blogging under the influence

The passing of a legend: Jonny’s Ale.

2008-05-13T15:45:00.001-07:00

New Belgium, the leading CO. micro-brewer (if we can still call them that) started a line of beers based on their employees’ recipes.

The latest beer is a dark ale (Sara’s Ale, I think), but the one that was just replaced, Johnny’s Ale, was probably the best thing I have tasted out of NB in a long time.

I am not 100% sure of what the beer was but it tasted like a Grand-Cru’ed version of Trippel. This beer was so well crafted so district that I hated it at first. But after a couple goes I was in love.

I sobbed when It was gone. Rejoiced when I found Steakout (a local bar) still had it on tap. And will weep again when I know I have tasted it for the last time.

Everything is right on queue from the aroma to the taste to the after taste. I felt I was drinking flowers and I loved it.

It is as if I knew someone for a long time but only really got to know them right before they left my life forever. I may spend the rest of my life trying to find what I once had, wandering in the eternity of limbo like a lost soul. Maybe I’ll find it, most likely I won’t.

This seems like a perfect interaction to also say goodbye…at least for now.

My journey reminds me of a story I once heard. Socrates was talking with a friend who had just come back from a long journey. As they strolled along the cobble stone path under the Mediterranean sun his friend said something along the lines of ‘I am the same man you knew before I left’. To this Socrates replied ‘then you have learned nothing and it would have been better for to have never gone.’

As I sit punching in these last lines I think Socrates would be proud of my journey into the wilderness of brew. I don’t know everything, in fact now I realize how little truly I know. But I do know more than when I left and I will continue to learn and teach others.

Thanks for reading (Sara and Jeff Browne).

Best places to drink in the summer time (that I have attended)

2008-05-12T17:30:00.000-07:00

Do at the Zoo- what’s better than being drunk off good beer? Being drunk at the Denver Zoo off good beer, at a huge party. I have privileged to attend the Do two summers ago and its was awesome. If you don’t know anyone who works at the Zoo the event is quite pricy. A typical, “let the elites come in and do what ever they want” type of event. But if you can crash this party of parties then your in for most likely the best night of your summer

Telluride Blues and Brews- this late season event brings together lesser know acts and lesser tried beers for a weekend of new experiences. Camping out of town is the best way to go if you don’t have any in-town connections. Volunteering a couple hours gets you a free pass, and if you do the right job hand handout left and right. There is no better place to watch the Aspens turn, drink good beer and here music. One word of preparedness, when I was there Flying Dog, which is a so-so brewery was the only beer vendor for the event, but coolers are aloud so bring some cans (Old Chub), enjoy the tunes.

Tour De Fat- another late season event. Tour De Fat brings together boozing, bike riding and music. The parade and drinking start early and go late into the afternoon. There is always a good concert to catch for the troopers who can make it through the marathon day.

BrewFest (Fort Collins)- this mid-summer event is a fun time to go day drinking with your friends who are here for the summer, as well a chance to see everyone who fled town; as the Fest draws people from all around. It’s a bit pricy, but see it as a cover for a fun club and the beer is included. The lines get a bit long and the Fest is usually in the dead of summer so bring a hat and a couple of pocket beers.

Old Town in the summertime- want to get to know your bartenders so you’re not another face in the crowd when droves of students pack the bars, and you need a beer pronto? The summer time is the best time down mid-day lounge catch a ball game and play dominos with the bar tender (they get board too). This is how I learned to play dominos, Also day drinking at a bar is a good way to pass the day for a couple bucks father than investing it into you electric bill or gas tank to reach cooler elevations. Bartenders are good people they have some funny stories and getting to know them a bit makes drinking at a certain bar all the more enjoyable. Another fun thing is the locals who come out of the woodwork when all the students are gone.

Weak beer…strong on taste

2008-05-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

So as you have all seen I have been drinking some weaker beers. Now the frat-boy in you want to call me a sissy or a bitch-drink-drinker. But let it be known that most of these weaker beers still can hold there own with the likes of Key-light and Rocky Mountain Cool-Aid (Coors). But the flavor and complexity of these beers is something to be admired. These aren’t the assembly-line American beers, though there is a time and place for Budweiser (and nothing else). Each batch of Lambic beer is a work of art, a true craft. So call me a sissy or a Nancy, but I bet I can enjoy my delicacies and drink you under the table any day.

