Beer Cocktail #3

For Beer Cocktail #3 I made The Honey Beer with Lakewood Hop Trapp. Lets call it The Honey Trapp. This cocktail is sweet, light, and refreshing but with that hoppy zing you've been missing.

The recipe by Jill Dobias of Joe & Missesdoe in New York is one of easiest you will come across, and incredibly satisfying. Almost too good to be true.

MissesDoe says to dip half of the Pilsner rim in honey and then lightly in salt, but I figured you can never have too much honey.  So, I dipped the whole glass.

Then, MissesDoe says to combine 1 1/2 oz. gin, 
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
, and 1 tsp. lemon zest
 into a cocktail shaker with ice, and strain over ice. I have strong distaste for my drink ever being watered down. So, I only used ice in the cocktail strainer.

Then you just pour your beer on top, and try saying no to this!

I almost didn't make this drink because I have never been a fan of gin. Boy am I glad someone talked some sense into me. I really cannot recommend The Honey Beer strongly enough.

The recipe itself calls for a pale ale, but I went with Hop Trapp (an IPA) because I am beyond obsessed with hops. I am sure that this recipe would be good with a regular pale ale, but it is incredible with a Lakewood Hop Trapp. Go drink this now, and get caught in The Honey Trapp!

Beer Recipe #1

Beer Recipe #1 was created by a friend of the blog who conveniently happens to be an award winning recipe author, and a cooking magician. The magical beer chef's first recipe ties together the fall season’s traditional game food & beverage. Oktoberfest Nachos are tortilla chips topped with Saint Arnold's Oktoberfest cheese sauce, grilled onions, poblano chilies, and crumbled bratwurst that has been braised in Saint Arnold's Oktoberfest.

Saint Arnold's Oktoberfest Nachos:

Pour one bottle of beer in a medium sized skillet.  Crumble one pound of raw sausage into the beer.  Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the beer has evaporated.  Once the sausage begins to fry, stir the sausage frequently until all sausage crumbles are lightly browned.  Transfer the sausage to a bowl to keep warm until needed.  Pour out the fat from the skillet except for about 2 teaspoons to sauté the onions and peppers.

Sauté one large onion cut into strips and  two poblano peppers (may substitute six jalapenos for more heat) with 1/8 teaspoon salt in the sausage skillet over high heat until the onions and pepper just start to show some brown color.  Take care to not overcook.  The onions and peppers should be crisp-tender when done.  Set aside.

Melt the two tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan.  Whisk in two tablespoons of flour to form a roux and cook for about 1 minute over medium high heat.  Whisk into the roux, 1 cup (8 ounces) of beer.  Cook until thickened and begins to bubble.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for an additional 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and add 8 ounces of shredded mild cheddar cheese, gently stirring until melted and the sauce is smooth.  

Assemble the nachos on a large platter or several smaller plates in the following order:

1)            Tortilla Chips     (bottom layer)

2)            Beer Cheese Sauce

3)            Beer Braised Bratwurst

4)            Sautéed Onions and Peppers

5)            1 Medium Diced Tomato   

Garnish with a dollop of Sour Cream, or Sauerkraut (optional)

 Prost Amigos!

Beer Cocktail #2

I made a Rooster Cogburn with Peticolas Velvet Hammer. This cocktail took more time and energy, but was well worth the effort.

The first step was to make a lager syrup. I still had some Deep Ellum Rye Pils leftover from my first cocktail. The recipe from Alex Gregg who runs the bar at Goro & Gun in Houston called for twenty four ounces of beer, one cup of sugar, and half a cup of brown sugar.

You need to reduce the beer by half, and then stir in the sugars. The recipe said to make sure the beer doesn't boil over, and as a result I was overly cautious and cooked it a lot slower than I should have. It took me an hour to make the syrup, but if I had to do it again I would keep the beer on med/high heat the whole time and probably be done in about half the time.

After allowing time for the lager syrup to cool I cleaned out the bottle from the ginger beer in Cocktail #1 and used it to store the syrup. This syrup is delicious. Sweet, with a hint of a beer flavored bite. Now that I have the lager syrup in my arsenal, you will be seeing it in a lot of my future cocktails.

With the hard part over, now comes the fun part. My Rooster Cogburn is:
1 1/2 oz. Buffalo Trace Bourbon
2 oz Peticolas Velvet Hammer
1/2 oz. Deep Ellum Rye Pils Syrup
1 tsp Steen's Cane Syrup (available at most grocery stores)
1 whole egg

You put some ice in the cocktail shaker, add in all the ingredients and you shake it up until the egg makes everything frothy and delicious. Then, you strain your Rooster Cogburn out into a glass with no ice and enjoy.

I absolutely loved the way the Peticolas Velvet Hammer complimented the bourbon in this drink. I even emailed Michael Peticolas himself to inquire as to whether we could expect a Bourbon Barrel Hammer in the near future, but he told me not to expect it anytime soon because everyone is doing them and the novelty has worn off. I will go on dreaming of a Bourbon Hammer, and drinking this in the meantime. I suggest you do the same.

