Beers by Land and by Sea

One night I had a chat with a beertender about what beers you might take on a camping trip, and I kept thinking on the subject.  Here are some of my favorites:

Beers for a Camping Trip:

Moose Drool Chocolate Brown Ale, Big Sky Brewing Co.

Racer 5 1PA, Bear Republic

Kodiak Brown Ale,  Midnight Sun Brewing Co.

Beers for Fishing (a.k.a. a love letter to Ballast Point):

Ballast Point Sculpin

Ballast Point Black Marlin Porter

Big Swell IPA

Any of them, really, with all those fish on the labels.  

Beers for the Beach:

Red Seal Ale, North Coast

Scrimshaw Pilsner, North Coast

Bikini Blonde Lager, Maui Brewing Co.

Shark Attack Double Red Ale, Port Brewing Co.

This Latte Will Bring Us Closer

Making their meanest “Judges” faces

Last Thursday I went to my first Latte Art Competition.  It was a Latte Art THROWDOWN, to be exact, presented byLos Angeles Thursday Night Throwdown, aka LATNT, at Fix Coffee in Echo Park.  It was a community event, bringing together people from some of the finest coffee shops on the Eastside.  There were competitors from Fix, Intelligentsia, Coffee Commissary, Cafe Dulce, and Handsome Coffee among others.

Does it seem like a room full of coffee geeks and TOMs-wearing baristas would be all macho about pouring the perfect rosetta design into a latte?  The answer is yes.  Yes they would.  A throwdown?  There may be no sweaty announcer a la Randy Savage, but spectators and competitors alike were just as amped.  Everyone would crowd in to see the drinks handed off at the end of the bar, and cheered for first-time pourers.  One guy even brought his own milk pitchers.  We also were well-fed and well-equipped to party and pour some drinks.  Everyone chipped in.  There were donations from Two Boots Pizza, Golden Road giving us some tall boy cans of Point the WAY IPA and the GR Hefeweizen, accessories from LA Coffee Club, which ships locally roasted coffee to its subscribers, amazing samples from Verve Coffee Roasters, and contest beans supplied by Beyond the Grind.

So how does it work?

Two baristas go head-to-head, splitting a double shot of espresso into two 8oz cups, while each of them steams their milk.   After they pour their magic, they shuffle it over to the panel of discerning judges, usually to a chorus of “oohs” from the onlookers.  Then the winning cup is declared by a fist on the table.  In the event of a tiebreaker, the judges call out a new shape (rosetta, tulip) or new milk (nonfat).  (There were several threats of “Soymilk,” which always garnered a laugh.)  So it goes on to the final round, when the winner takes home a big pot of money from the entrance fees.  And who doesn’t want free beer money?  That would make my week.

The LATNT is the ground floor into the world of specialty coffee competitions.

From there it goes on to Barista Nation, and the U.S. and World Barista Championships.  In the upper echelons it is more complicated. Competitors must pour a single espresso, a cappuccino and a signature drink for multiple sensory & technical judges.  It’s easy to scoff at, but it’s just as serious as any cooking or pastry competition.  Brewing coffee is a science, and its very easy to tarnish the taste of these delicately roasted beans when placed in the wrong hands.  The beauty of local roasters like like Jones Coffee in Pasadena and Handsome Coffee in Downtown LA, is that they bring coffee to the height of wine.  The flavor descriptors on that $5 single-origin cup of coffee is no bullshit.  You really can smell and taste the caramel, hazelnuts, and even sage or strawberry.  Terroir is not just for wine.

So if one day you find yourself invited to a Latte Art Competition by that barista friend, do yourself a favor and check it out.  You’ll meet some good people having a good time.  And feel free to wear flannel.

________

This round of Thursday Night Throwdown began in January.  Finals will be in November.  Stay tuned!

And check out the feature of the event by coffee blogger Smdlr.  She knows what’s up! 

Poor Fee's Tomato & Black Bean Soup

Mis amigos

It's a week when I need to stretch the almighty dollar pretty far, so I made soup.