P.S. anyone who wants to go blow for blow- I say Guinness, Cut throat or Johnny’s Ale

The top 5 stouts and porters you’ve never tried.

2008-05-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

5. Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout (North Coast)

4. Smokebrush Porter (Bristol)

3. Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout (Great Divide)

2. Kelly’s Oatmeal Stout (Kelly’s Brew Pub)

1. Mephistopheles' Stout (Avery)

Only Kelly’s might be hard to find it’s a small brew pub out in Albuquerque, NM. They come to the blues and brews every year so you can catch them there. The rest can be found some are seasonal but if you’re in CO. you won’t have a problem getting your hands on these amazing dark beers.

Fifthteen

2008-05-09T21:29:00.000-07:00

A brew so unique was released this week that it could have no name other than the year it is celebrating.

Avery released Fifthteen to the public to celebrate its fifteenth anniversary. The beer brings together the qualities of a Belgian style farmhouse beer with unique flavors of yellow peppers and other spices.

you might be thinking whatever well this beer is a once in a lifetime brew. If brought only to try once it should be done. Maybe you don't like this style of beer, maybe it scares you. But if you never confront it now and see what is out there you should just go take that long worm nap now.

This beer is truly unique and won’t be around for long so go out and get it.

Strong-work Avery, once again pushing the envelope to make a truly awesome beer!

To The Vet School

2008-04-11T15:14:00.000-07:00

The world renowned Colorado State University Veterinary School hosted its annual open house last weekend. Eldad Sharon reports.
Listen Here

quitting for a while

2008-04-08T15:17:00.001-07:00

I have to say that it has been a good ride I tried the best beers and the swilliest of brews, but now I have to stop.

I recently got a job on a Hotshot Crew in Eastern Oregon. Now I must do all that I can to help me get into shape for the rigorous months of work ahead. Beer is one thing that I have to cut.

This is a sad day. So I wrote a poem.

My heart weeps low
For though I know
That in months the beer will flow
But till then my creeks run dry
And all I could do I weep and sigh

I will keep writing about beers that I have tried in the past couple weeks and I will be keeping tabs on beer news. But know when I write my mouth will be dry and my heart heavy.

In the words of Harry Dean Stanton from Red Dawn-----

“I was hard on you when you was growin' up. I did things that made you hate me. Now, you can see why I did. I don't want no more tears shed for me, ya hear? I'm not gonna be there for you now, you gotta look out for each other... Avenge me!…..Avenge me!!!!!!!”

2008-04-03T08:52:00.000-07:00

Give me a dark beer, give me a legend, give me a twist off that kick most Colorado brews in the face; give me Trois Pistols.

Trois is a Belgium style strong dark ale that comes from Unibrouse in Quebec, Canada. The beer is steeped in the legend of the black horse which helped build the church Notre-Dame-des-Neiges.

The beer is as strong as the horse was sitting at a gracious 9% ALC and feels like a meal in a bottle.

If the art on the bottle isn’t enough to sell you on the beer, the heavy almost wine-like taste should.

From the first sip this beer tells your palate that is the real deal. Creamy and smooth, with the underlying dark and heavy taste, that leaves your surprisingly refreshed.

This is a far cry from the blandness for fries and mayo, a Quebec standard; the taste lingers long after but doesn’t leave that cottony or overly powerful taste in your mouth.

And the twist off!! Good riddance to the beer snobs of Boulder and Fort Collins. If you want a drink of which a four pack is enough go with Trois, this is one of the best non-bomber beers I have had in a while.

So let’s recap

Cool art
Strong beer
Canadian
Tasty
Not over powering
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmbbbbbbbbbbbeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrr

The World

2008-04-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

Kriek beer the idea brings chills to the hairs of American beer guts. These fruity, sour, hearty beers are the true embodiment of form and function.

Krieks can be served cold for a compliment for an after dinner desert, or warmed during the eve of winter. They can be ultra sour or sweet as pie.

Most of all they are purely the handiwork of nature, all human hands do is mix the ingredients, seal the barrel and push the barrels into basements for two years.

Liefmans Kriek is brewed once a year after the cherry harvest in late August. This Lambic combines the sourness of the cherries, with their sweetness beautifully.

