Features
Dogfish BLT
Pohutukawa smoked in-house made bacon with local tomato on homemade French baguette. Dressed with Arugula and Purple Basil Vinaigrette and served with Caramelized Brussels Sprouts and White Bean Ragout. We recently brewed a Robust Porter with Epic Brewing co. from New Zealand called Portamarillo using tamarillos roasted over their Pohutukawa wood (the New Zealand Christmas […]
Maple Porter Braised Pork Belly
When I began thinking about the flavors, textures and elements of these ingredients, the question of “what can I do” kept repeating itself. To play up the nostalgic plate memory of the maple syrup touching the now soggy bacon and overlaying the complexity of coffee, I used maple, pork belly and porter as a base […]
Curry Braised Pork Belly
This is a variation on a couple of standards we use here at Higgins. Starting with Garret’s ingredient list I selected a braise of pork belly that’s quite popular and then used our curried vegetable ragout (one of our vegan dishes) as a base for the succulent pork. To tie it together I wanted a […]
Braised Crispy Pork Belly
When I saw the list of ingredients I had two initial thoughts. First was the classic bistro salad of frisee with bacon and a poached egg and the second was another bistro classic cassoulet. The salad was the basis for the Brussels sprouts portion of the dish and the white bean flan and crispy belly […]
Beer Chef Throwdown
Having once judged Iron Chef America, I thought this assignment was fun. And a lot of my favorite cooking is based on what’s interesting in the market today, or even what’s in my refrigerator at the moment.
Rediscovering Pils
It’s a sleepy Sunday lunchtime in Dobrany, a small town a few kilometres southwest of Pilsen. This is Bohemian beer country, deeply embedded in the lager lands of central Europe. Pivovar Modra Hvezda is a small brewery based in a comfortable hotel opposite the town square. A copper-faced brew-kit stands on show in the bar, […]
Tasting Supplies Checklist
You may not need all these items for every tasting, but this is a fairly complete list that should work for most events. Note cards. Basically, you need to provide a method for guests to take notes. This can be either formal or informal. Formal choices might include the BJCP Checklist score sheet, while an […]
Party Themes
The theme sets the tone for your event, so choose one that best matches your audience’s background and interest level. Single style, different breweries. One of the easiest to do, and fairly educational. Pick a beer style, and then try to get a wide range of interpretations of the style. Which ones fit the style […]
Hosting an At-Home Beer Tasting
Have you and your friends ever wanted to learn more about beer but were unsure how to start? Why not host a beer tasting party in your home? It’s cheaper than going out, you know it won’t be loud or smoky and you get to choose what to serve.
Beervana
The best way to sample the varied delights of the New Zealand brewing industry is to visit during their annual national beer festival, Beervana. Run sporadically for close to a decade, the event has really hit its straps since being taken over by the NZ Brewers Guild three years ago. Held in Wellington, the annual […]
New Zealand Hops
Size hasn’t only been a major influence in the development of the New Zealand craft brewing industry; isolation has also played a major role in the development of New Zealand’s distinctive hop varieties. Hops have been grown in the Nelson region for more than 100 years, originally planted by English and German settlers who found […]
Going Native
New Zealand hops are distinctive but brewers are also looking to other native ingredients to give their beer some spice. Anyone who saw the Discovery Channel’s Brewmasters episode featuring Sam Calagione’s journey to New Zealand will be familiar with his collaboration with Luke Nicholas and Epic Brewing. Using native tamarillos, or tree tomatoes, the pair […]
In Brew Zealand: Small is Beautiful
New Zealand is small. It is small and it is a long way from just about everywhere. Its largest city, Auckland, is more than 1,300 miles from the nearest similar-sized city, making it the most remote major city in the world. Its capital, Wellington, is also the world’s southernmost capital city.
Columns
Is it the Culture―or is it the Beer?
“Beer hunting” is a term inspired by the activities of iconic beer writer Michael Jackson, the Beer Hunter. My pursuit of all things beer was fueled in part by our friendship and his passion. I can say for sure that I was there at the beginnings of both the CAMRA efforts in England (I’m a […]
The Lite Beer Blight—Make Your Own!
New York’s Rheingold Brewery produced the first light beer, Gablinger’s Diet Beer, in 1967, but it was a failure (didn’t sell). It had an original gravity* of 9 degrees Plato (1036 British), 4.6 percent ABV (alcohol by volume), but with almost no dextrin sugars at all (0.1 percent), which are what gives beer its flavor.
Departments
with Brock Wagner
What do you hope your fans will take away from your Moveable Yeast project? The primary goal of the series was to demonstrate to beer lovers―who may not be as familiar with yeast as, say, homebrewers would be―how large an effect yeast has on the flavor of beer. People talk about malt and hops a […]
Munich Helles
No region is more known for its beer than Bavaria. With summery weissbier and pilsner, autumnal Märzen and bocks for winter and spring, Bavaria has a brew for every season. But it’s the golden lager known as Munich helles that serves as the most popular and common beer.
Got Burger?
We’re a nation obsessed with burgers. We want ’em bigger, badder and burgerier. The biggest was made at Mallie’s Sports Bar in Southgate, MI, weighing in at 185 pounds, the same as the average American male. The most expensive appears on the menu at Burger Shoppe in NYC for $175 because Kobe beef, black truffles, […]
Burgers’n’beers
Memorial Day kicks off the summer grilling and road tripping seasons. Of course, a staycation soaking up rays in your backyard, drinking homebrew and grilling your own Hamburg steaks is a classic, but it’s always instructive to see what unique creations the experts are proffering from coast to coast.
