Happy accident

Last year at some point, we were in a liquor store in Cleveland Park... I can't remember the name of it, but it is right by Dino. We got a bottle of Brown Shugga from Lagunitas. We never got around to drinking it when it was in my fridge, but it survived the move to Ben's. We finally opened it.

We definitely knew it would be somewhat more aged, but Ben was convinced it wouldn't age much while it was in the cold fridge. It was smooth and perfect, although neither of us wanted to drink the excess yeast at the bottom (I bet that yeast was happily propagating with all of the sugar in that beer and some probable oxidation).

I am the accidental master of aging beers.

Meanwhile, Ben jumped on the bandwagon (haha) this year, and his second closet is full of cases of beer he's aging. I'm excited to try them; aged beer is generally high alcohol and it turns into an almost port experience.

On another Brown Shugga note... at the Pizza Paradiso Lagunitas beer dinner we had creme brulee made with Brown Shugga and it was amazing. Does anyone know how to make creme brulee?

Beer chili

We've decided to try cooking with beer more often. Our first foray into this was beer chili. I found this chili on All Recipes, and decided it was a good base.

We made a few changes to the basic recipe- we used one pound ground beef and one pound ground turkey. We fried up the sausage and then cut it up into bite-size pieces instead of doing whatever it is they were trying to get us to do with the sausage.

We couldn't find chili beans with a spicy sauce, so we just left those out.

I accidentally dumped out the tomato juice from the diced tomatoes, but that was also ok since we used an entire can of beer instead of the 1/2 cup the recipe called for. We used Old Chub

We just used jarred jalapenos because we couldn't find nice fresh ones in the Giant.

Other than that, we put it in the pot and let it simmer all day. We stirred it occasionally. It was really easy, especially when you have someone help you chop up all the ingredients.

It was awesome. Seriously. It was great, amazing chili. Next time, we've decided to use an imperial stout because we think it will impart more flavor. You should make this chili because it will change your life.

Another thing that will change your life: drinking this chili with Rauchbier. It is the most perfect pairing in the history of chili and beer. Try it.

An Open Letter to Dogfish Head

Dear Dogfish,

I love your alehouse, that's no secret. I have your number plugged into my phone, and I regularly call to see which beers you have on tap (side note, please educate your phone answerers that when I ask for "limited release beers" this does not include your "Lawnmower Light" and "Shelter Pale Ale" and any of the other regular, year-round beers. I've been there enough times that I pretty much have your regular beer menu memorized. I want to know the interesting beers that aren't always there... hence "limited release beers" in my original inquiry. Anyway, moving on...).

We came to your beer dinner tonight and while it was enjoyable enough, I have a few critiques.

1) You served your beers at the wrong temperature. We had to hold the Theobroma and Midas Touch in our hands for a good 10 minutes before it was borderline warm enough, and even then, it could have been warmer. You're an alehouse and you only serve your own beers. Serve them the way they're meant to be.

2) What was up with the salad dressing? You gave us one tiny container to share. We asked for a second one and the server never came back. Is there a salad dressing shortage I'm not aware of?

3)Sauerbraten is sour. You served us roast beef with gravy. Personally, I like roast beef with gravy. However, I was expecting sauerbraten because, well, that's what you advertised. I was disappointed.

Seriously, Dogfish, I am one of your biggest fans. Your entire line-up of beers is solid, and we look forward to all of your new, interesting releases, as well as our old favorites- World Wide Stout, 120 min., etc. I'll still be calling once a week to see if you have great things on tap, but I would think twice about another beer dinner in the near future.

XOXO,
Heather

Road trip!

Drinking in DC went on a road trip recently. I'd like to state, for the record, that the best beer I've had in quite some time was Catawba's Firewater IPA.

I wish they bottled their beers! We'll have to take another trip to Asheville, I guess.

Duck-Rabbit Porter and Milk Stout are a close second/third. Can't wait for them to come north... I hear they might be up to the DC area in the next few months. Here's hoping. We did bring back some porter with us, so I'm satisfied for a little while anyway.

We visited Foothills Brewery as well, naively hoping there would be some Sexual Chocolate to be had. Sadly (happily?) everyone loves it as much as we do, so of course we weren't able to get our hands on it. We did get to enjoy Hoppyum IPA, Rainbow Trout ESB, and Total Eclipse Stout.

Cheers to beers.

Hellooooo Blogosphere

Hi Ben.