Recap time!

So, with finals taking up all my time, I saved all my wonderful beer for a single blog post. Bear with me, this is gonna get a little long.

I wasn't planning to jump into ridiculous beers, but the first weekend of finals, I went home to find out my friends were having a horse racing party. Which race? I don't know! However, I was able to acquire some delicious beers, and branch out a little.

The first was Troeg's Sunshine Pils. This aggressive looking beer seemed like a nice compliment to a hot spring day. And oh it was. Nice and refreshing, with a pleasant hop taste that never overwhelmed the nice lemony citrus. I'm not necessarily a huge pilsner fan, but this was a great beer to sip on a hot day.

I also grabbed Flying Dog's Garde Dog. I've been more and more intrigued with Biere De Garde, a style similar to the Saison. This was a pretty meek version of the style though. Not bad by any means, but a little timid, especially for Flying Dog. A great introduction to the style though for any wary newcomers. It's generically yeasty and spicy, and not a lot more can be said.

I figured I'd be done with beer for a little while at least, crazy me. I had forgotten that I planned to go out for drinks after my first final with Sparrow, Stark, and The Girlfried (aka llama lady aka cat staring at a butterfly aka cutiesaurus rex). I was determined to try this little chic wine bar in Hamden called 13.5%

The place is awesome. I can't even pretend to be snobbish - it was a great mix of classy and relaxed. The food was also ridiculously good. I had stout braised short ribs that literally fell apart and melted in my mouth. Oh god so good. I also had their tiramisu, which was less impressive, but still very tasty.

Mostly though, I was excited to try some beer. I had noticed that they had Evolution's Lucky 7 Porter on tap. I'd been dying to try this for a while, and had even contemplated getting some for the horse racing party, but realized that porter and hot spring days don't mix for most people.

It was delicious, but a little disappointing towards the end. The beer started out as everything I'd ever loved about porters - full flavors of roasted malts, some nice coffee notes, and a little chocolate too, not too bitter and pleasantly light. Mmmm porters. The problem though came after a little while of sipping - maybe it was my excessive hunger, but the beer started to just have a sickly sweet aftertaste. It was just upsetting at the end of a dark, roasty beer to suddenly taste brown sugar everywhere. I feel like I owe this beer another try though, because I've heard so many good things.

What's better than Porter? More Porter! And luckily for me, I'd chosen a hell of a porter to follow up Lucky 7. I got my hands on a probably too expensive but oh so worth it bottle of Rogue's Double Mocha Porter. The taste is boozy, but oh so much coffee/chocolate mix, and roasted malts. I realize that this is how I describe every porter, but c'mon. Until someone does something crazy with the style, that is how you make a delicious porter. This one packs a ridiculous punch of espresso and dark chocolate, satisfying the biggest fan of coffee beer.

And I thought I was done until after finals. I'd had a good week of delicious beers, and was ready to relax until the end of finals. Oh, but I was wrong. I went home for mothers day, with ChefSister and DudeBrah, as well as the rest of the family. What I didn't expect was to be sent out to get beer. Oh, and beer I got.

Started out with a 6 pack of Allagash white, which was absolutely delicious. Allagash white might be my favorite wheat beer, always ridiculously refreshing and surprisingly flavorful. Oh, but that wasn't the end.

No, I was asked to get an oatmeal stout. Oh darn, right? And what did I find there, but a beer I'd been searching for - Rogue's Shakespeare Stout. I know I promised to avoid stouts, but what can I do? It pours a gorgeous black with a cocoa colored head. It's sweet oats and milk chocolate all the way through for this one.

And finally, just when I thought I was done, DudeBrah pulled out the Fordham Scotch Ale, with which to marinate the brats (which was amazing, by the way). I'd had my eye on Fordham's scotch ale for a while, as a big fan of scotch ales. It pours a nice copper brown, and smells all manner of smoke. The taste is standard scotch ale, peat moss, smoke, and some sweet fruits. Really a great example of scotch ales, if not too exciting - think of it as a good mid point.

Finally, last but far from least, I saved a real mad man for my last finals beer. I received from a friend at law school a bottle of Samichlaus. For those who don't know, it's a famous Barleywine that is barrel aged and bottle aged, and is basically a wine among beers.

it pours a gorgeous cherry wood red, with little to no head. The first smell is all alcohol and a cloyingly sweet note of candied sugar and licorice. The taste follows up with a sharp shock of alcohol that warms nicely and tastes of cherries and raisins, and maybe some plum. Not even a hint of hops to be found, but the abundant malts more than make up for it, with a surprisingly sweet (molasses? syrup?) aftertaste despite the booziness.

