beer & food

‘Fried beer’ and hedge fund beer picks

Super Bowl Sunday could be called “National Beer Day,” according to one press release, because an estimated $12 million will be spent on beer for consumption before and during the game day.

Much of the discussion centers around Budweiser and Bud Light, since Anheuser-Busch is the Super Bowl’s biggest advertiser. And Miller has co-opted some of the attention with a second Dalmatian commercial. More of the same? Mostly, but look around and you never know what you’ll find.

– Saint Arnold Brewing in Texas posted recipes “just in time for the big game.” Last week the brewery held its first “One Pot Showdown,” cooking contest that requires each recipe to include Saint Arnold beer as an ingredient and to be cooked in a single pot in the Saint Arnold parking lot. The event raised $1,800 for Meals on Wheels. Fried Beer (click on the link for the lengthy recipe), made with Winter Stout, finished first. Amberized Green Chili was second.

– TheStreet.com has “Microbrewed Beer Picks for the Big Game” – a good list if you’re having hedge fund managers over to watch the game.

– Among the “proposition” bets you can place is which will be the first beer commerical at halftime.

And then there’s YouTube.

– Miller has already started showing its second Dalmatian commercial, featured in the Wall Street Journal with A-B’s reaction.

– The Associated Press put together a sneak preview of the A-B ads:

– Of course, you knew we could count on the Marin Institute to demand an end to advertising and marketing beer during the Super Bowl. They might have found it more effective to come up with a spoof like this one:

Sadly, this sort fun doesn’t do any of us beer drinkers much good. Don’t think it’s just an attack on Bud.

New Beer Rule #7: Beer is not the new wine

Beer For LunchLast night we ate leftover smoked meat and drank Southern Tier Choklat. One, then the other. No pairing involved. Sometimes you just want a beer, maybe even a strong one.

Choklat, an 11% abv imperial stout infused with dark Belgian chocolate, qualifies on both counts. It’s one of the beers I’ll be writing around 85 words about in the next All About Beer magazine Beer Talk.

You’ll notice these days that more often than not Beer Talk panelists suggest a food pairing for the beer they are describing. I tend to be the slacker. I know that Charles Finkel, who tastes the same beers as I, will have terrific suggestions and I try to use the small space alloted to squeeze in something different.

I’m keener than most about the notion beer belongs at the table, but these days the movement hardly seems to need my help. For instance, the Brewers Association yesterday revealed new details about “SAVOR: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience,” including something called educational salons. These are presentations by “savvy cross drinkers.”

I guarantee you that the words “Beer is the new wine” will be bandied about.

What does that mean? I really don’t know. The phrase doesn’t seem to serve beer or wine well. Wine is the new wine. Beer is the new beer. (And the old beer, which is equally important.)

Beer “styles” have always evolved, with various riffs sometimes turning evolution into revolution. This is nothing new. In the 1930s it was the monks at Westmalle refining the “tripel” style. These days it might be two brothers in a former hardware store in Warren, Mich., inventing something new or an ex-English major in San Diego blending mead, strong ale and sour beer to create Veritas (Latin for truth).

Truth is it’s still beer.

NEW BEER RULE #7: Beer is still beer.

Leading beer trends for 2008: No. 4a*

Beer CollegeWere I inclined to make predictions (not likely) about the Top 10 Beer Trends of 2008 then one would somehow have to include the words “education” and “certification.”

For education, I’d start with Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 in Chicago for the Siebel Institute of Technology’s course on Professional Beer Tasting & Styles. More about that in a moment, because the syllabus gets a little long.

Certification I: Ray Daniels posts that the online exam for the first level of Cicerone certification should available soon.

Certification II: The Master Brewers Association of America quarterly newsletter reports the board of governors “approved a new MBAA-sponsored education program targeted at individuals
in the wholesale and retail beer trades.”

The program’s goal is to improve the image of beer and broaden its appeal by better maintaining its freshness throughout the distribution chain and by increasing the knowledge of beer styles and proper serving techniques for those who distribute and serve beer. The Publication Committee is charged with producing a new reference book that will provide the relevant and necessary information to educate applicants to be certified under the program. Individuals applying for certification must demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of beer by passing a rigorous exam based on the contents of the reference book.

