Bacon Beer?

This blog may have recently started, but you may pick up on a common theme considering bacon is featured in 1/8th of the posts...and it doesn't stop there...

Pete Wells from the NY Times recently wrote a great article about something up Brooklyn Brewery's sleeve: a bacon-infused beer. Before I get into that, however, let me discuss a beer that's been around for ages that doesn't use bacon in its production, but you'd swear it did: rauchbier or "smoked beer."

What makes rauchbier smoky is the process: drying the malt over an open flame. This was done way back in the 16th century even, so there were no fancy machines for brewing the beer. The industrial age, however, introduced those machines (kilns) which substantially reduced the actual smoke and the flavor was largely lost as time went on. However, leave it to the Germans to keep the tradition alive to this day. I've tried a couple varieties from one of the small handful of German breweries that still brew rauchbier the original way; the brewery is called "Schlenkerla" and the bottle is pictured to the right. Pour it into a glass and it smells like you just walked into a pig-roast (mmm...pig-roast *drool*); the smokiness in the smell is just as strong in the taste too. Some US microbreweries have even tried their hand at this brew, such as Rogue's Smoke Ale. Again though, no bacon is used in this type of beer.

Now let's go back to Wells' article regarding Brooklyn Brewery. To summarize, Wells attended his kid's friend's birthday party at Brooklyn Bowl, the next-door neighbor of Brooklyn Brewery. Since the bowling alley is in keg-rolling proximity, they serve Brooklyn's beers on tap. Over time, Garrett Oliver (brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery, pictured left) and his staff have become well acquainted with the staff at Brooklyn Bowl, so much so that Oliver recently used Brooklyn Bowl's stove to cook up some malt mash (yes, I was surprised that Brooklyn Brewery doesn't have its own stove too).

Now get this...this even sounds crazier than something that the crew at Dogfish Head would try...I love it...

The malt that Oliver is using was smoked in the same room as a reputable bacon producer (Benton's); Oliver said, "It's almost terrifying how much the malt smells like bacon." The plan is that 15 gallons of barleywine will be made with this malt. Meanwhile, Oliver will infuse a brown ale with Benton's bacon fat and age it in bourbon barrels (are you drooling yet? are you conscious?) Here's the crazy part: that bacon-smoked barleywine and bacon fat-infused brown ale will eventually be combined into one. When that happens, in my head I picture lightning bolts to strike down and an enormous mushroom cloud to come out of nowhere above the city of Brooklyn.

I can't put it any better than Garrett Oliver did though: "One of two things will happen. Either this will be the most amazingly disgusting thing you've ever tasted in your life. Or I shall rule the earth."

The Half Yard Glass

My birthday was this past Sunday and amongst friends and family, I had a great time and am very grateful for the good company and gifts bestowed upon me. I think my family knows me well because coincidentally, two of those presents happened to be beer glassware and beer. Though I already dipped into the beer, I patiently waited until tonight to christen my new glassware (because what better time than the Eagles preseason opener??)

I've had beer from this gigantic half yard glass before and now I can happily say that I can have beer from one anytime I'd like to. You can see that this glass is easily the king of beer glassware because it needs its own stand. On that first time that I experienced the half yard glass, I learned a lesson similar to the lesson learned in the movie Beerfest. And that lesson is simple: don't chug from one of these glasses unless you want to look like you just wet yourself. [Sidenote: Whether a turn of this glass, like DAS BOOT, prevents the bubble of beer from forming is an experiment I've yet to perform]

The contents of this glass come from Anderson Valley Brewing Company: the Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema. This is the first beer I've had from these brewers and it's refreshing and quite tasty, a perfect summer beer.

Cheers!...and Go Eagles!

Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey

That's right...not Rogue Dead Guy Ale...Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey. If that clarification rang a bell in your head, cheers to you for recognizing Rogue as a beer brewery. If not, and you're a beer drinker, I definitely recommend trying any of the beer varieties that Rogue brews. If I ever make a trip to Newport, Oregon, Rogue Brewery will be at the top of my itinerary. I can say with confidence that of all of the Rogue beers that I have tried, I've always been very satisfied. Among my favorites are the Chocolate Stout, Hazelnut Brown Nectar, Kells Irish Lager and of course the Dead Guy Ale. A couple unique brews that are must-tries are the Chipotle Ale and Smoke Ale.

Just like another one of my favorite beer breweries (Dogfish Head), Rogue also distills a line of six spirits: Dark Rum, White Rum, Hazelnut Spice Rum, Pink Gin, Spruce Gin and Dead Guy Whiskey.

These liquors aren't too easy to come by in the northeast, but that just makes getting my hands on a bottle that much more satisfying. I went with the Dead Guy Whiskey because it's the only spirit in the collection that has a solid connection with their beer: it uses the same 4 grains as the Dead Guy Ale.

I just poured a glass on the rocks and as you can see, it's very light in color. It has a refreshing, sweet summery aroma, a definite reflection of its use of free range coastal water. The sweetness comes out in the taste too, along with the pleasant smoky maltiness that you'll get from a whiskey.

If you're curious to try the Dead Guy Whiskey or another of the Rogue spirits, I should definitely note that their go-to contact for finding out where you can buy them gave me an immediate response (literally, within minutes). Just e-mail roguespirits@rogue.com for more info. And if anyone has tried the Dead Guy Whiskey or especially any of the other spirits, I would love to know what you think.