The beer is a little overpowering at first, but as it warms it settles into a delicious desert of a beer. Not that I've tried it before, but I'd put this up against Port any day of the week for a nice after dinner drink. One is enough though - and then some. At 14% abv, you'll want to sip this one nice and slow.

So yeah. My alcohol infused, ridiculous finals week and a half. Yikes. Glad to be done, sad to see those delicious beers disappear. Until next time!

NFL and Beer

Ahhhhh, one of my favorite times of the year. As an avid NFL fan, the draft is one of the best events. It's full of the unpredictability we know and love, as well as so many hopes for next season with new talent. Also, the chance to make fun of stupid coaches making dumb picks.

Obviously such an event deserves good beer and good food. Hold you horses though, we'll get there.

Earlier in the day, I went to Pratt Street Ale House, dying to try a concoction I've mentioned here before. It's half oatmeal stout, half cherry wheat ale. The result was a surprisingly delicious black and tan that tasted just like it's moniker: a chocolate covered cherry.

The beer looks awesome, with dark stout atop rich red-amber beer. The first sip is all chocolate and oats, but soon is filled with subtle flavors of sour cherry. Man this was a sippable beer, every sip producing a different flavor combination. Definitely loved it, would highly recommend it.

This wasn't the end though. I cracked open a bottle I've been holding for a while in anticipation - Rogue's Black Lager. Part of some new agricultural endeavor by Rogue, the beer pours black with a very cool dark brown head that looks like fresh cocoa. The first sip is all those flavors I've come to know and love - roasted malts, dark chocolate. The best part though is that crisp lager finish and light mouthfeel. A great exemplar of black lagers without being too adventurous, and definitely worth a try for any stout fans out there.

I actually only had half the bomber though, because the other half went to making more beer bread. Mmmmm, beer bread. This loaf ended up cocoa brown (shocker :-P), and was delicious like the last one - crusty on the outside, spongy and soft on the inside. Sadly though, the cocoa flavor was a little overwhelming and ended up tasting like it should've been part of desert rather than dinner. Tasty, but perhaps a little misplaced.

To be fair, it was also being used to dip into my latest creation. I decided that for this most high of NFL holidays, I'd try my hand at an old favorite, buffalo chicken dip. It's all the best part about buffalo wings - chicken, cheese, and hot sauce, without any of the bones or fat.

The recipe is pretty simple - although I probably could've used some shredded cheese and a little less chicken. The basics are take about a pound or so of chicken, cook it, cut it up, and toss it in with a package of cream cheese (1 8 oz. package), half a cup of hot sauce, half a cup of salad dressing (ranch or blue cheese), and half a cup of shredded cheese.

Tragically, I had no shredded cheese, and ended up cutting up string cheese. Don't mock me, I'm poor! Also, I ended up super rushed, and rather than baking the chicken (as I've been told is ideal), I tossed the chicken into a pot full of water, and luckily it came out fully cooked. Hooray for boiling! All in all, the dip was pretty successful, and actually a pretty big hit. Of course, it's hard to go wrong with cheese, meat, and hot sauce, so it wasn't a huge surprise.

That's all for now - hopefully your weeks are full of good beer. Until next time, Cheers!

So Much Beer!

So, be warned, this is an absurdly long post. For your convenience, it's divided into three sections. Pre-Beer Dinner, Beer Dinner Beers, and then Beer Dinner recipes/cooking.

I decided this week, with some of my friends home and around, to host a beer dinner. This meant cooking with beer as well as having beer for tasting afterwards. And it was *awesome*, really just a great way to share beer with friends and have a fun evening.

Pre-Beer Dinner

So, as if this wasnt enough, my friends ended up coming in Tuesday to go to Max's. Never one to turn down Max's, I was thrilled at the prospect. I was even more excited when i saw that Allagash Black, a stout that I've been dying to try, was on their menu.

The beer pours dark into a Belgian beer glass (kind of like a giant snifter). Sadly, it really just wasn't that good. It tasted more like an ale than a stout. It was kind of watery, lots of dark chocolate and bitter coffee with some weird yeasty notes. Overall it just wasn't very good, being too thin and bitter, and not rich and hearty like most stouts. To be fair, as a Belgian stout it might be excellent, but I was not a fan.

