Hip Hops Hooray!

Farmers markets.  Road-side produce stands.  The "local section" of our grocery stores.  We continue to search for the most economically and environmentally friendly way to provide for our local growers and farmers.  Beer is not any different but is much harder to find.  If you are quaffing locally brewed craft beer, why not ensure that they have included locally grown ingredients?  Brewing companies throughout the Northeast, especially in central New York, continue to add locally grown hops to their batches.  Using "more natural" methods for growing their 20-foot bines, the farmers outside of the Syracuse area proudly boast high quality hops due to the ideal climate.  I found this great video through YouTube based on a story on CNN (sorry, it would not embed) explaining how Empire Brewing Company has embraced this trend and spearheaded the movement.  These New York farmers admit they are revitalizing a process that ceased nearly a generation ago...thanks, disease and Prohibition.  More importantly, they understand that beer is comprised of four basic ingredients:  water, barley, yeast, and hops; they are not using anything that ends in carboxymythyl or gum aramyth.  As with any sector of the locally grown movement, farmers must limit their supply so as not to put out shoddy ingredients.  Although this may result in fewer batches or barrels, brewers feel confident in the product they serve.

(Image provided by Syracuse.com)

So who is using local hops for their beers?  Below you will find a small list of the craft brewing companies taking part of the local ingredients movement and bolstering the local economies.  Additionally, organizations like Atlantic Hops and the Northeast Hop Alliance are supporting the movement for growers, brewers, and consumers.  Visit their websites to see all of the incredible work they do to support sustainable beer culture.  

• Empire Brewing Company - Syracuse, NY
• Brown's Brewing Company - Troy, NY
• Flying Dog Brewery - Frederick, MD
• Ithaca Beer Company - Ithaca, NY
• Portsmouth Brewery - Portsmouth, NH
• Sierra Nevada Brewing Company - Chico, CA
• Barrington Brewery - Great Barrington, MA 

Let's raise a glass for growing green while drinking the amber, supporting local growers, and offsetting the greenhouse effect.  Slainte!

Sunday Sips: Post Road Pumpkin Ale

In the joy of themes, here is my first in a series proudly named Sunday Sips!  Featuring beers of the season, of the area, or simply of a moment.  Without further ado, here is what I sipped this week!

Fall is definitely a prime time for imbibing as we prepare for the monster known as the holiday season.  The smoothness of earthy notes and the warmness of spices yield both a refreshing and comforting flavor.  Pumpkin ales tend to hold these very qualities.  Early American Colonists added pumpkin to the early brewing of ales as they were nutritious, plentiful, and easy to mash up.  I don't mind that rationale!  Centuries later, every August through November, and with literally hundreds of varieties, pumpkin ales are picked from their shelves as quickly as they are brought in.  Since my wallet and liver would not allow me try them all, I plan to purchase a few choices samples based on friends' recommendations.

Beer Name:  Post Road Pumpkin Ale

Brewed By/In:  Brooklyn Brewery / New York, NY

ABV:  5%

Best Served In:  Pint Glass

Characteristics:  Orange-amber color.  Bready with slight pumpkin pie undertones.  Pumpkin flavor is not too intense but still enjoyable.  Finishes slightly bitter but light without making you feel too full.  Not too heavy for an ale, especially one with Fall flavors.  Easily thinning foam makes you feel like you get more beer for your buck.  

Food Pairing:  Post Road goes well with a meal with squash or other roots ingredients.  

Overall Rating:  7.5 - great start to welcome the cooler days of September.  A great way to heighten the pumpkin flavor is to take agave syrup (found in most organic/natural foods departments and grocers), cinnamon, and sugar.  In the style of margarita making, dip the rim of the glass into the agave, and then rub the glass into the sweet powder.  If you do not have agave, plain ol' H2O will do!

Until next Sunday...so let's a raise a glass to wearing cardigans, to sporting hoodies (finally), and to shaving less because you "need the extra layers."  Slainte!

Barack & Beer

Found this great article on CNN today – wonder what they drank!?

President pauses for beer with future Medal of Honor recipient

By: CNN Political Unit

Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama enjoyed a beer with Dakota Meyer on the patio outside the Oval Office Wednesday. The president will present Meyer with the Medal of Honor Thursday during a ceremony at the White House.

