Any regular readers know that, besides being a Guinness lover, my liquor of choice is almost always whiskey. And although I love a great number of whiskeys out there, including Canadian and Irish, my true favorites are the bourbons. (Yes Maker’s Mark, you’ll always hold a spot in my heart, and in my Manhattan, perfect, on the rocks).

The question is though, what makes a straight bourbon whiskey? How is bourbon different from other whiskeys? Dave shot me a link to William Litton’s article today, which did a rather good job of explaining key factors.

As Mr. Litton explains, bourbon is a corn whiskey that is aged in charred white oak barrels. This aging process, in these specific barrels, is what gives bourbon its distinctive coloring and tasty notes of honey, spice and floral, earthy complexity. There is however, a bit more to it than that.

In order to be labeled as an official straight bourbon whiskey, according to US federal law (it’s that big) whiskey needs to meet all of the following requirements:

• It must be distilled within the United States
• It must be made of grain mixture that is at least 51% corn
• It cannot be altered in any artificial way; no coloring, flavoring or special filtering allowed
• It must be aged for at least two years in new, charred white oak barrels
• It must be distilled to no higher than 165 proof, and introduced into the barrel at no higher than 125 proof

Bourbon brands’ tastes are as varied as their names, from sweet to fiery and everything in between. My favorite, Maker’s Mark, tends to be on the sweeter side but still with enough fire to know you’re drinking bourbon. Basil Hayden’s is a bourbon that I liken more to candy than any other. If you’re looking for pure heat and the classic whiskey-face, try Knob Creek—it may be the tastiest fire water you’ve ever thrown back.

Looking for a classic bourbon cocktail recipe? The Manhattan or Old Fashioned always do me well, but here’s something we haven’t posted yet… the Kentucky B & B.

Kentucky B & B
2 oz bourbon
½ oz Benedictine

Pour bourbon and Benedictine into a snifter and stir. Drink and repeat.

TAGS [ BOURBON | WHISKEY | BOURBON WHISKEY | KENTUCKY B & B | KENTUCKY BOURBONS | COCKTAIL RECIPES ]

This past weekend, Dave and I had the pleasure and privilege to attend one of the best Real Ale Festivals this side of the Atlantic at Clark’s Ale House in Syracuse. A true Syracuse mainstay, and one of the first real beer bars to sprout up back in the early 90s before places like that started to become more common the past few years, Clark’s has always done it right with great beer, great atmosphere (there are no TVs), and a legendary roast beef sandwich that is basically a requirement to enjoy when you’re in town. The Peoples Real Ale Festival is an event they have held the past couple of years with great success, and this was my first opportunity to attend.

Cask Ale, or Real Ale as it’s known in the US, is beer brewed with traditional ingredients and allowed to mature naturally. Being only common in Britain these days, this beer is unfiltered, unpasteurized, and contains live yeast, which will continue to condition the beer in the cask (known as secondary fermentation).

The result is a natural CO2 carbonation which allows the hop and malt flavors to develop, giving the drinker a much more simple, naked, and un-fooled-with beer. No extraneous gas is used in dispensing of the beer, usually by way of a hand pump. It’s a very unique, and more importantly, traditional way of serving beer than the normal filtered, pasteurized, chilled beer we’re used to most of the time. Some people think that Real Ale is warm and flat; however this is incorrect. Cask Ale is served between 54-56 degrees, which is cool, but not cold like normal keg beer, and there should be a noticeable carbonation from the secondary fermentation in the cask.

Here is a complete list of the beers that were available:

Blue Point Oatmeal Stout
Blue Point Rastafa Rye
Brooklyn Best Bitter
Brooklyn BLAST
Captain Lawrence DIPA
Captain Lawrence Pumpkin
Captain Lawrence Smoked Porter
Ellicottville Prince of Pale
Empire Maple Smoked Porter
Empire Amber
Flying Bison Rusty Chain Amber
Ithaca Flower Power
Landmark Vanilla Bean Brown
Middle Ages X
Middle Ages Dragonslayer
Sixpoint Bengali IPA
Sixpoint Amberdeen Scotch Ale
Sixpoint Righteous Rye
Southern Tier Pumpking

I was fortunate enough to sample about of what was available, and everything I had was very enjoyable. Highlights for me were the Sixpoint Aberdeen, the Brooklyn Best Bitter (I have a real soft spot for simple English Bitters), and I made it a point to do a side-by-side with the two porters and the two stouts. Also of note was the presence of 2 different rye beers, an often under-brewed and favorite style of mine.