On Thursday, before the dinner, I went for a run. Forgetting that I haven't been on a run in weeks, I went four miles, only to come back in paaaaain. To soothe my aching feet, I decided a bath was in order. A stroke of genius hit me, and I decided to have a beer with my bath.

It sounds like heresy, but it was perfect. A nice cold beer, a nice hot bath, and perfect relaxation. Try it some time and thank me.

I was trying Troeg's, a brewing company I'd never tried before. They're known for their hoppy beers, so I was a little wary. I cracked open their Dopplebock, and took a swig straight from the bottle. Delicious. It is a dark beer, full of flavors of chocolate and dark fruits like raisins or plums. Thd hop finish is nice and subtle, and accompanies some earthy mellow flavors and some nice caramel malts. It reminded me of a much more adventurous version of Yuengling's bock (which makes sense). Really though, just a delicious beer. Highly recommended for a nice brew to sip.

Beer Dinner Cooking
So, after this wonderful and relaxing bath, the cooking started. I was making Irish Stout Stew, Beer bread, and beer battered shrimp. The recipes are below if you'd like to try any yourself.

I was a little ashamed to realize I hadn't checked portions on the Irish stew, and added in a whole can of tomato paste, rather than the 2 tablespoons required. It turned out to be a nice spaghetti sauce, spicy and tasting of stout, but not really a stew. It went well over mashed potatoes though, so whatever. I also left out the onions and thyme, not being a huge fan of either. Definitely the most work of the evening, but delicious.
(http://allrecipes.com/recipe/beef-and-irish-stout-stew/Detail.aspx)

The beer bread was blissfully simple. I put it into a faaaar too small at first though, but thankfully The Lorax was there to help and got me to put it into a bigger bowl. After combining flour, salt, and beer, I poured it into a greased pan, baked it for an hour, and was treated to the best dish of the evening. The bread was hard and crusty on the outside, and warm and soft on the inside. You could also taste the beer just enough to enjoy it. Three philosophers worked really well, but now I *really* want to try it with other beers too.
(source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/beer-bread-i/detail.aspx)

The shrimp was not easy, but was well worth the effort. The batter was beer and flour and sugar - I used Sam Adams Noble Pils, but you couldn't really tell. Thankfully my friend the Culinatior had a deep frying thermometer, so we could tell when the oil was hot enough. From there it was just dip the shrimp in the batter, drop them in the oil, flip them, and let them dry on a paper towel.

Overall the meal was delicious, was more than enough for the four of us who showed up, and cost me less than thirty dollars (and I had to buy flour and sugar, the heathen that I am).

Beer Dinner Beers
Finally, we reached the beer. It was quite nice after all the effort and cooking and the long day to relax and sip these beers. I really enjoyed each of them, but each for their own reasons.

I started with Brew Dog's Chaos Theory Ale. I was worried to see that this was classified as an India Pale Ale, but figured I'd get it out of my way. I was thrilled to find out that it was delicious. It tasted very much grapefruit mixing with hops for a nice combination, where neither overpowered. Not an incredibly complex beer, but one I was really surprised how much I enjoyed it.

I went next to the Brooklyn Local #2, a belgian strong ale. It smelled a little of cider, and that taste was present at first. As it mellowed, it revealed a lot more dark fruits like cherries or plums, as well as some smoky flavors. I kind of wish I'd tried this during the dinner, as it seemed like it could've used some sort of meat dish to pair it with to make it complete.

I then decided it was time to try the stouts. I started with Rogue's Chocolate Stout, expecting it to be a little less of a desert beer. I like to think I was right, but it was by no means less tasty. Just as the name described, it was a chocolate stout. Milk chocolate and roasted hops were the tastes present throughout the beer, and boy they were delicious. Not everyone's favorite, and not the best chocolate beer I've ever tasted, but really good nonetheless. Very reminiscent in some ways of Brooklyn's Dark Chocolate Stout - it is everything that the name promises and nothing more.

Finally, I allowed myself to try Ommegang's Chocolate Indulgence. The wait was worth it. Strong dark chocolate up front, with a surprisingly spicy finish. A real desert beer, this was heavy and complex and delicious. I'm definitely glad I ended with it, or it might've spoiled anything that came after it.

To tell the truth, I'm a little beered out at present, but I'm sure that'll fade as soon as I get the hankering to try a new beer.

Until then - enjoy the beers, try the recipes, and tell me what you think!