According to a series of tweets by White House spokesman Jay Carney, when a member of the president's staff called Meyer over the weekend to prepare, Meyer made a special request.

"On 9/8/09, Meyer, then a 21-year-old Marine corporal, repeatedly risked his own life to save the lives of 36 U.S. and Afghan troops," Carney tweeted. "Over the weekend, the president's staff called Meyer in preparation for Thursday's Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House."

"Meyer asked the staffer if he could have a beer with the President," Carney said.

"POTUS invited Dakota to come by the White House this afternoon."

Hurricane Irene...Challenge Accepted

I know I said that I would touch on flavors, but Irene took over all sense of logic and all that was right in the world. I need to give a big, "Thank you," to Lizzie Diem, for this amazingly LOL-worthy post. As shelves of stores were left with nothing but the ever-useless 9-volt batteries and sugar-free cereals, Hurricane Irene was poking her big nose into our trees and power lines.

Some Terms from the Beer Dictionary

I have realized, although only a few posts and followers in, that beer comes with its own language and catch phrases (as you may know, I LOVE a good catch phrase). You may have thought before, “ ‘Scuse me…hops?” Or, “What do you mean by lager or ale?” “And you mean to tell me that there are subcategories of all these things?” So, I have done some digging through other beer resources and some chatting with beer mongers to get as much information as possible.

Let’s start with phrases normally found in the beer community and on beer labels:

International Bitterness Units (IBU) – scale used to measure hop bitterness. Higher the number, the more bitter the beer. Pale lagers/ales fall at one extreme of the spectrum measuring from 10-50 IBU. Barleywines’ 50-100 IBU will immediately result in the ever-hilarious Bitter Beer Face.

Hops – small female flower used to flavor and stabilize beer. Depending on when they are added to the beer boiling process, the taste will greatly differ. Click here to see a shot of hops featured in my earlier post featuring Victory Brewing Company.

Alcohol by Volume (ABV) – expressed as a percentage of total volume, standard measure of ethanol content in an alcohol beverage. The higher the ABV, the safer you want to be with your consumption (this doubles as my public service announcement).

Fermentation – process by which yeast converts glucose (aka, sugar) to carbon dioxide gas and ethyl alcohol; determines the alcohol content and carbonation (aka, the bubblies).

Original Gravity – total amount of fermentable and unfermentable substances in wort. Brewers will have a general idea of alcoholic content based on the proportions.

Final Gravity – amount of unfermentable substance remaining. Once compared with Original Gravity, alcohol content may be determined.

Combine the above and you have beer…right? Well, kind of. It would be that easy if beer was only that – beer. These days, beer is no longer just a single-standing beverage that possesses only one standard of ingredients. Rather, beer has become a classification of a variety of drinks from which we select our favorite flavors. Essentially, all beer falls into one of two categories: ales or lagers. From the brewer’s standpoint, there are distinct differences. Similar to wine, the aging process and all of its components, including temperature, affect taste, character, and color. Below, you will find quick, structural differences between the two.

Ales

· Utilize top-fermenting yeast (recognized as the yeast rises to the top)

· Average 2-3 weeks of aging

· Requires warmer, more summer-like temperatures somewhere between 64-70 degrees

Lagers

· Bottom-fermenting yeast (recognized as the yeast falls to the bottom)

· Longer process - typically at least a month

· Requires early spring-like conditions of 52-58 degrees

What will you do if the label does not distinguish the difference for you? Next time, I will go into colors, flavor profiles, and ways to test your palate. I will provide some examples of each as well. Slainte!

True Life: I Lived in a College Town

Manayunk: where dreams of hovering over the line of adulthood and college life are quickly squashed with the reality of Philadelphia wage tax. Fear not my beer brethren (and sistren), there is hope for this neighborhood of steadfast locals and college transients: Manayunk Brewing Company and Restaurant. One of the few independent brewing companies in the city of Philadelphia, the Brew Pub certainly emits a ray of light through the darkness while traversing for parking up and down the alleged two-way side streets.

