KegWorks Blog

When it comes to writing beer reviews, Peter is by far our in-house expert. But I recently tried a beer that needed to be blogged about…Miller Chill. “Chill is a new cheleda style beer brewed with a hint of lime and salt” to quote the Miller Chill Web site.

Here’s the back story: I read all the trade rags about the beverage alcohol industry (insert your own joke here). Each one kept talking about how this beer is taking the country by storm, stealing market share from Corona and Anheuser Busch. So I wanted to try one…ONE. I wasn’t sure on the whole lime-salt-flavored-beer-thing.

My wife saw an ad for it somewhere and asked what, exactly, it was. I explained it to her and mentioned wanting to try it. Being the wonderful person she is, on her next visit to the store she brought home a twelve pack. All I could think of was the eleven orphans I was going to have left taking up valuable fridge space waiting, for the opportunity to be pawned off on company.

Now the review…it’s not bad, if you know what you are getting into. If you are looking for any type of normal beer taste, this is not for you. The only resemblance it has to other mass produced light beers is the way it feels in your mouth. The taste is different. The lime flavor is strong, but not overpowering. Someone told me it tastes better if you use margarita salt on the rim of a glass to drink it. Chill is light and surprisingly refreshing. It falls into to category of what we at KegWorks like to call lawnmower beers; perfect for when the yard work is done on a hot Saturday afternoon. Now, it’s not going to be for regular consumption at my house, but these orphans will probably find a home before the end of the summer.

I know this is not for everyone, so I would recommend trying ONE when you’re out to see if you think it’s worth bringing some home.

The first seminar we attended at Tales of the Cocktail was called “Rum’s Punch: A spirited view of rum’s rise, fall and return.” Rum aficionado Wayne Curtis, author of And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails, moderated the session. He began by detailing the history of rum, including the widely varied processes of making rum from basic ingredients (sugar cane, molasses) to distillation.

Panelist Jeff “Beachbum” Berry then enlightened us on the rebirth of rum in the 20th century, mostly due to cocktail visionary Don the Beachcomber and the dawning of the Tiki movement. Rum is the main ingredient in Tiki drinks. I’ll get into more about Tiki in a future post, though I will say that for whatever reason Jeff Berry was my favorite of the “cocktail personalities” I met at the convention. Must be the laidback “Beachbum” attitude. Or maybe it’s because he appealed to my love of zombie movies by spending hours in a make-up chair for some sweet photos that appear in his new book.

The other seminar we attended on Thursday was called “Lost Ingredients: obtaining (or making) rare ingredients for even rarer cocktails.” Moderated by Ted “Dr. Cocktail” Haigh, “Lost Ingredients” highlighted what he referred to as the “holy trinity” of rare spirits: absinthe (illegal in the U.S. up until very recently), Crème Yvette (a violet flavored liqueur), and Pimento Dram (rum and all-spice combination available only in Jamaica).

Panelist Chuck Taggart was the resident Pimento Dram enthusiast. He told the a humorous story of his introduction to the sweet Caribbean concoction involving Ted Haigh letting him taste it, savor it, and instantly get hooked. The punch line was Dr. Cocktail’s playfully mocking revelation that it is in fact a lost ingredient nearly impossible to procure.

An undaunted Mr. Taggart then embarked on a long journey full of trial and error in attempt to replicate the spice flavor that originally enamored him. He brought the fruit of his labor to the seminar for attendees to sample, garnering near universal approval.

If curiosity has gotten the best of you and you’d like to take a stab at making a lost ingredient, here’s Chuck’s personal recipe for Pimento Dram, which he distributed at the seminar and is also printed in the July/August issue of Imbibe Magazine.

Chuck’s Jamaican Pimento Dram No. 3

2¼ cups 151-proof Demerara rum
½ cup whole dried allspice berries, crushed
3 cups water
1½ lb brown sugar

Crush allspice berries in a mortar and place in 1-liter jar with rubber seal. Cover with rum and steep for at least 10 days, agitating the maceration daily. Pour through a fine strainer, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquor as possible, then pour the strained liquor maceration through another strainer line with a coffee filter (it will take a while).

Make simple syrup by heating water and brown sugar until sugar dissolves, then allow it to cool. When cool, combine with the rum maceration and age for at least one month. Decant and enjoy. This will fill two 750 ml bottles.