Tomato-Black Bean Soup
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 diced yellow onion
1 green chile, diced
4 fresh roma tomatoes, diced
14oz (1 can) vegetable broth (or use bouillon cubes)
4- 14oz cans diced tomatoes in juice
1-29oz can black beans, drained
1 avocado (for garnish)
1 lime (for garnish)
red pepper flakes (optional)


Sweat the garlic, onion and green chile in your soup pot, about 10 minutes.  Add 3 of the fresh tomatoes and let cook down.  Sprinkle in red pepper flakes.  Add canned diced tomatoes and black beans, reserving a few tablespoons to stir in at the end.  Let simmer until hot.

Now bust out that blender! If you have an immersion blender, bravo, that's a fancy kitchen appliance.  If you're like me, you're blending the soup in batches.  Blend until mostly smooth, then transfer back into the soup pot.  Adjust seasoning, and then add the reserved black beans and diced fresh tomato for texture.

Serve with avocado slices, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, your favorite hot sauce, and a hot tortilla. 

For all the canned goods (tomatoes, beans, broth) I try to find salt-free or low sodium wherever possible.  You can always add more salt.   It's not so fun to rinse your dinner with water and wash the flavor out because you dumped too much salt in.  No, it's not.

I also made a salad to go along with...

Collard Green Salad
2 or 3 large leaves collard greens, stems removed, chopped into thin strips
1/2 avocado, diced
1/2 small lime, juiced
salt & pepper
olive oil

I wanted some crunch so I treated the greens like I would raw kale, massaging the leaves with the lime juice and salt.  Simple. Yummy.

Tuesday Tidbit:  I rarely eat collard greens because often they're sitting sloppy and cold in a bowl, and it's the last thing I want to eat with dinner.  BUT I just discovered that raw collard greens pale in comparison to cooked for nutritional value, which boasts 5 times as much fiber, 4 times as much protein, and similar boosts in Vitamin A, Calcium, and Antioxidants.  What's not to love?

felicious

Ballast Point Tasting

Happy American Craft Beer Week!  

This is THE week to drink local beer and praise brewers for all their hard work.  This Monday the Golden Gopher Beer Society was host to Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits from San Diego.  We sampled a ton of beers!  Aside from their classics like the Pale Ale, Big Eye IPA, and the Calico Amber, they brought along some specialty high-flavor brews. Here are two of my faves:


San Salvador
Saison Farmhouse Ale
7.5% ABV

Brewed with local white sage, curacao, and elderflower, this Saison is a pleasant balance of malt and earthy grassiness.  It reminded me of Bootlegger's Chocolate Mint porter, the herbs giving a fresh aroma and a tingly mouth feel.

Tongue Buckler
Imperial Red Ale
10% ABV
107 IBU

Man, oh man.  I am in love with Imperial Styles.  They pack a punch, and the Tongue Buckler is no exception.   A fruity, malty explosion with a serious resiny hop backbone.  I swear to you, to me it smelled like Haribo Gummi Bears. Yum!

So what's the deal with Imperial Styles?  

Think high.  Brewers bump up the hops for high bitterness, but then round it out with more malts, making it high alcohol (whee!) with a ton of flavor.  What's an IBU?  It's an International Bittering Unit, or a measure of the bitterness in beer, a scale from 0 to 100.  The next time you find yourself in the beer section at the liquor store, keep that in mind when you want to try a new IPA.  A great super bitter ale is Moylan's Hopsicle Imperial Ale, or Green Flash Palate Wrecker, both with 100+ IBUs.

Ballast Point Brewing is a mere 16 years old, growing from its origins at Home Brew Mart (built in 1992), and has taken the San Diego beer community by storm.   Ballast Point is available in many pockets of the country: Boston, New York City, and of course San Francisco, L.A., even internationally in Japan and the Philippines.  Come to the Golden Gopher for a few pints of Sculpin or Wahoo Wheat, and take home some bottles from 8th Street Bottle Shop.  Many thanks to Sales Reps Matt Wilson and Laura Slayter for leading the tasting.

felicious

Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits

10051 Old Grove Road

San Diego, CA 92131

"Real beer lovers, making real good beer." 

www.ballastpoint.com 

What Makes a Stew?

