More than 15 Things I Miss About Raleigh and NC

…in no particular order and not necessarily beer-related

1. NC breweries (especially Duck-Rabbit, Foothills, Pisgah, Green Man, Big Boss and Carolina Brewery)

2. A few beer bars (like The Raleigh Times, The Flying Saucer, Milltown and Barley’s Taproom)

3. Sam’s

4. CARBOY homebrew club and related people and shenanigans

5. A few specific beers that I can’t get here (Nostradamus, Rodenbach Grand Cru, stuff from Unibroue, Ommegang and Allagash, Midas Touch, Immort Ale, Avery’s Reverend and Czar, North Coast Old Stock Ale and a buncha other Belgians too depressing to mention

6. Heather and Paul

7. Old co-workers (some, not all, as you might expect, double missingness to those that are reading this without being pestered–Ken and Matt)

8. A few restaurants (like Sushi Blues, NeoMonde Deli, that Mexican place on Peace Street that’s changed hands so many times I can’t remember what it’s called, I Love NY Pizza and Lilly’s Pizza)

9. Miscellaneous food related: LocoPops in Durham, Eastern NC BBQ, Sweet Tea, The Third Place, warm Krispy Kremes on Person

10. World Beer Festival

11. The Mountains

12. Cat’s Cradle

13. mixing sound

14. Karen and Don Juan’s Oyster Roasts

15. My uncle and his family (Alan, Jane, Z, Eminemily and Lela)

Bonzo–Beer Geeks in Training

Today, Mom was out of town. So, out came Beavis and Butt-head; peanut butter, honey and chocolate chip sandwiches; and The White Stripes.

Further, Bonzo Soda Company leaped into action, producing its first cream soda. It’s fun watching these two rascals, miniature aficionados, hone their buds and delight in the fruits of their labor.

My role is increasingly nothing more than minor consultant. Today I washed bottles. As you can see by their labels, I’m soon to be left behind. Still, I can’t wait for this one to be carbonated and ready. It smelled and tasted wonderful when we pulled a sample.

Pictured right, you can see they are ridiculous. The good kind of ridiculous.

To your kids!

A cheesy beer life

I find that a beer life, especially for a homebrewer, is also a foodie life, a coffee-soaked life, and sometimes a little bacony. This week, my life got cheesier than ever before.

For years, I’ve been saying I need to start making cheese. This Christmas, my family gave me a kick in the pants to get that venture started: Home Cheese Making, by Ricki Carroll, as well as a few ingredients and supplies to get started. Since many of you tend to be foodies as well, I thought I’d share my first go at mozzarella, which was easy, quick and delicious.

Mozzarella, in words and pictures:

You start by taking one gallon of whole milk (grocery store milk that has been pasteurized and homogenized will work, as long as it hasn’t been ultra-pasteurized) in a pan and bringing it up to 55F. Stir in 1 1/2 tsp of citric acid (which you’ve dissolved in 1/2 cup of cool water). Stir until you reach 90F. You’ll get some curdling started.

Once you hit 90F, you’ll add 1/4 tsp. of liquid rennet (mixed in 1/4 cup cool water). Now you’ll stir in an up-and-down motion until you hit 105F. Nice big curds, well separated from the whey, which should be getting a little clearer. The range in the recipe said 100-105F, but both times I’ve done this, I went to 105, if not a touch further. At this point, kill the heat and use a slotted spoon to remove the curds from the whey. Place them in a large mixing bowl while singing Little Miss Muffet.

At this point, press down on the curds, and pour off the remaining whey. Press and pour, press and our, until you’re left with just curds in the bowl. I tasted the whey, then gave it to our cats for their own little feast. Thor especially deserved it, as he’s been killing mice left and right lately.

Now, put your bowl of curds in the microwave for about 2 minutes. At this point, we’re looking to bring the internal temperature of the curds to 145F, while working it into a mozzarella texture. After two minutes, press and drain any remaining whey, then knead like bread dough for a few turns. Back into the microwave for three or four or five stabs at 35 seconds, kneading again after each re-heating (after the second 35-second re-heating, work in a teaspoon of cheese salt).

