Pork Chops & Chicken

Pretty Things and The Armsby Abbey Present: The "50 Mile" Vegetarian Beer Dinner

I was invited by good friends Dann and Martha Paquette of Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project to attend another beer dinner with them featuring their beers. This concept was very unique and cool. It was called the "50 Mile" Vegetarian Beer Dinner. All of the ingredients used were found from farms with in 50 miles of the Armsby Abbey in Worcester, Ma. The awesome bar and restaurant of some of our other good friends Alec Lopez and Sherri Sadowski. They also own the Dive bar and soon to open a small bakery called Crust next to the Armsby Abbey.

Pretty Things is brewed in Holyoke, Ma. All of the vegetables were picked the day before and on the same day as the dinner. Freshly made cheeses were also found within the 50 mile range. As well as homemade ricotta cheese was made for the dessert course and the butters used in some of the dishes was hand churned by the owner Alec Lopez. Honey was used quite a bit and was found within the 50 mile range from local producers. This was a truly local dinner and fresh beyond belief. You will notice reoccurring themes with flavors and descriptions through out this blog post. Fresh, crisp, refreshing, earthy, sweet and naturally sweet. Between the freshness of the beers and excellent quality of the local produce it was a delicious meal.

This is the way you want to approach vegetarian if you are a hardened carnivore such as myself. The entire menu was filling, rich, flavorful, and you won't find yourself missing meat at all as impossible as that might sound. Best off all the pairings worked really well with beers. This was a scramble for the chefs and owners of the Armsby Abbey as they were getting fresh ingredients last minute. It takes a real knowledge of food to pull it off that close to the wire.

The menu:

The opening began as kind of a mixer. A way to meet new people instead of rigid times and courses. They set out in the middle of the restaurant a raw bar of fresh vegetables, pickled veg., fresh baked breads and crackers made with spent grains from Antul Aleworks, the freshly churned butter, and a goat cheese dip.

 

This course included: Patty Pan Squash from Morse Farm, Purple and Green Peppers from Woodstock Orchards, Cousa Squash, Summer Squash, Broccoli, Heirloom Tomatoes and Cherry Tomatoes from Berberian Farm. 

Served with a creamy chevre dip from Crystal Brook Farm. It was make with roasted heirloom garlic and basil.

House pickled yellow beans from Morse Farm. Cucumbers, beets, zucchini, summer squash, Anaheim peppers, and green beans all from Berberian Farm. They were pickled with Pretty Things Confounded Mister Sisyphus.

House baked french breads and warm brown breads as well as spent grain crackers and the house churned butter with local milk used, were set for this course. A raspberry, honey, and Anaheim pepper preserve was also presented. Honey used in the preserve from Honey Ect.

The beer paired with the fresh vegetable raw bar was Pretty Things American Darling - Good Time Lager. A 7% abv pale lager with Crystal and whole-leaf Hallertau hops in the kettle and dry hopped.

Very clean, refreshing, pale lager with gorgeous hop character. It was fairly humid on this day and starting out with the refreshing beer was a very nice way to kick things off.

{First Image via walknboston}

The joke about this beer is that it's supposed to be the un-lawnmower beer. Where normally after you have mowed the lawn and it's very hot outside you want an ice cold American Lager to slam back and not really take time to appreciate. Pretty Things thinks you should skip the lawn and drink the beer instead. Notice the label has overgrown grass and not freshly cut.

Please take note that all the labels of Pretty Things Beers are hand drawn by Dann Paquette.

My absolute favorite were the beets. In the very first picture of this post, I love how it came out nearly angelic and ethereal because these pickled beets were fabulous. I love how fresh and delicious they were, earthy and dirty tasting and fantastic. Ever since the L'Espalier Beer Monday Beer Dinner, I can't get enough of them. And knowing that they were picked the day before and now on my plate was a wonderful thing.

I also found the American Darling was a classic example of lightly hopped and freshly crisp ales work with simple things like fresh tomatoes and basil. Pale ales/lagers work just as well as Czech Pilsners. It's the same concept. The fresh hops, light but sweet malts and crisp carbonation allow the sweet flavors of these delicious tomatoes to pop. It's just so fresh and gorgeous you can't beat it. It's so simple and clean, it's the epitome of a classic and easy pairing. As simple as it is, there simply isn't a way to do this pairing any easier or better.

 

First Course: 

Arugula and Black Seeded Simpson from Berberian Farm, fresh nectarines picked at Tougas Farm dressed in a basil-honey vinaigrette made with Pretty Things American Darling and Wildflower Honey from Honey Ect. Topped off with Westfield Farms Classic Blue Goat Cheese and served a spent-grain crisp from Antul Aleworks. Paired with Pretty Things American Darling.

This course was paired again with the American Darling, but it was a simple transition and we only had 5 beers to work with. The nectarines were so tasty and ripe. Again this is where the hop balance and crisp carbonation balance with the sweet ripened nectarines, the earthy, raw, dirty, green taste of the arugula allowed for the malts to come out and play and sweeten the dish. The basil-honey vinaigrette was barely noticeable sadly, but all of the other flavors were fairly dominant for such a light dish. 

The goat cheese I have to admit was a little rough for me. The blue rind was completely overwhelming to my palate. But having said that, I have a sensitive palate to blue cheeses. The center was fine for me though as it still carried delicious fresh lemon and goat cheese flavors with the blue still permeating the center. The hops in beers are what make beer and cheese pairings so wonderful. The alpha acids cutting right through the creamy texture allowing the raw flavors of both the beer and the cheese to come out. From the grains in the beer to the grasses and leaves the goats fed on.

Normally for something so blue you would want to go bigger with the hops and malts. A double IPA for example. But in this case the rest of the ingredients helped tone down the cheese and make it all wonderfully balanced. 

The cracker was salty and a little buttery tasting, loaded with earthy tasting spent grains. A nice way to break up the textures on the plate.

I could have just had nectarines and American Darling for the rest of the night and been happy.

 

Second Course:

Creamy baked corn and chevre pudding. Featuring chevre from Crystal Brook Farm, green pepper from Morse Farm, butter/sugar corn and scallions from Berberian Farm topped with Cilantro.

Paired with Pretty Things Confounded Mister Sisyphus. A 7% abv golden ale with a bright orange color, loaded yeasts and bacterias, and Vienna-style lager malts, leafy hops and grains.