The beer starts tart. Swallows sweet. The combination lingers in the cheeks and on the tongue long afterwards.

Warmed up the beers sweetness is comes out in full. The beer is only weak in ALC sitting at 6%, but comes in a 750ml bottle. A truly great drink.

And as I sit and sip this beautiful beer I checked my beer alerts and woe to say beer is in a poor place in the world today. And I just began to think about it.

First the story of beer bandits in South Carolina

There's children on the street using guns and knives

Taking drugs and each other's lives

Killing each other with knives and forks

Calling each other names like 'dork'

Then the root beer keg party (WTF)

There's people on the street getting diseases from monkeys

Yeah, that's what I said - they're getting diseases from monkeys

Now there's junkies with monkey disease

Who's touching these monkeys, please

Leave these poor sick monkeys alone

They've got problems enough as it is.

More robberies in TX.

Man's lying on the street

Some punk's chopped off his head

I'm the only one who stops

To see if he's dead

Mmm...Turns out he's dead.

And that's why I'm singing

Is beer becoming a nuisance and are people turning from it?

What...what is wrong with the world today?

What is wrong with the world today?

(Jemaine mumbles)

What...what is wrong with the world today?

You gotta think about it

Think think about it.

To cops are tackling kids (WTF(aren’t those two girls super hot(but mostly WTF)))

They're turning kids into slaves just to make cheaper sneakers.

But hat's the real cost?

'Cause the sneakers don't seem that much cheaper.

Why are we still paying so much for sneakers

When you got them made by little slave kids

What are your overheads?

and stabbings

Well, at the end of your life, you're lucky if die,

Sometimes I wonder why we even try.

I saw a man lying on the street half dead

With knives and forks sticking out of his leg.

And he said,

"Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow

Can somebody get that knife and fork out of my leg, please?

Can somebody please remove these cutleries from my knees?"

Why? Wh-why-why? What going on my fellow beer drinkers? My bothers my sisters what’s going on?

Lyrics by Flight of the Conchords—Think about it.

2008-03-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

A recent article in the NY Times has raised a lot of huff-n-puff in the beer, blogging and beer-blogging world.

The article is about a Czech professor’s study that relates beer consumption with publication of findings. The relationship is inverse.
This is sad to know, I mean yeah you can guess that I would be true, a hung-over scientist is much more likely to facial himself with a toad while a sober on successfully milks the little critter. But what are the implications for everyone else?

To answer this I will make a little chart. We will assume that there are three beers being consumed and then we will analyze the effects that this consumption will have on the work ethic and quality.*

Begger
Con-gets angry at the world and possibly violent
Pro- plays a beach boys tape he has in his boom box and dances around
making people happy and loose with their change

Construction worker

Con- drops things from high places, demolishes the wrong building, falls and dies

Pro- gets the balls to work the high steel (guys on the far right) and keeps America moving forwards, the flowers of the adjacent buildings 8th floor get watered

Bus driver
Con- crashes the bus everybody dies

Pro- crashes the bus full of Nazi’s everybody dies

Teacher

Con- goes to jail

Pro- makes a great kindergarten teacher
small people and swings, Hell yes!

Cook
Con- Throws up in the food, drowns in the marinara

Pro- there’s nothing like a drunk cook who doesn’t drown in the marinara

I hope this gives a better rounded picture of what beer does to the average money making man and women in America. Till next time!!! Woo beer blog!!! Woo!!!

* This study has no scientific backing what so ever

LA Roja The Red

2008-03-11T11:35:00.001-07:00

Okay, Okay-- I know I said I was heading to Europe to try there beers, and I since then I have I only tried one. That may be true, but even though I haven’t been drinking European beers I have been drinking European-style beers that are brewed by our own guys and gals here state-side.

These beers are starting to grab the attention of everyone in the nation not just us NoCo’ers, Washington recently passed legislation to help microbreweries get there name out to the public, by giving samples at grocery stores!

The beer I am giving free advertising to today is La Roja from Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales in. It’s a Flanders style amber ale extenuated by sour cherries which are, in the sprit of the region, allowed to naturally ferment in oak casks.

This beer is tart but not too sour. Case in point, you can serve it a dinner party (which is where Roja was drunk) and it will go over fairly well.