During this stage, you’ll notice the texture changing from sorta mottled and grainy to smooth and shiny. It’ll start squeaking as you press it and make you hungry. Take the mass into your hands and give it a pull. If it breaks or looks rough, it’s not ready. If you’ve hit the right temperature, it will pull like taffy (an instant-read thermometer would probably confirm that you’re at 145F. I can’t find mine anywhere, but this is clearly dummy-proof, as it’s ready. You just know) and you’ll begin salivating. Good thing, because it’s ready!

At this point, eat your mozzarella, in all its fresh glory. You’ve earned it. If you don’t feel like eating a pound of cheese on the spot, form it into little balls and toss it in cold water to bring down the temperature quickly, then refrigerate. I planned on making homemade pizza on this fine day, so I pulled out my cheese grater and shifted into pizza mode.

There’s something dummy-proof about kicking ass, as well. I didn’t have a thermometer or barometer or hydrometer in use, but at this point, I knew I was kicking some ass.

This was confirmed when I pulled the pizza out of the oven. I coincidentally paired it with a bottle of Saison du Pont. I don’t know what Garrett Oliver says, but I thought these worked together like magic.

I saved back a couple mozzarella balls to marinate in olive oil, garlic, thyme and marjoram. I failed to take a picture, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. They looked good and were delicious, and paired well with whatever the heck I was drinking and served as a great precursor to whatever the heck I ate for dinner that night.

Give this a try. It was tasty and complete in 30 minutes. Now, onto the next cheese for me…

Move over beer

 

Move over beer. Thanksgiving approaches. I need room to brine my turkey.

Thanksgiving is, perhaps, my favorite holiday. It’s about being thankful–we don’t do nearly well enough at this day in and day out. It’s not about gifts–for anyone. It’s not about Hallmark. It’s not about a bouquet of flowers. You won’t get in trouble because you won’t forget. It’s a group thing that’s planned and anticipated.

It’s about food and families, two of my favorites. Traditions, flavors, a buzzing kitchen and terrific aromas. A day centered around one, big meal. For us, there’ll undoubtedly be a special beer or three involved.

And then…leftovers!

Travel safely.

The problem with planning

 

“Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.”

–John Lennon

 

“I would rather have a good plan today than a perfect plan two weeks from now.”

–General George S. Patton

The swirling beer ideas in my brain are constant. Today’s thirst. And tomorrow’s weather.

It’s this way when visiting Grandma Bev and Granddad Dave. “Oooh, that breakfast was perfect. What should we have for lunch?” Life is a constant map and compass, looking for the next meal. The next great meal. The next great meal.

For the conscientious eater and drinker like myself, it can truly be a burden. Tonight, it’ll be a pint of Revolution Ale (the oaked version), my colonial ale. And I’ll split a bottle of RIS with Michelle.

Thursday, I’ll be sampling Jimmy’s first homebrew.

After much deliberation, next weekend, I’m brewing a porter and a Scottish 80 Shilling. Next month, if the temperature in my basement allows it, I’ll do ten gallons of a Traditional bock, on the high end of the gravity spectrum. Rather than do a doppelbock this year (I’ll do that next year), I’ve decided to eis half of my big bock.

Presently, I’m leaving the brewing session to follow the bocks open, in case I have a whim. But with the fo’ sho’ ness, I’ll be ready for some dry stout after that. I’ll be needing to think about St. Patrick’s Day. Then, I might get a batch of my other Colonial recipe going–the Bob Ross happy accident that truly rocks. Then some Scottish stuff. Come May, my Flanders Red should be ready to keg.

The only thing I know for sure is that I’m not planning on drinking anything light next summer. A saison will be my lightest summer beer next year. I’ll follow it with a porter, most certainly.

However, I’ve got to keep in mind the words of the late Jim Morrison: “The future is uncertain, and the end is always near.”

I could get hit by a truck tomorrow and find myself drinking a lot of commercial stuff.

Or not.

Notes on Omaha

After much consideration, I made my second foray into the world of Omaha’s beer over the weekend. Beer plans included the following:

• a beer or two at Upstream Brewing Company
• a meal at Jobber’s Canyon Restaurant and Brewery
• Whole Foods Market
• Fermenter’s Supply Homebrew Shop

In an effort to long story short the entire trip, I did make it to all these locations.

Kevin commented in another post that he thought Jobber’s Canyon was closed. I found that he was sorta right. When I arrived, I found a sign on the door indicating that they had switched from brewpub format to entertainment and catering. Their brewery apparently ceased on October 15.