With no meat in sight, I was not complaining or missing it one bit at this point in the dinner. This corn and chevre pudding was delicious. Sweet corn sugars and salty cheese flavors from the creamy blended in goat cheese balanced this dish. The only issue with the dish for me personally was the cilantro. You either love it or you hate it. To me it was completely overwhelming because the flavors were so robust as the cilantro was very fresh. It was on top of the dish so thankfully I was able to push it off. That doesn't mean it ruined this dish. I was able to eat little bits of it with the dish and understand the flavor profiles and why it was used for this dish. Little doses are good for me, otherwise it would be like eating soap if there was anymore on it. For me anyway.

 

{First Image via walknboston}

Confounded Mister Sisyphus was a crisp clean beer made with Hungarian Balaton Cherries grown in Michigan. This beer initially had a light peppery taste going on for me. That is an effect that can be produced by some of the natural bacterias used in this beer.

{Eric and Ann Starbard of Crystal Brook Farm.}

The cherries were very subtle. Some can either taste while others might not get the flavors at all. Despite having fruit in it, Dann was careful not to make this a fruit beer. To me I noticed quite a bit of the cherries as it warmed closer to room temp. They became more pronounced and not overwhelmed by the strong flavors of the chevre and the corn. The sweet corn brings out the lager malts instead of trumping it. The beer also had a dry tannin finish that was able to add more depth to the creamy goat cheese. Again the same efect of the carbonation and hops cutting into the cheese and allowing that rich lemony flavor to come out. If you were lucky enough to have tried this beer or have a bottle of it you might be sitting on, enjoy while you can as Dann will no longer be making this beer. It's time for them to move on in their ranges of beer and add more to their profile.

Alec said we would be confused by this dish, as none of these flavors would seem like they would work at all. Goat cheese, cherries in the beer and hops, with sweet corn and cilantro. Yet somehow it more than worked. 

Mr. Sisyphus' Bed Time Story:

A gentle breeze blew through the forest. The leaves fluttered, and the ripe cherries on the Sisyphus tree bumped against one another. Then all was still. A tiny, contented sigh then came. It would only have been audible to a bird close by, or perhaps a child standing amongst the blossoms near the ground. But a sigh it was, and a most extraordinary sigh, for it came from Mr. Sisyphus.

If you stand at the bottom of the Sisyphus tree, close in beside the trunk where leaves surround you, and gaze up into its depths, you might notice that amongst all the cherries hanging there, one is not quite the same as all the others. Perhaps you will notice a tiny foot, a twig-like hand, or even, if your crane your neck, an eyeball twinkling there amongst the hanging balls of fruit. Unpluckable, never picked by hand, nor pecked by bird, nor pitted and preserved in a pie. Never to fall gently and bounce on soft moss, to be planted and grow again. For there hangs Mr. Sisyphus, the cherry who cannot fall.

Third Course:

Lightly seasoned, roasted corn bisque featuring sweet butter/sugar corn and leeks from Berberian Farm, heirloom breakfast onions from Rachel's Garden and an assortment of herb roasted potatoes from Morse Farm, served with squash fritters made with a variety of locally grown squash and Smith Farm extra sharp cheddar. 

 

{Image via uplandporter}

Paired with Pretty Things Jack D'Or. A 6.45 % abv American style saison. An American farm house style ale with a fairly big hop presence. The big hops being so typically American now. Oh and it's pronounced Jack "Door" not Jack "Dior." I know, that apostrophe makes it seem likes it sounds like the famed Fashion designer Christian Dior. But it's not. D'Or = Door.

More glorious sweet corn. A hint of mint added to this dish just to keep it curious. It added a barely there cooling effect to the hot corn bisque. The sweet natural sugars made the mint pop. The fitter was dipped in a batter with spent-grains and corn meal and added this unique raw grain character that was totally unexpected and quite delicious. The cheddar was lightly there but a nice hint of it in the fritter added a nice saltiness to the dish. 

This dish was hearty. I couldn't even imagine a meat course after this and we still had two more courses to go.

The beer again was fitting a pattern of fresh clean summery beers. An American Saison with beautiful hop characters that are rarely seen on sasion styles. Crisp and refreshing, Jack D'Or was the kick off beer to Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project. (Not at all like Russian Budweiser! An inside joke that I am quite sure has mortified Dann as it has made it's way into this post.)

The pairing worked really well together. Potatoes, onions and grainy squash fritter all made the malts come into to play while the carbonation cleaned the palate and let the hops and sweet natural sugars of the corn play together on the palate.

Fourth Course:

Homemade whole wheat popover filled with locally foraged sauteed Black Trumpet and Chicken of the Woods mushrooms, house made butter, baby sweet onions from Morse Farm, carrot and parsnip mint puree and St. Botolph's blanched green beans from Berberian Farm.

Paired with Pretty Things St. Botolph's Town. A 5.7 % American brown ale ode to English-style, more specifically Yorkshire brown ales. The story of St. Botolph's Town is much better told through Dann and Martha. Read about it here.

First thing to say about this course was that the chicken of woods mushrooms tasted just like chicken with the same exact texture of sliced chicken breast. It even looked like chicken. It kind of freaks you out a bit. I can only imagine a vegan or strict vegetarian eating these. It tricks the mind. 

The popover was sweet due to the whole wheat flour. The green beans were by far my favorite, but had more of a butter taste than it did a beer taste. And more sweetness from the carrot and parsnip puree with mint. Though this time the mint didn't add that curious cooling effect it had on the third course. This course was rich and filling as the mushrooms texture tasted like and sat like chicken.

{First Image via walknboston}

The deep, rich malts on the beer and slightly dry finish really enhanced this dish. The sweet flavors from the carrots and parsnip mint puree brought out the huge roasted malts on the beer. The malts taste like rich bitter chocolate malts.

This is another course where I would have been happy with just the beans and the beer for the rest of the evening. My stuffed belly would have agreed but alas we had one more course to go.

 

The Palate Cleanser:

Freshly picked blackberries from Tougas farms. Blackberry sorbet made with honey and Confounded Mister Sisyphus.

 

Fifth Course:

House made ricotta sweetened with Wildflower Honey set in a crust of spent-grain and whole wheat flour, topped with caramelized peaches from Tougas Farm and a glaze made with Baby Tree served with a lavender infused whipped cream.

