Old Bacon Fashioned

Mmmm...more bacon. Let's face it, bacon is nothing new. People have loved it for years. However, it's turned into quite the novelty in the past few years with almost every bacon-flavored item (edible and otherwise) you can imagine being made. I'll admit that I fit the profile of "sucker" for this trend; if I see something bacon-flavored, I'm probably going to buy it. And so...I bring you a recent purchase of Torani's bacon-flavored syrup.

You probably are familiar with Torani for its line of coffee syrups. You may not know that this company makes a lot of syrups that can also be used in desserts and other beverages, including cocktails. Sure, you could use bacon syrup in your coffee (and I probably will try it, I won't lie), but I think most crazy people who actually buy this stuff like me try it out in their cocktails. We've covered both bacon-infused vodka and bourbon on this site, so this isn't anything new, but just another angle for bacon addicts to use in their libations.

Though what I've read out there about a Chocolate Bacon Martini sounds enticing, I'm going to start out using this syrup in an Old-Fashioned. The syrup is more of a maple bacon flavor (yep, I did a straight taste test...this stuff is liquid gold) and it contains a pretty good dose of sugar, so I figured it can just be added to bourbon and Angostura bitters, and I'll nix the orange/cherry for the first experiment.

The Old-Fashioned is a good cocktail to try with this syrup since it's a sweet spin on bourbon, rather than a smoky one. I don't think this syrup would bode well in a traditional vodka martini, but I may have to pick up some Godiva chocolate liqueur and have myself a very manly dessert-tini sometime soon.

If you're interested, buy the syrup here.

St-Germain Liqueur

Elderflowers. When hearing the word, all I can think of is Monty Python & The Holy Grail: "Your mother is a hamster and your father smells of elderberries!" which came from the French Knight. St-Germain Liqueur, also French, is an elderflower liqueur. The creation of this liqueur is pretty impressive...

Apparently, in the spring, men freshly pick elderflower blossoms in the Alps and bring them via bike to the market. Thus, this is certainly not a mass-produced liqueur, though it seems to be somewhat of a trendy ingredient in cocktails lately. It might be because it comes in a fancy-pants bottle. In a word though, the result of the creation of this product is floral. It has a fresh, fruit-based flower-like aroma and taste, making it pretty versatile in cocktails, with its 20% alcohol content.

On the St-Germain website alone, I see a wide range of uses for this such as in an old-fashioned (elder-fashioned), gin and tonic, with a pilsner beer as a shandy and also with sake or wine. Being a pretty hot day, I figured it appropriate to try this liqueur out in a gin and tonic. I don't drink tonic-based cocktails often, but I really enjoyed the St-Germain added to it because it cut down the bitterness of the tonic slightly.

If anyone has tried this unique liqueur in any other type of cocktail, please let me know.

Homebrew: Belgian Tripel

Another homebrew process has come to an end. The most arduous task of the process, drinking it, has now started. I'm pretty happy with how this beer turned out; the whole process went very smoothly. This is my sixth brewing effort and I'm still trying to figure out if it's taken over the top spot held by the porter I brewed.

This brew was a Belgian Tripel. Here are the ingredients I used (courtesy Midwest Supplies):

4 lbs Extra Light Dry Malt Extract
3.3 lbs Pilsen Light Malt Extract
1.5 lbs Light Belgian Candi Sugar
8 oz Caravienne Grains
4 oz Aromatic (pre-mixed)
1 oz Sweet Orange Peel
Hops: 2 oz Styrian Goldings, 1 oz Willamette
Yeast: Wyeast Belgian Schelde Ale

I think upping the ante with the yeast definitely helped this beer. The only thing that I can critique myself about doing, having tasted the beer, is my hop filtering. I should probably get a hop ball or infuser for my next brew because this beer tastes a little more bitter/hoppy than I wanted it to. Unfortunately, my hydrometer broke on day 1 of brewing so I was unable to measure the alcohol content of this beer, but I would estimate it to be somewhere around 8-9%. I think the sweet Belgian-esque flavor comes out when this beer comes to room temp. As you can see above, it turned out with a nice color and head; there was also some lacing around the glass as I drank it. This will be the first beer that I'll cellar to see how it tastes over time.