Beer Talk
Pamola Xtra Pale Ale
Baxter Brewing Co. Lewiston , ME Available: ME (MA, NH, VT to come) Located in a 150+ year old textile mill, The Bates Mill, in downtown Lewiston, ME, Baxter Brewing Co. is the first brewery in New England to package its entire line of beers only in metal packages (cans and kegs). ABV: 4.9 ABW: […]
Fischer Amber
Brasserie Fischer Schiltigheim, France Imported by: Total Beverage Solutions Mt. Pleasant, SC Available: nationally Fischer Brewery was founded in 1821 by John Fischer at Strasbourg, and moved to Schiltigheim in 1854. In 1996, the brewery was bought by Heineken. Fischer Amber is the brand’s flagship beer. ABV: 6 ABW: 4.8 Bitterness: 18 Original gravity: 1055
Riverwalk Blonde Ale
Manzanita Brewing Co. Santee, CA Available: CA Manzanita Brewing has a three-barrel brew house with six barrel fermenters to brew five types of ales. They started distributing bottles in January. The company specializes in session beers. ABV: 6 ABW: 4.7 Bitterness: 24 Original gravity: 1056
Copper Cone Pale Ale
Epic Brewing Co. Salt Lake City, UT Available: CO, ID, VA Epic is Utah’s first brewery since Prohibition to brew exclusively beer that is greater than 3.2 percent ABW. This pale ale is hopped with Columbus, Centennial and Amarillo, and dry-hopped with Simcoe. ABV: 6.8 ABW: n/a Bitterness: 48 Original gravity: 1068
Myrcenary Double IPA
Odell Brewing Co. Fort Collins , CO Available: AZ, CO, ID, KS, MN, MO, NE, NM, SD, WY Named for myrcene, a component of essential oils in the hop flower, Myrcenary Double IPA is brewed with a blend of hops containing the highest levels of myrcene. ABV: 9.3 ABW: 7.4 Bitterness: 85 Original gravity: 1082
Bourbon Barrel Lake Trout Stout
Sebago Brewing Co. Gorham, ME Available: CT, ME, NH, RI This stout is aged for over four months in four freshly-emptied charred oak bourbon barrels. Then it is blended with fresh stout to balance the character of the barrel. Unlike Lake Trout Stout, this beer is carbonated to enhance the bourbon barrel experience. ABV: 5.8 […]
Hoppyum IPA
Foothills Brewing Co. Winston Salem, NC Available: NC, SC, TN, VA Winston-Salem, home of Foothills Brewing, was also the site of the first brewery in North Carolina. The Moravians, immigrants from what is now the Czech Republic, established a brewery and distillery at Salem in 1773; the brewery, built by the Single brothers, operated on […]
Good People Brown Ale
Good People Brewing Co. Birmingham, AL Available: AL Good People Brewing Co. started production in 2008. Year round offerings include an American brown ale, American pale ale, IPA, coffee oatmeal stout, and a double IPA called Snake Handler. The IPA and brown ale have the distinction of being the first craft beers canned in the […]
Saison De Lente
The Bruery Placentia, CA Available: AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IN, IL, OH, OR, MD, MA, NV, NJ, NY, NC, PA, SC, VA, WA, DC, WI This spring saison seasonal was brewed in two versions―one with the brewery’s house yeast and another with 100 percent Brettanomyces―which are blended before bottling. ABV: 6.5 ABW: 5.2 Bitterness: […]
Sneaky Pete Imperial IPA
Laughing Dog Brewing Ponderay, ID Available: CT, DC, DE, IL, KS, KY, MA, MD, MN, MO, NC, NJ, OH, OK, PA, TN, VA Sneaky Pete is a blend of five hop types: Simcoe, Glacier, Centennial, Vanguard and Hallertauer, with Simcoe playing the dominant role at 30 percent. In addition, three separate malts were used: honey, […]
Liquid Sunshine Blonde Ale
Hoppy Brewing Co. Sacramento, CA Available: CA, OR, FL, OH (IL to come) Currently, our company is growing our full service brewpub here in Sacramento, while at the same time self-distributing our products to retailers in the Sacramento area. We are brewing all of our products here in Sacramento and have 10 products on tap […]
Gone Fishin Mild Ale
Beer Valley Brewing Co. Ontario, OR Available: AZ, CA, ID, OR, WA Beer Valley Brewing is located on the border of Oregon and Idaho. The brewery is known for strong ales like Black Flag Imperial Stout and Leafer Madness, but also produces session beers like Gone Fishin Mild Ale and Owyhee Amber Ale. ABV: 4 […]
Newcastle Summer Ale
Scottish & Newcastle UK Ltd. Edinburgh, Scotland Imported by: Newcastle Importers White Plains, NY Available: CA, NC, SC, VA From the home of Newcastle Brown Ale, nicknamed “the dog” in England, a summer beer brewed exclusively for the export market. ABV: 4.4 ABW: 3.5 Bitterness: 26 Original gravity: n/a
Ace of Spades IPA
Hopworks Urban Brewery Portland, OR Available: OR, WA, BC Ace of Spades prominently features Amarillo, Cascade and Centennial hops, added at every point of the brewing process: mash tun, first wort, kettle, and dry hop. ABV: 9.5 ABW: 7.6 Bitterness: 100+ Original gravity: 1086
Eagle Claw Fist
Clown Shoes Beer Somerville, MA Available: IL, MA, ME, RI (MD, NH, NY, VA to come) Brewed with Canadian two-row, English crystal, and a little English black patent malt, with Centennial and Citra hops. ABV: 8.8 ABW: 6.95 Bitterness: 102 Original gravity: n/a
Hop Ruiter
Schelde Brouwerij Meer, Belgium Imported by: Vanberg & DeWulf Coopertown, NY Available: AL, AK, AZ, CA, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI Hop Ruiter combines Belgian yeast and American hopping rates. […]