Time for another (somewhat belated than promised) guest blog from my friend, Paul Arrondelle, who has been an avid homebrewer for many years and on the last outing back in February 2012 [http://electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/blogs/home-winemaking-guest-author-paul-arrondelle1] gave us an insight into his method for fermenting a basic wine at home. On this occasion, he talks about Homebrewing of beer and outlines some basics that might get some creative juices flowing. A rather timely addition to the blog too, considering the recent announcement of the winner of the Homebrew Challenge was announced a few days ago, in the guise of Graham Nelson's Vienna IPA. This is going to be realised through full production by Thornbridge and be in Waitrose by October apparently. Full details are here: [http://siba.co.uk/2014/08/the-great-british-home-brew-challenge-2014-winner-is-announced/]. I will be looking to get my hands on this promptly! Back to business... full contact details are given at the bottom of the article, but feel free to fire over any questions on the comments section below. Without further ado, I’ll let Paul’s words take the front…. ---------------------------- In my last post I talked about winemaking, and finished with the line that the next blog would be about beer making and why you shouldn’t do it. That needs some explaining really. The wine that I described making isn’t really wine, not in the traditional sense. It was a fruit based drink with the same alcohol content as wine. I realise it sounds like I’m splitting hairs but the reason why I make this distinction will become apparent shortly. Nevertheless, as far as the UK goes, I described wine making and it is pretty easy. If you can make soup you can make wine, and that’s the rub – beer making is different. It is complicated, requires some specialised equipment, and takes a large proportion of a day to do. Of course, if you were to make wine the proper way, from grapes and using natural yeasts, it is just as complicated and time consuming. You don’t however, and hence some beer makers look down on wine as being easier and therefore inferior. Firstly let’s go through the steps that are required to make a beer from its component parts, known as “all grain” brewing. This procedure is common whether you are in a shed or producing thousands of gallons a year, as anyone who has done a brewery tour will recognise. There is a fair amount of jargon involved but I’ll try to keep things simple. 1) Mashing; this is where you take the malted barley for your beer and soak it in water (liquor) at around 70°C for a period of time, usually 1 ½ hours. 2) Sparging; after drawing off the water that you’ve soaked the grain in, rinse the grain with more water 3) Boiling; take the mashing and sparging water (now called wort) and boil for 1 ½ hours. Add hops at beginning and end of boil depending on recipe 4) At end of boil cool the wort to room temperature, either with some kind of heat exchanger or by leaving overnight, transfer to a fermentation vessel and add (pitch) yeast 5) Leave until fermentation is complete then transfer to either barrel or bottles There are a few parts I’ve missed out but these are the basics. In total steps 1 – 4 take around 6 hours (plus overnight if needed), fermentation is 5 – 10 days and conditioning before drinking can be 1 week to 1 month depending on if you use a barrel or bottles. There are variations and shortcuts that can be taken but these are reasonable ballpark figures.
So why do it the long way? Well, if you get it right it can be the best beer you’ve ever tasted. It will certainly be the cheapest in terms of ingredient cost, and it will be the quickest despite the length of your brew day. All-grain ferments faster and is ready to drink about a week afterwards if barrelled, while kit beer usually needs a month and has a reputation for a slight after-taste even then. Also there is the satisfaction of having made your own beer from the bare ingredients, surely on a par with hunting and gathering! To be honest, it is pretty easy to move up to AG brewing in stages, as can be seen above. I’d reckon that anyone who is methodical could start straight away but perhaps starting with kits would at least allow for a person to get a feel for if they want to be a brewer. And for the record, I use BIAB and am more than happy with the results, but if I had the space and the money I’d go for more traditional mashing/ sparging.
Places you can buy the things you need: - The Art of Brewing (http://www.art-of-brewing.co.uk/); excellent general supplier with free shipping on orders over £49. - The Malt Miller (http://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/); formerly exactly as the name suggests but now expanded into a full range of products. I’ve met the owner Rob is he’s an absolutely top bloke, happy to help and give advice. - Wilkinsons (http://www.wilko.com/); basic equipment and kits, either on the high street, depending on the store, or online. Good prices. - The Home Brew Shop (http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/index.html); similar range to Art of Brewing and Malt Miller, they also run half day courses in how to do AG brewing at a reasonable price but you have to get to Aldershot for it. - https://twitter.com/TheHomeBrewShop Sources of information: - Jim’s Beer Kit; fantastic resource and great forum http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/index.htm - https://twitter.com/JimsHomebrew - How to make your own brewery: http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-Your-Own-Brewery-for-Under-100-STEP-1-/ Thanks for reading! Paul Arrondelle.