I'm also happy to say that a Ferrari was used during this brewing process:



Ok so it's only a bottling tree for drying sanitized bottles. But in all honesty, it's red, it's made in Italy and it's literally manufactured by a company called Ferrari (see right). So I can tell people I own a Ferrari...a $35 Ferarri, but a Ferrari nonetheless.

My next brew, if I get supplies soon, should be ready by August...any suggestions/ideas?

Review: Buckbean Brewing Co.

Love it or hate it, Twitter is an excellent platform for beer lovers. Nearly every US microbrewery you can name is tweeting, but perhaps even better is that many microbreweries that you can't name are doing the same. Though I don't have any hard evidence, it's safe to assume that Twitter has brought some due exposure to some hard working beer makers. Exhibit A: Buckbean Brewing Co. (@BuckbeanBeer) Thanks to Twitter and the good-natured generous folks at this small brewery in Reno, Nevada, I got the chance to try a few of their brews.

First off, here's another brewery that distributes in cans (pint cans I should add). People who argue that canned beer tastes metallic need to give it up; it's in your head because it's just not true.

The first brew I tried was Buckbean's Black Noddy Lager. Moderately dark with a thin head, this black lager is nice and roasty. Not much of an aroma explosion but it had a typical caramel coffee type smell that you'd expect. At 5.2% ABV, it's not off the walls and it doesn't go overboard with the roasted malts and flavor. Some beers with roasted malts can taste a tad on the burnt coffee side, but this lager is nicely balanced.

Second up was the Tule Duck Red Ale. This brew had a deep dark red color to it with a nice head on it that stuck around. The flavor didn't blow my mind - a very subtle hoppy graininess to it. Overall, however, another very drinkable beer at a surprising 6.2%.

Lastly, I tried the Original Orange Blossom Ale. Very nice deep orange color with a thin head and the best smell of the three: citrus all up in your face. I couldn't help but compare this to Buffalo Bill's Orange Blossom Cream Ale, which I think almost tastes a tad watered down in comparison. Buckbean's Orange Ale had some more bite to it with a pleasant combination of hops, spice and citrus and a very carbonated mouthfeel. Another sessionable beer for most at 5.8%, though the flavor might get to be a bit too much after a few.

The winner of the three in my book: Black Noddy Lager. From drinking all three though, I can see that the guys at Buckbean are trying to brew nicely balanced traditional styles of beer, which you have to respect amidst the extreme beer madness. I would drink any of these three beers again and it's my understanding that I have another new brew coming my way from Reno soon so stay tuned...

And if you're on Twitter, or happen to be in Reno, check out Buckbean Brewing Co.

Beer Review: Rogue Dirtoir Black Lager

I'm all about Rogue Nation. If I see a new brew from Rogue Brewing on the shelves or on tap, I'm definitely going to try it. I was happy to see this unique offering from my favorite brewery, the Dirtoir Black Lager. This beer is part of the GYO (grow your own) trend, meaning all of the malt and hops used for this beer were grown on Rogue's premises. Though I haven't had a chance to try the first one, this was the second offering from the Chatoe Rogue series (the first being a Single Malt Ale.)

A local beer I had with a similar sustainable effort to this was Weyerbacher's Harvest Ale, which against all odds, used hops grown nearby in its Easton, PA area farm with great results. Other than that, you mostly only see West Coast breweries like Sierra Nevada and Stone growing their own hops. This beer, however, was the first US microbrew I've seen that does the whole shabang.

