Archive for the ‘Beer’ Category
February 18th, 2009
If you want to know what’s going on in this town beer-wise, let me introduce you to Kris Butler. First, she’s a certified beer judge, with several homebrew and commercial beer competitions on her resumé, including the Samuel Adams LongShot homebrew contest. Second, she’s the president of the Boston Wort Processors, a homebrew club that turns 25 this year (she’s the second woman to hold that post). And third, she publishes Boston Beer News, a monthly e-newsletter with a hand-picked listing of the best beer events around town (like this Thursday night’s Extreme Beer Fest Pre-party at the People’s Republik), plus product recommendations and fun facts. Want to get her newsletter? Email kris.butler at hklaw dot com.
“A ‘certified beer judge’ — says who?” you might ask. The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), a nationwide organization established in 1985, bestows the title on anyone who passes its rigorous exam, which Butler, who works for a law firm, once declared was “harder than the bar exam.”
Speaking of which, the BJCP is roughly to beer appreciation what the BAR (Beverage Alcohol Resource) program is to mixology. Here’s a sample exam question from the former: “Identify three top-fermenting beer styles where the minimum original gravity is 1.070 or higher. For each style provide a statement describing the style as well as the differences and similarities between the styles by addressing the following topics …” You got it — this test ain’t for sissies.
Butler proudly points out that the original BJCP Style Guidelines — a bible of sorts on the world’s major beer styles — came from New England homebrewers during the rise of craft beer.
Recently, I asked Butler to name two or three beers that have knocked her socks off lately, and also whether she had any guilty-pleasure beers.
She said, “My favorite brewer is Jerome Rebetez of BFM [Brasserie des Franche Montagnes] in Switzerland. His background is wine, and his barrel-aging experiments are stunning, especially L’Abbaye de St. Bon Chien, named after a beloved cat in the brewery. I’ve lately been delighted by the craft beer coming out of Italy and France, too, Thiriez being one of my favorites — funky, hoppy farmhouse-style brew. Yum! Locally, Megan Parisi’s CaCow stout is my latest worth-a-trip beer [Parisi brews her stout at the Cambridge Brewing Co.].
“My confession (‘pleasure’ would be a stretch) is, on a really hot day when I want a glass of water and a buzz (not a beer), I’ll have a Miller Lite.”
Butler is a passionate proselytizer of craft beer. With her knowledge, she can out-do the geekiest of beer geeks, yet she doesn’t come across as one. She just believes everyone would love beer if only they’d discover the good stuff.
“To me, tasting a fine craft beer is a true sensory awakening. When someone says they don’t like beer, I know they haven’t tasted anything beyond the ubiquitous, well-marketed, watery Bud/Miller/Coors/Heineken/Stella lager. It’s like saying you don’t like cheese when all you’ve had is the wrapped American processed slices. And I think, ‘How sad!'”
Tags: beer judge, Kris Butler, women and beer
Posted in Beer | 4 Comments »
February 13th, 2009
St. Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. Eeccchhhh. Don’t get me wrong. Romance? Love it. But V-Day? C’mon — it’s probably the least romantic day of the year.
Whatever you do, do NOT get stuck going out to dinner at a fancy restaurant, where you’ll only get depressed observing a sad parade of couples overpaying for an evening of forced romance, while various Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus relationship scenarios play out beneath the surface. If you’re an imbiber, and you feel compelled to celebrate this day with your love, stroll down some unbeaten path where, if you’re lucky, romance will sneak up and find you. At the very least, you’ll have a good time. Suggestions:
- Go to a dive bar in your neighborhood — walk there — and drink shots of whiskey and long-neck Buds.
- Go to a sports bar and watch the Celts or Bruins on a giant TV while eating burgers and drinking Harpoon.
- Go online and try to get a last-minute deal on a hotel downtown. If you manage that coup, have a large pepperoni pizza delivered to your room, stock the fridge with beer, and channel-surf the night away.
- Invite your single friends over for a game of poker and make them martinis with plump olives.
- Go skiing by yourself.
Tags: St. Valentine's Day
Posted in Beer | 8 Comments »
February 4th, 2009
I’m finally getting my ass in gear over what to do with those little items that are worth mentioning but don’t warrant an entire post: I’m filing them in series of posts called Nips, after those little bottles of booze you get on airplanes, in hotel minibars or at liquor-store checkout counters. (Fun fact: Until 2005, South Carolina liquor laws dictated that bartenders make drinks with nips instead of free-pouring or measuring into a jigger. Holy idiocracy.)
1. Do you remember those ads for Miller High Life in the late ’90s and early ’00s? They were understated little vignettes capturing the modern alterna-male’s winking appropriation of bygone “guy-ness,” from an era when men had bowling trophies and dedication to a particular brand of beer. The ads were unlike anything else you saw on TV. That’s because they were directed by Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris (Fast, Cheap and Out of Control, Standard Operating Procedure). Since documentary filmmaking — even Oscar-winning documentary filmmaking — doesn’t pay the bills, Morris, who lives in Cambridge, has done lots of ad work. I’d like to thank A Continuous Lean, Michael Williams’ terrific blog on American design, for reminding me of the Miller ads. You can watch all the spots here.
2. Here’s another homework assignment. Read these two recent articles on Slate:
Change We Can Taste: Bush’s White House served terrible wine. Obama should do better.
Obama Raises the Bar: In politics, as in life, a little alcohol can go a long way.
3. How about the recession-induced proposal to put a 5% tax on liquor purchased at package stores? If it’s approved, will it make you drive to NH to buy booze?
