropriate to drink at a baseball game. Even notable gourmets enjoy consuming American lagers, albeit in the furtive manner that a prominent community figure might enjoy pornography.
Some microbreweries have even co-opted the style for themselves. In Rochester, the Rohrbach Brewing Company has been making its light-bodied American Lager for several years, while regional breweries like Genesee, Pennsylvania’s Yuengling and Iron City Breweries, and Lone Star from Texas have built impressive businesses on the strength of traditional suds.
Despite their efforts to sell American drinkers to the contrary, Canadian light lager is the same as American light lager. Labatt and Molson are brewed using fundamentally the same adjunct grains, techniques and equipment as their U.S. cousins.
Surprisingly, American lager has found a foothold in Europe, especially among younger drinkers, doing to traditional European drinking what McDonalds did to their food. Budweiser vies with Bulmer’s cider as the trendy selection in Dublin pubs, with Guinness seemingly relegated to the tourists, while the Germans slurp down Miller Genuine Draft in sufficient volume for the German airline Lufthansa to stock the Milwaukee brew for in-flight serving.
As the most-brewed beer in the world, American light lager can withstand its share of ribbing from studied drinkers and European traditionalists. We’re certainly going to provide plenty ourselves. But if it’s the brew you enjoy, then cheers from Beercraft. We’ll spring for a round during the seventh inning stretch.
In other beers:
• As the NFL Playoffs continue, many bars are stocking up their Big Brew selections as opposed to introducing new craft beers, so things are a little more homogenized than normal. Look for greater selections after the Super Bowl.
• Joe McBane, the unrepentantly English Cellar Manager at The Old Toad, made some phone calls to his contacts on the other side of the pond. This week, he’ll be featuring Hobgoblin Strong Dark Ale from the Wychwood Brewery in Oxfordshire, England. It’s a chocolate-colored and complex brew, around 5.5% alcohol by volume. There won’t be a lot, so don’t expect it to last too long.
Bruce is a certified beer judge and former commercial brewer. Mark owns a laptop and likes beer. For more on beer, check out the beercraft blog, updated daily, at http://beercraft.blogspot.com. Send your questions, suggestions, or comments to beercraft@rochester.rr.com.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Thursday is Beer Night.
Normally I'm a pretty chaotic person, but for some reason I regiment my social entertainment into neat little rituals. Sunday is Wing Night at Acme Pizzeria. Wednesday is Game Night at Matte and Carolyn's. Thursday night is Beer Night.
Every Thursday, several friends and myself gather at The Old Toad for expensive lager, which causes judgement to lapse just enough to rationalize even more pricy Hefe Weizen. Stay too long, and I'm looking down the barrel of an Orval, and writing a freelance beer column doesn't exactly pay for the Belgian stuff.
So here's to good friends and good beer. For it's in the company of others that a fine brew is best appreciated. Tonight, I'll be appreciating Jever Pils.
-Mark
Every Thursday, several friends and myself gather at The Old Toad for expensive lager, which causes judgement to lapse just enough to rationalize even more pricy Hefe Weizen. Stay too long, and I'm looking down the barrel of an Orval, and writing a freelance beer column doesn't exactly pay for the Belgian stuff.
So here's to good friends and good beer. For it's in the company of others that a fine brew is best appreciated. Tonight, I'll be appreciating Jever Pils.
-Mark
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
The Czech Republc: Epicenter of Pilsener
"Pilsner" is a classification largely stripped of meaning by the mass-market American breweries. But in Europe, It's far more than just light colored lager.
The term desribes one of the oldest styles of lagered beer, which originated in the Czech city of Pilsen. Expect is a light gold colored, noticeably hoppy brew with a thick, foamy head.
Several excellent Czech pilsners are available in the USA. Pilsner Urquell being the best known and mst common.
Czechvar, from the town of Ceske Budejovice, (Budweis in German), was fromerly known as Budvar, "The Real Budweiser,"until Anheuser Busch sued their ass, having co-opted the Budweiser name over a century ago. Needless to say, Czechvar is superior to the American usurper in every conceivable way.
The term desribes one of the oldest styles of lagered beer, which originated in the Czech city of Pilsen. Expect is a light gold colored, noticeably hoppy brew with a thick, foamy head.
Several excellent Czech pilsners are available in the USA. Pilsner Urquell being the best known and mst common.
Czechvar, from the town of Ceske Budejovice, (Budweis in German), was fromerly known as Budvar, "The Real Budweiser,"until Anheuser Busch sued their ass, having co-opted the Budweiser name over a century ago. Needless to say, Czechvar is superior to the American usurper in every conceivable way.
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