The appearance lived up to its name; as you can see, it was blacker than black. Though black lagers (schwarzbiers) are old-style beers originating in Germany centuries ago, you don't see many US craft breweries producing them (Sam Adams, Saranac and Shiner are the only few that come to mind). This lager had a nice dark roasted flavor and I tasted some earthiness dirt flavor in it, which you normally would only associate with wines (and though it may sound odd, it's refreshing). There is a subtle bitter taste, but at 6% ABV, this beer is ultimately pretty smooth.

There's a Rogue in each of us...cheers.

Licor 43

Dr. Pepper may have Dr. Dre advertising for them, but it only has 23 flavors. Cuarenta y Tres, a Spanish liqueur, has 43 ingredients. The drink goes back to Roman times, when during war, Romans discovered a local drink in the Mediterranean with an aroma of herbs and fruits from the area which they soon called Mirabilis (marvelous). Apparently, locals kept the recipe secret, passing it down the generations until Licor 43 became popular during the 50's in Spain. Though there's a good chance that you've never heard of it, here's some evidence of how long it's been around:



I just discovered this drink a little over a year ago. The dominant tastes of the 43 ingredients are citrus fruits and vanilla; it's dangerously smooth and quite tasty. Though I have yet to really experiment with it, it markets itself as a highly versatile liqueur, which I can definitely see. It can be mixed with virtually any liquor to add a touch of sweetness. At the same time, the first time I had it was as a digestif so it's perfectly adequate on its own, and at about 62 proof, it goes down easy.

Chocolate Bitters

Bitters...a little bit of them can go a long way in a cocktail. Angostura bitters, the first ones that were made, were actually invented for stomach issues in hopes to aid digestion. Made from spices and herbs, they do have a sour or bitter taste on their own, but they add something completely different . Today, you can find all types of flavors of bitters: lemon, orange, peach, mint, cherry and celery.

I stumbled across one flavor that I wanted to try: chocolate bitters. It's a blend of cocoa, peppers and spices; a sniff of it presented more of a cinnamon type smell. Unlike other bitters, there is no alcohol in these ones so it didn't have as strong of a smell. It tasted a bit more like spicy cinnamon, but there was a hint of chocolate in the aftertaste. It's advised to use these bitters in dark spirits, like rum, whiskey or tequila. I decided to try out a tequila cocktail first...

2 parts tequila
1 part Licor 43 (sidenote: more to come about this)
1 part Cointreau
Few dashes chocolate bitters

I mixed this and the Cointreau overpowered the drink; so then I played around with the other ingredients, trying to balance it out, but didn't have any luck. I had to sacrifice this effort to the sink. I have trouble with tequila cocktails that aren't margaritas.

So I gave the bitters a second effort, this time trying a traditional cocktail to see how the chocolate bitters could impact it. I made a Manhattan:

2 parts Jim Beam
3/4 sweet vermouth
Couple dashes angostura bitters
Couple dashes chocolate bitters
Cherry

At first sip, it tasted like...a Manhattan. I added some more of the chocolate bitters, sipped, more of the bitters, sipped again and struggled to find that extra chocolate kick. Like before, I did get a little bit of a chocolate aftertaste but it was very subtle.

I'll have to try some other recipes with these chocolate bitters until I find one that makes them shine. Anyone have any ideas? Let me know.

Ice

Ice is a necessary yet often overlooked component of many cocktails, understandably because it only really serves one purpose: cooling your drink. However, it also dilutes your drink, which might be a good thing depending on what you're making (such as a "rum and coke"...5 parts rum, 2 drops of coke)...but if it's not, then you may want to put some more consideration into your ice.

I came across this video a few months ago:



Pretty cool, right? Simple concept...make one large ice cube for your cocktail for slower dilution while still cooling your drink. I watched this and thought it would be pretty cool to own a contraption like this. Of course, that was until I saw the price. I couldn't find a price for this particular Macallan model, but similar models were nearly $200. No thanks.

Thankfully, I was able to browse around and find something that serves the same purpose, though not as flashy, for about $12. Considering we're talking about frozen water here, I opted for this one. The device is simply a silicone ball with a small hole at the top where you can fill it with water; after sticking it in the freezer, it comes apart at the half to remove the ice ball. That said, you could probably put together a homemade contraption to serve the same purpose for even cheaper.