Paired with Pretty Things Baby Tree. A Belgian-style quadruple 8.7% abv made with California dried plums.

Starting with the fact that no sugar was added to this course, it filled a need for a rich sweet dessert after all the savory courses. The natural sugars of the peaches tamed the big bright malts of the beer. The ricotta tart had a very dry texture that wiped the slate/palate clean with every bite. I didn't like the texture at first but the cleaning effect it had gave way for the prunes to become more pronounced on the beer.

   

{First image via walknboston}

The lavender house made whipped cream and honey-Baby Tree glaze just made you want to dip your fingers in it.... Okay more like pick up the plate and lick it clean.

Baby Tree is one of my favorite beers from Pretty Things. It's a delicious Quad that is so fresh and drinkable. My palate has seemed to have left behind the big sweet malt bombs and sugary sweet Belgian candy sugar beers. So when something balanced and clean, not cloying comes along like this, I am all over it. Again the natural fruit sugars made this beer refreshing and delightful to end the evening with.

And to finish the night off a poem about the Baby Tree:

 

Participating farms:

Gibson Dairy Farm (Worcester, Ma.) Organic local eggs, cream and milk.

Berberian Farm (Northboro, Ma.) Cucumbers, beets, cousa squash, summer squash, zucchini, broccoli, arugula, black seeded simpson, scallions, parsnips, green beans, Anaheim peppers, dill, basil, cilantro, mint, butter/sugar corn, heirloom, beefsteak, and cherry tomatoes.

Michael Porter's Garden (South Grafton, Ma.) Fresh lavender.

Tougas Farm (Northboro, Ma.) Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, peaches, nectarines. 

Westfield Farms (Hubbardston, Ma.) Classic Blue Chevre

Morse Farm (Southbridge, Ma.) Patty pan squash, green peppers, baby sweet onions, yellow beans, heirloom garlic, carola, red creamer, yellow finn and yukon creamers potatoes.

Woodstock Orchards (Woodstock Ct.) Purple and green peppers.

Rachel's Garden (Moosup, Ct.) Heirloom breakfast onions.

Duhamel's Garden (Woodstock, Ct.) Carrots.

Smiths Farm (Winchendon, Ma.) Extra sharp cheddar.

Crystal Brook Farm (Sterling, Ma.) Chevre.

Honey Ect. (Princeton, Ma) Wildflower honey.

Antul Aleworks (Worcester, Ma.) Spent grain.

Wayside Inn Gristmill (Sudbury, Ma.) Whole wheat flour and corn meal.

 

Dann and Martha Paquette and Alec Lopez discussing the beers and farms and ingredients between each course.

Beer Monday @ L'Espalier August 17

I originally wanted to title this post "Why fine dining restaurants should always be more receptive to beer." Why? Because they always far and away exceed their expectations with the parings. Master chefs and their knowledge of food and understandings of flavors are not far off from brewers hand crafting beer. It's a little more than just waiting for grapes to ripen.

Beer Monday is normally Wine Monday at L'Espalier. They offer a dinner with featured wine pairings. This particular Monday was dedicated to beer and was titled "Quit your wine-ing, it's beer!" This was put together by sommelier Erich Schliebe. Erich is also a lover of beer and working on learning more and exploring more of the world of beer.

An interesting note to make here, during the introductions for this dinner, he mentioned that part of the reason L'Espalier was interested in beer as one of the ways to liven up the restaurant and possibly help draw in a younger crowd. This is not the first time I have heard this. Upstairs On The Square in Harvard Sq. also went through something similar. In order to entice a younger, more hip crowd, they are finding themselves turning to beer to do it. We couldn't be more pleased to hear this. It's a good tactic to use. But for us, the folks who own BeerAdvocate.com, we think beer and fine food speaks for itself and should be the focus drawing in crowds of all ages. The explanation of fine foods and ingredients, the care and craft put into each dish should be the same tactic used when talking about beer and how it's made when opening up this new world to people.

 

We started our first course off with Victory Brewing Company's Prima Pils 5.3% abv. paired with Pastrami carpaccio with macaroni salad and roasted beets.

 

This is a perfect lighter offering to  a summer beer dinner. The beets were out of this world fantastic. They acted almost like a palate cleanser to the dish. I always forget how good they can be and this was a perfect reminder. And the splash of color always adds eye catching interest. The macaroni salad was simple and flavored with nice spices. The pastrami is made local from Chef Frank McClelland's organic farms where he is an advocate for locally grown vegetables, herbs and naturally cared for livestock. It was perfectly peppered and added right amount of salt balance to the dish.

 

Victory's Prima Pils has no doubt, been the beer of the summer. It's a near perfect American Pilsner. I emphasize American because the hop balance on this beer has a much bigger kick than a typical Euro pilsner despite being made with German and Czech hops. For me this is a good thing as I live for hops. But it's clean, refreshing, and served cold. All the things you want in a beer when it's so hot outside. Monday was particularly humid as well.

The hops in the beer worked well with the beets and and macaroni salad. Hops have the ability to cut right through fats and oils so this helped with the macaroni salad and the pastrami. The salt in the pastrami allowed the sweetness of the malts in the Prima Pils to stand up a bit more as well.

I didn't want this course to end as simple as it was. You don't need to be too extravagant when your working with easy summer ingredients.

Our next course was Westmalle Tripel 9.5% abv paired with Duck Leg Confit and sweet corn relish.

 

With duck being a fatty meat, and prepared as confit which is generally soaked in it's own rendered fat, it's easy to see why this pairing worked out. The effervescent carbonation in this case helps cut through the fats. In other circumstances it's the alpha acids in hops that cut through the oils.

The sweet candy sugars helped draw out the natural sweetness of the corn and red peppers. The light use of cilantro acted as a palate cleanser. But the fats of the duck actually brought out more of the very subtle hop notes on this beer. Hops are not typically the dominate flavors of a triple. The steel-y metallic malts and sugars are the dominant flavors coupled with the grains. This was a most excellent effect to the pairing. But an curious note was that the meat soaked in rendered duck fat was perfect with this beer, but the fatty skin actually didn't work as well. The skin is usually where all the fat is. But when I bit into the skin and sipped the beer the strong alcohols overwhelmed the palate. That is usually a sign of a bad marriage between the pairings. Curious that it was only for the one bit of the skin. Otherwise this pairing again hit all the right marks.