Back to the course at Siebel, Randy Mosher (author of “Radical Brewing” and the upcoming “BeerSense: Understanding the Pleasures of the World’s Best Drink”) put it together. The presentations include:

Section 1 – Introduction
* What is Beer?
* Beer in Context: Lifestyle & Diet, Culture, Seasons
* A Little Beer History: Beginnings, Medieval to Modern, The American Beer Story, Craft Beer Revolution

Section 2 – Sensory
* Techniques for Sensory Evaluation:Practical Tips for Evaluating Beer, Sources of Flavor & Aroma
* The Taste of Beer: Beer Aroma & the Flavor Wheel
* The Formal Tasting: Types of Tastings, Competitive Judging, Evaluation Forms
* Informal Tastings: Settings & Methods, Tasting Glasses

Section 3 – Beer by the Numbers
* Gravity / Strength of “wort”, Alcohol, Color, Bitterness,
* A Question of Balance

Section 4 – Common Defects of Beer
* Including tasting of beers spiked with off-flavors: Raw materials, Brewhouse, Fermentation/maturation: Yeast, Packaging,
* Mishandling, Beer Infection: Age, draft system problems, Light

Section 5 – The Process of Brewing (and why you should care)
* Beer Ingredient Analysis: Malt, Other Grains & Fermentables, Hops, Water, Yeast, Other ingredients
* The Brewing Process: Malting, Mashing, Boiling, Chilling, Fermenting, Maturation, Filtration, Storage/Shipping

Section 6 – What Is a style?
* An introduction to the definitions of beer styles, followed by more detailed presentations of the major beer styles. The styles presentations feature a combination of lectures, PowerPoint slides and numerous tastings, giving a thorough overview of the character of the majority of beer styles including:

Section 7 – Ales of the United Kingdom
Section 8 – Lager
Section 9 – European Ales
Section 10 – Belgium & France
Section 11 – New American Classics

Section 12 – Serving & Storing Beer

Section 13 – Beer & Food
* Pairing Approaches: Classic Combinations, Some Surprising Pairs, Beer & Cheese, Beer with Desserts
* Beer Cuisine, Beer & Food Tastings & Dinners

Beer Fantasy Dinner #10: Eric Delia

Eric DeliaFor more about what this is part of look here.

Eric Delia may be be relatively new to blogging, but has some interesting things to say — check out the post titled A Disturbing Trend. I’m hitting the road for a few days, but had to post this first because . . . Levi Stubbs and Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout, how brilliant is that?

You find the full length Fantasy Dinner here, but Eric also has a slightly shorter version for us CliffsNotes types.

In case you forgot, the questions are: If you could invite four people dead or alive to a beer dinner who would they be? What four beers would you serve?

1. Bernardo O’Higgins – One of the leaders of the Chilean War of Independence that was fought against colonial power Spain. Seems like an interesting and controversial historical figure that would be worth having around, if only to give his perspective on the time period and his struggle to defeat an imperial army. Since I’m somewhat of a history buff, I think he’d be a fine candidate for this soiree.

Beer: Kross Stout, modeled on an Irish Stout and made by a microbrewery in Chile, which I think would suit this guest’s tastes, seeing as how he’s half-Irish.

2. Bill Shankly – Liverpool FC’s most famous manager, who triumphed to bring the team from the lower rungs of the Second Division to the top of the First, and brought a slew of championships during his tenure as well. Shankly came across as a tough but stand-up guy who loved the game of football (soccer) and had an honorable and admirable approach to it, too. The table needed a prominent sports figure, and he’s one that immediately came to mind.

Beer: Traquair Jacobite, in honor of his Scottish roots and because it’s an all-around damn good beer in the first place, something I think Bill would appreciate.

3. Levi Stubbs – Lead singer of the R&B group The Four Tops, whose ability to sing out of his range lent the group’s songs a sense of urgency and liveliness. He’d bring vivacity to the conversation, plus a bit of cool and some culture to our group. I’m also a fan of all different kinds of music, so it was tough to pick one person to sit in that spot, but Levi was one of the first that I thought of. I think he’d be a great guest.

Beer: Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout, seeing as how both he and the beer are from Michigan, and I just think cool people would naturally migrate toward a quality Milk Stout like that. Either that or a Sam Adams Boston Lager; simple yet satisfying, with a laid-back flavor profile that the cool crowd would also enjoy, I guess.

4. My paternal great-grandfather – An immigrant from Croatia (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), he came to America in 1901 and worked on the Pacific Railroad. Made it all the way out West, into Washington (prime hop country) and then to northern California. He owned a small farm where he made my grandfather walk to the market with eggs or produce to sell. Back on the farm, they would make their own homemade wine, even during the days of Prohibition.

Beer: Victory Prima Pils or Budweiser Budvar. I picked the two because I think a German or Czech Pilsener would suit him well, even though he was more of a wine guy. Something crisp and refreshing may remind him of time in Europe as a young man, perhaps getting a hold of a Bohemian offering or two in his day. Nevertheless, to be able to talk to this man about the trials and tribulations he faced by starting a whole new life in a completely different country would be fascinating to me. Sure, many families may be able to tell a similar tale, but that’s what makes this quintessential American success story a classic.