Beer Cocktail #1

In this blog I aim to explore beer, and all its possibilities. So from time to time, I will be trying out different cocktail, and food recipes with local craft beer as an ingredient. I am starting with the most basic cocktail recipe I could find. It comes from imbibe magazine:

Deep Ellum Rye Pils Shandy Gaff

The recipe from imbibe calls for equal parts (8 oz) pilsner, and ginger beer. I have chosen to use Deep Ellum Rye Pils because I hope the bitterness from the rye will balance the light citrus flavor of the ginger beer.

When mixed 50/50 the ginger beer completely overpowers the Rye Pils. I feel that all I am tasting is the ginger beer. The only point of this recipe was to make a refreshing summer shandy that is enjoyable to drink. I had a hard time choking this mix down.

So, next I tried 8 oz of Rye Pils with 4 oz ginger beer. This was a much better balance. I could easily picture myself sipping on this on a hot day, or chugging this if I needed instant refreshment

I still prefer the Deep Ellum Rye Pils on its own, but my wife who turned her nose up at the Rye Pils, and the equal parts mix, loved the two to one mix. If you are into IBU's and alcohol content this isn't the cocktail for you, but it could be a quick fix if you or your lady are looking for something more refreshing.

The Original Recipe

Brewery Tour Schedule

The best way to get to know all the local breweries is to tour them. Most tours are Saturday, and get over at 3 p.m. Unfortunately for me, I work Saturdays until 4 p.m. If you are like me, most of the breweries offer private tours, but of course you can expect to pay more for those.

The weekly tours typically cost around ten dollars and with that price you get 3 or 4 tastings. They have really made their tours into events with live music, and food trucks on site. Many have made a point to mention there will be no A/C. So, don't show up in your leisure suits. Also, some suggest bringing your own lawn chair. Here is the schedule for the local tours:



Saturdays
Franconia – 11 a.m.  ($5 includes tastings)

FireWheel – 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. ($10 for four tastings and a glass or mason jar)

Revolver – noon to 3 p.m. (10 inlcudes four eight ounce tastings and a glass)

Deep Ellum – noon to 3 p.m.  ($10 includes beer tastings and a glass )

Lakewood – noon to 3 p.m. ($10 includes four tastings and a glass)

Community - "Beer School" noon to 2 p.m. ($25 includes tour) Tour from 2 to 5 p.m. ($10 or $8 in advance online includes a glass and samples)            

Rahr -- 1 to 3 p.m. ($10 includes tastings and a glass)

Peticolas – first and third Saturdays, 1 to 3 p.m. ($10 includes three tastings and a glass)

Martin House – 2 to 5 p.m. ($10 includes three pints and a glass)

Wednesdays
Rahr – 5 to 7:30 p.m. ($10 includes tastings and a glass)

Thursdays       

Deep Ellum -- 6 to 8:30 p.m. ($10 includes beer tastings and a glass )

Taco Con and Untapped

I hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day weekend. Next weekend is going to be a big weekend for beer lovers in Dallas.

Four Corners Brewery (423 Singleton Blvd Dallas, TX 75212) is hosting Taco Con this Friday September 6 from 6pm until 10pm. There will be five taco trucks, live music, and of course, beer! Admission, and parking are both free (my favorite price).

More details here


Gilley's Dallas is hosting Paste Untapped Saturday September 7th starting at 3pm (1:30pm if you buy a VIP ticket) until 10pm. Samples will be available of over 200 beers from over 60 breweries. Admission is from $27.50 to $62.50.  

Buy tickets here

Pre party at Craft & Growler September 6 at 6pm

Post party at The Loft September 7 at 10pm

Hope to see you out there!

Poland

Where You Never Have to Drive Home 

Spiz Minibrowar 
Wroclaw, Poland

Wroclaw is the third largest city in Poland. It is larger than Krakow and just as beautiful, but not nearly as famous mainly because people don't know how to say it [ˈvrɔt͡swaf].

Spiz is a brew pub in the city center "Rynek" right next to the City Hall "Ratusz". It has a big patio for warm days. When you open the doors there is an immediate flight of stairs down into the underground pub. At the base of the stairs is a little gift shop with some of the coolest beer mugs you will ever see. I have bought many of these for myself and as gifts. Turn right at the base of the stairs and you see the first picture below. God that is glorious. Something about big copper vats makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

There are six beers: Jasne Pelne (Light), Mocne (Euro Strong Lager), Miodowe (Honey), Ciemne (Dark), Karmelowe (Porter) Pszeniczne (Wheat). In general Polish people do not like "heavy" beers. So, even the dark beer is surprisingly smooth. My personal favorite is the Pszeniczne. The Miodowe is the most popular and should be tried, but I found it to be too sweet.

As a bonus, when ever you get a beer it comes with a free piece of smalec. Smalec is basically a piece of homemade bread covered in lard and bits of pork. Because, why fool yourself into thinking you are going to eat something healthy with your beer? 

Also in Wroclaw be sure to look for the Gnomes. They are hiding all over the city. This is how you should look after one night in Wroclaw.

The aforementioned Ratusz.


Coming soon:

Dublin Literary Pub Crawl

Kulatak (Pilsner Urquell Original Restaurant)

Galway (the whole city is basically a pub)