Hush, puppies

We have some Beer Week backlog to get to -- namely, Memphis Taproom's Vintage Beer Brunch and the Shola Olunloyo dinner at Blackfish (which was not an official Beer Week event, but we made it unofficially so).  All in good time.

I stopped in Local 44 tonight for a late dinner, and to check out their "East Coast vs. West Coast" beer special.  Tonight it was Rogue's I2PA v. Brooklyn Brewery's Blast Ale -- both double IPAs.  I was tempted, but had to drive, and those 9% beers would have been trouble.  So I opted for a Duvel Green to start -- it was crisp and hoppy, quite different from Duvel's signature ale.  Very refreshing. 

For dinner, I ended up choosing the fish & chips, for one reason: hush puppies included.  I am a sucker for cornbread in all its forms, but deep-fried might be the best of all.  I've loved hush puppies ever since I was a kid, when our family would go on vacation down south.  You don't see them too often in these parts so I jumped at the chance.  Local 44 didn't disappoint, either -- the hush puppies were piping hot, springy and slightly sweet.  The fish and the chips were fine, but those fluffy spheres of cornbread made my night.  

With my meal, I drank a Laurelwood Workhorse IPA, which had been recommended by multiple people at the bar. Good choice.  For an IPA, it was surprisingly light-bodied and appropriately hoppy.  Austin enjoyed his Laurelwood in Portland back in January, and I can see why -- they make great beer.  I hear Local 44 is one of the only establishments in the area to serve their beer.  So get down there and get some, before it's all gone.  And have some hush puppies while you're there.

Deep Thought

Standard Ale is back!

Update 3/9/08:

And it's delicious. Stopped by Johnny Brenda's on Sunday en route to Mal's old apartment to help him move a few things. Nothing like a Standard Ale fresh from the cask before lifting heavy furniture.

Boyz II Men, ABC, BDG: Biere de Garde Week

In the months and weeks leading up to Beer Week (which starts tomorrow!), I watched as the number of events swelled from a few dozen to (as of today) 130,000. Ok, that's an exaggeration. But! There really are a ton of events to sort through. And a goodly number of those events come with a hefty price tag. So far I have reservations for only one fully-sanctioned, ticketed PBW event (the Vintage Beer Brunch at Memphis this Sunday!) and I am okay with that. One of the great things of having so many participating bars, restaurants and breweries is that I can stumble upon interesting events without much effort or the immense cost.

One place I plan to stumble to, upon and from is Caribou Cafe. For BW theyre highlighting Biere de Garde. Biere de Gardes are farmhouse style ales that are cellared for a period of time (the name means "kept beer"). They are generally malt forward and light brown or copper in color, typically darker than a saison.

All week Caribou will have a selection of different BDG's on tap; and their cooler will be stocked with bottles peculiar to the Pas de Calais region of France (the birthplace of BDG). They'll also have a tasting menu of three courses. Each paired with a different biere.

Take a look at Caribou's full schedule for Biere de Garde Week.

Beer Madness

The Washington Post unveiled their annual Beer Madness competition this week --  it's a tournament competition modeled on NCAA basketball's March Madness.  The lineup is usually a curious mix of craft & macro, regional & national brands, and this year's bracket runs the gamut from Bud Light Lime to Ommegang Hennepin.  Beers are initially paired according to style, and then the bracket proceeds to mix styles as it progresses.

The Pennsylvania beer scene is well represented, with Troegs HopBack Amber Ale, Stoudts Scarlet Lady Ale and Yuengling's Lord Chesterfield Ale.  In the first round, HopBack and Scarlet Lady advanced, while Lord Chesterfield fell to the unfortunately named Honker's Ale from Goose Island Beer Co. in Chicago.

Last year Troegs HopBack made it to the Final Four, and I'll be cheering them on along with Stoudts this year.

(Hat tip: JR)

Steak on a Snow Day

Today's second beer-free post.  Since HM is drinking flat whites and otherwise enjoying the 70° weather in New Zealand, and I spent a goodly portion of the day shoveling snow, I treated myself to a ribeye tonight.  

I seared the steak in a cast-iron pan and finished it in the oven to a nice medium-rare.  While the steak was in the oven, I added some butter, shallots, tarragon and red wine to the pan juices, and reduced them until the sauce coated the back of a spoon.  (One of my favorite Mark Bittman recipes.)

For the sauce, I used a 2006 Domaine Taluau St. Nicholas de Bourgueil "Cuvée l'Expression" Cabernet Franc, procured from Moore Brothers, my favorite wine merchant.  From the shop's description: This is real wine: all black fruit, bell peppers, violets, and minerals, with a long, moderately tannic finish and plenty of fresh acidity.  In the glass the wine was a fine accompaniment to the steak, along with sides of crispy potatoes and green beans with basil and shallots.  

I know, that plate is a mess.  Gotta work on the whole "presentation" thing. 

Snow!

Bryn Mawr, PA, 8:28 am.

Celtika Amber Beer

While France is better known for its wine than its beer, there is a deep history of brewing that goes back to the pre-Roman Celtic (or Gallic, or even Gaulish if you prefer) inhabitants of the country.  Wine was the tipple of choice for Greeks and Romans, but the more northerly Celts liked their beer - and they bequeathed that love of beer to us through their descendants in Britain, Belgium, Germany and France.

Tonight I dipped into my dwindling beer cellar for a Celtika Amber Beer from Brasserie Celtik, a French brewery in Brittany - a region where a Celtic language, Breton, is still spoken.  This corked & caged 750mL bottle was a 2007 Christmas gift from my friend Mark.  

The beer poured a cloudy caramel, with a viscous cream-colored head that dissipated quickly but left behind significant lace.  I could tell from the banana and malt aromas that this would be a sweet beer.  It tasted overwhelmingly of toffee and plum, with a backbone of yeast that softened the sugars.  Not much in the way of hops, just enough bitterness to keep the beer from being cloying.  Despite the overall sweetness, the body was quite light at 5.8% ABV.  

While it's not a superlative brew -- too sweet -- I did enjoy it.  Brasserie Celtik doesn't have much of a web presence, so I have no idea where to find it locally.   Thanks, Mark, for a lovely and apparently rare bottle!