Some trendy bars are implementing this same method; one local bar, The Bookstore, chips at large ice blocks for a solid chunk of ice in their cocktails.

If you're interested in the ice ball maker I bought, you can get it here (picture below):
MUJI Ice Maker

Book Review: Extreme Brewing

Sam Calagione is an icon for entrepreneurship, passion and of course, beer. Calagione is the founder of Dogfish Head Brewery, which has taken craft beer to a whole new level ("Off-centered ale for off-centered people.") It's amazing to me that Sam started a brewpub when he was about my age 15 years ago; what's even more admirable is that 15 years later, he has intentionally avoided "selling out." You can tell that he's in the business for one reason: passion.

I finally got around to reading one of the handful of books that he's put out: Extreme Brewing: An Enthusiast's Guide to Brewing Craft Beer at Home. Though the title may lead you to think that you'd have to be home brewing for years in order to take something out of this, that's not the case. The first section of the book explains the ingredients of beer, the equipment you need to brew it and the basic process of brewing (A-Z, 26 steps). Then it gets into what makes an "extreme" beer with brief explanations of different styles and the proper way to enjoy them. This first part of the book is like a condensed homebrewing and beer guide.

The second part of the book gets into recipes, providing about 25 interesting ale, lager and specialty beer recipes, a portion of which are provided by experts from other craft breweries in the country. Finally, the last part of the book provides about 15 food recipes that use beer.

Overall, I thought this book was a good read. A few of the reviews on Amazon basically pan it for lacking in-depth information on brewing, which I agree it doesn't but who said it would? I think it does a good job of being a basic resource for extreme beer without assuming you have any homebrewing knowledge before reading it, which is fairly difficult to do in under 200 pages with almost half of that strictly dedicated to recipes for beer and food.

Now from my viewpoint as an amateur homebrewer who has been brewing for under 2 years, although I think these aren't recipes that you should try on your first effort, I think if you're looking to adopt the hobby, first of all, it definitely doesn't hurt to read up on various recipes to learn about the brewing process for different beer styles. Second of all, my ultimate goal concerning my hobby for home brewing is to eventually work myself out of using recipe kits to create my own recipes for unique brews; reading unique beer recipes helps to inspire creativity.

Campo Viejo Reserva

Sí, después de un mes, este blog tiene español oficialmente ido.

Just kidding. Now, on a serious note, I have a deep, dark confession: I drank wine over the weekend, thus the Spanish title. I know, I know...I feel like Alfalfa from The Little Rascals betraying the He-man Woman-Haters club by going out with a girl. The truth is, however, I have nothing against wine. I just rarely drink it with the never ending various options in the world of beer. But I plan on changing that in hopes to learn more about wine and expand the subject matter of this site further. The good news is that I'll try my best to not snob up any posts about wine...the bad news is I won't be able to do that nearly as well as Gary V.

Now on to the wine...Campo Viejo Reserva '05, a triple grape wine: Tempranillo, Graciano (grenache) and Mazuelo. I chose this bottle because of the Tempranillo, which makes up 85% of this wine. Tempranillo is a Spanish grape that I discovered at a couple of tapas restaurants. They are now planted in all of the major wine-producing regions but they're native to Spain, mostly in the Rioja region which is kind of central north. The name means "little early one," referring to the fact that these grapes ripen weeks earlier than other Spanish grapes.

Even though they ripen early, most tempranillo wines are aged in oak barrels. This bottle sat in oak barrels for 18 months and then in the bottle for 18 months before being sold. At about 10 bucks a bottle, I won't say this wine will blow your mind. The flavor was great, but I wouldn't mind if that flavor was a bit more in-your-face explosive. That said, the subtlety and balance made it smooth; after all, you can't have in-your-face explosiveness all the time.

Check out the Spanish varietal section of the store for tempranillo wines, which are often part of a blend.