The beer is quite beautiful with a light head and a nice mistiness that comes from Pumpkins’ filter-less style.

There are hints of flavor that shoot your taste buds in all kind of directions based around the sour cherries. This beer makes you want to drool as your drinking it. Yet it’s never too over powering; the tart never gets into your cheeks.

It’s the calmer, more well mannered cousin of La Folie; if I were to make any compressions.

The brewery is something else too, the small operation tucked away in the village of Dexter, MI. It puts out quite the quality of beer, most of which beers is barrel aged.

Roja is quite pricey going for about $10 a bottle, so go in on it with a buddy or a cutie girl who likes a sour beer.

If you’re not sure about “sour beer” this is a good steppingstone to invigorate your taste buds. So go for it life’s too short to not drink sour beer.

hard times for the beer belly

2008-03-06T14:25:00.000-08:00

I want to talk to guys about something very serious today. What reality!? Well even as drinkers we need to face facts sometimes.
There is a serious problem among the drinking community today. I am talking about the world-wide hops shortage. That is affecting beer drinker’s world wide

I learned about this yesterday when I went into Wilbur’s to get my bi-weekly beer. As of last year erratic weather combined with a rising demand for ethanol has sent the hop down a scary road.

First the weather. Last year Europe one of the world largest (and best) hop buckets took an extremely wet summer; molding most of the crop. At the other side of the spectrum and the world, Australia took a heavy drought which killed off much of its hop crop.

Closer to home many Oregon hop growers are facing a hop-killing diseases that doesn’t show until about two generations in and according to some in the industry is being spread by the harvesters cutting blades according to a home brewer and Wilburs employee.

The second issue is coming from the high demand of corn to produce ethanol. The higher pay-offs and quicker turnaround on crops has led many hop farmers to uproot their crops.

The affected—the brewers and the drinkers. If you have noticed beer prices have risen in the past months and are feared to go up more.

It’s a truly sad time for beer because in recent years brewers have begun to push the traditional boundaries of beer and this hit has hot them hard. The next summer and winter might determine the future of the micro-brewer in America, who doesn’t have the large corporate backing of large American beer giants.

a week with no beer

2008-03-04T11:18:00.001-08:00

Today is a big day for American politics being that the internal battles of both parties will end once the final delegates are tailed in Texas and Ohio primaries.

The vote today is being labeled as the most decisive since Super Fat Tuesday back in early Feb.

As the last leg of a drawn out beat down campaigning event is a bout to end tonight, bars across the country getting ready to sud up both Republicans and Democrats.

Journalists are all ready beginning to relate the candidate of choice with the voter’s drink of choice, calling Obama supporters “wine drinkers” due to their education and/or affluence.

While Clinton supporters have been low-browed as “beer drinkers: working-class voters who make up the less educated, less affluent base of the party's support.”

Thanks Jonathan Mann; first for low-browning beer drinkers, and second for low-browning beer.

I don’t know what watered down Rust Belt suds you grew up on, or if it was the poor east coast weather left you so feebishly weak that you could not put this ambrosia to your lips.

But where do you get of man; in the words of Eli White, “WTF, mate.”

I know several handfuls of Obama fans that will be drinking beer while we are waiting for the results.

Don’t get me wrong here in Fort Collins we drink our wine, but wine is pricey and hard to satisfy all plates. While beer is the peoples drink.

Beer is what made helped our forefathers get the idea for this country and build up the balls to fight the red coats.

So let’s not label men and women as beer people or wine people because tonight at the bars it won’t matter. In the end we are Americans, mostly, and it’s in our rights as stated in the 21 amendment;

Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Section 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use there in of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

Just as we have the right to bear arms.

2008-02-28T11:30:00.000-08:00

With the odd weather that one day is bone cold and the next summer warm, I needed to find a beer that suited this unpredictable weather. Kamziner Schwarz Weizen was my answer.

This black wheat beer combines the best of both worlds. It has the light body and refreshing feel of a wheat beer but the taste of a porter with stoutly undertones.

The idea for Dunkelweizen’s originated in Germany “Like a Hefeweizen, Dunkelweizen is made from a mixed mash of wheat and barley malts, but unlike a Weissbier, it also contains a large array of lightly to thoroughly caramelized or roasted malts that give it both its color and its complexity.” According to GermanyBeerInstiiute.com
KSW didn’t fall far from that description. The head on this beer was strong and creamy like a stout and the aroma was heavy of coffee. But once I began drinking it I felt light I was drinking a “stout light”.