 

Westmalle Triple known as the "Mother of all Triples" is a classic interpretation of the traditional Belgian Trappist ales.

From their website:

The Westmalle Tripel is indeed called the “mother of all tripels”. This type of beer was first brewed in Westmalle abbey in 1934 when the new brewing hall came into use. The current formula has stayed practically unchanged since 1956, thus more than 50 years.

Usually a triple means it has triple the candy sugars added to it during fermentation. More sugars means more happy yeast and higher alcohol content as a waste product of the yeast.

This beer is one of the finest examples there is of a Triple. It's clean and not too cloying, crisp and refreshing.

The main course was presented with Weihenstephaner Hefeweissebier Dunkel 5.3% abv. paired with grilled lamb with red pepper pesto and pommes fondant.

This is almost a no brainer when it comes to brown ales and lamb. Deep dark, sweet malts (especially if they are roasted malts) in brown ales and the flavor of lamb is perfection to the palate. With dunkelweissen's you are getting more spices that come into play. The typical banana nose, and spicy flavors sweetened by dark malts played with this dish. The red pepper pesto was sweet and delicious. And this time the potato was the acting palate cleanser of the dish. 

There was one minor issue with this dish. The meat was slightly over cooked and a little dry. It was presented medium rare to more medium. It should have been served more rare. This did not effect the taste of the pairing and it still worked extremely well. 

 

As the label indicates, it is one of the oldest breweries in the world. Originally a Benedictine Monastery brewery, now a brewery owned by the freestate of Bavaria. It deserves more than a few sentences written about it, so read a little about them here: Total Beverage Solution.

This beer had all the classic hallmarks of a beautiful dunkelweissen. Hazy rich brown coloring, sweet banana nose and a creamy texture that made it close to banana pudding, but the caramel notes made it more like rich bananas fosters. 

 

Founders Cerise Cherry Fermentated Ale 6.5% abv. with Cherry clafouti with crème fraîche. 

All hail the season of the cherry. Cherries have been very popular this summer. From my friends on FoodBuzz geeking about getting new cherry pitter kitchen tools, to everyone baking their own Cherry Clafouti's, to my obsession this summer with Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream. It is definitely that time of year.

This dessert was perfectly balanced. The crème fraîche was nice and tart and a little sourish, almost like sour cream which I thought was so delicious with the sweet and buttery clafouti. Also the balance on the dessert matched really well with the beer as the exact same sweet and tart notes were happening with the beer. This dessert actually brought out more of the cherry flavors on the beer and tamed it's malts. It was also nice and light, nearly custard like with good plump cherries in it. Not nearly as heavy as it looks in the picture. Which was a good thing after the previous rich courses.

 

This lovely pink ale defines a big fruit beer. Made with Michigan tart cherries and loaded with big malts, it tastes almost like cherry pie filling. Not thick and syrupy though. That's certainly not a bad thing for me. The crème fraîche helped tone down a bit of the malts and allow more of the actual tart cherry flavors to pop. Took down that cherry pie filling taste and allowed it to taste more like a lambic sans the acid burn a lambic can leave on your throat if it's too sour. Quite enjoyable for me to say the least as I am too sensitive to unbalanced ph levels.

Over all this was a lovely pairing and a perfect way to end the night.

And once presented with a the check, they sent us lovely little house made jellies and chocolates. White peach jellies, like a pâte de fruit topped with a raspberry and thyme marshmallow. And house made mint chocolates.

 

When food is carefully thought out, from ingredients, to preparation and presentation, it's no wonder you can see why beer can be and very much is the perfect compliment. The same thought out carefulness that goes into these lovely dishes, is the same carefulness that goes into making craft beer. And with the range shown in this one beer dinner of the versatility and variety that can be accomplished with beer, it's no wonder it's foods perfect compliment indeed.

I challenge more fine dining establisments to reach out and be more adventerous with their pairings. It's cool, it's delicious, and makes perfect sense.

Southern Dirty Shrimp In Beer Sauce With Corn Bread

My first time cooking with shrimp and it was a massive success. This is a southern recipe. Deep down dirty south. Even though this is my own recipe, I kept it true to form until the end. I made a few slight modifications that in my opinion helped rock this dish. I added BBQ sauce and flour to thicken and add even more flavor to my sauce. "Dirty" can be a way to describe southern and creole food, a way to describe the south in general, and in this case it has a double meaning of dirty south and dirty hands. You have to peel the shrimp and getting glorious beer sauce all over your hands that must be licked off not wiped off with a napkin.

The reason this recipe came to be was excess skillet corn bread I made with Sticky BBQ Chicken. So to get rid of it, I decided Dirty shrimp would be the way to go. A long gone BBQ joint in Boston called the Linwood Grill was my inspiration for this recipe. They Made a PBR dirty shrimp bowl that was out of this world.

Also, the call to use Pabst Blue Ribbon proves yet again that there is a time and a place for every beer. I am sure many beer geeks will dispute that, but I haven't got time for their beer snobbery. Not when I made this awesome recipe.

Recipe for Knock Off House Of Blues Skillet Corn Bread. Make this recipe in advance as it takes a while to bake.



Dirty BBQ Shrimp

Ingredients:

2 # Shrimp uncooked (Peeled optional)
1 cup butter
1 white onion chopped
1 tbls. chopped garlic
splash of lemon juice
4 tsp. thyme
4 tsp. oregano
3 bay leaves
3 tsp Oldbay seasoning
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 tbls. worcestershire sauce
16 oz or 2 cups Pabst Blue Ribbon (1 Tall Boy)
2/3 cup sweet and tangy BBQ sauce
1/2 cup flour or 2 to 4 tbls. cornstarch



In a separate bowl combine all dry spices.

 

In a large pot melt the butter and add the onions and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until onions become translucent. Add a splash of lemon juice and the worcestershire sauce to the onions while the onions are cooking.




 

Add the shrimp, spices and beer to the pot and simmer. By not peeling the shrimp, the beer gets trapped with the meat and holds on to the flavor better.



