Prohibition 2013?

Last weekend with a great pair of friends, my other half and I spent the day at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center.  The featured exhibit, American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, chronicled the historical significance of alcohol and the years leading up to January 17, 1920, the passing of the constitutional amendment making alcohol illegal in almost all forms.

Get your tickets now!

The halls are filled with artifacts such as church hymnals with tunes about staying dry and an original growler - shaped much differently than our jugs of today.  Walk with the Temperance movement and learn if you are a "wet" or a "dry" based on a census-like survey asking your ethnic identity, religious affiliation, and occupation.  Perfect your Charleston while you sneak around the speakeasy and discover the origins of the term (spoiler alert: based on Irish history, naturally).  Incredibly, many of the rogue practices of the Roaring 20s still affect our drinking habits today.  Think about it: the precursor to the mixed-gender nightclub (the first Girls Night Out?); the birth of the mixed drink, gone were the days of simply ordering liquor on the rocks. Lastly, you see the impact of organized crime, how Al Capone came to shack up at our city's own Eastern State Penitentiary, and the fall of the 18th Amendment.

Sing on high the joys of being a dry.

American Spirits is running until April 28 and was about $17 as an adult.  I highly recommend taking a day into Philly and making a stop here!  Learn more about the exhibit at their site and see more of what the City of Brotherly Love is offer at the Visitor Center's Twitter (@PHLVisitorCntr)!  Slainte!

Nice to know you #18!

Philly Food Pairing!

CraftBeer.com is featuring a slew of fantastic food-beer pairings.  My favorite of them all?  Duh.  Philly Cheesesteak and Pale Ale!  Here is a selection from the article.  To see all of the delectable combinations, click HERE.  Slainte!

Philly Cheesesteak and Pale Ale

You may visit The Liberty Bell and attempt to sprint up the famous Rocky steps, but if you really want a taste of the City of Brotherly Love, you’ll be indulging in a Philly cheesesteak. The soft, chewy bread is filled with grilled rib-eye beef, either sliced or chopped, depending on who you ask. The sandwich is classically finished off “wit” onions and cheese including provolone or more commonly, bright orange Cheese Whiz.

Although flavorful, a cheesesteak has a mild taste that pairs perfectly with a pale ale. The slight hoppiness stands up to the onions and hearty meat, and the cleaner finish is refreshing after the salty beef and cheese. It’s satisfying but not overpowering, just like the sandwich.

Suggested Pairings

• Yards Brewing Company | Philadelphia, PA | Philadelphia Pale Ale
• Weyerbacher Brewing Company | Easton, PA | Verboten, Belgian pale ale
• All Saints Brewing Company | Greensburg, PA | Laurel Highlands Pale Ale 
• Breaker Brewing Company | Wilkes-Barre, PA | Lunch Pail Ale
• Appalachian Brewing Company | Harrisburg, PA | Purist Pale Ale 
• Copper Crow Beer | Lafayette Hill, PA | Copper Crow Pale Ale 

Bottle Up Your Holiday Cheer!

I love this time of year.  The colors, the sounds, the smells, and, of course, the festive decorations.  I know that I have done a terrible job keeping up with my blog over the fall/winter months but I found a fantastic and fun addition to your holiday trimmings while paging through Pinterest.  Whether you are home brewing or planning holiday soirees, these Ellinee labels will really jazz up your bottles and truly make your days merry and bright.  All you need is a stack of Avery labels, stock #5265, and a color printer.  To read more and print the PDF, visit HERE.  Happy holidays!

American Craft Beer Week is Here!

From May 14th through the 20th, the city of Philadelphia will partake in the nationwide American Craft Beer Week.  Enjoy $3 craft beer drafts from 5pm-7pm.  Below you will find the list of participants by neighborhood.  Don't forget about Philadelphia Beer Week coming in June!

Old City

Beneluxx

Bierstube

Eulogy Belgian Tavern

Irish Pol

Khyber Pass Pub*

Mac's Tavern

Philadelphia Bar & Restaurant

Q: Barbecue & Tequila

Sassafras

Triumph Brewing Co.

Center City

McGillin's

Perch Pub*

Manayunk

Old Eagle Tavern*

Rittenhouse

Cavanaugh's Rittenhouse*

Good Dog Bar

South Philly

Devil's Den*

South Philly Bar & Grill

Northeast

Grey Lodge Pub

Washington Square

Smokin' Betty's

Spring Garden

Trestle Inn

*Exceptions / variations to specials apply. 

Apps on Tap

At this moment, my friends from college and I are participating in what seems to be an endless GMail thread.  The goal - to decide a date and location for us to titter and toast.  Although we are struggling to come to a conclusion, I have found an iOS application that should help you find the best place to gather - Happy Hours.  You can filter by day of the week, time, various specials, features like outdoor seating, private rooms, WiFi.  My personal favorite filtering option?  People Watching.  Below you will find some screenshots taken on my iPod Touch.  You will also love to know that Happy Hours is free!  Whether you enjoy the occasional pint or travel regularly, Happy Hours will help you find the best landing point.  Interested in downloading this to your iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad?  Find more information HERE.  As always, please enjoy responsibly and never drink and drive.