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Having meant to tackle a review for this establishment a bit earlier in the year, I finally asserted some will power to force a return visit (it really didn’t take too much in all truth) and consider what was on offer. Meat and Liquor is sited on Lark Lane in Liverpool and has taken over the premises of the ill-fated LaundrY (which I reviewed in a much earlier blog here: [http://electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/blogs/restaurant-review-the-laundry-lark-lane-liverpool]) which after a relatively promising start seemingly crashed and burned; thankfully for the American influenced burger diner, it seems to have a much richer staying power with the punters. Getting past the fact that it is another burger restaurant with the usual lean towards ‘dirty’ American food, which has reached a rather tiresome level of saturation in the market, it is very very competent with what it does. Neon signs, diner style seating and decorative nods to American celebrity surround the establishment whilst customers tuck into their dinner, with a lively but congenial buzz in the atmosphere. The food is presented in paper lined plastic baskets; fairly standard these days, but as alluded to earlier there is something a little more grown up and competent about the burgers, dogs and sides fired out from the kitchen. The burgers themselves are thick 6oz efforts, juicy and cooked well and encased in a remarkably cohesive brioche bun; the bun integrity is key here, especially when saucy relishes, chilli and other wet ingredients are smothering the patties. Opting for the Del Toro, I was treated to a good thick chilli, melted jack cheese and jalapenos; smoke, sweetness and a spiced acidic kick provided a pleasant dimension to the burger. My accomplices opted for other burgers on the menu, including the aptly named ‘Brooklyn Big Ass’ which was a heavy uppercut of bacon, onion and pulled pork, the conversation dried up somewhat for a period of 5 minutes while our focus was firmly pinned on the food in front of us. A star of the show is the manner in which Meat and Liquor output their fries. The option of Chilli or pulled pork and cheese smothering the fries is something satisfying, however the presence of the oriental duck fries on the menu has caused something of a stir in the burger circles. The shredded duck meat with spring onion and mayonnaise is a rather decadent edge on the occasion and unsurprisingly, the success of the side as a special has prompted retention on the menu and garnered some level of fame. Alas, the level was not really maintained for the ‘onion strings’, which are a relatively poor substitute for onion rings; whilst not as traditionally greasy, they lack something in terms of body to really get onto a fork and provide a mouthful. The milkshakes are a popular option and another nod to the 1950’s Americana, the beers on offer are solid offerings; Brooklyn Lager and Flying Dog Atlantic Lager are both excellent pairings to go with this kind of food, whilst bottled options are drive by Goose Island and Sam Adams; there could be a shout to some other burger-friendly British (or even other American) options given the craft beer fashions we are currently seeing. Finally, someone was feeling a little more greedy, undertaking dessert with gusto. An ice cream sundae was demolished in double-quick time, quiet and satisfied nods were the response to enquiry about dessert. Service was good; friendly, timing nigh on impeccable and there was no fussing in removing glasses and baskets before anyone was finished. Meat and Liquor is not related to the famed Meat Liquor from elsewhere, but it does possess a solid product which if maintained to these standards will not blow any minds, but will continue to provide an excellent addition to Lark Lane where one can stumble in and tackle American-style fast food for grown ups in a messy, but satisfied manner. Pedro. ----------------------------------------------- Meat and Liquor 101 Lark Lane Aigburth Liverpool L17 8UP Tel: 0151 727 3126 Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeatFactoryLiv So, after a little gentle coaxing and a liberal amount of (metaphorical) prodding, I have managed to cajole a good friend to get in on the act and start doing some writing for me. With a little bit of luck, we’ll get a few articles winging their way over from the far east and roosting here on ElectroKemist Cuisine, giving us some insight into some of the fantastic beers we are sadly missing out on, but may also see soon. Without further ado ladies and gents, please read on for the inaugural piece by Luke