That took us to Upstream for not only a beer or two, but a meal, which I’ve been wanting to do anyway. Our food was excellent. I had the pecan-encrusted rainbow trout, while my wife tried the beef-lover’s salad (if you’re gonna have a salad, it oughtta be slathered with meat).

Like my last trip, they had a cask offering–this time, an English pale ale, soft and tasty. Their seasonal takes some explanation. It was called Before, part of an aging experiment. Next year, they’ll serve up After. The beer is a red ale brewed for the brewmaster’s wedding. So darn tasty, they decided to oak age part of it, sour it up and get somewhere near a Flanders Red. I hope I’m paying attention next year to give it a try. The Before was good, but I was dreaming of After. Ultimately, I settled in on a pint and a growler of the Scotch ale.

Since I needed a few miscellaneous homebrewing supplies, I set out for Fermenter’s Supply. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice it, tucked back as it was. I saw a sign that indicated homebrewing goods, so I thought I was in the right place. Apparently I was not. I guess it was Cornhusker Beverage (actually, my receipt says “Cornhusker Beverage and Bridal”), a big liquor store/printerwedding invitation place(there was a couple picking out wedding invitations)/”homebrewing store.”

This was a crappy experience. At best, these guys can’t hope to service anyone beyond the partial mash extract level, not that there’s anything wrong with someone brewing at that level. It’s just, if you’re going to have a homebrew store, make some effort to make it complete. Have a clue what you’re talking about. And it was expensive. I dropped forty bucks on very little. There were basically three aisles dedicated to this facet of the store. I left with my grain needs disappointed and one of my yeast plans compromised.

Noting the address when I left, it didn’t match where I planned to go. I poked around a little and found Fermenter’s Supply around the corner. This was a small homebrew shop, and I wished I’d have found it first. I picked up a couple pounds of grain to make my planned brew session more do-able. I didn’t spend a lot of time here, chatted briefly with owner and took note on the address. I don’t have a strong opinion of this place yet, but it’s worth coming back to if I’m in Omaha and needing ingredients. That won’t happen often, but we’ll see…

Finally, Whole Foods Market. I love Whole Foods. This place was a good deal bigger than any of the four Whole Foods I’ve visited in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary (NC). Vast and wonderful, I’m re-stocked on vanilla beans, turmeric, flour and the fixin’s for spring rolls. I’ve also got some 90 Shilling Ale from Odell Brewing Company, a brewery I have yet to try. Whole Foods’ beer selection was pretty good, though perhaps not fantastic. They had one endcap cooler chock full of four beers on special, a couple of Oktoberfests, and I recall not what else. Primarily, their beer was stocked in a walk-in cooler, lotsa good stuff, local and otherwise. No problem finding something delicious or something new.

It was a good trip, and an informative one. I’m now sold on Upstream as a solid performer–both food and beer. There are a few other brewpubs I need to check out in Omaha (including a second Upstream location), and that’s a task to which I look forward. Work, work, work.

Persimmon Mead from the Dragonslayer

I’m not the only person that turns to Ken Hilton for a little brewing advice. That being the case, and with some inquisitiveness from a reader about his persimmon mead, I’ve got the inside scoop for you today. As an added bonus, Ken gives us a gander at the flavors of his childhood with a recipe for persimmon pudding.

Here it is….early fall in eastern NC. Fall is my absolute favorite time of year….chilly nights, comfortable days, leaves starting to turn to their glorious hues of yellow, orange, red….and time for the State Fair. When the first frosts begin to rest gently over the landscape, my thoughts turn to the bounty of the fall harvest and childhood memories of the season. Pumpkins, collard greens, salt-cured country ham (started last year), and one of the most delectable treats you have ever put in your mouth….persimmons. If you are lucky, you may even have a copy of “Granny Hinkle’s ‘ol fashioned persimmon pudding”….a rich, sweet, gooey, spicy desert.

Persimmons are almost a thing of the past. Finding wild persimmons is akin to knocking in a “hole-in-one” on a 500 yard Par 5 at the British Open on a windy day. If you are lucky enough to spot a persimmon tree in the wild, don’t tell anyone about it and keep going back regularly after the first frost. Make friends with the landowner. Good wild persimmons will be almost mushy soft and sweet. Picked any earlier, and you mouth will turn inside out with the astringent, mouth-puckering sensation akin to dosing your mouth with a tablespoon of alum.