The body was a creamy highbred of a light beer and a stout. The color was murky from it unfiltered brewing process.

I also mixed the beer with a lighter gold lager in about a 40/60 (KSW/Golden Lager) ratio. The mix took out a bit of the stout taste and mellowed the beer nicely. In all it was a good beer if you like dark or wheat brews, give it a try its quite tasty.

2008-02-26T11:27:00.001-08:00

Two weeks ago (when I went to get Frambozen) I sat with my friend Snake at New Belgium sipping on a couple of the stronger NBBC’s selections, i.e. La Folie, Frambozen, Jonny’s Ale, and Tripple and I got to telling him of a ancient ale call Transatlantique Kriek (TAK). A beer I got my hands on a growler of and never seen again.

At the time (freshmen year) I had no clue what a Kriek Lambic was or why it cost twice the normal growler price. I remember for a couple days not even liking the taste of it, and cursing myself for buying it.

With shame I told Snake I was such a novice then this beer blew Frambozen out of the water. It was stronger in taste, it was golden ale, and it full of cherries!!!

NBBC hasn’t brewed this beer since, due to the extremely time consuming process of making the beer. So with a heavy, beer-logged, heart I told snake of this magical beer most likely to never to grace his lips, nor mine.

But now as I head lodge myself into the European brews for these last weeks of winter I find Three Philosophers Quadrupel (TP) (9.8 % ALC) from Brewery Ommegang in up-state New York. This is the only beer to be made in the same fashion as TAK, and oh man it is good.

The Process of making beer such as TP and TAK are quite complex

First a Kriek Lambic created through spontaneous fermentation in Belgian cellars for at least two years
Then the beer is shipped to across the Atlantic to upstate New York where the brewmasters decide what beer to pair it with, in this case it’s mixed with 98% Gold Ale to 2% Kriek Lambic
Then the beer sits a bit longer letting the flavors mend before it hits the market

This time intensive process pays off. TP took Bronze in the past two World Beer Cups only to be beaten out by Belgian beers. From the first scent after we popped the top this beer never ceased to amaze.

The aroma was thick with cherries and hints of golden ale, OH the Cherries! And the taste was more cherries, with light over tones from the Golden Ale and dark undertone from the yeast and sediment found in the darker Lambic.

This beer is so great, it’s strong, it has a great body and if a beer could-- it would be smart—top of the class, an “A” student. Its deep ruby red color is so beautiful under light. It is my answer to Snake, now he can try a similar beer to the TAK, and you should too.

2008-02-26T11:27:00.000-08:00

an awakening

2008-02-21T11:06:00.000-08:00

For all the food fanatics out their today I impart a slight bit of knowledge on to where the food culture world and beer world intersect almost perfectly.

I am talking about Portland based Rouge Breweries’ Morimoto Soba Ale, named in honor of Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto. This beer unlike most other beers does not build its base off of barley but rather Soba (buckwheat).

Buckwheat is a major ingredient in many Asian cuisines because of its high rate of nutrition, low fat and easy cultivation. But does this make a good beer?

For the initial pour I this beer reminds me of a unfiltered wheat beer. It is very cloudy by indication of the minimal head has a very light body.

While the aroma evokes hints of orange, lemon and general springtime; much like a wheat beer. (But don’t be fooled don’t add orange or lemon wedges)

The beers flavor is good, but like Singha I am drinking this beer out of season. I am coming to realize that like fruit, beer has a definite season.

I believe that strong, deep colored beers with almost minimal carbonation are best for the months between November and February. Then once the snow pack begins to melt some lighter beer with higher carbonation and lighter or fruiter tastes should be drank.

I do enjoy Morimoto but it’s like eating an avocado right now; it’s just not going o be that great. This beer needs to be drunk in the sweltering summer heat after a morning bike ride or during a game of Frisbee Golf, but not now when I need to put on a jacket just to walk to class.

But regardless the beer was good, not great, but I think if you cooked a spicy Asian dish this would be a fine beer to pair it with.

In the future I will try to be more conscious of the beers I drink during this time of season. I think I will keep away from the southern hemisphere and lighter beer for a while.