Let the shrimp simmer in the spices and beer until the shrimp becomes a little firm and pink. Once the shrimp is fully cooked, add BBQ sauce and flour and allow sauce to thicken a little bit. Remove bay leaves and rosemary stems.

 

In a flat bowl, place cornbread in the center and smother with shrimp and sauce. Serve hot and with lots of napkins. Don't be afraid to get your hands in it and peel the shrimp and lick the sauce off!

Captains Meeting / BBQ At The Fishers

We had a post festival captains meeting at our good friends house the Fishers last Thursday. Post beer festival meeting with the captains who graciously help me run the show. We just had the BeerAdvocate American Craft Beer Festival at the Seaport and World Trade center in Boston in June. We normally host them at the BCA in the South End but to a much smaller gathering. This festival at the Seaport was nearly ten thousand people.

This was a hard fest to pull off, but we made it and now my captains and I needed to unwind and talk it out. But not without beers and a little BBQ first!

 

 

We started out with some spreads and dips which sadly I didn't get a picture of. Then Matt McGrath, who had been quietly working on the grill, presented us with some homebrews. It was a 2005 Belgian style triple. He paired it with grilled stuffed apricots wrapped in prosciutto.It was stuffed with blue cheese and walnuts. This pairing was delicious although a tad messy as the apricots were super soft. The beer had aged nicely as it was well rounded on the edges. No sharp steel-y malt tastes but a light and crisp tripel with subtle notes of citrus. It was very soft and delicate but again delicious. Keeping all the sample glasses from past festivals serves it's purpose well.



While Matt was grilling the apricots her also had been roasting fresh garlic in Schlenkerla Urbock on the grill. Then he mashed/pureed it for a dip. It wound up being great on the burgers.

 

Other foods being served were onion burgers with cheese, teriyaki marinated chicken strips, and hot dogs made by Adam Fisher and Abby Williamson. My Baked Beans with Maple Bacon. Sauteed Kale with a spicy butternut squash puree made by Alana Rivera. And an onion, tomato, and basil tart made by Tyler Hougaboom.

   

 

Then we enjoyed homebrews from Adam along with my Dried Tart Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies with pecans and almond extract.

Adam served us with:

10W40 - approx. 17% Abv. - Its loosely based off of a Foriegn Extra Stout. Brewed on 11/24/02 and bottled on 5/8/03.

10W40 Take 2 - 15% Abv. - Don't remember exactly but this one had some weird sugars in it like Molasses, Honey, etc. Brew on 11/23/03 and bottled on 4/21/04.

Really good stuff!

So that's how we roll. A mellow low-key BBQ with some awesome homebrews, good food, and great friends around.

Modified Fish Tacos With Pineapple And Papaya Coleslaw And Sopa Fideo

Yep I made beer battered fish tacos. I am a bad ass.

I have decided to cook more verses baking sweets and desserts. I am through being intimidated with actual cooking. I can do anything in a kitchen, the harder it seems the easier it is for me. But for some reason I avoid cooking actual meals and bake instead. Silly.

So in an effort to take more control of my kitchen I made fish tacos. And even better, I modified this recipe for a much more suitable outcome.

For this recipe I will only link the original source. A lot of it is intact but I will reference every thing I have changed with an asterisk.

Also included in this recipe, is a recipe for Sopa Fideo. My brother-in-law used to make this all the time. I thought it would be good for a side dish to the fish tacos. That's why you will see other ingredients in the picture below.



Fish Tacos with Pineapple and *Papaya Coleslaw

   By Matthew Goudge and Modified by Candice Alström


Ingredients:

For the coleslaw: Make 2 hours in advance

*1 cup of cabbage, shredded (I used 2 cups coleslaw mix)

*1 cup of red cabbage, shredded

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

*1/2 cup canned cubed pineapple with juice

*1/2 cup fresh Papaya skinned and cubed or 1 half small papaya

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon mustard

 

Mix all of the ingredients for the coleslaw in a large bowl and let sit in the refrigerator for several hours to let the flavors combine.

For the fish:

*Fresh Cod cut in to 6 to 8 two inch pieces

*2 cups all purpose flour

*2 cups  or one 16oz Tall Boy Narragansett Lager

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons onion powder

Oil for frying

8 corn tortillas for serving

 

Mix the flour, beer, egg, salt, baking powder, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder into a bowl until it has the consistency of pancake batter. Dip each piece of fish in the batter and then put aside so the batter sets.

*I dropped the fish in the batter and left it in there until my grease heated to proper temp. The original recipe called for rice flour. I used the 2 cups and found my self still using all purpose flour to thicken the batter and actually make a real batter. The rice flour was gritty and terrible. I didn't mind it as much blended but it still had a gritty texture. Skip it and use regular all purpose flour. Just make sure your batter has the right consistency and is not too thick or runny.

Also, the use of Narragansett was the right beer for this batter. Something highly carbonated and tasty. So many people (Beer Geeks) think they have to use extravagant beers when cooking. You absolutely can, but why not drink the good stuff and use the cheap stuff for the cooking? Not that Narragansett isn't worthy of drinking. Unless you need a beer with a specific flavor, like when I used a raspberry beer for Belgian Raspberry Brownies with Espresso Ganache. But we're talking about a beer batter here. Blonde ales or effervescent carbonated beers work just fine. Narragansett is a classic cheap lager that tastes great and added good flavor for this batter. And being in 16 oz tall boys, it's perfect for the recipe calling for two cups.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees or medium high heat. Fry each piece of fish until golden brown and cooked, about 6 minutes. Remove to a paper towel and sprinkle with salt.

For the sauce:

1/2 cup ranch dressing

3 tablespoons taco seasoning

2 teaspoons sugar

To make the sauce, mix the ranch and the taco seasoning right before serving the fish tacos.

Wrap the corn tortillas in a wet towel and microwave for 30 seconds to make them pliable. Use two tortillas to form the shell instead of one. Fill the taco with two pieces of fish then add a heaping pile of slaw and top with sauce.

 

 

Sopa Fideo

Ingredients

8 oz Fideo or Italian Vermicelli (I mixed the vermicelli with small pasta)
1 8 oz can plain tomato sauce
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tsp chili powder
2 tbls canola oil



In a small pan add canola oil and heat on medium to medium high heat. Add pasta to the oil and coat with the oil until pasta begins to brown.