Unfortunately, I have not found any wild persimmons for years here in eastern NC. But a friend of mine gave me some Oriental persimmons from his father’s tree. Just before Halloween, you may notice some ornamental sized trees in yards in which people have hung miniature plastic pumpkins for Halloween decorations. Kinda’ like hanging plastic Easter eggs at Easter time. Look again!!!!! Those fake pumpkins may just very well be real Oriental persimmons ripening, awaiting someone to pick them and make some persimmon pudding….or some Persimmon Mead. Oriental persimmons are not astringent like their wild kin, but they are also not as flavorful…pound for pound, so you have to cook them down a bit more for the pudding. But, they are great for mead.

I am sharing this recipe for this Persimmon mead, because it is special….not because it has won several awards, but because of the people behind it. My friend Dale gave me the honey for this mead….eastern NC fall harvest wildflower honey. The persimmons came from his father’s tree, picked lovingly by all who attended Dale’s father’s funeral on that glorious fall day. I gave Dale a bomber to open up this fall.

Hallalujah Celebration Persimmon Mead

5 qts wildflower honey
4 gallons water
2-1/2 tsp yeast nutrient
Lalvin D-47 dry yeast (hydrate 15 minutes before pitching)

Filter the water, bring it to a boil, cut the heat and add the honey and yeast nutrient,stir, cover and let stand 20 minutes to pasteurize. Chill the must and pitch the yeast. Ferment in primary at 68 degrees F for one month.

Rack the mead and add 3 qts of Oriental persimmon pulp (pasteurized at 160 degrees F for 20 minutes…do not let the temp go higher or you may get pectin haze. I pasteurized and canned the fruit earlier.) Let the secondary fermentation go for 6 weeks, then rack the mead off the big pile of persimmon flesh in the bottom. You will lose at least a gallon. Add 2-1/2 tsp acid blend  to enhance the acidity level and 1 tsp Sorbistat K to prevent further fermentation. 24 hours after the Sorbistat K, add 1-1/2 -2 cups of honey to sweeten the mead. Stir of swirl gently to dissolve the honey. Let the mead sit until it clears, racking several times. Bottle, put it away in a closet for 6 months. Enjoy!!

Persimmon Pudding

Mix 2-1/2 cups Oriental persimmon pulp, 1-3/4 cup whole milk (or half & half), 1 stick melted butter, 2-1/2 cups flour, 1-1/2 cups brown sugar, 4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon (preferably China Cassia cinnamon). Bake at 325 degrees F for 1-1/2-2 hours. Let it sit a while….have a good mead…and serve warm (not hot).

Hessen Haus

Hessen Haus is a German beer hall in downtown Des Moines with 22 taps and thirtysomething bottles. The taps are almost exclusively German, while the bottles offer variety from the UK and US.

But you’re here for German stuff, right? They do it up in style. Great atmosphere, a gorgeous look. I had the nerve to be disappointed in not getting to try a schwarzbier or alt on tap as their online menu suggests, but I visited during their annual Oktoberfest celebration, and they had the O-fests out en force, at least 4 or 5 to choose from. I cannot complain about that. I’ll do the other beers on another visit.

They did not have a single beer from Millstream, an Iowa brewery that brews reasonably well up the German alley. If they can sacrifice a tap to the Guinness gods, then they can sacrifice one to a local brewery.

Our waitress was helpful and efficient on a busy day, and our jaegerschnitzel was good, though my comrade’s German potato salad looked a little lackluster. He said it tasted like it looked.

The atmosphere was excellent: wide-open, well-lit and raucous. A healthy dose of German beer and revelry, with the Iowa Polka Hall of Fame on the Wall. I don’t know if it’s an everyday thing, but they had a lederhosened bloke entertaining the tables with his accordion, and the crowd loved his range.

I’ll save The Boot for another day. There will be another day, as this place was great.

__________

Hessen Haus

101 4th Street

Des Moines, Iowa  50309

Wanna check it out? Here’s a map.

Thirsty Thursday–farmhouse musings

 My grandma’s noodles are better than your grandma’s noodles.

