My favorite style of beer is a big huge American style ale with lots of bitter hops balanced with lots of sweet malt to keep things balanced. When done right it's a complex revelation of goodness. Old Woody by Fish Brewing is technically modeled after the English Strong Old ale style, but it has the feel of an American Strong Ale with all those hops. It was my favorite overall beer when I began down the path of beer nerdery 7 or so years ago, but it abruptly disappeared from store shelves, leaving my heart just a little emptier these last few years. You can therefore imagine my elation when a recent Belmont Station newsletter heralded the arrival of the 2008 vintage of Old Woody. I had my secretary clear my calendar and arranged for a face to face post haste.
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August 25, 2008
August 16, 2008
Recipe: Carbonated Gin
With no AC at home and 100+ degree days, it seemed only rational to create a perfect gin and tonic - with cooling doses beginning promptly after breakfast. A well made G&T is excellent refreshment, but there have always been two problems with the modern recipe that have annoyed me. One, I like the ratio of gin to tonic near 1:3, but at this point the beverage looses carbonation, especially as the ice melts. Two, tonic water contains as much high fructose evil as any mainstream soda on the market unless you pay for hard to acquire and very expensive specialty products. Both of these problems can easily be solved with a carbonation machine and a little creativity.
August 12, 2008
Recipe: Perfect Red Sauce
The tomato may just be my favorite single ingredient. It forms the base of some of my favorite dishes, from salsa and indian curries to maybe it's proudest form - Italian red sauces. About a year ago I developed an obsession with creating the perfect red sauce that culminated in creating batches nearly 3 times a week until I finally felt that I couldn't improve upon it any further. Although better sauces are very much possible if you possess an abundance of fresh seasonal ingredients, money to blow, and time to kill, this sauce is tuned to be affordable, quick, and reproducible any time of year. This is an always satisfying go-to sauce.