Add half of the can of tomato sauce and 1 cup of chicken stock to the pasta. Add spices and stir. Cook until pasta has soaked up nearly all liquids.

Add rest of tomato sauce and stock and and simmer for ten minutes until thick and creamy like. Remove from heat serve hot.

Savor Washington D.C. 2009

Okay I am finally ready to blog about Savor in D.C. I have been avoiding this blog post. Not for any reason in particular though. I just haven't felt like blogging until after the American Craft Beer Festival was over. For those of you who don't know, I manage the BeerAdvocate.com beer festivals and help organize them as well as staff the volunteers for the festivals. The ACBF needed over 300 volunteers. So there was a lot to do and I just didn't feel like blogging. But now that it is all over, I am back!

The deal with Savor. Savor was created to highlight food and beer pairings at a finer level by the Brewers Association. They began this event last year over a 2 day period showcasing fine foods paired with exceptional craft beers. This year they only had the event on one day.

As someone who hosts beer dinners for a living through BeerAdvocate.com, I am always interested in the various interpretations and presentations of beer and food combination's. Also, BeerAdvocate.com happens to be one of the sponsors for this event. And for what this event costs ($95 a head) it's good to be a sponsor.

Here is a list of the participating breweries this year.

Breweries for Savor

And the list of food and the food and beer pairings.

Menu

Pairings



When we first arrived, we were hustled around the side of the National Building Museum to the VIP entrance and didn't have to wait in the massive line.

 

I was able to get inside with only a few moments to snap some pictures before the guests entered.



Cheese and accouterments.



Flying Fish Brewing Co. Abbey Dubbel with Moroccan Spiced Lamb Burgers and Exit 4 American Trippel with Cherrywood Grilled Steak Skewers.



Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA with Grilled Beef Skewers with Fire and Spice. Merry Monk's Ale Belgian Style Tripel with Flautas De Pato.



Smuttynose Brewing Co. with Passion Fruit-Mango Mousse cups and Gravitation Quad with Black Bean and Shitake Mushroom Quesadillas.

 

Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. Xtra Gold American Tripel with Maryland Crab Cake Sliders (I am giggling at the "Contains Shellfish" warning on the sign. Their effing crab cakes! Come on people.) Captains Reserve Imperial IPA with Maytag Blue Cheese.

Boscos Brewing Co. Ghost River Hefeweizen with Chicken Breast A La Blanche De Chambly (Sauce is made with Unibroue's Blanche De Chambly, a white ale made in Canada.) Ghost River Golden with Grilled Beef Skewers with Fire and Spice.

 

A few extras I spied lingering around. Kingsbury Chocolates Espresso cups. I am not sure which cheese this is. It's either gouda or gruyere with roasted red peppers. The chocolate was by the Great Divide Table though not the right pairing it went with the Espresso Oak Aged Yeti (Imperial Stout) that Great Divide had.

More beef skewers. Boring. But the beers were not boring at all. Sexual Chocolate is awesome.

Nice fatties. Chesapeake Bay oysters.

Espresso Sambuca Parfaits

Crystal shot glasses layered with Sambuca flavored cream
Spiked with chocolate bits
Topping an espresso pudding
Garnished with striped chocolate sticks and a delicate chocolate wafer.

That is Alec Lopez's hand from The Dive Bar and The Armsby Abbey holding this cup for display. I wanted to explain what this was according to the description. This was more like some espresso jello with cream on top. While it tasted fantastic, the texture was a little creepy.

This was to be paired with Schafly's Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout.

Jicama and Green Papaya summer rolls with Schafly's Oak aged Barleywine.

Sprecher Abbey Triple with Vegetarian Samosas.

 

Breckenridge Brewing Co. 471 IPA with Andouille Sausage en croute.

 

Sierra Nevada Brown Saison with Shrimp Satay and ginger.

Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale with Southwestern Black Bean Soup.

 

Heiner Brau Maerzen with Pulled Pork BBQ sliders.

 

Avery Brewing Co. Brabant Barrel Aged Wild Ale with Open Faced Tenderloin Paninis. Since the ones at Avery were decimated, I found them again at the Capitol City Brewing Co. (Arlington) paired their Amber Waves Ale. They even had the Scallop Burgers with Cilantro Lime Mayo too.

And who could pass up Russian River? I just wanted the Pliny the Elder. I didn't care about the pairings, plus they looked like shit by the time I got over there. I just wanted to say hi to Natalie and Vinnie. Vinnie Cilurzo is arguably the man who created the Double IPA craze in the states and makes one of the best in the country. 

And last but not least Allagash. I started with the Passion Fruit-Mango cups and I ended with them. They were delicious and pretty.

 

Over all the experience was good, but I have to say the food was rather disappointing. The event cost $95 per person. And the food was repeated over and over at various tables. I only took pictures when I saw something new. But the amount of beer and brewers and repeated food was staggering.

The food quality was okay, but I still think that even if they had no choice but to repeat the food, it should have been awesome. It was okay but basically it was wedding appetizer food and nothing was really extraordinary.

The beer and the selections were great. But this event is supposed to be a food and beer event. If I were a foodie, or a novice to beer trying to understand this event or the hype around food and beer, I wouldn't get it. I would think this is one expensive ass happy hour.

I am not trying to impugn the efforts that the Brewers Association went through to make this event happen, but it could have been 100 times better and I will tell you why.

Last year they had much more variety or maybe it was just a higher caliber of food. But the problem with last years event, it was held on two days and at times where everyone was starving. 5pm on Friday, 12 and 5 pm on Saturday. As soon as everyone entered the venue the food was wiped out. All the pairings were wrong on each table because they had to scramble to replace what was wiped out with pairing food from other places.

Again as a novice to beer or foodie, I wouldn't have understood it. Since nothing matched, and everything was replaced with Elbow chocolates and duck purses. It would have just seemed like an expensive way to spend the afternoon with snacks and beers.

This year they had one shot to get it right. One session, 7:30 until 11pm. They handled the amount of food okay but it wasn't all that for the price. I suppose if you look at it as an all you can eat and drink for $95 bucks, I guess that's a good deal, but the purpose of this event wasn't supposed to be a free for all. It was supposed to be an awesome food and beer event. It was only okay and only the beer was stellar.

