I find cooking with beer to be one of the most morally vexing issues of our time. Sure, food is good; some may argue a necessity. Food that tastes good is better still… and adding beer makes everything better. Right?
And yet, I was raised to never waste beer- and I’m talking cheap swill of the sort you wouldn’t order for your worst enemy. Beers like Genny Cream and Milwaukee’s Best. During my formative years beer was regarded as a sacred beverage, and you always had to finish your beer. God forbid if you accidentally spilled a beer, you were duty-bound to drink an equal volume of the same in tribute. All-in-all, I think this outlook is good and worthwhile- we live in a wasteful society, and I despise the notion of drainpours… those beers brewed in such a way that they are rated to be not worthy of your consumption. Get over yourself, people. It’s just beer.
That’s why it’s so hard for me to dump a perfectly good beer into food I’m preparing. I like to cook- nothing fancy mind you. I like to grill meat. I like to cook breakfast. By far the favorite culinary weapon in my admittedly limited arsenal is the crockpot. It’s hard to mess things up; most recipes throw out suggested figures like “cook on low 4-6 hours” (I appreciate a large margin for error when cooking). You can throw a bunch of ingredients in the slowcooker before you leave for the day and come back to a home wafting delicious aromas, with no danger of burning your domicile to the ground. The meal can be kept fresh and hot for the whole family, despite staggered schedules and varying supper times.
That’s why I was excited to stumble across a crockpot recipe that is cheap, easy, hearty, and greatly improved by beer. Does my shriveled Alehead heart feel a pang when I added the fermented ingredient? Sure, a little, but it grows three sizes when I sample the final product. Read the rest of this entry »
Received this email from Doc just now… if you’re in the nation’s capitol, go buy him a beer (or at least a 4-ounce pour). In related news, tell us what you’re drinking tonight.
Is it wrong to hang out at Church Key in DC all by yourself while you’re waiting for friends to come to town? I didn’t think so either. Glad we’re clear on that. Started off with some collaboration from Mikellar and Stillwater called Two Gypsies – Our side. Fine Saison for a humid-as-fuck day. Now I’m getting into some 4-oz pours. Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald (for Kid) and Mikellar 19. Pretty much everything they have on draught is some one-off or collaboration between breweries. I’m in love.
An über-beer geek and writer is looking to raise funds for a 30-BBL brewhouse in San Diego? Yeah, that’s somebody I need to talk to… Jacob McKean is in the midst of fundraising for Modern Times Beer and we discuss his experiences working as a social media specialist at Stone Brewing, his Beerpulse Op-ed piece, bringing on famed homebrew blogger the Mad Fermentationist as a consultant, their projected beer line-up (including a homage to Nugget Nectar), and much more.
If you’ve ever thought about taking your homebrew hobby to the pro level, listen to this and understand what you’re getting into.
Follow Modern Times on Twitter, Facebook, and say hello to Jacob if you are attending CBC ’12.
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I get to interview Tony, from Lagunitas. It is awesome. If you like craft beer, listen to it as soon as possible. If not, please move along. That is all.
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North Carolina Brewers Guild Director and honorary Alehead Win Bassett checks in to discuss the announcement that New Belgium is building a new production facility in Asheville. We talk about differences from the Sierra Nevada expansion plans, proposed LEED certification, and reactions from NC brewers and drinkers as their state becomes a focal point for craft beer in the eastern United States. At the end, Slouch’s Alehounds make a surprise appearance, only adding to the professional nature of this episode.
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The boys are back on a historic day in the craft beer revolution as New Belgium finally commits to North Carolina. Then they get drunk and talk about a bunch of really interesting stuff. If you like beer, that is. Stuff like:
Flying Dog brewmaster Matt Brophy stops by to discuss International Arms Race, their zero IBU IPA collaboration with Brew Dog. We get into the challenges of brewing in a world without hops, how they hooked up with the extreme Scottish brewers for this unusual project, and some details about exciting upcoming beers coming out of Frederick.
Akron Beacon Journal beer writer Rick Armon stops by the podcast to discuss his new book Ohio Breweries. The latest in the popular Stackpole Series, Rick visited 49 breweries and brewpubs in the Buckeye State in less than 5 months and lived to tell the tale! He dishes about Ohio breweries familiar to all Aleheads like Great Lakes, Fatheads, and Hoppin’ Frog, and reveals some of his favorite small breweries in the state that may soon become familiar names like Indigo Imp, Jackie O’s, and Mt. Carmel.
A lively conversation that gives a glimpse into the great things Ohio has to offer for beer lovers.
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Adam Nason is the founder and operator of Beerpulse, the world’s leading beer news website. We discuss how a nighttime hobby transformed into a business with the explosion of the craft beer industry, the challenges of monetizing publishing in the digital age, the debate over ethics in beer blogging, the death of embargoes, the future of beer media, and much more. For anyone with an interest in the writers and the technological tools they use to narrate the craft beer movement in America, this episode is a must-listen conversation with one of the most quietly influential individuals in the industry.
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As you may know, I hail from Pittsburgh… a wonderful, livable city but hardly the craft beer capital of America. Like everywhere else in the country there are several excellent local breweries producing high-quality suds, and a thriving community of enthusiasts currently planning the city’s first Craft Beer Week, but in terms of national acclaim we just don’t match up to destinations like Portland, San Diego, Denver, or Asheville. Yet, we’ve got a beer on tap in the Steel City you can’t find in those craft meccas that keeps winning awards in the most competitive category of any beer festival- the Fat Head’s Head Hunter IPA.