Treat Yo'self January 25th

My dinner tonight is dedicated to the few, the proud - beer and burrito lovers.  As I stood in line at the local Chipotle, I anxiously awaited my turn to the assembly line of fixings.  After my usual was loaded up - a burrito with brown rice, chicken, black beans, corn, hot salsa, and gauc (because I deserved it) - I hurried home to crack to open a Yard's Philadelphia Pale Ale and unwrap the foil.  On this January evening with a slight chill in the air, this burrito brew combo hit the spot without a doubt.  Slainte!

Welcome to 2012!

In lieu of Sunday Sips, I thought I would bring you into my living room for New Year's Eve.  While the final moments of the year 2011 drew near, in the midst of hummus and other homemade fruit and buffalo dips, some of my favorite people and I pinged our glasses together with a fruity concoction.  Although the photo is not completely clear (my fault - I hastily tried to sneak a shot on my cell phone between Lady Gaga's performance and Dick Clark's countdown), trust me when I say the glass had a vibrant hue and a cloy hit to the taste buds.   And yes, I thought a margarita glass was the most stylish way to serve this treat.  Two parts sparkling grape juice mixed with one part Landeman's Framboise Raspberry Lambic puckered the lips up for the New Year's kiss.  The acidic tartness of the berries paired with the sweet, champagne-like qualities of the grape juice awakened the palate at midnight.  I would certainly recommend this quick, cheap duet of flavors for your next gathering.  So let's raise a glass to a new year and to new endeavors.  Make 2012 the best year yet.  Slainte!

Stovetop Strongbow Cider

I adore the taste of Strongbow Cider.  Sweet, bouncy, and bubbly.  It is a treat to the taste buds.  I have had this bottle of golden delicious staring at me from the depths of my fridge for a few weeks and have been racking my brain as to how I can incorporate it into the meal.  I felt by only allowing the bottle to sit at the corner of my placemat I was missing out on an abundance of flavor.  I searched and scoured the world wide web and shockingly there was not a lot that I wanted to work with (thanks, cheese-based recipes).  Aha!  I found a few recipes that I combined and altered to my tasting.  Below you will find the ingredients and recipe that I finally settled on.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1-1 1/2 cups of chopped onion

1/2 clove of finely chopped garlic

2 Tablespoons of olive oil

2/3 bottle of Strongbow Cider

Salt & pepper to taste

Season chicken with salt  and pepper.  Heat oil on medium-high heat.  Once hot, place chicken in oil for about 4-5 minutes each side.  

Remove chicken from heat.  Using the same pan, sautee onions and garlic (have a spatula handy to get the tasty pan scrapings mixed with the onion and garlic).  Once carmelized, place chicken back into the pan.  Pour Strongbow Cider into the pan.  

(Disclaimer: it is just about impossible to take an action shot of yourself pouring into a hot pan.)

Let the cider just about completely reduce into the onion and chicken.  Keep an eye on the pan.  In an attempt to multi-task with cleaning and putting ingredients away, I came close to burning the onions.  Okay, I was also singing and dancing to Christmas music.  Don't forget to temp your chicken periodically - ideally you want to reach165 degrees.  

You can see from above that the chicken has soaked up that cider goodness and takes on a golden color.  I placed one of the breasts and some of the onions on top of salad lightly tossed in Balsamic vinegar.  The acidic taste of the vinegar helped balance the sweetness of the onions and the chicken.

I was impressed with my own handywork!  I favor the dichotomous dynamics of hot and cold on the same plate.  Additionally, there is a refreshing sweet and sour playfulness with different textures.  While you cook, the smells emanate throughout the kitchen.  I loved the apple-y sweetness of the chicken, and how the onions took on  all of the pan's flavors.  Without a doubt, bursting with holiday notes.  Maybe you will find your own use for cider or beer in the kitchen.  Please share with me.  Slainte!

"It's fruit punch beer." - Kevin G

Even beer can taste just like candy.  Although we do not want this lying around for children to discover, sour beers may be a nice alternative for those who are not into the bitterness of beer.  As Nathan Berrong once stated in a CNN article, it is a "sour funkiness that is unlike any other beer imaginable."  And right he is.  The first time I had a sour beer of any kind it was in Manayunk bar with my dear friends Rosie and Michelle.  The scantily-clad server offered the special - a Dirty Hoe.  Intrigued by the name and the combination of Hoegaarden and Framboise, we ordered a round.  After clinging our glasses and gratuitously expressing our love for one another, we sipped.  The smooth, calm wheat of the Hoegaarden was energized by the tart, lip-puckering Framboise.  We loved it.  At the time, I had no idea that Framboise was even a beer.  It had that very fruity-almost-from-concentrate taste.

As Kevin G, the least beer-interested man I know, once said, "It's fruit punch beer."  He really is not that far off regarding its flavor.  The basic components remain the same: water, yeast, hops, and barley.  What alters the taste is the process itself.  Adding specific spores of yeast and aging in oak barrels produces what we see in these flamboyantly labeled bottles. Additionally the aging process can take between 6 months to 3 years, significantly longer than most beers.  What else is great about sour ales?  They can be saved.  Blending other ingredients to the batch may make a seemingly mediocre brew instead something exceptional.  Does that mean that two wrongs could make a right?  

Many breweries who produce both sour and other beers keep them separated so as not to contaminate the fermentation process of the "normal" batches.

So let's raise a glass to the fruit punch beer.  Slainte!