Check out Chuck’s website for a cocktail recipe specially crafted to take full advantage of his Pimento Dram’s unique flavor.

Other ingredients that were discussed in the session included Batavia Arrack, Amer Picon, and Falernum. Joe Fee of Fee Brothers spent some time discussing Falernum and his role in revitalizing the once-fading ingredient. He also took advantage of his time at the podium to introduce Fee Brothers new grapefruit bitters, eliciting a round of applause from the audience.

If the seminar taught me one thing, rare ingredients once thought to be gone forever probably won’t be lost for much longer due to the diligence, patience and resourcefulness of many in the cocktail industry.

This may not be an issue for some readers, but what do you do with a partial bottle of wine left over from dinner? I freeze it! Yes, I freeze it in ice cube trays and make wine cubes. Then next time you are cooking and need a quarter cup of wine to complete your recipe or to make a sauce, you can just reach into the freezer, grab a wine cube and throw it in the pan. You’ll save time and wine. Works great with both red and white wine, just watch out that you don’t mix up the white wine cubes for ice cubes.

Every good KegWorks customer (or employee) knows that nothing beats an ice-cold beer poured fresh from the tap. Bottles second, cans only when you have to. If we had our druthers here, we would have draft beer and only draft beer.

Something that we learned from a recent survey we sent out to customers on our mailing list is that over 80% of our customers, either already have or are in the market for a draft beer system. So, we know that you, too, are draft beer lovers.

A question that we get asked a lot in the summer is: I have draft beer inside, how do I get it outside?

Well, here is one of our most popular items and a fantastic option for enjoying your draft beer while you enjoy the weather in your backyard or by your pool.

The Drink Tender keeps draft beer cold and fresh on you deck, by your pool, wherever. It holds 80-ounces of draft beer (or any drink), serves through a tap, rotates and even lights up.

Get a couple for a big party and put them on every table.

There is no substitute for draft beer.   We make it easy to serve fresh draft beer at picnics, BBQs, or anywhere you’re on the go.

Options	Why They’re Great	Check Them Out
Party Pumps	• Quick and easy • Inexpensive • For most N. American brewed beers	Bronco Multi-Tap Beer Pump
Deluxe Pumps	• Heavy duty pumps • Metal faucet head & coupler • Serve your favorite beers • Superior durability • What the brewers use	Lever Handle US Sankey Pump
Rod & Faucet Systems	• Ability to use CO2 • Pour beer without pumping • Keg stays fresher, longer • Cold beer is crisp for weeks	Rod & Faucet System with 5 lb CO2 Tank
Jockey Boxes	• Cold, crisp beer… fast • Coils act as a flash chiller • As seen at beer fests • Uses CO2 for crisp taste • No electricity required	Jockey Boxes
Long Lasting Pitchers	• Take your draft beer outside • Keeps beer cold longer • Friends serve themselves	Drink Tenders

We’ve got a ton more summer party favorites - even more ways to enjoy draft beer outside, summer cocktails, party décor… check it out!

After a beautiful afternoon spent getting angry, swearing you’ll never play again, and almost breaking a malfunctioning club or two on the golf course, there is nothing like a refreshing beer and a premium cigar on the patio of the 19th hole.

My suggestion, this week, is Belgium’s Stella Artois, a smooth, Euro Pale Lager. Perfect for an afternoon distraction, this beer is on the lighter side, not at all overpowering, and just what you’ll be looking for to quench your thirst after a round of golf.

In pairing this beer with a cigar you are going to also want to choose something on the lighter side. You’re going to want to stay away from the Hondurans and Nicaraguans, or you’ll never taste the beer.

The smoke you want is the Butera Royal Vintage. While hard to find, it is worth the hunt; Should you find them, I suggest you buy a handful and keep them in your humidor. This smoke is made in the Dominican Republic with Indonesian and Dominican tobacco, and wrapped with a beautiful Connecticut Shade Wrapper. By the looks of this cigar you wouldn’t think there was much to it, however don’t be fooled by the appearance. It pairs perfectly with an ice cold Stella. Does not overpower, but instead, enhanced the citrus undertones of the beer. The Butera Royal Vintage, although mild, has a creamy, sweet taste that makes it impossible to put down.