4. More recession news. A little while ago, the Globe published what I thought was a detailed and fair article on Locke-Ober’s historic decision to close for lunch and what that signified for anyone who thought the old-fashioned business lunch (you know, the one with Martinis) was still alive. Well, that story sparked a rumble in the comments section between those who hold Locke-Ober dear as a Boston institution even though its food and service have been eclipsed many times over by competing high-end restaurants, and those who are seriously bitter over their financial and employment circumstances and want to mow down anything in their path that smacks of aristocracy, including Locke-Ober. Yikes. Personally, I love the place despite its silly prices, because it is a Boston institution. But resting on your laurels is not a business strategy. I wish, at the very least, that Locke-Ober would hire a team of bartenders who could bring cocktail hour at L-O back to the glory of the Gilded Age.
Tags: business lunch, liquor taxes, Locke-Ober, Miller High Life, TV commercials
Posted in Beer, Booze in the news, Boston bars, Nips | 16 Comments »
January 22nd, 2009
“Is it always this busy on a Tuesday?” unsuspecting customers asked upon entering Green Street last night. Yes, if that Tuesday happens to fall on the date of a historic U.S. presidential inauguration. And if drinkboston, BeerAdvocate and the Second Glass band together to invite everyone in the city to celebrate at this nicely stocked bar. And if presidential cocktails, inaugural craft beers, a champagne “tower of freedom” and $4 tacos are on the menu.
The crowd drank early and often, so that, by 7:30 p.m., the Ale to the Chief and Inauguration Ale (aka “Obamagang”), the Whiskey Punch (recipe below) and the Gruet Brut tower (built from specs by Martha Stewart!) were drained dry. But there was lots more good beer, sparkling wine and cocktails to be had, and bartenders Andy McNees and Emily Stanley served them up as fast as they could. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. I know I was.
Whiskey Daisy (New School, 1910s)
From Imbibe! by David Wondrich
2 oz whiskey
Juice 1/2 lime and 1/4 lemon
1 teaspoonful superfine sugar
2 dashes (1 tsp) grenadine
2 dashes (1/2 oz) carbonated water
Last night, this recipe was batched up to make a large bowl of punch cooled by a sizable chunk of ice. The proper Daisy preparation, however, is as follows: “Use silver mug, put in above ingredients, fill up with fine ice, stir until mug is frosted, decorate with fruit and sprays of fresh mint and serve with straws.”
Tags: Cambridge MA, Obama inauguration party
Posted in Beer, Cocktails, Events, Whiskey, Wine | 7 Comments »
January 14th, 2009
I know, the invitations to inauguration parties are piling up in your Facebook inbox. But will those parties take place at one of Boston’s best bars — Green Street — and feature a historic coming-together of presidential cocktails, specially brewed inaugural beers and a champagne toast? I think not. So gather all your friends and bring them to Central Square on the night of Barack Obama’s inauguration, January 20.
In the spirit of bi-partisan cooperation, Drinkboston will represent the cocktail community in co-hosting a celebration with the folks behind the world’s largest online beer community, BeerAdvocate. The wine wing of our commonwealth will also be represented; Tyler Balliet, who writes the Second Glass wine column in the Weekly Dig, will construct a champagne tower. Imagine: cocktail drinkers, beer drinkers, wine drinkers — even independents — in the same room, clinking glasses in honor of a new president and doing our part to move the country (or at least our psyches) in a new direction.
Check out the cocktail menu — it’s historically relevant and tasty.
Whiskey Punch
At the Andrew “Old Hickory” Jackson inauguration of 1829, “common folk” showed up at the White House in droves to welcome their new president, whom they elected for his promise of change: less aristocracy, more democracy. To save the furniture from being totally destroyed, Jackson lured the unruly mob out on the lawn with huge tubs of whiskey punch. (Whiskey, citrus, and other special ingredients.)
Martini
The Obama presidency begins during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. That fact, along with Obama’s steadiness under pressure and ability to inspire people, have invited comparisons to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Several accounts name the Martini FDR’s preferred cocktail. He often mixed them himself for White House guests and was said to enjoy both a twist and an olive, not to mention Plymouth gin. (Plymouth gin, dry vermouth. Well chilled and straight up.)
Daiquiri
Barack Obama’s intelligence, youth and forward-looking ideas excited the electorate in 2008 much as John F. Kennedy’s did in 1960. Despite a couple of well-known tussles with Cuba, JFK’s favorite cocktail was said to be the Cuban-born Daiquiri. (Light rum, fresh lime, sugar. Shaken and straight up.)
Margarita
I do solemnly swear … our newest president enjoys the occasional cocktail, too. According to a Boston Globe article, Barack Obama always ordered a house Margarita at one of his fave Chicago restaurants, Topolobampo. (Tequila, Cointreau, fresh lime. Shaken and straight up, with or without salt — perfect with one of Green Street’s $4 tacos!)
And that’s just the cocktails. Two very special brews will also be featured: Ale to the Chief, a double IPA (India Pale Ale) from Avery Brewing in Colorado, and “Obamagang” (aka Inauguration Ale 2009 from the Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown, which specializes in Belgian-style ales). According to Appellation Beer, “the style lies between a porter and stout, with a bit of Kriek and a touch of chocolate blended in.”
This is a ticket-less, free-form party. Just show up and get your Hail to the Chief on. The kitchen’ll put out some killer free snax (homemade chips & dip, spiced nuts, etc.), plus really good tacos for $4 each. Festivities begin at 5:00 p.m. and end at last call. Hope to see you there!
Tags: Andrew Jackson, Daiquiri, FDR, JFK, Margarita, Martini, Obama inauguration, U.S. presidents, Whiskey Punch
Posted in Beer, Cocktails, Events, Wine | No Comments »
