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Surprises and Shmoozing at Sudsy Samplers

I was at Kahn's Fine Wines today in Indianapolis for a tasting event that revolved all around Craft Beer in Cans--but that's a post I'll save for later. I just wanted to give a little input about going to your local liquor connoisseur  and getting to know the knowledgeable staff. 

Many of them will know (or at least have someone who knows) all about the exact thing you are interested in; be it craft beer, exquisite wines or fine spirits. Well, today after going around, trying the different craft beers and having beer-based intellectual conversations with the staff members, with the event winding down, they decide to pull out some of their "special reserve". From this I was able to try two of the most sought after and well received  Double India Pale Ales on the market.

The first was Heady Topper from The Alchemist. The highest rated beer in the world.

The next was Pliny the Elder from Russian River Brewing Co. (Which is the #4 beer on Beer Advocate)

Now, I'm not going to go on and give a full review about these beers or give an explanation about their epicness, all I am trying to do is to convince you to take the time to get to know some of the people who sometimes help you make your special evenings or events a little bit more special. Before you know it, you'll gain intensive knowledge, a chance to try a variety of different things (sometimes for free) and, if you are really lucky, perhaps you may get some great buying opportunities down the road.

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Brewery Taste Test: Local Option

Last week at Kahn's Fine Wines in Indianapolis, I came upon a beer tasting for a little-known brewery known as Local Option.

Local Option is out of my home city of Chicago, just south of DePaul University.

From what I have tried so far, these beers are not typical. They are some of the most interesting flavors I have had. I am going to do my best to rate the four beers I tasted but unfortunately, because it was a tasting, I doubt I had the full experience or pleasure of these beers to truly give them justice.

Dampf Loc California Common / Steam Beer

An all-barley ale, this style of beer is inspired by the old dampfbier, a style of beer first crafted by medieval peasants in the Bavarian Black Forest (pretty awesome, right?).

Look: Rose-Golden pour with a white foam

Smell: yeasty and malty with slight citrusy hop smell.

Taste: Very malty and slighly nutty. Mild of the hoppy bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Light, crisp, almost weak feel to it. I personally like a little weight on my tongue.

Overall I give this beer a 3.75/5 on Beer Advocate. It's a very decent beer and for what I only got to experience at a tasting, it could only be better with a full bottle or on draft.

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Voku Hila Helles Bock / Maibock

The Maibock style of beer is a lager that is lighter in color than other Bock beers and often has a vast hoppiness. Maibocks are popular in spring and are oftentimes featured at spring festivals and celebrations more often in the month of May. Think of it like a Maifest (as opposed to Oktoberfest)

Look: A golden color with a large, creamy white head.

Smell: Very grainy and bready. A light spiciness in the back ground.

Taste: Scattered. There's the breadiness, then theres the spice, then the pale sweetness.

Mouthfeel: High carbonation and medium body.

Overall: On the BA cite, I give this beer a 3.5/5 because of it's scattered taste. There is a lot of potential here but as of now the taste is a little too unconcentrated.

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Blood Ov The Kings American Pale (Amber) Wheat Ale

Here's what the brewery says about the beer: "At the peak of summer 1631 King Gustavus Adolphus led thousands of Swedish troops into Northern Germany. Following the destruction and subsequent plundering of Brandenburg Adolphus’ army marched through the endless wheat fields en route to Bavaria. Brewed with copious amounts of red wheat, Blood ov the Kings is aromatically driven by bread, biscuit and notes of exotic fruit. Hazy and medium bodied the beer has a rich and creamy mouth feel with a dry, bitter, and slightly sweet finish. Unbound by the Reinheitsgebot Blood ov the Kings would certainly have been the vital fluid of victory for the Swedish monarch as he spilled blood across the wheat fields of Northern Europe."

Now that the history lesson is done, let's do the rating.

Look: a thick amber with a beige head - a nice sight.

Smell: spicy wheat and biscuity aroma with a light fruity background

Taste: more biscuit flavor with a lot of spice and bitterness; a pleasant bite.

Mouthfeel: medium body and slight extra weight from yeast sediment.

Overall: I give this beer a 3.75/5 but I really want to try it from an actual bottle or on tap.

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Morning Wood Oak-Aged Coffee American Amber Ale

This was the best beer I tried from the tasting. Local Option says they use "Fresh American oak used during the aging process and Dark Matter’s El Salvador San Jose pulp-natural coffee aromatically drive the beer; while remaining subtle components of the beers’ complete flavor profile." What makes this so interesting is that it has the coffee flavor -- which is often used in darker beers.