The side events around Savor were much better. The Lupulin Reunulin event at RFD the day before Savor was awesome. BeerAdvocate.com had held a pub crawl all day leading up to this event. This event was a speaker panel of the "Big Dicks" moderated by the ever so lovely Julie Johnson of All About Beer. Ken Grossman and his son Brian of Sierra Nevada joined in on the action too.

The "Big Dicks" are a bunch of brewers we like to call the cool kids, the popular guys in the industry. Sam (Levi's) Calagione of Dogfish Head, (Pretty Boy) Adam Avery of Avery Brewing Co., Rob (Dirty) Tod of Allagash, Tomme (You ruined my beer, now I hate you!) Arthur of Lost Abbey, and Vinnie (Where the fuck is RR in Mass.?) Cilurzo of Russian River (not pictured because his ass was late to the party). Everyone talks about their beers, everyone wants to meet them and hang out with them.

It's all good fellas and all in love. Really, I am good friends with all of them, but I have to bust their balls. Each one of their nick names is an inside joke. Except for Sam who really was a Levi's Jeans model back in the day. It's okay to ask him about that too.

With this event we tasted 16 beers and listened to this panel discuss the beers and drink them together. It was an awesome event. We noticed everyone around us was smashed by the end of this event, and I couldn't help but think what pussies when I had been on a pub crawl all day and was barely buzzed. I had to laugh at that.

One guy nearly got his ass kicked by me during this event though. He was rudely shooshing us and I mean being a straight up bitch about it, those who were standing in the back of the room. It was a social event, drinks were flowing, how can you expect people to be dead silent? And on top of that it wasn't even that bad or loud. I told this douche bag, whom was so rude and pretty much deserved a beat down, that he was rude after the event. He got holier than thou saying he spent $40 bucks to get into the event. Big Hairy Deal! I spent $40 bones too. So did everyone else. I made Alec Lopez and Sherri Sadowski owners of The Dive Bar and The Armsby Abbey, laugh out loud when the crybaby was still crying about the price, I told him "I will fuck you up" right to his face. I meant it too. He was such a bitch for that. Alas he didn't spoil the night, the mood, or all of my fun.

I am not really that hardcore to fight a guy, but I did want to dump beer all over this guys head. Sadly though, it is true that I do have a foul mouth.

But that night was not about crybabies. It was a fun gathering of friends and industry folk. Lots of laughing and information about these beers being discussed. And the "Big Dicks" cutting it up on stage.

After Savor on Saturday, it was also Adam Avery's 50th 43rd birthday. I left Savor early with the Ladies Of Cambridge Commons from Boston. We went and got a drink or six. Then Todd Alström (my husband) called me to tell me everyone was at Matchbox. So I headed over there.

On the way over I got into a dance battle with some Queens on the streets of D.C. They were clearly humoring me, but then we broke out into Voguing and the shit got serious fast. But I won! Ya Betta Ax Somebody! Totally true story. I battled and won for my peeps!

Then I met up with Sherri (I thought her name was hot ass bitch the entire weekend. She is gorgeous!) and Alec again. Greg Koch of Stone was there along with Adam Avery, and a bunch of other people at Matchbox. Poor Adam though. A crazy girl grabbed a hold of him and really became aggressive with her um "affections" towards him. Yeah her husband was standing right behind her while she told everyone at the bar that she would totally Bone Adam and that her husband wouldn't care because Adam was a celebrity and they loved his beers. Yeah her husband looked rightfully upset and "unthrilled" with his wife. As were we all. Poor Adam indeed. What a way to spend his birthday! Surviving a near rape. It's what you get though when you're Pretty Boy Adam I suppose.

We had a great laugh at his expense for that though. I will owe him some drinks for that.

All in all the weekend was good. I preferred the events before and after Savor the most and the company we kept. Not to mention the great new people we met. Savor was okay, but they better make next years flawless. The beers were the only thing holding it together this year for an other wise very expensive, yet mediocre food and beer event.

Gordon Biersch 5/28/09

I was recently in Washington DC for a food and beer event called Savor. (Blog entry on Savor soon to follow.) Our first night in DC was spent quietly on a Thursday night at Gordon Biersch.



But first we raided the minibar. We got to the hotel and crashed for an hour or two and woke up a little thirsty and desperate. You never drink the minibar contents unless you absolutely have to. Why you ask? Because it will cost your first mortgage or first born child for such a cheap thrill.

Gordon Biersch is right in NW and across the street from the Spy Museum and Spy bar.



This building is pretty awesome as it is used to be a Riggs bank. Awesome marble columns and floors. It is also attached to the Marriott hotel.

 

The beer menu is fairly light. A handful of beers but all solid varieties. Nothing too crazy, all German style, but nothing really spectacular either. Just simple and solid choices.



We started with a sampler plate of appetizers. I hate it when menus are too big or offer too much food. I can never decide what to get. But samplers certainly make it easy. This sampler was a trio of chicken and had Southwestern Egg Rolls, Chicken Potstickers, and Glazed Chicken wings. Standard pub fare, but kicked up a notch. A lot tastier and a lot nicer than typical bars or pubs.




Then I ordered for my entree Teriyaki Chicken and Tempura Shrimp combo with ginger rice and seasonal veg. This was delicious. The shrimps were not over cooked and nice and soft. The chicken breast was perfectly juicy. Even though the food sounds like nothing truly spectacular, it was way above average for standard pub fare as I mentioned with the apps. as well.




My husband ordered the house specialty, Steak Frites. Rare, Mäzen marinated flat iron steak on a bed of hot garlic fries, drizzled with Gordon Biersch steak sauce. This tasted a lot more impressive than it looked. The meat was perfectly rare and soft. Underneath the steak was mounds of fresh garlic topped on the fries. Pretty delicious and simple.

Overall this place is definitely worth a visit. I hung out here several times over the weekend of Savor. I drank the hell out of their Ultimate Arnold Palmer drink.

Ultimate Arnold Palmer ·  Grey Goose Vodka, Cointreau
Orange Liqueur, fresh squeezed lemonade and fresh brewed tea.

It tasted just like iced tea and the booze was barely noticeable, but it was certainly in there. It hit the spot in the hot and humid Virginia weather.