3-lb Young Rabbit

What Makes a Stew? or My Relationship to Meat

Today I was walking down Pico back to my car, amidst the flurry of the Fashion District, and I remembered the first occasion I cooked rabbit. My birthday always falls around Easter, so I made the morbidly-fascinated decision to serve rabbit at my party.  (See previous post for pics.)

At the time I was working at the now closed Fleur de Lys in Monterey Park, which is predominantly Chinese.  I asked around, and the most common response was, "I don't know, a pet store?"  I told one of my regulars Vivian about my conquest for rabbit for dinner.  Three days a week Vivian would come in, order a Double Cappuccino, (extra hot) and try a scone.  She often had comments like, "Not hot enough" or "The scone didn't crumble like it should."  Her daughter was a Pastry Chef in New York.   She was the only one who had an answer to my rabbit question.  "I think I know a place."

She ended up calling me on Saturday afternoon, and told me "there is a market in South LA that sells live ducks.  They might have rabbit."  I wrote down the address, thanked her, and hung up the phone dumbfounded.  "Oh my God," I thought, "She thinks I want a pet?  Does she think I was going to buy the rabbit and kill it?"  Loads of questions ran through my mind.  I wondered what the tradition was at her house, or maybe what was inherited from her family's past.

Binta at the CFCA in Niamey avec poulet

When I was in Niger in 2007 I helped pluck and butcher two freshly-slaughtered chickens.  It was curious, to stare at a chicken (or rabbit) carcass and empathize, feeling like I myself am just bones and meat.  (The year before that I had seen Bodies: The Exhibition in Boston.)  It was humbling and disturbing, to be able to see humans as animals.  Along the same lines, even though the act of turning the "animal" to "meat" is quite shocking, it is also quite human.  It seems to be a challenge in our food culture for people to recognize that fact. 

Perhaps that's what you get living the product-oriented way of life.  "Don't show me the dirty work.  I only want to see the prize." 

And do you know what my family ate for Easter in 2011? Roasted Rabbit.  The tradition lives on. 

felicious

Cinco de Mayo: Fiesta on the Brink of Summer

Cinco de Mayo: Fiesta on the Brink of Summer

Reennactment in the city of Puebla, Mexico Photo: Eduardo Verdugo, AP

Cinco de Drinko. Drinko de Mayo.  Whichever you call it, Saturday was a day for feasting and drinking.   For many it is a "drinking holiday" just like St. Patrick's Day, where anyone feels right scarfing nachos and slamming tequila shots.  

Un poco de historia...

Not be confused with Mexican Independence Day (September 16th), Cinco de Mayo commemoratess the 1861 Battle of Puebla, in which Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza drove the occupying French from the city of Puebla, in a symbolic win for the liberal Mexican government.  Cinco de Mayo became popular in the US in the 1960's during the Chicano Civil Rights Movement, and has since become a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage.

 

 

 

Back to the food...

Just off Franklin Ave. in Los Feliz, a good friend's parents held a last-minute fiesta on their front porch, a great place for conversation. (Anne Stothard thinks so, too!)   On the menu: tacos, guacamole, beer, and tequila.  As I arrived my friend Julia was busy de-pitting avocados and mincing garlic.  Grillmaster Richard was prepping the grill for the array of meats.  There is no rest for the vegetarian at this house.  There was Flank Steak, Argentinian & Mexican Chorizo, and Carnitas al Pastor.

Al Pastor means "shepherd style" and is a Shawarma-inspired spice mix adapted by Lebanese immigrants in Mexico.  The recipe includes roasting the meat with pineapple, leaving it to marinate for days, making the meat sweet, acidic, and ohh so tender.  Our batches were purchased for $2.99/lb at the Produce for Less Market on Melrose.  It's just one of the thousands of mercados and carnicerias scattered across Los Angeles.

We warmed up on Cerveza and shots of Tequila Reposado.  We snacked on slices of chorizo covered in lime juice and chopped cilantro.  After I assisted with the grilling of the flour tortillas, we ate.  Freshly grilled meat, smooth avocado, and the cool spiciness of mango salsa always makes a pleasant bite.  Que bueno!  To the first of many cookouts this season!

Photo credit: Salman Jafri

To the brink...