A family meal was not complete when I was growing up if Grandma Wilson did not make noodles. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, sweet corn, pickled beets, a pie or two–and homemade noodles. I now live in a world of fresh garlic, sushi and $17 bottles of beer, but in reality, none of that stuff is worth diddly compared to my grandma’s noodles.

Chillin’ in the nursing home, my grandma is retired from noodle-making, and this is a loss beyond comparison. A few years ago, I asked her to give me her recipe, as it hadn’t appeared in the Wilson Family Cookbook that we put together back in 1990. “Well, I don’t really have a recipe. I just make ‘em.”

Not good enough.

“Well, it’s just eggs, a little salt, and some flour.”

“How many eggs?”

“Well, it depends on how many’s coming to dinner.”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHH!!!!”

Rather than jot down the “recipe,” she agreed to let me help her make them. I felt like Burt Wolf taking notes, but I got the premise down so I could try my own. It took a couple of tries, but I’d now point out, with utmost modesty, that I make the second best noodles on Earth.

I made them this week, and being solid, Midwestern farmhouse chow, it made sense to talk about a farmhouse ale, Foret, from Brasserie Dupont.

Saisons make me smile. And this organic offering from the Saison Dupont crew did not disappoint. Earthy, spicy, fruity, perfumy–all these lovely aromas and flavors melded in a pleasing fashion. The perfect beer for the coming of fall, this harvest season, and this rural setting in which I now reside.

Not much of a beer drinker, I’m not sure that my granny would find it groovy that after this week, a beer would remind me of her. I care not. She can feel groovy knowing that I think of her often this winter, everytime I snuggle for warmth under the quilt she made me. What is important is that I remember her, and her noodles and her gentle nature. And that I honor her with a good life, hard work and love.

I don’t know what she calls it, but for me it’s brewvana.

__________

About the noodles: I’d share the recipe, but there isn’t one.

The Session #8–Beer and Food

I’ll be blunt–I love beer and food. I enjoy them both daily, often together. I don’t have to pay big bucks to attend a beer dinner; I live like that. It’s a good way to live.

Richly fulfilling, a good meal with family or friends can’t be beaten–unless there are well chosen beers involved. Sometimes the meals are planned around the beers that are thirsted after, the beers that are in the fridge, the beers that came back from a vacation. And the recipe needn’t be strenuous. Like a simple, well-brewed beer, one needn’t do backflips to craft a solid meal (though backflip beers and meals are also wonderful).

A couple summers ago, my family took a little trip to Delaware to visit Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. We toured the brewery, loaded up on Midas Touch and Raison D’Etre and paired World Wide Stout with roasted marshmallows around the fire–to this day, the best food pairing I’ve ever tasted.

Of course, before returning home, we stocked up on a few nuggets unavailable in our own market. One sixer that came home was Troegs Brewing Company’s Troegenator Double Bock. A malt-alicious monster of love, this beer was. Hmmm…I thought. What should we have for dinner tonight?

I was craving brats, but not just the same old brats on the grill. I needed something new. After a little rumination on the flavors, I came up with a little something I call Doppel-brat Stew. Easy and flavorful.

With amazing food days like this one, I can’t imagine going back to the mundane sludge on which I grew up. There’s so much more to life than canned green beans and Hamburger Helper. Fortunate circumstances rescued me from a life of blah food. I am thankful.

Everything is okay now. Couple the tasty victuals with the yummy libations, and the good life just got better.

Pass me a doppelbock.

__________

For your cooking sensations, here ’tis:

DOPPEL-BRAT STEW

Ingredients:

6-8 New potatoes, quartered

3 T Butter

1 Onion, sliced

5 Brats, freed from their casings

1 Can diced tomatoes, drained

1 Tsp beef base

2 Bay leaves

12 Ounces Troegenator, or other fine doppelbock

Salt/Pepper, to taste

Procedure:

Boil potatoes (then drain and set aside until needed). Saute onions in butter briefly, then add brats and brown. Add tomatoes, beef base, bay leaves, beer and salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 20-30 minutes. Add potatoes and toss gently. Adjust salt and pepper.

Serve with fresh bread, to mop up the juices, and–you guessed it–another doppelbock.

Clink ‘em and drink ‘em!

__________

Need a dessert idea? Click here for a bonus recipe, tried and true.

Many thanks to this month’s host: Captain Hops at Beer Haiku Daily.