Archive for February, 2010

Bottle/Tap; Bottle

A few weeks ago, I found myself in Nashua buying a few Bavarian beers.  Considering I’m not too familiar with beers from this region, I picked up a few bottles to help educate myself.  You learn something new everyday, right?  That’s what I was thinking.

I decided to start with the lager, since I enjoy lagers and just made my own. I find lagers to be an easy beer to drink any time of year.  I had this beer chilled in a big glass, and I was very happy with the golden color.  I had a healthy swig and found that it was smooth, not bitter at all.  To be honest, this beer wasn’t complicated at all.  The label reads: water, barley, hops.  Simple, and that is what I like most about this style of beer.  Lagers don’t have to be crazy, and the Bavarians have been making them before there was water.

If you have a friend that is a Bud drinker, you may be able to talk them into drinking one of these.  Remember: Bud was brought over by a Bavarian immigrant, and the beer has just been ‘Americanized’ over the course of time.  If you wanted to try and convert a Bud drinker, give them something they might recognize with a twist.  The twist is, the original beer with all the calories in tact.  If you are too worried about the calories in your beer, then you should just drink water.  There are other places in my diet I could lose calories, but I’m not going to compromise taste for a lousy beer.

I spoke with a fellow that spent his childhood in Germany before coming to America, and he told me that his hometown had nine breweries in it.  One thing is for sure, at that rate I won’t be able to sample every Bavarian beer; I’ll do my best, though.

When the thermometer reaches 40 in New England in February, you take advantage of the warmth.  My husband and I did so this past weekend.  With no kids at home, the sun shining, and the warmth of a 40 degree day ahead of us, we decided to head to the Massachusetts coast.

We had no set agenda, just got in the car and started driving toward the ocean.  After stopping at an antiques shop and a butcher shop, we decided to spend our afternoon in Newburyport.  We had been here once before and remembered that there were a number of interesting shops and restaurants.

After several hours of browsing, we asked for a recommendation for a restaurant at which we could find a good cocktail and possibly a snack.  Thankfully, we asked at the right shop and were directed to Ten Center.

We arrived at 3:50, which was the transition time for the restaurant.  Lunch ends and dinner begins at 4:00.  However, the hostesses assured us that the chef would be accommodating to whichever menu we chose.  (This was refreshing; we have been to several restaurants at which we have been told that we needed to order quickly off the lunch menu or we’d have to wait for dinner to start.)  To allow us freedom in choosing, we were given both menus.

We were served by Cory, who also was the bartender.  She provided excellent service:  giving us time to consider our drink choices, delivering the drinks in a timely manner, and checking on us at reasonable intervals.  We had plenty of time to talk without interruption but never needed anything.

As we were stopping for a late afternoon break, our order was small.  I chose the Strawberry Lemondrop, and my husband chose the Gin and Ginger.  My cocktail was a combination of house infused strawberry vodka, muddled strawberries, and limoncello served in a cocktail glass with a sugared rim. If you read my articles, you know that I have some preferences in my drinks: slightly sweet and not syrups; this cocktail was a perfect fit for me!  The sugared rim and strawberries provided a nice amount of sweetness, the limoncello added some tartness, and the ingredients were combined in such a fashion as to make the drink non-syrupy.

My husband enjoyed his drink; it was a cocktail not seen on many menus of restaurants that we visit.  Made with Tangueray Rangpur Gin, ginger beer, and lime, it had a definite ginger flavor.  Served in a highball glass over ice, it was refreshing and light.

We weren’t very hungry, so we only ordered an appetizer of Crispy Fried Calamari. They were delivered within minutes of placing the order and were delightfully hot.  Although fried there was no greasiness to the calamari.  They were served with two different sauces: a garlic aioli and a sweet and spicy pepper relish.  While the aioli was good, the relish was phenomenal.  Its flavor and texture complimented the calamari wonderfully.

Although we could have stayed and relaxed at Ten Center for longer, we wanted to do a little more shopping before driving home.  Our first dining experience at this restaurant was excellent.  I am sure we will return there on our next trip to Newburyport.

Bottle/Tap: Tap and can

When it comes to Scottish ales, we got off on the wrong foot.  I’ve had Sam Adams and a few other variations that did not impress me.  For a long time I stayed away from Scottish ales because I thought they all had that burned bitter flavor to them, and I didn’t want to have any part.  Then one day I was out with friends, and one of my buddies got a Belhaven and soon after I got a Belhaven.  I wish I had this Scottish ale before all the others.

Either way you pour it in your glass, this ale looks like a Guinness.  The separation as the head builds at the top just made this ale look delicious.  I was happy that there was no bitter flavor at all, or burned notes, nothing like that all.  This beer was too smooth to drink, and I almost was going to ask for a half and half with Boddington’s, but I’ll save that for some other time.

I have a feeling that all Scottish ales should taste like this as opposed to what Sam’s puts out.  To be honest, the Sam’s reminds me of burned whisky, if that is possible to conceive.  Belhaven was the perfect substitute for Guinness, and I was happy to find it in Hopkinton.

There are directions on the can to make sure you enjoy the beer.  All you need to do is chill it for a bit and pour it in a glass slowly.  There is a rich taste if you let it get to room temperature, the key word is ‘if’ because I drink mine too fast.  If you are the type that likes a creamy looking stout, with a dark color and smooth taste, you will enjoy Belhaven.

Do you know what cocktail you will be making for your valentine?  If you need a suggestion, how about the cocktail that 1,007 readers voted as the best?  Cupid’s Kiss!

With steady voting until the poll closed, it was a close race for Cupid’s Kiss and Cayo al Corazon.  However, when the votes were tallied, the whisky & rum cocktail creation pulled ahead with a 150 vote lead.

As promised, we now offer the recipe for this winning cocktail.

Cupid’s Kiss

1 ounce Canadian Club Whisky

1 ounce Cruzan Raspberry Rum

Cranberry juice

Fill highball glass with ice.  Add whisky and rum, fill with juice, and stir.

Enjoy!

The Boston Wine Expo is an amazing event.  Over two days, you are surrounded by hundreds of wines and dozens of foods.  Even when you reduce those numbers to the amount that you actually sample, there still are many names and faces to remember.  At the end of the weekend, the most memorable are the ones that will stay with you.

One such memorable winery was Aaron Wines based in Paso Robles, California.  I was able to speak with the owner, Aaron Jackson, about his Petite Sirah, his vineyards, and his first trip to the chilly and snowy Northeast.  While speaking, I, of course, sampled some of his 2006 Petite Sirah, which was full-bodied, well balanced, and smooth.  An absolutely lovely wine!

With the numerous attendees at the expo, there simply is not enough time to conduct a full interview.  Since then I have emailed with Aaron to learn more about his wines. (more…)