If only those wandering, unseasonably clad students knew that the Brew Pub was only a few years older than they. Arising from the ashes of the former Krooks Mill, came Manayunk Brewing Company and Restaurant. Perfect for its collegiate and young professional frequents, the Brew Pub’s outdoor seating and live cover bands beautifully balance the eight libations that are always on tap while offering a fine dining experience in the adjoining other half. From Stouts and IPAs to Blondes and Wits, brewers hone in on flavor profiles. Freshly brewed and rarely aged, the Brew Pub pours its seasonal specialties and flagships before the keg can celebrate a calendar year of being. In the spirit of the 4^th of July, the Brew Pub loves America and American hops. The Brew Pub’s lagers are heated with lots of hops, pils, munic, and caramunic malts to bring a distinct life for those who can sip these delights without making the Bitter Beer Face. Special THANK YOU to Doug Marchakitus, Head Brewer, for Manayunk Brewing Company and Restaurant. For more Brew Pub news, head to www.manayunkbrewery.com or follow them on Twitter at @ManayunkBrewery.

Featured Beer: Schuylkill Punch

Classification: Raspberry Lager

ABV: 6.0%

IBU: 14

Summary: Tart and sweet. Little extra labor for the fermenting and filtering systems by adding fruit puree of fresh black and red raspberries contribute to the color and distinct flavor and body. Perfect for covers of alt rock bands. No really, here is my friend Rosie’s Facebook status from just last night, “The band at Brew Pub is playing 311... Yeeeeah!”

As Hugh Hood said, “There is nothing better than a cold beer on a beautiful afternoon with nothing else to look forward to than more of the same.” Let’s raise a glass for a view over the water (even if it is the Schuylkill). Let’s raise a glass for one more playing of Wonderwall and Shout. Let’s raise a glass for Manayunk Brew Pub. Slainte!

So it's a small history lesson...

Since I have volunteered my family’s dirty laundry for the airing, I feel as though I should begin this blog with some of my favorite hometown flavors. Located right in my native land (and directly behind my high school for that matter), Victory Brewing Company of Downingtown, PA has brought many choice flavors to this beer enthusiast’s palate. For that matter, Victory brought new life to Chester County.

With nearly a dozen beers available year round, Victory offers a special seasonal selection. Contrary to the early weather patterns of Spring, Whirlwind Witbier is perfectly in season and one of my favorites. With the perfect proportion of malts and wheat, Whirlwind is light but is a full forced gale of flavor. Whirlwind sits perfectly with most seafood or a salad. Hey, how ‘bout a seafood salad!? (If anyone is familiar with my college roommate Scott Donovan, or if you are Scott Donovan, you will hopefully find that funny) Shockingly, Witbier has special qualities that keep it refreshing even when at room temperature. So go ahead, fall asleep outside with your beer next to you, and pick up where you left off when you arise. Nothing soothes fried, fair Irish skin like bottles of aloe and witbier.

Downingtown is a growing area that manages maintains its suburban charm. This particular section of Chester County was chosen for Victory’s facility because of its easy access to the Brandywine River- perfect for yielding a great product. Funny, I think my parents my chosen Downingtown for the same reason. The special process and ingredients of Victory’s brewing give way to what they describe as “great smoothness, complexity, and maltiness.” Also funny, these same qualities can be found in my four siblings and me.

There was a time in my pre-teenage angst that I swore that I would never return to the ‘burbs for my adult life. Now, there is not an area that I would rather be in than the outer reaches of Philadelphia. Chester County and the Brandywine River Valley possess an oldtown charm, a simplicity, and a history that draw me back. Similarly, Victory comes with the tastes of that charm, is made with that simplicity, and boasts of that history. Although it does not date back to the day of William Penn in the 17^th century, Victory’s oldest brews and bottles are HopDevil and Festbier; they continue to drive sales and travel around this country (29 states) and the world to be served in restaurants. Insisting on using simple, classic ingredients- 100% whole flower hops (seen above) and 100% German malts - perpetuates that oldtown feel and “house character.” (Hm…somewhere in there I felt a little like Papa John)

Thank you, Victory Brewing Company for providing Downingtown with 180 jobs. Thank you for providing families with an opportunity to dine in an affordable establishment with five-star products. Thank you Bill and Ron for using your friendship to fashion and sustain a relationship with Downingtown, a place that I find solace in calling home.

Raise your Whirlwhind Witbier with pride, Chester County. Happy Spring…Slainte!

For all things Victory, click here! A very special THANK YOU to Karen Noonan who played an incredible role in providing the information for this post. You have given great hope to this novice blogger's writings.