Update on Heartbreak Porter V.1 and Ginger Beer V.2

A few weeks ago I made up my first batch of Heartbreak Porter and finally last night was the dreaded bottling night. I made a few changes to the batch due to what I had available and I came out with a thick 7.3% mother of a beer. When I made this first batch, I couldn't find any Willamette, so I changed my aroma hops to Fuggles. Also, I just plain couldn't find our Black Patent malt, so I threw in some Kilned Coffee instead. I'm liking the way it's tasting so far... nice roasty with bit of sweetness. Like I said, it's a thick, chewy big bitch of a beer.... Hopefully, perfect for those long, snowy winter nights coming up.

Here's Andy and Graham helping with the tedious process of bottling......... They also made me watch the Canucks game and refused to play any Dolly Parton...... Not cool!

And here they are.... carbonating as I type this..... Not too much longer now, my pretties.... 

Andy and I also revisited a Ginger Beer recipe we made last year that turned out pretty well. Simple malt bill of Pilsner, Wheat, and some Crystal. We added some ginger to the kettle near the end of boil and we're going to dry hop it with some noble hops and more ginger and see how it turns out.

Just look at that sexy, sexy krausen! Just look at it!

Beer. It Goes With Food... Some Food/Beer Pairings from Central/Eastern Europe

I was born and raised in Canada but my stomach’s home is in the beer halls and sausage houses of Eastern Europe. I grew up in a family where our Polish and Ukrainian heritage was not only known to us but experienced on a daily basis through language, food and eventually beer. That means that my siblings and I grew up on all the things that you associate with Central and Eastern European cuisine: pork sausages (kielbasa), garlic pickles, tons of pierogies covered in sour cream and potatoes sprinkled with dill. That means rye bread and butter with every meal. And of course cabbage, cabbage, cabbage….. And more cabbage. Did I mention pickled carrots and beets yet? Because, yeah. Those too!

So, when I was assigned to do a food pairing blog post for class my mind went immediately to what I know and what I love: Rich, meaty, starchy foods that pair best with the beers of the region. That translates into Pale Lagers, Dark Lagers, and Pilsners for the most part…..

So, let’s examine a few pairings, shall we?

Bigos (Cabbage Stew)

There are as many Bigos recipes as there are Babcias making it, but the basics in my house were sour cabbage and sweet cabbage, fried up kielbasa and bacon, some mushrooms, and tomato paste. Throw that in the oven and let it cook low and slow… Usually, eaten with rye bread.

My immediate beer pairing here is Pilsner. It’s crisp and effervescent, which cuts into the richness of the pork sausage and the bacon. Also, Pilsners are great palate cleansers, which helps with the assertiveness of the sour cabbage and tomato paste.

You could also substitute a Pale Lager, which is light and refreshing against the heaviness of the stew. On the other hand, a Dark Lager could offer some caramel notes and sweetness that will balance out the sourness of the cabbage and complement the fattiness of the meat. Do whatever makes you happy.... or drink whatever's in the fridge.... 

Pierogi (Dumplings):

Everyone knows and has had pierogies at one time or another. They come in many varieties but are often just cheese/potato dumplings served with sour cream. They’re usually boiled and served with some fried onion and bacon bits on top.

The trick to pairing this with beer is not going too intense in any direction because the flavours in the pierogi are fairly bland. In my opinion, a Pale Lager is the way to go. The sweetness will balance out the sourness in the sour cream and the richness of the bacon bits. Also, it will complement the earthiness of the potatoes and the slight bite of the fried onions.

If you were to go in a different direction with the beer, I’d suggest a Wit or another light bodied Belgian ale with some citrus/peppery zest.

Kielbasa (Sausage):

Pork sausage is king in Central/Eastern European cuisine, so I can’t not mention it. It’s fatty, it’s rich, it’s salty, and it’s often served with horseradish and mustard…. I’m literally salivating as I write this… So, what beer to pair? As far as I’m concerned, Dark Lagers are it! They’re refreshing and can be slightly hoppy, which will balance out the fat and they can be quite malty, which will complements the richness of the meat. Also, that malty sweetness with serve as a great balance to the heaps of spicy as hell horseradish you must eat with it!

Porters, Stouts, Brown Ales, and other malt forward beers would lend themselves well to the high fat kielbasa as well. 

In the end, beer and food pairing is about eating the food you like and drinking the beer you like. So, I will leave you with my personal philosophy on the subject:

I LOVE BEER AND I LOVE FOOD, AND I WILL EAT AND DRINK ANYTHING DELICIOUS YOU PUT IN FRONT OF ME.

Here's links to a few restaurants in Edmonton that serve fine Central/Eastern European food (as seen here) and the delicious beers that go with them! Go there! Now!

http://www.ctfinebistro.com/home

http://bistropraha.com/

https://www.facebook.com/syrenaclub/info?ref=page_internal

Heartbreak Porter: It's in the Water

Water makes up most of beer and, as such, it is an important ingredient in brewing. Historically, beer styles are based on a location because of the water that is available there. For example, Pilsners originated in Plzen, where the water is very soft, which brings out the best in that style. Hard water in Burton-On-Trent in England brought out the hopiness in their India Pale Ales that were made for export during British colonialism.

For Heartbreak Porter I don't need to make any water additions because it's such a dark beer and the hardness of our water in Olds won't be an issue. Porters also originated in the hard waters of England... so I feel I'll be to style.

And to celebrate this brief discussion of water and beer, here's an old picture of me enjoying beer while lazing in water..... what a time to be alive!

A little ESB in the Morning

After spending a fun weekend at Edmonton's Oktoberfest (pictures coming up), I thought I'd get up early Monday morning and brew an English Special Bitter for fun.

I threw together a malt bill of Maris Otter and a variety of Crystal malts with some EKG hops and we're going to see what we end up with.

Here it is in its super high-tech, ultra-special fermentation chamber (aka, a cabinet in the Land Sciences Building)

Heartbreak Porter: Hops!

So, as mentioned, I'll be posting a recipe I'm creating step-by-step for class. Last week I put up the malt bill; this week the hops!

So, malt is super sweet and without hops to balance it out, you're going to have cloying, awful sugar booze...

I've decided to go with Bravo for bittering due to it's high alpha acid % (and I know we have it in the brewery). For aroma, I've decided to go with a 30 minute addition of Willamette and another addition at flameout.... I think it'll give my porter some nice floral notes and some grassy zest....

And while we're on the subject of hops, here's a picture of a Hallertauer Hop Queen.... Just for funzies :)