Look: A dark and cloudy amber with a creamy head.

Smell: Coffee and malt. Blunt, I know but that is exactly what I can say about the beer. However, there was a cocoa scent in the background.

Taste: Sweet and malty coffee. Think of a beer-flavored Starbucks Frapp.

Mouthfeel: Creamy and thick but lively all at once. A complex mouthfeel that can only be experienced by trying the beer.

Overall: BA score of a 4/5 but I really want to try this fresh out of the bottle or on tap.

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Overall Local Option has some decent beers but there is potential to make improvements. Give these beers a try and you'll see what I mean.

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Recipe Wed.... Thursday #2: My 'Mazing Meatloaf

So, I forgot to post my recipe last night but nevertheless, here is my recipe for my meatloaf that has people going crazy.

Now, I know what you're thinking, "meatloaf? really?" Well, it is true that meatloaf may not be considered any sort of "sophisticated cuisine" but I prefer to refer to it as "comfort food". Every (and I repeat EVERY) chef, food snob and gourmet has a weakness for comfort food, and if they don't--then they're a f***ing liar!

That being said, good comfort food should be made with care. If you take a look at my recipe, some of you may find similarities (by ingredients or method) with Alton Brown's recipe from his show Good Eats. This recipe is simpler than it looks and the hardest part is with the first 3 ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 Bell Pepper

2 Onions (I prefer 1 sweet & 1 red) w/ 1Tbs of butter

1 Head of Garlic w/ 1Tbs of Olive oil

2 lbs of ground beef (I prefer top-notch "trim" from the butchers)

2-3 oz of croutons (packaged or homemade)

1 egg

1 tsp of salt (any kind other than Table Salt. I like smoked salt)

½ tsp of pepper (Freshly ground)

1 tsp of dried thyme

1 Tbs of ketchup or BBQ Sauce (Smokier the better)

½ Tbs of Mustard (I prefer spicy)

1-3 Tbs of Hot Sauce (optional - I prefer Sriracha)

1 shot of whiskey (optional, but Bourbon is preferred)

1 tsp of liquid smoke (optional)

The way to start this is to get the first three ingredients and specially prepare them. Fire roast the bell pepper until it's nearly black all around.

Place 1 Tbs of butter in a small pan and CARAMELIZE the onions. Do this by letting slowly cook over low heat. I believe having a lid over the onions does a more efficient job.

Finally, take the whole head of garlic, slice a little bit off the top, pour some olive oil on and roast it in a hot oven.

Once you've taken all of these steps put all 3 in a food processor and chop until it's in a paste. Afterwards use the food processor to pulverize the croutons, but not too fine.

Assemble all of the rest of the ingredients and place them all in a large mixing bowl and put everything in and with either a glove or a clean hand, mix it all together - yes with your hand. Gently mix it together--DON'T SQUEEZE and SQUISH.

Either with your hand or with a loaf pan make a loaf out of the mix then put it on a cooling or baking rack over a sheet pan (to catch drippings). Put in a 325℉ oven and bake until it reaches 145℉ (resting for 10-15 minutes will bring it up another 10℉ and keep it juicy.

Serve how you like: I prefer brown gravy with Mashed potatoes and collard greens, but sometimes I make this meatloaf just to save it for leftovers and make sky-high meatloaf sandwiches. Glazing on meatloaf is optional, so whatever you like.

The process of the first 3 ingredients is much easier than you think. There are many online sources to show the process. Trust me, making the past is flavorful, rich and will help the meatloaf stay together.

Enjoy!

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Recipe Wednesday #1 : Party Pizza Dip

This is a popular picture of a similar recipe that was found on Pinterest but it looks all the same.

It's graduation time and there are parties galore! Here is an appetizer that will get the party going. It is something I initially learned from my aunt but since then I've done my own variation.

What's really great about this recipe (other than it's deliciousness) is that it is SUPER easy.

Base: Any kind of creamy chip-dip base will do. Any combination of cream cheese, sour cream and/or mayonaise as long as it adds up to about 16oz. OR you can be lazy like me and get a tub of store-bought French Onion Dip (I like the bacon flavor).

Place in a large mixing bowl and add:

1-2 Tbs of dried Italian Seasoning.

1 Tbs of minced garlic (or a tsp of garlic powder)

1/4 cup of ground Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all of these with a whisk, spatula or electric egg beater (which I like because it gets air in and whips the dip so it's not as heavy)

Take your serving platter and spread the dip out. Let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight (to hydrate the herbs).