It’s off to the North! Bring me strong ales, Kriek beers and porters!

2008-02-19T13:04:00.001-08:00

Today I find myself sampling a stout in the most odd place, what’s more odd is that this stout is quite amazing. Lion Stout (8% ALC.) of Sri Lanka is the beer I am referring to.

The Lion brewery was started in the mid-1800’s in response to the demand of colonial tea growers in the region. Lion has gone on to win several gold medals in the international beer arena, and even though it is brewed on the other side of the planet is quite easy to find in many beer stores with extensive international selections.

The beer poured really well. Its color was a rich black which developed a creamy head with even bubbles that lasted quite a while. The aroma of the brew was a complex medley ranging from coco and roasted coffee to caramel and a slightly oliveish hints that I could not put my finger on. As I drank the sent of roasted coffee intensified and a great whiff comes from the bottom of the glass as I tipped it to drink.

The flavor was quite great too. The beer had a light body almost more resembling a dark lager than a Gunnies, but the flavors filled in where the body was lacking. With deep undertones of roasted coffee and subtle hints of toffee that were almost unrecognizable but intensified as they lingered in my cheeks long after I swallowed the first sip.

The beer however did not drink like a strong stout which was a definite disappointment. The light body really failed to round out what could have been a delightfully rich beer.

Lion is great on a cold night right at room temperature. I think this beer to hit its full potential needs first be put n a nitro tap, and second need to mixed 50/50 with Guinness to get that rich creamy body which the beer lacks.

All and all I would say this beer is quite good give it a try it’s only $2.99 for a bomber bottle, quite the deal for such a good beer. If you like Moose Droll you’ll love this beer.

Beer, Food and Buds

2008-02-14T09:49:00.001-08:00

I think the best nights are made by a combination of good friends, good food and good drinks. Now that I find myself in Southeast Asia, I thought I would give my cooking skills a shot and try some new beer along the way.

Back on the road, I find myself drinking Singha beer from Thailand’s first brewery, Boon Rawds. The brewery was established in 1933, the year after Thailand’s non-violent revolution which ousted of the ruling absolute monarchy.

Singha is a lager beer (5% ALC.), the common brew in the hot and humid climate of Southeast Asia. But unlike lagers that are found in Europe and the U.S., this Thai lager has a spicy kick that brings out flavors often untapped in most lagers.

It’s as if this lager was made to complement the flavors curry in Thai cuisine. The bold taste and light body of the beer complements the complex and deep flavor of the Thai species, while the pilsner taste clears the palate after every sip.

As I said earlier the best way to enjoy a fine beer such as Singha is with friend and good food. So here is a recipe for a nice Thai style dish that makes about two serving so if you need more just double everything.

1 chicken breast thawed and chunked
1 cup of “Israeli” Couscous (can be found at Whole Foods in the grains section. it’s nicer because unlike boxed Couscous the balls are nice and plump like little dumplings)
1 can of black beans
1/2 an onion
1 medium tomato
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 lemon
1 jalapeño
1 can of coconut milk
Some curry powder, paprika,
(Optional but recommended) ginger powder, basil, cardamom seeds, cumin and pepper powder (chipotle is recommended but any pepper powder will work)

After you chunk the chicken put it a bowl squeeze the lemon juice onto the chicken then mix it with a heavy dash of curry paprika, ginger powder and pepper powder. Then put it in the fridge and let it sit.

Next make the Couscous by combining it with about of a cup and half of water in a pot, bringing the Couscous to a boil then adding the stained black beans and the coconut milk and turning the heat down to a simmer. Crush the cardamom with the broad end of a knife and add in along with the basil, cumin and some salt.

Then cube the veggies. A trick to the garlic is smash the cloves with the broad end of the knife, this will peel and flatten the garlic making easy to clean and cut.

Once the beans and Couscous have been simmering for about 10 minutes take the chicken and in a buttered pan at high heat braze it a for about 4 minutes. Turn the heat down to about seven or medium-high after the first minute and keep turning the chicken every 30 seconds or so to keep it from burning and to cook it evenly.

After the 4 minutes add the veggies and some slat to “sweat” them. Bring the temperature down to around 5 or medium heat for about 5 minutes and cover.