As impressed as I was with the beer list, I think I was even more pleased with the way the event was run. It was very well organized, with 2 guys sharing bartending duties on all the casks, which were placed in an area where no long lines would develop and bar traffic could move around with ease. Even better, you had the option of getting 8- or 16-ounce pours so you needn’t buy a full pint of a beer if you were unsure if you would like it. This provided the opportunity to try the majority. And most of all, the price point didn’t hurt—most 8-ounce pours were $2.

So, cheers to Clark’s for doing it well, and doing it right. Thankfully, there has been a bit of resurgence and growing popularity of these types of festivals over the past few years, and I encourage everyone to take full advantage of them when held in your area. After all, it is how our forefathers enjoyed great beer, and a bit a nostalgia and history never hurts!

TAGS [ CASK ALE | REAL ALE | BEER TASTING | BEER SAMPLING | CASK ALES | REAL ALES ]

There’s a new beer collaboration going on! The oldest brewery in the world and the largest independent American brewery are joining forces to create a new craft beer that’s sure to be just as legendary as its founders.

The Associated Press reports that Germany’s Weihenstephan and Boston Beer Co, maker of Samuel Adams, are working on jointly producing a new craft beer to be marketed in both Germany and the U.S. next spring.

The beer has yet to be named, but here’s what we know:

• It will be bottled with corks instead of metal caps
• It will be high octane with more than 10% alcohol
• It’s being described as a champagne-like "crisp pale brew"

It follows Germany’s famed Reinheitsgebot, or purity law, which states that beer can be brewed with only four ingredients: water, malt, hops and yeast.

While discussing the new project, Jim Koch (Boston Beer founder and master brewer) told the AP, "Today the U.S. and Germany have two great brewing cultures - one that’s emerging and one that’s 1,000 years old. There’s enormous creativity, energy and excitement about beer in the U.S."

Apparently, the beer is already 2 years in the making. I’m glad I didn’t know until now because I’m pretty excited! If Weihenstephan’s wheat beers that I’ve had are any indication, this is gonna be good.

It seems the large U.S. craft breweries are very into the collaboration thing this year. Boulevard Brewing (the eighth largest independent craft brewery) announced its plans to create an Imperial Pilsner with Jean-Marie Rock of Orval from Belgium. Dogfish Head has six different collaborations under their belt (they’ve worked with Harold Brewery in Prague, Sierra Nevada, Norrebro Bryghus Brewery in Copenhagen and Birra del Borgo outside of Rome, Italy - just to name a few) and I’m sure there’s more to come! The good news is that when you put two great brewers’ heads together, you just might end up with better beer!

TAGS [ WEIHENSTEPHANER | BOSTON BEER CO | SAM ADAMS | COLLABORATION | BEER COLLABORATION | BEER NEWS ]

Look, pouring a perfect pint of beer isn’t rocket science, but we’ve all known pours to go awry sometimes… maybe the keg isn’t cold enough, or the CO2 pressure isn’t set properly, or the keg is starting to go flat (perish the thought!). Who knows? Whether it’s a technical difficulty or you, the pourer of the beer, simply can’t get it just right, we’ve got a new faucet that could make bad pours a thing of the past.

Introducing the Creamer Draft Beer Faucet Head, a perfectly unassuming, standard looking faucet that’s anything but run of the mill.

This new piece of draft beer equipment tops every brew with a perfectly rich and creamy head, each and every time your pour a pint. Just pull the lever forward to dispense your beer, as you would with a typical faucet, then push the lever back to finish off your brew with a creamy, tight head. It’s that easy!

The Creamer Draft Beer Faucet features a chrome finish, a shaft constructed from stainless steel, and fits all standard US shanks and towers. Pick one up and try it for yourself today, just $20.95!

TAGS [ DRAFT BEER FAUCET | CREAMER FAUCET HEAD | BEER FAUCET HEAD | DRAFT BEER EQUIPMENT | DRAFT BEER SUPPLIES ]

Honestly. Are you still blocking your draft beer faucets from fruit fly intruders with crumpled-up paper towels? Really? Is that why the pint you poured me has pieces of beer-soaked paper floating in it? Ewe. Not acceptable, especially with all of the low-cost faucet caps out there these days. In fact, now we can do you one better than even a straight-up, simple faucet cap!