Just before you're about to serve place all of your favorite pizza toppings on it (including cheese & sauce). Serve with slices of Italian bread and enjoy!

Additionally, this dish may be served hot OR cold. For cold, just spread on a platter or dish an refrigerate. For hot, put it in a crock-pot or chaffing dish.

It was so popular at the party I was at that we ran out of bread and everyone was scurrying to get chips and crackers to finish the dip off.

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Cocktail Showdown #1 Easy Bourbon Mixers

We are fortunate enough to live in a cocktail renaissance. People want quality beverages, not quantity beverages. As always a leading seller in the market is Bourbon, a truly American spirit. With many of the quality brands available and the most popular brands improving their product. 

One of the most popular mixers with Bourbon is, of course, Coca-Cola. Although it is a classic cocktail, in this time, it has deteriorated into a frat-boy, party goer beverage. 

Now it is referred to as Jack & Coke, even though it originally was just Bourbon & Coke. Not that there is anything wrong with Jack Daniels, but the Jack & Coke is a cocktail that needs to die--the exception being if you have natural cane sugar Coca-Cola, none of the corn-syrup stuff.

In this time, it should be the classic Whiskey Sour that deserves a comeback. An even older cocktail than the Jack & Coke it is an enjoyable sweet and puckerable beverage to enjoy with your Bourbon. Whiskey, sugar syrup, lemon, a slice of orange and a maraschino cherry. Simple and refreshing, the cocktail is the perfect replacement for the J&C.

What is best about the Whiskey Sour is that it can be an introductory cocktail to amongst other similar cocktails: such as the Old Fashioned, The Sidecar and the Margarita (a real one).

Time for the Jack & Coke to die and time for the Whiskey Sour to be on the rise.

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The Secrets to Good Seafood

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of enjoying the popular growing chain of Bonefish Grill. Aside from the great variety, decent prices and good atmosphere, what really makes this restaurant good is because it follows key secrets to having good seafood.

To begin, there is the advanced taste. I originally had my eye on the Rainbow Trout but I was convinced by my waiter to try one of the specials. Considering that seafood is a food that often has a quick ticking clock, trying a special would have been the ideal because it may have been an opportunity I may have not been able to try again.

I had what they called "Misoyaki Sea Bass". Misoyaki? What's that? well, taking the two parts of the word: Miso and -yaki (which is likely from Teriyaki). Teriyaki is a rather common flavoring to Americans today, but Miso is a still relatively unknown or at least mysterious flavoring. So what is it?

Miso is a Japanese seasoning (usually in paste form) made from fermented soybeans using only salt and a certain fungus (Aspergillus oryzae if you really care to know) and it is often made with grains and the result is a flavorful paste. Depending on the variety of miso the paste can be sweet and light or dark and savory--what is often referred to now as umami. The really tasty thing here is that the miso is mixed with teriyaki, another ingredient that is overflowing with said flavor of umami.

The mixture of these two flavors on the fish over the wood burning grill was unlike anything I had ever had in my life. Savory, complex, deep and a little smokey are just some of the few words to describe the taste of the Sea Bass I had that night.

That being said, the first secret to good seafood is the correct flavors

Our server told us much about the chain and it's specific locations around the country and said (and I quote) "The only restaurants you should eat at are within a short time from a large airport". When thinking about this, it makes complete sense. With the exception of locations that are a short distance from the actual shore, the best sea food restaurants should be in a close distance from the airport--I'd say an hour tops. The reasoning for this is because seafood of all varieties go bad faster than a glass of milk and eggs in a steamy sauna. By choosing a seafood restaurant in close proximity to an airport, you can be sure that you are getting fresh quality ingredients.

Choose your restaurant by its location

Alright, I'm sorry to have to do this, but let's get environmental for a moment. There has been an issue rising lately about overfishing and it's affects on the ecosystem. There is an abundance of online sources you can look at to see the impact and species that are affected by this troubling issue but the best seafood restaurants work with the allowed guidelines for fishing amount and distribution. Additionally, Bonefish Grill and other restaurants are "proud to be affiliated with Ocean Trust - an award-winning ocean conservation foundation building science, conservation and industry partnerships for the sustainability of the oceans, as well as providing a link to sustainable fisheries, wildlife and the environment." (bonefishgrill.com) If you wish to know more about overfishing and marine wildlife population feel free to visit: http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-overfishing/

Go to a restaurant that is considerate to our planet. If they are smart enough to help preserve our planet, think how smart they will be on serving your food.

This will be the first of many postings to come. Hope you learned a little today.

Stay Hungry.