Palmer… --------------------------------- So, Summer is here in Hong Kong (it has been a little while) and that surely means it is time to enjoy oneself and participate in a local party celebrating craft beer at the picturesque Pui O beach. This venue for the CBAHK event was the recently opened, featuring delights such as the beach front bar and restaurant, Mavericks. A convivial, lively and colourful venue for the event, considering its philosophy of good drinks, food, beach life and board sports. The organisers behind the event were some of the top craft beer distributors in Hong Kong; distributors such as Americraft (Founders Brewing Co, Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Lost Coast Brewery and Anchor Brewing Company), Hopleaf (Rogue Ales and Baird Brewing) and BestBev (Black Isle Brewery and Matso’s Broome Brewery) to name a few, who were there in full force. Their offering to the lucky people able to procure themselves a ticket for the event was the circulation of a selection of free tasters and to be on hand for the discussion on the beer at the event. Chef and co-founder of Mavericks, Austin Fry, was busy along with his team preparing and cooking some food to compliment the beers on offer, this meant I was able to tuck into some homemade juicy burgers and stunning hot dogs along with the other punters, washed down with a selection of great beers. The event required that a temporary bar be set up; this offered a range of bottled beers and two beers on draft, namely, the draft beers were Young Master Ales 1842 Imperial IPA and Coedo Setsugekka. The bottle beers on offer were sourced from breweries across the world, from the more familiar hoppiness of Brewdog’s Punk IPA, to Tuatara Bohemian Pilsner, Kona Long Board, Baird Single-Take Ale, Cornish Orchards Cider and the locally produced Hong Kong Beer Co Dragon’s Back Pale Ale. All varying styles available at the event and all infinitely drinkable, nonetheless. An enthusiastic crowd descended on the event on the 26th July, eager to enjoy the range of craft beers and beautiful beach surroundings. The weather was initially, not too kind to the revelries, but it did pick up in keeping with the event being held on the beach, resulting in stronger flow from the bars. The presence of Mavericks bar usual premises continuing to provide other drinks gave the event goers even more choice than that available at the temporary set-up. Notable beers included the Young Master Ales summer season offering, “Mo’ Mo’ Wit”; a light witbier, carrying the aroma and flavours of citrus, coriander and some bitter notes, perfect and refreshing for this sunny day and worked rather well with a lot of the food on offer. Alongside the offerings by Americraft and BestBev, an Italian brewery Birrifico Sant’Andrea who are just entering the Hong Kong craft beer scene, were offering tasters of their main beers. In the UK, the presence of some of their Italian counterparts has been notable; it shouldn’t be too long before they make their presence known in Blighty if they haven’t done so already. Among the beers Birrifico Sant’Andrea were providing, was their golden ale “Mozkito” which is described, somewhat amusingly, as a sexy summer beer! Luckily I was able to get a bottle to try and it was a lovely light bodied and refreshing ale, with great taste of orange peel and other citrus fruit that was indeed perfect for this hot summers day. Birrifico Sant’Andrea have four of their beers at The Globe in Central Hong Kong as I write; I am definitely looking forward to trying the rest of their range, especially their beer “Hey Ho! To Go!” as a Ramones fan (it’s close enough!) and it being an English IPA, which is still one of my preferred styles. As to why I was there, not only as lover of craft beer, I was also there working to promote one of my favourite breweries, Young Master Ales. Since the head brewer, Rohit, was unable to attended due to prior working commitments (giving people a tour of the brewery at Ap Lei Chau) I had to take up the reins. The main beer the event had on offer from Young Master was the 1842 Imperial IPA (my personal favourite, making talking about the beer much easier). The 1842 Imperial IPA is a lovely dark IPA, packed full of hoppy flavour, on the floral side with some slight citrus, pine and a touch of cut-grass paired with a solid malt backbone (as the colour would suggest) to provide some body and balance. At 8% (after all, it is an imperial!) the beer maybe could to be said to be a little on the heavy side for a summer event, but it was well received nonetheless by people at the event trying it for the first time, those already familiar to it also made a few return visits for a glass.
