Pour Me: Belgo IPA

Ah, New Belgium...

I have been a fan of New Belgium for quite some time. Fat Tire was the first beer that I can recall drinking and actually enjoyed the flavor. I was hooked. After a while, I decided to branch out, and my "beer awakening" began. Shockingly, Bud Light fell off my beer-radar completely. Thank goodness, because life is way to short of bad beers.

Belgo is, as far as I know, New Belgium's second attempt at an IPA. I am a fan of Ranger, both in 6-packs and 22oz bombers. While Ranger is not a big, bad west coast IPA, it is a very solid IPA. At $2.99 for the bomber, it is a steal.

Belgo is part of the Lips of Faith series. I should probably do an entire Lips of Faith post, but suffice to say, the Lips series have had some amazing beers. Belgo fits in with the rest of the Lips of Faith. It is unique, and probably doesn't appeal to the masses like Fat Tire. At 8% ABV, it is one of the strongest beers that New Belgium produces.

I cracked this open and poured into my frosty glass. The color was good, and looked like just about every other IPA I have ever seen. The head lasted for half a minute, then collapsed. It tasted good and hoppy. There was a funky top-note. I think it was probably a yeast scent I was picking up. The 5 different kinds of hops used really stand out. Here is what New Belgium has to say about the Belgo hops: "Belgo IPA is a Belgian twist on India Pale Ale made with five varieties of hops. Simcoe, Cascade, Centennial, and Amarillo hops are pitched in the kettle. Cascade, Amarillo, and Willamette hops are added during dry-hopping. " Oh, dry-hopping is where its at! I found that Belgo was a pretty easy drinking IPA. With some Stone IPA's, you have to pace yourself, but Belgo is smooth and palatable. It does not pack the wicked bitter punch of a west coast IPA, and I found that refreshing. Instead of copying, New Belgium put together its own, unique IPA.


I dig it.

Excuse The Absence

Please forgive me. It has been quite a hectic week. Hence the ultra-rare Saturday post.

This week was actually not that crazy; it was just full. The most epic part of which I want to tell you about.

Fogo de Chao

Epic

Last year, for my birthday, my wife and I decided to try this Brazilian steakhouse. I was aware of several steakhouses where the "gauchos" carry around various meats on swords. These gaucho chefs stop by your table and ask if you want anything off of their sword.

Epic

Going to Fogo reminds me of the first time I went to Golden Corral as a child. The possibilities seem endless. "Oh, I am going to get a full plate of this, this and this, and top it with this and this. Then ICE CREAM!" Only, Fogo is much, much better. I would liken Golden Corral to the Chrysler Sebring of buffets whereas Fogo de Chao is the Bentely Flying Spur.

Fogo, simply put, is amazing. I have eaten at a lot of places, but Fogo takes the proverbial cake. So, I suppose I should start at the beginning and carry forward (without drooling on the keyboard).

Finding parking in downtown Austin is a bitch. Being summer, one wants to park as close to the ultimate destination as possible. So, for this trip we had the car valeted. Not that we are loaded or anything, but getting the car valeted just makes sense. 6 bucks, plus tip. I could park in a garage about 2 blocks away and hoof it for 8. So yeah, valet is the way to go. Just don't leave you wallet in the car.

I had made reservations for 2 and under "Special Instructions" on the online reservation page I stated Birthday. I suggest you do this, even, heh, if it is not indeed your birthday. We walked in and the hostess looked us up and seated us. Right in a high traffic area. Perfect. No, seriously, that is not sarcasm. You want these gaucho chefs stopping by as much as possible. First things first, however. One of the "team" waiters details how things work. 2-course meal, salad bar, then meated to death, with sides as well. We ordered a bottle of wine (~$35, Rioja) and hit the salad bar.

The first time we dined at Fogo, I decided that the salad bar was a scam. Only, its not. Maybe I don't get out enough, but Fogo's salad bar has the most amazing smoked salmon I have ever had. Ever. Everything on the salad bar is incredibly fresh. The cheeses are especially good. I will not go into graphic detail, but I have to mention this. There is a wheel of parmesan. A rather large wheel. About 2 feet in diameter and 1 foot in width. Maybe bigger. Anyway, the wheel is in the process of being hollowed out. The patron take the provided tongs and stabs at the cheese, breaking off delicious bits of parmesan. Never in my life have I seen this. In addition to the most amazing parmesan ever, there is also very tasty marinated mushrooms, delicious green beans, asparagus as well as starchy pasta and potato salads. I did not partake in that, but I did have to eat at least 3 of the "dinner rolls." I suppose the accurate term is pop-overs. Regardless, they are damn good. Light and buttery.

After we polished off our salads, we flipped the coaster-like card from red to green. Green means go, baby! Thus, the meal truly began.

