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.

What's Cooking: Queens Gains a Homebrew Club

It all started with a simple idea. Gather a bunch of homebrewers, give them a short list of ingredients to work with, and let them do what they like to do most. There was only one catch: brewing beer, like event planning, might appear simple to execute at first glance (or taste, as the case may be), but actually involves a relatively complicated process.

Fortunately, I had Brewstoria to help me. Founded by Astoria resident Ryan Crook in 2010, this homebrew club has since grown rapidly and had been looking for a chance to involve a bunch of its members in a larger, collaborative brew day. As for the ingredients, I decided to challenge them with spices from Thailand, additives that aren’t commonly found in beer recipes but do appear at many a grocer across Queens—ginger, Thai basil, cilantro, chili pepper, and lemongrass. Theoretically, any one of these adjuncts could work with the right beer, and I was curious to found out just how creative the Brewstoria crew could be. Plus, if this borough really is the most diverse in a city that already represents America as melting pot, it only seemed fitting to add a dash of international flavor to the proverbial brew kettle. To my delight the group didn’t just accept the idea, they embraced it.

Being the industrious, let’s-get-right-to-it, sort of people that homebrewers usually are, they managed to make arrangements to use the kitchen and courtyard at The Foundry, an event space in Long Island City. And by the time I turned up on a sunny Sunday morning last February, things were nearly in full swing. Six teams had set up at indoor and outdoor brew stations, and the air was already thick with promising smells. Fittingly, I also caught a few stanzas from a Red Hot Chili Peppers song floating from a pair of portable speakers.

Beer Discoveries in the Pacific Northwest

By the time Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery reached present day Idaho in September of 1805, their cache of food was running on empty. Worse yet, the expedition finished the last of their whiskey on July 4th. Desperate and near starvation, they resorted to eating dog. And while I'm sure they were grateful for the salmon and camas root provided by friendly Nez Percé several days later, I bet a brewery at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers would have been a welcome sight for a band of exhausted explorers.

The Riverport Brewing Company in Clarkston, Washington is just across the Snake from Lewiston, Idaho. It's only been open for three years, but head brewer Pete Broyles already plans to expand; after a somewhat slow start, draft sales are growing. At last, craft beer has been discovered along the Lewis and Clark Trail. "We get people in here from a lot of different places," Pete told me during a recent visit to his spacious taproom on Ninth Street. Scanning the room, the patrons looked to be mostly local, but even an hour before closing on a Monday, business was steady. Halfway through the six glass sample board ($5) I knew it was more than free popcorn keeping people coming back for more beer.

Starting with the seasonal specialty, a wet-hopped IPA called 9th Street Whip, I next tried the biscuity, gently bitter Cedar Rock Pale Ale, an American style red ale called B-Run, the dry, piney Seven Devils IPA, Old Man River Oatmeal Stout, and my favorite, Bedrock Bock. Malty, slightly creamy and reminiscent of fruitcake, this garnet-colored brew stood out from the pack, tempting me to spend a buck for another four ounce sample. Then again, it could have been the sign behind the bar egging me on: Last call is for sissies. Considering the trout fishing I would be doing later that week, I probably should have picked up a growler ($18.75 or $8 for refills). Because you never know when you'll run out of provisions.

13 Frighteningly Good Halloween Beers

October can be a strange time for beer drinkers. Alongside any number of Oktoberfest lagers, you'll occasionally find a saison or a summer ale if the month starts off warmly, only to be replaced by a variety of pumpkin beers, redolent with pie spices and the flavors of fall. By the last week or two though, darker porters and stouts begin to creep into most draft lineups, signaling colder nights ahead. And of course October also brings Mischief Night and Halloween, two excellent opportunities for brewers to tap into their spooky side by giving their products creepy names and labels. With that spirit (pun intended) in mind, I've chosen to list some of my favorites:

1. Vampire Ale—City Steam Brewery Cafe, Hartford, CT
   
2. Dark o' the Moon—Elysian Brewing Company, Seattle, WA
3. Evil Twin—Heretic Brewing Company, Pittsburg, CA
4. Voo Doo American Stout—Left Coast Brewing Company, San Clemente, CA
5. Certified Evil—Lucky Bucket Brewing Company, La Vista, NA
6. Pendle Witches Brew—Moorhouse's Brewery, Burnley, UK
7. Rosemary's Baby—The Peekskill Brewery, Peekskill, NY
8. Three Skulls Poison—Pillager's Pub, Seattle, WA
9. Black Cat Stout—The Portsmouth Brewery, Portsmouth, NH
10. Zombie Dust—Three Floyds Brewing Company, Munster, IN
11. Redrum Imperial Red Ale—Trinity Brewhouse, Providence, RI
12. Hop Zombie—Uncle Billy's Brew & Que, Austin, TX
13. Hobgoblin—Wychwood Brewery, Witney, UK

Pairing Beer with the Great Outdoors

On a steamy afternoon in mid-July, waiting out a thundershower at the Peekskill Brewery, I had an idea. Nothing earth-shattering mind you, but I jotted it down in the notebook I was carrying with me at the time. Which means that when the rain finally stopped it didn't drift off with the storm clouds. Perhaps it's the heat in Bangkok, or maybe I'm just pining for a pint of  Peekskill's dry, sessionable Hop Common, but I was reminded of that same idea again today. 