The outstanding beers I had at the event included Calabaza Blanca by Jolly Pumpkin, quite light on the palate for a witbier but retains a heady aroma and great sour taste with a strength of 4.8%, the Double Trouble by Tuatara was also highly enjoyable, along with the double IPA and Red Barn Ale by The Lost Abby, the latter of which is a saison with a hatful of flavour. All beers to consider on mail order or look out for should you see them in the UK. Overall this was a excellent and enjoyable event, which hopefully introduced the people of Hong Kong to new beers and showed the strength of the ever growing Craft Beer scene in Hong Kong which is enjoying a parallel to the US and Europe (in places, I understand!). I myself am looking forward to coming back to Mavericks and try the food, enjoy the beach (maybe not the surfing) and definitely take in a few more beers! The next event I will be attending (and hopefully writing about? – Pedro) in this vein will be International Beer Day on 1st August, which I am sure will involve a lot of new beers to try at venues in HK. I hope you enjoying my sideways glance at this event, stay tuned for some more from me in the future! Luke Palmer. Since I partake in quite a lot of different beers, a lot of craft stuff from some very clever brewers around the UK and the rest of the world, I have decided to actively start logging these rather than just swigging them back and chatting randomly to people about them. Since I already do a lot of writing, it only seems logical that this be the medium for you lot to see what else is out there, what foods it will go with and where you can get it from (alright, being very Merseyside/Liverpool centric, you might need to poach from elsewhere if you live further afield!). Here are a few of the choice beers that I have indulged in over the last month or so, if you’ve tried any already, please feel free to share your experiences below the line! I have tried to mix up the styles as much as I could, given my penchant for pales and the rather clement weather making drinking darker beers a more daunting prospect than it should be!
That’s you lot for this month, but I will be sure to keep these review rolling out every month or so, just to give you guys a little run down of what’s available locally from the ever increasing stock in Merseyside’s bottle shops. Happy drinking and happy hunting! Pedro. As the Summer month roll onward unrelenting, weekends sometimes pass in a bit of a haze, this weekend was no exception following some particularly hot weather. The hot weather does make one thirsty, good job then that the double whammy of a beer festival and a Meet the Brewer Event was possible. Thirst quenched perhaps? Maybe so; having chosen to brave public transport away from the Giants and the throng of Liverpool city centre, the scrum was not totally avoided by having to use the train. Thankfully, the Freshfield Hotel is only a relative stone’s throw from the station on the Southport arm of the Northern Line. It is not a free house, although you would be forgiven in thinking that given the sheer number of guest cask pumps greeting you at the bar. We won’t hold it being a Greene King pub against it too much when they obtain (as standard) a very broad and well-handled line up of ales at any given time. A festival occasion gives further reason to rejoice, given that the equation of Friday plus good beer, plus big range of beers, plus good weather, plus beer garden and a few friends usually equals a pretty satisfying experience. This is not the first visit I have had to the Freshfield; having been on a few occasions previously for dinner and a few drinks with family, but the interior of the pub retains a healthy amount of wood, as would be expected from a country style tavern establishment. It also retains a sense of class and as mentioned, retains a good ethic of treating their beers correctly. The beer garden outside is ample in size, plus the establishment boasts a very impressive slate and stone courtyard for punters to rest their feet with a beer and dinner. The 5th occasion for the Freshfield, the Festival ran from Monday 21st July until Sunday 27th July, with the installation of two additional bars with hand pumps to dispense the extra ales. Sadly, there were no sparklers (which for me being a northerner, is a gripe on occasion) installed on the pumps, meaning some of the beers dispensed lacked that additional texturing supplied by a tight creamy head. Not the end of the world in the grand scheme of things however and definitely more welcome than dispensing straight out of a cask tap. Over the course of the week, the Festival boasted 88 ales, 8 ciders and 5 craft beers on, although not at the same time unfortunately. A similar issue experienced at the Liverpool Beer Expo was that many of the beers sound enticing, or indeed are ones some spotters want to tick off their lists, but they had simply already gone or were waiting to be tapped on another session. There were still enough beers to get excited about on the three