Covering Beer Cocktails for DRAFT

In case you haven't been paying attention, beer cocktails have arrived. From the reemerging popularity of the time-tested shandy to the Red Robin burger chain and even ABC's The Chew, beertails or less frequently, bocktails seem to be everywhere this summer. Earlier this year I covered the trend for DRAFT magazine, writing about five of the best in the Boston area. Here's a recipe for one of my favorites, Christopher's Baggy Eye Beer Punch (pictured at left), a potent drink created by Ben Greeley, the General Manager at Christopher's Restaurant and Bar in Cambridge.

To a 16-ounce Boston Shaker glass, add: 

3/4 oz. Kahlua
3/4 oz. 888 Vanilla Vodka
1/2 oz. Chocolate syrup
1 oz. Espresso
2 dashes Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters 

Shake vigorously to combine. Top with Guinness and garnish with a cherry.

Japanese Brewers Bounce Back

When the massive Tōhoku earthquake hit Japan in March, the destruction was immense. In addition to the thousands of lives lost, the 9.0 quake and subsequent tsunami destroyed roadways, ports, homes, and nuclear power plants—along with several craft breweries. To quote the Japan Beer Times, "few individuals and businesses were unaffected negatively." The good news, as I report in the September/October issue of DRAFT magazine, is that for damaged breweries like Kiuchi in Naka city, recovery has been relatively swift. Not only did Kiuchi immediately help the surrounding community by providing free meals and clean drinking water, they went on to open their first gastropub, True Brew Beer Cafe & Shop, a mere ten weeks after the fifth most powerful earthquake in world history.

Welsh Craft Cider

Last September I spent a week in Wales. It wasn't my first trip to this mountainous country, but in a very real sense I was seeing Wales anew. Because while I did spend a night in Cardiff and even managed a short hike in Brecon Beacons National Park, I missed many of the things that people travel here for: castles, museums, rugby, or in a few rare cases, bog snorkeling. Instead, the purpose of my visit was to drink cider.

Beginning in Swansea, I drove through the rain to the westernmost end of Pembrokeshire, across the Cambrian Mountains into Powys, and then back south again into the Valleys. Over the course of seven days I met craft cider makers and drinkers, along with a number of friendly Welsh bartenders and innkeepers. Somewhat unexpectedly, I also became a bit of a cider connoisseur myself. If you're curious about the drink and its origins, read about my trip in the current issue of DRAFT magazine or consider attending the world's first International Craft Cider Festival at Llancaiach Fawr Manor in August.

The Morning After: Manhattan

Sweet or savory, affordable or extravagant, I'm a big fan of brunch. For that reason, I was more than happy to accept another assignment from DRAFT magazine. Writing for their Morning After department, I set out to find a handful of restaurants in Manhattan with excellent brunch offerings. Choosing them was far from easy, but in the end I narrowed it down to three places.

One of them, Resto on East 29th Street, also happens to have an impressive list of beers that includes (among many other things) pale ales, dubbels, and saisons from Luxembourg, Belgium, and Cooperstown, New York. If you're a beer drinker and plan to be in the city for more than 24 hours, do yourself a favor and pay them a visit. You'll want to take your time with their menu. To find out what my other picks were, track down a copy of the magazine, or sign up for a free preview of the digital edition.

Beer Town: Brooklyn

I love New York. Really, I do. The thing is, over the years I've become much more of an outer borough kind of guy. Sure, I still have my favorite bars and restaurants in Manhattan, but these days I just don't spend much time there anymore. Thanks to a growing number of foodie entrepreneurs in Kings County though, I hardly even miss it.

Let's take beer, for example: Manhattan only has one true brewery (all of the Heartland beers are actually made across the East River in Fort Greene) while Brooklyn's got four. And that includes a business billing itself as the world's smallest non-commercial brewery. I could go on, but it's late, and you'd rather be watching something funny anyway.

So if you're curious about what's happening in Brooklyn, pick up a copy of the May/June 2010 issue of DRAFT magazine for my tips on the best places to eat, sleep, and drink in this newly-minted Beer Town. Or, if you're low on cash and like a good map, read the online version here.