Very sorry to hear of the passing of perhaps the greatest beer writer in history, Michael Jackson. Mr. Jackson, better known as The Beer Hunter passed away last night in his home in London. I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Jackson a few times while working for Real Beer. He was a good and very knowledgeable man. One of his methods of beer writing others could learn from still, never say anything bad about a beer, just don’t say anything at all. That points to how revered a mention by Mr. Jackson was by all brewers.
Some of his work is available online here: http://www.beerhunter.com
Update: His last column can be found here: http://www.allaboutbeer.com/
Some reaction around the web:
http://www.realbeer.com/blog/?p=632 (a great, quick obituary by Real Beer Editor, Stan Hieronymus)
http://www.brookstonbeerbulletin.com/michael-jackson-passes-away/
http://www.allaboutbeer.com/ (including his final published article)
http://appellationbeer.com/blog/more-than-a-moment-of-silence-for-michael-jackson/
Hop Talk has more links.
The greatest bar in the country, hell the greatest bar in the world turns 20 years old this weekend.
Toronado 20th Anniversary Celebration
Come help us celebrate our 20th Anniversary, Saturday
August 11th at the Toronado at 5:00PM.Some of the Beers:
1. The Toronado 20th Anniversary Beer, brewed by
Russian River Brewing Company, on draught and for sale
in cork finished 750ml bottles.
I approached Vinnie two years ago about making a
beer for the Toronado Anniversary, my guidelines were
wood aged, big, and barnyard. We toyed with the idea of
making six beers and blending them into one, but agreed
this was too time consuming as Vinnie has a lot on his
plate. I was surprised when it came to light that he had
come up with 5, 1 year old, wood aged beers to blend.
Vinnie mixed 5 different blends and we tasted them
together, all were fine beers , blend #1 was so good that
we filled 1 keg with it calling it 50-50. After removing this
quantity of beer from the over all blend ,we decided on a
new blend halfway between blend #4 and blend #5. The
result, Vinnie says, is a 10.43 percent alcohol by volume
beer that is smooth and soft with a faint sourness — a
beer that hides its alcohol well. “It drinks like a 6-percent
beer.” I say thank you Vinnie, for an outstanding beer,
beyond my expectations. Awesome! The bottles will be
available for $20 each at the Toronado and Russian River
Brewing Co only.2. Anchor Cask Conditioned Porter
Anchor Steam was the first draught beer at the
Toronado,so I think it only fitting to have something from
them for our 20th, Fritz Maytag answered the call, with a
cask conditioned Porter, to be served on handpump.
Thanks to Mark Carpenter for crafting this special product
and to Fritz for taking the time to recognize our
anniversary.3. Lost Abbey/Pizza Port Cable Car on draught and in
bottles.Tomme Arthur scoured his wood casks and blended a
beer for our Anniversary, we have 1 keg and a limited
number of bottles. I have not sampled this beer yet, but
have it on the authority of John Hansel, of the Malt
Advocate, that it in his opinion it is the best beer he has
had from Lost Abbey and perhaps in the entire USA. Can’t
wait to try it.At last count there were 13 other rare beers that brewers
have made or are releasing from their cellars for this
event. I will get a complete list together when possible,Hope to see you there.
Big Daddy
And it’s pretty damn good. I reduced the spices by quite a bit in this batch. All the others, while on the right track, all seemed over-spiced. Some new additions this time (molasses, mace, onion, garlic) and some taken out (onion powder, vanilla, lemon juice, ginger).
You may ask yourself “what happened to batch 14?” — well it wasn’t very good. I chose to dump most of it actually.
Cincinnati Style Chili Batch 15
2.5 lbs lean ground beef (extra fine grind if possible) — 80% lean
2 14oz cans Swansen’s Beef Broth (less salt version) chilled
1 cup cold water
1 can tomato sauce - (16 oz)
1 large white onion minced fine
First spice addition (at beginning)
.5 oz bitter chocolate
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tbsp dark molasses
1 tsp ground cumin
3 tbsp chili powder (dark)
1 tsp (Morton) kosher salt
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Second spice addition (at end)
1 tbsp chili powder (dark)
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tsp ground black pepper (to taste)
2 tsp (morton) kosher salt (to taste)
2 tbsp granulated garlic
1/16 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp mace
2 tbsp active dry yeast
Gather all the spices, sauces, and etc. for the first spice addition In one container before starting — makes it easier.
If you use frozen ground beef, let sit in the COLD broth until it is matched the temp and it is no longer frozen. Failure to do this will result in lumpy chili.
Place broth over medium-low heat and add the ground beef. Stir the ground beef into the cold water. Continue to stir as the water is heated. The ground beef will nearly dissolve into the water developing into almost a paste. Once dissolved, increase heat to high.
Add the first spice addition and continue to stir until the chili comes to a strong boil. Turn down the heat to maintain a medium simmer. Let simmer for 2 hours covered.
For best results, let simmer for at least 2 hours. You can put it in a slow cooker and let go all day for better results.
When nearly done cooking, add the second spice addition, stir for 2-3 minutes to make sure that it is completely incorporated and remove from heat.
Refrigerate for 2-3 days before reheating and serving for best results.
Serve as traditionally served or as you wish. I prefer over spaghetti with shredded cheese (3-way).
PCWorld.com - Mac Skeptic: Aperture Takes Digital Photography Back to the Future - this looks so good it would almost make me switch to Mac. What am I saying? I must be going insane.
ThinkGeek :: Fundue - desktop USB Fondue Set — Just what you need to ease the tedious work day. Hot Cheese!
NBC 17 - News - Beer Festival Turns Durham Bulls Baseball Field Into Nightmarish Field 8000 beer drinkers + baseball field = trashed.
That’s right, ancho chile in pumpkin pie. Believe it or not, it’s the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever had. Not hot, the chile powder just enhances the flavor of the pumpkin.
Ancho Chile Pumpkin Pie
Pastry for a single-crust 9-inch pie, purchased or homemade
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
1 2/3 cups whipping cream
3 large eggs, beaten to blend
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground dried ancho chiles
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1. Line a 9-inch pie pan with the pastry and flute edges, then line
pastry with foil. Partially fill with pie weights or dried beans.
2. Bake pie pastry in a 375° oven until edges are dry and barely
golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully remove pie
weights and foil. Reduce oven temperature to 350°.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk pumpkin, cream, eggs, brown
sugar, granulated sugar, ground chiles, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt
until smooth.
4. Pour pumpkin mixture into hot pie crust and return pie to oven.
Bake until center barely jiggles when shaken, about 45 minutes. Let
cool to room temperature on a wire rack, at least 2 hours. Cut into
wedges to serve.
Beer For Dogs! Share a beer with your best friend! — if you really love your dog you’d give it a cat smoothie instead.
Researchers: Hops in Beer May Be Healthy - Yahoo! News — who knew? — no information on if that beer gut is healthy or not. I think I’ll keep mine just to make sure.