bars, although having paid £15 for a sheet of tokens (to be used at the two temporary festival bars only), people had to pay the normal rate at the main pub bar for anything dispensed there. Although slightly confusing at first, an understandable arrangement to keep the pub’s normal operations flowing. A slightly more annoying arrangement was the lack of inclusion of the craft beers dispensed from keg in the Festival token system, although the programme clearly states they are included, the staff informed me that because they were ‘slightly more expensive beers’, they weren’t included in the token system. To be fair, there were plenty of beers to get through without venturing to the main bar for a while, or at least until 9pm when things started to run out and sadly, not get replaced. The beers on offer were, in the main very good, featuring notably amongst others, Blackjack, Marble, Darkstar, Saltaire, Oakham, Thornbridge and Tiny Rebel. The Marble ‘Pint’ was a welcome balm for a thirsty boy, providing the usual Marble competency of flavour with a refreshing body; this was swiftly chased with a pint of their ‘Summer’ beer which went down equally easily. As ever, the Saltaire beers were excellent, with several pints of the festival favourite, ‘Blackberry Cascade’ consumed within the group, but the ‘Cascade Pale Ale’ was another very enjoyable beer met with pleased palates. The enthusiasm of the staff was commendable in both the main bar and on the temporary festival installations, given both that the pub was a lot busier than it usually experiences and that the weather wasn’t particularly amenable to putting effort into anything other than a beer and some conversation. If you haven’t had a chance to visit the Freshfield yet, it may be worth a visit for cask fans, especially given the proximity to the train line. At this juncture I considered making a tenuous link in order to join together the second part of the adventure from the weekend, however, a rather hazy Saturday morning followed and killed any creativity I may have had for considering this. It may be possible that it still is impairing me… as I write at least! Having to steel both brain and stomach in preparation for a second outing in as many days, thankfully, the Meet the Brewer event held at the Clove Hitch and 23 Club once again was only a watered down event, albeit a free one. On this occasion, the Green Flash Brewing Company sent their head brewer, Chuck Silva, to wax lyrical about the launch in the UK of their West Coast IPA (at 8.1% it is a double IPA, although the punch is not quite evident at first). The West Coast IPA was first produced in 2005, a year after Chuck had joined Green Flash following a (as is often the case we find, with many brewers) change of career path and three years after Mike and Lisa Hinkley founded the brewery. The brewery takes its name from the natural phenomenon of the same name, whereby under certain weather conditions and just for a moment, the sun setting with its last rays turn emerald green on the horizon. The last mouthfuls of the beer didn’t turn anyone at the event green, thankfully, but it was a robust mouthful.
Light caramel in colour with an off-white head, the beer was much more heavy in malt tones than in hops for a West Coast IPA. It was also slightly sweet on the nose, using British crystal malts, giving off semi-sweet cereal and biscuit notes. The sweetness carries a little into the flavour, but finishes in a dry manner, especially towards the back of the throat with a reasonable length. The hops don’t quite translate as strongly as they should; with the use of simcoe, colombus and cascade pelleted hops at bittering stage, then a further blast of simcoe, citra, centennial and cascade added at the dry hop stage, you’d expect a bit more. A pretty resinous beer throughout drinking, pleasant and will pair pretty well with food, but the 8.1% is a high strength to pay with relatively low hop return. Having previously had ‘Le Freak’ from Green Flash, I can recommend giving their beers a chance, especially since they have been developing a strong relationship with St.Feuillen. Chuck provided an amenable and friendly afternoon at the Clove Hitch. Until the next time mi rasa! Pedro. ----------------------------------------- The Freshfield Hotel 1 Massam's Ln, Formby, Merseyside L37 7BD Tel: 01704 874 871 Web: http://gkpubs.co.uk/pubs-in-liverpool/freshfield-pub/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshieformby Twitter: https://twitter.com/Thefreshfield Green Flash Brewing Company 6550 Mira Mesa Blvd. San Diego, California, 92121 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.greenflashbrew.com/home/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Greenflashbeer Twenty Three Club / Clove Hitch 23 Hope Street, Liverpool, L1 9BQ Web: http://www.theclovehitch.com/# Twitter: https://twitter.com/TwentyThreeClub or https://twitter.com/theclovehitch Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Tel: 0151 709 6574 |
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