What if craft brewers positioned themselves to be the drink of choice for certain outdoor activities the way Coors, Miller, and Budweiser jockey to be the "official beer" of popular sports like baseball and football? Sure, the customer pool of NFL fans is considerably larger than the potential market for say, windsurfers, but then again, this audience will probably be more receptive to a product that isn't necessarily mainstream. Although last year, Anheuser-Busch made an attempt to court outdoor enthusiasts by choosing professional kayaker Eric Jackson as the face of their new American Ale. 

Which got me thinking—what would the beer sponsorship landscape look like if regional brewers got in on the action? How would they attract new drinkers if they were trying to partner with the Hawaii Surfing Association, or the American Hiking Society? Personally, I could see a scenario along these lines:

• Long Trail Ale, an easy drinking altbier made for long distance hikers. 
• For the dedicated cyclist, New Belgium's popular amber ale, Fat Tire.  
• Kona's Longboard Island Lager, a drink to grab after a day in the surf.
• Russian River's Damnation—meant for the kayaker who charges into rapids at full speed. 
• Malty Hibernation Ale from Great Divide, a warming winter beer for serious snowboarders.
• The dry-hopped Hazed and Confused, brewed for bold rock climbers by Boulder Beer Company. 
• Lake Erie Monster, a hoppy windsurfing lover's IPA from Great Lakes Brewing Company.
• Fresh Powder Milk Stout, Lake Placid's ode to skiing the Adirondacks.  

So, what do you think? Is there a perfect craft beer out there for your outdoor activity of choice?

Drinking Local

As busy as I've been with my hiking guide, I somehow also managed to find time to contribute to the occasional magazine. It was still work, but most of those assignments actually turned out to be a lot of fun. One of them, a feature on Long Island's emerging beer scene, appears in the High Summer issue of Edible East End. 

In it my friend (and ex-roommate) Luke and I borrow a Subaru Outback and drive out to the North Fork on a rainy Sunday in April. Eschewing the many wineries that cling to Route 25 like grapes on a vine, we opted instead to visit the Greenport Harbor Brewing Company, with a stop at the Southampton Publick House and another at the Black Forest Brew Haus on the way back just for good measure. Never has a road trip tasted so good.

Split Thy Brooklyn Skull

Yesterday in Brooklyn it almost seemed like spring. For a couple of hours anyway. Here and there a stubborn pile of snow or two refused to melt, but sitting in the small patio behind Mugs Alehouse in Williamsburg, you could pretend that winter was finally over. Of course, the company of a few friends and an ample supply of strong ales always helps such imaginative leaps.

Temperatures fell as the afternoon wore on at the eleventh annual tasting event, but good craft beer was never in short supply. I didn't have the wallet or the stamina to sample even half of the 47 possibilities available, but that didn't keep me from picking favorites:

• Brewdog Tokyo (18.2% ABV). Call it what you will, but Tokyo packs a punch, even in small servings. Classified as an imperial stout, this nearly black liquid resembles a barleywine in some ways and has a smell that reminded me of balsamic vinegar. This may be due to the addition of jasmine and cranberries.
  
• Green Flash Palate Wrecker (9.4% ABV). Unless you can handle 100 IBUs, keep your distance. Pouring a bright yellow-orange with a thick, foamy white head, this creation from Green Flash is probably the hoppiest beer I've tried yet. With an intensely resiny aroma and a bold, oily flavor, I found it uniquely deserving of the title imperial IPA.
• Weyerbacher Blasphemy 2007 (11.8% ABV). A quadruple aged in oak barrels, Blasphemy is certainly a complex drink that I'd describe as buttery and intoxicating. The amber color is alluring, and yet the aroma of bourbon signals that this isn't a beer to be trifled with. Outstanding in small quantities.
• Southern Tier Imperial Mokah (10.9% ABV). Just about the closest anyone's come to Hershey's syrup in a 22-ounce bottle. If, like me, you're a drinker with a sweet tooth, then this exceptionally silky, malty stout is deserving of your hard-earned cash. Although the brewery only releases it seasonally, Mokah could easily be enjoyed year round.
  
• Spring House Kerplunk (8.1% ABV). Named for the sound that chocolate makes when dropped into a brew kettle, Kerplunk has the ebony color you'd expect in an imperial stout but was less dense than some versions of this style. Caramel and bitter cocoa stood out right away, as did a hint of tobacco in the finish.
  