After five minutes check on the chicken and veggies if the chicken beings to look a bit pruney (like your fingers after you’ve been in a hot tub to long) your on the right rack feel the chicken for give and texture, if it feels soft and not bouncy lower the heat to about 3 or low-medium and let it sit for another 3 minutes.

There you have it Thai curry chicken with some great Thai beer, call your buddies, combine on a plate and enjoy.

I don’t know what I will do next I could head over to the Indian sub-content I hear there is a good stout in Sri Lenka, or I might just hang out around here and soak up the suds.

a week off

2008-02-12T13:14:00.001-08:00

For all those devoted readers of my blog, I apologize I had to go back to Fort Collins this week. There are few things that would cause me to cut the trip short; personal injury, a death of someone I knew and the re-release of Frambozen.

Frambozen is New Belgium’s holiday release that is usually on the shelves between late November and December. The luscious raspberry based beer has a tart taste and smooth texture.

But contrary to NBBC’s Web site which steep Frambozen in Lambic tradition, the beer is not a Lambic. In fact, it is only a fruity brown ale.

“Enjoying Frambozen is much more than drinking a beer, it is a sensory experience full of tradition…inspired by the Framboise beers of Belgium, where the use of raspberries in beer outdates the use of traditional hops.”

Right next to this statement are the ingredients to this beer of which hop are the top one.

According to beeradvocate.com in Lambic beers, “Malt and hop characters are generally low to allow the fruit to consumer the palate.” While in Frambozen hops are the main ingredients.

And even though many Lambic style steps are taken in the brewing and fermentation process, the result is only a fruity brown ale, with hints of Lambic tradition.

Now that I got that off my chest lets talk about the beer.

The re-released batch of Bozen has the same great dark-ruby color and tart aroma of the winter release.

The beer’s flavor seems to have mellowed a bit however. Now instead of an especially tart flavor the beer took on a sweeter near-wine flavor.

The body also seems to have weakened a bit, and the head collapsed quickly. This compounded by the beers low carbonation gave the beer more wine-like qualities and made it quite enjoyable to drink.

If you’re into Frambozen, I would go down to NBBC and grab a growler before they run out. Allegedly, they just had a distributor return a couple keg or something along those lines, but it won’t last long.

From Russia with Love????

2008-02-07T12:55:00.000-08:00

I jumped the Pacific…I feel maybe to preemptively…or maybe this is just the way a foreigner feels in a foreign land, but now I find myself sampling the brews of the former Soviet Union.

Baltika Brewery which brews 11 different beers, numbered 0-10, rather than named. The brewery was established after the fall of the Berlin Wall as a joint entrepreneurial venture involving the Carlsberg and New Castle brewing companies.

The beers are popular around Russia and in the many of the former Soviet states, yet to the refined palate of the Colorado drinker, Baltika #4 Dark Lager’s taste and aromas recall the acridness of an old industrial city.

Things seemed wrong from the start, when I wiped the dust off the bottle in the store, to when I poured it.

While the color was there #4 seemed to pour way to viscously making me think it lacked body and form. The head was also made up of inconsistently sized bubbles that resembled dish soap and collapsed too quickly, leaving the beer flat by mid-glass.

The smell was a beast in its own, and seemed to morph itself from a soy sauce-like odor, right after the beer poured, to a caramel-apple-soy sauce blend about five minutes after the beer settled.

#4’s taste wasn’t far from its smell in both character and quality. At first it tasted like soy sauce, yet eventually it mellowed and began to take on a sweet taste of sour green apples, while hints of soy sauce took a backseat.

To surmise, this beer was strong (not good) on flavor and weak on everything else including its alcohol content, sporting only 5.6%ALC. At times I thought of quitting the wretched excuse for beer, it just didn’t seem worth while. In short the beer is an all around weak disappointment and not worth the calories.

I expected more from a country that demanded an imperial stout but I guess I will just have to keep looking.

Maybe I'll head south, I hear it’s nice this time of year.

Lost in The Abyss

2008-02-05T10:30:00.002-08:00

Like a Johnny who got his gun and was eager to enter combat, I feel I just got a hard slap in the face by the reality of what is out there in the brewing world. In short I got my ass handed to me when, with my ‘fear no beer’ attitude, I cracked open Deschutes Brewery’s Abyss Imperial Stout.

