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by snebbu

The ES Summit: Top 10 Beers and Booze for Politics

The tides are shifting in American politics. A new party is in control and our President is willing to work with them to make a better America. Blah blah blah. Yet another cycle has completed and we now have another lame duck president. BUT WAIT. Obama and US Senator Mitch McConnell are going to solve all of our problems with a Bourbon Summit. Now that’s something we can get behind. A little Kentucky booze may be just what our leaders need to get things done. This got us thinking…what would an ES summit look like? Other than the usual gallivanting around, bitching and moaning about irrelevant things, and gorging ourselves with food, we would pick the best beer and booze to offer for the occasion. If it were up to us, here’s what the Obama-McConnell summit would consist of:

10) Flying Dog Raging Bitch

What better to drink while BITCHING and moaning about the great problems of the world (or what to have for dinner)? Raging Bitch is an in your face IPA with a nice sweetness that makes it very drinkable at a high ABV.

9) Arrogant Bastard Ale

Need I say more? Not only does the name sum up just about every one of your very proud “ES’ers, but it also sums up the jerks in Congress. What’s more? The brew is one of the highest ranked in the United States with complex flavors that will also kick your ass.

8) Knob Creek

A little bourbon never hurt nobody. Knob Creek is about that level where you stop drinking whiskey with coke and actually start enjoying the sweet and oak-aged flavors of bourbon.

7) Titos Vodka

What’s more American than an all-American made vodka? We have to be at least a little patriotic, right? Plus, this is some of the smoothest Vodka we’ve ever had! Try it with water and lemon…just be careful – you won’t taste the whiskey.

by snebbu

Cookies and…Beer? Flying Dog Holiday Collection

What’s the best drink to have with cookies? BEER. Why not, people? The holidays are coming; we’re celebrating getting fat and doing it with our families and friends. To support our mission, Flying Dog created The Holiday Collection: Four Otterbein’s Cookie Inspired Craft Beers. While I was hoping that the kit would come with Berger Cookies, the Otterbein’s cookies did not disappoint. But what about having them with beer? Well, luckily I’m here to do the hard work of tasting and drinking each beer and cookie. After our DIY beer pairing, we continued on with dessert, complements of Flying Dog. We judged the beers, the cookies, and then the pairing. Here we go!

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by snebbu

Top 10 Foods to Go

Whether you have a 30+ minute commute to and from work, like to hike, take the train to work every day, or you are just always on the run, sometimes your travel mug of coffee just isn’t enough. In my travels to and from work, I’ve learned how to eat yogurt on the go and even cereal from a travel mug. But I also end up arriving to work with yogurt on my favorite tie or a splash of milk in my crotch. Whether it’s the risk of mess that keeps you from enjoying our food/drinks on the go, or lack of variety, here are our top ten food (and drinks) to go. While I won’t say the dirty “c word” just yet, these would all make great gifts as well.

10. Chocomize

BUILD YOUR OWN chocolate bars! Take pride in the high calorie and sugar that you are chomping on by knowing it’s been created by you. Chocomize allows you to pick between a bar and a heart, the kind of chocolate it is made of, and then add toppings a la carte or pick one of their pre-designed bars.

9. Perky Jerky

Jerky that is not only all natural and gluten free (trying to figure out how it wouldn’t be gluten free – do they add gluten to others?), but also infused with CAFFEINE! Not straight up coffee, but with a plant called Guarana that produces a fruit similar to a coffee bean and acts as a stimulant. Not only are you getting a jolt of protein, but also a jolt of energy. Yum.

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by snebbu

Endless Pairings: Negra Modelo

Mexican beer and fall-themed food. The perfect complement? Well, that’s what were determined to find out when Negra Modelo sent us a “pairing kit” to put it to the test. When presented with the opportunity to taste test, my answer is almost always yes. Negra Modelo sent us a box full of spices from The Spice House, two tulip glasses, a wooden cutting board, and a $50 Visa gift card to purchase the goods. Challenge accepted. Think of it as the at-home version of Chopped. Being seasonal food fans (mainly fall), we began planning a menu of fall foods that would highlight the spices (follow The Spice House recommendations) and pair well with a Vienna (dark) lager. Yes – a European beer style from Mexico. Here’s the menu:

Aged Cabot Cheese with apples, fig jam, balsamic glaze, and crostini
Spiced roasted brussels sprouts
Sweet potato puree with nutmeg and cinnamon
Ribeye steak with Quebec beef spice
Cornish Hen with bicentennial seasoning
Pork with bavarian style seasoning

We had a friend over and made a beer pairing tasting menu. Negra Modelo was served with the appetizer, followed by a taste of each protein with the sides. The beer and food was judged based on the flavor of each, whether the spices complemented the food, and if the beer paired well with each “course.” On to the tasting notes:

Negra Modelo (ABV: 5.4%)

Appearance: Dark caramel with a red hue

Aroma: Sweet scents with subtle scents of toast

Taste: Sweet malts give caramel flavor, biscuit flavor with light herbal and earthy tastes

Mouthfeel: Clean and crisp with lingering sweetness

Overall: A pleasant surprise, Negra Modelo provides more character than expected. While it is an InBev beer, I can forgive that if the brew offers some flavor. For a lager from Mexico, it offers the basic profile of a lager with extra sweetness of caramel and a toasty flavor as well. Tastes like it would pair well with fall foods. So here we go!

in Cheese / Drinks / Fowl / Pig / Red Meat 1 comments

by snebbu

Endless Road Trip: Collingswood Pop Shop

There is more to South Jersey than the Real Housewives: there is food. We were recently visiting to celebrate my future sister-in-law”s birthday and went to the Pop Shop in Collingswood, NJ. The name “pop shop” insinuates great ice cream floats, milk shakes, and fountain soda. However, I noticed that every waiter was wearing shirts touting their love for cheese. The shop was featured on Food Network”s Throwdown with Bobby Flay for their grilled cheese. The menu features the sandwiches from the show so some of us got that, while future sister-in-law ordered the trophy of dessert breakfasts – s”mores french toast. Then of course, we all gorged ourselves with desserts. Enough chit chat – on to the food.

S”mores French Toast:

Under the heading of “Fantastic French Toast Dreams,” you will find cinnamon bun french toast, banana”s foster, and even ham and cheese. But then you see the s”mores french toast on the menu and by chance see a waiter flaunting a pile of french toast, graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallow on what has to be a silver platter. Clearly someone at the table is ordering the s”mores french toast. Sister-in-law ordered it with a small amount of persuasion from the table and offers to give up half of their sandwich for a bite of the gooey french toast. Well I got my bite in a trade for some bacon and cheese fries. The bite included savory fresh french toast soaked with chocolate sauce. Then the marshmallow sauce that glues the stack of french toast together hits you. Your bite must include a piece of the top of the stack, since that is where the crunch of the graham cracker comes from. While I would never be able to finish an entire dish of it, I would suggest someone at my table order it again.

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by snebbu

Endless Beer: Ommegang Valar Morghulis

ABV: 8%

“When confronted with the most feared saying in Valyrian, take a sip and choose your words wisely.”

We’ve all been waiting for the October release of the latest Ommegang Game of Thrones series. Now that we’ve all been able to find it somewhere, drink it up and converse about the series and what to expect next, we can talk about the beer! There are a lot of cool beer series out there, but I think Ommegang and Game of Thrones wins with most creative and true to the style (of the books and the beer). The creativity in determining what kind of beer, the label art, and even the marketing message is impressive. I’ve had each series but this is the first time I’ve had the brew after reading four of the books. I gotta tell ya, the excitement in receiving this sample from Ommegang can’t compete with many things.

Fun fact: the Valar Morghulis Dubbel was chosen by the people in a facebook poll. If you don’t know (how dare you?), Valar Morghulis means “all men must die” and to say it is foreboding would be an understatement. One of my favorite characters – Arya Stark is given a two-headed coin by a man that is able to change his appearance and also just happened to kick ass on a number occasions in the book. For two kick ass characters to be represented, the beer must do the same – kick some ass. The poll participants chose a Dubbel as the style of the beer and Ommegang went to town to create a Dubbel that lives up to its name. In knowing the ABV was at 8%, my expectations were for a boozy taste with sweet malts and to get some strong yeasty characteristics. On to the tasting profile!

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by snebbu

Endless Beer: Flying Dog Secret Stash Harvest Ale

ABV: 5.5%

Yes, kind of a mouthful. Flying Dog sent their most recent production of their secret stash: the Harvest Ale. For a limited time, Flying Dog is offering a “local brew” for the harvest. The beer is a wheat saison brewed with local hops and malts. Flying Dog held their first annual Mid-Atlantic Hop Selection at the brewery with hopes of exposing local breweries to the best hops of the mid-atlantic region. Typically, the Flying Dog brewmaster will take part in the Yakima Valley hop selection to pick the best hops offered. However, this brew is made with local cascade hops to create a bit of a kick paired with the spices of the saison yeast.

Picture sitting around a large kitchen table as the farmers come in from a day of bailing hay ready for a nice warm supper. What do you want to drink? You want something that is going to give you a nice relaxing feeling, with some spices in the mix – a farmhouse ale. Many know farmhouse ales as Saisons. Saison is the yeast strain that provides the spicy notes we’ve all known to love in the farmhouse ales. Anywho, enough of the boring (yet impressive that I know of course) stuff…on to the tasting:

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