Now, when the dude walks by with a sword-full of picanha, do not get your hopes up that he will give you the whole thing. I did, and was quite dismayed. The gaucho chefs stop by, ask if you would like whatever they have, and set the sword on the table, take a chefs knife and slice you off whatever doneness of said meat you want. The picanha is the "signature dish" of Fogo. If you have passed a billboard for Fogo, that is what you saw. It is quite tasty, but it is not the most amazing thing I have ever tasted at Fogo. No, the best thing I had at Fogo may shock you. Are you sitting? Sit. Good. Bacon wrapped chicken. Sure, the filet mignon wrapped in bacon is quite good too, but the chicken seems to absorb the bacon flavor. There are so many meats, it is dizzying to recount the experience.

In addition to the above mentioned House Special, Bacon Wrapped Chicken and Bacon Wrapped Sirloin  there are the following meat options. Ribeye. Top Sirloin. Bottom Sirloin. Beef Ribs. Lamb (both leg and chops). Pork Ribs. Pork Loin (parmesan crusted). Chicken Legs. And last and least (no, it seriously is least) Sausage.

Everything is good, but the really good stuff is the pork loin, ribeye, lamb and bottom sirloin. That is, in addition to the above mentioned House Special, Bacon Wrapped Chicken and Bacon Wrapped Sirloin.

Be prepared to tie one on. We ate for 45+ minutes, just eating meat. And waiting for the gauchos to come buy with something we desired.

Oh, I guess I glossed over the sides. The sides that come with the meal are quite tasty. There are mashed potatoes, some kind of sweet, cooked banana and the single most amazing side I have ever had. Polenta Fritters. Crispy on the outside, delicious on the inside. The polenta fritters make the meal extra special. Word on the street is that they offer several other side dishes, but the polenta fritters are amazing.

Lastly, was the bill. Now, this is the tricky part. Do you value a $150 meal? Some folk would expect a lot more goose liver for that price tag. Some would see at least 15 trips to McDonalds. I do see value in this trip. It is only once a year. Service is amazing (dudes with goddamn swords, serving you!). The food is really, really good. The price is high, but for once a year, it is quite a value. I look forward to next August 18th. Should it be in Denver, Austin or elsewhere.

Pour Me - Maker's Mark 46

46. For the life of me, I could not figure out what the 46 in Maker's Mark 46 represented. Maybe the percentage of alcohol? Nope, that is 47. Well, its not proof, because that is 94. Aged for 47 months? Every barrel is aged different lengths of time. How many barrels made in total? C'mon, this is Maker's Mark, so you know that is not possible. $46 bucks maybe? Nope. Well, after consulting the webz for 5 minutes, I found one plausible rational: "French Oak staves, No. 46 French Oak, to be exact," according to the terrifically named Alcohology. Now that we got that out of the way, lets move on to the meat and potatoes of the matter: how is it?

Maker's Mark is an incredibly popular bourbon. Pretty much every Applebees and Chilies will have it. Just about any liquor store worth their salt with have bottles and bottles of this stuff in their "bourbon" department. Now, don't get me wrong, Maker's is not a terrible bourbon. In fact, I highly recommend a shot with a Fat Tire on draft. It just seems to have "mass appeal." Its not the greatest because it is so popular, and its popular because its designed to be that way. Ubiquity is may be a mark against Maker's, but it also allows them to experiment. The result of such effort is '46.'

46 is really quite good. It commands about a $5-7 dollar premium over regular Maker's Mark, and it is well worth it. At this price range, the competition of good quality bourbons is high. At $25-50 dollars, there are some very good bourbons like Woodford Reserve, Buffallo Trace and 1792. There is also Bulleit and Knob Creek sitting right about $20. 46 is right in the sweet spot of the pricing at $30 where I shop. At that price, it is a pretty good bargain.

Maker's Mark 46 tastes like a modified version of Maker's Mark. That is because it IS Maker's Mark, just in the French Oak barrels. After the Maker's is all done and ready to head out, they empty the barrel and put in 10 staves into the barrel. "Searing the staves caramelizes the sugars in the wood, adding a unique flavor that finishes on the front of the tongue" - Maker's Website. They then pour the Maker's back into the barrel and age it for several more months.  This does add a lot of good, smokey flavor.

In the time I spent with 46, I grew quite fond of it. The smokey/tobacco-y flavor in addition to the smooth, subtleness of the grains made it really enjoyable to drink straight-up. Smooth is also the name of the game; 46 starts gently and end smoothly, like a nice jazz CD. I am thinking Miles Davis. My last tasting note said "dark honey." I am not sure what about 46 reminded me of honey, let alone dark honey. Maybe it was the viscosity. Regardless, 46 is well worth a try if you are exploring the world of bourbons.

Pour Me - Bourbon Basics

Bourbon has quickly become my go to alcohol. I was on beer and wine for quite a while, then I watched the pilot for the FX teevee show Justified, and decided to try out some good Kentucky Bourbons. Previously, the best I ever had the chance to try was Woodford Reserve. My arbatrary budget was set to $35, and I think I have found some seriously tasty bourbons for that price. At a per drink cost, a good bottle of bourbon is a much better "deal" than good beers like Dogfish Head's 90 Minute IPA. However, that is neither here nor there. The point is that there are some seriously good bourbons out there, and trying them all is really fun.

