Saturday, March 31, 2007

Keg on the Run... or Suds-a-Go-Go

Forgive me for not talking about one of my passions - beer - lately, so let me rectify that lil error right now. I was just browsing through my favorite new beer magazine, Draft (thanks Nay!), and stumbled across a few interesting items that I wanted to pass along.

Did you know that there is a Beertini? Here's the recipe:
  • 2 brandied cherries (1 pound of bing cherries macerated in 1 Liter cognac for two weeks)
  • 1/4 ounce brandied cherry juice (the cognac left over from the maceration)
  • 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
  • 1 ounce Peter Heering (Danish cherry cordial)
  • 1/2 ounce Trimbach Kirsch (Alsacien cherry brandy Eau-de-Vie)
  • 1 ounce Kriek Lambic to top (Belgian lambic beer flavored with tart cherries, add after straining)
Combine the first four ingredients into a mixing glass, add ice and shake (like a James Bond drink). Pour that sucker into a "rocks" glass full of ice, then top off with the lambic and garnish with brandied cherries.

Now, there are far too many fancy shmancy type alcohols in that concoction for my liking, but it might work for folks who don't particularly like beer. Give me a shout if you end up trying it.

Speaking of beers that please... we were at one of our (many) local watering holes Monday night, Phantom Canyon (or as our friend Harry likes to call it - "Ghost Valley"), and we stumbled upon a lovely 11% brew (actually a mead not a beer) called Miss Haddy's Honey Lovin' Ale (which won a silver medal in the 2006 International Mead Festival). Needless to say, at 11% ABV... we were feeling mighty fine. Fran even enjoyed it! Thing is... they aren't allowed to sell it off premises, thus - NO growler purchase! ARGH!

Did you know there actually can be a difference in the taste of beer based on the color of the bottle it comes in? Apparently green and clear bottles allow UV light to reach the beer, which changes the chemical structure of the iso-alpha acids (no, I most certainly do not know what the hell that means Chemistry Ken!) in the hops of the beer. In stupid people terms (ya buddy!) the light can pass through the bottle and actually change the flavor of the beer, producing what is considered an "off flavor," or in lame man (er, layman's) terms... "light-struck" or skunky. Kinda like any beer with the word "Keystone" in it. Know where the term "skunky" beer came from? The chemical compound created from light hitting the beer is - get this - the exact same compound found in a skunk's pungent spray!

HOLY SPEWING SKUNK SPRAY, BEERMAN!

One last tidbit before I go grab a non-skunky beer. Do you like the name "Keg on the Run" or "Suds-a-Go-Go" better? Do you like either one? Believe it or not, I am going somewhere with that question... but I can't say where or why at the moment. Let me know what you think.

Until next time... "Thank God It's Friday!" Have a great weekend every one!

P.S. - Save the Earth. It's the only one with Beer!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ummm......I like the Keg on the run. The suds one sounds too 80's.

:>)

Nay