Introducing the Kleen-Plug Faucet Cap with Brush, which not only keeps your beer faucet and hose free of bugs, flies and the like, but even prevents sediment and yeast from building up in your tap. What does that mean to you? Better tasting, fresher beer! Plus, it’s designed to fit all tap sizes, from domestic to European.

The Kleen-Plug Tap Cap is yours for just $3.75.

TAGS [ DRAFT BEER SUPPLIES | BEER FAUCET | BEER TAP | BEER TAP CAP | FAUCET CAP WITH BRUSH | DRAFT BEER EQUIPMENT ]

For almost 300 years, by law, the only measure of draft beer you could order in a British pub was the full pint (20 ounces) or half pint (10 ounces). Recently the government has allowed 1/3 pints (6.67 ounces) to be used primarily for beer festivals and tasting, and now they are introducing the 2/3 pints (13.33 ounces). The 2/3 pint gives British pub goers another option when a full pint is too much and half pint is too little.

Now, I would think a 3/4 pint (15 ounces) would make more sense since the 2/3 pint measure is only about two sips of beer larger than the 1/2 pint. What do you think? Should the US have standard beer measures? I like the idea. Is a 2/3 pints a good idea? Leave us your comments.

Looking for official British pint glasses of your own? Find ‘em here.

TAGS [ BRITISH PINTS | PINT GLASSES | DRAFT BEER | BEER NEWS ]

Image from allboutbeer.com

I never would’ve even thought of brewing beer in a coffee maker until I found this article. What a great idea! The process of brewing coffee is very similar to the way beer is brewed. This mini-homebrew recipe below only produces a small batch of beer, but very worth it since you most likely have most of these supplies in your kitchen already!

You need the following equipment:

A standard electric drip coffee maker (with water heating compartment and hot plate)
A wooden rolling pin
1 coffee filter
A saucepan, larger than 2 quarts
2 1-quart canning jars with lids
2 6-inch squares of cheesecloth
2 rubber bands
½ gallon filtered water (not distilled)

Ingredients from homebrew supply store:

1¼ cups malted barley (or can use base malt)
5 to 7 hop pellets
½ packet of champagne yeast (or can use baker’s yeast)

Malted barley acts as the sugar content for fermentation. The hops will help preserve the beer and give it added flavor. Make sure you clean everything thoroughly before starting, because any kind of small residue can affect the process.

Directions:

Start with the 1¼ cups malted barley. Take the rolling pin and roll gently just to crack the grains, but don’t over roll to get the consistency of flour. Place the grains in the coffee pot. Put 2 cups of filtered water into the coffee machine and turn it on. The hot plate and water-heating chamber with temperatures of 170°F and 150°F are perfect temperatures for brewing. Then wait for the coffee maker to brew for about an hour before it shuts off. The coffee maker will break down the grains and complex sugars into fermentable sugars.

Strain the liquid through the coffee filter and put the filter full of grain into the filter basket. Pour the strained liquid back into the water-heating chamber. Add 1 of cup water to the strained liquid in the chamber and start the coffee machine again. After the liquid flows into the coffee pot, turn off the machine and pour the liquid back into the chamber. Repeat 5 times, adding another cup of water each time. Keep an eye on the coffee maker through this "lautering process." This is where the hot water washes over the grain extracting the sugars.

The liquid that comes out is called "wort," or sweet liquor. Place the wort in a saucepan and when it comes to a rolling boil, add 5 to 7 pellets of hops. Boil for an additional 30 minutes, then turn off the burner. Stir until mixed then pour the wort into the canning jar. Pour down the side of the jar without splashing to keep all the ingredients contained. Next, place the jar into the sink filled with cold water. When the temperature reaches 60-70°F, screw on the top of the jar and shake vigorously. Take off the top and add yeast.

Put a piece of cheesecloth over the top of the jar and secure it with a rubbed band. Place jar in a cool, dark place and the liquor will become beer in 5-7 days.

If you try brewing beer in your coffee maker let us know how it turns out! This is a great way to learn and understand the process of how beer is made. I simplified the instructions above; for more details read the article. Now this is a long process that is time consuming and you will only have created a small amount of beer. This process will be fun to try, however if you’re really serious about making beer, I would check out our complete Cooper’s Complete Homebrew Kits and our Mr. Beer Complete Beer Making Kits.

Try it…Cheers!

TAGS [ BEER | BREWING | COFFEE MAKER | HOMEBREW ]