Everything was there to warn me, from the disclaimer on the cooler door that said “two beers per customer”, to the 11% ALC by Vol. rating, and the numerous awards this Everest of beers had won last year when it debuted.

The Abyss is only the second beer to come out of Deschutes ‘Reserve Series’. It has been sitting in oak and charred oak ‘Bourbon Barrels’, brooding if you will, for over a year. It also boasts hints of licorice and molasses, according to the bottle.

From the moment I opened this beer I could tell I might have gotten over my head. As the head began settling into a brown cap over motor-oil looking liquid I got nervous. When I couldn’t smell any fragrance I got curious and had to nearly dip my nose into the Shiitake colored cap of foam.

Then I smelled it, dark and intense aromas of freshly ground coffee lifted into my nostrils as if struggling against gravity. They where joined by rich hint of lighter flavors that seemed to have no place in this beer, but rounded out the aroma with a nice subtlety.

The first sip almost short-circuited my brain, and like a surfer on the crest of a 12 foot face I though “Oh fuck I’ve got to take this,” half scared-to-death half happy as shit that I had made this nine dollar purchase.

The flavor of The Abyss is somewhat like coffee but completely something else at the same time. It was the raw power of beer, as I have never experienced before, at one sip overpowering and dark with a heavily roasted taste. At the next the flavor mellowed a bit, almost like a expensive whiskey, and let new tastes, that I can’t even explain (and most likely am too novice to understand) enter the area.

When I had finished the first glass I felt beat, my mouth was full of lingering strong and exotic tastes. There was enough left for another glass, I poured it and forgot about it, whether consciously or sub-consciously.

About half-an-hour later I felt something staring at me. It was the glass of Abyss it seemed to be looking me down, confident it could win. I battled through the rest of the stout, but felt I had made a mistake.

The Abyss is a great beer it’s exotic even for the rejuvenating category of Imperial Stouts which was almost lost to time. It has introduced me to flavors so deep, so rich and so dark I never though I would find even in a stout. If you can afford this trip I recommend taking it, but know what you’re getting into.

This beer is something more than anything you have ever tried. I would split the cost and the 1 pint 6 ounces with a fellow beer connoisseur, I feel fighting your way through an entire bomber ruins the experience. If I could do it again I would kill the lights, throw on some Tchaikovsky and let my imagination run loose.

All I can say is good luck.

I don’t know where I’ am off to next I feel I have to reassess a bit but I shall overcome!

2008-01-31T11:22:00.000-08:00

On the Road Again
Beer…there have been so few inventions in the time of man (and woman) that have brought so much joy to so many as beer. There is little assembly necessary and anyone from Duke to fool can enjoy this

I must confess however, in my two years of legal drinking I have fallen into the fool’s folly. Although I live one of the largest beer producing states of this great union, unlike other great Israeli explorers of the past, I have not explored the great heights, far reaches and even beers hearts of darkness.

That why I have decided to under take this endeavor, this around the world in 28 beers, if you will, shall see me attempt to sample the sweetest lambic, delve into the darkest stout and try everything in-between, all without leaving Fort Collins.

I will start off with a Fort Collins classic, Fat Tire Amber Ale from New Belgium Brewing Company (5.2% Alc. by Vol.)

The NBBC Web site says, “Fat Tire’s depth of flavor, achieved with neither a disproportionate sway toward hops or malts…”

I must agree with them this beer is solid beer. From its deep amber color, to the aroma that reminds me of all the great brewery smells. Even before the first sip this beer tugs on my memory and reminds me why beer is so great.

If you haven’t had this beer before the first sip is such an eclectic assortment of textures and tastes.

Unlike generic American beer its not overly carbonated and jumpy, rather it rolls over your palate with a smooth confidence that this beer knows what it’s doing, then finds all the crevices of your mouth and tongue, and covers them like melted butter.

The flavor is strong, but not over whelming. There is a distinct taste want to say wood but no 2x4 rather more like the rounded out slightly woody tastes in a wine. There is also a distinct toasty taste but unlike stouts Fat Tire leave a refreshing and light taste behind.

God this beer is good; if you read this go out find this beer, try a sixer and if you want let me know what out think. But as for me, I have been drinking Fat Tire by the pitcher at the Steakout too long. I want something different I want something new!

I think I will head west.