There's a mystery to this time of year.  Just before the heat of summer,  the wind blows the scents of burning charcoal, rosemary, and jacaranda blossoms down LA sidewalks.  Driving towards Downtown after dinner, with the orange Supermoon rising over the metropolis, I could already feel the bittersweet hope of summertime. 

felicious

Hangar 24 Brewery Tour & Tasting

The groves on Judson St.

Next stop for these oranges: beer.

Hangar 24 Brewery Tour and Tasting

Drive an hour east of Los Angeles on the 10 or 210 freeways, about 1/5 the way to Las Vegas, and you'll hit Redlands.  Drive north on Judson Street past these orange groves, toward the San Bernardino Mountains, and across the street from the Redlands Municipal Airport you'll find Hangar 24 Brewery.  Wednesday afternoon I went with the Golden Gopher bar staff for a tour and tasting.  Driving through the hot and humid valley heat, I was ready for a beer upon arrival.  We were greeted by Wholesaler Market Manager, Rafael Hurtado, and I had a pint as we watched the brewery in action. 

The tour was given by Brewer John Kopta, who moved from Colorado to California a few years ago.  As we passed the grain mill and brew kettles, stepping over large hoses on wet concrete, the hum and buzz of room was constant.   All these guys (bearded and non-bearded alike) run around in their rubber boots and jeans.  To meet current demands, they work 24 hours, 5 days a week.  And the space is surprisingly small for the volume they produce.  I was floored.  At this point I have brewed beer twice, and it is humbling to see production on a larger scale.  A lot of home brewers will make anywhere from 2 to 5 gallons of beer at a time.  At Hangar 24, they brew in 20-25 barrel capacity kettles.

As of April 23rd they have broken ground for expansion to DOUBLE brewing capacity and build a canning system.  (Canned craft beer does not mean it's cheap and tasteless.  It's more cost-effective than bottles, and more importantly environment friendly.)  Last year they produced just over 15,000 barrels, roughly 3,780,000 pints, and graduated from a "Microbrewery" to a "Regional Craft Brewery."  June marks the 4-year anniversary, so look out for the Anniversary Ale, to be announced. 

Just like El Segundo and Golden Road, Hangar 24 is dedicated to making quality brews for locals.  Hangar 24 goes the step of sourcing ingredients locally, not only for the Redlands-grown oranges for the Orange Wheat (pictured above), but dates grown in Coachella Valley for Palmero, their dark and fruity Belgian Dubbel.  (Part of the Local Fields Series.)  The story is heartwarming: Founder Ben Cook and buddies flying planes, talking about life and drinking home brew. The rest is a labor of love. Do yourself a favor and make the drive East, fill a growler, and talk beer with these guys.

Amarillo Pale Ale bottles being labeled

Fermentation!

____________

To conclude, allow me to share my Blunder of the trip.

When you make beer in home brew, after you have boiled the grains and pitched the yeast, you need to seal the fermenter (or carboy) with an airlock and stopper.  This allows carbon dioxide to escape, while keeping oxygen out.  To make sure no bacteria has any chance, you fill the airlock with a flavorless, sanitized solution such as vodka.  On this large scale, the airlock is instead a large metal blow-off tube submerged in a bucket of sanitized solution, and the CO2 escaping looks just like boiling water.  Next to the Orange Wheat, you can whiff the vapors of orange peel from across the room.  I made the mistake of sticking my nose in the bucket and getting one, swift sniff.  It was a jolt up my nostril and took my breath away. I've done it once, but I don't recommend this.  It's probably on the same brain cell-melting level of huffing in your parents' garage.  No, no, no.  After we did that, John mentioned the dangers of working in a brewery: high pressure tanks, exploding kegs, and dangerous chemicals.  Duly noted.

______________

Hangar 24 beers are on tap at Golden Gopher.  Stop by in the next few weeks while they still have Pugachev's Cobra, a 16.5% Russian Imperial Stout and Hammerhead, a 13.8% Barleywine aged in Rye Whisky barrels, both from the Barrel Roll Series. 

Want some Chocolate Porter to go?  Make sure and stop by 8th Street Bottle Shop.  We'll send you home happy.

felicious



(Check my math: 1 US liquid barrel=252 pints.  252*15,000=3.78 mil.  Feel free to correct!)