Greg Koch's Full Keynote Speech From 2009 Craft Brewers Conference

A few weeks ago when I posted the funny pic Greg Koch snapping a picture of himself behind a crowd of 1700 people at the Craft Brewers Conference along with the now famous "I Am A Craft Brewer" video, I promised to post the full Keynote speech when it was available. Well here it is.

Now the full speech that sparked the "I Am A Craft Brewer" video clip. This speech is 46 minutes long, but very thought provoking and hilarious.

And yes Todd and Jason Alström really did get up and sing along with Will Meyers of Cambridge Brewing Company and Greg Koch. Watch the video at exactly the 30 minute mark to find out what I am talking about.

This video starts off with the IAACB video but that is how the speech began so watch it again and it goes right into the speech.

2009 Craft Brewer's Convention Keynote from I Am A Craft Brewer on Vimeo.

Belgian Raspberry Brownies With (Espresso) Truffle Ganache

I stumbled upon this recipe a while ago, but decided to give them a chance now. I modified the recipe a bit to use espresso truffles as the ganache topping. I didn't make my own truffles this time around. There was no point to melt chocolate into truffles only to remelt them for ganache topping. I don't like Lindt chocolate at all and the recipe calls for Lindt truffles. For quick melting chocolate, I just ran to the store and picked up Starbucks Espresso Truffles. In this case it's not the quality of the chocolate I was looking for but more the rich espresso notes. This is to go along with the beer I have planned for these brownies. La Muerta Imperial Stout from Freetil Brewing Company in San Antonio, Texas. A bottle was given to us from Scott Metzger the Founder and CEO at the Craft Brewers Conference in April.

My brownies also came out a lot lighter than the images produced for this recipe from the original source. There are two reasons why. One, I used a Belgian style blonde ale with raspberries called Éphémère from Unibroue in Quebec, Canada instead of a preferred Framboise Lambic like Lindemans. I didn't have any on hand, but I did have Éphémère instead which is very effervescent and has a strong raspberry nose, but lighter body and sweet essence of raspberry on a blonde ale. Also I didn't have an 11x8 pan to bake the brownies in. I had an 8x8 or 9x13. I went with the 9x13 to make thinner brownies. So while my brownies aren't as pretty, they did turn out AMAZING. Full of rich flavor.
 

Belgian Raspberry Brownies with Truffle Ganache (Recipe By Emiline)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup raspberry beer
1/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves (Mine had seeds. No big deal)
5 ounces coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate (Sharffen Berger Bittersweet)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup dark cocoa powder (I used Droste)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ganache:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
5 ounces coarsely chopped dark chocolate truffles (Starbucks Espresso Truffles)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line an 11x8-inch baking dish with foil; coat with cooking spray.

 

Melt 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; stir in beer and raspberry preserves.



Side Note: Since you only need 1/2 cup of beer, you might as well pour yourself the rest and enjoy it while you bake.



When mixture is hot, and starts to bubble, turn heat off, and stir in bittersweet chocolate, until melted, and well combined; set aside.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat together granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla, for 3 minutes.



Reduce mixer speed to low, and beat in melted chocolate mixture, until well combined. Stir in flour mixture, until just combined.

Scrape batter into prepared dish; bake at 375 degrees F, for 20-25 minutes, or until set.

Side Note: For the 9x13 pan 20 minutes was enough.



Plunge dish into a larger baking dish, filled with ice water, until brownies are cool.

To make the ganache,

Melt 1 tablespoon butter, in a small saucepan set over medium heat; stir in cream.



When mixture starts to bubble, reduce heat to low, and stir in chopped truffles, until melted, and smooth.

 

Pour ganache over brownies, and smooth the surface, using a rubber spatula.
Freeze the brownies until ganache is set, about 15 minutes.



Lift the foil-lined brownies out of dish, and slice into bars, using a sharp knife.

(The bottle for La Muerta is BAD ASS!!)

The beer pairing for this recipe can go in two ways. Either with the raspberry beer you made the brownies with, definitely the Lindemans over the Unibroue Blonde ale even if it has raspberries in it. The Lindemans is pure fruit though and would be a better fit. Or you can go classic and pair chocolate with an Imperial Stout.

In this case though, I am pairing them with La Muerta. Obvious reasons behind this one. A rich roasted stout 10% ABV with chocolate raspberry brownies and espresso ganache is a no brainer. The rich espresso notes from the ganache will marry perfectly with this beer as it already has roasted coffee notes on it.

I will have to update this post after I drink the beer itself and let you know exactly what I think of this pairing. I am taking the brownies to some friends house to watch the Kentucky Derby and share the beer with.

Until that time, read the reviews for this beer on BeerAdvocate. All A's. They explain the flavor profile well enough and you will understand why this beer will work with the brownies.

Ladies, Don't Look At Me To Start Your Beer Revolution

[Illustration by Kyle T. Webster | BA mag #27]

This is my very first article to ever be published. It was published in the Beer Advocate Magazine April Issue # 27. You can subscribe to BA and get a subscription of the Magazine or order special back issues of the mag.

Beer Advocate Magazine

This article was briefly mentioned during the Women In Beer Panel at the Craft Brewers Conference which I was on this year and is part of an on going discussion about women in the beer industry and how women and beer are perceived in general.

This article is more or less a manifesto, a proverbial "kick in the skirt" to those women who are not sure that the beer world is "safe" for them. A slap down to those who think the beer world is so "male dominated" yet sit on the sidelines and do nothing about it. Or worse yet perpetuate the perceived "male dominance" by forming women exclusive groups. Doing to the men what has been done to them for so many years. Bleh!

In the weeks to come as I get the audio from my panel discussion at the CBC, I will blog that panel discussion and add some more depth to my answers and the panel over all.

There is certainly a generational gap when it comes to these issues. The women who have had to forge their careers, and the women today who enter with the luxuries of a more female friendly environment. I don't mean or aim to piss all over those who have worked hard to be taken seriously. But I don't support the effort to make beer only about them or their issues either.

I am taking a stance now once and for all, no special treatments or marketing ploys for women when it comes to beer. The beer should be about the beer. Women and men alike will drink it if it is worth it's salt. Beware of the marketing angles that tell you women need special treatment, or special attention and care in order to drink more beer. Down with separating the houses, and trying to capitalize on women as though we were weak, stereotypical, and worst of all, predictable. Enjoy the reading. As always comments are appreciated.

Click the images to enlarge.