• Voodoo Grand Met (10.0% ABV). Dry, deceptively strong, and the color of polished brass, Voodoo Grand Met is a nice example of a French biere de garde or maybe a Belgian spiced ale. Made in Pennsylvania with German pilsner malt, cane and beet sugar, it stood out in a field crowded with big beers.

Beer My Valentine

Nobody's ever given me flowers. Ditto fancy European chocolates. Heart-shaped jewelry isn't really my thing, but then they say it's the thought that counts, right? Well, with the most romantic day of the year nearly here again, I thought I'd offer a bit of sensible, wallet-friendly shopping advice for anyone who wants to sweep a guy off his feet this weekend.

Buy him a beer. He might not be the picky type, but don't just grab any bottle, go with something special. In other words, spring for a chocolate stout. Not every example of this style is made with real chocolate (relying instead on dark malts to produce a similar flavor), so read the label closely before snatching up your perfect Valentine's Day gift.

Ommegang brews a rich, intensely dark Belgian style chocolate stout that pours like velvet and leaves a wake of bitter cocoa behind. To call it indulgent is not an exaggeration. For my money however, Rogue's award-winning chocolate stout—silky, sweet, and full-bodied—has a slight edge. Like your favorite candy bar, it's irresistible. A couple of glasses of this kind of liquid happiness and neither you nor your sweetheart will care how many blizzards hit the East Coast this winter.

The Iron Santa Challenge

Even after finishing the first beer, it still seemed like a good idea. By Wednesday morning however, I began to doubt the sanity of attempting (and completing) Pacific Standard's Iron Santa Challenge on a weeknight. I suppose the free T-shirt made it all worthwhile. Well, either that or seeing Colson Whitehead at the end of the bar reading a trade paperback of I Am Legend. Herewith, the drinks of my undoing, in the order I consumed them:

• Rogue Mogul Madness (7.0% ABV). A dark winter ale with a sweetish caramel aroma, citrus hops, and notes of berries and mocha.
• Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter (9.5% ABV). This beer was on cask and tasted somewhat off to me. A strong, full-bodied ale, it ordinarily has a complex character with flavors of coffee beans and smoky molasses.
  
• Young's Double Chocolate Stout (5.2% ABV). The hops remain subtle in this silky brew which tastes like a melted candy bar. Indulgence in a glass.
• Mendocino Black Hawk Stout (5.0% ABV). Brewed with Black Patent malt and hops from North America, this is a very drinkable, rich beer with a dry finish.
  
• Two Brothers Red Eye (9.3% ABV). With strong flavors of bittersweet cocoa and roasted coffee, this deep brown ale was my favorite of the night. Or so I recall.
  
• Chelsea Frosty's Winter Wheat Wine (9.5% ABV). Described on the tap menu as a deceptively easy drink, I found this beer difficult to describe. Which I might have expected after downing five pints in relatively quick succession. It allegedly balances a hint of sour fruitiness with toasted wheat malt and just enough hops to keep things interesting.
  

Odds are good that I will be back to Pacific Standard before long, but next time I'm going to seriously consider ordering from the other extreme.

Another Year, Another Beer

I look forward to coming home for Thanksgiving every year, although with gray skies in Baltimore, a part of me wishes my family could spend the holiday in San Antonio. The sun makes this Texan city particularly appealing when temperatures on the East Coast dip into the 40s, and on top of that, I discovered that it also has a youthful, yet accomplished beer scene.

Trying all of the craft breweries in the area wasn't an option during my abbreviated visit this summer, but I'm glad I didn't skip Freetail, which celebrated its first anniversary this weekend. Located in a small shopping plaza off a beltway that's easy to drive by if—like me—you don't know San Antonio well, Freetail serves pizza and large, freshly-made sandwiches in addition to a rotating selection of beers.

An inexpensive sampler seemed like a great way to get a better sense of their full range so I asked for a small pour of Interloper Stout, Torper Porter, Tadarida IPA, and Verano Sin Fin Saison along with a half pint of their year-round Freetail Ale. While I did enjoy all five styles, if I found myself in the vicinity again soon, I'd probably go for the malty, medium-bodied porter with its notes of coffee and caramel over the slightly less successful saison. A stronger beer at 6.4% ABV (vs. the porter's 5.6%), the Verano Sin Fin poured a cloudy yellow and had the fruity aroma I would expect from a saison, but lacked in spiciness and struck me as overly bitter in the finish. Finally, while it wasn't exactly the ideal drink for a hot summer afternoon, with a deep, roasty aroma, smooth mouthfeel, and smoky-sweet finish, the 6.2% Interloper is definitely a stout worth trying. Happy brewing, Freetail—here's to another year of beer.