The results speak for themselves: Great American Beer Festival Silver (‘10) and Bronze (‘11) for American-Style India Pale Ale, West Coast IPA Festival Gold (‘09), and Draft Magazine’s Top 25 Beer in the World (‘09). There are more awards- lots more. The Head Hunter just won the Brewing News National IPA Championship, reclaiming a crown it first secured in 2010. There’s no question it’s a delicious beer. Though they brew Head Hunter at a production facility outside of Cleveland, the first Fat Head’s was a beer-centric gastropub on Carson St in Pittsburgh’s vibrant South Side Flats- and that is one of the few places you can sample this highly-decorated IPA on a consistent basis.
Classification, awards, and top ten lists are something irrevocably weaved into the American psyche, and we Aleheads have glommed onto this fact (mostly subconciously) in order to get more people to read our stuff. In short, it is human nature to want to know what is “Best” in the world of beer, and a quick glance at our most popular posts reveals this:
In our round up of IPA’s there is no Head Hunter to be found- although I submit it for consideration, it’s limited range and draft-only status means that our national membership can’t get their hands on it. The winner of our humble little survey two years running has been Ballast Point Sculpin IPA.
The Head Hunter and Sculpin represent very different points on the IPA flavor continuum- while Sculpin is perfectly balanced with citrus notes and bursting floral characters, the Head Hunter possesses a quality some describe as “Piney Resin” but I can only suitably sum up in one word- “Dank”. Read the rest of this entry »
When last we spoke with Win Bassett, he was but a simple beer blogger like any other Alehead… now he’s the new Director of the North Carolina Brewers Guild with a mandate to spread NC craft beer across our great nation. We talk about how he plans to accomplish this, some exciting new breweries opening in his state like Mystery Brewing and Haw River Farmhouse Ales, and updates to some current beer news events like the impending Sierra Nevada expansion to the greater Asheville area.
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*For our tens of fans that find it entertaining to hear Slouch drunk on the podcast, this episode is basically your “Sergeant Pepper’s”. He starts out half in the bag and it doesn’t get better as he consumes a growler of Founder’s Double Trouble. For those that don’t find it entertaining… well… sorry. I’d just go ahead and skip this one. Read the rest of this entry »
Tröegs Craft Brewery General Manager Ed Yashinsky is our guest to talk about the release of their vaunted Nugget Nectar Imperial Amber Ale, the challenges and joys of moving into their state-of-the-art new T2 brewing facility in Hershey, updates on favorite upcoming Tröegs seasonals like Perpetual IPA and Mad Elf, some info on their Scratch and Splinter programs, and a whole lot more. In true Tröegs fashion, Ed is an open book as to their plans and reveals a bunch of information for fans of the brewery in this episode of the podcast.
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Acclaimed beer writer Jay Brooks is on the line to breakdown another epic SF Beer Week. Featuring 300-some events and 67 breweries in attendance, this celebration of beer will make your Alehead spin…
Jay takes us through some of the highlights of the week, from haute dogs at the circus with the Homebrew Chef Sean Paxton to the Double (and Triple!) IPA Festival. He also dispenses some advice for other cities across the country planning their own beer weeks.
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Former Goose Island brewmaster and craft beer pioneer Greg Hall stops by to discuss Virtue Cider- his latest venture to produce heirloom apple ciders with modern craft fermentation and aging techniques. We talk about similarities with the craft cider movement to craft beer in the early 90′s, the development of Virtue’s first offering dubbed “RedStreak”, the way cider is viewed in the US and Europe, Big Beer dollars getting into craft cider, and much more. A great conversation with one of the most important and knowledgeable beer and cider makers in the world…
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We welcome Ken Linch and Nathan Herrold to the show, founders of and brewers at Bridge Brew Works in Fayettville, WV. Topics include: opening and operating a production brewery in a state with extremely restrictive alcohol laws, capitalizing on visitors that come seeking whitewater rafting and other outdoor activities with fresh, local craft beer, and plans to expand without losing their hands-on approach.
Alehead Pat Strader sent me the following email describing the impact Bridge Brew Works has made on the West Virginian beer scene and the dedication these guys have for their craft; I couldn’t have said it better myself:
“They are trying to introduce new styles to an area otherwise devoid of craft beer, or understanding craft. The little town where we are, is an anomaly. There are several world-class restaurants here, and Bridge Brew is helping by providing them with fresh, local beers that range the spectrum. A simple cross-over lager? They have that… to very high gravity, and legit Belgian-style beers (Triple, Dubbel, Trubell).
It’s also interesting to me, that they are just two guys….doing 99.9% of the work with some sporadic volunteer help. After the call I actually had a talk with Nathan, and he was telling me about cleaning kegs all day..and the extra care he put into them and he didn’t want to pass the job off because of the impact it would have on the end product. Bottom line, these guys take great care with their stuff…”
We welcome Edinburgh-based blogger and podcaster Beercast Rich to the show and talk about the latest craft beer news on the other side of the pond, including: CAMRA, the cask vs. keg debate, Brewdog’s role in UK beer culture, some exciting Scottish brewers you’ve never heard of, and more.
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Today’s guest is Prague-based beer writer Evan Rail- we discuss his new essay Why Beer Matters available for Amazon Kindle, beer and homebrewing culture in the Czech Republic (including the unlikely rise of the Czech IPA), where to go as a beer geek with three days in Prague, and his pratfall in front of Anthony Bourdain during the filming of No Reservations.
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Posted by Slouch Sixpack 