-The Unabashed Ungourmet

More Rogue?

More posts about Rogue ale? Well, they are sort of becoming my beer of the moment. They're well made, interesting to drink, and have more varieties than you can shake a stick at.

On the recommendation of a friend, and with the charity of another friend, we picked up a sixer of Rogue's American Amber Ale. A bit pricey, but you have to pay more for good beer. We also picked up another 500ml of Belhaven Scottish Stout, because really, you can never enjoy a beer too much.

The American Amber started out a little hoppy, but mellowed nicely. Not quite a pale ale, but definite hop notes, around a kind of mellow, clean taste. Not sure if I could pull out too many other flavors, but it was refreshing and tasty. As it warmed, the hop taste softened a bit as well, which was nice. I feel like there we some floral notes as well, but I'd want to try another before I was sure.

Overall a more complex, and tasty, version of a standard amber ale. Good beer to sip with your friends, or pair with a relaxing dinner. I'd say give it a shot; but maybe get a back up in case it doesn't work for you.

-The Unabashed Ungourmet

More Rogue Beer!

So, Rogue is a brewing company I've been interested in trying for a while. I've heard good things about them going all the way back to college, and they have a great rep in online beer review sites. Also, they have nifty names like "Daddy's Helper", "Dead Guy", and "Shakespeare Stout".

With this in mind, I gave their Hazelnut Brown Ale a try. It poured a nice even brown, out of a formidable bomber. It smelled like most brown ales I've had before, but with more clear notes of nutty flavor. The first sip was a wash of hazelnut, with a strong undertone of earthy flavors.

There was an odd sour flavor that I'm working on processing. It made me think of slightly sour fruits, but more pure. Maybe an acidic flavor? I'm not 100% sure, but it was tasty, and emerged more as the beer had a chance to warm and breathe.

Overall a very tasty beer. Not that extreme, but a very good iteration of a nut brown ale. I can't really see it working well with anything other than bread or crackers, but luckily it's very good by itself.

Recommended if you're a fan of nut brown ales, but nothing that made me sit back and go "wow".

I have a couple bottles of wine waiting to be tried and reviewed, but it'll have to wait til next time. Til then, Cheers!

-The Unabashed Ungourmet

update: a lot of other reviewers noted some chocolate tastes; I'm thinking the sour flavor may have been bitter chocolate. It confused me because I wasn't expecting chocolate in my brown ale :-P

A Halloween to Remember

Oh how I love Halloween. I won't regale you with too many tales; save to say you're never too old to scare the crap out of children and eat delicious candy.

On to the alcohol! I had the good fortune of trying a lot of different things this weekend. From absinthe (liquory licorice, eugghhh) to limoncello, from bad wine called "vampire" to jello shots that were about 49% vodka. Really though, nothing terribly important to result. Most of it was pungent, tasted like a sucker punch, and left me begging for chaser.

My wonderful friend Stark hosted a shindig during which she served many of her fruity and delicious infusions. Her apple cinnamon is one of the better liquers I've had, but many of her others were too alcoholic for my pansified tastes. Sue me, but I don't have much love for hard liquor or cheap vodka. (although good whiskey has it's charms)

But the beer, oh the beer.

First thing first, I will eventually get around to writing about Woodchuck. They make delicious ciders, in many, many varietals. They have a decent amber, a horrific pear/fall seasonal, a fascinating granny smith, and a delicious dark and dry. However, those all will have to come later, because this is about their Oak Aged.

It tasted sweeter than a lot of ciders, but had a nice crisp taste with a deliciously fruity finish. My favorite part was a dark, rich taste that permeated the whole drink (the oak no doubt, in effect). Overall I rather enjoyed it, finding it to be one of their better ciders.

I also had the good fortune to try a bottle of Rogue's Dead Guy Ale. Rogue is a brewery I know precious little about, but have heard nothing but rave reviews. Look for me to try many many more of their offerings in the coming months.

Their Dead Guy Ale was powerful and complex, not a beer to be trifled with. This is no Sunday afternoon watching the game, drinking a bud kind of beer. This beer perplexed me, teased me, rebuked me, and delighted me, all throughout the course of an evening. The ale itself was light enough to be pleasantly drinkable, but not lacking a quantum of flavor. A very impressive beer, which deserves more analysis.

Halloween was an excellent adventure, and I picked up another stout to try from an old favorite, Belhaven. More on it as I try it, that's all for now.

-The Unabashed Ungourmet.