Archive for April, 2009

Bottle/Tap: Bottle

Last week I happened to jump in a plane and take a trip to Oahu, Hawaii, to pick up a few beers.  I ate at Duke’s on Waikiki and enjoyed a sunset near Diamond Head while watching people walk on the busy sidewalk.

If you believe any of that, I have a bridge to sell you.  No, I was in Manchester picking out some beers with a friend for the Bruins game when I came across a few beers from Kona Brewing.  I was amazed to see them on the shelf and bought one of each of the three beers they had.  I was intrigued and thought nothing would taste better during a hockey game than beer from Hawaii.

Kona Brewing is based in Kona, Hawaii, but they have a satellite brewer in Portsmouth, which explains why I could get this beer all the way in New England.  It still tasted like I should have been on the beach, though.  This was a smooth lager that didn’t taste like any lager I was used to.  There was a funny twist toward the end that made me realize that this beer was from a part of the world where it is sunny all the time.

When I was 13, I took a trip to Oahu for two weeks with my family, and this beer brought back many memories.  I liked how it wasn’t very bitter and emphasized more of the flavor than anything else. There weren’t any extra fruit flavors; it was straight forward and delicious.  This was a treat and a trip down memory lane.

With summer coming over the horizon I suggest finding this brew wherever you can and adding it to your normal regiment of summer beers.  Hang loose!

My husband and I have become amateur bartenders.  Both of us like to create cocktails, though we each have our own methods.  For me, I try to create a theme for the dinner and drinks, so they coordinate.  I also strive to make my drinks light and not too sweet.  My husband takes more of a spontaneous approach.  He will review his ingredient options, grab a few that sound good, mix, and sample what he has created.

Obviously with his method of  mixing, there have been creations that were failures, and others that have been great successes.  Recently, he has been using almond liqueur in many of his drinks, which can produce a drink that is too sweet for me.  However, last week he found a combination that worked perfectly for both of us.

With a mix of tropical flavors, juice, selzter, and almond liqueur, I found the drink to be an interesting combination.  Served over ice, it was the perfect drink to sip while enjoying cheese and crackers.  Perhaps random construction of beverages is his forte.

Luau in Italy

1 oz. vodka

1 oz. almond liqueur

1 oz. pineapple-coconut rum

1-1/2 oz. cranberry juice

ice

seltzer (plain or flavored)

maraschino cherry

Place 4 ice cubes in a martini shaker.   Add vodka, liqueur, rum, and cranberry juice, and shake well.  Pour drink and ice into a lowball glass, and fill with seltzer.  Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Bottle/Tap: Bottle

Ok, in my last post I mentioned that it is time for lagers and IPAs to come out of hibernation, but I just realized that I had a few dark beers hanging around that I needed to sample.  Plus, I haven’t written about a good Dogfish Head in a while and thought that this beer deserves a chance.  I do enjoy a good brown ale, and this was a very good brown ale.

This creative beer had a really great color pouring into my glass.  I will admit that it poured our very thick from the bottle and had the best aroma as I let it sit on the counter.  Coming in at 7.2% this was a little stronger than your average brown ale, but that didn’t sway me.  I jumped right in and noticed the great caramelized flavor. It was really prevalent throughout the entire pint.

As the beer came to room temperature, I found it actually got smoother than when I started drinking it, which made me happy.  There was still that normal bitter zing for character, yet overall it was very smooth and I enjoyed it.  If all you’ve had by Dogfish Head are their IPAs and nothing else, you really should branch out and try their other ales. The range they possess is amazing, and you won’t be let down.

This was one of those moments where I wished that I had some vanilla ice cream in my freezer. Oh, you bet I was going to make another beer shake.  I guess I’ll have to get some more of this brown ale and just mix up a shake some other time.  If you’re in the mood for something a little different than a Newcastle, give this a go.

Typically, I am an on time sort of person.  I don’t like being late for events or making others late.  However, this post is almost a month overdue, as it is the recipe for my St. Patrick’s Day creation.  Granted, I forgot to take a photo of it at our celebration, but I could have done that the next day. No gold star for my promptness on this post.

So, I guess I will spin this one as best I can.  I am helping everyone to be ready for next year’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration 11 months early. . .

A few notes about this drink.  It is a frozen drink, so it can be a little heavy.  I would suggest serving it as a dessert or an appetizer but not with your corned beef dinner.  Frozen drink + boiled dinner = very heavy!

This drink has an intense mint flavor.  Depending on your level of appreciation for mint, you can add more milk or cream.  Because of the mint flavor, I prefer it served as a dessert, kind of like the mint you receive with your bill.  To give it more of a dessert feel, you can top it with some whipped cream and a sprinkling of cocoa powder.

Happy early (or late) St. Patrick’s Day!

Minty McFreeze

1-1/2 oz. creme de menthe, green

1-1/2 oz. creme de cacao

1 oz. vodka

1 oz. milk or cream

ice*

Pour creme de menthe, creme de cacao, vodka, and milk in blender.  Add 6 ice cubes.  Cover and blend.  Add more ice, if needed, to create your desired consistency.

*For a more decadent drink, you can replace the ice with vanilla ice cream for a Minty McFreeze Shake.

Bottle/Tap: Bottle

Spring is here, which means it is time for lagers and IPAs to come out of hibernation.  I know that I do not particularly care for IPAs, but that does not mean that I discriminate against them, I drink each beer equally.  For the record I do not care for Dogfish Head IPAs because they are so strong; all others I will give a chance.  Hitting up one of my usual spots I picked up a bottle of this IPA for two reasons: I had never heard of Blue Point before, and the label is pretty snappy.

This is a traditional IPA, nothing overpowering, and I enjoyed the aroma coming from the bottle.  It poured out a very nice golden color in my glass, and the hop scent was inviting.  Like any normal IPA this one was 6.8%, which is the right range for this type of beer, not too strong and not too weak.  It didn’t taste weak, that is for sure.

There was the usual bitter taste at first, but it really smoothed out afterward, which impressed me.  Normally IPAs make me want to drink water to get over the dry sensation; this one didn’t have that effect.  It went well with the stir fry I happened to be eating for dinner. Random food pairing always helps with beer sampling.

This was a surprising find, and I’m glad the label caught my eye.  Normally I’d pass by an IPA, but there was something about that pyramid that sucked me right in.  If you are someone who likes IPAs or wants to break into them, I suggest giving this a shot.

Unless you want to jump in to the deep end first. . .go get a Dogfish Head.