The main reason why I prefer bourbon over Canadian whiskey or Scotch wisky is, well, patriotism. Yeah, that is it. I drank way to much Scotch wisky one time, and, much like tequila, swore it off for life. Traveling across the pond, Canadian whiskeys just do not do "it" for me. Canadian whiskey is just bland tasting to me. I have not tried many, but Crown is only good with Coke. Working our way south, we hit Kentucky, then Tennessee, so lets start south and work our way up. Now, Jack Daniels is a legend. Everyone knows about the Tennessee whiskey. Jack, and his pal Jim Beam are good, but have a very strong rye flavor. It is the rye that assults my nose, and putts me off.

Headed back south is Kentucky. In Kentucky, they know what they are doing, and product some great bourbons. It has to do with the oak aging. Knob Creek ages their bourbon for 9 years. The minimum aging for bourbon is 2 years, but the higher tiered ones are 8+. Bourbon is an original bluegrass term contrived in Kentucky. Only bourbon from Kentucky can state that they are, in fact Kentucky Bourbon. In Kentucky, streams tend to run through a lot of the distilleries, hence naming their bourbons after streams and boasting that the water comes from such and such stream. So, enough about the history. Lets get to the drinkin'.

Pour Me - Sierra Nevada's 30th Anniversery Ale

So I googled 30th Anniversary, and this is one result:

30th Wedding Anniversary
Traditional Gifts: Pearl
Modern Gifts: Diamond

This Sierra Nevada does not come in a pearl glass, encrusted with diamonds. It does not come in a diamond shaped glass encrusted with pearls either. It does come with a cork and cage. And that is good enough for me to want to give it a whirl.


I really enjoy Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale. Some of the other SN offerings have been mediocre at best, but since I am pretty loyal to the Pale Ale, I figured that paying the premium price for this special bomber would be worth it. So I took the plunge, and ponied up that $8USD at my expensive grocery store, frosted a glass and prepared my mind.

This beer is good. Having had a number of bad beers in my day, that is a good thing. However, a great beer, this is not. It is approachable, and easy drinking. I like beers like that. Beers that are really strong (given the season; summer time, currently), or really fruity, or really light do nothing for me. I mean, a good stout porter is all I really want from life, but its hard to have a coffee porter when its 105F outside. Light beers are worthless. I stopped drinking beers to get drunk long ago. Beers that are light should only cross my palette if there is nothing else to drink at the party. Aside from Frambozen, which I do not find fruity, fruity beers just are not my cup of tea. Some Hefeweizens are ripe with fruity odors and taste like peaches. Not exactly what I look for in beer: if I want something fruity, I will have a cranberry juice, THX. This Sierra Nevada certainly stays far away from my "dislike-zone," but it doesn't hit my "OMG dudes, this is amazing-zone." Few beers do, so its not all that bad.

So here are some notes that I took while sipping away:

Note: Imperial Helles Bock (I opened this bottle expecting something foul like Shiner Bock, but this was many, many times better than Shiner)
Smooth
Foamy
Strong-stout
Has presence
Tasty
Sipper
Good, not great
Subtle
Okay
Not mind blowing
A little hoppy
Good maltines
Approachable for being a caged beer.
Very subtle sweetness
Sweetness is present, but not really felt
Nothing amazing, but a good beer


I think this 30th Anniversary is good. It is tasty, and as a whole, very enjoyable. However, for the price, I would rather purchase a six-pack instead of one bomber bottle. I would recommend this to friends with money. I would not recommend this to my poor friends. This beer seemed more like a rough pearl than anything else. It is defiantly not a diamond, in the rough or otherwise, but I can see it as a roughed up pearl.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I have spent a majority of my lifetime searching for a good way to make sweet potato fries. My first experience with them was at a brew-pub in Las Cruces. Actually the only brew-pub. They had some of the most delectable sweet potato fries. I soon came to realize after several attempts that I could not replicate because I did not have a deep-fat fryer. So, I have tried different ways of baking sweet potatoes. The key to making them crisp without burning is to check them often. Another key is to have them uniformly cut. The final key is heat. You want to keep them good and hot so they crisp up instead of turning mushy.

Bakes Sweet Potato Fries (Serves 2-4, 2 with awesome leftovers)
2 large sweet potatoes
2 teaspoons grand masala
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to season
olive oil

Preheat oven to 450

Start by cutting the sweet potato in half, lenght-wise. Once the potato is in 2 pieces, lay one flat side down, and cut slices of about 1/4 inch. Next, take the slices and cut them into 1/4 inch pieces. Repeat for the rest of the sweet potato. You should end up with a mix of long and short pieces. Cut the long ones in half. Dump the fries into a large bowl.

Add the grand masala, cumin, salt and pepper to the fries. Drizzle in a good amount (1/4 cup) of olive oil and mix around, taking care to coat all the fries with the spices and oil.

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Dump the sweet potato fries out and spread them around, making one flat layer. Pop the fries in the oven.

After 15 minutes, give the pan a good shake. This also keeps the potatoes from stick. Repeat 15 minutes later. The potatoes should start to look done. Give it 10-15 more minutes and remove from oven. Serve with some good quality ketchup.